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MiSTer FPGA News – CD-i, Sega ST-V, Sega Saturn & More

Posted on by Lu

Ranny Snice & Anime0t4ku Wallpapers

Some new wallpapers for the MiSTer FPGA have been released. They are based on the following games:

Pheonix by Ranny Snice
Rygar by Ranny Snice
Pacland by Anime0t4ku
Pacland by Ranny Snice

Wallpaper downloads can be enabled in the update all script.

 

Zaparoo TUI

wizzo posted a preview of what the text based user interface for Zaparoo core will look like. It’s looking to provide a more organized interface for working on Zaparoo right from your MiSTerFPGA. wizzo also says that it should also look good on a CRT.

 

New Beta Arcade Cores

Jotego has released a beta core for Patreon subscribers that supports two new arcade games.

-Return to Ishtar. An RPG like game for the arcade.
-Genpei, an action game that can change different modes of play.

 

Retro Software Management Tool

On reddit, user GlennPegden spoke about a tool they are creating called TransFS that looks to provide a way to access your ROM library from any device.

It is described as “a FUSE-based virtual filesystem that presents structured, emulator-friendly views of software archives (e.g., ROMs, BIOS, software packs) without modifying their original format. By dynamically mapping archive.org content into the file layouts required by various emulation platforms, TransFS eliminates the need for local file extraction, renaming, or repackaging.”

This tool is in the pre-alpha stage, so there is still alot of development that needs to be done. At the moment only some Acorn and Amstrad MiSTer computer cores are compatible, but plans are being made to make it compatible with MAME, RetroArch, RetroPi & RetroBat.

 

Metro Cross

Jotego released a new beta for the arcade game Metro Cross from Namco. You control a character that’s constantly running and must reach the end of the stage before the timer runs out.

 

Downloader 2.2

theypsilon updated downloader to version 2.2. The major change now is that it is now a native binary that will run much faster.

Other updates include:

  • When installed, downloader_bin is used by the launcher script by default, providing a significant speedup. If downloader_bin fails unexpectedly, The launcher displays an error, logs it to /media/fat/Scripts/.config/downloader/downloader_bin_error.log, and then falls back to the standard Python build.
  • The launcher script now uses the SSL certificate file at Scripts/.config/downloader/cacert.pem, falling back to /etc/ssl/certs/cacert.pem, and prompts to install new certificates if none are available.
  • SSL certificates are now checked only when Downloader fails to fetch secure content, saving around half a second per run.
  • Loading the local store now occurs in the middle of the initial job pipeline, yielding a small speedup.
  • Using a more precise time function to avoid spurious time errors (time.monotonic).
  • When downloader detects /tmp/downloader_run_signal, it removes the file at the end of the run so it can signal abnormal termination. The launcher uses this to detect unexpected downloader_bin failures.
  • Output only shows the read of downloader.ini file when “verbose” is set to “true”.
  • Various refactors in the CI pipeline (build, compile, and release steps) and in error handling.
  • Eliminated mv-related errors during Linux updates by using rsync instead.
  • Increased wait time before rebooting after a Linux update from 24 to 31 seconds. And reboot after firmware update from 3 to 5 seconds.
  • Minor fixes and improvements.

 

 

Update All

Update All is now at version 2.3.1. This update includes the ability to use the new native binary for downloader which will significantly increase the update process.

Another update has the BIOS DB using a different location (db_url) and includes 3 new systems: CD-i, Pokémon Mini, and Super Cassette Vision. This is automatically handled by Update All.

 

Super Cassette Vision

ReverendGumby has officially released The Super Cassette Vision core. This core is based on a console from 1984 that was only released in Europe and Japan.

It’s graphics and sound capabilities were pretty simple, but better than what you would’ve gotten on an Atari 2600 and not as good as an NES.

 

PET 2001 Disk support

There is a test build of the Commodore PET 2001 computer core that has added disk support. You can download this core from the MiSTer FPGA forums.

 

Mister Cleanup Script

On GitHub, Rowan Underwood developed an alternate way of filtering out cores and games you aren’t using on your MiSTer FPGA. They’ve created a script that scans your game folders and deletes cores and directories based on if the game folders are empty.

The author does warn us to use this script at your own risk, as they are not a trained programmer. Always use anything that deletes files with caution.

If you prefer to use official means of filtering out cores and games then you can check out the Downloader GitHub page that documents the official filters.

 

Distribution MiSTer

theypsilon has added two new arcade filters that will help arcade cabinet owners with rotated screens.

Additionally theypsilon updated the following for the Distribution repository:
– It now also installs MRAs present in the folder releases/mra/ of the Arcade repositories.
– More assertions on CI to make sure important files are being kept.

 

Sega Saturn

The Sega Saturn core has an official update with the following new features:

-added support for 3D Pad digital mode
-use Mister date/time for system date/time.
-Added support for 48Mbit dev RAM cartridge.
-add Dual Mission Stick support via SNAC.
-wheel was fixed

Other updates affected the following games (and possibly others):
-Advanced V.G.
-Astal
-Asuka 120% Limited Burning Fest LimitOver
-Atlantis – The Lost Tales
-Battle Garegga
-Dark Savior
-Dead or Alive
-Doom patched
-Grandia
-Guardian Heroes
-Initial D
-J. League Jikkyou Honoo no Striker
-Linkle Liver Story
-Mortal Kombat II
-NBA LIve 98
-Nights into Dreams
-Panzer Dragoon Saga
-Powerslave
-Princess Crown
-Revolution X
-Saturn Bomberman
-Shenmue – Back in Yokosuka
-Tomb Raider
-Touryuu Densetsu Elan Doree

 

Sega ST-V

The Sega ST-V arcade core is now officially available through the regular update channels. The ST-V is hardware that is based on the Sega Saturn.

While the Saturn and STV shared similar hardware. There were differences in the games that were ported to the Saturn, like Groove on Fights higher resolution graphics, and no loading times in Radiant Silver gun.

 

Tutankham

A core for the Konami’s 1982 arcade game Tutankham is in develpment by RodimusFVC on GitHub. On wikipedia, the game is described as a game combining a maze shoot ’em up with light puzzle-solving elements. No core downloads are available yet.

 

MiSTer MultiSystem 2

MiSTer MultiSystem 2 reviews and deep dives have been appearing on YouTube by multiple content creators. I provided a list of videos in the description. The MiSTer Multisystem 2 is an upcoming MiSTer FPGA console. Unlike the original Multisystem, this one will have the FPGA chip built into its board. The device is available for preorder now.

 

Laser Ghost

The System 18 light gun shooter Laser Ghost is now playable on the MiSTer FPGA. It’s a beta core, so at the moment it’s only available to Jotego’s Patreon subscriber.

 

CD-i

The CD-i core, being developed by Slamy, has been officially released and you can update your MiSTer FPGA to obtain the latest build. If you want to keep track on the status of this core, you can visit the MiSTer FPGA discord or check out the GitHub readme file.

Unfortunately, there is no Digital Video Cartridge support. That still needs a lot of work.