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Oct 14, 2024

"I Refuse To Sell This Sh*t" - MiSTer Pi Maker Praised For Classy Reaction To Production Hiccup | Time Extension

"Very ethical approach, we can wait" Taki Udon's MiSTer Pi project is one of the most exciting developments in FPGA retro gaming for some time, and represents a more cost-effective way to enter the

"Very ethical approach, we can wait"

Taki Udon's MiSTer Pi project is one of the most exciting developments in FPGA retro gaming for some time, and represents a more cost-effective way to enter the world of MiSTer FPGA.

To reduce the cost of entry, Taki Udon has spent a considerable amount of time revising boards and sourcing parts to give us a fully working MiSTer for $99 (for the main board, at least).

However, MiSTer Pi has hit something of a roadblock recently, for reasons outside of Taki Udon's control.

One of the main components – the RAM module – was "forked" for the project, but unbeknownst to Taki Udon, the module that was put into production by his supplier in China is based on the original design, created by MiSTer mastermind Alexey Melnikov, aka Sorgelig. It lacked any credit to Melnikov on the board itself, something that is required when a part is reproduced without any changes.

Taki Udon has flagged this issue and published a video over the weekend stating that he was looking for a solution:

This is really low moral character stuff, and I refuse to sell this shit. If you really did the work, you should 100% be able to take credit for the work that you did. This type of thing has happened to me, and I refuse to do this to someone else. I've contacted the creator of MiSTer FPGA to explain the situation to him.

Later, Taki Udon revealed that having spoken to Melnikov, it had been decided that a sticker would be added to the existing boards with attribution, and that all revenue from the RAM module would be donated to Melnikov's Patreon.

This approach has garnered a positive reaction from the community. "I love the way you are handling everything about this process," says @RetroJeff83, while @iihay adds, "Very ethical approach, we can wait."

We recently reviewed MiSTer Pi, giving it 9/10 and stating that "there's arguably no better (or cheaper) way of joining the wonderful world of FPGA retro gaming than this."

"The band is back together"

"Our goal is not to try and make a bunch of money from these boards"