THE 64 - Computer and Handheld Console

[Ian J]

Nostalgia Nerd posted a video about this campaign:

 

[levi]

Didn't realise this was for two seperate devices. I thought it was just a handheld thing. Still tempted for a Mega65 over this...

Yeah, I was a bit confused at first, assuming the handheld device slotted into the cartridge port on the keyboard unit, but after scanning the photos of the handheld carefully for a while and failing to find a connector on the side, I dismissed that theory.

 

[directive0]

If its FPGA based I'm there. If it's just an ARM based emulator in a fun case I'm already bored and not interested.

 

[Ian J]

If its FPGA based I'm there. If it's just an ARM based emulator in a fun case I'm already bored and not interested.

+1 on that, I have a Pandora that can emulate multiple systems on the go so no need for another device.

They claim to be using actual SID chips "Multiple SIDs for stereo sound (6581 or 8580)" so I'm very interested to see more hardware specs.

So far seem to be a lot of marketing speak.

EDIT:

It may be the cynic in me but I feel a lot of these retro crowd funding schemes are just designed to part people from their cash based on memories, none deliver what can't be achieved on currently available hardware.

 

[levi]

FWIW, I could understand using FPGAs to simulate a SID chip or two, perhaps resurrecting David Amoros's VSID 2.0 project. Using a FPGA to simulate the CPU or other bits, as I've already said, strikes me as a bit pointless, as 6502 emulation is pretty accurate in this day and age - people have been emulating it since the late 80s. I'll be saving my money for a device that can emulate even more than my Pandora can, as well as being more useful in almost countless other ways.

 

[directive0]

Confirmed, Arm Emulation. There reasoning is fair, and I don't begrudge them for saying so. I just have no interest in a single-use emulation box, even if it is sort-of C64 shaped.

 

[Neelix]

What I want to know is what it has 64 of... In the C64 it was a reference to the memory capacity... I rather suspect that 64k isn't going to cut it this time though.

-Neelix

 

[Ian J]

I really don't see the amount requested being enough to fund this.

 

[rygD]

What I want to know is what it has 64 of...

Buyers.

 

[kev_os]

They should simply manufacture the empty shells and sell them as a DIY projet kit along with a raspberry pi 3 and a raspberry pi zero for the handheld.

 

[ZXDunny]

Well, this is the team behind the Spectrum Vega which was, you guessed it, an ARM SOC emulating (pretty bloody perfectly) the range of 48/128k Speccies. The ARM is pretty weak though, and the emulation runs on bare metal with not a lot of wiggle room for any further functionality. What a lot of people don't realise though is that it really is a real, new, ZX Spectrum - it's manufactured by SirClive and designed by Dickinson, and using a low-cost ARM is typical Sinclair.

The 64 will very likely be the same - a low-cost ARM running a C64 emulation on bare metal, albeit a very good one. The indiegogo campaign for the Vega went to 150% of the asked funding, and the new Vega+ campaign is sitting at 367% of its funding, having blown through it within a day of going live.

So there's every chance that the 64 will be very popular when its campaign is kicked off.

 

[Ian J]

When I add up the cost of all these devices that I can buy to emulate different devices, Vega, Vega +, The 64 etc. I'm saving quite a bit towards the Pyra which will emulate those and many more systems.

 

[ZXDunny]

Oh, absolutely.

I have a Vega because I was given one as a gift by the company. I don't want a 64, as tbh the C64's games were a bit shit, and the colours are so washed out. And I have a Pandora.

But I have to admit, the Vega+ does look sexy.

 

[Ian J]

This campaign is really pushing all of the nostalgia buttons, the joystick concept is a Competition Pro.

Looking through the comments I can't believe people are buying this and expecting to use their original hardware (disc drives, tape decks etc)

I do wish they would put up some actual hardware images but I suspect that's why they chose indiegogo, they don't need to.

 

[levi]

Think I still have a USB competition pro somewhere. It's not the best form factor for control, but it does have its charms.

 

[pmprog]

Looking through the comments I can't believe people are buying this and expecting to use their original hardware (disc drives, tape decks etc)

Well, they did say this:

cartridge converters to allow old original C64 cartridges to work with the new machine, potentially original joystick converters if the demand is there, and so on

And all it takes is them to add an IEC port on the back and emulate it's signals, and you'll be able to connect the 1541. I was quite impressed that my TurboChameleon let me attach my disk drive, so I spent a bit of time going through my old disks looking for programs I wrote when I was younger.

 

[gunrock]

I don't want a 64, as tbh the C64's games were a bit shit, and the colours are so washed out. And I have a Pandora.

There are loads of great C64 games, just as there are Spectrum ones. Piffle!

 

[ZXDunny]

Yes, there were some great games for the C64 - my point is that I can play both of them on my Pandora already, so don't need a "The64".

 

[Klumpen]

Yes, there were some great games for the C64 - my point is that I can play both of them on my Pandora already, so don't need a "The64".

Yeah I mean, if it's some kind of original hardware it can be big and clumsy, bit this is just emulation and USB (not even proper classic joystick ports), so it should be tiny.
This whole thing is about as useful as an Ouya, which mostly seems to have been catering to hipsters too.

 

[skeezix]

I really should try to productionize the Zikzak or make somethign simple like that; there should be a cheap, hackable, designedly 'low end' machine for goofying around on and old style games. I mean, theres lots of things like that already, but one with a nice case, accessible, but totally hackable. I keep wondering if theres a niche or if its already flooded with the various arduino kits, or mini FPGAs, etc. Once oy hit real dollars, should just go for a MiST or FPGArcade etc... (or a Pyra, of course

jeff