| Genesis Prototype news [message #126952] |
Thu, 05 April 2007 13:52  |
rob.ocelot@gmail.com
Messages: 13
Registered: April 2007
Karma: 0
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Junior Member |
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Haven't had a lot of news in the group lately so I figure I'd share
some good news, espeically for fans of Sega's aborted VR helmet
project.
A friend of mine gave me six Genesis/MD prototypes that he could not
get working. All six were appently working at one point in time,
though it looks like the masks on some of the EPROMS had fallen off
(which can protentially be very bad). I figured that there's at least
some value in the bare proto boards, if I couldn't get anything out of
them.
I was able to resurrect 5 of the 6 protos with a bit of TLC,
persistence, and in a couple of cases reseating the EPROMS and
fiddling with the bank select dip switches.
Here's what I found:
Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra (Large 8 mBit battery backed proto
board)
- This is a known dumped proto and it appears to be the same revision
as the one floating around the net.
Worms (medium sized socketed eprom board, only half the sockets used
-- I've never seen this type of board before)
- Unreleased NTSC version, known dump
Pengo (large 8mbit battery backed proto board)
-playable beta of the Japanese-only Bomberman-esque Pengo game. Does
not include the arcade original like the release and seems to repeat
the same four levels. Not dumped.
Nuclear Rush (large 8mbit battery backed proto board)
-unreleased Sega VR helmet launch title. Playable with regular
controls, debug screen with level select. Appears nearly complete.
Not dumped.
Iron Hammer (large 8mbit battery backed proto board)
-another unreleaed Sega VR helmet launch title. Playable, but with
double images suggesting that the Sega VR helmet used LCD shutters
like the SMS 3D goggles and not two separate LCD screens which is what
is generally believed. Not dumped, though I believe another proto of
this has surfaced before.
The proto card I couldnt revive appears is apparently either Baby Boom
(unreleased, not dumped) or Baby's Day out (unreleased, known dump).
Hopefully in the next few weeks I can coax this proto to give up it's
secrets.
Regards,
Rob S.
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| Re: Genesis Prototype news [message #126953 is a reply to message #126952] |
Fri, 06 April 2007 17:26  |
BelPowerslave
Messages: 264
Registered: November 2006
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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> Haven't had a lot of news in the group lately so I figure I'd share
> some good news, espeically for fans of Sega's aborted VR helmet
> project.
You know, I think I vaguely remember something about this either in an
old issue of EGM or maybe Sega Visions. It never did make it out, did
it?
> A friend of mine gave me six Genesis/MD prototypes that he could not
> get working.
Lucky you! Any chance he's got the completed version of Indiana Jones'
Greatest Adventures on Genesis? I would, literally, give him my left
nut for it. ;)
> All six were appently working at one point in time,
> though it looks like the masks on some of the EPROMS had fallen off
> (which can protentially be very bad). I figured that there's at least
> some value in the bare proto boards, if I couldn't get anything out of
> them.
>
> I was able to resurrect 5 of the 6 protos with a bit of TLC,
> persistence, and in a couple of cases reseating the EPROMS and
> fiddling with the bank select dip switches.
Wow, rock on man! I have no idea what it takes to make the carts run,
or anything like that(I often times go with the notion that, like my
car, they simply run on magic).
> Here's what I found:
>
> Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra (Large 8 mBit battery backed proto
> board)
> - This is a known dumped proto and it appears to be the same revision
> as the one floating around the net.
Good'ole M&M....
> Worms (medium sized socketed eprom board, only half the sockets used
> -- I've never seen this type of board before)
> - Unreleased NTSC version, known dump
I think I messed with the known dump for this at one point. Was this
an actual professional game, or was it a homebrew?
> Pengo (large 8mbit battery backed proto board)
> -playable beta of the Japanese-only Bomberman-esque Pengo game. Does
> not include the arcade original like the release and seems to repeat
> the same four levels. Not dumped.
Sounds interesting.
> Nuclear Rush (large 8mbit battery backed proto board)
> -unreleased Sega VR helmet launch title. Playable with regular
> controls, debug screen with level select. Appears nearly complete.
> Not dumped.
So, does one need a new emulator to attempt these games or do they
simply run off a Genesis emulator? As for the games themselves, I
can't remember, did the Sega VR helmet require a new system to run the
game or was it just running off the Genesis?
> Iron Hammer (large 8mbit battery backed proto board)
> -another unreleaed Sega VR helmet launch title. Playable, but with
> double images suggesting that the Sega VR helmet used LCD shutters
> like the SMS 3D goggles and not two separate LCD screens which is what
> is generally believed. Not dumped, though I believe another proto of
> this has surfaced before.
Wow, sounds cool. Is there any chance you can get some pics?
> The proto card I couldnt revive appears is apparently either Baby Boom
> (unreleased, not dumped) or Baby's Day out (unreleased, known dump).
Oh man, yeah, that one with the creepy rendered baby. Makes me shiver
just seeing it in motion...;)
> Hopefully in the next few weeks I can coax this proto to give up it's
> secrets.
That'd be great, I've love to see any pics or hear any thoughts on
them! :)
Bel
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| Re: Genesis Prototype news [message #126982 is a reply to message #126953] |
Wed, 11 April 2007 12:30 |
rob.ocelot@gmail.com
Messages: 13
Registered: April 2007
Karma: 0
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Junior Member |
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Had a really great reply to this thread that was sent, and it looks
like it got lost in transit. Oh well...
BelPowerslave wrote:
RE: NTSC Worms
> I think I messed with the known dump for this at one point. Was this
> an actual professional game, or was it a homebrew?
Pro game. It's the same as the commerical PAL release, just without a
frequency lockout and territory check.
>> Nuclear Rush (large 8mbit battery backed proto board)
>> -unreleased Sega VR helmet launch title. Playable with regular
>> controls, debug screen with level select. Appears nearly complete.
>> Not dumped.
>
> So, does one need a new emulator to attempt these games or do they
> simply run off a Genesis emulator? As for the games themselves, I
> can't remember, did the Sega VR helmet require a new system to run the
> game or was it just running off the Genesis?
Standard Genesis hardware and controller. The game has a calibration
check for the head tracking when it starts up, but will default to the
game when it doesn't detect the hardware It seems the head tracking
technology, the display, and the games themselves were all developed
separately and only came together shortly before the plug was pulled
on the whole deal. This is confirmed in at least two interviews with
the staff who worked on the various parts of the project. The head
tracking hardware guys (who were contracted outside of Sega) never
saw any of the games being developed -- and it also explains why the
two proto games that have surfaced are playable with regular controls.
Unfortunately, I think a project of this magnitude needed all of these
teams to be working closely with each other from the start -- the
reported motion sickness and dizziness problems could have been ironed
out sooner because they stemmed from problems on the display and the
game programming sides of the project.
>> Iron Hammer (large 8mbit battery backed proto board)
>> -another unreleaed Sega VR helmet launch title. Playable, but with
>> double images suggesting that the Sega VR helmet used LCD shutters
>> like the SMS 3D goggles and not two separate LCD screens which is what
>> is generally believed. Not dumped, though I believe another proto of
>> this has surfaced before.
>
> Wow, sounds cool. Is there any chance you can get some pics?
Yeah, I'll be dumping these and will take some emulator screenshots
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| Re: Genesis Prototype news [message #126983 is a reply to message #126982] |
Wed, 11 April 2007 18:18 |
BelPowerslave
Messages: 264
Registered: November 2006
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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> Had a really great reply to this thread that was sent, and it looks
> like it got lost in transit. Oh well...
I hate it when that shit happens, pisses me off.
>> So, does one need a new emulator to attempt these games or do they
>> simply run off a Genesis emulator? As for the games themselves, I
>> can't remember, did the Sega VR helmet require a new system to run the
>> game or was it just running off the Genesis?
>
> Standard Genesis hardware and controller. The game has a calibration
> check for the head tracking when it starts up, but will default to the
> game when it doesn't detect the hardware It seems the head tracking
> technology, the display, and the games themselves were all developed
> separately and only came together shortly before the plug was pulled
> on the whole deal. This is confirmed in at least two interviews with
> the staff who worked on the various parts of the project. The head
> tracking hardware guys (who were contracted outside of Sega) never
> saw any of the games being developed -- and it also explains why the
> two proto games that have surfaced are playable with regular controls.
>
> Unfortunately, I think a project of this magnitude needed all of these
> teams to be working closely with each other from the start -- the
> reported motion sickness and dizziness problems could have been ironed
> out sooner because they stemmed from problems on the display and the
> game programming sides of the project.
Wow, that's just plain cool. I wonder, has this VR Helmet ever surfaced,
anywhere, even a prototype?
>>> Iron Hammer (large 8mbit battery backed proto board)
>>> -another unreleaed Sega VR helmet launch title. Playable, but with
>>> double images suggesting that the Sega VR helmet used LCD shutters
>>> like the SMS 3D goggles and not two separate LCD screens which is what
>>> is generally believed. Not dumped, though I believe another proto of
>>> this has surfaced before.
>> Wow, sounds cool. Is there any chance you can get some pics?
>
> Yeah, I'll be dumping these and will take some emulator screenshots
Sounds good, can't wait to see them!
Bel
--
Whip Ass Gaming: http://www.whipassgaming.com/
"Now lets rob the bank, give the money to the poor, then rob the poor
and shoot the money!"
- Billy The Kid, The Simpsons
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| Re: Genesis Prototype news [message #126984 is a reply to message #126983] |
Thu, 12 April 2007 00:28 |
rob.ocelot@gmail.com
Messages: 13
Registered: April 2007
Karma: 0
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Junior Member |
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On Apr 11, 6:18 pm, BelPowerslave <b...@whipassgaming.com> wrote:
> Wow, that's just plain cool. I wonder, has this VR Helmet ever surfaced,
> anywhere, even a prototype?
My source at Sega in the mid-late 90's mentioned to me that the helmet
hardware was sent (back?) to Japan. This was during the era of Sega
when SoJ ruled the roost and could veto any decisions the American
division made -- well, except for the 32-X (that was apparently a SoA
project that had the two entities working at cross purposes since SoJ
wanted to concentrate on the Saturn).
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| Re: Genesis Prototype news [message #126985 is a reply to message #126984] |
Fri, 13 April 2007 16:57 |
BelPowerslave
Messages: 264
Registered: November 2006
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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>> Wow, that's just plain cool. I wonder, has this VR Helmet ever surfaced,
>> anywhere, even a prototype?
>
> My source at Sega in the mid-late 90's mentioned to me that the helmet
> hardware was sent (back?) to Japan. This was during the era of Sega
> when SoJ ruled the roost and could veto any decisions the American
> division made -- well, except for the 32-X (that was apparently a SoA
> project that had the two entities working at cross purposes since SoJ
> wanted to concentrate on the Saturn).
>
That's too bad. Granted, I'd *never* of been able to afford it had it of
come out...but still, would have been cool.
That's interesting about the 32X, I guess it really explains why we
really only saw a lot of US or Euro developed games for the system.
Still wish the 32X would have lived longer, I'd of died to see what
Capcom or Konami could have done with it...
Bel
--
Whip Ass Gaming: http://www.whipassgaming.com/
"Now lets rob the bank, give the money to the poor, then rob the poor
and shoot the money!"
- Billy The Kid, The Simpsons
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