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[VGEsoterica]

Dunno how many people here own a MiSTer or have been following the different cores that have been added to it (the list is honestly staggeringly huge and impressive) but recently the PS1 core has gone from basic previews of code executing to something you can 100% play and finish SOME games on. I beat SotN 200% and it honestly didn't feel any different than playing on an OG PS1.

CDXA audio was just added, leaving CDDA streaming off disc audio as the last aural component to be added to the core...and all that happened in the last two weeks after the SPU sound was added for basic music and sound effects. Honestly it feels like a janky PS1 currently...and considering two of the PS1's sitting next to me have some disc read issues and display some jank themselves...its about as close to PS1 as you can get haha (kidding)

CDDA audio was just added as code but it's not enabled yet but that's seemingly the last big component to be added until the core starts dealing with bug fixes and general improvements to the underlying code that gets a full fat PS1 running in FPGA logic.

but damn things like this really feel like nothing short of magic. It's especially great considering how many PS1's laser are dead or just dying at this point in time (I should know. I have two that have read issues)

Curious if anyone else has been beta testing or following along?

 

[PhaseJump]

I'm excited for the PS1 core, but not excited enough to rebuild the mister I kick around with more ram, just to fuck around with this and Saturn in the future.

 

[sn0man]

Wow! R4 was looking smooth. Do you think there is enough hardware there to do scanline generation or do you need separate hardware?

 

[a multicultural team of v]

Good stuff... Now all we need is someone to invent the FPGA equivalent of a CRT lol

 

[alienator]

Yep amazing stuff even for an early beta, got my mister loaded up in my cab with a bunch of psx greatness like R-type delta and tekken..it plays so great.
Now, if only someone was working on a saturn fpga core... (guess what! )

 

[German Hops]

aye, I'm all-in when it comes to fifth generation FPGA.
Once the PSX, Saturn, and N64 cores are complete, I can start to rest easy.

 

[PhaseJump]

aye, I'm all-in when it comes to fifth generation FPGA.
Once the PSX, Saturn, and N64 cores are complete, I can start to rest easy.

What N64 core?

 

[German Hops]

What N64 core?

The one I'm secretly working on.

 

[Walter Matthau]

Wow! R4 was looking smooth. Do you think there is enough hardware there to do scanline generation or do you need separate hardware?

Both scanlines and shadowmask options already exist for the PS1 core.

I don't love the options this person chose, but here is what SotN looks like with them applied:

 

[sn0man]

Good stuff... Now all we need is someone to invent the FPGA equivalent of a CRT lol

I would pay an unreasonable amount for a new CRT.

 

[nkarafo]

aye, I'm all-in when it comes to fifth generation FPGA.
Once the PSX, Saturn, and N64 cores are complete, I can start to rest easy.

Saturn maybe but don't expect a N64 one anytime soon.

General rule of thumb is that you only get a FPGA system if there's already an accurate software emulator for it. FPGA devs rely a lot on the same information and knowledge software emulator devs are building for decades now.

Thing is, accurate N64 timings are still elusive. Nobody has done it. You can have perfect graphics with Angrylion/Parallel RDP but the timings are all over the place.

There's also the matter of the N64 being able to fit into the FPGA. AFAIK, they are using certain FPGA chips that are cheap enough. But these can only fit so much. I heard the Saturn may be the absolute limit, if possible at all. To fit the N64 one would need a different, far more expensive chip and those Mister products are expensive enough as is.

 

[German Hops]

Saturn maybe but don't expect a N64 one anytime soon.

General rule of thumb is that you only get a FPGA system if there's already an accurate software emulator for it. FPGA devs rely a lot on the same information and knowledge software emulator devs are building for decades now.

Thing is, accurate N64 timings are still elusive. Nobody has done it. You can have perfect graphics with Angrylion/Parallel RDP but the timings are all over the place.

There's also the matter of the N64 being able to fit into the FPGA. AFAIK, they are using certain FPGA chips that are cheap enough. But these can only fit so much. I heard the Saturn may be the absolute limit, if possible at all. To fit the N64 one would need a different, far more expensive chip and those Mister products are expensive enough as is.

Didn't the makers of PolyMega figure out N64 fpga, or am I mistaken?

 

[Honey Bunny]

Where can I see an updated list of cores?

 

[Walter Matthau]

Where can I see an updated list of cores?

It's on the right hand side of this page: https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Main_MiSTer/wiki/Arcade-Cores-List

Only includes public cores. Excludes known WIP cores like TMNT, PS1, Saturn, Jaguar, NGP, etc. and non-public cores that Jotego has created like CPS2, Sega System 16, etc.

 

[LavosBit]

I’m huge retro gamer dork, and as much as I strive to play older titles on their original hardware (or as close as I’m able with FPGA systems), the polygonal era is kind of where I draw a line. I’ll always have a bit of a soft spot for wobbly textures and jaggy edges, but if I can play these games at higher resolutions, more stable frame rates, and with additional graphical bells and whistles, it’s kind of hard to go back.

Like, if I want to play the original Half-Life on PC, I want it to look and run as best as it can. I’m not going to set the resolution at 800x600 to recapture the authenticity of how I experienced it on my old TNT card.

 

[nkarafo]

Didn't the makers of PolyMega figure out N64 fpga, or am I mistaken?

That thing is going to use an existing N64 software emulator.

 

[VGEsoterica]

It's on the right hand side of this page: https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Main_MiSTer/wiki/Arcade-Cores-List

Only includes public cores. Excludes known WIP cores like TMNT, PS1, Saturn, Jaguar, NGP, etc. and non-public cores that Jotego has created like CPS2, Sega System 16, etc.

yes there are lots of cores not on MAIN

 

[sn0man]

I’m huge retro gamer dork, and as much as I strive to play older titles on their original hardware (or as close as I’m able with FPGA systems), the polygonal era is kind of where I draw a line. I’ll always have a bit of a soft spot for wobbly textures and jaggy edges, but if I can play these games at higher resolutions, more stable frame rates, and with additional graphical bells and whistles, it’s kind of hard to go back.

Like, if I want to play the original Half-Life on PC, I want it to look and run as best as it can. I’m not going to set the resolution at 800x600 to recapture the authenticity of how I experienced it on my old TNT card.

These lines are always fuzzy to me. It’s all extremely arbitrary and subjective but console games live in the resolution and interface they were released on to me. The PC is always the PC and can always get better.

That said, experiencing Half-Life at a resolution north of say 2x the max consumer monitor (1280x1024?) of the time introduces the slipperslope of “why not a high res texture pack?”. It’s the Apple Pie a La Mode paradox.

 

[Faithless83]

Didn't the makers of PolyMega figure out N64 fpga, or am I mistaken?

Mister uses an specific board for it's cores. There are other cheaper and a lot more expensive boards around.
It's not about "figuring out" and more like if it fits on the FPGA.
Spoiler:
It doesn't fit on Mister FPGA, people did check for it.

But of course you know that, since you're secretly developing the n64 core.

Maybe it's time to educate gaf on MiSTer with a proper thread.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Didn't the makers of PolyMega figure out N64 fpga, or am I mistaken?

The PolyMega dropped FPGA plans a long time ago; it's all software emulation.