MiSTer and FPGA

One of the first things I did on the MiSTer once I had acquired a setup was to take the code for the Astrocade console, add in the additional hardware used by the arcade versions of the games to see if I could get them running. (See original post here)

Following that I then decided to make an interface board to allow users to put a MiSTer (DE10-Nano) into a real Gorf cabinet so that they could then run the game on that so that they no longer needed to worry about the custom chips dying. It needed to fit the original harness and to be complete it needed to also drive the ranking and joystick lights.

So, taking parts from the MiSTer IO board, adding in some circuits for the lights, controls and sound we ended up with version one. This works but had a few problems which have now been fixed.

Additionally, people on Facebook and UKVAC have been asking when they can use it in their Wizard of Wor, Robby Roto and Space Zap cabinets.

So version two has been created and ordered ready to test. This includes a third sound channel for Wizard of Wor and a black and white composite video signal for Space Zap if you have a BW monitor.

Of course, as well as running the Arcade-Astrocade core, there is no reason why you cannot run any of the other cores available on the MiSTer that will work with the monitor rotation and controls available to use to let you experience other games.

More news as this progresses.

I managed to complete another core for the MiSTer today, been a while as I needed to get the two PCB’s working enough to sample the sounds. But all of the games from Mame’s Universal Cosmic driver that use a Z80 are now on there. Cosmic Alien, Devil Zone, Magical Spot, No Mans Land and Space Panic. (All with sound, unlike Mame which only has it in Cosmic Alien and Space Panic)

Following on from Astrocade hardware, I thought I would like to do a core as near as possible from scratch. So apart from using the Z80 from opencores, and basing the timing code on that used in the Pacman core, I went from the Crazy Balloon schematics to produce a complete core for it. Where the documentation is good enough, the analogue sounds are also done correctly, but since it uses the SN74677 sound chip and does things to it not even mentioned in the manual. I ended up sampling my cab for those three sounds

Well, what a weird year it has been so far. 

I’ve been learning to code in VHDL and Verilog on the MiSTer platform.

The first task was one I have wanted to do since I bought an FPGA Replay was to take the existing Bally Arcadia console core, add in the necessary extra ram, pattern board, sparkle circuit and it should be able to run the Arcade astrocade games.

It was no where near as easy as I expected, but after trying to get the timing for the pattern board correct, it finally all works!