Author Topic: Setting up a PC-FXGA  (Read 4132 times)

elmer

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Re: Setting up a PC-FXGA
« Reply #15 on: June 03, 2015, 04:52:37 PM »
Oh, I didn't see the picture.   I see you got a terrorist onechip instead of a Sony/Toshiba/Sanyo/Panasonic!   I only buy the real deal MSX stuff.  It's literally setup next to me as if it were a current machine.   :)

Yeah ... sorry, I wasn't willing to pay the kind of money that people are asking for the Japanese systems just to tinker with an MSX ... I don't have overly fond memories of the MSX1 when it was available.

Since the OneChipMSX was actually an "official" MSX product ... I can just about say (with an almost straight face) that I have "real" MSX ... but it only cost $80 and it includes the stuff that it would cost $100s to buy for an old 80s machine.

And ... reprogrammable hardware is just so damned amazingly tech-geek cool!  :wink:

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The PC 98 has *very* f*cking awesome games.  Great RPGs, booby sims... all kinds of stuff.   

...

It just keeps going like that.   You essentially get the Japanese gaming experience with respect to action games... instead of the "we tried to mimic it, but suck at the games/just watched a VHS tape of the game, so we really ballsed up making it" versions on USA home computers.

Errrrrrr ... ???  :-s

Sorry, I just still don't get it ... it must be a personal thing (like most people's love for a particular system).

The shooter weren't bad ... but even ignoring the frame rate (hopefully just YouTube) and the lacklustre design ... I'd prefer to play Alpha Mission from 1985, or Alpha Mission II from 1991 (both on my list of potential-ports to the PCE  :)).

In 1996, when both of those PC98 shooters were released (Rude Breaker & Flame Zapper Kotsujin), I was playing Descent II on a 3Dfx Voodoo card ... no contest.

Even if you take the aged PC98 hardware into account ... I don't think that they can hold a candle to PCE Sapphire.

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I dumped the actual 98 hardware in favor of just tinkering around in emulators with the games, because I wanted to focus more on MSX.   One PC98 turned into enough money to buy 2 MSXes and a ton of games.

Yeah ... an actual PC98 machine just goes for crazy dollars here in the USA ... an emulator sounds like a much better option.

If I wanted to fling that amount of cash around, I'd look at getting an X68000 ... but there are already way too many things to play with.

SamIAm

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Re: Setting up a PC-FXGA
« Reply #16 on: June 04, 2015, 02:36:59 AM »
It's been said, and I want to believe it's true, that Japanese PC games from the late 80s/early 90s that have a high language barrier are one of the last unexplored frontiers of golden-age Japanese gaming.

Action games tend not to do very well for technical reasons, but the tradeoff is that menu driven games can be high color and high resolution. Some of the hand-drawn pixel art on Japanese PCs from that era is really good.

I would love to find a well written, well drawn, and ideally well scored digital comic book or RPG hybrid from that era to translate. The trouble is that there's so much to wade through that's essentially just smut.

Still, since a lot of those Japanese PCs were based on an x86 CPU, it should theoretically be a little easier to find someone who is comfortable with digging through the code. Maybe someday.

Arkhan

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Re: Setting up a PC-FXGA
« Reply #17 on: June 04, 2015, 06:14:26 AM »
Oh, I was playing Descent and stuff at that time too, but there's something to be said about the distinctly Japanese style games of the late 80s/early 90s.    My friend actually puked playing Descent at my house.   I still make fun of him for it.

And yeah, the frame rate looks tardy on YouTube for these games, but is not as bad when playing on the real machine.   The same goes for MSX games that have choppy scrolling on YouTube.   It is a bit choppy in real life, but is completely playable and not as jarring in person.


The point/click adventure games are also a bit more fun, for my tastes, on all of the JP machines.   I was never a fan of Zak McCracken and stuff.   There were a few (Loom, Fate of Atlantis, Return to Zork... 7th Guest?) that kept my interest....  but, I'll take anime/robots/boobies/demons anyday, over that stuff!

It's definitely one of those things where it will mostly be lost on you if you're not into distinctly Japanese games.  ... just like the PC-FX, basically.




Where'd you get that OneChip for 80$?  People sell those for 400$ and people pay the price.... lol.

I spent about 150$ on my HX-34, but then another like 120$ to ship it.   But, I shipped it with about 10 other things, so it all balanced out there.
[Fri 19:34]<nectarsis> been wanting to try that one for awhile now Ope
[Fri 19:33]<Opethian> l;ol huge dong

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elmer

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Re: Setting up a PC-FXGA
« Reply #18 on: June 04, 2015, 01:14:50 PM »
It's been said, and I want to believe it's true, that Japanese PC games from the late 80s/early 90s that have a high language barrier are one of the last unexplored frontiers of golden-age Japanese gaming.

You intrigue me ... I'll have to take a look at some point.  :)

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I would love to find a well written, well drawn, and ideally well scored digital comic book or RPG hybrid from that era to translate. The trouble is that there's so much to wade through that's essentially just smut.

The first 2 games in Arkhan's links didn't do much for me content-wise ... but they did show that the machine should be capable of some really nice stuff that I might like ... except that I can't read Japanese.


It's definitely one of those things where it will mostly be lost on you if you're not into distinctly Japanese games.  ... just like the PC-FX, basically.

I'm sure that there are games that I'd probably like ... but I have no skill at languages, so I'm out-of-luck.  :(

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Where'd you get that OneChip for 80$?  People sell those for 400$ and people pay the price.... lol.

When ESE released the OneChipMSX (using an Altera Cyclone 1 FPGA), they also released the "source code" for programming the FGPA.

In the years since, people have both bug-fixed and upgraded the original OneChipMSX, and ported the code to work on other, newer, Altera FPGA chips.

So ... I don't have a real OneChipMSX, I have a Terasic DE0 (http://de0.terasic.com).

It's a cheap board designed for use in university courses. The DE0 and DE1, which can both be programmed as OneChipMSX machines, come up frequently and cheaply on eBay, particularly at the end of a semester.

You can't plug an MSX cart in, although there is a circuit design available if you really want that capability ... but really, why would you want to?

Arkhan

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Re: Setting up a PC-FXGA
« Reply #19 on: June 04, 2015, 01:54:01 PM »
The first 2 games in Arkhan's links didn't do much for me content-wise ... but they did show that the machine should be capable of some really nice stuff that I might like ... except that I can't read Japanese.
Yeah.  The PC-98, and even the 88 really, are a vast open frontier of games we can't read good.  The action games are nothing stellar compared to anything you'd find anywhere else, easier.  I play them just to see what was going on, and maybe to see if I find any real stand-out games.

Enix had a lot of adventure games.  Zarth, JESUS!!!!.. 




I liked this game too:


Though, I played it when I couldn't read jack diddly dick so I am not really sure what was going on other than shooting stuff.



You may not find a lot of action games that you will feel are really must-haves compared to things you can play elsewhere now.   It's the digital comic stuff that you really miss out on.   But, if you can't read it, and aren't at least prepared to get out the dictionary and read through it like you're in first grade... you'll likely be waiting forever for most of this stuff to ever be translated.  That is the realization I had one day, and finally said f*ck this, time to learn me some squigglies.

You would honestly put less effort into learning how to read at a passable level than anyone would sitting and translating PC98 games and patching them for the white devil.



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You can't plug an MSX cart in, although there is a circuit design available if you really want that capability ... but really, why would you want to?

To play my RPGs that have save files on them, lol.   If you're only playing Konami action games/etc., this isn't a big deal.

I have Hydlide save files, and Ultima:Exodus!

I guess with your Onechip, you also miss out on being able to use SCC carts, and FM?  and flashcarts, NoWinds, and all of that stuff.

I have the Toshiba music cart, too.   You plug a real keyboard in and play music.   It's neat.
[Fri 19:34]<nectarsis> been wanting to try that one for awhile now Ope
[Fri 19:33]<Opethian> l;ol huge dong

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SamIAm

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Re: Setting up a PC-FXGA
« Reply #20 on: June 04, 2015, 02:52:35 PM »
Hey Arkhan...

I might like to get this because I am a crazy person:
http://page11.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/n144870509

I'm thinking it might end a little on the cheap side because everything there is incomplete.

Would you be interested in buying the PC-FXGA board off me for cheap if I win it?
« Last Edit: June 04, 2015, 03:16:22 PM by SamIAm »

elmer

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Re: Setting up a PC-FXGA
« Reply #21 on: June 04, 2015, 03:03:54 PM »
You would honestly put less effort into learning how to read at a passable level than anyone would sitting and translating PC98 games and patching them for the white devil.

Hahaha ... thank you for the links, and once again ... nicely done, but basically not my taste in games.  :wink:

I didn't see anything there that I'd personally choose to spend my time playing ... but that's just my own preferences.

Too many other things to do than play a game that I can't understand and will therefore miss 95% of of the point.

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You can't plug an MSX cart in, although there is a circuit design available if you really want that capability ... but really, why would you want to?

To play my RPGs that have save files on them, lol.   If you're only playing Konami action games/etc., this isn't a big deal.

I have Hydlide save files, and Ultima:Exodus!

I guess with your Onechip, you also miss out on being able to use SCC carts, and FM?  and flashcarts, NoWinds, and all of that stuff.

I have the Toshiba music cart, too.   You plug a real keyboard in and play music.   It's neat.

All of the common ones are already built into the hardware ... no need for most external carts, and one heck of a lot cheaper, too.

MSX-MUSIC
ESE-SCC: 1024K + SCC-I
ESE-RAM: 1024K + ASCII8
ESE-RAM: 1024K + ASCII16
MegaRAM

So you can run pretty much any MSX cartridge software.

That's on top of having 4MB of regular RAM, and it can run the Z80 at 10MHz.

If you want to wire it up (the circuit is available), then you can add MIDI ports, and so run that keyboard, or a Roland Sound Canvas.

As for getting files off a PC and onto the MSX ... just copy them to the SDCard, the MSX sees it as a huge drive!

elmer

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Re: Setting up a PC-FXGA
« Reply #22 on: June 04, 2015, 03:12:44 PM »
Would you be interested in buying the PC-FXGA board off me for cheap if I win it?

That's a good option, Arkhan ... you've already got all the missing parts with your PC-FXGA PC98 ... I doubt that you'll ever get a better deal.

Who knows ... perhaps it'll motivate you to help out with a translation!  :wink:

I really do think that that's the only way that you're ever going to get any more respect for the PC-FX in the Western hemisphere ... and I'm sure that the folks here would appreciate a few more translated games.

Arkhan

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Re: Setting up a PC-FXGA
« Reply #23 on: June 04, 2015, 07:00:13 PM »
Hey Arkhan...

I might like to get this because I am a crazy person:
http://page11.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/n144870509

I'm thinking it might end a little on the cheap side because everything there is incomplete.

Would you be interested in buying the PC-FXGA board off me for cheap if I win it?


Listen, I was already going to bid on that.  It's in my watch list, lol.

How about if I win it, you can deal with the stack of f*ckin' PC-FXs that I was going to tell the seller to keep, lol
[Fri 19:34]<nectarsis> been wanting to try that one for awhile now Ope
[Fri 19:33]<Opethian> l;ol huge dong

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SamIAm

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Re: Setting up a PC-FXGA
« Reply #24 on: June 04, 2015, 09:33:38 PM »
PMed.

Although beware, it sounds like elmer is trying to hunt down enough of these to tile his roof.

elmer

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Re: Setting up a PC-FXGA
« Reply #25 on: June 05, 2015, 04:43:52 AM »
Although beware, it sounds like elmer is trying to hunt down enough of these to tile his roof.

It's a drug ... I've got to get them all ... every single one in the world!

I'll lock them all away and charge people just to look at old black-and-white pictures of them ... wahahahaha!

OK ... perhaps I really don't need another one ... but that green box ... it's just so ... perfect ... ... how can I ... ... resist?  :wink:

Arkhan

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Re: Setting up a PC-FXGA
« Reply #26 on: June 05, 2015, 05:38:29 AM »
:) 

Believe me, doing a PC-FX game has been an idea of mine for a bit now.   Once these other dumbass retro projects I've started are done, I've been considering it. 

I was going to just use a CD-RW for repeated testing, but maybe I will sit and DOS it up, and make an even bigger mess of my desk.   There's an MSX, PCE, upscaler, and all kinds of bullshit sitting here.  I think I need another one.


[Fri 19:34]<nectarsis> been wanting to try that one for awhile now Ope
[Fri 19:33]<Opethian> l;ol huge dong

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elmer

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Re: Setting up a PC-FXGA
« Reply #27 on: June 06, 2015, 06:16:06 AM »
Listen, I was already going to bid on that.  It's in my watch list, lol.

How about if I win it, you can deal with the stack of f*ckin' PC-FXs that I was going to tell the seller to keep, lol

Good luck on the auction, guys! Less than a day to go, and the price is still reasonable.

But I'm not sure that I like the idea of Arkhan trying to steal away "my  preciousssssssss"!  :wink:


Arkhan

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Re: Setting up a PC-FXGA
« Reply #28 on: June 06, 2015, 05:28:00 PM »
lol.   We can be the only two coherent PCFX developers.
[Fri 19:34]<nectarsis> been wanting to try that one for awhile now Ope
[Fri 19:33]<Opethian> l;ol huge dong

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esteban

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Re: Setting up a PC-FXGA
« Reply #29 on: June 07, 2015, 03:33:55 AM »

lol.   We can be the only two coherent PCFX developers.

Truth.

Anyway, I'll get my brother to help create live-action and old-skill frame animation for

BLODIA PC-FX

when you are both ready.

It will have a "Quest Mode", of course...an ARPG-lite + BLODIA = Deeluxxee.

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