MiSTer FPGA Sega Saturn Core Setup Guide! Play Saturn on MiSTer FPGA Today! MiSTer Tutorial!

Рет қаралды 6,835

8 ай бұрын

It’s Sega Saturn MiSTer FPGA Saturn core time! And because the MiSTer Sega Saturn core has gone public…it’s time for an updated MiSTer tutorial and MiSTer Setup Guide for Saturn! So enjoy
SUPPORT THE CHANNEL : / videogameesoterica
This is the Sega Saturn MiSTer FPGA Setup Guide / MiSTer FPGA Sega Saturn How to Guide you asked for!
I asked, you answered...and I try to listen :) Of all the requests for new content on the channel one of the most frequently asked for videos is a series on the Terasic DE-10 Nano MiSTer FPGA hardware...so here it is! Retro gaming goodness.
NOTE : the Sega Saturn MiSTer FPGA core was just added to Update_all as an official release yesterday. But its the same core we are currently testing on so it's still WIP. Just a heads up...and that's what this video is today! Plus CHD support has been unofficially added but we will talk about that in an upcoming setup guide!
This is a list of games that just 100% work on the current MiSTer FPGA Sega Saturn core!
SRG320 just updated the Sega Saturn core with new code...AGAIN just more hours ago on October 4th......so of course we are going to test the new binary and see how it performs. and now it's been folded into MiSTer Main and Update_all! Seriously...the improvements in performance and compatibility is a small retro gaming miracle! A LOT of games we tested previously have HUGE improvements and some new games work that never used to! and some games that STOPPED working on previous cores are now back and better than ever! Plus Burning Rangers has a seriously awesome improvement!
and now we have new working games that never worked before as well! Amazing. This is a core testing video with user requests! So enjoy!
This core fixes a massive ton of issues from the last Saturn core. Also make sure you update MiSTer main as there are some CD loading fixes in there that benefit Saturn!
and now it seems like more people that have older RAM modules / the four chip ram module variants are seeing more success running the current Sega Saturn MiSTer FPGA core too!
and game saves are here! Which is HUGE for the core! Because playing Sega Saturn in FPGA on MiSTer FPGA without being able to save your game was NOT easy!
So that means its time to test a new batch of games...viewer requests too!
Note: this is the current build of the Sega Saturn core for MiSTer FPGA and NEW GAMES WORK! but really its the save functionality that is the huge thing! Also this is a MiSTer FPGA Sega Saturn setup guide as the core is once again manually installed and you need to switch to MiSTer Unstable Main vs being on Stable main...which I will show you how to do in the video!
This is part of the MiSter FPGA Sega Saturn testing series...but now with a brand new core build! So lets put it through its paces! Because the audio quality on the new core just sounds PERFECT...in spots!
Note; you may need to format memory depending on the game. See here vampier.net/Saturn/
Patreon Thanks: Seth Peterson, John Thompson, Paul Daniel, Porch, Jon Anderson, RayceARoni, Kuranghu, Jason Hixon, Alex Tessler, Jonathan Leung, Martin Donlon, Tom Van Deusen, barabob, Steve Randall, Ahab, K-2, Renaissance 2K, Ivar Wennerhold, Adrien Sebbane,
Mike Puelinckx, Tony Escobar, H7, Ben Parfitt, Holger Schmidt, Tim Lehner, Shad Uttam, Dan L, Coupon Joe, Sunder Raj, Dorfus the Maple Syrup Man, John Booty, Richard S, Eric Gutt and Robert Alger!
THIS IS THE LATEST TEST OF 2023 using the September 22nd Sega Saturn FPGA core…and I can't wait to follow along with the Sega Saturn FPGA core progress in 2023. It's been incredible to watch the retrogaming community test the Sega Saturn core from Srg320 and I can't wait to see more improvements!
Games Tested: Keio Fying Squadron 2, Dungeons & Dragons Shadows Over Mystara, Decathelete, Wipeout and Capcom's fighting game of brilliance X: Men vs Street Fighter!
Note: You can use a single RAM or dual RAM build of the Sega Saturn core for MiSTer FPGA. You need Unstable Main currently as well!
Consider supporting SRG320. He could use it!
and thanks to Andy D!
/ posts
Questions? Comments? Just leave them below and I will do my best to answer each and every one of them!
/ videogameesoterica
You can follow us at IG : ChicagoGameCollector , or join our Discord Server : / discord
VGE
#retrogaming #misterfpga #sega #segasaturn #retrogamer #retrogames #arcade #arcadegames #arcadegame #emulator #emulation #retrogaming

Пікірлер: 135

@thegrudge 8 ай бұрын

I never had a Sega Saturn and didnt know anyone with it, so this is a brand new console for me. What a time to be alive!

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

Oh man you are in for a treat. Massive library of fun coming your way

@SmallSpoonBrigade 8 ай бұрын

I think my brother had one of the later versions, I just bought one of the earlier big boxy ones a couple days ago and it's fun. Although, the 3d gaming is subject to a lot of popup.

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

Yes draw distances in this era of 3D were never awesome. They just didn’t have the power to put enough polygons (or in this case quads) on screen at once

@starstarstar4643 5 ай бұрын

@@VideoGameEsoterica Saturn had more "polygon power" than the playstaion, but with the Saturn's dual processing most developers found it hard to develop for and only utilized one of the processors for 3D polygon games thus making almost polygon game from Saturn inferior to playstaion polygon games

@METR0lD 8 ай бұрын

The more people playing Saturn the better! I may not need the tutorial, but glad that others can use it to get it up and running!

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

Haha yes these are always less views cause half the regular viewers are already playing

@gingertom64 8 ай бұрын

Thank you for the setup guide. I never owned a Sega Saturn when they came out, but have enjoyed it since getting back into retro gaming

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

Such a great library to discover for the first time

@meteor1522 8 ай бұрын

I thought I’m the only one who hates Hi-Saturn boot screen 😂 I have all bios versions ,didn’t know Hitachi one is multi region,I still 100% prefer the boot screen and chime of Japanese Saturn.

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

Haha that’s totally fair. It’s why I mentioned it

@mgoul78 5 ай бұрын

Thank you for this. I think I overlooked the RAM expansion. Your videos always help when I’m tinkering and hit a snag.

@VideoGameEsoterica 5 ай бұрын

Glad they help :)

@jasp2003 8 ай бұрын

Oh man, can't wait to play some Shmups!

@VideoGameEsoterica 7 ай бұрын

Do it!

@themblan 8 ай бұрын

Interesting. I can't get Shinobi Legions to work. I'll try the HiSaturn BIOS. Thank you; have a great day.

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

Def try hi Saturn. It’s had the best results

@RetroRockGamer 8 ай бұрын

Using the latest hisaturn bios helped straighten out my issues...!

@markfulton6929 8 ай бұрын

The tip on the Hi-Saturn BIOS is a good one. One game you need this for is Kaio Flying Squadron 2 if playing on a CRT. Outside of Japan this game only got a western released in Europe, but it isn't PAL optimized so runs fine at 60Hz. However you do need a region free BIOS to boot it on the core if you want to play on a 60Hz (NTSC) CRT

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

I just recently did a test on it on the channel :)

@sunderark 8 ай бұрын

It's fine if you run it via RGB

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

Good to know

@VeronicaMoore-xe1tq 8 ай бұрын

Thank you!

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

Happy to do it :)

@deadaisakson 8 ай бұрын

Shinning Force 3 will lock up randomly (I'm running the latest core with only 1 RAM chip). That's the only game I've run into issues with. Good stuff!

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

Yes some freezes are still the be expected

@meteor1522 8 ай бұрын

There is actually region free Japanese (and American) bios available if you search. I test it and it works perfectly just like the Hi-Saturn one but you get the original Japanese boot screen and chime 👌🏼

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

I’m kinda into Hi Saturn myself but good to know

@nodieza 8 ай бұрын

Before I watch the video: When I get the game running it's so nice but I have to mess the bios a few times before I can get it to boot a game and my controller mapping is all jacked up. Other than that it's been great. Hoping this video clarifies the bios at least. After watching: Can't wait to try the hi bios. Was probably a region thing since I had such a mix of regions in my collection. Thank you!

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

Redo the controller bindings in the main OS and try binding again in core :)

@MalanTp 8 ай бұрын

v2.5 RAM modules are an exception, they have 2 chips but they don't work very well with this core for now. I just bought a v3.0 RAM module and now everything is working as it should. So if you have no sound and very glitchy games, there's a good chance your RAM version is not compatible yet. I share this because I wish I knew that sooner. Hope it hepls!

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

SOME 2.5 modules have issues. I do all my testing on a 2.5 first and it’s rock solid stable. But experiences may vary. I have a 2.5 build, a 2.9 build and a dual 3.0 build

@IPetre91 6 ай бұрын

Thank you ;)

@VideoGameEsoterica 6 ай бұрын

👍

@stuartwpearce 8 ай бұрын

Thanks for this! BIOS tip super helpful. You mentioned there’s a single and dual version of the core - do we know which core comes down with update_all?

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

Single by default I believe. Or it might be both. But def at least single

@laucops198 8 ай бұрын

Thanks for all you work, your channel is amazing and my main resource for all info regarding Mister. I have tested the core yesterday on different shmups. Garegga looked accurate, Batsugun's bullets seemed faster to me (I played the original just after testing the core, but maybe I was wrong), Darius Gaiden had several sound and visual glitches (and seemed more difficult as well, but I can be wrong). I played with a single 128 mb ram. Do you think there is a chance that, once the core is complete, the dual ram might be no longer useful ?

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

It seems like single ram is the target still but we will have to wait and see! So glad you enjoy the channel :)

@pspsmallz 6 ай бұрын

Slowly saving up for a mister build so by the time I have my own mister, I hope the core is very optimized. Cant really afford to buy a real modded Saturn or the set up for it so this is my best choice to play Saturn since pc emulation is just not convenient for me.

@VideoGameEsoterica 6 ай бұрын

You’ll love it when you get it

@sketchy0078 8 ай бұрын

I’ve been using CHD just for ease and can report that there is no difference between CHD or bin and cue. The new Saturn core is getting so close to original hardware. The mister has become my dream console with all the cores that are now available. Now if someone would just tackle the 3do and CD32.

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

I mean we def need 3DO on MiSTer or else it will always be “really awesome but where’s my damn 3DO” lol

@sketchy0078 8 ай бұрын

@@VideoGameEsoterica 3DO is one of those systems that was so good at the time but so underdeveloped. I really want the FPGA core so people can actually appreciate how great the system is with out investing a lot of money to a mostly meh system. There are about 20 or so titles that really shine on the system and so many of the those are now at crazy prices on the resale market. Please someone bring 3do to mister!

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

Yeah 3DO prices have gotten stupid expensive. A loose Killing time is $60-80 now and a long box is multiple hundreds. I paid…$5 for mine? Lol

@sketchy0078 8 ай бұрын

@@VideoGameEsoterica $5 ! Talk about right place right time. Could you do a video on you 3DO collection please 🙏

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

Late spring. Expect a 3DO series

@Jacob-sn4hk 8 ай бұрын

Last I heard CHD still required individual folders per game for now

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

My rec is individual folders for all usually. For organization alone

@custardo 8 ай бұрын

I have several CHDs in a single folder. No problems here.

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

Yes it will be fine. I just like the folders. But that’s me :)

@retrorobbgaming 8 ай бұрын

Is there any light gun support for the Saturn core yet? That’ll be fun!

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

Not yet. Hopefully soon

@isaacchavarria4026 7 ай бұрын

Hi! how do you swap discs? do you have to put all the discs in the same folder? thanks

@ryangrech6754 8 ай бұрын

Sega Saturn on the mister has almost surpassed any Saturn emulation I’ve messed with. Some more time in the oven and I can put my Fenrir to pasture.

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

Yes once this is done it will probably end up as THE way to play Saturn

@paulshealthfitness7922 8 ай бұрын

Where can I find a full list of game compatibility for saturn and N64? Thanks

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

MiSTer FPGA discord under Saturn and N64 channel pins

@cuckolddestroyer 7 ай бұрын

I just got my mister set up last night and I'm very very new to everything. Where do you find the Boot.bin file and the hi Saturn bios?

@VideoGameEsoterica 7 ай бұрын

You need to find those online. All I can tell you here. Sorry bout that

@nicci_dee8292 3 ай бұрын

Just a short Q: XMen - VS Streetfighter still freeze right ? Just the color failure after start is gone but whne it come into the fight it freezes ?

@VideoGameEsoterica 3 ай бұрын

Correct. Still freezing on current core

@craigc-mh2oy 8 ай бұрын

Awesome tutorial! My question is how to set up & use the Saturn core with external harddrive with all the games on? Do i need to delete the Saturn games folder that is added by update_all to my sd card? Or can i leave that folder alone and just move the bios to my external HDrive Saturn folder? thank you :)

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

You should be able to just duplicate it but I haven’t tested that in over a year

@craigc-mh2oy 8 ай бұрын

Thanx mate, that worked great :)

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

👍

@JayTheBarber603 4 ай бұрын

Finally getting around to trying out Saturn for the first time. I tried both Hi Saturn Bios and only about 2 out of 10 games booted (all bin, cue), the others kicked back to the splash screen with a "game not suitable for this system" message. I'll see if I can find some different Roms as these are from an old arcade build, or hunt down a different bios download to try, but when you switch bios, are you switching the file in the folder everytime, or is there a way to have multiple versions in the boot list at the same time? I'm thinking not as it needs to be called boot.rom, but I figured I'd ask before I spend all afternoon taking my SD card back and forth. Great video, I played a round of Baku Baku and got all the old feels.

@VideoGameEsoterica 4 ай бұрын

On the newest unstable core? Try 1.03

@JayTheBarber603 4 ай бұрын

@@VideoGameEsoterica so when you say unstable core, is that the one you have to download manually? I’m using the one I got from update all with hi Saturn 1.03

@VideoGameEsoterica 4 ай бұрын

Yes. Unstable is the manual download from discord

@fenderc01 8 ай бұрын

I believe if you name your BIOS file to boot.rom, it will load automatically.

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

It will. But I prefer the manual method. Just how I’m into it

@SaviorGabriel 8 ай бұрын

Is there a proper way to save games, or change discs for multi-disc games at the moment? I had an issue with saving in Panzer Dragoon Saga between discs. I made it up to disc 2, and when I try to load from that disc, it wouldn't show my save. When I loaded from the first disc, my save showed up. It's weird. I just want to make sure I'm not doing something wrong.

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

Odd it would not show in disc two. I haven’t gotten that far. Let me ask around

@Sthunderrocker 8 ай бұрын

Does this mean that we're at a place where I should go ahead and add it? Or are we still heavily in beta?

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

It’s still beta. But it’s a solid amount of fun. I say add it

@markderidder 7 ай бұрын

Does this core work with a Guncon 2 light gun?

@VideoGameEsoterica 7 ай бұрын

Light gun support has not been added yet

@Vara91391 7 ай бұрын

Can you please make a video showing how to change to CD2 in a multi-disc Saturn game? On discord it is said you can't, on forums people say you can, it's a bit conflicting atm.

@VideoGameEsoterica 7 ай бұрын

I’ll touch on that soon

@Vara91391 7 ай бұрын

@@VideoGameEsoterica Also, I have a save file for you if needed for the awesome Saturn game, "Deep Fear". It is like a RE game, but for the saturn and man does it run great! Only con is very low volume. I can give you the save file and walkthrough, it is basically before a minor boss fight and then you have to hurry back within a certain time limit (easily done) to your mini-sub to abandon a part of the facility. After there's some cutscene and then it asks for CD2. Let me know here if you want the save file, I think talking about Deep Fear would also be a wise choice as it is a great game on the saturn.

@VideoGameEsoterica 7 ай бұрын

It’s been in the videos before and yes it’s an awesome game for sure. Underwater RE

@sunderark 8 ай бұрын

4:30 hey im sure the BG isnt supposed to look like this,

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

Nah looks perfect lol

@emmettturner9452 4 ай бұрын

1:01 "all you need to do is go into your MiSTer, go under Scripts, and run update_all." Has this changed? Running update_all is a seasonal thing for me since I don't have an easy way to get it online and the desktop version doesn't work right for my DB9 cores. Been loading the N64 core’s dailies via sneakernet. ;) The only monitor I can use during updates is a weird 30" Dell UltraSharp dual-link DVI display with no proper scaler so the MiSTer menu is all scrambled. Even so, I managed to run update_all and did not get the Saturn core. My SD card still has the same core I loaded manually back in September. Maybe this is because I am on the DB9 cores with update_all but I believe it is still supposed to download the standard versions of each core if a DB9 version is not available.

@VideoGameEsoterica 4 ай бұрын

Yes. It’s now in unstable nightlies on the MiSTer FPGA discord

@ajsl 8 ай бұрын

You mention using both Hi Saturn BIOS v1.02 and v1.03 - what's the criteria for selecting either one? Are there certain games that only work with one or the other? Cheers.

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

No real diff between 1.02 and 1.03 in functionality. Either or

@ajsl 8 ай бұрын

Cheers 😀@@VideoGameEsoterica

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

👍

@LeftyPem 8 ай бұрын

You mentioned that a few games did not work with the region free HiSaturn Bios. Which ones were they?

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

Let me look for the list again. It’s like…two haha

@RAGINxxXxxCAJUN 4 ай бұрын

Can you just leave the 4mb cartridge on and all games will work?

@VideoGameEsoterica 4 ай бұрын

Some games (a small list) I believe present issues on real hardware if the cart is in so I just turn it on per use case

@jonniefast 8 ай бұрын

what if we dont want to use update all? (it often breaks previously working cores for analog out like astrocade)

@jonniefast 8 ай бұрын

;(

@jonniefast 8 ай бұрын

i keep my mister DISCONNECTED from wifi at all times once its working i leave it alone

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

You can just get the core from the MiSTer discord then

@jonniefast 8 ай бұрын

went this route, they were all v nice on there ^__^ @@VideoGameEsoterica

@JustinTessier 8 күн бұрын

Not getting a boot screen with 32mb sdram. Maybe time to upgrade

@VideoGameEsoterica 7 күн бұрын

Gotta get bigger ram

@axelkusanagi4139 8 ай бұрын

Does Sega Titan Video work yet?

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

No. Unsure if it ever will either. Srg hasn’t said anything about it

@tonibahloni920 28 күн бұрын

Do you have a dreamcast core setup video?

@VideoGameEsoterica 28 күн бұрын

There is no Dreamcast core so def not :)

@tonibahloni920 28 күн бұрын

@@VideoGameEsoterica Thanks, VGE!!! With all the Dreamcast vids, I assumed there was. Keep up the great work.

@VideoGameEsoterica 28 күн бұрын

Haha nope. Just me playing Dreamcast and NAOMI

@bstar777777 6 ай бұрын

Is Radiant Silvergun working? It was the first game I tried and it would not load. I've since gotten some others working, but I'm curious about RS.

@VideoGameEsoterica 6 ай бұрын

Last I tested it was yes

@bstar777777 6 ай бұрын

@@VideoGameEsoterica thanks so much for confirming :)

@VideoGameEsoterica 6 ай бұрын

👍

@renesav 6 ай бұрын

I got some confirmation that shining force 3 works in chd but might froze, anyone csn confirm this or if its just working, all 3 scenarios

@VideoGameEsoterica 6 ай бұрын

Last I tested I believe it worked

@meteor1522 8 ай бұрын

Is there any way to know if your RAM is fully compatible? (other than random game glitches because these can happen anyway with this beta core) I built my Mister in 2019! it’s 128mb but can’t remember anything else.already bought a Retro-Bit official Sega Saturn pad just for this core and spending another 50 for a new version of RAM makes using the Saturn core very expensive!

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

2 chip and run mem test. You want solid 145mhz plus performance

@meteor1522 8 ай бұрын

@@VideoGameEsoterica so I just checked mine is v2.5 2-chip module and I get 142 with memory test.do you think I should buy v3 Ram?

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

I recommend it yes. Get this : misteraddons.com/collections/parts/products/sdram-xsd-2-9-128mb

@meteor1522 8 ай бұрын

@@VideoGameEsoterica the description says : All RAM sold will pass at least 130 MHz MEMTEST for 5 minutes. Most pass at 140 MHz or higher so won’t be 145 mhz am I missing something?

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

Let me look up the speed again. It might be more like 140. Been a minute

@armkonninko1602 8 ай бұрын

Why when i try to load saturn games with mister, they are loading as audio CD-s ? i cant run the game... i see only audio tracks...

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

Sounds like a bad game file. It’s not finding track 1 which is the data track. It’s just seeing it as track 1 and beyond which is audio

@armkonninko1602 8 ай бұрын

@@VideoGameEsoterica and chd format is working ?

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

Yep!

@armkonninko1602 8 ай бұрын

@@VideoGameEsoterica one more question, where to buy 100% compatible ram module for single setup? i have one from antonio villena and i think that's the reason why games dont start, i used chd and try some games but they dont loading, hanging on intro or don't start at all.

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

Mister Addons : misteraddons.com/products/sdram-xsd-2-9-128mb

@RippahRooJizah 8 ай бұрын

Wait, people dislike the Hi-Saturn boot screen?

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

Nostalgia is strong

@meteor1522 8 ай бұрын

Yea I hate it ,it just doesn’t look and sound legit.I love the Japanese boot screen and chime.

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

Most people do. I totally get it

@RippahRooJizah 8 ай бұрын

@@meteor1522 I find it strange. Not so much a preference, but outright distaste for it. Personally it's my favorite one.

@Spokavriel 8 ай бұрын

file space preservation strategy idea. Many of these games have the arcade original image already available to mister, Play all the versions and remove any that are less enjoyable, Marvel Vs Streetfighter I think has been public from Jotego for a while now. Did it also get a NeoGeo port? But keep the one you like playing best with the overlap between systems on some games its a bit insane especially looking at long running series in example Final Fantasy. Capcom is amazing at their games and there are so many ways to play each. Anyone try to get all versions of all revisions of Street Fighter II on the same FPGA and play through them all in release order yet?

@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын

That’s the best part…tons of ways to play a lot of stuff so you can pick your fav