Brandon9271 posted on Jul 12 2006 at 05:50 PM said:
I thought Bacteria said most emus and homebrew would work without the extra circuitry? If the circuit isnt too expensive then I'd get one. will there be an option for a circuit without the Dpad? If so, then I might go ahead and mod my GP2x with a Gamecube pad and add the circuit later.. heck, I'm an adventurous DIYer I would probably attempt making my own circuit with Perf board if Radek decided to sell just the chip..
Yes,
most. All the emulators work fine without this "extra circuitry", with the exception of Gngeo, which doesn't seem to work diagonals by triggering two of the up/down/left/right directions at the same time. It clearly is looking for a true diagonal. This means that games on NeoGeo which don't rely on diagonals (Puzzle Du Pon, Puzzle Bubble, Turf Masters, Pop'N'Pop, NeoDriftout, NeoBomberman, etc) work perfectly (of course as they don't use diagonals). Action games which use diagonals vary in playability - Metal Slug works fine because if you shoot up and then right (for example) the guy shoots up, a couple of times diagonally, then right - this is sufficient to play the game effectively; some games are playable (Ghostpilots for example) although you can't use diagonals, but faster shooters (Captain Tomaday, Pulstar) aren't very playable as movement is too restricted; and fighting games won't be (combos). When MAME on the GP2x incorporates more NeoGeo games this may not be an issue - Metal Slug on the MAME port works very well. I have only recently been able to play Gngeo as I couldn't get it working properly before.
Interestingly enough, I think the only homebrew title which has an issue is Whack the rat (or whatever it was called - I didn't fancy playing it anyway). All the other homebrew works perfectly, especially Vektar, Wolfenstein, Tilematch, etc.
To conclude, if you are happy playing over 95% of everything available on the GP2x you only need to make your own D-pad (as I did), or buy a commercial one and mod it internally/externally on the GP2x. If you simply
must play Whack the rat, King of Fighters, Pulstar, etc (not very many titles really), then you really
need to buy Radek's circuitry mod - and whatever D-pad design sold with it. Simple choice really. Personally I won't bother as I don't play fighting games and the couple of games I would play with the advantage of the "extra circuitry" would not be worth the time and cost in persuing - there are literally thousands of quality games which don't need it after all - and many are real classics. Personal choice is this "extra circuitry", but changing your joystick to a D-pad is compulsary for gaming enjoyment. If GPH change their policy and incorporate a D-pad, they will surely double their sales.
I like the input from Tshroom's post (post 8) with the links. Personally I like the control on the Nintendo DS (I have one of these too). The DS D-pad is very flat, and it clicks nicely when you press the buttons. It is also responsive, with the usual Nintendo seal of quality.
If I were DaveC I would consider making three options for people to choose from : 1) economy - the QD pad/similar as discussed in depth, 2) traditional upmarket - the DS D-pad (this costs about $8 more to buy, so this would of course be reflected in the final product) - but could potentially be externally mounted on the GP2x as the DS D-pad is thin, so could potentially remove the need to hack at the GP2x so much, which will be a favourite option for many buyers, and 3) buttons - similar to the PSP or alternatively the same as the A,Y,B,X buttons on the GP2x. Three nice options for people to choose - does this sound a good idea?
Radek - one suggestion I would make - patent your design - send an application to the Patent Office. You could then offer to sell the design/units to GPH for them to include in their future GP2x designs...otherwise they might decide to copy your design and patent it themselves ...
)
