Konix Multisystem [Core In Progress]

[SavourySnaX]

MiSTer Konix Multisystem Core : https://github.com/SavourySnaX/MiSTer_KonixMultisystem

For those who don't know, the Konix Multisystem was a UK Based attempt to produce a console, it was never truly finished (though it came close). In the past I produced a software emulator and managed to find some test roms via some industry contacts. Many years have passed, I've grown older, and no wiser...

This year, I've been working on an FPGA version of the machine. Its getting to the point where it now runs almost all of the original demos I had, so i figured it was time to promote its existence on these forums.

Unlike the emulator - which was written based on the documentation and rom examples i had at the time, this one should be faithful to the original hardware. The custom chips have been ported from their original Net Lists into verilog, similar to how Tom and Jerry were done for the jaguar core. Though I wrote my own tool to do it, and the Net Lists are based on different ASICs. This means bus timings are accurate to the original machine.
The CPU core has been written from scratch (its based on the work of https://www.reenigne.org/blog/8086-micr ... assembled/) and thus its timings should be accurate to the original chip. Its not complete yet, but I`m making slow progress

There are still kinks to work out, but there are builds available in the releases folder. You can grab P88 roms from http://www.konixmultisystem.co.uk/downl ... 88Roms.zip

and a fixed version of the AOTMC88 rom from : https://github.com/SavourySnaX/AOTMC89/ ... _FIXED.P88

[Alkadian]

Fantastic, thanks for this new core! Nerver heard of it before. Time to explore it then

[SavourySnaX]

This is the best source of information of what the system was to be : https://konixmultisystem.co.uk/

[Moondandy]

That's incredible, you are an absolute mad lad for doing this! Just had a play now, Attack of The Mutant Camels plays really nicely - although It did crash for me.

FYI anyone trying it out, you need to map the buttons. Some scaling could be nice to get the games full screen.

Absolutely fantastic work with this, it's incredible you have been able to fully realise this machine for MiSTer. Do you plan to add it into the official repo soon?

[Alkadian]

This is the best source of information of what the system was to be : https://konixmultisystem.co.uk/

Thanks, just reading through now.

[Alkadian]

FYI anyone trying it out, you need to map the buttons. Some scaling could be nice to get the games full screen.

Cool, thanks.

EDIT
The controller works fine from my side. Tried both Attack Of The Mutant Camels and Ark A Hack.

[jca]

Thanks for this new core. Having failed to launch there are not many games. It seems there are more for the 89 version but at this time the core is for the 88 version. But as preservation it is very interesting in particular for what it could have been:
Recently I came across this video, what a fantastic machine it could have been.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLyHQpdnjpA&t=2434s
Another coincidence:
Lately there has been a lot of activity regarding the PC XT (Next186, PCXT) and this console used the 8088 (88 version) and the 8086 (89 version).

[tontonkaloun]

Thanks for this new core

[Moondandy]

Could this core be further developed to emulate both the 88 and 89 versions?

[tonywatto]

Didn't Atari re-develop the Konix multi system into the Jaguar console?

[seastalker]

Wow! I have always wanted to try that system when it was in magazines. Thank You for making this possible on the MiSTer even if to see what could have been. Maybe homebrew will appear one day.


Now a RDI Halcyon doesn't sound too-far fetched...

[rhester72]

Didn't Atari re-develop the Konix multi system into the Jaguar console?

No, but some of the same people were involved.

[Chilli_Vibes]

That video, linked above, is superb. I do like Nostalgia Nerd's videos, they are well researched, and he is a likeable Youtuber.
Imagine getting hold of one of those PC Konix Wheels, then finding a way to put a Mister board in there, along with a final version of this core ?
That would be the closest we could physically get to having the real thing in the flesh.
I followed this, from 89, to sometime in the 90s, and was sad to see its eventual demise. I know there is an emulator out there, but this core would be the closest to original hardware as we could get.
One of the next holy grails could be the Commodore 65.

[SavourySnaX]

Do you plan to add it into the official repo soon?

Hopefully.

[SavourySnaX]

Could this core be further developed to emulate both the 88 and 89 versions?

Yes, I don't want to set timelines or expectations, this is still very much one of many things I work on in my Hobby time.

However the rough plan is as follows (no order is implied) :

Finish the 8088, (there is still a good chunk of microcode to finish translating).
Debug the issues with DSP reads blocking the Polygon demo.
Translate the 89 Slipstream to verlilog and verify via testbenches where possible.
Add 8086 bus interface to 8088 core, and modify the microcode translation to account for the differences
Hook in the disk drive logic - that should get Last Ninja 2 going

There is also the possibility of porting the Flare One software emulator to fpga, this is trickier because it has to be done from scratch, rather than just translating the netlists. I can probably work backwards from the later revisions for the most part though.

[fierman]

Crazy work, well done! This machine was one of the holy grails end 1980s, and all the magazines have been talking about it for years. Absolutely amazing to be able to get a glimpse of what it could have become after all these years.
(I could not get AMC to work properly on my crt btw - rgbs over vga)

[AfterBurnett]

MiSTer Konix Multisystem Core : https://github.com/SavourySnaX/MiSTer_KonixMultisystem

For those who don't know, the Konix Multisystem was a UK Based attempt to produce a console, it was never truly finished (though it came close). In the past I produced a software emulator and managed to find some test roms via some industry contacts. Many years have passed, I've grown older, and no wiser...

This year, I've been working on an FPGA version of the machine. Its getting to the point where it now runs almost all of the original demos I had, so i figured it was time to promote its existence on these forums.

Unlike the emulator - which was written based on the documentation and rom examples i had at the time, this one should be faithful to the original hardware. The custom chips have been ported from their original Net Lists into verilog, similar to how Tom and Jerry were done for the jaguar core. Though I wrote my own tool to do it, and the Net Lists are based on different ASICs. This means bus timings are accurate to the original machine.
The CPU core has been written from scratch (its based on the work of https://www.reenigne.org/blog/8086-micr ... assembled/) and thus its timings should be accurate to the original chip. Its not complete yet, but I`m making slow progress

There are still kinks to work out, but there are builds available in the releases folder. You can grab P88 roms from http://www.konixmultisystem.co.uk/downl ... 88Roms.zip

and a fixed version of the AOTMC88 rom from : https://github.com/SavourySnaX/AOTMC89/ ... _FIXED.P88

You have no idea how happy this makes me! I always wanted one and was gutted that it never came out. Thanks for your hard work!

[Chris23235]

Many thanks for this core, finally the Konix Multisystem becomes reality. Let us built the hydraulic chair

[konix]

Mark from the Konix website here - just signed up to say hi and to be available to attempt to answer any Konix questions that don't relate directly to the Emulator or the MiSTer core created by SavourySnaX.

Also - +1 for the suggestion to build a chair next! There is a real one in a private persons possession, but I think it's unlikely (logistically) that I'll be able to get the exact dimensions and make a blueprint for how to construct an exact replica (and apparently, it's just the chair, not the drill powered mechanism).

[KremlingKuthroat19]

Mark from the Konix website here - just signed up to say hi and to be available to attempt to answer any Konix questions that don't relate directly to the Emulator or the MiSTer core created by SavourySnaX.

Also - +1 for the suggestion to build a chair next! There is a real one in a private persons possession, but I think it's unlikely (logistically) that I'll be able to get the exact dimensions and make a blueprint for how to construct an exact replica (and apparently, it's just the chair, not the drill powered mechanism).

Hey Mark. Thanks for stopping by! Are you aware of any official software available for the Konix Multisystem that hasn't been released? If yes, would it be allowed to be legally dumped? Would love to play what was originally intended for the Multisystem.

[konix]

Hi KremlingKuthroat19,

Yes, there's James Pond 2 codename Robocod which was built for the later SS4 386 version of the hardware which by that time was going to be the MSU Multisystem.
And as I've talked about on my website a few times and Lee has demonstrated with his Slipstream emulator there's what can be described as an alpha build of Last Ninja II. It's certainly playable and has multiple (all the) levels but is not polished and playtested / debugged.

I think it's going to take a lot to negotiate with the copyright holders to see if we can legally release these in any form.

Unfortunately, over the years, I've talked to most of the developers involved and have recovered as much as I think we can.
Never say never - there are always disks and files lurking around that my get uncovered, but there are quite a few builds of games that were definitely in development that are now unfortunately lost to time.

All the downloads on my website are "official" - there's no homebrew or stuff produced by amateurs, obviously there's a lot of hacky tests and demos with some awesome programmer art, but it was produced by the people building the system and some of the programers of what would have been the games for the machine.

It would be great for someone with the skills to produce something that shows what the Konix could have done, but then just how realistic/representative is that? People are producing C64 Demos and games today that are mind-blowing based on what was commonly achieved at the time.

[KremlingKuthroat19]

Hi KremlingKuthroat19,

Yes, there's James Pond 2 codename Robocod which was built for the later SS4 386 version of the hardware which by that time was going to be the MSU Multisystem.
And as I've talked about on my website a few times and Lee has demonstrated with his Slipstream emulator there's what can be described as an alpha build of Last Ninja II. It's certainly playable and has multiple (all the) levels but is not polished and playtested / debugged.

I think it's going to take a lot to negotiate with the copyright holders to see if we can legally release these in any form.

Unfortunately, over the years, I've talked to most of the developers involved and have recovered as much as I think we can.
Never say never - there are always disks and files lurking around that my get uncovered, but there are quite a few builds of games that were definitely in development that are now unfortunately lost to time.

All the downloads on my website are "official" - there's no homebrew or stuff produced by amateurs, obviously there's a lot of hacky tests and demos with some awesome programmer art, but it was produced by the people building the system and some of the programers of what would have been the games for the machine.

It would be great for someone with the skills to produce something that shows what the Konix could have done, but then just how realistic/representative is that? People are producing C64 Demos and games today that are mind-blowing based on what was commonly achieved at the time.

Thanks for the detailed response! I'll certainly check out your website when I get an opportunity.

[SavourySnaX]

Just swinging by to say I've pushed a new build - Various fixes to the DSP (AOMC now has sound effects), a few more 8088 opcodes are implemented, AOMC shouldn't crash now.

[Oliver_Twist]

what a strange system... it was canceled on wikipedia.... wow !!
MisTer 's cores are fascinating !!

[niallquinn]

Been having a tinker with this, and it's great, but it's also quite sad that over 30 years later, a certain copyright owner won't allow an image to be spread.
It's LN2, I saw it at the PCW show in 89. I believe it did have to be created and compiled from the source, but that's it. LN2 itself isn't that great, uses mods for the music, I'd have preferred more like Matt Gray sids from the 64.
Also a shame that things like the Star-ray image haven't survived, or have they?
If it wasn't for Alan Minter we wouldn't have the only game we've got!
Konix was fascinating. Brief history, it was originally the Sinclair Loki. Then Sinclair sold out to Amstrad in 86. Sugar sacked the entire Sinclair r&d dept. So Brennan and Cheese behind the loki, developed it into the Konix. Which also never saw release in the shops. This was then improved into flare 1 and 2, BFM used the tech in their quiz machines. Atari liked it, so it changed into the Atari Panther, again not released, so it was changed again, and came out as the Jaguar.
The point is, imagine if it had come out in 86, instead of mid 94 (Europe), Can you imagine a souped up spectrum in 86?.......Such a shame.