

- #Nes rom emulator classic clone how to
- #Nes rom emulator classic clone software
- #Nes rom emulator classic clone code
Take, for example, the Propeller MCU from Parallax. The CPU's in the micro-controllers need so many cycles of the clock to execute even one instructions. Just because the NES ran a 1.79 MHz and MCU "A" runs at 200 MHz doesn't mean it's 50 times faster. Maybe one of the 200-300 MHz unless you try a Teensy 3.6, you may also have to design your own board for the mcu too.Īnyway, the problem is that you can't compare MHz to MHz like that.

I doubt you're going to be able to pull that off with a micro-controller. The BeagleBone Black doesn't have enough GPIOs even for just the CPU, but you can always use shift registers, and you might be able to repurpose some of the other pins, especially if you're running without an OS. These normally run Linux, like the Raspberry Pi, but it seems like it's easier to use them without an OS. If you only want to emulate NROM games, you could use two Pis - one for the CPU address space and one for the PPU (and maybe the CIC chip too, since you'll have a couple of spare pins.)Īnother option might be something from the BeagleBoard family, such as the BeagleBone Black. You're going to run out of I/O pins - the Raspberry Pi only has 26 - but you can reuse pins with shift registers. You don't even need to worry about cycle timing to emulate a NES rom you can rely on the M2 signal to know when to read the value on the bus.
#Nes rom emulator classic clone code
It's possible to run code directly on a Raspberry Pi without an OS, like a microcontroller. A Raspberry Pi would be fast enough, but not with an operating system. It's going to be nearly impossible to emulate an NES ROM with a microcontroller.
#Nes rom emulator classic clone software
Minimal cost and open source software and hardware is a big plus.Īs cbmeeks said, you're much better off with a FPGA or CPLD.

It looks like the flash cartridges use FPGAs to simulate a ROM, but I wonder if a fast enough microcontroller could write to all 72 pins (or the subset of them that actually matter) every NES cycle – 1.x MHz NES → 1.79 × 72 × margin-factor MHz microcontroller (or less because only a subset of all those pins are needed)?
#Nes rom emulator classic clone how to
Being able to re-write 'ROM' memory locations from a PC through a serial (Arduino) or Ethernet (Pi) connection interleaved with when Nintendo is reading them would be the idea, the game would copy the same sprite or background tile from the same memory address but get something different than a previous cycle (I'll worry about how to synchronize and not be in the middle of a memory copy later). There are plenty of flash cartridges available but they are more like a traditional cartridge where they are written to and then plugged into the console and aren't changed until the console is powered off. I don't want to gut an NES cart and put an NES emulator inside it (as most of my Google searches are returning), instead I'd like to have complete control over a cartridge that is plugged into a real NES or clone, and have a live interface to the console (through the 72-pin connector) along with a live interface to a PC (serial over USB or Ethernet), and to-be-determined microcontroller and other electronics and firmware sitting between them. I'm looking to buy or make an NES cartridge that can be controlled by a microcontroller or small computer like the Raspberry Pi.
