The main thing I wanted to do for the C3 was port over a lot of existing games to it. The C3 is going to see some favorites from the Hydra system as well as Dodgy Kong, Load Runner, Boulder Dash, and others. I have also included use for the analog to digital function in Ball Buster and Spinpong, which gives them a nice precise feel.
Now that I have finished up with those I am also working on a new game. There is a good chance it will miss the ship date of the C3, but it should follow shortly after. It is an action/adventure game that is in the early stages, but here is a screenshot of the current progress.
Sphinx runs on the C3. The flash memory and SRAM portion of the SPI driver doesn't work yet and it's not packaged up for distribution, but I have been able to compile and edit on the C3 with a PS/2 keyboard and portable LCD TV.
For my part I am planning to use the SRAM, FLASH, and SD, but it is too early to tell if everything will work. HUB RAM is getting cramped with all those drivers
What type of VGA drivers have been made? A nice 256x240 would be great
I think Baggers said he was working on a new VGA driver with that resolution. Other than that there are pre-existing VGA drivers out there in a variety of flavors and resolutions.
- entire design to be open-sourced and double as a Propeller reference
- includes customer requests for SRAM and SD card interface
- I/O pin designation compatible with other Parallax designs
- will supply with a Parallax laser-cut enclosure for stand-alone projects
- priced between $49.99 and $79.99 depending on our internal labor/BOM costs
- availability mid-November, early December
The USB-powered aspect will be great for those who travel with Propellers - program it easily on an airplane, train, or wherever you're going without providing external power supplies. The very small size (credit card) really helps on the portability side of things. At last check it fit within an Altoids tin.
Ken Gracey
Parallax Inc.
Ken,
Any idea if the C3 will ship by Christmas? Will we be able to pre-order? How's the laser cut enclosure coming along?
I'm not privy to when Parallax is going to take reception of their C3 order, but I can tell you that I sweet photo was emailed to me last week (posted on Propellerpowered.com) which shows the first of a production run on both the C3 and the S2.
I was hoping to get one of these for Christmas. It isn't that important to meet the date, but I'm beginning to fear that the project has been abandoned.
The fact that the board offers both and SDcard slot and ADC chip make it really appealing to me. Sure I could piece these things together, but it would be much nicer to have it all just there. I always seem to have problems with loose parts that stall code development.
The S2 is nice, but not exactly the same thing as a C3. I guess toys for Christmas pre-empted this product. I am a bit sad as I just got a surprise in the mail of a $5000USD check. I guess I'll get a good oscilliscope locally for Christmas instead. And maybe a real bench power supply.
The S2 is nice, but not exactly the same thing as a C3. I guess toys for Christmas pre-empted this product. I am a bit sad as I just got a surprise in the mail of a $5000USD check. I guess I'll get a good oscilliscope locally for Christmas instead. And maybe a real bench power supply.
But all I really wanted for Christmas was a C3!
@Loopy
Working on various projects myself, and dealing with delays outside of my control it is hard to work on a concrete timeline. I will cut Parallax some slack for any delays, for I'm sure they are not purposely holding back a product to only see its customers beg ;-)
@all
Merry Christmas and have a safe and wondrous New Year!!!
I'm wondering if the compact C3 gets pulled around and rotated with all the (stiffer) cables connected to it? I hope Parallax has it available fairly soon.
I was hoping to get one of these for Christmas. It isn't that important to meet the date, but I'm beginning to fear that the project has been abandoned.
The last update said the project went into production so unless there were problems then I would assume they are working on it.
I apologize for the long delay in getting back to you in the questions about release dates. We've finished the first run of 100 C3s and we've now got the C3 Proto Board on the Pick and Place. Although the hardware is ready to sell and the 100+ page documentation is finished, we have a few housekeeping items to wrap up before we list this product on the web. This includes things like kitting, receiving product into inventory, web site preparations and final inspection of the kitted product by our engineering and support staff. We've also got one silly-expensive Samtec connector to resolve (please don't get me started on those guys), but once that's in stock we'll be ready.
This product represents the best of our manufacturing abilities: Made in the USA, the highest quality components and PCB we could find, very thorough testing procedure, and an overall very stylish design with useful ergonomics. This isn't any prototype! Andre's effort was truly matched with an internal one of equal force. We can't possibly bestow enough appreciation upon our manufacturing staff, but we'll try. Yesterday we sent them to Cheescake Factory for lunch; today we gave them silver dollars.
The C3 will be sold two ways:
(a) Propeller C3 Board alone, probably for $79.99; and
(b) Propeller C3 Full Kit including the Propeller C3 board, the C3 Proto Board, and a smoke black acyrlic enclosure (a blue proto is shown below) with side panels for use with/without the C3 Proto Board stacked on top of the C3, mounting hardware to fit it inside the enclosure and documentation, hopefully for $99.99 if we can possibly afford to offer it this way. I fear the retail price may increase for the Full Kit - would you guys pay a little more if you had to?
We're on the brink of a release, but I think it'll happen the day we return from Christmas break.
@Ken...COOL!!!! Thank you for replying. They all look great, especially with that cool enclosure. I will defiantly be buying one(I might even sell my Prop demo board, haha). Keep up the good work!!
Hi Ken,
Have a nice Christmas. I imagine you will be skiing in the Sierras somewhere. When you return, I'll certainly order at least one 'full kit' version as I have enough un-housed bare boards to bore the heck out of me. And there are a few other goodies that I'll get at the same time. I hadn't considered that this would require 100 pages of documentation. Once again, Parallax is more thorough, more value aware than its competitors.
Just outta curiosity.... Does that smoke black case allow IR to penetrate for IR sensors? I'm not sure blue would provide that as an option, but some smoke color plastics do. In some situation, a smoke black plastic will also let you see a 7-segment display and other LED indicators.
Comments
Now that I have finished up with those I am also working on a new game. There is a good chance it will miss the ship date of the C3, but it should follow shortly after. It is an action/adventure game that is in the early stages, but here is a screenshot of the current progress.
It is nice to see some game development on the new system...what ressources are you using (SRAM, SPI FLASH, or both ????)
I think Baggers said he was working on a new VGA driver with that resolution. Other than that there are pre-existing VGA drivers out there in a variety of flavors and resolutions.
Ken,
Any idea if the C3 will ship by Christmas? Will we be able to pre-order? How's the laser cut enclosure coming along?
Forrest
Ken...anyone there?
The C3 is on my Christmas list - will it ship in time?
Forrest
OBC
The S2 (Scribber 2) is Parallax's much anticipated 2nd Propeller based Robot.
http://www.parallax.com/StoreSearchResults/tabid/768/List/0/SortField/4/ProductID/712/Default.aspx?txtSearch=Scribbler+2
OBC
The fact that the board offers both and SDcard slot and ADC chip make it really appealing to me. Sure I could piece these things together, but it would be much nicer to have it all just there. I always seem to have problems with loose parts that stall code development.
"Availability Product is expected to ship on 1/4/2011"
So if they ordered the C3 at the same location, don't expect it for Chritmas
I was not aware for the S2!!! It's a very nice product. It might be perfect to start talking propeller to my kid
JM
But all I really wanted for Christmas was a C3!
@Loopy
Working on various projects myself, and dealing with delays outside of my control it is hard to work on a concrete timeline. I will cut Parallax some slack for any delays, for I'm sure they are not purposely holding back a product to only see its customers beg ;-)
@all
Merry Christmas and have a safe and wondrous New Year!!!
Smokediver
"aka The Dawg"
Thanks for the link to the C3 and S2 photo.
I'm wondering if the compact C3 gets pulled around and rotated with all the (stiffer) cables connected to it? I hope Parallax has it available fairly soon.
The last update said the project went into production so unless there were problems then I would assume they are working on it.
Meanwhile, I suggest anyone looking at this thread to take a close look at the top of it. This is really a 'goodie' and worth purchasing.
Merry Christmas.
I apologize for the long delay in getting back to you in the questions about release dates. We've finished the first run of 100 C3s and we've now got the C3 Proto Board on the Pick and Place. Although the hardware is ready to sell and the 100+ page documentation is finished, we have a few housekeeping items to wrap up before we list this product on the web. This includes things like kitting, receiving product into inventory, web site preparations and final inspection of the kitted product by our engineering and support staff. We've also got one silly-expensive Samtec connector to resolve (please don't get me started on those guys), but once that's in stock we'll be ready.
This product represents the best of our manufacturing abilities: Made in the USA, the highest quality components and PCB we could find, very thorough testing procedure, and an overall very stylish design with useful ergonomics. This isn't any prototype! Andre's effort was truly matched with an internal one of equal force. We can't possibly bestow enough appreciation upon our manufacturing staff, but we'll try. Yesterday we sent them to Cheescake Factory for lunch; today we gave them silver dollars.
The C3 will be sold two ways:
(a) Propeller C3 Board alone, probably for $79.99; and
(b) Propeller C3 Full Kit including the Propeller C3 board, the C3 Proto Board, and a smoke black acyrlic enclosure (a blue proto is shown below) with side panels for use with/without the C3 Proto Board stacked on top of the C3, mounting hardware to fit it inside the enclosure and documentation, hopefully for $99.99 if we can possibly afford to offer it this way. I fear the retail price may increase for the Full Kit - would you guys pay a little more if you had to?
We're on the brink of a release, but I think it'll happen the day we return from Christmas break.
Some iPhone pictures are shown below, too.
Thank you for your patience.
Ken Gracey
Hey, I do hope you offer the transparent blue case, even for extra as it looks really nice - or is it just that I like transparent blue cases?
Have a nice Christmas. I imagine you will be skiing in the Sierras somewhere. When you return, I'll certainly order at least one 'full kit' version as I have enough un-housed bare boards to bore the heck out of me. And there are a few other goodies that I'll get at the same time. I hadn't considered that this would require 100 pages of documentation. Once again, Parallax is more thorough, more value aware than its competitors.
Just outta curiosity.... Does that smoke black case allow IR to penetrate for IR sensors? I'm not sure blue would provide that as an option, but some smoke color plastics do. In some situation, a smoke black plastic will also let you see a 7-segment display and other LED indicators.
Which would be 12/26, right?