The Official Turbografx 16 Thread!

[Greg2600]

Now the hunt begins: finding ROMs (no intro set would be best), sorting them, removing O's, B's, and other duplicate ROMs. Then separating J and U and separating them by letters like #, A, B, C (or group them like A-E, F-H, I-M)

 

I used this...

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

I used this...

 

Are we sure this is allowed discussion? (url switched to Google search homepage)

[Greg2600]

If not, mods can delete it (too late for me). There's full set, organized links to VCS, CV, INTV, etc. threads already.

[Andromeda Stardust]

If not, mods can delete it (too late for me). There's full set, organized links to VCS, CV, INTV, etc. threads already.

 

That's actually the same source I used to get complete ROM sets for my flash cart collection. Nintendo seems to be the only company still actively policing the Internet with DMCA takedown notices for old ROMs, and even they can't legally do anything about websites hosted on foreign servers. I don't think it's a big deal but I believe most forums prohibit direct links to limit liability. Then again, AtariAge is hosting just about every commercial Atari ROM that exists so I don't know what their official stance is. I'm sure Albert or one of the mods can clarify that.

Edited April 21, 2015 by stardust4ever

[7800fan]

AA doesn't have every single ROM. They deliberately left out a few ROMs such as those by Activision and Imagic.

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

Then again, AtariAge is hosting just about every commercial Atari ROM that exists so I don't know what their official stance is.

 

AA doesn't have every single ROM. They deliberately left out a few ROMs such as those by Activision and Imagic.

I never said they hosted every single ROM...

[Rick Dangerous]

So all my gear came in today. Pics to follow at some point.

 

Quick question. I have one 6ft extension cable, 4 controllers, and the mutli tap. Is there any reason I can't use the extension with the mutli tap? Or am I going to have to buy four more extension cables...

 

Thanks

[+GoldenWheels]

Travis, I have seen people on the PC engine forums report issues using the extension to extend the multi tap itself.

[7800fan]

Travis, I have seen people on the PC engine forums report issues using the extension to extend the multi tap itself.

 

It gets unreliable and prone to resetting back to player 1 without reaching other players. The issue is a missing $0.05 capacitor on the tap itself. Adding one helps clean the important timing signal and make it reliably read and send data from all 5 ports. I'll have to look on PCE forum to find the thread and copy the detail over since their forum are not readable by guests and not everyone is going to sign up for forum just to read one post.

[mickcris]

 

It gets unreliable and prone to resetting back to player 1 without reaching other players. The issue is a missing $0.05 capacitor on the tap itself. Adding one helps clean the important timing signal and make it reliably read and send data from all 5 ports. I'll have to look on PCE forum to find the thread and copy the detail over since their forum are not readable by guests and not everyone is going to sign up for forum just to read one post.

 

Not sure if this is the same, but smokemonster says it doesnt work very well in this thread:

https://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?53756-Modifying-the-TurboTap-for-an-extension-cable

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

Not sure if this is the same, but smokemonster says it doesnt work very well in this thread:

https://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?53756-Modifying-the-TurboTap-for-an-extension-cable

16 foot extension cable. Interesting. Are these the large style DIN connectors? I bought a 16 foot extension cable for $30 from Crutchfield when I got my TG-16 last year. I coiled up about half of it on the TG-16 side. Since I usually game from my bed a 3-foot cable is highly impractical. I don't have a Turbo Tap yet as I'm mostly a lone gamer, but I suspect the OP in the thread is connecting the cap wrong. The Turbo Tap is rapidly switching between controllers, and if this switching action is causing transient signal issues, then the standard solution is to connect a 0.1μF ceramic cap (104) between VCC and GND as close to the chip as possible. The propagation delay in the extension cable creates a small series inductance resulting in voltage transients whenever the load changes. The cap neutralizes this effect.

 

Oh, and a shortout to my TurboGrafx fans: I just scored an Air Zonk!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251922449165

Edited April 23, 2015 by stardust4ever

[7800fan]

16 feet is crazy long, especially if it has cheap shielding. I probably wouldn't expect more than 5 feet for most controllers.

[Andromeda Stardust]

16 feet is crazy long, especially if it has cheap shielding. I probably wouldn't expect more than 5 feet for most controllers.

That's because the extension cable I ordered wasn't meant for the TurboGrafx. It was meant for a proprietary Marine audio system that happened to use 8-pin DIN ports. The cable I have is shielded and slightly thicker than the controller cables. I rolled up about 8 feet of that cable on the console side because the length is a bit excessive for my bedroom, but it works. The OP in the Assemblergames thread also used a 16 foot extension cable, which may or may not have been the same one I bought.

 

Japan PC Engine and US Turbo Duo used a smaller miniDIN cable which happens to match old Mac keyboard ports (not PS2) and NOS 6- and 8-foot extension cables are plentiful.

[Rick Dangerous]

Dammit. I'll have to get my Multi Tap modded. Lol.. Seems so dumb to have to get five extension cables.

 

Well I hooked everything up last night and despite having the Turbo Everdrive spent about 3 hours playing a Bonks Adventure Hu Card that the system came with. It was awesome!! Tons of fun, the game sucked me right in.

 

I had my expectations set low but way actually really impressed by the system. Being a 8/16 bit hybrid I was wondering if it would be closer to the NES or Genesis and I can definitely attest the latter. It really comes across as being straight "16 bit" as a matter of fact. I also really like the controller, a really solid little unit that feels like and upgraded more compfortable NES pad. Luckily I was able to score 3 brand new pads from ebay, so they are nice and fresh.

 

Will report back more once I have my TE loaded up!

[Andromeda Stardust]

Dammit. I'll have to get my Multi Tap modded. Lol.. Seems so dumb to have to get five extension cables.

 

Well I hooked everything up last night and despite having the Turbo Everdrive spent about 3 hours playing a Bonks Adventure Hu Card that the system came with. It was awesome!! Tons of fun, the game sucked me right in.

 

I had my expectations set low but way actually really impressed by the system. Being a 8/16 bit hybrid I was wondering if it would be closer to the NES or Genesis and I can definitely attest the latter. It really comes across as being straight "16 bit" as a matter of fact. I also really like the controller, a really solid little unit that feels like and upgraded more compfortable NES pad. Luckily I was able to score 3 brand new pads from ebay, so they are nice and fresh.

 

Will report back more once I have my TE loaded up!

Does yours have the large DIN connectors or the smaller MiniDINs? MiniDIN extention cables are cheap and affordable but official or third party DIN extentions are hard to find.

 

MIDI cables use DIN connectors but they are useless as they only have 5 pins connected. 8-pin DIN cables are rare unless you roll your own.

 

Have you confirmed yet if your Turbo Tap has issues with an extension cable?

[mickcris]

Not super cheap but not too bad

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=231535394088

[Rick Dangerous]

Not super cheap but not too bad

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=231535394088

 

Thats the one I bought!! Works well with one controller but haven't been able to confirm with a Multi-tap yet.

 

Tonight was my first night with the TG 16 with a fully loaded Turbe Everdrive Deluxe. All I can say is WOW. This system friggin' ROCKS!!! It was love at first use of the turbo button (Raiden)

 

My only concern was that when I first started using it (Everdrive) there was a bit of an occasional flicker in the screen. I'm wondering if its the ED, the roms, or the ED being quasi incompatible with the composite AV modded console i'm using. At any rate, the more I play the less it seems to be happening to maybe the chips in the TE just needed to be broken in or warm up a bit? One can only hope..

[Rick Dangerous]

Fired it up again tonight and had no flicker issues whatsoever. Odd.

[phoenixdownita]

I have a Duo-R and a SuperGrafx (really wanted to see those 6 extra games) and I have to say they are so way above any 8bits of their time and much closer to the 16 bits, if only it had more RAM (like if only the SuperGrafx was the standard machine) even if the CPU is not exactly blazing fast compared to the rest I believe it would have given a run for its money to all the 16bits.

 

In terms of gfx it's better than a Genny (more colors), almost on par with a SNES, sound-wise a little weak compared to either but the worst offender must be the single joy port and the different size US/JAP of the connector

 

The CD loading time is not that bad all considered, it has so little memory anyway that there's not much to be loaded

 

Their composite out is already very good, I did SVideo and I am very very happy.

 

Games are generally well done and fun, sons of the late 80's for sure.

Edited April 25, 2015 by phoenixdownita

[NE146]

I was an early adopter of the TG16 and got one at launch, along with the Sega Genesis. I used to think I was the only one who was ever interested in TG16 games at the local Electronics Boutique and Software Etc. stores.. So it's kind of funny to me how after it's demise it's now one of the most loved classic consoles by everyone... where was this U.S. fanbase when it counted!?

 

That said, I don't really touch it's games much anymore. I simply played nearly all the titles I would care about to death.. e.g. Every single ending, multiple times in Galaga 90. Dungeon Explorer never finished but knew the "hidden" ending. Military Madness finished backwards and forwards. Mastered both Legendary Axes. Mastered all 3 Bonks. Mastered Blazing Lazers and all the US-released Soldier games. Finished Ninja Spirit on arcade difficulty. Memorized the entire script of Bloody Wolf. etc. etc. etc. And this was in the 90's.

 

The one downfall though of getting into it during it's prime was it made me to ignore the later releases such as the TurboDuo / Duo-R. I thought I had been there, done that.. which was true. But dammit I would love to have one of those now. I should have got them when they were new.

Edited April 25, 2015 by NE146

[Andromeda Stardust]

Not super cheap but not too bad

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=231535394088

When did these start showing up? There was no such animal when I checked last year before I ordered the 16 foot Crutchfield cable.

[phoenixdownita]

I was an early adopter of the TG16 and got one at launch, along with the Sega Genesis. I used to think I was the only one who was ever interested in TG16 games at the local Electronics Boutique and Software Etc. stores.. So it's kind of funny to me how after it's demise it's now one of the most loved classic consoles by everyone... where was this U.S. fanbase when it counted!?

 

That said, I don't really touch it's games much anymore. I simply played nearly all the titles I would care about to death.. e.g. Every single ending, multiple times in Galaga 90. Dungeon Explorer never finished but knew the "hidden" ending. Military Madness finished backwards and forwards. Mastered both Legendary Axes. Mastered all 3 Bonks. Mastered Blazing Lazers and all the US-released Soldier games. Finished Ninja Spirit on arcade difficulty. Memorized the entire script of Bloody Wolf. etc. etc. etc. And this was in the 90's.

 

The one downfall though of getting into it during it's prime was it made me to ignore the later releases such as the TurboDuo / Duo-R. I thought I had been there, done that.. which was true. But dammit I would love to have one of those now. I should have got them when they were new.

 

Way back when I didn't have the money and wasn't in the US either .... so no way I could have helped the PCE, also the integrated CDROM and extra mem in the Duo/Duo-R/Duo-RX makes the deal much sweeter.

 

In all honesty my "old consoles retrocollecting" took off once Krikzz started making the Everdrives at scale, the ED64 was my first, as those allowed me to quench my thirst for the games rather cheaply ... thanks for that as at that time I already had 50+ N64 carts that were taking up more space than their worth. Also 95%+ of those retro-games (across the board up until much more recent with the exclusion of a few notable exceptions here and there) do not hold my attention for more than a couple of sessions hence the complete waste of money it would have entailed.

 

Most recently I learnt how to make my own simple multi for 7800 and GX4000 so also that part came rather cheap all considered, and also I realized that pure 8 bits playing is ... well .... almost done for me .... just don't enjoy it too much anymore, way too many warts to deal with, the consoles are temperamental, the pads quite uncomfortable, the games unforgiving, plenty of cheap death, jump at the pixel level and level design from hell. Make no mistake I do appreciate the nostalgia, but I surely prefer the 16bits (PCE included here) although it has tons of shovelware.

 

I stopped going back into the 8 bits, I own a few and realized I bought them to have a look then lost interest, would have preferred renting them for a week end and be done.

Edited April 25, 2015 by phoenixdownita

[8th lutz]

I was an early adopter of the TG16 and got one at launch, along with the Sega Genesis. I used to think I was the only one who was ever interested in TG16 games at the local Electronics Boutique and Software Etc. stores.. So it's kind of funny to me how after it's demise it's now one of the most loved classic consoles by everyone... where was this U.S. fanbase when it counted!?

 

I saw it in stores in 1989. I didn't have a TG-16 at the time for a very good reason in 1989. I didn't even have a NES before 1991. My parents thought buying a NES in 1989 and 1990 was expensive by looking system prices and game titles compare to what the 2600 and the 7800 had.

 

My younger brother and I were in grade school in 1989. We only had an Intellivision 2 and an Atari 2600 Jr before Christmas of 1989. We got an Atari 7800 at Christmas of 1989. My younger brother and I got a Genesis in 1992.

 

I hate to say it, but getting a TG-16 in 1992 was a lost cause. The other thing I recalled that the Turbo Duo was more expensive than the Sega Genesis in 1992.

[Andromeda Stardust]

I stopped going back into the 8 bits, I own a few and realized I bought them to have a look then lost interest, would have preferred renting them for a week end and be done.

Your loss. The 8-bit era (3rd generation NES, SMS, 7800) and especially NES has equally good games to the 16-bit era. 16-bits have a bit more refinement, while the 8-bits have that perfect combination between challenge and simplicity, but to each his own.

 

I was playing Gradius 3 on SNES the other day, and I can say I've definitely stepped up my SHMUP game the past couple years. Turbo/PCE have a custom 6502 with chiptune circuits built in, much like NES. But the NES clocks at 1.79Mhz whereas the Turbo/PCE is clocked at a whopping 7.16Mhz, 4x faster. SNES used the 16-bit upgraded version of the 6502 (I forget the name) clocked at 3.58Mhz. The 16-bit processor gave the SNES a more complex instruction set while making it easy to port NES games. However with SNES having the slowest clock speed of the 3 main 16-bit consoles (SNES, Genny, Turbo) tends to cause slowdown with large amounts of small sprites on screen. I experienced this while playing Gradius III the other night. The Turbo/PCE's higher clock allows the screen to be literally filled with bullets with zero slowdown, making it the perfect SHMUP box. I think the Turbo/PCE is synonomous with SHMUPs in a similar way that the Neo-Geo is synonymous with fighters.

Edited April 26, 2015 by stardust4ever

[phoenixdownita]

Your loss. The 8-bit era (3rd generation NES, SMS, 7800) and especially NES has equally good games to the 16-bit era. 16-bits have a bit more refinement, while the 8-bits have that perfect combination between challenge and simplicity, but to each his own.

....

Not sure what you mean by "my loss".

 

I do have access to the 3 systems you mention, it's just that their games at present do not hold my attention for long with the exception of very few selected.

For all of them thanks to some ingenuity and flash cards when available I have access to and played the whole library with the exception of the NES due to the sheer numbers (but a lot of it has not aged well and nostalgia and patience wears thin fast with those).

 

I enjoy a few here and there but for the most part it has been an exercise in looking at them and thinking how much I would have been pissed if I had to pay full price way back when, which is not a good impression, but that doesn't mean there is nothing worth playing.

 

Again this is not about the full collection, there's a few memorable things here and there, albeit the whole industry has evolved since so they are obviously no longer as groundbreaking as they were .... I'm getting old so bear with me.

Originals/exclusives (i.e. non arcade ports) are definitely more interesting but when they are multi-platform I prefer the more advanced versions. Btw this is true of later gen as well just that there's more to keep me busy when I decide to have a gaming session.

 

The last 8bit I hoarded is a ColecoVision and albeit I appreciate some of its games and I can see why in the early 80 it was "da bomb" I have to say that better ports of arcade followed not 3 or 4 years later and now I can travel thru that time much faster so those better versions are the ones I prefer to play. Unfortunately for most originals/exclusives it seems that many didn't age well and can't hold my interest past a session if that.

 

Likely as I started my collection moving backward I find it harder and harder to keep going as the technology and games get more and more "primitive".

 

Maybe I just enjoy the process of getting old consoles fixed, av modded, and browse thru their library just so I can say "I did it", the fact is wrt 8bit (and there's so many of them) even that activity does not give me much joy anymore hence my statement ... in any case nobody's loss.

 

PS: In all of this the PCE/Duo keeps my interest, I wish more of the games had an English version so there's more that is fully accessible to us in the west.

Edited April 26, 2015 by phoenixdownita