System Card Version Guide

[awack]

Streetfighter 2 CE/Turbo has 12 fighters/levels, the SCD has 2Mb of memory, 2X12=24Mb, so it would seem that the SCD is good enough to handle Street fighter 2, the problem is that most of the memory in any fighting game is dedicated to the character sprites with their large number of frames, combined with the fact that there are two character sprites per level, means that instead of 12 fighter with 12 load times, its more like 12 fighter with 6 load times. Using the ADPCM 64Kb(half a Mb) to store graphics would help.

I've read a few times that it is not possible to for Arcade/Super CD games to be as good as a cartridge games.

Action games and shooters are what the Super CD should be good at, for example shooters(shmups) for the three major 16 systems range from 2 to 7 1/2 Mb and 2 to 14 or so Mb for side scrolling action games(no rpg elements)
Now take for example winds of thunder, a shooter, it could be in the range of 25Mb, for Rondo it could be in the 45Mb range, these numbers don't take into account things that are reloaded each load time or more than once through out the game. This doesn't mean that the Duo is the best machine for Shooters and action games because lots of memory doesn't take into account things like art work, the way colors are used, parallax and line scrolling, hardware scaling and rotation.

[SuperPlay]

However were card versions 1.0, 2.0, 2.1 every released in retail packaging?

Reportedly, versions 2.0 and 2.1 did come in cases (clicky).

I need to keep my eyes open for these :@)

[Fatality]

I also have a question

Does a Japanese Super System 3.0 card work on a US Turbo Grafx CD? Or will it only work with one of those HuCard converters? I'm pretty sure you need a converter just want to clarify.I was looking on ebay and the JPN Super System 3.0 cards are much much cheaper than the US ones. Thanks

[Turbo D]

Your assumption is correct; a hucard converter is required to run a jdm sys3.0 in a Turbo! And yes, muuch cheaper to go the jdm route. I did (prior to getting a duo, lol (even though I now have le~ubber Arcade Pro!!!)), it was ~$30 compared to a U.S. sys3.0 that runs around $100+ on eBay. I plan to go the modded Rx route in the future, though throwing a super sheedee romu romu onto the back of my supergrafx causing it to polymorph into transformer snalien decepticon would be bad-ass!?!

[Fatality]

Thanks Turbo D much appreciated.

[Liquid Snake]

I think Supergrafx can handle Street Fighter 2 Turbo ...................I think so.

[Tatsujin]

The normal PCE could handle Street Figher II' so it also could have handle the Turbo. Though, the SGX would have added nice parallaxes for the background, which were missing in the PCE version.

[rag-time4]

Quick query:

I know that the System card 3.0, Arcade Card Duo and the Arcade Card Pro were released in Retail packaging (Jewel CD case)

However were card versions 1.0, 2.0, 2.1 every released in retail packaging? As the ones I have seen for sale second hand have always been loose.

Thanks

I believe the reason you see so many of the 2.0 and 2.1 cards loose is that they were probably packed in with the IFU + CDROMROM boxed set. I have confirmed that there are two versions of the IFU + CDROMROM set, one released in 1988 with a white PCE shown on the manual, and another in 1989 with a Coregrafx I shown on the manual and SuperGrafx discussed inside.

I have read that the original PCE CDROMROM and IFU were sold seperately, though I have not verified this info. If this is indeed the case, one of these included the system 1.0 card.

[Tatsujin]

I believe the reason you see so many of the 2.0 and 2.1 cards loose is that they were probably packed in with the IFU + CDROMROM boxed set.

This is not just probably, this is a fact

[Mathius]

Streetfighter 2 CE/Turbo has 12 fighters/levels, the SCD has 2Mb of memory, 2X12=24Mb, so it would seem that the SCD is good enough to handle Street fighter 2, the problem is that most of the memory in any fighting game is dedicated to the character sprites with their large number of frames, combined with the fact that there are two character sprites per level, means that instead of 12 fighter with 12 load times, its more like 12 fighter with 6 load times. Using the ADPCM 64Kb(half a Mb) to store graphics would help.

I've read a few times that it is not possible to for Arcade/Super CD games to be as good as a cartridge games.

Action games and shooters are what the Super CD should be good at, for example shooters(shmups) for the three major 16 systems range from 2 to 7 1/2 Mb and 2 to 14 or so Mb for side scrolling action games(no rpg elements)
Now take for example winds of thunder, a shooter, it could be in the range of 25Mb, for Rondo it could be in the 45Mb range, these numbers don't take into account things that are reloaded each load time or more than once through out the game. This doesn't mean that the Duo is the best machine for Shooters and action games because lots of memory doesn't take into account things like art work, the way colors are used, parallax and line scrolling, hardware scaling and rotation.

I thought the Turbo/PC Engine/CD-ROM2/Super CD-ROM2/Arcade Card etc. couldn't handle scaling and rotation like the Neo Geo, Super NES, or Sega CD could. I've seen the Turbo try it in games like the start-up and menus in Gate of Thunder. Did the ACD allow for Mode 7 like effects?

[Tatsujin]

No ACD didn't allow any extra tricks, since it basically was/is only a RAM-Booster.

What you see as rotations are either animations or other tricks doing this. hell, even the C64 could do amazing plane-rotations, if you knew how to do it.

The scaling in Art of Fighting is a simple trick of changing between the different types of resolutions the PCE supports. Doing it fast, it seems that it zoomes in and out, like scaling the whole screen.

[Mathius]

No ACD didn't allow any extra tricks, since it basically was/is only a RAM-Booster.

What you see as rotations are either animations or other tricks doing this. hell, even the C64 could do amazing plane-rotations, if you knew how to do it.

The scaling in Art of Fighting is a simple trick of changing between the different types of resolutions the PCE supports. Doing it fast, it seems that it zoomes in and out, like scaling the whole screen.

Wow, it probably would of fooled me.

[Tatsujin]

Right, one of the PCEs best ability is to fool the users when it comes to show of some neaty tricks.

[awack]

Tatsujin already answered. I was talking about NEC, Sega and Nintendo.

One thing that should be pointed out when it comes to scaling and rotaion, is that when it comes to 2D perspective games, individually drawn sprites that are loaded into memory can be more effective than hardware scaling/rotation,
so long as you have enough memory to hold allot of individual sprites/tiles. Take for example much of the crap that came out for the SNES, basically it looks like cardboard that was cut to shape by Stephen Hawking, with each sprite/tile drawn by hand you have much more control over each sprite as it changes perspective or scales, such as detail, color, light source, etc...giving it a bit more of an organic look, just look at the Egyptian boss in Sapphire.

3D perspective games like F-Zero are a different matter.

[Mathius]

Tatsujin already answered. I was talking about NEC, Sega and Nintendo.

One thing that should be pointed out when it comes to scaling and rotaion, is that when it comes to 2D perspective games, individually drawn sprites that are loaded into memory can be more effective than hardware scaling/rotation,
so long as you have enough memory to hold allot of individual sprites/tiles. Take for example much of the crap that came out for the SNES, basically it looks like cardboard that was cut to shape by Stephen Hawking, with each sprite/tile drawn by hand you have much more control over each sprite as it changes perspective or scales, such as detail, color, light source, etc...giving it a bit more of an organic look, just look at the Egyptian boss in Sapphire.

3D perspective games like F-Zero are a different matter.

I would like to see Sapphirre with me own eyes some day. I am in the process of maybe getting an ACD from another forum member, so maybe I will find out soon.