V-Smile hardware specs?

I just tried my V-smile console. I did not have any game or DC adapter but found out my Twin Famicom adapter would work. I got the V-smile splash screen so I assume this puppy works.
I have 2 controllers and 2 drawing boards with it.
I just ordered Scooby-doo for 6$ shipped off ebay so i can try this thing properly.
Ariel the mermaid looked cool too but I opted for scooby doo xD

 

Oh, and of course while I had it on hand I took the screwdriver to it.
For those who like PCB porn, here's the V-smile motherboard!!!
I was hoping to S-video mod the thing but I have a feeling this wont be possible xD

Maybe there is a less integrated version out there?

 

So what sort of power does this console have? Is it more powerful than say, a SNES? maybe I shouldn't be so lazy and check out YouTube.

 

The V Smile console does take C batteries, however it works way better with the AC adapter because with batteries if you slightly move the system while on, it will reset at times.

Scooby Doo is a pretty fun game there are a lot of other good ones too. If you check the about page on the vsmilehomebrew.com website you can see my (Sean) list of games I currently have in my collection. 99% of them are pretty fun.

 

From my research it's somewhere in the PS1 to Sega Genesis in power. Something to think about is just look at all the homebrew games now coming out for the Atari 2600 or Vectrex 30 years later. People are able to really push old lower powered consoles to do amazing things. This is my hope for the V.Smile...

 

That's quite a gap, didn't you mean PlayStation to Sega Saturn?

 

No I think that's what he meant. From looking at the games It seems to sit about in between the fourth and the fifth generation of game consoles in term of power.

But I would say much closer to the fourth than the fifth.

In terms of graphics and fluidity the games look like something that could have been on the Genesis or Snes, but possibly more colorfull. Hard to say by looking at crappy looking videos.
However there are quite a lot of good quality digitized speech which leads me to believe the carts might contain more data then typical 16 bit. It also sounds like it uses some sort of midi engine for music, which I am pretty interested in learning more about.

 

I'm sort of thinking the V.Smile graphics are Flash based and the programming is Action Script, but i'm not 100% (yet). From looking at the V.Smile cartridge PCB's I think they have a capacity of 64 MB. I've done a lot of Flash and Action Script programming of video game ports to Flash and could easily program some fun games having 64 MB of available memory for the V.Smile. These are the things that I'm trying to get sorted at the moment.

 

This is all very interesting, I am tempted to buy a couple V.Smiles & send one to the MESS people so they can dump the BIOS. They have a German V.Smile BIOS right now

 

Seriously you should pick a couple of them up while they're still cheap. Once some serious V.Smile homebrew hits, the values will probably go up. Same goes for some of the games, especially ones with Disney or comic book characters. One game I would recommend picking up is Action Mania. It's sort of a Mario Kart type game. I would love to hack this game and make it so every time a letter shows up you need, it doesn't stop, you just have to make sure to be in the correct part of the road to hit it and keep on driving.

It's cool to hear there is a team in Germany with the knowledge and equipment to dump the BIOS, but it would also be good to get something like that going here in the USA. Does the German team have a website by chance? I would be down to send them a system too or help cover the shipping costs.

 

Honestly, I don't think it was a German team, I think it was a German member of the MESS forums who sent them a German V.Smile.

 

I just added a new blog post to the http://www.vsmilehomebrew.com website about the V.Smile cartridge PCB's.

 

Very interesting, PlanetSean

 

I never tried it but wouldn't this make removing glob tops easier?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/30ml-IC-BGA...igital_Camera_Accessories&hash=item2c67ba62bf

 

Picked up a V.Smile Baby & 2 Learn & Discover Home game carts. Gonna see if the MESS people want them so it can lead to possible emulation.

 

Picked up a V.Smile w/controller & 2 Alphabet Park Adventure carts. I am going to keep this stuff. I found all of this at a local Goodwill in a bundle for $4.99

 

For anyone interested, this is the dumping team's site: http://team-europe.blogspot.com/
They are still dumping games, but just haven't updated their blog recently. Sadly, they don't provide any contact details.

Also a heads-up to some people: MESS isn't a miracle emulator, there are still major things to emulate in regards to the V.Smile, especially in regards to the processor (SPG200 SoC, which is based on the SPG243) which doesn't have ANY technical documents available. If said documents were to become available, then there would be a greater chance of both proper emulation and homebrew.

 

I am well aware mess isn't a miracle emulator, but Guru seems to be the only dumper I can contact, unless there is a way to contact Team Europe. Also, I am interested in Team Europe s Pico dumping device

 

Seems like there has been development boards for this chip in circulation before.
http://www.bitcoinclassifieds.net/ad/483_SunPlus_SPG200_Eval_Board__Prototype_Game/

 

I also noticed that the V.Smile controller has a Ps2 connection. I wonder if this thing will work on a PC or if a keyboard/mouse will work on the V.Smile