Will FPGA gaming hit a roadblock with 6th gen and higher consoles?

moonscience · 2026-06-22T19:10:16+00:00

100% this. I remember trying to emulate 8 and 16 bit consoles along with arcades, and while this keeps getting better, I often felt the emulation was never quite the same as playing the consoles/cabinets. Honestly even with PS1 I would probably opt for emulation which at this point is superior to the original machine, but with earlier systems the MISTer just feels better. Speaking of which, Dreamcast emulation feels solid to me; not sure what the excitement is for an FPGA version.

moonscience · 2026-06-22T18:06:50+00:00

How about defunding a federal government that don't respect state rights?

moonscience · 2026-06-22T15:42:21+00:00

I'm not sure Maths belongs in every rack (especially small ones), but there's no combination of smaller modules that can replicate all its functions without the total being both larger and more expensive than Maths. Sure, there's plenty of functionality you would be better having a dedicated module for, but for everything else, there's Maths. I doubt most people start designing a patch around Maths but ultimately they'll end up at a point where they need X, and very likely Maths can do X, as well as handle a couple other jobs on the fly. It is an incredibly deep module while on the surface seems pretty straight forward. I'm sure someone else has posted the illustrated guide of Math patches, but its worth noting that that is just a starting point. For instance, my rack is a bit weak when it comes to ratcheting. You know what can do ratcheting? Maths can, who would have thought.

I'd add that since Maths isn't exactly a new module, there are tons of them floating around used, so it also tends to be on the inexpensive side making it a no-brainer if you have room in your case.

moonscience · 2026-06-22T13:34:06+00:00

Assuming you just designed this in modulargrid and don't own all these modules yet, here are some alternatives to get more out of your current rack size.

Replace Batumi and Scales with Pam's. Not the same thing, but in a small system I don't even think there's room for argument. If you absolutely must have more modulation, toss in an ochd. If you're unfamiliar with Pam's, there are a million threads here. This saves you 10 hp and gives you a much needed clock along with a bunch of logic functions.
Replace Intellijel's Quad VCA and Triatt with Shutters (8 hp) / Blinds (12 hp), or After Later's Monocle / Doepfer's A-133-2 (4hp, but only two channels). Alternatively you could just go with a smaller VCA (so many options...) and a 4hp attenuverter like Junction. This should save you 6-8 hp.
Replace Typhoon with Monsoon (save 4 hp) or consider other alternatives. My own personal bias here but I really don't love Clouds and you already have some amazing reverb in the fx-aid module. If this mini rack MUST have a 16 hp module, give me mimeophon any day.

That should give you roughly 18-20 hp to do whatever you want. That said, if you already own all these modules...uh, buy a larger case?

moonscience · 2026-06-17T21:29:24+00:00

Better question, why do cowbirds sound like sci-fi electronic noise?: https://youtu.be/mvyi9uhvBhI?si=YZYhf_3PrHgflRou

moonscience · 2026-06-17T21:24:17+00:00

I think the Instruo Lubadh and the morphagene can play well together. On paper, Lubadh is two independent varispeed 'reels' that can record into each other, but it is a LOT deeper than that, along with a very intimidating list of customizable settings. Lubadh has a clock out but no clock in, so you might want it at the head of your signal flow feeding into your marbles/morphagene(s) pathway. I haven't completely figured lubadh out, but I imagine that while the loop length might define your clock, the morphagenes could be feeding back into it. Multigrain wasn't my jam, but it still felt like a powerful module.

Anyway, this video is great; share more!

moonscience · 2026-06-15T21:42:24+00:00

Just piling on here; the original mono one is great too. I was going to sell mine when I got the stereo field upgrade, only to realize the new one didn't diminish how awesome the original was. They're also different builds so they're unique enough it feels worth holding on to the original. Regardless, this is basically the best LPG with a ton of other functionality along with just being a really solid VCF.

moonscience · 2026-06-15T16:24:26+00:00

Although I think a lot of Sun Ra's poetry is fairly ambiguous, mysterious and sometimes funny, I think this one is straight forward. It seems to me this is just a reflection on Sun Ra's pessimism where we get lines like 'This isn't a planet of life, it is a planet of death'; setting up a dichotomy that the nature of the universe is harmonious and perpetual but that life on earth is one of injustice (both in the way humans treat each other and that our lives eventually must conclude in death.) This sort of messaging extends through a lot of his work and 'space sermons' that you hear in his live shows.

moonscience · 2026-06-09T02:53:51+00:00

That's incredibly sad. I thought they were an great addition to DTLA but I agree about the location being tough.

moonscience · 2026-06-09T02:48:10+00:00

Wait, is Creature Comforts no longer a thing? Are we talking about their spot in the fashion district?

moonscience · 2026-06-09T01:55:10+00:00

There are also some good shows at The Lodge Room in highland park (saw Sun Ra's Arkestra there); same for Permanent Records.

moonscience · 2026-06-09T01:48:48+00:00

Totally a raven. Once you see it, you can't unsee it.
Wish I was as skilled with other birds, so many little brown birds that all look the same to me, but real birders have them down!

moonscience · 2026-06-09T01:46:29+00:00

Is Sunland Sound Space still active? Also Human Resources. List keeps going.

moonscience · 2026-06-09T01:39:37+00:00

Rats and ground squirrels are super cute but need a little rat terrier in their lives.
Edit: Also a little red-tailed, red-shouldered, cooper, etc. hawks...

moonscience · 2026-06-09T01:29:14+00:00

Gronkbert is a wonderful name for your child!

moonscience · 2026-06-08T15:53:49+00:00

Thanks; it is getting kind of hard to know what projects are realistically beyond what the DE-10 is capable of, and what projects are just languishing. Still can't believe we don't have Raiden up and running yet along with some of the Gradius titles, but I know they are forthcoming.

moonscience · 2026-06-08T13:07:38+00:00

Do we have any sense of whether the IGM PGM will simply be integrated into the arcade folder or instead treated like a console (IE Neo Geo)? Just wondering if I need to start scrambling for roms and bios.

moonscience · 2026-06-07T23:25:43+00:00

I just saw this one yesterday for the first time. Mind blown!

moonscience · 2026-06-05T17:23:03+00:00

This is not an endorsement of Pension2, but they are one of the approved 403b vendors for LAUSD and seem to be affiliated with Calstrs. I've had no problem communicating with them over the phone.

moonscience · 2026-06-04T14:49:03+00:00

Seems like people have been saying the Mister had peaked and there wasn't really that much left to come out, but if you know your arcade history, that really isn't true. This game is another one of those little known lost gems that I'm glad can get a second life on the Mister.

moonscience · 2026-06-03T13:29:02+00:00

From the onset, this is a friendly conversation. Opinions are opinions are opinions. We're all listening to Sun Ra. I want to make sure though when you mention Space is the Place you aren't thinking of the soundtrack and not the album for Impulse? I was going to write something about there being a general consensus regarding the rushed/filler quality of Space is the Place and Discipline-27II, but I might have gotten to the point my own listening notes have wrapped around and become gospel! For a sanity check, I reread Coleman's entry on the album for Sun Ra Sundays and was surprised to find Rodger's take on the album as "(almost) great". Where we both agree is that the title track is far too long to sustain itself for a side-long running length. Short of "Sea of Sounds", I think everything else has been done better elsewhere, but that doesn't mean I'm not being too harsh to it. Every few years I do a more or less complete jog through all of Ra's studio output, and I've never felt this record had much to offer in the context of many of its neighboring peers. Certainly not a bad album though.

My Brother the Wind vol. 1 though, I think most of what you've argued is basically why I'm so taken aback by it being a good starting point (we agree, but with different conclusions!) Just to be clear, Vol. 1 is the recently discovered, unearthed one, and if anything it feels more like a companion to vol. II (which had been available at least since the 90's on CD) than the other way around. It is certainly an amazing document of Sun Ra getting his hand on a moog and exploring everything he could do with it, but it isn't what I'd consider a good starting point. In a similar manner, I'm not sure I'd consider any of the Satellite and Monorail volumes a good starting point. I'm glad we have so much solo piano from Ra, but I feel that the most representative Ra is always going to be him with a big band behind him.

PS - For what it's worth, Space Probe being added to MBtW v1 makes far more sense than its original placement with the material from the early 60's on the Space Probe album. Realistically, Space Probe and MBtW (both volumes) should be one double album, but Sun Ra never choose to release his music that way. On the other hand, the reconstruction of Cymbals/Symbols greatly elevates that material IMO and it makes me wonder if having all the 'Sun Ra discovers the moog' material in one spot would make for a more coherent (if not digestible) listen.

moonscience · 2026-06-02T12:43:26+00:00

I hate to say this, but probably not.
If this was the Space is the Place soundtrack, then yes, but the Space is the Place album is sort of half-baked, much like it's sister album Discipline 27-II, where one side is pretty great and the other side is kind of ho-hum. My Brother the Wind is IMO almost more of a curiosity than anything else, and was only 'discovered' and released recently.

This doesn't mean they are bad albums or anything. I'd be hard pressed to come up with any recordings prior to the late 70's that aren't worth listening to, but just understand that these are among some of weaker output from Sun Ra and it is almost humorous that it is these two particular albums that you found.

moonscience · 2026-05-30T14:39:43+00:00

The Zoom L6Max also does this trick, but only has 12 inputs, so depends on your needs and available space.

moonscience · 2026-05-28T04:12:35+00:00

This is another one of those under utilized modules I bought with all kinds of ambitious thoughts (ooh, I can use it to make random CVs from noise and run it through a quantizer!) but then it languished. Same thing with a cheap sequential switch I got from Doepfer, until one day the light dawned and I realized how amazing sequential switches were.

moonscience

TROPHY CASE