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

[rtw]

I still prefer option 2 because I want to insert a cart and the game to load, if I want another game I can use a different SD card or a small config file which holds the one to load.

I don't really understand why it would be so slow, I'm loading images from SD cards here at work. Last time I measured it was:

MiB/s : 19.144530

And this would be loaded to DDR2 or similar ?

Could you please update the first post with some details on the various designs ?

 

[pulstarx]

It's really confusing that they call the version "FPGA". Calling one RAM and one FLASH would make more sense.
The RAM is the one with fast loading and the FLASH with slow loading (NOR flash is extremely slow compared to RAM).

I wonder who will do all the rom hacking for them? All 150ish ROMs need to be hacked to run on this with game switching per button combo. Also all protections need to be removed (>=50 games or so). That's quite a huge undertaking.

 

[rtw]

Didn't they state that the NOR FLASH would be QSPI, which is even slower ?

Old style NOR FLASH with "normal" address and data buses are being phased out.

 

[pulstarx]

QSPI sounds like NAND flash. Using NAND flash for linear bus systems is way to complicated and would increase engineering costs.

Actually with QSPI they meant the sdcard access.

NOR flash can be still made on order. It's the easiest solution here.

 

[Darksoft]

Bottleneck here are the NOR Flashes. I'm using some 64Mbit (8Mbyte) NOR flashes that take up to 75 seconds to fully program. There is nothing I can do to speed it up. It's the maximum speed it can go.

 

[rtw]

Bottleneck here are the NOR Flashes. I'm using some 64Mbit (8Mbyte) NOR flashes that take up to 75 seconds to fully program. There is nothing I can do to speed it up. It's the maximum speed it can go.

OK, but after a game is FLASHED to NOR FLASH and you remove the SD CARD it will start instantly on power up ?

 

[Darksoft]

Bottleneck here are the NOR Flashes. I'm using some 64Mbit (8Mbyte) NOR flashes that take up to 75 seconds to fully program. There is nothing I can do to speed it up. It's the maximum speed it can go.

OK, but after a game is FLASHED to NOR FLASH and you remove the SD CARD it will start instantly on power up ?

Yep.

 

[rtw]

Bottleneck here are the NOR Flashes. I'm using some 64Mbit (8Mbyte) NOR flashes that take up to 75 seconds to fully program. There is nothing I can do to speed it up. It's the maximum speed it can go.

OK, but after a game is FLASHED to NOR FLASH and you remove the SD CARD it will start instantly on power up ?

Yep.

Then I am happy and will go for option 2 because less complexity!

 

[Fygee]

Reading about potential loading times of up to 75 seconds for the flash cart makes me want the FPGA/RAM one even more.

I will gladly spend a little extra dough to not be subjected to first gen Neo-Geo CD loading times. If I wanted that, I'd just buy one of those.

 

[gojira54]

Personally I like the cheaper & simpler design.. plus having one game at a time will make me play that game more than flicking between titles.
A couple of minutes to load a game is cool, not going to run out of oxygen, once its loaded its loaded

 

[rtw]

OK how about this to make it cheaper and faster.

Assuming we can get a read speed of the SD card at MiB/s : 19.144530

Do not put enough RAM on the PCB to hold 4 images, put enough to hold 1. Then the image will load in 10 seconds for a 100 MiB image. Use a LED to signify loading and loading done.

Having 4 images to cycle through just adds to the complexity and the cost of RAM.

Comments are of course welcome!

 

[Niko]

Reading about potential loading times of up to 75 seconds for the flash cart makes me want the FPGA/RAM one even more.

I will gladly spend a little extra dough to not be subjected to first gen Neo-Geo CD loading times. If I wanted that, I'd just buy one of those.

Except unlike the Neo-Geo CD, the load time is only once before the game starts. Same can be said for FPGA option. I dont feel like waiting 40 seconds every time I turn my Neo on if I plan to play the same game.

 

[KalessinDB]

Reading about potential loading times of up to 75 seconds for the flash cart makes me want the FPGA/RAM one even more.

I will gladly spend a little extra dough to not be subjected to first gen Neo-Geo CD loading times. If I wanted that, I'd just buy one of those.

Except unlike the Neo-Geo CD, the load time is only once before the game starts. Same can be said for FPGA option. I dont feel like waiting 40 seconds every time I turn my Neo on if I plan to play the same game.

Agreed, I'm on the flash option as well, BUT: if you're planning on playing the same game every time it would only be 10 seconds, which isn't quite as bad.

But I've gotten used to the flash options with STV and CPS2 and am quite fond of them so I personally am in the flash camp.

But I'm happy with either

 

[Darksoft]

You can simply load one game and leave the other 3 slots empty, so next time you boot up, it will take 10 seconds to load the game in slot 1.

The menu will allow both to load and unload games from each slot. This is only for FPGA+RAM version.

 

[Fygee]

You can simply load one game and leave the other 3 slots empty, so next time you boot up, it will take 10 seconds to load the game in slot 1.

The menu will allow both to load and unload games from each slot. This is only for FPGA+RAM version.

Sounds like a winner to me.

 

[Fygee]

Reading about potential loading times of up to 75 seconds for the flash cart makes me want the FPGA/RAM one even more.

I will gladly spend a little extra dough to not be subjected to first gen Neo-Geo CD loading times. If I wanted that, I'd just buy one of those.

Except unlike the Neo-Geo CD, the load time is only once before the game starts. Same can be said for FPGA option. I dont feel like waiting 40 seconds every time I turn my Neo on if I plan to play the same game.

Going more for metaphor than literal accuracy.

 

[Niko]

Well If I can just choose 1 game and it only takes ~10 seconds each startup then I guess I'm cool with either option.

 

[Derick2k]

The FPGA option is the way to go guys, this should not be debated any longer. The pros/benefits of the FPGA option far outway any perceived negatives in comparison to the Flash version.

 

[Fygee]

Agreed.

 

[K405]

Agree as well but we need more votes.. Not the 1st time something good didn't make it.. Commodore Amiga, Sega Dreamcast, Philips VCC, Electric Car..