GCW Zero

[pubjoe]

Urgh. Hopefully that's not par for the course.

Other than this thread I've done zero reading about how these have generally been received and what teething problems/hardware issues folks are experiencing.

What's the the general consensus?

I've thick skin so please feel free to tell me to F off, stop being lazy and look it up myself I'd just rather read it here is all

I'm absolutely loving mine. I haven't had any of the issues that I've read others have had, and I've had mine for about 3 weeks now. I play it everyday, and it seems that it keeps getting better and better with all the updates/releases of the emulators and firmware. It's really easy to update and upload content to. The D-pad and buttons feel great to me, but again, I don't have the issues like squeaking or sticking that some of the other backers have had (perhaps I got the later run of GCW's, they probably fixed those issues by then).

The screen looks great. Bright, crisp, good view-angles and fast response. Playing some of the emulators in their native res looks incredible (especially Genesis games being that they fill up the screen natively!).

I'm not a big fan of the analog stick, mainly because I have big thumbs and I haven't gotten used to it yet. But I have been using the d-pad more than the analog...but this will change when they release an N64 emulator for it. I completely boycotted the N64 BITD, cause I always thought the early 3D games look like complete crap and I couldn't stand the 3-pronged controller. There a bunch of games on that system I missed!
My only other beef is that all the drivers supporting the hardware are not implemented yet. HDMI/Video out, the lock button for instance. But I guess that will come in time.

Thanks for the run through opt2not.

Still haven't heard anything about mine.

[crunchywasp]

Thanks for your analysis opt2not, sounds ace

[joeblade]

My only other beef is that all the drivers supporting the hardware are not implemented yet. HDMI/Video out, the lock button for instance. But I guess that will come in time.

So you can't get the video out on this yet then?

Im quite surprised they shipped without the very most basic drivers installed tbh...

[opt2not]

Well it is a kickstarter project...
I'm not an engineer so I can't speak towards how hard or easy writing drivers for HDMI-out is.

But:

[pubjoe]

This arrived yesterday...

[cools]

Mine came in free.

I should chase what's happening with the RMA actually.

[pubjoe]

Handling fee was £8 so it was only a few quid for the actual tax.

Have you sent yours back?

[cools]

Yes. Its being looked at.

[pubjoe]

Picked up the Zero yesterday. I've only spent a short time playing with it. I tried out some pre-installed homebrew games.

The last time I got something like this was the Gp32 12 years ago. I've given everything since a miss.

First impressions. Good general build quality (not Nintendo or Sony good - but compared to the brittle creaky plastics of the gp32, it's superb). Size is just right, lovely screen for it's purpose, decent d-pad, speakers and battery life.

Analogue nub is terrible. It's ultra springy (maybe on par with PSP). Mine seems to have a defect (or maybe a design flaw?) where it gets stuck or grinds the ridges of the case. Maybe this will fix itself with wear but due to it's tightness, I can't imagine I'll be using it for anything really. In FreeDoom I set it up for free look and it was so awkward to hit the mid ranges that I was better off with the d-pad, which at least is responsive.

Still, I've bought this primarily for 8 and 16-bit emulation so it's a non-issue. In fact it probably makes life simpler to just forget about ever playing quake or the like on it - which at the end if the day is hardly suitable for a handheld.

I'll put some emulators on it at some point when I can be arsed.

[FrancoB]

FINALLY got mine today after paying £17.60 to pick it up

On the whole though I'm pretty damn impressed! Build quality is decent, screen looks lovely. The dpad and buttons are better than I was expecting after reading a few not so good comments. They're not SNES pad quality but definitely good enough! The only minor niggle is that my left speaker seems quieter than the right. I ran the HW tests and it's definitely outputting audio in both channels but the LH one does seem quieter. It's perfect with headphones though which is what I'll mainly been using.

So far I've played a few of the preinstalled games, out of the ones I've played I'll probably play UMG the most. I installed Cave Story and that plays beautifully. SMW plays great in Snes9x4d and Castle of Illusion (SMS) seems spot on on Picodrive, I've not played much else in regards to emulators yet. What I've probably been playing the most is Quake2! I've not played it in years and it's plays great. Running Q2 on a small device like that seems ridonkulous but in a good way! The default mapping of the controls works really well and it's surprisingly easy to control using the buttons and the analogue nub. I would say the analogue nub is akin to the PSP one but I never found it to be a problem on the PSP. I would say that there is something wrong with yours Joe, mine feels lovely to play with Stick Q2 on and see how it plays.

The apps/games/emulators are [here] if you didn't know.

What other emulators etc have you lot been installing?

[pubjoe]

It might just be me. I'm not a fan of analogue nubbers.

Honestly, I have so many purchased games that I don't have time but would love to play. Plus I want to be getting more cab time in. Shamed to say it but I'm severely tempted to sell my Zero for the £200-odd that it appears to get on ebay and maybe pick one up again in a year or so.

[kernow]

[pubjoe]

I wouldn't sell it for £100 minus fees, but anything that doubles in value the minute it arrives, I really have to consider if I want it that much. I mean I wouldn't pay £200 for one, so logic says I should take the cash instead.

[kernow]

[pubjoe]

Ok I'm going to be sensible and anticipate another excellent, but wasted piece of hardware collecting dust on a shelf before it happens. I'm having too much fun with the 3DS, and to be honest I'm going through a bit of a meh-emulators phase at the moment for some reason.

If anyone wants to buy my Zero from me for exactly what I paid for it, it's yours.

It should be a bit over £100 (£120ish?). I'll have to check up. I'll include postage.

Otherwise I'm sticking it on ebay for mad profitz.

[pubjoe]

...Oh, and you're not allowed to flip it. You have to really want one.

[edit] Wednesday morning, sold to joeblade.

[opt2not]

The apps/games/emulators are [here] if you didn't know.

What other emulators etc have you lot been installing?

Congrats on getting your GCW!

Another place to keep an eye on is on the dingoonity forum, specifically the GCW Releases subforum:
http://boards.dingoonity.org/gcw-releases/"
Seems that every weekend produces an update or new emulator, so keep an eye out.

Right now I've been hooked on PC-Engine/TG-16 + CD games. I'm using the non-opk install of Temper, and have been enjoying a re-playthrough of Dracula X, Gate of Thunder and Devil's Crush.
Other than the aforementioned awesome Picodrive and Snes9x4D, the Gngeo emulator is also really good and plays practically all MVS games perfectly. I think there are only a couple that don't work, but all the KoF's, Garou, and Last Blade's run 100% from what I can tell. It's pretty sick IMO to have those games on a portable machine running perfectly! Beats that sad Neo Geo X portable, from what I read!

Also checkout ReGBA for GBA games, and OhBoy for GB/GBC emulation. Both really solid emulators, the latter one being probably the best overall emulator on this thing to date.

[cools]

Yes. Its being looked at.

And now it looks like it's finally on its way back, I've got a confirmed tracking number.

The amount of pestering and chasing I've had to do is ridiculous. Justin's had some unfortunate personal stuff going on, but the lack of any sort of public communication (not even a "I've got some real life things happening" FB 10 second post) has annoyed an awful lot of people.

Lets hope the USB works this time.

[joeblade]

Yes. Its being looked at.

And now it looks like it's finally on its way back, I've got a confirmed tracking number.

The amount of pestering and chasing I've had to do is ridiculous. Justin's had some unfortunate personal stuff going on, but the lack of any sort of public communication (not even a "I've got some real life things happening" FB 10 second post) has annoyed an awful lot of people.

Lets hope the USB works this time.

I think you've been a lot more polite than some people have with their comments mate!!

Had mine quite sometime now, was hoping the firmware updates would come quicker than they have and as i understand there is still no tv out working....

[Pilgrim_Pramsta]

Still waiting patiently. I've pretty much written it off so if it arrives it will be like a surprise birthday present - albeit six months after my birthday.