A Few Questions Before I Order My Gp2x

[trickytree]

Hi, I'm looking to buy a GP2X in the next month or so, but I need to confirm a few nagging doubts first. I'd appreciate if anyone could help with the following, thanks.

1. The main draw for me is Dr. MDx - could anyone summarise the speed of the emulator? Can it reach 60fps with no frameskip at 200mhz? Can it play the following games?

Cannon Fodder
EA Hockey (the original)
Chaos Engine/Soldiers of Fortune
Gleylancer

Also is a new version planned or has the author moved on to other things?

2. The joystick - is the problem with hitting diagonals too often still there? With DaveC's new cap fitted, is it comparable to a decent d-pad, or just better than the stock cap? Are games as controllable as on the original system, or are you constantly aware of the limitations?

3. I hear the screen is interlaced - is this true, and why? Will it be fixed?

4. HH mode - has this happened, or is it still planned?

Think that's about it, if I think of anything else I'll add it. Thanks in advance!

 

[Jester]

DrMDx is pretty much perfect, every game i have thrown at it has worked almost flawlessly at 200mhz the only problem i have found is the problem with the water not looking right in sonic 2 but apparently Reesey is working on that and should be corrected in the next version.

I know for a fact Gley lancer, Cannon Fodder, and Chaos Engine work fine as i have played these on this emu myself.

I believe Reesey is still working on the emu don't quote me on that though, could somebody confirm this one way or another?

As far as the joystick is concerned i simply bought a DaveC cap the same time i bought my 2X and have never had a problem with the stick (that's right i never had to endure the standard cap)

The screen with 1.4 firmware is brilliant for me once you have tweaked it with the in built LCD tweaker, i watch movies all the time on my 2X and the screen looks great.

 

[trickytree]

Thanks Jester, consider me convinced

I was trying to establish whether Dr MDx was just good enough in a 'novel to see Genesis on the GP2X' way, or whether it really was accurate, fast and controllable enough to be fully playable on most games. It sounds firmly like the latter, yes?

Anyone know about HH? I remember everyone getting excited about it a while back, then when I come back to the forums there's no mention of it :huh: Did it die a death? Was there a problem with implementing it?

 

[Jester]

Thanks Jester, consider me convinced

I was trying to establish whether Dr MDx was just good enough in a 'novel to see Genesis on the GP2X' way, or whether it really was accurate, fast and controllable enough to be fully playable on most games. It sounds firmly like the latter, yes?

Anyone know about HH? I remember everyone getting excited about it a while back, then when I come back to the forums there's no mention of it :huh: Did it die a death? Was there a problem with implementing it?

​

No problem.

Yes it is indeed the latter as i said the only error i have found is the water issue in sonic, everything i have tried on it has been fine and i have played some absolute classics from my childhood on this emu all the way through, hours of fun i tell you!!

This may make me sound like an idiot but what do you mean by HH?

 

[Shikaku]

HH=Hardcore Homebrew: the alternate way to run software on the GP2X, no use of Linux, bootstrap, and it will probably be later the alternate OS.

It is said it will be better than GPH's once it is done.

 

[moz]

dont get hung up on 200mhz, if i remember correctly the default for the cpu is 266 but its under clocked, then again i havent had to crank it up for Dr.MDx

which reminds me i need to dontate

 

[Talyz]

HH is supposed to be like a replacement for GPH Linux. It's not an operating system (I believe); it's more like the GP32's firmware.

EDIT: Shikaku (sorta) beat me to it :rolleyes:

 

[racoon]

As said previously...
DrMD is flawless...

The Joystick, it's not optimal, thats for sure, but I think it's OK, and DaveC's is appearantly much better.

I never had an interlaced screen, not on 1.01, not on 1.40 (cramfs).

I guess the devs will first fix the linux part and clean things up, this will already be a huge imporvement (for example accessing the upper 32mb ram)... and later focus on HH. (my guess)

 

[trickytree]

Thanks for the replies everyone, this seems a friendly board

I guess HH is still in progress, just quietly... looking forward to it.

Right, off to order my GP2X

 

[my_name]

What does the output look like on a relatively clear television compared to game systems?

I'm most interested in playing NES games with it, and I'm wondering if there are borders or anything when outputted to a television (since the NES resolution is less than the resolution of the GP2X screen).

And what is the general output like to the television?

 

[vaustein]

Has anyone tried Populous, Powermonger, or some other Sega Genesis game that emulates a mouse control in software? Any thoughts on the responsiveness of the GP2X controller? Did the Populous cursor move too fast/too slow/just right?

 

[virusx]

Hey trickytree
I play a lot with cannon fodder on DrMDx, flawless, and the original cap is nice for this type of game. But that's my opinion.
Chaos engine is running well too. I played this a lot.
There's minor problems in DrMDx that could be fixed but it's one of the most accomplished emu on Gp2x. I mean, it's impressive !
The joystick problem happen (for me) in different types of game :
The old 4 ways games (pac man for exemple) are the hardest to play with this joystick.
For the 2D fighting games, there's some problems but after playing a while with it, I begin to be more accurate.
For the screen, as Jester just says, with the tweak it's near perfect.

 

[deadlychicken22]

What does the output look like on a relatively clear television compared to game systems?

I'm most interested in playing NES games with it, and I'm wondering if there are borders or anything when outputted to a television (since the NES resolution is less than the resolution of the GP2X screen).

And what is the general output like to the television?

​

Believe it or not, the current NES emulators aren't all that good..... I'm sure they will be better in the future, but I would definitely NOT buy the gp2x for its current NES emulators, if you want good NES emulators get a gp32 (which also has a lot of other good stuff). About tv-out, i don't have the cables yet (sounds too confusing to me, i just want to by one cable and be done with it) so I don't know.

 

[PiratSS]

What does the output look like on a relatively clear television compared to game systems?

I'm most interested in playing NES games with it, and I'm wondering if there are borders or anything when outputted to a television (since the NES resolution is less than the resolution of the GP2X screen).

And what is the general output like to the television?

​

Believe it or not, the current NES emulators aren't all that good..... I'm sure they will be better in the future, but I would definitely NOT buy the gp2x for its current NES emulators, if you want good NES emulators get a gp32 (which also has a lot of other good stuff). About tv-out, i don't have the cables yet (sounds too confusing to me, i just want to by one cable and be done with it) so I don't know.

​

fishynes is awesome. It's coming along very fast and should be at full speed soon.

 

[DaveC]

1. The main draw for me is Dr. MDx - could anyone summarise the speed of the emulator? Can it reach 60fps with no frameskip at 200mhz? Can it play the following games?

Cannon Fodder
EA Hockey (the original)
Chaos Engine/Soldiers of Fortune
Gleylancer

Also is a new version planned or has the author moved on to other things?

2. The joystick - is the problem with hitting diagonals too often still there? With DaveC's new cap fitted, is it comparable to a decent d-pad, or just better than the stock cap? Are games as controllable as on the original system, or are you constantly aware of the limitations?

3. I hear the screen is interlaced - is this true, and why? Will it be fixed?

4. HH mode - has this happened, or is it still planned?

Think that's about it, if I think of anything else I'll add it. Thanks in advance!

​

DrMD is fantastic. Very playable. It isn't a full 60 FPS but not far from it and it is very smooth.

The stick cap is much better than the original but it IS still a stick. It isn't a d-pad but still plays well.

The "interlace" isn't that bad. It is not like an old TV that flickered wildly. It is more of a subtle effect. If you move the unit up and down fast you will notice it a little, but who plays while moving the unit up and down? Most of the time you don't notice it. Hopefully some FW tweaks will eliminate all together.

Don't forget NeoGeo Arcade system. It also runs great. It is amazing to see this thing running games that were once on a HUGE expensive $250.00 cartridge.

Don't worry about NES. If it isn't so hot yet it will be. It ran near full speed on the GP32 and the GP2X is faster so it will come eventually.

 

[trickytree]

Thanks for all of your replies, you'll be pleased to know that:-

Gp2x is now ordered from gp2x.co.uk, and joystick caps on order from DaveC!

 

[Epicenter]

Heh, I was playing Gleylancer for 2 or 3 hours today on my '2x, with the defualt cap it was fully playable, though I do have one of DaveC's coming that will hopefully make it even easier to play. The stick is a pain but you get used to it. Most platformers work EXCELLENTLY with it, the only problem I have there is in Sonic 3/K's 3D special stages I can't flip it back and forth fast enough for the sharp turns, so I bind the L/R shoulder buttons to left/right when I enter one. A pain to switch, but it works. *shrug*

As for DrMD's performance, at 200 MHz most games will run at full speed with a frameskip of 1, with 22050hz audio enabled-- at 266 MHz, 0 frameskip, full speed and 22050hz audio runs at 100%. Hell, it spikes up to 62 FPS! It's a very snappy emulator indeed.

 

[Sonistar]

i have a *tiny problem when im playing side scrollers like sonic in that my finger slowly slides off the side after a while of holding in right, means i cant perfect my sonic 2 speed runs ^-^