Just got my OUYA -- mixed feelings -- could use some help/advice.

[SenVilan]

Well, I finally took the plunge and ordered one of these about a week ago. I've been messing with it for about a day now and I've been a bit less impressed than I was hoping.

Some things I noticed pretty early on:

1. The controller seems rather cheaply made, especially the trigger buttons. They feel flimsy and they make an annoying sqeaky noise when you press down on them. Also, the touch pad somehow manages to be either too sensitive (when attempting to move it great distances on the browser) to being frustrating beyond belief when trying to move it in precise, minute distances. The tapping is also hit or miss. I'm not sure if it's just my controller, or if these things are universal, but it doesn't lend itself well to a good first impression.
   
   
2. Then there's the clunkiness of the GUI. It seems to get rather slow and "stuttery" when scanning through the menus/games/apps (like in Discovery for instance.) Considering the hardware this thing is sporting, I don't understand why it seems to run so poorly in this area. I have a Roku box -- which is literally like half the size of the OUYA -- and it scans smooth as silk. I guess this is most likely a software related issue? I've seen others complain about it, so I assume I'm not the only one.
   
   
3. And man, don't even get me started on the browser; I honestly don't even know where to begin. The glitchy scrolling, general slowness, and link bugs (some of the links I clicked with the pad or O button would sometimes not load at all and I'd have to reload the page) are bad enough, but to not even have a "Download progress" window to monitor browser downloads? Really? I've made several attempts to download PS1 roms from the browser, but I've yet to succeed because I have no way of knowing whether anything is downloading or how much time is left, or even if I need to leave the browser open to finish them. So far, I've only managed to download a small bios file and a couple of tiny roms for the N64.
   

There are other things (*cough* wifi *cough*), but I didn't want to turn this into a whinefest (at least not a total one) so I'll leave it at that. To be honest, I'm close to the verge of sending it back to amazon, but I'd like to give it a fair shot and do everything in my power to alleviate some of my issues with it first.

(The TLDR version)That said, I was hoping to get some advice on some of the "must have" apps and such (whether side loaded or in-house) that some of you recommend. I'd definitely like to find a better browser for starters -- something with an adblocker preferably. I guess firefox can be loaded up? I'm not familiar with how the side loading thing works, but I can't imagine it being too difficult. I was also curious about which emulators you guys recommend for each system? I know those can be side loaded as well, so I'm not sure which to go for. Particularly, I'm looking for GBA, PS1, N64, SNES, and NES emulators (and a good DS emulator if possible.) Can I find those all in the store itself, or will I likely need to side load a few to get the best performance?

And really, just anything else you guys can recommend to make the OUYA experience a little bit smoother. I'm sorry if there's a newbie thread floating around that answers all of this already. I've been looking around but I was getting a bit overwhelmed and I just figured it would be easier to ask everything directly. Despite how negative my review probably comes off, I'm still really fond of the idea behind the OUYA, as well as everything it offers. I basically just want to make it the best that it can be and since I'm just about clueless on how to do that, I was hoping for some advice .

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Jake53]

Just know this, the ouya is only as useful as you make it. Sideloading, emulators, XBMChub, and tinkering are your friends. My Ouya hating sister (she loves graphics) just bought one for herself because of what I've done with mine.

Smoother running tips:

-Tip your ouya on its side, this allows the fan to cool more efficiently and it reduces controller lag

-Remove items in between you and your ouya. A clear line of site from controller to ouya will reduce controller lag.

-Use SPMC instead of XBMC, check the side load forum here for more info

-Sideloading Apptoid and the Amazon App store for easier Sideloading

-Download everything to your external hard drive. The more your ouya can do the better.

-Use XBMChub

-I recommend PPSSPP, N64oid or mupen64,fpse or epsxe, any game boy emulator (they all work well), Drastic (DS), and really anything pre PS1 will emulate pretty well on ouya.

If you have more specific questions or request an apk, please private message me and I'll try to set you up.

[flclfanman]

Well, I finally took the plunge and ordered one of these about a week ago. I've been messing with it for about a day now and I've been a bit less impressed than I was hoping.

Some things I noticed pretty early on:

1. The controller seems rather cheaply made, especially the trigger buttons. They feel flimsy and they make an annoying sqeaky noise when you press down on them. Also, the touch pad somehow manages to be either too sensitive (when attempting to move it great distances on the browser) to being frustrating beyond belief when trying to move it in precise, minute distances. The tapping is also hit or miss. I'm not sure if it's just my controller, or if these things are universal, but it doesn't lend itself well to a good first impression.
   
   
2. Then there's the clunkiness of the GUI. It seems to get rather slow and "stuttery" when scanning through the menus/games/apps (like in Discovery for instance.) Considering the hardware this thing is sporting, I don't understand why it seems to run so poorly in this area. I have a Roku box -- which is literally like half the size of the OUYA -- and it scans smooth as silk. I guess this is most likely a software related issue? I've seen others complain about it, so I assume I'm not the only one.
   
   
3. And man, don't even get me started on the browser; I honestly don't even know where to begin. The glitchy scrolling, general slowness, and link bugs (some of the links I clicked with the pad or O button would sometimes not load at all and I'd have to reload the page) are bad enough, but to not even have a "Download progress" window to monitor browser downloads? Really? I've made several attempts to download PS1 roms from the browser, but I've yet to succeed because I have no way of knowing whether anything is downloading or how much time is left, or even if I need to leave the browser open to finish them. So far, I've only managed to download a small bios file and a couple of tiny roms for the N64.
   

There are other things (*cough* wifi *cough*), but I didn't want to turn this into a whinefest (at least not a total one) so I'll leave it at that. To be honest, I'm close to the verge of sending it back to amazon, but I'd like to give it a fair shot and do everything in my power to alleviate some of my issues with it first.

(The TLDR version)That said, I was hoping to get some advice on some of the "must have" apps and such (whether side loaded or in-house) that some of you recommend. I'd definitely like to find a better browser for starters -- something with an adblocker preferably. I guess firefox can be loaded up? I'm not familiar with how the side loading thing works, but I can't imagine it being too difficult. I was also curious about which emulators you guys recommend for each system? I know those can be side loaded as well, so I'm not sure which to go for. Particularly, I'm looking for GBA, PS1, N64, SNES, and NES emulators (and a good DS emulator if possible.) Can I find those all in the store itself, or will I likely need to side load a few to get the best performance?

And really, just anything else you guys can recommend to make the OUYA experience a little bit smoother. I'm sorry if there's a newbie thread floating around that answers all of this already. I've been looking around but I was getting a bit overwhelmed and I just figured it would be easier to ask everything directly. Despite how negative my review probably comes off, I'm still really fond of the idea behind the OUYA, as well as everything it offers. I basically just want to make it the best that it can be and since I'm just about clueless on how to do that, I was hoping for some advice .

Thanks in advance for any help.

For rom downloads, I recommend doing that on your main computer and putting them on a external USB you'll mount to the Ouya

In addition, sideload ES file Explorer (or you can download a File manger from the Ouya Store) so you can navigate thru your folders with ease.

Lastly, open a Dropbox account and sideload the app on your Ouya so that any file you put in there on any PC (such as roms, apks, etc) can be accessed on your Ouya quickly ( I usually access my Dropbox folder via ES file explorer, but its your choice on how you want to manage materials)

[Bonesnap]

The controller seems rather cheaply made, especially the trigger buttons. They feel flimsy and they make an annoying sqeaky noise when you press down on them. Also, the touch pad somehow manages to be either too sensitive (when attempting to move it great distances on the browser) to being frustrating beyond belief when trying to move it in precise, minute distances. The tapping is also hit or miss. I'm not sure if it's just my controller, or if these things are universal, but it doesn't lend itself well to a good first impression.

My triggers squeak a bit too when you press them slowly, but when you're in a game and you're playing when you actually press them they don't make a sound. And they work every time. I honestly wouldn't get hung up on stuff like this. The controller works. I don't agree with people who think it feels cheap, but I guess that's just me. The touch pad is indeed pretty bad. Just ignore it. No games that I know of require it. If you insist on some kind of pointing device, just connect a mouse.

Then there's the clunkiness of the GUI. It seems to get rather slow and "stuttery" when scanning through the menus/games/apps (like in Discovery for instance.) Considering the hardware this thing is sporting, I don't understand why it seems to run so poorly in this area. I have a Roku box -- which is literally like half the size of the OUYA -- and it scans smooth as silk. I guess this is most likely a software related issue? I've seen others complain about it, so I assume I'm not the only one.

Be sure you've downloaded the latest update. There was some lag with the UI but the latest update really improved it, to the point where it's pretty smooth now. Otherwise the UI is fine; not sure where else you'd be having problems.

And man, don't even get me started on the browser; I honestly don't even know where to begin. The glitchy scrolling, general slowness, and link bugs (some of the links I clicked with the pad or O button would sometimes not load at all and I'd have to reload the page) are bad enough, but to not even have a "Download progress" window to monitor browser downloads? Really? I've made several attempts to download PS1 roms from the browser, but I've yet to succeed because I have no way of knowing whether anything is downloading or how much time is left, or even if I need to leave the browser open to finish them. So far, I've only managed to download a small bios file and a couple of tiny roms for the N64.

Don't use the browser. It's as simple as that.

If you want to get roms onto your console than do what has been suggested and use a combination of Dropbox and ES File Explorer (or some other kind of file explorer, but I really like the ES one). The USB stick/external hard drive method works just as well if you prefer that.

Wifi is probably the most convenient but if you can, connect via Ethernet. My wifi works fine but I still connect with a cable. I always connect physically wherever possible.

One last thing: Pick up a powered USB hub and connect it via the USB port. You'll then be able to connect multiple things at the same time.

and really anything pre PS4 will emulate pretty well on ouya.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but this is not not true. The Ouya will not emulate anything after the N64 era. There is a Dreamcast emulator that was released recently, but it's still in alpha and way more miss than hit. But things like Gamecube, Xbox, 360, and PS2 do not have any emulators on the Ouya nor should you expect there to be. Maybe Ouya 2.

[RiotingSpectre]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but this is not not true. The Ouya will not emulate anything after the N64 era. There is a Dreamcast emulator that was released recently, but it's still in alpha and way more miss than hit. But things like Gamecube, Xbox, 360, and PS2 do not have any emulators on the Ouya nor should you expect there to be. Maybe Ouya 2.

You're correct. Dreamcast is the strongest thing we can emulate on our current iteration of OUYA's. OUYA Two has been hypothesized to be able to run everything else within the 128-bit generation along with maybe the Wii if Tegra 5 is what we get.

[Jake53]

Wow, I meant to type PS1, definitely not ps4.

[Negative Zero]

Welcome aboard, SenVilan! We all have our gripes, but hopefully you will find the pros greater than the cons. I wanted to add that you might want to use FilePwn from Discover instead of ES file explorer. It's mostly a personal choice thing, but be aware that ES only works up to a certain version. The current version does not work on the ouya.

Also, sideloading through dropbox works fine, but you can also load whatever apks you have on your pc to a usb drive then mount the drive on your ouya in order to sideload. Again, personal choice.

Finally, I'd recommend epsxe over fpse, simply because I have yet to find a game that doesn't run well on it.

And don't forget SPMC!

[SenVilan]

Thanks a ton everyone, that's exactly what I was looking for . And thanks for the offer Jake; I may have to take you up on that.

I've never used XMBC or SPMC so I'm not too familiar with them. Do they sort of take over as the main GUI for the OUYA or is it only useful for specific tasks like navigating through movies, music, etc? I'll probably be using the OUYA mainly for gaming, but if it helps with organization over all, I'll definitely give SPMC a shot.

There was one other thing on my mind lately in regards to a Sega Saturn emulator. I had read that it wasn't possible to run a Saturn emulator on the OUYA but I then read a contrary viewpoint by someone who said that they had a Saturn emulator working for android that could potentially be side-loaded. Has anyone had any luck with something like that? I think it's called "Yabause."

Thanks again for the help guys.

[timmytot666]

Ill check it out tomorrow. Spmc and xbmc are just programs that run your media files. Music or movies.

Sent from my LGL55C using Tapatalk 2

[James Andrew Coote]

The UI still lags a lot when you're trying to download a bunch of stuff in the background. Typically, the first thing people do when they get their OUYA is download a bunch of games and apps, so people assume that is just how it is and/or get a bad first impression

As for the controller, not wanting to have a go, but that "cheaply made feel" comment seems like something you read before you bought the OUYA, and subconsciously prejudge it on. I'd like to know what constitutes a sense of a controller being "cheaply made". Is it the feel of the buttons when you press them, the weight, the shape / way it fits in your hands (does it feel smooth or can you feel the joins between the component parts), the look (being able to see the seams / joins in the material)? Or something else?