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Retro-GAF unite!

D.Lo

D.Lo

Member
Khaz said:
I really dislike it when the refresh rate is locked in software. The PAL PS1 library especially is worthless because of that, save for a handful of exclusive games. Everything else needs to be imported from NTSC regions to be played at the intended speed. At least in hardware you can mod your console and play your local games with the proper refresh rate.
Click to expand...
Yep.

It's really funny actually, Sony was easily the worst to PAL audiences, with Sega a distant second. PAL PS1 arcade games like the Tekkens and Sega's slow-ass PAL Mega Drive games are a disgrace in hindsight. Didn't stop them being successful, audiences just didn't care I guess.

It's also funny that developers who put in effort for PAL (Nintendo in around 50% of cases, Rare etc) actually made their products worse for collectors now. It was great that they put in the effort back in the day, but PAL Donkey Kong Country is now worthless to me because it's a busted optimised 50Hz.
 
Danny Dudekisser

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
SheepyGuy said:
Framemeister production is ending. Sounds like maybe supply issues of ICs? Also out of stock until a new shipment in February.

Hopefully they have a replacement by the time production ends.

I think FM lifetime sales must still be under 10k since mine from last year was in the 4000 serial number range.
Click to expand...

End of an era... but then, hasn't the FM been around for like... 6 years now? Time for an update, Micomsoft.
 
P

PumpkinSpice

Banned
Beer Monkey said:
That's potentially scary because I'm pretty sure products like the USB3HDCAP use the same ICs.
Click to expand...

Does it use the Marvell QDEO?

Edit: Holy shit at ebay prices on FMs right now:

b6eIyHr.png
Click to expand...

Wonder how much I could get for my broken one...
 
N

NormalFish

Banned
wonder if micomsoft will go with something of a hybrid between XRGB3/OSSC linedoubler and FM scaling tech like people have been hoping.
 
Danny Dudekisser

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
NormalFish said:
wonder if micomsoft will go with something of a hybrid between XRGB3/OSSC linedoubler and FM scaling tech like people have been hoping.
Click to expand...

Hopefully. The OSSC is exactly the thing I want. The Framemeister was not. I really just want a better OSSC. Well... OSSC with line5x or whatever, just cuz it sounds cool.
 
T

televator

Member
Chacranajxy said:
Hopefully. The OSSC is exactly the thing I want. The Framemeister was not. I really just want a better OSSC. Well... OSSC with line5x or whatever, just cuz it sounds cool.
Click to expand...

I honestly doubt it will be that specialized if it does accommodate line multiplication. Line doubling is fine but lots of modern TVs don't support tripling or more. Best case is that there will be more integer scaling options inside native 1080/4K windows and maybe... maybe a line doubling mode. I just hope they can avoid CSC errors and noise with whatever new box they come out with... maybe work in the RGB color space natively.
 
T

Timu

Member
SheepyGuy said:
Framemeister production is ending. Sounds like maybe supply issues of ICs? Also out of stock until a new shipment in February.

Hopefully they have a replacement by the time production ends.

I think FM lifetime sales must still be under 10k since mine from last year was in the 4000 serial number range.
Click to expand...
Wow, they will get even more expensive now. And to think it's going to end production on my birthday month. I was thinking about getting one next year but I'll take a wait and see approach now.
 
B

BTails

Member
Yikes at those eBay prices. I still think that the Framemeister is one of the best "all-in-one" solutions for most retro-enthusiasts (obviously the OSSC can exceed it in certain circumstances, but it's less user friendly). Hopefully Micomsoft comes out with a replacement to fill that gap.
 
F

Flizzzipper

Member
I wish I would have picked up an ossc now when it was my turn in line. Demand on that is going to increase now too. Hopefully nothing happens to my FM. Onto the 4kmeister.
 
M

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
D.Lo said:
Yep.

It's really funny actually, Sony was easily the worst to PAL audiences, with Sega a distant second. PAL PS1 arcade games like the Tekkens and Sega's slow-ass PAL Mega Drive games are a disgrace in hindsight. Didn't stop them being successful, audiences just didn't care I guess.

It's also funny that developers who put in effort for PAL (Nintendo in around 50% of cases, Rare etc) actually made their products worse for collectors now. It was great that they put in the effort back in the day, but PAL Donkey Kong Country is now worthless to me because it's a busted optimised 50Hz.
Click to expand...

About this, just finally found a seller to my last pal copy from the DKC-trilogy. Now time to import the ntsc-games!

Shit, the FM-production ending? Really hope that means they are coming out with an even better product.
 
IrishNinja

IrishNinja

Member
Solaris stays the best place to get an FM, confirmed

SheepyGuy said:
I'd settle for something with less menu jank tbh.
Click to expand...

menu jank?
ever since the profile update, all i've wanted was quicker resolution changing, i always wanna say less input lag but the lion's share of that is done by the plasma here

NormalFish said:
wonder if micomsoft will go with something of a hybrid between XRGB3/OSSC linedoubler and FM scaling tech like people have been hoping.
Click to expand...

i know that's what folks on SHMUPs/etc have wanted for years, seems like the assumption to make but we've really got nothing so far
 
K

koopas

Member
Before I scramble to finally buy an xrgb mini, (sorry PVM your screen is just too small) my fear is they're ending production because they are unleashing the SUPER FRAMEMEISTER on the world which adds VGA etc making the mini obsolete
 
P

Peltz

Member
koopas said:
Before I scramble to finally buy an xrgb mini, (sorry PVM your screen is just too small) my fear is they're ending production because they are unleashing the SUPER FRAMEMEISTER on the world which adds VGA etc making the mini obsolete
Click to expand...
Maybe look into an OSSC. It takes VGA and seems better than the mini (in my humble opinion).

Its also cheaper than the mini. I'd trade my mini for an OSSC straight up if I could. The picture never quite looked as clean as I expected.
 
N

NormalFish

Banned
koopas said:
Before I scramble to finally buy an xrgb mini, (sorry PVM your screen is just too small) my fear is they're ending production because they are unleashing the SUPER FRAMEMEISTER on the world which adds VGA etc making the mini obsolete
Click to expand...
There will probably be a box inside 5 years that obsoletes the framemeister. That box probably won't be coming until at least late 2018, though.
 
P

PumpkinSpice

Banned
koopas said:
Before I scramble to finally buy an xrgb mini, (sorry PVM your screen is just too small) my fear is they're ending production because they are unleashing the SUPER FRAMEMEISTER on the world which adds VGA etc making the mini obsolete
Click to expand...

You can use a VGA to SCART adapter to do VGA (480p at least) on the Framemeister.
 
IrishNinja

IrishNinja

Member
koopas said:
Before I scramble to finally buy an xrgb mini, (sorry PVM your screen is just too small) my fear is they're ending production because they are unleashing the SUPER FRAMEMEISTER on the world which adds VGA etc making the mini obsolete
Click to expand...

it's gonna take more than a VGA port to make the mini obsolete though

SheepyGuy said:
You can use a VGA to SCART adapter to do VGA (480p at least) on the Framemeister.
Click to expand...

also this
 
N

Naked Snake

Member
Do any of the flashcarts have/support some sort of a nice looking game selector? I think all the ones I've seen let you select the game from a basic text list/folder structure. How awesome would it be if Everdrives had something like the Wii and Wii U cover flow loaders with game box arts? Is there anything like that for retro consoles? What about DS flashcarts?
 
IrishNinja

IrishNinja

Member
Naked Snake said:
Do any of the flashcarts have/support some sort of a nice looking game selector? I think all the ones I've seen let you select the game from a basic text list/folder structure. How awesome would it be if Everdrives had something like the Wii and Wii U cover flow loaders with game box arts? Is there anything like that for retro consoles? What about DS flashcarts?
Click to expand...

N64 aside, most of my everdrive menus look DOS-like, yeah. i think the SD2SNES might have something nicer as well? ive not had a chance to mess with one

on krizz' forum i recall one of them having a dude who setup/offers a different OS, but i've not seen much past that. my GBA flashcart has a customizable one, but ive never seen anything as neat as the Wii's cover flow menu, which once you got the thing setup to download & display said covers right was neat.

but for the sheer # of titles & protos, hacks, etc that wouldn't have decent art to begin with, i gotta say: if this was magically an option, but slowed down the OS in any way, i'd likely never use it
 
L

Laevateinn

Member
Naked Snake said:
Do any of the flashcarts have/support some sort of a nice looking game selector? I think all the ones I've seen let you select the game from a basic text list/folder structure. How awesome would it be if Everdrives had something like the Wii and Wii U cover flow loaders with game box arts? Is there anything like that for retro consoles? What about DS flashcarts?
Click to expand...

In the case of 16 bit and earlier Everdrives, you would need to digitize the boxart in an image format and palette that works on the system. That might be a technical limitation that goes beyond Krikzz just not thinking a more elaborate file-manager being useful.

I don't see what's wrong with a basic file-list but I'm weird and do all my file management on command line so it could just be me.
 
M

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
So, did anybody catch the game awards? I watched most of it for the Zelda-stuff, and i gotta say that it irritates me to no end how the show is all about celebrating games as movies - and not as games. The categories are stuff like best performance (while handheld doesnt even gets its own), the intro footage was all cinematic stuff, the talk is all about how stories affect them, the trailers are all cutscenes and no gameplay. The only time there was focus on what makes games unique, that is, gameplay, was when they showed a small Zelda-clip where Bill Trinnen and another dude played the game - and that got a terrible reaction lol. Really makes me sad thinking about where the current industry is headed.
 
D.Lo

D.Lo

Member
Laevateinn said:
In the case of 16 bit and earlier Everdrives, you would need to digitize the boxart in an image format and palette that works on the system. That might be a technical limitation that goes beyond Krikzz just not thinking a more elaborate file-manager being useful.

I don't see what's wrong with a basic file-list but I'm weird and do all my file management on command line so it could just be me.
Click to expand...
Working in software development, if you have a situation where it's okay to do so, lean is the way to go IMO, less to go wrong. A nice menu is much less important than the actual performance of the games.

The N64 Everdrive allows for a menu background and various resolution and view options however.

Morfeo said:
So, did anybody catch the game awards? I watched most of it for the Zelda-stuff, and i gotta say that it irritates me to no end how the show is all about celebrating games as movies - and not as games. The categories are stuff like best performance (while handheld doesnt even gets its own), the intro footage was all cinematic stuff, the talk is all about how stories affect them, the trailers are all cutscenes and no gameplay. The only time there was focus on what makes games unique, that is, gameplay, was when they showed a small Zelda-clip where Bill Trinnen and another dude played the game - and that got a terrible reaction lol. Really makes me sad thinking about where the current industry is headed.
Click to expand...
Lol sounds about right.

I think long cutscenes/cinematic crap as a thing is probably retreating somewhat in games however overall? Still around along with QTE, but I feel it peaked mid last gen. Still plenty of narrative stuff but usually within the game (like NPCs talking, not 'cutting' to movie like stuff). Then again what would I know the only current gen consoles I have are WiiU/3DS.
 
entremet

entremet

Member
Morfeo said:
So, did anybody catch the game awards? I watched most of it for the Zelda-stuff, and i gotta say that it irritates me to no end how the show is all about celebrating games as movies - and not as games. The categories are stuff like best performance (while handheld doesnt even gets its own), the intro footage was all cinematic stuff, the talk is all about how stories affect them, the trailers are all cutscenes and no gameplay. The only time there was focus on what makes games unique, that is, gameplay, was when they showed a small Zelda-clip where Bill Trinnen and another dude played the game - and that got a terrible reaction lol. Really makes me sad thinking about where the current industry is headed.
Click to expand...

I honestly feel a disconnect with modern gaming sensibilities.

I remember there was a thread on how Ubisoft was making less story focused games and there was a revolt lol.

I thought, "Well, great!"

I recently trudged through Uncharted 4 and while I like the series, it's just too much. Too much talking. Too much interruption of action. Simplistic auto platforming.

I love story and narrative, but it's just way too tilted toward story these days. And this is a game that is praised by gaming outlet. I thought it was thoroughly mediocre.

Luckily indies and Nintendo exists. But I'm buying way less AAA stuff these days. It just doesn't connect to me as much.
 
N

Naked Snake

Member
Case in point: just watched the new trailer for Kojima's Death Stranding, and... it shows zero gameplay, not even a hint at what type of game it might be, trailer appears to be completely prerendered CG, nobody knows what the hell is going on... yet everyone is hailing it as GOAT already... well, ok then!

I mean I'm a big Kojima fan (see my username), but it's telling when game marketing has gone this far into "cinema" and far away from "game".
 
N

NormalFish

Banned
Naked Snake said:
Case in point: just watched the new trailer for Kojima's Death Stranding, and... it shows zero gameplay, not even a hint at what type of game it might be, trailer appears to be completely prerendered CG, nobody knows what the hell is going on... yet everyone is hailing it as GOAT already... well, ok then!

I mean I'm a big Kojima fan (see my username), but it's telling when game marketing has gone this far into "cinema" and far away from "game".
Click to expand...
I will be shocked if that game has remotely competent gameplay.
 
T

televator

Member
Naked Snake said:
Case in point: just watched the new trailer for Kojima's Death Stranding, and... it shows zero gameplay, not even a hint at what type of game it might be, trailer appears to be completely prerendered CG, nobody knows what the hell is going on... yet everyone is hailing it as GOAT already... well, ok then!

I mean I'm a big Kojima fan (see my username), but it's telling when game marketing has gone this far into "cinema" and far away from "game".
Click to expand...

I'm a bit more center when it comes to gameplay Vs. story. Im no absolutist in my taste either, so I can sacrifice a bit of one for a stronger presence of the other if it is well executed.

That said, I saw that trailer and was just puzzled. "Well this game could be any fucking thing." On one hand, I apreciate creators breaking boundaries that define games. On the other hand, I think Kojima has been progressively lacking restraint and has Hollywood on the brain.

SheepyGuy said:
I'm 4 hours in, and all I've done is gone through the boring intro, looted my home town, and shot a bunch of people with a minigun. Does it get better?
Click to expand...

I don't think it's going to improve for you. Getting into a big suit of power armor, jumping off a 3 story building to fight a 12 foot mutant dinosaur sporting satanic horns on its head with a mini gun you yanked off a crashed chopper... I mean you either get it or you don't. lol
 
T

Timu

Member
D.Lo said:
Lol sounds about right.

I think long cutscenes/cinematic crap as a thing is probably retreating somewhat in games however overall? Still around along with QTE, but I feel it peaked mid last gen. Still plenty of narrative stuff but usually within the game (like NPCs talking, not 'cutting' to movie like stuff). Then again what would I know the only current gen consoles I have are WiiU/3DS.
Click to expand...
It's not really, games are still cinematic as ever!!!
 
D.Lo

D.Lo

Member
Naked Snake said:
Case in point: just watched the new trailer for Kojima's Death Stranding, and... it shows zero gameplay, not even a hint at what type of game it might be, trailer appears to be completely prerendered CG, nobody knows what the hell is going on... yet everyone is hailing it as GOAT already... well, ok then!

I mean I'm a big Kojima fan (see my username), but it's telling when game marketing has gone this far into "cinema" and far away from "game".
Click to expand...
Kojima is the worst in the industry though.

And yeah there's the uncharted/tomb raider games that combine cutscenes with auto play scripted sequences that might as well be cutscenes, but I feel like they're the minority now.

Open world and shooters are the dominant non-sports games now and they have less cinematics. At the least the cutscenes play out in first person in many shooters, so are technically not cutscenes or cinematics at all.
 
D

davidwhangchoi

Member
hey retro GAF,
i'm going to post a few games up that i brought the past week. i couldn't sooner as i goofed and tore a cable in my phone while replacing the battery so i was offline a few days.

i'm pretty excited to getting a few retro titles after playing FF15 the past few days. will be back to post!
 
M

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
Was wondering if I was getting mad, but glad to see I am not alone in my view on the video game award.

About Kojima, I am a big fan of some of his games, including the first few Metal Gears, but lately its just been more and more crazy cutscenes - with this latest trailer topping it with absolutely no gameplay. Still think the game can be good since he usually creates decent gameplay to back up his games, but so far there is just nothing to get hyped about imo.
 
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