Schlagwort: retro

  • Railbreak’s Free Time Korrisis Update Available Now and Upcoming Tailbreak DLC Expansion on Xbox Series X|S

    Railbreak’s Free Time Korrisis Update Available Now and Upcoming Tailbreak DLC Expansion on Xbox Series X|S

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    Hello there, Survivors!  I’m Evan Wolbach, co-founder of Dead Drop Studios.  Today we’re excited to share more info about the present and future of Railbreak, our mind-meltingly entertaining on-rails shooter, which is currently available on Xbox Series X|S!  The new free Time Korrisis content update is available now, our ferocious Tailbreak DLC expansion arrives in October, and new players can save 20% on Railbreak via Deals with Game Pass from February 6th to February 13th.

    Railbreak screenshot
      Be Quick or Time Will Rapidly Expire

    The new features included in the free Time Korrisis update now available for Railbreak add a whole new dimension to the game’s variety! This feature changes the whole experience into a frenzied time attack game. Blast enemies and collect items to restore precious seconds to your timer; now on top of needing to survive, you also need to watch the clock. Running out of time in a mode will cost you a continue, and your rank will be determined by how much extra time you have remaining at the end of a round! This new twist on Railbreak’s ballistic on-rails arcade shooting is sure to provide a new challenge even for players who’ve already exhaustively blasted zombies!

    Railbreak new character
    Meet a Powerful New Character with the Most Outrageous Load out Yet!

    Another major component of Railbreak’s first free content update is the addition of playable character Korrine Joining the nine-character roster, Korrine’s play style is unique compared to the rest of the cast.  Korrine’s plasma cannon is a great screen clearing tool, but it costs a lot of ammo to fire. Her glitched sidearm causes all kinds of wild effects with each shot.  On top of the grenades that every character possesses, Korrine has a fourth weapon: the Katana. This weapon blasts sword beams that have a chance of dismembering your enemy, but using it also inflicts a Super Glitch; receive Korrine’s Blessing for improved score and damage output, but also be prepared for a significant nerf determined at random.  Korrine is the game’s first expert level character, so if you think you’ve seen it all, choose her for a spicy new challenge.  On top of the additions we’ve talked about today, Railbreak has also received a graphical boost on Xbox Series X|S and other tweaks to improve the gameplay experience.

    Railbreak Tailbreak dinosaurs
    Nature’s Most Ferocious Predators Join the Carnage this October

    Looking to the future, we recently confirmed that the Tailbreak DLC expansion will arrive for Railbreak this October.  If the zombie outbreak was bad, just wait until Cypress Ridge has to contend with fearsome dinosaurs, too!  The Tailbreak DLC expansion will include new voiced story content and levels, new modes, and more.  We hope you look forward to more ferocious details in the future as we stampede toward launch!

    If you haven’t leaped into the arcade madness of Railbreak, now is the best time to yet. With a total of two game types, six exhilarating modes, and nine characters with the free Time Korrisis update, the game has never been so exciting.  You can even enjoy a timed game trial on Xbox Series X|S before you commit to buying.  The newly announced Tailbreak DLC expansion coming this October also means there’s still plenty of thrilling content to come, so the fun has only just begun.  Save 20% via Deals with Game Pass from now until February 13th and show those pesky zombies you mean business today in Railbreak for Xbox Series X|S.  It’s a war against the undead….and the clock!

    Xbox Live

    Railbreak

    Dead Drop Studios LLC

    26

    $19.99

    Free Trial

    It’s Saturday night in Cypress Ridge which means the city is in ruins, hordes of flesh eating undead are on the prowl, and you have the arcade all to yourself! Grab your controller, select your survivor, and blast your way to safety as the city burns around you in this on-rails survival horror shooter. Oh, and don’t forget to bring a friend for zombie fodder, er, we mean multiplayer experience! Railbreak melds a classic on-rails arcade experience with the cutting edge Unreal Engine 5. In this prelude to Outbreak: Shades of Horror, you’ll get an opportunity to see the sights and sounds of Cypress Ridge and get chomped on by a zombie or four! Face the city alone, or bring a friend along with optional 2-player co-op supported across the entire game Featuring a wide cast of survivors each with their own loadouts and traits, you’ll find plenty of replayability in this absurd take of a survival horror game in a survival horror game. A full story mode experience awaits across six scenarios. Bonus modes include Score Attack, and the endless Onslaught Mode that keeps ratcheting up the difficulty until the undead finally seal your fate. Crack open your piggy bank, snag a fizzy soda, and take a trip back to the 1990’s arcade.

    Website: LINK

  • Alisa – Developer’s Cut Brings Us to the Dollhouse

    Alisa – Developer’s Cut Brings Us to the Dollhouse

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    Welcome back to the dollhouse. Following last year’s demo featured in the ID@Xbox Demo Fest Showcase, Alisa Developer’s Cut is finally releasing on Xbox One & Series X|S systems. The game aims to be a callback to the golden age of survival horror, all the way down to the native resolutions and pre-rendered backgrounds of the games of old.  The newly released launch trailer aims highlights a mix of the game’s narrative as well as gameplay, featuring an introduction to the game’s story as well as the madness waiting for you inside of the dollhouse.

    Alisa’s story takes place in a wartime fantasy universe inspired by the mid-late 1920s. You take the role of Alisa; an elite royal agent tasked with chasing a wanted criminal noted for stealing “blueprints”. However, things seem to go wrong immediately – after a surreal nightmarish experience with doll-like creatures, she wakes up in an old Victorian mansion. There she seems to be only surrounded by doll-like beings that lurk the mansion’s grounds – and aren’t exactly friendly either. Why is she there? What secrets does this strange mansion hold?

    ADC screenshot

    In-game, you’ll find yourself faced with highly nostalgic, familiar survival horror gameplay. Alisa is at its core a nostalgic throwback to the classics of the genre. The Developer’s Cut version of the game in this release features some modernized features for accessibility however, including multiple controller layouts (allowing the player to select both tank and non-tank control styles), as well as featuring the optional auto-aim toggle found in the old version of the game. It also features multiple save slots, unlike some older survival horror titles. Other than that, however, the game is a survival-horror classic down to its bones (or, pinwheels rather) – including limited currency-based saving, prerendered backgrounds, and even native 480p (upscaled to modern standards of course).

    ADC shot

    Despite taking place in a dollhouse, you’ll find yourself trekking through tons of distinct and zany environments. The game revels in variety and off-kilter humor, with tons of bizarre and surreal environments and enemies for you to overcome. The mysterious mansion is sectioned off into various different distinct areas, some of which include sprawling gardens and bathhouses, and others which are zany and otherworldly like the funhouse. Each area is filled with a sundry assortment of wicked enemies; these can range from zombie-like humanoid dolls to giant ballerinas to disembodied gigantic baby doll heads to strangely proportioned clowns – among others!

    ADC screenshot

    Lastly, Alisa features a full array of unique weapons and customizable outfits. Each weapon has a unique combat style and traits. Weapons can include the default sword and then an array of different guns – and possibly other weapons. You can both unlock as well as use your hard-earned pinwheels (the currency of the mansion) to purchase these weapons, outfits, and other items at the puppet shop in the various saferooms in the mansion. Just keep in mind you have limited inventory – so you’ll have to strategize what you take along with you as you venture deeper and deeper into the mansion’s depths.

    Developed by Casper Croes and ported to Xbox and published by Top Hat Studios, Alisa Developer’s Cut is out now on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One, with a 15% launch discount until February 20th.

    Xbox Live

    Alisa Developer’s Cut

    Top Hat Studios, Inc.

    $17.99 $15.29

    Elite Royal Agent Alisa – hot on the heels of a notorious thief in a fantastical world somewhat reminiscent of the 1920s – finds herself suddenly whisked away to an old, bizarre, Victorian-style mansion. Now trapped in a world up-side down, Alisa must find a way to escape – all the while being haunted by the mansion’s strange, mechanized doll-like inhabitants. Can you survive the dollhouse… and escape with your humanity?

    Website: LINK

  • Creating the Bahnsen Knights Universe – A Love Letter to Old-School Games and Pulps

    Creating the Bahnsen Knights Universe – A Love Letter to Old-School Games and Pulps

    Reading Time: 5 minutes
    • LCB Game Studio’s third Pixel Pulp, is out now on Xbox.
    • Unique interactive fiction experience merging 20th-century ‘Pulps’ with 80s game aesthetics.
    • A captivating fusion of undercover cop drama, supernatural beliefs, and tornado-chasing road trips.

    Bahnsen Knights is the third Pixel Pulp released by LCB Game Studio. A Pixel Pulp is our own way of understanding interactive fiction, trying to bring together two distant elements such as the genre narratives of the early twentieth century— the so-called ‘Pulps’—and the computer games of the 80s, with their limited palettes and with a whole history of possibilities ahead as a medium.

    But what we term “Pixel Pulps” is not mere nostalgia; it’s a glimpse into a past that might have been.

    History of Bahnsen Knights

    In Bahnsen Knights, players assume the role of Boulder, investigating the disappearance of a fellow Agency member by infiltrating the Bahnsen Knights—a cult led by Toni, a former used car salesman. Toni believes that hell is above us, and tornadoes are the devil’s doing. With his Bahnsen Knights, Toni drives his Sierra to conduct ‘road exorcisms’, as a way to fight F5 tornadoes.

    As with all Pixel Pulps, Bahnsen Knights aims to craft a gripping narrative experience reminiscent of stories published in pulp magazines from the first half of the 20th Century—stories that refuse to release their grip on readers.

    BK screenshot

    Art of Bahnsen Knights

    The starting point was the color palette of the ZX Spectrum console, limited to six colors plus black and white with two levels of brightness. Although the palette can be strident when used in its entirety, this is part of its charm and nostalgia.

    To create distinct identities for each game, we reduced the palette to a couple of colors for each Pixel Pulp. Drawing parallels with magazine printing techniques—mixing small dots of two colors to create the illusion of a third color—we aimed to achieve this effect.

    In Bahnsen Knights, centered around an undercover cop, saturating everything in red felt appropriate, creating a continuous sense of alertness. Combining it with magenta gives the visuals a vibrant neon 80s quality that complements the story perfectly.

    BK screenshot

    Input in Bahnsen Knights

    Our Pixel Pulps use a choice-based input system, extending beyond choose-your-own-adventure decisions to control mini-games. In Bahnsen Knights, this is no different. This system not only aligns with certain game genres we love but also allows us to experiment with game design elements such as time, muscle memory, and reflexes. And like our other Pixel Pulps, Bahnsen Knights includes a variant of a solitaire we designed… Cross Solitaire!

    Time in Bahnsen Knights

    Time is a crucial element that enhances the gripping nature of the story. As an infiltrated agent, Boulder is always on the verge of discovery, leaving no room for rest.

    Experimenting with quick-time events, counters, and other game design resources, we aim to break the passivity of reading an interactive fiction, where time is usually on the player’s side—one of the achievements of the game has to do with this, specifically with the reading time… can you unlock it?

    BK screenshot

    What Could Have Been and What Might be

    Our Pixel Pulps – rooted in pulp-like narratives, pixel aesthetics reminiscent of a 1980s that might have been, and a control system that allows itself to experiment as if the video game industry hadn’t already calcified some design practices – are not products of a past we yearn for, but of a past yet to come. We hope you enjoy discovering this little universe of ours!


    Xbox Live

    Bahnsen Knights

    Chorus Worldwide Games

    $9.99

    In a world of religious fanaticism, F5 tornadoes and Ford Sierras you are Boulder, an undercover agent. Your assignment sees you infiltrate the Bahnsen Knights, a deadly, supercharged cult with an enigmatic leader. In this murky and dangerous world you must keep your wits about you and stay alive to unravel the mystery behind an old friend’s disappearance. Who are the Bahnsen Knights?
    The Bahnsen Knights are the fastest cult in the land. Powered by religious fanaticism and supercharged Sierras they follow their charismatic leader Toni as they unleash hell upon earth. What are their aims? Why are they performing ‘route exorcisms’ and babbling about ‚miracles on the road‘? And adding to the enigma: Why are they holding paranormal investigator Lou Hill captive in a trunk? An enigmatic leader
    The Bahnsen Knights’ highest authority, Toni, is an ex-car salesman preaching that Hell is not below but above us all. He was being investigated by agent Cupra, one of your oldest friends in the Agency. But now Cupra’s gone. Does Toni have something to do with his disappearance? An undercover agent
    You thought you had seen everything in all your years working for the Agency, but this assignment is something else, something personal, something darker… and it scares you. Will you be able to keep it together for long enough to uncover what happened to Cupra and take down Toni and the Bahnsen Knights once and for all? Danger lies around every corner and every conversation. You just need to stay alive! Features
    – Immerse yourself in the story with its rich, branching narratives and evocative illustrations
    – Decide the fate of characters in ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ style gameplay
    – Earn the trust of the Bahnsen Knights to survive the investigation
    – Piece together more of the interconnected world of Pixel Pulps
    – Accessible, brain-tickling puzzles throughout the story… including the return of solitaire! A Pixel Pulps adventure
    Bahnsen Knights is a standalone experience and the third in the Pixel Pulps series of interactive adventures. Created by novelist Nico Saraintaris and artist Fernando Martinez Ruppel, Pixel Pulps fuse exceptional writing and stunning illustration, inspired by mid-20th century pulp fiction and 80s home computer graphics. The first volume comprises three games: Mothmen 1966, Varney Lake, and Bahnsen Knights. Bahnsen Knights, like all the Pixel Pulps, is made to be played by anyone who enjoys fine storytelling.

    Website: LINK

  • Grandpa’s Tale of Adventure Comes to Xbox

    Grandpa’s Tale of Adventure Comes to Xbox

    Reading Time: 3 minutes

    The Minotaur King has returned…and it’s all your fault!

    Woah! You’ve only just started Blossom Tales 2: the Minotaur Princeon Xbox and you’re already causing chaos and getting your brother kidnapped?! Guess it’s time to become the hero (again), set things right and save your brother. Before you do, let’s explore what you might face during your heroic adventure.

    Blossom Tales campfir

    We think of Blossom Tales 2: The Minotaur Prince as a heartfelt tribute to both classic adventure games and 80s movies that we loved from our childhood. Movies such as “Labyrinth” and “The Princess Bride” are the best examples and we hope that comes through to our players. Although you play as the protagonist Lily, courageous albeit headstrong, her story is told by her Grandpa who narrates or tells this “story within a story” narrative.

    You know how these stories go, the kid keeps on interrupting and suggests how elements of the story should unfold instead. We took that idea and turned it into one of the features of the game. Would you prefer a pig to be your travelling companion instead of a horse? As you wish! What’s your stance on battling badgers over snails? Or maybe you’d like… actually, we better not give away all the secrets, you’ll have to discover the rest yourself.

    Blossom Tales face

    Your journey begins with the Minotaur Moon Festival in a quiet town called Blossomdale where you and your brother Chrys do what siblings do best…start bickering. As things escalate Lily unknowingly releases the Minotaur King who kidnaps her brother. Oh no! Better grab your gear and save him.

    Blossom Tales pirate ship

    So, dear player/story-teller, take a seat by the campfire and toast some marshmallows, but don’t get too comfortable, Grandpa’s tale will take you on a journey through haunted forests, pirate infested shores, and other mysterious lands across a vast open world.

    Blossom Tales 2: The Minotaur Prince is out now on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.

    Xbox Live

    Blossom Tales II: The Minotaur Prince

    Playtonic Friends

    1

    $14.99 $11.99

    Grandpa’s latest tale takes you on a journey through haunted forests, pirate shores, and other mysterious lands across a vast open-world! Charming towns, terrible enemies, tricky puzzles, and powerful weapons await you.
    Enjoy a „story within a story“ as Grandpa narrates exciting moments throughout Lily’s incredible adventure.
    Will you help Lily defeat the Minotaur King and save her brother?

    Website: LINK

  • Dinobreak Stampedes onto Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One Today

    Dinobreak Stampedes onto Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One Today

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    Hello Survivors!  My name is Evan Wolbach, co-founder of Dead Drop Studios. Today I’m thrilled to share all sorts of juicy morsels about our latest survival horror title, Dinobreak. It’s our most action-packed game yet, and it absolutely sings (or roars!) on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One.Prepare for a truly primal terror!

    DB screenshot 3

    More Fun Than a Barrel of…Dinos?

    Up until now, we’ve created classic survival horror games featuring the undead in the Outbreak series.  Dinobreak changes that with a more action focused approach, and of course, plenty of scaly beasts to take down and flee from. Building upon our years of know-how and on feedback based on Outbreak: Contagious Memories, Dinobreak is a fresh romp featuring an original story, new and accessible difficulty options, our best visuals yet, unlockable modifiers and cheats, and a bonus mode that’s sure to be a blast to replay again and again.

    DB screenshot1

    Use Multiple Cameras for a Different Experience

    Similar to Outbreak: Contagious Memories, you can freely choose your camera type in Dinobreak.  Whether you prefer a traditional, over-the-shoulder camera, a more modern first-person view, or you have a hunger for that classic fixed-camera style, Dinobreak has you covered.  The game is fully playable in all views, and you can even swap between them on the fly, so explore the way you want to.

    Dinobreak - screenshot

    Avoid Eggs to Conserve your Resources!

    In this adventure, you once again step into Lydia’s shoes to escape Cypress Ridge, but this time it’s being ravaged by dinosaurs. You’ll be taking down hordes of raptors while carefully managing your inventory and solving puzzles. You can choose to sneak around eggs to avoid encounters, or you can go in guns blazing and take down every last primordial pest in sight. Don’t take too much time deciding, though; spend enough time in an area and those pesky eggs will start hatching.

    Dinobreak - eggs in a lab

    Fun for Both First-Time and Veteran Players

    For the first time, we’re offering extra, easier difficulty options so that fresh meat to the world of survival horror can play and enjoy Dinobreak.  In assisted and easy modes, you’ll find plenty of ammo and pick-ups so you can get acclimated to the basics of survival.  If you crave a more savage challenge, hard and primal difficulties will put your back to the wall as an army of dangerous beasts threaten to tear you limb from limb. Gulp!

    Dinobreak - closeup

    More Than Just Story Mode

    As with most of our titles, Dinobreak features a bonus mode. This time, you can enter Operation: Feral Raptor, score huge points, and escape while also saving other survivors.  Both this and story mode are playable in local co-op, so abscond with a friend to experience a different type of fear. Dinobreak rampages to Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One today via Smart Delivery. Can you escape before nature’s most fearsome creatures turn you into their lunch?

    Xbox Live

    Dinobreak

    Dead Drop Studios LLC

    8

    $19.99 $15.99

    The crises of the past return in DINOBREAK as dinosaurs overwhelm a metropolitan city on a fateful night in 1999. Band together with survivors across the city to uncover the origins of the onslaught, and find a path to safety. DINOBREAK looks, sounds and plays like a ’90s-era survival horror game. Cheesy acting, extreme gore, exhilarating action, and resource management await as you fight through hordes of dinosaurs to escape alive. Take one last trip to the world of survival horror in this one-of-a-kind adventure.

    Website: LINK

  • Smart Fairy Tale

    Smart Fairy Tale

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    This is creepy, and we love it. OK, it’s not REALLY creepy, it’s just that some people have an aversion to dolls that appear to move of their own accord, due to a disturbing childhood experience — but enough about me.

    Smart Fairy Tale is a whimsical, unique community project created by Berlin-based installation artist Niklas Roy and interaction designer Felix Fisgus.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8ShWP1Borc?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    Using a smartphone app, viewers determine which way a ball travels through transparent pipes, and depending on which light barriers the ball interrupts on its journey, various toys are animated to tell different stories.

    The server of the installation is a Raspberry Pi 4. Via its GPIO pins, it controls the track switches and releases the ball.

    Raspberry Pi 4 mounted onto plastic with the installation's servo and all the microcontrollers
    Raspberry Pi 4 tucked in the top right-hand corner, mounted together with the router. Photo courtesy of Niklas’ project page

    The apparatus is full of toys donated by residents of Wolfsburg, Germany. The artists wanted local people to not only be able to operate the mechanical piece, but also to have a hand in creating it. Each animatronic toy is made as a separate module, controlled by its own Arduino Nano.

    Smart Fairy Tale can be remotely controlled by viewers who want to check in on the toys they gifted to the installation, and by any other curious people elsewhere in the world.

    Better yet, the stories the toys tell were devised by local school students. The artists showed the gifted toys to a few elementary school classes, and the students drew several stories featuring toys they liked. The makers then programmed the toys to match what the drawings said they could do. A servo here, a couple of LEDs there, and the students’ stories were brought to life.

    So what kind of stories did Wolfsburg’s finest come up with? One of the creators explains:

    “There were a lot of scenes to interpret, like the blow-up love story, the chemtrail conspiracy, and the fossil fuel disaster, which culminates in a major traffic jam. The latter one even involved a laboratory for breeding synthetic dinosaurs by the use of renewable energies.”

    Felix Fisgus

    We LOVE it. Don’t tell me this isn’t creepy though…

    WHY DO YOU HAUNT MY DREAMS???

    You’ll find tonnes of extra technical specs and images in the project posts on both Felix and Niklas‘ websites.

    Website: LINK

  • Retro Nixie tube lights get smart

    Retro Nixie tube lights get smart

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Nixie tubes: these electronic devices, which can display numerals or other information using glow discharge, made their first appearance in 1955, and they remain popular today because of their cool, vintage aesthetic. Though lots of companies manufactured these items back in the day, the name ‘Nixie’ is said to derive from a Burroughs corporation’s device named NIX I, an abbreviation of ‘Numeric Indicator eXperimental No. 1’.

    We liked this recent project shared on reddit, where user farrp2011 used Raspberry Pi  to make his Nixie tube display smart enough to tell the time.

    A still from Farrp2011’s video shows he’s linked the bulb displays up to tell the time

    Farrp2011’s set-up comprises six Nixie tubes controlled by Raspberry Pi 3, along with eight SN74HC shift registers to turn the 60 transistors on and off that ground the pin for the digits to be displayed on the Nixie tubes. Sounds complicated? Well, that’s why farrp2011 is our favourite kind of DIY builder — they’ve put all the code for the project on GitHub.

    Tales of financial woe from users trying to source their own Nixie tubes litter the comments section on the reddit post, but farrp2011 says they were able to purchase the ones used in this project for about about $15 each on eBay. Here’s a closer look at the bulbs, courtesy of a previous post by farrp2011 sharing an earlier stage of project…

    Farrp2011 got started with one, then two Nixie bulbs before building up to six for the final project

    Digging through the comments, we learned that for the video, farrp2011 turned their house lights off to give the Nixie tubes a stronger glow. So the tubes are not as bright in real life as they appear. We also found out that the drop resistor is 22k, with 170V as the supply. Another comments section nugget we liked was the name of the voltage booster boards used for each bulb: “Pile o’Poo“.

    Upcoming improvements farrp201 has planned include displaying the date, temperature, and Bitcoin exchange rate, but more suggestions are welcome. They’re also going to add some more capacitors to help with a noise problem and remove the need for the tubes to be turned off before changing the display.

    And for extra nerd-points, we found this mesmerising video from Dalibor Farný showing the process of making Nixie tubes:

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxL4ElboiuA]

    Website: LINK

  • Watching VinylVideo with a Raspberry Pi A+

    Watching VinylVideo with a Raspberry Pi A+

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Play back video and sound on your television using your turntable and the VinylVideo converter, as demonstrated by YouTuber TechMoan.

    VinylVideo – Playing video from a 45rpm record

    With a VinylVideo convertor you can play video from a vinyl record played on a standard record player. Curiosity, tech-demo or art?

    A brief history of VinylVideo

    When demand for vinyl dipped in the early nineties, Austrian artist Gebhard Sengmüller introduced the world to his latest creation: VinylVideo. With VinylVideo you can play audio and visuals from an LP vinyl record using a standard turntable and a converter box plugged into a television set.

    Gebhard Sengmüller original VinylVideo

    While the project saw some interest throughout the nineties and early noughties, in the end only 20 conversion sets were ever produced.

    However, when fellow YouTuber Randy Riddle (great name) got in touch with UK-based tech enthusiast TechMoan to tell him about a VinylVideo revival device becoming available, TechMoan had no choice but to invest.

    Where the Pi comes in

    After getting the VinylVideo converter box to work with an old Sony CRT unit, TechMoan decided to take apart the box to better understand how it works

    You’ll notice a familiar logo at the top right there. Yes, it’s using a Raspberry Pi, a model A+ to be precise, to do the video decoding and output. It makes sense in a low-volume operation — use something that’s ready-made rather than getting a custom-made board done that you probably have to buy in batches of a thousand from China.

    There’s very little else inside the sturdy steel casing, but what TechMoan’s investigation shows is that the Pi is connected to a custom-made phono preamp via USB and runs software written specifically for the VinylVideo conversion and playback.

    Using Raspberry Pi for VinylVideo playback

    For more information on the original project, visit the extremely dated VinylVideo website. And for more on the new product, you can visit the revival converter’s website.

    Be sure to subscribe to TechMoan’s YouTube channel for more videos, and see how you can support him on Patreon.

    And a huge thank you to David Ferguson for the heads-up! You can watch David talk about his own Raspberry Pi project, PiBakery, on our YouTube channel.

    Website: LINK

  • Narita Boy – 80s alpha Gameplay

    Narita Boy – 80s alpha Gameplay

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    Beat them up Narita Boy! Here´s our alpha gameplay trailer for our upcoming game, Narita Boy! it comes with a little surprise we were holding, the 80´s game mechanic, a renewed classic arcade mode designed for your enjoyment Follow us @ www.studiokoba.com

     

  • Raspberry Pi 3 NES Classic Mini Project

    Raspberry Pi 3 NES Classic Mini Project

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    The Raspberry Pi 3 NES Classic Mini Project was in our mind from day one when the new New Classic Mini arrived 🙂

    After so much time there is a company from new york making small pi cases looking like this:

    Perfect case for our project , so here is the full list what you need:

    Optional:

    Setting up the Raspberry Pi + Case Assembly

    We got this nice PDF Document from oldskool.tools that shows very nice how to assemble the case right.

    Here is the Download Old Skool Tools Setup Tutorial

    Needs:

    • Controller
    • HDMI/DVI monitor or TV
    • HDMI cable
    • Laptop or PC with SD port
    • Micro SD card
    • Raspberry Pi case + Raspberry Pi
    • USB Keyboard
    • USB micro power supply (preferably the official Raspberry Pi power supply)

    Downloads:

    SETUP

    1. Insert your SD card in the SD card slot of your laptop or PC
      (Note the drive letter assigned to the SD card, for example G:)
    2. Unzip the downloaded RetroPie project SD card image with an extraction program
    3. Extract the RetroPie project SD card image to the SD card. Be careful to select the correct drive
      (Win32DiskImager for Windows and ApplePi-Baker for Mac)
    4. Remove the SD card from your laptop or PC
    5. Insert the SD card, one of your controllers and your keyboard into the Raspberry Pi
    6. Plug in the HDMI cable then plug in the power supply. This will boot up your Raspberry Pi
    7. Follow the onscreen prompts with your controller to set it up (up, down, left, right, etc)

      Done!

    RetroPie doesn’t show the emulators that don’t have ROMs installed, so don’t worry when you notice that only a small number of emulators are available. This is how it’s supposed to work. The other emulators will show up as you add ROMs. Make sure to download some ROMs and we’ll show you how to transfer them to your Raspberry Pi.

     

    TRANSFER ROMS

    TRANSFERRING ROMS TO RETROPIE

    You are almost ready to begin your journey back in time. Now that you’ve dealt with the setup of RetroPie, it’s time to transfer your favorite games to your Raspberry Pi. There are multiple ways to transfer your ROMs to your Raspberry Pi, but we’re going to show you two methods:

    – Transferring ROMs via a USB stick
    – Transferring ROMs via SCP

    USB METHOD

    Needs:

    • USB stick (formatted to FAT32)
    • Raspberry Pi (powered on)
    • USB keyboard

    Setup:

    1. Insert the USB stick in your computer
    2. Make sure that your USB is formatted to FAT32
    3. Create a folder called retropie on your USB stick
    4. Remove the USB stick from your computer
    5. Plug your USB stick in your Raspberry Pi and wait for your USB stick to stop blinking (If your USB doesn’t have a light just wait 5 minutes to be sure)
    6. Take your USB stick out of your Raspberry Pi and plug it into your computer
    7. Add the ROMs to their respective folders (in the retropie/roms folder on your USB stick)
    8. Plug your USB stick back into your Raspberry Pi
    9. Wait for your USB stick to stop blinking then remove your USB from your Raspberry Pi
    10. Refresh emulationstation by pressing F4, or choosing quit from the start menu

    SCP METHOD

    Needs:

    • Ethernet cable (wired)
    • Raspberry Pi > = 3 or Raspberry Pi < = 2 with a WiFi dongle (wireless)
    • USB keyboard

    Downloads:

    Setup:

    1. Open WinSCP or Cyberduck
    2. Setup the following
      File Protocol: SCP
      Host name: the IP address of your RetroPie.
      (To find the IP address of your RetroPie, go into RetroPie options from the main menu, and select the last option [ Show IP address ] )
      Username: pi
      Password: raspberry
    3. Drop the files in the ~/RetroPie/roms/$CONSOLE folder, where $CONSOLE is the name of the target console (e.g. snes or arcade)

    After Setting Up your Retro Console the next thing to do and last thing is the black ducktape, for the true NES design 😉

    Here are some Photos of ours finished , with controllers and all you need:

    And now you know what the black tape is good for ^^

    We hope you liked our small and quick project, follow our other channels. Thank you for reading.

    Sources: http://www.8bitdo.com/

    http://retro-bit.com/

    https://www.oldskool.tools/

     

  • Introducing the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition!

    Introducing the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition!

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    Introducing the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition!

  • Victorian Times Star Wars Characters, Vintage Photos!

    Victorian Times Star Wars Characters, Vintage Photos!

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    Star Wars fan and talented artist Terry Fan combined his two passions in a new series called „Victorian Wars“. This is exactly as it sounds, famous characters from the franchise, such as R2-D2, Chewbacca, wearing outfits from the Victorian / Steampunk era. For those who have never heard of Steampunk, it’s basically a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. This genre features anachronistic technologies or retro-futuristic inventions as people in the 19th century might have envisioned them, and is likewise rooted in the era’s perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, and art.

    Source: hiconsumption.com

  • 5 Cool Facts You May Not Know About the Unreleased Super Nintendo PlayStation

    5 Cool Facts You May Not Know About the Unreleased Super Nintendo PlayStation

    Reading Time: 3 minutes

    The SNES-CD, aka Super Nintendo PlayStation, refers to an unreleased peripheral for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The device and the format were to build upon the functionality of the cartridge-based SNES by adding support for higher capacity compact discs. The SNES-CD platform was developed in a partnership between Nintendo and Sony. Another partnership with Philips yielded some poorly received Nintendo-themed games for the competing CD-i game console instead of the SNES-CD. Sony independently furthered its developments into its own console, which resulted in the release of the original PlayStation, a chief competitor of the SNES’s cartridge-based successor, the Nintendo 64.

    super-nintendo-playstation

    [mbYTPlayer url=“https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCV6RusogAk“ opacity=“.5″ quality=“medium“ ratio=“auto“ isinline=“false“ showcontrols=“false“ realfullscreen=“true“ printurl=“true“ autoplay=“true“ mute=“true“ loop=“true“ addraster=“true“ stopmovieonblur=“false“ gaTrack=“false“]

    5. Ken Kutaragi Started the Relationship Between the Companies

    The relationship between Sony and Nintendo started when Sony engineer Ken Kutaragi became interested in working with video games after seeing his daughter play games on Nintendo’s Famicom video game console. He took on a contract at Sony for developing hardware that would drive the audio subsystem of Nintendo’s next console, the Super NES. Kutaragi secretly developed the chip, known as the Sony SPC 700. As Sony was uninterested in the video game business, most of his superiors did not approve of the project, but Kutaragi found support in Sony executive Norio Ohga and the project was allowed to continue.

    4. Development Started in 1988

    Development of the format started in 1988, when Nintendo signed a contract with Sony to produce a CD-ROM add-on for the SNES. After several years of development, Sony introduced a standalone console at 1991’s summer Consumer Electronics Show called the „Play Station.“ The system was to be compatible with existing SNES titles as well as titles released for the SNES-CD format. However, due to licensing disagreements with Sony, Nintendo announced that it had formed an alliance with Sony’s rival Philips to produce the SNES-CD add-on.

    3. Two Companies Clashed

    Tthe two companies conflicted over control of the licensing. Under their agreement, Sony would develop and retain control over the SNES-CD disc format, with Nintendo thus effectively ceding a large amount of control of software licensing to Sony. To counter this, Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi sent Nintendo of America president Minoru Arakawa and executive Howard Lincoln to Europe to negotiate a more favorable contract with Philips, Sony’s industry rival.

    2. Sony Announced PlayStation a CES 1991

    At the June 1991 Consumer Electronics Show, Sony announced its SNES-compatible cartridge/CD console, the „Play Station“. The next day, Nintendo revealed its partnership with Philips at the show – a surprise to the entire audience, including Sony. Although this was a clear breach of contract, Sony claimed they didn’t sue Nintendo or Phillips because of fear that such a lawsuit would delay the development of the DVD format which Sony and Phillips were collaborating on.

    1. 200 Prototypes Created

    While Nintendo and Sony attempted to sort out their differences, approximately two hundred prototypes of the Play Station had been created in various physical forms, and software for the system was being developed. In 1992, a deal was reached allowing Sony to produce SNES-compatible hardware, with Nintendo retaining control and profit over the games, but the two organizations never repaired the rift between them. By the next year, Sony had refocused its efforts on developing its own console for the next generation of consoles.

     

  • You Can Buy About 300 Copies of Jurassic Park on SNES for $1500

    You Can Buy About 300 Copies of Jurassic Park on SNES for $1500

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    Just in time for the new Jurassic World (Jurassic Park) movie that is coming out, you can have your very own refrigerator full of Snes Jurassic Park carts!! There are just about 300 Jurassic Park carts including a handful of CIB copies and a PAL version CIB. I will also include the schlue of other Jurassic Park games: gameboy CIB, Sega Genesis, Sega CD, Sega Saturn CIB copies. Also have a CIB Jurassic Park 2 and sealed JP 2 for snes that will be included. And a laser disk movie for kicks and giggles. Fridge and Bacardi not included!

    http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/05/weirdness_you_can_buy_about_300_copies_of_jurassic_park_on_snes_for_usd1500

    http://boingboing.net/2015/05/24/refrigerator-full-of-super-nin.html

  • Geek Builds Portable N64 System! Play old Mario64 where you want!

    Geek Builds Portable N64 System! Play old Mario64 where you want!

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    This may not be the first portable N64 system, but it’s definitely no slouch. Created by „bungle“ of Bacman forums, this game controller-shaped creation boasts an ample 3.5-inch display, Rumble Pak compatibility, 4-hours of battery life, and a GameCube analog stick to finish things off. Supposedly, these will be mass produced and sold, but there has been no official word yet.

    [mbYTPlayer url=“https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzeetRwrc7w“ opacity=“.5″ quality=“medium“ ratio=“auto“ isinline=“false“ showcontrols=“false“ realfullscreen=“true“ printurl=“true“ autoplay=“true“ mute=“true“ loop=“true“ addraster=“true“ stopmovieonblur=“false“ gaTrack=“false“]

    The N64 sold 32.93 million units worldwide, and in 2009, it was named the 9th greatest video game console by IGN. One of its technical drawbacks is a limited texture cache, which can hold textures of limited dimensions and reduced color depth, which must be stretched to cover larger in-game surfaces. Its vintage ROM cartridges are constrained by small capacity and high production expenses, compared to the compact disc format used by its chief competitors.

     

  • KADE miniConsole+, A smart open source retro gaming device!

    KADE miniConsole+, A smart open source retro gaming device!

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    The KADE miniConsole+ is a versatile gaming device that connects retro gamepads and controllers to a huge variety of computers and consoles using plug and play detection.

    icon_xl

    The miniConsole+ is easy to use and works out of the box, no programming is necessary. Simply plug a controller into one end of miniConsole+ and a system into the other end and voila! you’re ready to play. You can play all your favourite games as they were designed to be played with your favourite original controllers.

    The device has been in development for 2 years already and has gone through a great number or revisions, redesigns and prototypes. We’re really excited to announce the KADE miniConsole+ and its ground-breaking capabilities. We hope that you will support us on our journey by backing our Kickstarter project so we can make this happen.

    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kadevice/kade-miniconsole-a-smart-open-source-retro-gaming

    [mbYTPlayer url=“https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYn3PRpDCPY“ opacity=“.5″ quality=“medium“ ratio=“auto“ isinline=“false“ showcontrols=“false“ realfullscreen=“true“ printurl=“true“ autoplay=“true“ mute=“true“ loop=“true“ addraster=“true“ stopmovieonblur=“false“ gaTrack=“false“]

     

     

  • Super Nintendo Revolution Gives Classic Console a Modern Twist, Complete with USB Drives

    Super Nintendo Revolution Gives Classic Console a Modern Twist, Complete with USB Drives

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    If the Super Nintendo were released today, this is probably what it would be like: wireless controllers, USB drives loaded with games, internet connectivity to download more content, and possibly even Roku-like functions for watching Netflix, Hulu, etc. when you’re not gaming.

    Fn3oGsP (1)

  • CD Player waren cool, aber Sony’s portabler Plattenspieler war der Hit!

    CD Player waren cool, aber Sony’s portabler Plattenspieler war der Hit!

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    Weit bevor es noch CD Player überhaupt gegeben hat, hatte Sony mit ihrem PS-F9 einen portablen Plattenspieler für den Heimgebrauch erfunden.

    Was für uns so Portable klingt war 1983 doch noch ein bischen anders 😉 (1982 hatte Sony bereits ihren Prototypen)

    sony-ps-f5-portable-record-player

    Das Gerät konnte kleine und Große Platten abspielen mit einer Geschwindigkeit von 33.3/45 RPM.

    Hier noch ein Video damit ihr euch selber von diesem geilen Retro Teil überzeigen könnt:

  • Super Nintendo CD-ROM technical documents leaked online

    Super Nintendo CD-ROM technical documents leaked online

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    As far as retro gaming goes, one of the closest guarded secrets of yesteryear is the cancelled Super Nintendo CD-ROM add-on. This joint effort between Sony and Nintendo to create the SNES-CD ended up being scrapped, and thus the PlayStation was born. As of today though, we can take a much closer look at what could have been following one retro gamer’s recent discovery.
    Steve Lin of GREEGames, a studio known for making both Android and iOS titles, is also very much dedicated to classic gaming. His admiration for the past is something many of his Twitter followers have grown to love, although one of his recent tweets left countless retro gamers gob-smacked. A photograph shared detailed several internal Nintendo folders packed to the brim with documents, many of which he pledged to scan and upload online.

    Several of these scans began to surface on Twitter, including pictures of the Nintendo AVS (the original prototype of the Nintendo NES), along with pictures of 8-bit knitting accessories, and also a snap of Masaru Shimomura dressed up as Dr Mario. As great as these were, it wasn’t until the day before Valentine’s Day that Lin’s efforts were truly noticed within the gaming community.

    Lin uploaded to Twitter countless page scans detailing the specifications of the SNES-CD add-on, along with programming guides and much much more – potentially filling in huge gaps in video game history. The entire collection seems to have been archived in PDF format, although it does leave one question… is there more than enough information within to make a homebrew effort re-creating this fabled system? We can only dream, but either way be sure to check out what we may have been playing back in the early nineties.

    DOWNLOAD DOCUMENT HERE

    Source: http://www.retrocollect.com/News/unreleased-super-nintendo-cd-rom-drive-technical-documents-leaked-online.html

  • NES Nintendo World Championship GOLD Cart

    NES Nintendo World Championship GOLD Cart

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    The ULTRA rare Nintendo World Championship Gold cartridge is now for sale on ebay. This is one of the rarest games of all time with only 26 carts made for the Nintendo Power Magazine NWC giveaway in the early 90’s.

    icon_xl

    (mehr …)

  • Escape Fast

    Escape Fast

    Reading Time: < 1 minute
    Escape Fast

    You’re a thief who was duped by his partner in the last robbery. Your objective is to chase him and escape from cops.

    Drive fast, avoid obstacles, pick up coins, avoid cars, drive through narrow roads and of course, DODGE THE COPS!! WASD or ARROW KEYS to move
    or
    CLICK the Virtual Pad and use it like a mobile game