GCW Zero Video Game Handheld, SDK Released

[Another World]

Software developers now have the tools to port their favorite projects to the GCW Zero. The SDK contains everything you'll likely need to write your C/C++ programs. The current toolchain is for x86 Linux but the team hopes to build a package for virtual installs sometime soon.

Gamers and developers alike should also note that the specs of the GCW Zero have been changed. The official production run of the unit will now contain 512MB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage.

For more information on the GCW Zero and its Kickstarter campaign, please check the links below.

Kickstarter Page
GCW Zero Homepage
Interview with GCW CEO Justin Barwick
SDK Toolchain
Github Repository
Discussion at Dingoonity.org
YouTube Vids

 

[Costello]

@Another World: When can we expect a review of the console from you?
Looking forward to this

 

[Another World]

i was contacted by their CEO and we briefly discussed the possibility of a review. i do not yet know if we can work something out before or after the units go into full production. it will all come down to the kickstarter, if they meet their goal then i am hopeful that i will be able to review the final production unit. which would be my preference, as i don't want to review a unit others will not be able to buy.

so, in sort, its in the works but i do not yet know when i'll be able to get started on it.

-another world

 

[Zarxrax]

What systems would this be able to emulate? Can it do PSX or N64? That would make sense as its got an analog stick.
I'm assuming everything from SNES and below should be no problem at all.

 

[cdoty]

If this is Dingux, wouldn't the normal Dingux toolchain work? There is a windows version of the Dingux toolchain.

If not, it might run fine under andLinux.

 

[Surkow]

If you want to develop for the device, you can visit http://www.gcw-zero.com/develop. Eventually we will offer a VM image for development and possibily a Windows version of the toolchain compiled with cygwin or mingw. Most existing Dingux programs can be recompiled and will work on the GCW Zero.

 

[gundalf]

This thing will be bomba, too bad most people don't get it and think that it is comparable to any random android device.

 

[RupeeClock]

This thing will be bomba, too bad most people don't get it and think that it is comparable to any random android device.

It looks like it's on track to getting successfully funded so far, time will tell if they get there though.
I'm hopefully, I've backed it $7 so far but plan to maybe pledge $135 for the system closer to the deadline.

 

[gundalf]

I pledged 155$ (20$ shipping) today and I hope that this will be my "The one to rule them all" Emu Handheld.
But the lack of an second Joystick and menu button bothers me to be honest, though the outlook for an PSX/N64 Emu will make sure it is worth its money.

 

[RupeeClock]

I pledged 155$ (20$ shipping) today and I hope that this will be my "The one to rule them all" Emu Handheld.
But the lack of an second Joystick and menu button bothers me to be honest, though the outlook for an PSX/N64 Emu will make sure it is worth its money.

Apparently, the power switch is used to enter a secondary input mode.
In the Up-position, D-pad adjusts volume and brightness, select will quit the current application, and start/select will power off the system.

 

[SnakeSlashRO]

Wow, I could have sworn if any site would have taken to this it would have been GBA Temp. The NeoGAF thread is on fire, and so is the GCW-Zero's Kickstarter! Today 13,484 dollars was made and added to the total, making it... well can I just paste the tracker here?

I have pledged 160, but I'm thinking about pledging more so I can have two units.

 

[Another World]

If this is Dingux, wouldn't the normal Dingux toolchain work? There is a windows version of the Dingux toolchain.

If not, it might run fine under andLinux.

Here is a reply from one of the GCW Zero developers, zear, via IRC...

"The Dingoo A320 Dingux/OpenDingux toolchain will not work. It was made for JZ4740 CPU, GCW Zero has JZ4770. We decided to utilize the FPU present in the GCW Zero hardware, which forced us to switch from soft-float to hard-float (hardware acceleration of floating point arithmetic). This itself breaks compatibility with any application using floating-point that is compiled with Dingoo A320 toolchain. And since the compatibility was already gone, we decided to go even further and upgrade all the libraries present in the toolchain, some to backwards incompatible versions. This all means you can't use A320 OpenDingux toolchain. But it's a good thing, with hard-float we noticed a GIANT framerate increase in games heavy in floating point arithmetic (like Quake 2 or Hexen II). And if someone reads "broken backwards compatibility" and starts to panic - don't worry, all the Dingoo A320 software can be simply recompiled with GCW Zero toolchain and run better than ever."

-another world

 

[cdoty]

Here is a reply from one of the GCW Zero developers, zear, via IRC...

"The Dingoo A320 Dingux/OpenDingux toolchain will not work. It was made for JZ4740 CPU, GCW Zero has JZ4770. We decided to utilize the FPU present in the GCW Zero hardware, which forced us to switch from soft-float to hard-float (hardware acceleration of floating point arithmetic). This itself breaks compatibility with any application using floating-point that is compiled with Dingoo A320 toolchain. And since the compatibility was already gone, we decided to go even further and upgrade all the libraries present in the toolchain, some to backwards incompatible versions. This all means you can't use A320 OpenDingux toolchain. But it's a good thing, with hard-float we noticed a GIANT framerate increase in games heavy in floating point arithmetic (like Quake 2 or Hexen II). And if someone reads "broken backwards compatibility" and starts to panic - don't worry, all the Dingoo A320 software can be simply recompiled with GCW Zero toolchain and run better than ever."

Totally makes sense, excellent reply from the developers.

 

[Another World]

Yea, they are really great, super helpful, and extremely easy to talk to.

You can find them on IRC:
/server irc.freenode.net
/join #GCW

-another world