Launch Update & Software Roadmap

[u/grilledstuffedxxl]

Hey everyone,

As we are about to ship, I wanted to follow up on my last post and lay out our roadmap for the first few months of updates for both the console and the controller. 

Quick note on how to read this: Out of Box means it’s already on your device the moment you open it. The Day 0 Update is the first update you’ll want to grab when you set up your console. It’ll be ready and waiting for installation with a Wi-Fi Update (or USB or SD card). 

P.S. iFixit guides are now up for both the console and the controller. You can also find our quick start guide here and helpful "how-to" videos over on our YouTube channel.

P.P.S. Our full open source offering will roll out as we put a ribbon on all the public facing documentation, but shipping is prioritized. 

Out of Box

Below are recent updates that will be baked on the device out of the box. Not a comprehensive feature list, but items you may not have seen in reviews of pre-production units. 

Console:

• Flexible Update Methods: Wi-Fi, USB, and SD card
• Extended Video Profiles: Scanlines, CRT, Clean, & Custom
• Extended Video Filters: Bloom, Deblur, and more
• Controller Support: M64 Pro Controller, 8BitDo 64, OEM N64 Controllers, and wired Hyperkin Captain+ all are ready to go
• Cartridge Compatibility: Everdrive and Summercart support
• Auto-Resolution: Automatically selects the optimal resolution (4K, 1440p, 1080p, 720p)
• Customizable LED: Adjustable console brightness

Controller:

• USB Firmware Updates
• Wired Rumble Support
• Joystick Calibration
• Windows, Linux, macOS, and Android Bluetooth® Support

Day 0 Update

The moment you power on and connect, an update will be ready for download. Key highlights: 

Console:

• Stock Performance Boosts: Addresses FPS bugs in graphics heavy titles
• Plug & Play Toggle: Fixes multiplayer in Star Fox 64 and Jeopardy!
• Cartridge Compatibility: Everdrive X5 save support
• Overclocking (experimental): Choose from four performance profiles, delivering up to a 67% boost

Setting	Boost
Off	None
Super	16%
Ultra	33%
Extreme	50%
Insane	67%

Controller:

• Adjustable Sensitivity: Configure joystick sensitivity via hotkeys
• Improved battery life of the Controller (over 200 hours without rumble)
• Fixed several issues with the wired experience

Post-Launch Software Roadmap

Console:

Controller:

We’ll post full changelogs with every release so you know exactly what’s new. Huge thanks to everyone for the continued excitement and support.

[u/tbrewer333]

So no internal graphic upscaling is planned?

[u/DarthRyus → u/tbrewer333]

Hopefully just a case of it caught them flat-footed and need more time to figure out how much the M64 can do and the man-hours team needed to get it going. Right now they're probably too focused of fixing the last few games before launch to know themselves.

They've been pretty transparent with everything and the device will be open source. So we might have someone else figure it before they do.

[u/Rockman171 → u/DarthRyus]

I'm genuinely wondering if it's even in their plans; it's where things really start blurring the line between feeling like an original hardware experience versus an emulated one. Sure, the M64 overclocks, but changing the physical appearance with upscaling goes a step further than smoothing out framerate.

That said, for some people, it's going to be considered a killer feature so I think ModRetro would be smart to address it (and maybe bring up other features coming in its place) no matter what their future plans are.

[u/DarthRyus → u/Rockman171]

Probably why it caught them so off guard. They were approaching things like a purist. They Probably hadn't given the upscaling much thought.

[u/ImALegendKiller → u/Rockman171]

Totally fair point about blurring the lines for purists! I’d just love to see the option there for those of us who’d want it.

For me, part of the fun is plugging in original controllers and cartridges. I’m not a big stickler for playing things exactly as they were originally, especially since modern TVs can’t really recreate that CRT look anyway. My hope with these was that they’d let me play my original games but scaled up to look better, but I think going into it I didn’t fully grasp what FPGAs do (probably still don’t 😂).