ToToTEK.COM

[robbudrick]

Hello,

I know everyone on earth is dying for an NES-Pro cart or something like it, but the simple fact exists: there's far too many mappers for it...it's a very difficult feat.

I have thought of a new way to do it that could work...no cartridge necessary, just a cable and some software.

I'm sure many of you have heard of FDSLoadr....it's a program (a hardware emulator, really) that is used to extract and load images to and from the Famicom Disk system. You have to build your own cables, but hey, so what.

If an interface cable was made that could plug into a NES or Famicom and in turn plug into your PC, the roms could be loaded onto the real hardware via an emulator like FDS loader. Of course, the mappers would have to be emulated through software, so it's not a "true" experience, but it is just a theoretical idea I thought I would share with you all. I'm sure a few talented emulator authors would be able to implement such a feat.

So, does anyone feel this is possible?

-Rob

[vcdfan]

[kyuusaku]

That in theory would work if you had a PCI card or something much faster than a snail-like parallel connection. Your computer would need to do all the bankswitching manually and be able to get the data to the NES within the time it takes for an original ROM to complete a cycle. That is hard.

It is not in anyway hard to design a FC/NES flash cart that would conceptually work. To make the flash cart, all you need is two 4M flash roms, sram/battery and a CPLD. The FPGA/CPLD would be flashed with a new fusemap every time you flashed the ROMs. The problem standing in the way is we just need someone that knows how to do it and is willing to spend the time. Its entirely possible because mappers are really not very complicated devices, now adays a modern CPLD can replace all the modern circuitry needed to tie the cartridge together as well as emulate any mapper (even MMC5) with extra sound channels and all with relative ease.

[Guest]

This is slightly off topic but these little shops have started popping up in the malls where I live selilng this multi-game controller with a ton of games built in. It's called the Super Joy III. It looks like an N64 controller with RCA outs, and extra controller port, and a DC adapter port, but upon closer inspection it has all the buttons you'd find on an NES (with turbos for A and B) exactly. I also began to notice quickly that all the games were NES/Famicom, it's running Contra, Mario Brothers, Super Mario Brothers, Pinball, Bomberman, Galaga, Space Invaders, and, much to my surprise, Tengen Tetris! I quickly realized what I was looking at was Famicom with a built in pirate multi-cart. Then I got looking at the back and it had a cartridge slot!? And, to beat all, for that second controller port they even include an extra controller and a LIGHT GUN (and yes, the built in cart has ALL of the light gun games for the NES and Famicom on it that I've heard of)! They were wanting $40 but the dude decided to give me a break and give it to me for $35 so I decided it was worth that. I got it home and decided to try putting an NES game connected to a Famicom converter in it. Wizardry played fine. So this is indeed a full-fledged Famicom/NES built completely into a controller. With the added bonus of having a built in 76000 in 1 multi-game cart that has about 128 or so games (the rest are minor variants of the same). The games aren't in any order apparently and some of them are misnamed like Kung Fu (forget what it's called, something with an X in it), King of Fighter is really Yie Ar Kung Fu, Tengen Tetris is called Tetris II, Star Gate's actually Defender II, etc. If someone at a mall near you is isn't trying to sell these off a pushcart in the middle of the walkway, try to find it online before Nintendo tracks down the manufacturer and takes them to court over it. So it's not exactly a flash cart, for the moment it's one of the least expensive ways to play Tengen Tetris on real Famicom hardware (the most expensive probably being to buy a Dr. PC Jr. though the Jr does run alot more games). Ah yes, several import titles are included as well (including the Macross shooter). And of course, it's about the smallest Famicom/NES you'll ever find.

[kyuusaku]

The cheapest way is just to buy Tengen Tetris. I have for $0.99 before. I feel that few of us are impressed by multicarts (or pirate consoles). I'd like to sell a 110-in-1 with 90 original games for $20 that I risked my life (inhaling plastic) for putting into a Gyromite US 72-pin cartridge. Theoretically you can put a famicom into a Game Boy sized cartridge. Every single Famiclone made in the last 5 years uses the same "Famicom-on-a-chip" design and those N64 controller clones have been around for nearly all of that time. If all you want to play are launch games (no games bigger than 64k / mappers 0,3) theres no need in the first place to buy a copier... and if everyone was satisfied with 0,3 we would have a flash cart out in 5 minutes.

[Guest]

I mainly got it for the portability anyway, I have a PC Jr after all, it will run more games than this thing already (though I'd kill for an SMC). I in no way suggested it was going to placate anyone's desires to see a flash cart (after all, it's not like it plays a single RPG, unless you own the original), just thought I'd mention it for those who collect Famicom stuff though (and it is probably cheaper than buying a Famicom off e-bay, so it's not like it's without use or value). Just something weird for the collection. Actually the strange part was actually seeing something like this at a local mall (most of the stores in this area only sell authentic stuff, something so blatantly illegit making it to stores here was a bit of a shock). I'm planning to collect those official joysticks also (I have the original Atari 10 in 1, think I'll get the Activision one next, I mean, Pitfall and River Raid on the same stick, arguably 2 of the best games ever made for the 2600).

[Guest]

And no, I don't want your 110 in 1, I'll still take that Ten No Koe though if you still have it.

[Raistlin77]

Hmm, hadn't noticed I had been logged out, oh well, now you know who I am, if you didn't already. Anyway, turns out it's good they sell that thing locally, the first light gun I got with it was broken. Not that it matters too much, as I said, I got it just because it's portable, and besides, it was something I didn't have in my collection already (if nothing else, when I'm 64, I can show the grandkids some of the more wacky things they came up with back in the 00s).

[Raistlin77]

And just for the record, the number of original games is 70, oh well, I'm still not complaining. Explain further how you risked your life putting the multicart into a US cart? I know the early NES games were actually famicom carts with adapters built in, but I don't know the specifics of what's involved in replacing the boards. I might be missing something but I don't really see how swapping the boards was life threatening. I'd have done Akumojo Denetsu if I felt like going to that kind of trouble though. An RPG like FF3 would still have been completely unplayable, I don't have time to learn the language. But since CV3J is the emulator benchmark, not to mention the graphics are better than the US version because the VRC6 is more powerful than the MMC5, I have both a reason to want to play it on an NES and a reason to want to show it off.

[kyuusaku]

The Dr PC Jr can load everything the SMC can and much much more.

The reason why the multicart was a dangerous was because the converter and multicart pcb wouldn't fit inside the case without some modification. You can't just cut cold-plastic so I had to get it soft. I don't have the most ventilation in my room so melting the plastic wasn't such a great idea but it works.

I've got Akumajou Densetsu for FC. I don't have Castlevania 3 although I've played it, I'm positive that MMC5 is the most powerful MMC and all other non-MMC3 mappers can be flawlessly ported. I'm not sure though about what they removed when the game was ported to MMC5 but I know that the VRC6's extra sound channel was cut, I'm nearly positive that graphics are the same (the background effects I mean, not the sprites that they changed, like the font/crosses etc.)

I've got quite a few hacked versions of Akumajou Densetsu (2 by Bung, one by FFE) that can be played on Dr PC Jr somewhere (of course with minor glitches/no VRC sound) :D One of the Bung hacks uses Bandai's mapper (16)

Anyways, it would be pretty worthless to put that in a NES cart because the VRC6's extra channel would be non-existant (unless the graphics really are inferior.)

About the Ten no Koe, I'm not trying to sell it, I've got plans for it :) (tapping RGB off the connector)

[arromdee5]

If you want to play a lot of NES games, just get a Dreamcast and burn a NesterDC disk. It plays almost all games at so close to full speed that you won't notice any difference, and you can fit an entire NES collection onto one CD. It's like having a 1000-in-1 multicart.

[Jagasian]

[segabob]

Ok
whats all these post about "mappers"
A Flash card will not need to do anything with mappers.

Hint:: =one nes rom
Hint =one nes rom on a flash card (rom with any mapper) already on card.



Last Hint:
Nes system or Famicom System They Do not need to EMULATE.


Am I wrong ??

[Memblers]