FPGA Based Videogame System

[Smoke Monster]

Hmm... so, were you informed this isn't THE jailbreak, or that this isn't A jailbreak? THE jailbreak, makes it seem like there is one, but that picture isn't it. A jailbreak, simply means that isn't a jailbreak, it's something else running.

This isn't A jailbreak. It's an NT Mini on the PVM with a Super NT in the foreground. Edited February 11, 2018 by Smoke Monster

[NE146]

 

. I just want to know if I should invest in an SD2SNES.

 

That's obviously up to you to figure out (I'd be unhappy if I didn't have a SD2SNES) But I think you should have copies of any special-chip cartridges you care about (e.g. Yoshi's Island, Mario RPG, Starfox, Stunt Race FX, and whatnot) if you don't have them already.

 

i.e. the games that currently aren't supported in the sd2snes, and probably wouldn't be supported in a jailbreak.

[SegaSnatcher]

Anyone else notice something interesting at 5:00 in Digital Foundry's review?

 

Also, about the settings: It might be nice to have a feature to export the settings to a save file. That would allow us to share our custom settings with others easily too.

Pretty sure its just a Pokey player for 5200 games,

[F34R]

This isn't A jailbreak. It's an NT Mini on the PVM with a Super NT in the foreground.

Dangit lol.

[greyrogue]

no, the video is all generated internally to the FPGA. There's several PLLs on the FPGA itself, and I am using those to generate the various clocks. There's around 22 clock domains on the design as it stands. The problem is I would need some non-integer N/M ratio to get the right clock for the HDMI stuff from the 21.47Mhz domain. Right now video gets a clock that varies depending on video mode. i.e. it's 148.5Mhz in 1080p mode. There's no easy way to lock the two PLLs together (the one generating 21.47Mhz and the 148.5Mhz one) in the proper ratio to offer 60.09 hdmi.

 

The video always runs at 60.00 fps and it will cause cycle stealing on the snes side to make it stay in synch with the hdmi for the zero delay mode. If you run full/single buffered, the cycle stealing is turned off and is allowed to free run.

Watching the My Life in Gaming review reminded me that the original Super Game Boy has timing issues from a real Gameboy. As the original Super Gameboy gets it clock from the cartridge adapter, is it possible to send a different clock to it to get closer timing accuracy to a real Gameboy?

[keepdreamin]

 

 

Why not just say it won't support them then and then it'll be a surprise when it does? They could prevent all this (if they weren't releasing cores for it), by simply saying they're not.

 

 

I just want to know if I should invest in an SD2SNES.

 

 

Nomenclature, you see now why it's still better they say nothing? Cause if they say "no", and then later it's "surprise!". It's not going to be "hey neat!" from some people, it's going to be "You mean I just wasted $200 on a SD2SNES, WTF?! Analogue?!"

 

(subelement, I'm not implying that would be your reaction.)

Edited February 11, 2018 by keepdreamin

[DadsGlasses]

Dumb question, and only slightly related to the topic at Hand.

 

I have a SuperEverdrive. What is the benefit of the SD2NES over the SuperEverdrive?

[cacophony]

 

The more I think about it, the less I think we will be getting a jailbreak firmware.

First time around with the mini nt we got confirmation pretty early on that it was coming.

The silence on this matter makes me believe that things have changed.

 

If I am not mistaken when the mini nt release Kevtris wasn't an employee of Analogue per say but now he is.

There might be some legality issues regarding him releasing these now that he is officially an employee and not a third party releasing these on the side.

 

I also think that analogue probably has some future plans/projects coming up to keep the ball rolling on these retro FPGA-based systems.

I could easily see them releasing a FPGA version of sega consoles next or any of the ones that are more popular in the FPGA cores Kevtris has already built.

 

Also... considering the original topic of this thread, if Kevtris is planning on releasing this all-in-one FPGA system in the future, it would be counter-productive if there was already a system out there being able to do mostly the same thing as his own product.

Only few people would most likely buy the Z3K for the added options since most of us are buying up the analogue super nt.

 

Just my opinion.

 

For now I am holding off on the super nt.

I will be looking at this thread regularly to one day pick up a Z3K.

I just find there isn't quite enough there to justify the price for me considering my current setup with framemeister and 1chip snes.

Don't get me wrong, the work Kevtris put in is simply amazing. A marvel of engineering for sure. And the amount of time of effort he spent must have been immense.

I also love the support he is providing, with quick firmware updates to keep everyone happy.

Truly, on those aspects the price is justifiable and hope as many people as possible pick it up to encourage him.

If I didn't have the framemeister I would be buying one for sure.

 

What was the jailbreak confirmation that was received early with the nt mini?

 

The RetroRGB interview revealed that while Kevtris has been working full-time hours for Analogue, he's still working 3.5/hours day at his old job (cryogenics company). It's in Analogue's best interest to refer to him as a "full-time employee" but they may be just referring to number of hours/week he works, and not some move from contractor->regular employee.

 

Kevtris made it pretty clear in a recent post that the Z3K might not happen anymore, so I don't think that's going to be guiding many decisions at this point.

[DarkkOne]

I'll be honest, the main reason I want an SD2SNES is eventual battery death, and being hesitant about trying to replace them myself.

Is it even technically feasible that the Super Nt could save SRAM to your SD card, so that you could backup/restore your saves (both for battery replacement reasons, and just so you could backup at the end of a session, and restore at the start of your next one, so that a dead battery doesn't really matter any more). Not even save-states (though that'd be lovely) but just being able to keep save data from your carts on something non-volatile instead? I like playing with my original cartridges, but I also like knowing that I'm not going to put in the cart one day and just find the saves empty.

[RevQuixo]

Update: I was just informed that it's not the jailbreak. It must just be an NT Mini running on the PVM with the Super NT in the foreground. That makes sense since the SNT doesn't do RGB at all. Sorry if I got any hopes up!

 

Actually it looks like kev's 5200 Jr system:

 

http://kevtris.org/Projects/5200jr/index4.html

[F34R]

Dumb question, and only slightly related to the topic at Hand.

 

I have a SuperEverdrive. What is the benefit of the SD2NES over the SuperEverdrive?

Here's a look:

 

[NE146]

Would add-ons like the Pro Action Replay / Game Genie work in the Super NT as well? I'm guessing yes, but figured I'd ask.

 

[DadsGlasses]

Here's a look:

 

Thank you, F3R4. Ill do some research and see how this translates to which games I can and cannot play. I had issues with my Snes, so I just put it away and didnt do any research.

 

Thanks!

[lekrang]

 

What was the jailbreak confirmation that was received early with the nt mini?

 

The RetroRGB interview revealed that while Kevtris has been working full-time hours for Analogue, he's still working 3.5/hours day at his old job (cryogenics company). It's in Analogue's best interest to refer to him as a "full-time employee" but they may be just referring to number of hours/week he works, and not some move from contractor->regular employee.

 

Kevtris made it pretty clear in a recent post that the Z3K might not happen anymore, so I don't think that's going to be guiding many decisions at this point.

 

I guess I made a mistake here as I wasn't around looking this stuff up when the nt mini came out (because of price) but what I really meant to say is that it seems, judging on the videos I have looked up on the nt mini and other posts that at the time Kevtris was pretty open about how the jailbreak firmware was a possibility or in the works around the time the nt mini was released (not the analogue nt but nt mini). I could be totally wrong about this though.

 

I get your point about full time employee VS part time employee/contractor but I still feel like it seems like the is something else going on and analogue might not be AS open to the idea as they were with the nt mini.

Maybe it's because at the time the nt mini could not support 16 bit cores and that's what they had planned as being the next move. Now that the nt mini and super nt are out they most likely have future plans and releasing a jailbroken firmware may not be in their best interest.

 

Didn't know about the Z3K update, as I said I didn't go through all 260+ pages of this thread. It saddens me to hear that.

At the same time it also adds a bit of weight to my previous point.

 

I guess only time will tell.

[SegaSnatcher]

 

The more I think about it, the less I think we will be getting a jailbreak firmware.

First time around with the mini nt we got confirmation pretty early on that it was coming.

The silence on this matter makes me believe that things have changed.

 

If I am not mistaken when the mini nt release Kevtris wasn't an employee of Analogue per say but now he is.

There might be some legality issues regarding him releasing these now that he is officially an employee and not a third party releasing these on the side.

 

I also think that analogue probably has some future plans/projects coming up to keep the ball rolling on these retro FPGA-based systems.

I could easily see them releasing a FPGA version of sega consoles next or any of the ones that are more popular in the FPGA cores Kevtris has already built.

 

Also... considering the original topic of this thread, if Kevtris is planning on releasing this all-in-one FPGA system in the future, it would be counter-productive if there was already a system out there being able to do mostly the same thing as his own product.

Only few people would most likely buy the Z3K for the added options since most of us are buying up the analogue super nt.

 

Just my opinion.

 

For now I am holding off on the super nt.

I will be looking at this thread regularly to one day pick up a Z3K.

I just find there isn't quite enough there to justify the price for me considering my current setup with framemeister and 1chip snes.

Don't get me wrong, the work Kevtris put in is simply amazing. A marvel of engineering for sure. And the amount of time of effort he spent must have been immense.

I also love the support he is providing, with quick firmware updates to keep everyone happy.

Truly, on those aspects the price is justifiable and hope as many people as possible pick it up to encourage him.

If I didn't have the framemeister I would be buying one for sure.

 

Well, I highly doubt Analogue will release standalone consoles for Atari 2600 - 7800, Colecovision, Intellivision and other pre NES consoles. There just isn't enough demand to justify a $200 console for those systems.

 

There are ways a Jailbreak can still happen without Kevtris personally ackowledging any association with it. Perhaps an "anonymous" source releases said firmware.......

 

Lastly, you might as well give up on the Z3K dream. Even Kevtris doesn't know if he will continue that project.

Edited February 11, 2018 by SegaSnatcher

[cacophony]

Well, I highly doubt Analogue will release standalone consoles for Atari 2600 - 7800, Colecovision, Intellivision and other pre NES consoles. There just isn't enough demand to justify a $200 console for those systems.

 

There are ways a Jailbreak can still happen without Kevtris personally ackowledging any association with it. Perhaps an "anonymous" source releases said firmware.......

 

Kevtris' alter ego: Wevtris ... Fevtris ... Levtris ... Zevtris .. Bevtris ... Nevtris ... Mevtris ... not sure which one I'd pick

[NE146]

Thank you, F3R4. Ill do some research and see how this translates to which games I can and cannot play. I had issues with my Snes, so I just put it away and didnt do any research.

 

Thanks!

https://www.reddit.com/r/snes/comments/4j80ky/super_everdrive_vs_sd2snes/

 

In particular (aside from the insta-loading aspect).. here's the real meat: Games. (Note I'm in no position to "verify" it for accuracy, but how inaccurate could it be)

 

 

"Here's a list of every game/enhancement chip that's playable on SD2SNES, but not Super Everdrive. All compatibility based on SD2SNES firmware v0.1.7b.

CX4

• Mega Man X2/Rockman X2
• Mega Man X3/Rockman X3

OBC-1

• Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge

S-RTC

• Daikaijuu Monogatari II

ST010

• F1 ROC II: Race of Champions/Exhaust Heat II

MSU-1

• Super Road Blaster (v1.2)

MSU-1 Audio/Video Hacks

• BS F-Zero Grand Prix 2: Practice (MSU-1 Extended Audio v1.0 by Ice Man)
• Chrono Trigger (MSU-1 Anime Intro by Ramsis)
• Chrono Trigger (MSU-1 Audio v1.1 by DarkShock)
• Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (MSU-1 Audio by Daniel Reimer)
• Flashback: The Quest for Identity (MSU-1 Audio v1 by LuigiBlood)
• F-Zero (MSU-1 Extended Audio v1.0 by Con)
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (A Link to the Past DX v1.5 by Con, qwertymodo)
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (MSU-1 Opening Intro and Audio v1.0 by Conn)
• Mega Man X (MSU-1 Audio v1.0 by DarkShock)
• Mega Man X2 (MSU-1 Audio v1.0 by DarkShock and Exort)
• Mega Man X3 (MSU-1 Audio v1.1 by DarkShock)
• Rock n' Roll Racing (MSU-1 Audio v1.0 by DarkShock)
• Secret of Mana (MSU-1 Audio v1.0 by DarkShock)
• Super Mario World (MSU-1 Audio v1.0 by Con)
• Super Mario World (MSU-1(+) v1.1 by NTI Productions)
• Super Mario World (Super Mario Odyssey v0.2 Demo by BMF54123)
• Super Metroid (MSU-1 Audio v1.0 by DarkShock)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (MSU-1 Audio v1.0 by DarkShock)
• Top Gear (MSU-1 Audio by Kurrono Kei)
• Top Gear 2 (MSU-1 Audio v1.1 by DarkShock)

Star Ocean, despite being an S-DD1 chip game (which is incompatible with both carts), will work on SD2SNES with DeJap's English Translation along with the 96Mbit hack. The Super Everdrive only supports ROMs up to 48Mbit.

The SD2SNES also plays Satellaview games the way they were intended (albeit without the streaming audio for the moment). The BS-X BIOS ROM is required and an English patch is available.

It's also worth noting that while neither cartridge claims to support Sufami Turbo games, there are working hacks/overdumps for all 13 of them in the GoodSNES ROM set that will work just fine."

Edited February 11, 2018 by NE146

[Wolf_]

We're obviously getting a jailbreak firmware which is why they have declined to comment about it.

If we weren't getting it nothing would prevent them from saying no.

The only question is how inclusive will the jailbreak be, as I doubt Kevtris has had time to crack any of the enhancement chips not already completed. The sd2snes chips are already in fpga language and should be able to be ported to the Super Nt with minimal fuss so those might happen soon-ish. Also as it sounds like Analogue is already setting their sights on a Genesis console I wonder if that would get a core here on the Super Nt and if the Snes will be a core on the Genesis fpga. The incentive to buy would still exist for the cart and controller ports but that is a bridge we won't have to cross for at least 18 months.

Edited February 11, 2018 by Wolf_

[lekrang]

Well, I highly doubt Analogue will release standalone consoles for Atari 2600 - 7800, Colecovision, Intellivision and other pre NES consoles. There just isn't enough demand to justify a $200 console for those systems.

 

There are ways a Jailbreak can still happen without Kevtris personally ackowledging any association with it. Perhaps an "anonymous" source releases said firmware.......

 

I agree with you, seems unlikely for those consoles.

I could see a Atari 2600 or SMS though as I think there would be a market for those and it would not as complicated for them to produce as the cores are already working on the nt mini FPGA.

They could probably make it with the same materials as the super nt also and remove analogue ports to make it more cost effective.

Yet it would require modifications to the board for the cart slot and probably a bunch of other stuff I know almost nothing about, but seems like it could be done pretty quick and be profitable.

 

I see a much bigger market for other 16 bit consoles like the Genesis or TG16.

 

The possibility that someone else releases a jailbroken firmware is possible but that would most likely take allot more time and I, personally, would be more on the fence about it.

If Kevtris doesn't release it it wouldn't be a buy for me at least.

[Andromeda Stardust]

I'm not talking about the Super NT or emulators, I'm wondering in general how input lag effects low fps games like Starfox compared to 60fps games.

When the game engine itself is running at less than 60Hz, the game may not poll the controller inputs every frame, instead polling the controller after each frame is rendered. TAS speedruns verified on real hardware had to account for lag frames when the controller bot played back the recorded inputs. Since the game isn't polling the controllers every frame and the display hardware is being infrequently updated, it can make the gameplay feel clunky and laggy, even on real hardware with a CRT. For instance, if the display is refreshing at 15Hz, that is 67ms between refreshes on the TV. So you press the controller after it has been polled, it could take up to 60ms or longer for the input to register again, even on real hardware. 16ms is imperceptible to all but the most hardcore speedrunners, but 67ms is very noticeable. So for instance playing StarFox SNES or a 4-player Mario Kart 64 match, the hardware itself can feel laggy and unresponsive. If you display or controller input adds to the lag total, this can make the game feel even worse.

[SegaSnatcher]

 

Kevtris' alter ego: Wevtris ... Fevtris ... Levtris ... Zevtris .. Bevtris ... Nevtris ... Mevtris ... not sure which one I'd pick

LOL, I was actually thinking of this. NotKevtris would be good.

[lekrang]

 

Kevtris' alter ego: Wevtris ... Fevtris ... Levtris ... Zevtris .. Bevtris ... Nevtris ... Mevtris ... not sure which one I'd pick

 

Hahaha

 

An unofficial, leaked, anonymous release could happen.. you are right.

If this is because of company policy I would hope it does... but you know if they have a good thing going as business partners there is less chance of this happening. Would you put a partnership like this at risk?

There aren't that many people who could provide this in a short time frame and it would raise suspicions.

Edited February 11, 2018 by lekrang

[SegaSnatcher]

 

I agree with you, seems unlikely for those consoles.

I could see a Atari 2600 or SMS though as I think there would be a market for those and it would not as complicated for them to produce as the cores are already working on the nt mini FPGA.

They could probably make it with the same materials as the super nt also and remove analogue ports to make it more cost effective.

Yet it would require modifications to the board for the cart slot and probably a bunch of other stuff I know almost nothing about, but seems like it could be done pretty quick and be profitable.

 

I see a much bigger market for other 16 bit consoles like the Genesis or TG16.

 

The possibility that someone else releases a jailbroken firmware is possible but that would most likely take allot more time and I, personally, would be more on the fence about it.

If Kevtris doesn't release it it wouldn't be a buy for me at least.

"Someone Else"

[Jagasian]

It is better for Kevtris to focus on fixing the minor SNES core issues that are found in the next few weeks, as opposed to releasing a core store for the SNT.

 

A feature request for the SNT: settings profiles. If the SNT could load small settings files from an SD card, that would allow for people on the net to share recommend settings, save their settings, etc.

[cacophony]

 

Hahaha

 

An unofficial, leaked, anonymous release could happen.. you are right.

If this is because of company policy I would hope it does... but you know if they have a good thing going as business partners there is less chance of this happening. Would you ?

 

I would think Analogue would want the jailbreak to happen b/c it would sell more consoles. But they might want to distance themselves from it. Hence the anonymous source.