OK OK OK, can someone set something straight here...NeoCD and load times question...

[HornheaDD]

So the NeoCD core is operational on the MiSTer now right? I never had a NeoCD, only AES/MVS set ups. To test the core as is, I downloaded Last Blade 2 (confirmed working on it) and just loaded it to see if I set up everything correctly.

Far as I can tell, yes. NeoCD loads and boots the game to which I get a loading screen, as expected.

From there, I get to the title screen. Hit start on "Story."

Loading screen.....

Character select screen. I pick a fighter...

Loading Screen with a "Vs" image....

Get to the "Round 1" screen where characters will usually talk to each other...

LOADING SCREEN!?

Fight starts.

Is that accurate to the actual CD loading? It has to load the level - and then load the level again? Tell me that's not how it was. I know it had horrendous load times, fully aware of games having to load between rounds. But loading after character intros?

 

[Burning Fight!!]

Yes lol. Usually large CD games will allow to skip some screens or even have simplified character select screens in the options menu to save on # of load times and sanity.
Loading times aren’t too bad on most non-fighters, even slug1 and 2 are acceptable.

 

[HornheaDD]

Dammmnnnn. That's a bummer. Still a rad system, but I cant imagine playing LB2 with friends and getting into a good groove in a fight and!... load round 2....

OOF.

 

[deviljin102]

I had bought a neo geo cd a couple months back. I sold it a few days ago because the loading times suck. It’s only manageable if you have a neo geo cd sd or the cdz console, I wanted to play the few games that were exclusive there but the top loader didn’t warrant me to do so. I’ll either have to use pc emulation or a mister in the future.

 

[famicommander]

With a few notable exceptions, fighting games are unplayable on Neo Geo CD. Ridiculously frequent and ridiculously long load times are the norm and it generally gets worse the newer the title.

Most other games are fine, though. They usually load infrequently (many of them only once, at the beginning) and for reasonable amounts of time.

 

[yoshi41]

Here's a list of loading times for some games...

Neo Geo CD World

NeoSD Pro has best CD loading time. But unfortunately, implementation is kind of unfinished.

 

[kernow]

The top loader is worth owning, there's a load of early games which are plenty playable on it. I used to play MS1/MS2 back in the day with a friend. You guys are just impatient. Played a lot of AOF3 too. It was the only way to back then.

 

[HellioN]

Top loader was my first Neo.
Don't be whiney bitches.

 

[Hattori Hanzo]

Early games play great, just skip the Last Blades and Over Top.

 

[prof]

Here's a list of loading times for some games...

Neo Geo CD World

NeoSD Pro has best CD loading time. But unfortunately, implementation is kind of unfinished.

Here are some additional load times:

Neo Geo CD Video Game Load Times

The Neo Geo CD game loading times are calculated from the moment the game screen says "Loading" until the Loading Screen disappears. For additional support

videogameforums.com

And HornyDD, a lot of games aren't bad at all, but some are borderline unplayable, including many of the later fighters. It is worth noting that some of the games allow you to turn off some of the intros and extras in the settings. I didn't even realize this until it was pointed out to me regarding the Last Blade games.

 

[prof]

The top loader is worth owning, there's a load of early games which are plenty playable on it. I used to play MS1/MS2 back in the day with a friend. You guys are just impatient. Played a lot of AOF3 too. It was the only way to back then.

That's fair, and I've been saying that to guys for years. The load times are comparable to most other CD systems from that era. And to be honest, I often like getting a 10 second load between fights or whatever, gives me chance to take a gulp of my drink.

But there are a few games where it's just insane. Load to start the game, load to bring up player select screen, load to see the little intro for the stage, load between the rounds, load to get to the next stage/fighter, etc. Some of the later fighters really put you through the wringer, and it kills the game for me.

But yeah, the vast majority of titles are fine. Just have to do your research before getting a game.

 

[GohanX]

It is accurate, but the Last Blade games are some of the worst to play on CD. Last Blade 2 at least has a quick load option that lets you bypass a lot of the pretty things to make it load faster, but in general I just don't play those games on CD.

A good test will be Real Bout Special. As far as load times go for fighters it's somewhere in the middle. On a real toploader it's kinda unplayable since it takes so long to load, but the CDZ gives it just enough speed to be good and on a SD Loader it's so fast that it doesn't matter.

 

[NeoSneth]

This is accurate, but there is a trick if you are just playing Vs matches.
If you pick the same characters and map, the game keeps it in memory, so the load times is almost gone.

 

[HornheaDD]

Crazy stuff man. Back before I ever got my first AES, I was totally willing to look into getting a NeoCD just to have "A" Neo.

Glad I didn't. I mean, now I do want one only for the sake of nostalgia, but it's essentially useless to me to have the actual console since I have the MVS and the MiSTer is accurate for AES/MVS stuff, and the NeoCD core is coming along. Maaaaybe if they can fix up some of the loading issues it would make it way better to use on the MiSTer.

Then if Deuce ever gets off his balls and finishes the SSRPG translation, it might be entirely playable on 'real' hardware.

 

[Neo Alec]

Try another game. LB2 is particularly notorious. One of the last and largest fighters on the console.

 

[CORY]

It is accurate, but the Last Blade games are some of the worst to play on CD. Last Blade 2 at least has a quick load option that lets you bypass a lot of the pretty things to make it load faster, but in general I just don't play those games on CD.

A good test will be Real Bout Special. As far as load times go for fighters it's somewhere in the middle. On a real toploader it's kinda unplayable since it takes so long to load, but the CDZ gives it just enough speed to be good and on a SD Loader it's so fast that it doesn't matter.

I used to love RB2 on the Neo CD, it's like the game was made with the Neo CD in mind.

 

[neo_mao]

I used to love RB2 on the Neo CD, it's like the game was made with the Neo CD in mind.

It also happens to be the best Fatal Fury game evah

 

[LoneSage]

CORY said something insightful. I still remember the shock of playing RB2 for the first time, winning a match and almost immediately going to the second match. It was so fast.

 

[Tarma]

It also happens to be the best Fatal Fury game evah

GTFOOH.

This definitely proves...



I really like RBFF2, but it's not as good as RBFFS.... or Garou.

Re. loading times - The Neo Geo CD is great for a lot of the Neo library, but other than KoF '94, you can't play KoF on it or either of the Last Blade games.

But FF series, Sam Sho series, AoF, Ninja Masters, Breakers, Kabuki Klash all play just fine with minimal loading intrusion if you have a CDZ.

Other classics such as Baseball Stars 2, Top Hunter, Twinkle Star Sprites, Neo DriftOut, Aero Fighters 2 & 3, Last Resort, League Bowling, Nam 1975, to name just some, are all totally playable, identical to the AES/MVS, and don't have obtrusive load times.

It is a much misunderstood and often unjustly maligned system.

Could it have been better - Yes.

Is it a system to ignore - no.

 

[city41]

 

[neo_mao]

GTFOOH.

This definitely proves...

View attachment 64818

I really like RBFF2, but it's not as good as RBFFS.... or Garou.

Re. loading times - The Neo Geo CD is great for a lot of the Neo library, but other than KoF '94, you can't play KoF on it or either of the Last Blade games.

But FF series, Sam Sho series, AoF, Ninja Masters, Breakers, Kabuki Klash all play just fine with minimal loading intrusion if you have a CDZ.

Other classics such as Baseball Stars 2, Top Hunter, Twinkle Star Sprites, Neo DriftOut, Aero Fighters 2 & 3, Last Resort, League Bowling, Nam 1975, to name just some, are all totally playable, identical to the AES/MVS, and don't have obtrusive load times.

It is a much misunderstood and often unjustly maligned system.

Could it have been better - Yes.

Is it a system to ignore - no.

You need to hear this - and it’s better coming from me than from somebody else.

You are veering dangerously close to the goob threshold. Don’t cross it, because once you do, there is no coming back.

If you don’t believe me, just look at our old friend @roker . He didn’t listen to me and now look at him. It just breaks my heart.

 

[Tarma]

What's wrong with @roker?

You need more Beff pics?

 

[herb]

I'm surprised at how much praise (or at the least acceptance) the ngcd is getting here. For me it's a solid enough way to play the early neo on real snk hardware. The load times really aren't bad either imho

 

[Burning Fight!!]

It's certainly not bad at all for any game other than fighters, which is too bad because that's mostly what people wanted to play on the 'geo by the time it was released. I got great mileage off mine for sure.

 

[kernow]

RBFF2 is unfinished. Great game, but needed another few months