Lu

MiSTer FPGA News & Updates – 32x Core, TMNT Update, Terra Cresta and more

Posted on by Lu

32x Core

A new Sega 32x core has been released. All you have to do is run your update or update all script to obtain it. The 32x was an add-on for the Sega Genesis and Megadrive that upgraded it’s graphics and sound capabilities. It was developed by srg320. 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Earlier this month furrtek mentioned that for his TMNT core, most parts of the hardware have been implemented and connected with each other. Now bug hunting must be done.
He has a public technical post on Patreon on how the core is currently behaving. So check it out if you’re interested.

Nichibutsu Arcade Games

Core developer Darren__O is working on some arcade cores. His Terra Cresta core has reached beta status and is almost complete. He’s also working on a Terra Force and a  Kid no Hore Hore Daisakusen core, but those are not yet available for download. He’s recieved help with these cores from Atrac17.

Atrac17 Updates

Atrac17 has a big public Patreon post regarding MiSTerFPGA related items.
Reverse engineering on the Gradius II arcade PCB has begun. This will help with the creation of a MiSTer core.

Several Konami arcade PCBs have been purchased for FPGA implementation by Jotego. These PCB’s include:

X-Men
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time
Parodius Da!
Golfing Greats
Detana!! Twin Bee
Punk Shot
Bucky O’Hare
Vendetta
Super Contra
G.I. Joe
Gokujyou Parodius
Sexy Parodius
Twin Bee Yahoo!
Ajax
Aliens
And more

Atrac17 has also been working with Darren and blackwine on more ToaplanV1 arcade developments. 

Also, once work on the Nichibutsu core is done, Atrac17 and Darren will start work on SNK 68000 arcade games. Specifically Ikari Warriors III. 

MiSTer Integer Modelines are also going to be updated. Integer Modelines are custom video modes that help fix some issues you may have when upscaling an image to a high resolution screen.

Atrac17 is thinking of dedicating more time for Arcade Offsets, once Nichibutsu development wraps up. Arcade Offsets are MRA’s with patches for arcade games that enable things like unlocked characters, modes, enhancements, trainers, cheats or other features.

And we’re told to expect more developments on MOnSieur FPGA. This is a fork of MiSTer with extra features geared toward game development and Arcades.

PSX Core

More Playstation core bug fixes which led to the below developments:

  • The widescreen hack no longer shows graphical glitches in backgrounds.
  • Sound Scope is now working. This is a visualizer in  the 7001 and later playstation BIOS accessed by hitting select when a music track is playing in the CD player.
  • You can now use your own audio CD images with Vib-Ribbon.
  • Automatic disc switch is working for a couple of games. So you don’t have to manually load a CD image when a game asks you to change discs.
  • CD Audio can be enabled when SPU channels are muted. This will give you voices in the game Firo & Klawd.

Jotego Updates

Core developer Jotego has implemented a lot of bug fixes and added an intentional bug (for hardware accuracy). The Ghost ‘n Goblins PCB had a hardware flaw that the developers took advantage of to get a flashing effect. When developing the GNG core Jotego noticed the flaw and fixed it in the core. He then noticed a video of GNG that showed the flashing effect and because of that video he came to the conclusion that the developers used that flaw intentionally. So he undid his “fix” to get the flash effect on the GNG core.

Other cores that got bug fixes:

Speed Rumbler (Fix can also help make the Genesis core more accurate because of shared timers)
Strider
System 16
Konami 8-bit core

Next 186 Core Progress

JasonA has another quick update on his Next186 core. Pretty much everything is wired up and ready to get the core running. No new code has to be written, all that needs to be done is fix bugs. So hopefully we can see something running soon.

The Next186 is an FPGA core for older PC hardware based on the 8086, 186 and 286 PC. It’s also possible to get some 386 software running. Consider supporting JasonA on his ko-fi page.

MiSTer FPGA April Stage Event

April’s live MiSTer Stage Event is now available to listen to on-demand through podcast apps and on YouTube.

This month’s stage events features core developers wickerwacka and Birdybro. The MiSTer stage events are audio interviews with members of the MiSTer FPGA community. They are done on the MiSTerFPGA discord and are hosted by Artemio, the creator of the 240p test suite.