I Am Worried

[DaveC]

People, if it appears, it is only another system, learn to co-exist, there is no reason to fight or surrender ...


/* Wonders who will pass him his axe again :blink:


There is nothing wrong with options.


XGP is air, GP2X is open source... I need no more data for this operation... YET

JaqMs will probably send devs one to get them to make stuff for it h34r:

 

[skeezix]

The 2x is sufficient for most retro needs; Amiga and SNES won't really be any more doable on the XGP since its really just a GPU improvement; the main difference therefore will be 3d homebrew ..

If thats the case, I've already got a PSP and a 2x, so I for one aren't touching an XGP

jeff

Mind you, if it also runs Linux and so will be trivial to port to, then I imagine a lot of ports will happen (_both_ ways, from XGP and to XGP).. but certainly, I've got enough toys to play with

 

[X-Code]

People, if it appears, it is only another system, learn to co-exist, there is no reason to fight or surrender ...


/* Wonders who will pass him his axe again :blink:


There is nothing wrong with options.


XGP is air, GP2X is open source... I need no more data for this operation... YET

JaqMs will probably send devs one to get them to make stuff for it h34r:

Well, that'll be an entertaining situation :lol: , I'll code my own stuff, I won't depend on other people, I will even do the wrong thing and drink beer whilst coding !!!.

( as usual :unsure: )

 

[xinfernoofdantex]

The 2x is sufficient for most retro needs; Amiga and SNES won't really be any more doable on the XGP since its really just a GPU improvement; the main difference therefore will be 3d homebrew ..

If thats the case, I've already got a PSP and a 2x, so I for one aren't touching an XGP

exactly my point

 

[Winterkid]

This is the same ground covered over and over, I'm pretty sure.

Until the XGP is actually released, I'd consider it vaporware. Sure, the XGP sounds neat and has a lot of great features on paper, but it's like the Loch-Ness monster, I just have to look at the people who believe and wonder what they're seeing in their minds.

 

[Radek]

The 2x is sufficient for most retro needs; Amiga and SNES won't really be any more doable on the XGP since its really just a GPU improvement; the main difference therefore will be 3d homebrew ..

I have to disagree here - hardware alphablending and Z-buffer would be very usefull for SNES emulator. It'd allow to do a bruteforce aproach rendering of SNES playfields and sprites. Of course if GPU perfomance would be up to the task.

If thats the case, I've already got a PSP and a 2x, so I for one aren't touching an XGP

I'm most interested in C/Arm assembler coding as it can provide excellent results alone. So as long a machine will have an ARM based CPU, normal framebuffer and normal PCM sound output it should be trivial to compile for it.

jeff

Mind you, if it also runs Linux and so will be trivial to port to, then I imagine a lot of ports will happen (_both_ ways, from XGP and to XGP).. but certainly, I've got enough toys to play with

The CPU is the same, the rest almost too (except GPU and wavetable synthesiser in XGP - the latter isn't a big deal but GPU might be). Most homebrew apps/games aren't really exploiting low level to "the metal" coding. We have popular SDL and given all similarities between GP2x and XGP I consider XGP as not treat to GP2x. Not from homebrew perspective.

 

[greenmikey]

Radek, every time you mention brute force (may not be often) I immagine someone slamming written text into a computer chip..I have no clue why

 

[Radek]

Radek at every time you mention brute force (may not be often) I immagine someone slamming written text into a computer chip..I have no clue why

Heh... For me this "BF" is a normal name for a kind of algorithm what prefers spending vast computional power over a more fine aproach. So in a sense it's slamming tons of cycles into a CPU (or a GPU) to achieve its goals.

Your imagination isn't so strange then.

 

[brandon9271]

Radek, every time you mention brute force (may not be often) I immagine someone slamming written text into a computer chip..I have no clue why

to me it sounds like something that would happen in prison.. but luckily that image doesnt jump into my mind everytime a see that phrase :lol:


BTW, why the heck is the XGP going to have 3D GPU but digital controls? IF they want to compete with PSP they should stick to a Digital/Analog control scheme. I don't think it needs to be more powerful than the PSP to compete. It simply needs to be open source and on par hardware wise. I'll admit though, if it has a GPU that finally allows us to have full speed SNES I'll probably buy one. Since the 2X, just like the Zodiac, has left much to be desired in that regard...

 

[GeminiDomino]

Gamepark didn't wait on releasing the GP32 until they could "blow out" the GBA. Put simply, XGP will be successful.

That's because the GP32 didn't go head to head with the GBA, you troll.

The PSP will chew up the XGP and spit it out if they stick with the idea of a "PSP killer."

Gamers who want commercial games will go PSP.
Gamers who want handheld homebrew will go PSP.
Smart gamers who want handheld homebrew without sony bullshit will go GP2X.

 

[xinfernoofdantex]

Gamers like me who want the quality of gp2x homebrew and the quantity of psp homebrew and commercial aspects of the psp will get a 1.5 psp, 2.71 psp, and a gp2x.
i love people like me

edit// for gamers who want homebrew at home Dreamcast is easily the best bet =]

 

[gaterooze]

edit// for gamers who want homebrew at home Dreamcast is easily the best bet =]

I absolutely love the Dreamcast, and the homebrew scene is great, but if you want console-based emulation, an Xbox with a big hard drive is hard to beat.

 

[DaveC]

Radek, every time you mention brute force (may not be often) I immagine someone slamming written text into a computer chip..I have no clue why

to me it sounds like something that would happen in prison.. but luckily that image doesnt jump into my mind everytime a see that phrase :lol:


BTW, why the heck is the XGP going to have 3D GPU but digital controls? IF they want to compete with PSP they should stick to a Digital/Analog control scheme. I don't think it needs to be more powerful than the PSP to compete. It simply needs to be open source and on par hardware wise. I'll admit though, if it has a GPU that finally allows us to have full speed SNES I'll probably buy one. Since the 2X, just like the Zodiac, has left much to be desired in that regard...

XGP actually has an analog controller like the zodiac so if emus are your primary use the GP2X will be better control wise. You already know how much analog controllers for emus suck. The screen is also a 16:9, 480 x 272 widescreen like the PSP only 4" instead of 4.3" meaning lots of stretching for emulators, again bah. Even if the XGP runs SNES a few FPS faster what good is it if it looks ugly and controls poor.

The only real advantage I see in XGP is 3D homebrew. Expect a port of quake. Other than that I can't see the point when there is the PSP for 3D commercial games.

The only way the XGP will "overthrow the GP2X" is if homebrew developers flock to it en masse and abandon the GP2X. It won't be because of functionality as much as it is the psychology of having "something shiny and new".

 

[Winterkid]

Once again, Dave tells it like it is. *Nod* I couldn't agree more. IF they release any of the XGP systems, they MUST rely on the homebrew appeal or they'll flop so bad, it wont be funny for all the people who buy them.

 

[Magnulus]

But do the emulators for the PSP always stretch? Can't you decide yourself what you want it to do, like with SquidgeSNES? It's perfectly silly if they ALWAYS stretch, and I'll make sure to laugh in my friend's face next time I see him.

 

[ste_167]

You can have them at 1:1 but for the pixel ratio to look nice, it all ends up rather small..

 

[Magnulus]

You can have them at 1:1 but for the pixel ratio to look nice, it all ends up rather small..

I guess when you're playing on a huge screen like the PSP's, the 1:1 ratio in things like the NES can look pretty silly.

 

[ste_167]

Yeah, very true. And the software stretching is horrible!

Here's a demo of 1:1 on each system (to scale):

Source images here:
http://suchablog.com/images/psp-snes.jpg
http://gp2x-emulation.dcemu.co.uk/files/snes1.jpg

 

[Magnulus]

Why the heck did they slam it up in a corner like that?! Weird.
To be fair, though, the software stretching is pretty god-awful in the GP2X as well. It would have to be, unless you had the spare processing power to resample the pictures bicubically or using those alogorithms they have in the PC emulators. But that's not exactly an option when the unfiltered emus don't run full-speed.

 

[Vimacs]

i allways thought it would be a good idear to put a hq2x scaler on the 940 and let it do the scaleing, may work out well, and would probably even fit into the 940's instruction cache.