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Battery-less 3rd strike questions

thetanbanan

thetanbanan

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Hi,

I'm looking at picking up a CPS3 and would like to get battery-less 3rd strike running on it (or a darksoft multi-bios setup would work as well, basically I just want to have a setup where I can play 3rd strike without fear of the cart suiciding) and I have a few questions. I was primarily looking at following this guide: https://www.dropbox.com/s/falvk1sdfli1913/Guide to Battery-free 3rd Strike 9-15-13.pdf?dl=0

So first of all, my bill of materials looks like this:
CPS3 hardware w/ 2nd impact SIMMs and CD
an extra 128mbit SIMM
a CD/DVD player/burner
a few blank CDs

I already have a supergun for my CPS2 which I believe should work by just using a standard JAMMA connector, although please correct me if I'm wrong.

So first question, the batteryless 2nd impact cart seems pretty straightforward, but this does indeed work with all versions of 2nd impact? And it's really as simple as just removing the battery and then it'll literally just work as if the battery was still there? My experience with arcade hardware is pretty much limited to just CPS2 hardware, so I was moreso expecting something along the lines of an infinikey or something to replace the battery with, but if it really is just removing the battery than I should be good to go.

Then I also had another question regarding the processor on the CPS3 cartridge, I see a lot of references to the normal SH2 processor and the encrypted SH2 processor (I think that those are the two versions I've seen?). What exactly are people referring to here? Is the "Normal" SH2 processor a completely reprogrammed chip? Is it referring to the batteryless Second Impact Cart? Or is there something else entirely I'm missing there? The reason I ask is that I've been having some trouble understanding exactly how the Darksoft multi-bios works with all 6 games on the single disk, it just has seemed rather unclear to me up till now exactly what I'm looking at in terms of what the best way forward is. Also, does the Darksoft multi-bios require that SIMM kit that's going around? I could see myself investing in it since it sounds like it could get every game on a single SIMM set, but I'm very confused as to the requirements of that kit and how it interacts with the SH2 processor as well as the battery-less cartridges. From what I've seen it seems like it's going to be quite a bit less of an investment for me to just set up battery-free 3rd strike rather than going all in on the Darksoft stuff, but I just find all the information around the darksoft stuff pretty confusing.

Lastly, I'm a little unsure on the CD image creation stuff. While I should be able to aquire the ISO for 2nd impact and I believe I have the correct ISO for 3rd strike, I was wondering if it'd be possibel to use one of the ISOs that contain all the games on it from Darksoft? I'm also not 100% sure I have the correct ISO for 3rd strike, and any help to verify that or point me in the right direction to get more information or really any help at all on the ISO would be greatly appreciated. I really have no idea if what I'm looking at is the correct one or not, so a little help would go a long way.

So yeah, basically I'm just rather confused on the CD part of all of this and feel like I'm rather lost on that, getting a battery free 2nd impact cart doesn't seem too complicated, but I'm finding all the information around the Darksoft bios + SH2 Processor + 3rd Strike CD + Darksoft CDs rather confusing, and it's made it rather difficult to figure out what CD image I actually need to use.

Thanks for any help!
 
normal SH2's are in repro carts or modded carts that specifically replaced them, Custom SH2 refers to capcom's custom SH implementation which will require encrypted sets. The ultrasimm kit requires an Ultrabios cart with standard SH2. The ultrasimms are preprogrammed so you don't have to write data to the SIMMs everytime you want to change just move the DIPs. You can replace the CD drive with a SCSI2SD ODE which emulates an SCSI CD Rom for you and allows you to load data from the SD rather than CD.
 
You can also use a custom SH2 with the UltraSIMMs, however you won't be able to play 4th Strike as it needs the standard SH2 (found in repro carts).

It's honestly not much of a loss, and you'll save some bucks by just having your cart converted.

If you're in the US, I believe @ShootTheCore can program the SIMMs *AND* upgrade your cart to the UltraBIOS :)
 
djsheep said:
however you won't be able to play 4th Strike as it needs the standard SH2 (found in repro carts).

It's honestly not much of a loss
Click to expand...
4th Strike is fun for about 5seconds, like SF2:Redwave/Rainbow etc.
Game play totally falls apart when you realize you can select Gill as playable, and yes preform his "resurrection" super move. :rolleyes:
 
Ok cool, thanks everyone that makes a lot more sense, so if I want to use the darksoft ultrabios I need to get a cart converted. While I might like to do that eventually, is it strictly necessary for me if I just want battery-free 3rd strike? Or would a 2nd impact cartridge still be possible to use? I'm pretty impatient so I'd prefer to just be able to do whatever I can at home, and this project is already looking like it's going to carry a pretty hefty fee with it, so if I can save a little bit of money for the time being and have a 2nd impact cart just for 3rd strike for now it'd probably be my preference. I just wanna make sure that the method of removing the battery from a 2nd impact cartridge and using the 3rd strike CD image with darksofts converter will still work. I don't know why it wouldn't, considering all the hardware should be the same, but hey I still feel obligated to ask and make sure since it does seem like the more common method is to use a darksoft ultrabios modified cart.

Thanks again friends, your help is greatly appreciated!
 
war3zlod3r said:
You can replace the CD drive with a SCSI2SD ODE which emulates an SCSI CD Rom for you and allows you to load data from the SD rather than CD.
Click to expand...
Do this. It's one more step, and I know it seems overwhelming, but it's not hard, and will make everything more compact and bulletproof. We can walk you through the steps as needed.
 
thetanbanan said:
so if I want to use the darksoft ultrabios I need to get a cart converted. While I might like to do that eventually, is it strictly necessary for me if I just want battery-free 3rd strike?
Click to expand...
Yes, you have to convert, UltraBIOS and "battery free Third Strike" are one and the same. It's the UltraBIOS that allows you to be battery free, you can't have it without it.
 
Ok awesome thank you all again, you're all super helpful and I genuinely really appreciate it. Other hobbyist communities I've tried to get help from have been much less supportive lol. I'll shoot a message over to ShootTheCore and ask about how much it'd cost to get the cart modified since I don't see a price anywhere.

For the SCSI2SD stuff, is this what I would need? https://store.inertialcomputing.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=SCSI2SD-V6-Rev2021 I'm guessing this is just replacing the CD drive with an SD card slot basically yeah? That certainly seems like a good investment, old CD drives have definitely given me a pretty big array of problems in the past.

Once I get these last couple things straightened out I think I have a pretty solid understanding of what I'm doing and I'll go ahead and pull the trigger on everything. The CPS3 definitely feels much more daunting than the CPS2's I've worked with in the past though lol.

Thank you again everyone!
 
I'm not actually sure the Rev 6 version works, has anyone tested it? I think I have Rev 5 in mine. But I think it's an open source design and it shouldn't be hard to find the old ones in theory.

Yes though, that's the idea, just not 100% sure that version is what you want.
 
Also check your motherboard for a battery I’m told the later revisions don’t have them but some of the older ones do but from what I’ve gathered they aren’t needed and should be removed. Based on what I read earlier today but it would be great if someone more familiar with the hardware would chime in on that. I bought a CPS3 2 weeks ago (still waiting on delivery) so I’m in the same boat as you.
 
Btw not sure if it fits your use case but Jasen is doing a last run of his metal cases if you want one, I’d sign up while you can!
 
Thanks for pointing me to the Jasen cases, I actually was planning on picking up a TR Fightsticks case but the Jasen ones just look really really nice so I just signed up for one :) That blue/yellow capcom color combo is just too good to pass up. I do wish I'd known about them earlier though and I might've gotten a CPS2 case to match for my VSAV setup, but it is what it is and I'll certainly live with my more standard CPS2 setup. and I'll keep the battery stuff in mind, I literally just bought my CPS3 off of ebay w/ second impact and bought an extra memory SIMM as well for third strike, it hurt my wallet quite a bit but I've wanted this for a while and it feels like the right time to do it. Although It's probably still gonna be a while before I actually get it (the CPS3 is shipping from Japan, while the SIMM is shipping from italy)

So yeah, I've got stuff on the way, that really just leaves working out the cart conversion and the SCSI2SD stuff. I'll go ahead and get the one djsheep linked since it's confirmed working, but does it use the same cable as the CD drive and/or do i need a different cable to connect it? Sorry there don't seem to be a lot of pictures of the connection itself so I'm just a tad bit unsure.
 
You just need a standard SCSI cable, same as the CD drive. You can buy a smaller one online or just use the one you have.
 
Great thank you! I'll go ahead and pick up that as well now too then.

Thanks again everyone! I reallly appreciate all your help and I'm super excited to join the CPS3 owner's club!
 
thetanbanan said:
Thanks for pointing me to the Jasen cases, I actually was planning on picking up a TR Fightsticks case but the Jasen ones just look really really nice so I just signed up for one :) That blue/yellow capcom color combo is just too good to pass up. I do wish I'd known about them earlier though and I might've gotten a CPS2 case to match for my VSAV setup, but it is what it is and I'll certainly live with my more standard CPS2 setup. and I'll keep the battery stuff in mind, I literally just bought my CPS3 off of ebay w/ second impact and bought an extra memory SIMM as well for third strike, it hurt my wallet quite a bit but I've wanted this for a while and it feels like the right time to do it. Although It's probably still gonna be a while before I actually get it (the CPS3 is shipping from Japan, while the SIMM is shipping from italy)

So yeah, I've got stuff on the way, that really just leaves working out the cart conversion and the SCSI2SD stuff. I'll go ahead and get the one djsheep linked since it's confirmed working, but does it use the same cable as the CD drive and/or do i need a different cable to connect it? Sorry there don't seem to be a lot of pictures of the connection itself so I'm just a tad bit unsure.
Click to expand...
I'm getting the same case and I did the same bought a Second Impact setup off Facebook from a guy in Mexico! :thumbsup: I'm gonna send mine off to ifixretro to get the digiav kit installed on it, I can't wait!
 
Aurich said:
Yes, you have to convert, UltraBIOS and "battery free Third Strike" are one and the same. It's the UltraBIOS that allows you to be battery free, you can't have it without it.
Click to expand...

This isn't actually true.

If you just want to play 3rd Strike and 3rd Strike alone, you can just convert the 3S ISO to run on the batteryless 2nd Impact cart. Job done.

UltraBios and UltraSIMMS and are both super cool, but totally unnecessary if you just want to run 3S.
 
nem said:
If you just want to play 3rd Strike and 3rd Strike alone, you can just convert the 3S ISO to run on the batteryless 2nd Impact cart. Job done.
Click to expand...
Really. TIL.

Well in that case I stand corrected, I had no idea that worked. If you only care about 3S maybe that makes more sense. I'll be honest, my Darksoft CP3 setup has been off of 3S exactly once, but the old style version is just too slow to make switching games that worthwhile.
 
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