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Hi,
Im new here and ive been looking everywhere for one thing. Screenshots of the Master Gear Converter in use. Sure ive seen what the actual thing looks like but never a game being played. I recently bought a game gear since my old one broke years ago and ive only recently wanted to play it again. Now i have one and have been playing it loads. But there are some games i would like to get that are SMS only (Most notable is Wonder Boy in Monster Land). Ive seen the Master Gear Converter but i dont see how Master System games would fit the GG's tiny screen. So ive been looking for screenshots of it in use. Other SMS games i want are mostly RPG games so there will be alot of text. Will this be all crunched up on the GG's tiny screen? I really want to see what its like first before i buy one just incase its no good. If anyone can provide Photo's of it in use i will be greatful.

Thanks
Jackaroo

1. Take 256x192 pixels from the SMS
2. Cut off 8 pixels on the left and right (now it's 240x192)
3. Squeeze each 3 horizontal pixels into 2 by losing one colour channel from each - so B1G1R1B2G2R2B3G3R3 becomes B1G1R2B2G3R3. This will destroy detailed colours but solid colours will stay the same. Expect colour fringing. Now your image is 160x192.
4. Apply a blurry uneven algorithm to vertically squeeze 3 SMS pixels into 2 (see the link below for details). Now your image is 160x128.
5. Add 8 black pixels to the top and bottom. Now your image is 160x144 and that's the GG screen resolution.

That link: Game Gear SMS mode video scaling

Some sample "true" images (generated by some guesses at the way the GG video scaling works, will look marginally better on an LCD with BGR sub-pixels):

Or the short version: text is horribly unreadable, lots of colour fringing, especially if parts are only 1px wide. Most SMS mode GG games use special fonts to try to reduce this problem, the Master Gear can't do that for you.

Thanks Maxim. This helped alot. Thanks for the help.

I decided to take some actual photos for comparison.. TBH its not as bad as it would seem, the display tends to hide most of the imperfections well.

Unfortunately my camera is crappy and did not handle the backlight from the GG very well so the screens look washed out. I've also not yet replaced the caps so it also suffers numerous display issues as well.

Populous

GG:

SMS:

Columns

GG:

SMS:

Aztec Adventure

GG:

SMS:

Sonic The Hedgehog 2

GG:

SMS:

Wow that doesnt look too bad. I think im gonna go for it and get the converter. I cut down an image of Wonderboy In Monster World (The game i want to get) using the guide maxim provided and it looks ok (Text seems readable). From your screens the games look great aswell so im gonna go for it and get it.

Thanks for the screens and info.

If you insert wonderboy 5 in master gear comverter and dump it you take a gage gear rom?

weirdzod wrote

If you insert wonderboy 5 in master gear comverter and dump it you take a gage gear rom?

1. No
2. Wonder Boy
3. No Wonder Boy 5 in the world of Sega 8-bit
4. Master Gear Converter
5. Game Gear
6. There is more but I grow weary.

Author	Message
jackaroo Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 10	Master Gear Converter - Any Good? Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 3:17 pm
jackaroo Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 10	Hi, Im new here and ive been looking everywhere for one thing. Screenshots of the Master Gear Converter in use. Sure ive seen what the actual thing looks like but never a game being played. I recently bought a game gear since my old one broke years ago and ive only recently wanted to play it again. Now i have one and have been playing it loads. But there are some games i would like to get that are SMS only (Most notable is Wonder Boy in Monster Land). Ive seen the Master Gear Converter but i dont see how Master System games would fit the GG's tiny screen. So ive been looking for screenshots of it in use. Other SMS games i want are mostly RPG games so there will be alot of text. Will this be all crunched up on the GG's tiny screen? I really want to see what its like first before i buy one just incase its no good. If anyone can provide Photo's of it in use i will be greatful. Thanks Jackaroo

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14744 Location: London	Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 4:13 pm
	1. Take 256x192 pixels from the SMS 2. Cut off 8 pixels on the left and right (now it's 240x192) 3. Squeeze each 3 horizontal pixels into 2 by losing one colour channel from each - so B1G1R1B2G2R2B3G3R3 becomes B1G1R2B2G3R3. This will destroy detailed colours but solid colours will stay the same. Expect colour fringing. Now your image is 160x192. 4. Apply a blurry uneven algorithm to vertically squeeze 3 SMS pixels into 2 (see the link below for details). Now your image is 160x128. 5. Add 8 black pixels to the top and bottom. Now your image is 160x144 and that's the GG screen resolution. That link: Game Gear SMS mode video scaling Some sample "true" images (generated by some guesses at the way the GG video scaling works, will look marginally better on an LCD with BGR sub-pixels): Or the short version: text is horribly unreadable, lots of colour fringing, especially if parts are only 1px wide. Most SMS mode GG games use special fonts to try to reduce this problem, the Master Gear can't do that for you.

jackaroo Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 10	Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 7:41 pm
jackaroo Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 10	Thanks Maxim. This helped alot. Thanks for the help.

thatawesomeguy Joined: 25 Jul 2007 Posts: 731 Location: Melbourne, Australia	Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 3:14 pm
	I decided to take some actual photos for comparison.. TBH its not as bad as it would seem, the display tends to hide most of the imperfections well. Unfortunately my camera is crappy and did not handle the backlight from the GG very well so the screens look washed out. I've also not yet replaced the caps so it also suffers numerous display issues as well. Populous GG: SMS: Columns GG: SMS: Aztec Adventure GG: SMS: Sonic The Hedgehog 2 GG: SMS:

jackaroo Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 10	Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 8:55 pm
jackaroo Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 10	Wow that doesnt look too bad. I think im gonna go for it and get the converter. I cut down an image of Wonderboy In Monster World (The game i want to get) using the guide maxim provided and it looks ok (Text seems readable). From your screens the games look great aswell so im gonna go for it and get it. Thanks for the screens and info.

weirdzod Guest	Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 2:28 pm
weirdzod Guest	If you insert wonderboy 5 in master gear comverter and dump it you take a gage gear rom?

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14744 Location: London	Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 2:37 pm
	weirdzod wrote If you insert wonderboy 5 in master gear comverter and dump it you take a gage gear rom? 1. No 2. Wonder Boy 3. No Wonder Boy 5 in the world of Sega 8-bit 4. Master Gear Converter 5. Game Gear 6. There is more but I grow weary.

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