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Dreamcast and Saturn emulation on a CRT finally up to snuff :D

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    Dreamcast and Saturn emulation on a CRT finally up to snuff :D

    This may be old news, but I spent an hour or so Groovymame'ing and faffing with an old Dell PC last night and to my surprise was able to get Saturn and Dreamcast emulation running perfectly on my PVM via a new build of Retroarch. I didn't fancy paying £400-500 for a Rhea/Phoebe modded Saturn and the guy who flogs the chips is a real dingle-berry, so to be able to play the best version Zero 3 again on a CRT correctly without dropping £300 on the game is ace (incidentally it cost me £30 for the RAM pack when I lived in Nippon!). Will post pics and videos later.

    EDIT:
    Video is up - bit rambly! But covers most things. I also repeat 'Zero 3' about 1000 times :/ Turns out this runs everything from the NES to the Gamecube. Not bad for a £75.00 business PC.

    Rough video made mainly for the guys and gals at Bordersdown forums. With the hideous eBay re-sale price of the Rhea/Phoebe chips and the general inability t...
    Last edited by Escape-To-88; 23-07-2018, 14:21.
    3DS FC (updated 2015): 0447-8108-3129

    #2
    Why would I play the Saturn port of Zero 3 over the CPS2 one exactly?

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      #3
      I imagine because of content, I'd veer to the DC version myself. Hate the omissions Capcom keeps making in later ports

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        #4
        Originally posted by speedlolita View Post
        Why would I play the Saturn port of Zero 3 over the CPS2 one exactly?
        Becuse it's based off of the Upper revision this appeared on Naomi hardware. Several more characters, tighter and revised mechanics as well as several other gameplay modes including a rather good world tour mode. It's superior to the Dreamcast version too, it has an extra mode and correct sprite sizes. I think some of the hit boxes were off on DC too. Having had the CPS2 board in the past, I'd suggest this is the definitive version, for the extra characters if nothing else. Anyhow, this was more a thread about the ability to now emulate those two systems correctly on a CRT.
        3DS FC (updated 2015): 0447-8108-3129

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          #5
          Looking forward on how to do this :-)

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by mmmonkey View Post
            Looking forward on how to do this :-)
            Just did a rough set up with Big Box frontend on the PVM. Lovely stuff Even better there is now a latency option so you can get controls MORE accurate than the original console as it's done on a per-game, per-frame basis using 'Run-Ahead'. Will post a video over the weekend.
            3DS FC (updated 2015): 0447-8108-3129

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              #7
              That run-ahead option does indeed nullify even native input latency found on the original hardware, however I did find that it also brings in some graphical artifacts during fast-paced sections. Easily noticeable on Sonic when bouncing between springs - Sonic will bounce one frame ahead of the spring.

              Maybe things have improved now, the last time I tried it was the day it went live. I've yet to get RA set up on this new PC, so looking forward to full screen integer scanlines finally.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by dataDave View Post
                That run-ahead option does indeed nullify even native input latency found on the original hardware, however I did find that it also brings in some graphical artifacts during fast-paced sections. Easily noticeable on Sonic when bouncing between springs - Sonic will bounce one frame ahead of the spring.

                Maybe things have improved now, the last time I tried it was the day it went live. I've yet to get RA set up on this new PC, so looking forward to full screen integer scanlines finally.
                I still find it peculiar that what is essentialyl a cheap business machine runs DC software better than my overclocked gaming rig. Only issue I've had so far is REZ on the DC. Everything else is blinding.
                3DS FC (updated 2015): 0447-8108-3129

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                  #9
                  What are the specs of this emulation wonder machine, please? Interesting to see how it compares to what’s available in a newer, much smaller form-factor.

                  Does it make any difference to the emulation if the software uses both of the Saturn’s processors? I’d be happy as long as Rabbit and Sonic Council work. And Last Bronx. Although you could run the arcade version perfectly on the same hardware?
                  Last edited by _SD_; 19-07-2018, 00:56.

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                    #10
                    I'll post a video at the weekend mate. The mini itx machine I have in my arcade cabinet is actually more powerful! It's just an old i5 3.2ghz Optiplex with a Radeon 5450 that I updated with CRT emudrivers. You could easily build something using mini itx or micro ATX. The build in my cabinet is tiny and that would easily do the same, I just don't really want consoles in my cabinet and I prefer Groovymame for arcade. The core doesn't have the option to mess with the processors too much. I only really wanted it for Zero 3 but pretty much everything works. Dreamcast has issues with Cosmic Smash and Rez so far.
                    Last edited by Escape-To-88; 19-07-2018, 06:26.
                    3DS FC (updated 2015): 0447-8108-3129

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Escape-To-88 View Post
                      Becuse it's based off of the Upper revision this appeared on Naomi hardware. Several more characters, tighter and revised mechanics as well as several other gameplay modes including a rather good world tour mode.
                      Incorrect. The Saturn version came out in 1999. Upper came out in 2001. It’s merely a better version of the PS1 title.

                      The best version of Zero 3 is the PSP game.
                      Kept you waiting, huh?

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                        #12
                        It has the same roster as Upper though, as does the PSX version. The PSPs extra couple of characters are terrible and feel crammed in. It's also missing the extra mirror mode from Saturn and the controls (even via an emulator) feel wonky. Even with a dpad mod and cover I found it unplayable on PSP.
                        3DS FC (updated 2015): 0447-8108-3129

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                          #13
                          Plays just fine on a 3000 I found.

                          Sort of derailing the thread but while we're at it, what is it that people find appealing about Zero as a series generally? I guess it sort of stands in as a follow up to II but it feels like, even Zero 3, is light years away from III/Third Strike. Could just be a nostalgia thing I suppose, or liking the simplicity of it compared to III but I'd be interested in hearing thoughts of people fond of the Zero series of games.

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                            #14
                            I was looking at the newest i5 7th gen Intel NUC as the single core clock seems to be better than the i7 model. I was checking the specs earlier, and I’m sure the integrated GPU was an Iris Pro 640 which seems to compare quite well with the Radeon...

                            Based on 73,631 user benchmarks for the AMD Radeon HD 5450 and the Intel Iris Plus 640 (Mobile Kaby Lake), we rank them both on effective speed and value for money against the best 714 GPUs.

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                              #15
                              I was thinking the exact same thing, speedlolita. Third Strike >>>>>> Zero 3.

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