RetroN5: Hands on first look

[ZachAttack]

so has anyone started seeing these in their local game stores yet? I guess that $140 price tag went right out the damn window because now I am seeing them in game stores for $160, thats if they didn't just immediately list them on ebay for $300 first

[Tanooki]

I have in town here, with at least the one place I know that gets them where I got mine around the beginning of June. He asks the $140 price tag that is the MSRP on them. It doesn't surprise me scumbags will pull the price hike game because they know they can get away with it until stores are flush with them later down the line. $160 is devious too, because odds are if you can find one near MSRP online the shipping would make that $20 'convenience charge' reasonable.

[Nesmaster]

Piko got the units for us on Kickstarter, shouldn't be too much more of a wait. :)

Seen them at a flea reseller here. Asking $200 a month ago, $170 now. Not moving many at that inflated price I guess.

[Tanooki]

Problem is this early into the game those most aware of the system are those aware of its real sale price so slime like that who try and scrape extra off the top won't often see much for their efforts other than dust and lost shelf space. Whenever HK marketing can get their crap together in a series of large shipments brought to bare on the US and the ability to then find it at any retail joint in sufficient numbers that's when your unknowing walk in types will find it and buy it or not.

[RPG_Fanatic]

The F.Y.E. store here has the black model in stock for $139.99.

[Trebuken]

Stone Age Gamer was selling them at the CCAG game show Saturday the 26th for regular retail. I got mine as an open box bargain for $100 from them. Works perfect.

Not sure if they have them on the website, but they had several at the show and I saw three of them sell within the first hour of the show.

[Tanooki]

You know, good for SAG then. That gives me a little more confidence in them to know they're that kind of people when it comes to selling goods both used and new. I'll add them to my if they ever have something I really want to get I'll buy it from them list as that's doing things the right way.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

I am so angry at Hyperkin with these goddamn delays. I still don't have mine that I preordered last year. That June 6 "launch" was such a joke.

[Leo_A]

I'm in the boondocks yet FYE has them and an independent game store not far away even has stock.

At this point, I wonder if it's more the retailer you ordered it from. I'd be cancelling and placing an order elsewhere if I were you. It's almost August at this point, they seem to have had multiple shipments, stores have moved from fulfilling preorders to actually having stock on hand now that they've fulfilled orders, etc.

[Tanooki]

I've been wondering that about Amazon too because like me you got one from a no-name local one shop retailer with a small order license from them and he has got other shipments since and sold them through too. I wonder if there's something larger at hand with Amazon and their broker with Hyperkin or if there's a middle man between the two fouling things up. It just seems screwy you can get them from other notable national chains and local ma and pa stuff.

[T]

I am trying to update to 1.5

How long should this take once I put the SD card in the computer and
attempt to download the file. It's been like 10 minutes.

Should it take this long?

[Tanooki]

10 from the website seems long maybe theyre having a lot of downloads at that time.

[RoryDropkick]

I was surprised to find out my local game store actually got in extra controllers for the Retron 5 in black and grey variants. Not that I'd want another one, but it was interesting to see them in the wild finally.

[Tanooki]

That's the only report of that I've seen so far. I've seen repeat shipments of systems, just not the extras. Perhaps the delivery from China is finally being sorted out in mass.

[T]

Well actually I'd be almost surprised if it was 1.0 on there. The tech told me that whatever comes in they were supposedly going to intercept them and put the latest at the time firmware on the system before packaging it back up and shipping them out to their buyers(amazon, etc.) Maybe it will have 1.31 on it if you're lucky. Let us know it will confirm if the tech was given a line of crap or not.

Mine was version 1.0.

[Tanooki]

That sucks. I wonder when they'll start placing better firmware on it because the tech was told this would be done and has shared that.

[T]

HELLLLLLLLLLPPPPPP!!!!!!!

I followed the directions on page 15 of the manual to update using an SD card.

After i put the card back into the system and attempted to update, the following
message came up on my TV screen.

"This version of the retron application (ver. 1.5) requires system firmware v 0.2.2 or above."

"you are currently running system firmware v. 0.2.1, please update."

Now the system is locked into this spot. No buttons work and even when i turn it off and back
on it still shows this screen.

[Tanooki]

It's not locked. They foolishly setup their instructions backwards. Just go to the website, put the 0.22 system firmware on there, and then just put the SD card into the system on the "locked up" screen and it will put that on there and you'll be fine.

[T]

It's not locked. They foolishly setup their instructions backwards. Just go to the website, put the 0.22 system firmware on there, and then just put the SD card into the system on the "locked up" screen and it will put that on there and you'll be fine.


That did the trick. Thank you very much.

[Tanooki]

TEST Build time! This one specifically at the least addresses the problem of the SRAM/FeRAM issue with the GBA. "Here's a test build which will hopefully fix the save issue once and for all. Please beware that at this stage we have not confirmed anything, so ONLY use with games where you dont mind if the save is lost! I really hope that we've nailed it this time.."

http://retron5.in/?src=19ca14e7ea6328a42e0eb13d585e4c22

"Also if you are aware of anyone else in the same position as yourself, having experienced erased saves and would likely be willing to help test this, please feel free to forward it on."

That's the file and the direct quote, not sure what else could have been touched or not, guess that will be up to experimentation since it's not listed on the link provided, only that it's a private test build.

I have not loaded this myself at this time. I'm still on the clock for another 90min, but I may just set it up while I'm working to save time. Also, if anyone is having any graphical errors with GBA games please let me know. GTA has one they didn't see on their end, maybe they don't have the game, so I'll be taking a screen cap and sending him that once I can. If you have something, please add it to the thread.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

is there a change log for this build?

[Tanooki]

No, sorry I got nothing other than that. I'm sure there's more since it has been a couple weeks, but I couldn't say what, though internally it does have a new version of 1.51.

Also, if anyone has tried this, did you ever have a case where you stuffed a GBA game into the R5 to have it erased by doing just that? If so, is it still happening using this test?

[Tanooki]

I got a new preview update if anyone is interested.
http://retron5.in/?src=a5bfc9e07964f8dddeb95fc584cd965d

From the tech:
here's a preview of the upcoming v1.6 build. It includes the GBA save fix as well as a bunch of other stability improvements. Providing no issues are found, this build will be released to the public within the next few days

From the link:
Changes in this release include:
Improvements to cartridge save access stability
SNES mouse handling improved (fixes Jurassic Park)
Other miscellaneous under the hood improvements

[Cryog]

Thank you !!!

[Az]

Is there a list anywhere of "normal" retail releases that this doesn't support yet?

This thread is huge and many specific game issues mentioned by posters (myself included) have been rectified through updates. I've got a handful of regular US retail released games that have issues that don't appear when using them on a console other than the RetroN5, but I don't have multiple copies, so I can't determine if the console is just picky with my copy or has issues with the title across the board.

[Tanooki]

Well I don't know of one, never have googled to see if someone bothered ever with it.

I will say this much of the games I've thrown at it well enough to know better, Grand Theft Auto (GBA) has a problem that only occurs after playing for a little while where the screen visuals on the lower half of the screen (slowly working north) starts to tear (move at a different rate) with the 3D map/background but not on the sprites, it's like bad buggy mirroring effect on a NES game in an early emulator.

Maybe we could start a list and it'll get around.

[BoscoTheMan82]

For Famicom Fantasy Zone II doesn't work

[JSoup]

I exited the pissing contest part of this a few pages ago, but I gotta ask....


Tread lightly friend, I got verbally eviscerated for asking the same question, blocked and treated like a troll, and most certainly don't ask if you are talking to teenagers!

....you don't really think that's how or why it happened, right? 80% of your posts are snide comments and pot shots at other users. You didn't get (initially) tossed on ignore and called a troll because you asked a question. Those things happened because you are continually a condescending prick and a few of us had finally had enough.

[Tanooki]

Prick or not, BIG UPDATE here for current users fed up with the LONG wait time surrounding the time it takes for the system to load carts into the systems drive/memory when you slide it in. That promised fix the main tech I've been talking to had been working on now is in a private (for here) beta.

Here's the post from him, link follows!:
Finally - here's the "fast cartridge loading" BETA. Feel free to provide this to those that wish to test. Its going to go live as a public BETA soon but I wanted to give a few people the chance to test it in private first, just in case I've missed anything obvious

http://retron5.in/?src=a5771bce93e200c36f7cd9dfd0e5deaa
(From the link: This release includes everything from v1.6, with the addition of the "fast cartridge loading" feature which allows near instant playback of supported cartridges, even large 32MB games. Currently GBA, SNES and Genesis cartridge are supported. Fast cartridge loading may be toggled on and off via the Settings screen.)


Hey this was NOT mentioned in the 1.6 update but the tech redid the entire GBA database on the private 1.6 build I posted the other day, and along with that improvements to the save type detection on the GBA as well. My trouble games of the eng-translated Dragon Quest Monsters, and my homebrew from Team17 Qwak! for GBA both now detect 100% on the menu and the save file correctly as well (before it was unknown, save corrupt.) I asked the tech, says Mother 3 is fixed too.

[omegadevil]

Prick or not, BIG UPDATE here for current users fed up with the LONG wait time surrounding the time it takes for the system to load carts into the systems drive/memory when you slide it in. That promised fix the main tech I've been talking to had been working on now is in a private (for here) beta.

Here's the post from him, link follows!:
Finally - here's the "fast cartridge loading" BETA. Feel free to provide this to those that wish to test. Its going to go live as a public BETA soon but I wanted to give a few people the chance to test it in private first, just in case I've missed anything obvious

http://retron5.in/?src=a5771bce93e200c36f7cd9dfd0e5deaa
(From the link: This release includes everything from v1.6, with the addition of the "fast cartridge loading" feature which allows near instant playback of supported cartridges, even large 32MB games. Currently GBA, SNES and Genesis cartridge are supported. Fast cartridge loading may be toggled on and off via the Settings screen.)


Hey this was NOT mentioned in the 1.6 update but the tech redid the entire GBA database on the private 1.6 build I posted the other day, and along with that improvements to the save type detection on the GBA as well. My trouble games of the eng-translated Dragon Quest Monsters, and my homebrew from Team17 Qwak! for GBA both now detect 100% on the menu and the save file correctly as well (before it was unknown, save corrupt.) I asked the tech, says Mother 3 is fixed too.

Thanks for the update Tanooki! I didn't really notice a difference it the dump times to the R5. I tried a few carts but it seemed the same to me. This update fixed the loading loop I would get with two of my repro carts but they still don't play. The screen goes black with 3 to 5 red lines scrolling down. I guess it will be fixed eventually when they add more repro compatibility.

[Tanooki]

That's odd. All the GBA games I had time to throw at it (5) before my kid got up from nap loaded incredibly faster. It should be also active on the SNES, Genesis too.

[Solo_Skywalker]

Anyone have any news about an update to the cheat database? It's been at 1.1 for a while now.

[BoscoTheMan82]

Mother 3 repro plays but still comes up as unknown cartridge

[Az]

Nice update, looks like they implemented some type of preloading cache system for some games now with instant load times. Not sure what determines what game does or doesn't do that, there's a yellow pill shaped loading bar in the upper right that fills as its dumped but you can begin those games prior to dump completion. For some reason it makes you wait until the dump is complete before accessing the code screen though.

I noticed pretty much every GBA pirate I own (barring those with scene group intros) are now recognized properly. Some would even dump the save even they've been altered to use SRAM instead of other save methods, others altered the same way either would be treated as if they had no save or an "error importing save" message came up.

Nice to see this thing keep getting better. Now implement that instant power on in an officially released update, dammit!

[Tanooki]

About 6 hours ago they made that 2.0b1 release I listed and the quick start (0.5sec boot when pressing power) patch as well to the public just through facebook. It's nice to see that.


You're right about the yellow pill. Basically my understanding is that through the database the system will know what the game is, and it will first load the parts of the ROM needed to cause the game to boot up initially or from a hot save that already exists, and from that point it rapidly will load the rest of the ROM In a much faster rate than how it did previously. So it's both a massive speed up in dumping the game but also in loading it into activity as it still downloads it too which is fantastic.

My 1 of 300 copy of Qwak for GBA is finally detected by name and works right saving and all, same with my English translated on a legit aftermarket cart DQM Caravan Heart too which is great.

[ibain]

I just upgraded with the facebook version, 2.0b1 and it still took 4-5 seconds to boot up.

Everything else seems fine though

[Tanooki]

2.0b1 isn't quick boot, that's just faster downloading of the game off the cart and will load in the process of it completing the download, quick boot is another download for start up time to drop to .5sec instead of holding the button for 5 sec to get power.

[ibain]

Ah, ok, thank you!

[mercuryshadow09]

Apparently the Retron5 has been rooted already.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

source that or I call bs.

also, even IF the R5 gets rooted, I'm not sure what the point of custom firmware is for this thing.

I mean, hypothetically speaking, let's assume the R5 is rooted and able to run full speed emulators off the SD card. If pure software emulation without involving cartridges is what you're after, there's a smaller, cheaper, more powerful and all around better console alternative: the Ouya.

I haven't been on an Ouya kick in a while but I don't get why people would want to put custom firmware on the RetroN5 to begin with. The only possible reason I can think of would be to possibly run emulators on the R5 of systems it doesn't include cartridge ports of like 2600 or GameGear games. That's all fine and good, but the moment you switch to custom firmware, the official firmware updates that continue to make things better can no longer be applied or that would override the custom firmware.

This isn't like the PSP or original Xbox where everything was so much better with custom firmware. the official firmware is important as they continue to improve the device.

[Leo_A]

I don't know what he said, but I assume we're talking about the Retron 5 being hacked. That would appeal to me for unit reduction and not having to buy a Ouya and controller adapters if it happens before I get around to getting a Ouya one of these days. That's why a conveniently cracked Retron 5 that could easily run Ouya emulators on top of its stock abilities would appeal to me.

Best of both worlds. Makes sense to me, I don't understand your befuddlement.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

That's all fine and good, but the moment you switch to custom firmware, the official firmware updates that continue to make things better can no longer be applied or that would override the custom firmware.

This isn't like the PSP or original Xbox where everything was so much better with custom firmware. the official firmware is important as they continue to improve the device.

That.

[Leo_A]

Why does it have to be that way? Weren't Homebrew Channel users on the Wii still able to use official firmware and apply official updates for instance? Compatibility was sometimes broken as Nintendo fought back as I understand it, but issues were always resolved in the end.

Certainly if we can't use the Retron 5's stock OS and apply Hyperkin's updates, it's of limited utility as far as I'm concerned. But even then, I see some appeal there for a limited percentage of users. You're essentially buying a Ouya with built-in controller ports if it works with Ouya programs and they can recognize and interact with the Retron 5's controller ports.

[Tanooki]

As much as mercury like to troll, he is right, it is rooted. I was told this at least a week ago by the retron tech. I just didn't bother to announce it or go digging for the how to on it. I was told that there's no security anyway so he was laughing that it took that long to be done as it's apparently extremely easy to get access to the root on it to do with it as you wish. Satoshi, you're right, Ouya technically is cheaper, though it takes work and buying a controller dongle or more so you can use your pads. But, it is fair to say also that the R5 is a known cart dumping and writing device, with that truly unlocked it can be used clearly for that purpose. Hacking it would also allow things that don't work right to get done by others than Hyperkins own staff which oddly could be a benefit because if someone can add all those weird ass Nintendo accessories (vaus, g-force, power pad, etc) and the code is public they could just patch it in. The hardware on it also is pretty solid, you could add a lot more machines to it as well streaming the game data over the USB port from another device or using the SD card too. It could be abused much like the Wii with an external hard drive.

[mercuryshadow09]

source that or I call bs.

also, even IF the R5 gets rooted, I'm not sure what the point of custom firmware is for this thing.

I mean, hypothetically speaking, let's assume the R5 is rooted and able to run full speed emulators off the SD card. If pure software emulation without involving cartridges is what you're after, there's a smaller, cheaper, more powerful and all around better console alternative: the Ouya.

I haven't been on an Ouya kick in a while but I don't get why people would want to put custom firmware on the RetroN5 to begin with. The only possible reason I can think of would be to possibly run emulators on the R5 of systems it doesn't include cartridge ports of like 2600 or GameGear games. That's all fine and good, but the moment you switch to custom firmware, the official firmware updates that continue to make things better can no longer be applied or that would override the custom firmware.

This isn't like the PSP or original Xbox where everything was so much better with custom firmware. the official firmware is important as they continue to improve the device.

http://www.chromableedstudios.com/techninjutsu/rootron5howtoroottheretron5

[Gameguy]

also, even IF the R5 gets rooted, I'm not sure what the point of custom firmware is for this thing.

But, it is fair to say also that the R5 is a known cart dumping and writing device, with that truly unlocked it can be used clearly for that purpose.
That's the first thing that came to mind, if you could use it to dump games without using those ancient floppy based cart copiers this console could have a real use to it.

[JSoup]

It's possible it was dumped for no real reason other than personal interest. That's not uncommon in modding rings.

[mercuryshadow09]

It's possible it was dumped for no real reason other than personal interest. That's not uncommon in modding rings.

Most likely.

[BoscoTheMan82]

Today I got Micro Machines for the Master System it doesn't work on the Retron 5 using a Power Base Mini.

[RPG_Fanatic]

Has anyone hooked up the Retron5 to a 4K tv? Just wondering what the picture looks like on one, the prices are getting a lot cheaper on the 4K tv's.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

there would be no advantage. 4K TVs would display 720p imagines as 720p images. Unlike the Ouya, the Retron5 doesn't do 1080p, and even if it did....the point would be moot on a 4K tv.



also, lol the thought of running a 256 x 240 game on a 3840 x 2160 display.

[Tanooki]

Big new Beta 2.0b2 update you'll LOVE. Translation IPS patching of ROMS! (among other things.) Read below.
http://www.retron5.in/?src=d67d8ab4f4c10bf22aa353e27879133c


Changes since v2.0 BETA 1 include:
IPS patch support added (allows application of translation patches, graphic/level hacks etc)
Added support for SNES SPC7110 cartridges
Fixed screen shaking in some GBA games
File manager is now able to operate on folders (select with long button press) and copy/remove folders recursively
Misc game compatibility fixes (Fantasy Zone, Sky Kid, Youkai Club)
IPS patching notes: You may now specify one IPS patch file to apply on a per game basis, which may be used to apply language translation patches, graphics hacks, or even total conversions. IPS files must be stored on an SD card (no restriction on the file path). With the target cartridge inserted, navigate to Game Menu -> Patches -> Select IPS patch. You may then navigate the SD card to select the desired patch to apply to the currently inserted cartridge.



Please note that as the IPS patch file format does not include any mechanism for verifying any data before or after patching, it is important that you use the correct IPS patch file corresponding to the target game. If an incompatible patch file is used then likely the game will simply fail to start. To make matters even more complicated, many older IPS patch files require that they be used with ROMs that contain headers, or are interleaved - neither of which may be supported here. The IPS must target the RAW game dump. Check the readme included with your patch to determine if it is suitable.

File manager folder manipulation: You may now also operate on folders through the file manager. To select a holder, hold the A/+ button on the controller down until the context menu appears. From here you can copy/remove as you can with files, except that when operating on folders anything you do will be carried out recursively. This means that removing a folder will delete any contents - so be careful

[Satoshi_Matrix]

I got an email today that my Retron5 order has _finally_ shipped. So, apparently, when Hyperkin said June 6, they actually meant September 4th, which with shipping time will probably mean September 6 - three months later.

Tanooki, could I ask a favor in your assistance in getting what I need set up before hand? Where did I need to go and what do I need to do to upgrade the firmware from the 1.0 it will ship with to where its at now?

I'd like to pre-prepare an SD card so I can update it almost as soon as I get it.

[Tanooki]

You really don't need to prep the SD if it's fat32 formatted it's ready.

Just go here: http://www.retron5.in/node/2

*FIRST* Install the system application firmware 0.22
Then do the 1.6 official update, or just look at their facebook and add 2.0b2 which came out hours ago. It's just 1.6 with quickbooting of games and all the goodies I pasted a few posts ago in this thread. Also that beta page did/should have the link to the quick power on thing too so you hold it .5sec instead of 5sec to get it just to turn on which was stupid it even shipped like that. :)


Did Hyperkin every exactly in specific words ever state that Canada had a release day of June 6? I don't really remember seeing that if they did.

[Leo_A]

I don't think he was talking about formatting, he was talking about getting the necessary updates onto his memory card so he'd be ready to go when it arrives.

With US preorders seemingly having been filled for a while and with Retron 5's on store shelves these days, I'm still not sure if they're at fault for your experiences. Perhaps Canada played second fiddle to the US and they should be criticized for not being more open about it, but the few complaints I've seen for the past month or more about still waiting on their preorder have all been Amazon Canada customers.

Seems an isolated problem that perhaps isn't all Hyperkin's doing. But either way, have fun with it. You might get more of a kick out of it this way than if you had gotten it earlier since there's no point really in making videos showing it off now and the OS seems to have made great strides since day 1.

You can just settle down and play with the minimum of fuss over software issues or messing around with video editing programs and capture cards.

[Tanooki]

Not much you can do there, they have this dumb capcha bound download system wher eyou have to 'write sd update to sd card' when you turn it on, then feed that to the website, and it puts the update on the SD card. Then it goes back in the system and updates it.

[dgdgagdae]

You might get more of a kick out of it this way than if you had gotten it earlier since there's no point really in making videos showing it off and the OS seems to have made great strides since day 1. You can just settle down and play with the minimum of fuss with software issues or messing around with video editing programs and capture cards.

Oh, he'll probably make a video anyway. Is there anything to say about it that hasn't been said?

[Gameguy]

I got an email today that my Retron5 order has _finally_ shipped. So, apparently, when Hyperkin said June 6, they actually meant September 4th, which with shipping time will probably mean September 6 - three months later.
I haven't looked into this thread for awhile, I assumed it was already shipped to you. Just surprised it's been so long for you to get one.


Please note that as the IPS patch file format does not include any mechanism for verifying any data before or after patching, it is important that you use the correct IPS patch file corresponding to the target game. If an incompatible patch file is used then likely the game will simply fail to start. To make matters even more complicated, many older IPS patch files require that they be used with ROMs that contain headers, or are interleaved - neither of which may be supported here. The IPS must target the RAW game dump. Check the readme included with your patch to determine if it is suitable.
Just wondering, will games have to be patched every time you want to play them? Since the system erases games once the carts have been removed I'm curious about this.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Did Hyperkin every exactly in specific words ever state that Canada had a release day of June 6? I don't really remember seeing that if they did.

HA! Hyperkin has said absolutely NOTHING.

Their handling of this has been absolutely atrocious in so many ways.

And what do I get for all this waiting? Nothing, not even a discount as I feel I am entitled to. Not only was I charged the full $139.99 increased MSRP, but then there's an additional sircharge because I'm Canadian bringing the total to $149.99, then tax and shipping. All told, the Retron5 has cost me $175.57 USD, closer to $200 Canadian.

But its necessary I have direct experience with it so I can definitively speak on how it compares to the Ouya and even original Xbox through CoinOps.

[Tanooki]

Gameguy I have no idea, mine is disconnected. If my car hadn't had to go into the shop today I'd have it RMA'd in the mail due to my NES slot starting not to recognize games. I haven't seen anyone say it has to. My understanding in reading is that you copy the IPS to the system off your SD Card. Once it's there, hold the button down over the FILE and a box pops up and you basically click it ON. I think at that rate it just stays on unless you don't want it anymore.

Satoshi: If hyperkin never promised June 6th, and as you said they've said NOTHING. Then why exactly is it there fault? This is the fault entirely of anyone who from Canada who bought from a retail outlet that didn't bother to engage the company to realize that June 6 date was the the US market. The only thing Hyperkin is at fault for at this rate would be ignoring people like yourself who keep complaining repeatedly about it, some trolling their facebook like little kids and not addressing the fact their partners screwed up making up a fake date.

Hyperkin didn't charge you close to $200CAD that would be Amazon from the looks of it, and they fed you a lie on a release date because they had none. I think Canadians on the whole need to castrate Amazon for this garbage because Hyperkin never gave a date, their seller pulled a date out of their ass and it monumentally backfired.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

While yes, their partner network is at fault, ultimately it is Hyperkin that it is definitely at fault. There's a reason why 99.9% of companies don't have specific Canadian release dates - in almost all cases, things are released in Canada at the same time they are released in the States. Canada is geographically close and a major trading partner. June 6 for the US should have meant June 6 for Canada too. But shit happens, and sometimes there are discrepancies when things are released in Canada vs the US. But those differences? A matter of a few days to about a week at most.

This is a three month difference.

Hyperkin is principlely responsible for this fuck up, and it's grandiose even for them.

I bought a Hyperkin Supaboy 1.0 when it was released in the beginning of January 2012. I didn't get it until the end of the month. That delay was annoying but acceptable. But again, this has been a grand total delay of 92 days.

92 days of delays is at the very least 70 days longer than is reasonable for any reason. This is why I am so absolutely angry with Hyperkin and less so with any of their partners. It ultimately was Hyperkin that is responsible and inept.

[Gameguy]

Gameguy I have no idea, mine is disconnected. If my car hadn't had to go into the shop today I'd have it RMA'd in the mail due to my NES slot starting not to recognize games. I haven't seen anyone say it has to. My understanding in reading is that you copy the IPS to the system off your SD Card. Once it's there, hold the button down over the FILE and a box pops up and you basically click it ON. I think at that rate it just stays on unless you don't want it anymore.
Your console of approximately 3 months has died on you?

It was my understanding that every time a game is inserted the cart is dumped into the console to be played, when the cart is removed the game is erased from the console. With patching games the patch has to be applied to the ROM, if the console deletes ROMs when the cart is removed it sounds like it would have to be patched every time you want to play it, unless you never change games in the console. I'd like to know if this is true as it seems like a hassle to do every single time, having to patch it every time takes time.


92 days of delays is at the very least 70 days longer than is reasonable for any reason. This is why I am so absolutely angry with Hyperkin and less so with any of their partners. It ultimately was Hyperkin that is responsible and inept.
It doesn't really surprise me, not when I've read some reviews of the company from former employees. There's really not a lot to find out about this company besides directly from their website.

http://www.indeed.com/cmp/Hyperkin-Inc/reviews?id=9b376eecda76952b&from=overview&irclick=reviewc

[Az]

Big new Beta 2.0b2 update you'll LOVE. Translation IPS patching of ROMS!l

YES. FUCK YES.

Never expected this in a million years and I absolutely love it.

At first I couldn't get anything to work but the trick is you can't have the game fast-load and apply IPS patches at the same time. You have to load the game, go to the settings and select the IPS file, then start the game as normal. When you start there will be no change.

Return to the main menu, remove the cart, and put it back in. There will be a message that pops up and says "pre-loading disabled due to IPS patch". When you actually start the game there will be another message that says "IPS patch applied", and you can then continue to shit your pants over how awesome this is.

That may sound a bit convoluted but I'd almost bet that completely disabling pre-loading would eliminate that issue entirely. Y's with FM sound? Streets of Rage Syndicate Wars? MKII Unlimited? YEP, YEP, and YEP.

Could somebody that owns UMK3 for MD pretty please see if Revelations or UMKT works?

[Tanooki]

Gameguy I wouldn't say it's dead, it's quite usable, but it's starting to get bitchy about NES games, maybe. It could be isolated, but whatever it is SMB2 being put in the slot gets no response, it's like it's not there. The other most the time will not dump right or pops up unknown which is unacceptable. Outside of that, for what I have put into it, everything is good, but I haven't the time to stuff around 200 games in/out of it to get a list of things to be certain it's not more wide spread.

As far as the patching goes. The patch stays on the retron5 in a directory. So with the newest beta it also has quick dump, so it'll load a SNES game up in a few seconds, then take another moment to patch it and load. It'll still be far faster than the old slow crawl of loading up a game so it shouldn't be an issue.


I have this also to share, another small beta3 update to 2.0 test cycle.
We have released the RetroN 5 v2.0 BETA 3 firmware build. Please note that this release is BETA and not STABLE; those of you who do not want to risk running into bugs should stick with the stable releases only. Changes since v2.0 BETA 2 include:

- Improvements to IPS patch support including ability to specify if a patch expects a header, and various other fixes
- Super Gameboy borders may optionally be displayed, configurable via Settings menu
- Misc game compatibility fixes (GB Space Invaders)

They've refined the application of the IPS patch some more so I have no idea if it's more streamlined or what.

Off the top of my head I've got Akamajyou Densetsu, Yume Penguin Monogatari, Mitsume ga Tooru, Moon Crystal, Parodius, Twinbee 3, Armadillo, Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa(hack may not work), Daiku no Gen San, Joy Mech FIght, Splatterhouse, and Wai Wai World 2 for Famicom which I know most have translations so I'd like to see that. The GBA games I have, the Japanese in them outside of Steel Empire aren't interesting or vital so I doubt there's patches so this would be all about the Famicom for me.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Tanooki, do you own Quest of Ki?

A friend of mine has a Retron5 and made made a repro of it and says the mirroring is straight up wrong on the R5. It's mapper 206. In version 1.31 Hyperkin lists they added support for mapper 95, which is a variant of mapper 206 specifically used for Dragon Buster 1.

If you have Quest of Ki, please try it on the Retron5 and let me know the results. Also if you have it, try Karnov. It's an NES 72 pin game that also uses mapper 206.

Apparently, the repro works fine on the real hardware but not on the Retron5. I want to confirm that Hyperkin's emulator doesn't properly support mapper 206.

[Tanooki]

Sorry I haven't owned Karnov in awhile, and the other I've never had.

[Az]

With patching games the patch has to be applied to the ROM, if the console deletes ROMs when the cart is removed it sounds like it would have to be patched every time you want to play it

Within the game settings there's an option to select an IPS file and toggle it on/off. Once you turn it on it applies the next time the game is loaded and will always be applied every time you insert the cart unless you manually turn it off. There's no additional delay for the actual patching but you can no longer use the fast-load option since it has to dump the entire game into memory before it can be patched.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Sorry I haven't owned Karnov in awhile, and the other I've never had.

Well, what about Tengen's Pac-Mania? That would also do the trick.

You're in contact with a guy who is in involved in updates with the Retron5 right? Please ask him about mapper 206 support. Apparently mapper 95 was fixed in one of the updates, which is a varient of mapper 206, but according to my friend, the R5 screws up the mirroring in 206 games such as Quest of Ki. Mapper 95 is a game specific mapper for Dragon Buster, but mapper 206 is more widespread.

[Tanooki]

I don't have that one either. I just own Afterburner, Indiana Jones, Road Runner, and Tetris. It's sealed up in a box now anyway, going out tomorrow afternoon for a replacement and then a week or two later I can play catch up.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

a replacement...retron5? whats wrong with the one you have?

tomorrow supposedly mine will ship.....I hope there's no problems with mine.

[Leo_A]

His evidently is starting to have a lot of trouble correctly reading NES cartridges.

[Tanooki]

SMB2 when put in the slot, might as well not be. It doesn't even see it enough to give me the unknown, or can't read error. Yet that's now what Gargoyles Quest 2 does like 80% of the time. There's no reason for it, they worked before. I know they did because my kid like Mario and since she's still not even 3 yet, SMB2 is a nice one to move around on because there's no timer. It'll go out tomorrow, and I'm fine with it. I got a few distractions going and coming anyway soon. I discovered Star Trek Online went free to play a few days ago so I'm using a little free evening time on it, and after or on the 9th I'm grabbing Destiny on Ps4.

[treismac]

How do Famicom games read on your Retron5, Tanooki? The same as NES games?

[Tanooki]

I really hadn't gone digging much after what happened, but I wasn't seemingly having issues with the other game cart ports so I have no idea. I got a bright light and really looked into that NES slot, nothing missing, bent in the least bit, tarnished, dusty...nothing. It just up and decided to start randomly flipping the bird to certain games.

If it wasn't for my kid I would have not even discovered the issue this soon as she's the one into the Mario games right now and 2 is easier to keep going since there's no death clock.

[nusilver]

IPS patching. Pretty cool, unexpected feature. Too bad they don't support UPS patching -- Mother 3 is still unplayable in English on the Retron 5 because it doesn't play at the correct speed on repro carts. Hopefully UPS will be added in the future.