Gamescom, sensor upgrade and other nice news

[EvilDragon]

Gamescom will start Wednesday, and we have a booth with some nice stuff there.

We will also have six Pyra prototypes with us, two without the rotator chip, as it looks like we can show them working using the TILER function instead of the rotator chip as well!

Here are four of them (yeah, we didn't clean the LCDs yet, and the cases are not yet the final ones, therefore the gaps )



So, here is what happened lately...

1. New keymat and updated backlight

The new keymat samples have arrived a while ago - and boy, they're great!
The keys feel fantastic, the rounded edges really make a difference, typing is very comfortable now.

The DPad and ABXY Buttons aren't as good as before though, but that's a simple fix:
No color on the DPad and the walls of the buttons, as the paint makes them slightly stiff.
Also, moving the carbon pads of the DPad ans buttons up 0.1mm again should make things perfect.
Here's a picture of them:



So yay, we're pretty much finished here.

We also rearranged the keyboard backlight-LEDs on the mainboard, now having a perfectly even light.
Here is a picture of that made in the dark:



2. Sensor upgrade

The Pyra just received a sensor upgrade!
Instead of the planned BMG160 (3 axis rotation) and BMC150 (6 axis accellerator and magnetic field) sensors, we will now use the BNO055, which has all of these and a bit more
(https://www.bosch-sensortec.com/bst/products/all_products/bno055).

This one has been discussed and requested at a thread on the boards, so I hope you'll all be happy about that.



3. TILER rotation almost ready!

zmatt has continued to baffle me and now got TILER rotation working as framebuffer - with rotation set up as default in the kernel.
So we should have some Pyras using TILER working next week (yes, we'll have them with us at GamesCom).

It still needs to be cleaned up a bit and thoroughly tested, but yay!

This actually is a huge step forward.
Right now, as the SSD driver is not working correctly, I only ran Nikolaus' testing OS on the Pyra.
With a working TILER, I can now also run the normal PyraOS - and games!

So once I get back from GamesCom, expect a couple of videos!


4. Gamescom

As mentioned, we're having a booth at the Gamescom.
In hall 10.2, Retro area, right beneath the Arcade machines (same spot as last year, in case you've visited us).

You're all very welcome to visit us, play around with the Pyra or GPD Win prototype or try out other stuff from the shop (new Retro games, McWills GameGear LCD Mod, the MIST, etc.)
And, of course, have a chat with me or grab a free coffee!

Here's a small teaser of what you can test:



Hope to meet some of you there!


5. After the Gamescom...

Those six prototypes will go to devs to finalize the software and test the hardware.
Another (7th) one has the 4GB RAM on which needs to be enabled in the bootloader, so it will go to another dev.

Middle of September, there'll be another prototype run with all the changes we did, hopefully leading to final or almost final units.
Those will go to the Prototype Preorders. And after some test period is over and all remaining bugs have been squashed, it's time to mass produce.
As we already ordered the parts, there won't be any more leadtime for those.

The cases still need a few tweaks, but those will also be done in September (I hope).

See you soon!

 

[canseco]

Very good news!!

It would be great to see how well UAE4ARM or VICE x64sc (x64 is a bit deprecated) or xscpu64 perform compared to OpenPandora or other devices.

Keep up the good work.

 

[Silent-Hunter]

Hopefully October is a good estimate of when these will be coming out! I'm very excited to get mine!

 

[drock]

That's awesome about the TILER working. I love simplifying systems and making them more efficient.

 

[Linux-SWAT]

That's a lot of good news !

 

[Christoph.Krn]

The DPad and ABXY Buttons aren't as good as before though, but that's a simple fix:
No color on the DPad and the walls of the buttons, as the paint makes them slightly stiff.
Also, moving the carbon pads of the DPad ans buttons up 0.1mm again should make things perfect.

I've been wondering a few times already, have you ever consulted with DaveC about the D-Pad during the development of the Pyra, or how did you go about making it?

 

[EvilDragon]

I've been wondering a few times already, have you ever consulted with DaveC about the D-Pad during the development of the Pyra, or how did you go about making it?

We basically copied the one from the Pandora

 

[Klumpen]

Seeing them side by side in reality now makes it even more obvious how much of a ripoff of the OpenPandora's/Pyra's design the GPD WIN actually is. ^^

 

[AVahne]

The Win looks gigantic compared to the Pyra! Though, they kinda look like sisters in a way (or cousins) sitting next to each other like that. Seriously can't wait for both.

 

[Dregoth]

Love the pic of the sister consoles.

Kudos to zmatt as well, what a key player he's been in optimizing the Pyra's design!

This is making the wait so much harder...

 

[fusion_power]

Nice update, not sure how handy that sensor will be in practise on such an device but playing games like Oxyd! with motion control seems to be a nice idea.

Seeing them side by side in reality now makes it even more obvious how much of a ripoff of the OpenPandora's/Pyra's design the GPD WIN actually is. ^^

But to be honest, on that picture the GPD Win looks better. And it's also still a prototype. Those greek company really should go into fifth gear to get the case right. They are thinkering much to long on that imho.

 

[Silent-Hunter]

Am I weird for actually liking the way the prototype Pyra case looks?

 

[rygD]

Am I weird for actually liking the way the prototype Pyra case looks?

I have preferred it since I saw the curvy plans for the Win. For the average consumer or those that like the way modern devices look it makes sense for the Win to "look better". To me the Win, and many other modern electronics, look ugly, but that comes down to personal preference, and has little impact on performance and use (more rounded corners might help those that are injured by the corners on the Pandora).

What I am looking forward to is hands on comparisons and reviews on typing with each. Since the gaming controls on the Pyra are still going to be tweaked we will have to wait to find out how that will feel, but ED is doing good by trying to find the optimal feel for gaming and typing individually. Maybe mass production can start in Two Months...

 

[Silent-Hunter]

I more meant the imperfections in the plastic. :

 

[Klumpen]

I more meant the imperfections in the plastic. :

Sounds like you like a nice gap.

 

[Silent-Hunter]

Sounds like you like a nice gap.

No not the gap, I meant the sort of swirly imperfections around the DPAD and such.

 

[D32_bobjob]

No not the gap, I meant the sort of swirly imperfections around the DPAD and such.

You are not alone ;-). I like this kind of inperfection a lot, too. It gives the pyra character.

 

[TeDaDeS]

ED: will you be at the booth on Wednesday, I know others visit other booths also as it is the first day. I guess someone needs to setup and guard the booth, likely you.

And the curvy lines in the plastic were from the fist moulds, they wouldn't do this anymore. The GPD looks nice, but the Pyra looks practical. I think the Pyra will be useful for typing, not just available but unused. (The Pyra also looks nice, the GPD win at first glance looks clean, but that's not usefull at all. Keyboard is messy and small)

 

[Xcl4m4t10n]

 

[Cis]

Thx for the News. I count the days till we can hold this great piece of hardware in our hands. I am happy to visit u at GC this year... and maybe test a prototype for a few moments.