MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

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bobrocks95
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MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by bobrocks95 »

I can't find a lot of modern discussion on this.

For a clean install in a modern stick, with good retro console support, would people recommend an MC Cthulhu or a Brook Retro Board these days? Firmware updates seem to have fixed the Brook's problems but unsure. Impressions are all from initial 2019 release.
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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by SCARTicus »

I can recommend the MC Cthulhu for certain. It works great, is easy to use, and is much cheaper than the Brooks. They are compatible with all of the same platforms. They are both in the extremely low lag class, with the MC Cthulhu having an average measured lag of about 1ms and a maximum measured lag of 2.2ms. There was some talk a while back about the Brooks board working better for 6-button PC Engine games, but I am not sure how accurate that is, and it is a super small category of games.

Lag on the MC Cthulhu was a bit higher ages ago before the firmware that added Dreamcast support. You will not get one of those older chips.

Basically the MC Cthulhu does everything that the Brooks board does and it does it every bit as well and possibly even a bit better, at about half the price.

So you can order the MC Cthulhu or you can make a less intelligent decision. I put DB15 cables on my sticks and installed my MC Cthulhu in a project box with a DB15 connector wired to the input. That lets me use multiple sticks with the same board (not simultaneously), and it works with my Neo Geo CD joypads, too, which is cool.

We still need a good solution to use home-made arcade controllers on the Sega Genesis!
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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by Konsolkongen »

I'm happy enough with my MC Cthulhu, but I would advice against using it with Dreamcast. It gave me massive problems in some games. 3rd Strike will pause at random, making the game unplayable. Other games worked alright. I solved this by adding the PCB from a DC Agetech arcadestick, which also added VMU support so that was a nice bonus :)

According to this site the MC Cthulhu (in PS3 mode at least) has over 12ms of lag:
https://inputlag.science/controller/results

Maybe other systems have lower lag? I was never bothered by it, but if the Brook has lower lag I would probably get that.
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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by bobrocks95 »

SCARTicus wrote:I can recommend the MC Cthulhu for certain. It works great, is easy to use, and is much cheaper than the Brooks. They are compatible with all of the same platforms. They are both in the extremely low lag class, with the MC Cthulhu having an average measured lag of about 1ms and a maximum measured lag of 2.2ms. There was some talk a while back about the Brooks board working better for 6-button PC Engine games, but I am not sure how accurate that is, and it is a super small category of games.

Lag on the MC Cthulhu was a bit higher ages ago before the firmware that added Dreamcast support. You will not get one of those older chips.

Basically the MC Cthulhu does everything that the Brooks board does and it does it every bit as well and possibly even a bit better, at about half the price.

So you can order the MC Cthulhu or you can make a less intelligent decision. I put DB15 cables on my sticks and installed my MC Cthulhu in a project box with a DB15 connector wired to the input. That lets me use multiple sticks with the same board (not simultaneously), and it works with my Neo Geo CD joypads, too, which is cool.

We still need a good solution to use home-made arcade controllers on the Sega Genesis!
The remaining positives for the Brook board would be convenience, assuming they both work just as well:

- I see old posts about the Dreamcast being a problem since logic is at 3.3V and an MC Cthulhu drives it at 5V. Was this ever fixed on the Cthulhu? Does the Retro Board handle it properly?
- I don't want to have to wire my own cables. Arcade Shock and viletim both sell premade RJ45 to console adapters. Would the pinout be the same with the MC Cthulhu?
- MC Cthulhu has a USB B connector, are there USB B to RJ45 adapters even made?
- The Brook Retro has easy daisy-chaining with the Brook UFB for PS4 support. I figure there would be a custom way to do this with the MC Cthulhu if you put two separate ports on the back and wire up all connections to both boards?
- Retro board has a 20-pin harness connector you can buy that takes care of everything and makes the install much cleaner. Nothing I can't do myself, but I've dealt with the usual rats nest on a custom build before so it's a plus for a small amount of money imo.

If I'm wrong on any of those let me know. From my perspective it seems like you're paying for the convenience factor for the Brook.
Konsolkongen wrote:I'm happy enough with my MC Cthulhu, but I would advice against using it with Dreamcast. It gave me massive problems in some games. 3rd Strike will pause at random, making the game unplayable. Other games worked alright. I solved this by adding the PCB from a DC Agetech arcadestick, which also added VMU support so that was a nice bonus :)

According to this site the MC Cthulhu (in PS3 mode at least) has over 12ms of lag:
https://inputlag.science/controller/results

Maybe other systems have lower lag? I was never bothered by it, but if the Brook has lower lag I would probably get that.
Corroborates the Dreamcast issue, though the lag report is interesting since the Mister input lag database puts the MC Cthulhu very low at around ~2ms.
https://rpubs.com/misteraddons/inputlatency

Yeah maybe an individual system thing. Or that older firmware SCARTicus mentioned. The Brook UFB has very consistently low results below 1ms for various console modes so I'm more confident in its speed.


Related question: when was the last MC Cthulhu update? I thought it was an EOL product?
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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by Shelcoof »

The plus side of things is that the retro board can pair with the universal board

I have 4 sticks done up that way :D
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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by bobrocks95 »

Shelcoof wrote:The plus side of things is that the retro board can pair with the universal board

I have 4 sticks done up that way :D
That was very enticing to me too. You get to use one output plug and just have to hold Start+Select to switch between them, right?
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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by Shelcoof »

bobrocks95 wrote:
Shelcoof wrote:The plus side of things is that the retro board can pair with the universal board

I have 4 sticks done up that way :D
That was very enticing to me too. You get to use one output plug and just have to hold Start+Select to switch between them, right?
Yes one output via RJ45

But there are a number of combinations you can use
you can assign it to a switch or you can use the button combo
If you can also set it to which board boots up first with the forgot what its called but if you short the part you can start in UFB board or Retro Board

Either way there are options for sure
Especially when you get use to using just one stick
imagine wanting to upgrade

Right now Brook offers support up to the PS5 which is awesome
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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by NoAffinity »

There are multiple firmwares available for the cthulhu, including one that is geared toward the dreamcast. Have you guys having issues with the cthulhu+dc tried the alternate firmwares?

Also cthulhu supports multiple button modes with pc engine/tg-16 (and variants), and I believe multiple button modes with neo geo. Brooks only supports 2 button mode for pce/tg16.

I will caution, however, that achieving 6 button mode for pce/tg16 for instance is a bit challenging. Need a switch that will trigger the mode toggle, and then also need to run it through a multi tap.

But, I own multiple mc cthulhu sticks and 1 brooks retro stick, and like them equally.

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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by Konsolkongen »

NoAffinity wrote:There are multiple firmwares available for the cthulhu, including one that is geared toward the dreamcast. Have you guys having issues with the cthulhu+dc tried the alternate firmwares?
I have only tried the ones listed in the original threads on SRK forum.
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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by bobrocks95 »

So are there options to change button mappings on either board? No options for Genesis because of its controller protocol, but is Neo Geo the same way? I don't see any Neo Geo adapters available anywhere.

I have a Timeharvest CMVS with Saturn controller inputs, but the best mapping I can choose on the Timeharvest is Neo Geo ABCD -> Saturn ABCX, which at least for the Brook would be 1K 2K 3K 1P, which is unfortunate for Neo Geo use, not that D is used all that often on them. NoAffinity mentioned multiple button modes on the Cthulhu so maybe that would do it? I can't find much documentation on it though.

Also reading about Cthulhu problems with Japanese HuCard games, which is all I own so it might eliminate use for the whole console...
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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by SCARTicus »

The RJ45 on the MC Cthulhu is wired separately from the USB port. You have to solder it to the board, or you can do use this board that Arthrimus makes that allows you to build an MC Cthulhu solution without soldering anything:
https://arthrimus.com/product/mc-cthulh ... grade-pcb/

Also he has a product that will allow you to remap buttons like you want. This could be used in conjunction with either board:
https://arthrimus.com/product/r-m-a-f-re-map-auto-fire/

The cables that Arcade Shocks sells work great for the MC Cthulhu as well as the Brooks board. I own several.

There is no problem with the MC Cthulhu and Japanese HuCard games. All of my cards are Japanese and I have never had a problem. I never had trouble with Dreamcast either. I think that the people who reported such issues must have been running older firmwares. There was a time when the product didn't even support Dreamcast. A long time ago.

The product is no longer being developed, but the latest firmware does not have any of these bugs that have been mentioned. The latest firmware is tested and listed on the MiSTer Input Latency spreadsheet:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... edit#gid=0

The reason for no Genesis support is that the system relies on using rj45 connectors and cables and those only have 8 wires in them. Genesis support would require a cable and connector with no less than 9 wires. Neo Geo controllers are not encoded and require at least 11 wire anyway. The pins on their cables are wired directly to the button/lever switches and one pin carries the common ground. My solution to using a stick with my Neo Geo was to wire the stick with an actual DB15 female cable, and to put a the MC Cthulhu in a project box outside of my stick with a DB15 male connector wired to the button/lever switch and ground inputs on the MC Cthulhu board sitting inside. That way the fightstick could still connect directly to the NeoGeo without having the MC Cthulhu even enter the picture. If you did that, you could also use the box together with controller decoders to make universal controller adapters.

https://arthrimus.com/product/saturn-to ... r-adapter/
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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by NoAffinity »

I think the below information is buried in a SRK thread or the SRK thread for the cthulhu. I copied it and saved it, knowing it might some day disappear. These are the button assignments per console, and different modes available.
Spoiler
PS3:
1P: Square
2P: Triangle
3P: R1
4P: L1
1K: X
2K: Circle
3K: R2
4K: L2
Start: Start
Select: Select
Home: PS

PSX:
1P: Square
2P: Triangle
3P: R1
4P: L1
1K: X
2K: Circle
3K: R2
4K: L2
Start: Start
Select: Select
Home: Up+Select

PSX (DC Converter mode: Hold 3P and 3K when plugging in)

1P: Square
2P: Triangle
3P: L1
4P: L2
1K: X
2K: Circle
3K: R1
4K: R2
Start: Start
Select: Select
Home: Start+X

Gamecube (normal mode):
1P: Y
2P: X
3P: L
4P: B
1K: B
2K: A
3K: R
4K: Y
Start: Start
Select: Z
Home: N/A

Dreamcast:
1P: X
2P: Y
3P: Z
1K: A
2K: B
3K: C
Start: Start

Xbox (Select not pressed):
1P: X
2P: Y
3P: White
4P: LT
1K: A
2K: B
3K: Black
4K: RT
Start: Start
Select: Back
Home: N/A
Home + 1P : Left stick click
Home + 1K : Right stick click
Home + Stick: Left and Right analog sticks

NES (All Modes)
Start:Start
Select:Select
1K: B
2K: A
Home: Go to next mode (Normal -> Turbo -> Punchout -> Normal ->.....)

NES (Turbo Mode)
1P: Rapid Fire B
2P: Rapid Fire A

NES (Punchout Mode)
1P: Select
2P: Start

SNES:
1P: Y
2P: X
3P: L
1K: B
2K: A
3K: R
Start: Start
Select: Select

Saturn:
1P: X
2P: Y
3P: Z
1K: A
2K: B
3K: C
4P: L
4K: R
Start:Start
Select:L

3DO:
1P: L
2P: P (Play/Pause)
3P:R
1K:A
2K:B
3K:C
Start: P
Select: Stop

TG16/PCE:
All modes:
Select: Select
Start: Run
Guide: Next mode (Direct: Normal -> Neogeo. Through multitap: Normal -> Six button -> Neogeo)

Normal:
1K: II
2K: I

Neogeo:
1K:Select
1P: Run
2P: II
3P: I

Six button:
1P: IV
2P: V
3P: VI
1K: III
2K: II
3K: I
I can also confirm, I haven't had any issues with my Core Grafx2 or Turbo Duo R, playing either Japanese or American games - no problems with any combination. I do recall, however, using one of my cthulhu sticks on a buddy's TG-16, and having issues with japanese roms.

Lastly I have a firmware in my collection of cthulhu firmwares, and the readme states the below. I don't know what this means. If the firmware is of any value to anyone, message me and I can share it.
MCCthulhu23_VDO.hex - Only change is that Dreamcast mode is played with the 'far six' instead of the 'close six'.
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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by bobrocks95 »

Glad to hear most if not all of the MC Cthulhu problems were sorted, it definitely seems like it just kind of fell victim to being talked about in older threads more than anything. Maybe the HuCard thing was for people with their TurboGrafx modded with that crazy card dual region mod?

After checking prices, I think I'll go with the Brook Retro because it will be easier to add a Brook UFB in the future when I pick up some Xbox 360 shmups, and I really like how that RMAF remapping board sounds. If I wanted that in the future with the MC Cthulhu I'd definitely have to get the EZ upgrade PCB with the 20-pin connector, after which the MC Cthulhu and EZ upgrade shipped to me actually cost more combined than the Brook Retro.

And hey maybe I'll eat crow and the Cthulhu really is better, but it's unfortunate that I only see Paradise Arcade selling it for $45 shipped to me. Closer to $25 I can definitely see the appeal.
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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by Gunstar »

NoAffinity wrote:I think the below information is buried in a SRK thread or the SRK thread for the cthulhu. I copied it and saved it, knowing it might some day disappear. These are the button assignments per console, and different modes available.
Spoiler
PS3:
1P: Square
2P: Triangle
3P: R1
4P: L1
1K: X
2K: Circle
3K: R2
4K: L2
Start: Start
Select: Select
Home: PS

PSX:
1P: Square
2P: Triangle
3P: R1
4P: L1
1K: X
2K: Circle
3K: R2
4K: L2
Start: Start
Select: Select
Home: Up+Select

PSX (DC Converter mode: Hold 3P and 3K when plugging in)

1P: Square
2P: Triangle
3P: L1
4P: L2
1K: X
2K: Circle
3K: R1
4K: R2
Start: Start
Select: Select
Home: Start+X

Gamecube (normal mode):
1P: Y
2P: X
3P: L
4P: B
1K: B
2K: A
3K: R
4K: Y
Start: Start
Select: Z
Home: N/A

Dreamcast:
1P: X
2P: Y
3P: Z
1K: A
2K: B
3K: C
Start: Start

Xbox (Select not pressed):
1P: X
2P: Y
3P: White
4P: LT
1K: A
2K: B
3K: Black
4K: RT
Start: Start
Select: Back
Home: N/A
Home + 1P : Left stick click
Home + 1K : Right stick click
Home + Stick: Left and Right analog sticks

NES (All Modes)
Start:Start
Select:Select
1K: B
2K: A
Home: Go to next mode (Normal -> Turbo -> Punchout -> Normal ->.....)

NES (Turbo Mode)
1P: Rapid Fire B
2P: Rapid Fire A

NES (Punchout Mode)
1P: Select
2P: Start

SNES:
1P: Y
2P: X
3P: L
1K: B
2K: A
3K: R
Start: Start
Select: Select

Saturn:
1P: X
2P: Y
3P: Z
1K: A
2K: B
3K: C
4P: L
4K: R
Start:Start
Select:L

3DO:
1P: L
2P: P (Play/Pause)
3P:R
1K:A
2K:B
3K:C
Start: P
Select: Stop

TG16/PCE:
All modes:
Select: Select
Start: Run
Guide: Next mode (Direct: Normal -> Neogeo. Through multitap: Normal -> Six button -> Neogeo)

Normal:
1K: II
2K: I

Neogeo:
1K:Select
1P: Run
2P: II
3P: I

Six button:
1P: IV
2P: V
3P: VI
1K: III
2K: II
3K: I
I can also confirm, I haven't had any issues with my Core Grafx2 or Turbo Duo R, playing either Japanese or American games - no problems with any combination. I do recall, however, using one of my cthulhu sticks on a buddy's TG-16, and having issues with japanese roms.

Lastly I have a firmware in my collection of cthulhu firmwares, and the readme states the below. I don't know what this means. If the firmware is of any value to anyone, message me and I can share it.
MCCthulhu23_VDO.hex - Only change is that Dreamcast mode is played with the 'far six' instead of the 'close six'.
Hmm I wonder if 'close six' and 'far six' are alluding to 8-button stick setups?
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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by SCARTicus »

If you are using Arthrimus's EZ Upgrade PCB, then you can do not need to buy the whole MC Cthulhu from Paradise. They will sell you the MCU chip alone for $15. You just pop that into the $20 EZ Upgrade PCB and you are rocking. They sell the MCU alone as an upgrade to the PS3 only Cthulhu, but this will work too.

https://paradisearcadeshop.com/products ... by-toodles
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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by bobrocks95 »

SCARTicus wrote:If you are using Arthrimus's EZ Upgrade PCB, then you can do not need to buy the whole MC Cthulhu from Paradise. They will sell you the MCU chip alone for $15. You just pop that into the $20 EZ Upgrade PCB and you are rocking. They sell the MCU alone as an upgrade to the PS3 only Cthulhu, but this will work too.

https://paradisearcadeshop.com/products ... by-toodles
Ah sick, definitely a good option then. Wonder what long-term availability will look like for that chip or the Arthrimus stuff since they said they were scaling down production back in July due to life circumstances...
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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by maxtherabbit »

SCARTicus wrote:If you are using Arthrimus's EZ Upgrade PCB, then you can do not need to buy the whole MC Cthulhu from Paradise. They will sell you the MCU chip alone for $15. You just pop that into the $20 EZ Upgrade PCB and you are rocking. They sell the MCU alone as an upgrade to the PS3 only Cthulhu, but this will work too.

https://paradisearcadeshop.com/products ... by-toodles
Sold out :|
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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by NoAffinity »

maxtherabbit wrote:
SCARTicus wrote:If you are using Arthrimus's EZ Upgrade PCB, then you can do not need to buy the whole MC Cthulhu from Paradise. They will sell you the MCU chip alone for $15. You just pop that into the $20 EZ Upgrade PCB and you are rocking. They sell the MCU alone as an upgrade to the PS3 only Cthulhu, but this will work too.

https://paradisearcadeshop.com/products ... by-toodles
Sold out :|
Yeah, that's been sold out for years. I have a cthulhu that I foolishly tried to direct flash the chip with one of the firmwares, and bricked it.

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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by bobrocks95 »

Alright, so back to the Cthulhu being ever so slightly cheaper, more expensive with a 20-pin header, and EOF with limited availability!

Not to knock it, it does sound like a good piece of kit, just not the clear winner some were making it out to be.
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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by Bahn Yuki »

As owner of both, i would get the brooks retro pcb for sure.

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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by NoAffinity »

I feel like the brooks board is just a hair more responsive than cthulhu. That is a purely subjective feeling. Any empirical data to back that up, or blow holes in my theory?

Oh, and referring back to post #2, the solution for genesis is hurting and padhacking a 6-button controller. Word of caution: stick with official genesis pads for your padhacking.

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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by bobrocks95 »

NoAffinity wrote:I feel like the brooks board is just a hair more responsive than cthulhu. That is a purely subjective feeling. Any empirical data to back that up, or blow holes in my theory?

Oh, and referring back to post #2, the solution for genesis is hurting and padhacking a 6-button controller. Word of caution: stick with official genesis pads for your padhacking.

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The link Konsolkongen posted showed the MC Cthulhu at 12ms lag in PS3 mode (https://inputlag.science/controller/results), but maybe that's an older firmware because the Mister input lag database (https://rpubs.com/misteraddons/inputlatency) puts it at 1.7ms in PC(?) mode. So either it has more lag in console-specific modes or it was laggier with older firmware.

Either way the Brook UFB is consistently lower in lag on both databases in multiple modes, though not by much. Presumably the Retro Board being so similar would put it around the same numbers.

For Genesis and Neo Geo what about controller converters? They don't add a lot of lag and for example Raphnet has a SNES to Genesis converter readily available (though out of stock at the moment). Gotta be better than sacrificing an official 6-button, unless the new retro-bit ones work alright for a padhack at $15.
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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by NoAffinity »

Good info, thanks.

Oh and I should qualify, by "official" pad , I was referring to those shitty 6 button genesis fight sticks. Maybe it is equally taboo to sacrifice those, but in my mind they are sacrifice worthy. :)

Also, anyone have success with brooks in pce 6 button mode, and if so, what is the trick? I updated firmware, have tried sf2ce (original hu card and everdrives) direct-connecting, and through 4-port multitap. I am only getting 3 buttons.

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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by bobrocks95 »

NoAffinity wrote:Good info, thanks.

Oh and I should qualify, by "official" pad , I was referring to those shitty 6 button genesis fight sticks. Maybe it is equally taboo to sacrifice those, but in my mind they are sacrifice worthy. :)

Also, anyone have success with brooks in pce 6 button mode, and if so, what is the trick? I updated firmware, have tried sf2ce (original hu card and everdrives) direct-connecting, and through 4-port multitap. I am only getting 3 buttons.

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I would gladly sacrifice the weird turbo 6-button because its D-Pad is god-awful
Image

As for the 6-button stick (if you mean this https://segaretro.org/Arcade_Power_Stick_6B), they're about $50 now so not a very good choice. If I end up building an all-in-one stick around Christmastime I'll see if the Retrobit controllers work fine.

EDIT: Another interesting options is Brook offers a PS3/PS4 to Genesis/PCE converter for $40. 2/6 and 3/6 button mode support, so it covers all the bases. I'm going to email Brook about PCE 6-button mode though, because why would they not put that on the Retro Board...

EDIT2: Arcadeforge support's response was super quick, but the phrasing seems like they thought I was talking about plugging in a 6 button controller into some other Brook adapter. I asked for clarification on if there was a way to make SF2CE or other 6-button games see the Brook Retro as an Avenue 6 pad (which they said was supported).
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NoAffinity
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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by NoAffinity »

Arcadeshock indicates that the latest firmware does support 6 button mode for pce.

Image

But, theres another thread here on shmups discussing the latest firmware that also concludes that 6 button mode is not supported.

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=67552

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Syntax
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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by Syntax »

Brooks Retro wont work on most PS1 if you have 2 plugged in at once.

They will work on a 3000 series or lower but will have issues with some stuff (PSIO wont load if they are plugged in)

The MC doesn't work on PS2 OPL for IGR, and probably more, don't know why but yeah sucks for trying to use one to setup an arcade.
They will occasionally just corrupt and need a reflash too.
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maxtherabbit
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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by maxtherabbit »

Syntax wrote:Brooks Retro wont work on most PS1 if you have 2 plugged in at once.
that's troubling - is this stock systems as well or just PSIO modded?
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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by Shelcoof »

Syntax wrote:Brooks Retro wont work on most PS1 if you have 2 plugged in at once.

They will work on a 3000 series or lower but will have issues with some stuff (PSIO wont load if they are plugged in)

The MC doesn't work on PS2 OPL for IGR, and probably more, don't know why but yeah sucks for trying to use one to setup an arcade.
They will occasionally just corrupt and need a reflash too.
I'm going to test this and confirm on my PSone

My PSone is modded with an Xstation model 5XXX version not the 7

I have at least two retro boards as well

I'll give it ago when I have some time and report back
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Syntax
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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by Syntax »

Cheers.

Its annoying because the Brooks Retro is in my opinion the fastest/best retro adapter I've used to date.

PSX controllers can be tricky to emulate and usually wont fool other adapters into believing they are indeed PSX but Brooks does this well
ie: using a Brooks Retro with a PSX to PS4 adapter or BlissBox works fine, where other boards like PS360+ and Toodles fail.

So it was a big surprise to see that with my 3000x it would not let the PSIO load past SD, but if plugged in after is fine.
And even more annoying to find that the 5000s I have drop both controllers the moment the second one is plugged in.

There was a post on FB saying the old firmware didn't do this https://www.facebook.com/BrookGamingfan ... 393767260/

I wonder what the difference is between the controller port hardware on different PS1 revisions?
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Re: MC Cthulhu or Brook Retro Board?

Post by bobrocks95 »

Syntax wrote:Cheers.

Its annoying because the Brooks Retro is in my opinion the fastest/best retro adapter I've used to date.

PSX controller can be tricky to emulate and wont fool other adapters into believeing they are indeed PSX ie: using a Brooks Retro with a PSX to PS4 adapter works fine, where other boards like PS360+ fail.

So it was a big surprise to see that with my 3000x it would not let the PSIO load past SD, but if plugged in after is fine.
And even more annoying to find that the 5000s I have drop both controllers the moment the second one is plugged in.

There was a post on FB saying the old firmware didn't do this https://www.facebook.com/BrookGamingfan ... 393767260/

I wonder what the difference is between the controller port hardware on different PS1 revisions?
The general vibe I got in my brief talk with whoever handles arcadeshock's support is that the more reports they get on a problem the more likely Brook is to take a look at it, they said to me something along the lines of "realistically, you're the only person we've heard report this [it was asking about the PC Engine 6 button and I think they thought I wanted it to emulate some specific 3rd-party controller] and Brook is busy on a lot of projects and probably won't be able to look at this for several months". Don't know if it's just one person or a very small team or what.
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