can yall tell me what is the best makecode hardware because i wanna put my games in them and also i don’t know which one because i have never seen or used one irl and also i haven’t seen any websites where i can buy them so pls
The Adafruit PyGamer and PyBadge varients (regular, low cost, and with mic version) have more RAM (and are faster) than a STM32[?] like a Meowbit.
You can also use a Raspberry Pi which will be much faster - you can buy them on Amazon or from an approved reseller (products here) but is pretty complicated to set up.
What is the difference between the multiple PyBadge varients?
The PyBadge (regular) is well, the regular version.
The PyBadge LC (which stands for low cost) has some hardware removed to make it cheaper, like the accelerometer and some of the Neopixels. The PyBadge LC still uses the same chip as the regular version.
The EdgeBadge is the same thing[?] as the regular PyBadge but it comes with a mic on board. It was released because Tensorflow Lite (Tensorflow is for machine learning, aka AI) for Arduino (C++ but for microcontrollers) was released and Adafruit wanted to make a board to showcase it. (I swear they design new products in their sleep) This does not affect your use of MakeCode Arcade.
are the xtron pro also good?
Seems very good as well, but it’s very expensive, about triple the price of say, a PyGamer.
i don’t know well i just checked and they have a sale so ill maybe buy it but i still don’t know
also the xtron pro because you can turn it into a watch you can make it smaller there is a timer the wifi ting and all that
@girlwhocode the problem with the Xtron Pro is that you have to get it straight from the supplier, Ovobot, since it isn’t even on Amazon or Ebay, so unless you’re prepared to pay the grand total of $85 + shipping + VAT, it’s not worth it.
Just my views .
ok well i still don’t know which one it’s such a hard decision because i just wanna get one that works well so i can put my games in them but there’s just so much hardware!
Solution: Play on your computer on the browser
Easy setup / ok price: PyGamer/PyBadge/Meowbit
Very fast / complicated to set up: Raspberry Pis
lol ok but still i prefer to buy the hardware well i think ima get the py gamer
ugh the pygamers are out of stock
Yea It’s never fun when something is out of stock but Adafruit has a reputation of restocking quickly
also the meobit is a ok and the price but the screen is too small and the controls also look kinda small and also because i was seeing some people who have had the meowbit and they said it didn’t work too much because it was old but that’s because it was old
Yes @girlwhocode, the meowbit is a bit too on the low-spec side as well, since it doesn’t have much storage and also can crash a lot. The meowbit is designed for small games and I would recommend at least a Pygamer or a Pybadge, maybe a Kitronik Arcade, or even a Raspberry Pi (if you’re willing to spend a lot).
What's the Kitronik Arcade?
The Kitronik Arcade is another piece of hardware for MakeCode Arcade that is made in the UK, Nottinghamshire. This piece of hardware is in the mid-price section for Arcade tech and costs £35.94/€42.10/$49.69 (Yes, I check the stocks (and yes, I like my stonks )). But beware, if you are outside of Europe, you might have the trouble of long shipping times since the pandemic has affected shipping routes.
Here is the list of shippable countries:
- Australia.
- Brunei.
- Canada.
- Chile.
- Hong Kong.
- Iceland.
- Isle of Man.
- Israel.
- Japan.
- Jersey.
- Malaysia.
- Mauritius.
- New Zealand.
- Qatar.
- Singapore.
- Taiwan.
- U.A.E.
- United States.
- Uruguay.
(UK is not included since this is shipping, if you live in the UK, you can get a delivery).
@girlwhocode check Digikey for Pygamer. They have the starter kits for $60.
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/adafruit-industries-llc/4277/10313912
I have the Xtron Pro and can recommend it. …it is really small though
The Xtron Pro is probably my favourite hardware for arcade, mainly because it can store many games :D… However the screen is tiny compared to others and it is quite expensive. But if you are okay with that, i think you should go for it!
You can store multiple games on any hardware if you install @AqeeAqee’s Custom bootloader. I always recommend the PyGamer to new users because simple but also powerful enough for most purposes.
Thanks for your recommend !
Here is some small words I have to clear:That is my custom bootloader tested on Meowbit only by now. And it maybe can work on other STM32F4 devices, but not tested yet. BTW, Pygamer is a good device with high performence, I like it too. But it is SAMD51 core, which should build with a totally another project, and I have not start yet, cause I have not any D51 console.
I’m planning to test your bootloader myself, since I have a PyGamer at home!