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Post by findecanor on Mar 22, 2022 11:10:38 GMT
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. I think more people used the Genesis/Mega Drive controller on the Amiga than on the C64. It came out a year after the A500. The B button works as Fire/Left mouse button. Some Amiga games detect presses on the C button: it is wired to the same pin as the Right mouse button. When Commodore designed the CD32 gamepad, they made it compatible with older games that hadn't been made to explicitly support it. Red maps to Fire/Left mouse button/Sega B button ... and the Blue button maps to the right mouse button/Sega C button. I dunno if a Sega gamepad worked with a game that tried to read the CD32's additional buttons though. |
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Post by aneira on Mar 22, 2022 13:10:33 GMT
@spannernick
I hope you can make PCUSB2 work with WDHLoad packages (.lha) as well and not just ADF files.
It's gonna be so cool. I feel like my inner child waiting for Christmas.
(I once got a C64 cartridge game for Christmas where the box was empty. They forgot to put the cartridge in before shipping. Worst Christmas ever!)
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Post by spannernick on Mar 22, 2022 15:28:47 GMT
@spannernick I hope you can make PCUSB2 work with WDHLoad packages (.lha) as well and not just ADF files. It's gonna be so cool. I feel like my inner child waiting for Christmas. (I once got a C64 cartridge game for Christmas where the box was empty. They forgot to put the cartridge in before shipping. Worst Christmas ever!) Hopefully ...  do not see why not a Project Carousel USB Amiga Edition(PCUAE2)... I am looking forward to making it... I might be able to get THECarousel's to work from THEC64 on THEA500 Mini too but will not be able to add THEA500 Carousel/Emulator to PCUAE cause Amiberry does not work on it, and it needs more ram. I just found a board with a H6 on, its made by Orange like the Orange PI H3 version but has a H6 SoC and looks the same size, its called a Orange Pi One Plus so RGL could of used this board for testing maybe before the prototype was made. Just noticed it uses different RAM - 1GB LPDDR3 Chip and THEA500 Mini uses 2x 128x16 512mb NT5CB128M16FP-DI chips that are used in the Capcom Home Arcade, - Download Datasheet pdf for NT5CB128M16FP-DI chips www.orangepi.org/OrangePiOneplus/ |
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Post by spannernick on Mar 23, 2022 13:51:23 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. I noticed in the videos they get a full user manual, will we be getting that to cause you see the quick guide in the box too or they only got it cause they reviewing it, probably. I like how RGL call THEC64 a toy on there Facebook page... lol |
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Post by c64stuff on Mar 23, 2022 14:35:16 GMT
I think the full manual was only sent to them as reviewers of the A500 just like they also sent them a USB stick. In one or two of those videos i think the reviewer actually mentions that he didn't think everybody else will get the full manual and a USB stick and you'll just get the quick guide. No big deal though because it's easy enough to print out the full manual or even buy the printed manual online. I think even Amazon sells The C64 mini and maxi manual hardcopy. Many will probably just read the manual online and never feel the need for a hard copy. What bothers me more than that is that like many products these days they aren't sending you a wall power supply. People should pay attention to what amp rating they say it needs and be sure to get at least that amp size or higher. I always like to use a power supply that's a bit higher in it's amp carrying ability just to be safe because these things are cheap and often are barely able to carry what amps they're rated for. Plus it's extra room for any accessories plugged into a device that might be a little power hungry like keyboards or USB sticks. At least they give you those great retro looking cream colored cables including for your power brick. By the way if I read this right before A500 unboxing videos you were thinking the CPU would be a less powerful one than the H6 they're using? What are your thoughts on this CPU? What's the most powerful computer or console you think it can emulate? 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. Here's a few more new unboxing videos of the A500. They're not in English. |
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Post by spannernick on Mar 23, 2022 16:57:03 GMT
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Post by c64stuff on Mar 24, 2022 0:59:09 GMT
One of the people I mentioned I hoped they sent the A500 mini for unboxing and review on his channel was Dan Wood, who also does the RetroHour podcast. And here it is! He also tries out Workbench and demos, which I think is a first for somebody to do on the A500 mini. Another I forget to mention I hope they sent one to review is RetroManCave (or RMC The Cave).
Also I see they included a clear plastic cover just like for the C64 Maxi. Good idea to keep that over your original C64 or the C64 or A500 maxi on the desk to keep dust off it. I'd also then put a towel over the plastic because as a dust shield that plastic will scratch easily from dust. Lol. Nice functional thing to have from the packaging though.
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Post by aneira on Mar 24, 2022 9:47:20 GMT
Also I see they included a clear plastic cover just like for the C64 Maxi. Good idea to keep that over your original C64 or the C64 or A500 maxi on the desk to keep dust off it. I'd also then put a towel over the plastic because as a dust shield that plastic will scratch easily from dust. Lol. Nice functional thing to have from the packaging though. I get where you're coming from, but at our age we'll die before this thing succumbs to dust. Shouldn't worry about it. I have also come to realize that my giant backlog of games to be played is but a dream. It's time to start prioritizing. Life is too short. Great games are too many. |
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Post by c64stuff on Mar 24, 2022 15:47:21 GMT
New video by Bread Box Commodore Computer Museum talking about Retro Games LTD's website A500 mini info just now being updated. He has no voice at the moment because he's recovering from COVID so he used a computer voice to do this video. He mentions they now have a USB package to download that includes a new bonus game. Nice to see the A500 hasn't even been released for sale yet and they already are providing a bonus game to download.
Check out the black gamepad you can buy as an accessory! I really like the look of that! It's got more of a Commodore CDTV, CD32, or Sega Genesis vibe to it.
Also a few other new videos by somebody else tearing down the A500, mouse, and controller to see what's inside. They're not in English but he removes the heat sink to investigate the CPU and also puts further info about the chips on the board up on the screen in the video.
I only glanced at the videos so I can't tell. Does the mouse look like it's using micro switches? I think Dan Wood mentioned in his video the mouse buttons felt clicky like micro switches, and it's hard to see because they're black but it does look like they are micro switches?
It looks like the gamepad shoulder buttons are using micro switches but unfortunately though it's easy to see the rest of the buttons are using pressure switches. But I guess there's less of a need for micro switches when you're not dealing with a joystick or big buttons where you'd notice this more, and all the A500 reviews so far seem to like the controller.
I wonder if the new black A500 controller will be using micro switches for the D pad and fire buttons like The C64 joystick Retro Games LTD sells as a separate accessory you can buy and also came with the Maxi while the C64 mini came with a joystick that only had pressure switches? I hope they sell this new black gamepad with micro switches so people who prefer them have that option but then again just about all NES or SNES style game pads use pressure switches, and at least the bigger shoulder buttons of the A500 controller appear the be micro switches where you'd notice it more.
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Post by c64stuff on Mar 25, 2022 13:38:37 GMT
Few more new A500 videos. How to video walking you through adding more games and a quick play through of the Citadel bonus game they now have available for download. Judging by the look of RetroGames LTD website page where this game is shown it looks like they intend to have more bonus games available in the future too.
A quick overview of the A500.
Another new video that's not in English.
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Post by c64stuff on Mar 25, 2022 22:07:30 GMT
New video covering the topic of whether there will be an A500 maxi. I don't know why people keep asking this question because Retro Games LTD already has said they intend to release a full size maxi version with working keyboard. I'd rather see an Amiga 1000 because then you'd have the detached keyboard you could stick under the case and be able to put your monitor on top to save desk space, but I won't be disappointed with it being an Amiga 500 or Amiga 1200 reproduction either. The Amiga 500 was the best selling of all the models in the states and overseas so it only makes sense they'd want the maxi to be that version of the Amiga.
Hers a great comment somebody made under this video.
"Don't get me wrong, I am all for original hardware and I own several amigas, but even if you can actually get an original A500 with gotek with the same price, you can't really compare the two in terms of usability. The original hardware will need manintenance, recapping and some TLC to get to working order. And even then, it'll be problematic to connect it to a modern TV. You'll also have to find input devices in a good state to actually play the games, and you'd be still stuck to OCS games in floppy format. The A500 offers HDMI output, AGA emulation, 68030-level emulated processor, hard drive emulation, while still allowing you to use an usb drive to play not only floppy based images, but whdload images with basically no load times. Basically, for someone that just wants to play old classics without major hassles, the A500 is a good and simple solution. For everyone else, get yourself an original machine ad have fun with it!"
I couldn't agree more. While I'm all for restoring and using original hardware, to do all that and use things like a video adapter for a modern screen and other things like a modern storage mod, you're running into big money and a lot of work, and it still won't offer the ease and convenience of the A500 mini or maxi at a much lower amount of cost and time. Plus you've got that quick and easy to use front end, legal licensing of the games and roms, and what looks to be a great gamepad and mouse by all reports.
Just like the C64 mini and maxi, the A500 versions are for the masses and many who don't have the time or technical expertise to use original hardware, as well as even the diehard commodore fans who may have original equipment but want a quick and easy daily driver. Plus there are many who have heard of the Amiga but never owned one or even grew up after it's era and yet are big fans of retro gaming and will buy this at a store or on Amazon but would never consider buying real hardware.
I've also seen some say they would love the maxi version but they don't have the space so they're getting the mini, and others say they want the maxi for the replica keyboard and case.
No doubt some will be buying it just so they can use the new case and keyboard for original Amiga hardware or to throw a pi into. I wonder if the key caps are physically compatible with original Amiga keyboards because some might even buy it just so use the keys as donors for missing ones on original hardware.
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Post by c64stuff on Mar 26, 2022 13:15:44 GMT
How did the 25 games on the mini rate back then?
25 must play games to sideload on the A500 mini.
11 upcoming Amiga games in 2022.
Four more upcoming games.
Part three. 10 more upcoming games in 2022.
Upcoming AGA version of Castlevania.
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Post by grasshopper on Mar 27, 2022 11:29:22 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...
There's a fascinating video on Youtube that compares the Megadrive and Amiga versions of Turrican 3:
I've always been a huge Amiga fanboy, but I have to admit that the Megadrive version look ever so slightly better. The main difference is that on some of the Amiga's screens, the parallax scrolling layer has been simplified or removed altogether. That's a shame but it doesn't really affect the gameplay. The Amiga was perfectly capable of handling parallax scrolling. So I suspect the screens were simplified so that the full game could be squeezed into the stock A500's 512k of RAM.
Overall however, it's remarkable how similar the two versions look. If they weren't shown side by side, then you probably couldn't tell the difference.
In my opinion, With sufficient RAM fitted, the Amiga's graphics were more than a match for both the Megadrive and the SNES.
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Post by grasshopper on Mar 27, 2022 11:50:25 GMT
No doubt some will be buying it just so they can use the new case and keyboard for original Amiga hardware or to throw a pi into. I wonder if the key caps are physically compatible with original Amiga keyboards because some might even buy it just so use the keys as donors for missing ones on original hardware. Sadly, I doubt that will be the case. In my opinion, the biggest mistake that RGL made with the C64 Maxi was not designing it so that its parts were interchangeable with a real C64s. I'm still baffled why they didn't do that. It would have been awesome to have been able to buy a beaten up C64 on Ebay, and then replace the case with a new C64 Maxi's case, and effectively have a new C64. It would also have been nice to have been able to replace the C64 Maxi's cheap keycaps with the far superior keycaps that were fitted to early C64s. Sadly, none of that is possible without some serious work with a dremel. It almost feels like the C64 Maxi was designed not to be easily hacked. I hope RGL don't make the same mistake with the A500 Maxi, but I suspect they will. Based on the A500 Mini, they appear to be following exactly the same template that they used for the C64 Mini. So it's likely that the A500 Maxi will also have the same strengths and weaknesses as the C64 Maxi. I hope I'm wrong, but RGL don't appear to be interested in obtaining feedback from the community. And they appear to have a very particular idea about the type of customer that their products are aimed at. If you don't fit into that demographic then you're not invited to the party. |
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Post by findecanor on Mar 27, 2022 18:17:10 GMT
I think that A1200.net already has that market covered: both A500 and A1200 cases, keyboards and keycaps. Not sure about the A500 cases, but their A1200 cases have some new features, including standoffs for mounting a Raspberry Pi inside. I would only expect RGL's TheA500 "Maxi" to have a cheaper keyboard than any of the several original keyboard types, like how the TheC64 did. One thing they do need to do though (hey, if you read this!) is to reuse the Amiga's original keyboard matrix: Commodore-Amiga's engineers had had the forethought to standardise it and publish it in the Amiga HWRM, not only for future replacement parts but more importantly so that software developers could choose key-combos that work on all keyboards. If RGL would use a different matrix, then some software might have keyboard shortcuts that wouldn't work. |
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Post by spannernick on Mar 27, 2022 19:19:15 GMT
THEA500 Mini has 512 mb ram so 2x 256mb chips, my mistake I thought it was 1GB, its not..  |
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Post by grasshopper on Mar 27, 2022 19:58:35 GMT
One thing they do need to do though (hey, if you read this!) is to reuse the Amiga's original keyboard matrix: Commodore-Amiga's engineers had had the forethought to standardise it and publish it in the Amiga HWRM, not only for future replacement parts but more importantly so that software developers could choose key-combos that work on all keyboards. If RGL would use a different matrix, then some software might have keyboard shortcuts that wouldn't work.
Yes, that's a good point given that some games used the keyboard.
I suppose another solution would be to design the A500 Maxi's keyboard so that it has n-key rollover. But I doubt they'll do that as it would add significantly to the cost.
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Post by c64stuff on Mar 29, 2022 0:44:55 GMT
20 more games his viewers recommend to side load on the A500 mini.
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Post by aneira on Mar 29, 2022 16:57:19 GMT
I was about to write "Only 10 days left!" but then I got a notice that my package had been sent. So I should already receive it tomorrow! Major hype!! 😃🤘
Seems Europe received their supply earlier than 8th of April, so those of you who are fellow Europeans should receive yours shortly too.
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Post by aneira on Mar 30, 2022 11:38:33 GMT
Any advise on allocation size when formatting USB stick to use with TheA500 ?
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Post by aneira on Mar 30, 2022 11:57:37 GMT
Okay time for my first impression of The GamePad.
Although the weight feels right, the D-pad feels very akward. Like there's a disc underneath instead of button receptions. Not a good feeling at all.
The buttons all feel too plastic and has a high noisy click sound. I'm 100% gonna use another gamepad.
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Post by spannernick on Mar 30, 2022 11:58:01 GMT
No sign of mine yet, have not even taken the money yet, from UK.
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Post by aneira on Mar 30, 2022 12:59:48 GMT
On a good note, I can confirm that TheA500 Mini is able to play CD32 games, at least those I've tried so far, as long as they are WHD'd in .lha format.
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Post by jj0 on Mar 30, 2022 16:32:36 GMT
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Post by c64stuff on Mar 30, 2022 22:22:00 GMT
Another video going into detail reviewing the magazine article on the A500 mini.
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Post by c64stuff on Mar 30, 2022 22:43:15 GMT
Okay time for my first impression of The GamePad. Although the weight feels right, the D-pad feels very akward. Like there's a disc underneath instead of button receptions. Not a good feeling at all. The buttons all feel too plastic and has a high noisy click sound. I'm 100% gonna use another gamepad. On the prior page of this thread there's a video dissembling the mouse and gamepad. From the looks of it the mouse uses micro switches and so does the gamepad's shoulder buttons, but the rest of the gamepad buttons appear to be pressure switches. The D pad isn't a disc but all four buttons appear to be connected to each other with what looks like rubber as one piece? All the reviews so far seem to love the gamepad, but obviously some games are better with a joystick or vise versa. I agree with you. Most people would probably rather use whatever controller they used originally on a C64 and Amiga. For me that means using a Atari 2600 joystick. I'm hoping the Hyperkin Trooper II USB Atari 2600 joystick clone works right away without having to tweak the config file. This joystick has extra buttons on the front and back for GUI navigation. It's a little to soft in the joystick travel to me, but that's a matter of taste because some people liked to use Atari joysticks that were worn out a good bit. But, I am finding there are some C64 and Amiga games I like using a SNES style gamepad with. I guess it all depends on the type of game. |
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Post by c64stuff on Mar 31, 2022 21:51:01 GMT
Looks like people at least in some places are starting to get their A500 mini today. Here's a couple new videos that are not in English.
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Post by c64stuff on Apr 1, 2022 14:48:21 GMT
Complete walkthrough of A500 mini user manual.
Couple more review videos not in English.
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Post by trusti on Apr 3, 2022 4:45:34 GMT
Is it possible to map the extra buttons of Thejoystick?
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Post by c64stuff on Apr 3, 2022 23:55:30 GMT
How to load WHDLoad games on the A500.
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do not see why not a Project Carousel USB Amiga Edition(PCUAE2)... 
