Greetings From A Noob


martin_F

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Oct 4, 2005
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Hi all. Been lurking for about a month, and thought it was time to say hello.

Have had an interesting few weeks, that has ended up bringing me here.
Months ago (earlier this year, or was it late last year) I came across the GP32, and to be honest it blew me away. Everything I read told me I wanted one. However having a Sydney (Australia) mortgage, 3 kids, one income and a kiwi wife that demands we go to NZ atleast once a year to catch up with family, we don't have a lot of disposable income - the GP32 didn't happen. :(

But then 2 months ago, my nana in England died :eek:
(yes I am english, up north like. English dad, kiwi mum ... 3 aussie kids ... one interesting family, especially when the rugby is on).

Before I know it, I get a cheque from her will for what equates to about $AU600. Now, my nana would have wanted me to enjoy this money. The missus was happy for me to blow it on myself (bless her), so I start looking up the GP32 again, and discover ... the GP2X .... :D Well thats it sorted then, gotta get me one, except its not out yet.

So anyway, lots more reading, and I discover the PSP scene :blink:
It will also run emulators, aswell as playing those modern things (huge retro fan though, first machine was a vic-20, then apple II, Amiga 500, then a 486. Also big fan of the speccy and c64. Missed the whole console thing 'till the psx, but keen to get into the snes and genesis).

Anyway, then I discovered that you needed a 1.0-1.5 PSP to play homebrew, so the decision was made, GP2X 4ME !!!!

Since then I have discovered a few online places flogging off 1.5 PSP machines, and then they release the downgrader. Now I was undecided.

This money being a bit of a one off, I had to make the right decision (for me), so I have spent 2-3 weeks reading this forum and http://psp-news.dcemu.co.uk/, assessing, deciding.

I have been into many a shop in the last two weeks, playing on PSPs (they all seem to have ridge racer going on it - is that the only game or something !), but I never bought one, for some reason it just didn't happen. I did discover that it was a pretty cool machine though, the new games certainly look way cool on it. Didn't like the pad or the analog stick though, and hey, gfx alone do not make gameplay.

Tonight I finally made a decision.

* If I buy a PSP, the whole lot of the $$s will be gone (PSP $395, 1GB $200)

* Not sure I am overly excited by modern games - I spend more time coding up my vic-20 mini-game entry (http://www.ffd2.com/minigame/) or playing on or working on my mame cab, than I do on my xbox or PC.

* I will never watch a movie on a PSP ... bad enough watching a movie on the back telly (51cm) never mind a tiny tiny screen.

* I love the fact that I am likely to get the maximum use of screen real estate (while running emulators), on the GP2X's, thanks to its resolution (the piccies of some of the emulators on the PSP (especially the speccy) look terrible.

* Emulators are the #1 priority, everything else is an added bonus.

* The change from the $600 I will use as a start of fund for a WG D9200 monitor for my mame cab.

So gp2x it is. I guess I am probably too late to preorder for the first batch now, so will preorder anyway, and hope to get it by chrissy.

Furthermore, being a softie by profession, I am keen to develop for the thing aswell. And if no-one has ported a vic-20 emulator to the gp2x by xmas, then ... well I shall just have to start work on it myself !

So, apols this has been a long email. I tend to ramble a bit.

Cheers for now.

Martin
 
Hello and welcome out of lurker mode :)

Good decision on the GP2X. I doubt you'll regret it. If you like homebrew and are huge retrofan it's definately the handheld for you.

I'm a big retrofan myself, having owned a Mark pong console (SD-050 clone), Vectrec, Colecovision, C64 and Amiga. The PSP doesn't appeal to me because the homebrew scene will never be free as long as Sony keeps fighting it.

You also have to consider the cost of buying games. The PSP games are very expensive. In Sweden, where I live, it's $65-70 a game! I refuse to pay that much for handheld games. And just like you I'm not "overly excited" about playing modern games either. It rarely happens unless I find something that I really like.

Instead I prefer "old school games". GFX alone definately does not make good gameplay! A lot of the game makers seem to think so though <_<

It would be great if you developed things for the GP2X. It needs all the developers it can get. I would really look forward to seeing a vic-20 emulator :)
 
> Hello and welcome out of lurker mode :)

Cheers mate.

> Good decision on the GP2X. I doubt you'll regret it. If you like homebrew and
> are huge retrofan it's definately the handheld for you.

Yeah, I doubt it aswell. It'll be cool having it when heading over to NZ for the annual trip. The 2nd last trip I borrowed a laptop from work, and spent a whad of time playing Atic Atac on a speccy emulator; and then the last trip I took my xbox and spent ages playing raiders of the lost arc on a 2600 emulator.
Its clear where my interest lies.

> I'm a big retrofan myself, having owned a Mark pong console (SD-050 clone),
> Vectrec, Colecovision, C64 and Amiga. The PSP doesn't appeal to me because
> the homebrew scene will never be free as long as Sony keeps fighting it.

Indeed. The GP2X is beginning its life, the way it means to carry on. That has to be a good thing.

> You also have to consider the cost of buying games. The PSP games are very
> expensive. In Sweden, where I live, it's $65-70 a game! I refuse to pay that
> much for handheld games. And just like you I'm not "overly excited" about
> playing modern games either. It rarely happens unless I find something that I
> really like.

Oh yeah, I completely forgot about the price of games. I remember when I bought my PS1, it was awesome. Wasn't married, no kids or mortgage, and I bought a PS1 game a month (how things have changed). I bought my fair share of lemons though. Very dissapointing, forking out a whad of cash, and then being bitterly dissapointed. Admittedly one of my fave ever games is a PS1 game, wipeout 2097 - its in my top 10 (there again, so is Perils of Willy for the vic-20).

> Instead I prefer "old school games". GFX alone definately does not make good
> gameplay! A lot of the game makers seem to think so though <_<

Indeed. There seems to be very few original ideas around nowadays, just revamps of the old-school stuff. The old school stuff probably had its fair shair of bad games aswell, however generally back then they had to rely on gameplay to sell, as the machines weren't that great gfx wise (although I am still blown away by what they achieved on a lot of speccy and c64 stuff).

> It would be great if you developed things for the GP2X. It needs all the
> developers it can get. I would really look forward to seeing a vic-20 emulator :)

I will be certainly giving something a bash on the GP2X. Another thing I would love to do is port Elite to the GP2X. There are a few PC C versions around, its also one of my top 10 games ... if not number 1 itself.

Anyway, thanks for replying. Its good to be here .. and I can't wait to get my machine !

:p
 
Welcome! I mean, wow that was the nicest read and honest post I ever read. All I can do is to invite you to #gp2xdev (EFNET) as in certain nights some aussies or from .nz pop up there. it is the dev place to be anyway. see ya!
 
Nice first post! Welcome!!
Good to see you're going with the 2X..probably the best option for what you're looking for.
And yeah, wipeout 2097 is on the best ps titles!
 
Anyone that ports elite, and makes it work is wellcome to drink on my sofa anytime!!!

I love the old psp, but I have a feeling my new GP2x will be the handheld for all handhelds. There is such a buzz.

Sony are gonna get tougher with firmware, so you probably wouldn't be able to play the latest games anyway. It's just gonna get messier and messier. The GP2x, on the other hand, is just gonna get more devs, more support and more possibilities!!!!

So yeah, good choice!

Cheers



(PS. As an Englishman, The Ashes are ours!!!!)


Sorry
 
I can tell I am going to enjoy hanging out here.

Thanks guys.

Martin

p.s lubidog, indeed they are yours now. The aussies have had their day, and in all reality the english do appear to be the best team in the world (even if the ranking system doersn't indicate so). What a series it was, it had everything, drama, tension, action - an absolute rip snorter.
 
welcome to the board martin, that really was a considered 1st rate post.

I see you're not the usual (how long till it can play psp) kind of noob!
 
> I see you're not the usual (how long till it can play psp) kind of noob!

Classic ... No thats not me. Apart from the fact that I am a retro freak, I also do some homework before jumping into something.

My current thoughts are, If I can play one or more of the following on the GP2X, I will be more than happy (actually, more like on cloud 9, so to say):

Mame
Genesis
Doom
Sinclair Spectrum
C64
Atari 2600
Apple II (I don't believe there was a port on the GP32 - I might have to look into this one myself)

Anything else it does is a bonus !

Cheers

Martin

:D
 
martin_F posted on Oct 4 2005 at 05:37 AM said:
There seems to be very few original ideas around nowadays, just revamps of the old-school stuff.

I agree with that quote full heartily. There is a lot of it other places to, like movies, books, music, just about everywhere you look. The world is too commercialized, the companies only want to make money on what they know will make money, not make or pay to have someone else make something new.

I've been waiting for a while to have a killer game come out on the PSP or DS, so I haven't bought them. At least with this handheld I know I'll get to play games I love, hmm, kinda like companies won't make anything new.....

I probably will get a DS to support Nintendo however, don't want them going the way of the Dodo.

Thanx,
Stan
 
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