MiSTer FPGA Forum

I updated the SYS again since the masking has changed and hopefully named the RBF correctly this time!

Updated SYS so that the screen mask feature is now available.

I also change how PAUSE works, since I managed to crash it whilst testing the masks, no guarantee it is fixed, but I couldn't get it to die after the change!

I think striving to faithfully replicate/improve on initial TI SN76477 chip implementation, would be in the best spirit of FPGA preservation. Yes, I agree - it's just mathematically simulating the three separate waveforms (LFO, VCO and noise), applying the attack sustain and decay (all controlled by external voltage via capacitors and resistors), ...

mario64 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 01, 2021 9:44 pm Any idea why audio with this MRA is left channel only?

yes, there's a line missing in samples.vhd

(which is odd since I thought I fixed it ages ago!)

sorting it out now, pull request done.

FPGA (Quartus?) seems to dislike using signals from components as clocks and complains about them. (unlike real hardware)

instead I find you have to pick a higher clock to clock everything related on, and use enable signals to only select the relevant clock pulses.

Fallon wrote: ↑Tue Nov 30, 2021 1:03 am within the OSD menu, the screen constantly flickers on and off.

all the invaders core based games (that I tried) do it, something to do with the pause in menu I guess. You would have to submit a bug report.

mario64 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 30, 2021 1:45 am Forgive me if this is a noob question but if I add this mra will update_all download the samples & backgrounds? Thanks

the mra contains the background and samples, so you don't need to update-all as well. (or just use update-all to get the mra in the first place)

Now added a background for SI as well, normal and sample versions.

Grab it from github until it's merged.

https://github.com/MacroFPGA/Arcade-Spa ... r/releases

...is it possible to somehow have the artwork from Mame in the background as well ?

possibly ...

Especially for Nigel Butterfield I have just done a pull request to add a "Space Invaders (Samples)" mra file that uses samples to implement the various sounds for it rather than the embedded code from the original SI core.

hopefully sounds more like the real thing with these.

LamerDeluxe wrote: ↑Sat Nov 20, 2021 8:29 pm Totally unrelated to Elevator Action style games, but really fun and also not well known, I think, is this arcade game:

now that looks good, have to see how similar it is to the cosmic hardware or mr do!

just checked, it's in the Mr Do Castle driver so must be similar to that then.

Some games do have hardware to flip the screen (usually used for cocktail mode). Some also make this functionality available via a DIP switch. Some do the job entirely in hardware, some use a combination of hardware and software and some do it entirely in software. At least one game used a relay to switch the yoke on the monitor! Whether the screen...

To get the machine level timing down the MiSTer the MiSTer team went with SD Ram which it's total speed is 166 Mhz loading rom images and other data is usually handled by the core itself and runs at system clock speed, which varies (the main core passes the data to the FPGA core and that usually stores it somewhere - at least that is what happens ...

Mine didn't recognise keyboard and joystick after update.

I removed them both, rebooted MiSTer and then added them one at a time and checked that they were working (which they were) and they have remained working across several power downs now.

It could be your USB hub, since it seems some people have had problems with theirs.

Space Invaders

- SDRAM refresh fixed
- Sound fixes for :-

• 280 Zzap
  Balloon Bomber,
  Blue Shark,
  Boot Hill,
  Clowns
  Laguna Racer
  Lupin 3 (Set 1)
  Seawolf (Set 1)

- Remove debug options unless you do a DEBUG_MODE build

Some MRA's have had rom indexes duplicated since they vary from core to core maybe we need some index names for common things to make life easier, at the moment we all just start at 0 and work up as we add things so something like (and what number it normally uses AFAIK, although numbers could be anything, but 0 and 1 are pretty standard (and hisco...

edanuff wrote: ↑Thu Aug 12, 2021 12:10 am Yes, you can see it attached. I did find a partial implementation of the SN76477 for the ABC80 here

cheers, will add it to the list of things to look at

SN76477 sound chip is mainly analogue which makes it difficult to do as a high level language, although if the machine only does single voice 4 octaves I
guess the Interact supplies an external VCO and just use the ADSR filter, so it may be possible to knock something up for it - have you got a schematic for it ?

are you using Dolphindos or have you reverted to normal commodore ?

from the Dolphindos manual ...

The Dolphin DOS kernal does not support tape commands, therefore to use tape you must switch to the standard CBM kernal.

Minor update

Z80 CPU speed is now correct for all games
Magical Spot now has correct coinage from the dip file
Buttons are described in the MRA files

now onto the sound for Devil Zone and No Mans Land!

first problem is the MCU - Mame seems to have it pretty well covered now, but it would need a CPU core for the UPD78C11 to stand a chance.

(of course you could do Jumping instead, which is a bootleg of RI - but is not a total copy, things like the secret rooms do not work)

Well it's now out there, will work on bug fixes, CPU timing and other two games when I get back from Holiday

Universal Cosmic series games: - Space Panic, Cosmic Alien and Magical Spot Two more games to be added at a later stage and bound to be some problems (as well as the ones I already know about :mrgreen: ) - coin settings for Magical Spot are wrong - CPU clock for some games is too fast (but game should be correct speed since it is tied to screen fly...

I still have sound to sort out on a couple of games (Devil zone and No mans land) and there may be some other problems I am not aware of yet, but I'm now going on holiday for a few weeks.

so, did you want to wait until it's all done or shall I release the core now without those two games ?

should now be complete, had to make sure the 'home run' flash worked properly.

will put the changes in github tomorrow.

Decided it looked mostly mathematical (circles, ellipses etc), so here's my attempt at a backdrop based on the video I found. Just need to hook it up now. No scoreboard or sky, not enough room! (plus it isn't 3D like the real one)

It was reported on github about extra bases being in cocktail mode permanently, so I had a look into it. if you look on https://youtu.be/Wb1hXoFsH8g the upright has the monitor reflected off of a 3D background (bit like space invaders) so it only draws the main detail (picture doesn't rotate, so OK for both players) The cocktail cannot use this, so...

Are you using the frame buffer as that also uses DDR so may be conflicting.

try it with set_global_assignment -name VERILOG_MACRO "MISTER_FB=1" commented out in qsf file

(if old version of SYS will just be FB=1)

Devil zone background video sorted (it uses RLE graphics, it was interesting getting it to draw upside down for cocktail screen flip) I've not added sound yet (may need to fix the PCB first) , but until then, added the MRA for the final z80 based game, No Mans Land, which again has a background video circuit for the river and trees. 20210603_214234...

Cosmic alien pretty much sorted, so on to the next of the two (Z80 based) games left. this will be Devil Zone, another for which Mame has no sound information. The schematics show the sound board as being the same as used by Magical Spot, not sure if this is true, but easy enough to test. (plus I was wrong earlier, I do have a Devil Zone PCB, so I ...