I would love to see an Amiga version Spectrum Next project

[saimon69]

Originally Posted by Gordon

Not for me I'm afraid. If it doesnt have a REAL Denise or Angus inside then its not an Amiga, its just an emulator and i can just use winuae for that.

Work can be done on that one, just please be ready to disbourse a couple million $$$ as far as i understood things are...

[Valken]

I would vote for an AA3000+ with FAST CPU, PCM audio chips with 16-Bit 8 channel sound and fidelity and hardware sprite, blitter, on par with Sharp X68000 and NeoGeo Arcade systems, 32 bit shader with 4K resolution support.

+ Backwards compatibility
+ Huge jump in next gen capabilities while keeping that 16-Bit grafix feel.
+ Shader support for lighting, fog, AA, water effects and other types of arcade effects.

The only 3D I really care about is supporting something GZdoom look and feel, not the next AAA Call of Duty or battlefield with ultra realistic texture mapping and super highpoly models.

Honestly, a hardware accelerated Brutal Doom level system with hardcore arcade feature set at 4K resolution would be my ultimate game workstation computer.

Those new features AmigaOS native with full backwards compatibility.

But my 5 year old PC is very close to those capabilities which can be bought for 500 USD or less now and reality says a Playstation 4 or 5 is probably very close to those specs.

Maybe porting AmigaOS or AROS with a near metal UAE to a PS4 would be the closest thing to a Next Gen Neo Retro Amiga?

Just look at the current indie and homebrew scenes on PC, rooted Android, and old consoles. Imagine supporting look of those old consoles with a single unified platform.

[Tigerskunk]

I'd love to see a Vampire standalone in a nice new stylish case (preferably white) and mechanical keyboard, with Amiga branding and checkmark logo.

[Anubis]

As much as I love my Amiga, I really don't care for projects simillar to Project Next for spectrum - simply because I don't see my self spending couple of hundred of dollars for something that 35 dollar RPi can accomplish (and usually much more)

[dreadnought]

Originally Posted by Anubis

I don't see my self spending couple of hundred of dollars for something that 35 dollar RPi can accomplish (and usually much more)

That's rather unfair. RPi is great for emulation but Next is a very impressive project, not just some sad retro cash-in a la VCS. You get not just a board but a newly designed case with keyboard and bunch of important ports like VGA / DB9, WiFi, etc. There are new gfx modes, increased speeds and possible RPi acceleration. I think even BASIC got a makeover. It really is a "new" Spectrum machine, and it also creates a new community. You won't get that with RPi.

Plus, of course, it's an FPGA so you get the boon of 0-lag and increased accuracy (it can run a few other cores too).

The first Kickstarter was ~300 dollars and it looks like a steal at the moment (with scalpers cashing in on it with twice, or nearly thrice that atm). Especially considering that things like Ultimate 64 ask that price just for the board itself (never even mind the Vampires).

Now, I'm not saying it's for everyone...more like hardcore fans of particular platform. I do regret not jumping on the 1st Kickstarter now, seeing as ZX was my first love, even though I prefer the vintage hardware. The next NEXT will be probably much pricier, and Amiga one would most definitely be out of my $$ league.

[Tigerskunk]

They even had the case designer of the original Spectrums creating the new one.

It was really a labour of love for all involved.
And the company who holds the rights for the Sinclair name granted them the rights to use it, if they gave a bit of the money for each unit sold to charity.

That's how a retro community should function.

[Mick]

I'd rather just see things like 23 pin d-subs and new custom chips being manufactured however improbable it might be?

[fxgogo]

I agree dreadnought and Steril707. A bespoke system that was carefully planned and designed. I am not a spectrum fan, but I would love one of those.

Valkan, the 2D/3D question is a good one. Would we want something that jumps into the 3D realm? If we were imagining the 'next gen' Amiga, it would be a late 90's or early 00's 3D machine. I don't know about any of you, but going back to early 3D is hard as it looks so rough. It was the beginning of consumer 3D of course, but I don't know id I want to play in that pool.

I would like to see a further push into high end 2D graphics and if there is 3D it stops at flat shading.

[Tigerskunk]

Originally Posted by fxgogo

I would like to see a further push into high end 2D graphics and if there is 3D it stops at flat shading.

This.

[Valken]

Regarding 3D, I would include it as an accelerator as fast as money can buy, but I would ideally like the designers to use textures in the spirits of the Amiga, hence limit it to Doom with high res, yet chunky pixel definitions like this:

[ Show youtube player ]

256 color sprites, about 640x480 max texture or maybe higher resolutions, but I want the system to push a ton of them like those crazy shmup and add shader details.

Map is near real 3D, but sprites are all 2D, with added shader support to give it a bit more flavor. I mean, that is Neo retro workflow these days.

The idea is to EXTEND AmigaOS to allow higher resolution sprites, a LOT of them, more parallax layers, some color and translucency affects, but still look 80s/90s ish.

I don't want Frontier limited flat shading. I want good detailed texture work, but not at 4K resolution like Call of Duty or Battlefield for example.

I want some good remakes or sequals or extensions of classic games including Amiga, ST, Sharp X68000, FM Towns (nice PC basically) and Neo Geo styles.

I mean, we have to support what we have such as FHD, 4K or even 8K displays, USB, wireless network, mobile 4G/5G, nice audio speakers, but we can still keep that gritty look, sound and feel we all fell in love with when growing up the 68K generation.

That is one of the things I like about the Spectrum Next. It looks like a NG Speccy, but still retains all the great stuff about the Speccy without becoming a generic platform like the all might x86 PC/Mac/Linux boxes.

[sean_sk]

The Spectrum Next is an excellent product and thought seriously about getting one despite the fact I never owned a Spectrum and have no feeling of nostalgia over it.

I'd love to see an Amiga version of the Spectrum Next project but I can't see that it's ever going to happen. Too many squabbling companies and individuals with their own ideas about what an Amiga should be, and where it should go in the future, which would prevent anyone from actually getting their crap together and getting something like this out there.

[manossg]

Hmmmm, we already have the V4!

[Tigerskunk]

In a way, the Amiga got its "Next" and "Mega65" systems already in 1993, with the AGA machines.
Compared to this, the C64 and Spectrum never got a substantial upgrade.