Doom Battle Royale Mod With 64 Players Hurts Plenty

October 4, 2018 by Drew Littrell 14 Comments

Sixty-four players are dropped into a map, but there can be only one that emerges victorious…heard that before, right? Thanks to PC Game modder [Bambamalicious] there is yet another entrant into the rapidly growing videogame genre. The difference this time, however, is that their 64 player DooM Royale (with cheese) mod is ready to show all those other also-ran games how the granddaddy of FPS games does it.

According to the announcement post the mod is “…a 64 player Battle Royale using Doom 2 as the IWAD, and the Zandronum engine as it’s base. The speed of gameplay will be unchanged from normal Doom, and when you die, that’s not the end for you!”. There is a respawn system, but each player is given a limited number of lives. To ensure no server feels like a ghost town [Bambamalicious] included bots that will spawn in matches with low participation. Each game inevitably results in a “last man standing” face off that has the victor coming away with the coveted “Royale with cheese”. Other than the aforementioned changes, this is still the seminal classic Doom (1993).

Do note that in order to play the mod, the Zandronum engine is a required in order to take part in the fun. The engine is the backbone that allows for leaderboards as well as hopping between custom servers. Zandronum additionally supports many other multiplayer match types for instance: Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Possession, and Skulltag. Up to 64 players are supported in those match types as well.

From the looks of the DooM Royale (with cheese) map, there should be frequent enemy player encounters and no respite for those seeking to just “hide in a bathtub”. The multiple levels should supply plenty of opportunity to take advantage by attacking from above. Test footage of the mod in action can be seen in the video below.

For more on the DOS game that just won’t die, check out Doom running on an ATM.

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VinylVideo Is Literally Video On Vinyl

October 1, 2018 by Drew Littrell 25 Comments

It’s often said that the music etched into a vinyl record takes on a transcendent quality that you simply can’t find in a digital recording, but does that still apply when you add motion picture? The collaboration of [Sengmüller and Diamant] sure think so, because they are offering a new experience for the turntable with the introduction of their VinylVideo pre-amplifier. No tape reels here, this project shows the extend of what is possible through analog video.

While all record players capable of playing back 7 in. 45 RPM are compatible with the system, the VinylVideo records themselves specially cut in order to generate the video signal. Each of the custom records has room for a 4-minute music video on the A-side, and the single on the B-side. Videos play back in black & white, sub-standard definition with mono audio, and run around 12 frames per second. The pre-amp takes in the analog signal from regular audio cables via RCA jacks or 3.5mm headphone jack, and then a Raspberry Pi model A+ handles the analog-to-digital conversion. Video out options include HDMI and composite video via a 3.5mm TRSS jack.

The current VinylVideo pre-amp is actually a refinement of the original project from the mid ’90s where it was a part of folk art exhibits. The legacy website (circa 1999) is still live, so you can give it a visit. However, for the most authentic experience you may want to fire-up a virtual machine with Netscape Navigator and Real Player installed.

For a more in-depth look at the VinylVideo in action there is a great video below from [Techmoan]:

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Remember When Blockbuster Video Tried Burning Game Cartridges On Demand?

October 1, 2018 by Drew Littrell 31 Comments

By the onset of the 1990s one thing was clear, the future was digital. Analog format sales for music were down, CD sales were up; and it was evident, at least in the US, that people were bringing more computing devices into their homes. At the beginning of the decade, roughly 1 in 3 American households had a Nintendo Entertainment System in them, according to this Good Morning America segment.

With all those consoles out there, every shopping season became a contest of “who could wait in line the longest” to pickup the newest titles. This left last minute shoppers resorting to taking a rain check or return home empty handed. Things didn’t have to be this way. The digital world had emerged and physical media just needed to catch up. It would take an unlikely alliance of two disparate companies for others to open their minds.

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Bring Your Own Controller Kits Just Add Bluetooth

September 26, 2018 by Drew Littrell 12 Comments

Known for their build quality and low latency, the [8bitdo] line of Bluetooth controllers are generally well liked among classic videogame devotees. They match modern conveniences like rechargeable batteries and Bluetooth connectivity with old school color schemes and the tried-and-true feel of a D-pad. All of their current offerings are modeled to invoke the same feel of console controllers of the past, however, for some there is no substitute for the original. For that type of hobbyist, the company created DIY Bluetooth mod kits in the form of drop-in replacement PCBs.

The featured mod kits are for the original NES controller, SNES controller, and 6-button Genesis Controller. They feature a 180 mAh Li-ion battery for an estimated 7.5 hours of gameplay, and a unique barrel plug type USB charging cable. The charging port fills the void left by the controller’s connection cable and also doubles a the LED status indicator. Though for the Sega Genesis mod kit, the charge port changes to a standard micro USB.

The [8bitdo] website boasts compatibility across Android, Linux, Mac, and Windows (drivers permitting) and even Nintendo Switch. With the addition of one of the company’s Retro Receivers, you are able to use the controllers on the original NES or SNES alongside their contemporary NES/SNES classic console counterparts.

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One Man’s Journey To Becoming His Own ISP

September 20, 2018 by Drew Littrell 119 Comments

America is a BIG country. There are pockets all across the land where broadband Internet is slow-to-nonexistent, and many individuals are left with wireless cell service as their only means of internet connection. This is the situation [Brandt Kuykendall] found himself in upon moving his family to Dillon Beach, CA. So he started up his own fiber ISP. (YouTube, embedded below.)

“Cell phone service was really our only option, but that proved to be extremely expensive. My wife came home with the bill (of) $707, and that was the last straw.”

Despite being a mere two hours from the technological hub of San Francisco [Brandt] found himself dissatisfied with the level of service he was receiving from his provider. However, instead of shredding his current contract altogether he decided to go directly to the source. He tracked down the location of the AT&T cell tower in his area and made every call he could in order to find out who was in charge of “opening up the taps”. Months of negotiation between AT&T and [Brandt] ensued and eventually resulted in a fiber line being installed directly into his garage.

The story didn’t stop there, because [Brandt] took it upon himself to spread the wealth by providing his neighbors with Wi-Fi access to the fiber optic line in exchange for a small monthly fee. Employing the use of industrial-grade small cell transmitters he essentially created a point-to-point network along his neighbors’ roofs. [Brandt’s] garage serves as the network monitoring hub enabling him to diagnose any traffic issues. What began as one man seeking decent internet speeds burgeoned into a journey to becoming his own ISP which now serves over 100 other residents of the Dillon Beach area.

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Show That Sega Saturn Save Battery Who’s Boss

September 20, 2018 by Drew Littrell 26 Comments

Breaking out the Sega Saturn out of the closet for a hit of 90’s nostalgia comes with its own set of compromises: the wired controllers, the composite video, and worst of all that dead CR2032 battery behind the backdoor. Along with the death of that battery went your clock and all those precious hours put into your game save files. While the bulk of us kept feeding the insatiable SRAM, a friendly Canadian engineer named [René] decided to fix the problem for good with FRAM.

The issue with the battery-backed memory in the Saturn stems from the particularly power-hungry factory installed SRAM chip. Normally when the console is plugged-in to a main power source the CR2032 battery is not in use, though after several weeks in storage the battery slowly discharges. [René’s] proposed solution was to use a non-volatile form of RAM chip that would match the pinout of the factory SRAM as close as possible. This would allow for easier install with the minimum number of jumper wires.

Enter the FM1808 FRAM chip complete with a whopping 256 kb of addressable memory. The ferroelectric chip operates at the same voltage as the Saturn’s factory SRAM, and has the added benefit of being able to use a read/write mode similar to that of the Saturn’s original memory chip. Both chips conform to a DIP-28 footprint, and only a single jumper wire on pin 22 was required to hold the FM1808 chip’s output-enable signal active-low as opposed to the active-high enable signal on the Saturn’s factory memory chip. The before and after motherboard photos are below:

After a quick test run of multiple successful read and writes to memory, [René] unplugged his Saturn for a couple days and found that his save files had been maintained. According to the FM1808 datasheet, they should be there for the next 45 years or so. The only downside to the upgrade is that the clock & calendar settings were not maintained upon boot-up and reset to the year 1996. But that’s nothing a bit of button-mashing through couldn’t solve, because after all wasn’t the point of all this to relive a piece of the 90s?

For more Sega Saturn goodness, check out how the Sega Saturn was finally cracked after 20 years.