Polymega system claims to now run neo geo cd games with faster load times

A bit expensive, but the CD systems emulation is very tempting.

RAZO said:

I notice it all the time when I was playing a game on the Nes Classic and would follow up with playing my Rgb Modded Nes on PVM. It was a big difference. In some games that 1/2 second makes all the difference when pushing buttons.

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If you have that luxury, like most of us do, to compare it to a tube/console setup, emulation is sometimes shocking. If you never go back, it's quite acceptable, I guess.

RAZO said:

FPGA is just so much more accurate.

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Yeah, that's the future. Recently I tested the Mega SG. The picture was without even the slightest analogue distortion or dither. Absolutely sharp and looked, well, somehow more than accurate. I just wish one could make an FPGA crt haha...

RAZO said:

I notice it all the time when I was playing a game on the Nes Classic and would follow up with playing my Rgb Modded Nes on PVM. It was a big difference. In some games that 1/2 second makes all the difference when pushing buttons.

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Ninja Gaiden is unplayable on the NES Classic. I just beat the game a 2nd time using my original NES on a PVM, even the slightest delay can throw you off on a game that requires split second decision making.

Do you guys have modded NES classics? It was discovered a few weeks ago that Hakchi was actually adding some lag in there and there is a simple command line fix to it. When connected to a low lag PC monitor I was able to beat Ninja Gaiden 1 and Mike Tyson (I've never beaten Tyson in emulation before.) The real NES/Fami and the FPGA based AVS I have are still better but damn if it doesn't feel close now, I probably wouldn't have bought the AVS if the fix had been found earlier.

GohanX said:

Do you guys have modded NES classics? It was discovered a few weeks ago that Hakchi was actually adding some lag in there and there is a simple command line fix to it. When connected to a low lag PC monitor I was able to beat Ninja Gaiden 1 and Mike Tyson (I've never beaten Tyson in emulation before.) The real NES/Fami and the FPGA based AVS I have are still better but damn if it doesn't feel close now, I probably wouldn't have bought the AVS if the fix had been found earlier.

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No shit? I guess it's time to bust mine out again. Is this info easily findable or do you have a link to the fix?

GohanX said:

Do you guys have modded NES classics? It was discovered a few weeks ago that Hakchi was actually adding some lag in there and there is a simple command line fix to it. When connected to a low lag PC monitor I was able to beat Ninja Gaiden 1 and Mike Tyson (I've never beaten Tyson in emulation before.) The real NES/Fami and the FPGA based AVS I have are still better but damn if it doesn't feel close now, I probably wouldn't have bought the AVS if the fix had been found earlier.

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Wait, hakchi can command line into the nes mini? Link pls?

GohanX said:

Do you guys have modded NES classics? It was discovered a few weeks ago that Hakchi was actually adding some lag in there and there is a simple command line fix to it. When connected to a low lag PC monitor I was able to beat Ninja Gaiden 1 and Mike Tyson (I've never beaten Tyson in emulation before.) The real NES/Fami and the FPGA based AVS I have are still better but damn if it doesn't feel close now, I probably wouldn't have bought the AVS if the fix had been found earlier.

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At this point I kind of don't care. I have my NES Classic and Super Fami Classic boxed and sitting in a closet. Doesn't go with the current setup I put together.

If this thing truly uses Mednafen for Sega Saturn emulation then it's going to be borderline unplayable. Even with the best possible settings on a high end PC Mednafen lags too much (even worse than the old SFF emulator) Yaba Sanshiro seems to fare a lot better but has its own share of weird issues.
I honestly don't see the value on these emulation boxes unless you're one of those extremely casual players who just boots a game to play the 1st level for a few minutes and lose all lives thinking you're just a bad player not knowing you're making things worse and harder by playing under such laggy setups.

I've ragged on this - it's not what they made out it was, and they're still pretty shadey about what they're actually working on vs. cramming in a box, but it is kind of interesting to see where they go with this since they at least *seem* to be spending time doing something.

It's a shame Polymega is no longer FPGA but will be emulation-based. I have found Analogue's Megadrive/Genesis/SMS and SNES/NES FPGA consoles very impressive. I had thought about getting a Polymega bundle as a modern backup to my original consoles, but frankly if they only have emulation then a Hyperspin front-ended MAME cab covering every game system except the most modern would be the way to go...

A bit more detail about the sadly possibly stillborn Polymega:

https://www.vintageisthenewold.com/final-changes-to-polymega-system-revealed/

"The update article published by Nintendo Life discloses the following changes to specifications, previously announced:

CPU upgraded to a higher speed Dual Core Intel chip (G5500T @3.2Ghz);
FPGA moved out of the base console and may only be made available to future cart modules such as the Famicon and an updated SNES (the launch SNES modules will not be FPGA);
Sega Saturn support has been added to the CD-ROM system;
The Twitch feature is no longer part of the launch package;
Launch modules will include 5 officially licensed games installed on their on-board flash memory;
POLYMEGA will have a digital store by Q4 2019 that will allow games to be purchased and downloaded to the console with prices starting from $3.99USD for cart games and $5.99USD for CD games.
The upgrade to the CPU could allow the POLYMEGA to be able to accommodate more powerful retro consoles such as N64 or Dreamcast in the near future. A digital store front is also a plus as it would provide another source to legally access old titles that are either difficult or expensive to purchase in their physical format.

However, the removal of the FPGA from the base module will be a major sticking point as it appears that the previously promised ‘hybrid emulation’ has been discarded at launch, effectively making the POLYMEGA a pure emulation system.

As FPGA will not be incorporated into any of the add-on cart modules available at launch, it means that those of us whose who were intending to use flash cart devices such as Everdrives are out of luck as they will not work on the POLYMEGA.

The move away from ‘hybrid emulation’ has cause some angst among those who have already backed or were intending to back the POLYMEGA venture. A quick scan of the POLYMEGA facebook and twitter posts shows that a number of people who were successful in placing a ‘pre-order’ are now requesting refunds. To their credit, Playmaji have been accommodating of these requests and have stated that they will refund anyone who feels that the POLYMEGA is no longer the system for them.

Just as a reminder, that the POLYMEGA is no certainty to be produced without community backing. Playmaji are looking to raise $500,000 USD under the pre-order campaign. If the target amount is not raised then Playmaji will refund all money to ‘pre-order’ backers and re-evaluate the commercial viability of the project. In other words, think of this as a Kickstarter campaign but without the third party governance.

So what do we think after these changes? Is the POLYMEGA still an interesting proposition for you or will you pass and stick with your current emulated systems?".

Pinball said:

So what do we think after these changes? Is the POLYMEGA still an interesting proposition for you or will you pass and stick with your current emulated systems?".

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I have one on pre-order. After the excellent reviews posted by people who tried it at E3, I am really excited. The switch to emulation from FPGA isn't a major concern for me, as long as it is done very well, and it seems they have enlisted the required talent to achieve that goal. Time will tell, of course.

I am little surprised that people were upset about not being able to use everdrive-type carts with the system, since that seems contrary to the purpose of the console, which is to allow people to play original games that they actually own for the supported systems. I mean, if you just want something to play downloaded roms, there are a lot of other options.

This was not news, wtf.

So, if you install a Sega Saturn or Neo Geo CD game on this console, you wouldn't need the original disc always in the tray? It would run off an internal hard drive/flash drive? Or is disc-less play only possible if you buy from the proposed digital storefront like modern consoles?

ArcadePerfect said:

So, if you install a Sega Saturn or Neo Geo CD game on this console, you wouldn't need the original disc always in the tray? It would run off an internal hard drive/flash drive? Or is disc-less play only possible if you buy from the proposed digital storefront like modern consoles?

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You can install your original games (from CD or cartridge) onto an internal M.2 solid state drive and after that the games can stay on the shelf; you select the games from a menu and they load and play without the discs or cartridges being in the console.

Bishamon said:

You can install your original games (from CD or cartridge) onto an internal M.2 solid state drive and after that the games can stay on the shelf; you select the games from a menu and they load and play without the discs or cartridges being in the console.

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Thanks for the info! That makes the system much more enticing then, having the whole Saturn library in one place alone would be amazing.

ArcadePerfect said:

Thanks for the info! That makes the system much more enticing then, having the whole Saturn library in one place alone would be amazing.

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Definitely! And the Neo CD, PlayStation, Genesis, etc.

Cumbersome and not of this day and age. Plus it's still emulation. Skip.

Bishamon said:

You can install your original games (from CD or cartridge) onto an internal M.2 solid state drive and after that the games can stay on the shelf; you select the games from a menu and they load and play without the discs or cartridges being in the console.

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Ideally it would be possible to copy all roms onto the SSD to use it like an everdrive, but I fear the Polymega will not allow this as their business model is to have an online store to sell games...

I'll probably buy this anyway, but it could have been so much more (FPGA, everdrive-capable etc). Just think of what Analogue has achieved. I look forward to adding Terraonion's MegaSD to the MegaSG :-) The ability to play MegaCD games will be awesome.

Hard pass. FPGA is the bar of entry in any modern retro console. This sounds like a glorified rom box.

Just build a Mini ITX or Micro ATX PC and 8bitDo controllers. That is basically what this is. I dont understand what the need is to research and develop such a product without FPGA. Especially when pc some enclosures look like a xbox one anyway

Nobody wants my opinion but...

I wish polymega didnt exist... i hate it...

greedostick said:

Hard pass. FPGA is the bar of entry in any modern retro console. This sounds like a glorified rom box.

Just build a Mini ITX or Micro ATX PC and 8bitDo controllers. That is basically what this is. I dont understand what the need is to research and develop such a product without FPGA. Especially when pc some enclosures look like a xbox one anyway

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Just use your old laptop, it can probably emulate most stuff before mid-90s anyway. Plug in a $5 USB controller and you have the MegaMega.

Massive Urethra Chode said:

Nobody wants my opinion but...

I wish polymega didnt exist... i hate it...

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It's why God made the Raspberry Pi.

Raspberry Pi is nice and I bet the cheapest way but there a lot more possibilities aut there, Asus tinker board, odroid and so on for the upper price segment there is Intels nuc

I bet the Intel nuc skull with a price tag around 1000 euros is still cheaper than polymega with all add-ons, if it's all about playing your "own roms" you could buy something like the retrode2 to rip them

Anyway fpga or nothing everything else is already possible

An FPGA solution that offers compatibility with Saturn, Playstation, Neo CD, TG16/PCEngine, Genesis, Sega CD, NES and SNES would be insanely expensive. Sure, it's theoretically possible, but would it be worth the extra cost versus something that emulates extremely well? Not to me.