Gp2x

scon · 12th January 2006, 2:56 PM

Hi All,

Has anyone had experience using the GP2X? The handheld linux-based console? Apparently great for emulating games and ok for watching videos. I haven't heard much firsthand about what they're like and was wondering if anyone here had used one.

intrasonic · 12th January 2006, 5:42 PM

well, I havent seen one in real life yet, but theres another thread about this unit and there was quite a bit of discussion regarding some early bugs and sushc. Dunno if theyve been cleared up yet. Search for the other thread.

elvis · 13th January 2006, 10:13 AM

The first batch of GP2X had heaps of software bugs, and the item is on recall. The next shipment is due in Asia some time this quarter.

The big stink at the moment is that the GP2X creators (GamePark) are not releasing the GPLed firmware to the public. This is (1) Illegal and (2) fairly stupid, as with public support the bugs could be fixed a million times faster than the current team of half-a-dozen contracted developers could get done by themselves.

I'm waiting for one of these myself (portable MAME goodness!). But it's going to be a while before we see them.

Lord Djna · 15th January 2006, 1:21 AM

I have one... it actually got here quicker from HK than ordering PC parts from some local online PC shops.. *cough*.

Gamepark have released the source to their firmware, however it isn't the latest version and I hear it is incomplete. This is pretty important, and very dumb on their behalf. I think they will clean up their act pretty soon, considering the major involvement of many coders who are fans of open-source.

The unit itself is quite well put together, and as with most new things there are lots of teething problems. I'd say 99% of these problems are software related. I've tried a number of things and most of them run pretty well, with obvious bugs and problems since most software is sitting at version 0.1 or so... Things that have been written correctly run up to speed with no real noticable bugs. I think it's just a matter of time really.

Battery life seems very reasonable, and with new software to alter the frequency the cpu runs at, a couple of 2400maH Ni-Mh's should last a decent few hours. They're pretty cheap these days, anyways. I've had it for a couple of days now and I used the supplied batteries and now I'm on to my rechargables - but I haven't had to change them yet, so it seems quite good.

The screen is OK, not as good as the PSP's (but I'll stop comparing it with the PSP RIGHT NOW). The interlacing is down-right annoying for me. It seems each time you move your body independently to the screen, it appears. There is a small utility you can run to tweak this (and the cpu speed) which fixes the interlacing in a second and after that... well it looks pretty sweet to me.

The controls are nice - I feel very sure about pushing the buttons and getting a response every time. The 8-way joy stick takes a little getting used to, because the dead zone in the centre is so large. I like how it is digital, rather than analogue.

The sound player and movie player seem to work well, but I haven't thrown at lot at them yet. Basically just a short divx clip and a few songs.

I quite like the photo viewer, it loads the next photo as you are looking at the current one, and it features a great zoom-and-pan system to take a closer look at big 3..4..6..mega pixel photos.

I'm running firmware v1.2.0 which is not the latest but was the firmware supplied on my unit. The only real problem I see at the moment is the awful USB2.0 support. The problem is: it doesn't work. Set your computer to USB v1.1 and it's quite happy to load up the generic mass storage device. I don't use it anyways, because it is easier to pop the SD card into a card reader than hook up the GP2X to your computer.

My advice is.. if you love to fiddle with gadgets, it will consume plenty of time. If you hate fiddling with things like this, give it a miss until it's a bit more mature, and then at that time you can enjoy all of the sweet games and things you can run on it when they have been fully developed.

One final note: as for the "Second Edition" being released later this quarter from Lik-Sang, I don't think there is a 2nd edition (the hardware in my unit works perfectly). I've heard they are just trying to scare consumers to prevent them from buying from other shops who have stock at the moment. Take it how you will... they might be protecting consumers or scaring them, but I wouldn't pay too much attention to them.

yanman · 16th May 2006, 2:01 PM

Lord Djna, how's your device shaping up? I'm looking at buying a MK2 unit

boron boy · 16th May 2006, 5:36 PM

The firmware has gotten a lot better since the original release. Battery life has been extended, boot time is down from 30+ seconds to about 10. The new versions also have a decent joystick, pity mine still has the crap one.

WMA and WMV don't work straight out (due to licencing issues) but mp3, ogg, xvid and the like work perfectly.

In terms of emulators, NES, SMS, and megadrive work well. MAME works well for older games (circa Street Fighter 2).

The SNES emulator works fullspeed without sound, or with it if you overclock a bit. Transparencies are not supported yet though.

The playstation emulator is getting there, but don't count on it ever being playable for every game. There is a video of it running resident evil here .

Some people have even got wifi running on it, but it's not pretty or portable.

There's a demo out of the first commercial game, payback, which is a GTA style game.

All in all I'd say the gp2x is ready for primetime. Previously it was really only a development unit you could buy online. The official release for the UK is coming up soon though.

sanjay · 16th May 2006, 11:02 PM

payback is a game available for GBA - its brilliant on that platform, as it really pushes the gameplay and graphics (quasi-3D) on the console.

dont suppose it'd be as groundbreaking on the GP2X, but good nonetheless

12th January 2006, 2:56 PM	#1
scon Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Canberra Posts: 4,540	Gp2x Hi All, Has anyone had experience using the GP2X? The handheld linux-based console? Apparently great for emulating games and ok for watching videos. I haven't heard much firsthand about what they're like and was wondering if anyone here had used one. __________________ Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. Douglas Adams, "Last Chance to See" - 1990 Food Blog: Wok the Fuck?!

13th January 2006, 10:13 AM	#3
elvis Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Brisbane Posts: 19,937	The first batch of GP2X had heaps of software bugs, and the item is on recall. The next shipment is due in Asia some time this quarter. The big stink at the moment is that the GP2X creators (GamePark) are not releasing the GPLed firmware to the public. This is (1) Illegal and (2) fairly stupid, as with public support the bugs could be fixed a million times faster than the current team of half-a-dozen contracted developers could get done by themselves. I'm waiting for one of these myself (portable MAME goodness!). But it's going to be a while before we see them. __________________ Child's Play Charity

15th January 2006, 1:21 AM	#4
Lord Djna Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Sydney Posts: 147	I have one... it actually got here quicker from HK than ordering PC parts from some local online PC shops.. cough. Gamepark have released the source to their firmware, however it isn't the latest version and I hear it is incomplete. This is pretty important, and very dumb on their behalf. I think they will clean up their act pretty soon, considering the major involvement of many coders who are fans of open-source. The unit itself is quite well put together, and as with most new things there are lots of teething problems. I'd say 99% of these problems are software related. I've tried a number of things and most of them run pretty well, with obvious bugs and problems since most software is sitting at version 0.1 or so... Things that have been written correctly run up to speed with no real noticable bugs. I think it's just a matter of time really. Battery life seems very reasonable, and with new software to alter the frequency the cpu runs at, a couple of 2400maH Ni-Mh's should last a decent few hours. They're pretty cheap these days, anyways. I've had it for a couple of days now and I used the supplied batteries and now I'm on to my rechargables - but I haven't had to change them yet, so it seems quite good. The screen is OK, not as good as the PSP's (but I'll stop comparing it with the PSP RIGHT NOW). The interlacing is down-right annoying for me. It seems each time you move your body independently to the screen, it appears. There is a small utility you can run to tweak this (and the cpu speed) which fixes the interlacing in a second and after that... well it looks pretty sweet to me. The controls are nice - I feel very sure about pushing the buttons and getting a response every time. The 8-way joy stick takes a little getting used to, because the dead zone in the centre is so large. I like how it is digital, rather than analogue. The sound player and movie player seem to work well, but I haven't thrown at lot at them yet. Basically just a short divx clip and a few songs. I quite like the photo viewer, it loads the next photo as you are looking at the current one, and it features a great zoom-and-pan system to take a closer look at big 3..4..6..mega pixel photos. I'm running firmware v1.2.0 which is not the latest but was the firmware supplied on my unit. The only real problem I see at the moment is the awful USB2.0 support. The problem is: it doesn't work. Set your computer to USB v1.1 and it's quite happy to load up the generic mass storage device. I don't use it anyways, because it is easier to pop the SD card into a card reader than hook up the GP2X to your computer. My advice is.. if you love to fiddle with gadgets, it will consume plenty of time. If you hate fiddling with things like this, give it a miss until it's a bit more mature, and then at that time you can enjoy all of the sweet games and things you can run on it when they have been fully developed. One final note: as for the "Second Edition" being released later this quarter from Lik-Sang, I don't think there is a 2nd edition (the hardware in my unit works perfectly). I've heard they are just trying to scare consumers to prevent them from buying from other shops who have stock at the moment. Take it how you will... they might be protecting consumers or scaring them, but I wouldn't pay too much attention to them. __________________ ...

16th May 2006, 11:02 PM	#7
sanjay Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Prospect, Adelaide, SA Posts: 13,028	payback is a game available for GBA - its brilliant on that platform, as it really pushes the gameplay and graphics (quasi-3D) on the console. dont suppose it'd be as groundbreaking on the GP2X, but good nonetheless __________________ 2003 Mitsubishi Magna TL VR Limited Edition \| 5sp Auto, 17" Enkei Ralliart Alloys Over 120 Successful Trades on OCAU - Most Recent: dche5390, Rugal, Tornhelm, ummmz, darknight84, bumography, b4sk3tb4ll3r, marktadros, MoveIt, Maxknott, NoBooze, bnyboy, Stooge007, caddy, the_rick, Soupratt, Doktor, Logik47, KraniX, Talisman, start, gizmo_melb, Omarko, Arkanite, WooKiE_MaN, PM for full list

12th January 2006, 5:42 PM	#2
intrasonic Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 593	well, I havent seen one in real life yet, but theres another thread about this unit and there was quite a bit of discussion regarding some early bugs and sushc. Dunno if theyve been cleared up yet. Search for the other thread.

16th May 2006, 2:01 PM	#5
yanman Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Hobart Posts: 5,747	Lord Djna, how's your device shaping up? I'm looking at buying a MK2 unit

16th May 2006, 5:36 PM	#6
boron boy Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Melbourne Posts: 303	The firmware has gotten a lot better since the original release. Battery life has been extended, boot time is down from 30+ seconds to about 10. The new versions also have a decent joystick, pity mine still has the crap one. WMA and WMV don't work straight out (due to licencing issues) but mp3, ogg, xvid and the like work perfectly. In terms of emulators, NES, SMS, and megadrive work well. MAME works well for older games (circa Street Fighter 2). The SNES emulator works fullspeed without sound, or with it if you overclock a bit. Transparencies are not supported yet though. The playstation emulator is getting there, but don't count on it ever being playable for every game. There is a video of it running resident evil here . Some people have even got wifi running on it, but it's not pretty or portable. There's a demo out of the first commercial game, payback, which is a GTA style game. All in all I'd say the gp2x is ready for primetime. Previously it was really only a development unit you could buy online. The official release for the UK is coming up soon though.