Lu

MiSTer FPGA News – CPS3, TMNT 2, Retro Shooter Lightguns & More

Posted on by Lu

Atari 800

If you are interested in Atari 8 bit computer updates, then you should check out the “Atari 8-Bit Computers” thread on the MiSTerFPGA forums. User woj there, has been constantly updating test builds that adds new features and fixes bugs. I suggest you follow that forum thread if you are a fan of these computers.

 

Downloader 2.1

theypsilon recently pushed another update to Downloader (Now at version 2.1). Here’s what’s new:

  • The time measurement shown at the end of the run now includes the time spent importing modules, making it much closer to real time. Now, there is around a second of mismatch, whereas before, the realtime was around 4.5 seconds more than the output.
  • The loading of the internal store now also happens in parallel, which makes the process a bit faster in short runs.
  • Optimized the database processing by removing support for the deprecated |-paths. If your database has a |-path, it will be converted to the new format on the fly. The new format is documented in the custom-databases.md document since the previous version.
  • Adjusted default value for downloader_threads_limit from 20 to 3, to improve efficiency of short-runs.
  • Fixed a bug that affected new users or users with custom launchers.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented PNG images from rendering correctly. Images in the docs/ will now display normally.
  • The reboot wait, which was significantly reduced in Downloader 2.0, is now longer for Linux updates to prevent issues. However, it is still shorter than in Downloader 1.8 for this scenario.

 

 

TMNT2 & CPS3

Jotego posted on Discord that the two major systems that are being targeted for 2025 are Teenage Mutant Ninga Turtles 2 and CPS3. This game from a discord message and he plans to give further details on a future Patreon post.

 

Naughty Boy (Arcade)

Developer darfpga recently released a core of the Jaleco arcade game Naughty Boy. The goal of the game is to reach the top of each level, all while avoiding the enemies. It looks like you have to install this core manually because I just updated my MiSTer and it is not showing up. The github page has everything you need to get it installed on your MiSTer FPGA.

 

ST-V & Batman Forever (Arcade)

The WIP Sega ST-V core has been updated and new MRA’s provided to run the games. A game that has had a significant change is Batman Forever, as it now runs with sound.

The ST-V core is still a work in progress and hasn’t been officially released, but you can test it out by downloading the MRA’s and unstable core build.

 

Update All 2.2 Released

theypsilon also released a new version of the UpdateAll script. Now at version 2.2 there are some substantial changes.

  • Updateall now always adds a database to your downloader.ini. This will make the self-updating process safer and more robust.
  • The arcade organizer tool has been reworked and is now part of the update all code base.
  • You can now optionally activate spark2k06’s alternate MiSTer main firmware.
  • The Saturn BIOS is part of the BIOS database.
  • And more.

 

 

Retro Shooter Lightguns

I did some preliminary testing with the Retro Shooter light guns on the MiSTer FPGA. Right now for them to work you do need an unstable build of the Linux distribution. I also posted a guide on the MiSTer FPGA forums showing how to set them up.

 

Game Boy Advanced

Robert Peip posted a test build of the more accurate GBA core. Here’s what’s new about it.

  • core clock dropped from ~100Mhz to ~16Mhz. All major modules (CPU, PPU, DMA, …) are now running with original cycle based behavior
  • cart interface is completely new. SDRAM now replicates the cart with both Cart ROM and Save(EEPROM, SRAM or Flash)
  • external WRAM(256kbyte!) is now part of the internal FPGA blockram to fulfill low latency requirements
  • many timing accuracy tests are now fulfilled. Based on my test it reaches or succeeds the Analogue pocket + Flash cart accuracy

And here’s what has been taken out:

  • Fastforward, Turbo, Rewind and Highres Rendering are gone forever
  • Cheats and Color shading are currently not yet there, but will come back at some point

If you’re trying out this core here are some issues that you should know about:

  • There are still bugs. It’s a test core, so random crashes and corrupt save files are always possible.
  • core name is still GBA, so you might get in conflict with your old GBA core settings, savegames or savestate. It should be fairly compatible, but be warned.
  • video out is not yet synchronized with reset, so either use vsync adjust 0 or you have to accept one sync loss on reset, new rom download or savestate loading. There should be no sync loss while playing