EverDrive 64

[goombakid]

I already had a game planned for sacrifice: NFL Blitz! Raiding the case as well as the 6102 out of it!

So this Everdrive will accept SDHC cards too?

[derekb]

I believe KRIKzz stated he would include SDHC support, with plans to backport his SDHC code to some of the older Everdrives as well

also to KRIKzz:

unless my eyes are deceiving me, it looks like the CIC on your prototype board is actually sitting in a socket rather than soldered directly to the board? Will the boards come with a socket setup when ordered so users don't have to solder directly onto the board to install the CIC?

[takeshi385]

i already got a shell from a very bad game i bought at a antique store for 7 bucks , on the bright side it has a perfect shell. ;)

[KRIKzz]

goombakid: yes, SDHC will be supported, also FAT code will be rewriten from blank point for implement fat32 and make fat system more stable.
derekb: you can't use socket because cart shell can not be closed. cic+socket to thick. i use socket only on protoboard

[BM-Viper]

KRIKzz,

Just wondering, are buyers gonna have to solder in their own CIC?
Also, just noticed that there are 2 JTAG headers, is that just for the prototype or is the firmware running on 2 chips?

[KRIKzz]

most cheap base version will not be have cic. cic and shell will be available optional

[ElBarto]

What's the load time say for Super Mario 64 and Conkers ?

[KRIKzz]

What's the load time say for Super Mario 64 and Conkers ?

full speed SD port not implemented yet, but theoretical speed is next:

SPI mode: 3-6 mbyte/sec (in depends of card class)

SD mode: up to 20mbyte/s. but for use SD mode i should pay licensing fee, so i not decide will i use this mode or not

[DC_Lov]

full speed SD port not implemented yet, but theoretical speed is next:

SPI mode: 3-6 mbyte/sec (in depends of card class)

SD mode: up to 20mbyte/s. but for use SD mode i should pay licensing fee, so i not decide will i use this mode or not

You mean 3 - 6 megabyte per second? That's very fast. :)

[KRIKzz]

yes, 3-6 mbyte per second. SD can works more fast, but need pay $2k for rights to use SD protocol

other everdrive works so slow because SD controlled by slow cpu on taget system, yeah m68k and z80 are slow. flash it is othe reason of slowdown, but anyway flash can be flashed much more fast, but cpu speed is to slow.

[derekb]

can you support SDHC card without SD royalties?

[sanni]

If wikipedia is right on this

Royalties for SD card licences are imposed for manufacture and sale of memory cards and host adapters (USD$1,000/year plus membership at USD$1,500/year)

then better sell them with SD mode disabled.

If some coders then later on would find a way to activate sd mode again then this wouldn't be your problem(concerning royalties) or would it?

[StoneAgeGamer]

If wikipedia is right on this then better sell them with SD mode disabled.

If some coders then later on would find a way to activate sd mode again then this wouldn't be your problem(concerning royalties) or would it?

I think that Wikipedia is a bit out of date. Its actually $2000/yr. Igor and I are working on possibly getting the license, but that will probably be last thing done or may be done after the initial release and enabled with update.

[Atari800XL]

Igor and I are working on possibly getting the license,

Do we really need that?! 6 mbytes/sec, so you can load Conker in 11 secs?!!

[sheath]

I will be purchasing this as soon as it is ready!

[StoneAgeGamer]

Do we really need that?! 6 mbytes/sec, so you can load Conker in 11 secs?!!

I don't know if you need it or not, but a big complaint with past EverDrives is loading speed. I find it mostly unfounded unless you are literally changing a game every 2 minutes, however if it helps sell more then yes we (sellers and resellers) need it to bring it a step ahead of the competition. Especially in a market that will soon have 3+ choices for N64 flash carts.

Like I already said this is the last thing on the list we will obviously see where things end up once everything has been developed.

[Mamejay]

Kids of today!! Back in my day it would take 15 minutes to load a fast load tape game on my C64. I don't mind waiting 30 seconds for a game to load into memory.

[link83]

This is really great work KRIKzz :-)

I was just curious if that is Flash memory or an FRAM chip near the FTDI chip? (I cant read the text on the chip) I'm guessing its probably Flash memory to store the menu?

Also, will getting the SD card license add to the product cost? If so I think most users would prefer cheaper price and slightly longer loading times. Might be a good question for another poll though?

I think its worth noting that previous EverDrive's used Flash memory, so you only have to load the game once and can then play the game instantly as many times as you want (Until you change games) EverDrive 64 uses SDRAM, so you will need to load the game every time you power on the console, even if its the same game you loaded previously.

...So even though load times are only around 11-21 seconds for biggest 64MB N64 games (3-6MByte/sec) they might become a bit tedious for some (impatient!) people. I guess buying an SD card license for improved speeds might be worthwhile for EverDrive 64 :shrug:

[DC_Lov]

I have no problem with Super Everdrive's and MD Everdrive's load time , except for the biggest 6MB games on super famicom which take alot longer. Fortunately those games are RPGs and atleast they stay in flash memory when switch off. lol

[derekb]

This is really great work KRIKzz :-)

I was just curious if thats Flash memory or an FRAM chip near the FTDI chip? (I cant read the text on the chip) I'm guessing its probably Flash memory to store the menu?

Also, will getting the SD card license add to the product cost? If so I think most users would prefer cheaper price and slightly longer loading times. Might be a good question for another poll though?

I think its worth noting that previous EverDrive's used Flash memory, so you only have to load the game once and can then play the game instantly as many times as you want (Until you change games) EverDrive 64 uses SDRAM, so you will need to load the game every time you power on the console, even if its the same game.

...So even though load times are only around 11-21 seconds for biggest 64MB N64 games (3-6MByte/sec) they might become a bit tedious for some (impatient!) people. I guess buying an SD card license for improved speeds might be worthwhile for EverDrive 64 :shrug:

Oh hm, I didn't realize everdrive 64 was no longer storing the game in flash