Hi everyone, As a fan of the golden 16 bit era, we are not immune to our beloved HW's deteriorating, especially those systems having a CD drive! Understanding the need to hack in a bios to let Everdrive reading CD images, I believe it to present a final solution for every Mega-CD users like me, which don't want to say goodbye to their systems. My question to Krikzz is, is it any feasible or does it need a different hardware setup integrated in the Everdrive? Cheers,
krikzz has answered before that he isn't into drive emulation stuff, and It'll need a different hadware if someday somebody release something
i never not tried to program mega-cd, so i not specialist in this area, but probably possible to made very modified bios for stream data data from SD, but i guess that cd audio will not work. may be i can play cd autio by fpga, but anyway i need more powerfull fpga than edmd have impossible to run CD in only megadrive hardware, but if CD unit attached....
Yes, if Everdrive SD card function can read from flash memory instead of using the CD unit lens (which remains connected, of course) then sirs, we got the definitive SEGA Megadrive / Mega CD / 32X Flashcard solution. KRIKzz, If you need to buy some special components for experiments and testing, I'll gladly contribute in donations. P.s. This link is connected to the official MEGA-CD HW manual, hope it holds some informative insight in how it works.
i thought it's easy to make something for replace SCD, but when i look closer, i see it's like another console - w/ CPU, different RAM chips. but theoretycally, it's possible make cd-emu inside of SCD. just curious: is it worth in the case if we need have SCD for such mod?
using a micro computer to emulate the cd and then send out the correct data to the system should be possible for someone who knows their stuff, similar to how floppy drive emulators work. i honestly think something like this will be essential for running games on real hardware in the future as more and more lasers die. or a way to use an external drive and the computer as a data passthrough to the system.
There's just one problem with this idea. There are different revisions of the MCD and those have different connectors to the laser assembly and sled. In addition there is the fact the CD drive assembly driver circuits are built right in to the MCD main board. It's not like a CD ROM or floppy drive where they have their own driver hardware and communicate over standard signals. Those are easier to replace and emulate. The emulator would need several connectors for the different revisions. Other option would be to just emulate the whole MCD system through the cart slot as the expansion port pretty much carries all the same signals as the cart slot. There might be a few signals that are expansion port only the MCD system uses but that could be easily solved with a breakout board on a cable to hook there. Or else just make the emulator plug straight into the expansion port. Emulating the Motorola MC68000 isn't too hard as that's what the MCD uses. Might could even use real parts and delete the section of the assembly that has the CD driver board replacing it with an emulator system to hook to USB, SD, IDE, or whatever storage medium. EDIT: Just remembered something. The MCD has pretty standard parts in it for the CPU, BIOS EPROM, RAM, and a few others. Only real hard part would be the custom Sega ASIC chips they have.
i think all M-CD is complex device. under "cd-drive" part - i mean place where it send digital stream of data. emulatiom cd-drive laser amd mechanism - is impossible. ..maybe in far future w/ super dsp..lol
Low level CD emulation? Waste of time and resources. It's much easier to connect FPGA-based hardware emulator that reads cue+bin. It can be small enough to fit in slot under the cover. For now, Wii and Genesis Plus GX do the job just fine.
The only rational device would be one that connects directly to the Mega Drive's expansion port, and emulates everything the SegaCD did. Also needs it's own power source.
Not happening. No one is going to spend the time/money developing a MCD replacement because people are too cheap to buy the addon. They're about $100 you can get em cheaper on craigslist. Got mine for $60. With a real MCD attached it should be easy. There are several disc based systems that usb load entirely with software patching. When you control the address space and have MBs of extra RAM to work with it's even easier. If krikzz would just release a fpga sdk like he promised years ago the geniuses in the haxing community would have this solved in months. Then there would be a compelling reason for many of us to upgrade to the MED at no cost or effort to krikzz. See? I want you to take my money I just need a little bit more than rts feature. Release the kraken sdk! Release the kraken sdk!
You don't understand one thing - addon will be able to read images from flash/hdd drive, which means less (zero) noise, faster loading and you won't have to worry about dying laser, dusty lens etc. I can't remember last time i used original disc in my Wii - CFG loader + USB HDD makes things so much better, i have my discs stored in a room with proper conditions, no more scratches etc.
Precisely. That's exactly what I want, except done through MED, using MCD for its extra ram & graphics h/w etc. Laser / drive condition doesn't matter because it will be bypassed entirely. Buy a "broken" one for even cheaper. I'm saying making an addon that replaces the MCD entirely is a no go. You'd be basically engineering the MCD from scratch except smaller and w/o cd drive. Would it be awesome? Yes. I want it. But it's not likely to happen, least of all from krikzz. --- MED is available TODAY! Wii/ps2 usb loading is done through software patching. It's awesome. I love it. No custom hardware needed. Apply same concept to MCD using fpga support. It is entirely feasible and only requires that you purchase a MCD, cd drive working or not. Go internet! Do it now!
First of all, a CD-device is likely going to cost you MORE money than the original add-on. Secondly, those CD drives are failing so it's valuable as a replacement. Third, Krikzz is not going to release an FPGA SDK. What for? So more Chinese cloners can rip off his stuff?
1. & 2. ??? I don't want a cd device either! I want MED to work like wii/ps2 usb loader but you still need a MCD for its extra gfx h/w and stuff. Who cares if the cd drive works or not. Fine you win. Make a MCD on a chip and I'll buy it in 3 years when its available, assuming the MED can't do it by then. (Which it won't unless the fpga becomes opensource, but that's krikzz call.) This hypothetical device isn't even in the scope of this forum since krikzz has stated he has no interest in cd replacements (see the TED forum near the top). Hell why not just make a MD+MCD on a chip while you're at it. I thought we all preferred original consoles for their higher quality. The MCD is more than just a cd drive you know. 3. They're already ripping off his stuff. It's not going to make things worse. The fpga is updated along with the kernel anyway right? The pirates can obtain it as easily as you or I already. It's not like theyre going to ADD features. Check out the supercard mini sd. They've been making low quality clones for years after official production stopped. No new features or improvements. As for what for? a. He said he would do this. Check the sticky thread above or the manual. This hurts his rep. How can I trust any further promised future enhancements when he doesn't deliver? b. People will add value by, idk, hacking in MCD support, ym2413, improve compatibility. Sales will increase with no cost/effort for krikzz. If fpga sdk were released I would buy a MED just in anticipation of the cool shit people will do with it. Keeping it proprietary will only provide a market opening for alternatives. F.ex. the Neo Myth supports ym2413 and eeprom. Is it a serious contender? Maybe, maybe not but I wouldn't even be considering it if it didn't have things that MED lacks. Someone else may come along with their own device. Might even be opensource. c. Krikzz can spend more time on h/w if people are co-developing the opensource firmware for him. Or he can go the other direction and lock it down with drm that will frustrate users in a likely futile attempt to keep the chinese at bay. One last thing and I'm out. It's looking less and less like there will be any major features added to the MED. You've got a powerful platform with so much potential but its almost completely underutilized. That's a shame. Krikzz I love you but you're disappointing me. Release the sdk!
