Genesis Plus GX Sega CD Support Coming Very Soon.

[Burnt Lasagna]

Thanks to the hard work and knowledge of ekeeke, Genesis Plus GX on the Wii (and GC) will be receiving  Sega/Mega CD support very soon! If you check out his latest progress report you will find that he has reached 100% compatibility with Sega CD games and is now working on ironing out two games that have some graphical glitches.

**********************************************************************************
GRAPHICAL ISSUES (2 GAMES)
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Adventures of Willy Beamish, The (corrupted logo)
AH3 Thunderstrike / Thunderhawk (minor graphics error)

(Source [The latest update])
https://bitbucket.org/eke/genesis-plus-gx/issues?status=new&status=open&sort=-updated_on

It's important  to note that this Sega CD emulator will not be a port of a preexisting emulator, such as Gens. It is however going to be a completely new Sega CD emulator designed from the ground up. This was mandatory so that the new Sega CD core could sync with ekeeke's very accurate Genesis core. 

Genesis Plus GX (not regular Genesis Plus)  is already the most accurate Genesis emulator ever written. With Sega CD under it's belt and the abilities of the Wii (being able to out put in 240p and classic controller) this will become the definitive emulation experience for the Genesis hardware!

(Screens from ekeeke)

(Link)
https://bitbucket.org/eke/genesis-plus-gx/
Now the only thing missing is 32x...

[Samurai Ghost]

Emulation is for girly men.

[JoshTurboTrollX]

Neo Genesis for Xbox has been running Sega CD for years, and they look pretty good too.

This seems like something pretty interesting for Wii Emulator fans tho. 

[Burnt Lasagna]

Neo Genesis for Xbox has been running Sega CD for years, and they look pretty good too.

Neo Genesis on the Xbox is a strait up port of Gens. Which I'm not a very big fan of that particular emulator since, as you stated, it's been around for years and is severely out of date with current Genesis/Sega CD emulation. 

Emulation is for girly men.

Anything that's not the original hardware for Sega CD games is better then the actual thing. Do you even own a Sega CD? Nowadays trying to store save games on that piece of crap is a nightmare in en of it's self. Because now almost all Sega CD's internal save batteries are dead.

In my opinion Wii Emulator's are retro gaming at it's finest  

[JoshTurboTrollX]

In my opinion Wii Emulator's are retro gaming at it's finest  

oh shit.

[Samurai Ghost]

Emulation is for girly men.

Anything that's not the original hardware for Sega CD games is better then the actual thing. Do you even own a Sega CD? Trying to store save games on that piece of crap was a nightmare in en of it's self.

Yes, a model 1 Sega CD and three Wondermegas. Saving isn't really an issue especially if you get a RAM backup cart.

In my opinion Wii Emulator's are retro gaming at it's finest  

 

[Burnt Lasagna]

Well I'm not willing to pay $60 on a backup RAM cart when it too also runs on an internal battery.
http://www.amazon.com/Sega-CD-Back-Up-Ram-Cart/dp/B0015OGRFC

[Samurai Ghost]

$60 seems high for a RAM cart, but you could always replace the internal battery. It seems pretty painless compared to a DUO recap.

Emulation is fine for casual fans so knock yourself out! As long as you're enjoying it! But I'd hardly call it retro gaming at its finest, especially with the wretched Wii controller.

[Joe Redifer]

The problem with emulating a Sega system is that the controllers used for the host system are all wrong.  They have the typical (and shitty) diamond face four button layout which doesn't work well with Genesis games.  The Genesis really needs two rows of three buttons to be fully appreciated.

[Samurai Ghost]

Word. And the Genesis six button controller is one of the most comfortable and functional controllers out there, next to the Saturn pad.

[Burnt Lasagna]

Then your saving grace would be this...
(Nintendo Wii 4-in-1 Virtua Retro Adapter)

http://www.amazon.com/Nintendo-Wii-4-Virtua-Retro-Adapter/dp/B003KMWMOW

[Joe Redifer]

Would the emulator know that button A on the Genesis pad is button A when using that thing?  Or would one have to reassign everything all to hell?  Will it even recognize the GC controllers?  Why is the emulator running at 824 frames per second?  Anything more than 59.94 is useless.  Is it actually sending 824 different frames per second to the graphics card in hopes that it will somehow be displayed?  If not, the emulator is lying.

[Burnt Lasagna]

Would the emulator know that button A on the Genesis pad is button A when using that thing?  Or would one have to reassign everything all to hell?

The emulator supports GC controllers and in doing so can support this (I've heard from other people that this works great). You can really easily reassign buttons in Genesis Plus GX, so if the buttons are not mapped correctly then you can change it in a snap. 

As for the framerate thing in the Beta screenshots I'm not sure. Though I know it's not actually running at that ludicrous frame rate. 

[Samurai Ghost]

So you can buy a Wii, a Genesis controller, a funky adapter thing which may or may not work properly, $5 a pop to download games and play them via emulation (which will never be 100% accurate) to totaling at LEAST $100

OR

Buy a Sega CD combo off eBay for $20, burn any Sega CD ISO to CD-R for free and play it on the actual hardware.

[Burnt Lasagna]

$5 a pop to download games and play them via emulation (which will never be 100% accurate) to totaling at LEAST $100

What are you talking about?
I'm talking about a homebrew emulator for the Wii called Genesis Plus GX. Which games as free as any ROM/ISO on the internet. 

So you can buy a Wii, a Genesis controller, a funky adapter thing which may or may not work properly,

I already said,

(I've heard from other people that this works great). You can really easily reassign buttons in Genesis Plus GX, so if the buttons are not mapped correctly then you can change it in a snap. 

Buy a Sega CD combo off eBay for $20, burn any Sega CD ISO to CD-R for free and play it on the actual hardware.

Or use a Wii with a $12 adapter (I already own a truck load of Genesis controllers) and Genesis Plus GX and put all your games on an external HDD and play them.

[SignOfZeta]

I'm willing to bet that the emulation detractors in this thread have never actually experienced good emulation. When I play stuff like Ninja Spirit on the Wii the experience is, if anything, better than on a real PCE because the video signal is rock solid and comes out in component with a lot less noise on the audio side as well.

So the Wii controller sucks for Genesis? Who gives a fuck? The Genesis controller sucks for a lot of Genesis games too. You just buy a different controller. Fuck, man.

And nobody is suggesting that if you want to play Sonic you go to Target and buy all this stuff. If you have a Wii, which many many millions of people do, this is something you might like to try. That's all he's saying.

When the Wii U comes out I'll be hacking the hell out of my Wii. Until then it's staying stock.

[Samurai Ghost]

Sorry my mistake, for some reason I thought it would be integrated into WiiWare. Still, console emulation isn't exactly a new thing. Like I said, emulation is great for casual retro fans or for trying out a game before you purchase it, but I think you'll find a lot of purists on this board. Nowadays I won't even bother with anything not on the actual hardware aside from some impossible to find arcade-only releases. There's just something lifeless about emulation to me. And it really doesn't make any sense when it comes to the Genesis, which is probably the cheapest of the older consoles to collect for asides from a handful of rare releases.

And SoZ, I have played emulated games on the Wii and Xbox and yes, they do look as good as they can on a flat screen, but I'm also of the opinion that anything pre-Dreamcast looks better on a CRT. It's hard to explain but I just like playing the actual games on the actual hardware. Emulation is fine for playing and all, but for me it's more than just what goes on on the screen. I think I'm just weird when it comes to games.

[Burnt Lasagna]

And it really doesn't make any sense when it comes to the Genesis, which is probably the cheapest of the older consoles to collect for asides from a handful of rare releases.

Keep in mind this thread is geared towards Sega CD emulation, which has it's handful of stupidly over priced collectables. Such as Snatcher and pretty much all Working Designs games.

[SignOfZeta]

Who said anything about LCD TVs? The Wii can output fully analog 240p component video which is basically the best thing possible for 16 bit era gaming on CRTs. The Wii doesn't even do HD!

Seriously, it's not 1996 anymore. Emulation has its advantages. I too play virtually everything on real hardware, but I would rather play something in an emulator than, say, a shitty port, or just not play it at all. I mean, I'm *never* going to own a Cannon Dancer PCB, for example, or a US Snatcher.

[Tatsujin]

I got my RAM cart for 1 buck. and I didn't even use it yet..lol.

[SignOfZeta]

I got my RAM cart for 1 buck. and I didn't even use it yet..lol.

That's another thing: the emulation versus real hardware thing is irrelevent unless you actually play games.

[Tatsujin]

I got my RAM cart for 1 buck. and I didn't even use it yet..lol.

That's another thing: the emulation versus real hardware thing is irrelevent unless you actually play games.

That's true too, I play my Wonder Mega quite often, but rarely play games on it that really need a save function

[Samurai Ghost]

I got my RAM cart for 1 buck. and I didn't even use it yet..lol.

That's another thing: the emulation versus real hardware thing is irrelevent unless you actually play games.

That's true too, I play my Wonder Mega quite often, but rarely play games on it that really need a save function

Yeah same here. I mostly play shooters and the like for the Mega CD so I don't really save anything but when I do the internal backup works fine.

[PCEngineHell]

All the talk about dead batteries and all, did people forget that they can be replaced?

[spenoza]

Not at all, but it's just another thing to have to fiddle with, especially if the battery is not intended to be user-accessible, like the battery in the Dreamcast, or in game cartridges, or, likely, in the Sega CD RAM cart.

Hell, I've been busy so I haven't had much time to play the Saturn lately, and about every time I sit down with it the battery I put in just a year ago is dead again and has to be replaced.

[Tatsujin]

Dead battery society

[SignOfZeta]

Not at all, but it's just another thing to have to fiddle with, especially if the battery is not intended to be user-accessible, like the battery in the Dreamcast, or in game cartridges, or, likely, in the Sega CD RAM cart.

Hell, I've been busy so I haven't had much time to play the Saturn lately, and about every time I sit down with it the battery I put in just a year ago is dead again and has to be replaced.

That's probably because you are using garbage batteries. You'll get 3-5 years out of a good one, easy. Those ones they sell in huge blister packs in eBay @ $0.05 each? Like maybe 9 months. In a DC VMU they last about two weeks.

[soop]

I say anything that helps retain the retro gaming is a damn good thing, and Gens sounds great.  The reason I personally prefer real hardware is twofold;

I find when I pay $0 for 100's of games, I've got no incentive to stick with them during the frustrating parts (my attention span is bad enough), but if I've just dropped some actual bucks, I'm gonna try and tough it out.  Emulators are just too tempting to try out the next game all the time.  However, for things like the PSP, it is nice to have your favorites there.

And secondly I love owning and collecting the stuff, poring through the manuals, marvelling at the HuCards (I'm back to PCE here), and the ritual of inserting the card, clicking the switch, then flop back and start playing.

Oh and third, I own a Nomad and a GT, so I can play original wherever.

Dead battery society

Like

[spenoza]

That's probably because you are using garbage batteries. You'll get 3-5 years out of a good one, easy. Those ones they sell in huge blister packs in eBay @ $0.05 each? Like maybe 9 months. In a DC VMU they last about two weeks.

Yeah, the Maxell cell batteries I buy that are made in Japan in 5 packs are crap batteries... Heaven forbid I should pick a brand name battery, because it's probably crap.

[Arkhan Asylum]

That's probably because you are using garbage batteries. You'll get 3-5 years out of a good one, easy. Those ones they sell in huge blister packs in eBay @ $0.05 each? Like maybe 9 months. In a DC VMU they last about two weeks.

Yeah, the Maxell cell batteries I buy that are made in Japan in 5 packs are crap batteries... Heaven forbid I should pick a brand name battery, because it's probably crap.

I replaced my Saturn and Sega CD batteries with name brand batteries back in 2003.   They still work.    The money you spend replacing shit batteries that keep dying could have just went towards 1 useful battery. 



Changing batteries in any console/cartridge is retard-easy.   You just need the appropriate tool to open the console or cart.   Past that, it's a GIANT METAL CIRCLE.  JUST SWAP IT OUT.

If you can't handle that, you probably can't handle putting an emulator on the Wii, so you're fucked either way.

[SuperDeadite]

I'm still trying to figure out who the fuck would buy a wii, let alone hack/homebrew program for such piece of trash. ???

[Arkhan Asylum]

I'm still trying to figure out who the fuck would buy a wii, let alone hack/homebrew program for such piece of trash. ???

I bought a Wii.  I play all the platformer games on it, and the few RPGs that exist for it.   It doesn't suck as much now that there are more then 3 good games.

[soop]

I'm still trying to figure out who the fuck would buy a wii, let alone hack/homebrew program for such piece of trash. ???

The Wii is pretty fun actually.  I have a ton of Wii games.  Also really accessable for people that don't normally play.  If I cook dinner round my house for friends, it's something that everyone can get into; Wii Sports, Wii Fit, Kororinpa, there's tonnes of fun.

[geise]

Nice!  I've been wondering when ekeeke was going to add sega cd emulation.  I have my genesis right next to my wii, and that port of genesis plus gx is so amazing iI use it more than my actual genesis.  All my genesisgames are already on the wii, the emulator already uses the exact same genesis resolution output, and the recently added sound core is so good it's hard to tell it's emulated.  It's nice to know the sega cd emulation is redone from scratch.  What's also funny is I recently purchased a sega cd model 1.    The nice thing about emulation over real hardware is saving space, not worrying about hardware dying, and sometimes it's just so much more convenient.  I don't know how many damn classic game systems I've had to fuck with over the years to get working again.  That has always been something nice about emulation.  Thanks for the info Burnt Lasagna!

[SignOfZeta]

I'm still trying to figure out who the fuck would buy a wii, let alone hack/homebrew program for such piece of trash. ???

The Wii is a lot more fun than, say, some overpriced piece of shit Laseractive game someone recently bought just because it was rare. A lot of people couldn't understand that sort of thing.

The Wii is fun. Its also cheaper than the other systems (quite a bit cheaper at certain points, historically). It also doesn't melt its chips off or have a optical drive failure every other year like the other two machines. The games shipped complete (i.e.: no updates) and even the OS has only been patched a half dozen times since the introduction.

I don't have a lot of Wii games, but I have had a LOT of fun with several of them. My girlfriend and I still play New Super Mario Bros once in a while. I absolutely LOVE the Rhythm Heaven they made for it. I had a lot of fun with Galaxy and some of the Wiiware/VC titles.

[SignOfZeta]

That's probably because you are using garbage batteries. You'll get 3-5 years out of a good one, easy. Those ones they sell in huge blister packs in eBay @ $0.05 each? Like maybe 9 months. In a DC VMU they last about two weeks.

Yeah, the Maxell cell batteries I buy that are made in Japan in 5 packs are crap batteries... Heaven forbid I should pick a brand name battery, because it's probably crap.

In my life Maxell has always made pretty middle of the road stuff. In the 80s it was cheap blank cassette tapes and now they make the sort of free batteries they pack in with TV remotes.

So either Maxell batteries are not that great or your Saturn is cursed by the ghost of Isao Okawa. You can believe whichever you want.

I owned two Saturns from new and I noticed that those batteries lasted a lot longer than the ones I was replacing them with. I switched to Energizer and now they go for years and years. The same goes for the Neo Geo Pocket. Nothing, however, will keep a VMU from killing its batteries except a kill switch.

[SuperDeadite]

So are you saying you don't want to learn about the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World in amazing High-End CG?

[xcrement5x]

It's cool that emulation for the Sega CD is getting better, but the problem with emulation is the unless it's exactly creating the hardware via software the compatibility will be spotty.  Even with exact replication there can still be all sorts of issues. 

Think this is a cool project, especially since eventually all SegaCD lasers will die and replacements will be harder to find, but I'll still keep playing on my real hardware. 

As for the haters on battery replacement and other issues, they're not that big a deal.  I've replaced them on multiple systems and it's like a 5 minute job if you've got the parts on hand.  I always put in a holder to anticipate for future failures, and the most expensive part is finding a rechargeable coin cell vs a stock CR2032. 

It's also probably one of the least expensive systems to grab games for, the number of good games that break $80 is pretty low compared to other systems.

[Arkhan Asylum]

To be fair, I have more Wii games than 360 games that I enjoy now.   The thing I most hate about the wii is that it took forever to get going.  Now the 3DS is doing that instead.


Fuck that shit!

I also hate the controller for the Wii.

It was cool at first, but now it's like "this thing blows"

[CrackTiger]

Well I'm not willing to pay $60 on a backup RAM cart when it too also runs on an internal battery.
http://www.amazon.com/Sega-CD-Back-Up-Ram-Cart/dp/B0015OGRFC

You can regularly find Mega-CD carts for <$5. If you don't like the tight fit, it's easy to swap it into a Genesis cart shell.

[Burnt Lasagna]

You can regularly find Mega-CD carts for <$5.

What on earth is your definition of regularly?
Nowadays the Backup RAM cart goes for roughly $60 on all major online stores. 
http://www.ebay.com/sch/System-Accessories-/54968/i.html?_nkw=Sega+CD+Back+Up+RAM+Cart
http://www.amazon.com/Sega-CD-Back-Up-Ram-Cart/dp/B0015OGRFC

Same deal with Mega CD (though cheaper, but no $5),
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=Sega+Mega+CD+Mega+CD+Backup+RAM&_sacat=1249

[Samurai Ghost]

eBay is just not a good place to refer to for market prices. If you check the gouging thread I'm sure you can find $299 copies of Keith Courage. I've seen people asking $100+ for "new" copies of Sonic 2, one of the most common games out there.

I'd say a fair price for a complete MD RAM Cart would be $20 or less. Around $10 if you are patient. But as others have mentioned the internal memory is more than enough and a battery replacement isn't too painful if needed. I play the SEGA CD on original hardware all the time and have never had the need for a RAM cart.

[PikachuWarrior]

I bought a ram cart a few months ago for my JVC X'EYE, and I paid a little under $45, cart only. You will never find it under $20, so I don't know what you're smoking. At least not on Ebay (US region). Maybe locally, like craigslist or yard sales or something.

[PikachuWarrior]

Well I'm not willing to pay $60 on a backup RAM cart when it too also runs on an internal battery.
http://www.amazon.com/Sega-CD-Back-Up-Ram-Cart/dp/B0015OGRFC

You can regularly find Mega-CD carts for <$5. If you don't like the tight fit, it's easy to swap it into a Genesis cart shell.

Also, if I'm not mistaken, doesn't the Ram Cart have a battery that is able to be recharged? So if you turn your system on every couple of months overnight, it should recharge itself for the next cycle.

[CrackTiger]

You can regularly find Mega-CD carts for <$5.

What on earth is your definition of regularly?
Nowadays the Backup RAM cart goes for roughly $60 on all major online stores. 
http://www.ebay.com/sch/System-Accessories-/54968/i.html?_nkw=Sega+CD+Back+Up+RAM+Cart
http://www.amazon.com/Sega-CD-Back-Up-Ram-Cart/dp/B0015OGRFC

Same deal with Mega CD (though cheaper, but no $5),
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=Sega+Mega+CD+Mega+CD+Backup+RAM&_sacat=1249

I come across them while browsing cheap MD/MCD games. I already have 2 Sega-CD backup carts and one MCD backup cart, so I'm not actually looking for them. I guess that I notice them every couple months or so. My definition of Mega-CD was the Japanese version. You linked some Sega-CD results. The CIB Japanese version is a collectible, the loose carts are available cheap whenever I see them. If you only buy things immediately on the spur of the moment, no matter what the asking price, then you most things will seem expensive. $30 for a CIB cart is still half of what you were saying it costs to save games.

[SNKNostalgia]

Some tricks to prolong battery life:

With the Sega Saturn, just back-up your current saves on your 4in1 PAR or memory cart. Then remove the battery. If you keep your system plugged in all the time, it doesn't die as fast.

With the VMU, just don't leave them plugged into the controllers all the time. When the console is off and the VMU is plugged into the controller, the batteries always die withing a month.

Everything else you just replace the batteries of course since there is no way around it. Keeping your consoles plugged in all the time does help the battery life.

[Burnt Lasagna]

But as others have mentioned the internal memory is more than enough and a battery replacement isn't too painful if needed. I play the SEGA CD on original hardware all the time and have never had the need for a RAM cart.

Not if you want to play Lunar II or Shining Force CD or really any RPG on the system. They will eat up almost all your internal memory in just one save.

Besides, I'm really not in the market for replacing the internal battery or buying a backup RAM cart, regardless of it's price. The thought of having to deal with dieing batteries and 15 year old optical disk drives are not very appealing to me. I honestly would much rather emulate it on my Wii with 240p component out put on my 2009 SDTV.   

In fact the only reason I own a real Sega CD is because I found it in a public dumpster next to my brother apartment along with a copy of Lunar II (no joke!).

[Burnt Lasagna]

For those that care. The initial release is out!
http://code.google.com/p/genplus-gx/downloads/detail?name=genplus-gx-1.7.0.7z&can=2&q=
(ekeeke)

version 1.7.0 is up to download. I hope to add audio track support soon so this can be more enjoyable in some way.