Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike - 4 Way Real Hardware Speed Comparison!

Yeah, I find it super weird how these influencers bang on non stop about CPSIII on MiSTer. It feels like the whole 3rd strike community use Fightcade and real hardware for in person events.

A MiSTer core is just going to be for VGE and PCN to make clickbait videos about. I can't see it ever replacing the real thing in a live setting.
 
Yeah, I find it super weird how these influencers bang on non stop about CPSIII on MiSTer. It feels like the whole 3rd strike community use Fightcade and real hardware for in person events.

A MiSTer core is just going to be for VGE and PCN to make clickbait videos about. I can't see it ever replacing the real thing in a live setting.
If the mister core is frame accurate, it will definitely replace the real thing in a live setting. We were already having that with Super Turbo, and now with the speed fixes, Mister usage is just going to increase at tournaments and meet-ups.

And it's not just these influencers who are pining for the CPS3 core, there are lots regular fighting game people that want an accurate core be made so we don't have to deal with the hassle of dying hardware.

As someone who sets up monthly tournaments, I am waiting with bated breath to have a mister core so that we can have more reliable set-ups at our events. Real hardware is wonderful, but there are too many variables that can go wrong with it. And there is no way anyone is setting up a Fightcade PC for events and meet-ups.

The mister would make it much more convenient to set up and for everyone to use.
 
Fantastic work once again! Would love to see some comparisons down the line with RecalBox. I’ve noticed some arcade enthusiasts have adopted it as a solution with good outcome!
 
Once again requesting for (Groovy)MAME to also be tested and compared, given it's primarily focused on accuracy and most folks with 15kHz arcade monitors will be using it.
 
I'll do my best to add GroovyMAME to a comparison as for Groovy MiSTer I'll look into it too. 😊
Probably you know that, but anyway... it's a cool custom MiSTer core which acts as a sort of remote network GPU.
GroovyMAME or Retroarch do all the internal rendering and, instead of (along with actually) using the Windows rendering path, it pushes rendered frames to MiSTer through the local network, and then MiSTer displays the resulting frame on the CRT. Basically, if you connect the PC and MiSTer through ethernet (either directly or through a proper switch) you get something like 3ms of lag and MiSTer displays the frame before Windows itself (because of the full blown Win/Driver path). Pretty cool indeed.
 
Out of interest I tested runahead settings (Off, 1, 2) and I think overall 2 is the best option for lower input lag while still being only two frames off.

Great comparison videos!

Bear in mind (not you, just a general advice) input latency comes from a long chain. Stick PCB, USB polling, GPU buffer settings, VSync, windowed, all add latency to the pile. RA does help in removing some, but you can also get small wins by just optimizing your setup, to the point that for some people with fine tuned systems RA2 might make it even "faster" (as in less latency) than original hardware.

+1 to requesting Recalbox compare. Thanks so much!
 
Indeed: run ahead or preemptive frames, when correctly configured, can “eat” the original hw/sw input lag, compensating the emulation introduced lag.
i.e. OG game has 2 frames of lag on OG hardware and CRT, the emulation setup adds 2 frames of lag, run ahead can cut the 2 OG frames of lag (through running the game internally quicker assuming the same input and rewinding when that assumption fails)… in the end 2 frames (OG) + 2 frames (emulation) - 2 frames (RA) = 2 frames as OG hardware on CRT.
And RA shouldn’t alter the game speed, just the responsiveness.
Last but not least, if configured for compensating more frames than OG lag, it will cut frames of animation.
 
Bear in mind (not you, just a general advice) input latency comes from a long chain. Stick PCB, USB polling, GPU buffer settings, VSync, windowed, all add latency to the pile. RA does help in removing some, but you can also get small wins by just optimizing your setup, to the point that for some people with fine tuned systems RA2 might make it even "faster" (as in less latency) than original hardware.

Yeah I've optimised my Fightcade setup best I can GSYNC Monitor, VSYNC OFF, Fullscreen, etc. Plus 8000Hz Polling PCB (First of its kind from IST_Mall they sent over firmware update and proof that the 8000Hz polling is real.

PC Specs: 9800X3D + 4090 + Windows 11 Enterprise.
 

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how about 3rd strike on TTX ? That one is a really good too, not sure what emulator it uses and if its the same as 360/steam version.
 
@NFGx wrote up a guide on GroovyMiSTer. I've also been meaning to try it, seems like an awesome solution for people who have a MiSTer in their cab.

https://nfgworld.com/groovy-mister-install-guide/

Worth noting that "Fightcade" is just running FBA under the hood, and it does have other weird bugs that are not a huge deal but still not accurate to PCB, such as the SA3 Makoto bug.
 
so could it be perfect if play the fightcade on the CRT to get rid of the input lag?
 
If the mister core is frame accurate, it will definitely replace the real thing in a live setting
My biggest issue with Mister is the input configuration.

Real hardware has the IOs directly on the same data bus as the RAM ROMs and other components. mister passes all of that through USB. great that you can plug in a keyboard or game controller but if I'm looking for a real hardware replacement that will never pass muster in my opinion, no matter how great the cores are.

the way to fix this would be to allow the IO directly on the GPIO of the FPGA so the original IO hardware could be implemented in fabric. I'd be surprised if this happened though as it would break the entire accessory ecosystem built around the current serial IO configuration. and only useful if you're playing on a JAMMA cab and have a JAMMA adapter designed to make use of it.
 
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