Virtual Boy

[Awestyn]

Do you think a Virtual Boy core would be a difficult one to develop?

[Sigismond0]

One that just shows a single eye's display should be plausible. But getting the full 3D effect would be difficult to get right. Even the VirtualTap just opted to just do a 2D version and not try to make it compatible with 3DTVs. It's just a matter of finding someone who wants to put in the time to make it. Furrtek would seem like the most obvious candidate since he's versed in FPGA from the NeoGeo core and knows a lot about the VB from making the VirtualTap. But I haven't seem him make any mention of it, and wouldn't be surprised if he's just not interested.

[Awestyn]

Not looking for 3D or anything like that. Was looking to install a Virtual Tap VGA or RGB out onto a VB, but just thinking VB on the MiSTer would be so much better. I know the games library is quite small, but I find them pretty fun nevertheless.

[Heuristics]

I was expecting a mode using the old 80s style red/blue 3d glasses more than support for 3d tvs.

[LamerDeluxe]

Support for passive 3D monitors/TVs (passive is quite common, I have 2 TVs and 4 monitors) is super easy. The only thing you have to do is to have the even scan-lines display the graphics for your left eye and uneven for your right eye (or vice versa, it differs between models, so it needs a menu option to switch eyes).

You don't have to activate any 3D mode (the only thing that does on a passive display is select a display settings profile, which is not important).

Alternatively display half over/under (not half side-by-side, which diminishes your stereoscopic resolution), most 3D displays have a mode to convert that, active shutter glasses displays can use that as well.

[Sigismond0]

Furrtek attempted this with the Virtual Tap. He ran into problems with the 3D effects of the VB being tuned for its hardware, and it did not work well on a TV several feet away. So it's technically doable, but whether or not

http://furrtek.free.fr/virtualtap/

Can this work on a 3D TV ?

Testing is ongoing for an Anaglyph mode. The effect might not work for everyone though. The problem lies in how the games move the "camera" to produce the depth effect. The displacement can be too large to work on a single screen, even with shutter glasses. See for yourself.

[LamerDeluxe]

Furrtek attempted this with the Virtual Tap. He ran into problems with the 3D effects of the VB being tuned for its hardware, and it did not work well on a TV several feet away. So it's technically doable, but whether or not

http://furrtek.free.fr/virtualtap/

Can this work on a 3D TV ?

Testing is ongoing for an Anaglyph mode. The effect might not work for everyone though. The problem lies in how the games move the "camera" to produce the depth effect. The displacement can be too large to work on a single screen, even with shutter glasses. See for yourself.

True, the depth effect increases with larger displays. Makes me wonder why Nintendo never ported the Virtual Boy games to the 3DS. I see there was a start with a homebrew emulator for it though.

[mathieulh]

One that just shows a single eye's display should be plausible. But getting the full 3D effect would be difficult to get right. Even the VirtualTap just opted to just do a 2D version and not try to make it compatible with 3DTVs. It's just a matter of finding someone who wants to put in the time to make it. Furrtek would seem like the most obvious candidate since he's versed in FPGA from the NeoGeo core and knows a lot about the VB from making the VirtualTap. But I haven't seem him make any mention of it, and wouldn't be surprised if he's just not interested.

Why couldn't 3D be done? There are unofficial SBS 3D variants of the NES and SMS cores which work great, assuming you have a compatible display.

Here is one such example:

https://github.com/mathieulh/SMS_LLAPI_ ... P1?files=1


Or even here https://github.com/Grabulosaure/NES3D_MiSTer

This would work just great for a hypothetical virtual boy core.

[mathieulh]

Furrtek attempted this with the Virtual Tap. He ran into problems with the 3D effects of the VB being tuned for its hardware, and it did not work well on a TV several feet away. So it's technically doable, but whether or not

http://furrtek.free.fr/virtualtap/

Can this work on a 3D TV ?

Testing is ongoing for an Anaglyph mode. The effect might not work for everyone though. The problem lies in how the games move the "camera" to produce the depth effect. The displacement can be too large to work on a single screen, even with shutter glasses. See for yourself.

I am not sure if this is relevant, but I ran virtual boy titles on mednafed on stereoscopic 3D, using a HMZ-T3W Head Mounted Display, and I had a (much) better experience than on my original virtual boy unit.

[Moondandy]

Would it be possible to make a core that was just 2D so the games could be played? Are any of the chips in the VB already done?

[Newsdee]

I'd love a core for the VB. The best games on it don't use the 3D much other than background effects, anyway.

[Vic20-Ian]

It needs a customized NEC V810 (NVC, P/N uPD70732) 32-bit RISC processor @ 20 MHz (18 MIPS), 1 KiB instruction cache

If the PC FX NEC V810 is eventually made into a core then this may be able to be derived from that.

[mahen]

OMG, I had a Virtual Boy back in the days, that was causing me important eye strain, which made me sold it back quickly

Would it be possible to merge the two pictures (or just use one of them) to use it without the 3D effect ? I don't remember if that would make some games unplayable...

[Sigismond0]

Using just one picture for a 2D effect works just fine. That's how the VirtualTap works to get RGB out of a VB onto a TV.

[jumpbeatshoot]

Using just one picture for a 2D effect works just fine. That's how the VirtualTap works to get RGB out of a VB onto a TV.

I tottaly agree. It would be great because it seems to be really hard to get a Virtual Tap mod kit or even more a pre-modded console (I couldn't mod a console if my life depended on it).

[siskavard]

I think someone will eventually make a VB core. I too would love to play some VB games on MiSTer!

[Sigismond0]

I tottaly agree. It would be great because it seems to be really hard to get a Virtual Tap mod kit or even more a pre-modded console (I couldn't mod a console if my life depended on it).

Last I heard, Mobius Strip Tech was taking up manufacturing of the mod. He did my install back when Furrtek was still selling them, and I've been very happy with the results.

[Vic20-Ian]

Out of stock but now here

CastleManiaGames.com

[JamesfromDFW]

OMG, I had a Virtual Boy back in the days, that was causing me important eye strain, which made me sold it back quickly

Would it be possible to merge the two pictures (or just use one of them) to use it without the 3D effect ? I don't remember if that would make some games unplayable...

I got over the eye strain by making the room completely dark or play at night. Seemed like the same effect of eye strain after coming out of a theater.

[dshadoff]

It needs a customized NEC V810 (NVC, P/N uPD70732) 32-bit RISC processor @ 20 MHz (18 MIPS), 1 KiB instruction cache

If the PC FX NEC V810 is eventually made into a core then this may be able to be derived from that.

It would also be a key step in enabling a PC-FX core.

[jrronimo]

This is mostly a +1 for "would like a VB core"... I have a few Virtual Boys and a complete boxed US collection + some homebrew, but MiSTer is so much easier to set up... heh.

I really do love the 3D effect though. I feel like VB games miss a lot by not having it. But I would still rather more people have access to Wario Land...

I really wish Nintendo had put a VB emulator on 3DS. Seems like a natural fit. They probably wouldn't have sold enough, though. Heck, if it were me, I'd put all the games on one cart and call it "Nintendo Virtual Boy Collection" and just be done with it. Alas...

[LamerDeluxe]

I would buy that collection in a heartbeat.

[goosewerks]

It needs a customized NEC V810 (NVC, P/N uPD70732) 32-bit RISC processor @ 20 MHz (18 MIPS), 1 KiB instruction cache

If the PC FX NEC V810 is eventually made into a core then this may be able to be derived from that.

It would also be a key step in enabling a PC-FX core.

Any devs who need donor PC-FX internals can have mine. I don't need them.

[-N2]

back when the VB was new I so wanted to mod mine for use as a serial dumb terminal. after I learned it used a 32 bit processor I wanted to port Linux and BSD to it!

[Waifu4Life]

thread-necromancy.png (244.78 KiB) Viewed 10866 times

Once the N64 is out of BETA, the Virtual Boy will be the final Nintendo system left for us to say we have all of them from Game&Watch to GBA.

[dcubed]

Problem with a VB core is that it's a lot of work for a tiny library of just 22 games, whose CPU is shared with only one other system (The PCFX; which has a similar problem).

Also, without stereoscopic 3D support, you lose the main appeal of the system in the first place. So more work would have to go into supporting SBS 3D.

[Longtime4321]

Old Arcade games use a unique board per game, leading to these games having 1 core just for themselves. 1 core for 22 games isn't too absurd

[dmckean]

Old Arcade games use a unique board per game, leading to these games having 1 core just for themselves. 1 core for 22 games isn't too absurd

There's also a lot of arcade boards that will never get ported because the game was bad and there's no interest.

Virtual Boy will get done at some point because it Nintendo from their best period. But it's going to be some work, there's only a handful of people working on this project that are capable of creating that CPU from scratch.

[dcubed]

Old Arcade games use a unique board per game, leading to these games having 1 core just for themselves. 1 core for 22 games isn't too absurd

Most arcade boards share some basic hardware, such as Motorolo 68000 CPUs. So core developers can make use of pre-existing FPGA solutions for those chips; and where there isn't a current solution? New CPU cores that are written can cover multiple potential platforms (such as the Saturn sharing the SH2 CPU with the 32x, the CPS3 and the Psikyo SH2 board).

In the case of the Virtual Boy however? The NEC V810 CPU is only shared by the PCFX; and its PPU is completely custom (as well as highly unorthadox), meaning that there's nothing that can be reused from an existing FPGA core/chip implementation; AND it would be a very difficult system to recreate in FPGA form. A potential VB core would need to be written completely from scratch, bringing about the question of significant opportunity cost. You're talking potentially years of work for a platform that almost nobody has any interest in.

That's why you haven't seen a VB FPGA core yet. That's not to say that it will never happen, just that it is a very low priority for FPGA core devs; given the high opportunity cost associated with it.

[PistolsAtDawn]

I own a Virtual Boy that I'd be willing to donate if a sacrificial model is necessary for the effort. Any devs interested in that, please PM me.