Modding March update!

modding-march-2012-consoles

Okay, here’s the latest update on my modding to-do list:

  1. Sega SC-3000H – Completed
  2. Nintendo Famicom – Completed
  3. Microsoft Xbox – Completed
  4. Sega Master System 2 – Completed
  5. Nintendo Gamecube – Completed
  6. Arcade – Not started
  7. Sega Saturn – In progress
  8. Sega Mega Drive – In progress
  9. Microsoft Xbox 360 – Not started

Not bad, huh? Since a few things changed up with the modding, I thought I’d give a quick rundown of what happened:

Sega SC-3000H

modding-march-2012-sc3000h
This one was time-consuming rather than difficult. The only drama I had was where one of the pads came away from the PCB when desoldering the old connector, but that was easy to fix by wiring the new cart connector directly back to the trace.

Nintendo Famicom

modding-march-2012-fami
Composite AV mod came off nicely, the controller hum was also an easy fix and the controllers have come up nicely after being disassembled and cleaning the contacts and replacing the membranes (NES membranes fit the Famicom without any dramas). Since the controllers had some charming (but disheveled – see the image above) Dragon Quest sticks on them, I soaked the plastic shells in warm soapy water for a few hours and gave them a gentle scrubbing in some fresh hot soapy water and the stickers, along with their residue, came off nicely.

Sega Master System 2

modding-march-2012-sms2
I was working on my original Master System 2 I picked up well over ten years ago when I started getting into retro gaming again. As a result, it was also one of my early mods… actually, I think it was my third one – the Saturn was my first (50/60hz switch, 1999), followed by an unsuccessful SMD1 (language/refresh rate switches, 2000). My SMS2 mod was originally just a 50/60hz switch, then I got a bit more daring and added composite video/mono audio. After that, I decided to add another RCA socket and rewired it for dual-mono out (saved having to add a RCA splitter on the audio socket), and attempted to add a language switch but couldn’t get a clean cut on the IC leg that needs to be modded; these were all done in 2000, with the language switch mod being done ~2001. I also attempted to add s-video to the SMS2, but between butchering the back of the machine to fit the socket (that wouldn’t fit because the hole was hodge-podge and too big – see the image for the unfortunate result even after adding a new s-video socket!) and not having s-video on my TV, I left it at that. Looking at my past work was a little embarrassing, but at the same time it was also heartening as it’s demonstrated how much better I am with a soldering iron now compared to back then. Mind, it also helps that I have better equipment now!

So, as far as the new new mods went, it came off nicely – the simplified s-video mod by Viletim! looked great, with no jailbars visible on my TV (for reference, I used 27ohm resistors, as recommended by fellow modder Mamejay).

I also added the language switch, which proved a bit tricky as my anal-retentivity suggested I didn’t want to leave the leg on the IC floating, so I wired it up to go between +5v and GND off the voltage regulator. When this didn’t make a difference to the games I tested, I went back and thought the error was being caused by the leg on the IC itself, as my butchering of the leg in 2001 actually broke it off at the IC so the solder didn’t have much to hold onto. So out came the rotary tool and I gently ground back the IC around the leg to get started, then manually scraped a bit more away around the leg with one of my precision flat-bladed screwdrivers to get more of the IC leg visible and thus available for soldering. After getting a very solid connection, I went and tested again, and still no luck.

At this stage I was getting a bit angry, so I went and read up a bit on SMSPower, and realised everyone was saying to let the leg float – the tute I was working off just said to temporarily ground the leg, and I just assumed this meant the leg was otherwise getting +5v from the PCB; turns out if I flipped the PCB over and traced the path with my multimeter, I would have found that the leg is normally left floating when in English mode. So, I went and disconnected the +5v line, went back and tested it and voila, it’s working!

Sega Mega Drive

modding-march-2012-smd1
I said in last week’s post that I removed the old oscillator, added in a 12mhz one and had system stability errors. Since I know it’s important to keep clock lines short, I figured I’d jump in and reposition the oscillator by having it close to the switch/CPU and thus create a shorter line of the clock to travel along; I also added thicker-gauge wires to take the +5v/GND from the voltage regulators to ensure the oscillator was fed a good power supply. You can see the “before” picture of where I positioned the oscillator, which is next to the headphone socket. Unfortunately it didn’t make much difference, but I don’t consider it as a wasted exercise, as it’s best-practice to keep the lines as short as possible. Since the oscillator is on a bit of perfboard, it will be easy to desolder the existing component and add a 10mhz oscillator I have on the way. Should only be a 30-minute job, if that – I’m not the fastest at soldering/modding, but at least these days I’m more thorough 😉

Sega Saturn

modding-march-2012-saturn
The replacement cart slots are in the post, but I did succeed in adding a 3-way region switch and 50/60hz mod, which is a bit of an achievement for me as I haven’t had much success with the three-way switches in the past. Admittedly the last time I tried doing one of them was back in 2002 or 2003 and in a time where I had less experience and poor tools in comparison to what I have now. I’m very happy with the result, despite the unusual board design (it’s a very early model PAL PCB, with the JPs spread across both sides of the board). I was also able to use the veroboard to provide the +5v/GND for the 50/60hz switch, which helped make things clean. I’ve noticed the power supply on it might be on the way out owing to the rolling bars and CD-ROM issues that hit after an hour or so of testing, so I’ll either look at swapping it with another supply that gives the correct voltages (GND/GND/+3.3v/+5v/+9v) or replacing the caps to see if that helps.

Nintendo Gamecube

modding-march-2012-gcns
I ended up wiring the XenoGC chip to the drive assembly rather than soldering it directly to the PCB. Took a little extra time, but it made it much easier to double-check the solder points with the multimeter and avoid accidental solder-spillage onto adjoining pads.

While I had the GCNs disassembled, I gave the outer cases a wash and I also modded my purple Cube to have a shiny blue LED instead of the standard orange one – blue LEDs are fun 🙂

The machines successfully loaded PAL and US games directly, so I’m really happy with the result 😀

Microsoft Xbox

This one was an easy job, but was time consuming to get it setup in the way I wanted. It was also the first time using the Slayers disc to take care of everything (the machine was already chipped), so I didn’t have to worry about popping off the doors to my PC to run the usual HDD tools to prep a machine and found it ran nicely. With everything now configured (including adding the video.bin 0-byte file to the HDD to force UnleashX to run in 480i over component), I’m very happy with the machine. Now I need to sort out a save file for Dead or Alive Ultimate with everything unlocked because I’m lazy 😉

For those curious, I took photos of most of the mods I have done thus far and intend to write up tutes on them at some stage down the track, along with plenty of others I have in the wings.

Anywho, all that’s left now is the SMD1 overclock (oscillator to arrive soon I hope), XB360 DVD fix (need to get a laser assembly sorted) and arcade button wiring. If the oscillator comes in time, I’d say the SMD1 should be sorted this month; the arcade fix is pretty easy as well and should also make it. If the laser assembly for the XB360 comes in this month, I’ll get that sorted as well; can’t see this one happening though, so it might be a job for April.

March is the time for console modding

In Adelaide, March is referred to as “Mad March”. Because we take a year’s worth of events, festivals and what-not, and cram it all into one month. With some exceptions. Still, it’s insanity. But that’s Adelaide.

So, to alliterate, I have decreed this month as Modding March.

Yes, that is awful. Get over it 😛

My aim this month is to try and mod as many consoles as possible to catch up on my backlog. Here’s where it’s standing at the moment:

  • Sega SC-3000H: Replace the existing cartridge connector with one in better condition.
  • Nintendo Famicom: Composite AV mod, controller 2 background hum correction, clean the cart slot and replace the membranes in both controllers.
  • Sega Master System 2: Add in a language switch and add s-video off the CXA1145 encoder using Viletim!’s simplified video amp.
  • Sega Mega Drive: Remove the existing colour mod now that I’m running a 32X and RGB in the setup, add a selectable CPU overlock switch along with the requisite halt switch.
  • Sega Saturn: Replace a dead cart slot, wire in a 50/60hz switch, then add a 3-way region switch.
  • Nintendo Gamecube: Install a modchip so I can retire my Freeloader disc and enjoy direct-boot imports. If I’m lucky it might even fix the font issues with some Japanese titles, but that might be wishful thinking! I’ve had the chips for ages, so it’s about time I sorted it out.
  • Microsoft Xbox: Remove the existing 8bg HDD and upgrade to an 80gb HDD for laziness to save me swapping discs out.
  • Microsoft Xbox 360: Repair the drive laser assembly that’s having a cry.
  • Arcade: Rewire the P4 button off the JAMMA harness so it can be patch-connected to the JAMMA+ cabling panel already in my Astro City.

I think that’s the lot. I’ve already gotten started on some of these jobs (and finished one of them last week – the SC3000H), but that’s a pretty ambitious list.

Realistically, I’m confident I’ll get the Famicom, Xbox, Gamecube and arcade mods finished as I have all the parts around. The Mega Drive shouldn’t be too tricky if the oscillator comes in the post before the end of the month (my machine’s CPU didn’t like being fed 12mhz, so I’m going to try 10mhz), same with the XB360 and getting a new drive assembly.

That then leaves a few question marks – for the Saturn, I have some replacement slots from some dead Saturns in the post, but cart slot replacements are never quick jobs (not difficult mind, just time consuming); since I’ll need to desolder and remove the dead slot on my machine, remove and desolder the working cart slot from the dead PCB, then resolder it to the working board and then add the refresh rate and language switches, that’ll take a while.

The SMS2 mods shouldn’t be hard and I’m pretty sure I have the parts lying around, so I should be able to squeeze that one in too.

So if I’m being ambitious, then the following’s my ordered list to tackle everything:

  1. Sega SC-3000H
  2. Nintendo Famicom
  3. Microsoft Xbox
  4. Sega Master System 2
  5. Nintendo Gamecube
  6. Arcade
  7. Sega Saturn
  8. Sega Mega Drive
  9. Microsoft Xbox 360

So, with all that in mind, here’s the progress breakdown:

  1. Sega SC-3000H – Completed
  2. Nintendo Famicom – In progress
  3. Microsoft Xbox – Not started
  4. Sega Master System 2 – Not started
  5. Nintendo Gamecube – Not started
  6. Arcade – Not started
  7. Sega Saturn – Not started
  8. Sega Mega Drive – In progress
  9. Microsoft Xbox 360 – Not started

I’ll update during the rest of the month as I make any progress, and since the work is likely to continue into April, I daresay there will be more updates next month too.

But the important bit was to at least get started in March 🙂

Risk management for the next generation of consoles

console-gen

With the Wii U hitting the market at some stage in 2012, and with Sony and Microsoft likely to announce succeeding machines at E3 next year (with launch windows around 2013/2014 if the rumour mill is any indication), it’s time to talk risk management. But not boring textbook risk management – fun console risk management.

When I talk about this concept from a console perspective, it’s probably not in a way that most expect. The way I’m approaching the application of this phrase to the gaming arms race is about how to build a console so that it is as risk-adverse as possible, and what the consequences of “bad” decisions are from a managerial perspective.

Let’s take the Wii as the first example. The Wii made Nintendo a lot of money, more money than it was probably expecting. It now makes them less money compared to the machine’s heyday. Nintendo made, from a nerdy perspective, a few errors in judgement that arguably affected the console. First up, the console was region-locked. This seems inconsequential to the average pundit, but consider this – in order to play a game you’ve purchased overseas, you need to mod your console with either a modchip, boot disc or softmod. Thus, instead of just the tinkering masses who want to get Linux on the machine and the pirates, you also have every legitimate gamer who wants the flexibility of importing games, whether the rationale be price, features or release dates. Open the machine up and temptation may come into the equation. Under Australian law, it also adds a degree of legitimacy for console modding – the ACCC is happy to weigh in on the argument and support console mods that allow imports; if said-mod also enables piracy, that’s collateral damage. The legislation was never tested post-PSone, but the principles are more difficult to argue given past precedent.

There’s also the question of global communal resourcing behind the modding effort – in the case of the Wii you have the Linux community, pirates and gamers all clamouring for a solution. If Nintendo had made the machine region-free and allowed a Linux distro from day one, you eliminate a reasonable portion of the white-hat community.

There were also a couple of other errors of judgement – Virtual Console games were always in 50hz for PAL countries. This defies logic, at least in the realm of English-speaking PAL countries where a US version would have been fine. I have outright refused to buy PAL VC games given such anti-consumer attitudes; same goes for PAL PSN by the way. Admittedly I account for 0.01% of the audience, but still – why make a stupid move?

Then there’s Nintendo’s lack of QC on titles and the subsequent neglect of the system by gaming enthusiasts. Yes, we’ll all jump on board the delightful Zelda train now that Skyward Sword’s out, but the emphasis on mass-market profiteering enabled a relatively short-term success for the machine. Attachment rate was low, third parties faced the dual-issues of piracy and poor sales lost amidst a swamp of shovelware and core gamers have generally let the machine gather dust. On the upside, Nintendo profited handsomely from hardware, accessories and licensing on every piece of software sold, but the focus was worringly short-term. The PS3 and XB360 hailed from the same launch window and are still performing in the marketplace due to strong software development and long-term hardware/software development (the former has had to work extra hard to get to its current place). Nintendo’s usual internally-focused attitude was it’s usual double-edged sword – a Nintendo product is made to play games by Nintendo; 3rd parties are welcome to join the ride, but ultimately they play second fiddle to first party titles. It’s no longer the 16-bit era though, and one hopes the attitude will change with the next generation.

Don’t get me wrong, I love our Wii. But a few critical flaws affected the machine. In a sensible world, the Wii U would capitalise on its apparent grab to enamour the core gamer beyond a few mature launch titles. It should also give great BC with Wii software and GCN software; unfortunately, the latter is being ignored (likely a DLC double-dip for Nintendo) and the former will only be played back at SD resolutions. Like the Chewbacca defense, this decision makes no sense. Wii games internally rendered at 1080p look stunning – Dolphin has demonstrated this. Why this isn’t done is irrational – I’d happily pay $5-$10 to buy an enhanced emulation mode off the online store assuming it gave all the nerdy love you’d expect. It’s a bad omen for a company that should be learning from its mistakes, rather than continuing to implement half-arsed measures to bring back in the bread and butter of their fanbase.

As for region-free? Not sure if anyone has discussed it, but I’d suspect not given the also-irrational moves to make DSi and 3DS titles region-locked. In a global economy, you can’t have your cake (utilise a global consumer base to promote your product) and then eat it too whilst kicking the other person in the face (creating artificial and unnecessary delays for release, engage in price-fixing between territories and locking out the option for the consumer to parallel-import titles).

Then there’s the Xbox 360. The predecessor was clearly Microsoft’s trojan horse (though the Dreamcast fanboy within suggests the Dreamcast was Microsoft effectively experimenting with the console market), so the XB360 was MS playing for keeps. Despite enormous effort to court the Japanese industry, the machine still flopped in the Land of the Rising Sun. Not that it mattered in the end – the gaming sector in Japan has effectively imploded and allowed North American development to rule the roost with a minor resurgence in the UK and EU (and a welcome one at that).

Microsoft made a couple of good moves with the XB360 – it looked less of a black brick compared to the preceeding console, had some interesting games with more contributions from Japan (especially on XBLA), didn’t kill BC as part of the console’s hardware revisions and set region-locking as an optional requirement set by the developer. It was also relatively easy to develop for and often had the best version of multiplatform games.

Unfortunately MS also paired the machine with overpriced proprietary HDDs, kept DVD (though this did have speed benefits vs BRD/HDDVD) and have absolutely terrible engineering on the insides that have resulted in the least-reliable console ever built (citation needed).

Region-locking was inconsistent – some titles were good to go, some weren’t… and unfortunately, some key titles were region locked (I’m looking at you Tales of Vesperia!). Oh, and dead DVD-ROMs meant if you tried to DIY a replacement (instead of paying through the nose for MS to do the work for you), you could get banned from XBL. There of course is little chance of MS ever supporting a Linux install, but extending the machine’s media playback abilities would have been a nice step.

With whatever succeeds the XB360, I hope MS keep BC with some options to pretty the machine up, region-locking gets moved to the side in favour of region-free, DVD finally gets moved on and users can change HDDs themselves. Oh, and it would be nice if the hardware was more reliable 😉 Doing so will ease the level of risk generated by the white-hat and grey-hat communities, which means the machine is less likely to be hacked. It also means the consumer is happier, but hey, that’s just a pleasant side-effect of making your machine less of a target 😉

So that brings us to Sony. The PS3 was on the edge of greatness with their machine from a nerd perspective (apologies for the hyperbole) – excellent BRD playback, evolving media playback, DLNA compatibility out the box, standard HDMI and optical audio sockets on the machine, excellent BC, Wifi as standard, region-free for PS3 titles and all content from PSN, Linux installs available from day 1, reasonably reliable hardware and the ability to upgrade HDDs yourself. This is amazing considering Sony’s arrogance coming into this generation as the previous market leader.

However, Sony made a few critical errors. BC was gimped in PAL territories from day one (despite paying an extortionate opening price for the machine), and then completely removed altogether. Media playback was successively updated up until… ~fw 2.45, and then it dropped off the radar. Wireless performance for streaming media has been lacking for a while now – again, following a firmware update a while ago, wireless streaming performance slowed down for some reason. PSN has been poorly utilised for distributing PSone games (and now selected PS2 titles), including the reappearance of poor PAL conversions on PAL PSN. PS2 BC was completely removed from the second major hardware revision (but interestingly is now back as a possible emulation layer with PS2 titles via PSN) and PSone emulation has lacked any kind of enhancements the PS3 is more than capable of.

The Big One, though, was the removal of Linux. Depending on which argument you sit with, this was the tipping point that led the collective hacking communities to proceed with breaking open the PS3. From a risk management perspective, this smacks of trouble – to use a possibly inappropriate analogy, if you go into town on a Friday night, get drunk and pick a fight you shouldn’t be surprised someone will punch you in the nose; it certainly isn’t a legitimate excuse, but partaking in that kind of behaviour certainly lacks a risk-adverse attitude.

Up until that point the PS3 was relatively robust – it wasn’t being affected by piracy in the same way the Wii, and to a lesser extent the XB360, were and broadband penetration meant distributing 25gb+ files wasn’t entirely practical. However, in the wake of removing Linux the community took the gloves off and the platform suffered as a result – both in terms of the platform’s physical integrity but also the security of the company’s entire online framework.

I’m not condoning the behaviour of the hacking community by the way, just pointing out that from a risk management perspective, in hindsight it wasn’t a sensible move.

So, lessons to learn for Sony? Keep the progressive things about the PS3 into the succeeding console – region-free playback, excellent media playback, Linux from day one, user-maintained HDD, standard media sockets (i.e. HDMI).

To the average punter, the likes of Linux support, BC, media playback and region-free gaming probably aren’t high on the list; to the core gamer though, these are important issues. More than that though, fulfilling these requirements will assist in reducing the risk associated with the platform from the hacking community. It certainly demands a very different attitude towards your end-user compared to the approach console manufacturers have traditionally taken.

Whether or not this kind of progressive attitude pays off is anyone’s guess – what’s the ROI for goodwill?

Or perhaps it’s better to phrase the question like this – what do you have to lose if you raise the ire of your consumer-base and all corners of the hacking community?

I guess time will tell.