My Lume Pad got bootlocked on Thursday so I had to factory reset it yesterday so I had to work to re-install everything. Thought I’d post again about my results trying these apps.
I am using the Docooler ipega PG-9083 BT Gamepad Wireless Retractable Game Controller in Android Standard Mode. I recommend this gamepad: it physically fits the Lume Pad well and you’re unlikely to get anything better suited. It even works without taking the Lume Pad out of its silicon protective case. Check the manual for how to set it up.
The Virtual Boy emulator works great. No issues, except that of course that there are no Virtual Boy games that are good enough to keep me playing them for long. It’s a novelty.
Citra (the 3DS emulator) on the other hand is not so good. I tried 3D Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2 and they both load the menu but crash before the actual game starts. I tried 3D Space Harrier and I couldn’t get the actual game to start by adding the virtual arcade token, although that’s probably because I’m stupid. The 3D effect was working on that one even though I didn’t get to actually play it. Finally, I tried 3D Kirby’s Adventure and that technically worked, but the framerate is so low that I wouldn’t ever want to play Kirby this way. I think the Lume Pad just doesn’t pack powerful enough hardware to do 3DS emulation well.
However, I think if somebody were to make 3D versions of classic shooters like Doom, Descent, Duke Nukem 3D or Quake, then the Lume Pad could probably handle those just fine.
I also tried some regular Android games this time which I never bothered with before. All the Grand Theft Auto 3D universe games work (no stereoscopic 3D of course) with the gamepad, including Bully. Retro City Rampage works with the gamepad. Several Final Fantasy titles work although I didn’t try them with the gamepad. Portal Pinball works. So the Lume Pad works just fine as a regular Android tablet (when the software isn’t messing up and getting you bootlocked like it did to me last week)
Thanks for sharing your experiences, Ben! I’m actually looking into updating the Citra app to the latest version of the mainline codebase, so hopefully it brings some improvements and enhancements that make things a little more playable and stable. I’ll definitely let you know how it goes.
This project was definitely more of an experiment than anything, but, if i’m able to improve performance (as time permits) i’ll definitely see what I can do.
Thanks for all your support and encouragement.
If anyone sees this and is able to help support my development time, I’ve set up a Patreon and a Ko-fi page:
Hey Jake, I’m a bit new to this community but I thought I’d ask a question that’s been burning in my mind for over a year now, is the Dolphin fork available in some way? Was that ever made public? Playing Wii games on the go in 3D sounds absolutely wonderful, but so far nothing has been posted on the idea. Anyway, please let me know at any time of any answers you might have for this, I’d love to hear from you!
ive had the idea on the back burner for a while, but i’m currently brushing up my citra fork so i may have the momentum soon to finally look into it. it should be straightforward to implement the same shader i did for citra. just a matter of finding the right way to hook into the renderer. most of the time is spent with other things like menus, test builds, deployments. but yeah, thanks for letting me know of the open interest for it. i will most likely pick this up in the next few weeks and post back if i make meaningful progress
Hello! I wanted to let you know that the latest version of citra 4v works great on the hydrogen one, although I had to compile the apk in android studio since the store doesn’t support it anymore.
Hello! Came here to post that a new version of the Virtual Boy emulator is live in the store! The new release includes some performance improvements, will hopefully make it run more consistently.
This will probably be the last release for the Lume Pad 1, but we’re working on getting both these emulators running on the next generation of hardware.
Oh I forgot to reply in this thread, Virtual Virtual Boy is now available for Lume Pad 2! It’s in the “apps” section of the app store. The 3D effects on the new device look fantastic.
With the new device costing 4x the admittedly low price I paid for the original and almost twice the launch price of the original, a software support window of just two years seems pretty short. I mean if the Lume Pad launched in summer 2021 and software support for it ends in summer 2023, then we can expect software support for the Lume Pad 2 to end in summer 2025?
OK, I guess the article I read might have had a typo about when it came out.
Three years is still a short lifespan for these devices but at least it’s longer than two years.
Still, I’d prefer to know the end-of-life plan on products up-front. On tablets and phones, I try to make them last. I’m still using my Galaxy Note10 from 2019 and am trying to make it last as long as possible since all the newer phones I’m aware of are ultimately a downgrade due to removed features.
If it’s a media device, security is not as important (for example, compared to your phone where you are doing banking). But, to be safe, I have multiple wifi networks in my house. I keep the random devices on the throwaway network, for example smart lightbulbs, media devices, etc. and then I have a more secure network for my work/development computer. This is better for me, as I can connect random devices without worry of a huge compromise.
If it helps, newer VVB releases are also available on GitHub. The APK available there still works on LP1 (and I think RED Hydrogen One, though I don’t own one to check), and I don’t plan to drop support for quite some time.
