Sega Saturn

[ripe valley]

I take a few of them from time to time and restest if everything's alright.

At the moment, there is a possible regression, but it's too complex for me to fix without breaking some tests - I just reenabled Primal rage without breaking any other timing sensitive games.
And Shining Force III on Dual RAM, I isolated the date when it regressed with the spells, but it will take time for finding a correct fix.

[floral saddle]

One game I'm never going back to check for a regression is that one at the end of puyo puyo, that put me off the series for life!

[ripe valley]

I checked it last month, let's call it quit.

I'm becoming better at that game.

[floral saddle]

Yeah I'm satisfield with that one as long as you are! Looking at it now it's amazing how few issues are left considering the complexity of what was taken on by srg320, imho it's still the most impressive core to come out of the MiSTer project.

[burnt matrix]

apprciate you, great way of approaching a bug, thank you

[shy basin]

where is the latest stable dualSDRAM core?

[mortal mist]

There has never been a stable version of DualSdram core, only test versions—unstable

[shy basin]

ah lol

so essentially the one pinned can be considered as stable as it gets?

I added a LDO on my 32MB stick but it still hangs in dualSDRAM after a minute while still playing sound

[hearty marten]

Welcome to the club

[wise brook]

https://tenor.com/view/what-the-hell-man-blue-eyes-gif-14574471

[glossy steppe]

https://tenor.com/view/spy-kids-lemme-zoom-in-on-that-zoom-watching-you-spy-gif-3135642478935189065

[shy basin]

I had to unsolder the 3.3V pin so I could use the grab the 5V and route it through a 3.3V regulator and power that plane and make sure the issue was not due to the 3.3V being flaky
in any case it didnt help so it seems that the settings for the extra module is sensitive to the SDRAM chip used

the desoldered pin looks like its close to other pins but it not touching anything I made sure of that

Its does not failure immediately with the DUAL RAM but after 1min which is the same as how it was before I modded it...

[hearty marten]

Probably easier to just buy new ram…

[warped saddle]

in this economy?

[shy basin]

Easier yes but what adventure you would miss 😄

[ember terrace]

Hi all. Does anyone know why the unstable dual ram core is seeing updates but not the single?

[celest lake]

Core is very full, no longer fits into hot pants

SRG is looking into weightloss programs

[hallow fossil]

Does Ozempic work on cores?

[ripe valley]

If you think i didn't add triggers support yet just because i'm lazy or don't want - you are wrong. It's just because there are so many different options - need to handle all variations... (Sorg)

So, you have to be patient for future analog triggers support on Main.

[burnt matrix]

That’s interesting, didn’t know there were so many options

[radiant karma]

You can use 2 axis, one per each trigger or both triggers using one axis +/-, and using one axis only you would then have to choose which axis is used and then decide which position is +-, so several variations I imagine.

[warped saddle]

'both triggers one axis' is not an actual option

[burnt matrix]

I appreciate his candidness but it sucks he has to say it. It’s always people who don’t contribute that complain the loudest. Those who have to work to implement know the difficulties behind adding such a feature.

I use arch btw

[celest lake]

Did someone really accuse SRG of being lazy?

We can fix them right up

[warped saddle]

look at you confusing SRG and Sorg

are you new to this server?

the real issue is you get to add another annoying step to the main mapping dialog, and it benefits like....1.5 cores

and even then, a very small number of actual games

[celest lake]

I read it as SRG because that's usually who zet is talking to. I need more coffee

sorg is lazy, so I can see the confusion now

[tawny forge]

xinput is the only option

Virtual pad XInput-like wen

[leaden dagger]

Trigger support helps emulate negcon controllers which are beneficial for racing games

[warped saddle]

it's still a relatively small number of games compares to the total library

no one is saying 'it is useless' but it's adding stuff to a dialog that people already mess up constantly

is it more useful than all the weird mouse emu/sniper stuff? yeah probably

(unless you're Sorg and then the mouse emu stuff is probably the most important feature)

[leaden dagger]

The thing that bugs me about that is the fact that I cant use guncon setting with a mouse on mister

All these settings for sniper stuff on a controller but nothing for a mouse?

I'd like ps1 mouse to have the ability to have a crosshair displayed on screen too because modern mouse sensitivity makes tracking weird at times but oh well

[burnt matrix]

I think you can play all the lightgun games with a mouse. They might add a cursor to it?

Like changing your connection type to mouse in the core.

[tawny forge]

Just allow mapping the existing right analog stick to a shoulder trigger and call it a day

Let the adapters do the magic

[warped saddle]

ok where do you put that dialog?

[tawny forge]

Secret feature. No dialog needed

[leaden dagger]

That does does playstation mouse which was a real peripheral

and there is no cursor when set to mouse

The mouse can be used in games

but if there is no inbuilt cursor (like say time crisis) it becomes a pain in the ass

at this point I just want the intec time breaker but it's fucking expensive and I can't see anyone outside of stone age gamer selling it (I live in Canada)

[burnt matrix]

Right, was just thinking of time crisis

[clear condor]

If you select the mouse as your controller, then TC gets a cursor

like, the emulated PS mouse

[leaden dagger]

Not in game

Just in menues

I played it last night

[analog totem]

couldn’t it do what it does for alternate buttons and just give a “Do you want to define analog triggers?” Yes/No dialog?

which is still arguably annoying I guess, but probably better than just asking you to define and then having to skip it manually

[winter phoenix]

The Sega Saturn homebrew and translation scene is hoppin' this time of year. From new games to updates to translation patches and utilities, let's take a look at some of the newest developments:

https://www.segasaturnshiro.com/2026/04/17/saturn-news-roundup-sakura-wars-2-translation-rhea-phoebe-organizer-segaxtreme-entries-roll-in/

[thorn pagoda]

people keep saying this but it would benefit like hundreds of PSX racing games, anything with negcon support which is practically all of them

[winter phoenix]

Not one but two separate efforts kicked off to pick up the 25-year-old English translation project of Sega Saturn strategy RPG Langrisser III. Find out how this happened and where you can get an in-progress playable patch in my story:

https://www.segasaturnshiro.com/2026/04/17/langrisser-iii-translation-project-revived-by-two-people-at-once/

[pearl harbor]

Very cool to see more Saturn translations. I'll wait a bit for this one to be more cleaned up though. Heard it has a hard lock early on in its current state.

[burnt matrix]

The hyeck is a mangoes

[glossy steppe]

Huh, I thought that was a Genesis or SNES game

[glossy steppe]

Yeah, nobody wants two triggers one axis

[burnt matrix]

Angrier

Langrisser

[rotund steeple]

It was 9 years exclusive for the Saturn, the PS2 re-release also Japanese only. Glad that they finally try to translate the whole game.

[winter phoenix]

One more Saturn translation to close out the day https://www.segasaturnshiro.com/2026/04/17/saturn-fighter-ninku-gets-a-fan-translation/

[wanton stream]

How is sega Saturn now on mister? Unfortunately I only have single ram

[rotund steeple]

Very good. Single Ram is enough for 98% i guess.

[burnt matrix]

I posted about it three weeks ago!

#1046941029296779344 message

[winter phoenix]

So you did! (My compatriot TraynoCo was … waylaid by life in getting this story written)

[burnt matrix]

It was like four months ago!!

It was two years ago!!!!!!!

[winter phoenix]

I can’t make other people do stuff!

[drowsy hull]

don´t believe robby, he is a pig trying to entrap you

[winter phoenix]

Uhhh … they’re clones, of the Satiator, sold on Aliexpress 😅 It took em a few years to reverse engineer Professor Abrasive’s tech and they still didn’t do a great job of it because they’re stuck on whatever firmware they ship with — they can’t be upgraded.

I know Abrasive is particularly upset whenever the clones use a recreation of his panda boxart because his sister drew that for him.

[visual grove]

Aww love my satiator, works great

[drifting crown]

Does the latest unstable dual ram need unstable main? I’m trying the one in the pins and it’s being wonky.

[burnt matrix]

what’s wrong with it

[quick sorrel]

🤔 which?

[burnt matrix]

https://tenor.com/view/homelander-based-the-boys-homelander-the-boys-facts-gif-26206051

That’s basically me whenever I type a horrible thing that gets a laugh emoji

[burnt matrix]

New MiSTer unstable dropped - https://github.com/MiSTer-unstable-nightlies/Main_MiSTer/releases/download/unstable-builds/MiSTer_unstable_20260419_14b8d4

[wise brook]

that’s a 3DO fix

probably not gonna do anything for Saturn

[burnt matrix]

Yeah definitely not, but maybe replacing his current one would help anyways?

[drifting crown]

So I plugged in a 32MB unit in second slot. Third switch already set as I’m using a digital io board. Pulled the latest unstable dual ram cores from the pin. When loading core the controller goes all screwy. Delayed inputs, not very responsive. Never seen that before.

Main is probably about a month or so old. Will switch ram modules later and do a ram test to check the second module.

[celest lake]

32mb ram is funky with the core. Probably not the issue, but just something to be aware of

[random shard]

What do you mean? 128mb + 32mb will have issues?

Should I switch to dual 128mb?

[shy basin]

I am not sure how common the the problem is with the 128/32MByte combo but I couldn't get it to work even after refurbishing the 32MB module with a 3.3V regulator.
It basically ran the Dead or alive game for 1-2min and then froze same thing happening after a reset/restart
The 32MB module worked flawlessly as a single module for what ever I through at it and was running @150MHz in memtest utility.
My best guess is that the timing is slightly off compared to a 128MB module as it heats up...

[celest lake]

Yeah, it will mostly work but dead or alive with crash. I think there is something else too

[random shard]

Ah, gotcha, so I have to invest on 128Mb then

[tawny forge]

https://tenor.com/view/dew-it-galactic-republic-palpatine-gif-21847982

[drifting crown]

Bugger. That was £20 wasted then.

[floral saddle]

That's weird as I've always used a 128/32mb combo and never had an issue.

[shy basin]

I assume your 32MB stick is version 2.2 right?

do you know if the chip is "winbond" 6ns

[floral saddle]

One sec, let me check.....

Yeah it's 2.2, Alliance. I'm guessing the spec is newer so not problematic?

[shy basin]

ok doe s it have somehting like -6 or -7 at the end

[tawny forge]

That’s one of my setups and never had issues as well

[shy basin]

so the chip is actually Alliance which is what I have on the 128MB stick...
Perhaps the difference is chips are winbond or Alliance

were winbond are not same specs as alliance

[shy basin]

aha! so they are even same speed both are 6ns access after all

but yeah seems that Winbond for some reason might have slightly different specs I have to look that up

[drifting crown]

Mine is the misterfpga.co.uk 32MB unit so it should be perfectly fine. Must be something incorrectly configured. I’ll try the latest unstable main.

[shy basin]

yeah that looks like it has an Alliance chip on it

let us know if it works

[floral saddle]

misterfpga.co.uk is where I got mine from too so should be ok, good luck!

It also might be worth deleting your Saturn config file too and letting the core create a fresh one, that solved a problem for me in the past.

[random shard]

I got my 128Mb one from the same place misterfpga.co.uk

But the 32Mb one from an ebay seller

[shy basin]

can you check what chip you have on the 32MB stick is it winbond or alliance?

[random shard]

Not easily

Unless you know a way to check without opening it

[shy basin]

or paste a photo from the place you bought it if the chip info is readable

[random shard]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/385199556321

Looks like it's winbond

[shy basin]

yeah so it might not be the full story then... I have Winbond too same PCB as shown there and it has issues

[drifting crown]

https://misterfpga.co.uk/product/mister-sdram-xs-v2-2-32mb-memory-addon-board/

This is what my second is. I've tried updating to unstable main and still no dice. Single ram core seems to work fine on games other than DOA, so i've deleted that.

[shy basin]

So from that it does not seem to matter if you have a Winbond or Alliance chip.. either one can fail so it just down to luck if it works(?)

Datasheets seems to be pretty much equal but there are a bunch of timings so can't say for sure...
here are the datasheets if anyone is interested and look at the -6 variants

[celest lake]

[inner token]

sorry 🙂

[warped saddle]

something something, potato

[random shard]

I could help with the testing, which games should I try?

[tawny forge]

Dead or Alive. Just load it and leave it running for half an hour

[random shard]

Sounds easy enough

Do I need a special version of the mister or the core? Haven't updated in a while

[drifting crown]

Turns out the problem is the Samsung fit usb drive I had my Saturn dumps on. Running them off th sd card is perfect, no issues whatsoever.

[warm mica]

Does anyone have an up to date list of Saturn games that utilize a 3D pad ? I just fixed mine

[winter phoenix]

I think the best we've got is the one on Sega Retro: https://segaretro.org/3D_Control_Pad

just add Stellar Assault SS on there if you apply the English patch to it

some homebrew games use the 3D controller, too

[warm mica]

Yea I got my 3D pad 3 years ago and the analog stick was stuck in the down-right position and the R-trigger didnt work but today I fixed it

[proven mural]

hey! @celest lake remember when I was having the RAM death screen whenever I would boot up my mister?

Well I replaced an older “mister” file with a new one, not sure if that will work, but I will test that soon

I did it manually, I would do the update all script, but didn’t have access to my router in that time lol

[celest lake]

I thought you replaced your ram

[proven mural]

uh I did long ago

And even after that, I started getting a ram death screen whenever I would boot any Saturn game

[celest lake]

Sorry, you'll have to refresh my memory. What is the ram death screen?

[proven mural]

In certain games when booting, I would get a screen stating this in Japanese, let me show you

[tiny quartz]

That's a backup memory warning.

[proven mural]

What does that mean?

The whole time i thought something was wrong with a mister file or something

[tiny quartz]

the save RAM needs to be initialized. Hold L or R and reset the machine ot access the save RAM menu

nah, you'd get that on a real Saturn too.

Also, google translate app on your phone will translate that easily.

[proven mural]

Well in fact, I never have actually

[tiny quartz]

I think the MiSTer maintains a unique save RAM for every game, doesn't it?

[proven mural]

But I get it, and i appreciate your help!

[tiny quartz]

so you'd need to initialize it once for every game that can't do it on its own.

[tawny forge]

I used to get that screen when using an old core with a new main or something like that

[robust agate]

can anyone send me a link for the saturn cblend core?

thank you

[mortal mist]

It's in stable and unstable core...( composite blend)

[robust agate]

thank you

[proven mural]

What’s the latest Saturn core again? Mind if anyone links the message

[sharp forum]

Check the pins, those should be up to date

[proven mural]

Is it the one from April 12th of this year?

The Saturn DS one?

[glossy steppe]

No Saturn 3DS core?

[celest lake]

DS core is for dual ram

[proven mural]

got it

So I have the October 13, 2025 version of the core I believe

[rotund steeple]

#1046941029296779344 message

[hybrid lichen]

what's the best way to use a 3D control pad on mister these days? Do you need SNAC?

[sharp forum]

You need SNAC to get working analog triggers

But everything else works perfectly with Reflex Adapt

Not that many games actually used the analog functionality of the triggers so it’s not a huge problem

[glossy steppe]

Everything other than analog triggers works fine with just any standard modern analog controller too

[noble escarp]

Also possible to combo snac with my diy usb2saturn adapter and have modern analog controller working with analog triggers.

[proven mural]

Thank you!

[leaden dagger]

Tell me more about this adapter

[hybrid lichen]

sounds something like this https://www.raphnet-tech.com/products.php?category=saturn

[noble escarp]

DIY Adapter. Supports using most usb controllers on saturn console, or mister with snac.
https://github.com/sonik-br/usb2retroconsole-fw

[ember terrace]

Perfect, except for a couple of 3D fighters that aren't quite full speed with single ram

[strong osprey]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1Rw0ySkZQQ

finally a sega saturn tutorial

[random shard]

Great video but he missed so many

Linkle liver story, princess crown, silohuette mirage, grandia

He has talked about them in past videos though

But as far as must plays, these seemed odd to exclude

Psychic killer taromaru

[random shard]

For hidden gems that were never translated
Cyber Doll
Nanatsu Kaze no Shima Monogatari
Tengai Makyo IV

[sharp forum]

Is “3D Pad” mode broken in the 26.04.09 dual ram build? Tried with a 3D pad on reflex adapt and also an Xbox One controller and it just doesn’t detect any inputs whatsoever

But switching back to digital mode it detects input just fine

Not having this issue on the 26.03.26 single ram core

Does dual ram need unstable right now?

[pearl harbor]

Have you tried another controller with 3D pad mode turned on?

[sharp forum]

Yep, an Xbox one controller as well

Connected over usb bc the battery is dead lol

[pearl harbor]

Oh, it would help if I could read.

[cunning citrus]

The 3D pad doesn't work on Saturn's CD Player, when it's physical switch is set to analog mode. That's why that controller came with that switch, for games that don't support the 3D controller features. The controller in analog mode reports as a different controller type, the bios don't support it.

Edit, I misremembered how it worked and a software emulator threw me off.

[sharp forum]

Interesting, that said, the analog input was not working in Panzer Dragoon 2 on the latest unstable dual ram, I’ll recheck later though. Worked fine in the single ram core

[noble escarp]

Really? Was a problem on some specific bios?
All saturn models I've had supported 3d pad analog in bios.

[cunning citrus]

Even with the physical Switch on the circle position? I had a 3d controller a long time ago, maybe I'm misremembering. The cdplayer works fine when the switch is on the plus sign position.

[noble escarp]

Yes, analog mode

[chilly oar]

I see the same problem on that build, but the 3D controller works over snac

[sharp forum]

Ok yeah I just checked, and the 3D Pad does function in the BIOS (region free J 1.0.1). The analog stick doesn’t do anything but the rest of the buttons do even with the switch on circle

[split heart]

Needs SNAC IIRC

[sharp forum]

For the dual ram core and not the single ram?

[burnt matrix]

This is what he said - 💬 Sega Saturn

[chilly oar]

it works on dual ram 25.09.27 from the dual ram repo

[pearl harbor]

Only the analog triggers require SNAC. Everything else should function via Reflex.

[sharp forum]

And indeed it does, just not on the latest dual ram build

[hearty marten]

Dual ram will win again! 😭

[chilly oar]

Saturn_DualSDRAM_unstable_20260325_13bca9.rbf seems ok and the most recent commit changed controller stuff

[ripe valley]

I worked a little bit for the testers on the Ymir emulator a moment ago.
On HIssatsu!, there is a quick flash after selecting the characters playable on stage 2.
That's an original game bug, I could reproduce it on an original console with an original disc.

And, yes the current core is correct too.

[nova prism]

Hi. Quick question: in the playstation core, when accessing disk (SD or pendrive at least) the yellow led lights up. It isn't happening with the Saturn core, right? Any plans for implementing it @green swift ?

[finite hound]

it's not present in the real one. that is the reason

[burnt matrix]

Doesn’t the yellow led light up meaning there’s a save ready and you should hit the menu button?

[nova prism]

It is the green one (for many cores). The yellow one indicates reading disk (at least in psx)

[finite hound]

the thing is that the Saturn is unique in that it does not have a disk-access indicator led on it.

So in that sense. the core is accurate

[nova prism]

Neither the psx has such indicator iirc. And of course not a green led indicating saves pending. The accuracy of the core I think relies in reproduce the logic inside the machine, not if the machine has something physically like LEDs screens or other complements

The LEDs on the mister are there for general purpose and community has found interesting to use them for green=saves pending and yellow when reading disk. Yellow blinks outside the cores when reading disk for loading something or for (not quite sure of this) writing/reading files via ssh, FTP, etc

Anyone with a mister can check it. In fact I thought the yellow blink was because the system was reading. Outside psx is that way, inside psx core is that way. But with the Saturn core the led stays off

[hearty marten]

I never had a clue what the different lights meant

[nova prism]

In general: red=power, yellow=reading (or writing?) disk, green=saves pending when osd opened

Problem is in systems without LEDs like ... Multi system 2 or something like that I think or misters with an opaque enclosure. Don't know if ss1 has those LEDs and if those are there, what happens with the gray and black opaque versions

[hearty marten]

I probably won’t remember or spend any time looking at them, but thanks

[nova prism]

For cores that has the feature implemented, watching the led before power off can help remember to open the osd

[hearty marten]

I just open it anyway before I turn it off, then I never need to worry about that

[nova prism]

Is the best habit without doubt

[finite hound]

I get your point, but the only benefit for having it would be not wondering if the system crashed or not. Saving is independent on diskcover open or closed anyway

but sure, it's a tiny qol feature

[warped saddle]

it's because the psx disc reads go through the normal user_io() stuff in main, which lights that led

saturn doesn't

it's entirely controlled by main

[nova prism]

That's the answer. Thanks @warped saddle . Why does it have a different approach than the psx core?

[warped saddle]

just how srg wrote the main side cd handler

[nova prism]

Ok. Then let's see if he realises of the question and can answer if he is going to "standardize" that part or leave it as it is 🙂

[burnt matrix]

Why does it matter if it has a yellow light? Genuine question.

[warped saddle]

eh, sometimes it's nice to know if the thing is accessing data, or is it just frozen

[pearl harbor]

If it's a really simple addition, I don't see why srg320 wouldn't add it. But if it would require a lot of rework on the core to make it happen, you really have to weigh the value in adding it.

[short stag]

On a real console you can hear it when there's drive activity, on the MiSTer you can't. It might help to indicate that you're waiting for system to finish loading something, when it is not indicating it. Apart from that, I really like little touches like this, adding to the experience.

[left hollow]

I think the most use i've got out of the activity light on MiSTer is when i've tested stuff to see what works on the ao486 core. I mostly don't pay attention to it otherwise

[nova prism]

Of course it must be trivial to add. It has no sense invest a lot of work. That's why I asked sore about why is it this way and not the other. In my case I'm having problems with an usb stick under heavy access. The yellow light (in the psx core) give me the info of how much it is used. Another reason under my point of view is that if the rest of the mister works in a way, it is nice to keep functionalities in sync along the system. Maybe sore just forgot or leave it to the very end of the process of creating the core.

[warped saddle]

it's all part of main, probably didn't even realize it was a thing. I don't think any of the other cdrom based cores he wrote the main-side cdrom stuff for do it either. if I remember right you just call a single function when you read

[green swift]

I'm busy right now. But anyone who wants to can try this option for LEDs:

assign LED_DISK = CD_BUF_RD;
assign LED_USER = bk_state;

[mortal mist]

Error (170012): Fitter requires 4201 LABs to implement the design, but the device contains only 4191 LABs

[drifting crown]

The Mk1 Saturn does have a disc access light. It was removed for the mk2 revision.

[wise brook]

you can add it back to a “Model 2” depends on the motherboard revision. I did the mod myself.

[nova prism]

10 more labs required for the led thing? Or is it something else?

[mortal mist]

in short, fpga is full

[nova prism]

Well, end of story 🙂

[ripe valley]

I tried it on a previous core version, it works with the indication of srg320.

But the timings were way off and the Bob desinterlacing option wasn't functioning correctly.

So, instead of doing 50 core compiles, it just tested quickly and closed everything after that.

[nova prism]

The idea was just "toggle a switch" and make it work or just forget if more work required 🙂

[ripe valley]

It could work, just the core is complex to compile right now.

[nova prism]

Maybe if @green swift opens again the core to do some improvements or corrections, he can just snick in the feature

[shell cedar]

I assume it is either too intensive or not enough space to try an on the fly forced progressive output for interlaced modes? similar to the PS1 480p Hack.

[ripe valley]

No, I just compiled it using the standard method, without any compiler optimization.

I wanted to test it quickly, without trying to find the optimal values ​​to fit everything into the core.

[warped saddle]

you don't need to do the led thing in the core at all

[glossy steppe]

That's what the lights are for? For mine the red and yellow just take turns blinking like they are on a see-saw.

[glossy steppe]

Also I have two red and two green....

[visual grove]

Feature request: I’d like to play Simon using the mister IO LEDs when in the Saturn core using the maximum resources possible. Thanks

[burnt matrix]

That’s a good point

[hallow fossil]

Do the LEDs work properly in srg320s other CD core 3DO, Sega CD, PCE CD,?

[warped saddle]

no

well actually I'm not sure. the main side code isn't there, but maybe some of them do it in-core. I've never checked

it's trivial to add it to the main cdrom controller code though

[hallow fossil]

Hmm, maybe worth checking all the CD system cores and see if any other LEDs don't work as desired

[safe trail]

We're talking about programming/UI standards now ?

[hearty marten]

I was with Robby that it seemed unimportant, but if people want to waste srg320’s time with this…

[nova prism]

I can confirm mega-cd and pce cd have both the yellow led light up when accessing media. And, at least in the pce, the green is also serving the purpose of indicate saves pending

[safe trail]

Oh really ? I didn't even know that

[nova prism]

It's not important besides giving some info about if the system is doing something or not. The importance here is preserve the legacy @green swift has done. If in his other cores lights serves a purpose, why not in the Saturn core? If it's not fitting, it's fine. If it is just an oversight, let's solve it

[nova prism]

I'm sure @green swift is gonna take the core again eventually to do some rework. Then it's time to solve this trivial problem. Not now, just some day

[hearty marten]

fyi, srg320 != sorg != sore

[nova prism]

Thank. Solved

[tawny forge]

Also pls stopping tagging him unnecessarily

[shell cedar]

Thanks @spiral geyser 😊

[spiral geyser]

Wrong sector 😄

[green swift]

I haven't really looked into how LEDs work. (In fact, yesterday was the first time I'd ever paid attention to LEDs in all the years I've been using Mister.😀 ) Sorgelig did all of this in other cores, not me.

[shell cedar]

You are both part of the same beautiful spinning magnetic platter which makes up my hard disk. 🫂

[stiff latch]

WENsector

[stiff latch]

I have an opaque case on my mister stack, so I don't even percieve LED's at all

[nova prism]

I'm lost. srg320 is not sorelyg?

[river wing]

No no, they are totally unrelated individuals 🙂

[ripe valley]

Above all, do not mention them to ask for features here.
You don't want them to get the duct tape out, again. (Conker N64 reference)

[nova prism]

Great. I'll tag (not ping) them all (sore, sorg and srg320) then from now on for in case 😏

Hey hey, is not a new feature, is a bug. It should be there like in the other cores 😬

[celest lake]

yeah, but also, read the room. the core has a bunch of other issues that need to be sorted out before LEDs can be prioritized. Is there an issue in github for this? if not, it should go in there and then srg can prioritize it as he sees fit

[nova prism]

Hey, don't be unfair with me. I have said many times that it's nothing important and in no occasion I have said it must be solved before other issues. Just pointed out the fact, asked about the probable cause or solution and talked about the LEDs utility

I'll open a bug/feature for, if at some point is feasible, try to make it work. Nothing else

[mortal mist]

I think we'll survive without the flashing LED for a while. The demand for this feature has been noted. Knowing @warped saddle he'll implement it in the MiSTer main module soon :))))

[green swift]

I dunno, seems like Kanel might die without blinky lights

[warped saddle]

I should make everything that goes through file_io.cpp activate the led and then you'll all be confused

[celest lake]

would it ever turn off?

[green swift]

On April 1st 2027 a mister main will be released that shows LED activity when there’s no activity and no activity when there’s activity.

[celest lake]

Judgement Day

[river wing]

Ackchuaaaally... if that was the case, the LED would still serve as an activity indicator! 😄

[nova prism]

Hey, relax with the hammers. I'm still calibrating your irony level. I'll try next time with something more obvious 🙂

[celest lake]

I think everyone needs to recalibrate in here. I think Kanel knows what's up, but I think you gotta let some of the ribbing roll off your back, Kanel

Sarcasm is a thing that is calibrated over time, you know? Like if I said "I'm going to ping SRG constantly with every need" most folks here would know I'm joking because I'm a shitposter. But, at the same time, SRG might not because we don't talk that much and he doesn't know how much of a shitposter I am

Everyone here is an alright human (except for zakk). Just assume that and everything will be fine

[nova prism]

Oh damn!! My fault twice!! Now I see: When I said I will tag them all I was referring srg320, sort and sore, following the joke of trails. Second error. I'm not used to discord and I thought when editing a message and tagging then, the warning of somebody tagging you was not triggered

[stiff latch]

i think its pretty common practice to not tag someone multiple times who isn't actively engaged in the conversation

or if you reply to someone, to uncheck the "notify" action that pops up, that way they dont get a notification push

like this thing

that will reply to what someone said in context without pinging them, as if youre trying to get their attention

I counted you tagging the person in question like 4 times, and you didn't need to do that

[nova prism]

Thanks for the tip. In fact the first time I used "sore" without tagging just for this reason. When I changed to a tagged version my intention was not ping him so many times. Sorry sore!!!

[hearty marten]

Who’s sore?! 😂

[shell cedar]

https://tenor.com/view/michael-jackson-bad-whos-bad-80s-music-mj-gif-18917942

[celest lake]

Zakk is an AWESOME HUMAN

https://tenor.com/uCGiQmalAPp.gif

[warped saddle]

it's a trick, get an axe etc

(there' a gif but 3 in a row is too much for core channel)

[glossy steppe]

Hey! Who you calling human?

[visual grove]

My MiSTer and I have a ‘no eye contact, no kissing’ rule so leds are useless to me. Please make it play DJ ham horn sounds whenever it’s loading data

[polar mountain]

The soft, steady on glow of the leds on a naked MiSTer, is reassuring, calming and peaceful.

https://tenor.com/view/spiritual-meditate-meditation-peace-zen-gif-11176079

[cobalt rune]

I didn't even know it could do that 😂

I'd never use it, but I think it's totally cool that it's possible

[wise brook]

unless i’m missing some recently discovered regression it looks like the only bug in Dual SD is the color corruption in Shining Force 3

a couple of QoL fixes exist too

[radiant karma]

From GitHub, Shinning Force 3, decathlete, groove on fight, panzer dragoon saga, have small graphic glitches. Fighters Megamix and Crusader crashes and Primal rage does not boot. Very few issues for such a complex core.

[wise brook]

decathlete issue doesn’t happen on dual SD, nor Fighters Megamix

[radiant karma]

According to GitHub they still do.

[ripe valley]

They do.

But pretty rare.

And for Groove on Fight, only the ST-V version is affected for a bug that should be present less than one second.

We have even less bugs than on Fenrir or with a Saroo on an original system so far.

I left my SS1 for almost 24h on ThunderForce V attract mode.
No issue so far.

[drowsy hull]

Missed chance to have hw running in parallel to detect desyncs

[ripe valley]

I didn't filmed it all along.

But, some weeks ago I tried to record some footage for TF V and Grandia.

I didn't published anything because of some timing differences between the original discs, two different models of the Saturn, and the Saroo I had for loan during that time.

Even both original systems weren't exactly synchronized.

So, I discarded the tests.

[radiant karma]

I guess srg320 focus is on optimizing so the core gets easier to compile.

[ripe valley]

I don't disturb him and let him work calmly as possible.

[crude turtle]

Hey guys, just started playing around with the Saturn core (only have single SD RAM).

Got two questions:

1. Any benefits of using that cartridge options? Not sure what to do with them. Put them on RAM 6 MB dev or just leave it unset?
2. Tested "Fighters Megamix" USA. Seems to be extremely slow. How can I increase speed / fix that? The GitHub readme isn't too helpful. 🙁

[celest lake]

turn on fast timings in the options, that will speed up fighters megamix.

the cartridge is a hardware thing, some games require it

[river river]

Here's a list of games that can use a RAM expansion cart: https://segaretro.org/Extended_RAM_Cartridge#Compatibility

Guess it could be a "fun" exercise to make a bunch of MGLs and config files with the right RAM expansion settings set

[crude turtle]

Thanks!

[crude turtle]

And thanks 🙂

[crude turtle]

I love tinkering with MGLs. How do I even set the cartridge slot in an MGL?

[river river]

Use the setname option so that it has its own unique config file, then save the cartridge slot in its settings

[crude turtle]

Ah haven't dealt with MGLs in combination with config files yet.
But iirc that's what 0MHz does so I could study that. 🙂

Another two questions:

1. Do games auto save (when opening the OSD) or do I have to setup some sort of memory card (and if yes, how)?
2. If SOME games can use the RAM expansion cart, is there a downside to globally enable it in the core for ALL games and hit "save settings"? If a game cannot use it, it just won't, or am I wrong?

I have one game (CHD) per folder as with all CD-based systems. Fyi

[ripe valley]

2. Some games can't run or run worse with a RAM expansion cart.

[crude turtle]

Oh I see:

"On rare occasions, older games reliant on the 1MB cart will break if a 4MB cart is detected, leading to corrupt graphics."

Okay so MGLs are indeed the way to go.

Fighters Megamix doesn't use either of the ram expansions as it seems.

[ripe valley]

Generally I'm using the core with the AUTO region set, and 4MB cart.
I only disable for Die Hard Trilogy and et it as 1MB for some SNK games.

[ripe valley]

Nope, most of the 3D fighters games don't use it at all.

[crude turtle]

If anyone would be willing to give me an example MGL+CFG for a game that uses an extension and points me to a list that has every single saturn game on it with what to put best in the cartridge slot, I could write a script, that scans your Saturn games folder and auto-generates all the MGLs+CFGs.

[ripe valley]

The problem with a single RAM core is that you can't transfer all the necessary memory from the original system with the correct timings.
A second RAM module could be useful for distributing the memory and maintaining the tightest possible timings.
srg320 has therefore designed a whole system, including recently a cache system (named Fast Timings) to best maintain the timings of these memories.

[crude turtle]

Okay thanks. Megamix in particular has many characters to unlock so saving is crucial. Do I need to mount a memory card or does the core write it to its "internal storage" (aka the SD card when opening the OSD)?

[crude turtle]

Since I'm using my MiSTer on a CRT, a second RAM module is out of question unfortunately.

[ripe valley]

Most of the games only use an internal memory, but you can also use the external save cart/Saturn Backup Memory (the files are concatenated inside a single file for th core).

[ripe valley]

The only game I know of which can't be used at 100% is The Last Bronx.

[crude turtle]

Okay thanks

[ripe valley]

We are 94-95% there.

[crude turtle]

Oh no, I love Last Bronx 🙁

[crude turtle]

That's more than we can ask for. We're lucky to have that core to begin with!

❤️

[ripe valley]

I'm trying to remember how to format the save cart.

First, don't forget to set the core to 'Autosave' if you want to keep your saves in general.
It works like the other cores, it saves when you open the OSD.

And secondly, if you really need the Saturn Backup Memory (the external memory card), you have to change "Cartridge" to "BACKUP".

If you need to initialize the Saturn Backup Memory and do some other operations with it (like moving a save from the internal memory to the external cart), I leave the manual from back then here.

[crude turtle]

Very helpful (as always on this Discord). Thanks a lot!

[fallow marsh]

Plus Dead or Alive

[ripe valley]

Dead or Alive works on the last unstable core with the fast timings.

Or do I have a magical MiSTer, like with Grandia ? 😅

[shell cedar]

How close is DOA to full speed without fast timings?

[glossy steppe]

All I know is last time I tried to mess with the cartridge the core wa stuck booting some kind of debug/test rom and I could not get it to stop or actually boot a game until I deleted every configuration file for it

Granted, this was back when the core was very very very in beta

[river river]

I think this is probably the best way. Just have two setnames, something like saturn-4M-cart and saturn-1M-cart, that way you only need two config files.

<mistergamedescription>
    <rbf>_Console/Saturn</rbf>
    <setname same_dir="1">Saturn-1M-cart</setname>
    <file delay="1" type="s" index="0" path="some/1mb-saturn-game.chd"/>
</mistergamedescription>

<mistergamedescription>
    <rbf>_Console/Saturn</rbf>
    <setname same_dir="1">Saturn-4M-cart</setname>
    <file delay="1" type="s" index="0" path="some/4mb-saturn-game.chd"/>
</mistergamedescription>

Heck, you could simplify it further and just make those Saturn (1MB External Cart).mgl and Saturn (4MB External Cart).mgl, organise the games into 1MB and 4MB folders, then just load the required mgl for the game

[jagged spire]

For what it is worth, I played Ultraman (ROM cart) with one of the recent single ram unstables and had zero issues

[fallow marsh]

The Single RAM MiSTer FPGA still experiences severe slowdowns in some scenarios, such as the Kasumi vs Kasumi and Kasumi vs Gen Fu stages......

[tawny forge]

Dual SDRAM wins again

[celest lake]

oh man, now we see if she builds

[ripe valley]

I expected that. 😉

I will update the S32x core later, I'm busy at work (and some tester at Ymir needs my help too).

[radiant karma]

Nice! Fixes for primal rage and Crusader. I see a lightgun fix, but there is still the issue of the cursor not going offscreen for reload.

[ripe valley]

The compilation remains difficult.

[celest lake]

same honestly

[marble laurel]

Is JT aware of fixes on the CPU ?

[stiff latch]

The LED fix made me laugh

[ancient surge]

I'm guessing he's trying to trim off the fat to make it easier to compile?

[hearty marten]

Where’s that gif with a person cramming a thing in a thing?

Cos that’s srg320 cramming the Saturn in the DE10

[stiff latch]

That's very descriptive

[ripe valley]

Not these from today, I'm letting them know.

[marble laurel]

thanks 🙂

[ripe valley]

@glacial grove srg320 have updated the SH7604 module (especially on the cache), I don't know if they are relevant for you and/or you're interested for adding them on the CPS-III core.

[celest lake]

something tells me she ain't building

[mortal mist]

nope

no luck even for DualSdram for me

[ripe valley]

I'm working on it.
EDIT : It's quite difficult, indeed. My computer wants to die.

[nova prism]

Xybur, in my defence I'll say that if sore implemented it, it means it had to be there. Sore is not that kind of guy gifting whim features for free :p

[celest lake]

autocorrect in freefall

[nova prism]

Pfffff... In my head srg320 == sorgelig. That's why I was repeating sore... 🤦🏻

Trails was correct (I need an icon of a head smashing a wall)

[winter phoenix]

So... SRG is making updates to the Saturn core but no one can play them because the builds are failing?

[ripe valley]

That's the power of the Saturn system.

[pearl harbor]

I remember when ElectronAsh fixed that, but then it never got rolled into the unstable builds. I still have that build and just use it when I play lightgun games.

[celest lake]

they built!

[ripe valley]

I'm checking them since 5 mins.

[celest lake]

STV didn't build

[ripe valley]

Give me 5 mins, for checking everything.

[mortal mist]

Primal Rage works fine again

[ripe valley]

For the ST-V, the LED changes can't let the core compiling, as the two states aren't declared anymore.
You need to revert the two states to the previous revision.

I'm compiling the Single RAM right now, could someone do the Dual one ?

Here.
https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Saturn_MiSTer/commit/ea70fcccdbb65d42e576406f806eaf931bddc437

[hearty marten]

Are you happy now, LED fans?!

[ripe valley]

We need to add an else...if condition there.

The Single core for the Saturn seems okay, good to go.
I'm finishing the last SMPC tests.

[mortal mist]

yeah, compiling now

[wise brook]

something compiled!

[celest lake]

yeah, both the main cores compiled, but I can't see timing for whatever reason

[radiant karma]

He created the GitHub issue and actually has explained the fix, just need someone to PR.

[glossy steppe]

Wait, that's it! We need LEDs in the fans!

[hearty marten]

Do Noctua even make fans with LEDs?

[glossy steppe]

You're talking about a company that took years to figure out how to just make them come in black

[hearty marten]

They should never have done that

[glossy steppe]

But I have the black D15S in my pc

MWAHHAHA

... the real pain was finding an RGB fan for the front of my case, because it uses a non standard size

[ancient surge]

I think something broke with the latest SEGA Saturn build, because Direct Video is acting a little funky right now.

[celest lake]

probably

[ancient surge]

Wait, it might not be the core itself. Something else broke on my end...

[shell cedar]

He's a silly chili pepper

[celest lake]

im waiting on the next compile, then I can check scaler stuff

[ripe valley]

Same here.

I have some troubles with my ST-V compiles.

[wise brook]

https://tenor.com/view/perro-gif-9233624026139520041

noctua inventing the brown LED

[ripe valley]

Grandia works great with the Fast Timings on my SS1.

[celest lake]

on the new core?

[ripe valley]

Yes.

[celest lake]

thats exciting

[ripe valley]

But maybe I'm on a lucky silicon lottery.

The museum corridor and the village work correctly on my side.

[wise brook]

gonna have to retire one of Robbie’s go-to bits.

https://tenor.com/view/how-do-we-tell-him-mr-krabs-spongebob-meme-spongebob-meme-gif-24063814

[ripe valley]

Selling my one-of-a-kind SS1 system, the only one which runs Grandia without flickering. $5000

[warped saddle]

me destroying your money grabbing by publishing a 'how to overclock your ram' guide

[ripe valley]

"I knew you'd say that!"

[hearty marten]

dual ram entered the chat

[ripe valley]

In short, srg320 worked tirelessly on it; it was exhausting for him.
And celeriyacon even added new tests that I sent for him concerning the SH2 (SH7604) chip.

Now let's enjoy the Saturn core once more, and thanking him.

[celest lake]

Still flickering on one of my single ram stacks

lemme check the super station

[hearty marten]

It’s been quite a while since a stable release (Oct 2025) - assuming all is well with these builds, is it worth pushing for a new stable build soon?

(I assume new changes may be slower if srg320 is going to be busy with the 3DO for a while)

[celest lake]

that's the super station so ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[safe trail]

Yeah, people tend to underestimate just how much effort is invovled in reverse-engineering all those edge cases

[ripe valley]

With the fast timings option ?

[safe trail]

And re-evaluating whether the original design concept was even a decent basis

[celest lake]

yes, even reset once they were enabled

[ripe valley]

So, I'm lucky this time.

[crude turtle]

Thank you very much! I might get back to your comment in the future when I have time (and joy) to fiddle with that 👌🏻❤️

[celest lake]

same location?

[ripe valley]

Exact same location, and inside the museum corridor too.

*We need to sudy and dismantle my SS1! 🤣 *

[nova prism]

I don't dare to say it, but the green led is not lighting up when saves pending and the yellow one is lighting up like a quarter of the total bright 🫣

[celest lake]

yeah, I just tried a 3rd stack and it's the same

[ripe valley]

You're the stack master.

[visual grove]

He’s the crazy cat lady of misters

And somehow all the misters still result in a cat urine smell

[nova prism]

Alternating between bob and weave in deinterlacing options make weird things (at least in DoA)

And also in DoA, is like there are horizontal artifacts appearing in some parts

[ripe valley]

I always had that when switching too much on Bob/Wave on my systems.

[visual grove]

I have a fix for deinterlacing option issues

It’s called ‘get a CRT’

Embrace interlaced video

Looks great 👍🏻

Don’t be defeated by comb artifacts, take control of your life

[shell cedar]

Kronos (and its successor Ymir) has specifically implemented features to help convert 480i to 480p, aiming to fix the poor visual quality of interlaced games like Virtua Fighter 2 or Dead or Alive on LCD screens.Method: These emulators have built-in options to handle interlaced output progressively.

SSF is known for excellent handling of Saturn interlaced modes. It typically handles this by doubling the fields, which is a better approach than standard deinterlacing.

[ripe valley]

But, it doesn't look great on Ymir at least, I tried the option just an hour ago (on today's compilation).

StrikerX3 knows it and we are in regular conversation for both of us.

SSF is closed-source, I tried to approach the dev multiple times, but he doesn't want external help and won't show anything to anyone about the code.

[rotund steeple]

Or get a Tink 4K Pro and enjoy the Deinterlacer algo "CRT Simulation" in combination with Smooth I/P switch. Looks awesome! 🤡

[ripe valley]

I can't see them on my SS1, but I can reproduce the problem when I remove the second SDRAM stick and use the single core on my other MiSTer system at home.

[thorn pagoda]

You don’t need a rt4k pro for a decent deinterlacer the light rt would a fine or the morph

Or the ossc pro I think actually

[rotund steeple]

Of course, the Tink 4K CE is enough. But it don't know if the Morph or OSSC Pro can do "CRT Simulation" in combination with the instant interlace/progressive switch, it's really a game changer for 2D games.

[nova prism]

Zet, using the single core with a second ram installed, iirc, also causes slowdowns (at least in current stable core). Why are u removing the second sdram?

[ripe valley]

Just to be sure.

And switching the sticks too.

[nova prism]

But if you are experiencing the slowdowns with the two sticks installed, removing and switching them should not make things better

Different situation will be when the single version had no slowdowns anymore, then it will be worth try removing the second stick and check, isn't?

[ripe valley]

I have several other sticks with different brands and date of manufacturing.

I'm testing a hypothesis, TheJesusFish is trying too on his side.

[nova prism]

I see. Is this related with the sticks max speed in the mem test?

I mean, different brands get different max speeds? Or just same speed but different real performance?

[ripe valley]

Could be, I don't discard anything at the moment.

Different brands can get different max speeds + silicon lottery.

Some RAM chips are built better than others.

Depending of the batches on factory.

[nova prism]

The mem test jumps from (iirc) 160 to 150. Maybe the differences are in between?

[ripe valley]

Or it could be only DDR3 speeds, like Zakk once said.

[nova prism]

I mean, if mem test could do the tests with less distance between jumps, maybe more info could be obtained

How is the DDR3 arm ram interacting with the Saturn core?

It's only a Saturn core investigation, right?

[warped saddle]

fast timing pushes some stuff to ddr3

and it already uses ddr3 for somethign else, I just can't remember

[ripe valley]

I can't remember too directly.

[nova prism]

Could it be worth try to execute a ram stress test on the arm side?

[ripe valley]

Yeah, if I overclock slightly the DDR3, the issue is gone on my DE10 Nano + a single stick (and the Fast Timings).

[hearty marten]

Zakk wins again!

[nova prism]

It is curious because, in theory, the ram on the Linux system should run at fixed speed. So everybody should experience the same slowdowns

[warped saddle]

there's still silicon lottery style things going on

also the ram is shared with a lot of stuff so it may vary system to system

[nova prism]

Yes, depending on the system load the ram can be busier than in another systems. For that aspect, a vanilla install should be used for removing variables

Iirc it has always been said that the load on the arm side should not affect the fpga side. But if cores use this trick, it will be like in the DOS era with the boot disks with the minimum system load

[warped saddle]

the scaler also uses ddr3

but honestly in normal operation I doubt it matters much, it's just that there's a memory controller between the ddr3 and everything else so some of the latency is just unpredictable

[nova prism]

A good test could be a vanilla install with scaler disabled and see if there is slowdowns

[warped saddle]

robert had a ddr3 tester he made during n64 and even with the scaler disabled and linux basically shut off (as best I could get it) I never really improved the worst case latency

[nova prism]

If zet improved the slowdowns increasing the ram speed I looks like a ram speed bottleneck

[ripe valley]

I can't help much more today, and I need some rest time.

[warped saddle]

it's probably just a latency thing

[nova prism]

Rest in peace! See u tomorrow

So, with the Robert tester it was not possible to throw values about those parameters?

[warped saddle]

I dunno

not really going to get into the wormhole of trying to get people to overclock ram for a single core

[ripe valley]

Same.

[warped saddle]

like small bumps are probably fine but it locks up hard if you push

like instantly

[nova prism]

No, no, of course not. It was just for the investigation:)

If u need any test I can help. I have a couple of pi different batches. One has dual ram

[thorn pagoda]

i wonder exactly how little you need to overclock the ddr to get it working

if its small enough that could even possibly maybe be acceptable as a mainstream option

[visual grove]

Game changer? I’m here for game samer 😎

Look how much cooler I am than Robby 😎

[celest lake]

Does this work with DV now? or is it purely analog in?

[visual grove]

😎 😎

[rotund steeple]

It works via HDMI -> DV

[celest lake]

no shit. now I need to try it

last I checked it was analog inputs only

[rotund steeple]

Works of course for 3D games like Virtua Fighter 2 too.

A crappy smartphone video, looks much better live on my LG G5.

https://streamable.com/e1ny4u

[celest lake]

oooo

[hearty marten]

That’s looking pretty nice

[radiant karma]

Morph 4K does not have that option. But does it look better than Motion adaptive? IIR CRT Simulation is bob deinterlacing + alternating scanlines.

[rotund steeple]

It looks exactly how a real CRT does it. Imo much better than motion adaptive, but that's a matter of taste. Text intensive stuff is probably better with Weave e.g.

Motion Adaptive though is still the best compromise for a more modern and clean image.

[fallow marsh]

Still no luck for a new single ram compile?

[celest lake]

there is a new one in #unstable-nightlies

@burnt matrix needs to pin them

[fallow marsh]

I see, Great

I will test it using DOA

[green swift]

I misunderstood. In that case, we should use sav_pending instead of bk_state.

[shell cedar]

Best is to find a low cost way to get the system to display interlaced content as a progressive image. (If not on real hardware)

[nova prism]

And do u know why the yellow led is lighting up just a bit?

I guess that somewhere the value is not 128 or 256 (or whatever value is the max bright)

[green swift]

The LED turns on and off repeatedly for very short intervals.

[nova prism]

In the other cores implementing it (mega-cd, psx, pce-cd) the led stays on without blinking so often. Can it be related with the way the cd is simulated ?

(for curiosity)

[green swift]

No. I just need to find another signal.😀

[visual grove]

You’d better boost your patreon contribution after all this led work you’ve asked for

[mortal mist]

no leds no fun

[river river]

https://tenor.com/view/cylon-by-your-command-robot-gif-17178504

[polar mountain]

I would like the Saturn core to able to engage in full blown conversations with me, and before it speaks the leds would blink like crazy to signify thought.

[ripe valley]

https://giphy.com/gifs/computer-kit-k2000-RyanQjMbOhaosNTPf8

[polar mountain]

Also the only thing it ever would say is "biddly biddly"

And then I would interpret.

[visual grove]

Okay now I want this too

Sorry I ever doubted the importance of the leds

[polar mountain]

"Biddly biddly, biddly biddly biddly?"

[visual grove]

Social worker #1: “well I guess he’s not a danger to himself, also that Saturn core IS pretty cool”

[nova prism]

Smile while u can... The day I catch one of u answering somebody "check if the yellow light is up to see if it's working or frozen" or "check the green light to see if the save status has been registered correctly" I'm gonna charge u with one coin; half for srg320 and half for moral compensation 😬😏

[visual grove]

I don’t even know what the lights mean after over 5 years of MiSTering, BUT I do like the idea of making up some things to tell people on #help so I think I can benefit from this

[mortal mist]

I don't see any leds, de10 is behind the monitor or in the housing

and honestly, I haven't had the need to watch them since 2019

[visual grove]

“Have you checked the blink code on the LEDs? I need you to observe them for 10 minutes and write down the complete pattern”

[mortal mist]

https://tenor.com/view/morse-code-gif-14831987

[hearty marten]

This. It just blinks randomly, I never cared what they did

[nova prism]

See? Totally useful 🙂 maybe someday we find out a help message from a dev written in the pattern of how the lense moves around

[ripe valley]

No regression found so far on the usual suspects.

Next stop, the Cotton games.

[glossy steppe]

https://tenor.com/view/there-are-four-lights-picard-fuck-your-bullshit-star-trek-kingdom-of-bullshit-gif-14936675848561176051

[winter phoenix]

So dual light gun functionality is still in the core, right? This was just an optimization of some sort? "Lightgun: reset the registers to prevent using BRAM as a shift register"

[winter phoenix]

I wrote more than 1,600 words about what's been happening with the Saturn core over the last six weeks — let me know if I missed anything or got anything wrong:

https://www.segasaturnshiro.com/2026/05/08/saturn-mister-core-optimizations-overcome-chock-full-fpga/

[stiff latch]

that thumbnail has some serious expansion fetish undertones lol

[winter phoenix]

lmao pls

[wise brook]

🫄

Saturn Core

[stiff latch]

@winter phoenix maybe its just me, I asked a few friends in another discord, and this is what they had to say

[winter phoenix]

what do you want from me and my limited corel paintshop pro skills

[stiff latch]

i thought the sushi comment was pretty funny, to be fair

if you squint you can see it

[thorn loom]

I love the thumbnail personally @winter phoenix

[thorn loom]

Add this to the article Dan

[winter phoenix]

Well, we're going to be talking about the Saturn core live on the show today in about an hour (along with a bunch of other Saturn stuff) if y'all want to tune in: https://www.youtube.com/live/kAl7NdsEMuA

and then heckle me live about my banner image 😆

[burnt matrix]

What’s going on

pins

Hmm

Ok I updated it!

[quick sorrel]

To confirm I'm reading this right, there are only 4 SS games that need the 1MB cart option selected - all others can use the 4MB option. Is that right?

[dusky delta]

How does saving work on the Saturn core?

[pearl harbor]

Same as the other cores. Just turn on the auto save option in the OSD. Then after you save in a game, open the OSD to write it to the SD card.

[analog totem]

I would like the LEDs to blink “MiSTer wins again” in morse code when you’ve left it idle for a while

[quick sorrel]

Oh you.gif
Do ya really know Morse code? 😂

[glossy steppe]

It should just blink your save file in binary as an emergency backup

[quick sorrel]

That’s a lot of jotting down even for a save file

[winter phoenix]

Yes, although I’d argue that Metal Slug works fine with the 4MB cart, too. Side by side testing shows the same slowdown with both carts

The other three games were programmed in a way that assumed there wouldn’t be a cart larger than 1 MB, so there are graphical glitches with the 4 MB cart

[next bronze]

Metal Slug also had slowdown even on NeoGeo. I think the game also ran at 30FPS.

[celest lake]

if you were lucky

[quick sorrel]

I mean, I play Neo Geo games in the NG core so it’s not really an issue for me on SS
So I’ll just leave it set to 4MB to set it and forget it 👍

[quick sorrel]

I actually appreciated that when playing in the arcades 😜

[random furnace]

How can I play a Link Battle match using the MiSTer FPGA Saturn core with Daytona USA Circuit Edition? How would the two MiSTer FPGAs need to be connected via Ethernet cable or a special serial cable?

[fallow marsh]

I'm delighted to find that the latest Saturn single-memory core(Saturn_unstable_20260507_17eed8.rbf)has achieved a major speed boost with fast timing enabled. 👍
Testing Dead or Alive using Kasumi's second costume (short skirt revealing panties) in Arcade mode, the two stages that previously suffered the most severe slowdown—Kasumi vs Gen Fu and Kasumi vs Kasumi—have shown noticeable improvement. It's not completely free of slowdown, but the frequency has been greatly reduced (mostly limited to certain attack animations and sideways recovery rolls after being knocked down), making the game basically playable and enjoyable now. This is amazing—thank you, srg320, for your hard work!
I look forward to the day when the Saturn single-memory core can run DOA in a perfect state with absolutely no slowdown!😍

[visual grove]

I lol’d at “short skirt revealing panties” We have achieved greatness

[winter phoenix]

gotta specify that

[hearty marten]

The panties probably cause extra slowdown

[winter phoenix]

I don’t think the core can do LAN or online play

[random furnace]

No, I didn’t mean that. But playing in two in the club, as was done with the Saturn.

[winter phoenix]

Link Cable is LAN, and I don’t think that functionality is emulated in the core. (I could be wrong, though? I’ve never heard of anyone doing it)

[fallow marsh]

Absolutely right!

[shell cedar]

It could do NetLink over WiFi if there was space to support the adapter

[glossy steppe]

Huh, just realized. Is there no button mapping for the switch on the 3d pad?

[ancient fractal]

The analogue/digital mode switch? Doesn’t make much sense does it

[glossy steppe]

Yeah, no way to turn the analog off for games that don't support it, which is most, requiring you to go into the UI and change controllers. Yet, the coin mapping left over from when SV-T was the same core is still there...

[barren acorn]

are older saturn cores archived somewhere

[celest lake]

yeah, they are in the repo https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Saturn_MiSTer/tree/main/releases

[barren acorn]

thanks.

is there a specific thread to ask/troubleshoot SNAC controller nonsense for the saturn

[celest lake]

This is probably your best place. I am useless in that regard, but someone here will probably be able to point you in the right direction

[barren acorn]

ah. ok

the issue is with an original 6 button controller through a SNAX64 v3.1 and analog v6.1 i/o board

the only controls on the pad that truly map correctly is the dpad. all others either don't map at all, left trigger is start, etc

read somewhere an older core might be worth trying. thats why i asked for archives

can anyone advise

[nova prism]

https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Saturn_MiSTer/tree/main/releases

Here you can find the stable releases

[celest lake]

I don't have a board that old, but does it have a jumper by the user port? on the 6.1 board, you need to have the jumper in USER mode (I think...might be IO - either way, it's not 3.3 or whatever the other option is) to expose all the pins for saturn and mega drive controllers

[barren acorn]

yes - the jumper is in the recommended position

not 3.3v. I/O

did i say 2.1? i meant 6.1

[celest lake]

Something else to try: with older snax adapters, the controller had to be pulled slightly out of the adapter to make proper connection

for the saturn specifically

[barren acorn]

yeah i did try that as well

going to give this 2025 core a spin.

same issue.

can others confirm? does the 3 button saturn controller work via SNAC without issue

[inner token]

did you get the saturn adapter cable from misteraddons?

the pulling out slightly was a good tip, that causes a lot of trouble

[thorn pagoda]

shouldn't be a factor if you bought past a certain date though

its a fully original pad right, oem? not a retrobit

[dusky delta]

The Retrobit actually does work like a charm though

[barren acorn]

yes all adapters from mister addons

[inner token]

#1046941029296779344 message that has a test for controllers, you have to follow instructions to get the hidden menu to show.

get to the test with a regular controller then enable snac. that will be easiest way to test

[viscid shard]

I need to pull the cable out a bit from the adapter still for my 3D Pad, but the 6 button works for me without issue over SNAC

[lost hemlock]

is there such a thing as a 3 button Saturn controller? I can't find one when I look it up. The Genesis had a 3 button controller so if you're using that via snac it would not work.

[wise brook]

there’s a 3 button Fight Stick

it’s often used for Mega Drive pad hacks

[barren acorn]

typo. they are 6 button

[jagged spire]

couldn't you technically connect a genesis 3 button controller to a saturn via a dumb adapter?

[wise brook]

probably not, the Saturn controllers have a chip in them, MD is just wires and a pcb

[inner token]

actually you could use MD controllers with saturn with an adapter with certain games and in the bios, you could try on one of my old snac builds with the MD snac adapter, it worked

[earnest sand]

False

[tawny compass]

Quick question: Can cheat carts be used on the Saturn core?

[celest lake]

no, got removed due to space reasons

[tawny compass]

OK, I thought at first that the reason the core has no native cheat menu was precisely because of space and it could maybe be done via cheat carts...

[quick sorrel]

Not a coder but correct me if I’m wrong…
The only way to make room for cheats or anything else in the core is to optimize (or shrink?) the code, right?

Or compression?

[safe trail]

No, FPGAs get assembled into circuits, out of elements. There are a limited number of elements. While it may smetimes be possible that a compile could slightly reduce the number of elements, one would generally have to remove other functionality in order to make room for anything new.

[quick sorrel]

Then FPGA coding is completely different from C or any other programming language in that way, right? Cuz I thought optimization was a way to shrink the size of the code
But idk

[clear condor]

You can optimize an FPGA design to reduce the number of logic elements it uses.

That has already been done very thoroughly with the Saturn core. There are probably more optimizations to be found, but you can imagine each one is harder to find than the last.

[tribal needle]

FPGA programming is not exactly programming. This is mostly describing how hardware works in specific languages. See here for example: https://codilime.com/blog/fpga-programming/. This is why there's very little space for optimization, especially when reimplementing reference hardware in an FPGA core.

[quick sorrel]

While it’s still not in my wheelhouse, it’s interesting to learn a bit more about how it works. Thanks 🙏

[thorn pagoda]

fpga programming and compilation is really surprisingly different if your coming from a traditional software perspective

compiling for fpga isn't even deterministic 😮

[shell cedar]

https://cdn.simplebooth.com/u/2aDWauY.gif

[wise brook]

optimizing a core is similar to making a new revision of the hardware, think how the PS2 had its cpu & gpu combined in later revisions.
or even the last version of the Saturn where it had a combination 2x SH2

i did wonder if SRG’s work was based on a VA15 motherboard just for that optimized architecture but, celeriyacon’s test suite implied the architecture was the same as a VA3/VASD

-# IIRC

[winter phoenix]

Hot on the heels of his Digital Pictures documentary, PandaMonium tells the story of Maximum Surge, an ambitious FMV game that was completed, canceled and found again 30 years later:

https://www.segasaturnshiro.com/2026/05/11/maximum-surge-the-completed-and-canceled-fmv-game/

[tribal burrow]

Just wanted to say as a point of data for everyone, my Grandia still flickers on my single ram module (2.5 128mb)

Gonna try shielding my Kai cartridge and see if that improves things on my actual Saturn in the meantime since tinfoil and electrical tape are cheaper than a dual ram set up
(On my Kai / Saturn Grandia often fails to load , black screen when you press start etc )

[viral pebble]

Pretty cool that we'll eventually be able to play Maximum Surge on the Saturn core one day, after they release the HD remaster on modern consoles like they did with Prize Fighter

[flat sedge]

Last I read was that srg320 tries to combine the two modules for the lightgun support in one module.

[shell cedar]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t42mx_wTivg

[thorn pagoda]

thats amazing they more than doubled performance

[shell cedar]

Although the monster and weapon fire rate is too fast. Needs adjusting

[thorn pagoda]

thats just because the demos they're using for benchmarking are meant to run at 20fps

doesn't do it in gameplay apparently

[winter phoenix]

You can download the patch from here: https://segaxtreme.net/resources/doom-fix-patch.287/

Comes with the patching utility it needs (SSP)

[fallow marsh]

This is a demo testing with A button hold and pressed to cap 30fps, not actually in game

[pearl harbor]

My arch nemesis Sega Saturn Patcher!

[wise brook]

the performance is what we should expect a competent programmer to achieve on this hardware!
the amazing belongs to the fan for being the one to do it

[thorn pagoda]

yeah and i'm not even sure there's a decomp, they seem to be working entirely in assembly

[muted cradle]

It doesn't do that. The bad news: in some very busy scenes the framrate still drops to about 12fps. But in those scenes it was about 4 fps before those patches.

[river wing]

Same here, stupid patcher does not work under WINE.
Why oh why can't he publish a vanilla BPS/IPS/whatever instead of that Windows-only POS of a format??? 🙁

[wise brook]

might be too busy making translations to learn the ins and outs of a new OS

[glossy steppe]

I assume SSF was made long before Linux was viable for anything gaming related, and it just... stuck

I mean, some people still use ips instead of bps

[wise brook]

it just requires some guy to reach out to make a port

[glossy steppe]

https://tenor.com/view/be-the-change-amenadiel-db-woodside-lucifer-be-the-difference-gif-18399236

XD

But yeah, I was doing a lot of fan translations of some PSX and Saturn games a while ago and some of some insane custom patchers

Seen the one for Shining Force 3? A LOT of work was put into that one

[wise brook]

a lifetime you might say

lotta passion went/goes into that

[glossy steppe]

Surprisingly hard to find screenshots of it

[river wing]

Ah, got the SegaSaturnPatcher to work under WINE... all it needed was a fresh WINE prefix and dotnet5

[glossy steppe]

Heh, I was trying out wine in a vm recently just to test something, it was a shitshow

[river wing]

It works very well for me, except with some corner cases. I prefer it a million times compared to suffering Windows, I can't stand it, makes me feel violent.

[pearl harbor]

I've never used a Windows PC in my entire life.

[safe trail]

That's quite an accomplishment

Of course, more of an accomplishment the longer you've been alive

[river wing]

I did so until 2003. Never more. I have seen people using things like Windows Vista, 10, whatever they use now, and it's SO clunky, slow, nonsensical, bloated and even with visible ads, that if I had to use that OS or nothing, it would be nothing.

Not to mention that MicroShit collaborates with a certain genocide entity that has a flag with a blue star.

No way I am touching anything from these guys.

[pearl harbor]

I'm in my mid 40s!

[rotund steeple]

Strange, i've never seen any ad on my Windows 10 PC. Runs just fine as it should since many years, and it isn't slow. But W11 is a different story, never touched it.

[polar mountain]

I have a win 7 pc just for running typing of the dead and densha de go final.

Its my pride and joy

[glossy steppe]

Funny, I've tried to use Linux several times and every time I do it makes me violent

[safe trail]

Well, Microsoft's latest round of "innovations" are all items which seem designed to repluse people and drive them away from the ecosystem, so there are a lot of people cheesed off about what they've been doing

[glossy steppe]

Never touching Bazzite again...

[glossy steppe]

Pretty much, yeah, 11 has been a shitshow and full of Microsoft attempting to Ram stuff people don't want down their throats, it's no surprise that the number of people switching has ramped up

[wise brook]

I have a spare SSD with win11 loaded on it for emergency use only

[rotund steeple]

That's why they try to change it.

https://twit.tv/posts/tech/windows-11-updates-what-microsoft-promising-fix-2026

[glossy steppe]

I was trying to see if Wine could handle older pre-Steam games better than Windows... which generally can't handle them at all, and results were not great, although I was attempting it in a VM

[wise brook]

pictured, me inserting the windows drive into my laptop

[glossy steppe]

Or so they claim, I'll believe it when I see it

Although Microsoft did significantly change course with the Xbox One when they were being utterly decimated for the stupid decisions they made on that one

I was actually trying to also use Linux just yesterday to do some rom managment with one of those pc ports, and most of the tools to extract the data I needed were windows only

I also installed a hex editor.... it needed 3GB of space.

Should have just used wine ot run hxd or something

[rotund steeple]

I used Linux once with a booting CD, had a good laugh and never looked at it again. Maybe it's better now, but i wouldn't bet on it.

[glossy steppe]

I mean, the first time I tried to use Linux it owuld kernal panic because I have static IPs

But that was like 20 years ago

IIRC it was Knoppix, which having a live cd was a new thing at the time I believe

[rotund steeple]

My tests were app. 10-12 years ago.

[glossy steppe]

It's not like I haven't tried ot use linux, over and over, over the last two decades

[safe trail]

First time I tried linux, the downloads were so slow and updates so fast, that you couldn't get a cohesive set of code. But that was 1992

[glossy steppe]

Granted, I was SPECIFICALLY trying to get old games to run to see if it would do a better job than windows

I didn't bother trying Steam games because I assumed most of those would work

[rotund steeple]

But i do like the Mini Linux on Mister. 🤣

[glossy steppe]

Seems that they work about as well as in modern windows, which is basically not at all or barely but really really broken

Shame, so regardless if I am in Linuix or Windows I would need an emulator to play those games

Or a fan project to make the game run in modern windows if one exists for that game

Granted, half the issues was because the VM's limited 3d rendering or crap like Safedisk

But it would have been nice if I could play those DOS-Win98 era games on Linux without needing something like 86Box

Since emulating a P2 with a Voodoo card requires a LOT of cpu power

[river wing]

There's Dosbox-staging, which works great, or even some Libretro Dosbox cores like dosbox-core, dosbox-pure... which also work great and since Libretro/RetroArch even supports VRR/AdaptiveSync, you get perfect scrolling in smooth-scrolling games and no input lag.
So, for DOS games on modern GNU/Linux, you'd be very well served.

[glossy steppe]

I know, but I can use DOSbox on Windos too. In fact, Wine even specifically said to use DOSBox when I tried a DOS game... at least, it did when I tried to launch a game from the terminal. It wasn't big on giving any error messages at all when launching something from the GUI

The whole point was to see if it can run games Windows natively can't, if I have to use DOSBox or 86box, well, I can use that on Windows too

Old games that modern Windows can't*

[ripe valley]

I've prepared a demonstration of the current Saturn core + some SS1 consoles for a gathering of retro gaming enthusiasts tomorrow.
It already made a strong impression on the others of the team during a private presentation this evening, even compared to the Fenrir & SAROO installations on the same corner.

[dusky delta]

Proton is really good for Steam games that haven't been patched since 2009

[glossy steppe]

I was talking about pre-steam games, the ones that you would install off cd or floppy and digital distrobution was not really a thing yet

[finite hound]

use winetricks/protontricks and your successrate will go up

[strong osprey]

i have better luck running pre-steam games on linux than on windows lol

[glossy steppe]

I was looking up how to use proton instead of wine but every result was "Oh, it comes with steam, don't worry about that"

[haughty dove]

I mean that’s accurate, just missing one step.

If you manually add a non-steam game to steam, it will automatically use proton to launch the game.

[finite hound]

look into both ge-proton and winetricks/protontricks anyway

[strong osprey]

most game launchers on linux can be configured to use proton, stuff like lutris and whatnot

[winter phoenix]

Wish it were easier to play the English localizations inside Saturn Taito games Battle Garegga and Bubble Symphony? A hacker named KoolFiller has you covered with these new patches:

https://www.segasaturnshiro.com/2026/05/15/english-activation-patches-for-bubble-symphony-battle-garegga-now-available/

[dusky delta]

Steam has a lot of titles that are just quick rereleases with a "modern OS patch" that half-works

Also lookup "umu-launcher"

[pearl harbor]

Huzzah! They're xdelta patches!

[rotund steeple]

Nice QoL patches.

[stiff latch]

very cool!

[glossy steppe]

I think I tried that but had more trouble than just Wine alone, also had a LOT of trouble with Heroic launcher

[winter phoenix]

I don't have time to finish a story about these but here you go https://segaxtreme.net/resources/iron-storm-operation-files-english-translation.522/

https://segaxtreme.net/resources/iron-storm-english-retranslation.523/

do one of your alerts @burnt matrix

[warped saddle]

https://tenor.com/view/kermit-gif-17172043193563962893

[shell cedar]

I remember watching a guy on Twitch many years ago who used to stream those games. He was super into them.

Can't remember his name, It was Panzer something.

[winter phoenix]

OK, finished my story... it's extremely long and detailed 😆

https://www.segasaturnshiro.com/2026/05/15/fan-translates-iron-storm-expansion-daisenryaku-sakusen-file-into-english/

[rotund steeple]

Nice one. Patching works fine. But with a multi bin image (redump) you have to make sure that you create a patched multi-bin cd image too, otherwise it won't boot. I really like the original Iron Storm.

[glossy steppe]

I really hate how so many patches for disk-based games seem to want you to either use a single-bin, or even take a multi-bin and convert it to single-bin, even if they expect you to have a redump verified dump which is supposed to be split-bin. Why do they all insist on turning the disk images into single-bin? Vast majority of them only patch the data track anyway and don't touch the audio tracks

[ancient fractal]

Using anything but redump or no-intro as base for patches, unless there’s a good specific reason, is rather weird

[marble laurel]

https://x.com/i/status/2055706969713811639

Yael Trejo (@greayson2532)

Uɴʀᴇᴀʟ:
#SEGA #Saturn vs #Pentium4
In the XL2 demo for the Saturn with that great draw distance that makes the large environments a visual delight, there is still room for improvement: compared to the original and the Pentium 4, but we'll see what the new updates bring

▶ Play video

X · May 16, 2026, 5:48 PM

[mossy crystal]

Using the latest Dual Ram core.
What could be the problem?

It fixes itself if I pause and then unpause

[mortal mist]

old problem is back? https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Saturn_MiSTer/issues/281

[winter phoenix]

Last week, Hemulen released an English translation patch for Sega Saturn strategy game Iron Storm: Operation Files, and today, Bo Bayles reveals the cheat codes he found that made Hemulen's job easier! Find out how to place items anywhere on the map, enable any scenario and more:

https://www.segasaturnshiro.com/2026/05/18/under-the-microscope-iron-storm-operation-files/

[tawny compass]

Is there a proper way to change multi disc games on the core?

[small ore]

https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Saturn_MiSTer/issues/504

[mossy crystal]

Does anyone else have the same problem with this game?

[floral saddle]

Lemmie check that bug later.

Probably a regression, a huge anount of changes since that report was made.

[ripe valley]

I can't reproduce it on my Dual RAM system.

Sorry for the long delay without a reply, I was very busy IRL these last days.

EDIT : Okay I see the issue right now, after 30-40 seconds into the song.

I opened an issue ticket, and I will check later if this is a regression or something else.

Thanks for the report here.

[mossy crystal]

Yes. In the song Chase the Chance, it happens 4 or 5 times

[ripe valley]

I'm searching the root cause of the issue, but it's more difficult than I first thought.

At the moment, it's between unstable build 2025-11-04 and 2026-03-20.

The recent unstable shows the issue very much sooner inside the song.

[ripe valley]

I found something conclusive, the game broke on 2025-11-06.

Either the CDB changes or the SCU changes.
I'm leaning more towards the SCU.

We've had issues in the past with the BUSes on the SCU with this game.

The more the core has been improved since then, the earlier the problem appears.

EDIT : Fixed, it was the CDB changes that broke the game...

In the version prior to 2025-11-06, there were no issues, and I could see fully from song to song.

Starting with this exact version, the game experiences camera problems and freezes repeatedly, but mostly at the end of the first song.
To get to the last unstable one, where the problem occurs in 30 seconds max

[ripe valley]

@mossy crystal Can you test once more with that version of the core, please ?

It worked on my system and I had to revert a CD Block change.

[mossy crystal]

I'll try once I can

[mossy crystal]

Tested. No more issues it seems, at least for "Chase The Chance"

[winter phoenix]

I wrote a little summary story about the SegaXtreme Saturn Showcase now that all the entries are in: https://www.segasaturnshiro.com/2026/05/22/segaxtreme-saturn-31st-anniversary-showcase-features-31-entrants/

Lotta cool stuff to try out

[north parrot]

just built a new mister and the saturn core keeps saying "drive door open" anyone have any clues, is the bios wrong or something else? (i ran mister fusion and update_all)

i don't have the problem on my other misters, just wondering if anyone knows before i go "try everything"

[celest lake]

It's always going to show that on core boot. but you are seeing it even after you load a game? is Region set to auto and all that good stuff?

[north parrot]

yeah region auto and selecting a game, and still after reset also

i might just copy all the files over from one of my other misters, just weird that it doesnt work when building a new sdcard and doing the usual stuff

[celest lake]

unzip this and see if it boots for you

[north parrot]

ok will give it a try now

ah that works

[celest lake]

might be the game you're trying to load then. if it works on other misters, it might be the SD card. a lot of variables here, unfortunately 🙁

[north parrot]

i'll try copy a few games across and see.. i did transfer across stuff to a 2TB micro sd so maybe something wrong there..

ahh thats it.. something wrong with the game files, just copied one over manually and that game works

bugger i wonder how much stuff is borked on this 2TB SDcard.. that took like 14hrs to fill up :/

[celest lake]

Is it a new card?

[north parrot]

yeah new from amazon, but i think i've figured it out now as its only saturn games

i tried to save some space and grabbed a 1G1R set from that archive place and looks like the core doesn't like that particular set of chds

all my other misters have the older non 1G1R set i got ages ago

[celest lake]

Ahh yeah, that’s probably the issue. So hopefully it’s just a matter of swapping that out

[north parrot]

yeah it is, i can copy stuff from the old set and it works

i guess if anyone else has issues in future good to know theres some chd sets out there that dont work

also with working CHDs the core even detects that you just put a game in, without resetting it.. the non working set nothing happens

[glossy steppe]

Make sure the sd card you got also isn't a fake, that could explain the problems too

[marble laurel]

https://x.com/memory_fallen/status/2058901911818912131?s=20

Bo (Low Context Burning Rangers) (@memory_fallen)

Fans of *Samurai Spirits RPG* know that you can play the Saturn-exclusive "Omake" scenes on the PSX version with a hacked save file. But what about the reverse?

Yes! I've made a mod for the Saturn version that makes the PSX bonuses available from the main menu.

More below...

X · May 25, 2026, 1:24 PM

[winter phoenix]

Yeah here’s his article on SHIRO!:
https://www.segasaturnshiro.com/2026/05/25/under-the-microscope-samurai-spirits-rpg/

The person who found the bonus stuff hidden in the Saturn version, The Price of Reason, made the translation patch for the Neo Geo CD version of SamSho RPG. Now they’re working on bringing their translation to the Saturn and translating the new material in it

[ripe valley]

I just finished Sakura Taisen/Sakura Wars on the current unstable Saturn core.

I'm so glad I finally did that game, it's been waiting for me for almost 30 years.

[winter phoenix]

It’s great, isn’t it?

[ripe valley]

And yes, it works perfectly with the core, which is proof of a great dedication to testing.

[hearty marten]

Now on to the sequel!

[wise brook]

how wild is that 2nd act?!

[ripe valley]

There are a few tropes that have aged, but I'm nice to a game from the 90s, and I'm a fan of visual novels in general.
Yes, I always wanted to keep playing, to know what happened next.

And I love Kohran, that's settled.

[ripe valley]

Tonight!

[wise brook]

the whole thing turns into a ||christian fan-fiction ||

Sumire followed by Kana for me

[ripe valley]

||LVL 1 == Save the kitten
LVL 99 == Kill God.||

[wise brook]

T R U E

[ripe valley]

I've done all the FF and Xeno games to know that quite well.

[wise brook]

now you have to beat the sweeping minigame

[ripe valley]

NOOOOOO!

[wise brook]

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/sakurataisen/images/2/23/I'll_Clean_You_Up!_image_-_Sakura's_Minigame_-_Sakura_Taisen.png/revision/latest/smart/width/250/height/250?cb=20260422210203

(picture for reference)
i got really really far in this and it still didn’t count as beating it

[ripe valley]

Actually, I started playing Sakura Wars games because I've heard complaints about issues with them, especially the translated versions, on all emulators and ODEs, and Sakura Wars 2 doesn't work with version 0.9 of Saroo after some screens.

I wanted to see if the core was mature enough and if we hadn't overlooked anything in testing over the years.

I can confirm that the experience was perfect with the May 2026 core. No lag, no sound errors, no display errors, not even minor ones.

[hearty marten]

MiSTer wins again!

[winter phoenix]

Well, not all ODEs … the Satiator has no problems with Sakura Wars as far as I know

[ripe valley]

I had a report from a user about long loadings & skipping sounds sometimes, but I trust you more.

Really minor, compared to emulators.

[dreamy ravine]

Interesting. I am currently playing the patched version of Sakura Wars on the core. I am at episode 3 and every time I save and I want to look into status I get completely corrupted graphics and then I have to do a cold reboot if I want to load the next section. I tested with the latest dual ram unstable and the latest stable single ram core. Same issue. I am now in the process of making sure I have a patched redump file to test with (I am doing every steps myself this time). I hope the problem is with my file and not my DE-10....

[ripe valley]

I just hope it's your files, I will check the dual RAM core too.
I played with the 2026-05-07 version of the core, on the SuperStation One (so, unstable Single RAM).

[tawny forge]

Single RAM wins again!

[dreamy ravine]

OK, it's just me being stupid. What was happening was that on specific screens of the game you can save and see the status. So, I was saving, then pressing the MiSTer menu for the save to be written on the SD card, then pressing B (the cancel button in saturn) to quit the menu. Thing is, in my MiSTer this button is set to validate in the menus (Nintendo style), so everytime I saved I was pressing the button quickly to return to the game (my brain was locked to B = cancel) but I was actually reloading the CD (insert CD is the first item on the menu so of course...). Anyway, seems to be working perfectly

[muted cradle]

On my homefront I finally found somebody to repair my 14 inch CRT (which can easily be rotated). Thus I am able to play the tate modes of Shienryu, Batsugun and Strikers once again (I can rotate my HDMI TFT just clockwise)

[ripe valley]

Yeah, I finished it immediately this morning on the core.

And yes it works fine, with all effects and the long loading time before the stage.

We don't need a special version, like the SAROO for initalizing the game. 😏

[hearty marten]

MiSTer wins again!

[shut pulsar]

I noticed some graphical inaccuracies in the current single sdram saturn core when running nights into dreams. The rendering of the quads on claris and elliot isn't accurate to original hardware, at least not to my Japanese model 1 saturn. I attached videos of my mister and saturn running the game, with the REALA save file being my mister. The inaccuracies are most notable in the legs and feet. The saturn core is the unstable 20260507 core. I don't know if this is too much of a nitpick, but it was immediately noticeable to me. I also noticed a quad here and there was missing or otherwise not rendered accurately in sega rally championship, but I haven't gotten around to capturing that yet. I'm wondering whether this behavior is the same on the dual sdram build as well.

Oh and don't mind the aspect ratio mismatch from the saturn vid, I forgot my retrotink 4k remote in storage lol

Otherwise, the core played great and I had a good time playing some classics last night

[burnt matrix]

Welcome to MiSTer where there is no such thing as too much of a nitpick

[celest lake]

I thought that was fixed.......

Oh well, we love to give @ripe valley something to do

[burnt matrix]

Someone flash the Zet-signal

[celest lake]

between that and virtua fighter kids, we have given him purpose once again

[ancient surge]

Isn't NiGHTS one of the games that is flawed with the single RAM build?

[radiant karma]

Have you tested with fast timings?

[stiff latch]

if its 3d, fast it must be

[burnt matrix]

@ripe valley

damn that one isn’t bad

[shut pulsar]

I swapped between original and fast timings in the vid. Fast seemed better but neither quite matched my saturn

[river wing]

Come to dualRAM. You won't even lose analog video, thanks to DirectVideo 🙂

[lost hemlock]

Hey anyone have issues with the jung rhythm english translation patch? When I boot the chd file it just goes back to the Saturn bios

my sha-512 checksum for my chd:
8c2c90026f842b408894d9f69e9d8d8273a9a04d76528306fda239cd2783811b3fb867daef9b7d4ba67d790d2bb8f235129cd87c1fc36fd8d2cb02f2d80bb6d0

[floral saddle]

Checked the dual ram core with Nights, Claris looks the same as the real hardware footage. Eliiot looks like the single ram core, with the noticable flickering on the right foot, also noticed the waist area has an occasional flicker that hardware doesn't, the texture of the dark blue belt (?) even look slightly different as a result.

This reminds me of the end of the game where you free nights before doing the last boss, the structure you free them for flickered like crazy. I checked against real hardware capture and saw different hardware looking different from each other, should probably go take another look at that with this in mind. @shut pulsar could you please message me the complete save file if it's not too much trouble so I can get there quicker, lost my old one when updating my SD card.

[ripe valley]

I'm on (forced) vacation for several days.

I will take a look next week and maybe already have an idea why these differences appear.

I take note of Virtua Fighter Kids too.

[shell cedar]

https://media.tenor.com/lvNwhoYvWqsAAAPs/zorro.webm

[shut pulsar]

im not quite at the end of the game on my main save yet but i can clear the last 2-3 levels and send that over after i get home later, or maybe find a complete one online in the meantime

[shut pulsar]

I'm thinking about it. Direct video worked great on my pvm, but right now I like the simplicity of throwing my mister and s-video cable in my bag to take to my friend's place and plug straight into his crt

considering the retrocastle dual sdram analog io board. Seems like it does some shenanigans with the hdmi output to enable analog output

[floral saddle]

Don't worry if it's too much hassle, will have some time over the weekend if you don't get there in the meantime.

[floral saddle]

Checked my old SD card and the save was still there so can get to the part I need thanks.

[ripe valley]

I will probably need srg320 on the loop, soon or later.

[floral saddle]

Could I request you look at something as you have real hardware on hand? On the last stage you are knocked onto a plaform before you start the flying section, standing still noticed the quads stopped rendering at the botton of the screen when the camera was rotated to this position. Entirely possible that it happens on real hardware but zero chance of finding real hardware footage that shows the same thing.

@ripe valley Please take a break, don't burn out over stuff that can wait. I can always put this on Github together with footage of the last stage flickering differences I mentioned earier and potentially the Sega Rally stuff depending on how that looks on dual.

[shut pulsar]

Yeah I can take a look

[ripe valley]

Yeah, do it @floral saddle

[floral saddle]

Thank you!

[thorn pagoda]

i'm constantly amazed how the people who test this core are able to repro bugs so deep into games with no savestates to rely on

mad skills

[winter phoenix]

New patches activate the English within the EMIT series and Mizubaku Daibouken — plus a lot more, in Mizubaku's case! Get the details and links to the patches in Gregori's story:

https://www.segasaturnshiro.com/2026/05/29/emit-series-liquid-kids-get-english-activation-patches/

[winter phoenix]

From a movie with ties to a Saturn game hitting North American theaters for the first time to a new optical drive emulator being teased and a patch to fix an old problem in a beloved game’s soundtrack — here's this week's Saturn news roundup:

https://www.segasaturnshiro.com/2026/05/29/saturn-news-roundup-utena-in-theaters-new-ode-teased-outrun-soundtrack-improvement/

Probably the thing in there of most interest to MiSTer users (unless you're big Utena fans?) is the OutRun music patch: https://segaxtreme.net/resources/sega-ages-outrun-improved-arcade-soundtrack.536/

[winter phoenix]

🫠 https://bsky.app/profile/retro-access.com/post/3mmywthty752k

Retro Access (@retro-access.com)

It has come to our attention that the SuperStation One does not follow the Sega Saturn pinout, instead the audio channels are swapped. Our pinout figures in the Retro Access Knowledge Center have been updated to reflect this.

retro-access.com/knowledge-center/connectors/

Bluesky · May 29, 2026, 4:18 PM

[strong osprey]

the biggest controversy in fpga gaming will unroll from this

[small ore]

A lot of people get their lefts and rights mixed up all the time anyways, this might end up being quite helpful for them and truly be the thing that improves their gaming skills

[strong osprey]

you can move your speakers around or wear your headphones backwards

[dusky delta]

EMIT is super interesting and I'm kinda surprised it's not more well known in the west considering it's already in English

[winter phoenix]

yeah

[unkempt kelp]

Saturn Auto Cartridge: #test-builds message Please tag if you test 🙂

[wise brook]

porkchop you minx

[unkempt kelp]

We need those QOL upgrades!

[ancient surge]

My guess is because its meant for educational purposes, so people dismiss it by default.

[warped saddle]

I'm too lazy to actually test the edge cases I know about, will just read the diff when it comes out

[unkempt kelp]

The source site mentions some edge cases like this

[warped saddle]

no, not those

I mean actual user UI flow stuff

[unkempt kelp]

Without a rebuilt Saturn core, the user can't override the cartridge.txt settings. But if there's an issue, we can update cartridge.txt

[warped saddle]

are you shadowing the status bits in main?

[unkempt kelp]

I'm popping osd manually between each load.

I just pushed the change to a new branch if you want to check it out:
https://github.com/misteraddons/Main_MiSTer/commit/7ca2c609afa4a02f9fcf9d7279f79b84e29b350d#diff-789483a1631721c87b056daf48c97e6d5fcbd4d272f58296d8c5906c846fe002

It's directly setting saturn ram cart over user_io

[warped saddle]

yeah, now when auto-cart kicks in and the user saves core settings, it blows away their saved setting

[unkempt kelp]

I guess the better question is why would the user want to apply the wrong cart setting? I know some games have optional cartridge support. That's the only thing I can think of.

[warped saddle]

no, I mean if I setup my core with a default cart setting, and then I load a game that is in the cartridge.txt and THEN I save core settings, you will overwrite the saved value

[unkempt kelp]

I understand

But the user no longer needs to configure the cart setting at all, assuming this list is right

Any game not on the list gets a "None" cartridge type

Maybe I'm missing something

[warped saddle]

extra save space carts

'BACKUP'

[unkempt kelp]

Ah, I see

Backup that also contains RAM, right?

[warped saddle]

I don't remember what the BACKUP option has

it's also saved with the normal internal ram save, so there's potential to just accidentally nuke shit people care about

[unkempt kelp]

Yet another list https://segaretro.org/Saturn_Backup_Memory

[warped saddle]

things that are auto-magically set should not save

[unkempt kelp]

Or things that only have one correct option shouldn't be user configurable

N64 core handles this gracefully

[warped saddle]

yes, it has an entire set of shadow copies of those settings and I think a flag that tells you if the database loaded it

you can do it that way in main but I dunno if grumpy Sorg will appear. when you load the status bits from disk, you also copy it into a shadow variable. and you add a flag to the user_io bit twiddling functions that let you know if it was done via user interaction or not. user interactions update both copies, automated ones only update the 'live' one that gets sent to the core. on save you save the one that was 'user initiated' only

[unkempt kelp]

Good point

[dusky delta]

1. As you mention, games where the cartridge is optional
2. ROMhacks could have different RAM requirements than their base game

[unkempt kelp]

If we can rebuild the Saturn core to have an Auto mode, that probably solves some of these issues.

Users can currently set BACKUP as the default cartridge mode and save it. What do games do that can't use BACKUP? Do they ignore it? Is it a safe default option?

[warped saddle]

the saturn core is literally 99% full

it already takes...many tries to build

games probably ignore it, although given this system I'm sure there's a game that freaks out with it in

[unkempt kelp]

haha probably

[stiff latch]

This is a smart idea and I'm surprised it wasn't already implemented. Well maybe not that surprised, knowing how full the Saturn core is already. In either case, good job!

[timber marlin]

Anyone experiencing slow motion gameplay in marvel super heroes? I am running the latest unstable dual ram build with no ram cart.

[river wing]

Wow, it makes me remember the sensation of entering a videogame store and being able to buy actual videogames 😮

[ripe valley]

Did you launched another game before MSH ?
I know that game have an original bug where it runs extra slow on original hardware if you do a simple reset + swap disc between games.

[timber marlin]

I did not run another game before. I tried a full reboot and it still happens on my setup

[ripe valley]

Okay.
I will check later next week, as I'm on vacation right now.

I can leave you a test during that time.

Or if srg320 have a better idea here.

[green swift]

Did Poland have licenses to import and sell video game consoles in the 1990s? Unfortunately, Ukraine did not. We only found out about its existence with the advent of the Internet.

[green swift]

No, I don't.😀

[ripe valley]

Let's try something @timber marlin

#1046941029296779344 message

If that version of the unstable core is better with MSH.

[timber marlin]

Just gave that build a test. The game ran at the correct speed. Then I full reboot and ran the latest dual ram build again. This time it ran at the correct speed as well. Seems like a false alarm on my part.

[visual grove]

Well that’s weird