F200 + Cradle Issues

[Torokun]

Hello everyone!

GP2X noob here.

I just got my GP2X and the Cradle. Mainly for MSX platform emulation since it's virtually impossible to get a good MSX hardware these days. (those ebay items are ridiculously priced...)

I don't know anything about emulation scene. So it hasn't been the easiest experience trying to get used to using GP2X... Also it sounds like the firmware 4.0 that comes with F200 doesn't sound like it's very flexible or complete. Things like flipping through photos or clicking through options for music and movies haven't been the smooth experience. Lots of lag and issues like that... Is this a common thing?

Anyways, I wanted to get some answers about the major problems I am having with this wonderful little device.

1. I also got Logitech's Dual Action USB controller. But, it doesn't seem like it's working when I plug it in. I went to the Settting and turned on USB host as well as the power switch on the controller. But, it simply does not work. From some of the Youtube videos I've seen, it seems like F100 automatically recognizes the controller if you plug in the controller to USB port. Anyone experiencing the same with their F200?

2. In the manual, it says you can turn the LCD screen off. But, I can't figure out how that works. According to the manual, all you have to do is press "Select"+"L". But all it does is rewind to the previous track.
EDIT: Found out from a Korean forum that you have to press "A + L"in order to turn the screen off and on. I hope it helps.

I am sure I will run into bunch of weird things here and there. But, I would love to get some answers on these two issues first.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Klepto]

My F200 arrived this morning. I had an F100 since it was released (just about) but it recently died after lots of heavy use. The firmware on the F200 is terrible. The auto-creation of directories on the SD card is a really stupid idea, amongst other things it made payback stop working until I figured out it was a copy-protection problem and gave it an autorun.gpu. A lot of the options in settings have disappeared, and the new menu is could be a case study in the triumph of eye-candy over usability. A lot of functionality has been removed compared to 2.1.1 I was running on my F100.

I'm seriously considering installing some other firmware it's so bad. Even if I lose touchscreen support it would be worth it. GPH have given us a lovely little console, but in some ways they seem like complete idiots. Hardware-wise I'm happy with the F200 though, the new d-pad is really nice and the build quality seems a bit better than my dead mk-1 F100.

 

[Torokun]

My F200 arrived this morning. I had an F100 since it was released (just about) but it recently died after lots of heavy use. The firmware on the F200 is terrible. The auto-creation of directories on the SD card is a really stupid idea, amongst other things it made payback stop working until I figured out it was a copy-protection problem and gave it an autorun.gpu. A lot of the options in settings have disappeared, and the new menu is could be a case study in the triumph of eye-candy over usability. A lot of functionality has been removed compared to 2.1.1 I was running on my F100.

I'm seriously considering installing some other firmware it's so bad. Even if I lose touchscreen support it would be worth it. GPH have given us a lovely little console, but in some ways they seem like complete idiots. Hardware-wise I'm happy with the F200 though, the new d-pad is really nice and the build quality seems a bit better than my dead mk-1 F100.

Yeah, I care less about the touch screen feature at this point as well. Unless there will be games that can take advantage of the that feature, I don't care for it.

UI Design is something that is seriously needed in the game development community in general. Surprisingly it is over looked... Even more so when you are desgining a hardware and OS/firmware that goes with it. It is clear GPH is a bit weak on this area.

How safe is it to downgrade the firmware? Isn't that going to brick my F200? Are people already doing that?

 

[Klepto]

How safe is it to downgrade the firmware? Isn't that going to brick my F200? Are people already doing that?

TBH I'll leave it until I see a thread saying it's safe, mostly I just use my GP2X for obscure coding on the bare metal so all I need to do is: copy gpu to GP2X, connect with serial cable, run it, power cycle, repeat. Even this is made harder by the new firmware as it's now easier to physically move the SD card from my PC to GP2X than mess about with the USB cable.

Roll on the Craiginator!

 

[Torokun]

How safe is it to downgrade the firmware? Isn't that going to brick my F200? Are people already doing that?

TBH I'll leave it until I see a thread saying it's safe, mostly I just use my GP2X for obscure coding on the bare metal so all I need to do is: copy gpu to GP2X, connect with serial cable, run it, power cycle, repeat. Even this is made harder by the new firmware as it's now easier to physically move the SD card from my PC to GP2X than mess about with the USB cable.

Roll on the Craiginator!



This does not answer my initial question though...

Anyone having trouble having thier USB controller work with your F200+Cradle set up?

 

[simonb]

Anyone having trouble having thier USB controller work with your F200+Cradle set up?

Yeah, I've had some weird issues. Picodrive seems to be the safest thing to load up and test if your joypad is detected. PocketSNES goes "a bit mental" sometimes, and MameGP2X also sometimes fails to boot... I'm trying to work out the sequence of events needed to get it to work... off the top of my head, think I'm loading picodrive, load rom, play game, exit, load pocket snes, load rom, play game, load mame, profit...

 

[Torokun]

Yeah, I've had some weird issues. Picodrive seems to be the safest thing to load up and test if your joypad is detected. PocketSNES goes "a bit mental" sometimes, and MameGP2X also sometimes fails to boot... I'm trying to work out the sequence of events needed to get it to work... off the top of my head, think I'm loading picodrive, load rom, play game, exit, load pocket snes, load rom, play game, load mame, profit...

When I hooked up the cradle to my TV as well as an USB controller, it worked once. I haven't tried it again yet.

Also, I got mine mostly for MSX emulation... I hope this issue will be dealt with on next Firmware upgrade...

 

[Torokun]

Alright guys...

Is the F200 USB joystick connection issue something that is common or am I the only one having this issue?

In the F100 and firware 3.0 and below, does USB joystick work with freewares like Cavestory?

I am really at my wits end and any help would be appreciated.

 

[woogal]

USB joysticks only work with software that supports them, which isn't much.

 

[Torokun]

USB joysticks only work with software that supports them, which isn't much.

I'm talking about even at the firmware level.

When I turn on the USB Host setting to "on" along with switch for my joystick, the green light turns on on the Cradle.

There were like 2 times where the joystick was working. But, I have no idea how that even happened. Most of other times, it doesn't work.

So there is not programs like "USB Overdrive" for Mac that can use USB joysticks from the OS/firmware level eh?


Well... who am I kidding...? If the firmware doesn't even support the joystick, why would it work in the game?

I feel very cheated and regret getting the cradle at all. A lot of features in GP2X is very gimicky... The novelty is wearing out very fast...

If anyone has more info, please let me know...