4 ms·

The Future Is Retro – ModRetro

32 points by bpierre 2y ago

taejavu 2y ago
> This reveal might seem out of nowhere given that most people know me for my work on virtual reality technology and lethal autonomous weapons systems Indeed.
onlytime 2y ago
So that's why he would never pass forum administration to the other guy. For anyone who's caught by surprise, you should look at his portable Gamecube.
dabluecaboose 2y ago
As someone who's been considering building a custom Game Boy Color to replace my childhood one that was recently stolen, I have to admit this has grabbed my attention. I don't know anything about FPGA emulation. What, if anything, is the difference between playing on this and a bona-fide GBC board? It sounds like the screen is better, but optimized for correctness rather than just throwing a high-res IPS at the problem and calling it a day. Interested to see any more thoughts on buying a new backwards-compatible device versus building/upgrading an original with newer parts.
- nickthegreek 2y ago
  I bought a Anbernic RG35XX, put garlicOS on it and called it a day. Great pocket device.
  - dabluecaboose 2y ago
    I have to admit the Anbernics are a tempting option, especially imagining just dumping every GB, GBC, and GBA game on to have in my pocket. But I can't help but think feels a little... soulless, in comparison to a dedicated machine. Not to mention, there's a certain satisfaction I get from playing on my few remaining original cartridges.
- justinholt 2y ago
  If the FPGA representation of the Gameboy components (CPU, etc) are accurate, then there should be no discernible difference. Going the FPGA route is great for a turn key experience whereas the a diy solution is great for scratching the builders itch. Both are good, just depends on what you’re looking to get out of it.
  - dabluecaboose 2y ago
    As much as I'd like to scratch the builder's itch, I can't help but acknowledge the usability improvements afforded by the Chromatic like the USB-C charging and video output. That would be a bitch and a half to implement satisfactorily on original hardware.
qingcharles 2y ago
I'd forgotten about Palmer, even though his presence was large a decade ago. This seems like a cool project -- it looks like he must have gotten an official license for Tetris too. When you're a billionaire, it makes it a lot easier to hack around with toys, especially when you need to custom make a brand new LCD from scratch!
- ruthie_cohen 2y ago
  I’d argue his presence is as big now as it was back then, Anduril has been in the news a lot since Russia invaded Ukraine and he was recently profiled by the WSJ.
  - qingcharles 2y ago
    You're right. Anduril has been on my radar, but I actually had no idea it had anything to do with the kid that duct-taped together a VR headset a decade ago :)
its-summertime 2y ago
~90USD more than the Analogue Pocket, with less platforms supported? (and no backing up carts to the device etc)
- dabluecaboose 2y ago
  It's $20 less than the Analogue Pocket from what I'm seeing? https://store.analogue.co/ https://store.analogue.co/
  - its-summertime 2y ago
    Ah, didn't notice modretro was displaying localized price
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
ChrisArchitect 2y ago
[dupe] Some more discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40565087 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40565087
timw4mail 2y ago
Very appealing until I see 3xAA batteries. Maybe this bothers me more than it should, but 2 or 4 batteries are just better.

32 points by bpierre 2y ago

> This reveal might seem out of nowhere given that most people know me for my work on virtual reality technology and lethal autonomous weapons systems Indeed.

onlytime 2y ago

So that's why he would never pass forum administration to the other guy. For anyone who's caught by surprise, you should look at his portable Gamecube.

dabluecaboose 2y ago

As someone who's been considering building a custom Game Boy Color to replace my childhood one that was recently stolen, I have to admit this has grabbed my attention. I don't know anything about FPGA emulation. What, if anything, is the difference between playing on this and a bona-fide GBC board? It sounds like the screen is better, but optimized for correctness rather than just throwing a high-res IPS at the problem and calling it a day. Interested to see any more thoughts on buying a new backwards-compatible device versus building/upgrading an original with newer parts.

nickthegreek 2y ago
I bought a Anbernic RG35XX, put garlicOS on it and called it a day. Great pocket device.
- dabluecaboose 2y ago
  I have to admit the Anbernics are a tempting option, especially imagining just dumping every GB, GBC, and GBA game on to have in my pocket. But I can't help but think feels a little... soulless, in comparison to a dedicated machine. Not to mention, there's a certain satisfaction I get from playing on my few remaining original cartridges.
justinholt 2y ago
If the FPGA representation of the Gameboy components (CPU, etc) are accurate, then there should be no discernible difference. Going the FPGA route is great for a turn key experience whereas the a diy solution is great for scratching the builders itch. Both are good, just depends on what you’re looking to get out of it.
- dabluecaboose 2y ago
  As much as I'd like to scratch the builder's itch, I can't help but acknowledge the usability improvements afforded by the Chromatic like the USB-C charging and video output. That would be a bitch and a half to implement satisfactorily on original hardware.

qingcharles 2y ago

I'd forgotten about Palmer, even though his presence was large a decade ago. This seems like a cool project -- it looks like he must have gotten an official license for Tetris too. When you're a billionaire, it makes it a lot easier to hack around with toys, especially when you need to custom make a brand new LCD from scratch!

ruthie_cohen 2y ago
I’d argue his presence is as big now as it was back then, Anduril has been in the news a lot since Russia invaded Ukraine and he was recently profiled by the WSJ.
- qingcharles 2y ago
  You're right. Anduril has been on my radar, but I actually had no idea it had anything to do with the kid that duct-taped together a VR headset a decade ago :)

its-summertime 2y ago

~90USD more than the Analogue Pocket, with less platforms supported? (and no backing up carts to the device etc)

dabluecaboose 2y ago
It's $20 less than the Analogue Pocket from what I'm seeing? https://store.analogue.co/ https://store.analogue.co/
- its-summertime 2y ago
  Ah, didn't notice modretro was displaying localized price

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

ChrisArchitect 2y ago

[dupe] Some more discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40565087 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40565087

timw4mail 2y ago

Very appealing until I see 3xAA batteries. Maybe this bothers me more than it should, but 2 or 4 batteries are just better.