Search found 1149 matches

by Ben Boldt
Wed Mar 27, 2024 11:13 am
Forum: NES Hardware and Flash Equipment
Topic: MMC5 Hacking binge, found a few things.
Replies: 0
Views: 89

MMC5 Hacking binge, found a few things.

I took a long break from this place. We just had a big snowstorm here, and in preparation, I made a new test setup that allows me to run an MMC5A in an NES with easily reprogrammable ROM and easily probed on all signals. All of my previous MMC5 testing was bench-testing and not in a real NES, which ...
by Ben Boldt
Tue Jan 02, 2024 10:47 am
Forum: NES Hardware and Flash Equipment
Topic: Adding 64kb (32x2) WRAM into MMC5 ETROM board help
Replies: 23
Views: 4289

Re: Adding 64kb (32x2) WRAM into MMC5 ETROM board help

Well I'm not even gonna bother revealing what I did to make it work because on real hardware this game is a buggy disaster. And yes I used the "crt" patch. Bleh I am surprised to hear that this hack is buggy on real hardware. I sent infidelity an AV modded Famicom and real modified MMC5 c...
by Ben Boldt
Mon Sep 25, 2023 2:27 pm
Forum: NESdev
Topic: Converting MMC3 to VRC7 Mapper
Replies: 3
Views: 3357

Converting MMC3 to VRC7 Mapper

Youtube user Superex111 saw a video I posted where I hacked a VRC7 sound engine into Tetris: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX-3elRAmbw&lc=UgwIF89g1Sx5W9sy2XV4AaABAg.9utixnQ0dE29v3as_OmCpN Tetris was an easy game to add VRC7 support because of its simple mapper and available source code. He ask...
by Ben Boldt
Fri Aug 11, 2023 11:36 am
Forum: NES Hardware and Flash Equipment
Topic: Is stacking cartridges bad for the Famicom?
Replies: 6
Views: 1616

Re: Is stacking cartridges bad for the Famicom?

I would like to point out that normal edge connectors (i.e. non-ZIF ones) actually have a plastic piece between each contact for this purpose. The plastic limits the travel/flex of the contact, so you don't really have to worry about bending the contacts. If you put a huge amount of force, it may di...
by Ben Boldt
Sun Oct 30, 2022 6:50 am
Forum: NESemdev
Topic: MMC5 exact timings
Replies: 31
Views: 3006

Re: MMC5 exact timings

Org, quietust and others have decapped and analyzed some stuff lately. They do this on the nesdev discord, in the research section.

viewtopic.php?t=16576
by Ben Boldt
Wed Oct 26, 2022 8:03 pm
Forum: NESemdev
Topic: MMC5 exact timings
Replies: 31
Views: 3006

Re: MMC5 exact timings

The scanline detection of MMC5 is quite complicated and not particularly well understood. The wiki attempts to explain it 2 ways, one with text and one with a diagram. I made the diagram and the first part of the text and I believe that newrisingsun made the pseudo code text. I don’t think everythin...
by Ben Boldt
Sat Oct 22, 2022 9:22 am
Forum: NES Hardware and Flash Equipment
Topic: Datach repro problem with I2C on "Battle_Rush"
Replies: 4
Views: 1906

Re: Datach repro problem with I2C on "Battle_Rush"

If you can’t find the right eeprom, maybe it is easier to hack the ROM or use a small microcontroller instead of an eeprom. Both would be realistic solutions.
by Ben Boldt
Tue Oct 18, 2022 7:42 pm
Forum: NES Hardware and Flash Equipment
Topic: SMB1 Hydron cartridge photos (dual 60-72 pin connector)
Replies: 1
Views: 641

Re: SMB1 Hydron cartridge photos (dual 60-72 pin connector)

I love it. It just makes sense to have both connectors, doesn’t it?
by Ben Boldt
Sun Oct 16, 2022 9:33 pm
Forum: NES Music
Topic: Examples of Game Logic Modulating Music?
Replies: 14
Views: 3583

Re: Examples of Game Logic Modulating Music?

Does lag count? Lots of games do that. :) I think there’s a track in Marble Madness that speeds up and up each loop. Zelda 2’s NSF seems to have some copies of same song with subtle variations in volume. I haven’t played this game a whole lot but never noticed it. Are these swapped around in real ti...
by Ben Boldt
Tue Oct 11, 2022 1:23 pm
Forum: General Stuff
Topic: Cracking Open Famicom Carts
Replies: 4
Views: 1157

Re: Cracking Open Famicom Carts

That's really the best way to open them. I use a plastic spudger instead of a screwdriver. In what way did your cartridge break? Did the internal tabs break off or something else? When I do it, I find that you want to increase the clamping force in order to decrease the prying force. I am aggressive...
by Ben Boldt
Mon Oct 03, 2022 11:08 am
Forum: NESdev
Topic: Gameplay actions that don't need to be done every frame
Replies: 15
Views: 3373

Re: Gameplay actions that don't need to be done every frame

Then why update only once per frame? How did that become the sweet spot for you? That question is strange. I do this because the entire game runs on a frame by frame basis. Why should I update the sound more than once per frame? Musicians compose their songs in FamiTracker. And NES libraries like F...
by Ben Boldt
Mon Oct 03, 2022 9:26 am
Forum: NESdev
Topic: Gameplay actions that don't need to be done every frame
Replies: 15
Views: 3373

Re: Gameplay actions that don't need to be done every frame

Nah! Music is something essential. I wouldn’t want to limit the compositional creativity for some optional optimization process. Then why update only once per frame? How did that become the sweet spot for you? I thought that Sunsoft Shanghai II does music updates every 2nd frame for some reason. (N...
by Ben Boldt
Sun Oct 02, 2022 11:54 pm
Forum: NESdev
Topic: Gameplay actions that don't need to be done every frame
Replies: 15
Views: 3373

Re: Gameplay actions that don't need to be done every frame

Music would tend to work well at a lower update rate. I don't know. In this case, I'd have to tell my composer to compose music twice as fast, so that it sounds normal when played only every second frame. I'm not sure whether this would be such a wise decision. You can tell your composer to write t...
by Ben Boldt
Sat Oct 01, 2022 10:36 pm
Forum: NES Hardware and Flash Equipment
Topic: Developing cheap FPGA replacements for NES CPU & PPU?
Replies: 14
Views: 3185

Re: Developing cheap FPGA replacements for NES CPU & PPU?

MottZilla wrote: Sat Oct 01, 2022 11:17 am Why would you say you "highly doubt that it is doing all of the normally redundant PPU fetches"? You don't seem to be basing that on anything but assumptions.
You are exactly right, it was all assumptions. I have not looked at the MiSTer source code.
by Ben Boldt
Fri Sep 30, 2022 8:19 pm
Forum: NES Hardware and Flash Equipment
Topic: Developing cheap FPGA replacements for NES CPU & PPU?
Replies: 14
Views: 3185

Re: Developing cheap FPGA replacements for NES CPU & PPU?

That’s a good point. It may be written more like an emulator that runs on a computer. I would highly doubt that it is doing all of the normally redundant PPU fetches for example. I don’t know this for sure but it sure seems like this is a lot more than just “hooking things up”; more like a complete ...