MiSTer FPGA

Liam said:

A recent update_all broke the Neo-Geo core on my setup. Using the original BIOS gives a Z80 Error, and using the UNIBIOS leads to the monitor test when trying to load a ROM.

Click to expand...

It sounds like your core download is corrupt. Load the SD card up on a computer, browse to the _Arcades/cores folder, and delete the Neo Geo entries. Then load the SD card back up in your MiSTer and run update_all again.

AlxUnderBase said:

Sailor Moon released (free post - mra & rbf on the zip) on MiSTer FPGA by @atrac17


https://www.patreon.com/posts/coin-op-presents-132165001

Click to expand...

Man, this is one of those expensive and good games, but not great games (unless you're a fan of the theme). I think for free on MiSTer is freaking awesome! That core dev team is kicking ass!

I got another SD card and created a whole new MiSTer setup on it, and the problem is still there. All the cores work except the Neo-Geo core.

Edit: Fixed now. Using .neo files instead of Darksoft ROMs worked.

Liam said:

Edit: Fixed now. Using .neo files instead of Darksoft ROMs worked.

Click to expand...

To use Darksoft , you need to do some modifications ... is related here :

Darksoft files were working before. I didn't change anything in the Neo-Geo folder, and that .xml file was present, so it's a MiSTery what went wrong. Using .neo exclusively now.

Anyone else using the Multi System 2 Arcade?
The convenience of using a dedicated fpga jamma board is very nice.
All my 6 button cabs run CPS1 kick harness so Im in the right space here.
It uses an SD card rather than the micro SD that our DE10s require.
No ethernet, which counts out GroovyMiSTer but with AI spitting out all the impossible cores, I guess I can get away with running those Killer INstinct and NBA Jam AI cores natively off this board.

I dont have any snac accessories but will be doing a few upgrades to my marquee(that TTY2OLED project will be on the cards over xmas if I can find a decent sized panel to take up the empty marquee real estate)

rautz said:

Anyone else using the Multi System 2 Arcade?
The convenience of using a dedicated fpga jamma board is very nice.
All my 6 button cabs run CPS1 kick harness so Im in the right space here.
It uses an SD card rather than the micro SD that our DE10s require.
No ethernet, which counts out GroovyMiSTer but with AI spitting out all the impossible cores, I guess I can get away with running those Killer INstinct and NBA Jam AI cores natively off this board.

I dont have any snac accessories but will be doing a few upgrades to my marquee(that TTY2OLED project will be on the cards over xmas if I can find a decent sized panel to take up the empty marquee real estate)

Click to expand...

I'm setting mine up now. So far seems pretty nice, i like that it has a volume knob on it (although changing volume in the mister menu is easy too)

Video output doesn't seem as stable as the mistercade on the MS9 nano, i'm getting a slight picture wobble/interferance across the bottom/middle, replugging the JAMMA doesn't seem to make any difference.
Edit: Solved by adjusting pot R139 on the multisystem 2

The CPS1 connector is placed a bit inconveniently with that extra IO backing up to it. Basically had to cut my existing CPS1 connector with a knife for it to fit in. (the bit of plastic on the CPS1 that "grabs" the connector is blocked because of the extra IO connector they put back to back with it). I'm using a CPS1/CPS2 adaptor harness so it's also possible the connector used for this adaptor wasn't quite correct (i didn't make the adaptor myself, i purchased it). A CPS2 connector instead would of been nice but i get it - CPS2 takes more room

The lack of network is a minor drawback, as you said it means no groovymister / nogpu on it.

Also the lack of HDMI is also a small downside as i keep a small portable usb powered hdmi screen near my mister arcades incase a core throws a weird resolution i can plug in the hdmi screen and fix it up in the menus.

Now.. trying to get wallpapers working... setup is different to mistercade it seems for this

Further edit: The colour in games is noticably better over the mistercade, by a lot. Brighter and better contrast is the only way i can describe it. I'm guessing the multisystem 2 is using full 24bit color while the mistercade used the old analogue IO that the old mister hats used

Flain said:

Also the lack of HDMI is also a small downside as i keep a small portable usb powered hdmi screen near my mister arcades incase a core throws a weird resolution i can plug in the hdmi screen and fix it up in the menus.

Now.. trying to get wallpapers working... setup is different to mistercade it seems for this

Further edit: The colour in games is noticably better over the mistercade, by a lot. Brighter and better contrast is the only way i can describe it. I'm guessing the multisystem 2 is using full 24bit color while the mistercade used the old analogue IO that the old mister hats used

Click to expand...

I ended up just using custom resolutions in the ini file for cores that dont play nice with my CRT. Eg the midway cores and the system 18 cores, does the trick though it isnt a native output and scale and timing is off slightly to match the crt

My cps1 connector wasnt the best built connector so Ive got to be careful when disconnecting it from the multisystem 2 arcade. Its definitely tight fit in there but im pretty sure if i keep removing it from the multisystem Im going to have to rebuild it(or build a new one lol) .

I have the ranny slice 4x3 wallpapers setup on mine. - i dont use the custom [MENU} video settings on the .ini file(that was my go-to for the retrocastle and the mistercade v1). Instead I use direct_video=1(its disabled by default) in the .ini file unless you happen to grab the ini file off heber today.
That makes the update_all settings page alot easier to read and navigate. Also the wallpaper fits the crt better. Maybe give that a try on your ini if you use the custom video setting [MENU} set up that was often used to get around the FB terminal issue.

rautz said:

I ended up just using custom resolutions in the ini file for cores that dont play nice with my CRT. Eg the midway cores and the system 18 cores, does the trick though it isnt a native output and scale and timing is off slightly to match the crt

My cps1 connector wasnt the best built connector so Ive got to be careful when disconnecting it from the multisystem 2 arcade. Its definitely tight fit in there but im pretty sure if i keep removing it from the multisystem Im going to have to rebuild it(or build a new one lol) .

I have the ranny slice 4x3 wallpapers setup on mine. - i dont use the custom [MENU} video settings on the .ini file(that was my go-to for the retrocastle and the mistercade v1). Instead I use direct_video=1(its disabled by default) in the .ini file unless you happen to grab the ini file off heber today.
That makes the update_all settings page alot easier to read and navigate. Also the wallpaper fits the crt better. Maybe give that a try on your ini if you use the custom video setting [MENU} set up that was often used to get around the FB terminal issue.

Click to expand...

My virtual boy core and midway cores have a rolling picture on my MS8-26.

What ini entries did you make to get Mister to play nice with your System 18 and Midway cores?

Segafan1985 said:

My virtual boy core and midway cores have a rolling picture on my MS8-26.

What ini entries did you make to get Mister to play nice with your System 18 and Midway cores?

Click to expand...

I set up the below values on my .ini file.
If a midway game you play isnt below, you can just copy paste a game from below that uses the same resolution. - just be sure to put the corename into the square brackets ha. IF it doesnt share same resolution as any games below let me know what game it is.



[jts18]
video_mode=320,16,48,48,240,4,3,16,6804
vga_scaler=1
direct_video=0
vscale_mode=1

[imgfight]
video_mode=512,32,64,32,240,4,3,16,10080
vga_scaler=1
direct_video=0


[kidniki]
video_mode=384,24,48,24,240,4,3,16,7560
vga_scaler=1
direct_video=0

[kungfum]
video_mode=512,32,64,32,240,4,3,16,10080
vga_scaler=1
direct_video=0

[ldrun]
video_mode=384,24,48,24,240,4,3,16,7560
vga_scaler=1
direct_video=0

[mkla4]
video_mode=410,26,50,26,256,1,3,3,8064
vga_scaler=1
direct_video=0

[mk]
video_mode=410,26,50,26,240,4,3,16,8064
vga_scaler=1
direct_video=0

[mk2]
video_mode=400,25,50,25,240,4,3,16,7875
vga_scaler=1
direct_video=0

[mk3]
video_mode=400,25,50,25,240,4,3,16,7875
vga_scaler=1
direct_video=0

[nbajam]
video_mode=400,25,50,25,240,4,3,16,7875
vga_scaler=1
direct_video=0

[nbajamtese_wolf]
video_mode=400,25,50,25,240,4,3,16,7875
vga_scaler=1
direct_video=0


[umk3]
video_mode=400,25,50,25,240,4,3,16,7875
vga_scaler=1
direct_video=0

Edit. Ive added the ini file to github inside the input mapping repo. I will add a couple more CRT resolution settings too
https://github.com/Rautz/mulsys2arc-input-map

I don't trust all those arcade cores for reasons. That's why I went GroovyArch with my MisterFPGA where I can reduce input lag to an even lower state than many originals offer. If MisterArcade has an ethernet port it should also work I guess.

GF77 said:

I don't know if this was mentioned already in this huge thread (please forgive me if that's already happened) but there is a much better way to use the MisterFPGA, in my humble opinion at least. MisterAracde probably won't work due to lack of ethernet?

FPGA is also just an approximation just like emulators but on a hardware level. Some well understood systems are very accurate replicated
But what about the tons of other customs? Taito F2 graphics apparently aren't fully understood to this day. That's why Gun Frontier still has the same issues like in Mame. I'm not even talking about all those vibe coded arcade cores that are currently flooding the market.

Now let's get to the meat.
Since we are on "uncertain" ground anyway, why not using Retroarch cores feeding data via network to your Mister that decodes that into 15KHz RGB?

Now we have four advantages:

- Well (enough) developed cores like FinalBurnNeo and Mame
- "All" games available from the start
- overclocking (Batrider are you serious with frame drops even in 1P?)
- and this is my absolute favourite --> run-ahead/preemptive frames to reduce input lag!! Plus frame delay to determine when inputs are read in a frame for even more responsiveness.

The network transmission is about 4ms. My 360 controller is @8ms (which isn't very fast) and my PVM behaving the same as a cab. That's roughly 12ms.
Let's take PCBs that hover around 2 frames of lag which is quite common. If I shave those two frames off then I'm in theory faster than the original or at least on par.

Now let's take huge offenders like Mars Matrix or Batrider. Don't get me started with ST-V like Cotton... Now you can get significantly lower than the PCB. Stll not perfect but way better. The lower the initial lag the better the tuned results. Just recently I made a playthrogh with Area88 and at times I felt like a higher power helped me with dodging. It played brilliantly.

But you have to dial into every game how many frames you can shave off until the ships starts "jumping". Rabio Lepus for example is very rsponsive to begin with and such a lovely game too!

Also, there can be lag differences within the same system. Alpha Mission 2 has an additional frame of lag compared to Pulstar. Same with Gekirindan vs Darius Gaiden.

If you think, nah one frame I won't notice. You don't have to. Fact is that input execution is quicker which always makes you dodge better.

I got so sensitive since run ahead that I got a bit snobby when it comes to latency which isn't always a good thing to some people.

If you are happy as is, better not get into that chasing for perfection. Cause that can make feel your originals a bit uncomfortable.

Again, forgive me if that's old news to you

Click to expand...

Forgive me but are you talking about trying something different to GroovyMiSTer? - I use Groovymame running on two VMs on my server, connected to my retrocastle addaptor and mistercade v1 both running GroovyMister cores.
Can also run a modded version of fightcade/fbneo through the groovymister core

rautz said:

Forgive me but are you talking about trying something different to GroovyMiSTer? - I use Groovymame running on two VMs on my server, connected to my retrocastle addaptor and mistercade v1 both running GroovyMister cores.
Can also run a modded version of fightcade/fbneo through the groovymister core

Click to expand...

Oh well you were faster by responding than me deleting my initial post, haha! I deleted it and made it way shorter because I thought I'm telling AP old news and embarrasing myself in the process.

I'm not sure about your whole chain and how it works. I always thought GroovyMame is Mame on PC via a special ATI GPU that allows for 15KHz output. Can be wrong on that though. What is your retrocastle adapter exactly?

What I do is running modified Retroarch on my PC that sends data over network to my Mister that runs GroovyMister outputting 15KHz RGB.

Groovy Mame has no run ahead feature. RA with Mame or FBNeo core does which is very very important to me. I can't stand input lag.

ther

GF77 said:

Oh well you were faster by responding than me deleting my initial post, haha! I deleted it and made it way shorter because I thought I'm telling AP old news and embarrasing myself in the process.

I'm not sure about your whole chain and how it works. I always thought GroovyMame is Mame on PC via a special ATI GPU that allows for 15KHz output. Can be wrong on that though. What is your retrocastle adapter exactly?

What I do is running modified Retroarch on my PC that sends data over network to my Mister that runs GroovyMister outputting 15KHz RGB.

Groovy Mame has no run ahead feature. RA with Mame or FBNeo core does which is very very important to me. I can't stand input lag.

Click to expand...

Here is short version. My explanation isnt technical correct by way of the terms I use but it is in line with how GroovyMister functions:

There is a core you can install on mister called GroovyMister. - This will turn the mister into 15khz gpu that receives into data over the network(as long as you have software on the network comaptible with GroovyMister core).
On computer you can run groovy mame; change the ini file in the groovymame directory to show the ip address of your mister device. THere are a couple more settings to change on the ini file.
Controls can be run either off your mister or off the computer.
ethernet only for this.,

There is no "lag"' because the PC doesnt do any video work. The program eg Groovymame sends its video instruction directly to the mister over ethernet.because we have instructed Groovymames .ini file that the GPU is the ip address of the Mister device.

Also the pc doesnt need any special / compatible video card.

This core is more for people that already have mister setup,.... for non-mister owners it is still cheaper to get a 15khz compatible AMD card.

Retrocastle is/was a hardware vendor that made adaptors for the de10. - I have one of the retrocastle jamma adaptors. It functions same as the mistercade.
Retrocastle also make standard analog adaptors to connect de10 to CRT tvs

https://github.com/psakhis/Groovy_MiSTer

Now I get. It's more or less the same setup as mine but instead of GroovyMame (which is like Mame standalone) I use Retroarch with Mame or FBNeo core.
Retrocastle --> got it as well. It MisterCade instead of my standard "living room" Mister.

Your setup (GroovyMame) is praised for latency accuracy, In theory it should behave pretty much the same as the original PCBs. Problem is: What if the original has unbearable latency to begin with? Your setup will replicte that.

Doesn't matter though because with RA (GroovyArch is the term I believe) you can lower input lag.

About the 4ms ethernet latency. It is said that this data transfer method+(Mister decoding?) has said latency which can more than nullified through run ahead frames.

I can choose two options for the ethernet transport:
-PC --> my router --> Mister
-PC --> Mister (direct etherent connection between the two devices)

I'm not sure if the router method adds some lag. I theory it's just ethernet in and out through the router without any processing inbetween.
But people claim that direct connection is better. Problem here is that it's a pain to setup a WinPC using direct method if you aren't seasoned enough in networking like I am, and at the same time having the option to switch to normal internet use through your router. Since I'm not into networking I can't comment on that. But a friend of mine who is into networking said -->pain. You have to jump through hoops to switch between direct connection and usual router internet on a WinPC

With my laptop it's possible where I connect directly via ethernet to Mister and internet is done via WiFi. Two different network controllers that are configured independetly. But I don't trust this laptop in terms of CPU power since run ahead can get very CPU demanding. The more frames to shave off the more demanding.

If you put run ahead into 4 frames, 4 instances of the emulator are running in parallel. To be exact first insatnace is in present times. The second one frame in advance(future so to speak?), the third frame two frames in advance and so on. I still don't understand 100% how this works. I only know that it does wonders.

And don't forget to dial into "Frame delay" where you can set up the read out of your inputs within a drawn frame. The later the better. If you go too far emulation starts to jidder. This setting can vary depending on the PCB system you are running. But for the most part at 13ms I'm good. In other words in a 16ms window at millisecond 13 inputs are read.

I believe in RA you can save each setting for each PCB core so you don't have to fiddle around with run ahead and frame dealy every time.

All of that RA stuff is really a blessing.

But I have to admit nothing beats plugging in your original PCB and playing it. I like the whole experience in doing so.Plus I have the piece of mind that everything runs as intended, no glitches etc.

Unless the PCB sucks in terms of latency.

But wait we have another option that rose up --> Native PC port recompilations that can include lowered input lag if done right!

SDOJ is a great example and a first in that regard!

Someone took the 360 version of SDOJ and made a native PC port based on the Xenia emulator. The Xenia part is the GPU side of things (emulation) but the CPU part is running natively on your PC. So no 360 CPU emulation. Nothing too special up to this point.

The magic sauce is that the dev reduced input lag so much so that it feels incredibly responsive compared to the native 360 version which is known for being more laggy than other Cave ports which already add latency compared to the originals. Now you have lower(?) lag than PCB (or at least on par) with all the bells and whistles that 360 offers like higher res GFX, HQ stereo sound, Saya mode, shop and what not. Granted your controller and screen are low latency as well.

It is really a shame that Cave went with low quality mono music on their CV1000 games. These soundtracks deserve way better.