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MiSTer FPGA


Newsdee

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Hey, just now seeing some of this discussion. Most of the rough edges could have been easily explained by asking over on arcade-projects forum, my Discord server (recently opened), email, Twitter, etc. I'm not really here, so maybe reach out directly if you have questions :)

 

MiSTercade Video levels: the video circuit is 1:1 from a real arcade board. I won't saw which but it also features an FPGA. The video output level is 3.2V peak luma, just like Neo-Geo MVS. The first thing I did when I got the video working was to compare it against real hardware. With respect to the ability to adjust the levels via potentiometer, I'd rather not. If you do individual pots, you'll never really get the colors totally accurate. If you do a 3 gang potentiometer, you end up with variations between the gangs that add to inaccuracy. Again, the goal here was plug and play MiSTer JAMMA. Unfortunately the JAMMA standard didn't specify video levels like consumer video did. Arcade boards vary from 1V to 5V.

 

MiSTercade Controls: They're really just ultra fast USB-encoded joysticks. The latency is best in class (0.76 ms average) and has software debounce to avoid double inputs. Any quirks regarding mapping MiSTer cores are issues with the cores or MiSTer framework, not with MiSTercade. In fact, as you pointed out, you can twin stick with MiSTercade even if it's not supported in the core. Every care was put into the design of the controls to try and tame the wild west of MiSTer arcade cores. As you pointed out, you can now permanently assign controls with a single line in MiSTer.ini. I do my best to maintain mappings here (1840 mappings at the moment) https://github.com/misteraddons/MiSTercade-Config/tree/main/config/inputs

 

Latency testing: the tests were performed on an electronics bench with no case installed. The distance for bluetooth controllers could be as close as 1 ft away. I can't possibly account for battery levels, etc. There are already too many variable with wireless controllers, such as firmware, output mode, etc. I've also tested multiple BT receivers (BT 4.2, BT5, etc) and the latency didn't change. The results should be repeatable and I welcome any confirmation testing but be warned: it's tedious :)

 

I won't be checking here for responses but you can certainly reach me on the aforementioned internet places. Cheers!

 

 

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On 2/16/2023 at 8:00 AM, awbacon said:

well thats cool!

I'm really looking forward to that NGCD.

Surprisingly few neo geo games took that opportunity to go over the top with their soundtracks.

But a few like Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer really did, and this will probably be the best way to play those.

 

Though obviously it not doing CD audio ATM, certainly takes away any desire I have to play with it.

Bonus if there's a CD warpspeed mode so I never have to see that juggling monkey.

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Jotego's Outrun Core is public, on both MiSTer and Pocket, and for once the Pocket core seems to be the more mature one.

I notice the music select doesn't preview the tunes on MiSTer(?), and the display seems smoother on pocket (hard to articulate)

 

It took me a while to figure out the gear shift, but the secret is holding the button down is low gear, releasing is high gear.

 

Anybody know if the MiSTer core, or the original arcade supports analog control?  I hooked a ps4 controller to MiSTer and remapped controls, but it wasn't immediately obvious if I was getting analog functions.

 

Anyway, it's a blast, and racing/driving games are a genre where the FPGA arcade cores have been lacking.

 

(embiggen)

40mSDNwm.jpg

Edited by Reaperman
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Jotego makes you hold down a button to stay in low gear for his Outrun core? I don't think that I'm going to like that, but haven't yet updated my Pocket to see for myself. I wonder what was wrong with just having a button toggle between low and high gear like we're accustomed to everywhere from MAME to the many home conversions of the game through the years. Or just have L be mapped to low gear and R mapped to high.

 

Outrun of course had analog control in the arcades. The wheel has varying degrees of steering input depending on how far you've turned the wheel. And while I can't swear if the brake pedal was analog, the accelerator pedal also was analog (Important for fast starts where you want the tachometer in the green range when the starter waves the green flag, which is much tougher to pull off in home ports when it's a digital button where you're either off the throttle or at 100% throttle).

Edited by Atariboy
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8 minutes ago, Atariboy said:

I wonder what was wrong with just having a button toggle between low and high gear like we're accustomed to everywhere from MAME to the many home conversions of the game through the years.

It's actually worded as if it's a toggle in remap menus--I just haven't seen it work that way.

Edited by Reaperman
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That IREM core still isn't pulling with the updaters so it must still be in alpha, but wow does it ever look close. 

I've been hitting the updater pretty regularly to check. Significant updates seem to be coming every other day.

 

I'm terrible at In The Hunt (at least on evercade) but I can't wait to try it on an FPGA.

 

I also spent half a dozen credits or so on a joust cabinet last night, and the MiSTer core seemed to get quicker at earlier levels. I'll have to go back and "check" some more next weekend. Maybe there are some difficulty dips the MiSTer core doesn't provide access to.

Edited by Reaperman
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