@BigD

Yeah, without looking into it, I assumed it was due to that sort of issue. Given how good many of the Cinemaware games are, and how well they showcased the capabilities of the Amiga, I would assume that Retro Games Ltd. would have included something from them if they feasibly could.

It doesn't matter *that* much of course, since we can just add them ourselves. -) Having a game in the preinstalled lineup just means you get it properly configured and optimised from that start, and maybe serves to shine a spotlight on that particular game. This is one of the reasons I was happy to see Worms DC included. It was so good, and yet sold so poorly. I'm glad to see it reaching more people.

@bison

Quote:

Q: Is there any way to connect to the Internet with The A500 Mini?

Their no Wifi on the device, so short answer, no. But if the system gets fully hacked maybe the OS/linux would recognize a USB wifi / ethernet device.

The only other way would be maybe using something like a Wifi SD card / Cloud USB backup device that allow download to. So you not hacking the device, it thinks its just connecting to USB flash storage, when really it connecting to a Cloud / Shared folder.

but really it be easier and better to buy yourself a Pi!

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@Kay

I think I'd have been disappointed with Worms DC if I'd bought it in 1997 as the CD32 release I already had was really polished with great music and ambience plus the FMV intros. I like the A500 Mini gamepad controls for it though and now that we can easily play the Worms 2 soundtrack in the background the sound isn't so much of a let down.

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@thread

The A500 Mini PandoryMod [HACKED] - Native RetroArch and ScummVM!

#6

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@amigang

I'm just wondering how software updates are done. My guess is that there won't be any. It's not a huge problem, since there's no network connectivity, so security is not an issue. Or maybe one can download updated images on another computer.

I'm hopeful for a full-size version, a.k.a. the so-called "maxi." Perhaps that will have WIFI.

Rpi: yes, everyone should have one or two.

Last edited by bison on 30-Apr-2022 at 03:37 PM.
Last edited by bison on 30-Apr-2022 at 03:36 PM.

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bison Quote:

I'm just wondering how software updates are done. My guess is that there won't be any. It's not a huge problem, since there's no network connectivity, so security is not an issue. Or maybe one can download updated images on another computer.

THEA500 Mini is updated by placing an update on a USB stick like is done with side loading. The menu option that displays the system version will then read the USB stick and ask to update.

bison Quote:

I'm hopeful for a full-size version, a.k.a. the so-called "maxi." Perhaps that will have WIFI.

Not likely judging by THEC64 Maxi. More likely another missed opportunity for the Amiga as Retro Games Ltd's efforts are ignored. They will likely make their money and move on. At least the road blocks didn't stop them like some other projects more popular than PPC projects.

@number6

Quote:

Lengthy review by Epsilon

Great review, as one would expect.

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@matthey

Quote:

Perhaps Koch Media Group helps with financing as well as distribution?

As Koch Medai had/has the exclusive distribution rights for other consoles (Intellivision Amico springs to mind here), I think financing 1 company might not be a good look. heh.

#6

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#6 Quote:

As Koch Media had/has the exclusive distribution rights for other consoles (Intellivision Amico springs to mind here), I think financing 1 company might not be a good look. heh.

Would other companies be able to see a loan? I expect bringing THEA500 Mini to market would have cost more than £1 million which is significant for a business the size of Retro Games Ltd. Maybe the owners self fund with loans or use personal assets as collateral for a secured loan. Computer related businesses often don't have valuable assets to use as collateral and often have low book values.

@matthey

iirc, I said something before about Paul being able to do what he wants.

Source

#6

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@#6
I image some of these guys have deep pockets themselves. The "small" business may just be a way to limit liabilities in case customer houses burn down and they are sued (businesses usually carry insurance for this but it gets expensive with higher payout limits). It may look better for tax deductions as well. I can see Paul is seriously into retro gaming and cares about it. There are others out there who could work together to create better quality retro hardware that pays homage to the original. A 68k SoC ASIC should be created for retro posterity if no other reason. It may be worthwhile as a significant price drop would likely equate to a several times unit sales increase as the devices drop into solid impulse buying and gift territory.

Last edited by matthey on 02-May-2022 at 12:06 AM.

@matthey

So what added value would your fantasy 68k SOC offert Retro Games and their customers?

Last edited by Rob on 02-May-2022 at 12:31 AM.

Rob Quote:

So what value would your fantasy 68k SOC offer Retro Games and their customers?

A 68k SoC ASIC could bring a lower price, better performance, more accurate 68k execution, better compatibility and better I/O. I would hope that general purpose productivity and embedded capabilities would be enabled out of the box. Hardware support for other 68k retro hardware would be a plus too.

@matthey

If you're curious about the company's recent history and what they had to suffer through to get where they are today:

Extremely well done video by Slopes

Many many mentions of Paul, Darren, and Chris through each step along the way.

#6

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#6 Quote:

If you're curious about the company's recent history and what they had to suffer through to get where they are today: Extremely well done video by Slopes Many many mentions of Paul, Darren, and Chris through each step along the way.

Wow! The early Retro Games Ltd history makes the Intellivision Amico and Ben Herman's Hyperion shenanigans look like childs play. David Levy beats Ben Hermans in audacity and shenanigans hands down. Another example that ethics are important in business as there are criminals who will take over and destroy a business. In the end, Paul and Chris were able to recover their business although recovering their reputation and paying off debts likely took longer.

@matthey

Quote:

The "small" business may just be a way to limit liabilities

There's more to it than that. If you look at each one you'll uncover a boatload of trademarks. Obviously they've used other methods of gathering IP and then transferring it.

case in point

Sorry to dwell on this, but I'm just saying this is bigger than one might assume at 1st glance...

#6

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@thread

Update on the upcoming release in the U.S:

Quote:

BUT A WARNING! We are also aware that most of the USA stock is now pre-ordered… so there will NOT be a lot of stock post release… and the same goes for most other regions… stock is starting to run low…

RetroGames Ltd. also confirmed batch order 2:

Quote:

but that will not be available till at least August or even later in the year depending on many global factors beyond our control

#6

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So, about the 500 Mini. It's interesting to contrast the reception to it versus the reception to the Commodore C64X that Barry Altmann released.

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@number6

Quote:

The A500 Mini PandoryMod [HACKED] - Native RetroArch and ScummVM!

And "native" here means Linux/ARM, right? So boo hoo "68k market".

Btw - there are some very good reasons to NOT have wifi (or for that matter, any networking) on such a device - it then becomes a target for malicious attacks, and Retro Games would have to start thinking of security, something they are neither interested in nor have resources for.

Last edited by kolla on 04-May-2022 at 01:30 PM.
Last edited by kolla on 04-May-2022 at 01:30 PM.

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@matthey

Quote:

matthey wrote: A 68k SoC ASIC could bring a lower price

Doubtful!

Quote:

better performance

For what? The old 68k games that don't need better performance?
For the carousel front end?

Quote:

more accurate 68k execution

What does that even mean? Accurate how, accurate compared to what?

Quote:

better compatibility

With what? Games made for 7.14 MHz 68000? Games mafe for 68020+? Or better compatibility with WHDLoad?

Quote:

and better I/O

What i/O? Better as in faster? Better as in more modern? Better as in "not emulated"? Well, that is NOT the CPU, that is the chipset - so if you want to new 68k SoC, you also need a whole new Amiga chipset implementation with new peripherals, and last but certainly not least - software support! How will you do that? And how are old games supposedly going to support all this new stuff? And once all this is in ASIC, there's no going back - you are stuck with it, bugs and all.

Why all this hassle when software emulation is PLENTY good enough, and allow for easy updates and improvements?

Oh, and if you wish to say "the apollo team can do it, so why not erveryone else", like you ofte do...

http://apollo-core.com/knowledge.php?b=5¬e=38268

Last edited by kolla on 04-May-2022 at 01:52 PM.
Last edited by kolla on 04-May-2022 at 01:50 PM.

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