SMS core

[slingshot]

Even SMS Core has been updated with save option

Yes
But it's much more useful on Genesis. However, as a side effect, Terminator I now runs (it needs the save RAM area as work memory).

[vebxenon]

Even SMS Core has been updated with save option

Yes
But it's much more useful on Genesis. However, as a side effect, Terminator I now runs (it needs the save RAM area as work memory).

And Desert Sppedtrap

[farvardin]

i still can't get Alex Kidd miracle world to work on the SMS core, is there a trick?

[DanyPPC]

Are you sure ?
Here works:

f1ca8bda-20c1-473e-91f4-d7edcfcf3d4d.jpg

[farvardin]

Strange. It doesn't work for me, even with your rom.
I'm using ATH181225 for the MiST firmware, and the SMS core 190105 (it didn't work either with the previous one, 170227). When I load the rom, I come back to the Master System Boot Loader!

[EDIT] Nevermind, it works now perfectly with latest SMS core 190111, I didn't notice there have been a never release!! Thanks!

[seastalker]

Maybe a pipe dream, but is there a way for the core to autoload a custom bios file like the one with Hang On/Safari Hunt (and hidden snail game) by default instead of the boot loader screen? I don't know if that is similar to jiffydos as an extra file for the C64 core but I miss being greeted with the start up tune and built in game(s). Can't hurt to ask anyway.

Also for Save support, I read "Create an empty file on the SD-Card, with .sav extension (with 8192 bytes length)." Silly question but what file type (example, .txt) do I use to rename the extension to .sav? Or does anyone have a template file I can copy/paste and rename for the various games that support the feature?

[slingshot]

Just an empty file. If you like, you can put 8192 'a' letter into it
But there were examples here both in Linux and Windows how to create it.

[DrOG]

Also for Save support, I read "Create an empty file on the SD-Card, with .sav extension (with 8192 bytes length)." Silly question but what file type (example, .txt) do I use to rename the extension to .sav? Or does anyone have a template file I can copy/paste and rename for the various games that support the feature?

If it's still actual, here's a bat file which generates the necessary .sav file in Windows, and an empty template as well.

[seastalker]

Wonderful, and thank you! I tested the core with a real SMS controller and it works great, as does a megadrive/genesis one (both plugged in the DB9 ports- you still need a keyboard to navigate the menus).

Has adding a pause button through keyboard mapping or OSD option been considered? Really loving this core!

EDIT: Using the above sample .save file, I have now made all the empty templates [no used saves, etc] by name for the known games the cores link to. I made them for Sega Master System, Game Gear, and Genesis, as well as the one for MegaDrive and why not - the two for 32x. I resized the SMS template to the maximum for Genesis. 32X is not in current practical use and I don't know if those two are the right file size, but there you go. I hope my little project saves people a lot of time. Enjoy the attached:

SEGA Save templates.zip

[slingshot]

Maybe a pipe dream, but is there a way for the core to autoload a custom bios file like the one with Hang On/Safari Hunt (and hidden snail game) by default instead of the boot loader screen?

Probably you can load any cart at boot, if you rename it to sms.rom and put it to the root directory of the SD-Card.

[Higgy]

seastalker - thanks for templates. My SMS MK1 only has the worm game builtin. Would have been nice to have a 'proper' game. My SMS MK2 has Alex Kidd.

Its great being able to play the GameGear Shinobi games. Although I use the versions patched for SMS as you get a bigger screen. Shame my real GameGear's screen is soooo poor. We are gifted with modern LCD displays (& yep all caps have been changed & the modern LCD screen mod is great but too expensive for me).

[seastalker]

Maybe a pipe dream, but is there a way for the core to autoload a custom bios file like the one with Hang On/Safari Hunt (and hidden snail game) by default instead of the boot loader screen?

Probably you can load any cart at boot, if you rename it to sms.rom and put it to the root directory of the SD-Card.

Actually, WOW, that works! Thanks! It shows the boot loader splash screen for a brief moment first but does immediately launch a title as you directed. Only issue I have is I tried the "US/European BIOS v2.4 with Hang On and Safari Hunt (1988)" bios and after the Sega logo, instead of launching the Hang On / Safari Hunt choice screen, it says

v2.4
Master System [copyright] SEGA 1988
Software Error

All copies I have of this bios seem to do this. I could swap it for the Hang On / Safari Hunt rom, but then I miss the intended logo and lose the built in snail game. I doubt that's a MiST issue - likely a bad file? I know it's such a trivial and minor thing but if anyone has a fix, it's how my Master System greeted us.

[seastalker]

Feature request:

After playing with this core a bit, man oh man I realize how much the pause button is needed.. selecting in game items from menus being one of the crucial ones. I saw the original core (no where near as playable as the current one) DID at least have that going for it. Slingshot, is there a chance you might put the pause button back? I don't know what's best for people - assigning a keyboard button like the space bar or mapping to an extra configurable button on a USB game controller?

[vebxenon]

Feature request:

After playing with this core a bit, man oh man I realize how much the pause button is needed.. selecting in game items from menus being one of the crucial ones. I saw the original core (no where near as playable as the current one) DID at least have that going for it. Slingshot, is there a chance you might put the pause button back? I don't know what's best for people - assigning a keyboard button like the space bar or mapping to an extra configurable button on a USB game controller?

As far as I know there is Pause button on the pad...

[seastalker]

SMS pads only have a d-pad and 2 buttons. Even if a DB9 controller is out there that might have SELECT and START like a NES does, I think the DB9 ports on the MIST are said to only support Up Down Left Right and two buttons. I also tried with USB controllers like my USB N64 and Sega Saturn with adapter which has no button mapped to it.

The original SMS had a pause button on the console itself only. The old core had pause as a select-able menu item which is better than not at all, but not the most convenient. If there was a way to map it to the START button of a USB controller that would be better, but best would be if that START button ALSO mapped to a keyboard button press. This would be handy when using real SMS pads in the DB9 ports... and hitting the space bar on a keyboard isn't bad because you have to reach for the console on a real SMS anyway. The space bar is [obviously] biggest and rectangular so it would be an IMPROVEMENT over a real SMS pause button. Whatever key is the pause, having that key also map to start on a usb controller is just the icing on the cake.

[slingshot]

I wonder why nobody reads the scrolling text in the osd for the joystick emulation.

[vebxenon]

SMS pads only have a d-pad and 2 buttons. Even if a DB9 controller is out there that might have SELECT and START like a NES does, I think the DB9 ports on the MIST are said to only support Up Down Left Right and two buttons. I also tried with USB controllers like my USB N64 and Sega Saturn with adapter which has no button mapped to it. .

I was talking about USB pad, I have a SMS 2 since 1992. And well, as Slingshot says, read the scrolling text

[hyperterminal]

The SMS Bios can be hacked to play the internal games instead of loading a cartridge.

A hacked version of the US/European BIOS v1.3 (1986) that lets you play Snail Maze can be downloaded from here:
http://www.smspower.org/uploads/Development/BIOS13.zip

Likewise, you can hex edit the Japanese BIOS v2.1 (1987) so that you get the bios animation and the Space Harrier music. You just need to go to offset 125 and replace the value C2 with 00.

[seastalker]

I wonder why nobody reads the scrolling text in the osd for the joystick emulation.

Hi slingshot! Thanks for the heads up. I always thought the scrolling message was just for the MiST in general ("Welcome to MiST!") and not core specific. It mentioned emulating a gamepad with the numlock but no mention of a pause button which the SMS pads lack anyway. Still, it did say rapid fire toggle so thought to try that out. The cards were stacked against me:

I also only had a wii keyboard hooked up (no numpad), but grabbed a full keyboard spare to test. Tried all the numpad keys before after hitting numlock and no gamepad buttons nor directionals worked (joystick swapped setting on and off), but I'm using real pads anyway and wouldn't use the numpad. I was surprised hitting CTRL + ALT paused in game before hitting 0 on the numpad! I didn't get autofire to work but yay on finding a pause button! I'm getting original SMS rapid fire units that will also serve to protect my MiST's DB9 ports from constant (un)plugging of controllers.

So, to pause you have to hit numlock once while playing and then the ALT key is now pause. Full sized Model M keyboard? Back you go. Thanks again slingshot!

--Regarding hacked Bios, I will try it out, but in the standard 1.3 bios also has the Snail Maze game hidden: at the welcome screen (pink ENJOY! greet screen) the code is UP and both buttons (any upward direction, even if diagonal will technically work)

[slingshot]

So, to pause you have to hit numlock once while playing and then the ALT key is now pause. Full sized Model M keyboard? Back you go. Thanks again slingshot!

It's not core specific, works everywhere, handled by the firmware (except Archie). I don't even have a gamepad, and still select the joystick option in every core, since I can use the keyboard via emulation.

[seastalker]

In testing I found a few games that don't work, right from the title screen I thought to report...

F-16 Fighting Falcon (USA)
Fantastic Dizzy (Europe)


It's all garbled graphics.

[PsyFX]

I would like to add.

Shadow Dancer - The Secret Of Shinobi (Europe, Brazil) has garbled sprites on the "Mister"
oops yeah I know wrong forum...

[slingshot]

In testing I found a few games that don't work, right from the title screen I thought to report...

F-16 Fighting Falcon (USA)
Fantastic Dizzy (Europe)


It's all garbled graphics.

F-16 - old TMS modes, won't implement them
Codemasters games - 240 pixel vertical resoultion, maybe later
Very few games are using it (V30 on Genesis is used more):
http://www.smspower.org/Tags/Extra-Height

[slingshot]

I would like to add.

Shadow Dancer - The Secret Of Shinobi (Europe, Brazil) has garbled sprites on the "Mister"
oops yeah I know wrong forum...

Same on MiST.

[slingshot]

Here's a fix for Shadow Dancer:
https://github.com/mist-devel/mist-bina ... 190320.rbf
Hope didn't break other games.