Kraut Buster New NGDEV - 2015

Razoola

Divine Hand of the UniBIOS,
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I was thinking about their new platform the other day and it reminded me of something I though about a few years back. Knowing the way they NGDEV have done their games on the NeoGeo however with the precautions they have taken not to step on SNK's toes I know this is 99% probably not what its going to be... It would be ultra mega if it was however.

Basically a system that could play current original NeoGeo carts 100% (because it has a neogeo bios and the same NeoGeo spec and cart socket). But also has extra features that a new games could take advantage of. In effect

1) Faster 68k CPU.
2) New videoRAM system in the 68k program space with a new sprite table layout.
3) Higher resolution (not 100% sure this would be a good idea though)
3) Anything else you can think of

This could be enabled by one of the unused pins in the Neo Geo cart spec (if there is one). Basically the new games would still run under what would look like a Neo Geo system if you saw the display only, but would be much more powerful.

Raz
 
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420neogeo

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Hey Tonk, what's really funny is that you're somehow not in jail for being a crook.
 

LegoSlug

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I was thinking about their new platform the other day and it reminded me of something I though about a few years back. Knowing the way they NGDEV have done their games on the NeoGeo however with the precautions they have taken not to step on SNK's toes I know this is 99% probably not what its going to be... It would be ultra mega if it was however.

Basically a system that could play current original NeoGeo carts 100% (because it has a neogeo bios and the same NeoGeo spec and cart socket). But also has extra features that a new games could take advantage of. In effect

1) Faster 68k CPU.
2) New videoRAM system in the 68k program space with a new sprite table layout.
3) Higher resolution (not 100% sure this would be a good idea though)
3) Anything else you can think of

This could be enabled by one of the unused pins in the Neo Geo cart spec (if there is one). Basically the new games would still run under what would look like a Neo Geo system if you saw the display only, but would be much more powerful.

Raz

That sounds awesome but expensive. Im hoping it will be cheaper than what the currently sell, but perhaps a better profit margin for them. Hopefully we can get some quality repro mobos in the future for the neo.

Also wasnt the mvs version supposed to ship out 4th quarter 2015?
 
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Yodd

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Posts
8,214
I was thinking about their new platform the other day and it reminded me of something I though about a few years back. Knowing the way they NGDEV have done their games on the NeoGeo however with the precautions they have taken not to step on SNK's toes I know this is 99% probably not what its going to be... It would be ultra mega if it was however.

Basically a system that could play current original NeoGeo carts 100% (because it has a neogeo bios and the same NeoGeo spec and cart socket). But also has extra features that a new games could take advantage of. In effect

1) Faster 68k CPU.
2) New videoRAM system in the 68k program space with a new sprite table layout.
3) Higher resolution (not 100% sure this would be a good idea though)
3) Anything else you can think of

This could be enabled by one of the unused pins in the Neo Geo cart spec (if there is one). Basically the new games would still run under what would look like a Neo Geo system if you saw the display only, but would be much more powerful.

Raz



Assuming we are talking about a reverse engineered platform, I think an FPGA based solution is the only way forward.

However, I would have a real, physical 68000 cpu on the board to maintain compatibility. You can still buy new 68000 cpus from Freescale. When the console boots up in legacy (i.e Neo Geo) mode the cpu defaults to 12Mhz. However when machine boots up in "new platform mode" the cpu runs at 20Mhz or whatever speed you can squeeze out of it. I would also have a real physical Yamaha YM2610 sound chip on the board. I am not sure if these can still be sourced brand new. But you can certainly find tons of used ones for sale.


I would do the Z80 chip, graphics, controls, glue logic and other supporting portions completely in the FPGA. That way you can easily manipulate the video system for whatever output format you need and it's easier to probably fudge accuracy there.


In "new platform mode" you could have games either use the real 68000 cpu, a soft cpu in the FPGA or a combo of both of them. Same with the Yamaha sound chip.

Personally I would probably have the FPGA core for the Neo Geo side easily flashable for future fixes and enhancements because it's unlikely that it will be 100% perfect day one. But for new enhanced game cartridges (we are keeping games on carts, right?), I would have the FPGA core on the carts themselves that way at boot up it can flash the FPGA core with whatever the carts says it needs to be. That way every new game released can dictate exactly how the platform behaves. Some might use the 68000, some may not. Same with the Yamaha sound chip and whatever FPGA features it needs.



That's how I would attack the problem.
 

Stellaking

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Hey Tonk, what's really funny is that you're somehow not in jail for being a crook.

Dude !!

3) Anything else you can think of

With download options - title updates & past / back catalog, surely.
Initially, I'd thought maybe a shift to arcade boards...

Whatever they do & next year brings - certainly be cool to find out.
 
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wyndcrosser

Baseball Star Hitter
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Thanks man, I wish their pages didn't look like a 90s web page...


Wait... They force that on you as a shipping charge, yet charge another 9 EUR for DHL shipping.
 
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Joined
Dec 25, 2015
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I'm just getting back into Neo-Geo and was impressed to find out there's a company still making games for the platform. Crazy.

Even if Kraut Buster's not a killer title, I'm still thinking about buying a copy. Probably a good investment, no?
 

xsq

Thou Shalt Not, Question Rot.,
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games as investment? you sir, are a shithead.
 
Joined
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@xsq :crying: I meant that if it turns out to be a bad game I would be able to sell it and buy another cart… it's a lot of dollar for an unknown game.
 

Samuray

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If I may interject: I'm not so sure the old rule of thumb regarding NGDEV titles will still be valid for "Kraut Buster"....it is by no means certain that one could easily get back his investment by selling the game.
All previous titles were available at very limited numbers..."Kraut Buster" in its regular edition has been on offer for months now. I'd wager that most people interested in this game have pre-ordered it by now, save for some folks waiting to see how it will turn out quality-wise.

Well, and therefore it may be significantly harder to sell at or above its initial price point. Or not. Who knows. But this time, all bets are off due to the large print run.
 

kuze

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I have a feeling it would sell better if there were more gameplay videos at least. Currently it seems like such a shot in the dark.
 

RAZO

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I dropped out of my pre-order. Will wait for reviews. If the game is good then I'll just buy it. If they have a reprint sale in the future then I'll buy it. If they don't then ohh well.
 
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GhostSeed

Angel's Love Slave
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Does anyone know if there's going to be a deluxe MVS version with shock box?

It turns out I ordered one of these already, lol.
 
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