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nyandeyanen wrote

I see this same issue with every 2 ASIC Game Gear I've touched, and only with Phantasy Star. The behavior is consistent with the original cartridge and the Beeshu Master System adapter (Phantasy Star doesn't work with Sega's Master Gear converter as I understand it.) I've been modding Game Gears quite a bit over the past year to recap and add McWill displays, so I've seen several. With a 1 ASIC system it works fine, it appears SEGA improved compatibility with the hardware revision.

Thanks for chiming in! We've found a few other people that have seen the same thing, but the discussion wound up moving to the following thread since it kind of seemed like the issue wasn't related to the retranslation project.

https://www.smspower.org/forums/15852-PhantasyStarOnEverdriveGlitches#114501

I'd still love to start collecting console serial numbers and maybe even VDP numbers to see if we can narrow down if there's a certain series that's bad or if it's maybe just random failures with age. Regardless, all so far have been reported to be twin asic, and maybe japanese made.

[quote="asdfqwer426"]

nyandeyanen wrote

Thanks for chiming in! We've found a few other people that have seen the same thing, but the discussion wound up moving to the following thread since it kind of seemed like the issue wasn't related to the retranslation project.

https://www.smspower.org/forums/15852-PhantasyStarOnEverdriveGlitches#114501

I'd still love to start collecting console serial numbers and maybe even VDP numbers to see if we can narrow down if there's a certain series that's bad or if it's maybe just random failures with age. Regardless, all so far have been reported to be twin asic, and maybe japanese made.

I'll take a look, to be honest I really only come here occasionally for updates on the re-translation project. I made an account so I could post the video they asked for showing the glitch.

Speaking of that glitch...

I unfortunately have to report that I have still been seeing it on 2.01 and 2.1.

I am also using an everdrive to play on a game gear (this is a different game gear than the one with the 26 cycle bug).

I recently got a master gear converter and could burn the have to an eprom for testing to rule out the ever drive. (Sorry monopoly)

It's very random but seemed to pop up a little more reliably with groups of skeletons and dezorois.

IMG_20210221_181812.jpg (3.81 MB)

IMG_20210228_120348.jpg (4.62 MB)

I think we’ve come to the conclusion that the original game has issues on some Game Gear versions, for unknown reasons (as the timings seem no more extreme than other SMS games). I could see about slowing down these parts a bit more...

Maxim wrote

I think we’ve come to the conclusion that the original game has issues on some Game Gear versions, for unknown reasons

... that seems related anyway to power drain, as changing the cartridge hardware with 'lighter' options seems to do a difference

but yeah, a few games were listed as incompatible with the Master Gear, and this is one of them.

We'll chalk it up to the game gear/power thing, although this is my single asic one that works fine, not the twin with that 26 count issue. Maybe I'll try to increase power drain and run sverx's timing test a few times to see if anything crops up.

I still plan to make that cartridge of this game, hopefully in the future I can get my cousin to let me test it out on his actual master system.

Anyway, almost done with this game for the first time, been trying to stick with playing it old school with notes and graph paper. Got to Lashiec who one shot me and I realized I missed an item. Hopefully I can finish it up tomorrow! Thanks again.

Edit: hate to bring this up again, but good news I think, I actually found a point where the text box glitch happens in my game gear every single time. It's on the way to baya malay, right when the robot police asks if you have a road pass, you say no and the fight starts. If someone could test my save on other hardware I'd say we can rule out the hack itself. Save #1 is right on the tile it's asked at so you should just have to load it up to see.

IMG_20210303_110524.jpg (3.37 MB)

Phantasy Star Save(SMSPowerV21).zip (2.07 KB)

asdfqwer426 wrote

this is my single asic one that works fine, not the twin with that 26 count issue

still that glitch seems to come from the same source, so maybe this one is just less prone to fault

Sverx, you just happened to reply as I was typing an edit to my last post and attaching files. I found a spot it happens every time so hopefully we can 100% rule out the hack for this little bug.

asdfqwer426 wrote

I found a spot it happens every time so hopefully we can 100% rule out the hack for this little bug.

That one over the 'o' of 'Police'? It always appears and it's always at that very same point? This could be corrupted source data, but if it's so it should appear on emulators too...

Yeah that blue block above the "o". I've loaded the game save about 6 times and it happened in the same spot every time. Same square and everything.

Interestingly after moving around and doing other things in the game and going back, the block was no longer there when I encountered him but once I put the uploaded save file back in the ever drive the same square starts showing the same bug again.

So I guess it's not every single time which would imply the corruption you mention but it does happen every time I load this save right at the same spot. Not sure what that means if anything.

asdfqwer426 wrote

Not sure what that means if anything.

yeah I'm pretty lost too. I would expect it either to be totally consistent (because of 'flawed' source data) or to happen inconsistently...

I guess the only chance we have is that someone uses your save on their otherwise 100% working set up and see

I think it's related to the timing of when that border gets drawn and whether it's on-screen (it's usually not). I think I have fixed it now, there was a 24 cycles time between writes which is now padded to 28.

Please take a look at this addendum for PS Retranslated, it was based on Vikfield's work, to be applied to the already patched rom (and also check out the option with Alisa's brown hair), and comment what you think, I didn't test it on the original rom, thank you.

Phantasy Star Retranslated New Sprites.ips:

https://mega.nz/file/qA9FkYZL#lLihEYQZ3vXHubzsIQqo3XJpHHmGuf4Lyvs3_QcTXfA

Edit: Please disregard the previous link, I found a bug and when I fix it I will post a new one, thanks.

I found that the patch only works until version 2.01, 2.1 I tried to edit it but it didn't work:

Phantasy Star SMSPower Retranslation_v2.01 New Sprites.ips:

https://mega.nz/file/2cUkHJxI#MIonezBrnDplI3QdtuFBODtSccyQ09_zok2FjGFDcnI

The brown hair Alisa sprite data may be in a different place as it's automatically placed.

Yes, the location of brown hair Alisa sprites is in a different place, but unlike version 2.01, when I copy the graphics with Tile Layer Pro the game becomes corrupted.

Author	Message
asdfqwer426 Joined: 22 Feb 2016 Posts: 37	Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2021 12:09 am
asdfqwer426 Joined: 22 Feb 2016 Posts: 37	nyandeyanen wrote I see this same issue with every 2 ASIC Game Gear I've touched, and only with Phantasy Star. The behavior is consistent with the original cartridge and the Beeshu Master System adapter (Phantasy Star doesn't work with Sega's Master Gear converter as I understand it.) I've been modding Game Gears quite a bit over the past year to recap and add McWill displays, so I've seen several. With a 1 ASIC system it works fine, it appears SEGA improved compatibility with the hardware revision. Thanks for chiming in! We've found a few other people that have seen the same thing, but the discussion wound up moving to the following thread since it kind of seemed like the issue wasn't related to the retranslation project. https://www.smspower.org/forums/15852-PhantasyStarOnEverdriveGlitches#114501 I'd still love to start collecting console serial numbers and maybe even VDP numbers to see if we can narrow down if there's a certain series that's bad or if it's maybe just random failures with age. Regardless, all so far have been reported to be twin asic, and maybe japanese made.

nyandeyanen Joined: 07 Oct 2020 Posts: 4 Location: California	Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2021 10:41 pm
	[quote="asdfqwer426"] nyandeyanen wrote Thanks for chiming in! We've found a few other people that have seen the same thing, but the discussion wound up moving to the following thread since it kind of seemed like the issue wasn't related to the retranslation project. https://www.smspower.org/forums/15852-PhantasyStarOnEverdriveGlitches#114501 I'd still love to start collecting console serial numbers and maybe even VDP numbers to see if we can narrow down if there's a certain series that's bad or if it's maybe just random failures with age. Regardless, all so far have been reported to be twin asic, and maybe japanese made. I'll take a look, to be honest I really only come here occasionally for updates on the re-translation project. I made an account so I could post the video they asked for showing the glitch.

asdfqwer426 Joined: 22 Feb 2016 Posts: 37	Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2021 4:55 pm
asdfqwer426 Joined: 22 Feb 2016 Posts: 37	Speaking of that glitch... I unfortunately have to report that I have still been seeing it on 2.01 and 2.1. I am also using an everdrive to play on a game gear (this is a different game gear than the one with the 26 cycle bug). I recently got a master gear converter and could burn the have to an eprom for testing to rule out the ever drive. (Sorry monopoly) It's very random but seemed to pop up a little more reliably with groups of skeletons and dezorois. IMG_20210221_181812.jpg (3.81 MB) IMG_20210228_120348.jpg (4.62 MB)

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14991 Location: London	Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2021 6:06 pm
	I think we’ve come to the conclusion that the original game has issues on some Game Gear versions, for unknown reasons (as the timings seem no more extreme than other SMS games). I could see about slowing down these parts a bit more...

sverx Joined: 05 Sep 2013 Posts: 3956 Location: Stockholm, Sweden	Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2021 6:35 pm
	Maxim wrote I think we’ve come to the conclusion that the original game has issues on some Game Gear versions, for unknown reasons ... that seems related anyway to power drain, as changing the cartridge hardware with 'lighter' options seems to do a difference but yeah, a few games were listed as incompatible with the Master Gear, and this is one of them.

asdfqwer426 Joined: 22 Feb 2016 Posts: 37	Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2021 9:28 pm Last edited by asdfqwer426 on Wed Mar 03, 2021 5:16 pm; edited 1 time in total
asdfqwer426 Joined: 22 Feb 2016 Posts: 37	We'll chalk it up to the game gear/power thing, although this is my single asic one that works fine, not the twin with that 26 count issue. Maybe I'll try to increase power drain and run sverx's timing test a few times to see if anything crops up. I still plan to make that cartridge of this game, hopefully in the future I can get my cousin to let me test it out on his actual master system. Anyway, almost done with this game for the first time, been trying to stick with playing it old school with notes and graph paper. Got to Lashiec who one shot me and I realized I missed an item. Hopefully I can finish it up tomorrow! Thanks again. Edit: hate to bring this up again, but good news I think, I actually found a point where the text box glitch happens in my game gear every single time. It's on the way to baya malay, right when the robot police asks if you have a road pass, you say no and the fight starts. If someone could test my save on other hardware I'd say we can rule out the hack itself. Save #1 is right on the tile it's asked at so you should just have to load it up to see. IMG_20210303_110524.jpg (3.37 MB) Phantasy Star Save(SMSPowerV21).zip (2.07 KB)

sverx Joined: 05 Sep 2013 Posts: 3956 Location: Stockholm, Sweden	Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2021 5:13 pm
	asdfqwer426 wrote this is my single asic one that works fine, not the twin with that 26 count issue still that glitch seems to come from the same source, so maybe this one is just less prone to fault

asdfqwer426 Joined: 22 Feb 2016 Posts: 37	Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2021 5:18 pm
asdfqwer426 Joined: 22 Feb 2016 Posts: 37	Sverx, you just happened to reply as I was typing an edit to my last post and attaching files. I found a spot it happens every time so hopefully we can 100% rule out the hack for this little bug.

sverx Joined: 05 Sep 2013 Posts: 3956 Location: Stockholm, Sweden	Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2021 5:23 pm
	asdfqwer426 wrote I found a spot it happens every time so hopefully we can 100% rule out the hack for this little bug. That one over the 'o' of 'Police'? It always appears and it's always at that very same point? This could be corrupted source data, but if it's so it should appear on emulators too...

asdfqwer426 Joined: 22 Feb 2016 Posts: 37	Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2021 5:39 pm
asdfqwer426 Joined: 22 Feb 2016 Posts: 37	Yeah that blue block above the "o". I've loaded the game save about 6 times and it happened in the same spot every time. Same square and everything. Interestingly after moving around and doing other things in the game and going back, the block was no longer there when I encountered him but once I put the uploaded save file back in the ever drive the same square starts showing the same bug again. So I guess it's not every single time which would imply the corruption you mention but it does happen every time I load this save right at the same spot. Not sure what that means if anything.

sverx Joined: 05 Sep 2013 Posts: 3956 Location: Stockholm, Sweden	Posted: Fri Mar 05, 2021 4:37 pm
	asdfqwer426 wrote Not sure what that means if anything. yeah I'm pretty lost too. I would expect it either to be totally consistent (because of 'flawed' source data) or to happen inconsistently... I guess the only chance we have is that someone uses your save on their otherwise 100% working set up and see

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14991 Location: London	Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2021 2:42 am
	I think it's related to the timing of when that border gets drawn and whether it's on-screen (it's usually not). I think I have fixed it now, there was a 24 cycles time between writes which is now padded to 28.

darthvaderx Joined: 07 May 2011 Posts: 38	Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2021 6:08 pm
darthvaderx Joined: 07 May 2011 Posts: 38	Please take a look at this addendum for PS Retranslated, it was based on Vikfield's work, to be applied to the already patched rom (and also check out the option with Alisa's brown hair), and comment what you think, I didn't test it on the original rom, thank you. Phantasy Star Retranslated New Sprites.ips: https://mega.nz/file/qA9FkYZL#lLihEYQZ3vXHubzsIQqo3XJpHHmGuf4Lyvs3_QcTXfA

darthvaderx Joined: 07 May 2011 Posts: 38	Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2021 8:10 pm
darthvaderx Joined: 07 May 2011 Posts: 38	Edit: Please disregard the previous link, I found a bug and when I fix it I will post a new one, thanks.

darthvaderx Joined: 07 May 2011 Posts: 38	Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2021 10:15 pm
darthvaderx Joined: 07 May 2011 Posts: 38	I found that the patch only works until version 2.01, 2.1 I tried to edit it but it didn't work: Phantasy Star SMSPower Retranslation_v2.01 New Sprites.ips: https://mega.nz/file/2cUkHJxI#MIonezBrnDplI3QdtuFBODtSccyQ09_zok2FjGFDcnI

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14991 Location: London	Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2021 9:28 am
	The brown hair Alisa sprite data may be in a different place as it's automatically placed.

darthvaderx Joined: 07 May 2011 Posts: 38	Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2021 9:57 am
darthvaderx Joined: 07 May 2011 Posts: 38	Yes, the location of brown hair Alisa sprites is in a different place, but unlike version 2.01, when I copy the graphics with Tile Layer Pro the game becomes corrupted.

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