PCE Super SD System 3 - Terraonion New Product (Dec 2017)

[comp1demon]

Thanks for making me want this to arrive even faster now....

 

[GohanX]

Black Tiger, throw that 3 in 1 adapter in the trash, it's garbage. If your SMS adapter is from the original system it should be fine for the pce, if it's from the SMS2 it might not have quite enough juice to power a pce since it's only 500 mAh.

 

[Jibbajaba]

Black Tiger, throw that 3 in 1 adapter in the trash, it's garbage. If your SMS adapter is from the original system it should be fine for the pce, if it's from the SMS2 it might not have quite enough juice to power a pce since it's only 500 mAh.

This is the best third-party replacement Genesis/SMS/PC Engine/Jaguar/Etc. adapter that I have found. Link.

Jameco also sells AC adapters that you can use for other systems. I have three; the one I linked to, a 9VAC adapter for my NES, and a 5V adapter for my OSSC. These are good-quality adapters, not the cheap pieces of shit that you get off of eBay or Amazon.

 

[GohanX]

.

 

[DoDonpachi]

I received my unit on friday and I am super happy with it. Absolutly worth the wait.
one question: On the downright corner where your Company Logo is, will it be possible in the future to put there a *.png file with a screenshot or covershot from the selected game?

 

[RAZO]

I received my unit on friday and I am super happy with it. Absolutly worth the wait.
one question: On the downright corner where your Company Logo is, will it be possible in the future to put there a *.png file with a screenshot or covershot from the selected game?

Yes, NeoSd mentioned that already.

 

[RAZO]

I haven't had much time to play my SSD3 but so far everything has been good. Rgb picture looks great, it sounds great, and every CD file/folder I've thrown at it so far works without any issues.

 

[DoDonpachi]

Yes, NeoSd mentioned that already.

Thanks Razo.

 

[neosd]

I received my unit on friday and I am super happy with it. Absolutly worth the wait.
one question: On the downright corner where your Company Logo is, will it be possible in the future to put there a *.png file with a screenshot or covershot from the selected game?

http://www.neosdstore.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/GameDbManager-3.zip

Use that tool for that, its still beta ...

It just scans for your games on the microsd, it creates pictures and metadata on a database file (at the microsd)

 

[K405]

Thanks for the tool, will give it a go.

 

[neodev]

Thanks for the tool, will give it a go.

There is not much info on how it works, it's still being worked on.
You usually just need to open the tool, then press "Scan Roms", and point to your SD card root directory, it will scan all files and directories in the sd (including subdirectories) and will create a file named "games.db" that is what the firmware reads in each dir. This file contains the genre, year and an screenshot for each game in your directory.

More advanced uses include adding new games. Just go to the end of the list and an empty line will appear, write a name, year, and genre, then press the button in the "hashes" column and point to your rom or cue file, it will create a hash for the game.
To add or modify a screenshot, you need to create them in png, 64x64 pixels with as little colors as possible (preferred palettized format), then choose that image by pressing the button in the "screenshot" column, and then press "Convert Imgs", this will convert the png to pce format tilemap and palettes. Colors will be reduced to try to fit the palettes, so it might change the image a bit. Also, observe the black console image for errors during conversion, sometimes the software can't reduce the palette enough to fit the available palettes, so you'll need to reduce your png colors and try again.

For linux and mac users, it's a .NET application so you'll need Mono installed to run it. The UI doesn't work fine (on linux it just shows an empty list, on Mac it just crashes) but you can run it in command line to do the image conversion and sd scanning, and it works, I just can't remember the parameters , that'll be properly explained once it's finished.

The tool includes a database for almost all known cdroms and hucards, and in different versions (US bitswapped, with and without header) but the genre, year and screenshots aren't complete yet.

 

[X68]

Cheers for the tool =]
I ran it and had errors on two cd images, I tried those cd games and they wouldn't boot so I grabbed them from a couple of different places - still won't boot.
Maybe bad images or compatibility bug? Games are CD Maajan Bishoujo Chuushinha (NTSC-J) [GED-1010] and Battle Field '94 in Tokyo Dome (NTSC-J) [FCCD4001]
Both run in ootake OK tho

 

[neodev]

Cheers for the tool =]
I ran it and had errors on two cd images, I tried those cd games and they wouldn't boot so I grabbed them from a couple of different places - still won't boot.
Maybe bad images or compatibility bug? Games are CD Maajan Bishoujo Chuushinha (NTSC-J) [GED-1010] and Battle Field '94 in Tokyo Dome (NTSC-J) [FCCD4001]
Both run in ootake OK tho

The tool uses mostly the same cue parsing code than the firmware so if it fails to process it, it's highly likely that the firmware will also fail.
I've played battlefield 94, so it's likely a .cue issue. Can you paste your .cue to pastebin or some other text sharing website?
Also, what was the error shown by the tool?

 

[X68]

Nice one thanks =]
Both had same problem with the cue FILE "I:\BATTLE_FIELD_'94_IN_TOKYO_DOME_(NTSC-J)_[FCCD4001].ISO" BINARY
Removed I:\ and all sorted both working OK

 

[Black_Tiger]

I finished unzipping and converting a "complete" set of Turbo/PCE isos. Often a Japanese version is not included if there is an English version of a game. Some demos are included. It seems to be as complete as can be expected for commercial releases, except Daisenryaku II is missing. It currently totals 438 discs and takes up 174GB. So a 256GB sd card has plenty of room for published homebrew, hacks and translations.

Opening the folder of CD games in the SSS3 menu takes 13 seconds and then navigating through them is as fast as folders of any format or size. My HuCard rom folder has 768 files, is 218MB in size and takes a split second to open. It includes translations, sound roms, hes files and misc demos.

Traditional sound roms don't usually work with the SSS3, but some do. Sound roms made by Deflemask that I've tried have not worked. Hes files don't show up in the list. Tom's adpcm example roms, which are decoded by the PC Engine's cpu and not the IFU chip, play fine. So for now, the Turbo Everdrive is still relevant for its ability to play chiptune rips. But it's still much easier to navigate through HuCard roms on the SSS3.

I'd resisted stretching out my SSS3 by trying it on my unmodified TG-16 until today. After spending a lot of time using it with my white PC Engine, I noticed a lot more static/lines/misc across picture when a CD game was loading or certain processes were happening during games of any kind. During typical gameplay segments though, there was only the minimal jailbars I described before. This PC Engine has an RGB mod which produces a picture as perfect as I've seen with various video mods performed by various people. It also has a region switch mod.

When I tried the SS3 with my unmodified TurboGrafx-16 (and SMS psu), I found none of those picture issues during processes and the in-game jailbars are pretty much invisible while the screen is moving. Knowing exactly what a stronger version of them looks like makes them more apparent to me, but they're still difficult to pick out at first, even when a game is paused.

This is why I wanted to report imperfections with a disclaimer about the setups I was trying. Many people take recommended settings as an "excuse" for problems with a product. I've already narrowed down not only a range of issues from using a cheap power supply and possibly unoptimal RGB cable, but it now seems that a jailbar fix, RGB or region switch mods are also the cause of picture quality degradation.

I'm probably going to go back to my original plan of getting an umodified CoreGrafx with stock power supply to use withe SSS3 and a Packapunch MD2 cable without audio breakout. I'll just use a TED with my modded SuperGrafx when I feel like playing SGX games.

This is the best third-party replacement Genesis/SMS/PC Engine/Jaguar/Etc. adapter that I have found. Link.

Jameco also sells AC adapters that you can use for other systems. I have three; the one I linked to, a 9VAC adapter for my NES, and a 5V adapter for my OSSC. These are good-quality adapters, not the cheap pieces of shit that you get off of eBay or Amazon.

Thanks a lot. SMS and model 1 Genesis ac adaptors have always been very hard to find locally and all of my official SMS and Mark III psus cut out when the cord is bent a certain way.

 

[neodev]

I finished unzipping and converting a "complete" set of Turbo/PCE isos. Often a Japanese version is not included if there is an English version of a game. Some demos are included. It seems to be as complete as can be expected for commercial releases, except Daisenryaku II is missing. It currently totals 438 discs and takes up 174GB. So a 256GB sd card has plenty of room for published homebrew, hacks and translations.

Opening the folder of CD games in the SSS3 menu takes 13 seconds and then navigating through them is as fast as folders of any format or size. My HuCard rom folder has 768 files, is 218MB in size and takes a split second to open. It includes translations, sound roms, hes files and misc demos.

Traditional sound roms don't usually work with the SSS3, but some do. Sound roms made by Deflemask that I've tried have not worked. Hes files don't show up in the list. Tom's adpcm example roms, which are decoded by the PC Engine's cpu and not the IFU chip, play fine. So for now, the Turbo Everdrive is still relevant for its ability to play chiptune rips. But it's still much easier to navigate through HuCard roms on the SSS3.

I'd resisted stretching out my SSS3 by trying it on my unmodified TG-16 until today. After spending a lot of time using it with my white PC Engine, I noticed a lot more static/lines/misc across picture when a CD game was loading or certain processes were happening during games of any kind. During typical gameplay segments though, there was only the minimal jailbars I described before. This PC Engine has an RGB mod which produces a picture as perfect as I've seen with various video mods performed by various people. It also has a region switch mod.

When I tried the SS3 with my unmodified TurboGrafx-16 (and SMS psu), I found none of those picture issues during processes and the in-game jailbars are pretty much invisible while the screen is moving. Knowing exactly what a stronger version of them looks like makes them more apparent to me, but they're still difficult to pick out at first, even when a game is paused.

This is why I wanted to report imperfections with a disclaimer about the setups I was trying. Many people take recommended settings as an "excuse" for problems with a product. I've already narrowed down not only a range of issues from using a cheap power supply and possibly unoptimal RGB cable, but it now seems that a jailbar fix, RGB or region switch mods are also the cause of picture quality degradation.

I'm probably going to go back to my original plan of getting an umodified CoreGrafx with stock power supply to use withe SSS3 and a Packapunch MD2 cable without audio breakout. I'll just use a TED with my modded SuperGrafx when I feel like playing SGX games.






Thanks a lot. SMS and model 1 Genesis ac adaptors have always been very hard to find locally and all of my official SMS and Mark III psus cut out when the cord is bent a certain way.

About the non working sound roms, could you list a couple of the non working ones? So I can try and fix it. It's probably caused by the loader. Not mapping the different rom areas properly.

Loading the cd directories takes more time because the firmware enters each directory checking if there is a cue file to show as game instead of as directory.

 

[comp1demon]

About the non working sound roms, could you list a couple of the non working ones? So I can try and fix it. It's probably caused by the loader. Not mapping the different rom areas properly.

Loading the cd directories takes more time because the firmware enters each directory checking if there is a cue file to show as game instead of as directory.

Perhaps in the future this could be cleaned up by having a Scan once feature that saves to a file on the SDcard. SO when you load your SD card up it scans only once for the CUE files and the directory list is saved for each time you boot so it is then instant. If a person adds more folders to the CD portion of their list they can go into settings and re-scan and update their list file. It would save gamers over a minute of waiting for each 5 games they play.

 

[Yodd]

I think an easier way to deal with this is to sort your cd games in sub folders. USA, Japanese, Translations and etc.

Dumping hundreds and hundreds of Cd image folders in one folder seems ridiculous.

 

[comp1demon]

I think an easier way to deal with this is to sort your cd games in sub folders. USA, Japanese, Translations and etc.

Dumping hundreds and hundreds of Cd image folders in one folder seems ridiculous.

I agree that users should be more organized and they should be subfoldering their games as you suggested, but that doesn't change the fact that if you have 450+ CD games on a SD card, regardless of how many subdirectories there are, the System 3 is still going to scan for the 450+ CUEs like Black Tiger said it does (and NEOSD confirmed). So every time you reset or start up the system it is going to take 13 seconds before the list comes up. That 13 seconds can add up over time.

IF there was a feature in the options that said "Scan CD GAMES LIST" and it took the 13 seconds to scan the 450+ cue files in each folder and then created a list to pick your game from on the select screen and that list was then saved to a file it would eliminate unnecessary rescans if nothing changed.. The next time you reset or start the system again, tabbing over to the CD GAMES menu will instantly show the list and the system 3 does not have to take 13 seconds to scan all 450+ folders for CUE files again. This would be adequate enough for anyone adding large amounts of CD games to a SD card even if it is not an entire library only once in a blue moon. If and when they decide to add more, those new games will not show up in the menu right away until you go back into options and ask the SYSTEM 3 to rescan the 450+ folders and subfolders (So it finds all the new content) looking for all the CUE files again. It then creates a new list file and overwrites the old one. So you only waste up to 13 seconds when you are adding new games to the SD card not each time you reset or start.

What do you think?

 

[toaks]

I agree that users should be more organized and they should be subfoldering their games as you suggested, but that doesn't change the fact that if you have 450+ CD games on a SD card, regardless of how many subdirectories there are, the System 3 is still going to scan for the 450+ CUEs like Black Tiger said it does (and NEOSD confirmed). So every time you reset or start up the system it is going to take 13 seconds before the list comes up. That 13 seconds can add up over time.

IF there was a feature in the options that said "Scan CD GAMES LIST" and it took the 13 seconds to scan the 450+ cue files in each folder and then created a list to pick your game from on the select screen and that list was then saved to a file it would eliminate unnecessary rescans if nothing changed.. The next time you reset or start the system again, tabbing over to the CD GAMES menu will instantly show the list and the system 3 does not have to take 13 seconds to scan all 450+ folders for CUE files again. This would be adequate enough for anyone adding large amounts of CD games to a SD card even if it is not an entire library only once in a blue moon. If and when they decide to add more, those new games will not show up in the menu right away until you go back into options and ask the SYSTEM 3 to rescan the 450+ folders and subfolders (So it finds all the new content) looking for all the CUE files again. It then creates a new list file and overwrites the old one. So you only waste up to 13 seconds when you are adding new games to the SD card not each time you reset or start.

What do you think?

Perhaps an option to toggle automatic scans on and off along with a button for manual scans?

 

[decimata]

TECHNICAL ISSUE PLEASE HELP: I got the Super System 3, plug it into an american Turbografx 16, the original HUE cards work fine via the RGB output of the unit. But if I turn on the console with no HUE card and a SD card FAT 32 with roms on it, I get nothing but a blank gray screen....

I've got to be doing something wrong, any ideas?

 

[Yodd]

I agree that users should be more organized and they should be subfoldering their games as you suggested, but that doesn't change the fact that if you have 450+ CD games on a SD card, regardless of how many subdirectories there are, the System 3 is still going to scan for the 450+ CUEs like Black Tiger said it does (and NEOSD confirmed). So every time you reset or start up the system it is going to take 13 seconds before the list comes up. That 13 seconds can add up over time.

IF there was a feature in the options that said "Scan CD GAMES LIST" and it took the 13 seconds to scan the 450+ cue files in each folder and then created a list to pick your game from on the select screen and that list was then saved to a file it would eliminate unnecessary rescans if nothing changed.. The next time you reset or start the system again, tabbing over to the CD GAMES menu will instantly show the list and the system 3 does not have to take 13 seconds to scan all 450+ folders for CUE files again. This would be adequate enough for anyone adding large amounts of CD games to a SD card even if it is not an entire library only once in a blue moon. If and when they decide to add more, those new games will not show up in the menu right away until you go back into options and ask the SYSTEM 3 to rescan the 450+ folders and subfolders (So it finds all the new content) looking for all the CUE files again. It then creates a new list file and overwrites the old one. So you only waste up to 13 seconds when you are adding new games to the SD card not each time you reset or start.

What do you think?

I think you misunderstood neodev's answer and my solution to the problem.

SSDS3 reads the folder and it's subfolders for cue files, NOT the entire SD card.

Example:

I have a folder on the root of my SD card with 131 JP CD and SCD games. SSDS3 takes approx. 2 seconds to read the contents of that folder. A different folder on the root of that SD card with approx 53 US CD and SCD games takes about .5 seconds to read.



So basically what I was implying earlier was this: Create on the root on your SD card folders for different categories. JP CD games, US CD Games, Games Express CD, Translated CD and etc. Don't just dump them all in one folder or even in subfolders of one folder. Trying to find a specific game in a folder with 500 CD games in it sounds like a exercise in frustration. This is especially true as I find the font used by the SSDS3 somewhat hard to read when there are massive amounts of games with similar names.

So organize your games via a few folders in the root of the SD card. Problem solved.

 

[Raph4]

GUI is a bit slow, but nice begin.
-> Keep user resize Window.

If you use .Net I can help you if you want. I'm author of 3 software (systempixel.fr).

 

[SNK_Pro]

While there are a ton of great PCE CD-Rom games, there certainly aren’t 450 of them. I don’t really get ROM hoarding of games you’ll never play, then complain it takes 13 seconds to read them all, as if 13 seconds is even a big deal. Delete some of the garbage you’ll never touch, read time’s reduced, problem solved.

 

[Fuckwit1200]

^^ no-intro is one reason.
and nothing beats having a fullset in one space, what with the size of static media cards today.