Topic: The NES mod you all want.... especially you UncleBob

[BlackNMild2k1]

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3365047



But it's not about how it looks, it's about how it works.

I'm just gonna link you to the last of the 3 videos though: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl9J9r1x0bs

It supposedly only cost about $200 to make, but the UI for the selection is what impresses me the most.
I can't wait to see what he does for the SNES version.

[UncleBob]

It's nice.  I'd pay $200 for it if it were legal.

[Morari]

That's very well done. Very clean.

Legal is overrated.

[TJ Spyke]

I can't watch video on my DSi (which I am typing this on), but that picture makes it look like just a NES with a see-through window. What about that is worth anything?

[UncleBob]

I can't watch video on my DSi (which I am typing this on), but that picture makes it look like just a NES with a see-through window. What about that is worth anything?

It's a PC inside of an NES that's got a custom menu interface for accessing virtually every NES ROM.

[TJ Spyke]

Oh, OK. Cool, but illegal.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Wouldn't it only be illegal if he didn't own all the NES games that are being emulated in the HDD?

and legal or not, I would buy one if he would sell me one.


And his Interface is exactly what Nintendo's VC should look like.
almost makes you want to check out each game.

[ThePerm]

if he just runs homebrew games its legal, anyhow that is badass, from an engineering and programming perspective.

[Kytim89]

Wouldn't it only be illegal if he didn't own all the NES games that are being emulated in the HDD?

and legal or not, I would buy one if he would sell me one.


And his Interface is exactly what Nintendo's VC should look like.
almost makes you want to check out each game.

BnM, I agree that the virtual console should be like this interface.

[Caliban]

Cooooooooooool.

[Mop it up]

I can't watch video on my DSi (which I am typing this on), but that picture makes it look like just a NES with a see-through window. What about that is worth anything?

It's a PC inside of an NES that's got a custom menu interface for accessing virtually every NES ROM.

So does that mean that's a screen and not a see-through window?

[Caliban]

That's a see through window.

[UncleBob]

Wouldn't it only be illegal if he didn't own all the NES games that are being emulated in the HDD?

if he just runs homebrew games its legal,

A.) He's not running homebrew - not a single title shown (outside of the interface) was a homebrew title.
B.) He said it's loaded with 700 ROMs - I have my doubts (although I could be wrong) that he owns every one of those games legally.  Regardless, I don't, so such a device would be illegal for me if it were loaded with all those titles.
C.) Regardless if he actually owns the physical cartridges, he cannot legally download ROMs from the internet/similar source - You do have the right to back up your cartridges, but the back-up must be made from your own original source media.  I doubly have my doubts that he did this.

[ThePerm]

my point is that the pc mod is totally legal, but his nes rom downloading isn't. The badass part to this is all the trouble that he went to. To be clear, yeah he's not running homebrew, but if thats what he was running there would be no contention.

[Morari]

Wouldn't it only be illegal if he didn't own all the NES games that are being emulated in the HDD?

if he just runs homebrew games its legal,

A.) He's not running homebrew - not a single title shown (outside of the interface) was a homebrew title.
B.) He said it's loaded with 700 ROMs - I have my doubts (although I could be wrong) that he owns every one of those games legally.  Regardless, I don't, so such a device would be illegal for me if it were loaded with all those titles.
C.) Regardless if he actually owns the physical cartridges, he cannot legally download ROMs from the internet/similar source - You do have the right to back up your cartridges, but the back-up must be made from your own original source media.  I doubly have my doubts that he did this.

Somehow the moral implications of "unethically" obtaining fifteen year old games just doesn't seem to hit me very hard.

Regardless, what you do with the mod doesn't detract from the brilliance of the mod itself. I'd be surprised if there were even 700 NES games worth playing... he should really add a few more emulators to it, such as Atari, MAME, Genesis, SNES. All those 2D classics.

[BranDonk Kong]

Oh shut up with all this "it's illegal" crap. The hardware is what's impressive, the NES emulator (running HyperSpin I believe) is not, anyone can do that.

[UncleBob]

Oh shut up with all this "it's illegal" crap. The hardware is what's impressive, the NES emulator (running HyperSpin I believe) is not, anyone can do that.

Let's be honest here - the hardware mod isn't really that impressive - it's just *another* PC-in-an-NES-case mod.  There's tons of those.  There's ones with the DVD drive that comes out of the cartridge slot.  There's some that glow blue.  There's all kinds of neat NES/PC mods.

I'm partial to this one: http://www.gadgetlite.com/2008/08/18/latest-nintendo-nes-console-pc/
If you saw it sitting on a shelf - even if you picked it up and looked at it - it looks exactly like a stock NES.  I love the hidden USB hub on the bottom.

What makes this super-cool is the custom-loaded interface that's all controlled via a NES controller along with all of the ROMs loaded on it.  The mod itself hasn't really done much that hasn't been done before, besides the cartridge window and the giant holes cut out of the bottom for "ventilation" - which means the PC is far over-powered for it's purpose.

[BranDonk Kong]

The custom interface is HyperSpin, which is a front-end that works with just about any emulator on Windows. It's pretty awesome, but it's the least unique thing about the system if you ask me.

[TJ Spyke]

if there were even 700 NES games worth playing... he should really add a few more emulators to it, such as Atari, MAME, Genesis, SNES. All those 2D classics.

Considering there were only 671 licensed NES games and I don't think there are many unlicensed ones, 700 might be a stretch.

[UncleBob]

The custom interface is HyperSpin, which is a front-end that works with just about any emulator on Windows. It's pretty awesome, but it's the least unique thing about the system if you ask me.

So, I'll ask - what is the most unique thing about the mod to you?

Considering there were only 671 licensed NES games and I don't think there are many unlicensed ones, 700 might be a stretch.

If you count Famicom and unlicensed titles, 700 is pretty low.  I think the number is 798 for US/EU/AU licensed and unlicensed titles...

[BlackNMild2k1]

I will say the coolest thing about this mod, other than the HDD housed in the golden Zelda cart which is visible through the window is the not the fact that he used Hyperspin, but the fact that he did animations for the system intro and for a nice selection of games all on his own and also included at the very least a boxart and video of every game if it didn't already have a community made animation screen.

The case mod itself stands out, but the UI is exactly the type of inspiration I want Nintendo to go with when it redoes the VC for Wii2 (it's too late for 3DS' release firmware though, but maybe on a future update).Not only the UI, but the presentation. A lot of effort went into making things like the Metroid page and all that it's missing is a small description of the game and a few details like year released and everything.

The only thing this mod is missing is some extra USB ports.

[UncleBob]

I will say the coolest thing about this mod, other than the HDD housed in the golden Zelda cart which is visible through the window

It *is* neat.  Nothing too new, as I've seen portable hard drives stuffed into NES carts before... but neat.

is the not the fact that he used Hyperspin, but the fact that he did animations for the system intro and for a nice selection of games all on his own and also included at the very least a boxart and video of every game if it didn't already have a community made animation screen.

Agreed.

The only thing this mod is missing is some extra USB ports.

That's what I really like about the mod I posted...

[leroypantweather]

great mod, though i personally would swap the zelda casing with bubble bath babes, also lack of bluetooth and wireless game pad seems like an oversight,

[Morari]

It has USB ports. Plugging in a BlueTooth dongle wouldn't take much.