Would be nice to see if toodles would be willing to make an opensourse code of his hex files for his chips as a diy project for everyone. If things become non profitable and u close shop it would be great to see sourse codes become available so things don’t die out or at least outsource the work to someone else willing to sell these pcbs/ microchips as a diy kit.
I can understand not wanting to make your work open to everyone but it still can be profitable to sell pre flashed microchips and sell them off as a diy project. Microchips are fairly inexpensive and selling pre flashed microchips can turn a good profit. All that’s left is posting a parts list and installation schmatic. U can keep the sourse codes and make money selling the brain “microchip” to the consumers.
I hope no one takes offensive to this but I’m meairly stating my own opinions and senarios that could keep the MCCthulhu alive and still pull equity back to Toodles!
I still think the UPCB is a fantastic board, but of course unless it can be made to work with at least the PS4 it’s not going to be of much interest to anyone in the current age. I don’t have access to a PS4 at the moment, but will probably get one eventually (read: before persona 5 comes out). Not sure how easy it will be to implement support though - I haven’t found much useful info around to help with that.
I’m not entirely sure the UPCB is fast enough to talk DC natively. It’s something I’ve wanted to tinker with for a while now, but just haven’t had the time to sink into it.
Maybe I can speak with RDC about DC nativity on the UPCB. I see he has helped out on this project in the past and I know Ron from acidmods where I admin @ so I’ll shoot him a pm and get a quick perspective from him on this subject to see what he thinks about this. Hopefully he will be willing to help with this but I know he’s very busy.
Already talked to him about it, that’s why I’m not so sure the current UPCB is fast enough
We’ve discussed possibly updating the platform. There are some very powerful PICs available these days, and they aren’t too expensive. My idea would be to keep the cables the same, just have a new board.
Anything for Dreamcast :3
Would be a dream to get VMU support with it as well. But keep us updated on the news. I may build one for some of my sticks if it does get fast enough to be able to play on DC.
I don’t think VMU support would be likely, for one it’d need to be hooked up straight into the PIC chip, so would require quite a bit of hardware tinkering (and where do you get those connectors?), not to mention all the protocol shenanigans.
Far easier just to take a controller with a VMU in it to plug in initially during the save load, then unplug it and be on your merry way.
Personally I have a ‘project box’ for DC - basically a hacked DC pad (one is an agetec board, one is a madcatz pad), which connects to a neo-geo cable to the UPCB. I’ve never actually used the DC piggyback function. And this way, I can have a VMU plugged in to the board in the project box.
This is defienantly peaking my interest lol. I have a spare agetec board from an old dreamcast fightstick that would be perfect for a piggyback mod. I just don’t have time anymore to do projects like this. Maybe I’ll donate to someone who wants it for a piggyback on this project. It also has built in turbo funtion and button remapper!
The Universal PCB is not the MC Cthulhu and fluxcore is not Toodles. Two very different boards and two separate people.
The “Universal” PCB was a project Tooddles did long before the Cthulhu boards, and Toodles abandoned the UPCB but gave it up as open source.
There still a small group of individuals that still work on the firmware and their own versions of the old UPCB boards.
fluxcorenz Still gives credit to Toodles as the UPCB was Toodles’ work. Hence why you still see Toodles’ name.
The closest thing you can get NOW to a UPCB system is to think of a video sysgem as the physical interface. You start with a discrete one-wire-one-input system, find a bulk conncetor. ( If you want to include Colecovision and be as versatile as possible in button arrangement, for a 14 button + NEWS setup, you need a DB37,) come up with a consistent arrangement, make joystick and button changes while dusctete, then usimg a standardized bulk arramgement with the Brook USB Universal, one of the 3 RJ45 based pcbs, and any oddballs individually, and swap in and out PCBs like a game cartridge and it’s past proof and, unless they use analogs like Super Smash Bros, or use motion conttols, or something fundamentally different, future proof.
You can also fill a copule holes by usibg one adapter, like ps2->wii clasdic/ wii u classic/ NES Mini/SNED Mini, a GameCube->N64, an SNES->3DO adapter AS ANY PLAYER FROM 1-digital max, direct discrete rearrangers for atari 2600, Astrocade, Neo Geo, and Sega Master System
also there are discrete to Colecovision and disctete to 7800 adapters. The 2 biggest holes are 5200 and Intellivision…
To be an Americam Console completist, someone has to figure out Jaguar , Vectrex, Fairchild Channel F, CD-I, and if easily removeable and reattachable, Odyssey 2 and Arcadia 2001. I eould say Xavix except those games are completely motion control before the Wii
