FPGA Based Videogame System

[derFunkenstein]

Great, one game.

[Andromeda Stardust]

There are other things that could be done via an upgraded SD2SNES, such as cores for other systems interfacing with the SNES controller ports. It'd be super cool to implement the Super GameBoy in the FPGA and have GB games available. Or, if the SNES can handle the data coming from the cart, do something similar with the NES.

 

It could be like a "core store" without the need for an FPGA console.

 

For SNES games, unless you're saving progress (like an RPG or a platformer that does that, like Mario World) there's no battery. Games that have high-score tables and no other progress won't have a battery, so save states would be useful there.

The n64 v3 everdrive flashcart plays nes roms out of the box. Not sure if it's emulation or fpga based video injection though.

[Forsaken]

If SD3SNES plays more than just SNES games, I might have to give in and buy one. That would be way too tempting.

 

But Super NT could already play anything that NT Mini could, and probably more. I really hope it eventually gets a core store jailbreak like the Mini did.

 

I skipped the Mini and opted for a HiDef NES instead for some reason, and rather regret it now, although the extreme cool factor of HDMI out of an original NES cannot be denied.

[F34R]

I'll get a new SDxSNES if there is a appreciable improvement to what I can do with the SD2SNES now. I don't need anything that the NT Mini can do though. So, if it's better than the NT Mini + SD2SNES, I'll consider it.

[cybercylon]

The new SDxSNES is going to have to be something really special for me to consider it... more than just well, it can now easily play the 6 or so games that the current version cannot.

 

I imagine one improvement is allowing the MSU and SA1 to be working together... might be good for those into those. Me... not so much.

 

If there are save states, how reliable will they be? The X7 for the Genesis has this feature, but it isn't reliable in my hands.

 

Really.. if there ends up being a simple gui for cheats on the SD2SNES, it's good enough as is.

[LewisD]

Has anyone tested the new Sim City NES prototype rom with NT Mini? How is it?

[Intense.Mark]

Hi kevtris,

 

Happy holidays. Do you have any news if analogue will put the NT mini on sale again?

[LewisD]

Ive been having an issue with my Nt Mini (jailbreak 2.0 firmware) which I havent been able to solve: I cannot play NES ROMs or use the NSF player.

 

I originally bought my Nt Mini in 2017 before it had sold out and immediately loaded the jailbreak 2.0 firmware. Everything worked perfectly, including loading ROMs in the NES/Famicom core. Starting a few months ago, the Nt Minis filesystem would fail to locate any NES roms when ever I would load the NES core. Every other core works, and all rom files for those cores could be seen. I can even see the NES ROMs when using other cores, so I know the memory card is fine.

 

Does anyone know what is causing this?

[F34R]

Has anyone tested the new Sim City NES prototype rom with NT Mini? How is it?

It looks like a mess on the NT Mini. Not sure why. It doesn't run well on the N8 Everdrive with the latest v1.6 firmware. I can't even run the v2.0 firmware, so I can't test that.

 

This is on the NT Mini:

 

 

 

Edit: Got the v.20 rc7 (latest release for the N8ED. It's worse than the NT Mini itself lol)

Edited December 26, 2018 by F34R

[F34R]

Ive been having an issue with my Nt Mini (jailbreak 2.0 firmware) which I havent been able to solve: I cannot play NES ROMs or use the NSF player.

 

I originally bought my Nt Mini in 2017 before it had sold out and immediately loaded the jailbreak 2.0 firmware. Everything worked perfectly, including loading ROMs in the NES/Famicom core. Starting a few months ago, the Nt Minis filesystem would fail to locate any NES roms when ever I would load the NES core. Every other core works, and all rom files for those cores could be seen. I can even see the NES ROMs when using other cores, so I know the memory card is fine.

 

Does anyone know what is causing this?

Fragmentation? Try formatting the card, then transfer back only the NES core and roms.

[Schizophretard]

Since I have yet to get an answer about if more information about the DAC is buried in this thread like when it will be released, I have a similar question. Is there a product from another source that can be used with these FPGA consoles to convert HDMI to component and have it output in fullscreen instead of widescreen? I'm very interested in these consoles but want to make sure I have a way to play them on a CRT before purchase.

[phoenixdownita]

Since I have yet to get an answer about if more information about the DAC is buried in this thread like when it will be released, I have a similar question. Is there a product from another source that can be used with these FPGA consoles to convert HDMI to component and have it output in fullscreen instead of widescreen? I'm very interested in these consoles but want to make sure I have a way to play them on a CRT before purchase.

The whole "raison d'etre" of these FPGA systems is to be able to display on modern HDMI TV/monitor sets without the ugliness due to upconversion done blindly and reducing the lag to virtually zero.

Kevtris (but also others) put a ton of time in making sure the actual console simulation is sped-up/slowed-down and cycles are stolen/stretched as needed so that the end results is no-lag over an HDMI connection, using the strict HDMI signaling as the defining characteristic of these systems.

 

To play on a CRT in the end the "best way" is to use the original consoles, I know it sounds "funny" but it is the truth (albeit they come "warts and all").

It would be nice if a half decent solution would come along but going back from say 720p/1080p to 240p it must be a dedicated device, anything else would have to attempt a less than ideal 480i/576i as those were the NTSC/PAL original specs .... I am not sure if anyone is attempting the feat, complicated by the fact that already in PS1/Saturn era some title had 240p/480i dual gfx, but I digress.

 

Even when the SuperNt DAC was announced if memory serves it was said that it would be more than a simple flat conversion, namely the base console simulation timing would be returned to "normal" (no speed-up/slow-down etc....) to restore exact timing of the SNES worthy of a speed-runner, even if likely a simple flat conversion signal would be accepted by almost any CRT TV.

 

So even if you manage to stumble on an HDMI->Component converter that happened to allow 4:3 full screen output it may still try to cater to video sources (480i) rather than console sources (240p). By the way any HDMI to composite (not component) should support that already but it appears you want support for component output.

[Schizophretard]

The whole "raison d'etre" of these FPGA systems is to be able to display on modern HDMI TV/monitor sets without the ugliness due to upconversion done blindly and reducing the lag to virtually zero.

Kevtris (but also others) put a ton of time in making sure the actual console simulation is sped-up/slowed-down and cycles are stolen/stretched as needed so that the end results is no-lag over an HDMI connection, using the strict HDMI signaling as the defining characteristic of these systems.

 

To play on a CRT in the end the "best way" is to use the original consoles, I know it sounds "funny" but it is the truth (albeit they come "warts and all").

It would be nice if a half decent solution would come along but going back from say 720p/1080p to 240p it must be a dedicated device, anything else would have to attempt a less than ideal 480i/576i as those were the NTSC/PAL original specs .... I am not sure if anyone is attempting the feat, complicated by the fact that already in PS1/Saturn era some title had 240p/480i dual gfx, but I digress.

 

Even when the SuperNt DAC was announced if memory serves it was said that it would be more than a simple flat conversion, namely the base console simulation timing would be returned to "normal" (no speed-up/slow-down etc....) to restore exact timing of the SNES worthy of a speed-runner, even if likely a simple flat conversion signal would be accepted by almost any CRT TV.

 

So even if you manage to stumble on an HDMI->Component converter that happened to allow 4:3 full screen output it may still try to cater to video sources (480i) rather than console sources (240p). By the way any HDMI to composite (not component) should support that already but it appears you want support for component output.

Component output would be ideal because it is the best I have but I would settle for composite. The important criteria is that they could display on a CRT exactly as the original hardware would. I'm mostly interested in them just for being replacement hardware so that I can have new consoles for when the originals are all gone. So, basically to use them the same way the Nt Mini could be used.

[Forsaken]

It looks like a mess on the NT Mini. Not sure why. It doesn't run well on the N8 Everdrive with the latest v1.6 firmware. I can't even run the v2.0 firmware, so I can't test that.

 

This is on the NT Mini:

 

 

 

Edit: Got the v.20 rc7 (latest release for the N8ED. It's worse than the NT Mini itself lol)

Probably uses some new mapper that the NT Mini doesn't support.

[F34R]

The whole "raison d'etre" of these FPGA systems is to be able to display on modern HDMI TV/monitor sets without the ugliness due to upconversion done blindly and reducing the lag to virtually zero.

Kevtris (but also others) put a ton of time in making sure the actual console simulation is sped-up/slowed-down and cycles are stolen/stretched as needed so that the end results is no-lag over an HDMI connection, using the strict HDMI signaling as the defining characteristic of these systems.

 

To play on a CRT in the end the "best way" is to use the original consoles, I know it sounds "funny" but it is the truth (albeit they come "warts and all").

It would be nice if a half decent solution would come along but going back from say 720p/1080p to 240p it must be a dedicated device, anything else would have to attempt a less than ideal 480i/576i as those were the NTSC/PAL original specs .... I am not sure if anyone is attempting the feat, complicated by the fact that already in PS1/Saturn era some title had 240p/480i dual gfx, but I digress.

 

Even when the SuperNt DAC was announced if memory serves it was said that it would be more than a simple flat conversion, namely the base console simulation timing would be returned to "normal" (no speed-up/slow-down etc....) to restore exact timing of the SNES worthy of a speed-runner, even if likely a simple flat conversion signal would be accepted by almost any CRT TV.

 

So even if you manage to stumble on an HDMI->Component converter that happened to allow 4:3 full screen output it may still try to cater to video sources (480i) rather than console sources (240p). By the way any HDMI to composite (not component) should support that already but it appears you want support for component output.

I play my NT Mini primarily on my Sony KV-27FV310 crt. I use the hdmi for streaming or capture.

 

Probably uses some new mapper that the NT Mini doesn't support.

John Riggs burned it to a donor cart Uncharted Waters, and it plays fine. Info from an emu shows Mapper 5.

[Andromeda Stardust]

Probably uses some new mapper that the NT Mini doesn't support.

It's MMC5. Most implementations of this mapper are largely incomplete. Even Everdrive and Powerpak only ever got Castlevania III running before they gave up further bugfixes.

[Riptide]

The whole "raison d'etre" of these FPGA systems is to be able to display on modern HDMI TV/monitor sets without the ugliness due to upconversion done blindly and reducing the lag to virtually zero.

 

 

If that were really true then the NT Mini wouldn't have had analog output.

 

 

Even when the SuperNt DAC was announced if memory serves it was said that it would be more than a simple flat conversion, namely the base console simulation timing would be returned to "normal" (no speed-up/slow-down etc....) to restore exact timing of the SNES worthy of a speed-runner, even if likely a simple flat conversion signal would be accepted by almost any CRT TV.

Fairly certain kevtris said that wasn't possible.

[Great Hierophant]

It's MMC5. Most implementations of this mapper are largely incomplete. Even Everdrive and Powerpak only ever got Castlevania III running before they gave up further bugfixes.

 

The Nt Mini's MMC5 support is complete but a bit buggy and kevtris has not had the time to fix it. The PowerPak does support more than Castlevania III but it suffers from the same bug. The EverDrive's MMC5 support is currently the best implementation, although I haven't had a chance to test it with SimCity yet.

[F34R]

 

The Nt Mini's MMC5 support is complete but a bit buggy and kevtris has not had the time to fix it. The PowerPak does support more than Castlevania III but it suffers from the same bug. The EverDrive's MMC5 support is currently the best implementation, although I haven't had a chance to test it with SimCity yet.

Can't agree with the Everdrive having the best implementation. You can't do anything with Sim City, compared to the NT Mini running it. With the N8 ED, EVERYTHING is garbled. With the NT Mini, well, you can see my pictures above.

[Great Hierophant]

Can't agree with the Everdrive having the best implementation. You can't do anything with Sim City, compared to the NT Mini running it. With the N8 ED, EVERYTHING is garbled. With the NT Mini, well, you can see my pictures above.

 

It is strange, because for me each flash cart offers something. The initial screens show up fine on the PowerPak but are glitchy on the EverDrive. Conversely, the main play screens are too glitchy to play on the PowerPak but fine on the EverDrive (with recent beta firmware).

Edited December 26, 2018 by Great Hierophant

[Atariboy]

 

If that were really true then the NT Mini wouldn't have had analog output.

 

 

You're both right, in my opinion. The NES just happens to fall into a gray area thanks to the analog video capabilities of stock NES hardware not going past composite video capabilities. So there was ample market there for both CRT and HDTV users that wanted to upgrade their video quality.

 

But for a reliable classic system with great analog video capabilities without modifications, I suspect it would be a tougher sell to get say a Genesis owner that plays on a nice late model CRT to buy a Mega SG in lieu of HD Retrovision component cables for the console that they already own.

 

Maybe if they were dying en masse today, but otherwise the main allure there as I see it with Analogue's offering are for the Genesis owners that want a top quality experience on their modern displays. And I bet most of what exceptions there are, view the appeal primarily thanks to the compatibility with various 8-bit Sega platforms like the Game Gear.

 

Hopefully this DAC takes care of everyone in a few months. Nothing wrong with wanting to enjoy a Super NT or Mega SG on a nice SD CRT, even if it represents a niche for these products.

Edited December 26, 2018 by Atariboy

[Tanooki]

I got hit with that depressing bit of reality a couple hours ago about Sim City and verified it on my everdrive with the latest firmware beta on it, no good.

 

Shame people just kind of never bothered to getting back around to fixing/finishing up the MMC5 or whatever the story is there. I know Castlevania III was the driving force, but there are other MMC5 games including all those KOEI sims, then again maybe that's why. Now there's this really compelling reason to have a working mapper with Sim City so maybe things will change.

[kevtris]

It looks like a mess on the NT Mini. Not sure why. It doesn't run well on the N8 Everdrive with the latest v1.6 firmware. I can't even run the v2.0 firmware, so I can't test that.

 

This is on the NT Mini:

 

 

 

Edit: Got the v.20 rc7 (latest release for the N8ED. It's worse than the NT Mini itself lol)

Yeah something happened to my MMC5 implementation when I ported it from the original FPGA NES prototype, to the nt mini. It used to work perfect for all the koei games, but after the port they had various issues. I am guessing the same thing is wrong with Sim City. When I get time I will try to fix it, but have been super busy doing the usual 7 days a week, 12 hour a day grind on the msg. Yep, I worked on xmas day all day too. No breaks or vacations for me.

[Schizophretard]

Hopefully this DAC takes care of everyone in a few months. Nothing wrong with wanting to enjoy a Super NT or Mega SG on a nice SD CRT, even if it represents a niche for these products.

I don't think it is a niche. The poll of this thread put those who prefer analog in the majority and I doubt it changed that much in 3 years. It just appears to be a niche because if they are only coming out with HDMI then you are going to mostly hear from those that prefer HDMI.

[F34R]

Yeah something happened to my MMC5 implementation when I ported it from the original FPGA NES prototype, to the nt mini. It used to work perfect for all the koei games, but after the port they had various issues. I am guessing the same thing is wrong with Sim City. When I get time I will try to fix it, but have been super busy doing the usual 7 days a week, 12 hour a day grind on the msg. Yep, I worked on xmas day all day too. No breaks or vacations for me.

Thanks for addressing this. Much appreciated. That's a pretty grueling schedule for sure. When I was a cop, we had a really bad few months where we had to work 5x18hr days, then 2x12. So we worked the 7 days, but the hours were painful. The paychecks were what kept me sane lol.