32MB upgrade - N64 on GP, are you NUTS?

[ralp99]

kudos to the people doing these ram upgrade experiments. I have not read the indepth stuff yet but I get the gist. That's really cool that they could pull that off.

BUT -- what's with all this "we can get N64 emulation on GP32" business, and the like? I mean come on, how much $$ is this all going to cost first and foremost, and more so you're going to have interface issues the likes of which make squeezing all the SNES button functionality in there look like nothing. Seriously, even if the N64 could be properly emulated on this setup then you wouldn't have proper buttons to play it anyway!! "Just solder some on.."

I just want to make a point. It's cool to see people cracking open their machines and seeing what they can get away with, just cause they can. It's an interesting tech demo. But I don't like when the attitude shifts in such a way that "this will replace the off-the-shelf version of the GP32" - an already impressive machine with much yet-untapped potential.

Look at the GP32 compared to GBA, and then Zodiac compared to GP32. Do you see where it's going, in a few years we'll have a handheld that can affordably emulate any system a current decent PC can emulate (N64, NeoGeo arcade, PSX, etc) - instead of trying to Frankenstein the GP32 into some monstrous-hack system that doesn't do what it was originally designed to do (and ignoring it's innate potential), we should appreciate what we've got and be excited about things as they've been going along in the "normal" way - not trying to convince all the dev's to spend that much more time writing different versions of emu's that support all these different hacked-up versions of the hardware + BIOS.

Better, affordable handhelds will be available soon enough (with enough RAM, CPU MHz + interface buttons). Don't even worry about that. Appreciate the GP32 for what it can already do and what the developers have been pushing it towards. And again, this is not intended to be any kind of a slam towards robster/spiv/etc, I am utterly amazed they could pull this off as it is and like I said "impressive tech demo" -- hell THEY should develop a system, I'd buy it!!

ok, enough outta me.

 

[papapopalung]

i quite agree.

EDIT: i'd still like to see a little keyboard thingy come out for GP32...

 

[Deathbringer]

i think it wud be quite good in the sense that N64 games will be playable whenver wherever, but obviously the emulator itself is impossible to run alone, itll need some sort of external hardware like a enlarger screen that folds onto the GP32, and/or a sort of control pad

 

[shah]

Great rant.

What pisses me off is when people start saying will ps1 be emulated and so forth... and then there is the GBA fansubs wanting a GBA emulator... i mean appreciate the limitatioons of the little thing..!

 

[Deathbringer]

agree with shah there, its the best handheld around but its still a handheld

 

[unlucky]

a keyboard is the only thing i really want now for the gp32 i'm not bothered about gba i would just like a well finished mame, snes + genesis + a ms word compatible word processor would be great if a keyboard could be released

 

[Twimfy]

I disagree with most of you. Due to it's failed commercial future, the GP32 has to remain as a coders paradise in order to survive at all. Pushing the limits of the machine has been part of the fun and carrying on doing so but with the external hardware is going to be the next step in the GP32's evolutionary stage. It's almost a credit to Gamepark (with credit going to the modders as well) that they've made a machine which can accept such modification (probably due to shoddy workmanship) and as long as it remains portable and few of these 'changes' can be viewed or felt on the outside of the case, it still stands as an impressive portable gaming device.

This Mod is what's needed to secure the GP32's future, even if people never use it, it's another wake up call that the community needs to get up off its arse and do something now that they're fully aware that people are still bothering.

 

[papapopalung]

but if we take the internal modding thing a bit further (like 64meg ram and a cpu upgrade) then the already short battery life will go straight down the toilet. i can understand that poeple want better emulation on GP32 and that it would require more ram/ faster processor (i.e. SNES would be pretty much perfect on a 400mhz processor, and neogeo needs more ram)...

but i'd like to see GP32 deliver on what it's already promised... and that is - mobile phone/internet stuff, flash and java. (and a free movie player)

i knew that it had 8mb ram and 133mhz processor when i bought it. if i'd wanted more i would've got a pda

bravo to rob for the memory upgrade but there are quite a few things i would like to do before i would even think about taking the little critter to bits, soldering in a new chip and connecting little wires to my cpu! ralp99 is right - an impressive tech demo.

for all of you that want more RAM, more buttons and a better processor BUY A FRIGGING ZODIAC!

 

[Twimfy]

We could create a battery mod...convert to Li-on or something. Anyhoo why buy a Zodiac when upgrading what we already have won't cost too much. We upgrade our PC's (sometimes for the purpose of emulation) so why not do the same with our handheld. If people give up and move onto the Zodiac, then the community has to be rebuilt and those who don't move on are going to be left in a stale hole. You also wonder if those magnificent coders who do all the work can be bothered to go through the whole hassle of recreating/porting all of their old emu's etc. Especially seeing as they're going to have to go through the whole being bombarded with beta request stages again.

I suppose all of this will have to happen for the Zodiac anyway, but let's hope that this communtiy doesn't suffer as a consequence.

 

[Ruune]

I also disagree thoroughly. Your rant about how were "nuts"? was that the word? I think it was... anyway, people will do whatever they want to thier console. And about *asking* for GBA or N64, people can ask whatever they want. It may be unappriciated, but this forum revolves around the american right to free speech. I dont know what country your in right now, but all i can say is i feel sorry for the person who slams newbies for hopefully asking questions about thier favorite console being emu'd or homebrew games they'd like. Everyone was or is a newbie once, including you.

 

[papapopalung]

who was slamming newbies? geez what a discussion-stopper...

 

[Axeman]

Lets start it up again then...!

and keep it civilized!

Anyways - if people want to do the stuff ebing described, then let them get on without it....

Where would we be without innovation eh? Keep it up, and report all back

 

[declaration]

Its great that we can upgrade our consoles. If you want your PC to do extra things, you upgrade it and nobody gets mad at you, so why shouldnt we upgrade our consoles. Maybe we don't want to buy a Zodiac. I love my Gp32 and being able to make it even better would be amazing.
It is arguable that a 64mb 400mhz Gp32 is even better than a Zodiac, where it costs a straight $100 for an extra 96mb of RAM.
This sort of thing will help to keep the community alive. We shouldnt just accept what Gamepark give us. After all why would we??

 

[papapopalung]

i've just noticed i've become 'gp32 hardcore' so maybe i should get stuck in with a soldering iron

is a 400Mhz gp32 possible?

maybe someone should look into some sort of battery-pack mod hehehe

 

[pip]

Why would a 400Mhz ARM processor drain more battery if it runs at the same Volt? Compare it to the processors of the laptops, the newer ones actually require less energy than the older ones, even though they are faster. > Mhz != > Energy.

 

[declaration]

that is probably a genuine possibility... A new battery pack system would make everything else mentioned seem much more possible.....

 

[Azure]

i agree

 

[Shaking Spirit]

Is it just me, or is it funny that a thread mocking upgrading the GP32 contains two great upgrade ideas?

Just me? OK, i'll shut up now

 

[declaration]

Is it just me, or is it funny that a thread mocking upgrading the GP32 contains two great upgrade ideas?

Just me? OK, i'll shut up now

That's the beauty of this console and this community..... Thats why it will hepefully live long and people will not get bored of it and jump on the bandwagon for every new system which throws a few extra mhz around...

 

[Shaking Spirit]

Yeah, I mean, my idea of an upgrade of my GBA was to stick a new cover on,not to end un de-soldering the mainboard and adding a new RAM chip! My GBA is mine, but I really feel that my GP32 is MINE.
And it is our hopeless attatchment to the GP32 that will keep this community together. Each of us has put a lot of hard work into our GPs (be it upgrading, fixing, or even just getting the damn thing working), and it is this that will keep us with 'em for life.