NatAmi... The New Future Of Amiga...

[Franko]

With the announcement from the NatAmi team that this little beauty of a machine is well on the way to becoming a reality for all of us in Amigaland, it's been making me wonder just what new & exciting possibilities could be just around the corner for the Amiga...

I reckon & hope that having a new "standardised" system this will open up the possibilities for both old software to be updated and totally new software to once again become a reality...

If we're all going to have a basic set up that's 060 based with X amount of ram, enhanced GFX, USB as standard etc..., then I hope that this will encourage all us coders out there to once again start writing new or updating old software for the Amiga...

It should mean, no more thinking along the lines of, "well I have this idea for a game/app, but what's the point in writing it if only a few folk have an 060 etc... to take advantage of it". The basic configuration of the NatAmi should become the new "minimum standard" for writing new software...

Of course it doesn't only mean that new games/apps have to be written specifically for 060 or for the new GFX modes, it could be that you could just write standard 020/AGA stuff but in the knowledge that users would have X amount of RAM, USB etc... as the minimum configuration. This would also be a benefit to those who have an A1200 with extra RAM etc... already, looks like winners all round to me...

To me it looks like some very fun & interesting time are ahead for the Amiga and for first time since 1994 things in Amigaland look promising...

[VingtTrois]

A good computer...but new good softwares are needed to create a real success!!!

[Ral-Clan]

I only hope it actually makes it to market.  It really looks like it will...but there have been so many close calls in Amigaland over the years that I won't count the chickens until they are hatched.

[Amiga_Nut]

The screenshots of 3D demos for the 3D core are interesting but would be nice to see them at least as Youtube videos in action though.

[Hattig]

It looks like there will be two levels to aim for.

(1) ~10 MIPS or ~50MHz 68030 performance - FPGAArcade.
(2) Really quite fast 133MHz N68050.

There's a chance that both boards will include a chunky mode as an extension to AGA - Natami certainly will. If so, we could finally get a bunch of older 3D games running nicely without needing graphics cards.

Most important is that it could get more people programming the Amiga. Certainly it could become a nice hardware platform for the demo scene to target.

[vidarh]

The one thing that annoys me is that the N68050 won't have a full MMU, so running things like Enforcer will require the 68060 daughterboard if you want to actually use the Natami to develop/debug with those kind of tools. I'll still end up buying one, though.

[commodorejohn]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but if it does make it and it isn't too horribly expensive, I wil be all over this.

As for coding, I still plan to make the A500 my baseline, but it'll be nice to have the option for more when running other peoples' software.

[Khephren]

The one thing that annoys me is that the N68050 won't have a full MMU, so running things like Enforcer will require the 68060 daughterboard if you want to actually use the Natami to develop/debug with those kind of tools. I'll still end up buying one, though.

Toni Wilen, the current author of WinUae is involved with the project, so there could be some dev helpfrom there. He's just put MMU code into winuae I believe.

@Commodorejohn
A500 is a good baseline , and the A1200, minimig, FPGA users and NatAmi owners will be able to enjoy the fruits of these labours too  This is why I love the idea of NatAmi, it's  true classic Amiga, but should have enough grunt for more modern stuff too. A decent browser and a little bit of 3D, and lots of nice 2D games please!
I hope it's not too expensive to, 68060's are not cheap! I may have to wait for their 050 core.
I also hope they don't opt for PC cases. I'd like to see some nice custom Amiga cases, for those that want them. Personally, i'd like a wedge, dunno why, always loved them. I guess they just shout 'home computer' to me.

[SamuraiCrow]

Toni Wilen, the current author of WinUae is involved with the project, so there could be some dev helpfrom there. He's just put MMU code into winuae I believe.

You are mistaken.  Toni is a member of the AROS 68k team.  Not the NatAmi team at all.  He couldn't care less about the NatAmi.

[Britelite]

Certainly it could become a nice hardware platform for the demo scene to target.

Except that unless WinUAE emulates these new features or the board are sub-$100, I'd say there will be zero support from the demoscene.

[commodorejohn]

I also hope they don't opt for PC cases. I'd like to see some nice custom Amiga cases, for those that want them. Personally, i'd like a wedge, dunno why, always loved them. I guess they just shout 'home computer' to me.

Problem with wedges is balancing a monitor on top of them - even the A500 just wasn't deep enough to stably support a monitor. I snagged someone's homebuilt monitor stand that I use with my MSX, but I'd rather pass on having another wedge case. That said, I do hope they go for something other than your standard tower or desktop case; I'd like to see something in a low-profile design like the Dreamcast, but I guess we'll see how it all works out.

[Khephren]

You are mistaken.  Toni is a member of the AROS 68k team.  Not the NatAmi team at all.  He couldn't care less about the NatAmi.

Shame, must have misinterpreted thread from here: http://www.natami.net/knowledge.php?b=2¬e=25408&order=&x=3&z=_3-yUS

"in other news, Toni Wilen (WinUAE) has now joined the project and will help out with AROS-m68k
 
His goal is to ensure as good support as possible for hardware-hitting games and apps, so that he eventually can distribute an AROS ROM with WinUAE."

So it's just AROS then, I misinterpreted it as having joined the NatAmi team.

I guess WinUae with MMU will be of use for developing software-but strictly from a pure classic stand point? No new NatAmi features.

Would they have to release 68050 emulation code to take advantage of that processors special features (if any)?


@Britelite, can't see $100 happening, I think we will be luck if it's under $500 I think they should have donme the 050 before the 3D core-would reduce cost and increase preformance over an 060 version (if what they say is true..they seem to know their stuff).
Do you have this from demogroups themselves? i'd be interested to know the scenes attitude to this machine, if you have any info.
However, if they knew it was fully Amiga compatible, with 24bit but 3x the speed of an 060, they could just program for that, from winuae. Ok, you'd miss out on the NatAni features, but would look very nice all the same.


@commodorejohn
True, but you could have a few options. I mean, most PC users have the monitor free standing, with the tower under the desk, and LCD's don't need much room. But I see your point, are you hoping for more of a desktop design? My Amiga moves about a lot (room to room, house to house, rarely country to country) , wedges are ideal for that.

[commodorejohn]

True, but you could have a few options. I mean, most PC users have the monitor free standing, with the tower under the desk, and LCD's don't need much room. But I see your point, are you hoping for more of a desktop design? My Amiga moves about a lot (room to room, house to house, rarely country to country) , wedges are ideal for that.

Yeah, but I really can't stand LCDs - the color range is a lot better than it used to be, but still nowhere near a good CRT. It's like listening to music on $20 speakers. I do agree about mobility, though. Some kind of small, low-profile case that can be easily carried around would be ideal. Wedge cases aren't bad for that, but having an integrated keyboard adds quite a bit to the footprint unless it's a laptop.

Still, as long as it stays in a standard form factor, I'm sure I can find a case that suits my needs

[B00tDisk]

Oh lord.  "CRTs are better!  Put it in a wedge case!"

Jesus, why not just seal it in a 20lb block of epoxy and make it only hook up to zenith console sets while you're at it?

I'd love to have one, but only if they offer bare boards I can put in a case and connect to a monitor of my choosing.

[Cammy]

The Natami MX is Mini-ITX standard, except it's even smaller. It will fit in any Mini-ITX PC case and a bunch of other cases, most likely a Dreamcast too. It's 17cm x 14cm, so being shorter than a standard Mini-ITX motherboard it has even more chances of fitting inside a modified Amiga case too.