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Sega Saturn Appreciation and Emulation Thread

piggychan

Member
Oh yeah, got D&D too.

But you better not link me stuff like Crows! I may have to put that on my buy list!

mmmm sorry haven't checked the prices of these lately and I don't want too.. >___<

also...

Tenchi o Kurau II

other-consoles-46328-91343282954.jpg


Pu.Li.Ru.La - this looks really weird!
pulirula.jpg
 

miserable

Member
Hi guys, i have a problem with my Action Replay Plus 4 in 1, and i was wandering if someone could help me with it. The problem is that most of the time while playing a game wich requires the 1M or the 4M cart, graphical glitches appear, like sprites disappear or they get scrambled, and sometimes the game freezes. It happened while playing Samurai Spirits, Real Bout and Vampire Savior. The Action Replay is the white one without the parallel port. My Saturn is Model 1 PAL with a 50/60Hz switch installed. I don't have detection issues with it, just these glitches. Anything i can do about it?
 
Have you tried cleaning the connectors on the ARP and on your Saturn? That would be the first step I would take. Is this a new issue that's just popped up or did you just get the ARP and it's been doing this since you got it?

I remember back in the day the ARP needed a mod to be done to it, otherwise it would cause graphical issues in games like VS and others. This is the mod here http://www.shinforce.com/saturn/information/4MBRAM-mod.htm

I'm sorry that's not the best mod tutorial, but it was the only one I could find right now. Seems back in '14 some homebrewed firmware got released that allows the ARP and some other carts to allow you to play backup games without modding the saturn, and that was like 90% of what I was finding while looking for this old hardware mod.

Though your version may not need that, I'm not remembering off hand which was the newer version that didn't need it and which was the older version that did. So wait for someone else more knowledgeable than me to answer that one.
 

Conezays

Member
Hi guys, i have a problem with my Action Replay Plus 4 in 1, and i was wandering if someone could help me with it. The problem is that most of the time while playing a game wich requires the 1M or the 4M cart, graphical glitches appear, like sprites disappear or they get scrambled, and sometimes the game freezes. It happened while playing Samurai Spirits, Real Bout and Vampire Savior. The Action Replay is the white one without the parallel port. My Saturn is Model 1 PAL with a 50/60Hz switch installed. I don't have detection issues with it, just these glitches. Anything i can do about it?

I had some similar issues while playing Vampire Savior a few months ago. Can't speak 100 % to a fix per se, but moving the cart around a bit as well as changing my internal battery (it had died anyway) seemed to alleviate the issues for me. Are your issues constant? I would be able to play through all of Vampire and then only credits glitch, while other times characters would be fully scrambled. Definitely irritating/upsetting so I empathize.
 

miserable

Member
Have you tried cleaning the connectors on the ARP and on your Saturn? That would be the first step I would take. Is this a new issue that's just popped up or did you just get the ARP and it's been doing this since you got it?

I remember back in the day the ARP needed a mod to be done to it, otherwise it would cause graphical issues in games like VS and others. This is the mod here http://www.shinforce.com/saturn/information/4MBRAM-mod.htm

I'm sorry that's not the best mod tutorial, but it was the only one I could find right now. Seems back in '14 some homebrewed firmware got released that allows the ARP and some other carts to allow you to play backup games without modding the saturn, and that was like 90% of what I was finding while looking for this old hardware mod.

Though your version may not need that, I'm not remembering off hand which was the newer version that didn't need it and which was the older version that did. So wait for someone else more knowledgeable than me to answer that one.

I bought the ARP recently from ebay, it came as new in a box, and i've been having the issues since day 1. I read about that mod, but my cart is a newer version so i don't need to do that fix. The connectors on the ARP look clean, but i guess i could try to clean them with isopropylic alcohol. As for the Saturn connectors, i heard they are quite flimsy so i'm a little hesitant to mess with them. Is there a guide for cleaning the Saturn connectors?


I had some similar issues while playing Vampire Savior a few months ago. Can't speak 100 % to a fix per se, but moving the cart around a bit as well as changing my internal battery (it had died anyway) seemed to alleviate the issues for me. Are your issues constant? I would be able to play through all of Vampire and then only credits glitch, while other times characters would be fully scrambled. Definitely irritating/upsetting so I empathize.

The issues are pretty constant. Only Vampire froze on me, the other two games only had the graphical glitches. I did try to move the cart a bit, but not too much because of the flimsy contacts on the Saturn.The battery in the Saturn was changed recently.
 
I bought the ARP recently from ebay, it came as new in a box, and i've been having the issues since day 1. I read about that mod, but my cart is a newer version so i don't need to do that fix. The connectors on the ARP look clean, but i guess i could try to clean them with isopropylic alcohol. As for the Saturn connectors, i heard they are quite flimsy so i'm a little hesitant to mess with them. Is there a guide for cleaning the Saturn connectors?

Hmm not that I know of. I'm not sure what to suggest for cleaning the cart slot, have you at least tried blowing the slot out with some compressed air?
 

Gyrian

Member
Hi guys, i have a problem with my Action Replay Plus 4 in 1, and i was wandering if someone could help me with it. The problem is that most of the time while playing a game wich requires the 1M or the 4M cart, graphical glitches appear, like sprites disappear or they get scrambled, and sometimes the game freezes. It happened while playing Samurai Spirits, Real Bout and Vampire Savior. The Action Replay is the white one without the parallel port. My Saturn is Model 1 PAL with a 50/60Hz switch installed. I don't have detection issues with it, just these glitches. Anything i can do about it?

There's a chance you're not looking at the same issue in all these cases.
SNK games that require the 1MB cart can display garbled graphics (in addition to handful other side effects) when used with the 4MB cart. Not knowing whether you had your AR+ in 1MB mode or how the game perceives its 1MB mode, it's possible that this is the problem you're experiencing here.
 

Galdelico

Member
There's a chance you're not looking at the same issue in all these cases.
SNK games that require the 1MB cart can display garbled graphics (in addition to handful other side effects) when used with the 4MB cart. Not knowing whether you had your AR+ in 1MB mode or how the game perceives its 1MB mode, it's possible that this is the problem you're experiencing here.
Yep, I can personally confirm that too. SNK games tend to act a little weird with ARP carts sometimes... I own the white model with the parallel port on top - which is compatible with Vampire Savior and Street Fighter Zero 3 - and I use it on a Japanese Saturn. It happend to me that I booted the system with the cart in, popped Real Bout Special and got an 'extra RAM undetected' message. Tried Marvel Super Heroes vs. SF, no problem. Groove on Fight, no problem. Real Bout Special again, 'RAM undetected'.
It looks like a combination of factors, mainly some games being more finicky than others, and the ARP itself not fitting into the cart's slot as tight as the official ones do, resulting in slightly looser contacts.
 

KC-Slater

Member
It looks like a combination of factors, mainly some games being more finicky than others, and the ARP itself not fitting into the cart's slot as tight as the official ones do, resulting in slightly looser contacts.

I use a modded North American Saturn and the official 4MB card, and while I don't run in to any issues with the supported games, some games designed to use the 1MB-cart seem to provide mixed results, including Metal Slug and Marvel Super Heroes. I refuse to swap out the cartridge, however, as my console is launch model, and that slot is a fickle beast. I have made peace with the fact that I'll never use my backup-ROM cart, nor my 1MB cart on this console again...
 

Conezays

Member
Well, some of the heavy-hitters have arrived this past month and I've been having a blast. Some surprises for me have been Psyiko's Strikers series; both fantastic shooters with an array of difficulty options and modes. Some other favourites include the aforementioned MSX and Capcom Generations 1 collections, as well as Gunbird and Gradius Deluxe.

Also, I finally got a chance to play Battle Garegga and Batsugun. While it's still great, I haven't found Batsugun to live up to the hype personally. It's one of the few examples I've played where I have quite a hard time seeing the enemy bullets onscreen (relative to other shmups; of course, it's always hard to some extent to see fast-moving bullets). Your ship's firepower becomes so immense by the end of the game that it becomes very hard to discern whose bullets are whose IMO.

Your mileage may vary, but of the two I seem to prefer Garegga, which is ironic given I've seen that game criticised for having hard to see bullets. Hah.
 

Saroyan

Member
So I'm a Saturn owner now, it came in the mail today. It's a Japanese grey model that came with a box, controller and cables and a copy of Virtua Fighter remix packed in. It's in really good shape and I think the grey looks pretty cool. I already got an Action replay cart for it.

I was resisting buying a Saturn, I never owned one before but I am a big fan of Working Designs games ever since Lunar on my Sega CD. So now that I have a Saturn that means I'm going to end up spending too much money getting the WD games for Saturn lol.
 

MikeMyers

Member
Yeah, the Working Designs titles can be pretty pricey.

If you like VF Remix, you could try VF2, which I prefer since it plays at a much more fluid 60fps. It's also one of the cheapest games on the system. Fighters Megamix is a crossover Sega fighter that's a lot of fun to play, but it isn't as fluid as VF2.
 

Conezays

Member
Well, the deed is done. I've been holding off since the prices are so high but managed to snag a mint PAL copy of Panzer Dragoon Saga for 200 Euros :D

Also, I can't give enough praise for the 3D pad if anyone is on the fence. I got a mint white version and it is easily my favourite controller in my collection. Barring fighting games, I think it is more comfortable to use compared to the regular Saturn pad; the Dpad is just heavenly. Anyone else feel the same? Differently?
 
If you can find good deals get either one of these:

V.Saturn RG-JX2 by Victor JVC
victor_saturn.gif


This is cool sega saturn by SEGA
$_35.JPG





The mobile suit gundam side stories 1-3 are apparently good.

Aha! So that's where that controller comes from. I wasn't aware of this model, but I'm already committed on the Gray and Blue. Not seeing the 2nd image.

Well, the deed is done. I've been holding off since the prices are so high but managed to snag a mint PAL copy of Panzer Dragoon Saga for 200 Euros :D

Also, I can't give enough praise for the 3D pad if anyone is on the fence. I got a mint white version and it is easily my favourite controller in my collection. Barring fighting games, I think it is more comfortable to use compared to the regular Saturn pad; the Dpad is just heavenly. Anyone else feel the same? Differently?

Well spent money I say!
Speaking of the 3D pad, you will now have another game that works great with it. I personally use it for the Panzer Dragoon games and Nights mostly, but I do switch it up because I haven't actually tried it on all my games yet.
2D pad I use for fighters and the arcade stick for shmups
 

Conezays

Member
Aha! So that's where that controller comes from. I wasn't aware of this model, but I'm already committed on the Gray and Blue. Not seeing the 2nd image.



Well spent money I say!
Speaking of the 3D pad, you will now have another game that works great with it. I personally use it for the Panzer Dragoon games and Nights mostly, but I do switch it up because I haven't actually tried it on all my games yet.
2D pad I use for fighters and the arcade stick for shmups

Cool, sounds good! I haven't got a chance to try out any of the arcade sticks, but I find I love the Dpad for shmups on the 3D pad. Still, it doesn't seem like there's really any "bad" option on the system :)
 

ACESmkII

Member
Received my near mint HSS-0136 from Japan yesterday. Works great but the stick itself could use a good lubing as its a bit stiff.

image.jpg
 

ACESmkII

Member
^ Lovely.
Do you mind if I ask you what display is that? Those scanlines look sharp! <3

Sony KDL-47W802A 47 inch led that I picked up in 2013. The display is fantastic and has incredibly low input lag. The scanlines are from the XRGB Mini Framemesister. The image doesn't do the actual picture quality justice. It looks mind-blowing in person.
 

Galdelico

Member
Sony KDL-47W802A 47 inch led that I picked up in 2013. The display is fantastic and has incredibly low input lag. The scanlines are from the XRGB Mini Framemesister. The image doesn't do the actual picture quality justice. It looks mind-blowing in person.
No doubt it does. Fantastic setup.
 

Conezays

Member
Sony KDL-47W802A 47 inch led that I picked up in 2013. The display is fantastic and has incredibly low input lag. The scanlines are from the XRGB Mini Framemesister. The image doesn't do the actual picture quality justice. It looks mind-blowing in person.

Damn! Showed my brother as well; lovely display. I may have to bite the bullet and grab a Mini Framemeister at some point, haha.
 

Galdelico

Member
If I had a CRT/PVM I would post in the 240p thread more...I want to get one just for screenshots though, lol.
Any tip on how to take decent pictures with consumer-level digital cameras? My first attempts were pretty crappy and totally not worth showing, lol.
 

Timu

Member
Any tip on how to take decent pictures with consumer-level digital cameras? My first attempts were pretty crappy and totally not worth showing, lol.
You gotta get that lighting done right at the right angle along with experimenting with the different modes of taking pics. Though I imagine it'll be a lot easier with better cameras.=p
 

TeaJay

Member
I can't seem to take good pictures of my PVM even with my Nikon D200 (albeit with a standard kit lens). Maybe I just need a better lighting in my living room, or a better lens. These are probably the best pics I've managed to take.

 
So, I ordered a mini Framemeister.

Will I need this cable?
https://solarisjapan.com/products/pro-rgb-cable-retromeister-for-sega-saturn

Will that work for both Japanese and US Saturn?
Also, is this only for RGB displays?
Basically, do I need this for a modern (US) HDMI display?

Solaris Japan has some expensive RGB cables. And yes the same RGB cable will work on US and Japanese systems.

A lot of people recommend retro_console_accesories on ebay. I got mine from retrogamingcables.uk Just realize there are 2 standards there's scart (european standard) and JP21 (japanese stnadard). The difference is pin layout. The framemeister comes with a JP21 to mini din adapter to use with it. If you go scart you'll have to get a different adapter.

I ended up going scart personally, but you can go either way. Just make sure you have the right adapter for your framemeister.

All that said yes that is the kind of cable (an RGB one) to use to connect your saturn to your Framemeister, getting the best picture quality to it, and then the framemeister connects to your TV through HDMI.

If you haven't already check out these videos from My Life in Gaming. They do an amazing job of explaining RGB, and the Framemeister and how it all relates to retro gaming on modern tvs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43dzrCAfU3A
https://youtu.be/hVW-ljlXHqI
https://youtu.be/LAlrdCBjUAQ

They do console specific videos but they don't have one for the Saturn yet.

I have my saturn connected to my Framemeister through one of retrogamingcables.uk's Scart Saturn RGB cables and it looks amazing.

Oh also implantgames on youtube has an AMAZING how to XRGB Mini series that will help you get familiar and understand the different settings on the Framemeister.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4ngkmg51Bea36_jKwc8cjf7fCVunV6MR
 

Gyrian

Member
Yes. Look the the inner ring on the data side of the CD. If the serial reads GS-9110P-01050A-P1K, then you're golden. Source is here.

WlpC0Dx.jpg


Aw, mine's the first print run. To flip it as a positive, this is a great pretext to keep both Saturn models around.
After all, I've got the reserve issue with In The Hunt only working on my model 2.
 

oneida

Cock Strain, Lifetime Warranty
WlpC0Dx.jpg


Aw, mine's the first print run. To flip it as a positive, this is a great pretext to keep both Saturn models around.
After all, I've got the reserve issue with In The Hunt only working on my model 2.
i thought psx in the hunt was the way to go
 
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