Commodore Amiga Vampire Accelerator Overview - Part 2 of 2

[@TheGuruMeditation]

WATCH PART 1 HERE: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fF7ImKNppbylZ9k

[@curiousottman]

If there were awards for best retro KZbin channel, you’d win the Oscar!

[@TheGuruMeditation]

You are too kind. So sorry I am responding a month late. KZbin notifications failed me.

[@heidirichter]

I've been looking forward to watching this ever since I finished watching part 1. Great stuff. I love the vampire and that it's made some people excited about the Amiga again, and even those who never left, it's shown the world that the Amiga didn't die in the 90s, it's still around.

[@TheGuruMeditation]

Very true Troy! Commodore is dead, Amiga is not!!! Thanks of watching and glad you enjoyed it!

[@manueljesus3147]

Thanks Troy it is very much a work in progress but the team really works hard to make the incremental improvements.

[@heidirichter]

Thank you Manuel, to you and the whole team. I don't own a Vampire yet, but I want to one day, and it was the reason I got my A600 after years of not owning any Amiga machines at all since the mid 00s.

[@manueljesus3147]

Thank you my brother I hope we can help you relive the past. When you get a Vamp, share it with the younger generation so they can play with it too!

[@Obraxis]

Great video! Vampire has single-handily reinvigorated the Amiga scene. Can't wait for Core V3!

[@TheGuruMeditation]

Agreed! Ithas been a great shot in the arm for the Amiga community! I can't wait for V4!

[@ChrisEdwardsRestoration]

hello from the future... its out...

[@77slevins_video_channel]

So excited for the Vampire v4 standalone release, I really want the new A500 case for my standalone Vampire. Amiga fans, if you didn't already back it, please back the Indiegogo campaign for the new colorful Amiga 500 cases by the same team that did the Amiga 1200 cases on Kickstarter. We're at 88% and 41 hours to go. Let's do this!!

[@TheGuruMeditation]

I am excited too! I will get a V4 standalone in my Scourge of the Underkind A500 edition case!

[@manueljesus3147]

Looks like the cases are a go! V4 has just had a major bug killed and performance is now on par with V2 in terms of stability from what I can see. Once I get my test V4 I have offered to show it to Amiga Bill at another WAUG meeting.

[@77slevins_video_channel]

What a great time for Amiga fans. A brand new case and brand new hardware to play with. Never saw that coming when Commodore ended.

[@manueljesus3147]

I hope the team can deliver sooner rather than later. cheers!

[@matthewburroughs9597]

Been waiting smegging ages for the 2nd part.

[@Rip-Van-Tinkle]

Very much worth the wait, thanks Bill. The V4 looks awesome! Oh, and I have that exact scart to hdmi conversion box that that Manny was using for my A1200 😊

[@TheGuruMeditation]

Thanks Pete! You the man. Sorry I just saw this comment.

[@emilygrae]

I've been waiting for part 2! Finally! I really am looking forward to getting a v4 Standalone because I OH MY GOSH THERE'S GLEN PLANAMENTO! LOL! He's everywhere!

[@TheGuruMeditation]

AHHH HA HA HA! Yes, Glen is a great friend and member of our Westchester Amiga User Group!

[@manueljesus3147]

Glen Planamento is a legend and a kind guy with lots of cool retro gear to share at user group meetings. His son is the most well behaved young man in the history of mankind!

[@123DarkG123]

Thanks Bill. Finally we have the second chapter online and it was great.

[@TheGuruMeditation]

Thanks Santi! You the man. Sorry I just saw this comment.

[@deepx77]

Top quality video Bill! Love it!

[@TheGuruMeditation]

Thanks so much Arno!!! So glad you enjoyed it!

[@michaelwallen738]

Still learning this Vamprie.. If you flash up to core 3 beta does on a V2 does that mean OCS games etc will not work? I thought about trying the beta (I'm on 2.11) but still trying to understand impact... Great video... Than you

[@TheGuruMeditation]

Hi Mike! Just seeing this now. Sorry!

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

Glad to see that there is A) Still a demand for Amiga hardware and B) That there are companies out there that are meeting that demand!

[@manueljesus3147]

Reply : A) Love is why we are here! This platform made us who we are today! B) They are not a company they are individuals that rose up to meet the challenge and develop this project out of love for the platform. Thanks for your support.

[@koulatsogloun]

both video are great thanks Bill long live Amigaaaa!!

[@TheGuruMeditation]

Thank you so much Koulatsoglou! Appreciate the kind words very much. AMIGA4EVER!!!!

[@lactobacillusprime]

This made for awesome watching! Thanks for sharing this. A Vampire - a must have I see. :)

[@TheGuruMeditation]

Awesome! So glad you liked it. Sorry for the long wait!

[@manueljesus3147]

Amiga Bill really did a nice job on this. Great cameras DP work and great venue!

[@gregthecanuck]

Thanks to the presenter and the camera person. Nicely done. :)

[@manueljesus3147]

Thanks!

[@thomassmith4999]

Well I learnt something. I thought the Vampire V4 was standalone only. Worth thinking about now that I know there's going to be a plug it into your 500 version. Only thing it really needs is an option for everything to go out into HDMI.

[@TheGuruMeditation]

The v4 will allow Amiga graphics over HDMI. At the moment there are no interlaced modes, but they will fix that. Check out the new video FIRST LOOK: Commodore Amiga Vampire v4 - Very lucky to have the only Vampire v4 in North America demonstrated at the August 2018 Westchester Amiga User Group (WAUG) meeting. VIDEO LINK HERE: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b6vEdX9_Zp6Firc

[@Honthetube]

In an funny irony I suppose.. Quake was originally developed on 68k based NeXT machines.. When it came to porting it over to i386 for DOS PCs, A good portion of the x86 assembler generated by a compiler program from the high level C code was not found to be satisfactory enough for John Carmack.. So a good portion of it was replaced with manually written x86 routines.. particularly to target the then new P5 (Pentium) architectures FPU.

[@TheGuruMeditation]

Nice! Thanks for the info Honthetube!

[@perperikis5501]

Does the V2 support AGA now or is it a feature for the upcoming Gold 3 core ?

[@LambdaCalculus379]

We've gotta have more meetings like this!

[@TheGuruMeditation]

Don't worry Lambda, we will!

[@manueljesus3147]

cough.... V4.......cough

[@vintagekyoshodotcom]

That was awesome! I wish I could have been there.

[@TheGuruMeditation]

Thanks R-C-MAN! Wish you could have been with us too. It was a great day!

[@manueljesus3147]

I hope to bring some more Vampire stuff to future meetings. Stay tuned!

[@ChrisEdwardsRestoration]

what SD to 44 pin card adaptor is that?

[@josedourado3747]

I'm excited About the standalone ❤️

[@TheGuruMeditation]

Me too, I can't wait! This is one BIG step towards that - FIRST LOOK: Commodore Amiga Vampire v4 - Very lucky to have the only Vampire v4 in North America demonstrated at the August 2018 Westchester Amiga User Group (WAUG) meeting. VIDEO LINK HERE: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b6vEdX9_Zp6Firc

[@obsoletepowercorrupts]

9:20 (paraphrase) " _I don't know if there is a mechanism to have to run both core3 (or some other RTG?) and OCS environments existing in the same product_ ". I think really the way to do that would be to leave the OCS running but then have a network port built into the vampire so that the a network stream is created for the RTG (or something that will end up as RTG) and then have some other computer recieve that. I know that seems like "cheating" but I really don't think it is "immoral" so to speak. For example, some monitor/TV solutions (especially smartTV) have a computer built into them anyway (like a KODI with arm a53), so with say a raspberry pi (which btw is arm a53) a stream could be grabbed and then changed at the last moment before dumped out of a screen. If you think about it, miracast and displayport have network protocols (and thunderbolt had ethernet and display port built in). So I reckon those guys might want to think about going down that route. Really though, if one thinks about the thunderbolt technology, really having the PCI-express protocol (and thereby a PCI-e port/slot) would be a way to achieve that. It also means you have a way to convert between intefaces (ethernet miracast/HDMI/Displayport) further down the chain of devices. It is a brute force way of doing it (dumping throuhg a network stream with all that overhead), but it does at least do it. It also makes it far more flexible. And anyway, as I say the miracast have network overhead and they don't find it "immoral". Just to get freaky, that would also mean you could have a usb3 port. Then you could mine rare bit coins pertaining to m68k microarchitecture. I'd like to see zeronet running on that rig he has there. I'd also then like to see a PCI-e "downgraded" to a PCI port and then to an ISA or some way of making a zorro so that you could hoik video-toaster up her.

[@TheGuruMeditation]

excellent thoughts, thank you! Lots to think about. Having all the video/graphics coming out of the HDMI would be a great improvement regardless of how they do it. Your idea are really interesting. Thank you!

[@obsoletepowercorrupts]

It seems logical, and really firewire (back in the day) could be used for a video signal. See what I mean? Networking and video signals solve flexibility problems. As a disgression, I think Atari VCS missed a trick in not have the Falcon (or even a 5200 console) microcode on an FPGA flung in the box of their AMD based console. Otherwise the Atari VCS looks fun.

[@RiotRetroGaming]

Great video! I have the exact same scaler in use.

[@TheGuruMeditation]

Thanks bud! I have the same scaler as well. Works like a charm!

[@marvindroogsma7989]

Haven't really dived into the Vampires laying around, but what if I don't like them and comment so with some harsh words? Do my collegues at work get a letter from Apollo? Just wondering... #freeravi

[@TheGuruMeditation]

It is a bit of an uncomfortable feeling when a quarrel like this happens on one of your videos - especially when you are just trying to spread the Amiga love, but these things happen. I hope everyone can work out their differences.

[@manueljesus3147]

Of course not you have always been a class act! Thanks again for your thoughtful comments and perspective on the matter.

[@amigadude6409]

Oh my day's.... awesome !

[@TheGuruMeditation]

AMIGA4EVER!!!

[@michaelwallen738]

How can one attend Amiga gathering? Secret handshake? :)

[@TheGuruMeditation]

ha ha, that and we have a Google group email list that announces the meetings. If you would like to join the group send me an email billATthegurumeditationDOTorg

[@PrivateSi]

ALLLRIGHTY!...... fun neo-retro product. Hope you sell a decent amount.

[@Checkmate1500]

Really enjoyed that.

[@manueljesus3147]

Thanks Stephen!

[@obsoletepowercorrupts]

Guru Meditation! I have been coming up with an idea. Sorry (but not really sorry) for long comment, but I think you might like this. I've simply copied and pasted this comment (because it is easier than personalising it or making typo mistakes). I have left a comment about this on the terriblefire page and also on the mjnurney and bwack comments pages btw. Basically irrespective of whether people use WHDLoad on an amiga, I think there should be a device, as follows, that is easier and more uniform (and doesn't need a HDD/SD-card, even though it is an optional extra). I reckon there should be a (ieee 1284) parallel port savegame cartridge made for amigas (which has say an atmega32 or ARM or fpga in it and some flash memory like say an sdcard). Maybe it can be called the _"miggypiggyback booter" parallel port dongle._ It should have a (male/female) passthrough so that not only can you daisychain a printer but also you can instead daisychain another _"miggypiggyback booter"_ in case you wish to copy your savegames from one to the other. Maybe it could also have some buttons on it and a LCD screen so that it can likewise be used standalone when not plugged into an amiga. It would look like say a TVModulator but with a LCD screen on it like you have in that video, a few buttons (to control that screen e.g. for browsing folders) and some dip-switches for presets. I think the _"miggypiggyback booter"_ should come with a CDROM and floppy. You can choose either the floppydisk or the CDROM (depending on you amiga) as a bootstrap to piggyback boot into the _"miggypiggyback booter"_ parallel port and from there you'd be able to have it setup with presets to grab drivers from it to run some other boot device in turn such as a cdrom drive plugged into the a590 scsi (or 40MHz GVP equivalent) or a cdrom (or flash drive) plugged into the a1200 clockport usb. Even a CD32 can have a a parallel port if added. Basically the _"miggypiggyback booter"_ is an (almost) fool-proof booting device for people who want games-console style simplicity and uniformity (because it boots software from the parallel port either fully or partially, and then boots the rest of your game/software from elsewhere). As an extra, I reckon, if an amiga has a reasonable CPU (like say 68030 or better, especially with an FPU), the (male/female) passthrough on the _"miggypiggyback booter"_ could allow for a CDROM drive to be plugged into the parallel port. The software and extra FFT crunching can be done on the CPU with the FPU helping (massively). It could even search for every other possible boot device such as another floppy drive or a serial port (if for some reason you wanted to) or a usb to rj45 dongle in a a1200 clockport or a plipbox rj45, or even a parallel-to-bluetooth dongle. It could even load say BSD or MacOS from the clockport usb flash drive, just to get some (otherwise abstruse) driver setup such as an ndiswrapper to then load stuff from a NAS or online, then return back to the usual amiga (whether that be via shapshifter or simply a game). It should be smaller than, say, a tvmodulator. And also people could use a parallel extension cable with it, if they liked. I think the passthrough should also have two "output" parallel ports so that you can do things like have a parallel-to-bluetooth dongle plugged in to one of the outputs and then the other output could have another _"miggypiggyback booter"_ in it. Even if a CDROM is slow, it means a person can at least get data of it. Mind you, I reckon with a fancy CPU, loading would not be worse than a psone (in those situations where people just want to load from CDROM to keep things easy, like say just to try out a game without HDD install). Mind you, chances are people would use it to do things like install a game (or software) from CDROM (either parallel-port CDROM or a590 scsi) to a usb flash drive or sdcard, if they are not wanting to use WHDload that day. The _"miggypiggyback booter"_ dongle could have every known driver ever on there (and even some windows ndiswrapper ones and a tiny linux kernel which may only rarely be used). You'd even have analogue joystic drivers and mouse emulation and so on. Even a wii-mote and nunchuck driver. If BSD was booted, then parallel port (or scsi) scanners using SANE could be used (or even old mac scanners). It could even have drivers to force megadrive pads to work in the joystick ports without rewiring needed. If BSD was installed, I think you'd also be able to browse for a ISO of a CDROM image (on a usb flash drive in the clockport or in an a590 HDD partition) or load a homebrew game or software that way, or maybe just to retreive a file from a linux distro. The whole thing is reversible (so you'd simply unplug it when the amiga was powered off). There would be no "need" (even though you could do) to _"pop the hood"_ on the amiga or do anything scary (scary for everyday people). So for example even on a vanilla a3000 (or a4000), the most basic usage would be to put a floppy disk in the fd0 which then searches the parallel port for the _"miggypiggyback booter"_ and then everything is handled from there depending on what presets you have given it. Or even, a CD32 (with parallel port) could load the CDROM version of the floppydisk and search the parallel port for the _"miggypiggyback booter"_ and so eveything is handled automatically from there. So like say perhaps it would then load from a better CDROM drive (e.g. a DVDWriter plugged into some future invented port). Or even, it could do something bizarre (if you want) like load over that odd CD32 side keyboard/serial port thing so as to grab some data from the internet via a raspberry-pi such as an automatic presets update with new drivers. Any normal PC can have a parallel port (as can an amibia raspberry-pi) and so it would be a (fairly) fool-proof way of getting data to and from an amiga to another amiga or PC or ambian. Basically it is a magic box that does everything, and any new homebrew game that suppports it automatically has a preset (or you can make your own preset on the boot floppy) to load a game automatically. So say you have a game called _"World peace simulator 9"_ which has a Floppy and CDROM. It boots rom the floppy which "knows" exactly what folder and file to grab from the parallel port's _"miggypiggyback booter"_ (which you have previously told where to find your CDROM drive) and then it loads the rest of the game from the game CDROM which is, say, eihter in your a590 scsi port or the a1200 usb-clockport, or the parallel port (as a parallel CDROM external enclosure) and loads that way. The game startup menu might have an option to load presets from the _"World peace simulator 9"_ game CDROM to the sdcard on the _"miggypiggyback booter"_ or to write a preset boot floppy specific to _"World peace simulator 9"._ While it is at it, it checks for a plipbox or usb-rj45 dongle (say in the a1200 clockport) to grab a torrent or FTP of updates. Easy. It's genius isn't it? I reckon having it as CopyLeft would make sense. The whole idea would encourage homebrew games to be released on CD (with a floppydisk included with the bootstrap for it). It would also encourage the usage of the ieee on the 68030 (and 68020/68040/68060) especially with FPU to help with FFTs and compression. It might even help with audio compression formats. Homebrew games can then be sold in big collectors editions cardboard boxes with the usual daft figurine inside, a amanual rich in artwork inside, and a CDROM game inside that also works as an audio CD to play in a home HiFi. Every amiga should have one (or three). As an aside, there could be anadptor for it made to let it be plugged into a serial port and so thereby it could work in other computers like say a c64.

[@miroslavparvanov]

Great stuff!

[@TheGuruMeditation]

Thanks!

[@achaney]

I LOVE the idea of HAM8 video. Tell Gunnar to chill out.

[@manueljesus3147]

Alexander Chaney ha! His point (and it's a good one) is that rtg is so much better than aga for video playback.

[@davidepicheo6407]

I've got a wonderful dream: one day a Vampire v4 stand alone in an engaging enclosure resold with Amazon prime formula around the world...:)

[@manueljesus3147]

The eventual plan is to get it all as an Amiga on a chip. Ideally an ASIC can be fabbed to deliver an Amiga on a chip experience that can be mass produced. The Vampire team us working slow and steady to make this a reality but it will take years. In the meantime the FPGA delivery method allows the team to develop and incrementally improve the cores right now and get product out there sooner rather than later. Thanks for your dreaming, it helps make this a reality!

[@VectrexRoli]

Thanks for this great video!

[@VectrexRoli]

Even Glen is there! :-D

[@TheGuruMeditation]

You are welcome Roli! Thanks for the kind words. Yes, Glen is a member of Westchester Amiga User Group!

[@paranoicb]

I want to know the lad that disliked the video. What's wrong with this guy? Amiga forever. Keepthem coming bill

[@TheGuruMeditation]

ah all good. Some people give thumbs down simply to be jerks, others might not like the video, and some may like the video, but could be Vampire haters. There are a lot of Vampire haters out there. I think they are cool and help keep Amiga alive, but to each is own.

[@ModernVintageGamer]

it was an Atari ST owner :D

[@TheGuruMeditation]

ha ha, you know it MVG!

[@TheGuruMeditation]

I always try to make my videos and streams a place where people can just come and hang out and have fun. It is unfortunate that things like this happen, especially when it is on on a video that you put your heart and soul into and are just trying to help spread love for the Amiga platform. But I understand that is life and these things happen. Moving forward, all are welcome here and viewers can observe and are free to draw their own conclusions and opinions about the content in the videos and the comments. I never take a thumbs down personally. I was fortunate to have incredible training in film school on how to handle criticism. Although it would be nice if people had the option to say why they leave a thumbs down because I always welcome constructive criticism so I can make the best videos possible. In this case I think you are correct about the reason for the thumbs down though. Thank so much for watching.

[@manueljesus3147]

You are a prince in this community. I adore criticism as it helps with continuous improvement and lifelong learning!

[@stefanobriccolani3407]

Awesome!!!

[@TheGuruMeditation]

Thanks Stefano!!!

[@stevenixx3595]

19:00 its not running on a 500, the amiga is just input, output and power isnt it?

[@TheGuruMeditation]

Essentially, yes. The Amiga is just a host for the Vampire, hence the name Vampire

[@Giljrg]

another way to think of it is that your Amiga 500 is the motherboard for the CPU which is now the vampire instead of the 68000.

[@TheGuruMeditation]

@@Giljrg That is a cool way to think about it

[@rztrzt]

All nice and everything but I really don't see the point besides maybe nostalgia & geekiness. I owned several amigas and I'll still say those were my fondest computing days and it was a great product but here in 2018 I see no use for them.

[@manueljesus3147]

I am often baffled why I myself got the Vampire as a FREE dumpster dive PC can run do a great job emulating the Amiga. I think many of use are just nostalgic as you say and very much into geeking out on hardware.

[@drzeissler]

Hm, this thing is great :)

[@TheGuruMeditation]

It is very cool!

[@cargue6902]

Becoming the Amiga a computer from two decades ago, yeahhhhh.... (and very cheap too)

[@104d_3rr0r_vince]

Pentium killer.

[@TheGuruMeditation]

whoop whoop!

[@Textra1]

TAKE MY MONEY!

[@Okurka.]

19:00 Raspberry Pi 3+: €35 - Vampire 500 V2+: €300

[@TheGuruMeditation]

The RaspberryPi is an awesome option for Amiga emulation. I love it. Vampire is more about keeping the old hardware alive. Although when the stand alone Vampire comes out choosing between that or a Pi will be a very interesting decision especially with the price difference.

[@manueljesus3147]

actually I have all those options the pi, a 10 year old freebie pc, they all run Amiga emulation quite well. What a great time to be an Amiga fan.

[@TheGuruMeditation]

I thunk I will so stand alone Vamp in my new A500 case and Pi in my new A1200 case. Fun times!

[@manueljesus3147]

Okura I know, I know, Amiga math never adds up. But can you put a price on nostalgia?

[@the-deceiver355]

I am going to get a lot of hate for this, but please explain to me why the hell would someone spend 300 euros on this thing and then play PC games that came out over 20 years ago at laughable frame rate? You are better off buying a retro PC for that kind of money. It would look, run and sound way better in it's native environment.

[@manueljesus3147]

Makes ZERO sense to get this stuff. This is all about love for the platform and preservation. Plain and simple.

[@TheGuruMeditation]

Nah no hate here. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and Vampire isn't for everyone. From what I understand Vampire is about preserving 68K and pimping your Amiga breathing new life into it. You would never get this board only to play the older PC games. You get it to have more fun with your Amiga. For example, the cool part for me is being able to run the demos that require a much more powerful Amiga then I have. I know some people feel that it is almost like emulation, but still, when I saw that A500 playing those demos I was really excited. Mch more excited than using WinUAE to play them. Also looking forward to when all the video can be output via the HDMI. That will be a huge step forward.

[@the-deceiver355]

Hey dude. Back in late 90s I put my CD32 and A600 in a box and kind of forgot about them. Due to the death of Commodore and devs abandoning the platform I moved to PC. Friend of mine, A1200 user, stubbornly carried on for another few years. He ended up spending stupid amount of money on accelerator cards and other bits and bobs. I could never understand why he was doing it as spending that kind of money in order to be able to run Frontier with acceptable frame rate was rather pointless to me. It didn’t sound like a great return on the investment he made. Nowadays some Amiga users seem to be hell bent on proving John Carmack was wrong for saying that Amiga was too slow to run Doom. Unfortunately, at the time he said it, namely 1994, he was absolutely right. Most Amigans at this point were using A500, A600 or A1200 models, in my experience mostly stock, some with memory upgrades. The first two were certainly too slow to run it, only upgraded A1200 with 040 would be able to run it at reasonable speed. However, as far as I can tell that kind of accelerators weren’t available until 95, and even then were prohibitively expensive. I won’t even go into A3000 / A4000 territory, simply because no one could afford one on those back then. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Amigas and I have a lot of sentiment for them. Unfortunately, Amiga is like a gold digger girlfriend. You keep throwing money at it and it always asks for me. You know it’s bad for you and it will bankrupt you in the end but you keep doing it anyway. ;] At some point I’ll probably buy a Vampire for my A600, but not to play Doom or Quake. For me that’s not what Amiga is about and I hate when people try to turn Amiga into a PC! Amiga had great FPS games of its own. I really enjoyed Gloom (especialy in split screen mode), Alien Breed 3D and Alien Breed 3D II back in the day, but all of them run badly on stock Amigas and as I said before very few people I knew had accelerator cards back then. Kudos to the guys from Apollo Accelerators for the effort. Kudos to you for a great channel. Keep up the good work.

[@manueljesus3147]

Well V4 is running pretty well as of yesterday, a major bug was resolve so in the near future a standalone V4 will be in our hands! Thanks for your comments!

[@laupnikrah1462]

Where can I buy a V4 for my A500?

[@AlainHubert]

Please stop saying "right ?" at the end of nearly every sentence. Thanks.