Would you rather have....

[Arkhan]

Hey! Aetherbyte doesn't take forever to make things happen!  And we don't bail out!

are we the 1/100? lol

[nodtveidt]

Probably. But then again, FU doesn't bail out either, so that's like... 2/100? hehe.

[KingDrool]

I'd definitely support this. $50 for a new HuCard game? Sold! But I'd pay more than that as well just to see it happen.

[MotherGunner]

Same here, look at it this way:

Getting it done and partnering up with your favorite game sites to help spread the word and market this would equal selling out of the product, and though probably limited on profit, you'd accomplish three things:

1.  Bragging rights as the first person to get it done.
2.  Recovery of your expenses.
3.  A newfound surge in others attempting the same.

It's a win-win for everyone.

[Mishran]

Same here, look at it this way:

Getting it done and partnering up with your favorite game sites to help spread the word and market this would equal selling out of the product, and though probably limited on profit, you'd accomplish three things:

1.  Bragging rights as the first person to get it done.
2.  Recovery of your expenses.
3.  A newfound surge in others attempting the same.

It's a win-win for everyone.

What he said. You could also save money on plastic by buying all the penny auction TV Sports games and reusing the card housings for your own games.

[SignOfZeta]

This is a scene where it takes forever to make anything happen, people delay and bail out on shit 99 times out of every 100 projects announced.

It's also a scene where too many people sit on the sidelines and bitch about what others are doing rather than being supportive or offering to help.

Oh shit, it seems I've set you off on one of your things again.

All I'm saying is that while this product could be made, and it would be awesome for sure, we already have the Arcade Card and nobody is using it. Why would this thing, which would have 1000th the installed user base, be used?

What might actually work: a card that allows users to run standard PCE ROMs off a CD. Like a working version of the SuperHuCard. If the card did that, then it could survive on it's own and it would be worth more than just a knicknack for playing a half dozen demos on.

Yeah, that's much more useful than a flash cart.  Why load unmolested roms directly to a flash cart when you can hack 'em, burn 'em to a disc, and then load 'em through your console?  f*ck yeah, that'd be hardcore!!!!

Why are you a person like this? Honest question.

All PCE HuCard games will fit on a single CD. If there was a device that would emulate a giant HuCard and allow for a PC-free solution that would be superior to a shitty flash card with unreliable client software. I can't for the life of me guess why you would think the ROMs would have to be hacked one by one. They don't need to be hacked to run from a (good) flash cart, why this thing? The main difference between this and a flash card would be that it would have non-flash RAM to run the game from, and the necessary software to load games from the CDROM2. If you've ever used a hacked PS2 or XB1 that is capable of warezing games onto its own HD and then playing them from there...its pretty convenient, a lot more convenient than needing to involve the PC.

I'm saying that if such a "Super Duper Arcade Card" or whatever were produced then a feature like this would, if all other features prove to be wasted potential, justify the existence of the product and its cost. Myself, I am always looking for PCE flash/copier/whatever solutions, but, while they have come a long way, they still suck.

[nodtveidt]

ROMs have to be hacked to run from the CD for two reasons:

-There isn't enough system RAM to run most ROMs
-Addressing is very different; things have to be changed around

[Necromancer]

Oh shit, it seems I've set you off on one of your things again.

Not really; that comment wasn't directed specifically at you (did I hit a nerve?), but rather at those in the peanut gallery with nothing to offer but complaint (i.e. - whining about delayed/canceled translations, delays to Mysterious Song, that homebrew games aren't as good as *insert commercial game here*, etc.).

Why are you a person like this? Honest question.

Not enough reacharounds.  Honest answer.

Are you..... uncomfortable?

All PCE HuCard games will fit on a single CD.

And they'd all fit on a single flashcart too.  The goodPCE romset is about 256MB, but it includes multiple hacked roms and tons of homebrew stuff; pared down to just the commercial games, it'd likely be under 64MB.

If there was a device that would emulate a giant HuCard and allow for a PC-free solution that would be superior to a shitty flash card with unreliable client software.

You'd still need a computer to burn discs with your idea, so it sounds like a better flashing utility and drivers would make more sense than trying to reinvent the wheel.  Failing that, a newly designed flashcart utilizing CF/SD/etc. would be super user friendly and obviate the need of a console that reliably reads CDRs and a willingness to risk their use.

I can't for the life of me guess why you would think the ROMs would have to be hacked one by one. They don't need to be hacked to run from a (good) flash cart, why this thing?

'Twas just a guess.  I have no idea if running a loading program to access to the CD drive and running input through the HuCard connections would leave all the output lines open.

[Mishran]

The Hu/ROM CD idea might work if the specific rom was loaded into some memory on the HuCard before launch. Shouldn't need any hacking, but doesn't do anything a simple flash cart would do. A flash cart with more storage space or an SD card slot might work. Just my two cents.

[thrush]

I am a starving student so I cannot make promises about specific price points, but... I would be a lot more likely to buy a homebrew game on a HuCard than on CD, even if it cost a good deal more.  CDs seemed cooler to me once upon a time, but those years are gone.  ^_-

[TheClash603]

Go with the Hu if possible.

However, I did see you say you'd like to do a Street Fighter 2-esque Hu Card, and I am not down with that.  I think that the small Hu Cards are what everyone associates the TG16 / PC-E with, so doing the big card would not be nearly as nostalgic or cool.  If it came down to a big card or a CD, then I'd say just go with the CD.

[nodtveidt]

Doing cards the size of the original hucards requires "standard" ROM manufacturing, and this is hideously expensive in low runs. Cards that look like SFII or the ACD are going to be much cheaper, since they can be made with surface-mount flash RAM chips or even PROMs. This is way cheaper than going the ROM manufacturing route. And hey, look at some of the hueys put out by Games Express... those things have massive caps on them, but no one seemed to mind.

[Arkhan]

Go with the Hu if possible.

However, I did see you say you'd like to do a Street Fighter 2-esque Hu Card, and I am not down with that.  I think that the small Hu Cards are what everyone associates the TG16 / PC-E with, so doing the big card would not be nearly as nostalgic or cool.  If it came down to a big card or a CD, then I'd say just go with the CD.

Doing this is never going to happen with hand assembled cards.  On a standard hucard, all the ROMDoom is under the black portion, and we sure as shit don't have the gear to make that in a garage or basement.  That sort of manufacturing requires alot.

The SF2 style card basically gives an extra shell-piece to cover up the exposed ROM that will be in a completely different location than a real hucard..

[spenoza]

Here's a thought. You could go with a HuCard "carrier" design that costs a little more, and the games could be on SD cards or daughter boards/cards that simply attach to the HuCard carrier. The carrier is what slots into the unit and holds the mount for the data unit that contains the game code.

[nodtveidt]

Here's a thought. You could go with a HuCard "carrier" design that costs a little more, and the games could be on SD cards or daughter boards/cards that simply attach to the HuCard carrier. The carrier is what slots into the unit and holds the mount for the data unit that contains the game code.

I've considered this before, and contacted my electronics engineer friend to see if she had any insight. Never heard back from her though.