HUGE Upgrades Come To This Gamecube Optical Drive Emulator | FlippyDrive

[@novelezra]

The fact that this doesn't need a competitive price point and yet it does, is absolutely insane. I love the retro modding community so god damn much.

[@IamNiggler]

I'm gay today❤❤❤

[@magiccardmaker3588]

The retro modding and coding communities are growing. So the technology is growing too, which is weird for a retro gaming system.

[@IamNiggler]

@@magiccardmaker3588 I'm gay

[@jamesofficial6829]

I currently use an emulator, but I have to admit this option is pretty cool too! The only thing is I like to use cheats sometimes in my games. Does Swiss allow me to do that? I'm not familiar with Swiss and what it can do.

[@Tye2K]

@@jamesofficial6829 it does. All you’re doing in Dolphin is using AR (Action Replay) codes which was definitely possible FAR before Dolphin got to the accuracy & performance it has today. I never had one before so I can’t say for SURE but more than likely you probably can’t do it on the fly like you can on an emulator, so I’m guessing if you want to use a different code or disable a certain code you’d have to reboot, whether it’s by Swiss or an actual AR disc. Edit: As for your other question, think of it like this; what The Homebrew Channel is to the Wii is what Swiss is to the Gamecube. If you want to load your “backups” you need Swiss, if you want to use emulators you need Swiss, if you wanna try out the much better software that utilizes the Game Boy Player you need Swiss. Mods like this & PicoBoot allow the system to boot directly into Swiss rather than needing a modchip and a burned disc which I will say is VERY convienent.

[@alexschmeling2655]

The fact that they made it to where you can ORGANIZE your games post setup is my favorite new feature

[@Lenmaer]

You don't need the LaserBear SD Card Extension mod anymore. This will allow you to save $25. Check the custom back panel they gave you. There's now also a hole there (inside, under the ethernet hole) that allows you to use a normal micro-SD card extender cable, and a screw hole to attach it. You can see it at 4min28s and 4min42s in your video.

[@Hombre1jp]

Great Catch, I didn't notice it until you mentioned it! I still ordered the laser bear one since it's (to me at least) more convenient in the front.

[@RathalosEmperor]

Yeah I'm probably going to get that laser bear mod because I got the hmdi mod on my gamecube so I didn't want to risk the ethernet port not being compatible on my back plate.

[@RevolutionFalls]

@@RathalosEmperor If it fits in the OEM shell it most likely will fit in the Ethernet one

[@RathalosEmperor]

​@RevolutionFalls yeah but I think they custom print cut out on the back of it.

[@RevolutionFalls]

@@RathalosEmperor they do, but it should still fit perfectly because they try pretty hard to ensure quality

[@koozmusic]

Wow... integrating the SD card reader into the power light diffuser is GENIUS!

[@HKT-4300]

it's such a good place for it, just imagine taking the SD card out from there, it's like it was meant to be

[@koozmusic]

I know, it's perfect!

[@null_state]

Seriously. Genius.

[@ians_parks]

Appreciate that they included Swiss for those who prefer it but I got to say Cubeboot looks very enticing. I like when my modded systems still feel relatively stock. Which is why I'm also glad the rolling text at start up was sorted as well. Edit: I noticed they have since changed the disc art to squished memory card banners when selecting games via cubeboot. I hope this isn't final. Otherwise it looks great.

[@themacintoshnerd]

Thank god for this. I’ve been wanting ODEs that let you keep the optical drive since forever.

[@plows2940]

Yeah I’m not a fan of most ODEs because they remove the original functionality and ability to play/rip original discs. With this it only adds more functionality with no compromises.

[@bideobamers]

God same. An ODE that removes the avulity to play my discs is such a huge ask, it's kinda crazy.

[@JordonVW]

Don't have a gamecube myself but this sets a pretty high standard of no solder and easily reversible hardware console modifications. If this is the future of console modding we're in for a treat!

[@TheAceWolfe01]

I wasn't super excited about this before.. But now it seems like the best solution out there. .. once they get virtual memory cards sorted out.

[@nightwing179]

Could also use the Memcard pro gc for virtual memory cards.

[@thecyberquake618]

​@@nightwing179that's an additional device that's roughly the same cost as the flippydrive itself though.

[@Mobik_]

This may be the best Mod for the Gamecube ever! Not only because pretty much anyone can do it but also because it requires almost no knowledge and allows you to play your original games from any region. Amazing!

[@HKT-4300]

if they integrate the ripping and use of the actual disc drive into the custom menu and make it so the box banners use the memory card icons instead of the squeezed disc banner icons i'm getting one for sure, the software side seems to be the beginning of what could be the endgame for Gamecube. They will definantly get there i think, but right now i think having to boot into the text menu to get to 2 features a lot of people might want to get this thing for in the first place ruins it a bit for some use cases. the whole software side seems to have hooked into the original OS so well, but it looks like it's 70% of the way there towards being the best thing ever.

[@kazinwho]

Wild how much they packed in to this thing. I have the bluetooth functionality from Laser Bear and a MemCard Pro GC and picoboot so I'm all set, but this would have been nice! Man, though, do we need a Gamecube bluetooth controller mod. As in, modding original Gamecube controllers to be bluetooth. I want to use my spice orange Gamecube controller wirelessly so bad!

[@nightwing179]

The 8bitdo gbros adaptor lets you turn wired GameCube controllers into Bluetooth controllers as well as Wii Classic controllers. Just plug them into the adaptor and then connect the adaptor via Bluetooth to the blueretro board.

[@kazinwho]

@@nightwing179 Yeah, I have that exact thing, but I still have to manage the cable (though much more comfortably than if it were plugged into the console). I'm not satisfied with it, I want that cord gone haha

[@ians_parks]

​@@nightwing179 Ideally 8bitdo would manufacture replacement bluetooth controller boards like they've done for the NES, SNES, Genesis, Saturn, and Playstation controllers.

[@joel198d]

I think they just released one a couple of days ago look into 8bitdo

[@Capography]

​@@ians_parksHey, I've got great news.

[@RogueViirus12]

Fantastic option for those not wanting to do the soldering needed for a picoboot. The cubeboot menu is pretty enticing too. Maybe if I ever mod another cube I'll run this instead.

[@dreamcast2k1]

I love mods that addons to the system/OS! It feels so great that it feels so close to retail and not so weird looking

[@yit555]

Being able to backup physical discs on the console itself is probably the coolest feature

[@CullenW]

Funny story with my flippydrive order, I literally joined the discord like 10 minutes before they opened the pre-order. Made it such a funny few hours panicking trying to buy one before 1000 orders but I barely made it! Can't wait to try this and mod the best console put there

[@nightwing179]

I’ve been waiting to order the flippy since it was first announced after following cubeboot updates for picoboot and I didn’t even get that lucky. Order says January.

[@CullenW]

@nightwing179 dang I'm sorry bro. I've been only on it since the first time machonacho posted about it. Best of luck with yours though!

[@hyrulegend9786]

Where can I preorder one?

[@CullenW]

@hyrulegend9786 check the description

[@hyrulegend9786]

@@CullenW Got that purchase thank you 🎉🎉🙏🏻😊I overlooked that link lol

[@thefray123]

I pre-ordered 2 and will be putting one in my personal gamecube. One of the best mods in the scene yet. Well done guys! I won't be able to contain my excitement until January when they ship.

[@GaryLiddington]

The non solder ribbon fitting is a thing of beauty.

[@truealchiemist]

I'm super stoked. As soon as I got that email I preordered the Deluxe kit. ETA is January 29th ship date. So worth it.

[@judgetwelve]

I placed a pre-order and I'm excited to get it! Just kinda wish I got in on the early bird batch

[@projectf20]

Couldn't order my FlippyDrive fast enough when pre-orders went up, and that was BEFORE all of these updates. What really sold it above all else for me was the ability to keep the original drive. But I definitely don't mind continuing to be spoiled with all of these extras.

[@Jfunkey]

Happy to say mine ships November 30th. Thanks to you and the Flippy Team for one hell of a ride!

[@TheRedCap]

I mamaged to snag one of the first 1,000 production run releasing in November, all becuase your initial video made me so excited for it. Can't wait to get my hands on it!!

[@ZizoMass]

Awesome video as always! I can't wait to sollutions like this to also be available to other consoles, like the PS2, Dreamcast and XBC! Just a tiny suggestion: when showing the UI, it might be helpful to avoid adding video effects over it, especially if it's within the screen borders. Sometimes it makes it a little tricky to tell what's part of the actual software and what's a video effect. Keep up the great work!

[@windwakin]

This really is becoming the definitive GameCube mod, supports just about everything I’d want AND THEN SOME!

[@roflBeck]

I saw these were up for order and bought one a few days ago. Lookin' forward to it! The new additions are awesome too! Like bluetooth controller support, and loading foreign discs? Dope, can't wait!

[@Zobbster]

I don't have a Gamecube, but I love your content and it's really good to see what's going on with the scene. Nice one!!

[@Trillyana]

Just got mine delivered yesterday and completely forgot to get a micro SD card to put any games on it. Oops Thank you for both of your videos about it! Wouldn't have known about it without you

[@waynetemplar2183]

What an amazing innovative product. I wonder if other consoles could benefit from a similar approach with that clever ribbon cable?

[@The2xWhiskey]

Well done on putting this video together. You've definitely improved. Thank you.

[@superspaceape3447]

One of my top channels. Hands down best retro tech channel. Keep it coming.

[@danielrock04]

classic opening intro/music = instant like

[@KnightLineArtYT]

Seems really impressive, and not much of a hassle to put together. Being able to back up physical games from the console itself is pretty crazy. I think using the Memory Card Icons should be be used for the images, or go back to the disc art they had before, but aside from that, this is VERY cool. I hope it'll run the Soul Calibur 2 Plus mod or other things like that as well as standard games.

[@ErikAndAllie]

Tito, your videos are just pure magic. Love your work, man.

[@Skeeter_Squash]

I’ve been excited for this mod since the beginning of the year, and placed my order for the Ethernet add on as soon as I could. Being able to back up my entire GameCube library and play modded games on original hardware is going to be amazing.

[@ElShrimpy]

I already ordered mine, and with the Laserbear mod, it's just a no brainer! Thank you for all the info! :D

[@monchopr3511]

Man, this is just amazing! I've been following the team on Twitter/X and Discord. Also, It's great to see such a collaborative community too. It'll sound dumb but will this work even if I have the GC Loader installed? That cubeboot menu looks awesome. Tito, thanks for showing so much love to retro community and consoles. :) Production is top as always. Blessings.

[@WJCTechyman]

Okay, I want one. I was originally going to do PicoBoot but this just seems so much easier to install. Now that LaserBear made that LED/SD adapter really helps now too. The Ethernet port and the new back plane makes things easier for network gaming too. That said, I already have an Ethernet adapter for both Cubes so I may not go to that expense. You definitely sold me on a few things I got for my GameCubes including the BlueRetro controller adapter board, the MemCard Pro, and now this.

[@TheAmazingMoose-Man]

I seriously want this but in a Dreamcast, keeping the GD-ROM drive would be my preferred setup

[@Surfbogie07]

I love this modding community. And your videos are always so informative and easy to digest, thank you for what you do!

[@ztykowork]

I'm really liking what i see with these new changes! I'm going to have to change up my modding plans with my gamecube to represent this newer plan. I also can't wait for the day someone develops a dedicated HDMI mod for the gamecube.

[@javieraleman2989]

I already have GCLoader in one cube and pico in another but your video got me to pick this up for a third cube! Thanks!

[@max.wilson]

I got Swiss on my GC. Also modded with HDMI and USB C power, of course along with a GB Player. She’s quite stunning now. 🤩

[@Zaxbox]

This is pretty cool! I have an old GC with DRE issues and this is a great work around if I can get it to read the disc.

[@LoranFrank-b4u]

See this is what's needed in the home gaming tech industry when these optical drives give out and there's no replacement the machine is without function and it only lasts so long without being serviced. I'll be glad to see more optical drive emulators for older consoles that are still operating past their design obsolescence.

[@latertater92]

Its nice that others have access to an ode. I got lucky in the first wave of the gc loader maybe ill upgrade one day. The ethernet seems cool.

[@rexthewild]

I'm not a big fan of the gamecube itself. But this mod is a huge thing in the homebrew comunity. I really love this project

[@dphirschler1]

Wow! Thanks for your coverage. I can't wait to get this device.

[@mid_nyght]

That thing has every dream feature a Gamecube could possibly have, Physical game ripping from the CONSOLE, solderless region break from a North American unit, and wifi capabilities with an ethernet upgrade. They did it.

[@thegametinkerer]

This is a great mod. I just preordered one for myself. I can't wait to install it. Thanks for the update Tito

[@mmplayer8]

Had been waiting for this! Just placed my order🎉

[@Yami_Industries]

Bro i managed to just get a japanese silver gamecube along with a gba player for $60 usd and im hyped af when you just dropped this!!

[@VulpisFoxfire]

That's one thing I didn't see on the order page (though I probably didn't look far enough in the process, since I'm not ordering just yet), an option on the ethernet sets to order a particular color of backplane (I have a black 001 unit myself, rather than the OG purple, so that might be something I'd be careful on. Then again, I don't know that I need the wired ethernet connection anyway) That said, would be nice to see an additional option for an 'Ethernet upgrade' version for the people who just get the base model to start with. (Ie, upgrade version with just the secondary card, cable, and backplane).

[@Yami_Industries]

​@@VulpisFoxfireI ordered the GameCube off mercari and is not in the for sale list

[@jakesteel2423]

Very cool, hoping they keep adding cool stuff. I dont think it would replace my gcloader yet but we will see in a few months

[@GamingDelight]

I recently placed an order for this device. Finally, an inexpensive, convenient way to launch into Swiss without depending on hacked saves or expensive cheat discs.

[@joshuakelly9390]

These two guys have made a pretty amazing device. Amazing what two men dedicated to retro gaming can do.

[@CptFreemanC17]

The fact that the Ethernet adapter will be integrated into the footprint, ontop of everything else, makes me want to preorder this thing over the WebHDX version. But i'm curious on the speeds, if it'll be the same as the Eth2GC adapters (10Mbps) or faster (100Mbps FE or faster). That'll really dictate wether i can stream games over my network or play online with no lag.

[@MindForgedManacle]

The crowd supply site says it's 10/100, so I'm assuming 100 for loading. It wouldn't support network loading otherwise. No real chance or benefit of >100Mbps network speeds though.

[@CptFreemanC17]

@@MindForgedManacle I saw that shortly after posting this comment XD Can't wait for a later revision that may support Gigabit :3

[@MindForgedManacle]

@@CptFreemanC17 Well i don't think gigabit would be possible. Would the Gamecube CPU even work fast enough? Ultimately that's going to be the bottleneck, and consoles didn't have gigabit connections. I don't think it's even needed. The games are transmitting that much data at a given time when streamed over the network. 100Mbps is more than enough!

[@varno]

​@MindForgedManacle the gamecube has a 25Mbps optical drive bandwidth, so for game streaming, qp0mbps should be OK but the parallel port used for the gameboy player has a bandwidth of 81MB/s, so it technically it could use a faster network. The memory bandwidth is over 1.3GB/s to the cpu. The big issue here is actually that the esp32 has only got a 10/100MAC, and the newer chips don't even have that.

[@MindForgedManacle]

@@varno But, like, does this mod even pull data through the parallel port? And if the OD bandwidth is only 25Mbps, why would anything higher than a 100Mbps connection be needed? The only use case I can think of is ripping games and sending them to a storage server/NAS on your LAN, but the times are already pretty short with this mod.

[@PLEYOR]

That Ethernet at the back looks smart, it is so weird having the cable hanging out of the side using my official BBA!

[@memogomez5019]

Wondering if there is something like this for the Sega Dreamcast? This NGC looks awesome and will be incredible if there is something for the DC as well! Great video mate!!

[@aaronlesley5855]

This is more exciting than the ps5 pro release.

[@ChefkochsWelt]

This is THE solution for my GC i´m waiting for. Can´t wait to get my hands on this. THX Tito!

[@Davidgon100]

I just ordered one of these. So excited

[@ssj99gohanisthebest48]

I was about to buy a bluetooth controller device for the GC to connect PS4/5 controllers to it as well as a MemCard Pro for saving games as well as another ODE (dont remember which one) but once Flippy adds that virtual memory card option and bluetooth support, this will be the definite mod for the GC for sure

[@nightsquats]

I've been freakin out since I saw vid1, dropped my money on day1, super excited! I still have my first gamecube and while my odin2 means Indont Neeeed it, I NEEEEED it. ;-) cant wait!

[@Rafa_RBR]

A Bluetooth controller support based on that technology would be a sweet upgrade for a picoboot setup 🤩 i wonder if we'll see something like that in the future

[@thomasmeldrum6238]

This thing sounds waaaay too good to be true. A true holy grail of mods.

[@computersandgaming6664]

Wow, that is one hell of an ODE.

[@Not_A_Hat]

Just ordered one, can’t wait!!!

[@clebbington]

RVZ support is awesome. I wish my hacked Wii could load RVZ files. CISO and WBFS come close but RVZ files are always smaller

[@roflBeck]

Wait, I thought WBFS is for Wii games? Can you really convert GC games to that?

[@clebbington]

@@roflBeck you’re right, wbfs is just wii. gamecube uses ciso. but both wii and gamecube games can be compressed into rvz

[@roflBeck]

@@clebbington When I rip my GC games they come out as iso. I used Dolphin to convert 'em to rvz. I could also do shrunk iso or gcz but I think rvz is the best. That would be cool if Nintendont supported rvz.

[@ceta7019]

So excited for when mine comes in. I ordered two and got in the first batch

[@James_D.]

Impressive upgrades!

[@Blind-Ambition]

Definitely picking up one of these. Will wait until there is a UK supply though before I pull the trigger though

[@Chazwhick]

Place my order not too long ago, can't wait to give it a spin when it arrives!

[@brentgreeff1115]

Someone needs to make a Blu-ray player that has this backup / dump-to-SD feature. Or maybe a mod for a popular player.

[@RetroGamer-cn9or]

Fantastic new features by this talented duo! This is truly a great additional to any GameCube. I've preordered of course and can't wait to get it in the mail.

[@extalia]

I got fed up with the same shit of waiting for months and months being unable to play any of my games (dead optical pickup) and just went ahead and bought a GCloader PNP HW2. The project is awesome, don't get me wrong. I just feel preordering something with such a long lead time (six months) is the last thing I'd like to do when you are an adult and you just want to sit down and play the games.

[@Luigi64]

HOLY CRAP IT CAN PLAY IMPORT DISCS??? I'm so glad I preordered this

[@LucasAurelius]

Got mine locked for January but I don't mind.

[@robsixtyfour9204]

Cept, you can already back up discs with swiss already. It takes a lil time, but it stil works. Im sticking with sd2sp2 and picoboot

[@MagisterHamid]

The real game changer is the fact that it also support Swiss. Swiss is the most powerful homebrew to any console.

[@KristofferEk]

okay so this will absolutely be a worthwhile mod to get thank you.

[@RetroMod98]

Yo macho planning on getting this device myself and try it out and even do a KZbin video and awesome video👍🏾😎 definitely will buy another GameCube particularly for that device😎

[@Konstuce]

I have to wait till January to receive mine! That’s crazy!

[@stefanswiss3760]

It sounds unreal to pack so much features for this price and without touching much the console

[@Punmaster9001]

I have been waiting for this since your first video. I bought 4 w/ethernet. These will be great for multiplayer games at conventions

[@Emma1854]

Could we, who have the pico boot installed, have a version of the cubeboot to enjoy of that cool interface? I absolutely love it!

[@omegamog]

Wow! I cant wait for Virtual Memory cards and Game ID to be supported! Right now I use Picoboot and its great, but that new menu is nice! The only thing id miss is the ease of access to the sdcard

[@nightwing179]

It will have ftp for transferring files over WiFi. You can also get the flippy sd extender from laserbear which puts the micro sd card where the light pipe is on the lid.

[@mackdee911h3]

GameID for MemCard Pro GC is nice. But i hope that same Game ID support is extended to the Laserbear controller board.

[@SlickEd91]

So happy I got this ordered

[@goooooooober4]

I wish that the cubeboot software could work with picoboot. That's really the main thing other than soldering that flippydrive has over picoboot in my opinion.

[@retro_rat90]

Pre ordered mine. Looks like it won't arrive until the end of January. I'm ok with waiting though! An exciting mod!

[@PrincessLillie]

An important correction, Team OffBroadway has said that RVZ can't and won't be supported due to the amount of RAM required for decompression. They also won't support CISO, GCZ, and WIA for the same reasons. They will, however, be supporting GCM, NKIT.ISO, and their own FDI compression format.

[@dsteeezy8]

I just ordered a gc to do this mod can’t wait 🤝

[@Sulphur_67]

finally a mod that doesn’t replace original functionality 🎉🎉

[@neoradjoao7701]

regarding bluetooth, can we synchronize 4 controllers at the same time? and can we mix wired controllers with it?

[@superblitz]

still in development, so stay tuned for an answer to your quandary.

[@Zeldaboy2k2]

YES YES YES YES YES!! I WANT THIS! BEEN wanting this!

[@lu_pagno]

They should add the possibility to edit game icons, or at least use the squared gifs instead of the rectangular squeezed banners. Anyway their product is awesome ❤️

[@GiSWiG]

What about performance? For example, the PicoBoot/SD2SP2 can be a bit slow on videos like Mario Party. This was covered in previous video on this channel covering the M.2 drive adapter. Also, are we going to expect full compatibility? I'm definitely interested but if we can have per-game settings like you can do in SWISS in the UI, then I'm definitely sold and probably end up getting up to three or more (for friends).

[@ChrisPVille]

SE card and Ethernet speed is significantly faster than SD2SP2 and M.2 loader as the disk interface is way faster than the SP ports. Swiss can be used both directly with all the usual stuff, and you can use Cubeboot purely as a frontend while Swiss does the actual loading with all its settings.

[@GiSWiG]

@@ChrisPVille So you're saying if in Swiss with the default for widescreen hack is off, I set F-Zero to use the widescreen hack, leave Wind Waker default to off, in Cubeboot, F-Zero would launch widescreen and Wind Waker would not?

[@mathieuberthalay21]

Thank you for your video 🤩

[@gooierbeatle3997]

I can’t wait to get mine!!

[@NinjaFaceGames]

Kinda hope the Dreamcast gets something like this one day, as I'd prefer to keep the disc drive in the system.

[@PickledPreserves123]

Looks awesome! How does it handle multi-disc games?