RetroN5: Hands on first look

[lagartija_nick]

I had trouble hearing the video but did I hear that you cannot have more than one cartridge plugged in at one time?

I know this lacks the selector of the retron 3, but I could have sworn that I read elsewhere you pick the slot from the startup screen after bootup.

Maybe its a minor thing but it defeats the purpose of having all those slots handy.

[Tanooki]

^ @7:06

Hyperkin is trying to get savestates for games to go on the RetroN5? What the hell? Why is this feature an afterthought? Hyperkin doesn't need to reinvent the wheel here; simply bringing over features that emulators have had for years seems like a no-brainer. Perhaps the rep is clueless, as the "Save State" option seemed to be on the ui screen.

He said game saves not savestates. He's talking about having the ability to have your saved data carried between the retron5 and your home system and the computer so you can take your saves wherever and if you like to hack saves you can do that on a PC, then put the hacked save back on your cart through the retron5 (I'd guess dumping stuff to the SD card as am middleman.)

[BricatSegaFan]

Maybe its a minor thing but it defeats the purpose of having all those slots handy.

Call me crazy but having all those slots handy was for the purpose of playing different systems right? Not necessarily for the purpose of loading it up.


But yes a minor setback but certainly not a deal breaker.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

It probably is caused by the fact that the RetroN5 reads games by dumping them to rom, and it can't do that at the same time for multiple game formats.

This seems like it could be possible to overcome with a firmware update as in theory all that would need to be done is the system told to ignore all slots but the one chosen but I don't really see this as something that Hyperkin will bother with. I have a RetroDuo, RetroN3, Gen-X, and Super 8, and when I want to play a game on any of those, I use only one cart at at a time. Just because it has multiple slots doesn't mean you need to plug the with various cartridges at all times, y'know.

[lagartija_nick]

Didn't mean to make a mountain of a molehill.
Certainly its not a big deal at all, but I swore in some write ups the cart selection was done with the menu.
Perhaps the feature was there at one time but proved to be buggy/faulty.
What Satoshi_Matrix said makes sense after all.

[Leo_A]

Just because it has multiple slots doesn't mean you need to plug the with various cartridges at all times, y'know.

Originally I had a far too long post here. To sum it up, I think they're wrong to not have this jump to a selection menu when two or more cartridges are detected. In fact, I bet a few even get returned as defective when the customer doesn't pick up on the pattern and instead views it as an intermittent problem and a defective system (Even if it's explained in the manual written in engrish). Seems a shame when all it saves is a few minutes of programming time.

It might be superfluous to you, but I bet many think it's just basic functionality and will be expecting it to work this way.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

I agree, and I would prefer that there was a sort of multicart select menu, but Hyperkin has already stated it's this way, I don't see them fixing this, and ultimately, its not a big deal.

Yes, idiots will return it to the store on account of this I'm sure, but that's inevitable. I'm reminded of that Nintendo training video from 1990 that was posted online a few years ago, training store clerks on how to reduce returns by doing basic troubleshooting like asking the customer "did you plug the controller into port 1 or port 2 to play your single player game?"

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Today I decided to take the plunge and preordered a gray RetroN5 as I found a canadian online retailer that was accepting pre orders so I an avoid the horrible price gouging Amazon and other US retailers have. This means that I should be getting my system within the first few days its available, maybe even the day of. This means that I'll be able to bring you guys the truth of its preference and compatibility right away.

Not to create additional hype or anything, but I'm just curious - has anyone else here preordered one, or are you in the camp that prefers to sit this out and wait for reviewer verdicts from me and others?

[StoneAgeGamer]

We just received our RetroN5 beta unit.

We are bound by a Non-disclosure Agreement. We can not comment on anything regarding the RetroN5 that hasn't been announced by Hyperkin already. This includes compatibility. So unfortunately not too much we can talk about.

https://www.facebook.com/StoneAgeGam...type=1&theater

[Leo_A]

Out of curiosity, what's the point then of you receiving one?

I hope your impressions are positive even if you can't say so. I look forward to you hopefully having a detailed look at this ready to post for the time when you're able to openly discuss it.

[StoneAgeGamer]

Out of curiosity, what's the point then of you receiving one?

I hope your impressions are positive even if you can't say so. I look forward to you hopefully having a detailed look at this ready to post for the time when you're able to openly discuss it.

To test it.

Game compatibility testing mainly. If we find a game that doesn't work or has problems we have access to diagnostics tools that makes some files on the SD card that we can send to Hyperkin so they can fix the problem. We also have access to a secret forum where we can post bugs and issues.

[Leo_A]

If they did it in order for you to partake in the testing process, that makes sense.

As one of the retailers for this product though, I didn't much see the sense of you receiving one when you couldn't take advantage of the fact to actively promote it. Would be like a car dealer getting one of the first models to roll off the assembly line but not being allowed to put in the showroom to take advantage of it.

That's what I was thinking.

[StoneAgeGamer]

If they did it in order for you to partake in the testing process, that makes sense.

As one of the retailers for this product though, I didn't much see the sense of you receiving one when you couldn't take advantage of the fact to actively promote it. Would be like a car dealer getting one of the first models to roll off the assembly line but not being allowed to put in the showroom to take advantage of it.

That's what I was thinking.

I can promote it, but I cant say "X game doesn't work yet" publicly. Which makes sense, no point in announcing that publicly when there's a good chance it will get fixed before launch. Or if there is a quirk or issue I don't like about it I can't really say that publicly because that may get fixed or changed before release. Most of what I could say has already been said or seen. The interface is very nice and there are a ton of different options, especially when it comes to how you want it to display on your TV. So far from my experience the video is very crisp and the sound is good. Master System games do work on it already. I tested with our PowerBase Mini product and it worked. I may eventually post some more pictures and maybe videos.

[Leo_A]

When I say promote, I mean reveal information that one can't already locate from Hyperkin released information from your own impressions as you put it through its paces.

Sounds like a promising start.

[Tanooki]

I get the NDA racket, been under more than one in the past working with games in development. It's a shame they're taking that stance but it makes sense too. They already put up the gallows and the rope as it stands bragging they'll be 100% compatible. If they fail to deliver on that and someone puts it out there on a beta hardware unit that's just primed for firmware/software updates that X Y and Z games don't work, or games using some chipset fail, they're screwed plain and simple. I would not be surprised if they had that hardware ready to go a few months back and have hit some emulation walls with bugs they're chasing so they don't eat crow.

I think media wise they'd have been in a far better and safer position to have NEVER said that stupid brag and allowed those with pre-sale beta firmware units the ability to then state if something worked, or if something is being worked upon instead of just being all under a suspiciously delayed more than once lock and key. What's done is done now, and it can't be taken back so I hope for their sake they get that 100% they claimed on any legit software developed during the living period of the systems it runs.

[StoneAgeGamer]

I get the NDA racket, been under more than one in the past working with games in development. It's a shame they're taking that stance but it makes sense too. They already put up the gallows and the rope as it stands bragging they'll be 100% compatible. If they fail to deliver on that and someone puts it out there on a beta hardware unit that's just primed for firmware/software updates that X Y and Z games don't work, or games using some chipset fail, they're screwed plain and simple. I would not be surprised if they had that hardware ready to go a few months back and have hit some emulation walls with bugs they're chasing so they don't eat crow.

I think media wise they'd have been in a far better and safer position to have NEVER said that stupid brag and allowed those with pre-sale beta firmware units the ability to then state if something worked, or if something is being worked upon instead of just being all under a suspiciously delayed more than once lock and key. What's done is done now, and it can't be taken back so I hope for their sake they get that 100% they claimed on any legit software developed during the living period of the systems it runs.

Maybe I am wrong, but I have personally never heard Hyperkin claim that the R5 is 100% compatible, I have only heard them say they are shooting for 100% compatibility. Big difference in those two statements. Based on my interaction with them so far this indeed seems like the case. If a game doesn't work at all or run correctly they have you send you files that the beta OS generates so they can work on that compatibility. Now will it be 100% compatible at launch? I have no idea, but I highly doubt it based on the sheer amount of different system it currently supports. That being said I really don't think most people will care as long as the compatibility is very high and luckily unlike other "clones" this one can be updated. The RetroN5 is not targeted towards hardcore retro gamers like most people on this forum, no "clone" has been. They are targeted towards casual retro gamers. Believe or not the people on this forum, AtariAge, NintendoAge, the list goes on are actually the minority. Most people who play retro games do it casually. This is the first system that supports retro carts that actually works well with modern TVs. That's not joke either, probably my biggest praise of the system so far from my experience is works really well on my 60" HD TV. A lot of different filters, resolutions, scan lines, etc. You can really customize exactly how you want it to look. Even without filters it looks very sharp. This will be a big selling point for casual players.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

StoneAgeGamer, can you please post some photos of the unit from angles not typically seen? Specifically, I want to see a direct image of the front of the console facing into the GBA slot. A head-on view of the system.

The other image I request is from the bottom - please flip the console upsidedown and take a detailed shot of the underside of the unit. I want to know what kind of screws the unit has, if it has venting, what kind of 'feet' it is, etc etc.

[Atarileaf]

Today I decided to take the plunge and preordered a gray RetroN5 as I found a canadian online retailer that was accepting pre orders so I an avoid the horrible price gouging Amazon and other US retailers have. This means that I should be getting my system within the first few days its available, maybe even the day of. This means that I'll be able to bring you guys the truth of its preference and compatibility right away.

Not to create additional hype or anything, but I'm just curious - has anyone else here preordered one, or are you in the camp that prefers to sit this out and wait for reviewer verdicts from me and others?

What canadian online retailer? I'm in the same boat with price gouging us shipping

[Nesmaster]

I've got one from the multicart kickstarter coming whenever the bundles start shipping.

No matter how good or bad it ends up being, there's no denying my excitement to try it out and the hope I have that it delivers.

[StoneAgeGamer]

StoneAgeGamer, can you please post some photos of the unit from angles not typically seen? Specifically, I want to see a direct image of the front of the console facing into the GBA slot. A head-on view of the system.

The other image I request is from the bottom - please flip the console upsidedown and take a detailed shot of the underside of the unit. I want to know what kind of screws the unit has, if it has venting, what kind of 'feet' it is, etc etc.

Front:
http://www.stoneagegamer.com/images/r5/IMG_1388.JPG

Right Side:
http://www.stoneagegamer.com/images/r5/IMG_1389.JPG

Left Side:
http://www.stoneagegamer.com/images/r5/IMG_1390.JPG

Back:
http://www.stoneagegamer.com/images/r5/IMG_1391.JPG

Bottom:
http://www.stoneagegamer.com/images/r5/IMG_1392.JPG (screws are philips, not sure if that will change, my guess is that rubber feet will be on final production units)

Just a quick video of my beta unit of the RetroN5 playing Y's for the Sega Master System.

Sorry if it sounds like a have a bunch of marbles in my mouth. I took this video right after waking up.

http://youtu.be/sQK4LuikR08