6 ms·
Thanks a lot :) It really is super satisfying to get this far, I still turn it on sometimes just to check if it really works. And I also had zero experience w
by pkiller 8y ago
Thanks a lot :)
It really is super satisfying to get this far, I still turn it on sometimes just to check if it really works.
And I also had zero experience with electronics (and I still don't know as much as I should...), so yeah I think you could piece together something like this. :)
- ArtWomb 8y agoI was a tad skeptical when I saw the title. But it looks like you really pulled it off. It took Atari engineers like 4 years ;) Is it fast enough for multi-input / multi-player?
- pkiller 8y agoThanks :) The only multi-input game I have right now is Tetris for 2 players. My girlfriend doesn't complaint while playing it (except when I win :P), so I'd say it's pretty responsive, even with the somewhat convoluted way the CPU communicates with the PPU and the double-buffering. I think it will work for other types of games as well. With all the hardware, firmware for the 3 microcontrollers, bootloader software, compiler toolchain and tools, I still haven't gotten around to actually make a lot of games for it.
- Eek 8y agoThis is crazy dude! You're an inspiration! Awesome job!
- yonz 8y agoI would totally pay (~$300) to jump on a pre-packaged MOOC like course that has a batch of students working together and the course fee would include the hardware needed and access to a TA like resource (when the batch of students can't solve a problem together). I can even imagine a part II with modern components after learning this level of basics.
- mysterydip 8y agoWow! Thanks for making such an interesting and detailed writeup! And using my favorite CPU too :) Definitely bookmarked to read through more times.
- pkiller 8y agoZ80 rules! Thanks :)
- apple4ever 8y agoI love that there is a group of people who still love the Z80! Such a beautifully designed chip.
- saagarjha 8y agoI was doing a little bit of Z80 work a while back, but I didn't particularly seem to appreciate its design (compared to say MIPS). Why do you think it's beautifully designed?
- Marazan 8y agoYou can hand clock a Z80. There is a certain magic to that.
- saagarjha 8y agoI'm sorry, but what does "hand clocking" a Z80 mean?
- dangerbird2 8y agoI think GP's use of "hand-clocking" to refer to the factthat the z80 can run on a very low clock rate, to the extent that you can have a hand switch that sends individual clock pulses to the processor. This can be useful for testing purposes as well as for low power operation in embedded applications. http://www.thomasloven.com/blog/2013/01/Z80-Tester/ http://www.thomasloven.com/blog/2013/01/Z80-Tester/
- dustindiamond 8y agoAwesome work, dude!
- fxfan 8y ago> I still turn it on sometimes just to check if it really works. I know that feeling ;)
- kgwxd 8y agoJust ordered Make: Electronics and a cheap electronics starter kit with a breadboard and some basic components. Thanks for the inspiration.
- larrywright 8y agoYou should check out Adafruit and Sparkfun as well. They have a lot of solid tutorials to get you started, and a bunch of inexpensive microcontrollers that are easy to get going with, as well as all sorts of lights and sensers and switches to connect to them.
- matthall15 8y ago> I still turn it on sometimes just to check if it really works. I feel this on a personal level, albeit on my much smaller, less complicated projects. Thanks for the amazing write-up, you are an inspiration to us all.