The MiSTer will likely always be an evolving device until the moment it is not being developed for and then the next board will be an evolving device until it is no longer being developed for and ect into infinity. In terms of hardware though here is my take:Shelcoof wrote:True I do currently have a very good all in one PC with the benefits of more emulators, Fightcade and STEAM. I even have a modded Wii that I make good use of as well. Actually the Wii is probably my most used machine when I want to get back to some old school classicsldeveraux wrote:He already had a current solution, a healthy backlog, and wasn't sold on spending more money. I don't disagree that it's a great device, but with those restrictions, why pay for it now just to sit around and gather dust?Wolf_ wrote:The person working on the MiSTer user guide (bible) has said they are going to take a look at improving the front end so I imagine that will probably get some polish very soon.
And considering it has amazing snes, genesis, sega cd, Neo Geo, nes, sgx, gbc, and gba cores (and many others) with tg-cd and ps1 cores on the way I can't see why you wouldn't invest in it.
Also I'd say the snes core is 100% playable (no bugs impact gameplay let alone break games from what I have seen) and the only bugs that exist are very minor graphical ones you would only notice in games you are looking at side by side or have memorized by heart and those are usually patched very quickly after they get reported. Considering the core is under a year old and supports every special chip except for a shogi game ai chip used in a single game I'd consider the 99.8% perfect core to be outstanding with the potential to reach bsnes levels of accuracy sooner rather than later. The main thing keeping it from perfection atm is just waiting on more people to play with it and notice any of the fairly well hidden (to the average user) remaining bugs.
The question I have now is waiting a good idea? I currently don't really need one and the MiSTer is an evolving device.
We see this with the implementation of new cores and up-gradable components. We saw this with the RAM when the Neo Geo core was released.
I think its possible that if I get one now I might need to drop down more money on upgrades when new cores are released. That and the fact that you have to shop around for MiSTer components. I'd rather just buy one fully assembled from the get go but that option is just way more expensive.
De10 nano fpga dev board - going to be in use for years.
128mb ram - probably going to be around for awhile. The Neo Geo is one of the most demanding consoles the de10 nano is capable of replicating and was just released so on the off chance we get something more advanced it probably won't be for awhile
Io board - probably going to lose the sync on green switch as that can be done via an ini file and I would imagine a version without analogue video out will hopefully exist as that can be done via dac and looks much neater.
Controller boards - BliSTer is probably finalized and LLCJ will probably be out in the next few months.
Cartridge & cd reading components - I saw a pic of a prototype MiSTer case that included a disc drive. I have no eta on this or confirmation it will ever actually be released and wouldn't suggest using a disc drive or cartridge slot anyways. Just pick up an external harddrive and play backups. This will be less headaches and preserve your game collection.
Case - Probably going to be updated as new revisions of the io board and a new controller board comes out (not that it matters if you are using the BliSTer board)
So if you're okay with the BliSTer controller board and don't mind a physical sync on green switch and analogue video out ports then the current fpga board, ram board, io board, controller board, and case should all be something you can use until a new fpga board gets selected in the distant future. If you want to wait for the LLCJ then you will need a different bottom half to the case. And if you want a neater looking io board with no SoG or potentially analogue ports that will be a little while and require a new top half of the case.