Debug for NeoCD

NeoTurfMasta

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What would it take to get the wheels turning on this? I have always wanted to see this happen. Granted it would take removing the surface mount bios, but is that really the only thing stopping this from moving forward? I'm willing to donate to the cause and I'm sure several others would as well.
 

systmdfect

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Indeed. I would donate to the cause as well. I means, AES and MVS are nice, but the sountracks on the CD versions are nice to play with.
 

SNKorSWM

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Probably easier just to ask Razoola for the lowdown on this.
 

NeoTurfMasta

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I don't think he has any interest in it at all.

I think I remember him once saying he didn't have a CD system to get started.

The other option is a boot disc. Which really may be the way to go. OK CD system devs, how much cash would it take to convince you all to work on this?
 

Xian Xi

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Of course a Unibios for the Neo CD would be cool as well.
 

smkdan

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Granted it would take removing the surface mount bios, but is that really the only thing stopping this from moving forward?

The debug dip stuff appears to be the same between CD/cart systems so I'd say so. Getting a simple interface to play with them wouldn't take much, I poked around NeoRaine's console and debug stuff came up for SSRPG as expected. Ofcourse unibios for CD would be better and all.

The software part is trivial anyway.
 
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NeoTurfMasta

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The debug dip stuff appears to be the same between CD/cart systems so I'd say so. Getting a simple interface to play with them wouldn't take much, I poked around NeoRaine's console and debug stuff came up for SSRPG as expected. Ofcourse unibios for CD would be better and all.

The software part is trivial anyway.

Would you consider working on one? Raz has told me he isnt going to work on one now.
 

Hewitson

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Huge waste of time in my opinion. The CD systems really aren't a viable option these days, and haven't been for a long time.
 

Hewitson

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Because at the time they were released, they were nothing but a stop-gap solution to get Neo Geo into the home because SNK realised their carts were too expensive for normal consumers. Basically, a "poor man's neo".

With the high meg count games available these days, a CD based system is just ridiculous. Imagine playing Garou or KOF2003 (if they existed). The fact that they don't says even SNKP themselves know this is true.

Fatal Fury 3 is quite a small game by comparison and even that is completely unplayable by my standards.
 

NeoTurfMasta

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Huge waste of time in my opinion. The CD systems really aren't a viable option these days, and haven't been for a long time.

Well, you know what they say about opinions...

Anyways, you could say that about Neo as a whole as well as just about any classic gaming scene. Some of us like Neo CD and feel that it deserves some attention as well.
 

xiao_haozi

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Because at the time they were released, they were nothing but a stop-gap solution to get Neo Geo into the home because SNK realised their carts were too expensive for normal consumers. Basically, a "poor man's neo".

It still is a nice way to play/own some of the more expensive neo games that are costly on both MVS and AES alike. Sure you have load times and such, but I don't see how higher meg games would make it obsolete. It's not like all of the games that were released for it are suddenly gone once some higher meg games come out.

Fatal Fury 3 is quite a small game by comparison and even that is completely unplayable by my standards.

Well what is creating your playability standard then? Is it quality of graphics, meg count...or game play? If you are setting your standards solely on the first two alone, then aren't most neo games getting dated for you? And if so, then how so are your arguments against interest in the NGCD not applied to the other Neo platforms then?

Besides NGCD being a great way for people to get into the Neo at an affordable price (no, not everyone can buy a full MVS cab and no, I don't consider CMVS an affordable route per se either), it deserves it's own spot on the stage with the AES and MVS.
 

smkdan

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I'm definitely not as interested in the NGCD as I am for the rest. I have no shortage of AES/MVS systems but not one NGCD. I find it interesting but I can't see myself playing it unless it's a CDZ. Doubting this, but if the BIOS loader can be made more efficient then load times will be helped alot. If it's just DMA from CD controller to appropriate RAM bank then it's not like better 68k code will help much. No idea how the drive controller works, emulators don't emulate it and I haven't digged through the BIOS that far yet. If it were like that, games probably would've taken advantage of it though with later releases improving it.

Anyway, I see in the BIOS how it gets up and running. There's alot of overlap obviously with the cart systems so it's not hard to get into, unless I need to mess with the drive controller directly which is undocumented.

If people are really willing to donate then I don't see why not. It would be nice to get a little something for writing a BIOS hack for a system I don't even own or play.

I don't know how I rank with the other guys who can hack a BIOS, but I know what would be needed to get something with unibios feature parity. If anyone else who knows how and has decent knowledge of NGCDthen I'd go with them instead. anyway I'll have debug for NGCD working tomorrow or today, I have a good idea of what to do here.
 

ki_atsushi

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I wonder what kind of data is contained in the bios.

Could it be possible to hack the bios to make a Neo CD compatible with faster CD-ROM drive units? Even a 4x drive would make the load times much more bearable if this was possible. Might be worth looking in to.

Hell, I'd rather have a Neo CD if we could hot rod it up. Just thinking about the space I could save having CDs instead of MVS carts gets me excited.
 

awbacon

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I think its unfair that the Neo CD system gets so much hate. I own both an AES and CD, and the cd system gives me the freedom to play games I otherwise would NEVER purchase for the AES. (and yes, I know...people say get a consolized MVS, but at this point, its not in my budget)

Just last week I bought Pulstar on CD from Big Bear. I would NEVER purchase this on the AES, but on the cd its both affordable, and enjoyable. Once the stage loads (about two minutes total) its smooth gameplay w/ a red book soundtrack.

Sure...some games are painfully slow to load on the CD unit, but those games (if affordable) I tend to buy for the AES. But games such as Puzzle Bobble / Last Hope / Pulstar / Puzzled load fast and are much cheaper than their AES counterparts (or mvs for Puzzle Bobble).

I love both my AES and CD. Each gives me something different, and I don't consider the CD a "poor mans Neo-Geo"

Just my 2 cents. Now give me a Unibios so I can actually beat PULSTAR already
 
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My biggest hobby is music, following by videogames, so if I have the chance to listen to awesome ASTs and OSTs in red book audio synchronized with my gaming, I don´t mind to wait a little longer for that.

One project that has been in my mind for a while is to understand the NGCD cd controller interface and see it there is anything that can talk to it while being also compatible with a IDE or SCSI interface, I think this is the first step to a upgrade path for the NGCD.
 

NeoTurfMasta

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If people are really willing to donate then I don't see why not. It would be nice to get a little something for writing a BIOS hack for a system I don't even own or play.

...anyway I'll have debug for NGCD working tomorrow or today, I have a good idea of what to do here.

You kick ass. Seriously. If you take paypal, we can spread the word about taking donations for your work. Once you get something worked out, I'll get my CDZ modded to test your bios.

...I think this is the first step to a upgrade path for the NGCD.

Agreed. I really think its been neglected for far too long. I have a complete MVS and CD collection, and I still play the CD from time to time. Some games have some excellent additions and are completely worth playing on CD. Scotland course on Neo Turf Masters FTW!
 

Xian Xi

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You kick ass. Seriously. If you take paypal, we can spread the word about taking donations for your work. Once you get something worked out, I'll get my CDZ modded to test your bios.

Same here Dan. Thanks for doing this.

On another note, I dont know shit about how the CD system works but if this is possible let me know. Is it in the bios where the RAM size is set? Like can you use higher capacity RAM and load more info, kinda like the CDZ.

Sorry if that sounds stupid.
 

stormy

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Sounds ambitious. I like it. :)

Will be interesting to see how this progresses.
 
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