Worklog Oii

[turtleisaac]

Greetings!

This is my first Wii portable and also my first worklog, so please forgive me if I do some stuff "incorrectly." Originally I didn't really want to participate in this years' contest due to the fact that I most likely wouldn't have any time to work on it, but here we are now.

If you're wondering, "oii" is an Australian term for "hailing and attracting attention," which seems fitting to me.

I have experience in 3D modeling and design, so that's probably where I'll try to set my entry apart from others. To lay out my design plans simply, I'm aiming for:

• A smooth and sleek design, which will be complimented by rigorous wet-sanding once the case is printed
• Ergonomic and natural curvature near the edges of the case to help minimize possible side-effects from playing such as carpal tunnel syndrome (edit: yeah when I wrote this I had done probably 50-65% of the research that I should have done about carpal tunnel, made it seem like I was talking about absolutes and not what I'm more or less hoping for. Basically just want holding it to feel natural. Shoutout to wudopecker for doing a good job criticizing me, as I do legitimately appreciate it.)
• A relatively lightweight unit altogether

Attached is a render of my case design so far:

Moving on to the next topic that needs attention- specs. This portable will contain a standard OMGWTF trimmed motherboard, with Bluetooth and MX relocations to retain compatibility with as much Wii-compatible software and hardware as possible (Looking at you, N64 emulation and Animal Crossing).

Here's a quick list that covers what I'm going to include spec-wise:

• OMGWTF trimmed 4-Layer Wii motherboard
• 5" 4:3 aspect ratio screen (VGA signal thanks to Aurelio's VGA patches)
• Nintendo Switch buttons and joysticks, as they take up less space than GC buttons and sticks
• Four 18650 Lithium Ion batteries, each rated at 3,000 mAh
• RVL PMS for battery management
• Bluetooth and MX relocation
• GC+ 2.0
• U-AMP, utilizing I2S audio
• Headphone jack
• Possibly retaining video-out
• Dual-Tact triggers using the dual-tacts from the BitBuilt store
• Both a left and a right Z button, for use with future GC2Wiimote versions

That basically covers it. The one thing left to mention is that my portable will include a spring-loaded section, most likely being placed somewhere on the back, that will allow for me to eject that part of the casing and insert a cartridge of sorts containing four GC ports, for use with external controllers. This will reduce weight while in "handheld" mode, then allow for easy multiplayer in "tabletop" mode. (edit 5/4/2020: My plan for this accessory has changed since I originally wrote it. Now the plan is to have a dock that the unit can be placed into containing four GameCube controller ports, 12v in, and possibly video and audio output. The dock will serve as a stand for the system so it can stand upright on a table while using the external gamecube controllers.)

A 2:1 multiplexer will automatically switch from the built-in GC+ 2.0 to an external player 1 GameCube controller source when the cartridge is connected unit is docked. (This isn't a USB GameCube controller hub using Nintendont's gamepad support, these are actual GameCube controller ports wired directly to the system to ensure support with non-GameCube titles).

I may also consider designing a custom controller utilizing a GC+ 1.0 I have lying around to accompany this "cartridge" dock, featuring many of the same design goals as the main unit that I described earlier.

 

[wudopecker]

• Ergonomic and natural curvature near the edges of the case to help minimize possible side-effects from playing such as carpal tunnel syndrome

• A relatively lightweight unit altogether to, once again, lower the amount of stress on the medial nerve and minimize the effects of carpal tunnel syndrome

I dont really like doing this, but reading this section really hurts my brain, you aren't gonna get carpal tunnel from holding a portable that is more squared than yours, neither are you putting less stress on the medial nerve just because your portable ways a small bit less than others.
the way most gamers get carpal tunnel is by repeated hand and wrist movements. They can cause the membranes surrounding the tendons to swell.
It's all about the bad habits we have during gaming sessions, playing for long sessions without taking breaks, not doing wrists stretches or excersizes for example. Its not about the shape or ergonomics of your portable, in fact all portables if used excessively will ultimately cause carpal tunnel and only the time to reach it will change depending on your habits. Hence why you don't see pro gamers use a vertical mice even if it might ever so slightly reduce the risk of carpal tunnel, because in the end it doesn't matter at all, your habits is what matters. Same goes for your portable nor why anyone else here has ever thought about it on the forum

So sorry if i come over as rude, but saying this design reduces carpal tunnel just isn't true, and it kinda pisses me off seeing it. I don't want other people reading this and suddenly being scared of their own design now.

 

[turtleisaac]

I dont really like doing this, but reading this section really hurts my brain, you aren't gonna get carpal tunnel from holding a portable that is more squared than yours, neither are you putting less stress on the medial nerve just because your portable ways a small bit less than others.
the way most gamers get carpal tunnel is by repeated hand and wrist movements. They can cause the membranes surrounding the tendons to swell.
It's all about the bad habits we have during gaming sessions, playing for long sessions without taking breaks, not doing wrists stretches or excersizes for example. Its not about the shape or ergonomics of your portable, in fact all portables if used excessively will ultimately cause carpal tunnel and only the time to reach it will change depending on your habits. Hence why you don't see pro gamers use a vertical mice even if it might ever so slightly reduce the risk of carpal tunnel, because in the end it doesn't matter at all, your habits is what matters. Same goes for your portable nor why anyone else here has ever thought about it on the forum

So sorry if i come over as rude, but saying this design reduces carpal tunnel just isn't true, and it kinda pisses me off seeing it. I don't want other people reading this and suddenly being scared of their own design now.

Sorry about that, I did some editing to my main post and addressed your reply/ the topic. Honestly I appreciate the criticism and apologize for making it seem like I knew more than I really did/ was dealing with absolutes.

 

[wudopecker]

Sorry about that, I did some editing to my main post and addressed your reply/ the topic. Honestly I appreciate the criticism and apologize for making it seem like I knew more than I really did/ was dealing with absolutes.

going for an nice ergonomic feeling is completely fine, just your statement didn't make sense, looking forwards to the end result tho!

 

[turtleisaac]

Here's an update on my case progress so far:

I'm really loving the design so far to be honest. Next up is most likely making mounts for the PMS and U-AMP.

 

[printsmith3d]

Hey looking good on the case so far. What orientation are you planning on printing it? The huge fillets are gonna be a pain in the ass to print depending on which way you go.

 

[turtleisaac]

Hey looking good on the case so far. What orientation are you planning on printing it? The huge fillets are gonna be a pain in the ass to print depending on which way you go.

I'm probably going to be printing it face-down (the exterior closer to the build plate). I'll be rigorously wet-sanding it anyway so I'm sure I'll be fine printing the two halves like that. (edit: I began using Cura recently and the support structure options in it are godly compared to what I was using before)

 

[turtleisaac]

I've made some more progress on the case, got my PMS screw posts in place and working on the U-AMP now. I've also decided to use Wii U gamepad shoulder buttons and triggers, and have began modeling the holes for them in the case. I will be using the "standard" orange squishy tactile switches for the shoulder buttons, and the dual-tacts from the BB store for the triggers.

I've also already ordered my Switch joysticks and aforementioned Wii U triggers/ shoulder buttons, ordering the Switch ABXY/ D-Pad buttons soon-ish.

 

[turtleisaac]

My Wii U triggers and shoulder buttons arrived today so now I can continue with modeling the mounts/ holes for them in my case (seems like a relatively small thing to mention but hey its more progress)