If it's possible to switch to a more streamlined interface, then I'll probably pick one up once support is fully there. I don't want to have to jump through hoops to get a more streamlined interface on it, though.
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GCW Zero - new retrogaming open source handheld!
- Thread starter Vitacat
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If it's possible to switch to a more streamlined interface, then I'll probably pick one up once support is fully there. I don't want to have to jump through hoops to get a more streamlined interface on it, though.
What is hard about moving to an icon and pressing a button? The UI is already simple.
gingerbeardman
Member
The UI looks like programmers UI. Sure, the process of selecting an icon is there. But the structure and layout of the content on display is not good enough.
It's simple enough, but it does not look simple enough. Not for this machine to gain any traction in other circles.
It needs to look more... designed, or considered. Like iOS, DS, Wii, or in fact any other games console that features system software.
It's simple enough, but it does not look simple enough. Not for this machine to gain any traction in other circles.
It needs to look more... designed, or considered. Like iOS, DS, Wii, or in fact any other games console that features system software.
Noisepurge
Member
the Dingoo A320 has been perfect for me, and its definitely worth the ~70$ it really goes for http://dx.com/p/dingoo-a-320-2-8-lc...lator-game-console-4gb-built-in-mini-sd-23032
The UI will surely get a lot of customized versions, Dingux had a lot of themes to choose from. Even the XMB one!
zephervack
Member
Something like the Super Gnes for Android would be nice
You dont even have to get those covers, the application gets them for you based on the games you have installed.
You dont even have to get those covers, the application gets them for you based on the games you have installed.
SnakeSlashRO
Banned
You guys are starting to sound like my ex girlfriend when I got her a hacked PSP lmao.
UI is a nice touch but man its just for looks and presentation.
Though the cover thing is pretty cool.
UI is a nice touch but man its just for looks and presentation.
Though the cover thing is pretty cool.
It's not so much that it's hard or anything. I just dislike the idea of having a desktop-style UI for a gaming handheld. If I'm using a desktop-style UI, then I want a mouse. Also, I really hope that you won't have to look at that Linux booting sequence every single time you turn this thing on.
The Revo K101 seems interesting but there seems to be absolutely no info on it's weight anywhere.
Yes, SCUMMVM will be available for the Zero. And you are right, they are still working on tv output drivers.
Regarding all the talk about UI, I dont get why some of you care about that. This is not a phone. The UI is there as a conduit for launching emus, games and apps. Its not something where you will be spending any real time.
zephervack
Member
My dream would be to have a nice interface with game covers, manuals, small vids showing gameplay before you select a game, links to appropiate wiki page, etc. Its the small things man, specially when you have oodles of games and are looking to play a retro game you have never heard anything about.
I'd love to have something equivalent to Hyperspin (video snaps, boxart, all sorts of animations and you can customize pretty much everything) on a handheld like this, but that's probably a few years away. The current emulation quality based on the videos is what puts me off more than anything though. I see intermittent frameskipping and audio stutters in one of the Genesis videos for example. I'll keep following the device and see how the emulators come along as they are optimized for the Zero. Obviously the existing emulators are held back since they were designed for the less powerful Dingoo.
Genesis emulation will easily be full speed 0fs. You must've watched a video of a very early emu port. Keep in mind the Zero hasn't really even been released yet. All the videos are essentially prototype hardware running alpha and beta software.
gingerbeardman
Member
Ditto: I don't get why don't you care about the UI. The fact that the UI exists at all means that it'll be used and therefore it matters.
Just look at the activity log on Wii, 3DS or WiiU to see how time spent on the system UI soon adds up. And then look at the grief Nintendo has received for the slow Wii U system software. The UI matters.
As a minimum I'd like to see a well considered menu system that uses the same unified interface it has been promised the emulators will have.
I've heard from Justin that they will not be creating a front end. But that would be the best solution. Like HyperSpin, Maximus Arcade or OpenEMU - but requiring zero (or minimal) config.
Hardware is only as good as the software. Whether that's emulators or system software, drivers or frontend, it's what the system will be judged on.
Have you ever been involved in any of the indie handheld scenes? You are probably not going to get any sort of slick unified UI. Not sure where you heard that, but I seriously doubt it. Such a thing is contrary to being FOSS in the first place. Devs enjoy inserting their own personalities into their apps, and that's part of the fun of using indie software.
This is not a Sony or Nintendo device, and it doesn't want to be. That's the whole point of it. If you're hoping this will transform into something more mainstream, then you're better off just getting a mainstream device and hacking it.
This is not a Sony or Nintendo device, and it doesn't want to be. That's the whole point of it. If you're hoping this will transform into something more mainstream, then you're better off just getting a mainstream device and hacking it.
SnakeSlashRO
Banned
Very true, at most sometimes you get some custom made UI's or themes. I mean unless they have a team devoted to such a goal, then its up to the community. Maybe you can play a part?
I have been getting into programming with C and C# I was hoping this device could get me to look more into linux and maybe get something working on this. I want to follow the scene closely since its open source.
Also speaking of retrogames and kickstarter... I just supported this sonic inspired game, reminds me of a mixture of Sonic x Ristar x NiGHTS ... It kind of screams of that... you know kinda sonic fanbase (deviantart), but the game looks really fun.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/galaxytrail/freedom-planet-high-speed-platform-game
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=120841685
Green Card
Member
What are the other types of handheld emulators out there? I have no idea what to compare this against other than dingoo mentioned in OP. I wonder if I would be better off with that NeoGeo Handheld bundle.
That does look really cool. Is there any realistic chance of it being ported to the Zero? I only looked very quickly, but I don't think it's open source, and they seem mainly interested (understandably) in getting it on major platforms like XBL and Android.
If you port it, I guess... but that would be a big job. Why bother? It will be running Dingux out of the box.
The main competition I guess would be Chinese Android devices like the Yinlips and JXD's. They are very different types of devices, and for all sorts of reasons I don't feel like going into, not as good as the Zero for emulation.
The Dingoo is much older, weaker hardware. The Zero is far, far better.
As for the NeoGeo-X, definitely not worth it. The NG-X is using a similar SOC as the Zero, but is otherwise way underspec'd, and has still not been fully cracked. Plus it has all sorts of hardware/software problems, design issues and shortcomings. Check the forums at neo-geo.com for details; a lot of people are returning them for refunds. If you're interested in emulation and indie software, I would definitely NOT choose a NeoGeo-X. Heck, even if you're just interested in handheld gaming in general, I would not choose a NG-X. There's a reason why NG-X production has already ended.
I did a lot of research before jumping on the GCW bandwagon. For what it does, it is simply the best thing out there these days. But that is providing what it does is what you want.
Green Card
Member
Thanks for the reply I am considering getting one.
gingerbeardman
Member
I had a GP32 for a long time. And I'm really into the emulator scene - Maximus Arcade, Hyperspin, CoinOPS. I've got a hacked PSP and DS, too. I've also coded some indie games for GB, Mac, PC and browser.
About the unified look of the emulators - i heard directly from Justin on Kickstarter private message. I can post a screen if you need me to. Or you could talk to him about it.
I sincerely doubt he's put all this effort into Kickstatsr to sell around 1500 units. He's a business man. He wants it to appeal to more than the normal indie handheld crowd. If you don't see that you're kidding yourself.
Everybody is hoping this is more than the other indie handhelds, because that's exactly what it has been billed as.
Happy to see that you understand software matters, albeit with regards to another device.
Noisepurge
Member
can't find a better pic but this is what two of the most common Dingux themes look like:
what seems to be the problem
what seems to be the problem
+1
If no one else is up for the task, I might have a look at it if I have the time.
(A bit busy making games for it now though
)longnosedgoblin
Member
Pandora has a simple screen and a desktop screen, with a choice of which it boots to. This is the best of both worlds, most emu users can get by fine on the basic screen, only booting in desktop when you need it. It should be no hassle to do this on the zero, and I think it would be a good idea for it to ship with a basic screen which will keep the majority happy.
gingerbeardman
Member
Great news, thanks for responding.+1
If no one else is up for the task, I might have a look at it if I have the time.
(A bit busy making games for it now though
can't find a better pic but this is what two of the most common Dingux themes look like:
what seems to be the problem
Agreed. But hey, let the fussy designer crowd make whatever they want. There will always be a choice on this device, and that's why it's great.
And Gingerbeardman, my critique of the NeoGeo-X has nothing to do with UI, although I don't think it's very good either. But it's not among the big problems of the system.
SnakeSlashRO
Banned
So whats next? I don't think this is going to hit 200,000k... maybe 175,000k.
I know Justin mentioned we would get our units in March? The podcast mentioned they might be ready by March 15th.
Do we have a list of emulators and other software that won't be on their site? I wouldn't mind prepping an SD card ahead of time.
I know Justin mentioned we would get our units in March? The podcast mentioned they might be ready by March 15th.
Do we have a list of emulators and other software that won't be on their site? I wouldn't mind prepping an SD card ahead of time.
Good question. If you can help me gather resources like that over the coming weeks/months I will add links to the OP as things progress. I believe http://openhandhelds.org/ plans to support the Zero, and GCW also plans to have resources of their own.
As for stretch goals, we'll see. 175k will happen for sure. 200k, maybe, maybe not. I've read that many KS projects get a big support rush during their last few days.
Welcome to the club! And yeah, I see no reason why Amiga emulation shouldn't be near perfect after some optimization.
I know a lot of people have asked about 32bit system emulators. Well, turns out there was a video posted last April showing some PSX games running using a very early, unoptimized port of a PSX emulator. SOTN looks pretty good despite that, so I wanted to share a direct link to that portion of the video for people to check out.
REMEMBER: this is an old video showing an old, unoptimized emu port running on an early prototype Zero. This does not represent what the final optimized product will be like, although it looks pretty decent already:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=6cN2wZM28Gw#t=502s
Also added that link to the OP.
REMEMBER: this is an old video showing an old, unoptimized emu port running on an early prototype Zero. This does not represent what the final optimized product will be like, although it looks pretty decent already:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=6cN2wZM28Gw#t=502s
Also added that link to the OP.
SnakeSlashRO
Banned
That is freaking awesome. I hope my dream comes true and I am able to play Mega Man X1-X6 on the GCW-ZERO, seeing my PSP could only really handle X3(PSX version)-X6
Of course much more including indie gaming and other applications. Plus this baby just looks so nice.
And sure ill look around for some stuff
Noisepurge
Member
i doubt the hardware has any issues. It's more of a developer problem. Most of the PC emulators are really cumbersome to use and the lack of inputs might make it a more difficult emulator to use. Someone should just make a barebones A500/1200 emulator with little to no settings
gundalf
Member
Yeah this was also confirmed on IRC. It makes the impression that they want to make the iphone of the homebrew devices. Too bad that this idea dont translates well to the kickstarter page.
Not a chance of getting a saturn emulator. Sega CD should be fine since that's in picodrive. I wouldn't bet on psx until you see a good number of games running well on it. Ripping games is easy. Any emulators will have a list of formats it accepts so just rip the disc as one of them.
gundalf
Member
I played PSX Games on my old AMD 450Mhz CPU with no problem, isn't the GCW:0 with 1Ghz stronger?
DanDeschain
Member
Has there been any mention of the build quality? Specifically, the quality of the buttons and dpad?
It's absolutely possible, but it all depends if someone is willing is willing to but in the time and effort to make it happen. With these devices, I think it's best to look at what's available right now and make your decision based on that. You can't rely on future promises when everyone's working in their spare time. People's situations can change too easily.
It's more a matter of how much work has been put into the emulator than anything else.
On the other hand, you do have all-but-guaranteed continuation of many Dingux projects for other devices.
That true (I understand it can run dingux binaries by default?) but people should still keep their expectations in check when it comes to emulation.
I had my caanoo for over a year before their was a psx emulator that could do even decent 2d emulation. If the Zero could get to that level and play a good selection 3d games well too I'd definitely get one.
lunchwithyuzo
Banned
170k with 3 days to go. I think it's going to hit all the stretch goals. 
170k with 3 days to go. I think it's going to hit all the stretch goals.
It's possible. Will be very exciting on Monday as the numbers creep toward the 200K mark. Will really suck if it just misses.
SnakeSlashRO
Banned
Anyone know why it was only 20 days? I think I asked this before...
Bomber Bob
Banned
NOT Android based?
NOT cool
NOT cool