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MiSTer FPGA News – New FPGA’s, N64, Neo Geo Pocket & More

Posted on by Lu

Atlas FPGA

AtlasFPGA is an FPGA gaming device that can already run cores like the Amiga, PCXT, Atari 800XL, and ZX Spectrum. It runs off a low cost FPGA($30), microcontroller($8) and custom IO board. It looks to be a good choice for those who only care about older systems.

 

FPGAArcade Replay2

There’s also another powerful FPGA board coming and developed by FPGArcade. Called the Replay2, it is coming in 2 versions and feature:

4K output
Mini-itx form
Standard version will have 282k LE’s
Mini version will have 138k LE’s.

Prototype hardware and developer access is planned for early quarter 1 2024.

 

Back up your Analogue Pocket to your MiSTer

wizzo has released a script that will back up saves, save states, screenshots and settings from your Analogue Pocket onto your MiSTerFPGA. These files are not compatible with MiSTer cores but will provide an easy way for you to backup the progress you’ve made on games you’ve played on your Pocket.

If you enable wizzo’s extensions in UpdateAll, then this script will be automatically be downloaded for you. You also need to enable USB access on your Analogue Pocket for this script to work.

 

Jotego Interview

Pixel Cherry Ninja posted another interview. This time it’s with core developer Jotego. A lot of topics are covered from the past, present and the future.

 

Nintendo 64

A huge milestone has been reached with the Nintendo 64 core. It can now boot every single game in the N64 game library. Now this doesn’t mean that every game works 100%, there are still other things that still need to be worked on.

You can read all the technical details about this milestone on Roberts Patreon. He goes over dealing with antipiracy, the last TLB feature and more.

 

MiSTer Games Menu Script

wizzo has updated his Games Menu script to include more consoles like the Saturn and Nintendo 64. This script creates a new folder on the MiSTerMenu where you can browse and run all the games stored on your MiSTer. No need to open up a core.

 

Jotego Updates (Neo Geo Pocket & Arcade)

Thanks to some Microcontroller Unit developments, some of Jotego’s current cores support more versions of arcade games.

New supported game versions are:
Renegade (US)
Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun (Japan)
Tokio / Scramble Formation (newer)
Tokio / Scramble Formation (older)
Tokio / Scramble Formation (US)
Bubble Bobble (prototype on Tokio hardware)

Other games that can see improvements are:
The Fairy Land Story (Taito)
Rolling Thunder (Namco)
Kick’n Run (Taito)

These MCU developments will also have implications for the Neo Geo Pocket core. Jotego is going to be redesigning it from scratch using the knowledge that was gained. He believes it will be faster and more enjoyable than to continue to debug the current core.

Other MiSTer FPGA Updates

And other cores getting miscellaneous fixes and updates are:

MegaDrive:
– Fix SVP DMA.
– Tweaks and fixes in 4-way and Teamplayer multitaps.
– Rework reset (fixes X-Men final boss fight).
– fix for VGA interlaced video (Cray Elliott).

MegaDrive, MegaCD, S32X:
– MegaCD: audio boost option.
– MegaCD: fix for VDP (YLFAndy).
– S32X: Fixes (YLFAndy, srg320).
– Updated framework.

SNES, NES, SMS:
– NES: fix for MMC5 mapper (paulb-nl).
– NES: Add mapper 156. Disable Save State hotkeys when Famicom Keyboard is enabled (greyrogue)
– NES: HPS Video Mode Update (MikeS11).
– Updated framework.

TurboGrafx16,NeoGeo,Minimig,ao486:
– TGFX: Fixes from David Shadoff.
– Updated framework.

ZX-Spectrum, ZX81, SAMCoupe, TSConf, Amstrad:
– ZX81: support for tape input through ADC.
– Amstrad: persistent loading for Main and Expansion ROMs.
– Updated framework.

C64, C16, VIC20, PET2001, AtariST, Atari800/5200:
– Atari800: Option to invert mouse Y.
– Updated framework.

C128:
– Fixed issues with CP/M and REU.
– Updated framework.