Hi, everyone, I posted the following as a response to a request for a USB A port on the ClockworkPi:
I suddenly realised that nobody’s talking about the hardware aspect of GameShell yet, which is equally as exciting (if not more!) than the software end.
So, to start the conversation, any other ideas for modules? I think an I/O expansion to turn the GameShell into a living room games console would be a good start.
My english ins not good. In my opinion i need more input devices| game controller.
1 good joistick.
1 or two potenciometer. (on old arcade machine it apear in tempest game or other dynamic game)
Keys is good but many gams need specyfic input devices. https://www.digitalgamemuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/tempest_poster.png
http://xahlee.info/kbd/SpaceNavigator_3D_mouse.html
meybe cat (oposite from computer mouse)
big screen and format , similar 3ds than gameboy
A module to have easy access to the various pins on the GameShell would make it an environment like the Raspberry Pi. As people discover new uses for it, those uses could be converted into new modules.
For starters though:
A Custom Battery Module would be great. Add whatever size 3.7v battery you want to give yourself a massive battery life, or just what you need for your project.
A Peripheral Module including USB and HDMI out would be welcome.
And a Connectivity Module. Breakout boards for the various connectors.
A Joystick would be nice…
@QuantumKraken I messaged Clockwork and the 14-pin GPIO/I2C/etc port on the main board will come with a cable to use it as well as a manual for which pin does what, which would help for adding new ports.
As for a new battery, you only need the two cables (power and ground). Worst case, you splice the wires to the connector for the existing battery and solder it to the new one if you can’t find one with a matching header (which is unlikely given that it’s using a common connector).
For the USB/HDMI, you can probably get away with just an existing adapter since the microUSB has OTG support.
The joystick solutions will likely also use the USB or (for even more fun) one can use the Arduino compatible keypad board to add this functionality in.
I was thinking more along the lines of the modules I listed coming with the lego patterns, so it is just plug-n-snap-n-play, like the lightkey. Just snap a usb-hub to the back and away you go. I’m all up for DIY solutions for non-first-party parts, but gluing a usb-hub to legos isn’t my first inclination! XD
Yeah, I agree that joystick solutions might go through the Arduino keypad.
I didn’t realize the 14-pin GPIO/I2C/etc will already come with a cable. Thanks for the info!
As for the battery, I know I could modify the original one it comes with, but I would rather not damage it should I make a mistake (unlikely as it is, I would rather have a dedicated board for that), and since the system is designed for projects, a simple board with the 3pin connection to the ClockworkPI and 2 screw-down connections for the battery would be (in my opinion) a welcome addition.
I will probably just order a second battery to modify, but still.
(I’ve made my own extended battery for things like this by adding a 3.7v tap to a portable battery and wiring that directly into devices. It works surprisingly well. >24 WiiU gamepad gaming session anyone?)
Since I have a 3D printer and experience modelling things in CAD, I’ll likely design a Lego-compatible shells to go around accessories like USB hubs to attach to the GameShell. I’ll be sure to upload any STL files for these on the forum here so others can make use of them as well. That may be our go-to way of adding on modules for the GameShell, using the Lego back shell.
Should I get my hands on a 3D printer of my own, I might be able to help you with that.
Should you decide to upload those (which you totally should) you could also make a dedicated custom module thread.
I’ll join you at some point when it doesnt cost me $100 a part to 3D print XD
Done and done. I managed to be fortunate enough to have a 3D printer at the place I work that we can use as long as we supply our own filament, so it was a cost effective way for me to get into it.
I am thinking of a touchscreen module or a better speaker module.(If thats what you are looking for
Well for the touch screen it maybe a bit tricky to do (I only see that possible by using the input/Burton controller for the GS.
For the speaker, wait and see how they will be, they may not be that bad, why do you already want to replace them before even having them in hand?
I think a more powerful battery ( if we can consider it as a module ? )
Audiophiles gotta audiophile.
Also, with the current Clockwork Pi board, unless if @Mimo_Pakou has the means to make a custom touch screen module, given the port for sending video to the screen there isn’t way to convey touch data through it. Maybe if a microUSB port was used, but again I don’t believe that there’s a touchscreen module out there that utilizes those two ports together (I’d definitely like to be proven wrong here, though!)
I do think that it would be possible to have a Touchscreen controller that plug in the SPI/i2c/GPIO with have available on the Button/Input module.
Yeah, I just tried to find out how you convert things to MIDI, and that was a hotzone for some reason. (One person suggested that the explanation would enable people to compete in the ringtone market.) Anyway, I don’t know exactly what an 8-bit synth is, but now I’m extra curious about it.
PS. As a philosophical aside, for anyone interested in that…
What does IQ really mean if your ability to manipulate data to achieve goals hinges upon the quality of the explanations that society makes available to you! Take my MCAT score, for instance, before I applied to be a medical student…
As you can see, the Christian education that I received when I was a child did more for my achievement than literally anything else – my Christian school focused on grammar and reading almost exclusively, with very little mathematical advancement. And as for my perfect writing SAT score, that amounted to nothing on the MCAT, even though to say my verbal reasoning was too low to accommodate my grammatical ability would be foolish. Peers in medicine have simply never shared anything in common with me in terms of social class.
What kind of outputs are you referring to here?
More outputs like:HDMI,USB,etc
If you’re willing to wait, the next revision of the Clockwork Pi board is supposed to have a microHDMI port, so there’s that. You can also try some external touchscreens that work over USB (how long this will last with the GameShell’s battery is left to speculation, along with the driver support for ARM for those monitors).
Well we don’t even know what we should expect with the gameshell as it is support to be right now.
I don’t think that a resistive touchscreen would have a huge impact on the battery usage. Capacitive on the other hand is more demanding, but correctly configured should not be that power hungry. (eBooks reader where consumption is the most important thing, use capacitve touch screen for the most recent, and they have decent current use in low power mode)
