OK, first cable built. Needs some updates. And it’s a pain to build but it’s working. Hyper Fighting is definitely the smoothest as it doesn’t matter which end is plugged into which. Enter Versus mode and one VB waits for the other.

For TicTacToe and 3D-Battlesnake you have to select the correct player based on which end of the cable you have plugged in, so there’s boot order. Otherwise things just hang up.

I need to tighten up some of the dimensions and thicken a few things up here and there but otherwise it’s not too bad. I wish the surface finish was a bit more consistent. I’ll have to talk to the vendor to see what could be done.

Kevin

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Nevermind. Just got it working in Hyper Fighting!!!

Can anyone who has actually used 2 player mode confirm the pinout?

I’ve used both the wiki and the other post on pinout. Neither work. I do see one VB syncing it’s displays to another. But can never get 2 player to work in either Hyper Fighting, TicTacToe, or 3D BattleSnake.

First prototype parts come tomorrow. Here’s a sneak peak from the manufacturer. I see some rough edges in the pictures so surface finish may not be as smooth as I’d hoped but they should still be functional (fingers crossed!).

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MineStorm wrote:

I’ve actually picked this project up

So you squared it with Pat (dogP) ?

I know he’s put a lot of time and money into this project.

There’s nothing to square. This is a completely independent project. I’m not sure I understand?

KR155E wrote:
This looks amazing, Kevin. Thank you so much for supporting the development scene with free cables!

Do you think a VB-to-USB cable would be possible, so the VB could speak to a computer? I am thinking about online Hyper Fighting versus play and such. 🙂

@e5frog: Here’s a list of homebrews supporting the link cable:
– 3-D BattleSnake
– Hyper Fighting
– Tic Tac Toe
– Virtual Boy Link Cable Test

I’m going to stick to the basic VB to VB cable for now. I have a few other projects going in addition to this cable and don’t want to sideline them with another one. Once this VB to VB version is done, I’ll think more about the VB-to-USB version. Once the connectors are done and verified then other versions will be possible.

I’ve had some questions about cost of carbon fiber connectors. Just to clarify, they’re going to be black nylon carbon reinforced parts. It’s made from a material called Onyx which is black nylon with chopped carbon fiber. It also has the option of adding additional non-chopped carbon fiber. It’s very durable and has a nice finish. Durability is something I’m concerned about and I’ve met with the company and this material looks perfect for this project.

I may need to do a spin or two on the connector but the first prototypes are due next week. I’ll update here with pictures of the first units.

Kevin

Lester Knight wrote:
To clarify, this project picks up just the VB-to-VB link cable that DogP was working on or is this a completely new design?

This is a completely new design from scratch.

Hi,

I’ve actually picked this project up and the connector design was finished today. I’ll have the first prototype cables in about a month. PM if you’re interested.

I’ll be giving some free ones away to VB game developers. So if you have a game here on PlanetVB, and want a link cable, let me know and I’ll reserve one for you. Not sure how many I can give away for free but I will do some.

See the attached picture for the connector design. The connectors will be black carbon fiber and the cable between them will be red CAT5. Should look nice.

Kevin

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