BittBoy - Begging For A Pi Zero W?

celly

@fras3r_mc yeah, the older Bitt Boy. I know the new one lets you add games (and doesnmt come preinstalled with any). Just keep in mind the button layout, the B and A buttons are sorta janky.

mediamogul

@celly said in BittBoy - Begging For A Pi Zero W?:

Just keep in mind the button layout, the B and A buttons are sorta janky.

It looks that way from pictures and I thought the same thing, but my muscle memory adapted pretty quickly without any real trouble. Plus, your thumb rests more ergonomically over the buttons in that configuration, so once you get used to the difference, response time is very fast. I actually broke 300K on NES 'Tetris' a few days ago with the little guy. I'm gonna start practicing for a half max-out of 500K next.

fras3r_mc

@celly
I recently bought the new one and I have no idea where to start with this but I’ve been thinking the pi’s micro card reader could be desoldered and the resoldered at some length then glued it the space of the old one??

EDIT: I was also thinking the top left and right corners reminded me of ds lite bumpers so it might be possible to add tactile switches underneath them

celly

@mediamogul I had no idea you were such a player at Tetris. Man, thats my game. Are you starting from level 0 and working up or jumping right in CTWC style level 18?

@fras3r_mc idk man, couldn’t you try and place the piz in such a way that you could use its own sd card slot, in the BittBoy case?

mediamogul

@celly said in BittBoy - Begging For A Pi Zero W?:

I had no idea you were such a player at Tetris. Man, thats my game. Are you starting from level 0 and working up or jumping right in CTWC style level 18?

I've been meaning to improve my standing in the game for a while. Before Christmas, I was looking into a quick and portable way to have the game be more accessible and then my friend happened to gift me the Bittboy. Since the scoring system in NES 'Tetris' rewards beginning at a higher level, I don't start at zero. However, seeing as I've only been at it for a few weeks, I'm not currently good enough to start at 18 either. Right now, I take the Goldilocks approach and start at level 9. My current goal is a half max-out, but I'd really like to see it through to a full max-out before it's all said and done. Is the NES variant your favorite? I've also been playing a decent amount of 'Tetris Battle Gaiden' on my RetroPie. That game is an absolute riot.

celly

@mediamogul I play them all, NES, Arcade, Gameboy, all versions. I recently purchased an original NES just to practice on original hardware. Let me tell you, that is the way to play.

mediamogul

@celly

I've still got my childhood NES. I want to get it RGB modded at some point to look nicer on a newer television. Of course I could just keep a smaller CRT available for the games that benefit the most from lower input lag. Apparently, many people have gotten a Tetris max-out through emulation, but the drawback is that your timing becomes trained to the difference, making the possibility of competing in a tournament more difficult.

I've been trying a lot of Tetris variants myself here recently and if you haven't already tried it, be sure to take a look at 'Magical Tetris Challenge'. Specifically the Game Boy Color version. With the Disney License, it'd be easy to write it off as a cheap cash-in for children, but there are a wide variety of game variants with unique and unusual winning conditions that are a lot of fun. It really makes you look at the game in a number of new ways.

fras3r_mc

@celly
Should i post some teardown photos of the new bittboy?

celly

@fras3r_mc yes please!

fras3r_mc

@celly
Here they are ask for any more if you want i didnt want to try and take the screen out because it looked tedious

new bittboy teardown photos

fras3r_mc

@celly
Hope the teardown photos are good enough and i had never linked something before so im not sure whether the link works

mediamogul

@fras3r_mc said in BittBoy - Begging For A Pi Zero W?:

im not sure whether the link works

It does indeed. Thanks for posting. I was curious exactly how the Dpad works, as it's a little stiff on the diagonals. Your pics clear it up.

A Former User

Wouldn't a Gameboy Zero kit, be a better option ? I realise this would be more than double the price of a bitboy, but I suspect it will also be double the quality. The screen has a great resolution for retro gaming, 320x240. So most systems would look great on such a screen.

mediamogul

@John_RM_70

There's quite a few better options for a portable project. Personally, I think the new Bittboy's main strength is in leaving it as is for quick and dirty retro-gaming that doesn't require any maintenance. However, once they styled it so close to the original Game Boy, it was always going to be a prime target for modding. Even with all of the device's technical shortcomings, the aesthetics and build quality really are surprisingly nice.

A Former User

@mediamogul But why mod something that is limited from the start ? The Gameboy zero is only limited by the Pi Zero, and when finished it looks like a professional product. It's also designed for a Pi, while the Bitboy isn't.

mediamogul

@John_RM_70 said in BittBoy - Begging For A Pi Zero W?:

But why mod something that is limited from the start ?

I imagine it would mostly be for the challenge. Hardware modding isn't really my thing personally, but I can definitely see the appeal. Here for example, solving the particular problems involved would likely be very satisfying when complete and you'd be left with a nice little portable that could easily be mistaken for a first party Nintendo device.

fras3r_mc

@mediamogul
Yeah thats the reason i chose it but i havent got of the ground yet i did some measurements and a pi zero w would fit both ways

fras3r_mc

@mediamogul
Do you think you would have to scrap the old pcb in order to do this?

celly

Well heres a little something @fras3r_mc might be interested in. I recently purchased one of the New Bittboys. The stock rom is pretty cool, I only had a few gripes. The other day, after many failed attempts, (@obsidianspider knows whats I’m talking about)I installed the new CFW. Let me tell you, the custom firmware for it, its amazing. I would never have guessed this little thing was capable of running some of these emulators. Albeit, some games it struggles on (Mario Kart SNES for example) but holy moly! This is my new daily driver. It plays GBA buttery smooth (all the games that I’ve tried at least). Incredible!

celly

@mediamogul I ran out of photo space on the previous post. This ones for you.