A1200NG Updates

[BozzerBigD]

Why would a PiStorm32 be a good fit for the A1200NG? The machine already has an Arm chip albeit an Orange Pi Zero thing! The Pistorm will content to a Mininig to produce a standalone machine.

[BozzerBigD]

The deal seems to be, the A1200NG and A600GS are aspirational products in perpetual development which given enough user feedback can be anything that you want them to be! Don't ask what the machine can do for you, instead just buy it on impulse, beta-test the heck out of it and then report to Amigakit what it struggles to do and they'll iterate! I think that sums it up peeps! Take it or leave it. For everyone else there's the Amiga Maxi just around the corner or Pi400, or Vampire 4 SA or MiSTer or soon to be standalone Minimig with PiStorm32.

[BozzerBigD]

@amigakit

If I'm at all "sore" it's because you fail to clarify what it can and can't do! You supply a serial port on the A1200NG but expect others to test it! You add 2x9pin ports and 2xUSB ports and then fail to clarify whether that can operate like an Amiga with a parallel 4-player adapter. Just saying!

[BozzerBigD]

@broadblues & @amigakit

I must be used to the Pandory Team and their way of explaining the "features" their software brought to THEA500 Mini. I find it very difficult to understand the limitations of both AmigaOne machines and now these Amigakit emulation machines when the responses to whether Amiga functions ACTUALLY work boils down to statements like "configuration is definitely possible" or " there is a serial port so given some patience and tweaking it would probably work"! It might be worth someone (probably a user/betatester) demonstrating usage with null modem games, graphics tablets and even midi adapters or at least a statement of what the serial port can do! Obviously, I assume that you can configure 4-players using just USB controllers or a mix of 1 or 2 9-pins as you see fit? I feel reprimanded for asking rather than reassured it all works. It took a while for it to be common knowledge that you can't configure a 9-pin mouse currently and have to use a USB one until a future update. I guess you can play 2-player Lemmings using two USB mice?  They'll be other limitations and it's up to users to figure it out I suppose?

I guess your only allowed to ask if you're already invested?And you ask under the guise of a feature reuest?

Looking forward to seeing AmiStore fully functional on these machines and developers getting on board to sell new software.

[BozzerBigD]

...if there are currently limitations compared to sourcing a reconditioned A1200 then it pays to know so people aren't disappointed.

[BozzerBigD]

@F0LLETT

When I actually build the remaining beta boards I have here, I will test serial. NO, Im not going to try and source everything you mentioned. If I'm able to link 2 NG's together and play games, thats good enough.

Thanks! It is appreciated.

I'm impressed with the fexibility of mixing USB and 9-pin controller for up to 4-players. I haven't read the manual but if joysticks are so flexible then I think most people would assume a 9-pin mouse would be ok too. It is not possible at the moment and that's fair enough. If you can play 8-player Super Skidmarks with two A1200NGs linked together then that is a great selling point! I don't have spare cash at the moment for another machine but there will come a point when my A1200 will become flakey or THEA500 Mini begins to feel a bit limited. Thanks for your efforts. I'm just trying to narrow down what it's capable of doing that is all. The A1200NG will look exactly like an A1200 from the outside (but with HDMI and USB ports and no Parallel port) so it will be amazing if it a very accurate recreation and it looks like it is shaping up that way!

[BozzerBigD]

@amigakit

Calling your work a "cash grab" is mean. However, answering people that claim your endeavours don't foster community with an attack on the "community" who choose to use THEA500 Mini is counter productive (I don't think polyp2000 was even advocating it)! We are part of the same community. I never really had the chance to play Worms: The Director's Cut until the Mini came bundled with it, the same for Qwak. I definitely didn't really mess with Mame or other emulators before it. It'll be the same for the A600GS/A1200NG and Octamed or Super Skidmarks/Virtual GP. Thank you for your efforts but yes there are Minimig plus Pistorm stand alone solutions incoming. There's lots of options now and the AmiStore on your systems could make your machines a great solution to getting new software out there rather than combing itch.io for new stuff as many do currently!