SD2SNES implements Byuu's MSU1

One can also implement rudimentary VGA and SPIDF outputs over the SD card slot. From what I can recall the VGA progress thus far is describable exactly as rudimentary and likely not useful for much more than a command prompt or basic graphics.

SPIDF would be cool if the clock rate problem can be solved for the SNES. Existing SPIDF output designs have a slightly clock rate difference between spec for SPIDF and what the SNES actually outputs. IIRC its a handful of cycles off which allows it to still function with a lot of compatible equipment but being its out of spec means you're bound to find something that won't accept it.

 

Website sd2snes

https://github.com/mrehkopf/sd2snes
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sd2snes/

 

Nice. I did not know ikari had a web page for this. I will have to follow his progress.

 

Will it allow for playing the special chip games on an SNES flash cart? Otherwise I don't expect it to have much use on real hardware, as the hack-makers don't usually bother to test on such.

 

The answer to that is in the title of the thread. Flash carts that have an implementation of MSU1 (SD2SNES being the only one currently) are able to play MSU1 games.

(Actually, isn't that a bit redundant? I'm not sure what you're asking. It won't run SuperFX games if that's what you mean.)

 

Ofcourse he meant Super FX and other official "special chips" like Cx4, SA-1, SDD1, and so on.

 

I was reading up on how he emulates them a few years ago and the way he said he did it sounded like you should be able to emulate them all, lemme go look for the link.
http://byuu.org/articles/decap

 

????? software emulation of coprocessor games has absolutely nothing to do with the MSU1. The MSU1 is good for two things: enhancing the music and size of game hacks.

 

I didn't say it was linked, I said he's wrote up on how to do all the co-processors as one thing, so it shouldn't be too hard to merge them into one chip for the SNES if you know what you're doing and have the time.

 

That's also not the case, designing hardware is different than designing software. Software can be used as a reference to help you design hardware but it can't be plopped into hardware; the work involved in recreating the coprocessors approaches the complexity of portions of the SNES itself. The reason it hasn't been done isn't because documentation hasn't existed, it hasn't been done because it's very hard, much harder than programming a software emulator, even if you have everything laid out for you. I wouldn't be so sure the SD2SNES's FPGA has the resources to synthesize the SA-1 anyway.

 

You get FPGA's running in the hundreds of MHz these days, compared to a 20MHz chip, I think it'll handle it, cost wise though...

 

Speed != logic density

Also a node's speed is inversely proportional to its density due to propagation delay, not that it really matters in this case. I think you're drawing parallels between FPGA and processors when there aren't any.

 

Calpis knows what he's talking about.

If you really wanted to support Super FX, SA-1, etc in a Copier or Flash cart it would probably be easier in my opinion (though I have no electrical engineering background) to physically remove the chips from original cartridges and have your own programmable logic present to essentially connect the desired chip to your simulated cartridge. Ofcourse this would be pretty silly for games with chips used by 1 or 2 games but for Super FX or SA-1 it might not be as crazy.

Though I have to assume that the desire for chip support in Flash carts is heavily driven by Star Fox 2. Seriously now, it's the only game you cannot get an official cartridge. Maybe some people don't like how expensive Mario RPG can be or something like that but really people seem to be very interested in a handful or less games that are "off limits" or they are just greedy and think these things are magic because they don't have an understanding of the technical details.

 

The primary objective of what byuu is doing is documenting and preserving the hardware as low-level as possible. I suppose theorietically you could then reproduce them as hardware, but I suspect that's not necessarily the objective.

 

you could always just get a SF2 repro

 

Yes but atleast from what I've seen, anyone selling those wants $100+. Expensive for a bootleg.

 

to be expected when you consider the demand, I do agree though, wish someone would enter the repro scene and undercut on SF2

speaking of which what other repro sources are there? I only know of NESReproductions and Game Reproductions

 

The only reason I asked about the SNES special chips is that people were talking up the SD2SNES as being a cart that could/would do that. I wasn't sure if the MSU1 was the reason for that or not, that's why I asked.

I've been aware of the MSU1 implementation for awhile, and though the music sounds great compared to standard SNES, doesn't really get my juices going.

As for Star Fox 2, I was told pretty firmly that $100 is about as low as one could go due to the amount of labor required to do the job.

 

The StarFox 2 reproduction carts use hacked versions of other SuperFX game cartridges don't they? There's something unsettling about people willingly destroying games.

 

Presumably they've got an eprom wired into the original rom location from a superfx cart. Though I recall reading a lengthy discussion as to which superfx cart was the best to use on a Star Fox 2 repro based on clock differences between FX chips. I believe the winter gold or whatever one was considered ideal, followed by stunt race fx, I could be mistaken? someone probably knows what i'm talking about / better