9 replies to this topic

[walter_J64bit]

I was just thinking that the lynx is powerful system can it emaulate the 2600? that would be cool to have 2600 on the go!

[Sauron]

That's a good question. While it's not powerful enough to emulate the processor on it's own, it may not need to, as it uses a similar one.

[Shawn Jefferson]

It would have to emulate the graphics and sound hardware of the 2600... which I don't think it is fast enough to do.

So the short answer, IMO, is NO.

[eric_ruck]

I would say no as well, because emulating the video and sound would be a lot of work, and the two systems function very differently.

On the other hand, rewriting most 2600 games for the Lynx would be pretty easy.

Eric

[walter_J64bit]

Now if we can get some one to recode all the 2600 games for the Lynx Ive think that a Lynx cart @ 512k can get up to 400 plus games and have two mode by a network

[Sauron]

What if someone made a 2600 converter for the Lynx similar to the Master System converter for the Sega Game Gear? I think it could definitely be possible, especially with that 2600 on a chip project.

[ZylonBane]

*ahem*

2600 resolution: 160x200
Lynx resolution: 160x102

Wouldn't be pretty.

[walter_J64bit]

hmmm scrolling screen? Like what Nintendo did with PAC-MAN no the Game Boy!

[Agent X]

Sauron said:

What if someone made a 2600 converter for the Lynx similar to the Master System converter for the Sega Game Gear? I think it could definitely be possible, especially with that 2600 on a chip project.

The Sega Master System and Game Gear had very similar hardware, much like the Game Boy and Game Boy Color. The GG's LCD screen has lower resolution than the SMS displays on a TV, but it has a larger color palette and stereo sound. Apart from those differences, and the differences in ports and interfaces, they are strikingly similar.

Adapters such as the Master Gear (or Gear Master, or other clones) have no chips in them--they literally wire the pins on the SMS cartridge to the appropriate pins in the GG cartridge slot. It's as if Sega really designed a portable Master System (with a few enhancements) from the get-go, but didn't want to sell it as such (perhaps so they could sell a whole new library of games, or because the SMS didn't sell too well in some markets such as the US).

OTOH, the 2600 and Lynx are quite dissimilar. The Lynx has about as much in common with the 2600 as it does the 5200 or the NES or the C64. If the "2600 on a chip" materializes, then it might be an interesting project, although I don't know if it would look too good, since the Lynx has only about half the screen resolution of the 2600. Cost and power consumption are also potential issues (remember, the SMS adapters for GG are just plastic and wires). If anything, the "2600 on a chip" in an adapter might be more useful on something like a Pocket PC, or perhaps the Sega Nomad or NEC TurboExpress, as those all have screens capable of doing justice to the 2600's screen resolution.

I think developing Lynx conversions of existing 2600 games would be interesting. Most of the big commercial releases would be off limits (unless you negotiate the legal rights), but perhaps people working on homebrew games in recent years might be interested in doing a "on the go" rendition.

[Twoface2]

ZylonBane said:

*ahem*

2600 resolution: 160x200
Lynx resolution: 160x102

Wouldn't be pretty.

Simply display every 2nd raster-line only. There you go!

Wouldn't be pretty, but playable

The Lynx's 6502 has 4 times the clockspeed of the 2600's. Since the CPU doesn't have to be emulated, there should be enough time to emulate the screen and the sprites (maybe just map them to the Lynx's?)