MiSTer: FPGA gaming

[Ninja Doctor]

For bonus authenticity the dualshock4 works great with it. 

[shiffy]

 

[jonnyalpha]

Excellent, will that open up a bunch of other games? I'm thinking of stuff like Powerdrift and Enduro Racer.

[Protocol Penguin]

Anyone had any success with getting the ScummVM system working on the MiSter?

[Swainy]

33 minutes ago, Protocol Penguin said:

Anyone had any success with getting the ScummVM system working on the MiSter?

I only tried it quickly (it ran fine). I followed this guide:

 

 

[Vimster]

On 18/10/2022 at 20:59, jonnyalpha said:

Excellent, will that open up a bunch of other games? I'm thinking of stuff like Powerdrift and Enduro Racer.

If it opened up any of those SEGA sprite-scaling games that would be fab. 

[Swainy]

Super Hang On (in beta form) has already been released to Jotego Patreons. 

[SuperFamiTom]

Update All version 2.0 has been released.

 

https://www.patreon.com/posts/73589304

[DeciderVT]

MiSTerAddons has his aluminium cases back in stock and it's the first time he's posting them to the UK after Brexit. Glad to finally have one after a very long wait.

[SuperFamiTom]

They are very nice for sure. Bit too expensive for me though when you consider they'll cost about £175ish by the time they're shipped and the VAT / Import Duty is paid.

[roobarb]

The aluminium case I posted earlier in this thread bought from AliExpress is also really nice and a hell of a lot cheaper (thirty something quid) if you don't want to spend that much.

Edit: this one

 

[Colonel Panic]

They’re lovely but I’ll keep my shitty clear acrylic case!

[DeciderVT]

8 hours ago, SuperFamiTom said:

They are very nice for sure. Bit too expensive for me though when you consider they'll cost about £175ish by the time they're shipped and the VAT / Import Duty is paid.

 

Shipping and import duty is expensive at around £126. Where did you get £175 from, though?

[SuperFamiTom]

1 minute ago, DeciderVT said:

 

Shipping and import duty is expensive at around £126. Where did you get £175 from, though?

 

Was just a rough guess when the cheapest shipped price was $146ish. Is the import duty / VAT prepaid in the price they're quoting? Still too rich for my blood even if that's the case. 

[DeciderVT]

41 minutes ago, SuperFamiTom said:

Was just a rough guess when the cheapest shipped price was $146ish. Is the import duty / VAT prepaid in the price they're quoting? 

 

There are estimated taxes in the checkout summary that bring it up to that figure but I was charged no taxes in my order summary.

[SimonG]

Can anyone tell me how easy it is to manage multiple cores on this thing.

 

I’m particularly interested in the arcade games and the ao486 and PlayStation cores.
 

What setup would be considered the best for getting the most out of the Mister as it stands?  I’ll be using it via HDMI if it makes a difference ? 
 

I’m trying to work out the costs involved so any help will be appreciated.

 

Also, anyone got the Ironclad Plus or whatever it is called ?  Is it worth it to have the Mister in a decent case with all the ports at the rear instead of cables flying around from all directions? 

[Colonel Panic]

The cores all show up in a basic menu with computer, console and arcade submenus. 

a hot key opens the menu to let you switch games or cores whenever you want. 

 

You can curate the cores you download by editing a config file if you wish. 

[Ninja Doctor]

25 minutes ago, SimonG said:

Can anyone tell me how easy it is to manage multiple cores on this thing.

 

I’m particularly interested in the arcade games and the ao486 and PlayStation cores.
 

What setup would be considered the best for getting the most out of the Mister as it stands?  I’ll be using it via HDMI if it makes a difference ? 
 

I’m trying to work out the costs involved so any help will be appreciated.

 

Also, anyone got the Ironclad Plus or whatever it is called ?  Is it worth it to have the Mister in a decent case with all the ports at the rear instead of cables flying around from all directions? 

You can either download all the cores automatically (update_all), download some cores (via a menu) or manually manage your cores (copy onto sd card).

 

if like me you just want to run hdmi then bare bones all you need is de-10

nano, some sdram (128mb recommended but 32mb will work for most things) and a micro usb otg cable or hub. 
 

Then comes the extra. All these are optional but some are recommended:

1. Uprated psu. Stock is 5V 2A, people recommend a meanwell 4A unit if you have lots of devices plugged in. 
2. USB hub board. The otg port does not supply a lot of power. The official powered hub board provides 7 ports and is powered (see point 1. For better psu).

3. Heatsink and fan. Jury is out of its strictly needed but only costs a couple of quid. 

[shiffy]

I've spent a bit of this evening having a play with the updated Saturn alpha core. If someone had told me back in 2018 that I'd be able to play Saturn Daytona on the MiSTer I'd have laughed at them. Yet, here we are in 2022 and it's a reality! Granted, there are some sound issues and the odd graphical glitch here & there but I have to say I'm impressed. Getting some good mileage out of some other games as well .... Sega Rally, Hyper Duel, Elevator Action Returns, Layer Section to name a few.

 

Cue crappy video (I don't have any capture equipment! Did the engine noise in Daytona CCE always sound like a Leyland National bus?!)

 

[Dr_Dave]

10 hours ago, shiffy said:

I've spent a bit of this evening having a play with the updated Saturn alpha core. If someone had told me back in 2018 that I'd be able to play Saturn Daytona on the MiSTer I'd have laughed at them. Yet, here we are in 2022 and it's a reality! Granted, there are some sound issues and the odd graphical glitch here & there but I have to say I'm impressed. Getting some good mileage out of some other games as well .... Sega Rally, Hyper Duel, Elevator Action Returns, Layer Section to name a few.

 

Cue crappy video (I don't have any capture equipment! Did the engine noise in Daytona CCE always sound like a Leyland National bus?!)

 

 

Is that running with a single stick of RAM? Looks impressive!

[shiffy]

@Dr_Dave This is using a single stick of ram. I'm not going to purchase a 2nd stick until a core I'm interested in demands it. I already have a Saturn with an ODE so the MiSTer core isn't essential for me. I think curiousity got the better of me a few nights ago. I caved in and installed the core and just started seeing what works  & what doesn't. We can't save games yet so trying to start any rpg's or going for high scores is pointless at the moment. All things considered, this is progressing nicely.

 

A few more videos in the spoiler - Hyper Duel, Elevator Action Returns, Digital Pinball Necronomicon, Detana Twinbee, Bubble Symphony, Cotton 2, Layer Section, Kyuutenkai, Parodius, Forever With Me & Sega Rally.

Excuse the poor video quality, and the poor game playing, this was just running through some games to see what works without any real thought for gameplay.

Spoiler

 

 

 

Changing the subject, for those who were anticipating Outrun from Jotego and were disappointed there was no release. I've just spotted a message on this Discord. I suspect some of you have seen it already. Without quoting the message directly, it appears Outrun is almost maxxing out the sdram which will cause problems down the line with the other Sega super scalers. Jotego has delayed the release while he thinks of a solution to the current sprite count issue.

[pastry]

Noticing you're using the HiSaturn BIOS which I hear has very slightly improved compatibility (anecdotally).

[shiffy]

6 hours ago, pastry said:

Noticing you're using the HiSaturn BIOS which I hear has very slightly improved compatibility (anecdotally).

I've also heard that, but haven't really noticed any difference with compatibility. I only run the HiSaturn Bios (hacked region free version) is for the boot up sound. All of the other bios versions are currently lacking that sound.

[Adrock]

Another, perhaps silly, question. The DE10-Nano aside, what would I expect to spend on getting a capable system?

 

I have a nephew in university who could get me the slightly cheaper version. Do they scrutinise the course the people are on?

[DeciderVT]

49 minutes ago, Adrock said:

Another, perhaps silly, question. The DE10-Nano aside, what would I expect to spend on getting a capable system?

 

I have a nephew in university who could get me the slightly cheaper version. Do they scrutinise the course the people are on?

Bare minimum for a capable system after the DE10-Nano is going to be a digital I/O board, some RAM and a power supply, which comes to about £108 on MiSTerFPGA.co.uk. Plus a case and a USB hub of your choice, if you need them.

How would you be connecting controllers? USB, bluetooth?

[Swainy]

If you use the code retroasylum at MiSTerFPGA.co.uk you get a 6% discount too.

[SimonG]

Have been looking around for the DE10 for the last few days but they are simply nowhere to be found.

So I put an offer or two on the few that are on ebay and managed to strike a deal with someone. 

Should be here tomorrow.

[Protocol Penguin]

2 hours ago, Adrock said:

Another, perhaps silly, question. The DE10-Nano aside, what would I expect to spend on getting a capable system?

 

I have a nephew in university who could get me the slightly cheaper version. Do they scrutinise the course the people are on?

Looking back, my setup cost:

 

Spoiler

Acrylic case (£22.99

Digital IO board (£34.99)

USB hub board (£32.99)

128Gb microSD card (£19.99)

Heatsink (£3.29)

Bluetooth dongle (£7.99)

WiFi dongle (£6.99)

Shaver plug adapter (£2.99)

32Gb RAM chip (£0, donated by kind forumite, will pass it on here if I ever upgrade to 128Gb RAM)

 

(NB the bits were purchased gradually over the course of 9, 10 months.)

Also random bits like a wired 8bitdo controller, generic USB keyboard, etc, but I had that stuff lying about already.

 

The hub board and IO board I could’ve done without, and still had a working device; also, I guess I could’ve used the supplied microSD card, kept it for the OS/cores and used a USB stick for games images; the WiFi dongle I wouldn’t have really needed if my router was in the same room as my TV (although I’ve found it handy transferring files via Samba), and I haven’t actually used the Bluetooth adapter yet.

[Adrock]

4 hours ago, DeciderVT said:

Bare minimum for a capable system after the DE10-Nano is going to be a digital I/O board, some RAM and a power supply, which comes to about £108 on MiSTerFPGA.co.uk. Plus a case and a USB hub of your choice, if you need them.

How would you be connecting controllers? USB, bluetooth?

 

Yeah, I've got one of those usb six button mega drive pads, at least at first.

[Ninja Doctor]

5 hours ago, DeciderVT said:

Bare minimum for a capable system after the DE10-Nano is going to be a digital I/O board, some RAM and a power supply, which comes to about £108 on MiSTerFPGA.co.uk. Plus a case and a USB hub of your choice, if you need them.

How would you be connecting controllers? USB, bluetooth?

I disagree. 
 

it comes with a psu that will get you started. You do not need a digital or analog io board. They’re helpful but not necessary. 
 

Bare absolute minimum is:

DE-10 nano

32MB Sdram 

usb otg hub or cable

usb controller 

usb keyboard

 

if you’re feeling super cheap you can even use the 8Gb microsd that comes with it.