Your recent acquisitions, or what retro have you bought lately?

yes ! I actually recently bought the Encore Dxr2 pci card not long ago JUST so I can recreate playing copy of the WC4 in full video as the non HW accelerated was quite interlaced (if thats the right word) !

 

I just remembered there is the WC4 Definitive Video Pack which was released some years back which used AI to upscale the DVD footage to Full HD. It's funny watching the Youtube trailer and seeing the videos again as they look so cringey compared to todays standard!

I remember back then FMV in games was all the rage, I was also blown away by another Origin game Crusader: No Remorse (and later No Regret) using FMV as well which just added so much to the immersion for me giving the people you fought with a real face and personality instead of just pixels. On a side note I watched that footage again not long ago and I think it's even more cringey than WCIV!

https://www.wcnews.com/chatzone/thr...ideo-pack-5-0-released-october-11-2020.30581/

 

haha yes I agree the videos were cringe but it didnt help that they were short videos recorded for various reactions you picked during conversations. Similarly to Tex Murphy, Pandora Directive. When that came out I was blown away. I played it recently again and omg the graphics and videos are so bad hahaha, back then it was the shiznit!

 

Yay, finally got my hands on an Ark2000 pci video card.



Dunno why I felt that this particular card was important ... but this particular chipset was quite nostalgic for me in terms of what I got to use at high school.

Been on the lookout for years though.

 

That's a cracker of a chipset - very compatible and fast. And that 'gendac' DAC can hangle very high refresh rates which is great for SVGA (once you have VESA 3.0 via UniVBE).

 

I do remember really high windows 3.1 performance back in high school with this chipset.

From what I have researched ... it is the successor to various western digital VGA chipsets ... another one of my vintage soft spots.

 

love it ! put some more RAM on that bad boy!

 

Indeed, I have some spare from my voodoo 2 upgrade!

 

I saw Dino Crisis for the PC when shopping online.

It was $18, so I brought it as it would sit well with my Resident Evil PC copy and I hear it is a great game.

Went to look at it today and to my surprise it is sealed with the only copy I can find like it, sealed as well for $459 Aus (below link).

I tried looking for some detail on the PC copy but there was too much PlayStation info to filter through.

Any Dino Crisis or Capcom fans around that can add some light to the PC game and if it is a rare bird, as the eBay listing would imply. Thanks
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1670733...uEQciQGmlxQWeU76m5Gxw7NmT2mLpe7DFU7KCVlInkfvQ

 

Just picked up these two NOS on fb marketplace. The blue one has never been opened has original seal sticker, so just leaving it alone. A shame they are the most generic of cards to find in great this condition..

Saw a Encore Dxr2 card in there as well, got excited thinking it was a voodoo card for a second, didn't even know what it was had to google it :O

 

Oh yes, how could I forget, also got a Oldschool logitech ball mouse! New old stock also. I didn't pickup the Dxr2 card but here is a photo

 

ahh, that brief moment in time when DVD playback needed a hardware accelerator until CPUs got good enough to do it in software.

 

Hehe, I still use a Microsoft Basic Mouse (ball mouse without a scroll wheel) on my main PC. It's about 25 years old now. Mouse pad is about the same age.

 

Yep I had that exact card back in the day with my Pentium 200MMX. Became obsolete not long after I upgraded to a AMD K6-2 350 a year or so later however even then completely smooth playback didn't occur until 3D Now! support was later added to PowerDVD. Made a huge difference to the clarity of the picture as you no longer had to deal with a passthrough cable which added noise.

 

Just came back from Japan and picked up some bits and pieces from all over. The PCB is Rainbow Islands which I have wanted since I was 10 years old

 

cheapie Matrox G450 PCI arrived from aliexpress today. Was always a fan of the Matrox image quality on big CRTs. Still looking for an 8 or 4MiB Millennium II that isn't a stupid price to get around the bus mastering issue with the G450 PCI on non-intel chipsets. Can easily do 1280x1024 @ 85Hz which is plenty for a socket 7 machine.

 

HNY guys, I hope 2025 doesn't suck.

I've been eyeing off a set of these Bose Companion 2 speakers for years but have uncharacteristically resisted, mainly because my trusty old Cambridge Soundworks still sound so awesome. But a set came my way for free in the end, my brother was doing a cleanout.

They sound OK - good clarity but a lot less kick than my 2.1 Soundworks obviously. They're shielded and look great, so they'll make a good backup pair.

 

Nice, they are great. Especially for free ! I found a pair for $40 a year or so ago and very happy with them.

Happy new year everyone !

 

Happy New Year All!

Made a new purchase that can be used for retro related items.

Finally decided to dip my two into the 3D printing world.

Less than two days in but loving how I can print useful retro items, like this N64 cart holder.

I have no doubt the retro room will be filled with 3D printed stands and replacement parts during 2025.

 

super cool ! which printer did you get ?