Messages

16

Off Topic / Re: UltraHDMI Group Buy

« on: November 24, 2015, 10:35 PM »

So that everyone knows, I have had private discussions with forum members who have confirmed their orders, and we have met the minimum of 3, so the buy is happening for sure on 12/1/15. Remember that if 10 boards are ordered, the per-unit cost goes down to $123.

17

Off Topic / Re: Let me introduce you my new baby : N64 Jungle UHDMI :)

« on: November 22, 2015, 12:17 AM »

The boards are available for purchase for installers now, and a groupbuy has been started here:
http://krikzz.com/forum/index.php?topic=3632.0

Marshall has, in email correspondence, agreed to do groupbuys as long as we understand that there's no warranty from him and that the minimum order quantity is 3. AFAIK, no installers are installing yet, other than BAC, and I don't know if any of the installers will be willing to sell boards without installing them.

18

Off Topic / Re: the next everdrive?

« on: November 22, 2015, 12:13 AM »

Correct. Existing GBA flash carts cannot play GB/GBC games without using an emulator, because the size of the cartridge itself pushes the GBA into GBA mode, locking out GB/GBC functionality.

Unless krikzz figures something out that no one else has been able to (which is certainly possible, but maybe not probable given the current GB(C) flash cart he already had), you will need both to access all 3 types of games.

This would be a fairly simple physical hack. You just need to fill up the notch in the GBA cartridge so it will push the switch of the GBA, putting the GBA into GBC mode. Perhaps something can be used that turns or clicks into place.


Now how to make a cartridge that is at the same time accessible as both a GBA and a GBC cartridge? I have no idea how to do that, because my knowledge of the inner workings of game cartridges is limited. It would probably be about the same as squeezing two different Everdrives into one cartridge, just sharing the cartridge pins.

Perhaps you can use the position of the 'notch-filler' to activate a switch on the board between GBA and GBC modes of the cartridge...

Only thing I could think of would be to ensure that your main memory can be read by the system in GBA and GBC mode, then have the following:
1. Physical switch running down the side of the cartridge to press in the button in the slot that switches the system into GBC mode
2. Separate OS that would be loaded if this physical switch was pressed

That way, when you want to play GBC games, you press down the switch (it would stay down), the flash cart automatically loads the "GBC" OS instead, and the system is in GBC mode.

19

Off Topic / Re: UltraHDMI Group Buy

« on: November 21, 2015, 09:06 PM »

Good luck, but I'll say this has some pretty delicate soldering so I imagine self installs will be difficult. I'm not personally comfortable with that, but good luck to all who are!

For those experienced with soldering, it shouldn't be too bad. I have a few bigger projects under my belt, so it shouldn't be too bad, although I agree that your warning holds true for most. I'd say you should be able to get away with using a new pencil iron around 25-30W, but it may not be the most pleasant experience. The hardest part is the ribbon connection to the video output, which shouldn't be too bad if you have a steady hand and don't put too much solder (better safe than sorry if you're inexperienced).

I will agree with you though, that anyone that hasn't touched an iron in their lives and doesn't know anyone that has should very highly consider getting someone else to do the install if they aren't able to put some projects together that will make them more comfortable.

20

Off Topic / Re: UltraHDMI Group Buy

« on: November 21, 2015, 01:36 AM »

I am interested, but I'm from Brazil. How much do you think shipping would be?

I'm not sure. I'm not comfortable divulging my exact location in public, but I will say that I'm in the US, so we're looking at some international rate. I will provide a tracking number if you like, but I have no experience with international shipping so I can't say how that will go. It looks like USPS will be $25 (really $25.25, but I don't mind eating a quarter).

21

Off Topic / UltraHDMI Group Buy

« on: November 21, 2015, 01:19 AM »

UPDATE 12/3/15 The order has officially been placed. No new orders will be accepted. At this time, I have no plans to arrange another groupbuy for the foreseeable future. If you're interested in arranging your own groupbuy, find Marshall's email on his site, retroactive.be, and contact him directly to get info on purchasing boards.
For those already in the groupbuy, your boards are being shipped today. Check your email for the tracking number.

UPDATE 12/7/15  Marshall still hasn't given me a tracking number, leading me to believe that he had to place another order of kits before our order could be fulfilled. He has not responded to PM, and I will email him and let you know the results. Marshall sent the tracking number, which I'm PMing to all in the buy. Wait until tomorrow, December 8th, to PM me if you haven't gotten the number, as I can only send it to 4 people at once.

Hello everyone,
Marshall H. of RetroActive has released the UltraHDMI boards to installers. If you're not familiar with the board, he has a write up here (ultrahdmi.retroactive.be). Basically, it takes the direct digital video and audio outputs of the N64, upscales the video to a selected resolution, outputs digital HDMI sound, and allows the use of custom CRT and other filters. He is also willing to sell boards, without warranty, to people with a minimum of 3 people. Per unit cost for 3-9 boards is $127, while 10-49 is $123. I know I said in a previous thread that unit cost would be around $20 or so, but that was a misreading on my part. For those of us with soldering experience, this is much better than the $160 that installers will charge, without shipping included.

I'm willing to arrange the group buy as long as those involved pay the shipping to ship out to the individual locations. I'll pay the shipping to my home. Since I'm only going to be reboxing the boards and not touching them in any way, I will not charge any additional cost above board cost, other than the shipping that will be needed to actually send them to ya'll.

Payments will be accepted over PayPal currently, others may be considered if people really want them to be. If you decide to pay me via standard payment, you will need to pay the insurance cost, as otherwise I'd be losing money by providing this service. If you feel comfortable paying me via gift, you can do so and it will be accepted. I will PM you my PayPal info if you're in the group buy.

Since the boards may run out soon, I'd like to have the order placed by 12/1/15. Everyone that wants to be a part of the group buy needs to either post in this thread or, preferably, PM me by 12PM Noon CST on December 1, 2015, to be guaranteed a spot. Since the minimum order quantity is 3, I won't be able to make the purchase if only 1 person gets on. I will notify you all if this is the case, and I'll extend the deadline. There are 3 boards being ordered for sure at a minimum, so the purchase will be happening on Dec. 1, 2015 as specified above.

I realize that I have no record regarding buying/selling products on any forums. I can only give you my word that I won't take your money and run. I would prefer to receive the monetary payment in advance of the order, so that I will not be screwed over in case someone backs out after the order. I completely understand if you're apprehensive to paying in advance: You may want to pay for PayPal insurance if this is the case. If you're down for the group buy and PM me, I'll give you the address that the boards will be shipped from so you can calculate shipping in advance.

I only have plans to initiate one group buy, but I'm sure Marshall H. would be willing to arrange other buys with other people if you email him. His email is available on his site, retroactive.be.

Thanks for reading this, and I look forward to doing a group buy with all of you!

22

EverDrive 64 / Re: Everdrive 64 Compatibility

« on: November 11, 2015, 04:46 PM »

Question regarding Pokemon Stadium 2's incompatibility:

If space is the issue here, could a patch be made that removes some unnecessary information?

If you look on this page (https://tcrf.net/Pok%C3%A9mon_Stadium_2_%28International%29), there are a number of unused elements in the game that could be potentially removed without affecting any gameplay. It looks like the code for the debug menu should be pretty sizable in itself, and there's at least one character model that can be removed.

The only issue that I could foresee is some bits of program at the end of the rom not executing properly due to being in different memory locations than before... But since other patches work, I feel like there's a way around this.

23

EverDrive 64 / Re: 64DD games released that work properly (but not yet on the ED64)

« on: November 10, 2015, 05:59 AM »

Anyone know of a full translation of SimCity 64? The best I could find is this one (https://github.com/PeterLemon/N64/tree/master/Translate/SimCity-64) which seems to have the dialogue, but not the main menu or some other menus (I haven't looked too deeply into it, but the only English I've seen was in the dialogue at the start).

24

EverDrive 64 / Re: 64DD games released that work properly (but not yet on the ED64)

« on: November 05, 2015, 08:33 PM »

Just played the 64DD Expansion in English on my ED64 V2.0. Works fine and holds a save.

Thanks to whoever made the realization that DD games can be played from cartridge AND to whoever translated it Zoinkity (thanks saturnu). I never thought I'd play the Expansion!

25

Off Topic / Re: N64 HDMI Output board

« on: June 06, 2015, 08:41 PM »

So now that the site's up, who's up for a group buy?

I emailed Marshall, and he said the minimum order of boards will be "~5 units, at somewhere south of $100"

Since he doesn't want to take liability on shipping single boards (understandably), all the boards would be shipped to one person, who would proceed to distribute them to all others. Else, we can wait for the boards to come up in storefronts, but I honestly feel like we'd be better off buying as a group when available, because as stated on the site, "Final Price is up to them [final distributors]."

26

Off Topic / N64 HDMI Output board

« on: April 23, 2015, 02:05 AM »

http://retroactive.be/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=7
Marshall H. of Retroactive has been developing a board that intercepts the N64's video output and puts it out of a digital port.
In its current iteration, it uses a MiniHDMI port discretely placed near the standard AV Out. With the current orientation, you can actually theoretically use both ports at the same time!
Read through the thread for more advanced info, the project sounds utterly amazing.

According to this thread, we'll see the fruits of this project in 6 months or less.

I emailed Marshall about purchasing boards, and he said the minimum purchasing quantity on release would be 5, and only for resellers. No single boards, period, as he didn't want to deal with the trouble.

Who wants one (Other than me, lol)?

27

EverDrive 64 / Re: Even faster rom loading for EverDrive?

« on: February 10, 2014, 06:45 AM »

Once the ROM is selected, though, the N64 is only seeing a "Cartridge", and is accessing a piece of memory instead of a ROM chip, right?
That's my understanding of the inner workings, anyway.

28

Off Topic / Re: Super Mario Land 64 - WIP

« on: January 29, 2014, 08:26 PM »

Out of curiosity, are you testing this on a real N64?

29

EverDrive 64 / Re: Suggest features for the next Everdrive 64 OS update.

« on: August 25, 2013, 11:55 PM »

This may have already been added, I haven't ordered the everdrive yet, so I'm not sure.
Add a feature that allows button mapping to load certain ROMs on startup.

For example:
I turn on the console and hold the C-Up button. Instead of going to the ED menu, the loading bar pops up, and Mario Kart 64 starts up.
I hold the A button instead next time. Golden Eye 007 pops up.
I hold the Z button next time. Wave Race 64 starts up.

And so on.

Also, with regards to NTSC50, are TVs that support it in the majority or minority (IE, would a 2011 TV be more likely to support NTSC50, or less likely)?

30

Off Topic / Re: krikzz can you remove the smite button please

« on: May 02, 2013, 04:13 AM »

Removing it is shameful? I don't see how. Most forums have nothing of the sort and they function just fine. It's just something that Simple Machines Forums happens to have.

Removing the smite function but not the applaud function is. If he would have removed both, I would have had no qualms.