I am creating a wiki for retro modding and general info

[thebigcheese]

EDIT: My domain expires in May and I want to be clear that I do not intend on renewing it. I'm moving the revision history/information for the consoles to actual Wikipedia where they can live forever and be a little more useful, honestly. As far as the guides, I have moved those to a free Wordpress site at https://retromods.game.blog. The link below has been updated to reflect this. I imagine many of these will end up over at retrorgb.com one of these days (if the info isn't already there), but I have them on Wordpress now as well. They can stay there forever since that's free, though that does unfortunately mean there will be some ads and limits on the kind of content I can host there.

I've heard some talk about Retro RGB creating a similar wiki, but seeing as he hasn't actually done it so far and I am generally becoming frustrated with the hassle of digging through 5 different forums (at least) plus YouTube to find the info I need when starting a project, I thought I'd just go ahead and make my own wiki. Originally, I was just going to slowly put together a blog of different things I have worked on, but a wiki seems way more useful.

I would like for this to become a one-stop shop for all of the following information:
Known issues with consoles
Lists of mods available for each console, including in development mods
Actual information on doing the mods - parts lists, steps, pictures, links to videos, etc
Useful accessories - switches, upscalers, cables, CRTs, where to get all these things, etc
Homebrew/repro information - where to buy parts/equipment, etc

I am probably missing some other things, but that is the plan so far. Please let me know anything you would like to see there, how you might find it most useful to be arranged, or just any other general feedback about it.

It is located at https://retromods.game.blog.

[Syntax]

Are you able to make it a house for console utilities too?

Some old programs needed for editing are no longer hosted and just live on our computers.

No point having mods without the files to back it up.

[thebigcheese]

I'm not sure exactly what you mean, but I can probably make that happen. Storage isn't an issue with my hosting, just bandwidth. Presumably there won't be 1000 people downloading at the same time, so I'm not too worried about that.

[unmaker]

I really like this idea. I found it a nuisance digging through various forums to learn how to add NES front loader expansion audio, exp audio with NESRGB, exp audio on a top loader, what value resistors to use, etc. RetroRGB's site is tremendously resourceful but he's just one person so I think a community based wiki is ideal. Plus he has a job and works on his podcasts so you can't expect him to always have his site up to date with the latest info.

I would be more than happy to add guides on installing Borti's SNES RGB bypass amps for different SNES revisions since some might be intimidated by the lengthy instructions on his github. Or any of his other designs since I've tried many of them. In fact I was thinking about this very same thing when over the weekend I made my own pair of HD Retrovision SNES component cables with about $25 in parts:

https://imgur.com/a/Uv7rm9c

If someone would rather make their own pair and save $$ in the process, I'd be more than happy to share.

[thebigcheese]

All of these ideas are great I put up some placeholder pages for consoles to give an idea of what I'm thinking. I have a few guides of my own I can put up regarding RGB upgrades, just need time to do it...

[arithmaldor]

Are you able to make it a house for console utilities too?

Some old programs needed for editing are no longer hosted and just live on our computers.

No point having mods without the files to back it up.

I for one would like to be able to archive softmodding tools, like winhiip for ps2, qwix for xbox, wii backup loader, etc. Patchers and things that are currently scattered on deprecated websites. The utility to patch 480i Wii games to 480p (like MegaMan 9 and 10) is pretty much lost, so it would be nice to keep tools like this from vanishing.

[thebigcheese]

Are you able to make it a house for console utilities too?

Some old programs needed for editing are no longer hosted and just live on our computers.

No point having mods without the files to back it up.

I for one would like to be able to archive softmodding tools, like winhiip for ps2, qwix for xbox, wii backup loader, etc. Patchers and things that are currently scattered on deprecated websites. The utility to patch 480i Wii games to 480p (like MegaMan 9 and 10) is pretty much lost, so it would be nice to keep tools like this from vanishing.

It doesn't look like I have it set up to allow anything other than images to be uploaded through the web site at the moment. For now, just either link here or PM me what I need and I will upload it.

EDIT: I have enabled PDF and ZIP uploading. Hopefully this doesn't open me up to a world of security issues. Eventually hoping to figure out how to enable virus scanning, but will live with it for now. This should allow any of you to upload documents and utilities. I'm going to set up a page for utilities so we can get that going.

[thebigcheese]

I've added a bunch of service manuals, most of which I found on Console5's wiki (which is also worth checking out). Based on the fact that I have now seen Bob's mostly complete wiki, I think I'm going to steer my wiki away from RGB sorts of info and really just focus on making it a modding resource. That means that right now my focus is on schematics, service manuals, and parts lists. I'm getting in touch with Console5 before I go stealing more stuff from them as I don't really want to be that guy, but they do already have a lot of that info. I'm then going to start writing up more of the how-to guides for the different mods.

[BuckoA51]

My first thought was "hey isn't that what Console 5's wiki is all about" ?

You two should definitely collaborate or something, no point re-inventing the wheel.

[thebigcheese]

My first thought was "hey isn't that what Console 5's wiki is all about" ?

You two should definitely collaborate or something, no point re-inventing the wheel.

I forgot they had one until after I started None of these wikis so far are community editable, though, and I really want that to be a thing.

[thebigcheese]

I promise I am not just spamming... I updated the URL to a more appropriate domain, it is now at www.retromodwiki.com. I apologize if this forces anyone to make a new account But it will stay there from now on. I also added a parts list to the 2600 page, listing every resistor, cap, and other potentially important part I could find in the service manual. Tables are a real pain in Mediawiki...

[arithmaldor]

Excellent work! This is looking great so far.

[thebigcheese]

Added GCDual install guide and added a lightbox extension for the images so they don't take you to a separate page anymore. In terms of functionality, it's pretty much how I want it now. Just need to keep adding content :p Next I will probably work on the AV Driver install guide then SNES RGB bypass. Then maybe NESRGB and N64RGB. I've already made videos for these in the past, so I'll just be adapting that info.

[thebigcheese]

Not to be bumping my own thread all the time, but I've had some free time at work lately, so I've been adding some more content. In particular, I have updated and/or added images for several guides, including the AV Driver install in a TG16 and dejitter board installs for NES-101 and SNES mini. I'm also in the process of adding revision history to the PCE/TG16 page, which turns out to be quite the chore as there are like 50 million revisions... WHY NEC?? Finally, I added a detailed info page for GBI that hopefully clears up what the settings do, though Extrems has been pretty good about that on the official GBI wiki lately so I'm sure a lot of it is redundant at this point.

[thebigcheese]

Okay, so... I have basically run out of things that I know about to update on the wiki and there have been no contributions from anyone else. That is, I suppose, what I should have expected. Is what it is. Anyway, the point is that the only accounts and additions being made lately have been spam bots, so I've deleted those and disabled account creation. The eventual goal is to move any useful info I have put on the wiki over to Bob's wiki once he gets that up and running and then to discontinue this wiki. It used to be that I had web hosting for myself and my bands, but I don't need that anymore and there's really no point in me continuing to pay for hosting.

If anyone has any strong feelings about this, I am happy to try moving this to a free hosting service like ShoutWiki so that it isn't costing me anything and someone else is handling the basic maintenance, but otherwise this will all hopefully get integrated into the RetroRGB world at some point.

[rama]

Thanks for your work!

I think it's a good idea, moving your content to a place that has a little more exposure.
Things like these are just hard to get going, but we really need a Wiki like this.

[Harrumph]

Thanks for your work!

I think it's a good idea, moving your content to a place that has a little more exposure.
Things like these are just hard to get going, but we really need a Wiki like this.

+1

[thebigcheese]

So it looks like I can recreate pretty much everything I did with Wordpress. It makes collaboration harder, obviously, but I should be able to open it up to have other people as editors and contributors. This is nice because I can make it look nicer and it's free. I am in the process of moving everything over and will update links once I do.

[RGB0b]

Now that the holidays are coming to an end, I'll jump back into the new wiki. It's up and turned on, but no content is there yet. Nick, I'll email you directly soon and for anyone else that wants to contribute, please message me.

[クリスチャン]

Definitely interested in contributing to a wiki. I've got a lot of Dreamcast info to contribute.

[elvis]

My first thought was "hey isn't that what Console 5's wiki is all about" ?

You two should definitely collaborate or something, no point re-inventing the wheel.

My thoughts every time someone creates an all-new "one stop shop":
https://m.xkcd.com/927/

[thebigcheese]

Deciding to do the logical thing and move the general info (ie stuff about the various revisions, specs, etc) to actual Wikipedia where it will live forever. That will just leave the mod guides (well, and the repro information, but I don't have much and that can be found elsewhere), which can easily live on future RetroRGB wiki or potentially my blog idea, but I'll update on that if I go that route.

[thebigcheese]

Hello again, last update on this I think. The domain is expiring in a month or so, and since I will not be renewing my hosting, the site will also be going down then. I'm in the process of moving all the guides to the new URL posted in the OP, https://retromods.game.blog. I realize that's maybe kind of a lame URL, but it was available and it's free. I've also updated the relevant Wikipedia.org pages for the consoles, at least for the most part, with revision information that was not already there. If Bob gets the RetroRGB wiki up and running, the guides can be moved there, but until then, they will be on the new "blog" site. Heck, they'll continue to be there after because it's a free site, so why not.

Sorry for all the back and forth on all this, just a lot changed for me this last year and it's a bunch of expense and time I can't afford anymore. Hopefully the move doesn't inconvenience anyone too much.

[rama]

No worries, I'm sure some day something will work out.
I sometimes remember the Wiki idea, but when I think of contributing, I always realize how much work it will be.
A single entry for maybe the PSX - adding CSync - can easily span a few hours of additional research and several hours of testing.
Then writing out some text, adding pictures, accounting for different levels of reader understanding..
I don't know where to start, honestly :p

If I'm an example, I think this might be where the community looses a lot of content.
It is so much more work to properly document stuff than just giving people some help in forum threads every now and then.

Maybe it'd help if modders just took pictures and wrote minimal text?
Sure, it'd be very confusing to look at, but it helps getting the content out there and be a start.
Example of this here, where I just can't find the time to write the accompanying text :p
https://github.com/ramapcsx2/gbs-contro ... rd-Adapter
Just mark the "article" as work in progress, and it might even invite someone to chime in!

[thebigcheese]

Yeah, that's pretty much what happened for me. All of the guides I have exist only because I happened to be doing that mod anyway. Now that all of my consoles are modded and I've pretty much finished collecting retro stuff, I'm kinda spent. Heck, just copying everything over from the wiki took me a couple hours (but it's done now!). The other issue is that a lot of modders aren't very good writers or English isn't their first language, etc. Not trying to knock anyone, but a lot of guides for a lot of tech-related things don't make a lot of sense if you aren't a techy person. I try to write my guides to make sense for the average Joe, but usually this involves a lot of research on my part to make sure I understand it all first. Anyway, it is a WordPress site, so I suppose other people could become editors and add/edit things if they really wanted to. To be honest, I'm pretty amazed that Bob has kept RetroRGB going as long as he has.