Turbo Booster PLUS and Tennokoe Bank Questions! :)

[dhowerter]

BTW, I posted this here and in the TG 16 Forum since neither forum is super active ;)

Hi there. I have a couple questions about the Turbo Booster PLUS and the Tennokoe Bank (am I spelling this right?? ;-)   I hope you guys can help me with.  O:)


1. How does the PLUS actually save your game? I mean inside the Plus is there:
      - a EEPROM? (no battery or power source needed), 
      - some flash memory? (no battery or power source needed),
      - S-RAM with a SAVE Battery? (battery needed for power and you lose saves when it dies), 
      - some kind of capacitor? (no battery but you have to charge it up)

2. Whatever it uses, how long do the saves last in a Turbo Booster PLUS? (if it has a battery in there)


3. If it uses some kind of capacitor, how long do you need the system on to fully "charge it up"? And once it is fully charged, how long will it hold saves? (a month? a year?)


4. Finally, is it true there is no menu / screen to let you organize / delete saves off the TB Plus? So how do you know when it's almost full? (and you won't be able to save at some point ;)

5. The Tennokoe Bank hucard, btw, what does IT have inside it to let you save on it? (a battery? ,EEPROM? Flash memory? , a capacitor?)
  (I have a USA TG 16 btw and I DO have a PC Engine to TG 16 converter to use it with)

6. How much is a Tennokoe Bank nowadays? and do they tend to be reliable?


Thanks!

[Joe Redifer]

1.  Yes, it saves your game because it comes packed with extra "awesome" vs the wimpy TurboBooster which is hated by all.  It uses a charged capacitor... the same technology used on the Space Shuttle!

2.  I have had them many, many months on the TurboCD (which saves with the same method) without powering the system up.  You are advised to power the system up once every two weeks, though.  Just a quick turn on and then off should do it.

3.  About a second.  Other questions already answered above.

4.  You can access the saves on a TurboBooster Plus by inserting a CD System Card into the HuCard slot and pressing the mythical and legendary "Select" button.  This will take you to a secret screen!

5.  I don't know what the Tennokoe Bank uses to maintain saves.

6.  The Tennokoe Bank is being bailed out of bankruptcy by the government and may be purchased by Bank of America, so it is best to take a "wait and see" stance on the price.

[Ratix]

man. i only have the turbo booster and its alright i have never come across the + one though so i settled for the regular one.

[hoobs88]

I have a couple questions about the Turbo Booster PLUS and the Tennokoe Bank (am I spelling this right??)
5. The Tennokoe Bank hucard, btw, what does IT have inside it to let you save on it?
6. How much is a Tennokoe Bank nowadays?

You spelled it correctly.
The Tennokoe Bank apparently saves on a battery since I have seen directions somewhere on how to change the battery on it.
I have seen loose ones for as cheap as $5 and factory sealed ones for as much as $50. Most of them go for about $10 to $20 though.

I have heard the advice of turning your system on every 2 weeks to retain saves but I thought that was regarding a Duo system which I have never lost any saves.

[dhowerter]

4.  You can access the saves on a TurboBooster Plus by inserting a CD System Card into the HuCard slot and pressing the mythical and legendary "Select" button.  This will take you to a secret screen!

Two questions: (anyone can answer)

Will that work with the Turbo Grafx 16 System Card version 2.0?
     (since isn't 2.0 MUCH more common and less expensive than the 3.0 system card?)

Also, just to confirm, you can access the saves on a Turbo Booster Plus with a system card, even if you have NO Turbo Grafx CD hooked up to the TG 16, correct?

[Arkhan Asylum]

yes you dont need to hook the TGCD up to access TB+ saves

well how would you hook them both up anyways.... the TGCD has the loading dock and all that stuff.

[Sparky]

4.  You can access the saves on a TurboBooster Plus by inserting a CD System Card into the HuCard slot and pressing the mythical and legendary "Select" button.  This will take you to a secret screen!

well hells i did not know that 

I have had a game of Bomberman 93 on the go forever (at least a year) and the boosterplus has been retaining my saves and yes i do the 2 weeky or when i remember switch on, ok maybe i should just solve the damn thing

[NecroPhile]

4. Finally, is it true there is no menu / screen to let you organize / delete saves off the TB Plus? So how do you know when it's almost full? (and you won't be able to save at some point ;)

Any system card will let you view and delete save files, but they won't reveal file sizes or the amount of unused memory.  Get yourself a copy of Order of the Griffon to see file sizes, remaining memory, and delete files; there's one caveat here though - the memory manager won't show up unless you try to save a game when there's not enough room.  If you have a flash cart, Mr. Covell's bram editor is even better.  It lets you do just about anything with game saves, including editing.

1.  It uses a charged flux capacitor...

Slight correction there.  That's why the TurboBooster Plus is so awesome - it's from the future.

[dhowerter]

4. Finally, is it true there is no menu / screen to let you organize / delete saves off the TB Plus? So how do you know when it's almost full? (and you won't be able to save at some point ;)

Any system card will let you view and delete save files, but they won't reveal file sizes or the amount of unused memory.  Get yourself a copy of Order of the Griffon to see file sizes, remaining memory, and delete files; there's one caveat here though - the memory manager won't show up unless you try to save a game when there's not enough room.

Hmm ok some questions:

1. How much memory TOTAL is in the Turbo Booster PLUS to save games on?

2. Roughly what is the range of sizes for TG-16 CHIP game saves (not CD game saves)?

3. If a PC Engine chip game supports a SAVE function, can I save with that game on a USA TG 16 with Turbo Booster Plus? (I have a PC Engine to TG 16 converter)
      - I hear that a PC Engine game that has a save function has a little AA battery -like icon on the case?  Is it also on the chip? (or the manual)

4. Any clue where I can get a complete list (at least USA titles but PC engine chips would be nice too of chip games that support the SAVE function? (and maybe WHAT they save ;), like game progress or just high score for example)

[NecroPhile]

1. How much memory TOTAL is in the Turbo Booster PLUS to save games on?

Good question.  I've never seen a number specifically for the TurboBooster+, but I'd be surprised if it was any different than the TG-CD and Duos, which have 2000 units of memory (whatever those units may be).

2. Roughly what is the range of sizes for TG-16 CHIP game saves (not CD game saves)?

From 1 unit (Cratermaze) up to 420 units (Timeball).

3. If a PC Engine chip game supports a SAVE function, can I save with that game on a USA TG 16 with Turbo Booster Plus? (I have a PC Engine to TG 16 converter)

Yes.

- I hear that a PC Engine game that has a save function has a little AA battery -like icon on the case?  Is it also on the chip? (or the manual)

The icon is only on games that save your current progress, not on games that only save your score.  I don't know if the icon (or something similar) shows up on the HuCard, but it's on the manual cover and mentioned in the instructions.

4. Any clue where I can get a complete list (at least USA titles but PC engine chips would be nice too of chip games that support the SAVE function? (and maybe WHAT they save ;), like game progress or just high score for example).

Click me, but be gentle.

[Lochlan]

Since Necromancer mentioned that he can have saves going for months without problems,

I thought I should mention that very recently, after not powering on my SuperGrafx/Super CD-ROM2 setup for about 2.5-3 weeks, it managed to corrupt my saves.  I could still load games, but when I tried browsing through the data (select button at startup) the console would freeze.

I had to reload all my saves -- thankfully I'd backed them up on my Tennokoe Bank!

[NecroPhile]

Since Necromancer mentioned that he can have saves going for months without problems,

Don't ever confuse me with Joe again.  It's extremely insulting..... to Joe.

Besides, I'd die of withdrawal if I were to ever leave my Duo unpowered for months on end. 

[Duo_R]

does anyone have a 2nd Tennokoe Bank card? I have one, but thinking of purchasing a 2nd. What is the thought of that if you have a good size collection of Super CD games....

[nat]

I've found a 2nd Ten no Koe is essential. When I play, I play many games at once and need the space. But it all depends on your gaming habits-- some people merely play one game at a time, and don't start a second until the first is finished. For these people, one card is sufficient.

[Duo_R]

anyone have the link to the translated instructions? I know there are three modes, one time I erased some crap because I selected the wrong one.

The batter on the tennokoe is better than our duo too right (lasts longer for your saves)?

[Lochlan]

Don't ever confuse me with Joe again.

LOL oops.

I'm going to blame the similar color scheme in your avatars.

Yep, confusingly similar color schemes.

[NecroPhile]

does anyone have a 2nd Tennokoe Bank card? I have one, but thinking of purchasing a 2nd. What is the thought of that if you have a good size collection of Super CD games....

Two cards are indispensable for anyone with a largish collection that likes to keep high scores/game saves for posterity or who plays multiple, concurrent games (like nat said).  Since I generally play from beginning to end and don't care to keep saves once I've beaten the game (or it's beaten me), my two cards are seldom used nowadays. 

anyone have the link to the translated instructions? I know there are three modes, one time I erased some crap because I selected the wrong one.

I believe that Electrohaze had the translated comic up, but I can't find it now.  May I suggest that you try Black_Tiger's lovely guide instead?

The batter on the tennokoe is better than our duo too right (lasts longer for your saves)?

Battered and deep fried tennokoes; sounds delicious. 

A fresh lithium battery would indeed last longer than a capacitor, but don't forget that the Tennokoe's battery is already 15+ years old.  It's anybody's guess as to how much longer the Tennokoe's will save their saves without requiring a batteryectomy.

[Joe Redifer]

The graphical icons on the GUI that appears on the screen itself make it pretty obvious what each of the three options do... to me at least.

[CrackTiger]

anyone have the link to the translated instructions?

Here's one that I made-

http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/turbo16/file/916398/39167

[Joe Redifer]

I wonder why they never made a cartridge capable of transferring individual saves.  Did they just not have the foresight to create something that everyone would want, or did they purposely make it clunky?  Knowing NEC, it's probably the former.

[Duo_R]

ok glad that you made one, but I know that there is a guide out there with screenshots. Oh well I guess it isn't that hard. It would be nice to have a little colored jewel sized insert that I could keep with the hucard.

 

anyone have the link to the translated instructions?

Here's one that I made-

http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/turbo16/file/916398/39167

[CrackTiger]

ok glad that you made one, but I know that there is a guide out there with screenshots. Oh well I guess it isn't that hard. It would be nice to have a little colored jewel sized insert that I could keep with the hucard.

 

anyone have the link to the translated instructions?

Here's one that I made-

http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/turbo16/file/916398/39167

I originally posted a guide with screenshots years ago and it's probably still floating around somewhere on some free web space, but I couldn't tell you where.

[Duo_R]

Hoobs,

is there a problem with the battery on the "bank?" Please link a guide if you have one.

You spelled it correctly.
The Tennokoe Bank apparently saves on a battery since I have seen directions somewhere on how to change the battery on it.

[hoobs88]

Apparently, the battery is good for about 15-20 years. The guide had photos showing how to replace the battery but the text was in Japanese...seemed pretty self-explanatory: remove the top covering of the Hu card, remove the battery, insert new battery, put cover back on. I think I saved the link on my work computer but I won't be back to work until Tuesday since I am observing Columbus Day. I'll try to locate it and post it if I find it.


...I could not find it. I thought it might have been on this site http://www6.airnet.ne.jp/wataru/index2.htm since there is a lot of Japanese text but I didn't have time to continue looking through all of the links there.

[Duo_R]

crap - so what I should do is buy another Tenokoe bank, replace the battery, and start swapping files into the second bank, then do the same with the first one. These are probably going to all start going out.

So do you just wedge the hucard open with a jewelers flat head? I don't want to damage.

[Duo_R]

this message has links to the 2 guides (both in JP).


https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=5467.msg94306#msg94306