[nickmqb]

In terms of I/O pins that should actually be fine (current pinout: VGA (14x), SPI (4x), CLK (1x), N64_controller (1x)), though I'm still working on the project and I don't think it'll be done by the deadline. It looks like they might do future batches though -- it's a cool idea!

[primis]

If you're using an n64 controller, you might want to consider using a gamecube one instead (it uses the same control logic, it just adds a 5v line for rumble features)

Unless you're particularly fond of the N64's controller design that is

[nickmqb]

That's a good idea. The two analog sticks on the GC controller would be an improvement over the single stick on the N64 controller for movement in 3D. I think that the main benefit of the N64 controller (besides a nostalgia factor, though that may just be me ;)) is how easy it is to connect. I actually just got some wire from the local hardware store, plugged pieces of it into the controller connector, and then attached some IC clips. For the GC controller, things are a bit trickier due to its connector layout, though I just found [1] which might be a nice solution; alternatively, buying a GC controller extension cord and wire stripping could be an option. I'll consider it!

[1] https://www.raphnet-tech.com/products/gc_controller_connecto...

[retro_guy]

Talking about the N64 and FPGA, do you know that someone is working on an FPGA implementation? Link: https://twitter.com/ufp64

Hmm… Hardware Minecraft… I do also wonder what would it take to create a PICO-8 (popular fantasy console) implementation in hardware with a Lua CPU…

[MaxBarraclough]

Impressive. Any chance that project will get a Cease and Desist from Nintendo? I don't know much about the history of hardware projects like that.

[asddubs]

a less clean solution is also to buy controller extension cords (which are usually cheap even for older systems) and chopping off the end.

[etaioinshrdlu]

It's just as well :) None of the code for the submission process they have you use actually works. It's rather insane what they are asking developers to do.

[mysterydip]

Don't you only need 5 pins for VGA: R,G,B,HSync,and VSync?

[nickmqb]

VGA is an analog protocol, but the FPGA can only output a 0 (GND) or 1 (3.3v) on its I/O pins. I'm using a Digilent VGA Pmod [1] which uses a set of resistor ladders to map each color component from a 4-bit value to an analog voltage that goes to the monitor. This means that we have 14 pins: R (4x), G (4x), B (4x), HS (1x) and VS (1x).

[1] https://store.digilentinc.com/pmod-vga-video-graphics-array/

[mysterydip]

Oh duh, I should've remembered that. So 12 bit VGA then. From the demo that seems sufficient. Have you tried getting rid of the LSB to see if there's a noticeable difference? I'm curious how few colors you actually need

[nickmqb]

Most textures look fine despite the 4-bit quantization, but color artifacts/hue change do become more apparent when multiplying with a light factor (to darken the textures on the bottom and sides of blocks), so I'd say 4-bit is definitely pushing the limit. 6 bits or even 8 bits per color component would be ideal, though unfortunately on a small FPGA like this we cannot afford such luxuries ;). It is probably the first thing I'd change if I were to port this to a larger FPGA, since it would be pretty straightforward to do and the increase in visual quality would likely be worth it.