Jotego Fixing Old Cores

[jca]

jotego
@topapate
This week I'll be fixing reported issues on old cores. The first one, affecting the flip screen mode on 1943 and Gun Smoke, is done. Let's go polish the next one.

[BabaYaga326]

Q*bert would be nice to get polished up.

Sinister and Joust2 flip screen mode.

[jca]

He is working only on the cores he developed. For other cores you would have to open an issue on Github.

[Malor]

The Frogger cores don't seem to have been updated for the new framework, and still refuse to sync to my LG. Anything that's been updated seems to sync fine, but some of the oldest arcade cores with sync rates near, but not at, 60Hz don't work here with vsync_adjust=2. The Froggers are slightly over 60Hz, I think.

[jca]

More updates from Jotego:

HDMI pixel repetition support on MiSTer

Combat School (v1.0.0)
Konami's Ping-Pong
Hyper Sports
Road Fighter (set 1)
Super Basketball (version H, unprotected)
Super Basketball (version I, encrypted)
Track & Field
Yie Ar Kung-Fu (program code I)

[jlancaster86]

Many of the Golden Age arcade games could use work, if not redoing entirely. I've long been hoping that Jotego would fix/redo Donkey Kong and other Nintendo arcade games (he did Popeye, after all).

[HerrBerzerk]

Is there a developer that cares especially for the Golden Age or earlier Arcade games? I would gladly support him.

[shertz]

Many of the Golden Age arcade games could use work, if not redoing entirely. I've long been hoping that Jotego would fix/redo Donkey Kong and other Nintendo arcade games (he did Popeye, after all).

I agree 100%. Most of them just need audio/sound fixes. Donkey Kong core is a mess regarding this. Its sad see that the Golden Age cores get no attention. It seems most people care about is how far they can push the de10's capabilities like the PS1, saturn, CPS3, etc. Thats great and all, but I feel a lot of the Golden age core are so close to being perfect i wish they weren't neglected.

[jlancaster86]

I agree 100%. Most of them just need audio/sound fixes. Donkey Kong core is a mess regarding this. Its sad see that the Golden Age cores get no attention. It seems most people care about is how far they can push the de10's capabilities like the PS1, saturn, CPS3, etc. Thats great and all, but I feel a lot of the Golden age core are so close to being perfect i wish they weren't neglected.

Everybody focuses on the sound issues, but it's more than that. In the case of Donkey Kong, the colour palette isn't even right (just compare it to modern MAME), and this timing issue has been open for 2.5 years without anybody addressing it.

According to the copyright information in the READMEs, these cores are based on FPGA implementations from 15+ years ago. I wouldn't be surprised if they're derived from MAME drivers of the time period and not original PCBs. Emulation did rely a lot on assumptions and guesswork back in those days, so that would be far from ideal.

In a way, it's a shame these cores have been ported over from MiST and elsewhere, as it leaves us with these "good enough" implementations. It's a bit drastic, but maybe some of these cores need to be downgraded to unofficial/WIP status till they're reworked or redone to a higher/modern standard.

[shertz]

I agree 100%. Most of them just need audio/sound fixes. Donkey Kong core is a mess regarding this. Its sad see that the Golden Age cores get no attention. It seems most people care about is how far they can push the de10's capabilities like the PS1, saturn, CPS3, etc. Thats great and all, but I feel a lot of the Golden age core are so close to being perfect i wish they weren't neglected.

Everybody focuses on the sound issues, but it's more than that. In the case of Donkey Kong, the colour palette isn't even right (just compare it to modern MAME), and this timing issue has been open for 2.5 years without anybody addressing it.

According to the copyright information in the READMEs, these cores are based on FPGA implementations from 15+ years ago. I wouldn't be surprised if they're derived from MAME drivers of the time period and not original PCBs. Emulation did rely a lot on assumptions and guesswork back in those days, so that would be far from ideal.

In a way, it's a shame these cores have been ported over from MiST and elsewhere, as it leaves us with these "good enough" implementations. It's a bit drastic, but maybe some of these cores need to be downgraded to unofficial/WIP status till they're reworked or redone to a higher/modern standard.

Also agree

[BabaYaga326]

Is Body Slam something Jotego could get working?

[jca]

It is a Jotego core, he said he is going thru all his old cores to fix them so it may come at some point.
For non Jotego cores I do not think posting here will have any effect

[Hodor]

Some of these older cores have analog sound which isn´t an easy thing to tackle. I wish they can be improved in the future, though.

[netbeui]

I noticed a weird issue with Donkey Kong Jr today, it's strange because I see that the core hasn't been updated for a long time and although I haven't played it for a few months I played a ton before and never noticed this behaviour.

On stage 2 while DKJ is pushing the locks up he sometimes goes right through them. I recorded myself playing on that stage and reproduced the problem within a few minutes. Here's a sample video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e1uHew ... share_link

[Toya]

I noticed a weird issue with Donkey Kong Jr today, it's strange because I see that the core hasn't been updated for a long time and although I haven't played it for a few months I played a ton before and never noticed this behaviour.

On stage 2 while DKJ is pushing the locks up he sometimes goes right through them. I recorded myself playing on that stage and reproduced the problem within a few minutes. Here's a sample video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e1uHew ... share_link

This is not a Jotego core. You can create an issue in the DK jr repo: https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Arcade- ... Ter/issues

[netbeui]

Thanks Toya I created an issue in the repo

https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Arcade- ... r/issues/9

[jca]

jotego
@topapate

We’ll have spinner support for JT cores next Friday on #MiSTerFPGA

[jca]

At this time it looks like the fixing of old cores is on the back burner but ...

jotego @topapate

#CPS3 core analysis in progress #MiSTerFPGA

[jca]

jotego
@topapate
Then I connected the spinners following the information that MAME developers extracted from the game software. The JTCPS2 core supports spinner control now on the MiSTer for Puzzle Loop 2 and Eco Fighters. Homework done!

jotego
@topapate
On FPGA, in order to provide that spinner-enable signal to the game, I have added a DIP switch option to the game. CPS2 games didn't have DIPs natively, so the DIP menu only shows this option.

[jca]

jotego
@topapate

We’ll have spinner support for JT cores next Friday on #MiSTerFPGA

jotego
@topapate
Then I connected the spinners following the information that MAME developers extracted from the game software. The JTCPS2 core supports spinner control now on the MiSTer for Puzzle Loop 2 and Eco Fighters. Homework done!

jotego
@topapate
On FPGA, in order to provide that spinner-enable signal to the game, I have added a DIP switch option to the game. CPS2 games didn't have DIPs natively, so the DIP menu only shows this option.

This did not happen but there is some hope:
jotego
@topapate
Spinner support added to Midnight Resistance and Heavy Barrel on #MiSTerFPGA Files will be updated on #JTFriday

[werpu]

Is there a developer that cares especially for the Golden Age or earlier Arcade games? I would gladly support him.

Well I think there is not too much interest into those games, most devs I noticed care mostly about late 80s early 90s arcade games which consist mostly of shooters ans brawlers (thats about the time I lost interest in the arcades because the early creativity waned and became a soup of always the same)
And yes if one would target this era speficially and even it is just patches he would have an instant patreon from me!

[HerrBerzerk]

thats about the time I lost interest in the arcades

UnfortunateIy it's the same for me. While I really appreciate their work and I like playing some very few newer games like Puzzle Bobbel or Metal Slug, my love goes to the golden age.

[16Bittt]

a few of the Sega System 16 games that I recently played have issues..
ESWAT has a bug at stage 3 and won't let you proceed..
Shinobi has a similar bug too..

[werpu]

thats about the time I lost interest in the arcades

UnfortunateIy it's the same for me. While I really appreciate their work and I like playing some very few newer games like Puzzle Bobbel or Metal Slug, my love goes to the golden age.

I wonder nowadays why. But I guess it must have something to do with creativity going down the drain post Marble Madness, after that game pretty much arcades reverted to the same old business model instead of forcing creativty like they did until ca 86.
The late 80s and early 90s is full of shumps and brawlers and to some degree with an occasional gem in between, but that has to be found. People were happy with the status quo probably, the demographic had shifted and the people who loved the early arcade games for their creativity already had moved towards computers and consoles. I just wished the early 90s would have kept this creativty, combined with the advanced graphics possibility this would have spawned "kick ass games" but I also attribute this to the rising development costs companies probably went for a safe bank instead becausr of those costs. (The same we see with AAA titles nowadays)