Video Game Module for Flipper Zero | Hacker News Reader

Video Game Module for Flipper Zero

shop.flipperzero.one

146 pointsdr_kiszonka68 comments

Flipper Zero is one of those things that I would love to try, but I can't justify the price when I know I'll get minimal usage out of it before it just sits on the shelf.

I still love seeing what everyone does with them though.

I thought so too until it saved me paying $90 for a new garage opener.

It cost more than 90 but the bragging rights are _priceless_.

Sounds like they already had one, so they saved $90 by not having to buy another garage door opener by using something they already had.

You can buy a nice rolling code receiver and pair of programmable key fob transmitters for $15.

That's only an option if you own the garage door itself, not if you're i.e. renting in an apartment building

I'd say the Bus Pirate v5 is the more useful device for makers, unless you need the wireless.

I'd say most (if not all) of the value from the flipper comes from the various wireless sensors/readers/writers, and the fact that it's portable.

My Apple Vision Pro has literally gathered dust.

Why didn’t you return it, if you weren’t using it?

Probably passed the 14 day return window in the hopes a killer app will come out any day now.

Not sure how that relates to anything else, but sell it then?

You could buy a USB SDR device and get most of the same functionality but without the convenient form factor.

Same. I opened the purchase page multiple times already, but I always close it because I realise that I have no use for it. Everything cool that you could potentially do with it is illegal.

I have been been on the checkout page multiple times and just not been able to pull the trigger.

>Everything cool that you could potentially do with it is illegal.

How so? Think of it as a lock picking tool. Sometimes maybe you loose your keys to your bike lock or garage. Wouldn't ti be better if you had the tools to pick your own locks? That's not illegal.

> That's not illegal

Worth to specify exactly where in the world you make this claim.

In a lot of countries, carrying around tools that can be used exclusively for burglary can be illegal, and also picking locks (even your own) can be illegal unless you have a license.

As always, it depends on where you are :) Best to lookup your local laws if you're a person who like to carry lock picks around.

Just as an example: in Alberta, Canada, it is illegal to carry lock picks without a license, no matter for what purpose.

I don't live in Canada.

That makes at least two of us then.

In the United States its always legal to carry lockpicks if you have no criminal intent. But there are a few states where you can be arrested and must prove your lack of criminal intent to avoid a conviction (carrying lockpicks in those states is prima facie evidence of criminal intent so the ordinary burden of proof is reversed).

The regional popup on that website blocked me from seeing the page. What an extremely hostile bit of UX!

I didn't get any regional popup. What does it say?

Offers you a choice of links to retailers in your country. Blocks interaction and covers up centre of page, although scrolling is still possible.

That there are no retailers in your country and you need to choose another one. I removed it with uBlock's popup removal tool.

https://i.imgur.com/4d0OkDv.png

yup, very annoying. Open devtools and delete the element and the page functions fine.

Do we just call everything that misbehaves “extremely hostile” now? Would be keen to see how this relates to any sensible definition of hostility.

I just selected USA and it hid the popup and allowed me to view it!

Better to link the blog post instead of the store listing:

https://blog.flipper.net/introducing-video-game-module-power...

As a non American, I was unable to learn what this was about due to a forced Regional Popup which made me to go a local reseller (which of course, did not have any listing for the brand new item)

Thanks for the blog post link

Yeah. The store design in this aspect is awful.

Just to chime in: doesn't seem to be non-US that is the problem, it seems to work fine from Germany. Still bad of course.

A GPIO add-on with a case instead of the original exposed circuit board is cool, but the focus on gaming seems really bizarre to me. If I want to play games I could get a color handheld for a fraction of the price that will run a much larger variety of games.

Yeah, my first thought was that they're trolling.

They're catering to their market. The flipper zero already has games on it. This is taking it a step further.

Additionally I'm sure people will discover loads of use cases for this add-on that has nothing to do with gaming.

Yeah, wondering about drone control

You'll have a hard time doing anything with a drone with only a single stick to the work with.

Edit: I guess you could use the D-pad and the gyroscope for two sets of axes, but that feels dangerously prone to accidents at best.

The game aspect helps try to get around rules against import.

“See! It’s just a game console”

It’s their inverse Nintendo R.O.B.

Contrary to what their marketing says, I don't think this is really meant to be for gaming. It's a cool use case, and useful escape-goat, but for the functionality it packs, using it just for gaming would be a waste, especially considering the flipper's intended audience.

Instead, I'd see it as extended platform attached to your flipper, presumably access to much wider software ecosystem (basically anything that can run on a raspberry), new sensors and new connectivity options, all in the name of extending the original functionality.

For example, with the new module you can use it as a cheap oscilloscope on-the-go, as mentioned in the blog post. Not sure when I've ever needed that, but I'm sure it's useful to someone.

The Flipper Zero is essentially a swiss-knife of portable penetration testing, I'm sure the new connectivity options adds some more features to that concept.

It's "scapegoat" [1], in case that was not a typo or joke. Sorry, otherwise.

[1]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scapegoat

Heh, typo, but thanks. That's what I get for writing HN comments before my required daily coffee intake.

"Video Out port: DVI-D signal in 640х480 px, 60 Hz. The port supports a well-known video standard that we can't name due to copyright limitations The first letter is H, and the last one is I."

"We can’t name the port’s standard due to strict copyright limitations. Getting certified to use the name seemed like too much work. We were too lazy to do it :) "

The annual fee is $15,000 which might be a noticable chunk of money for a small operation. Not just laziness, necessarily.

IIRC the bit-banged RP2040 DVI implementation plays fast and loose with the spec in places, so it might not qualify for HDMI certification anyway even if they were willing to pay. It's generally close enough to work but there's compatibility issues with some monitors.

It better not be able to play Grand Theft Auto

Someone will have ported Doom to it by the end of the weekend.

The existing port (https://github.com/p4nic4ttack/doom-flipper-zero) just works with the game module.

Nice!

Those screenshots remind me of my attempt at Doom-style 2.5D raycastinb engine in MacPerl on pre OSX vintage Mac. I wonder if I have any of that Perl4 Quicktime code archived here, and if so, whether I could get it running again?

website breaks if you are in a foreign country, it has a popup asking you to goto another store site, with no way of being able to click to stay on this store.

Awesome that they got 60Hz DVI video output working on the RP2040, presumably via the PIO peripheral. That's one of the coolest peripherals I've worked with in awhile, I love how flexible it is.

A few years back someone was bit banging DVI and 720p 30fps video straight off the RP2040 GPIO pins with just inline resistors between not and the HDMI cable.

https://github.com/Wren6991/PicoDVI

Yep, same thing, and also using the PIO peripheral.

And after checking the flipper firmware source, it is indeed using that project:

https://github.com/flipperdevices/video-game-module/tree/mai...

I wonder if the flipper zero ban in Canada will mean I can't buy accessories for the one that I don't have. >.>

They would have to ban it first.

I can not find a "Hello World!" example. How to write something to the screen?

Well it looks like I have my excuse to buy a Flipper Zero now

Where's the D-pad and action buttons?

They are on the flipper zero.

I still don’t trust this russian device

There is also a non-russian alternative called M1 that's being kickstarted https://www.cnx-software.com/2024/02/16/m1-flipper-zero-alte...

Except that it looks just like a Kickstarter scam made in hopes of attracting money from people who didn’t jump on the flipper crowdfunding bandwagon

Over 41% of the web runs on nginx. A web server made by a Russian. With your logic you shouldn't be browsing the web. Both nginx and the flipper zero are open source, many people don't even run the official firmware.

The beauty of open source is that you do not need to trust. You can verify

It's a good thing that no one from the team is in Russia then

This is the only comment ever made on this 5 year old account?

Seems incredibly useless.

This page won't even let me read about the product because it has a popup telling me to go to the Australian store which cannot be dismissed.

input your country as "united states" and it goes away :)

Reply on news.ycombinator.com