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NEOGEO + AES Multigame cartridge - NEW POLL INCLUDED. PLEASE VOTE!

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I don't like that idea of a touchscreen.
It will be tedious like an LCD screen and it will stop working at some point like all touch devices will.
Touch is nice for a phone that you only use a couple of years but for the rest I really dislike the touch technology.
Then I would rather have an LCD with real buttons but a simple menu would be better.
 
RFID would be cool, using Postcards wirh pictures of the game and rfid chips on the back to select the game.

The rfid chip could be placed in the module and you place the postcard in the module.

for mcs the reader could be outside the cap.
 
Cool, yes. But incredibly impractical. Seriously, what would the point be? What would the benefit be?

The idea is that this cart be useful to gamers and game developers, not that it be loaded to the brim with tech.

Forgive my rudeness, but RFID capability strikes me as a terribly silly idea for this project, filling neither a perceived need nor adding desirable functionality.
 
How about having a three digit code for each game, and a beautiful laminated move strip or marquee listing all of the games. You then have a small keypad where you enter the game you want to play, or even better, hold 1P start for 5+ seconds and a small prompt appears where you input the number, High Score entry/Jukebox style?

Also, when people complain that the game lists will be so long etc, it's really up to you what games you put on your memory card. I know I won't have all games on my card, just the really good ones.
 
emphatic said:
How about having a three digit code for each game, and a beautiful laminated move strip or marquee listing all of the games. You then have a small keypad where you enter the game you want to play, or even better, hold 1P start for 5+ seconds and a small prompt appears where you input the number, High Score entry/Jukebox style?

Also, when people complain that the game lists will be so long etc, it's really up to you what games you put on your memory card. I know I won't have all games on my card, just the really good ones.
Click to expand...
I basically agree with you, having a LED screen or a hardware independent way to chose the game, like STV or CPS2 had is easier.

In that case I can concentrate on the hardware side of things without making any software specific for this machine. But seems to be the case that AES/MVE has a too long list, so I'll probably have to write a menu for it...that will take significant amount of time programming both the ARM and the 68k code and also it will force to change the design of the cartridge as now communication has to be 2 ways IN and OUT the cart.
Before cartridge is only ROMs, so data goes only OUT, the only input was the LCD.
If I add a menu then it has to be 2 ways INPUT from the 68k towards the cartridge to indicate which game we want to load or if we pressed 1P for 5 seconds and output to send the microSD directory to the 68k and of course all the ROM data during in-game.
Also users (AES mainly IMHO) don't want to even hear about LCDs or other gadgets, just something that inserts and works.

Anyone with excellent 68k programming skills wants to help on making that menu?
 
emphatic' said:
How about having a three digit code for each game
Click to expand...
that's even more pointless and impractical than the previous idea.
a keypad is not necessary when you can use an on-screen menu and the joystick.
anyway people don't want to have to mess around inside a cab to select games, whether it be via an LCD or keypad or whatever.
the menu should be written so that moving up/down moves the game list up/down 1 item and moving left/right move the game list one whole screen up/down. that way it's relatively quick to move through the game list.
 
Darksoft said:
Before cartridge is only ROMs, so data goes only OUT, the only input was the LCD.
If I add a menu then it has to be 2 ways INPUT from the 68k towards the cartridge to indicate which game we want to load or if we pressed 1P for 5 seconds and output to send the microSD directory to the 68k and of course all the ROM data during in-game.
Click to expand...
maybe you can add a small size rom for the menu which the MVS can run on boot. the menu rom could be updated from the sdcard like the firmware
 
how did the chinese bootlegger do the menu system on teh 161 in 1 multicart

could we not do the same sort of thing
 
Mr T Guru said:
emphatic' said:
How about having a three digit code for each game
Click to expand...
that's even more pointless and impractical than the previous idea.
a keypad is not necessary when you can use an on-screen menu and the joystick.
anyway people don't want to have to mess around inside a cab to select games, whether it be via an LCD or keypad or whatever.
the menu should be written so that moving up/down moves the game list up/down 1 item and moving left/right move the game list one whole screen up/down. that way it's relatively quick to move through the game list.
Click to expand...
Did you read all of my post or just the beginning?

emphatic said:
How about having a three digit code for each game, and a beautiful laminated move strip or marquee listing all of the games. You then have a small keypad where you enter the game you want to play, or even better, hold 1P start for 5+ seconds and a small prompt appears where you input the number, High Score entry/Jukebox style?
Click to expand...
1. Hold down P1 START for 5 seconds
2. A prompt shows up "SELECT GAME NUMBER ***"
3. Use joystick left or right for each number and press A to enter, 004
4. Game #004 is loaded

I can't think of a quicker way to browse hundreds of games + it should be possible to do with no other graphic resources than the system fonts against a black screen for the true arcade experience. Getting beautiful move strips etc designed for all possible cabinet styles or a nice booklet for AES collectors can be done by enthusiasts as myself very easily.

Another thing to consider is that it's quite easy to memorize the game numbers when you have your favourite games you like to switch between, and you won't need to cycle through a list to jump from one game to the other.
 
emphatic said:
1. Hold down P1 START for 5 seconds2. A prompt shows up "SELECT GAME NUMBER ***"
3. Use joystick left or right for each number and press A to enter, 004
4. Game #004 is loaded

I can't think of a quicker way to browse hundreds of games + it should be possible to do with no other graphic resources than the system fonts against a black screen for the true arcade experience. Getting beautiful move strips etc designed for all possible cabinet styles or a nice booklet for AES collectors can be done by enthusiasts as myself very easily.

Another thing to consider is that it's quite easy to memorize the game numbers when you have your favourite games you like to switch between, and you won't need to cycle through a list to jump from one game to the other.
Click to expand...
That means making both a menu and an LCD. I'll only choose only one of those. I will allow to move right and left so you can advance, say 25 games with a single left/right move. so if you need to go to game 82, you just need to press 3 times right and 7 times down. I'll number then so you can just look for the number.
 
Darksoft said:
That means making both a menu and an LCD. I'll only choose only one of those. I will allow to move right and left so you can advance, say 25 games with a single left/right move. so if you need to go to game 82, you just need to press 3 times right and 7 times down. I'll number then so you can just look for the number.
Click to expand...
Why does it mean implementing an LCD? The game select prompt would be on-screen, and maneuvered using the player controls. I can't see why anyone would prefer an external game selector if you quickly could load up a menu on-screen?

The process would be:

1 PLAYER START is held for 5+ seconds -> The "Menu" program is loaded from the root of the memory card.
The corresponding digits for the game you want is entered and as you press A button a fourth time, the game number is sent to the Menu program that loads it into flash.

Could a custom BIOS handle this, or would someone have to make a "game" that communicates with the game loading logic in your custom hardware?
 
I'm not sure if there is a way to change games without standing up anyway.
How would the Multicard* detect that you want to change the game while playing? It does not have access to the joystick ports after the initial bootup menu. You either need to modify each game (I think some 1xx in 1 do this) or create a custom bios hack. The later requires the customer to install a new bios ROM...

* Just a nitpick
:saint:
Multicard is IMO not a good name for your cards. They are more like flash cards. A multi card has all games ready installed in ROMs (like the 1xx in 1) without load times.
 
My current Chinese multi MVS cart is the 138 in 1, that has an extra PCB sandwiched between the mobo and the JAMMA connector:

Super138in1_at_pcb.jpg


http://www.emphatic.se/?p=1059

I chose this one as I thought it was a quite elegant solution, but mostly because the game list can be edited. It loads games slower than the other multi carts, so maybe closer to what Darksoft is aiming for?
 
emphatic said:
My current Chinese multi MVS cart is the 138 in 1, that has an extra PCB sandwiched between the mobo and the JAMMA connector:

Super138in1_at_pcb.jpg


http://www.emphatic.se/?p=1059

I chose this one as I thought it was a quite elegant solution, but mostly because the game list can be edited. It loads games slower than the other multi carts, so maybe closer to what Darksoft is aiming for?
Click to expand...
Can you read out that flash?

What is exactly written in the Philips and flash chips?
 
depends on whether the I/O bits are fused on that Altera. Unlikely, as there appears to be a JTAG connection nearby, but possible.
 
emphatic said:
Darksoft said:
Can you read out that flash?
What is exactly written in the Philips and flash chips?
Click to expand...
Sorry, don't have the tech or know-how. I could loan it to you if you think it'd be very helpful.
Click to expand...
tell me the numbers first please.

I'm assuming that this PCB has the rom that displays the game menu and when you choose a game, it will communicate it to the rest of the cartridge and then it will work in stealth mode.
 
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