[PS3 #1 (Repair Log)]

 

[A PS3 Story: The Yellow Light Of Death]

K has a 65nm GPU and CPU, it's a pretty reliable model. But it does have tokins that can fail on you. The biggest issue with thise super slims are the wifi modues, from what I hear.

[A PS3 Story: The Yellow Light Of Death]

On 9/1/2022 at 5:33 AM, tthurman said:

Well you certainly got me thinking about the what if’s and looking into contingency planning for the long term.  It’s already getting late in the game for the PS3, and you know all to well how prices skyrocket on these things with age.

I wouldn't worry about it until you have issues. No sense worrying about something that may not happen.

On 9/1/2022 at 8:35 AM, tthurman said:

I see a lot of people talking about replacing the "laser lens" on the super slims, which just seems to be the sled assembly of the blu ray drive.  Do you have any experience here?  This drive is more like a laptop style drive and I haven't done a lot of digging on it.  Is this married to a daughter board or similar?

The BD has a daughterboard that is married. So if you replace the whole Drive, you need to retain the OG. However, you can remarry them using a jailbroken custom firmware. You just need to dump the eid root key and use factory service mode to remarry it.

I'm not sure how common BD issues are. Pretty common I'd suspect. 15 years or so old solid state lasers are starting to fail. Not too big a deal to replace the laser itself. But I've not needed to myself...yet.

[A PS3 Story: The Yellow Light Of Death]

On 8/29/2022 at 6:37 AM, tthurman said:

So what’s the legit oversights that have you pulling the video down again?   

In the original I forgot that ATI designed the 360 GPU and mistakenly said Nvidia designed both. That was inaccurate. Both were fabricated by TSMC (at least some of the defective chips). So it's not too big an oversight, it just didn't paint the correct picture of how 2 different designers ended up having similar issues.

I also toned down the "who's to blame" rhetoric and placed a disclaimer before BumpGate theory. There are a few other minor changes that I think improve the accuracy alot. Most people wont notice.

[A PS3 Story: The Yellow Light Of Death]

Okay Guys. I have been working on a BIG project in secret for the last 6 months. But it took nearly the last 4 years to research. And it finally went live today! I hope you enjoy...

EDIT: there were some legit oversights that a few people pointed out to me about the video that I needed to address. They were serious enough that I needed to pull it down. Soft opening didn't go well! Anyway...it's back up now. New and improved!

[Zelda: Oot (MUST SEE)]

If you haven't seen any other videos that have spoiled this, then watch it here first. It's pretty awesome!

I unfortunately was fed (by the YT algorithm) a reaction video that spoiled it for me. Seeing it from the event is much better. So before YT's spoilBOT get's you too, watch this!

[Phantom Dust Free on XBOX (Console or PC)]

I must say, I picked this up a while ago and it's been sitting on my shelf. Then today I saw this video and thought, "that cover looks familiar." I went to the game shelf and there it was! No I had never played it. But I think I will now! Just logged into the XBOX PC app and started DL'ing. Pretty crazy it's free. 4k remaster, online and everything.

Also long time no see. Just wanted to pop in to share this little nugget with you all!

[EPIC - Tomb Raider Trilogy FREE until January 6th]

THX, I haven't played any of these yet.

I guess I waited long enough!

[Anyone playing around with MiSTer?]

PS1 games are starting to work on MiSTer now too. I've been seeing some preliminary tweets (yes, I finally gave in).

Starting to get very inciting with Saturn and PS1 being worked on. Kinda crazy! I never thought the DE10nano could handle those systems. Honestly, I don't know why I keep putting this off. I know I'll want one eventually. I guess it's because I'm satisfied with having real HW instead!

But really, I can't justify buying a PC Engine Duo just for bonk! And I have been wanting to build a MiSTerCade. It's just another big project in an already long line of projects I haven't gotten to.

[PS5 & X-BOX SX: A year Later - Gamers should be pissed off!]

DISACLAIMER: This it like, just my opinion man! If you don't like it, I respect your right to express yourself...so long as you respect mine.

It's been over a year and I still haven't been blessed with good timing. Forgive my old stupid ass for not subscribing to restock alerts or resorting to paid bot buying groups for the privilege of paying full retail price. And it does, doesn't it - Feel like a privelege to pay "only" $500?

First, let me express how STUPID it is to feel privileged to pay the Launch price for a console that launched over a year ago. Call me old fashioned, but Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, a year after launch, should be discounted. "But they are in high demand." "They're not available in stores." "There's a global parts shortage." Oh, and the most overused excuse..."the pandemic!"

Second, they're not sold in stores, online only. That method is incredibly unfair to people like me. I never know when restocks are coming and can't compete with the trigger fingers of a generation that grew up jacked into the web. I don't want to stop everything at the drop of a tweet, just to pay full retail price for a console that launched a year ago, having a 2ms window to buy. I have no problem on amazon.com buying a USB cable, but the moment there's demand from 10's of thousands of rabid gamer's willing to run up their credit card debt competing for a limited number of consoles, normal servers and Firefox doesn't cut it. I value my privacy and use browser extensions like Ghostery and UBlock origin that sometimes interfere with cookies needed to make a purchasing experience go smooth. Using chrome with it's big-brother-friendly default settings is 100% necessary, when you're competing to add to cart on an overloaded server. Hitting that refresh button over and over again shouldn't require me to give up on my values, but it's become ordinary - that's just what you have to do!

But WHY???

Why do they REFUSE to sell them in stores? It would solve all of this nonsense. Yes, I know recently the Halo infinate limited edition X-Box SX was sold in store at Best Buy. But was I the only one who found the timing inconvenient? Why did they do it on a Monday morning?

I'm not as young as I used to be and had to work Monday. I couldn't get the day off just to camp out at Best Buy for a video game console! I don't know where you work, buy that won't fly by my boss! A Saturday makes sense. People can begin camping out after work and won't have to work the weekend. Not only does that give you a chance to sleep off the camp-out, but also play some games before having to go to work on Monday! That's the way Black Friday worked when I was growing up! That's how it's supposed to work.

Sure, I get the pandemic excuse here. I mean if I were SONY or MS I'd be saying the same things. 'Why would we lower the price when they keep selling out? We don't control the price resellers list their consoles at. There is a global parts shortage and pandemic. Selling in stores with long lines makes social distancing difficult or impossible.' That last one is a solid argument, but that's a decision I should be able to make for myself. I can wear an N95, face shield, self contained HazMat suit if I effing want! Retailers can setup social distancing measures too. I don't get why they, be "they" retailers or whoever, remove the option from us (the customer)? Shouldn't we have the opportunity to get lucky and find a console in store? I find myself checking the electronics section at Wallmart, Target, and Best Buy every time I'm there, just in case there was a silent restock. I'd even pay full retail price for the convenience of buying in person, instead of enduring the hassle of competing for one online. I happend upon a SNES and NES classic just wondering by the electronics section. It's a small ritual I used to enjoy performing while vising the supermarket. But it's completely lost it's appeal. Now, I don't even bother with th electronics section. If I were to go by the switch games, I'd see a $60 price for a game that's been out for 4 years. And if there's ZERO chance of finding a PS5 or XBSX, the only thing I have to look forward to is a 2 for 1 sale on soap...FML!

 The one time there is an in store release it's was a random Monday. Had I not checked Twitter, I wouldn't have even known about it! In fact, this is why I joined Twitter, because I keep missing out on news like this. I HATE SOCIAL MEDIA! But I had to join to keep on top of updates like this. That's a failure of marketing, not some kind of grassroots gurella marking strategy. Whatever BS non-sense they try to spin it as! Regardless, I only saw this in my feed the morning of! It was too late for me to plan to take the day off by then. I can only assume this was by design, intended to be difficult. Heaven forbid we have a fair shot!

Instead they would pass out tickets (1/customer) at 7am...but that you HAD to wait around for the 10am open or they wouldn't hold on to it. So you couldn't come back later if you had to go to work. No, you had to wait all night, and most of the morning too. I got the message loud and clear. The timing said, "no working adults!" The price said, "no broke young people!" So who was this for? The only people who can do that are people without a regular 9-5, but who somehow have and extra $500 laying around...like resellers! Really limited demographic there. Maybe they were hoping to give scalpers COVID!

You better believe scalpers have no problem camping out for the chance to double their money. I See the Halo Infinite LE X-Box SX selling on e-bay for $1200. $1200 - $500 = A cool $700. Sure e-bay takes their fee, but it's worth loosing a little sleep if you're a resller.

But I want to get back to this point. Just because you can't get a console, doesn't mean it's rare or worth it's asking price! I would argue that the system has been manipulated to create scarcity and speculation. By slowly releasing consoles, small restocks at a time, SONY and MS are creating a reseller market! And the manner they, or their distributors, have chosen to release these consoles (online only) is easily exploited by bots reseller groups use to acquire large lots. The true price of the console is being set by speculation, not demand. That's why the price's aren't falling. Keeping supply low for as long as possible ensures SONY & MS will end up selling more consoles overall.  Speculation will cause consoles to sit on inventory shelves waiting to be resold, up until the bubble pops. Once all gamer's have either bought an overpriced console (either from the scalpers or SONY/MS) or lose interest and give up, resellers will be stuck with unsold inventory taking up space. It works out for SONY and MS, who will have sold WAY more consoles than they would have otherwise. And most of those consoles will have sold for full price, no discounts.

That's when I'll pick one up. Once the PS5 and XBSX is no longer relevant. Just like I am doing now with PS3 and XB360. That's what I'm playing now. It's not new, but it's new to me and cheap! I have plenty of games to play, so I can hold out. But you know who can't? Developers!

The biggest loser's in all of this are game developers who are not able to sell as many games as they would have otherwise. They only have a short amount of time to make their money back, so the sooner their gamer base has a console they can play the game on, the sooner they can sell it to them. All the people like me, who wait 10 years to buy the console and games used, are a missed opportunity for a sale that would help support their work. And I'm a working adult with the money to buy those games. I want to also. I just can't get my hands on the console! So I'm faced with the decision to buy the game for a console I can't get yet, or wait until I get one. The fact that some of these games become rare and appreciate in value, instead of getting cheaper with time, makes that decision even harder! Worse, because of all this I'm alienated...pissed off really! I want to support development of the games I like. But i'm about ready to say, eff'em all! Let them die!

Nothing about this is conducive to good game development or innovation. Devs can't take the chances they did during the X-Box, PS2, Dreamcast, and GC generation. They haven't since then. That has soured my taste for gaming in general. It caused me to wait to buy consoles and games, and that was back when we had the luxury of games and consoles that came down in price. The only reason I'm even interested in the overpriced PS5 and XBSX is for backwards compatibility and Games I want to support development of. They need it to have enough to offer gamers!

Nintendo somehow manages to look like the good guy in all of this. I was able to pay full price in a store...SHOCKER!!! The prices haven't come down, but availability is better. I just bought Metroid Dread because I love the series and want to support it's continued development. I have a lot of switch games that I haven't even opened yet, because I wanted to support development, and was afraid the price would go up...strange times we live in. But I can't justify doing this for a console I don't own yet.

Yeah, this thread is venting...it's spilled milk, sour grapes, hey you kid's get off my lawn. Deal with it!

[DUNE! No longer December 18, 2020, now October 22, 2021!]

 

I doubt she survives. I think they didn't want to go down the Kynes being Chani's mother/father narrative. There's alot that needs to be cut for time. So if they weren't going there anyway, they may as well subvert our expectations by deviating from the book. I don't mind it that much. It was a shocking moment. That may have been the point. Also, perhaps killing off Kynes creates a power vacuum for Paul to fill. Maybe they wanted to avoid the awkward transition of power with Paul replacing Kynes, but I haven't gotten that far in the book and can't remember how that happened.

[DUNE! No longer December 18, 2020, now October 22, 2021!]

On 11/15/2021 at 8:32 AM, tthurman said:

I went and saw it a second time yesterday and can now see subtle ways they slipped some of the back story into places that seemed omitted from the book during my first viewing.  I think this movie was cast incredibly well with the visuals and sound making for an amazing theater experience.  So many movies are super hyped these days, but under-deliver.  This one has been a refreshing surprise.

Yeah, me too! My Dad came down and hadn't seen it yet, so I went again. Picked up a lot more the second time. I get what your mean about seeing things I thought were omitted the first time. After the first viewing, I started listening to the audiobook at work and reached as far as where this movie left off the day we went. I think I like it even more now!

Seriously, don't open this one!

...but Liet Kynes is a woman!

I'm curious how they develop this. I think it really could serve as a progressive female variation on the story if "she" SOMEHOW survives being impaled through the back by that Sardaukar

...and then being eaten by Shai-Hulud

...and the deep desert without a functional still suit

...while still being hunted by Harkonnen and Sardaukar who can easily see a black still suit contrasted on yellow sand from high above with spotter drones. Especially since she'll have to walk without rythm, which will slow her down and make the journey more arduous that it already is with a mortal wound.

Sigh, it seems unlikely, but who knows. If she does survive, then it'll make for a grand story. One worthy of the Fremen leader and mother? of Chani.

[Zelda: BotW (my reaction + spoilers)]

On 11/11/2021 at 5:09 AM, ClassicGMR said:

I'm probably doing myself a disservice but I never played beyond the tutorial.

I had Skyrim first for my Switch so upon booting BotW - almost right off the bat - I was thinking "the controls aren't organic and the game doesn't feel right". It's because I kept expecting Skyrim controls and mechanics. I made a conscious effort to get past it but I just could not.

I have tried at least twice more to get into the game but I just can't. This is a game I probably won't ever play. Sad, but true since it still is considered one of the best games for the console and has great reviews.

I still enjoyed the game and recommend giving it the chance it deserves, but it definitely takes getting over an entrance barrier. That could have been avoided with a more linear path until the controls were figured out. I fought with the controls for the first 8-10 hours before getting used to them. Use the pro controller! Luckily you don't have to use the quicklime event system to defeat enemies unless you want to. I like that they don't force you into it. But the world was too open too soon and they intentionally give you another quest to confuse you and to get you lost. I understand that's intentional, to recreate the OG Zelda formula, but it was too much too soon.

I can see why people might say it's one of the best games for the switch. But that reason has to be they haven't played other zelda games.

BotW failed to live up to it's full potential for me. For example, without spoiling, there are 3 labyrinths scattered about the map which have a prize at the end. They are just mazes...period. No enemies, no puzzles, no creativity beyond the maze itself. They do make it harder than just looking at the map to solve it, but only just barely. From the top down it looks like you can't go certain ways, because there are passages through the stone walls from the ground level you can't see from above. But by looking at the map and having enough stamina to climb the walls, you can make short work of the maze.

That's the catch 22 of BotW IMO. Because you can go anywhere at any time it breaks some puzzles. Had I found the Labyrinths earlier, before accumulating enough stamina to climb over the walls, then they would have been more challenging. But even then I would have felt they were missing an opportunity to be special. They need more inspiration! I envision Labyrinth (1986) or Pan's Labyrinth (2007). The prize at the end is okay as far as BotW prizes go, but it doesn't make me feel like I need to get it next time (if there is a next time). The prizes don't feel important. So the other missed opportunity was the lack of a big pay-off at the end that would make the labyrinth desirable to visit. As it is the lack luster prize is only worth the trouble because it was wasn't much trouble to begin with. The mazes were a cool idea, that left so much on the table. Missed opportunity! A shame, really.

[DUNE! No longer December 18, 2020, now October 22, 2021!]

Hmm...I'm going to listen to the book again. I think it's been long enough that I forgot alot of those details. Maybe that's why I liked the movie! Unlike ready Player One, which I could almost recite word for word when I saw the movie...um..."adaptation" (abomination).

After watching the 1984 film again, I did feel the opening sequence with princess Irulan giving a synopsis of spice production and setting the the stage for the movie was well done. And If I remember correctly each chapter in the book had an opening preface similar to this. So that was authentic. The new movie lacks it and I think lost a lot of context because of it.

Something else I liked about the 1984 film was the audible inner voice of characters, like this one.

The new movie had the very little development of Liet Kynes and in fact he was a she. And she spoke those words out loud in Chakobsa (I think). They made no attempt to give her inner toughts a voice, she simply spoke them in a room of high ranking officials who may or may not have understood them. It would likely have propmpted a , "what was that?" "Oh, nothing." moment, but they just added subtitles and moved on as if no one cared. It was awakward at times that they felt the need to work those prophetic revelations in without using an inner voice.

And I'm completly glossing over the fact that Liet Kynes is Chani Kynes father. Kinda hard to believe her father is a women! So I understand why her character wasn't developed much. Makes me think they're not going there, or they'll change her role to her mother if they do. Not sure it's important, but we'll see if they develop Chani's backstory in that direction.

BTW, I'm really gald they added the fight to the death scene into this movie. It really was an important part of the book that I felt the 1984 film was lacking. After I read that part in the book I remember thinking, "man that really would have explained why the Fremen were willing to accept Paul into the tribe." His mother sure, but him? All he did was cheap shot a Freman guard, steal his pistol, and run up into the rocks like a little bitch. Meanwhile His mommy subdues the chieften like a growling tigress - what a BOSS! In the book Paul had to earn respect, in the movie he didn't. So props to them getting it right this time around.

On the other hand, they really nerfed the Fremen Religion and Jihad! It was extremely important to the book and this movie distilled it all down to thousands of years of intentional seeding by the Bene Gesserat to prepare the way for their Kwisatz Haderach. As if it was just political manipulation by a secretive order. Plan within plans played out over thousands of years. It demystifies prophesy and undermines supernatural destiny. It's kinda like how midichlorians demystified the force. I preferred how the 1984 film portrayed the holy war...but I guess they played it down for western audiences again. As if we can't handle middle eastern religious beliefs without prejudiced. Not every muslim is a terrorist, just like not every American think they are. I would rather be treated with the benefit of doubt. I'm a well adjusted adult, I can handle some midle eastern religious ideas portrayed on the silver screen. Especially when they were important to the story the movie is based on. It was one of the refreshing aspects of DUNE that I like. It's different and that's a good change of pace. All the more reason it's important for western audiences to be exposed to this is the last 20 years of war in the middle east. There's a rich culture to experience and admire. DUNE should be a celebration of those struggles and triumps, set in fantasy. So it's real, but not real. I don't want it nerfed. Give it to me raw!

[DUNE! No longer December 18, 2020, now October 22, 2021!]

9 hours ago, RIP-Felix said:

...Part of the experience for me is popcorn, sour patch kids, and putting a few dollars into an Area 51 cab they hopefully still have...

Oh, forgot to tell ya. I left about half an hour early so I would have some time to kill playing the arcade. I brought $5 in quarters with me. First, the Area 51 cabinet is gone . Second it's been replaced with redemption games (those stupid win a prize gambling machines that are meant to look like skill is involved when it isn't). The only actual arcade game they had was crus'n world. "Okay fine," I thought. "I like crusin cabs. Let's do this." I go to put the quarters in and it only takes tokins! So I go to the tokin machine and it only takes $1 and $5 dollar bills. And I didn't bring cash!

At least I got my overpriced popcorn, soda, and candy. 1 Matinee ticket for DUNE = $8.70. My total = $30. Concessions will kill you! Sadly, I wasn't able to spend $5 so aliens could kill me too.

[DUNE! No longer December 18, 2020, now October 22, 2021!]

DON'T READ THIS! Not unless you know this story already.

 

I want to talk about the personal shield and lack of weirding modules. The 1984 film introduced the weirding module to the story, it wasn't in the book. I liked it, I thought it was cool. But  it does undermine the personal shielding technology and the tactics shift such a device prompts.

The personal shields in DUNE repell fast moving objects with the same force as they exert. So projectile and energy weapons are useless. Only the slow constant force of a blade can penetrate it. That's why in the 1984 film there is a drilling type of projectile weapon which has it's own propellant onboard to worm it's way in. That's a cool workaround for this technology. This movie had some cools scenes where they have workarounds to destroy ships protected with these shields too. I thought that was very well done - viceral. But the major tactical shift personal shields prompt is that battles take place hand-to-hand out of necessity. So knifes, swords, and hand to hand training has become necessary again. All the elite training and tactics are centered around defeating force shields. So that's the idea the weirding module threatened in the 1984 adaptation of DUNE. If you have a weapon that can render the personal shield useless, it shifts the balance of power and all the training/tactics that elite troops have is useless. They'll have to go back to conventional warfare at a distance to protect themselves against projectiles. EDIT: I just watched the 1984 film again and it has lots of guns and energy weapons. So they weren't very consistent with that. I actually like this new movie's take on it, in that projectile weapons aren't used much (so far anyway). It's more self consistent.

The lore in the 1984 film was that the emperor feared House Atreides was growing too powerful and conspired with House Harkonnen to destroy House Atreides before they could threaten the emporium. I guess spies may have tipped them off about the weirding module and it's ability to change the power dynamic in the universe. Not at all unbelievable that an alliance would be struck to prevent such a weapon from ever being deployed. And once House Atreides is betrayed and destroyed, the weirding module is destroyed along with all the troops trained to use them. That's why it had to be a sneak attack on unfamiliar territory - DUNE. Had they attempted to attack Caladan, the cost of the war would have been unacceptable. The trap was planned and executed perfectly.

Only a few of the wierding modules remained afterwards and would be used to devastating effect in the final battle for DUNE, but there were not enough to make the outcome certain. ***Edit: Actually the plans were left, so the Fremen could manufacture more, which were used in the years of guerrilla warfare they wage against the Harconnan.*** Regardless, the Fremen warriors and Shai-Hulud (Sand worms) were instrumental in the overthrow of House Harkonnen and the emoprer. I think this addition (wierding module) was inserted skillfully and added a plausible threat that a forced the hand of a paranoid emperor. It's one exception where I think the movie adaptation may have improved upon the book. ***EDIT: Or I just have a soft spot for the 1984 film.***

I think the removal of the weirding module in this movie returns to a more authentic portrayal of the book, but they didn't expound upon the threat that House Atreides posed to the emperor's throne, which warrant this response. I need to go back and read the book again, but if I remember it had to do with House Atreides prowess in battle and reputation for highly trained elite wariors. Superior numbers and training that rivaled the emperors own elite military force - the Sardaukar. I felt this explanation was lacking in part 1 of this modern retelling of the story.

That's not a grip, actually. It can work as a narrative device in the dramatic development of Paul Atreides. He and the audience are unaware of the conspiracy and motivations behind the events that unfold around them. It lends to the betrayal and drama of it all. And this is the part of the story where the $h!t is supposed to hit the fan. You should not be tipped off with all the politics. That comes later.

So I'm hoping this is all made clear in the second part where Paul grows into his destiny and gains wisdom. Probably thanks in no small part to the spice melange, his eugenic Bene Gesserit birthright, and help from the Fremen (especially Chani Kynes). I suppose actually being the Kwisatz Haderach helps too. But we're not supposed to know that yet, so...

Spoiler!

This is shaping up to be an epic part 2, and just like part 1, I'm really hoping they do it justice!

[DUNE! No longer December 18, 2020, now October 22, 2021!]

Well, just got back.

Long story short, I wasn't disappointed! It met my expectations and I feel a bit like they shared my vision for what this movie should be. It's kinda uncanny actually. I think fans of DUNE (1984) will notice a lot of dialog that was the same, as it should be. Both movies followed scenes from the book pretty faithfully, especially in the begining. This movie follows the story more faihtfully IMO, or it has thus far. Especially with the Fremen. And they don't just gloss over the Krysknife and it's significance like the 1984 film did. Kinda feels like vindication, doing justice to the story.

I think fans of the book and fans of Sci. fiction will like this movie, regardless of having read the book. I'm looking forward to Part 2. It seems that they've set it up for an epic conclusion - as a duet. The way it needs to be.

[DUNE! No longer December 18, 2020, now October 22, 2021!]

I'm going to make an attempt to see this in an hour or so. I haven't been to a theater since...The last Jedi?...I think.

Part of the experience for me is popcorn, sour patch kids, and putting a few dollars into an Area 51 cab they hopefully still have. But IDK what COVID restrictions they have in place. I don't see anything on the website but showtimes. I'm hoping I can just walk up and buy tickets like always. I'll see...

Wish me luck!

[RetroTINK5x Restock 9pm Pacific tonight!]

Returning home from Hawaii at midnight with this waiting for me...

...makes having to get up early for work easier. It gives me something to look forward to!

That was sunday, this is now. Having messed with it a little tonight (on N64) color me impressed. I have to say that comparing it to the N64 digital and ultraHDMI is completely fair if you have an RGB mod. It's so close that you'll never tell. In fact {Hot take coming] I actually like it better!!!

Sure the digital-to-digital mod are ever so slightly cleaner/sharper. No doubt! But from a normal viewing distance it's impreceptable. The real kicker here is the RetroTINK5x's motion adaptive deinterlacer. Your limited to Bob and weave with the ultraHDMI and N64D (currently). I'm hoping PixelFX will implement motion adaptive deinterlacing in a firmware update. My HW1 ultraHDMI is obsolete now, as Marshall has moved onto HW2 revision and firmware's. So even if he were to implement it, it wouldn't be for my revision. Nor is it easy to update the FW on the ultraHDMI.

Now, the N64D was $194.68 shipped and the RetroTINK5xPro was $313.99 (I added the Composite RCA to SCART adapter for a few dollars more, because it's nice to have one around). So the RT5x is ~$100 more and doesn't provide quite as good of quality, but it's WAY more versitile. It can be used for more than just one system. I have mine hooked up to a GComp Switch VIA HDRetrovision Male-Male Component cable. The other component output on the GComp goes to my SONY Trinitron CRT. All my analog consoles hook up to the GComp via HDretrovision Component cables (if one exists for it). So, Genesis, SNES Jr, N64, and Wii currently. The SNES Jr and N64 are RGB modded for this to work. My Atari 2600 and NES are currently awaiting RGB mods I haven't installed yet. I am Planning a PS2 project also. I got the HDD sata conversion and am looking into free Mcboot or whatever the newest thing is. I haven't gotten far into that project yet, but now that I have the RT5x, PS2 should be back in business. Motion adaptive deinterlacing works well on 480i games, something that plagued PS2 scaling until now. So it's time for me to pickup some HDRetrovision PS2 component cables now and add it to my GComp Switch! I have plans for PS1 and Saturn via HDRetrovisior Component cables too.

What's great about the Gcomp is that it automatically switches to the console that's on and sends it out to the RT5x. It doesn't have to be Component either. It takes Composite too. I just plug my console into it and it output into the TINK and CRT simultaneously so I can play on CRT or the HDTV. Or capture while playing on CRT. The RT5x is replacing the OSSC as the new heart of my setup. And it just works! For me, it's worth the price.

Now, I haven't put it through it's paces yet. I still need to try other consoles and let the new toy excitement wear off, but I'm happy so far.

[Zelda: BotW (my reaction + spoilers)]

When I first got BOTW I played through the tutorial section and got to Kakarioko village where I got 2 main quests. I realized that the game was going to be more of a time commitment than I had to give at that moment, so I tabled until I had more time to give it the attention it requires...which turned out to be a mistake.

I've been on vacation for the last few weeks and brought the switch along. I brought 1 game and 1 game only! Breath of the Wild. I wanted to force myself to commit to the game and explore its environments while I explored Hawaii at the same time. Both have complimented and enhanced the other! So mission accomplished.

However, having now finished the main story and defeating Gannon (yet again), I have some gripes I need to air. Spoilers incoming!

It had been many months since I tabled the game. long enough for me to forget you could lift gates with Cryonis! That stumped me on Devine beast Vah Ruta (elephant). It's needed to extract the map which gives you control of the trunk position. That's critical to reaching the control pads. So not realizing I could open the gate, I assumed there would be something that later opened the gate. After getting stuck and searching everywhere for a solution,, I had to look up a walkthrough. Once I saw you lift the gate with a block of ice I felt like I would never have figured it out otherwise. The tutorial section explained how to do this, but I had forgotten by the time I got to this beast. Lifting a gate in water with cryonis is just a bit too unintuitive IMO for a dungeon you must complete to progress the game. Its fine for a side quest or optional puzzle. It's just too easy to forget you have that ability to make it mandatory. I'm sure I'm not the only person to have been stumped by that. Regardless, I would have been more likely to remember had I started from scratch and recently completed the tutorial. So I did that to myself too. But I'm getting ahead of the story a little.

On the plane I had time to kill so thats when I got really stuck in. I've head good things about BOTW and wanted to like it really bad...but after 4 hours of getting cheap slaughtered around Hyrule, I had to rage quit!

First, this is a T for teen rated Zelda themed Elder Scrolls game. That's not a bad thing, its just Bethesda's thing. It felt like a rip off TBH. A good one, though! I like how they drop you into a large open world and let you decide how to proceed. Its a nod to the OG Zelda and captures that same sense of exploration and frustration. My first 5-6 hours were the hardest. After the opening tutorial section and getting the main quests (devine beasts and memories) I got lost. There was no clue as to which beast or area to go first and I ended up wandering into an area with monsters too powerful for me. It felt cheap getting killed over and over again without any warning that I shouldn't go that way...but that's the double edged sword. Sure I felt frustrated, but I had done it to myself. Nintendo isn't holding your hand, leading you along a linear path where you gain skills, equipment, and hearts gradually. You need to figure it out and rethink your approach. That's what happened to me on the plane.

When we landed in Hawaii I felt like BOTW was going to be a disappointment. Luckily it was the only game I brought, so I couldn't give up. And that was intentional!

Our first night on the island we went up to Kilauea to see the glow of the recent erreruption.

It wasn't the glow of the lava that made it special. I've never seen the sky so clear. I think it's the second time in my life seeing the milky way and I don't think I've ever seen it so clearly. It was cold too. The wind was whiping and eating through my sweater. The juxtaposition of lava and bitter cold, with more stars than I've ever seen in the sky was what made it amazing.

We spent the next week exploring the big island. And in my down time I explored Hyrule, choosing locations that mimicked the microclimate on the island. Hilo was wet, rainy, lush tropical forest. It paired nicely with devine beast Vah Ruta and the Zora. Kona is dry deaset like, paired nicely with Gerudo valley. Volcanos national park in the daytime, death mountain at night! It's the perfect game to compliment a trip to Hawaii (that's the name of the big island).

I'm really glad I stuck with the game and only brought 1. Its been fun, made all the better because of where I was while playing it!

However...these are my serious gripes with the game.

Breakable weapons remove the sense of reward you get from a dungeon or shrine. "Oh look, the last 20 minutes of puzzle solving and all I get is a mediocre sword that'll break in less time than it took me to complete the puzzle to get it." On the other end of the spectrum, sometimes you get a great weapon, but wont use it in fear of breaking it and not having it when you need it! So it stays in your inventory perpetually unused. And yes, that did happen to me. My Royal Claymore with attack up +16 giving it a total of 68 damage never gets used. Even when I defeated Gannon. I just used the Master Sword, because it's the only weapon that doesn't break...instead it looses all its power for 10minutes before recharging. In the meantime it does 0 damage. Grrr! I hate the system of breakable weapons. Its one less thing they have to reward you with in a dungeon. I want a fulfilling reward! A good unbreakable bow with special ability, or a rock hammer that does fire damage, or a spear that does lightning damage. One special unbreakable weapon that is awarded as prize for completing a dungeon. Perhaps something that imparts a special ability needed to unlock previously unreachable places, like shrines.

Speaking of shrines. That's gripe #2. What's with the spirit orbs redeemable at godess statues for heart containers or stamina vessels? Cut out the godess statue and just give me heart pieces or stamina vessels depending on the type of challenge. I don't like how religious praying at a godess statue and exchanging spirit orbs is. Its a middleman that removes the sense of accomplishment after completing a shrine. I want a heart piece and 1/4 more life, now! Or a stamina vessel and 1/6 more stamina, now! Not later. And I don't like being faced with making a decision about it. To each their own, but I don't like feeling like I should have gone with more stamina vessels instead of heart containers, or visa versa. Just give me one or the other. It'd make me want to find all the shrines! As it is, I'm not motivated.

Thats the crux of the breakable and spirit orbs. They remove motivation.  The rewards aren't fulfilling like collectibles in other Zelda games. That has killed my desire to complete all the side quests, shrine quests, and buy the DLC.

Dungeons? Big void! Shrines are like mini dungeons. Too small to qualify, but the only thing that reminds me I'm playing an adventure puzzler. The devine beasts are the real dungeons. And they are fun, employing a different mechanic to solve the puzzle. But IMO they are too short, not enough enemy's, no mini-bosses, and they lack theming, or special powers giving them a uniqueness over the other 3. OH YEAH...AND THERE ARE ONLY 4!  OoT had 12! 3 as a kid 9 as an adult. BoTW is severly lacking dingeons! The side quests and shrines feel like padding to make up for the lack of dungeons.

I get that Nintendo wanted to create an open world where you could visit any devine beast and complete it in any order. That there is no wrong way to play. But they gave up that sense of accomplishment you get when you beat a dungeon and are rewarded with a special item that grants passage to other areas and dungeons. The surely could have added 2-4 more dungeons that require certain abilities/items to reach. They did it a few times. For example, Korgu Chideh Shrine is on an island you can only reach with enough stamina. So either you need to use elixirs or have extended your stamina wheel with stamina vessels to reach it. Once you get there, they take all your items away and force you to complete the challenge with only what you find on the island. This is my favorite shrine and exactly kind of strategy I'm talking about. There needs to be more of this, where you need a rock hammer, power glove, special ability only awarded after another challenge to access. And the reward needs to be more substantial than just another spirit orb! That was my biggest gripe with this island shrine. It was hard to get to, took a long time to complete, and the reward was the same 1/4 heart container or stamina vessel as any other shrine that takes 2s to complete. The reward didn't compensate me fairly for the time commitment.

Money is another problem. Its needed to buy armor to access areas of the map you can't reach because its too hot or cold. I like this aspect, but selling mushrooms, rocks, fruit, animals, whatever you oickup along the way is annoying. You need these ingredients for cooking and upgrading armor. But rupies aren't dropped by enemies as very often, and there aren't enough treasure boxes wit rupies. The primary way of paying for needed items is selling these rocks and ingredients. So you need to farm them. However, I do feel like they did a pretty good job of balancing this. Its not egregious farming. Its just not really needed because you can complete the whole game without much more than completing the 4 devine beasts and Gannon. You have to pull the master sword, so you need enough hearts (I think? It may be that you have to come close to death and stop, not sure. I stopped with 1/4 heart left and it came away. So it may just test your willingness to let go. I only did it the once). Point is, once I defeated Gannon and saw the end credits I didn't feel the need to keep playing. I had barely completed very may side quests, shrine quests, or the other main quest (forgotten memories). I sure there is more to the game and maybe hidden extras if I push toward 100%, but the incentive to do so is gone now. I don't need more hearts or stamina vessels to reach a higher goal. It just feels like grinding for the sake of grinding at this point.

Now, I have had a good time despite all of this. Its just I don't think I'll continue to 100% the game. And with just 4 dungeons + Gannon it feels too short! Feels like half a game really. Maybe the expansion pass DLC helps with that, but I'm a little disappointed in the core game that ships on card. It took awhle to get going, was fun while it lasted, and ended too soon. It could have been better and I hope Nintendo fixes the issues I had with the game in the sequel.

 

 

[RetroTINK5x Restock 9pm Pacific tonight!]

No, it's just a restock. They tend to sell out quickly. I was surprised it lasted at least a day or 2. Not sure when it went out of stock, but it's gone now. So a couple of day window. If you want one you have to be vigilant. I was expecting it to be as hard as the PixelFX N64 Digital. I managed to get 3 of them (N64 Digitals), but it wasn't easy and they were gone within a few hours. So I feared the worst on the RT5x too.

The 2x is great. But the 5x has some major improvements I want. Namely, motion adaptive deinterlacing, seamless handling of the 240p<-->480i switching, and automatic phase sampling. Scanline features are nice too. The 240p/480i SYNC drops kill me in dino crysis, resident evil 2 (N64 version), chrono cross, etc. I notice it more than I thought I would and this is the first scaler that eliminates it properly. I got it to replace my OSSC, which is great, but so much fuss, I often don't bother. I liked how simple the RT2x was and found myself using it instead, forgoing higher scaling for plug'n play convenience! The OSSC requires too much fuss. The Tink5x is going to be my no compromise solution. Better and easier to use. Expensive, but it's the heart of my setup. I spent lots more on RGB mods, HD retrovision component cables, and a G-Comp switch.

[--== Chasing Nostalgia ==--]

I can't get into collecting arcades. I would want at least 3 or four and don't have the space for more than my MAME cab. I'd want a driving cab (like crusin USA or Hydro Thunder), shooting cab like HOTD, MK2, and some kind of pinball. I'd throw a mister in each of the arcades so I could play that genera of game on each type of cab. But then I start thinking about the different types of wheels, seats, stick shifters, HOTAS, joysticks, spinner games, etc. What about pinball?! I couldn't stop at four! Better not to go down that path.

So I force myself to keep it all contained to my MAME cab. I would like to eventually make a sit down driving cab. Maybe design it with wheel, stick shifter, pedals, and HOTAS to cover most bases. And maybe a visual pinball cab. You know, a jack of all trades approach to keep it contained to one room. But there are some choice cabs I'd love to own.

[RetroTINK5x Restock 9pm Pacific tonight!]

Got mine!!!

Get yours while they last!

[UK 3 Floor retro arcade]

I mean, you can work up a sweat having an intense MK battle with a buddy. If you're on the top floor, with 2 floors of arcade games beneath you, those deodorant sprays are probably a good call!

[RetroTINK5x Restock 9pm Pacific tonight!]

$300+shipping. I told Alexa to remind me at 15mins before. I'm gonna get one tonight (fingers crossed).

Here's the link in case you are interested. And here are some videos extolling it's virtue!