10 replies to this topic

[sack-c0s]

The reason I ask is because I've been knocking together some tools to get data into a usable form from bitmaps and map editor outputs, along with the associated Z80 to use it on the Sega side. To be honest it seems like a fairly common and underrated machine. If you know Z80 it's less hassle than a NES because there's less wierd mappers, lockout chips and such.

Does anyone do homebrew cartridges for the SMS in the same way that they do for the NES/Atari?

[Pixelboy]

sack-c0s, on Wed Nov 3, 2010 6:19 AM, said:

The reason I ask is because I've been knocking together some tools to get data into a usable form from bitmaps and map editor outputs, along with the associated Z80 to use it on the Sega side. To be honest it seems like a fairly common and underrated machine. If you know Z80 it's less hassle than a NES because there's less wierd mappers, lockout chips and such.

Does anyone do homebrew cartridges for the SMS in the same way that they do for the NES/Atari?

I would tend to think that most homebrew programmers who dabble with the Z80 prefer to do so on the ColecoVision, rather than a newer machine like the SMS (or even the Game Boy, for that matter), the main reason being that it's easier to produce cartridges on the CV. You can theoretically make homebrew games for any game machine of the eighties and then run them on emulators, but the real "ego trip" comes from holding the actual cartridge in your hands, with YOUR software on it, and then seing other people play it on their real consoles. ColecoVision cartridge casings can easely be found (new ones can even be manufactured, with some effort), and the electronics that go inside those casings are equally easy to source and solder together. ColecoVision homebrewing has developed itself quite a bit over the last decade or so, which explains why it's so "mature" today. In comparison, how easy is it to produce SMS cart casings? Not as easy, I'm fairly sure, although I could be wrong about that, I don't keep up with the SMS homebrewing community these days.

Also, consider how much free time a programmer must invest into programming a simple 32K game. It can take months, and after coding such a 32K game, by the time you're done beta-testing and debugging, you don't want to even look at the source code anymore, you just want to burn it onto EPROMs, slam it into cartridges, distribute the carts to interested parties, and then move on to other projects. The SMS offers the possibility to do games larger than 32K, but who's going to bother? I'm sure you can find a few brave souls out there who will make 128K games on the SMS given the proper dev tools and documentation, but most homebrewers will only have enough free time and motivation to do games in the 16-32K range, which is what the ColecoVision is designed to do practically by default. That's just the reality of this hobby, regardless of ambition: A lot of people would love to create a big game like "The Legend of Zelda" on their platform of choice, but it's just too big a project for most people. And don't get me started about the dramarama of team-based homebrew development...

[theloon]

Found one group that claims to do GBA carts. One or two do-it-yourself articles on the web for Genesis carts. Never heard of anything for SMS. Tototek may still sell its SMS-PRO Flash Cart.

[haroldoop]

I used to code some simple SMS games a few years ago, and knew a few others who were also doing so; on the other hand, I never heard of anyone actually making physical cartriges for non-personal use.
Maybe you should ask the people at SMS Power about that.

[Bruce Tomlin]

[quote name='Pixelboy' date='Wed Nov 3, 2010 8:38 AM' timestamp='1288791539' post='2128925']
[quote name='sack-c0s' date='Wed Nov 3, 2010 8:19 AM' timestamp='1288786747' post='2128898']
I would tend to think that most homebrew programmers who dabble with the Z80 prefer to do so on the ColecoVision, rather than a newer machine like the SMS (or even the Game Boy, for that matter), the main reason being that it's easier to produce cartridges on the CV.[/quote]
I wouldn't say that. For 32K cartridges, it's really no harder. And there is actually a standard for bank switching, not to mention the control lines that you need to tell reads from writes. And the SMS graphics chip is a clear upgrade from the TMS-9918, going in perhaps a more game-friendly direction than the MSX 9938, etc. VDPs.

I thought about SMS when I started to feel the limitations of 32K ROM, but then I quickly realized that the Mega Drive / Genesis had a nice large address space (no need for "mapper" chips to go beyond 32K), 64K work RAM, and 64K VRAM. And I already had a floppy-based game copier, giving me a relatively quick way to run code on the real hardware.

tl;dr: why program for the SMS when the Genesis has so much more to offer, and they're easier to find, too?

[sack-c0s]

Bruce Tomlin, on Fri Nov 5, 2010 8:46 PM, said:

tl;dr: why program for the SMS when the Genesis has so much more to offer, and they're easier to find, too?

Because I already have one and had a lot of fun with it as a kid. I'd actually like to do a little something for everything eventually - I'm just in more of a mastersystem mood at the moment

[theloon]

My search-fu turned up the z88dk C compiler
http://www.z88dk.org/forum/

Seems they lump the Master System in with other similar machines. Not sure if that means less complete support.

[malducci]

Bruce Tomlin, on Fri Nov 5, 2010 8:46 PM, said:

tl;dr: why program for the SMS when the Genesis has so much more to offer, and they're easier to find, too?

That's a pretty silly question to ask. The genesis isn't the master system, and the master system isn't the genesis. And probably for the very same reasons why people dev on other consoles

[theloon]

You know, the EverDrive Genesis Flash Cart can execute SMS ROMs. I wonder if a Genesis cart could be made that accesses the z80 to run your homebrew SMS game. Not just for the novelty factor - I'm also thinking finding plans to build a genny cart would be easier to find.

Edited by theloon, Thu Nov 18, 2010 4:48 PM.

[theloon]

Okay, sorry to bump this topic again but I found something of interest to those wanting to try SMS homebrew: S.A.M. - Simple Adventure Maker
http://www.smspower....p?p=54491#54491

Documentation is nearly nonexistent but at least it's a step up from diving head first into assembly

[haroldoop]

theloon, on Wed Nov 24, 2010 12:55 PM, said:

Okay, sorry to bump this topic again but I found something of interest to those wanting to try SMS homebrew: S.A.M. - Simple Adventure Maker
http://www.smspower....p?p=54491#54491

Documentation is nearly nonexistent but at least it's a step up from diving head first into assembly

Oh, I made that one. I'm actually feeling embarassed for never writing the documentation that I promised...