Here's a homebrew suggestion for all you coders out there who are looking for something to tackle.
Modify the R-Type ROM to take advantage of the extra VDC in the SGX. As we all know, the flicker in R-Type is atrocious. I'd love to see someone modify the existing game to use the 2nd VDC for half the sprites, thus eliminating the flicker. You know... the same way the Darius hybrid cartridge does.
It's too bad Bonknuts doesn't log in here anymore as this seems like something he'd be all over.
I second the suggestion. :)
And, what was the difference between the JP HuCard vs. US HuCard vs. JP CD-ROM versions of R-Type concerning flicker and screen resolution?
Point me to a thread, my friend.
I can't/am too lazy to find a thread about the differences, but I do know off the top of my head:
The U.S. and CD versions have a slightly (read: 5 pixel) shorter horizontal resolution than the JP cart version in the hopes of reducing flicker. We know how that turned out. I can't see a noticeable difference in flicker between the two. You can, however, see the reduced resolution if you own both the U.S. and JP carts. The viewable area on the U.S. version is cut just a tiny bit short on the right side of the screen where the viewable area on the JP version extends right to the edge of the screen.
Quote from: nat on 01/23/2011, 02:24 AM...thus eliminating the flicker. You know... the same way the Darius hybrid cartridge does.
Oh, by the way, has anyone ever checked out what lengths Darius Plus goes to when hooked into the SGX? Here's an illustration:
(https://www.chrismcovell.com/images/Darius_Plus_Layers.jpg)
...
A hack to R-Type might or might not work... The quickest way to do it would be to have the sprite updating code send updates to the VDC1 and VDC2 alternatingly each frame. It might work... but the VRAM writing code still has to load sprite tiles to both VDCs at the same time.
Quote from: nat on 01/23/2011, 02:58 AMI can't/am too lazy to find a thread about the differences, but I do know off the top of my head:
The U.S. and CD versions have a slightly (read: 5 pixel) shorter horizontal resolution than the JP cart version in the hopes of reducing flicker. We know how that turned out. I can't see a noticeable difference in flicker between the two. You can, however, see the reduced resolution if you own both the U.S. and JP carts. The viewable area on the U.S. version is cut just a tiny bit short on the right side of the screen where the viewable area on the JP version extends right to the edge of the screen.
Ahhhh, thank you. I have the JP HuCards and CD. Not sure if I still have the US HuCard.
Quote from: ccovell on 01/23/2011, 06:50 AMOh, by the way, has anyone ever checked out what lengths Darius Plus goes to when hooked into the SGX? Here's an illustration...
Fantastic. Your illustration was very clear and informative. :)
Tangent:
R-Type Complete CD has Red Book soundtrack replacing chiptunes. I happen to like the Red Book, but I know many people do not. An option to play PSG in lieu of Red Book would have been nice, I suppose (Vasteel, for example, provides this option, but it is geared to speed up the flow of the game).
Selecting "Chiptunes only", however, always struck me as being wasteful. Surely the developers could find a way to utilize Red Book for another purpose?
It sounds odd, but I always thought it would be "neat" to use Red Book to provide an ambient soundscape that would play alongside a traditional PSG chiptune soundtrack. The PSG and Red Book would not be synchronized and would loop at different times. I know this sounds retrograde and backward-thinking (since it isn't the most efficient use of Red Book), but do you know of any early CD-ROM game (on any platform) that did this?
Will
R-Type Complete Homebrew CD be the first to offer this dubious option? (just kidding)
Is anybody tackling the challenge?
I'm not looking for more projects to do (I have enough already!) but I couldn't help but do a little research.
Here are my notes so far.
VDC sprite write code is at ~$6CFE-$6D73.
VDC1 sprite table is at $0800-$08FF in VRAM
$0E-$11 in RAM holds the data for one sprite at a time during writing.
$15 in RAM is the magic number, as it's loaded with 64 each frame (at $6BC2) and counted down for SATB writing and OAM cycling (ie: the flicker routine). Change that number to 128, and R-Type happily writes 128 sprite entries.
Simply writing the 2nd half of these 128 sprite entries to the SGX's VDC will not eliminate flicker entirely; it'll just make sure that no/few sprites blank out during the game (ie: SGX VDC just handles overflow). Flicker can only be reduced (I reckon) by having each alternate sprite written to VDC2. Some smart code has to be written in there by somebody to do that...
If there's an error in my methodology (VDC2 handling alternate sprites vs. handling overflow) please let me know.
I think this is a great start. I'd really love to help out, but the whole reason I presented this to you tech guys is because I know fuck all about ROM hacking/programming.
Alright, alright, I'll do this hack. :)
I started it late last night and it was so fun figuring out how to hack the game, I did more of it today. First up was adding SGX detection, VPC initialization routines, and modifying the VDC register setup routines to do both VDCs in sequence, one after the other. Of course, if it's a regular PC-Engine, it'll do only the first VDC. That's all for now.
My man!
Out of curiosity.... Which ROM are you using? The full-game U.S. ROM or one of the half-game JP ROMs?
I'm starting with the full US ROM first. Unfortunately, the hack has to be done twice to the US ROM anyway, as it's basically both Japanese ROMs simply appended together, with a little tie-in code. Try it: if you run the game from the 2nd 256k of the US ROM, you'll start out in Stage 5 with 255 lives.
If we could get a hacked rom, how would you play it on real hardware? Do the pce flash carts work with SuperGrafx games?
Binary-wise, PCE and SGX games are completely identical. SGX games just have an additional pair of chips to access in the hardware.
Quote from: JKM on 01/25/2011, 09:14 PMIf we could get a hacked rom, how would you play it on real hardware? Do the pce flash carts work with SuperGrafx games?
What ccovell said. If he is successful, I'll just load up the game on my flash cart and play it on the real hardware that way.
Really? I may need to look for a SuperGrafx...
OK, this hack is coming along nicely. Many routines had to be changed, from VRAM tile writing, to sprite positioning, and even scrolling and screen setup. I've also begun hacking the vertical res, scrolling code & logic to make the game completely full-screen, as the arcade version was. Let me know if you like it.
A flicker comparison between R-Type (U) on the left and the SG hack on the right.
(https://www.chrismcovell.com/images/RTypeU.gif) (https://www.chrismcovell.com/images/RTypeSG.gif)
Man, that's pretty awesome - not only the flicker reduction, but the full-res mode. Sharp stuff.
Incredible!
By the way... when this is completed, will it be safe to post the download link on the forum? Or would that be considered ROM sharing? Or maybe there will just be a patch?
Looking great, Chris! Keep it up! My only concern with the full-screen modification.... Will this make the image appear squished vertically when played on a TV with the real hardware?
Publicly posting a link to the hacked ROM on the forum would be against forum rules, but I don't see any reason why sharing via PMs wouldn't be allowed. Publicly posting just a patch link, on the other hand, would be fine.
Quote from: nat on 01/28/2011, 08:17 PMLooking great, Chris! Keep it up! My only concern with the full-screen modification.... Will this make the image appear squished vertically when played on a TV with the real hardware?
I'm by no means an expert on this, but this made me curious too -- I got some screen captures of R-Type off MAME -- and then squashed all the images to 4:3 to emulate what it'd look like on an actual TV, and I think the results actualy looks
better with Chris's hack. It seems like the original Turbo/PCE version is the one that's a bit streched out vertically compared to the original (i.e. take a look at the neck curvature of the boss between the three shots -- the SGX full-res and MAME shots seem to be more true to each other)
Unhacked Turbo vs Hacked SGX vs MAME (all rendered to 4:3 at 320x240)
(http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o90/thumpin_termis/Turbo-4to3.jpg) (http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o90/thumpin_termis/SG-4to3.jpg) (http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o90/thumpin_termis/MAME-4to3-1.jpg)
Wow, you're right. That's.... unexpected. I like what I'm seeing here.
Wow! If it turns out to work perfectly, you'll have to do that with every single PCE game that flickers :mrgreen:
Man, I'm super excited about the potential of this project. Considering the pics above, it's as if the developers initially started with the intention of displaying the full-res for the whole screen, but then decided to chop off a bit off the vertical borders to limit some of the flickering. Maybe this worked, but as a side-effect, it brought about the *slightly* stretched look (which I couldn't even really tell until I put 'em up side-by-side to arcade pics), and the rather annoying and unnecessary vertical scroll in the game (I actually find this vertical scroll to be the bigger annoyance). Either way, what Chris is doing finally seems to do justice to the way R-Type was meant to be on the PCE.
While asking for possibilities, would it also be relatively easy to apply the same patch to the CD version of the game? The monster setup of SGX + SCD-ROM would finally have reason to specifically be together, rather than just for compatibility convenience with other PCE setups (that is, there's no SGX CD game so far). I know your time is not unlimited Chris, so I certainly appreciate what you've done, even if all this doesn't come to fruition any time soon. :D
...And BTW, Ninja Spirit immediately pops to mind as being able to benefit from this treatment as well -- an awesome game, and flicker's the only thing that detracts from the experience just so slightly. (Now I'm just pestering you - :D)
Thanks for your comments. I wanted to make the full vertical resolution of the game visible, the same way as the Playstation compilation does. Adding extra lines to the display, or extra columns to the sides of the display, does not squish the image, however. The number of scanlines is fixed on a TV set or monitor, so adding these extra graphics just expands the playfield even more to the edges of the screen. Therefore, shrinking both the TG and SGX images to the same size (320x240) doesn't accurately reflect how they'll look on a real system.
Anyway, the original TG/PCE version is very letterboxed, for whatever reason the designers chose. I don't think it's necessarily to eliminate flicker; perhaps it's to keep the wider aspect of the arcade version, or something.
First I'll finish up the TG conversion and then try to apply the hack to the PCE/CD ones. One major obstacle is that I can't find the RAM variable for the stage you're on (for cheating purposes.) Would anybody happen to know it?
Dude, you rock. Absolutely
splendid.
Quote from: ccovell on 01/28/2011, 06:41 PMOK, this hack is coming along nicely. Many routines had to be changed, from VRAM tile writing, to sprite positioning, and even scrolling and screen setup. I've also begun hacking the vertical res, scrolling code & logic to make the game completely full-screen, as the arcade version was. Let me know if you like it.
A flicker comparison between R-Type (U) on the left and the SG hack on the right.
(https://www.chrismcovell.com/images/RTypeU.gif) (https://www.chrismcovell.com/images/RTypeSG.gif)
Holy crap! This is amazing! Seriously, great work covell.
So, would this hack of R-Type also allow for parallax?
Quote from: esteban on 01/23/2011, 06:57 AMIt sounds odd, but I always thought it would be "neat" to use Red Book to provide an ambient soundscape that would play alongside a traditional PSG chiptune soundtrack. The PSG and Red Book would not be synchronized and would loop at different times. I know this sounds retrograde and backward-thinking (since it isn't the most efficient use of Red Book), but do you know of any early CD-ROM game (on any platform) that did this?
Battlefield '94 in Tokyo Dome...or whatever its called. That shite Arcade Card wrestling game. It doesn't do chiptune music over the top, but in some stages there is no music and it just has redbook crowd noises. It has, IMO, some of the best crowd noises because of this. Other than that, this game is lame. I have no idea what justifies it being an AC game.
When i first played it I thought similar things. A large percentage of PC Engine redbook music is total garbage. Bad jazz and shitty Yamaha PCM synths. They could do much cooler stuff.
Quote from: ceti alpha on 01/30/2011, 01:59 AMHoly crap! This is amazing! Seriously, great work covell.
So, would this hack of R-Type also allow for parallax?
I can't imagine parallax beyond what's already in the game (ie, stage 5) would be possible without heavy, heavy modification.
Quote from: nat on 01/30/2011, 04:55 AMQuote from: ceti alpha on 01/30/2011, 01:59 AMHoly crap! This is amazing! Seriously, great work covell.
So, would this hack of R-Type also allow for parallax?
I can't imagine parallax beyond what's already in the game (ie, stage 5) would be possible without heavy, heavy modification.
Oh for sure. I was really only thinking about the parallax in stages 2 and 5.
Quote from: SignOfZeta on 01/30/2011, 03:13 AMQuote from: esteban on 01/23/2011, 06:57 AMIt sounds odd, but I always thought it would be "neat" to use Red Book to provide an ambient soundscape that would play alongside a traditional PSG chiptune soundtrack. The PSG and Red Book would not be synchronized and would loop at different times. I know this sounds retrograde and backward-thinking (since it isn't the most efficient use of Red Book), but do you know of any early CD-ROM game (on any platform) that did this?
Battlefield '94 in Tokyo Dome...or whatever its called. That shite Arcade Card wrestling game. It doesn't do chiptune music over the top, but in some stages there is no music and it just has redbook crowd noises. It has, IMO, some of the best crowd noises because of this. Other than that, this game is lame. I have no idea what justifies it being an AC game.
When i first played it I thought similar things. A large percentage of PC Engine redbook music is total garbage. Bad jazz and shitty Yamaha PCM synths. They could do much cooler stuff.
Thanks for that example! I was hoping someone would be able to identify a game that used this technique.
Ambient crowd noise...the one thing that Battlefield '94 did well.
Parallax in stages 1 or 2 would take a lot more work, as well as a ROM expansion to 6M, probably... Anyway, the parallax in stages 3, 5, etc can be restored or else I fail.
Another game with atmospheric sound effects on CD mixed in with the game audio is Sol-Feace. It has a few annoying sound effects at certain events played overtop of the CD music.
BTW, I'm very impressed with your work here, ccovell. I didn't seriously think anyone would do this, and you already have it running.
You know, it just occurred to me that the SGX might be able to put out more sprite action than the CPU is comfortably able to process hit detection for. I suspect the SGX extra sprite display power would therefore probably be best suited to creating sprite-based background details and special effects which would require simple or no hit detection. Or, as in this case and the case of Darius Plus, making a flicker-free experience for a game the base PCE can otherwise handle.
That unfortunately is an ages-old presumption. The CPU is more than capable of handling all the maths for hit detection even with two full-on sprite layers. It all comes down to the efficiency of the hit detection routines. The 6280 is more capable than people give it credit for. :)
Yeah, I know it's a competent CPU, but I lost faith in console developers reliably being able to program for specific CPUs long ago. Some can and do, but many don't, and the PCE was not a system that gave great results to shoddy programming. The Genesis/Mega Drive was pretty forgiving, but the PCE made you earn your keep.
Quote from: guest on 02/01/2011, 02:09 PMYeah, I know it's a competent CPU, but I lost faith in console developers reliably being able to program for specific CPUs long ago. Some can and do, but many don't, and the PCE was not a system that gave great results to shoddy programming. The Genesis/Mega Drive was pretty forgiving, but the PCE made you earn your keep.
Yeah the 68k is C/sloppy friendly.
The 6280, if you're sloppy, it'll punch you in the mouth and call you names.
Quote from: Psycho Arkhan on 02/10/2011, 12:59 PMQuote from: guest on 02/01/2011, 02:09 PMYeah, I know it's a competent CPU, but I lost faith in console developers reliably being able to program for specific CPUs long ago. Some can and do, but many don't, and the PCE was not a system that gave great results to shoddy programming. The Genesis/Mega Drive was pretty forgiving, but the PCE made you earn your keep.
Yeah the 68k is C/sloppy friendly.
The 6280, if you're sloppy, it'll punch you in the mouth and call you names.
Are you saying the 6280 is a CPU playground bully? It doesn't steal developers' lunch money, does it?
It's more like a drill sergeant.
A very harsh one!
Quote from: ccovell on 01/31/2011, 05:30 AMParallax in stages 1 or 2 would take a lot more work, as well as a ROM expansion to 6M, probably... Anyway, the parallax in stages 3, 5, etc can be restored or else I fail.
Another game with atmospheric sound effects on CD mixed in with the game audio is Sol-Feace. It has a few annoying sound effects at certain events played overtop of the CD music.
Ha! I haven't played Sol-Feace since the early 90's. I've played the cartridge version more recently, though.
Thus far, I have yet to find the one gem of a game that does justice to the concept of RedBook SFX + chiptunes.
If you can think of any additional titles (even PC-based games), don't hesitate to share :)
Chris..... Any progress on this project?
I've been working on it a little bit almost every day. The sprites were no problem, but expanding the vertical res has been a hell of a chore. The scroll adjustment was easy, but the screen split at the level 1 boss, and through the entire 3rd level, needed a lot of code fixing & dirty hacks. It feels like limo-stretching a coupe, if you know what I mean.
Anyway, almost everything is successful -- for the 1st half of the game. Space is quite tight in the 1st bank, so I've had to trim code here and there and relocate it strategically, like an NES or Atari programmer. :-k
Quote from: ccovell on 02/12/2011, 08:34 PMAtari programmer. :-k
I'm convinced Atari 2600 programmers were all smoking some severely powerful weed.
Especially at Activision.
Quote from: ccovell on 02/12/2011, 08:34 PMI've been working on it a little bit almost every day. The sprites were no problem, but expanding the vertical res has been a hell of a chore. The scroll adjustment was easy, but the screen split at the level 1 boss, and through the entire 3rd level, needed a lot of code fixing & dirty hacks. It feels like limo-stretching a coupe, if you know what I mean.
Anyway, almost everything is successful -- for the 1st half of the game. Space is quite tight in the 1st bank, so I've had to trim code here and there and relocate it strategically, like an NES or Atari programmer. :-k
Awesome, thanks for the update.
Good stuff. I'm looking forward to this myself.
This makes me wonder for what other games might this be an effective technique.
I'm sure there are a handful that might benefit, but I think R-Type is far and away the worst "flicker" offender on the system.
At least... of the games that I've played personally.
Quote from: nat on 02/13/2011, 02:57 PMI'm sure there are a handful that might benefit, but I think R-Type is far and away the worst "flicker" offender on the system.
At least... of the games that I've played personally.
Bloody Wolf is another big offender when it comes to flicker (IIRC). Not that anyone enjoys Bloody Wolf as much as I do, but still...
:)
Quote from: esteban on 02/13/2011, 05:04 PMQuote from: nat on 02/13/2011, 02:57 PMI'm sure there are a handful that might benefit, but I think R-Type is far and away the worst "flicker" offender on the system.
At least... of the games that I've played personally.
Bloody Wolf is another big offender when it comes to flicker (IIRC). Not that anyone enjoys Bloody Wolf as much as I do, but still...
:)
I do.
I fucking love Bloody Wolf, but I don't recall all that much flicker, to be honest. I don't really remember ANY flicker, for that matter.
Quote from: guest on 02/13/2011, 05:17 PMI do.
It appears a bunch of us are in love.
Quote from: nat on 02/13/2011, 05:50 PMI fucking love Bloody Wolf, but I don't recall all that much flicker, to be honest. I don't really remember ANY flicker, for that matter.
Tons of flicker (and slow down) in Bloody Wolf, especially when (obviously) several sprites are in the same horizontal/vertical plane.
Then, to make matters worse, toss a special weapon (e.g. grenade, flame thrower): more flicker, plus the resulting explosions lead to flicker.
Or, hop on a motorcycle and you'll notice the flicker/slowdown.
I love Bloody Wolf.
TANGENT: The Bloody Wolf .hes doesn't work for me. Do I have a corrupt file? Because, obviously, I love the tunes from Bloody Wolf, too.
Bloody Wolf is one of my favorite games ever, who dogs that game, it's great! And deffinitly one of the best soundtracks as well!
Quote from: esteban on 02/13/2011, 05:58 PMQuote from: guest on 02/13/2011, 05:17 PMI do.
It appears a bunch of us are in love.
Quote from: nat on 02/13/2011, 05:50 PMI fucking love Bloody Wolf, but I don't recall all that much flicker, to be honest. I don't really remember ANY flicker, for that matter.
Tons of flicker (and slow down) in Bloody Wolf, especially when (obviously) several sprites are in the same horizontal/vertical plane.
Then, to make matters worse, toss a special weapon (e.g. grenade, flame thrower): more flicker, plus the resulting explosions lead to flicker.
Or, hop on a motorcycle and you'll notice the flicker/slowdown.
Not that I doubt you, I just don't recall it. It's been a number of years since the last time I played it, probably.
Either way, R-Type is one of the few games where the gameplay is actually IMPACTED by the flicker (see: level 4 boss, for instance) and has the potential to cause "unfair" deaths.
I remember some heavy slowdown in Bloody Wolf for sure. I think Ninja Spirit would be among the top flicker titles on the system!
No one loves Bloody Wolf more than me. I even sent in a winning amount of a high score for the monthly contest but they never used it (probably because I'm Canadian). :P
Bloody Wolf is one of those "perfect" games where I love it exactly how it is and never felt like anything is lacking. To get some good slowdown going, trying flying through the game as fast as you can with guns blazing under Bloody Wolf 3.
Keep up the good work, Chris. There are so many questions I've had over the years about whether or not this or that port of a game could've been improved, if a console was capable of certain things, etc. It's nice to see one of those questions being answered. Ah, the Supergrafx, what could've been done if you had been properly supported.
Ninja Spirit is a big offender too.
R-Type and Ninja Spirit are probably the worst, although in Ninja Spirit it's probably not going to kill you. In R-Type the flicker could very well be the cause of your death. Not sure why IREM had such an issue with flicker. Does Image Fight, or Image Fight 2 suffer from a lot of flicker? I've played a little of IF, but can't remember anything too serious.
Quote from: guest on 02/13/2011, 09:35 PMNo one loves Bloody Wolf more than me. I even sent in a winning amount of a high score for the monthly contest but they never used it (probably because I'm Canadian). :P
Bloody Wolf is one of those "perfect" games where I love it exactly how it is and never felt like anything is lacking. To get some good slowdown going, trying flying through the game as fast as you can with guns blazing under Bloody Wolf 3.
Damn Canuckistanian prejudice. Being Canadian back then, it was almost like you were from another planet. :lol:
I played the arcade version of Bloody Wolf/Battle Rangers, and while the colour was deeper and the sound was more "arcadey", i.e. sampled voices, it wasn't really much better than the TG port. In many ways I like the TG port more, though the emulation on the Mame ROM was definitely not 100% for Battle Rangers. The two things I wish the TG port carried over from the arcade were the sample voices and how the enemy dudes died - they made a groaning sound and had blood coming out of their chest didn't fly off the screen.
Edit: I just noticed that in the TG Bloody Wolf the enemies inside the houses actually had the similar arcade death (minus the groan), but when outside they flew off the screen. Kinda strange.
Quote from: RyuHayabusa on 02/14/2011, 07:42 AMAh, the Supergrafx, what could've been done if you had been properly supported.
I really think the SuperGrafx failed in favor of the SCD since CD medium = tons of storage and <3, along with redbook... for a cheap as hell price.
had the CD unit come out AFTER the super grafx was established, I bet it'd have a larger library. There'd be more reason to develop for it.
and then, super grafx uber arcade CD ROM games would exist, and we would all have permanent erections because of it.
Quote from: ceti alpha on 02/14/2011, 02:07 PMDoes Image Fight, or Image Fight 2 suffer from a lot of flicker? I've played a little of IF, but can't remember anything too serious.
Flicker tends to happen more with h-shooters rather than v-shooters.
Quote from: ceti alpha on 02/14/2011, 02:07 PMDamn Canuckistanian prejudice. Being Canadian back then, it was almost like you were from another planet. :lol:
...what's changed?
Quote from: OldRover on 02/14/2011, 02:18 PMQuote from: ceti alpha on 02/14/2011, 02:07 PMDoes Image Fight, or Image Fight 2 suffer from a lot of flicker? I've played a little of IF, but can't remember anything too serious.
Flicker tends to happen more with h-shooters rather than v-shooters.
Quote from: ceti alpha on 02/14/2011, 02:07 PMDamn Canuckistanian prejudice. Being Canadian back then, it was almost like you were from another planet. :lol:
...what's changed?
Oh, our dollar isn't at $0.68 US anymore, for starters. lol. But I think Canada is just a little more mature 20 years later. Maybe it was NAFTA, or maybe it's just my imagination. But even within Canada there seemed to be a lot of difference among the provinces. When I moved from Ontario to Nova Scotia, BITD, there was no Voltron, Transformers were still quite new, and you just felt far more removed from everything. Now, there's really no difference going from province to province.
Canadia has way more Sailor Moon stuff than America.
I like it.
Quote from: ceti alpha on 02/14/2011, 02:07 PMR-Type and Ninja Spirit are probably the worst, although in Ninja Spirit it's probably not going to kill you. In R-Type the flicker could very well be the cause of your death. Not sure why IREM had such an issue with flicker. Does Image Fight, or Image Fight 2 suffer from a lot of flicker? I've played a little of IF, but can't remember anything too serious.
Quote from: guest on 02/13/2011, 09:35 PMNo one loves Bloody Wolf more than me. I even sent in a winning amount of a high score for the monthly contest but they never used it (probably because I'm Canadian). :P
Bloody Wolf is one of those "perfect" games where I love it exactly how it is and never felt like anything is lacking. To get some good slowdown going, trying flying through the game as fast as you can with guns blazing under Bloody Wolf 3.
Damn Canuckistanian prejudice. Being Canadian back then, it was almost like you were from another planet. :lol:
I played the arcade version of Bloody Wolf/Battle Rangers, and while the colour was deeper and the sound was more "arcadey", i.e. sampled voices, it wasn't really much better than the TG port. In many ways I like the TG port more, though the emulation on the Mame ROM was definitely not 100% for Battle Rangers. The two things I wish the TG port carried over from the arcade were the sample voices and how the enemy dudes died - they made a groaning sound and had blood coming out of their chest didn't fly off the screen.
Edit: I just noticed that in the TG Bloody Wolf the enemies inside the houses actually had the similar arcade death (minus the groan), but when outside they flew off the screen. Kinda strange.
I seem to recall someone saying the our Bloody Wolf runs faster then the arcade one(maybe in regards of FPS?), & it seems like there was something else that was better in our version. As for the guys flying off the screen, I always loved that, I think it's hilarious, but, that's just me. Oh, & even though our version is only 1 player, it's twice as long IIRC(cuz of the whole rescuing the other guy thing). It's basically, Bloody Wolf 1 & 2 in a way.
Quote from: guest on 02/14/2011, 02:40 PMCanadia has way more Sailor Moon stuff than America.
I like it.
The Canadian dub of Astro Boy was also the best version. I watched a little of the American dub and it was horrible, in comparison. Sadly, the Canadian dub is lost in archives somewhere, if it survives at all.
Anyway, this is way off topic. heh
Quote from: ceti alpha on 02/14/2011, 02:27 PMNow, there's really no difference going from province to province.
Except for Quebec, where there's nothing to be found but cheese, wine, white flags, and failure.
Quote from: guest on 02/14/2011, 03:15 PMQuote from: ceti alpha on 02/14/2011, 02:27 PMNow, there's really no difference going from province to province.
Except for Quebec, where there's nothing to be found but cheese, wine, white flags, and failure.
:lol: :lol: :lol:
To be fair, I will add to your list, an uncommon amount of very hot women, at least in Montreal. :mrgreen:
Quote from: ParanoiaDragon on 02/14/2011, 03:03 PMI seem to recall someone saying the our Bloody Wolf runs faster then the arcade one(maybe in regards of FPS?), & it seems like there was something else that was better in our version. As for the guys flying off the screen, I always loved that, I think it's hilarious, but, that's just me. Oh, & even though our version is only 1 player, it's twice as long IIRC(cuz of the whole rescuing the other guy thing). It's basically, Bloody Wolf 1 & 2 in a way.
The Turbo/PCE PSG soundtrack
destroys the arcade's fm music. :twisted:
I owned a Bloody Wolf pcb for a while and if I remember correctly, it didn't scroll at 60fps. Pretty much all of the backgrounds were updated for the home version, even if only by color in places.
QuoteI played the arcade version of Bloody Wolf/Battle Rangers, and while the colour was deeper and the sound was more "arcadey", i.e. sampled voices, it wasn't really much better than the TG port. In many ways I like the TG port more, though the emulation on the Mame ROM was definitely not 100% for Battle Rangers. The two things I wish the TG port carried over from the arcade were the sample voices and how the enemy dudes died - they made a groaning sound and had blood coming out of their chest didn't fly off the screen.
Edit: I just noticed that in the TG Bloody Wolf the enemies inside the houses actually had the similar arcade death (minus the groan), but when outside they flew off the screen. Kinda strange.
The arcade version is shorter then the TG16 version, has the same 9bit color palette but the colors and detail were upgraded in the TG16 version. The arcade version also ran at a less smooth rate; 30fps vs 60fps of the home version. The music is also much better on the TG16 port. The TG16 is superior in many ways and overall to the arcade port. The only real downfall to the home version was the lack of 2 player. But IMO that can easily be forgiven. 2 player options in games were nice, but not required in the least. My friends and I would often take turns playing stages/areas or just watch the other person play. We did this with RPGs, shmups, platformers, run'n'gun, etc. Any game. Tag team style.
Ofcoarse, IIRC, the music not only is better in the TG version, but, is totally different, like with the arcade port of Riot City to Riot Zone, totally different music among other things.
IIRC, Tom got a rom of the arcade version working on PCE emu's, though, I feel like there was some drawback to it, something missing, can't quite remember....
The guys flying off the screen in the TG Bloody Wolf is actually pretty hilarious.
But yeah, the TG Bloody Wolf is a far better experience than the arcade.
Quote from: ceti alpha on 02/14/2011, 11:33 PMThe guys flying off the screen in the TG Bloody Wolf is actually pretty hilarious.
But yeah, the TG Bloody Wolf is a far better experience than the arcade.
The flying enemies are priceless. On an awesomeness scale of 1 - 10, Bloody Wolf would plummet from 13 to 9 without them.
Quote from: guest on 02/15/2011, 12:42 AMQuote from: ceti alpha on 02/14/2011, 11:33 PMThe guys flying off the screen in the TG Bloody Wolf is actually pretty hilarious.
But yeah, the TG Bloody Wolf is a far better experience than the arcade.
The flying enemies are priceless. On an awesomeness scale of 1 - 10, Bloody Wolf would plummet from 13 to 9 without them.
TRUTH.
Back on topic:Ninja Spirit (as two folks have already mentioned).
Quote from: ccovell on 01/28/2011, 06:41 PMOK, this hack is coming along nicely. Many routines had to be changed, from VRAM tile writing, to sprite positioning, and even scrolling and screen setup. I've also begun hacking the vertical res, scrolling code & logic to make the game completely full-screen, as the arcade version was. Let me know if you like it.
A flicker comparison between R-Type (U) on the left and the SG hack on the right.
(https://www.chrismcovell.com/images/RTypeU.gif) (https://www.chrismcovell.com/images/RTypeSG.gif)
Any news on this, Chris?
Uh, no progress since the earthquake, but I'll get back to it after I finish the update to my Fractal Engine program. :)
2022 PATCH:
chrismcovell.com/creations.html#courrtype
chrismcovell.com/data/R-Type%20(U)%20%5BUnfinished%20SGX%20Hack%5D.zip
http://twitter.com/NightWolve75/status/1532009786048495616
Just saw this thread thanks to the bump! I would love to play this when it is completed, but the horror stories I have heard about the PCE Flash Carts have me spooked. And as far as emulators...don't get me started!
Quote from: Mathius on 07/31/2011, 01:16 AMJust saw this thread thanks to the bump! I would love to play this when it is completed, but the horror stories I have heard about the PCE Flash Carts have me spooked. And as far as emulators...don't get me started!
What are these horror stories? I was considering taking a chance with getting one. I've heard they sometimes arrive "dead" and that some people have install problems with newer Windows versions. Is there more?
...Getting them to work properly.
Quote from: Mathius on 07/31/2011, 11:21 AM...Getting them to work properly.
Great... Love to have a way to carry many games with me without stuffing my pocket with Hus'. I was wanting to install a turbo in my car for the kids to play on trips. Keep the card in and have them choose a game from the menu. The convenience would be nice. Oh well, just have to think on it some more.
To get back on topic... Would be great to play R-Type without invisible bullets blowing your ship up half the time. Can't wait for this.
Quote from: Mathius on 07/31/2011, 11:21 AM...Getting them to work properly.
Ignore the naysayers. It's not that hard to get one up and running, and if I can do it anyone can.
Quote from: guest on 08/01/2011, 09:35 AMQuote from: Mathius on 07/31/2011, 11:21 AM...Getting them to work properly.
Ignore the naysayers. It's not that hard to get one up and running, and if I can do it anyone can.
Thanks for the confidence boost. I may try one in the future.
Quote from: NecroPhile on 08/01/2011, 09:35 AMQuote from: Mathius on 07/31/2011, 11:21 AM...Getting them to work properly.
Ignore the naysayers. It's not that hard to get one up and running, and if I can do it anyone can.
Do you know how to get the tototek running and stay running with post '98 Windows? I'd love to use mine again. Millenium Edition is the only Windows I've had much success with and eventually the drivers stop working and I have to reinstall Windows to use it again.
Quote from: CrackTiger on 08/01/2011, 12:59 PMDo you know how to get the tototek running and stay running with post '98 Windows?
I was thinking of the neo flashcart, so perhaps not. What's the problem, though? The latest (2004) writer software they provide claims to support XP and 2000, so I'm guessing the problem is getting the parallel port set up properly (as EPP) in the BIOS, which XP should automatically recognize.
Quote from: NecroPhile on 08/01/2011, 02:17 PMQuote from: CrackTiger on 08/01/2011, 12:59 PMDo you know how to get the tototek running and stay running with post '98 Windows?
I was thinking of the neo flashcart, so perhaps not. What's the problem, though? The latest (2004) writer software they provide claims to support XP and 2000, so I'm guessing the problem is getting the parallel port set up properly (as EPP) in the BIOS, which XP should automatically recognize.
I've gotten it to work with XP a couple times. But no matter which PC and Windows I use, the drivers eventually stop working. Windows begins to think that it's something else and rejects the flashcard drivers or something.
Well you shouldn't need to reinstall Windows for a driver error. Did you try removing the hardware and letting Windows find it again?
Flashcarts are easy to get going. The NeoFlash is simple. You just shove USB thing in, install the latest driver online off their site, and go go go.
The hardest part is finding the download link on their coked out site.
Quote from: guest on 08/07/2011, 02:03 PMQuote from: guest on 08/01/2011, 02:17 PMQuote from: guest on 08/01/2011, 12:59 PMDo you know how to get the tototek running and stay running with post '98 Windows?
I was thinking of the neo flashcart, so perhaps not. What's the problem, though? The latest (2004) writer software they provide claims to support XP and 2000, so I'm guessing the problem is getting the parallel port set up properly (as EPP) in the BIOS, which XP should automatically recognize.
I've gotten it to work with XP a couple times. But no matter which PC and Windows I use, the drivers eventually stop working. Windows begins to think that it's something else and rejects the flashcard drivers or something.
What about Windows 7?
Quote from: NecroPhile on 08/08/2011, 11:35 AMWell you shouldn't need to reinstall Windows for a driver error. Did you try removing the hardware and letting Windows find it again?
Many times..
QuoteWhat about Windows 7?
I want to try it with my new PC, but I'll have to buy a com(?) port card/adapter first.
It's definitely not as easy as plugging into a usb port and running a driver.
A USB to serial adapter should be relatively easy to find. There's a whole world of business and industrial peripherals that need serial ports to operate but don't play nicely with modern legacy-free PCs by virtue of an utter lack of serial ports.
I can confirm that the Neoflash software works in Windows 7, but you need the newest version.
Funny how this started out as a R-Type thread and changed to a neo flashcart discussion. I would wager a guess that the 64M model holds roughly 6.4MB of games and the 128M holds 12.8MB? Anywhere between 15-80 games depending on neo model and game size. The 64M version doesn't seem worth it really. Might as well go with the 128M. How useful is the battery backup version of the 128M? If I recall correctly, there aren't many games that support saving on the card.
Quote from: Mishran on 08/11/2011, 10:53 PMI would wager a guess that the 64M model holds roughly 6.4MB of games and the 128M holds 12.8MB?
The capacity is listed in megabits, so they hold 8 megabytes and 16 megabytes (respectively).
Quote from: Mishran on 08/11/2011, 10:53 PMHow useful is the battery backup version of the 128M?
Nearly useless. The only battery backed HuCard is the Tennokoe Bank (
Populous lies!), and those can be bought for less than $5.