Thank you very much for your many good videos and the beautiful “BBC Basic” for this video game console! Unfortunately, I only programmed a "C64" with a 6510 30 years earlier, and I would very much like to turn this ancient 8-bit Z80 video game console into a real "pretty" Z80 learning system for all young "freaks" who also have it want to learn. As already said, I imagine using the expensive only 4 chip "Z80 MBC3" system HERE as a new CMOS CPU "addon"! and later the STMF4 "C64 Kungfu Flash" as the "VDP RAM" video "Addon" take in addition. Where a fast 10 Euro "STM32F" CHIP will "give" its internal RAM memory in order to "generate" enough "VRAM" as a new "so-called" good IQ "blitter" like the 16 BIT SNES/Amiga graphics "effects" back then ". Something like this is also interesting - as a DIY PROJECT - for all old "MSX 1" home computers that only have 16 KB of VRAM!
As a cheap "Z80 computer "learning system", such a forgotten 8-bit "SEGA Master System" would be much more colorful, better and much cheaper than the previous boring CP/M Z80 "MBC" system. Such a fast "STM32F" MCU or a "PI PICO" MCU "chip" could significantly improve the graphics performance of all ancient RETRO TI9929 VDP "computers" aka ti99/4a, MSX1, Sega master system! Because they can then serve as a modern "VRAM emulator", including "TASK TIME" for further SPECIAL effects!
and something else: I had planned to exchange the old-fashioned 16 kb srams of the sms for a modern 128 kb sram and update it quickly using a fast atmel - after the image processing, i.e. image display. The Atmel Microcontroller becomes a GFX "Blitter" ala Mega Drive or Amiga. which could definitely bring good fast gfx effects for new games.
thanks for the interesting video. I was also working on a cheap solution to use an atmel64 or something better than a ps2 keyboard and sdcard controller for the sms system🙃
finally out of the rather old sms system, which is just a little bit better than an MSX computer. a real msx plus z 80 learning computer will also be able to operate beginners with z80 like me and have modern possibilities to load programs via sd card. And here, too, you don't need any additional hardware, you don't need a very expensive "everdrive" but only an internal circuit board with a ps/2 connection and SD card output.
My ideas are to socket the Z80 internally, the old 8 kb rom and the old ram out instead a sram with 128kb plus a cheap 29f040 flash rom with 512kb The 5 euro Atmel controller then does the bank switching after the RESET and shows a start program or user menu for the z80. For example go to Basic,go to z80 disassembler.. tiles / bitmap viewer etc.
People just want to have simple computers that can be easily converted with some technical knowledge and hardware knowledge, ala "modding". And it's nice if they can also learn "Basic" programming, and also have an added value and not just a children's toy with 256x192 pixels ,on the mobile phone emulator with roms
I wish it was possible, but it's not likely due to the much lower specs of the Master System. The games would need to be written entirely in BBC BASIC (no machine code, as the BBC Micro uses a 6502 CPU and the Master System has a Z80 CPU), fit in the Master System's RAM (8KB instead of even the Model A's 16KB) and not rely on specific memory layouts, talk to hardware via OS routines and not direct access, and fit in the lower-resolution video modes on the Master System (e.g. 30x24 text characters in MODE 1 instead of 40x32 on the BBC Micro). So, in practice it's very unlikely most BBC Micro games would run on a Master System, unfortunately. I have written patches for all of the games on the Electron "Me & My Micro" tape so that they will run on the Master System, though - once the original game has been loaded from the tape you can then *EXEC the patch and it will make a few changes (e.g. reducing the number of enemies so the game fits on the screen) to make the game playable on the Master System.
i would be very happy if this old game console could also be used by young people at least as a colorful z80 learning computer. where you could collect something simple like "basic" and your first programming experiences. and not have to learn the ugly c or c++ right away. also could the planned atmel serve the slow graphics in this system as a turbo dma controller ala mega drive? for better colorful sms 3d games in the future?
Thank you for your comments! I have deliberately avoided using any modern microcontrollers as I've been accused of "cheating" when using them in Z80 systems in the past, so I thought I'd try to keep it as retro as possible - hence the keyboard interface being a passive cable adaptor, the tape interface only using a basic logic chip to convert the analogue signal to digital etc. Any sort of accelerated 3D graphics on the Master System are ultimately going to be limited by available VRAM to display the final results - there's not enough VRAM to have a 16-colour image that fills the screen with unique pixels, so you'd either have to render in a small window or use a trick to get a 4-colour image to work. One thing I thought might be an interesting idea - whilst keeping it retro - would be to adapt the code to run on a Mega Drive, using the Mega Drive's main 68K CPU to handle the graphics, sound, I/O etc and leaving the Z80 to run BASIC. How well that would work in practice, I'm not sure, though! Unfortunately my personal projects have stalled recently due to other commitments. Hopefully you'll have more time to investigate your own. :)
Thanks for sharing, that's handy as I'm just about to make cassette player IO for my Z80 micro :)
Thank you very much for your many good videos and the beautiful “BBC Basic” for this video game console!
Unfortunately, I only programmed a "C64" with a 6510 30 years earlier, and I would very much like to turn this ancient 8-bit Z80 video game console into a real "pretty" Z80 learning system for all young "freaks" who also have it want to learn.
As already said, I imagine using the expensive only 4 chip "Z80 MBC3" system HERE as a new CMOS CPU "addon"!
and later the STMF4 "C64 Kungfu Flash" as the "VDP RAM" video "Addon"
take in addition.
Where a fast 10 Euro "STM32F" CHIP will "give" its internal RAM memory in order to "generate" enough "VRAM" as a new "so-called" good IQ "blitter" like the 16 BIT SNES/Amiga graphics "effects" back then ".
Something like this is also interesting - as a DIY PROJECT - for all old "MSX 1" home computers that only have 16 KB of VRAM!
As a cheap "Z80 computer "learning system", such a forgotten 8-bit "SEGA Master System" would be much more colorful, better and much cheaper than the previous boring CP/M Z80 "MBC" system.
Such a fast "STM32F" MCU or a "PI PICO" MCU "chip" could significantly improve the graphics performance of all ancient RETRO TI9929 VDP "computers" aka ti99/4a, MSX1, Sega master system!
Because they can then serve as a modern "VRAM emulator", including "TASK TIME" for further SPECIAL effects!
and something else:
I had planned to exchange the old-fashioned 16 kb srams of the sms for a modern 128 kb sram and update it quickly using a fast atmel - after the image processing, i.e. image display.
The Atmel Microcontroller becomes a GFX "Blitter" ala Mega Drive or Amiga.
which could definitely bring good fast gfx effects for new games.
thanks for the interesting video.
I was also working on a cheap solution to use an atmel64 or something better than a ps2 keyboard and sdcard controller for the sms system🙃
finally out of the rather old sms system, which is just a little bit better than an MSX computer.
a real msx plus z 80 learning computer will also be able to operate beginners with z80 like me and have modern possibilities to load programs via sd card.
And here, too, you don't need any additional hardware, you don't need a very expensive "everdrive" but only an internal circuit board with a ps/2 connection and SD card output.
My ideas are to socket the Z80 internally, the old 8 kb rom and the old ram out
instead a sram with 128kb plus a cheap 29f040 flash rom with 512kb
The 5 euro Atmel controller then does the bank switching after the RESET and shows a start program or user menu for the z80.
For example go to Basic,go to z80 disassembler.. tiles / bitmap viewer etc.
People just want to have simple computers that can be easily converted with some technical knowledge and hardware knowledge, ala "modding".
And it's nice if they can also learn "Basic" programming,
and also have an added value and not just a children's toy with 256x192 pixels
,on the mobile phone emulator with roms
Can I play BBC micro games as well would be wicked seeing a master system run frak or granny's garden
I wish it was possible, but it's not likely due to the much lower specs of the Master System. The games would need to be written entirely in BBC BASIC (no machine code, as the BBC Micro uses a 6502 CPU and the Master System has a Z80 CPU), fit in the Master System's RAM (8KB instead of even the Model A's 16KB) and not rely on specific memory layouts, talk to hardware via OS routines and not direct access, and fit in the lower-resolution video modes on the Master System (e.g. 30x24 text characters in MODE 1 instead of 40x32 on the BBC Micro).
So, in practice it's very unlikely most BBC Micro games would run on a Master System, unfortunately. I have written patches for all of the games on the Electron "Me & My Micro" tape so that they will run on the Master System, though - once the original game has been loaded from the tape you can then *EXEC the patch and it will make a few changes (e.g. reducing the number of enemies so the game fits on the screen) to make the game playable on the Master System.
i would be very happy if this old game console could also be used by young people at least as a colorful z80 learning computer.
where you could collect something simple like "basic" and your first programming experiences.
and not have to learn the ugly c or c++ right away.
also could the planned atmel serve the slow graphics in this system as a turbo dma controller ala mega drive?
for better colorful sms 3d games in the future?
Thank you for your comments! I have deliberately avoided using any modern microcontrollers as I've been accused of "cheating" when using them in Z80 systems in the past, so I thought I'd try to keep it as retro as possible - hence the keyboard interface being a passive cable adaptor, the tape interface only using a basic logic chip to convert the analogue signal to digital etc.
Any sort of accelerated 3D graphics on the Master System are ultimately going to be limited by available VRAM to display the final results - there's not enough VRAM to have a 16-colour image that fills the screen with unique pixels, so you'd either have to render in a small window or use a trick to get a 4-colour image to work.
One thing I thought might be an interesting idea - whilst keeping it retro - would be to adapt the code to run on a Mega Drive, using the Mega Drive's main 68K CPU to handle the graphics, sound, I/O etc and leaving the Z80 to run BASIC. How well that would work in practice, I'm not sure, though!
Unfortunately my personal projects have stalled recently due to other commitments. Hopefully you'll have more time to investigate your own. :)