Back to index

Info for genesis


Sega Megadrive/Genesis (1988)

The Genesis (called Megadrive in Japan) console featured many great conversions that
banked on the success of Segas Arcade games. Games like Altered Beast, After Burner,
Ghouls 'N Ghosts and Sonic the Hedgehog helped make this 16-bit system very popular.
Unfortunately third party support was difficult considering many developers were making
games exclusively for the Nintendo systems. The Genesis was redesigned into a smaller
and more affordable package three times. There was also a portable version of the
Genesis, called the Nomad, which featured a backlit LCD. The Genesis also served as the
core for the expansion hardware with Sega CD and 32X that added CD support and additional
features.

Features:
Main Processor: Motorola M68000 (16-bit) at 7.67 Mhz

Co-processor: Z80a at 3.58Mhz
RAM: 64k (Plus 64k Ram for sound)
Video RAM: 64k
Max Cart Size: ???
Max resolution: 320 X 224
Color palette: 512 total; 64 max on screen
Max # of sprites: 80; 20 max per scanline
Sound Chips: YM2612 and a 4 channel TI PSG76489
Sound: Stereo FM-based sound with 8-bit audio samples

Usage:
Under the "Options" menu, accessible by hitting TAB, you will find the following option:
"Country" - this allows you to alter the 'flavour' of Genesis, to either European, Japanese
or American. Many cartridges compare their country codes with that of the Genesis itself and
may behave differently, or lock up if the two types do not match.
'Auto' attempts to auto-set the Genesis country code to the value the cartridge will appear
to be checking for. This may not be 100% accurate, however.

MESS Emulation State:
Most games tend to run fairly well. Some have slight graphic glitches; incorrect colours part
way down the screen or other bizarre effects. See genesis.hsi for a partial list.
Cartridges up to 40MBit (5MByte) are supported, including the special mapper for Super Street
Fighter II.
The standard 3 and 6-button pads are fully supported. Other peripherals are not yet.
Split screen effects and interlacing are fully supported.
Sprite/layer priority should be perfect.


Generated on Thu Apr 5 18:07:45 2007