Retrostone 2 is coming soon

[jutleys]

So looks like Retrostone 2 is here soon use this thread to chat about it specs are not revealed yet but once the Kick starter starts they will all be revealed.

[Sakib]

Poll about kickstarter edition colors are going on here : https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIp ... Q/viewform

[deerwings]

Requested Specifications:

Screen Resolution minimum 640x400. This is the minimum functional screen resolution for pretty much everything that might be useable, and it should be relatively simple to downscale to 320x200 for performance improvements on other things.

Connectivity: The ethernet functionality on the Retrostone currently is fantastic. Internal 5.4ghz Wifi and Bluetooth would be nice, but not required as dongles are available and most seem to be fairly reasonably supported.

Case Design: Either a design in more of a Gameboy Advance or PSP style. Gameboy Advance would be preferable, as the PSP style might result in too chunky a handheld to be reasonable, and the Gameboy Advance design should allow for aesthetic and ergonomic decisions to make gameplay more comfortable. Especially with L & R buttons on the top.

Sound: Internal Mono Speaker is fine, unless there's sufficient room for internal stereo speakers.

CPU/GPU: Something that can be supported with open source hardware acceleration. This would make things like Kodi more capable. OrangePi is a great direction to go, perhaps BananaPi or even follow the same BroadComm SOC that the Raspberry Pi 3 does would be a good direction to go. An ARM Cortex solution might be more mainstream than the Allwinner, especially given their difficulty or unwillingness to release decent open source code for their video acceleration.

Memory: 1GB ram is sufficient. 2GB would be better, but most Raspian-based solutions seem to get along fine on 1GB. 2Gb would be useful in desktop mode.

Video: Full HDMI port should remain. This should also be designed with an interrupt circuit that detects when the HDMI is inserted and switches between internal and external screens. I believe this is possible with hardware, and a software solution for resolution change post-swap shouldn't be that difficult.

Pre-drilled button holes. If a default configuration would be 4 buttons, +2, then pre-drilling and plugging the holes to make it easier for user modification would be ideal.

Button Distances: The Current button distances should be decreased by about .25. Their current distances are functional, but could be closer together.

D-Pad: The D-pad should be sufficiently tall enough to allow travel from the bottom of the case to full-press of the directional button but not so much that it recesses the D-Pad too close to the surface of the case. The current D-Pad is approximately 1mm too short in the center pivot, and should be increased sufficiently that it travels less than half the current distance it does from full up to full down. A redesign of the D-Pad could allow users to drill a little bit of extra plastic away from the underside of the D-Pad if they want to customize how deep the rubber pad recesses into the D-Pad plastic.

Possibly Dual Analogue sticks?

Also a Real Time Clock.

USB and Ethernet ports on the top should be a continued design choice. Audio jack on the bottom is perfectly fine as well. Charging port may need to be moved to the top as there would be more space and would help ensure no interference with hands if a GBA style case is chosen.

Power: Power button should protrude above the case, not be recessed into it. This should also have a soft shut-off function in a similar manner to the SNES Mini. Instant power on, but when turned off should result in a script-driven ACPI shutdown. This would help avoid accidental powerdowns. Removable battery would be a good idea in this case as well, should the ACPI shutdown fail.

I hope this helps!

[zxdunny]

If this comes out in a non-GameBoy DMG form, I ain't upgrading, simple as. The form factor was what attracted me to it in the first place, as opposed to its predecessor which is... more horizontal, kinda.

[deerwings]

If this comes out in a non-GameBoy DMG form, I ain't upgrading, simple as. The form factor was what attracted me to it in the first place, as opposed to its predecessor which is... more horizontal, kinda.

I would also be a fan of keeping DMG style if not for the use of Analogue sticks. The current DMG form factor makes using Analogue sticks more awkward than using the shoulder buttons, unless the case was made comically long.

But that is definitely an idea. I find the current case could have been longer by about an inch for proportions but there isn't any room for more than one Analogue stick. The GBA style would more easily allow for this configuration while still keeping an iconic design.

There is definitely room for discussion on design though, and whether or not analogue sticks would be a good inclusion or not. Playstation -does- run on this relatively well and a more updated processor might help improve that, but a big question is how advanced would we want such a device to be? I'm personally glad it runs everything up to N64 okay (I've run into some weird slowdowns with SNES and some N64 games don't run at all).

[WaverBoy]

I am extremely heartened to hear that there will be a Retrostone 2, as there are apparently some issues with the current model's screen not being up to snuff from YouTube reviews I've seen. For the second model, besides an improved and perhaps slightly bigger screen I'm hoping for a design closer to the PSP, which is an extremely comfortable device to hold and play, very ergonomic. The current model, not so much it would seem, although I hope it's not as hard on the hands and forearms as the cute-but-painful Game Boy Advance SP. Also, a more powerful processor for better emulation of N64, Dreamcast, PS1 and PSP.

[Gamuza469]

Extremely happy to hear this!! I would like to add my expectations for this:

First of all a new screen. It really needs a beef-up, really. I mean you get used to it but one always get to see other devices with crispier definition. If a new screen cannot be secured then I think the HDMI output should be used for the device. Maybe with an internal signal switching circuitry between internal and external screens?

I'm up for either DMG format or GBA format for the case. If it's DMG I think a taller device would make it pretty badass. If it's GBA it would allow for an easier placement of analog sticks and stereo speakers. Back to DMG... has anybody tried using a Ipega 9087 on the original RetroStone? I mean... it has dual analog sticks and moarrr buttons. Still it has to have at least one analog stick, at the very least.

Pretty excited to see the new device!!

[pajay]

Just wanted to post to show my support!

I just got my Retrostone (a bit late to the party) but I really think it's a cool little device! I'll admit I'm disappointed with the screen, so I agree with that being the biggest thing I'm looking for in an upgrade.

Excited to see what a new device would be!

[Admin]

RetroStone2 is a bit late sorry guys, I underestimated the time to setup armbian on a new processor!

Hope we can start kickstarter in about 2 weeks.

And yes the LCD is one of the main improvement of RSN2, it use a 640*480 digital screen.

[Dahak]

I'm one of the people who is really happy with my Retrostone 1. I even like the analogue screen as it reminds me of the TVs I used in the 80s. That said, I wouldn't mind a digital screen version, as I could probably just use retroarch filters to achieve some of the same 80s quality. What I'm really hoping is that it maintains the same form factor and adds wifi on board. I'd love to reliably be able to use retroachievements with it, but otherwise I'm pretty pleased with what I got.