Our New Machine, Pandora

[kfuse]

You don't...you use wifi...

unless you want to buy a usb to ethernet adapter and do the hard way.

the only benefit is the slight possibility of better connection.

 

[imec]

If your skin is on fire from the radiation the power line above you is generating, then WiFi probably won't work. Just go out and buy a new router, it's a good investment to have a hotspot in your home.

 

[StealthBagel]

but Bush can get away with mass murder for oil and war profits and that is OK, no impeachment for him rolleyes.gif

Yes yes, the US got so much free oil from Iraq. That's why it costs record amounts to fill up a small car with gas..... but this is really getting off topic and I'd rather not send this topic off on another ridiculous tangent, so let's end it here.

 

[Bilal]

Hey Guys

I have some questions about the Craiginator. Since the Craiginator will be running Linux, its mentioned in the Wiki that the Linux will have a full desktop environment this time, as the console can will easily be able to handle it. So I would guess that we could install some programs with the one-click installer, such as Firefox, OpenOffice, IM clients, Filesharing programs etc. I would love to take this unit with me as a mini PC/laptop and whenever I want to browse with Wi-Fi or do some work I can on the go.

Looking at the emulator aspect of the unit what systems can we expect to be emulated. As already stated on the Wiki PSone full speed emulation will be a given, but what about N64 as this is running quite well on the PSP's 333mhz processor. But what about Atari Jaguar emulation, 3DO emulation, Saturn emulation and even Dreamcast emulation? Will the unit have 4 shoulder buttons as this is needed in some PSone games?

Also sticking to the emulation aspect of the console, will all emulators have online incorporated at some time. For example the Kaillera client on Amiga, Megadrive and MAME etc. I cant wait for more details to be revealed about the unit. I hope it remains small in size, and I love the fact that it has a keyboard.

Thanks.

 

[A_SN]

Will the unit have 4 shoulder buttons as this is needed in some PSone games?

Yup. It will also have 6 buttons on the right side, plus a stick in the middle just like on the N64 controller, plus a big stick with a red button right next to it like on the Atari 2600, two big knobs you can turn around to play Pong, a trackpad like on a laptop with two click buttons under it and a scroll thing to the side and a Dance Dance Revolution dancepad. Oh and also a big joystick with lots of buttons on it so you can comfortably play Flight Simulator with it.

Also sticking to the emulation aspect of the console, will all emulators have online incorporated at some time. For example the Kaillera client on Amiga, Megadrive and MAME etc.

Actually yeah, someone in the know told me that one of Craig's next announcement was the fact that the console will be bundled with a fullspeed N64 emulator with Kaillera and they're in talk with Nintendo to bundled it with the ROM of Super Smash Bros. so that you can play it online right off the box!! Yay!

But that's nothing compared to the coolest feature of all, a built-in porn generator! I've seen a demo of this, it's pretty awesome, basically you choose a few options that define the type of porn you want generated, like, solo/gay/lesbian/straight/bukkake/gangbang, the duration, the actors, and it generates the porn video on the fly! You can even change the plot while you're watching it! Crazy stuff...

 

[geise69]

QUOTE

But that's nothing compared to the coolest feature of all, a built-in porn generator!


Sweet! Something I can show the wife!

 

[TomVS]

Something practical :

This thread is becoming large so maybe it has been stated before but has there been paid attention to the fact that some games require to rotate the device.

Mame can use 'portrait' mode for some games. When designing the craiginator it could be useful to pay extra attention to it.

On the gp2x it works by using the volume buttons as fire buttons but the design could be better...

 

[Squidge]

A_SN, don't forget the full-speed Dreamcast emulator with full broadband adaptor emulation so you can play the online versions of the games.

 

[Squidge]

Yes, DaveC might have mentioned that once or twice

 

[kfuse]

Man AS_N I know your smoking something anyways... :rolleyes:

Bilal dude read the wiki man....the question your asking has been answered. I really doubt the system will have 4 shoulder buttons....no all 4 buttons are not necessary you know you can shove those on to something else.

most likely it will get the 6 button setup I really can't imagine this thing having all those dang shoulder buttons. It will for sure have a d-pad and two analogs not a bloody stick in the middle....most likely 2 shoulders, and either a 4 button or six button setup.

and you gotta give it rest about emulation. don't ask anything about 6 or 7th gen systems<_<

just be happy you get your hands on N64...and the fact that we might get something cool like starcraft in the bloody future.

 

[StealthBagel]

God, some people don't grasp sarcasm and will take this shit seriously you guys.

I will say with the capacity to emulate modern-ish arcade games, stuff newer than 1993 for example, a good rotated control set is pretty important. I won't die if it is not suitable for the task but it would be a really nice consideration. The gp2x rotated was an exercise in extreme frustration if you ask me, that stick + volume buttons..... I'm sorry, not a good combo. It seems like the current team translating what the community wants into a product has a good enough grasp of what people wants that I doubt the control scheme would be too outlandish. But seeing stuff like Sidekick with keyboards leaves room in the imagination for it to be a pretty abstract device, nothing like mockups we've seen as MWeston said. I just hope it's reasonably down to earth.

 

[Squidge]

Well, if you want controls on the side of the unit, you can always plug something into the USB port

 

[Firefox]

Actually, what I meant by cutting edge was that we use chips designed for mobile applications throughout the entire unit and provides power gating so that power consumption can be tailored for lowest possible drain in each application (as opposed to using a video encoder designed for home DVD players as an example). Yes, this does include the Wifi chipset. If you don't need it, it only uses 100-ish microamps in standby, or zero current if powered off completely.

Cool bananas! I can't wait to get my hands on one! B)

It won't have a nuclear powered, fusion reactor based battery! I think the idea behind the battery is the ability to easily replace it with something a little more common

Awwww... Oh well, perhaps I can bodge one together at home.

 

[realyst]

Yes, DaveC might have mentioned that once or twice

If anyone could ever 'etch' something into a SQL table through sheer repetition, you could probably see through the hole in the server rack this forum is hosted on courtesy of our friend DaveC and his impassioned pleas for vertical game functionality

 

[Firefox]

But what about Atari Jaguar emulation

I'll be very surprised if a quick port of the GP2X version of T2K (Jag emulator) doesn't run at least at fullspeed on the Craiginator. It might even run quicker than fullspeed like the PC version does.

Most Jag games are locked to a maximum frame rate, so they still play right even if the emulator's running faster than a real Jag. They just get smoother.

I'll carry on tinkering with the GP2X version over the winter, so I should have a pretty efficient code base to do a Craiginator port from in the spring.

 

[anexanhume]

Hey guys,

I stopped looking at GP news back in July and come back to a WHOLE LOT going on

I am excited about this machine, and while I am very techincally inclined (elec engr grad student), I don't know much about emulation.

Could someone fill me in as to why N64 and Saturn emulation are such large challenges. I guess the biggest help would be to know how exactly hardware carries out emulation and what specific quirks about the hardware of these machines make them such challenges.

Also, a FAQ of things known about this device similar to the post in the previous page would be VERY helpful. Thanks!

 

[realyst]

Hey guys,

I stopped looking at GP news back in July and come back to a WHOLE LOT going on

I am excited about this machine, and while I am very techincally inclined (elec engr grad student), I don't know much about emulation.

Could someone fill me in as to why N64 and Saturn emulation are such large challenges. I guess the biggest help would be to know how exactly hardware carries out emulation and what specific quirks about the hardware of these machines make them such challenges.

Also, a FAQ of things known about this device similar to the post in the previous page would be VERY helpful. Thanks!

I ain't a coder or emu-genie like Squidge, but I'll try my best

Saturn is a challenge primarily due to the strange way it was constructed in the first place. SEGA pretty much decided to seemingly throw in a new CPU for every operation the system did or may have possibly done. As result, it was a hardware mess and a huge pain to code for. As a result, the emulating machine has more things it has to keep track of, which means more overhead overall. Above all that is the fact that since the hardware and environment was so convoluted, it's difficult to emulate in an optimized way without lots of trial and error which is why many Saturn emus currently out there are making strides, but are only recently able to be useful. For the longest time, only a closed source Japanese-only emu(SSF) was able to even play any commercial titles with success. (The new one, Yabause, is advancing at a ridiculously fast rate though and can now play many commercial titles).

N64, I ain't sure about. I'm assuming it's due to the fact that it's using High Level Emulation using a 32 bit proc to emulate a 64 bit proc? There is also the fact that it's a 3D console, most of which are still slow to emulate(even PSX emulation right now is slowish). And of course there is that godawful controller making button mapping an exercise in frustration.

 

[atomicthumbs]

If your skin is on fire from the radiation the power line above you is generating, then WiFi probably won't work. Just go out and buy a new router, it's a good investment to have a hotspot in your home.

Except that power lines emit ELF at a frequncy about 7 of orders of magnitude below that of Wi-fi.

 

[kfuse]

Actually I'm wondering about our audio hardware.

Hardware is stereo for sure but will it be pumping out like 3D surround sound???

I know I could hook it up to some speakers if I needed to but overall sound is a double sided issue. If a sound card is horrible, speakers can do very little to fix it, and vice versa.

Also will USB networking still be an option???

or are we just gonna go straight wifi?

 

[sam fisher]

Because you're all moaning about the price, but it's only expensive to you because your currency is worth less than the paper it's printed on. Still, I suppose it gets rid of fake money.

Holy crap you people get arrogant the instant GBP goes to 2x the value of USD. It's been around 1.5x-1.75x the value of USD for years, so it hits 2 and all of a sudden it's 'worth less than the paper it's printed on' (you mean cloth? It's not printed on paper.) I guess then GBP is worth 2 tiny slips of paper then? I guess that means the british economy is on par with post-WW I Germany then? god, get some perspective.

Also LOL at "unpopular president = low-valued currency"....... I hope you're not an economics major. Lots of people hated clinton and our economy was fine. I won't pretend to know what makes currency fluctuate, it has something to do with interest rates and it's all way over my head, but it doesn't take much to know the common misconceptions are highly oversimplified.....

At any rate if this handheld is solid and has all the advertised specs $320 is a more than reasonable price. A lot of people complaining are probably just broke. And broker than me..... well that's just sad.

The British economy has ALWAYS been one of the strongest in the world. Oh, and a currency being worth more than twice another is a HUGE thing. It means that bill gates entire fortune would half if he lived here. It would actually quarter as everything here costs twice as much to buy.