1. ColecoVision Opgrade Module
Unleashing the Power Within
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2. ColecoVision’s Shortcomings
Very little work RAM
Rigid BIOS
Cartridge port lacks control lines
Cartridges with bank-switch are difficult to create
Spinners are a pain to deal with
Sound generator was clocked too high
Cannot generate sounds below 110Hz
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3. © 2009 Opcode Games - Confidential and proprietary
More Shortcomings
CPU can be slow for some applications
Memory wait states makes performance ever worst
VDP lacks hardware scroll
VDP lacks configurable color palettes
Few sprites in the same scanline (4)
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4. Introducing the Opgrade Module
Plug-in module (Expansion port)
Includes:
Memory sub-system
Sound and I/O sub-system
System control sub-system
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5. © 2009 Opcode Games - Confidential and proprietary
Memory Sub-system
Expanded RAM
Flash RAM
MegaRAM
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6. © 2009 Opcode Games - Confidential and proprietary
Expanded RAM
24KB of RAM replaces the built-in 1KB
Allow for more complex games
More faithful arcade ports
Bigger frame buffers allow more complex and smoother video animations
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7. © 2009 Opcode Games - Confidential and proprietary
Flash RAM
128KB of FlashRAM (includes bank selector)
Replaces BIOS with BIOS XP
100% backward compatible
Allows for a lot of customization (fonts, boot time, etc)
Replaces ColecoVision boot screen
Store savegame files
BIOS XP includes Savegame manager
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8. © 2009 Opcode Games - Confidential and proprietary
BIOS XP
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9. © 2009 Opcode Games - Confidential and proprietary
Slot Selector
Selects between physical cartridge slot and MegaRAM
Divided into 4 pages
8000h-9FFFh
A000h-BFFFh
C000h-DFFFh
E000h-FFFFh
Each page can be individually configured to map either cartridge or MegaRAM
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10. © 2009 Opcode Games - Confidential and proprietary
MegaRAM
128KB of SRAM
Simulates a very flexible bank switch capable cartridge
16 memory pages of 8KB each
Memory is mapped to 4 banks
Any bank can receive any memory page
Mapping is done thru I/O
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11. © 2009 Opcode Games - Confidential and proprietary
Expanded Sound
Uses AY
3 square wave generators + 1 noise
More flexible in terms of frequency range
Full audible spectrum
Includes envelope generator
Doesn’t generate wait states
Both PSGs can be used simultaneously
Sound is mixed with internal PSG and sent to RF
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12. © 2009 Opcode Games - Confidential and proprietary
Parallel port
AY includes two 8-bit bi-directional parallel ports
Applications:
New controllers (Arkanoid analog controller)
Communication between ColecoVisions
Communication with PCs
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13. © 2009 Opcode Games - Confidential and proprietary
System Control
100% backward compatible with the CV
Controls I/O and memory decoding
Controls Slot selector
Spinner interruptions can be disabled (finally)
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14. Possible Additional Features
Super CPU
Super Video
Wave sound
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15. © 2009 Opcode Games - Confidential and proprietary
Wave Sound
Custom sound generator
Uses microcontroller (Parallax SX)
5 wave table sound channels
Wave has 32 4-bit sampling points
Similar to Namco WSG or Konami SCC
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16. © 2009 Opcode Games - Confidential and proprietary
Super CPU
Z80 at 6MHz
Clock is software selectable between 3.58 and 6MHz (100% backward compatible)
Memory wait states can be disabled
Combined with 6MHz – twice the performance
Certain MSX Konami games with SCC can now run at 60 frames/s (Salamander, Gofer no Yabou) (at 3.58MHz -> 20 frames/s)
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17. © 2009 Opcode Games - Confidential and proprietary
Super Video
Uses V9958
99% backward compatible
Adds hardware scroll
Adds selectable color palette (16 of 512)
Adds more sprites per scanline (8)
Sprites can be combined for extra colors
More VRAM (128KB versus 16KB)
Adds new bitmapped video modes, with up to 256 colors on screen (19K colors in YJK mode)
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18. © 2009 Opcode Games - Confidential and proprietary
Super Video (cont)
Default color palette can be configured in the BIOS XP
Offers better video output
Can be coupled with Sony video encoders for excellent composite, S-video and RGB outputs
Native RF can still be used
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19. © 2009 Opcode Games - Confidential and proprietary
V9958(top) vs. TMS9918(bottom)
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20. © 2009 Opcode Games - Confidential and proprietary
Super Video (cont)
Good option for those users looking for better video output
Games would be offered with optional “Video enhanced” modes, like custom palettes, hardware scroll or flicker free sprites
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21. © 2009 Opcode Games - Confidential and proprietary
The Future…
Main schematics have been completed
Prototyping should start in a few months
Big questions:
Casing
Price (Opgrade Module for less than $100)
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22. That concludes our presentation
Thanks for your time!
Questions, comments?
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