Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

The place for all discussion on gaming hardware
bigbadboaz
Posts: 1135
Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2005 4:08 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by bigbadboaz »

Apologies if my search missed the actual thread; I'm certain we've talked about this already.

I really thought a few shmuppers would have received these 8bitdo Sega clones by now. Anyone? I've been waiting to hear impressions from the only group I trust to really know what Saturn/Genesis 6-button pads are supposed to feel like.
User avatar
Fudoh
Posts: 13015
Joined: Mon Mar 06, 2006 3:29 am
Location: Germany
Contact:

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by Fudoh »

I got the black 2.4GHz version. White version is ordered as well and a black BT one is also on pre-order.

It's very nice controller. Really good d-pad, but it's a tough comparison when I usually use the Saturn controllers in all varieties. If feels a tiny bit stiffer, but that's likely down to the fact that it's a brandnew controller, while my Saturn ones are well "broken in".

If you intend to use the M30 with retroarch or other emulation setups, there's one thing I really dislike (and which I disliked about the SN30(pro) controllers already): for accessing all the function on retroarch you need to define a hotkey and ideally that's a key that you can hold WHILE you press directions on the d-pad (e.g. for selecting a save slot or for using rewind of fast forward) AND while you press the regular buttons (to save or load from save slots, select shaders etc). This doesn't work with the M30 (nor the SN30). The N30 pro on the other hand offers two left shoulder buttons, so you can assign one as your hotkey while letting you press the d-pad or the regular buttons at the same time. I've seen so many reviews complaining about the 2nd left shoulder button, but they all didn't get that's really downright perfect for retroarch.
Dochartaigh
Posts: 1518
Joined: Thu Mar 02, 2017 6:53 pm

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by Dochartaigh »

So wait....this won't plug into an actual Sega console? (didn't see the receiver on their website). If so, fail.
Taiyaki
Posts: 1050
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2014 11:31 pm

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by Taiyaki »

I guess it's for people who emulate on computers.

Is this different from the ones Sega had officially licensed out some months ago or are these the same? I remember this news article where Sega was allowing reprints of all sorts of controllers including Dreamcast iirc.
User avatar
Fudoh
Posts: 13015
Joined: Mon Mar 06, 2006 3:29 am
Location: Germany
Contact:

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by Fudoh »

The 2.4GHz Version comes with a receiver that plugs into your original MD/GEN or the SG. The BT version requires you to purchase the BT dongle seperately if you want to use it an original MD/GEN or the Analogue SG.
User avatar
Fudoh
Posts: 13015
Joined: Mon Mar 06, 2006 3:29 am
Location: Germany
Contact:

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by Fudoh »

Is this different from the ones Sega had officially licensed out some months ago or are these the same? I remember this news article where Sega was allowing reprints of all sorts of controllers including Dreamcast iirc.
Retro-Bit does the official Sega ones. 6-Button MD and Saturn right now. Dreamcast and "enhanced" MD/Saturn (with added analogue controls) later on.

The 8bitdo M30 is basically the "official" Analogue SG Mega Drive/Genesis controller.
Taiyaki
Posts: 1050
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2014 11:31 pm

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by Taiyaki »

Fudoh wrote:
Is this different from the ones Sega had officially licensed out some months ago or are these the same? I remember this news article where Sega was allowing reprints of all sorts of controllers including Dreamcast iirc.
Retro-Bit does the official Sega ones. 6-Button MD and Saturn right now. Dreamcast and "enhanced" MD/Saturn (with added analogue controls) later on.

The 8bitdo M30 is basically the "official" Analogue SG Mega Drive/Genesis controller.
Thank you. Glad that wasn't cancelled. Looking forward to those.
bigbadboaz
Posts: 1135
Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2005 4:08 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by bigbadboaz »

Thanks Fudoh. Coincidentally, reviews of the Retro-Bit wired Sega controllers started popping up online just as I completed the OP. Those seem to have shaped up great as well, though again I really don't trust any old reviewer to actually have knowledge of the original pads they need to be compared to.

Starting to sound like we're going to have some real good, accessible D-Pad options out there for the first time in a very, very long time! And I'm impressed with the pricing on all of these offerings. 8bitdo have come down from the relatively high MSRP of their original SNES30 a few years back, and the Retro-Bit stuff is apparently only around $20 a pop. Couldn't really have asked for better.

I wonder if Retro-Bit are going to get "bit", though, by the relative surprise of the m30. I don't think they were expecting any competition in this space, and it would suck to see them get burned after finally making something of reference quality. It would be the first time, and with a particular product that really deserved it.
Dochartaigh
Posts: 1518
Joined: Thu Mar 02, 2017 6:53 pm

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by Dochartaigh »

Fudoh wrote:The 2.4GHz Version comes with a receiver that plugs into your original MD/GEN or the SG. The BT version requires you to purchase the BT dongle seperately if you want to use it an original MD/GEN or the Analogue SG.
Still doesn't make sense to me. These are clearly Sega Saturn style controllers...but there seems to be no dongle for a Sega Saturn unless it's being released at a later date.
User avatar
Fudoh
Posts: 13015
Joined: Mon Mar 06, 2006 3:29 am
Location: Germany
Contact:

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by Fudoh »

8bitdo hasn't tackled the Saturn yet. The M30 is their MD/GEN-inspired controller is supposed to be used with these systems. They timed their M30 with the release of the Analogue SG.

Retro-bit will release blue-tooth Saturn controllers, so they'll certainly released a Saturn BT dongle as well.
User avatar
FBX
Posts: 2347
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2015 10:18 am
Location: DFW area, Texas
Contact:

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by FBX »

I've got the M30 2.4G. Tried it on my Genesis and loved it. You even get to assign turbo, so it's basically a wireless asciipad. Very cool.
sofakng
Posts: 216
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2016 1:30 am

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by sofakng »

Has anybody done any latency comparisons between the 2.4g and Bluetooth versions?

I'm aware that both are 2.4 GHz but the transmission protocols are different (Bluetooth vs proprietary ?). I don't mind the cost difference of purchasing the M30 + Bluetooth adapter, but I'm wondering if it has any extra latency, etc.
User avatar
Fudoh
Posts: 13015
Joined: Mon Mar 06, 2006 3:29 am
Location: Germany
Contact:

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by Fudoh »

The BT version has a little more lag.
sofakng
Posts: 216
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2016 1:30 am

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by sofakng »

Thanks for the reply. May I ask how you got that information? The only information I've ever seen was from 8bitdo's Twitter saying that there was no difference between the two and I haven't seen anybody actually testing the latency differences.
User avatar
Fudoh
Posts: 13015
Joined: Mon Mar 06, 2006 3:29 am
Location: Germany
Contact:

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by Fudoh »

There have quite a few reviews comparing their previous 2.4Hz SNES controllers versus the BT versions of the same controller.
sofakng
Posts: 216
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2016 1:30 am

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by sofakng »

OK - Thanks. I'll have to take a look and see what I can find.
bigbadboaz
Posts: 1135
Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2005 4:08 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by bigbadboaz »

They did claim with their most recent wave of Bt pads (the one before the m30) that they had refined their Bt tech to be "lag-free". I'm not assuming there isn't still a difference between the versions, but hopefully any difference is indeed better than back when those results came around.
User avatar
Elixir
Posts: 5421
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2005 3:58 am

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by Elixir »

Anyone capable of comparing this to the PS2 Saturn pads?
I haven't actively browsed/used this forum in many years and it's no longer an accurate representation of me.

I have retired from genre-specific content creation after 13 years, but I'll always love this little genre in my own personal way.
User avatar
FBX
Posts: 2347
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2015 10:18 am
Location: DFW area, Texas
Contact:

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by FBX »

Discovered a rather disappointing issue with the M30 2.4G whilst trying it on a model 1 VA2 with my Mini Mega board installed:

There's some quite noticeable EMI coming in mostly on the left channel from the M30 transmitter. Check out this recording I made at zero dB:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=17DeuL ... WJzThgTSNb

The parts where it starts to go somewhat silent is me cupping my fingers around the transmitter. When I unplug the transmitter and use a standard controller, the sound is flawless. Now here's the thing: NONE of the wires to and from my Mini Mega are anywhere near the transmitter, nor is the Mini Mega board itself. My best guess is the transmitter is pushing EMI into the VDP most likely, causing it to become 'radioactive'. Very disappointing to discover this. I'll have to do some tests to see if in fact the transmitter is pushing the noise into the VDP.

Edit: Tried another M1 VA2 with the Mini Mega outputting to RCA Jacks in the back of the console (previous console has outputs going to the front headphone jack). This time around, the EMI was considerably lower in volume. So it's not coming from the VDP since both consoles have the Mini Mega mounted right next to the VDP. I'm now thinking something towards the front of the console is acting as an antenna for the EMI. Maybe the Z80 or some tracks on the board around there.
User avatar
FBX
Posts: 2347
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2015 10:18 am
Location: DFW area, Texas
Contact:

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by FBX »

LOL! Get this:

I wrapped a thick tinfoil booty around the transmitter and it got rid of the noise! Controller still works just fine!

Edit:

More testing: On my Double Mega, the 3438 barely picks up any EMI (with the tinfoil booty removed), while 2612 picks it up more distinctly. Additionally if I remove the booty and just touch the front of the transmitter with a wad of tinfoil, the noise vanishes.
Fun with radio waves...
bigbadboaz
Posts: 1135
Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2005 4:08 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by bigbadboaz »

Huh. so does this basically mean they cheaped out on insulating their receiver design properly?

@ Elixir: are you hands-on familiar with the PS2 Sat pads or trying to choose between two options you haven't been able to try?
User avatar
Elixir
Posts: 5421
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2005 3:58 am

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by Elixir »

bigbadboaz wrote:@ Elixir: are you hands-on familiar with the PS2 Sat pads or trying to choose between two options you haven't been able to try?
Very very familiar, I've been using PS2 Saturn pads since at least 2005. I was wondering how this stacks up against them.
I haven't actively browsed/used this forum in many years and it's no longer an accurate representation of me.

I have retired from genre-specific content creation after 13 years, but I'll always love this little genre in my own personal way.
User avatar
FBX
Posts: 2347
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2015 10:18 am
Location: DFW area, Texas
Contact:

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by FBX »

I got to thinking about the radio wave interference noise issue and realized a simple solution might be to just get a Genesis controller extension cord and plug the transmitter into that so it's well away from the console. Ones I commonly see online are from Retrobit, but the reviews are mixed. Are these the best ones to get or are their quality alternatives? I want to make sure all the pins are correctly assigned so the transmitter will work properly in theory.

Edit: Decided to take the hit and ordered both a set of OEM Sega controller extension cables as well as the Retro-bit ones. We'll see how it goes with each.
User avatar
FBX
Posts: 2347
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2015 10:18 am
Location: DFW area, Texas
Contact:

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by FBX »

Results from the retro-bit extension cord test:

https://twitter.com/FBXGargoyle/status/ ... 1874869248
User avatar
cave hermit
Posts: 1543
Joined: Sat Sep 07, 2013 2:46 pm
Location: Pennsylvania

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by cave hermit »

My 2.4 ghz model finally arrived... 2 weeks after I ordered it from amazon. :?

I really dislike the receiver dongle it came with though; compared to a standard 3 button controller or the hyperkin 6 button, it's very difficult to tell if it's plugged in correctly. I don't know if it just required more force than usual, but I didn't get the usual tactile feedback of it pushing in all the way, and it doesn't seem to line up neatly with the controller port as it gets pushed in, with the receiver refusing to yield if I try to nudge it to line up. After a lot of initial fiddling and worrying over whether I was breaking my sega's port trying to ram it in :oops: I tried booting up the ol' sega unsure if the dongle was in all the way and it just worked, Contra Hard Corp's input test confirming everything. In any case it was a bit of a bad first impression.

Anyway, d-pad feels much nicer than the hyperkin 6 button I was using, nice responsive controller overall. 240p test suite's manual lag test seems responsive, and playing Guile in street fighter feels super natural. More testing is needed though, but impressions in-game are pretty good so far.

As for USB functionality, it's a mixed bag. Windows detects it as a xbox 360 controller, but the d-pad is interpreted as the analog stick. This should just work for most games, but for stuff like Retroarch it's basically useless unless you manually reassign bindings, which would probably cause issues with actual xbox 360 controllers later since they use the same device ID. I have read that you can hold minus and up on the dpad to force d-pad output, but it didn't work for me; might just be for the bluetooth model. My switch picked up on the controller when plugged into the dock, but again it uses analog stick output so... well I didn't bother trying with it. Again, bluetooth model might have this fixed.

So as a wireless sega genesis controller, the 2.4g model seems to work great. Not so fond of its USB functionality though.
Frank_fjs
Posts: 36
Joined: Sat Dec 08, 2018 1:26 am

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by Frank_fjs »

I've ordered the 2.4G version. Main use is on a supergun via a Mega Drive to Neo-Geo adapter I made a while ago. Can't wait for it to arrive.
Spoiler
Image
Frank_fjs
Posts: 36
Joined: Sat Dec 08, 2018 1:26 am

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by Frank_fjs »

My 2.4G M30 arrived.

It's awesome! I love it, very nice finish and feel, buttons and dpad are super comfy and responsive.

I did notice that the power supply I use for my supergun will cause issues if located too close to the receiver. The signal drops out and audio interference is introduced. Have to keep a little bit of distance between the PSU and the receiver.
bigbadboaz
Posts: 1135
Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2005 4:08 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by bigbadboaz »

That's great. Are you familiar with the original MD 6-button pad to compare?

Can't wait to eventually snag a pair of the Bt versions. I need an actual use case for them though :lol:
Frank_fjs
Posts: 36
Joined: Sat Dec 08, 2018 1:26 am

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by Frank_fjs »

Very familiar with the original controllers.

I prefer the 8bitdo, especially in regards to the dpad. Testing Street Fighter, I can pull off combos first time, every time.
bigbadboaz
Posts: 1135
Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2005 4:08 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: Has no one snagged the 8bitdo m30 yet??

Post by bigbadboaz »

Nice...
Post Reply