On Wednesday Aug 3, 2022, Gabriel Pyron announced a NEW 2D Game Engine in the works for both PlayStation and Saturn, created by Tiago Cabral (aka TiagoSC), the same individual who ported Sonic the Hedgehog to the Super Nintendo, through a custom 2D Engine.
Original Announcement…
In the video upload (shown above) Gabriel demonstrates the engine running on the MiSTer FPGA PlayStation Core, and claims the focus of this project is to “take advantage of the power and graphical resources of 32-Bit consoles”, “support all native PlayStation effects” and “use both VDP1 & VDP2” on Saturn, “bringing the best of both platforms.”
We reached out to Gabriel for more information and to find out if it could run on REAL HARDWARE, and he was kind enough to send us a current build to try out for ourselves.
Here is a quick video demonstration confirming that it DOES INDEED run on an actual PlayStation console. (modified to boot CD-R discs)
REAL HARDWARE Demonstration...
Apparently a Saturn demo video is also in the works, according to a response from Pyron to one of the video comments requesting a demonstration of Saturn performance…
Gabriel informed us that once the project matures an official GitHub page will likely be opened, which could potentially open both the PlayStation and Saturn up to several cross-platform ports of Sonic fan games. (we’re crossing our fingers for Sonic Mania on Saturn…)
Previous to this, TiagoSC impressed with his 2D Sonic Engine for Super Nintendo in addition to a few other projects, including Mega Man X & Sunset Riders on Genesis.
DF Retro Sonic SNES Tech Demo Breakdown…
Sunset Riders Port to Mega Drive / Genesis…
Mega Man X Port to Mega Drive / Genesis…
The implications for such a cross-platform 2D Engine have us excited for future projects, and we will be sure to report on any news regarding this exciting new engine as it comes down the pipe.
A massive Saturn fan since Christmas ’96, Dave is enthusiastic about growing the community and spreading Saturn love and knowledge to fans old and new. Co-founding the SEGA SATURN, SHIRO! podcast back in 2017 and creating the SHIRO! SHOW in 2020, he seeks to create interesting and engaging Saturn-related content for the community. Dave’s interests circle around game preservation, and he is a huge fan of game magazines and developer interviews.
