• HomeBoards
  • RulesRules
  • HelpHelp
  • WikiWiki
  • Donate

Author Topic: Drop in activity ?  (Read 3835 times)

gameblabla (OP)

  • Posts: 1446
Drop in activity ?
« on: March 21, 2017, 11:14:26 pm »
Ever since i worked on my new version of oswan, i noticed that people has become less and less interested in the GCW Zero.
It has become so bad, my Dreamcast port of Crafti ended up being much more popular than the GCW Zero port itself.
It also doesn't help the fact that there is basically no fan site talking about it.

Or the fact that the official GCW zero facebook page refuses to acknowledge emulators and fan games.
I mean, i know you guys don't want to encourage piracy but still...

Even without a new firmware release, there should have been more activity towards it.
I mean, the 3DS did not have an hdmi out port or any support for bluetooth controllers and this has not stopped it from
becoming popular.

Maybe people gave up on the GCW Zero ?
Or they merely consider it as an emulator device and thus, they don't talk much about it ?
Or maybe the fault is on the lack of developers for the device ?

I think the whole fiasco on the lack of devices on sale is one of the reasons why it is the case
but it does not explain why previous owners suddenly gave up in masse.

Your thoughts ?
« Last Edit: March 21, 2017, 11:16:57 pm by gameblabla »
Logged

Surkow

  • * Administrator
  • Posts: 681
Re: Drop in activity ?
« Reply #1 on: March 22, 2017, 12:21:04 am »
External coverage has dropped considerably. GBATemp was the primary place of coverage until the new team took over which only covers commercial games. I can only cover native games and generic hardware emulators like DOSbox on Facebook and Twitter. Anything beyond that is summed up pretty well in this video (for the lazy, here's a summary).

The new firmware has been in development for years now. But until all work has been completed the average Joe won't be able to use it. The idea is that after upstreaming all drivers and the move to devicetree has been finalized, people can expect some more consumer centric goals to become the focus for the development team.

Lack of availability does hurt the project. Especially the lack of coverage about the availability of units. More coverage will result in more pre-orders which will help fund a new batch.

Userspace development is doing fine, I don't consider it a lack of focus from developers. Plenty of new releases are planned.
Logged

opt2not

  • Posts: 203
Re: Drop in activity ?
« Reply #2 on: March 22, 2017, 02:13:39 am »
My GCW is off in repair-land right now, but I still check this forum daily for updates. As far as I'm concerned, this is the place we're the true spirit of the GCW lives. I'm just an artist, and can't contribute to coding apps or games, but I hope you more smart folks keep coming back and continue to release updates. I still think the GCW is great.
Logged

howie_k

  • Posts: 157
Re: Drop in activity ?
« Reply #3 on: March 22, 2017, 07:06:52 am »
+1 opt2not, I check here every day to ensure I keep up to date with all goings on. I spotted GCW's Facebook post the other day about new units at Dragonbox , so I posted it and someone here managed to pick it up :) fingers crossed when the new units become available from dreamesper we will see forum activity pick up a little.
Logged

ker

  • Posts: 620
Re: Drop in activity ?
« Reply #4 on: March 27, 2017, 12:27:52 am »
My GCW Zero is in a drawer since I bought a GPD XD. I've own dozens of  handhelds and always a new one comes to take my limited free time... GB micro, Wiz, 3DS, GCW Zero... all were great devices, but my pocket is not so big :-(

Enviado desde mi A0001 mediante Tapatalk
Logged

Pumpytums

  • Posts: 41
Re: Drop in activity ?
« Reply #5 on: March 27, 2017, 08:21:23 am »
Hi,
I recently managed to buy a used GCW after I stupidly sold my old one a year ago.

I have to say its the best hand held for retro gaming. I have owned Pandora, GPD Win, GPD XD and sold them all. Hands down the Zero is the best its not the fastest but it feels right. I'm still amazed by the PSX emulation.

The only thing its missing is a BBC Acorn emulator I would be happy then in retro heaven.
Logged

eltehero

  • Posts: 339
Re: Drop in activity ?
« Reply #6 on: March 27, 2017, 12:21:36 pm »
Quote from: Pumpytums on March 27, 2017, 08:21:23 am


The only thing its missing is a BBC Acorn emulator I would be happy then in retro heaven.

GCW Zero is good for old 8/16 bit consoles and arcades but needs more support for Classic computers. As well as BBC, full speed Atari 400/800, XL/XE emulators would be nice
« Last Edit: March 27, 2017, 12:36:27 pm by van denhawk »
Logged

thefifthgiant

  • Posts: 108
Re: Drop in activity ?
« Reply #7 on: March 27, 2017, 01:51:11 pm »
I haven't spent as much time on here as I used to, but I check in from time to time to see if anything big is happening. I saw this thread and had to log in to say that I still have a high level of interest in the community and project as a whole. It is true that the hype has died down, and the lack of visible progress has probably caused a lot of people to move on, but I think there are a number of people, like me, who are waiting on the sidelines for the next big thing. If I knew anything about coding, I would try and contribute, but as a lowly end-user, I just play the games.
Logged

eltehero

  • Posts: 339
Re: Drop in activity ?
« Reply #8 on: March 28, 2017, 12:18:58 pm »
There has a lot of progress with the new Playstation emulator and there is will be a new version of Mame soon, so things are still good.
Logged

wepecko

  • Posts: 80
Re: Drop in activity ?
« Reply #9 on: April 06, 2017, 09:36:48 pm »
Yeah, the drop in activity is noticable, but Im coming here from time to time to check new releases and if there is something I could contribute to community. I still play with Zero once or twice per week.
What I mostly miss these days is the option to use HDMI but I keep my hopes that this perk will be available, sooner or later.
After modding the buttons and DPAD, Im completely satisfied what Zero can provide, also in terms of emulation, especially after PSone emulator has been released.
I would like to see more updates on existing emulators, especially regarding to improvements to user interface, options to filter and sort ROMs, organizing save states etc...
Logged

gameblabla (OP)

  • Posts: 1446
Re: Drop in activity ?
« Reply #10 on: April 07, 2017, 03:53:29 pm »
Quote from: van denhawk on March 28, 2017, 12:18:58 pm
There has a lot of progress with the new Playstation emulator and there is will be a new version of Mame soon, so things are still good.
Yeah, PCSX4all is pretty cool and came out of nowhere but that's pretty much it.

As for MAME... I hate to say this but slaanesh promised to release it since 2013
and he's still working on it... (lol)

Compared to the Pandora, the GCW Zero is much, much smaller.
I guess the numerous issues i had with the current firmware prevents some releases from happening.
Logged

Vato

  • Posts: 75
Re: Drop in activity ?
« Reply #11 on: April 08, 2017, 05:22:54 am »
My gcw was out of commission for a year or 3, but i finally got the opportunity to replace my battery and internal sd,
so i should be around the forum and #gcw irc chat more often.
Its kinda fun relearning the zeros works and quirks =)
Logged

eltehero

  • Posts: 339
Re: Drop in activity ?
« Reply #12 on: April 08, 2017, 08:37:55 am »
Quote from: gameblabla on April 07, 2017, 03:53:29 pm
As for MAME... I hate to say this but slaanesh promised to release it since 2013
and he's still working on it... (lol)

Yes, not just the GCW Zero version but for other retro handhelds as well. He is into the Gemei A330 these days and has recently released mame4all version for it. Hoping he will release mame for the other systems at some point.
Logged

ruffnutts

  • Posts: 2654
Re: Drop in activity ?
« Reply #13 on: April 09, 2017, 07:03:33 pm »
I have a lot of handhelds including GPD Win and XD but I really love the zero now it has awesome PSX emultion, please don't let this handheld die I love my special edition we do need some fresh firmware I agree HDMI and OTG would put the icing on the cake ;)

P.S Someone pick back up the Emulationstation Frontend Project again 8)
Logged

Xaijiqq

  • Posts: 450
Re: Drop in activity ?
« Reply #14 on: April 15, 2017, 05:50:46 am »
coolest thing about the gcw zero?  it has the daphne emulator :) as much as i love my gpd xd this is something that android sorely lacks
Logged

8-Brit Generation

  • Posts: 45
Re: Drop in activity ?
« Reply #15 on: April 18, 2017, 10:47:05 pm »
A port of Half Life psp would be nice about now. I love the device. Just wish more people were involved in development of games and ports.
Logged
Pages: [1]
 

Post a new topic