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Post by spannernick on Mar 6, 2022 11:21:19 GMT
I will be hacking it and adding a workbench to it, when I get mine so it can do other stuff...  thats the main reason why I am getting it, and I collect mini consoles, I am not interested it a Maxi version, I have the Amiga 500 already, 2 of them plus A600 and A1200, I was not interested in THEC64 Maxi, I only have THEVIC20 cause someone got me it as a present, Its a lot easier doing stuff on it to do with PCUAE thought... I have not stopped using it ever since I got it, if I am not doing PCUAE stuff on it, I am playing a game on THEVIC20.... or just leaving it on so I hear the background music playing on the PCUAE Carousel, come to think about it... the last time I uses original hardware was in 2018... wow 4 years ago, THEC64 Mini stopped me using it, I still have my Amigas and C64C setup in my bedroom, I got a lot of stuff for the C64C, like a EasyFlash3, UK1541, Clone Master for plaything wav files from my PSP to the C64, SD2IEC, I even built a Tapino so I could load TAP files.. , it was costing me to much money to keep the hardware going and I do not get a lot, I have to get THEA500Mini on my Credit Card cause £120 is like half my money I get every 2 weeks, you do not get a lot of money been disabled(ESA, Support Group) in the UK so if I buy it on my credit card I can split it up and pay for it every 2 weeks until it paid. I find it easier to use THEC64 Mini or THEVIC20 now and its cheaper and do not have to keep fixing them... cause the hardware has a problem or needs recapping and that. When I got my first Amiga A500, I was 21... wow, now I am 51, exactly 30 years ago, the Amiga is about 35 years old now, it came out in 1985, but I always see it as a 90s machine cause that when I got it, the Amiga only really lasted 9 years before CBM went bankrupt, the problem with CBM was they kept on make the same product over and over, C64 Games System(C64C), CDTV(Amiga 500 with a CD drive), Amiga CD32(A1200 with a CD Drive), it killed them in the end, they were spending more then they were acuminating so most of all the products that they made that was a copy of a other product were flops. I think it was cause they were competing with Atari and that was owned by Jack Trammel then, so it was like they were competing agents themselves, all the stuff Jack learnt at Commodore and making the C64 was put into the Atari 520 ST, if you look at the machine, it even has the C64 border, its like the 16 Bit version of the C64 if you think about it...  |
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Post by aneira on Mar 8, 2022 13:58:29 GMT
Just to let everyone know, when I get mine I will be trying to hack it so you can play games via ADF and see if it can run Amiberry, plus add the ability to add games to the carousel via USB. I guess the hack/mod could be called PCUAE2.. I would like to thank you for all the hard work you did on the C64 Mini. I am simply loving the option to customize the carousel through PCUAE. I hold zero interest in programming or doing anything other than playing games with the mini, so for me a visual clean and easy option like that was absolutely amazing. I also hold a pre-order for the Amiga Mini. (Don't know why, cause Cartman taught us pre-orders are for idiots). So I can't wait to see if you can do the same with this one. I hope you know that there are loads more who appreciate the hours you've put into this, than what's shown in this forum. Maybe there exists some kind of haiku-ish poem where every sentence must begin with a first-person pronoun with an uppercase I. If there does, I'd have ruined it by now. |
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Post by spannernick on Mar 9, 2022 16:20:47 GMT
Just to let everyone know, when I get mine I will be trying to hack it so you can play games via ADF and see if it can run Amiberry, plus add the ability to add games to the carousel via USB. I guess the hack/mod could be called PCUAE2.. I would like to thank you for all the hard work you did on the C64 Mini. I am simply loving the option to customize the carousel through PCUAE. I hold zero interest in programming or doing anything other than playing games with the mini, so for me a visual clean and easy option like that was absolutely amazing. I also hold a pre-order for the Amiga Mini. (Don't know why, cause Cartman taught us pre-orders are for idiots). So I can't wait to see if you can do the same with this one. I hope you know that there are loads more who appreciate the hours you've put into this, than what's shown in this forum. Maybe there exists some kind of haiku-ish poem where every sentence must begin with a first-person pronoun with an uppercase I. If there does, I'd have ruined it by now. Thanks... I am only interested in playing games too, I never was good at programming on the C64 when I was a kid or Amiga, so this is the first time I have ever done any scripting in Linux so I am learn all the time as I am making PCUAE... I never knew how PCUAE was going to turn out like, I just add stuff to it when I could, thats why somethings took longer to add to it, I am learn as I go along, and why I might add something and then change it down the line. |
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Post by spannernick on Mar 9, 2022 19:57:09 GMT
Just noticed something on RGL website, they have removed the word WHDLoad
and now says ...
Nothing on there now about loading games by WHDLoad...? maybe they have changed it now and it now supports ADF images too.
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Post by aneira on Mar 9, 2022 20:12:12 GMT
Just noticed something on RGL website, they have removed WHDLoad `Or load your own games via USB stick, supported by WHDLoad` and now say... Nothing on there now about loading games by WHDLoad...? maybe they have changed it now and it now supports ADF images too. I think it's just a commercial decision as most potential consumers does not know what WHDLoad is. The new sentence make better sense for a broader audience. It could also mean that it's no longer limited to WHDLoad alone as you suggest. Why else would they use the phrase "by a number of settings and options". As long as it's not bad news I welcome it. I saw your post regarding license issues of WHDLoad earlier in the time frame, so naturally a few alarms set off before digesting the information. |
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Post by rhester72 on Mar 9, 2022 20:29:46 GMT
I hope you're both right. If they actually dropped WHDLoad support, that's a preorder cancel for me because it's a non-starter without it.
Is there any way to verify intent directly with RGL?
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Post by c64stuff on Mar 12, 2022 18:49:06 GMT
Retrorecipies just posted the video going over the A500 they sent him. Keep in mind it and the mouse and controller will all probably look much better in production than these very first 3D prototypes.
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Post by rhester72 on Mar 12, 2022 23:16:25 GMT
The firmware looks...rough. I strongly suspect there will be a day-1 update to add things like WHDLoad functionality, external keyboard, etc.
It doesn't look as if NTSC/PAL autoswitching is supported, but it looks like you *can* manually change between them...hopefully without doing a factory reset this time.
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Post by c64stuff on Mar 12, 2022 23:23:59 GMT
I'm still in the middle of watching the video, but around just after the 8 to 9 or 10 minute mark he mentions some very interesting info on The C64 which had various versions with different on board memory based on what was in stock. He also either around that time or before it mentions some general info on the A500 specs versus The C64, such as the A500 being roughly twice the processor power. I'm generalizing here so take it with a grain of salt because I'm preoccupied at the moment with other things while watching the video and may have these details somewhat wrong. I plan to watch it again later.
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Post by c64stuff on Mar 13, 2022 0:07:41 GMT
Ok here's what I saw in terms of technical stuff you guys might be interested in.
At just after the 8:30 mark he mentions or you'll see it in banners on the screen:
Double The C64 memory. The C64 had 128 or 256MB of flash ram based on stock at the factory.
At just after the 21 minute mark he says fastest Amiga it will emulate is a 68030 CPU running at 25mhz. And that enhancement options like "Immediate Blitter" mode will be available to tweek later.
He also mentioned WHLoad throughout the video and other tidbits.
All in all I'm impressed so far. It looks to be an easy way for non diehard Commodore fans to play Amiga games, just like the C64 mini and maxi are. Keep in mind there are tons of people out there who always wanted to play C64 or Amiga games, both younger and older people, but they lack the technical knowledge to even set up something like a RetroPie image or emulate them on a PC. These products are for them, as well as the more hardcore Commodore fans who want both an easy carousel of options as well as diving deeper into native computer modes. I'd say it's a winner, even though obviously it isn't in polished form for release yet in this prototype.
Keep in mind emulating a computer gaming platform with keyboard, and in particular a C64 or Amiga, is not as seamless as a retro console or even a basic IBM clone or macintosh from back then. Commodores were a unique racing breed of machines that pushed limits, so they've always been in particular harder for the general public to emulate on a PC or raspberry pi. These products offer a easier and more clean way to play those games, with no steps such as writing a raspberry pi image to an SD card on your PC or finding bioses and roms.
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Post by rhester72 on Mar 13, 2022 0:31:19 GMT
He didn't actually say it will emulate an '030, merely that it *could* based on the ARM horsepower available. I'd be pretty surprised if in reality they supported more than the A1200's 14 MHz EC020. This isn't an applications machine and games were nearly ALWAYS written for the lowest common denominator.
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Post by c64stuff on Mar 13, 2022 0:34:36 GMT
Yes, he said they told him the fastest Amiga the hardware could probably emulate was a 68030 running at 25mhz. I didn't mean to imply otherwise. Hopefully though they'll offer updates that give you the option of running the games with enhanced CPU or other hardware abilities of later Amigas. They've done a pretty good job of doing regular updates of firmware for the C64 mini and maxi, so hopefully something like this will be offered down the road.
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Post by spannernick on Mar 17, 2022 12:25:18 GMT
I am looking forward to playing Turrican 3 on it and seen how it handles it, I love it, had it on my A500 then A600, love the title music by Chris Hulsbeck, he did R-Type music on the C64 too, I get a big nostalgia feeling from it everytime I hear it, I sure you know that feeling, it transports me back to the 90s and my A600, when I was 20 something.... The music in the video is from the A500 not a remix version, it the original soundtrack from the game but been digitally mastered, there was never a Turrican 3 on the C64, the one on the C64 is made by a C64 coder(Smash Designs 2004) so it was Freeware so not made by Rainbow Arts, Turrican 3 was released in 1994 so the C64 was discontinued by that time, I remember hearing about it on the radio that the C64 was being discontinued, thats how hi profile the C64 was in the UK in 1994, I remember get my games from Boots, yep they did sell computer games at one time... . Enjoy... I be making a music mix for the A500 Mini when I get it to add to its carousel and will include the original music thats on the carousel already so it will sound like it has not changed, I added different C64 SID music to PCUAE Carousel so the music was not continues and repeating all the time, after a while listening to THEC64 Music on the Carousel, it becomes a bit monotonous. This is what Turrican 3 sounds like on the Amiga Amiga Music is mod music or Module Tracker music, the music have 4 tracks in it for each sound thats played, 2 tracks for left speaker and 2 tracks for right speaker so it sounds abit like stereo, you can get 8 tracker modules but they are not used in games, 4 tracker is manly used on the Amiga, you can play the mod file from the game with Octimed v6 or ProTracker. Octimed v6 on my Amiga The thing I did like about the Amiga was its music, it blow me away the first time I heard it, well it was 1990... |
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Post by kens on Mar 18, 2022 10:00:03 GMT
I got my A500 in March 1988. Then later a A1200 around 1990-93 when it came out. Liked the A1200. But would prefer a Maxi. Mainly used my for programming in AMOS. Take care. But love my C64C, TheC64 and Ultimate 64. Mainly use for learning Comal and Assembly language.
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Post by spannernick on Mar 19, 2022 13:52:10 GMT
You can run the Amiga on THEC64, if anyone is interested and it has Classic Workbench 1.3... its is abit slow on THEC64 Mini(it does have a frame rate menu to fix that) but thats cause it has A20(dual core), 2 cores SoC and THEC64 Maxi has a H3,(quad core) 4 cores SoC, the Amiga runs at normal speed on THEC64 Maxi and THEVIC20, THEC64 Maxi/THEVIC20 has twice the power THEC64 Mini has, it uses P-UAE from Retroarch. |
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Post by aneira on Mar 19, 2022 15:52:25 GMT
Less than 3 weeks now  |
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Post by c64stuff on Mar 19, 2022 16:15:19 GMT
I'd expect even though Retro Games LTD says they intend to later release an A500 maxi that somebody will be selling a A500 mini working keyboard kit like they do for the C64 mini. If you watch the video of it being manufactured those fake keys look like they have potential to be converted into working ones even more so than the C64 mini did. I also expect somebody will offer a kit to use micro SD or better yet the physically bigger regular SD cards to look more like 3.5" disks and be inserted into the fake disk drive on the side of the case.
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Post by aneira on Mar 20, 2022 7:35:39 GMT
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Post by jj0 on Mar 20, 2022 9:40:36 GMT
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Post by spannernick on Mar 20, 2022 16:31:37 GMT
It allows you to play WHDLoad games from the A500 Browser(same as THEC64) in lha format,(lha has been used on the Amiga for a long time, its like gzip on Linux a zip file, they were originally zipped with lha so you could transfer the games easily to a Amigas Hard Drive) not the carrousel, its has no images in it. The emulator that the A500 Mini is using is Amiberry it has WHDBooter in that package. github.com/midwan/amiberry/issues/730 |
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Post by spannernick on Mar 20, 2022 16:45:04 GMT
What the next Alwinner SoC after the H3? well THEC64 Mini is A20, THEC64Maxi/VIC20 is a H3 so what will THEA500Mini use a H5 or is that over kill...?
I think maybe RGL used a H3 SoC still but with 512 mb ram(Amiberry need more ram than 256mb ram to run) and SDL2 compatible with Flashlight and mail cause the prototype is using the same carousel as THEC64 so using the source code from it.
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Post by aneira on Mar 21, 2022 11:40:34 GMT
I hope the controller is better quality than the S**t bisquit that came with THEC64Mini. That being said even if the buttons and d-pad is quality (which I highly doubt) the design still worries me. Copying the design of the original CD32 controller is like copying a bike where the steering wheels and pedals has been swapped. I don't think I'm being harsh when claiming the CD32 controller was the worst design ever built apart from the Colecovision controller.
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Post by aneira on Mar 21, 2022 12:02:56 GMT
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Post by c64stuff on Mar 21, 2022 12:59:24 GMT
I never used a CD32 controller but from what I've read in the past I thought people liked it's form factor but hated the mushy soft D-Pad? If it's not all that good some will probably use a modern USB replica of Sega Genesis controllers because they used one on their C64 back then (which can damage the C64) and it fits the look and control theme of the CD32 or CDTV. Or they'll use a nes or SNES style controller. I still prefer Atari joysticks for most games and a D pad for some others that a D pad works better with. Many work on the mini and maxi such as the INNext snes.
Happy to wake up to that video being posted! Just checked and 8 Bit Guy has just got the A500 and posted one too! Looking forward to watching both.
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Post by c64stuff on Mar 21, 2022 15:26:51 GMT
Just watched the 8 Bit Guy video. Haven't watched the other RetroRecipies video yet. Man the detail and quality of the A500 case, mouse, controller, and box looks great!
At just after 3 minute mark he talks about the controller and mentions it feels nice and solid, well made, and heavy in a good way. At the 8:20 time mark he talks more about it and compares it's layout and functionality to the original CD32 controller. This new A500 game pad looks much better including how the buttons are laid out.
At the 3:30 mark he shows all the cables plugged into the back. Amazing how good that all looks with the retro Amiga cream color scheme. Once you plug in the mouse, controller, and power you'll only have one usb port available. This means if you plug in a USB drive you're going to need a USB hub for plugging in a keyboard or second controller or use a keyboard with extra USB ports so you can do something like plug the mouse into that. I wonder if the A500 supports wireless keyboard and wireless mouse combos so you could just plug a wireless dongle into one USB port to use both? I know at least some wireless keyboards work with TheC64 mini and maxi. But since the Amiga GUI is largely mouse driven there should be less of a need to use the virtual keyboard or plug one in than there is for the C64 mini to get past things like loader screens.
At the 3:40 mark he shows the power LED. Looks good. Wonder if the drive light works? If not I bet somebody will modify that to work with USB, like in a kit to use full size or micro SD cards in the disk drive on the side. EDIT: further info on him covering the drive light below.
I like the look and layout of the carousel and at around the 7 minute mark was excited to see you have extensive settings options for each game for things like ntsc, pal, which controller port your using, controller type, mouse speed, and even screen dimensions. The mouse speed adjustment is a big one to adjust individual games to your liking like Arkanoid or others that you can use a mouse with. Also nice to see you can even map the controller to your liking for the game. I wonder if it saves all this for each game when you play it in the future? Being able to do all this easily for a game onscreen unlike the C64 mini or maxi where you'd have to set up file name tags on your PC is real nice.
At the 10 minute mark he shows the A500 mouse works with a PC and says it's nice to use except that he's spoiled by using mice with a scroll wheel. He then shows the A500 controller works with a PC to play games too. I think this controller with it's improvements and changed button layout over the original CD32 controller looks like it might be a pretty good one to use. I wonder if it uses micro switches or a pressure switch pad? The C64 mini joystick used pressure switches and most people prefer the newer maxi joystick that uses micro switches, but if not I guess micro switches are less of a need in a gamepad with smaller buttons than an actual joystick.
At 10:20 he takes the A500 apart. At 10:50 notice the keys are several separate pieces of plastic and they screw into the case. This should help in somebody building a working keyboard kit. Plenty of screw mounts!
Also notice three wires going up to the power light. Can't see if there's a drive activity led but being three wires there should be. Ground, positive for power, and separate positive for drive light. EDIT: At around 11:20 he later shows there is a separate drive light but he didn't notice it working yet when loading games.
Notice at the lower left there's also pins for a cooling fan, UBoot, and there is the button. That big heatsink looks good but I bet some will install a fan to prevent thermal throttling especially if the unit is hacked and you're running emulators that stress the CPU more than Amiga emulation or if you're over clocking the CPU.
At $139 I agree with what he says that the quality looks good and it's not all that bad of a deal for a retro Amiga themed case, mouse, and controller. Some people will probably find it worth the price even if they just want the case to throw a raspberry pi into and use the mouse and controller with it. Plus you get a nice box for shelf art. Lol.
Anybody know if this cpu lends itself to being compatible to run the Carousel on other single board computers? Or if other existing single board software could be run on the A500 board? One mistake I think he made was saying he thought the CPU was the same one found in the maxi? Pretty sure Retro Games LTD had already told some this CPU is about twice as powerful than the CPU in the mini or maxi.
Now I've got to watch the new RetroRecipies video review of it somebody above posted. Hopefully some of my questions are answered in that video.
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Post by c64stuff on Mar 21, 2022 16:30:23 GMT
Looks like several more people have just got the A500 to unbox and review, including John Hancock and Metal Jesus Rocks! If you find any others please post them. And the last video below looks cool with a retro magazine review of it. Would be nice to get a copy of that magazine to have on display or even framed as wall art. Can't wait to watch them all. Enjoy!
EDIT. Just started watching the Metal Jesus rocks review and at the 3:20 mark he mentions that the controller is pretty comfortable. John Hancock also mentions in his video that he really likes the controller and even says it's excellent, better than controllers that come with many consoles, and that they really did a great job on the controller. That and the quality of it that 8 Bit Guy mentioned in his video should ease the fears of people worried the controller would be crappy like the one the CD32 came with that some didn't like.
It was also interesting to see you can adjust memory as well as blitter and CPU settings individually for each game to get them running as smoothly as possible for certain hardware requirements.
I'm also surprised to hear Metal Jesus never owned an Amiga. Not surprised though that John Hancock says he played many games on a friend's Amiga but never owned one because he was a big Atari fan back then. I keep hearing people usually overseas say they didn't think it or even the C64 was all that big in the states. At least where I lived in the states both the C64 and Amiga were huge in the home gaming and computer market. You rarely saw an Apple II, Mac, or an Atari ST but Amigas and C64s were everywhere around me. The trading games scene was huge among friends and user groups and many of the bulletin boards were also run on C64s or Amigas.
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Post by spannernick on Mar 21, 2022 20:32:31 GMT
THEA500 Mini specs is: CPU:Alwinner H6 SoC GPU:Mali T720 instead of Mali 450 SoC part of H6 as one package. RAM: 1GB 2x 128x16 512mb NT5CB128M16FP-DI chips - Download Datasheet PDFNAND Flash Chip, like THEC64. Emulator: Amiberry GUI: THEA500Carousel Made with Flashlight, like THEC64 Carousel, uses parts of its source code. Hopefully I should be able to put full Amiberry on it then. I have a workaround for loading ADF files I think, if you install WHDLoad version of Workbench 3.1 you can get it to boot a adf image before it boots like your puting in a Disk in before workbench loads so it loads the disk instead. If you want to play Protracker or Octimed in Workbench or any program from then you will be able to put it into the Workbench 3.1 WHDLoad LHA package in a folder inside workbench 3.1 called Programs and then run the program from it in the A500Mini, I be making a Workbench 3.1 WHDLoad Package for THEA500 Mini in the next couple of days... Not sure how big a LHA file can be or hold, if any Programs you want in Workbench let me know and I see if i can add them, Make sure you have a full copy of Workbench 3.1 just for copyright cause it will include it. So in a way I am using the Workbench 3.1 WHDLoad install as if it was like a hard drive with Workbench on it... and you should be able to add what you want too so like mods for Workbench or maybe even Classic Workbench on it, we will see. I have installed Workbench 3.1 in WHDLoad ready... Info on switching ADF Images in Workbench 3.1 =============================== whdload.de/apps/Workbench31.htmlDISKSONBOOT If that symbol is defined there will be disks inserted in the drives at booting time. Otherwise all drives will be empty. If the symbol is set, DF0: will contain 'Disk.1', DF1: 'Disk.2' an so on. To insert or change disks in the drives use the function _trd_changedisk (see below). _trd_changedisk * only avaliable if TRDCHANGEDISK is defined * change a disk in a trackdisk.device unit * SYNOPSIS IN: D0 = BYTE unit D1 = BYTE number of disk image to insert OUT: - * will cause two diskchanges as usual, one for removing the old disk and one for inserting the new one |
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Post by c64stuff on Mar 21, 2022 23:06:10 GMT
Very cool. Excited to see what people do with this thing. I see a lot of chatter on the web from even people who never owned an Amiga back then or are younger and didn't even grow up in that era who know of the Amiga's ground breaking gaming reputation and are planning to get the A500 mini. Don't forget there's also a whole class of mini collectors out there who can be picky about what minis they add to their collection and the response from them I read seems good.
The Amiga had thousands of games and many to this day are unique to it only or where the best ports of a particular game in that era. There's something about it's vibrant graphics and sound that even later computers and consoles that came after it in the 90's just didn't have.
Many people from all sorts of backgrounds have wanted to play Amiga games but Amiga hardware is getting expensive in the collector market and setup of the hardware emulation on a PC or even a raspberry pi can be tricky for it. Many don't even want to mess with writing a micro SD card image that's preconfigured for a pi and just want a turn key console style product. This is for them as well as hardcore Amiga fans who want to dive deeper.
I've watched all the videos posted in this thread in the last day except the RetroRecipies video which I plan to watch tonight and so far all seem very positive. I'm sure many others will be popping up too over the next several days because judging by the serial numbers reported in the videos so far it sounds like they sent out a bunch for unboxing and review. A few people I hope they also sent ones to for early unboxing and review are Nostalgia Nerd, LGR, BastichB, and Dan Wood. I plan to do a search tonight to see if more videos are out and will post any here I find.
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Post by c64stuff on Mar 21, 2022 23:57:52 GMT
Few more new unboxing reviews of the A500. Haven't watched them yet. Edit. This first video I just watched and he had serial number 6 of the Amiga 500 so they sent him serial number 6 of the A500 mini. Very cool.
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Post by aneira on Mar 22, 2022 7:49:31 GMT
I never used a CD32 controller but from what I've read in the past I thought people liked it's form factor but hated the mushy soft D-Pad? Yes, the D-pad was mushy and it broke easily. I have two original CD32 gamepads and both D-pads are broken. It's good to hear that the reviewer's seem satisfied with THEGamePad. Does anyone know if WHD packages for CD32 games will load on THEA500 Mini? Haven't seen it tested yet. |
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thats the main reason why I am getting it, and I collect mini consoles, I am not interested it a Maxi version, I have the Amiga 500 already, 2 of them plus A600 and A1200, I was not interested in THEC64 Maxi, I only have THEVIC20 cause someone got me it as a present, Its a lot easier doing stuff on it to do with PCUAE thought... 
