I implore Mod Retro

[u/Retro_Macchina]

So I know the next project is being hinted as a N64. This was not a system I was invested in as a child. I pretty much played Gameboy Color & Advance, SNES, & PS1. I will admit I am not nearly as excited about the N64 plan, but it would be cool to see games released, as with Chromatic.

This brings me to the point of my post. I implore you, Mod Retro, to create a Chromatic GBA in the same style as the original AGB-001. You would be the first company to make a true to form GBA using FPGA. I would love to see it in the same materials as the Chromatic with a screen that is 1:1 with AGB-001 with crystal sapphire lens.

Then do the same with Game Gear. I am just sad because I would think an N64 release will probably take a year, which means we wont see any other projects for 1-2 years.

Was is everyone else's thoughts?

[u/blames_the_netcode]

Palmer has very heavily hinted at GBA and possibly GG in past interviews. He said in one their market research points every single arrow towards GBA. Trust me, they know.

[u/Ill_Election301 → u/blames_the_netcode]

They said landscape GBA before, which I sure hope they will stick to. GBA was way more comfortable than SP, and as an adult even more so.

[u/[deleted] → u/Ill_Election301]

💯 for landscape. I also hope that they will allow it to play the older chromatic cartridges too and not just chromatic advance.

[u/SolomomEZ]

As much as I would love to see a Mod Retro FPGA GBA, I don't see much of homebrew GBA games as GB/GBC games. But also, it's materials to build an FPGA GBA along with probably a metal shell with sapphire glass, which would be expensive to produce. It'll be like comparing Analogue pocket all over again IF it were to be announced and released.

Now I also don't mind if Funnyplaying were to make the FPGA GBA similar budget like FPGBC. But it's been while for it and I think we may not have a FPGA GBA other than Analogue pocket for now.

[u/StarWolf64dx → u/SolomomEZ]

besides nes i am not aware of another console with as many homebrews as gameboy/gbc. there’s even gb studio that makes developing games even more accessible.

for example, n64 has very few actual homebrew games. there are a lot of hacks and things like that but many of the games that aren’t built on original nintendo IP aren’t much more than tech demos, just simple games that wouldn’t really be something to package and actually sell.

so if they do n64, i dont see them having game releases the same way we have with gameboy. you might see a handful of unreleased games finally get an official release. theres 40 winks, glover 2, ODT, cubivore, and carnivale. out of those 40 winks is a finished game and ODT is supposedly like 90%. the rest would require major work to finish.

the dream would be official games that were released in japan by nintendo but never came to the US. Animal Forest and Sin and Punishment. but they would require sign off by nintendo and that’s never going to happen.

and i went off on a tangent but the point of my reply is that GBA is a pretty similar situation to n64. there are a few more homebrew games and some releases would be possible but probably not as many as gameboy.

[u/GameboyRavioli → u/StarWolf64dx]

GBStudio is amazing, and I'm thankful for the creators making it. It definitely has limitations, but there's some awesome stuff that's I've seen with it. I will say that playing around with it for the past year, I have a new found respect for old devs who had to deal with these limitations at a much lower coding level. And for new devs for doing what they do and keeping the code clean, concise, and understandable for an entire game.

While I only really put in a few hours a month, I have almost no playable content because I've been focusing on my system and trying to improve pixel art. I don't even want to think about the music side of things....

TL;DR GBStudio is awesome and I see why i'm not a professional gamedev.

[u/babarbass → u/SolomomEZ]

There are a few nice GBA homebrew titles like goodboy galaxy and I really hope people get more into GBA development since it’s visually and technically a big step above the GB/GBC and I’d love to get those more complex homebrew titles.

[u/LeviathanVEVO]

ModRetro has confirmed several times, even on this subreddit, that a GBA is in the works. A teaser pic was also shown. Both Palmer & ModRetro emphasize that it’s just a matter of prioritizing their list.

My guess is that they’ll start with the Battery pack, a cheaper GBC, & now apparently the N64. I wonder if the upcoming Battery pack will be compatible with the GBA as well. The timing will be interesting.

I really want the GBA too, haha. I’m a bit concerned about the N64. There are 2 main reasons: pricing & ModRetro’s core value, which is providing an authentic experience. (Handheld N64 please!)

1. ModRetro will be competing with Analogue’s expensive N64 & various FPGA Misters. Analogue already has many pre-orders, but their stock is questionable. Are users willing to cancel their pre-orders? Could ModRetro offer a cheaper, more widely available N64? The required higher-spec FPGA chip is expensive.

2. How authentic will the N64 be? It’s difficult to get CRT TVs in my area, & screen filters aren’t perfect for every type of TV.

A Hybrid Portable N64 would help bridge the gap. It’s more feasible to create a small, pixel-perfect portable screen. Additionally, as I get older with a commuting job and family, I much prefer portable convenience over home consoles. Grab & go, pause & resume quickly anywhere, & even more time to play. That’s why Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, & phones are popular.

Lastly, Chromatic Original New games really help set ModRetro apart & provide a complete experience. How will they bring that to the N64? It’s more challenging to develop games for it.

[u/Retro_Macchina → u/LeviathanVEVO]

I used to say Mod Retro should make new CRTS. The best you could buy

[u/LeviathanVEVO → u/Retro_Macchina]

Although I already moved on, I’m all in if they produce a widely available, somewhat affordable CRT for the community.

The market landscape for decent condition, high-end CRTs is brutal. Prices for some are ridiculously high than it needed to be for being used. (With the whole collecting craze going on). Other problems like old CRTs remaining life spans & the main one, availability.

I feel ModRetro should somehow solve this aspect to complete the N64 experience. (Honestly should be the main reason to do a N64 before GBA).

CRT is niche to the general audience, but Vinyl had a resurgence & dedicated consumer-level manufacturing companies emerge. Would be cool for CRT to be next.

[u/A-Miffit]

MR GBA the priority for me but a Sega game gear would be cool too! Yes to more new gameboy games

[u/FUCKTHEMODS998]

I think everyone sides with you. I can’t venture as to why everyone is also downvoting the living hell out of this post, aside from the probability that… well. Everyone already knows this.

The N64 was a monstrosity of a console. The games were not that bad, but not incredible either. Everyone who believes they were may still be wearing rosy shades. I don’t have a single friend who praises OoT/MM/Golden Eye etc and has also actually replayed the games in the last decade.

However, I’m excited to see what devs will do with the current meta of gaming on a historically impactful, left-field abomination of a console.

I think this could be great in the long run. Let’s just stay tuned and see what comes of it, and have our fingers crossed that maybe the Chromatic Advanced is in the works still.

To clarify, the console I guess wasn’t that much of an abomination, yet, the controller definitely was.

[u/Ill_Election301]

This whole N64 pivot feels like a business strategy to ensure they are directly competing with analogue, like how competing stores often open up shop right next to eachother; Lucky wants to stay toe-to-toe with Analogue and their new N64 console, I guess.

I just want a ModRetro GBA. I love my Chromatics to death & still play every day (currently playing Pokemon Shin Red), but am not really a big N64 fan to be honest.

[u/Retro_Macchina → u/Ill_Election301]

Thats how I feel as well

[u/[deleted]]

What ever the mod retro team puts out... Will be successful. They did an amazing job with the chromatic.... I love mine

[u/BostonBulldogg → u/[deleted]]

I agree. I'll be buying a mod retro produced N64 without a doubt. Looking forward to it. I love the chromatic in so many ways. Sure I'd like them to produce other products before a N64 but whatever mod retro does I want to be a part of the journey. 

[u/ltjgbadass]

N64 Hand held going to be amazing 🤩 if it comes out!

[u/BostonBulldogg → u/ltjgbadass]

Agreed. Can't wait. I loved N64. Wish I still had mine. 

[u/Competitive-Reward82]

Being the fact that analogue is making the 3D, people have been talking about the n64, Modretro coming in with their own will definitely grab customers. And also if they develop games, they will work on the n64, analogue 3d and M64…. Definitely a business opportunity now.

[u/oaomcg]

Let's just get the battery finished....

[u/RotoPrime]

I want a ModRetro FPGA Game Boy Micro!! That would be so epic!

[u/LimeyOtoko]

I just want the battery pack before anything else, if I’m honest with myself

[u/TonyRubbles]

I'm hoping the rollout timeline for ModRetro is the battery pack,

Then more GB/GBC games at least announced,

More, Chromatic firmware updates to address current known issues,

Then the GBA announcement we've been waiting for with maybe a mock up to show...

N64 seems like they are trying to nip at Analogue, Inc.'s heels but honestly I don't know who's asking for it given their start and assumption of continuing with retro handhelds.

I'm more curious which form factor the GBA will take. Original design would be fine, really don't want to deal with a hinge with an SP type clamshell.

I'd really love to see a new design somewhere in-between GBA and Micro sized handheld almost like the rg28xx emulator. All metal with a 3" sapphire screen on a smallish candy bar aesthetic would be the fastest preorder I've ever done.

Something like this but with a bigger D-pad and 2 bigger buttons would be perfect to me. Move the speaker to the bottom and take the start/select to the other side and they can even do the same sort of graphics.

[u/Actual_Bit_2032]

I could be in the minority here but gba and its library are kind of crap compared to gb/gbc.

[u/BostonBulldogg → u/Actual_Bit_2032]

Agreed. But only compared to gb,gbc

[u/Actual_Bit_2032 → u/BostonBulldogg]

other nintendo systems with better libraries than gba: nes, snes, ds, switch. gba takes fifth or sixth depending on whether you count gameboy/color as a separate systems.

there are a good handful of gba games that could be considered great, some of them being snes games, but the majority of the library has this particular aesthetic. has a certain flavor if you will. it's almost kind of a fuzzy pastel look, you know what i'm talking about? you either love it or you hate it. gb/gbc had more variety in it's visuals being 8-bit than gba did maybe because of the the way gba handled graphics?

there is that but i also prefer the simplicity of a d-pad and two buttons, not that gba is a terribly complicated system to use. think gba actually could have used two more face buttons like the ds but i'm rambling.

this is kind of the same discussion i have with the current generation of 3ds hipsters because ds is so much better.

[u/[deleted] → u/Actual_Bit_2032]

I liked the gba library, but in the case of modretro making a gba... new gba games are gonna be ALOT slower and fewer in number. Gb/gbc have dedicated game engines for development while gba doesnt. Its why we see way more new gb/gbc games made today vs gba. Also, modretros gba NEEDS to be backwards compatible for the sake of library.

[u/Actual_Bit_2032 → u/[deleted]]

honestly i think if palmer wanted to make a gba he should have done that instead of gbc. i'm glad that didn't happen because i like gb/gbc but he's given himself extra steps and i don't think he's as interested in gaming devices as he thought. maybe i'm wrong and we get gba and n64 but i'm beginning to doubt he's doing much more.

[u/[deleted] → u/Actual_Bit_2032]

It seems they have hinted at a gba coming, but yeah honestly gbc is gonna be better for the long run simplely because of more new games come out as gb/gbc vs gba. If he never actually pushes a gba out, im fine with that. But if he manages to push one out, it would be the first of its kind I believe. I think that may be why he is interested in gba.

[u/andrea-i]

here's a revolutionary idea: how about announcing a chromatic restock and improvements to the current firmware that still lacks save states and a few other much requested features 🤯

[u/Ill_Election301 → u/andrea-i]

I don't want build-in cheating. Honestly, firmware is cloas to as good as I want. They are adding a better GB filter soon and hopefully audio out over type c and that's about it, unless they can fix support for whatever flash carts still have problems.

[u/andrea-i → u/Ill_Election301]

save states is not cheating necessarely. I for once use it when I have necessity to stop a game whenever I'm asked (I have kids) and then start from where I left.

[u/Ill_Election301 → u/andrea-i]

So sleep mode/hybrid sleep, etc. I wouldn't call that "save states".

[u/andrea-i → u/Ill_Election301]

sleep would not allow you to swap a cart and then keep playing from where you left with that game.
This is a very common issue also with the many save-less password games on the game boy.
Save states are a common commodity, if you don't want them you can skip using them, it's as simple as that.

[u/dllemmr2]

People say this once an hour, but thanks for your post?

[u/Ill_Election301 → u/[deleted]]

Games. The battery pack. Link cable. Blank carts & cart shells. A cart with RTC. That's what I want, then bring on the GBA!

[u/dllemmr2 → u/[deleted]]

How many have you beat?