MVS & AES NEOSD flash card... AES Version ANNOUNCED & AVAILABLE!!

[Nostromo]

hey
any updates about the mvs-preorder-free-shell shipping date?

An update on this would be nice, thanks!

 

[neosd]

Can anyone comment on the stock of available NeoSD carts? Website shows as "In Stock" at the top of the order page, but in the More Info section on the same page says "In stock as May 22th 2017". Didn't stop me from placing my order but want to know if shipping is a couple of weeks vs months away.

It was a typo, we wanted to say as March, not May.

We have every single order shipped until yesterday evening. We will continue shipping by monday as usual.

As today we have stock, but i have to say stock is flying fast.
We are already waiting for a new batch so on worst scenario the waiting for a neosd is going to be about 2 weeks.
We are trying this 2 weeks period will become the usual waiting amount of time when neosd is not in stock, no more months waiting for a NEOSD, just 2 weeks.

hey
any updates about the mvs-preorder-free-shell shipping date?

An update on this would be nice, thanks!

Hello,

After the first shells production, the factory asked us to wait some weeks until place another order (they had a lot of pending work on factory).
So we did, 3 weeks ago we placed another shells order for the free shells, last tuesday i had a meeting at the factory and yesterday i got confirmation that the free shells will be produced 21th of this month.
If factory does his part and they produce the shells on 21th (friday), we will start shipping the free shells on 24th (monday) or 25th (tuesday) of this same month.

dear neosd team

my order has been placed at 12/07/2016,and it was two months since shippment started

i got no update of shipping status.i post comment in the store and email to you but i got no reply

pls check my order .thank you

my order number is OUCDFGDND

Hello,

Just checked the spam folder and we had 2 emails from you there, really sorry about that.
We will ask correos by monday what happened with your order and we will write you back by email,
Donï½´t worry if they canï½´t get it shorted we will send you another one, but we need to know what happened before that.


Also, we answer every customer email, so if anyone can´t get an answer to his question, just email us.

Thanks

 

[Razoola]

Neosd, I have not had a replay to the last email I sent you, can you check that and get back to me.

 

[pollsoda]

Just wanted to give my first impressions and THANKS on the device (AES version).

Tested with 3-5 rev (9V) AES, running on a 9V 3A non-OEM switching power supply; UniBIOS 3.2 Free w/ Memory card; RGB bypass, LED reset mod on a PVM 20 inch via RGB.

Payment accepted 3/29, order acknowledged 3/31, shipped 4/4, delivered 4/7 (USA).

9.5/10. Suffice to say I am very pleased with the investment and service so far.. one day in.

Plus:

* Works well with easily available filesets (estimate 90+% of common files are available via simple search)
* Excellent documentation included (in actual English)
* Shopping cart/site/support login system works great
* Software works well enough, easy to use (requires Windows)
* Reasonable shipping options (pay for the good shipping)
* GUI is very nice, responsive and easy to use. Extremely happy with usability.
* SD card slot is easily accessible when removed from system

Cons:

* Software requires Windows
* AES cart is a little tight in AES slot
* AES cart socket fit is extremely tight in cartridge connector(s).
* Software (or .neo format) should be documented for use under Linux (are the files simply concatenated?)
* MD5s of good files would be helpful
* I would love the option of moving the PCBs to a real cartridge without voiding the warranty (I have a few empty carts), the included shell isn't quite perfect but is acceptable.
* Doesn't fit into a standard shockbox. A custom shockbox would be nice, at least.

Sidenotes:

* AES version requires memory card to save Region/Console type.
* The label is the least of my concerns.

Keep up the great work, Neodev.

 

[oliverclaude]

Thanks for your precise impressions, was a good read. Drop a follow-up when you ready.

 

[Heinz]

Cons:

* Software requires Windows
* Software (or .neo format) should be documented for use under Linux (are the files simply concatenated?)
* I would love the option of moving the PCBs to a real cartridge without voiding the warranty (I have a few empty carts), the included shell isn't quite perfect but is acceptable.
* Doesn't fit into a standard shockbox. A custom shockbox would be nice, at least.

.

Interesting 'cons' you've listed there. Two being about it only working with windows (run a vm..), one being a dig at great case the neosd team have painstakingly worked to get right and another about it not fitting properly into a shock box which was made with MVS cartridges in mind.

 

[pollsoda]

Interesting 'cons' you've listed there. Two being about it only working with windows (run a vm..), one being a dig at great case the neosd team have painstakingly worked to get right and another about it not fitting properly into a shock box which was made with MVS cartridges in mind.

Sorry, not meant to be a dig or insult. Just giving my feedback as a user, nothing to be taken personally.

I have access to Windows, and the user software works well enough, but as a more technical user I found myself curious.

I should have mentioned it doesn't fit into an AES shock box.

Again, not trying to insult anyone, so no drama intended. Just user feedback.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kuze]

Not sure if it has been asked before, but if you are loading a game on the NeoSD on a multi slot system can you switch to another slot and play a different cart in the meantime?

 

[Niko]

Cons:

* Software requires Windows
* AES cart is a little tight in AES slot
* AES cart socket fit is extremely tight in cartridge connector(s).
* Software (or .neo format) should be documented for use under Linux (are the files simply concatenated?)
* MD5s of good files would be helpful
* I would love the option of moving the PCBs to a real cartridge without voiding the warranty (I have a few empty carts), the included shell isn't quite perfect but is acceptable.
* Doesn't fit into a standard shockbox. A custom shockbox would be nice, at least.

Sidenotes:

* AES version requires memory card to save Region/Console type.
* The label is the least of my concerns.

Keep up the great work, Neodev.

If you read the "readme.txt"....

Building your own neo tools

Neo files are just a header, and then all the uncompressed, decrypted rom data, so you can build your own tools to create or manage them. The header length is exactly 4KB, although it's mostly unused, reserved for future expansion:
struct NeoFile
{
uint8_t header1, header2, header3, version;
uint32_t PSize, SSize, MSize, V1Size, V2Size, CSize;
uint32_t Year;
uint32_t Genre;
uint32_t Screenshot;
uint32_t NGH;
uint8_t Name[33];
uint8_t Manu[17];
uint8_t Filler[128 + 290]; //fill to 512
uint8_t Filler2[4096 - 512]; //fill to 4096
}

Then the rom data follows as is, uncompressed and decrypted in the order they appear in the header: P,S,M,V1,V2,C, according to the size specified in the header.

If your game contains merged ADPCM-A and B areas (neo-pcm), then V2Size must be 0. Separate ADPCM areas is not supported for custom/homebrew games yet.
As you can see, any area with a size of 0 will actually be skipped by neosd when loading, so you can quickly test, for example, program changes without rewritting the other areas, by creating a neo with only P data, filled PSize and 0 for the rest of the areas.

The screenshot to game mapping can be checked in order.txt
Genre ids are the following (starting in 0, ascending value):
enum Genre { Other=0, Action, BeatEmUp, Sports, Driving, Platformer, Mahjong, Shooter, Quiz, Fighting, Puzzle};

 

[aha2940]

If you read the "readme.txt"....

Thanks for the info Niko, it's very useful and adds some insight into the NeoSD, however, from my limited understanding, some empty spaces seem to remain: how are the 3 header values filled? are they constant? how does the already-existing tool knows which values to add for V1 and V2 sizes? Are sizes in bits or bytes? I guess there are pre-made tables for all the existing games to fill these values, (or some other autodetection method), but such method seems to be not publicly available yet. Therefore, a complete linux (or OSX, or whatever) tool cannot yet be made without some wheel-reinventing (re-creating such method of autodetection). I am interested in making such tool for Linux and OSX even if I do not have a NeoSD, just to help a little bit to this community.

regards.

 

[neosd]

Thanks for the info Niko, it's very useful and adds some insight into the NeoSD, however, from my limited understanding, some empty spaces seem to remain: how are the 3 header values filled? are they constant? how does the already-existing tool knows which values to add for V1 and V2 sizes? Are sizes in bits or bytes? I guess there are pre-made tables for all the existing games to fill these values, (or some other autodetection method), but such method seems to be not publicly available yet. Therefore, a complete linux (or OSX, or whatever) tool cannot yet be made without some wheel-reinventing (re-creating such method of autodetection). I am interested in making such tool for Linux and OSX even if I do not have a NeoSD, just to help a little bit to this community.

regards.

I do not think I mentioned having trouble with the tool, Raz. In fact, I am not a user of it, my question was more from a technology stand point, to know if it was considered to open source the tool or if it will be kept closed source, that's all.

I would really want to know why you are so interested on the source code/insides of the conversion tool

Thanks

 

[Rot]

I would really want to know why you are so interested on the source code/insides of the conversion tool

Thanks

xROTx

 

[aha2940]

I would really want to know why you are so interested on the source code/insides of the conversion tool

Thanks

Simply because I like to help port (or create) useful tools to Linux and OSX when these do not exist, like the tool for your cart. I am not the most proficient programmer out there, but I can give it a shot and maybe come with a usable result, so if I want to create a tool for other OS (like I explained before) I'd need to have certain information. If you can't provide it, it's cool, proprietary software is an option too, I just prefer free/open source one, and see a chance to help the community a bit here, nothing else.

Regards.

 

[Niko]

Thanks for the info Niko, it's very useful and adds some insight into the NeoSD, however, from my limited understanding, some empty spaces seem to remain: how are the 3 header values filled? are they constant? how does the already-existing tool knows which values to add for V1 and V2 sizes? Are sizes in bits or bytes? I guess there are pre-made tables for all the existing games to fill these values, (or some other autodetection method), but such method seems to be not publicly available yet. Therefore, a complete linux (or OSX, or whatever) tool cannot yet be made without some wheel-reinventing (re-creating such method of autodetection). I am interested in making such tool for Linux and OSX even if I do not have a NeoSD, just to help a little bit to this community.

regards.

Taking a look at the NeoBuilder, it looks like the 3 header values are constant "NEO", each byte broken into its respective header. The "XSize" variables are combined size of the respective roms in bytes. Everything is byteswapped, and NGH number is stored as binary coded decimal.

I need to dig into it some more to figure out how it determines whether or not the ADPCM A/B are combined.

 

[neodev]

Taking a look at the NeoBuilder, it looks like the 3 header values are constant "NEO", each byte broken into its respective header. The "XSize" variables are combined size of the respective roms in bytes. Everything is byteswapped, and NGH number is stored as binary coded decimal.

I need to dig into it some more to figure out how it determines whether or not the ADPCM A/B are combined.

The .neo format description is mostly intended for homebrew developers who want to make their own tool if needed.

P data is byteswapped, C data is interleaved (MAME style), the rest of the rom data is copied as is. The decision to use combined or split ADPCM areas can't be done from the roms themselves, as it depends on the cart having the NEO-PCM address multiplexer. Games including this chip (or equivalent) have combined ADPCM areas, the ones that don't contain it (early SNK games) have split areas.
The current firmware can't use separate ADPCM areas for games that it doesn't know, as it has an internal table to know which games have NEO-PCM chips, but the next firmware will take a look at the header and if V2Size is not 0, it will use split areas for unknown games.

 

[xsq]

aha2940 is legit. If the NeoSD-team is looking for someone to help with porting the software to linux, I'm sure he'd be a good help...

 

[Niko]

The .neo format description is mostly intended for homebrew developers who want to make their own tool if needed.

P data is byteswapped, C data is interleaved (MAME style), the rest of the rom data is copied as is. The decision to use combined or split ADPCM areas can't be done from the roms themselves, as it depends on the cart having the NEO-PCM address multiplexer. Games including this chip (or equivalent) have combined ADPCM areas, the ones that don't contain it (early SNK games) have split areas.
The current firmware can't use separate ADPCM areas for games that it doesn't know, as it has an internal table to know which games have NEO-PCM chips, but the next firmware will take a look at the header and if V2Size is not 0, it will use split areas for unknown games.

Awesome, thanks for the info neodev!

 

[aha2940]

Taking a look at the NeoBuilder, it looks like the 3 header values are constant "NEO", each byte broken into its respective header. The "XSize" variables are combined size of the respective roms in bytes. Everything is byteswapped, and NGH number is stored as binary coded decimal.

I need to dig into it some more to figure out how it determines whether or not the ADPCM A/B are combined.

The .neo format description is mostly intended for homebrew developers who want to make their own tool if needed.

P data is byteswapped, C data is interleaved (MAME style), the rest of the rom data is copied as is. The decision to use combined or split ADPCM areas can't be done from the roms themselves, as it depends on the cart having the NEO-PCM address multiplexer. Games including this chip (or equivalent) have combined ADPCM areas, the ones that don't contain it (early SNK games) have split areas.
The current firmware can't use separate ADPCM areas for games that it doesn't know, as it has an internal table to know which games have NEO-PCM chips, but the next firmware will take a look at the header and if V2Size is not 0, it will use split areas for unknown games.

Good info there guys, thanks. I downloaded the current romset, so I have something to compare with the results of the tool I will start working in. Since I do not have the password, I will be bothering Rot on the chat for it

Neosd: can I contact you with further details if I need them? via PM, if you prefer? (I'd prefer via public forums if possible)

aha2940 is legit. If the NeoSD-team is looking for someone to help with porting the software to linux, I'm sure he'd be a good help...

Thanks for the confidence vote, Sebastian

 

[pollsoda]

If you read the "readme.txt"....

Thanks. Appreciated.

The .neo format description is mostly intended for homebrew developers who want to make their own tool if needed.
P data is byteswapped, C data is interleaved (MAME style), the rest of the rom data is copied as is. The decision to use combined or split ADPCM areas can't be done from the roms themselves, as it depends on the cart having the NEO-PCM address multiplexer. Games including this chip (or equivalent) have combined ADPCM areas, the ones that don't contain it (early SNK games) have split areas.
The current firmware can't use separate ADPCM areas for games that it doesn't know, as it has an internal table to know which games have NEO-PCM chips, but the next firmware will take a look at the header and if V2Size is not 0, it will use split areas for unknown games.

This is very helpful, thank you.

I would really want to know why you are so interested on the source code/insides of the conversion tool. Thanks

This is helpful in the event the team disbands or a user finds a bug that you do not have the resources/need to fix. There may be additional functionality or compatibility that a third-party developer may be able to fix. I personally already had a large collection of files that were usable, but it would have been nice to have a way to confirm them via linux (commandline) in large batches and clear out any errors/problems quickly.

I understand that Windows is the largest target audience, and I appreciate you making the tools available. However, making sources available wherever possible helps the product achieve a longer lifecycle (and sales potential) than would be normally possible.

Thanks again for the amazing product. I'm super pleased with the purchase and would recommend it to anyone looking for this type of solution.

A+, NeoSD team.

 

[TMOSteel]

Neosd any change in your PayPal policy? Would love to pick the MVS version up but I'd really prefer to pay with PayPal. I know you've touched on this before just wanted to see if anything has changed.

 

[xsq]

Neosd any change in your PayPal policy? Would love to pick the MVS version up but I'd really prefer to pay with PayPal. I know you've touched on this before just wanted to see if anything has changed.

let me ask you this: will you pay the fees?

 

[oliverclaude]

let me ask you this: will you pay the fees?

Did I miss that gift is not an option?

 

[neosd]

Hello,

We don´t have plans to acept paypal.

We don´t really want to spend a single minute dealing with paypal cases, paypal fees and so.

We preffer to sell less and not deal with paypal.

Some may disagree with that, but life without dealing with paypal stuff is better.

Thanks

 

[DaytimeDreamer]

Hello,

We don´t have plans to acept paypal.

We don´t really want to spend a single minute dealing with paypal cases, paypal fees and so.

We preffer to sell less and not deal with paypal.

Some may disagree with that, but life without dealing with paypal stuff is better.

Thanks

QFT. Paypal has only gotten worse as time goes by. Especially if you a seller.

 

[xsq]

Did I miss that gift is not an option?

I believe that is not feasible for a business?