What shmups have an option for a high resolution mode (Arcade Mode)?

[nat]

Yeah it's got to be the way the emulators handle resets. Maybe the emulator completely wipes the emulated "RAM" whereas the actual system doesn't.

[Bonknuts]

Yeah, that's what I did. Still didn't work. Not in Mednafen or Ootake. Bastards! (the emulators, not you)

 I just tried it in mednafen and it works fine. Hold down run and keep pressing select, not "run+select", release, then "run+select", etc. Don't count the resets, just keep doing the "hold run and pressing select rapidly" until you see the high res mode.

[spenoza]

Maybe I just need to have more patience... Not my strong point.

[nat]

I just played Dragon Spirit in arcade mode for the first time, and I have to say, the game plays 100% better. Maneuvering your monolith of a dragon around actually feels good. I don't know exactly what they did, but I can tell you they didn't "just squish the graphics" for arcade mode. It's no secret I've never been a very big fan of Dragon Spirit, but playing in arcade mode, the Turbo port went up a few notches in my book.

[ceti alpha]

I just played Dragon Spirit in arcade mode for the first time, and I have to say, the game plays 100% better. Maneuvering your monolith of a dragon around actually feels good. I don't know exactly what they did, but I can tell you they didn't "just squish the graphics" for arcade mode. It's no secret I've never been a very big fan of Dragon Spirit, but playing in arcade mode, the Turbo port went up a few notches in my book.

You're absolutely right nat. I wasn't a fan of DS either, but one of the first things I did when I got my TG last week was input the arcade code and man, it's almost a totally different game. And yeah, it doesn't seem to me that they just "squished the graphics". It looks better.

So yeah, three cheers for arcade mode.

[esteban]

I just played Dragon Spirit in arcade mode for the first time, and I have to say, the game plays 100% better. Maneuvering your monolith of a dragon around actually feels good. I don't know exactly what they did, but I can tell you they didn't "just squish the graphics" for arcade mode. It's no secret I've never been a very big fan of Dragon Spirit, but playing in arcade mode, the Turbo port went up a few notches in my book.

You're absolutely right nat. I wasn't a fan of DS either, but one of the first things I did when I got my TG last week was input the arcade code and man, it's almost a totally different game. And yeah, it doesn't seem to me that they just "squished the graphics". It looks better.

So yeah, three cheers for arcade mode.

Dragon Spirit rules. And some of those tunes are the best to grace our beloved console. I speak the truth.

[ceti alpha]

I just played Dragon Spirit in arcade mode for the first time, and I have to say, the game plays 100% better. Maneuvering your monolith of a dragon around actually feels good. I don't know exactly what they did, but I can tell you they didn't "just squish the graphics" for arcade mode. It's no secret I've never been a very big fan of Dragon Spirit, but playing in arcade mode, the Turbo port went up a few notches in my book.

You're absolutely right nat. I wasn't a fan of DS either, but one of the first things I did when I got my TG last week was input the arcade code and man, it's almost a totally different game. And yeah, it doesn't seem to me that they just "squished the graphics". It looks better.

So yeah, three cheers for arcade mode.

Dragon Spirit rules. And some of those tunes are the best to grace our beloved console. I speak the truth.

Praise the lord!!! 

[futurematt]

Hi, very interested by this topic, and will try out the codes. Thanks for all the research!

I would like to actually clarify whether the various games output at a higher resolution ie a greater number of pixels in each dimension for the image in question, as opposed to simply redrawing the image in different proportions.

I am a resolution nerd and have always bought RGB and more recently component / VGA / HDMI cables for my systems, so I'm intrigued about getting the best image available.

The other linked subject, is that certain games eg R-Type, Legend of Hero Tonma and Ninja Spirit, output a very much higher horizontal resolution image (say 700 x 500) than the usual 4/3 or 400 x 300 image. You can tell this when running the ROMS on an emulator on 1:1 mode. You wouldn't know if you were just putting the image out on your TV.

In all of this, you really need to test it running on an emulator (which I will!) to see whether the 1:1 image changes shape and size.

[Mathius]

This is a very interesting thread! I didn't even know it existed until futurematt bumped it. As already stated earlier some of these codes are crazy long, especially considering the impact some have on gameplay. It's like the programmers didn't want people discovering them. Heh, who knows?

[SNKNostalgia]

I never saw this thread either... Awesomeness!!! 

One thing I like do with my flat screen standard CRTs is to use the service mode to change the image size and position. For example, the Neo Geo is kinda zoomed in a bit, so I have to shrink the width and height some. Then you got systems like the PS2 where the image isn't stretched out enough and is off centered to the right a bit. BTW, this comes in handy with games on the NES on the left side of the screen like Mega Man.

The Duo seems to be harder to mess with as some of the image on the top and a lot on the bottom is actually meant to be cut off from the display. The width on the other hand seems to be just right. You will notice that if you shrink the height enough on some games, you will see glitchy moving graphics that are from the top of the screen almost like they sort of connect.

I highly recommend messing the service mode to get desired results. You can fix geometry problems, get more correct colors, etc... I know it is a little OCD having to access it all the time depending on what system you are playing, but it is rewarding to have a perfect image. Just remember that if you don't know what your doing in the menu, you can mess up the settings on your TV. Good news if you use a Sony Wega/Trinitron, it will reset to the factory image if you unplug the TV, unless of course you save the settings with a certain command.

[ceti alpha]

This is a very interesting thread! I didn't even know it existed until futurematt bumped it. As already stated earlier some of these codes are crazy long, especially considering the impact some have on gameplay. It's like the programmers didn't want people discovering them. Heh, who knows?

Crazy long is right. The Final Soldier code needs the Enigma Machine to decipher it. And that Twin Bee code is absurd with needing the TurboTap and extra controllers. The slim screen mode should be default. lol

[nat]

Hi, very interested by this topic, and will try out the codes. Thanks for all the research!

I would like to actually clarify whether the various games output at a higher resolution ie a greater number of pixels in each dimension for the image in question, as opposed to simply redrawing the image in different proportions.

Yup, these codes actually change the output resolution of the system to the higher resolution used by games like R-Type, Hero Tonma, etc that you mentioned later in your message. The games (in most cases) don't redraw the image to fill the screen, however, so the end result is a "tate" arcade-style image with black bars on either side on a standard 4:3 television.

[PunkicCyborg]

A little off topic and a necro bump, sorry..... but I was playing Travel Epule and hit something on accident and my screen collapsed. I thought my PVM was dying but it is some kind of arcade mode. Press SELECT to pause then toggle the screen mode by pressing up or down

[EvilEvoIX]

Great thread, can't wait to get home to try this on a couple of games.

[Bardoly]

Great thread, can't wait to get home to try this on a couple of games.

Yes, this thread deserved a bump.