Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

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muggsy
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by muggsy »

Fudoh wrote:Most European orders arrived today. Plays like a charm. One tiny bug regarding 720p scanlines, but nothing that can't be easily fixed.
That's awesome to hear. Can you tell me if they are listing the value of the item on the exterior? I just want to know what import taxes I am going to get hit with. They had issues shipping mine so it's only just been shipped from TX to my US mail forwarder (I'm in lil old NZ)

I'll be busy checking out the reviews in the meantime. 1/2 way thru the MLiG review at present.
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Fudoh
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by Fudoh »

Can you tell me if they are listing the value of the item on the exterior?
full price, so I expect an invoice from Fedex in roughly two weeks.
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Lawfer
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by Lawfer »

Can be used to play Genesis/Mega Drive, Master System (with FM Sound for the games that support it), Game Gear, SG-1000 and SC-3000 games off a Mega Everdrive.

Fudoh wrote:
Can you tell me if they are listing the value of the item on the exterior?
full price, so I expect an invoice from Fedex in roughly two weeks.
Here goes another 50 bucks...
Last edited by Lawfer on Mon Mar 25, 2019 10:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
muggsy
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by muggsy »

Fudoh wrote:
Can you tell me if they are listing the value of the item on the exterior?
full price, so I expect an invoice from Fedex in roughly two weeks.
Thanks, I think in NZ the threshold is 400 NZD ~ 266 USD so I should sneak thru without charges.. :)
fernan1234
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by fernan1234 »

Have any of the professional reviewers done comparisons between a triple bypass Genesis through an OSSC with optimal timings vs. this thing? I have a suspicion that the former would win in a few aspects at least.

The Mister also does pretty much everything that all three of Analogue consoles do, plus a lot more, with analogue output to boot. But the shell does look pretty, and you can feel more "genuine" by inserting your cartridges. It's definitely great for collectors and youtubers.
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donluca
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by donluca »

Believe it or not, I was thinking the exact same thing.

If I'll ever want a multi-console emu I'll definitely go with the Mister.
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by Galgomite »

fernan1234 wrote:Have any of the professional reviewers done comparisons between a triple bypass Genesis through an OSSC with optimal timings vs. this thing? I have a suspicion that the former would win in a few aspects at least.

The Mister also does pretty much everything that all three of Analogue consoles do, plus a lot more, with analogue output to boot. But the shell does look pretty, and you can feel more "genuine" by inserting your cartridges. It's definitely great for collectors and youtubers.
Ugh

The triple bypass Genesis comes up in the MLIG video. The general reception I’m seeing from my favorite YouTubers is slightly muted— it’s a solid solution but needn’t replace a good RGB setup. Personally I was disappointed to see that it handles Sonic 2’s 480i mode the same way the Mister does— with interlacing artifacts.
Smokemonster hinted with some intensity that Sega CD simulation might appear with the jailbreak. If that happens then this would become the best version of the Genesis IMO.
fernan1234
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by fernan1234 »

CD drive emulation would indeed make this an interesting proposition, as long as the fabled analogue adapter also comes out. Dealing with the horrible Sega/Mega CD drives is not fun at all--I've resorted to using the Wii's Retroarch Genesis core for those games (which honestly performs fantastic as far as I can tell).

I'll remain skeptical until the jailbreak stuff happens and a lot of people actually test it though. Just not a fan of the direction and priorities that Analogue seems to have after they killed the NT Mini.
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Konsolkongen
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by Konsolkongen »

Mega CD support seems a bit ambitious for a jailbreak hack I think? The Mega CD has it's own CPU that would have to be emulated in the same FPGA core. Not saying that it couldn't be done of course, but I'd bet it would take quite some effort :)

Now, what I would really like to see is a separate Mega CD clone from Analoge. One that slots right under the Mega Sg, because using it with the original systems looks really dumb. Of course the number of people that would buy such a thing is probably limited so I don't expect this to happen :)
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by Galgomite »

The following is a bit whimsical.
I agree that it’s ambitious as a jailbreak hack, at least based on the company’s past decisions. But there are a few signs in favor:
1. Smokemonster, who claims to be the one person in touch with the jailbreaker (wonder who that could be?), mentioned that the Mega SG has an over abundance of power under the hood of its only going to do core Genesis. He then said it Kevtris certainly had the know-how to make such a thing happen. (This stuff was in his recent YouTube Smokemonster and Chill” video.) He says he has no idea what the jailbreaker is planning but it seemed unnecessary for him to hint so much if nothing would be forthcoming.
2. The Mega SG appears to work with Sega CD even when overclocked, right? It isn’t impossible to think that some or all of the Sega CD is being emulated right now, and that only the disc reading is happening on the base hardware. (Granted this is a reach and based on nothing, but it fits because I want Sega CD emulation to be real:) Also, if Analogue wanted to offer a CD add-on, perhaps one that could work with multiple consoles?, simulating the Sega CD’s guts would make that a cheap add-on for them to manufacture.
3. Analogue has up to this point offered the “ultimate” version of game consoles, but their Mega SG ends up looking rather limited if you care about CD or 32X. They went to all this trouble to make the SG compatible with hardware that makes it look silly when attached. Surely at some point this thing was going to have a CD drive. This means that they probably had been developing one and would have built the functionality into the main consul to save money on parts.
4. They will sell many more units if they offer this feature, however clandestinely.
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Kez
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by Kez »

I would be (pleasantly) surprised if anything like Mega CD support arrived in a jailbreak. The Mega CD is a beast with a bunch of different chips in it, the FPGA would have to be more than double what is required to run Mega Drive alone. That doesn't even include the amount of work it would take to develop an FPGA Mega CD, something nobody thus far has done.. it would be ridiculous to just give it away for free at this point.

Analogue seem to be pretty business savvy overall, and the idea of shipping a) Mega SG with way more horsepower than required and b) not profiting from an FPGA Mega CD seems ridiculous to me.

It would be awesome to see an FPGA Mega CD as a separate unit.. maybe it could even retain compatibility with the original Mega Drive. Imagine that!
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by fernan1234 »

A Mega CD ODE hooked up to an original Mega Drive. Now that I would buy in a heartbeat.
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by Galgomite »

Kez wrote:I would be (pleasantly) surprised if anything like Mega CD support arrived in a jailbreak. The Mega CD is a beast with a bunch of different chips in it, the FPGA would have to be more than double what is required to run Mega Drive alone. That doesn't even include the amount of work it would take to develop an FPGA Mega CD, something nobody thus far has done.. it would be ridiculous to just give it away for free at this point.

Analogue seem to be pretty business savvy overall, and the idea of shipping a) Mega SG with way more horsepower than required and b) not profiting from an FPGA Mega CD seems ridiculous to me.

It would be awesome to see an FPGA Mega CD as a separate unit.. maybe it could even retain compatibility with the original Mega Drive. Imagine that!
Mega/ Sega CD is a challenge, no doubt, but at the end of the day we're talking about another x68000 and fewer games to get running. Getting CD-ROMs and redbook audio working will be a challenge but surely Analogue would have to master this before launching a Turbografx clone.

I love the idea of Analogue selling a new Sega CD for even original consoles but I still don't see their add-on containing its own FPGA.
jd213
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by jd213 »

All the the menu options look a bit overwhelming, I'm glad they're there but it's going to take me some fiddling to get everything dialed in on my PC CRT (via HDfury2). Or should I wait for the official DAC adapter?

Will Truxton play at the "correct" speed when the Mega SG is set to 50hz?
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by Galgomite »

Analogue dangled the official DAC before the Super NT was released, and I think its primary function will be 240p so no point in waiting.
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citrus3000psi
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by citrus3000psi »

Is the DAC adapter not simply an HDMI to VGA adapter? Or is it somehow doing something more?
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Fudoh
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by Fudoh »

it will certainly be a straight conversion, but they need a way to provide consumer-compatible RGBs. Maybe by providing a MiniDIN output of some kind to make it compatible with existing scart cables.
MidOrFeed2015
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by MidOrFeed2015 »

slightly off-topic but what are the chances of a re-released NT Mini (or revision using super NT/mega SG tech)? Asking because the NT mini literally cannot be found anywhere.
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by Galgomite »

MidOrFeed2015 wrote:slightly off-topic but what are the chances of a re-released NT Mini (or revision using super NT/mega SG tech)? Asking because the NT mini literally cannot be found anywhere.
Analogue surely sees that as money left on the table. They seem capable of releasing one console per year at maximum, so I’m actually hoping they’ll wait until after doing a Turbografx/CD system, meaning it’d happen in 2021, with a new plastic case and probably no other cores.
The RetroUSB AVS is honestly an excellent 720p alternative, and the MiSTer has all the NT Mini’s cores and more.
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by mikejmoffitt »

Mine will arrive soon. I am thinking of plugging in my Mega CD and looking at the Mega CD's CPU activity. That'll give a good hint about whether or not the Mega CD is fully being utilized, or if it's doing no more than providing a (difficult to repair and keep working) CD drive.
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by Galgomite »

Mine arrived this afternoon but I won't get to try it out for a few more hours.
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Lawfer
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by Lawfer »

fernan1234 wrote:Have any of the professional reviewers done comparisons between a triple bypass Genesis through an OSSC with optimal timings vs. this thing?
I am not a professional reviewer or anything of the sort, nor do I have a Mega SG (I might get one eventually), but I have a Genesis with triple bypass, I listened to some comparison videos on youtube and while the sound from the Mega SG is good, it sounds... different than how it does on original hardware. I love the sound from my triple bypass genesis, the sound from the Mega SG while nice sounds too sharp, like it's coming from a modern machine (which technically the Mega SG is) instead of a 16-bit console from the late 80's.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGy7HBG3I1c

Does the Mega SG has one of the original Yamaha audio chip on it?

https://i.imgur.com/oQj2XGQ.jpg
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Konsolkongen
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by Konsolkongen »

Game Sack has some tips for improving the audio:
https://youtu.be/VT2hJE3b_tQ

Haven’t tested this myself :)
fernan1234
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by fernan1234 »

Lawfer wrote:
Does the Mega SG has one of the original Yamaha audio chip on it?

https://i.imgur.com/oQj2XGQ.jpg
The FPGA emulates it (or "simulates" it, if you prefer). There are settings to both "improve" the sound by tapping into the full potential of the (simulated) Yamaha chip, as well as settings to adjust a filter on it to make it sound closer to what it sounds like on the console. But it's probably one of those things you have to hear in person for yourself to tell how close it sounds. It's probably not that hard since even accurate software emulators like genesis plus GX can sound pretty much the same as the real thing (IMO).
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by Galgomite »

There are so many official “versions” of Sega Genesis audio, and while I have seen videos that show stark contrasts, I have never experienced objectionable audio *in person* from any of my genesis consoles (model 1, 2, CDX, even a cheap HDMI clone). I’m not really a sound guy and the intended sound is so artificial that it almost doesn’t matter, so long as its in key and not radically distorted.
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by energizerfellow‌ »

I'm just amazed that the shipping default of the Mega Sg in NTSC mode is 60.00 Hz when official NTSC timing is 59.94 Hz and much closer to the original hardware's timing. 59.94 Hz 480p is part of the official HDMI(tm) specification should work on every HDMI display in the land, plus ~99% of anything with DVI. There's no option at all for 59.94 Hz at all in any review that I've seen.

Speaking of timing, I wonder if it would be possible to have a UI for something like bumping the refresh rate 0.01 Hz at a time with a "Can you see this?" prompt that you have to hit. Have a power-up safety revert via something like hold Start+Up+C at power-on.
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it290
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by it290 »

Regarding the audio, I got mine today and have been playing around with it. I am really, really happy that Kevtris included a 'busy sound chip' option that makes the music in Hellfire sound like it does on my model 2 (slow) and does not on my model 1 (fast). The slow version might not be what the developers intended, but I love how it sounds and nothing else I've seen emulation-wise does this.

I did do a few spot checks on SoR2's sound test comparing the music between the Mega SG and the model 2, and it sounds just as good if not a little bit richer. Disabling the -3dB option was also a must, haven't really messed around with the low pass filters and stuff yet. The video is also a lot easier to tune than the Super NT, just 1080p, 4:3 for 16:9 and 5x height and you're pretty much good to go. Not having to fiddle around with cropping borders and stuff makes it instantly a more appealing experience than the OSSC for me. Video quality is about on par for me although I like the softer scanlines from the OSSC better.

I also really, really like the M30 controllers, maybe even more than the original 6 button pad. They're just a little bit more ergonomic and softer, and I haven't had any of the RF issues that I experienced using them on real hardware.

edit—also on the audio side, the FM audio in SMS Rastan just sounds weird to me. I'm probably just not used to it, but I think I prefer the FM from the Mega Everdrive firmware. I don't have a way to test FM on original hardware.
Last edited by it290 on Wed Mar 27, 2019 3:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
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it290
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by it290 »

Oh also, the included Ultracore game is a pretty nice bonus if you like Euro Turrican style games. Cool music and lots of gratuitous explosion effects.
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by Fudoh »

the FM audio in SMS Rastan just sounds weird to me
it's broken in that particular game.
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Re: Mega Sg (FPGA Genesis)

Post by Galgomite »

energizerfellow‌ wrote:I'm just amazed that the shipping default of the Mega Sg in NTSC mode is 60.00 Hz when official NTSC timing is 59.94 Hz and much closer to the original hardware's timing.
That's a great point! I wonder what the reasoning is, and also how there wouldn't be incompatibilities between an overclocked Genesis and standard clock Sega CD.
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