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FPGA Based Videogame System


kevtris

Interest in an FPGA Videogame System  

682 members have voted

  1. 1. I would pay....

  2. 2. I Would Like Support for...

  3. 3. Games Should Run From...

    • SD Card / USB Memory Sticks
    • Original Cartridges
    • Hopes and Dreams
  4. 4. The Video Inteface Should be...


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Still waiting for my NT Mini, but I plan to jailbreak it soon after I receive it. Thanks for the update, Kev!

 

Question: Did you look into the sound problem that happens after a couple of hours of play, which was reported by someone else earlier in this thread?

I didn't find anything and only had that one report so I don't know. There's nothing different from the hi def NES either, and it's stock 48KHz 16 bit audio.

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I can't express how relieved I am to not have to invest in an RGB Game Gear anymore.

 

EDIT: Question for Kev: do you think this might become a ROM dumper for other systems once you start selling those cart connectors?

yes it's possible. I don't have a big stable of carts for other systems to test it with though, but I did think about it. I don't think it'd be too tough for most of the systems since there's little to no mappers, it isn't bad like the NES.

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As promised, here's my latest firmware!

 

This update fixes several bugs and adds FOUR new systems!

 

* SG-1000 (place your games under /SMS for this)

* Sega Master System (yes with FM support, though a little bit buggy, I will fix it eventually)

* Game Gear

* Colecovision

 

 

 

Yes! Thanks so much, this is great!

Couple of questions:

 

You mention the need for certain bios in your readme, but they do not seem to be included in the firmware zip. Are we on our own for this?

In the Cores directory, there is just SMS and NES. I assume SG-1000 and Game Gear might be handled under the SMS core, but what about Coleco?

Edited by roaringchicken
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Kevtris, I would like to ask how do you deal with different versions/revisions of the same console in your cores? Do you base your implementations on particular console models? For instance, it is known that SNES Jr. has some compatibility issues or that the sound generated by Twin Famicom is muffled, an option to switch between various consoles versions would be awesome but I guess it'd be really a lot of work to implement such a feature...

 

When it comes to the Sega Master System, what is interesting is that some later models have a special "extra height" display mode used by Codemasters games. You can read more about incompatibilities between different SMS versions here.

Edited by retro_fan
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Kevtris, I would like to ask how do you deal with different versions/revisions of the same console in your cores? Do you base your implementations on particular console models? For instance, it is known that SNES Jr. has some compatibility issues or that the sound generated by Twin Famicom is muffled, an option to switch between various consoles versions would be awesome but I guess it'd be really a lot of work to implement such a feature...

 

When it comes to the Sega Master System, what is interesting is that some later models have a special "extra height" display mode used by Codemasters games. You can read more about incompatibilities between different SMS versions here.

Usually I implement the fullest version I can so all the games run. I support the extra height display on SMS and game gear (otherwise star trek games would be off center). I have been fighting with the SMS/GG differences for the last week and it was pretty rough. I find it insane that Sega made so many slightly incompatible versions of their own system. It's worse than NES clones. lol

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@kevtris, not trying to derail your thread at all, but as the one of the most knowledgable people in the forums, what is your opinion of the "Hybrid Emulation" bit the Retroblox guys are pitching? Basically in a nutshell he is using a 1.7Ghz ARM CPU to interface the cartridge port in a similar manner to how your FPGA cores operate.

 

http://retroblox.com/2017/02/08/everything-you-need-to-know/

 

Probably your Zimba3000 idea, or even a jailbroken Analogue NT Mini, sounds like a safer bet, but I'm cautiously optimistic that these guys aren't total frauds like Mike Kennedy and Co.

 

Retroblox discussion thread: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/261689-retroblox/

 

Oh dang, nice looking console!

Yeah cautiously optimistic is best.

Here's my stance: at the end of the day I guess I'm ok with stolen emulator code, as long as it AT LEAST plays the games a bit better than I can on my Windows XP/7 laptops.

(Less input lag / less sound lag / vsynced?)

I won't expect it to be as perfect as the AVS NES but what I mean is, something in between that and a typical PC.

 

With the RetroN5 I'm really unhappy about its gaming capability, I don't even play it at all ever, except to bring it as a backup to a friend's house to show them something from a game if my friend only has HD TVs and I don't feel like taking out my precious systems, but I absolutely need its save-file backup ability.

Edited by veelk55
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Yes! Thanks so much, this is great!

Couple of questions:

 

You mention the need for certain bios in your readme, but they do not seem to be included in the firmware zip. Are we on our own for this?

In the Cores directory, there is just SMS and NES. I assume SG-1000 and Game Gear might be handled under the SMS core, but what about Coleco?

you have to get them yourself. I cannot and will not supply 'em. Yes, that is why this is a m-m-m-m-m-multicore. It supports all those systems. They are all pretty similar to each other so they all run on the same core basically.

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Really excited to try out the SMS core! :)

 

@kevtris, can you reveal anything about the next step after you get the existing cores out? For instance, are you planning on investigating the feasibility of PCE on the Nt mini? Anything the community can do to help facilitate this or other future plans? (like say a Patreon page)

Edited by cacophony
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Nah, a 64Gb SD card is large enough to hold nearly every cartridge based ROM ever made, uncompressed. I believe GBA have the largest No-Intro set, followed closely by NEO-GEO and N64. Everything else is tiny by comparison.

 

You're right. Access to a NAS is more a convenience to me.

Edited by roland p
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Usually I implement the fullest version I can so all the games run. I support the extra height display on SMS and game gear (otherwise star trek games would be off center). I have been fighting with the SMS/GG differences for the last week and it was pretty rough. I find it insane that Sega made so many slightly incompatible versions of their own system. It's worse than NES clones. lol

Talking about NES clones... You made this awesome video Reverse Engineering Unlicensed NES Arcade Board, and I would love to see how you reverse engineer in a similar manner a Famicom/NES clone, but not one of these newer ones...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWZqw2xsgMw

 

Micro Genius clones were considered (especially older ones) to be pretty good imitations of the original console. They were even trying to add some improvements such as turbo buttons or wireless controllers. You definitely should check them out. :)

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Did another minorish update that fixes several bugs:

 

* Added SMS and GG save RAM saving functionality.
* Fixed SMS/GG save RAM functionality.
* File browser will not display .SAV files in the sms/gg/coleco cores.
* Retooled the button options and made a new unified "Menu Button Mapping" entry.
* Fixed the B button setting so it works now
* Fixes LED issue on core swap now.
* Made LED default to white and changed menus to reflect this. If you want it fixed you select a pattern speed of 0 now.
* Removed GG bezel graphics.

http://blog.kevtris.org/blogfiles/ntm_firmware_verJB1.1.zip

 

Enjoy!

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Were people complaining about the bezel? I thought it was cool. I just played through Sonic Chaos for the first time this morning...never beat it as a kid, instantly beat it today. The crappy GG screen must have been to blame.

Yeah, the bezel was nice! There should be an option to turn it on/off -- the Z3K should be fully customizable. Actually I wanted to ask kevtris whether he could add a similar feature for other cores, for instance to simulate an old TV frame. :) Also some kind of LCD screen emulation would be cool (optional, of course, something like "scanlines" for other consoles), but I'm not sure it's possible on FPGAs. Check out this video (watch it fullscreen, 720p):

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz8v2BWX_dM

Edited by retro_fan
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Yeah, the bezel was nice! There should be an option to turn it on/off -- the Z3K should be fully customizable. Actually I wanted to ask kevtris whether he could add a similar feature for other cores, for instance to simulate an old TV frame. :) Also some kind of LCD screen emulation would be cool (optional, of course, something like "scanlines" for other consoles), but I'm not sure it's possible on FPGAs. Check out this video (watch it fullscreen, 720p):

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz8v2BWX_dM

 

IMO, displaying the bezel, and pixel-degrading effects like scanlines or other effects for LCD require more FPGA space, and is not a good use of kevtris's time. The ideal mechanism for dealing with the bezel is to have a bmp/pcx/gif file that can be swapped out, otherwise we're better off maximizing the integer scaling. It needs to be said that if you play games for a long period of time, you are going to create image retention problems on OLED screens if you use any static image.

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IMO, displaying the bezel, and pixel-degrading effects like scanlines or other effects for LCD require more FPGA space, and is not a good use of kevtris's time. The ideal mechanism for dealing with the bezel is to have a bmp/pcx/gif file that can be swapped out, otherwise we're better off maximizing the integer scaling. It needs to be said that if you play games for a long period of time, you are going to create image retention problems on OLED screens if you use any static image.

I still kinda liked the bezel. And LCD displays don't retain images. Just watching fullscreen or ultrawidescreen content on an OLED will ruin the screen as the black pixels burn less.
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Well I screwed up the link. I edited it and it shows the right thing but it's still pointing to the wrong file. and I can't edit my post any more. drat. Anyways the link is:

 

http://blog.kevtris.org/blogfiles/ntm_firmware_verJB0.9.zip

 

Just fixed the link for you! ;)

 

FYI - My system is also on order and I now need to get caught up on everything! Lots of reading to do tonight! :)

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So after reading all this, now I'm in the market for the NT Mini, ready to jump over pull the trigger and snag one. andddd... they're sold out. :lol:

 

Ah well as usual I have to wait. :)

You think the news of Kevtris jail-breaking the device to run other game systems has anything to do with it? :grin:

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In B4 everyone selling their NT Minis when the Z3K is out :D

I know 100% I am gonna buy the Z3K , and it will likely cost, AT MOST, the same as an NT Mini anyway so I can wait patiently.

I already have an RGB NES toploader, so that plus knowing the Z3K is coming at some point is what's keeping me from pulling the trigger on the NT Mini.

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