aumVilohm 

Usually people take something like EmulationStation and adapt it to a specific device, trying to carry over a user experience that already exists. Batocera and similar projects were originally built around gaming systems, and only later did people start porting them to different devices.

What I want to make is firmware that feels like an original system, designed from the start for this particular device, with its hardware, form factor and screen geometry in mind. I don't want to model it on the Nintendo DS or other clamshells. I want to do everything the way I think it should be done.

The firmware will have several sections.

This part is pretty simple: the whole library should run at 2x resolution and 60 fps. That's really all it needs.

I also want to build all the game covers right into the firmware. As far as I understand, this shouldn't be a legal problem, since the games themselves won't be distributed. The idea is that you download a ROM set, say the popular No-Intro one, and just drop the files onto the device. The firmware recognizes the games on its own, and you get a ready-made DS library with all the covers.

I've already made two dual-screen ports, and I have plenty of other interesting stuff planned for this section.

I've also noticed that someone is working on running recompiled 3DS games. Basically, the game code is decompiled or recompiled so it runs natively instead of through an emulator. As far as I can tell, that's for Android, and I don't know if there's anything like it for Linux. Either way, I'd love to get this working too. I think it would be really cool.

I'm also thinking about adding a separate music player section. It turns out the device sounds really good through headphones. Looks like the manufacturer used pretty high-quality audio components, which I honestly didn't expect. So I want to try turning it into a proper music player as well. I'm not sure how much demand there'll be for it, but I'm doing it for myself first anyway.

I'm continuing work on the custom firmware for the RGDS+. The device never stops surprising me. I don't understand why the Chinese can't make decent software.

From my observations so far: the stock voltages for the CPU and GPU were set too high. As a result, the device ran hotter than it should and lasted less than it could. I've already found the optimal voltage and the optimal performance profiles by frequency. On the upcoming firmware the device will run longer, performance will be more stable, and temperatures will be lower.

Right now I'm working on the screens and the sound. With the screens it turned out that the panels themselves support hardware adjustment of some parameters without loading the CPU. That's great, it means you'll be able to tweak the picture settings without any performance hit.

The stock built-in speakers turned out to be not very good quality, but it turned out they just needed tuning. The miracle of optimization: the stock speakers now sound significantly better.

But the biggest surprise was the 3.5 mm headphone output. It turned out Anbernic used very good amplifiers. I tested it with classic Koss Porta Pro headphones. At first I thought about adding an equalizer on the headphone output, but it turned out it's simply not needed. The sound is excellent and the volume is more than enough. I'm thinking about adding media player functionality to the future firmware.

I've been working on a version of the original Red Alert for the RG DS Plus. I wanted to use the touchscreen for the battlefield and keep the radar and army statistics visible on the top screen.

The port is based on Vanilla Conquer and runs natively on ROCKNIXDS. I enlarged the menus for touch and moved construction to a panel on the left. The sticks scroll the camera quickly and the D-pad moves it precisely. A, B, X and Y recall assigned squads. Building placement takes a second tap to confirm, so lifting the stylus doesn't place a building by accident.

No game files are included. You need your own original USA CDs of Red Alert, Counterstrike and The Aftermath.

Silent Hill has been one of my favorite games since I was a kid.

I still remember how scared I was the first time I played it. I was probably 9 or 10. I think it’s a masterpiece and one of those games everyone should play at least once.

I tried to adapt the port for the Anbernic RG DS Plus, because I really love this device and I think Silent Hill fits two screens really well.

The game runs on the top screen, and the original inventory lives on the bottom one, so you can pick items, heal and reload while the world keeps going. The map opens on the bottom screen too, instantly, without stopping the game. The controls follow the classic PlayStation layout, and it runs at a steady 30 fps, just like the original.

Hey everyone!

I’ve been working on custom firmware for the Dirtywave M8 for a while now. I love this device, and I feel it has the potential to do much more. To me, it’s already one of the best music-making devices out there, but it hasn’t quite suited my workflow, particularly recording guitar and processing its sound.

That’s why I decided to build my own firmware, with an approach closer to a traditional DAW.

I want to make one thing clear: I’m not using any code or assets from the original firmware. I have a lot of respect for the people behind M8 and their work. I’m building my own firmware from scratch, with its own interface and functionality.

In this video, I’d like to show the M8 running something other than its stock firmware. For this demo, I chose one of my favourite games: POWDER, a classic roguelike.