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DF Direct! Polymega In-Depth Preview: The Ultimate Retro All-In-One Console?
- Thread starter CyberPanda
- Start date
- Analysis Retro
Ol'Scratch
Member
TLDR summary por favor?
Shotpun
Member
In short John had an hour to play with the thing and was pleasently surprised. All games seemed to play very well at a glance but we need to wait for a full review to see if there are any issues lurking deeper. Still seems to blow other emulator boxes out of the water but probably can't quite mach a dedicated one system machine like Analogues offerings.
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Fuz
Banned
It's called a PC.
Ol'Scratch
Member
Thank you!
Shotpun
Member
Roms yes, carts directly no. I guess you could shove the cart in a optical drive hole, start the game off a rom and say this is fine very loudly?
Lone Wolf
Member
Like really loud? What if it’s late at night?
Shotpun
Member
If you like your family and neighbours you could sniff mushrooms and eat meth till you can't tell the difference.
I personally don't need to use the original cartridges/discs to enjoy the game as long I do actually own and have them, but what I absolutely do have to have is a controller that is either 1:1 to the original controller for the system or very close to it. Realized that very quickly when I was messing about with retropie and a xbox 360 controller.
DunDunDunpachi
Banned
The SEGA Saturn performance is what catches my eye. I need a replacement for my half-broken Retron 5 anyway.
I'm not sold yet, but this is looking to be one of the better all-in-one retro consoles.
I'm not sold yet, but this is looking to be one of the better all-in-one retro consoles.
Alexios
Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Don't forget (dunno if covered, haven't watched the video yet) they're also working with the Sinden dude(s?) to make a lightgun that works on any TV (it basically adds a border around the screen which the lightgun then reads to accurately know where you're aiming regardless of your positioning, rather than do it Wii-style with the extra hardware infrared emitters you have to attach somewhere around your TV which also can't offer the same accuracy unless you sit perfectly still after calibrating, which is impossible as even aiming left to right alters the positioning).
www.polymega.com
www.sindenlightgun.com
But really, I'd totally buy a nice plug n play software package and the controllers for my PC rather than need an extra relatively expensive box as long as it's still software emulation rather than cloned hardware (beyond the cartridge readers and shit like that). Especially for such uses with specific hardware which can sometimes be hit or miss or with specific quirks in this or that emulator or front end or whatever (I currently use Mednafen for Saturn with Mednaffe front end and it's cool for some things, not so much for others).
Polymega's New Light Gun for HDTVs.
Polymega™ has a new light gun compatible with HDTV's. RGC01 is powered by the Sinden Light Gun and is compatible with Sega Saturn, PS1, NES, SNES, and more.
www.polymega.com
Polymega support – Sinden Lightgun
www.sindenlightgun.com
But really, I'd totally buy a nice plug n play software package and the controllers for my PC rather than need an extra relatively expensive box as long as it's still software emulation rather than cloned hardware (beyond the cartridge readers and shit like that). Especially for such uses with specific hardware which can sometimes be hit or miss or with specific quirks in this or that emulator or front end or whatever (I currently use Mednafen for Saturn with Mednaffe front end and it's cool for some things, not so much for others).
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Orenji Neko
Member
I had never heard of it before, but that HD option for NES games (in Mesen) was fascinating to me. Did a little looking around and found a much better representation of Metroid than what was shown in the video. I think the key is that since it's the same code and frames being run, it's best to stick mainly to how the original sprites are drawn to avoid wonky animation.
Samus is a lot more colorful, but unlike trying to replicate the Super Metroid sprite and come up short with a lack of movement frames, this one in the video above looks a lot more natural. Still, I honestly never heard of this before and I think it's pretty damn cool; it's like checking out an alternate dimension where higher powered parts were more affordable to use when the NES was created and thus it was a 16-bit like system. (The visual representation so far is very much like a PC-Engine which I think is rather fitting all things considered.)
Samus is a lot more colorful, but unlike trying to replicate the Super Metroid sprite and come up short with a lack of movement frames, this one in the video above looks a lot more natural. Still, I honestly never heard of this before and I think it's pretty damn cool; it's like checking out an alternate dimension where higher powered parts were more affordable to use when the NES was created and thus it was a 16-bit like system. (The visual representation so far is very much like a PC-Engine which I think is rather fitting all things considered.)
Pallas
Member
I’m pretty interesting in this, I believe they are getting an online market place as well? Would be neat if you could play those Japanese only games and if patches are available to translate, that you can use them.
Such games like Treasure Hunger G, Dual Orb 2, Treasures of the Rudra, etc which were some decent to very good SNES RPGs That never got outside of Japan. I’d actually be willing to buy those if they appeared available on that console just to play it on my TV.
Such games like Treasure Hunger G, Dual Orb 2, Treasures of the Rudra, etc which were some decent to very good SNES RPGs That never got outside of Japan. I’d actually be willing to buy those if they appeared available on that console just to play it on my TV.
Romulus
Member
I still think a modded original Xbox is a great buy. I have the complete original xbox library, along with PS1, N64, 32x, Sega CD, NES, SNES, along with 5000 arcade games. There's also about 12 other emulators I've never even tried like old Apple computers and Atari. Endless gaming really with save stats and the best console controller I think ever made, the S. Probably 50k games.
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Alexios
Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Sweet, I'd love to see a photo of all the shelves with all those Xbox games. I don't think anybody has shown the complete library of the system before. Unless you just have it stuffed in boxes.
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Romulus
Member
Oh no, they're all installed on my 2tb harddrive. It would be sweet to have all the cases though.
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Romulus
Member
They're all Roms. Every single game. The disk drive works but the loading times are almost nothing installed to the drive. Original Xbox loading was a bitch so its a huge deal.
EverydayBeast
thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
This is typical 3rd party Frankenstein
CyberPanda
Banned
You type our your responses like its poetry. Cute.
ipukespiders
Member
MVG also put up a video last week:
GlassAwful
Member
Is it really an all in one console if I have to swap out a bunch of modules to access different games?
Is there a hard drive? Do you load the games up one time and then just keep the last module in there while playing a different system?
Can I use different controllers on other system emulators? Is there a singular controller that works for all or do I have to use the module specific one?
Is there a hard drive? Do you load the games up one time and then just keep the last module in there while playing a different system?
Can I use different controllers on other system emulators? Is there a singular controller that works for all or do I have to use the module specific one?
The Pleasure
Member
PleaseDontBanMe
Banned
How does this differ from Soulja Boy's console?
The Pleasure
Member
This doesn't crank dat shit.
McCheese
Member
I love the idea of being able to import your own game collection onto this thing, but not sure what market they are really going for. I picked up the three analogue systems because they are the best way on the market of playing NES, SNES and MD titles on modern TVs, but I'm not paying a premium for software emulation when I already have half a dozen devices in my house which can do that.
I guess the thing for me is knowing where that money is going, generally, due to the open source licence of most emulators, hardware manufacturers can get away with not giving a penny to them which rubs me the wrong way. If they are funding the development or improvement of emulators for use on this thing, then I might change my tune and support it, but if it's just another unlicenced MAME box then fuck them.
I guess the thing for me is knowing where that money is going, generally, due to the open source licence of most emulators, hardware manufacturers can get away with not giving a penny to them which rubs me the wrong way. If they are funding the development or improvement of emulators for use on this thing, then I might change my tune and support it, but if it's just another unlicenced MAME box then fuck them.
Hellblueboy
Member
Why everyone have to mention PC in emulation box thread?
Yes, PC is the best emulation machine there is, but the box like this have its own perks.
No need for set up for one, some one said "just build a NUC", do you think casual player could do that.
Why build a new PC then set it up yourself when you can buy this and play it out of the box?
Yes, PC is the best emulation machine there is, but the box like this have its own perks.
No need for set up for one, some one said "just build a NUC", do you think casual player could do that.
Why build a new PC then set it up yourself when you can buy this and play it out of the box?
McCheese
Member
But you can't, unless you already have roms (in which case you probably know how to use emulators already). you need to buy the base unit, plus the console adapter, then find your old games and probably clean them up so they are readable, rip them into the system, connect it to the wifi so it can download the box-art and other stuff.
Casuals will just buy those terrible "plug and play" things that come pre-loaded with a dozen or so games, and sound like someone is trying to recreate the game music by hitting tin cans with a spoon.
C
Contica
Unconfirmed Member
Is this US only, or can I use my pal games?
Lone Wolf
Member
Compatible with all regions
Alexios
Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
It's all software emulation rather than hardware cloning so it makes sense people bring up the PC and other platforms. That's why I said I'd totally buy a software suite to have something that launches from my PC and becomes just as plug and play in a nicely polished package. But see little value in spending quite a bit of money to buy more hardware I personally find redundant to run the software on. I like their interface, I like it draws box art and screenshots and stuff to complete the presentation, I like that it's set up to work out of the box rather than need all kinds of configurations like most PC emulators need (I tend to like stand alone emulators that have standard PC-like interfaces rather than all-in-one packages, I never figured out retroarch's way of usage with the PSP-like interface, but if it was a thing that I'd just point to my games folder/drive/whatever and it'd take care of everything for me I'd be all in if the end result was of the high quality hinted at here), I'd like to just plug their lightgun in my PC and instantly be able to play Saturn Virtua Cop 2 and PlayStation Time Crisis, or whatever else in their nice little software package rather than launch different emulators with their own set up and configuration and quirks. But I really don't want to buy a box for the benefit. I'm not their target market, that's ok. I'll just hope Sinden lightgun getting eventually completed will make more emulators and front-ends bother with lightgun game support improvements.
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wvnative
Member
Never had good luck with PC emulation, and so I got myself an Nvidia shield. Works great, but has limitations. This is honestly right up my alley. But something holds it back, and in order to explain why, I may have to touch on things that may be considered out of bounds. Apologies in advance if this goes too far.
On my Nvidia Shield, I have simply loaded a huge external SSD with a ton of ROMS. It isn't that I wholly support piracy, but hear me out: Over time, discs go bad, and they can't always be restored. This can prevent burning the disc into a disc image file. Apparently the Polymega does not support USB ROM loading, and for what I think is a very understandable reason. They want this to try to go semi-mainstream, and it'd be a bad look if it easily enabled piracy. But honestly, the lack of being able to just move my existing SSD from the shield to the Polymega and plug and go, is a real let down.
I'm a disabled gamer, too much to go into specifics but this disability makes PC gaming in any way... impractical at best. But game preservation is SUPER important to my heart, and I think a console like box, that can play all these games at super high quality without the tinkering aspect of PC emulation, is something that NEEDS to exist. Not only that, but makes retro gaming much more accessible for someone like me, and I am so happy that a device I envisioned for years is finally about to come out and looks like the real deal. I want to support it, but I personally need that USB loading. Hoping it gets hacked. There is something special about having multiple entire console libraries at the push of a button.
I do hope it finds success, if for no other reason than to make current console manufacturers to step up their preservation game.
On my Nvidia Shield, I have simply loaded a huge external SSD with a ton of ROMS. It isn't that I wholly support piracy, but hear me out: Over time, discs go bad, and they can't always be restored. This can prevent burning the disc into a disc image file. Apparently the Polymega does not support USB ROM loading, and for what I think is a very understandable reason. They want this to try to go semi-mainstream, and it'd be a bad look if it easily enabled piracy. But honestly, the lack of being able to just move my existing SSD from the shield to the Polymega and plug and go, is a real let down.
I'm a disabled gamer, too much to go into specifics but this disability makes PC gaming in any way... impractical at best. But game preservation is SUPER important to my heart, and I think a console like box, that can play all these games at super high quality without the tinkering aspect of PC emulation, is something that NEEDS to exist. Not only that, but makes retro gaming much more accessible for someone like me, and I am so happy that a device I envisioned for years is finally about to come out and looks like the real deal. I want to support it, but I personally need that USB loading. Hoping it gets hacked. There is something special about having multiple entire console libraries at the push of a button.
I do hope it finds success, if for no other reason than to make current console manufacturers to step up their preservation game.
Alexios
Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
PRESS RELEASE: Polymega™ X MASAYA Bonus Games Included on EM04 "Turbo" Module Set
Playmaji, Inc. and extreme Co., LTD today announced that Polymega™ – the world’s first HD modular game console – will include five licensed TurboGrafx-16/PC-Engine pack-in titles on the EM04 “Turbo” Element Module Set.
www.polymega.com
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