FPGA Based Videogame System

[Andromeda Stardust]

You can always buy a Power Base Converter if you want to play real Master System carts on the Mega NT.

 

 

^Was there a PB Converter for the model/system II, III? The system I adapter was specially molded to fit the original MD/Genesis' profile and would more or less dictate the shape of the top, back and overall height of what a proposed Analogue SG (or whatever) would need to be, if it were to allow use of one. The width could end just around or a little over the width of the convertor (I guess if it were to allow connection to a CD drive, like the side-mounted System II drive, the side profile would need to conform to allowing that) and it would need a bit more in front to account for console buttons or sliders. That's pretty specific and butting up pretty close to the original design. Wonder, if as others have suggested, SEGA might be on-board for licensing something like that. Might just be easier to include the 8-bit cart port.

 

 

You an always buy a Power Base Mini from Stone Age Gamer. The site is under construction right now unfortunately. There is a standard version and a premium version with FM support.

 

I don't think adding an SMS slot would be prohibitively expensive however. AVS had a Famicom and an NES slot, four controller ports, and an auxiliary db15 ext connection, and was only $185.

[gulps]

This weekend I finished the Phantasy Star SMS game ROM with the FM enabled on the Analogue NT Mini.

 

The Master System FM emulation at the NT Mini is awesome. Very quiet, beautiful, very good work!

 

 

 

I hope the GB/GBC cartridge adaptors will be released someday for the Drag'n'derp / LSDJ compatibility. It would be a great tool for chip tune makers.

 

Don't forget PC Engine!

[Fafner]

I hope the GB/GBC cartridge adaptors will be released someday for the Drag'n'derp / LSDJ compatibility. It would be a great tool for chip tune makers.

 

Don't forget PC Engine!

Plus one on those!

While I can use a Super Gameboy with my Super NT Id much rather play my carts on my NT mini.

Was never a fan of playing with the Super GB borders.

Edited March 14, 2018 by Fafner

[Andromeda Stardust]

Plus one on those!

While I can use a Super Gameboy with my Super NT Id much rather play my carts on my NT mini.

Was never a fan of playing with the Super GB borders.

 

no love for the enhanced colors either? the custom borders was one of the coolest features of sgb enhanced games. donkey kong made the tv look like an arcade bezel.

[Pixelboy]

no love for the enhanced colors either? the custom borders was one of the coolest features of sgb enhanced games. donkey kong made the tv look like an arcade bezel.

I loved the color password system of the Super Game Boy. It was fun finding just the right color combination for each level of the Mega Man games, and a few other GB games like Gargoyle's Quest and Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins. I wish I could do that with the Game Boy core on the NT Mini.

[Jagasian]

I loved the color password system of the Super Game Boy. It was fun finding just the right color combination for each level of the Mega Man games, and a few other GB games like Gargoyle's Quest and Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins. I wish I could do that with the Game Boy core on the NT Mini.

Have you seen the black and white GB games that have been hacked into GBC games to colorize them. Some of the fan hacks are great. Just a hint of the right colors and no big changes.

[+grips03]

Does the SuperNT jailbreak play the same systems as the NT Mini?

[cacophony]

Does the SuperNT jailbreak play the same systems as the NT Mini?

No, it only adds rom support for snes/sfc.

[RabidWookie]

Any word on when the other colors of the Super NT might come back in stock?

[Andromeda Stardust]

Have you seen the black and white GB games that have been hacked into GBC games to colorize them. Some of the fan hacks are great. Just a hint of the right colors and no big changes.

I have a repro of Super Mario Land for Game Boy Color.

[Andromeda Stardust]

I loved the color password system of the Super Game Boy. It was fun finding just the right color combination for each level of the Mega Man games, and a few other GB games like Gargoyle's Quest and Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins. I wish I could do that with the Game Boy core on the NT Mini.

I was mainly referring specifically to the games that contained enhanced color graphics, sound, and borders. These are great on the Super Game Boy. But I generally use the standard gray palette for non-enhanced games. For some reason the high contrast white/yellow/red/black looks good in GB Tetris though.

[Andromeda Stardust]

Yes.

Using Hakchi with the command line switch "-fp 0" will completely remove these anti-epilepsy measures.

 

In addition, if you want scanlines without the ugly blurry "CRT" effect you can add "-filter 2 -magfilter 3 -fp 0"

I meant to reply earlier. Regarding the Virtual Console / Classic Mini emulation: How much lag does the anti-seziure filter add? It seems the filter would need to look ahead a frame or two in order to blend offensive flickers together or prevent strobing. This would definitely add lag to the chain.

 

Overall I was more satisfied with the SNES emulation on the Classic Minis compared to the NES emulation. NES had more lag and the color palette was dull looking. Ironically they added the dot crawl effect to the SNES CRT simulation despite the SNES being rgb native does not seem suffer from dot crawl, even over composite. Only the NES composite exhibits this effect (making native NES output look especially terrible on HDTVs).

[LostGaijin]

Hi everyone, long time lurker, first time posting (I think...).

 

I am have a technical issue with my Super Nt. I bought a repro cartridge of Star Ocean (with the English patch applied, and I assume it is decompressed, but do not know yet, I did ask), and it is not working. I have tried all sorts of things in the settings, including new resolutions (all of them @ 60 hz), the new DTT options and every buffering options. Is there anything else I should try?

 

I am running the JB firmware 6.5, but also tried 4.4 today too. Still did not load. The system is on, and I can access the menu, but the game does not load. I waited about five minutes as well to see if it was just being slow.

 

Side note: I also bought a copy of Star Fox 2 from the guy and it works flawlessly.

 

 

 

 

[Andromeda Stardust]

Hi everyone, long time lurker, first time posting (I think...).

 

I am have a technical issue with my Super Nt. I bought a repro cartridge of Star Ocean (with the English patch applied, and I assume it is decompressed, but do not know yet, I did ask), and it is not working. I have tried all sorts of things in the settings, including new resolutions (all of them @ 60 hz), the new DTT options and every buffering options. Is there anything else I should try?

 

I am running the JB firmware 6.5, but also tried 4.4 today too. Still did not load. The system is on, and I can access the menu, but the game does not load. I waited about five minutes as well to see if it was just being slow.

 

Side note: I also bought a copy of Star Fox 2 from the guy and it works flawlessly.

 

 

 

 

Do you have a real SNES to test your repro with? I remember RetroUSB being one of the first companies to sell Star Ocean repros but they are long discontinued.

http://www.retrousb.com/product_info.php?cPath=32&products_id=113

 

My StarFox 2 repro from Retro Circuits runs great, because it's actually built on a genuine Nintendo manufactured Super FX pcb. In fact it is identical circuit board to my Stunt Race FX.

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/242970-fpga-based-videogame-system/page-365?do=findComment&comment=3977962

[LostGaijin]

Do you have a real SNES to test your repro with? I remember RetroUSB being one of the first companies to sell Star Ocean repros but they are long discontinued.

http://www.retrousb.com/product_info.php?cPath=32&products_id=113

 

My StarFox 2 repro from Retro Circuits runs great, because it's actually built on a genuine Nintendo manufactured Super FX pcb. In fact it is identical circuit board to my Stunt Race FX.

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/242970-fpga-based-videogame-system/page-365?do=findComment&comment=3977962

Thank you for your reply, but no unfortunately I do not, I am traveling in the USA and am not at home. There is a retro game store (relatively) nearby, but I won't be able to check it out until this weekend. I got it from a guy on Etsy who does repros. and he has been awesome. I may send it back for him to test again. But I figured I would post here and see if any of you guys or gals (or maybe even Kevtris) could assist.

[SegaSnatcher]

^Was there a PB Converter for the model/system II, III? The system I adapter was specially molded to fit the original MD/Genesis' profile and would more or less dictate the shape of the top, back and overall height of what a proposed Analogue SG (or whatever) would need to be, if it were to allow use of one. The width could end just around or a little over the width of the convertor (I guess if it were to allow connection to a CD drive, like the side-mounted System II drive, the side profile would need to conform to allowing that) and it would need a bit more in front to account for console buttons or sliders. That's pretty specific and butting up pretty close to the original design. Wonder, if as others have suggested, SEGA might be on-board for licensing something like that. Might just be easier to include the 8-bit cart port.

A smaller form factor PBC was officially released by Sega, but only in Pal regions I believe. Its stupid expensive. You can buy a cheaper one at Stone Age Gamer.

 

Here is a pic of the Master System Converter ll released exclusively to Pal regions.

 

Edited March 15, 2018 by SegaSnatcher

[Andromeda Stardust]

^^does the ii converter play card games?

 

I have the powerbase mini and it works great on my model 1 genesis and super retro trio. SRT plays sms games flawlessly, great clone quality on the 16-bit fronts. Only the sega phasor doesn't work on the 9-pin ports. They also have a premium version for fm sound.

 

I imagine the mega nt will have a dedicated sms port and fm sound synthesis built in. You may need to still use a pin converter for game gear or sg3000/1000 stuff though. JB firmware is all but a given now so I imagine Kevtris would add in support for game gear and sg1000 in his sms core.

[spoonman]

I would definitely want a new SMS compatible system to have the Sega Card slot intact.

Then it would also be one step closer to having SegaScope 3D support once the Analogue DAC comes out.

 

There are a few decent Sega Cards as well.

 

[F34R]

Hi everyone, long time lurker, first time posting (I think...).

 

I am have a technical issue with my Super Nt. I bought a repro cartridge of Star Ocean (with the English patch applied, and I assume it is decompressed, but do not know yet, I did ask), and it is not working. I have tried all sorts of things in the settings, including new resolutions (all of them @ 60 hz), the new DTT options and every buffering options. Is there anything else I should try?

 

I am running the JB firmware 6.5, but also tried 4.4 today too. Still did not load. The system is on, and I can access the menu, but the game does not load. I waited about five minutes as well to see if it was just being slow.

 

Side note: I also bought a copy of Star Fox 2 from the guy and it works flawlessly.

 

 

 

 

I know this is going to sound dumb, have you cleaned the pins of the cart recently? Give it a good cleaning. Q-tip, isopropyl alcohol, clean the contacts. Get a pink eraser, like from a pencil, go over the contacts (both sides). Then one more time with the q-tip/alcohol. Let it dry completely. Try it in the Super NT.

[Reaperman]

 

I am have a technical issue with my Super Nt. I bought a repro cartridge of Star Ocean (with the English patch applied, and I assume it is decompressed, but do not know yet, I did ask), and it is not working. I have tried all sorts of things in the settings, including new resolutions (all of them @ 60 hz), the new DTT options and every buffering options. Is there anything else I should try?

 

I'm a little surprised it's not working via cart slot.

 

I don't know if it's real help, but I've tried a star ocean rom that's completely hacked to hell (3 patches, iirc). It doesn't work through the Super NT directly, which isn't a huge surprise, but it does still work through my super powerpak. The only adjustment I made in the super nt menu, is the cartridge timing checkbox for powerpak, under the hardware(?) menu. This was jb 6.5.

Edited March 15, 2018 by Reaperman

[Great Hierophant]

Has anyone done testing on the FM audio of the Master System core and compared it to the Japanese MK-2000, Everdrive X7, or other FM audio variants? I've seen some exploratory comparisons and I know Bob of RetroRGB had plans for it before he stepped back. Any of you aware of any conclusions on what provides the most clarity and quality? I'm wondering if a MK-2000 or modded Master System is something I should pursue.

 

From what I can tell the various solutions all sound slightly different. I can't find any posts of people discussing the quality of the FM audio on the NT Mini's core.

 

This thread moves so fast I'm probably whistling in the wind but I'm hoping some of you have opinions or know of people exploring the issue.

 

The YM2143 FM Synthesis recreation on the Nt Mini is good but struggles a bit with some of the more difficult tracks. A true "FMophile" may not be satisfied with it, but don't forget that the Core was a freebie. Here are some sample recordings :

 

http://www.mediafire.com/file/a3hnkjdkshfnkp1/Japanese_SMS-Nt_Mini_FM_Recordings.7z

[LostGaijin]

I know this is going to sound dumb, have you cleaned the pins of the cart recently? Give it a good cleaning. Q-tip, isopropyl alcohol, clean the contacts. Get a pink eraser, like from a pencil, go over the contacts (both sides). Then one more time with the q-tip/alcohol. Let it dry completely. Try it in the Super NT.

 

I'm a little surprised it's not working via cart slot.

 

I don't know if it's real help, but I've tried a star ocean rom that's completely hacked to hell (3 patches, iirc). It doesn't work through the Super NT directly, which isn't a huge surprise, but it does still work through my super powerpak. The only adjustment I made in the super nt menu, is the cartridge timing checkbox for powerpak, under the hardware(?) menu. This was jb 6.5.

 

Thank you to both of you for the replies and I will try and clean it and use the new settings when I get home from work. The guy who recommended me to use the specific store said his copy of Star Ocean works fine on his Super Nt and so maybe it is just dirty.

 

Addition: And the guy who I bought it from said he may pick up a Super Nt for testing which is cool.

Edited March 15, 2018 by LostGaijin

[Shadowgate]

 

The YM2143 FM Synthesis recreation on the Nt Mini is good but struggles a bit with some of the more difficult tracks. A true "FMophile" may not be satisfied with it, but don't forget that the Core was a freebie. Here are some sample recordings :

 

http://www.mediafire.com/file/a3hnkjdkshfnkp1/Japanese_SMS-Nt_Mini_FM_Recordings.7z

Well... Crap. I was hoping it was a lot less obvious than that. The Nt Mini sounds harsh in comparison.

 

Are any of the alternatives any better? Modded power base, everdrive x7, etc? For now it looks like the Mk-2000 is going back on the wishlist.

 

The fm audio is discussed so infrequently that I was hoping the reason is that the Nt Minis version was just that awesome.

 

Thank you for the information.

Edited March 15, 2018 by Shadowgate

[Great Hierophant]

I believe that the VRC7 recreation is significantly more mature than the YM2413 recreation, but the VRC7 was used in exactly one game. kevtris wrote the book on what we know about the VRC7. However, for both the VRC7 and YM2413, he had to recreate the built in instrument values by ear. The YM2413 has been decapped, but it was discovered that its built-in instrument parameters are not contained in an ordinary ROM table which would be visible as a transistor array to an electron microscope. Instead, instrument values are defined by regions of P-doped and N-doped silicon, which are the building blocks of transistors. As these areas cannot be determined visually, this has proved a rather effective deterrent to 100% compatible reverse engineering.

 

I originally thought that the FM Synthesis simulation on the Nt Mini was "just that awesome" too, but I had never had access to quality recordings from original hardware. There are some differences in the filtering between the Japanese Mark III with the FM Unit upgrade, the Japanese Sega Master System, the Power Base FM, the SMSFM and the NEO SEGA MKiii 256M Myth flash cart. Sega was never very consistent with the FM Synthesis filtering, as you can see when you read about the best sounding version of the Genesis/Mega Drive.

Edited March 15, 2018 by Great Hierophant

[F34R]

I'm a little surprised it's not working via cart slot.

 

I don't know if it's real help, but I've tried a star ocean rom that's completely hacked to hell (3 patches, iirc). It doesn't work through the Super NT directly, which isn't a huge surprise, but it does still work through my super powerpak. The only adjustment I made in the super nt menu, is the cartridge timing checkbox for powerpak, under the hardware(?) menu. This was jb 6.5.

I have it on the SD2SNES and it works. It won't run on the SuperNT via sd card.