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To celebrate my 1000th post (1000 posts in 7 years, LOL), I wanted to post my OUYA impressions.
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-----UPDATE: Here are the things I plan on trying. Post messages if there's anything you'd like me to try.
(For all Emulators, I'll also try them on my Galaxy S3.)
-----UPDATE 2:
XMBC / Media
XMBC stable doesn't work. It plays, but it doesn't appear to have hardware acceleration. I'll have to try a nightly or wait until the official build is released. I tried Mobo player and wasn't able to select hardware acceleration either. I've seen videos of XMBC on OUYA, and they were smooth.
USB Storage
USB storage works fine. The OUYA team isn't supporting external storage for game data yet, but I was able to play some videos and access pictures off a thumb drive. (I don't know if directory bind would work because that has to run in the background.)
Wiimotes
Wiimotes do not work. Wiimotes do not work for many games. Don't blame OUYA, blame Nintendo. In order to pair the Wiimote as a remote control, you have to send a 6-character pin that consists of the controller's or host's BT address backwards. It has to be in hex... and you can't type a null character (0x00). Wiimote pairing works on Android, but with a catch. The Wiimote doubles as a HID and requires a service running in the background to map the controller inputs to functions.
PS3 Sixaxis
It works very very well. It works plugged in. It works via bluetooth. It pairs easier than the OUYA controller. It's superior to the Android implementation because it doesn't need a mapper program.
-----UPDATE 3:
Wiimotes do work, but the app has to support syncing to them.
I tried the emulators in the OUYA store with positive results.
SNEX 9xEX+ worked and was able to play Starfox and Super Mario World 2 just fine. This app also let me sync with a Wiimote
Mupen64 worked and was able to play Banjo as smooth as the N64.
There was a NDS emulator, but I didn't have any luck with it. The games played, but they had framerate issues and music stuttering. It didn't help that I tried to play TWEWY. The OUYA's touch pad did allow me to use the mouse as a stylus, though. I think that NDS emulation is best left to a device with a touch-screen.
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The Unit:
Pro's:
The Controller:
Fixes:
The UI:
Pro's:
The Games:
The games? They are very indie / homebrewish, but they aren't all bad. I've only tried out 3.
Pro's:
Overall Opinion: It's still a work-in-progress. It has the potential to be a great streaming and gaming box, but it's hampered by the poor UI it has now.
------------------------
-----UPDATE: Here are the things I plan on trying. Post messages if there's anything you'd like me to try.
XMBCUSB HDDSNES Emulators (and ROMs with FX chips)N64 Emulators (w/ Banjo)Wiimote- PSX Emu
(For all Emulators, I'll also try them on my Galaxy S3.)
-----UPDATE 2:
XMBC / Media
XMBC stable doesn't work. It plays, but it doesn't appear to have hardware acceleration. I'll have to try a nightly or wait until the official build is released. I tried Mobo player and wasn't able to select hardware acceleration either. I've seen videos of XMBC on OUYA, and they were smooth.
USB Storage
USB storage works fine. The OUYA team isn't supporting external storage for game data yet, but I was able to play some videos and access pictures off a thumb drive. (I don't know if directory bind would work because that has to run in the background.)
Wiimotes
PS3 Sixaxis
It works very very well. It works plugged in. It works via bluetooth. It pairs easier than the OUYA controller. It's superior to the Android implementation because it doesn't need a mapper program.
-----UPDATE 3:
Wiimotes do work, but the app has to support syncing to them.
I tried the emulators in the OUYA store with positive results.
SNEX 9xEX+ worked and was able to play Starfox and Super Mario World 2 just fine. This app also let me sync with a Wiimote
Mupen64 worked and was able to play Banjo as smooth as the N64.
There was a NDS emulator, but I didn't have any luck with it. The games played, but they had framerate issues and music stuttering. It didn't help that I tried to play TWEWY. The OUYA's touch pad did allow me to use the mouse as a stylus, though. I think that NDS emulation is best left to a device with a touch-screen.
------------------------
The Unit:
Pro's:
- It's small.
- It's quiet.
- The ON LED isn't bright.
- It supported a keyboard/mouse through a USB hub.
- The Android portions of the system are very snappy.
- All inputs are on the back. (It's a minor complaint.)
- The fan is still audible, but it is quieter than my HTPC.
- The plastic flashing around the base of the OUYA sticks up and is rough around the edges. It's only noticable when you hold the console. (Again, a minor complaint.)
- You only have ~6GB of usable space to store games.
The Controller:
Fixes:
- The button sticking issue was fixed.
- The analog stick catching was fixed.
- The analog stick dead zones were fixed.
- The controller was shipped in one piece and the battery doors were securely placed.
- The analog sticks are first class.
- The touchpad is a nice addition and it taps into Android's mouse support. (It's nowhere near as good as an actual mouse, which Android supports.)
- The face buttons are too springy.
- The dpad is crap.
- The L1/R1 buttons have little travel and click.
- The L2/R2 buttons are gummy and feel almost as bad as the Gamecube controller's triggers.
The UI:
Pro's:
- They bury the Android settings, but they are still there.
- The OUYA UI is clunky and laggy. It's not smooth. It's like they didn't spend enough time optimizing the system for Jelly Bean.
- Bringing up the OUYA UI menu makes an annoying, jarring noise.
- The default android browser crashes, thus triggering that annoying, jarring noise.
- XMBC and other streaming video apps aren't available yet in the OUYA store.
- I haven't figured out how to delete games through the normal UI. I know how to do it through the Android system that's buried in menus, though.
- Sideloading apps wasn't much of a challenge. I just had to download ES File Explorer off the ES webpage. The trick was in finding out how to execute that APK on OUYA. Once ES was installed, it has a NICE mouse-based interface.
The Games:
The games? They are very indie / homebrewish, but they aren't all bad. I've only tried out 3.
Pro's:
- I LOVE how I can just download games and try them out, though. That's a big plus for the system. I hate paying for the opportunity to try a game I end up hating.
- Unlocking games are treated as an in-app purchase, and you have to download the full game.
- You are never shown a price for the games until you try to buy them.
Overall Opinion: It's still a work-in-progress. It has the potential to be a great streaming and gaming box, but it's hampered by the poor UI it has now.