Gp32 Arrives...


pixelator

Still Fresh
Joined
Jun 21, 2004
Messages
32
Been playing with the GP32 for a little bit, now. Got the PCE and MD/Gen emus on there, got everything authorized/registered and such. Haven't flashed it - might now. It came with Korean firmware, so not sure on that (came from Spain).

ANYWAY. I've got scads of handhelds - PC Engine GT/Turbo Express, GG, Lynx, NGPC, GBA SP, GBA w/ Afterburner, PocketPCs and Palms. And as of yesterday, a new Zodiac1. How does this thing stack up so far?

SYSTEM: A cute exterior design, ahead of its time when it was released. Now it looks just a bit retro-GBA-ish (especially from the back) but much more ergonomic and stylish than the Nintendo. The white and grey gives it a very Asian/clean look. I'd prefer clear tinted like my crystal yellow NGPC, but this is fine. The device itself is quite light, too. Audio is good and loud, although the static in some emus is annoying. Can't attest to battery life yet, but the system has a very low tolerance for weak or cheap batteries. As for internals, the whole registration/installation/PC-Link/GP Manager thing has a bit of a learning curve - you can't just sit down and start plugging away on this.

CONTROLS: The joystick kind of threw me when I first saw it. My first reaction was 'can't stuff get in that hole?' but after using it to play some PCE games, I was floored. Excellent digital input control. I can play Aero Fighters better on this than I can on my Turbo Express.

SCREEN: The new BLU screen doesn't stack up great. It's rather dim and 'warm' tinged compared to other BLU or even FLU game systems and is absolutely no comparison to PalmOS and PocketPC LCDs. I kept trying to find the Brightness control! I never saw an FLU GP32, but this just isn't as impressive as I was hoping. One positive aspect, however, is the color, which is pretty good - although 'warm' (a white screen looks slightly 'off white' instead of bluish or pure white as you see on most handhelds). By comparison, the Zodiac has a 'cooler' display that's much brighter with truer, but less saturated, color. Speaking of Zodiac v. GP32, the size difference is not that severe between the two - The Zodiac screen is a little bigger, but they're quite close. Both are quite a bit larger than the GBA.

ORIGINAL GAMES: Haven't tried any yet.

EMULATION: So far, the Genesis and PCE emus perform quite well, on a par with the Zodiac counterparts (and that's me, as a developer, with the DAA, able to play the very latest LJZ multi-emu on the Zodiac). One thing about the GP32 launcher and setup, everything is more direct once you get the hang of it. Copy the files to the SMC, plug it in, the games are right there, play. It seems more work to do the same thing on a Zodiac. And of course, there are more free emulators for more platforms on GP32.


For now, both new toys are getting equal attention! ;)
 
Pixelator,

That is a fair analysis of the system as far as I am concerned. I remember the registration process been a bit of a pain too.

I am most interested in your comments on the Zodiac as I am tempted with one myself, but I am not sure because of the licence thing for non developers. Would you buy another one if it got damaged? (because I would with the gamepark)
 
Thats pretty strange that it came with the korean firmware, whats the story on that? All GP32BLU's should have the euro firmware...

-Craig

www.gbax.com
 
CONTROLS: The joystick kind of threw me when I first saw it. My first reaction was 'can't stuff get in that hole?' but after using it to play some PCE games, I was floored. Excellent digital input control. I can play Aero Fighters better on this than I can on my Turbo Express.
lol i know what u mean, got a piece of biscuit (hobnob, if ur interested) caught in there once, took me hours to remove it
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Are you sure you didn't receive a FLU? If there is a switch on the back of the GP32 which turns on the light, it's a FLU.
 
I don't think he got a FLU by mistake. He is an Artist and I think he knows quite well what kind of display he has. Plus he mentions the FLU as well.

I got the same impression of the BLU when I actually played on one. The black level on the BLU is not terrible but not quite as good as I would expect. Also the brightness is not super bright. This was most likely done to get decent battery life because if it was bright as Zodiac and PPC it would have terrible battery life. Since the GP32 was meant to work with ordinary batteries and not a LiIon pak like a PDA I think it is an acceptable trade off.

With that said it still is a very sharp display with adequate brightness and is still much nicer than the FLU not only because of the better contrast/saturation but also because you don't get that bright border and dust problem of the FLU.

Another thing that I noticed is more of a software "problem". When playing on little john I noticed that the game background is grey and not black(try Galaga). The border (at 1:1) around the emu part IS black meaning that for some reason the author has chosen to bump up color 0 to a dark grey pludge instead. This causes games to be more washed out than they should be. Maybe this was done originally to compensate for a non-flu? Yes I played with the gamma but it had no effect on the black level. I think doom has this same problem. This would be a simple fix that would only involve changing the color registers value in the code. The TG-16 emu doesn't have this problem, it looks great.
 
.... As for internals, the whole registration/installation/PC-Link/GP Manager thing has a bit of a learning curve - you can't just sit down and start plugging away on this....
Not sure why you needed to mess with registering. When I got mine I just put in batteries, put in an SMC from my non-lit GP32 and started playing. I didn't register anything.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I registered because that's what the included CD manual told me to do, and what the FAQs say to do. I ran PC-Link, signed on, etc. You ever get something and try to do everything the instructions say so you don't mess it up? That's what I did. As for the firmware, I assume it's Korean because when I try to run the launcher app, I get a popup menu in Korean. Perhaps I'm mistaken?

I did not receive a FLU - the screen is simply not that bright. As Dave points out, it is indeed probably a tradeoff so that normal Alkalines can be used. I agree that it's a worthy trade, as the screen isn't BAD, it's just a bit dim compared to a Zodiac, PPC, or PalmOS (with transflective displays).

Enslaved: If I was lying, would I go to the trouble of asking all the questions I have - and then posting this big review, just to lie about having a BLU model (which is no longer exactly unique)? Maybe you think that way, but I don't. Always be sure BRAIN is in gear before engaging MOUTH -- or in this case, fingers.
 
I registered because that's what the included CD manual told me to do, and what the FAQs say to do. I ran PC-Link, signed on, etc. You ever get something and try to do everything the instructions say so you don't mess it up? That's what I did. As for the firmware, I assume it's Korean because when I try to run the launcher app, I get a popup menu in Korean. Perhaps I'm mistaken?

I did not receive a FLU - the screen is simply not that bright. As Dave points out, it is indeed probably a tradeoff so that normal Alkalines can be used. I agree that it's a worthy trade, as the screen isn't BAD, it's just a bit dim compared to a Zodiac, PPC, or PalmOS (with transflective displays).

Enslaved: If I was lying, would I go to the trouble of asking all the questions I have - and then posting this big review, just to lie about having a BLU model (which is no longer exactly unique)? Maybe you think that way, but I don't. Always be sure BRAIN is in gear before engaging MOUTH -- or in this case, fingers.
The firmware thing still has me confused. When you turn on the system you should be confronted with "play" and "PC link" on the right with a bouncing ball on the left. When you press "a" you should go to the Euro launcher in which all of your program icons come up. I have never seen any Korean there.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
That's very VERY strange. I have a BLU and it came with the Euro firmware, no Korean menus like in my FLU.

Very strange... :ph34r:
 
The Korean only pops up in the Free Launcher (when I try to run something, it spits out Korean).

(?)
 
When you first turn on the gp32_console , are you presented with a screen that has "Play" and "PC Link" along with a bouncing GP32 ball ?

Waitaminnit ... Freelauncher? You don't need freelauncher with the new Euro firmware, I believe ... curiouser and curiouser ....
 
Back
Top