[What have you actually PLAYED tracker for 2020 (Season 13)]

Just got done sinking some time into Super Hang-On for the Genesis.  I like to warm up on the Africa course, then work my way up.  On my final attempt at the Asia course, I crashed into a sign about 200 feet before the Goal.  I figured that was as good a time as any to turn it off for the night.

[The Official Sega Saturn Thread!]

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this in my local game store last week.  I ran back there today with 3 consoles to trade for it.  Once it stops thunder storming here, I'm going to see if Outrun works in it.

[The Official Sega Saturn Thread!]

On 8/8/2020 at 1:52 PM, cybercylon said:

I have been waiting for SAG to get them since they are fairly local for me. Well, if I have to wait longer, it's not like I have a shortage of stuff to play.

 

I'm hoping SAG's stock was part of the first batch.  I'm curious how they handle firmware download DRM, being a reseller.

[Wanted: Saturn PSU board recap service]

I have two Saturn model 1 PSU boards that I would like to get recapped.  There's a Japanese one labeled Voltek 34288-4 and a US one labeled Fujitsu KS350-1401-H022/02.  I'm in North Carolina.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

Isn't it illegal to sell something on ebay that you don't actually have?  If you're going to scalp it, you should at least read ebay's rules and wait until ~2 weeks before you get it to make a listing.

 

Do any Pocket units actually exist?  The renders shown by Analogue look different than the ones from the unveiling.

[Japan Vs. Rest of the World: Who has created the best games?]

I'd say if we're talking pre-PS1/Saturn/N64 then Japan and US were light-years ahead of Europe.  Euro 8 and 16 bit computer games were not made to the same standard as their console counterparts.  Even in the best cases, there was always something fundamentally wrong with Amiga games that wouldn't occur on a console game.  The Mister has given me the opportunity to dive into the libraries and many of the games seem built around being obtuse, bad or complicated controls and/or physics, poor hazard placement, thoughtless level layouts, music or sound effects, never both.  European devs seemed very unambitious.  It was make a game for the lowest common denominator, port it to everything under the sun no matter how inappropriate, don't waste time taking advantage of stronger hardware, just get it out the door asap and make sure the screenshots on the back of the box look good.  

[FPGA vs. EMULATION? What is your choice?]

5 hours ago, youxia said:

Can you post links to tests confirming this?

 

I get what you say about "fanatical" attitude of some FPGA fans - I said as much myself in my post. But facts are facts, and what you say about MiSTer being "functionally equivalent" is simply not true. The differences (few frames of lag, boot up time, the, ahem "hardware simulation" aspect, and so on) might be unobservable or unimportant for some people, but they do exist and count for others.

 

@English Invader: I used Amiga on Pi3B+ and it's great overall, but also not cycle accurate. This makes some big games unplayable (It Came From The Desert, Barbarian and more). Its video-scaling is also imperfect (at least on a CRT).

This is exactly what I'm talking about with how asinine this has all become and why I ran the heck away from the CG Discord.  You're all LOOKING for problems and faults with things in order to justify the fanaticism.  Anything new comes out, be it an emulator, scaler, wireless controller, etc and immediately idiots do some "scientific" lag test and post a bunch of numbers that mean nothing in 99% of cases and hold it up as "see, it's not perfect, we need to wait for the next gadget that we preordered to get here.  If that's perfect, then you can play video games again."  I don't care at all, I don't feel any lag, it feels indistinguishable from any FPGA device in the same display, it has no impact in my performance in the game, I don't invent problems for the excuse of buying more stuff and to rationalize a lack of interest in actually playing video games.  In short, I'm happy with what I have, it works.  I know that's no bueno with the CG Discord crowd that demand absolute perfection down to the atoms, but that's a fool's errand.  What is perfect?  They're all chasing a dragon.

 

FPGAs are symbolic of what classic gaming has become in the last decade.  A bunch of people who aren't really interested in playing or talking about video games.

[FPGA vs. EMULATION? What is your choice?]

On 7/17/2020 at 1:56 PM, youxia said:

Somebody was doing that?

 

Even if, it doesn't even work like that. Difference between a swanky PC and Pi in startup time exists, but is definitely not as observable as vs MiSTer. The horsepower  also doesn't play as huge role since we're mostly talking about 8-16 bit machines and most of them run fine on Pi. The lag is lower on MiSTer because it works differently, not because it has more GHz/RAM.

 

Turning on hard GPU sync in retroarch eliminates input lag entirely on my setup.  I can also turn on runahead, but I don't feel a difference with it on or off if I have hard GPU sync enabled.  Everything plays just as well as on a mister and I get all extra things like shaders that mister doesn't offer.

 

I'm really starting to feel like FPGAs are the thing that some are fanatical about because it's more exclusive than software emulation.  Too many people have PCs, phones, tablets, SBCs and play old games on them now.  They need to feel like they know something everyone else doesn't.

 

Don't get me wrong, I like messing around with the mister and it serves the important purpose of being a small box that connects to my big TV and allows me to play old games while sitting on the couch, but for 8/16 bit games it's functionally equivalent to my PC/monitor at my desk and in many ways is lesser.

[MiSTer FPGA]

Does anyone know how far out we are from the X68000 core becoming part of the official release?

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

8 hours ago, Slipard said:

To add insult to injury: new benefits won't be ported back to Nt Mini (Analogue's official stance) and jailbreak will get new cores (Kevtris' statement).

Boo Frickity hoo, man.  It's a toy, anyone who doesn't have access to whatever features the new NT mini has will be ok.

 

All of the stupid infighting and mudslinging of Analogue vs Mister has only pushed me back to software emulation.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

6 hours ago, vanfanel said:

Of course we had RGB compatible TVs here in the 80s. I had my Commodore Amiga compuer connected via SCART, which is great for TV-computers, and it looked fantastic. But Commodore Amiga developers didn't code their games and programs to make massive use of pixel blending, while MegaDrive developers did: good luck enjoying Earthworm Jim without pixel blending, or even Story of Thor (look at the intro, no need to go further in the game).

 

This is very simple: Many major titles look BAD on the MegaSG because of the lack of proper pixel blending. And they look great on the MiSTer because it's core has proper pixel blending. That's not MiSTer advertising: it's reality. In fact, I would prefer things to be the opposite: I would prefer MegaSG doing it right instead of MiSTer, because I would be able to fix the MiSTer core. I am using the MiSTer here as an example of how it could be done very easily, that's all.

I enjoy Megadrive games just fine without using pixel blending...  I wouldn't use it anyway, I don't like an artificially softened image.  I don't know why some get so triggered by dithering.

 

It's odd in a world full of flatscreen tv's, upscalers, line doublers, flash carts, ODEs, software emulation, and fpga cores, etc that some still cling to blurry colors like it's critical to the experience.

[The Official Sega Saturn Thread!]

4 hours ago, Black_Tiger said:

The Saturn version is much more enjoyable and plays better thanks to two of the game biggest flaws being addressed.

 

You get an item at the beginning of the second castle that boosts your movement speed.

 

You get a third hand to equip items on.

 

So instead of stopping mid-fight to enter the menu screen, putting the item on one of your hands, then exiting the menu screen, using the item, going back to the menu screen, re-equiping the weapon or shield, exit the menu screen and finally resume normal play...

 

-in the Saturn version you simply press a button.

 

 

I bought a new GE 25" TV to play Saturn games on in 1995. I bought NitM at EB as soon as it was released and while playing the game through composite all of the dithing looked like real translucencies.

 

The Saturn version has another strength in that the Wing Smash lasts as long as you have MP, so you can use it to zip through long hallways and open segments in no time.  In the PS1 version, it only travels a short distance.  The Saturn version was the first and only version of SotN I played for years.  Going to the PS1 version for the first time last year was kind of a shock in a bad way.  The toned down visual effects, slowdown, and load times never bothered me because it was my only reference point.

[2020 Sega Saturn options:ODE/MODE/Satiator/Fenrir/Rhea/Phoebe/OTHERS?]

Has anyone here preordered a MODE?  I hope TO figured out something better than the donkey cart they used last summer to slowly trickle out the Mega SD preorders.  The Andorran customs is extremely slow and they could at best process 14 packages a day.  For that reason I'm waiting to see if Stoneage Gamer stocks them in the future.

[FS: Massive Console Collection [NC/Triangle] local pickup only]

2x Xbox, FZ-10, PSX, and Heavy Sixer are still available.  Everything else is sold.

[FS: Massive Console Collection [NC/Triangle] local pickup only]

The PC Engine and Virtual Boy are gone.  Everything else is still available.

[FS: Massive Console Collection [NC/Triangle] local pickup only]

Hi,

 

I just moved this week and it dawned on me that I have too many consoles.  I want to reduce my collection to the essentials and be rid of what I don't need.  I'm in the Raleigh/Durham area of North Carolina and would like to sell these locally.  It does not have to be sold in 1 lot, but I would appreciate if you're interested to buy as much of it as you'd like.  I can negotiate down the price if you get several items at once.  

 

Here's what I've got:

2x Original Xbox - only 1 set of component cables and 1 controller - $100

FZ-10 3DO (had a broken worm gear.  I replaced it with a 3D printed gear and it works again.  Includes Goldstar controller) $75

PC Engine Coregrafx with Turbo Everdrive (no controller, video cables, or AC adapter included) $120

Dreamcast with USB-GDROM and Pico PSU + 1 controller $150

Virtual Boy with stand, controller, battery pack, PSU pack (uses SNES AC adapter), and 3 games (Red Alarm, Mario Tennis, VB Wario Land) $150

Atari 600XL with 64K ram and yellow/white composite RCA mod (wico joystick and NOS power supply included) $100

Atari 130XE with switchable BIOS, NOS PSU, and AV cables $100 

Atari 2600 Heavy Sixer with AC adapter $150

Playstation 1 with new laser, Monster brand S-video cable, and clear Dualshock controller $40

 

I hope to find these all good homes.  Don't be afraid to PM with with offers.  Thanks!

 

 

 

[Classic Gaming On Twitch?]

I really like Erin Plays.  I almost never get to catch her streams live though because I'm asleep 99% of the time she does it, but she uploads them on youtube later.  She's entertaining and I admire how she commits to the games she wants to finish.  I would never have the patience to beat NES Batman or Castlevania III or 100% Yoshi's Island.  I see it as she's doing it so I don't have to.

[NES replacement controller membranes: diagonals gone?]

Last week I ordered a pack of NES controller carbon dot membranes from console5 after being told that they're good quality.  Earlier in the year, I got a bunch from a seller on ebay and the d-pad membranes were terrible.  I could not get diagonals to register when using them.  They felt very nice and clicky, but were unusable in practice.  I got the console5 package on Saturday and lo and behold, I got the same result, no diagonals.  Has anyone else experienced this?  I've cleaned all my controller boards, and the original membranes allow diagonals like normal (I'd like to replace them for the feel, the originals feel weak) so the new membranes must be the issue.  I also got a SNES set and those were fine.

[Favourite system to play Pac-Man]

My personal favorite is Tepp's Pac Man Arcade homebrew for the A8bit.  It looks and sounds the part and is about as great a port as you can expect from the hardware.  I prefer ports to arcade emulation for Pac and Ms Pac.

[FPGA vs. EMULATION? What is your choice?]

My choice between software emulation or FPGA can depend on a bunch of factors in any given instance

 

1) What do I want to play (eg 2600, Genesis, Gameboy, Saturn, PS2)?

2) Where am I (computer desk, couch, deck, kitchen counter)?

3) Do I already have a movie or video or music playing on the TV?

4) Do I want to listen to a podcast while I play whatever I play?

5) What kind of controller do I want to use?

 

Although I enjoy my Analogue systems and the MiSTer, I still find myself choosing the convenience and added features of software emulation probably more than 50% of the time.  I really dislike the way that the community is starting to thumb its nose at software emulation, as if it's inherently worse than an FPGA implementation and beneath a "real" retro enthusiast.  I'm scratching my head at all the excitement about the WIP PS1 FPGA project.  There's no way that it'll even approach the performance and added features of Beetle PSX HW in Retroarch.  

 

 

[The Official Turbografx 16 Thread!]

Does anyone else find the fire buttons on the PC Engine controller to be not that great?  I've owned several over the years and they always have this erratic responsiveness to them.  Like sometimes they'll engage when I press them down and again when I release them.  Other times they don't respond at all or with a delay.  I have some NES rubber membranes coming in soon from console5 and I hope to try swapping them with the originals and seeing if that helps.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

7 hours ago, ApolloBoy said:

Actually it’s the Mega Drive that determines the region, not the 32X. The North American and Japanese 32X are actually internally identical, so if you were to connect a Japanese 32X to a region modded system or a Genesis, you can play every US 32X game on a Japanese 32X.

 

EDIT: Just remembered that the Japanese 32X uses the same casing as the American one so you could just plug it into a stock Genesis without an issue.

I can confirm, I have my North American 32X paired with my Japanese Model 1 Mega Drive.  Looking through the Everdrive pack, only 3 games are region locked to Japan, Virtua Racing, Stellar Assault, and Romance of the 3 Kingdoms.  Every game in the USA folder I've tried boots up fine.  And since the 32X breaks the Mega Everdrive's Mega Key feature, I think that means most 32X games don't care about NA/Japan as long as it's NTSC.  Which makes sense as I doubt it would have been worth it for developers to spend the time making Japan specific versions of 32X games that nobody in that market was going to buy.

[MiSTer FPGA]

I've noted one bug so far in PC Engine CD.  In Gradius 2, the music in the Moai stage stops partway through (I think it's supposed to switch to a different track that plays the same song at a faster tempo) but the music stops altogether.  When I reach the boss, it plays the voice clip, then the boss music starts once I reach the 3 big faces.  After that it's smooth sailing.  This happens every time I play the game.

[MiSTer FPGA]

2 hours ago, konradklaus said:

@Newsdee Thanks for the awesome run down.  I just got my Blisster in the other day and have been having fun with it (although either my neo geo adapter is bum or the controller is).  Anyways, I think I have it set up properly, although I have no idea what to do with the usb cable included.  One end is usb and the other is something I am unfamiliar with.  I couldn't find any documentation on what to do with it.  Do you know?

 

I think you're referring to the cable that goes from the Blisster to the IO board.  Without that the LLAPI (serial/lagless) mode doesn't work.  If you don't have it connecting the blisster to the IO board, then everything is still running in USB mode.

[MiSTer FPGA]

3 hours ago, Cosmic Owl said:

 

I couldn't agree with you more. While we have to be appreciative of the work he's done for the project, he brings so much hostility to the community. His first reaction to any suggestion is immediately shit on it, regardless of merit. I understand there are often a lot of terrible ideas thrown around, and it likely gets tiresome, but that dude has a serious attitude problem.

 

The most recent example that rubbed me the wrong way was when someone asked about MD+ support for the Genesis/CD core.

Seriously dude? "Play games as they are designed", that feels very inconsistent when cores are adding turbo mode, increasing sprite limits, and shit like that. There are arguments for both sides, but that dude is a prick.

 

 

Techically, MD+ always existed.  I believe it was called Sega CD Mode 0 and allowed a cartridge based game to use an audio CD the Sega CD for music.  Nothing ever used it during the system's lifetime.  I think Pier Solar was the first time it was ever meaningfully utilized.  There are rom hacks out there that add Mode 0 capability to games like Sonic 1.  So Sorg doesn't know what he's talking about.  But yeah, I avoid all that drama and just run the update script every other week or so and see if anything new pops up.  I figure if anything huge gets added, the news will reach me.