Pandora As A Locally-Multiplayer Console ?

[totozero]

I am in particular wondering if it will be possible to play
games like bomberman with 4 players on a single Pandora machine ?
(by plugging some external USB hub, some USB gamepads, and with TV-out)
or would it consume too much battery ?

Could it be possible to have one player on the pandora control+LCD while
some other player(s) use USB gamepad(s) and watch game on TV output ?

And will it be possible to plug it on wall socket instead of battery (like a laptop) ?
Since that's probably not the case, then will you sell a device to replace the battery
and get power from wall socket ?

(I am deeply sorry if these questions have already been answered because I couldn't find
any answers by forum search !)

 

[droneb]

I am in particular wondering if it will be possible to play
games like bomberman with 4 players on a single Pandora machine ?
(by plugging some external USB hub, some USB gamepads, and with TV-out)
or would it consume too much battery ?

Could it be possible to have one player on the pandora control+LCD while
some other player(s) use USB gamepad(s) and watch game on TV output ?

And will it be possible to plug it on wall socket instead of battery (like a laptop) ?
Since that's probably not the case, then will you sell a device to replace the battery
and get power from wall socket ?

(I am deeply sorry if these questions have already been answered because I couldn't find
any answers by forum search !)

yes, go buy a usb multitap and go playing on the SNES emulator those old bombermans!
i got 1x2 ps1 converter, i would need another one and everything would be all set,
Screen too small? get a TV Out and aTV and play like former SNES console!

btw PLEASE READ THE FAQ and the WIKI!

 

[WizardStan]

I am in particular wondering if it will be possible to play
games like bomberman with 4 players on a single Pandora machine ?
(by plugging some external USB hub, some USB gamepads, and with TV-out)
or would it consume too much battery ?

Yes, a hub will let you plug in more than one controller, just like on a computer. How the emulator actually handles the multiple inputs will be left to the programmer.

Could it be possible to have one player on the pandora control+LCD while
some other player(s) use USB gamepad(s) and watch game on TV output ?

We've seen clone output to TV, so yes.

And will it be possible to plug it on wall socket instead of battery (like a laptop) ?
Since that's probably not the case, then will you sell a device to replace the battery
and get power from wall socket ?

Why would you think it wouldn't be the case? The battery is custom made rechargeable. You plug the Pandora into a wall socket to recharge it just like you do any other device such as iPod, laptop, PSP, or NDS.

(I am deeply sorry if these questions have already been answered because I couldn't find any answers by forum search !)

Did you try right at the top of this forum where it says "Information Index: Read this first"? The name seems to suggest that it is an index of information, and that you should read it first, but I could be mistaken.

 

[totozero]

So, I read the FAQ, and I found that for the 2 USB port, one is mini USB that provide 100mA
the other is the normal USB port with 500mA;
An external USB hub should consume 100mA which would leave 400mA usable
on the single USB 2.0 port;
my MaDrics SUPERBOX 3 Pro which allow me to plug 2 PSOne controller
on a single USB port seems to consume 300mA
(MaxPwr=300mA according to the usb-devices command on my Debian GNU/Linux PC,
and my USB mouse has only MaxPwr=98mA, my USB Digital TV receiver has 450mA);

so unless 2 players can play on a single controller, I'm afraid
4 players on a single Panda might be hard... even with a wall-pluggable external USB hub...
(unless I'm totally wrong )

 

[WizardStan]

so unless 2 players can play on a single controller, I'm afraid
4 players on a single Panda might be hard... even with a wall-pluggable external USB hub...
(unless I'm totally wrong )

Powered hubs will provide up to the full 500ma per port. If your controllers combined require more than the 500ma the Pandora provides, just plug the hub in. You're playing it on a TV anyway, right? I'm assuming it's not battery powered.

 

[totozero]

Powered hubs will provide up to the full 500ma per port. If your controllers combined require more than the 500ma the Pandora provides, just plug the hub in. You're playing it on a TV anyway, right? I'm assuming it's not battery powered.

Yes ! Sorry for the trouble, I jumped to pessimistic conclusion !
now admins can safely remove the whole topic, I don't mind.

 

[renwils]

Bluetooth controllers are another option, especially if you already have a PS3 or a Wii.

 

[bzar]

And will it be possible to plug it on wall socket instead of battery (like a laptop) ?
Since that's probably not the case, then will you sell a device to replace the battery
and get power from wall socket ?

Why would you think it wouldn't be the case? The battery is custom made rechargeable. You plug the Pandora into a wall socket to recharge it just like you do any other device such as iPod, laptop, PSP, or NDS.

I might be wrong here but I think you misunderstood the question. He wanted to know if you could use the pandora without the battery, using only AC from an external power supply. He also queried that if this was not the case, would it be possible to get a "dummy-battery" to replace the battery with to accomplish the same effect. If I remember correctly, it has been stated before by MWeston that the padora requires the presence of a battery to function, connected to a mains or not.

I apologise if I'm mistaken, but saw it prudent to point this out before potentially wrong information gets out.

 

[mali]

I remember correctly, it has been stated before by MWeston that the padora requires the presence of a battery to function, connected to a mains or not.

IIRC the board was changed to function without battery. Don't quote me on that, though. My memories start fading after those multiple two months.

 

[Trip]

Could it be possible to have one player on the pandora control+LCD while
some other player(s) use USB gamepad(s) and watch game on TV output ?

We've seen clone output to TV, so yes.

Not quite sure on this one.
In the last video, the TV was a second or so behind the Pandora. This wouldn't be very fair on the faster games.
Hopefully this has been sorted out now but it might still stand that the displays won't sync on release.

 

[WizardStan]

I remember correctly, it has been stated before by MWeston that the padora requires the presence of a battery to function, connected to a mains or not.

IIRC the board was changed to function without battery. Don't quote me on that, though. My memories start fading after those multiple two months.

Ahah! When he said "replace the battery" I was thinking "what, like double As or something? O.O" So yeah, my mistake. Sorry.
I can't find the quote, but I remember this much specifically: the board can either work by running mains power into the battery, and then using the battery to run the OMAP, or directly into the OMAP from mains, and then the excess gets put into the battery. The former option requires a battery be present, the latter did not. Unfortunately, when MWeston actually tried the second option, it was so inefficient that it couldn't do a whole lot beyond basic use. So he established the best way was to just leave it with the first method, mains into battery, battery into OMAP. In theory, the battery doesn't need to actually do anything, it just needs to buffer the charge. The battery could be totally dead and it would still work. Or so I concluded from his description of the problem.
A dummy battery could probably also be created. I'd have to crunch some numbers, and actually look at what the charging circuit is doing, but it could be as cheap as a sufficiently heavy resistor across the contacts and a fuse.

 

[Aninhumer]

Not quite sure on this one.
In the last video, the TV was a second or so behind the Pandora. This wouldn't be very fair on the faster games.
Hopefully this has been sorted out now but it might still stand that the displays won't sync on release.

I think that was because of the TV's delay, rather than the Pandora (or at least a good part of it was).
I'm also pretty sure it wasn't anything like whole second behind even then.

 

[WizardStan]

Not quite sure on this one.
In the last video, the TV was a second or so behind the Pandora. This wouldn't be very fair on the faster games.
Hopefully this has been sorted out now but it might still stand that the displays won't sync on release.

I'm 99.9% certain that the delay was induced by the TV itself, and isn't something that can be "sorted out". HDTVs can have a slight delay as they upscale standard definition signals. It doesn't cause a problem when actually watching TV, but for something like video games that require interactivity it does. Guitar Hero even has an option to account for this delay. Some HDTVs have an option to use a different upscale method that doesn't cause a delay but also doesn't produce as nice a picture, but it's not standard.
We'd know for certain if someone tried it on an older tube TV.

edit: ninja'd h34r:

 

[Trip]

Not quite sure on this one.
In the last video, the TV was a second or so behind the Pandora. This wouldn't be very fair on the faster games.
Hopefully this has been sorted out now but it might still stand that the displays won't sync on release.

I think that was because of the TV's delay, rather than the Pandora (or at least a good part of it was).
I'm also pretty sure it wasn't anything like whole second behind even then.

Could very well have been the TV but until we see it working correctly I wouldn't count on it. Not being negative, just realistic.
IMO it would be more useful to have something different on the Pandoras screen, such as a score table or map for the game that's playing on the tv-out

 

[Tokiopop]

I think I'll keep my tube TV then!