Custom CRTC

[zhulien]

Looking at the other thread about the CRTC5, it makes me wonder... as an alternative to a CPC Graphics Card, could a custom FPGA or Microcontroller based 'enhanced' CRTC be made instead to give the CPC additional graphics capabilities?

[roudoudou]

and maybe we will call it ASIC

[McArti0]

You can do anything, but will it be retro? You can insert Internal 32GB videoram for CRTC and 32bit color with 15k binding lines into the GA. But is it retro? I cloned PAL with one tiny option. And it turned out that it was not CPC. 

[McArti0]

Now you can't even connect CPC to VGA because no emulator supports it. Can you imagine that? I can't connect a 1986 CPC to a 1987 monitor because no one has done it before!
It is not possible to introduce a new, better standard for extended memory because the last 4MB is already used.

[zhulien]

You can do anything, but will it be retro? You can insert Internal 32GB videoram for CRTC and 32bit color with 15k binding lines into the GA. But is it retro? I cloned PAL with one tiny option. And it turned out that it was not CPC. 

Seriously those that want to be stuck with something old and not upgraded don't have to upgrade anything - I don't use my CPC because it's "retro", I use it because I like to use it.  retro has nothing to do with it at all!

[VincentGR]

You can do anything, but will it be retro? You can insert Internal 32GB videoram for CRTC and 32bit color with 15k binding lines into the GA. But is it retro? I cloned PAL with one tiny option. And it turned out that it was not CPC. 

Actually it will.
I think that retro term refers to something that looks like the old original, even if it is an object or a trend.
A mini NES console is retro, the actual machine isn't.
Maybe I'm wrong though.

[McArti0]

But it turns out that retro is when each software runs on an old machine. New interface concepts are not retro.

[zhulien]

But it turns out that retro is when each software runs on an old machine. New interface concepts are not retro.

so what is the exact date you could claim that would be the retro-cutoff date so the next day becomes not retro? concepts and techniques evolve all the time - if the reason you are using your CPC is because it's old, that is a fair reason - I use it because it's fun for me to program - age has nothing to do with it, i wish it was newer, more reliable - in fact, that is why I also have the CPC4ATX but I am using my 6128 Plus mostly at the moment.

[andycadley]

"Retro" in common English means "meant to look old" but it's been adopted by the gaming community to incorporate old machines, reproduction machines and software emulation alike.