Amiga Vampire?

[HanJammer]

From the software point of view - usually yes.

From the user point of view - certainly not - it's like perfect Led Zeppelin cover band - maybe it sounds and even looks almost exactly like them, but still it's not the real thing - it's AN EMULATION. 68k silicon die is not there - internally it's totally different. It's just configured (or some may say - programmed) the way it emulates the behaviour of the real thing more or less perfectly. Even the MiSTer's author calls it's cores emulators (on project's github) and points out there are some functional constrains*. But even if it would be 100% perfect - still there's an aspect of the actual chip which simply is not looking like the real thing and internally is totally different - hence can't be called a replica. For me it's always machine (bare metal first), and then the software which runs on it - if it wouldn't be this way then I wouldn't really care for all these gray boxes taking space on my shelves and then I would only use good software emulator or hardware emulator like MiSTer. Yet without the true hardware - the huge and most important (for me) part of the retrocomputing experience - playing around with 30+ old hardware would be missing.

*) But, he also keeps using "retro computer" instead of "vintage computer" which is pretty huge mistake so maybe he's not the best source to prove my point after all

Regards

 

[miggymad]

Continuation of the brand, plus keeping both the old and new Amiga's running are the important things for me. I care not if it's 68020, FPGA, emulation, implementation or whatever "label" people wish to dump on it

 

[Havie]

From the software point of view - usually yes.

From the user point of view - certainly not - it's like perfect Led Zeppelin cover band - maybe it sounds and even looks almost exactly like them, but still it's not the real thing - it's AN EMULATION. 68k silicon die is not there - internally it's totally different. It's just configured (or some may say - programmed) the way it emulates the behaviour of the real thing more or less perfectly. Even the MiSTer's author calls it's cores emulators (on project's github) and points out there are some functional constrains*. But even if it would be 100% perfect - still there's an aspect of the actual chip which simply is not looking like the real thing and internally is totally different - hence can't be called a replica. For me it's always machine (bare metal first), and then the software which runs on it - if it wouldn't be this way then I wouldn't really care for all these gray boxes taking space on my shelves and then I would only use good software emulator or hardware emulator like MiSTer. Yet without the true hardware - the huge and most important (for me) part of the retrocomputing experience - playing around with 30+ old hardware would be missing.

*) But, he also keeps using "retro computer" instead of "vintage computer" which is pretty huge mistake so maybe he's not the best source to prove my point after all :shrug:

Regards

Yet with a Vampire in my 1200 and using PAL mode, I am playing around with 30+ years old hardware as I would have when I had my original 1200, just at the speeds I dreamed of back in the 90s. I had an 040 40mhz as my fasted processor and how I wanted to play Quake but I when it came to it, I chose Myst over Quake, as I knew the experience would be poor (if it worked at all). Now I have the joy of playing Quake in PAL mode, using Paula for sound, on an original keyboard and mouse - how this isn't a proper Amiga experience I don't understand?

The fact that it isn't or doesn't look like an original Motorola CPU isn't a problem (for me or others) and indeed the accelerator board looks great and is surprisingly small! As I said, I don't run my computer open so what's inside isn't seen. In fact, the only way you could tell it didn't have a Motorola chip in it is the fact that it is so fast. If you had two 1200s - one with a Vampire and one without, both playing Lemmings from disk - I bet you couldn't tell the difference without opening them up or looking in the trapdoor. Same graphics output to the TV, same slightly tinny sound coming from the TV, same hardware to control the game and same floppy disks to load and run the game so ultimately does it matter? If I didn't tell you, then you wouldn't know.

And as I said before and you didn't respond, most of us have CF/SD solutions in our Amigas - these are 'in your view' mimicking a hard disk so surely this is not acceptable in your retroworld? And you, yourself, state that you use a Gotek, which plainly does not give the same experience of that of a floppy disk but emulates a disk and this doesn't seem to be an issue for you so why would an FPGA solution for a CPU be an issue whereas a floppy emulator not be?

Confused - I am. :banghead:

 

[miggymad]

@Havie

Perhaps HanJammer also does not believe in accelerator cards or such goodies as the Indivision AGA scandoubler/flickerfixer upgrades as they detract from the original hardware experience lol

 

[Havie]

Quite possibly - seems if it wasn't made in the 1990s then it's can't be counted as retro?

 

[Sardine]

Yes but I can see HanJammer point.


I have a spectrum 48k with Divmmc , so why did I buy a Tzxduino to load tape files ?

I have "The C64" full size remake but also a real breadbin + 1541, I bought the Ultimate II but for some strange reason I also bought the tape adaptor so I can watch a game take 5 mins to load

why do I prefer loading games from real FDD rather than Gotek...


and why when my Mister FPGA which can simulate a 486 sx/75 would I rather use a real clunky old PC ??


it just doesn't feel the same. The reason I have purchased sound cards from HanJammer in the past.


just like RTG , I never used or need it, an Amiga to me was playing games and a bit of lightwave and coding so a faster cpu and ram was a focus for my back in the 90's


Yes loading games faster , Yes playing Frontier Elite with smooth frames is what I wanted back in the 90's and also now.


what I DON'T understand is playing quake on an Amiga, even the fastest Amiga's it must have been an awful experience when my dad's 486 sx/50 did it much better.


yes I understand in the "can it be done" group but for daily use would I browse the web or play quake on an Amiga !!! NOPE!! I wanna play supercars , Chuck rock , Mercenary , fa-18 and the likes.


So when it comes to preference of "REAL" period correct hardware that's what I remember from my youth ( the reason I still own a Dragon 32 ) not the ability to play quake on an Amiga. Spend Hundreds or thousands into a platform just so you can read a usb stick , go wifi , watch a fuzzy MPG video at 15fps or quake in software mode at an unplayable frame rate that is what I don't get, pushing original hardware to the limit is what I enjoy, without 68080 fpga trickery.

the 1st time I booted Super Mario 64 UltraHLE on my PII-450 with a voodoo 2 in a computer club i used to run the whole room just stopped in shock. no tricks or fpga 1000mhz cpu, now that's fun.


If I was able to I would NOT have my FPGA but a room setup of all period correct computers, I WOULD use sdcard solutions just for speed of loading and reliability that's just storage, no matter the fun you might have playing Monkey Island 2 on an Amiga its not fun via FDD with just 1 external drive

 

[Marien]

I don't need to pretend Amiga which is long dead now can still be something it wasn't designed to be (same with 8-bit machines)

Oh, dear friend, Amiga is definitely not dead. Just on the principle that she lives in the hearts of thousands of fans who try not only to physically push her further and further. And as long as the idea of a perfect computer with a name is in our minds, it will never die. And no crash of the original manufacturer ever affected that, because Amiga is primarily a symbol and a lifestyle.

Therefore, the Amiga living in the FPGA cannot be an emulation, but an EVOLUTION :nod:

 

[miggymad]

And the evolution goes on. Have just put my name on the order list for the new Apollo Icedrake V4 card

 

[Amiga Forever]

I going have check out the Monster IceDraker

 

[uigiflip]

firebird and icedrake is just v4 standalone using real amigas has big io board

 

[miggymad]

firebird and icedrake is just v4 standalone using real amigas has big io board

As I already own a V2 and V4 Standalone, I'll let you know how they compare when benchmarked against the Icedrake

 

[Amiga Forever]

It doesnt seem good if people are selling Vampire 4 as maybe bit of cash as Xmas is coming up or somethings else that I don't know......