News from the Rockin-B of his Snes Emu for the Sega Saturn News:

If you would have asked me if there will ever be an SNES emu on Saturn, I'd said never, without a doubt. But then there came z-roc requesting a SNES emu on Saturn in return for a nice donation. Okay, I was up for it and the more progress I had, the more excited I got and I thought: this guy really made a good thing, without him this would have never been.

Okay, that's certainly true, but what's true, too, is that his offer was not a serious one. I stopped my work immediately and after being tricked that way, I don't have plans to bring this project further.

features:

requires 4MB RAM cart
max. ROM size: something between 2-3 MByte
CD browser
frameskip setting
unfinshed = gfx glitches
compatibility: unknown
speed: faster than I expected, not yet optimized in any way

Screenshots Via Comments ...

All info from my pal Dark Watchers Console Site


Sega Saturn

In development for 2 to 3 years by Sega of Japan, The project known merely as GigaDrive (A word play for a more powerful Megadrive) began with a goal of being the most powerful 2D console to date with 3D capability based on their arcade Model 1 hardware.

Initially the goal was to surpass another CD-based console called the 3DO. In November of 1993, technical specs for 32-bit CD-based console by Sony had surfaced. Not being pleased with the projects 3D capability (compared to Sony’s), Sega of Japan’s engineers scrambled to improve on the design.

Using planet-naming conventions used for their other projects (Like Mars and Neptune), the new console was called the Sega Saturn. It was released in Japan on November 22nd 1994, and was an immediate success. Sega had finally made a serious mark in Japan by even surpassing their long-term rival Nintendo (Sega consoles were more successful in the US markets in the past).

They would however have to face a new contender to the market. Sony finally released the Playstation, and used their financial stability (deep ass pockets) to produce a strong marketing campaign, garner the attention of 3rd party developers, and purchase exclusive rights to game titles. Sony ambitiously cornered popular game genres in Japan, but Sega countered with impressive 2D shooters, fighting games, and hentai titles (those Japanese...hahaha). The Saturn still sold remarkably well, and so Sega set their eyes on other markets.

The original scheduled release for the US Saturn was supposed to be ‘Saturnday’ September 2nd 1995. However with the Sony Playstation US premier looming over the horizon, Sega chose to release their console 4 months sooner (May 11th, 1995). They got the jump on the market that they needed, but caught developers off guard. The console was released with a high $399 price tag, and a lack of 3rd Party software titles.

Even after the stinging failure of the 32X, the Saturn still managed to sell pretty well initially. However, the Sony Playstation was eventually released for $100 cheaper, and eventually took over the US market. The Saturn failed to capture the success it garnered in Japan. So what happened?

The Saturn boasted an amazing amount of processors including it’s dual Hitachi CPU processors. However, this caused problems in game development. Apparently the two CPU’s did not run in tandem, and could not access memory at the same time. The complexity either caused developers to shy away from the Saturn, or develop games in a manner that didn’t fully utilize the systems capabilities (3rd Party developers initially designed games only using a single processor). Eventually developers found away around Saturn’s complexity, but not soon enough.

Another contributing factor to Saturn's struggle in America was Sega of America's management. Sega’s mishandling and eventual abandonment of 32X had already damaged Sega’s credibility. The early release left some retail stores without Saturn stock, and the initial high price did not help sales. Also, Sega of America did a piss poor job of advertising the Sega Saturn. They also made the mistake of not bringing many quality Japanese Saturn game titles over to the United States. Eventually the market grew more hostile with the release of Nintendo’s 64-bit ‘next generation’ system.

The Saturn may not have done well in the American market, but in Japan the Saturn was a hot item. The console saw amazing game titles, which also became hot imports in America and Europe. The hardware specs were also licensed out to component manufacturers allowing them the ability to build their own model Saturns, and spread the console out further. These models were available in Japan only.

Shown above is the V-Saturn, which was developed by JVC. It is technically a clone of the Saturn with a different outward appearance, a different boot screen, and Photo CD reading compatibility with a JVC Twin Operator card. The Hi-Saturn was developed by Hitachi, and had native MPEG decompression for viewing VCD (Video CD). Another Hitachi model was released that also contained a modem, LCD play screen, and built in navigation systems for use in vehicles. Finally a Skeleton Saturn was released with a case that showcased the units circuitry.

All in all Saturn was an amazing console that produced beautiful 2D gaming, and brilliant 3D titles toward the end of it’s life cycle. Saturn was supported in the US until 1998 and in Japan until 1999.

FACT: One of the more innovative concepts of the Saturn was the cartridge slot. The slot itself was not meant for gaming, but could be used in a variety of ways (EXAMPLES). The more common uses were for an external memory cart for save game portability, and for cheat devices such as the ‘Game Shark’. However the slot was also used for Sega Netlink. This was a 28.8 modem built in a cart that could be used to access the web, check email, and even play someone online ...

yopyop posted this news:

Sometimes bad joke become reality so here’s DeSmuME’s last stable source code. It’s release under GPL. I have just removed the new 3D engine because it’s too much bugged. Hopefully it will be helpful for some of you.

More info --> http://yopyop156.ifrance.com/ ...

yopyop posted this news:

Sometimes bad joke become reality so here’s DeSmuME’s last stable source code. It’s release under GPL. I have just removed the new 3D engine because it’s too much bugged. Hopefully it will be helpful for some of you.

More info --> http://yopyop156.ifrance.com/ ...

If size is an issue, this speaker dock for the nano may be just right for you. It is small and features and exterior constructed of brushed aluminum. This dock can also charge and dock the nano. It includes a remote and retails for $99. Live in a closet and enjoy your nano? This may be the perfect speaker dock for you.
http://www.chipchick.com/2006/04/nyko_nano_sound.html ...

J&R is taking pre-orders on another iPod Nano protection scheme. Instead of a case they are offering Nano’s custom painted with X2 scratch resistant liquid plastic coating. The iPods are cleaned, painted and cured under UV light to apply the coatings which come in six different color combinations. The process adds about $65 to the price of the Nano, so it comes close to what a normal case might cost.

http://www.jr.com/JRSectionView.proc...rd_Search&Ne=0 ...

E has posted a new Beta release of his PC Engine and Wonderswan Emulator for the PSP, dont ask me whats new(in japanese) but you can be sure it has a load of improvements.

Download and Give Feedback via Comments ...

A very wise man told me PiMPStreamer ( Media Streamer) had a reference to the K: drive.....

Actually that caused most of the problemns with PiMPStreamer because people don't have k: drives attached (i do! )

You can get the patched version (0.21) at
http://www.geocities.com/dickydick1969

or Via the Comments ...

Jonny has released a new version of his Media Player for the PSP, heres whats new:

(!!! THIS APP DOES NOT WORK WITH FW > 1.5 !!!)

First of all, the pmp format is changed. There is a "remuxer" to convert files from the old format to the new one. The remuxer is a command line application, the easyest way to use it is to drag and drop files over it (the new file will be written in the same dir of the old one, along with the log file containing the result of the conversion).

And now the changes in this version:

- VBR MP3s are now supported
- Multiple audio streams can be used (use "select" to switch audio streams)
- Reading routines are now optimized, the app is fully usable with the harddisk or a slow memstick
- Volume boost (from malloc)
- Fast seek with left/right+cross (from malloc)

Some notes about the reading routines:

Reads are now sequential and asynched. Users with the fastest sandisk should expect ~0.5 fps gain (the speed gain goes all in the high bitrate scenes, so should be noticeable). The speed difference between the fastest sandisk and the harddisk is ~0.5 fps. All the other memsticks are in the middle (for example the standard 32MB Sony memstick is 0.1fps slower than the sandisk). Performances can be considered aligned now. The harddisk speed is around 2MB/sec. So, in the worst case, the app can read around 16MBits/sec of video+audios in a "trasparent way" (so, without hitting the general performance).

Download and Give Feedback in the Comments ...