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(Old subject was: "I've found a difference between my Wonder Boy III cartridge and the common ROM dump found online")

I have a SEGA Master System (US model 1) and a Master Everdrive X7.

I've noticed that there's a difference between my cartridge version of Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap and the ROM dump that's available all over the internet.

My cartridge has BLACK borders, but the ROM dump has COLORED borders!

The ROM in question is named "Wonder Boy III - The Dragon's Trap (USA, Europe).sms" and the SHA256 hash is f2db2cbdaaedb3275fc6d334dc36514cbad969a5be62f63b93e14e7dbb7d9897. I've had a quick look around online and this is the only version of the game I can find.

My cartridge (and the game box) has a sticker which says "SEGA for the 90s. The New Generation". According to the page about the game on this very site, it looks like I could have a second US release of the cartridge. I believe that "SEGA for the 90s" campaign was in-part to promote the release of the Master System II.

Any idea what version number my cartridge is? I'm curious what else is different about it. Maybe this is a version 1.1?

Anyway, I really hate the colored borders, I find them very distracting. Is there a ROM dump of this second US release out in the wild? You don't need to post direct links if that is against the policy of this site, but I'd appreciate getting pointed in the right direction, i.e. what exactly to search for.

Again, I own the original cartridge, so I don't consider this piracy. I just prefer playing it from the Everdrive to preserve the original cartridge and for the convenience of save states.

IMG_4774.jpg (124.95 KB)

Cartridge Title Screen

IMG_4786.jpg (141.08 KB)

Cartridge Game Footage

IMG_4762.jpg (146.83 KB)

ROM Title Screen

IMG_4773.jpg (164.17 KB)

ROM Game Footage

IMG_4790.jpg (151.54 KB)

My cartridge

I suspect it's the Master EverDrive messing with VDP Register #7 (overscan area color number), the ROM doesn't seem to modify it, thus it's probably assuming its value is 0, and that's mapped to a black value in sprite's palette.

Sure if you could dump the ROM you would be able to compare it to the known one and see if it's different...

edit: try your ROM with Emulicious and see if you see colored borders or black ones. I see black ones.

I just tried the ROM in Emulicious and also OpenEmu. Black borders!

So yes, I guess the issue is with the Master Everdrive X7. I have the latest firmware installed, v1.04.

Is there a way to modify the ROM to force the black border?

Thanks for your help.

You can submit Krikzz a bug report when the war is over (hopefully soon) :|

sverx wrote

You can submit Krikzz a bug report when the war is over (hopefully soon) :|

These are awful times. I can't imagine what he's going through.

The game is super annoying with these out of place brown borders... I tried other games and maybe this is the only one presenting this behavior.

I've tested this same Wonder Boy rom, and also the Brazilian variant (Turma da Monica em O Resgate) using a 2017 Master Everdrive, a Mega Everdrive Pro and a Neo Myth MD. My results:

1) Master System I (Alex Kidd Miracle World BIOS) with Master Everdrive
Colored borders

2) Master System II (Sonic The Hedgehog BIOS) with Master Everdrive
Colored Borders

3) Game Gear with Master Gear Adapter
Colored Borders

4) Mega Drive NTSC Non TMSS with oficial Master System adapter
Colored borders

5) Mega Drive NTSC with the Neo Myth MD
Black Borders

6) Mega Drive NTSC with the Mega Everdrive Pro
Black Borders

Unfortunately I've lost my Tectoy original cartridge somewhere in my house, but I will test when I eventually find it.

sverx wrote

I suspect it's the Master EverDrive messing with VDP Register #7 (overscan area color number), the ROM doesn't seem to modify it, thus it's probably assuming its value is 0, and that's mapped to a black value in sprite's palette.

I think brown borders are the default behavior, and somehow the Mega Everdrive and the Neo Myth MD change the overscan area colors, whereas the Master Everdrive 2017 doesn't. But if that was the case, I wonder why no emulators I've tested display brown borders, including Emulicious, Fusion, Meka, BizHawk and SMSPlus.

dplc81 wrote

The game is super annoying with these out of place brown borders... I tried other games and maybe this is the only one presenting this behavior.

I've tested this same Wonder Boy rom, and also the Brazilian variant (Turma da Monica em O Resgate) using a 2017 Master Everdrive, a Mega Everdrive Pro and a Neo Myth MD. My results:

1) Master System I (Alex Kidd Miracle World BIOS) with Master Everdrive
Colored borders

2) Master System II (Sonic The Hedgehog BIOS) with Master Everdrive
Colored Borders

3) Game Gear with Master Gear Adapter
Colored Borders

4) Mega Drive NTSC Non TMSS with oficial Master System adapter
Colored borders

5) Mega Drive NTSC with the Neo Myth MD
Black Borders

6) Mega Drive NTSC with the Mega Everdrive Pro
Black Borders

Unfortunately I've lost my Tectoy original cartridge somewhere in my house, but I will test when I eventually find it.

sverx wrote

I suspect it's the Master EverDrive messing with VDP Register #7 (overscan area color number), the ROM doesn't seem to modify it, thus it's probably assuming its value is 0, and that's mapped to a black value in sprite's palette.

I think brown borders are the default behavior, and somehow the Mega Everdrive and the Neo Myth MD change the overscan area colors, whereas the Master Everdrive 2017 doesn't. But if that was the case, I wonder why no emulators I've tested display brown borders, including Emulicious, Fusion, Meka, BizHawk and SMSPlus.

Looks quite brown to me in Emulicious.
Only requirement is that emulate the SAME system as yours. I.e. emulating the Everdrive as well.

WonderBoyIIIbrownBorder.png (18.77 KB)

Ok, so it may really be an issue with the Master Everdrive. From what I recall, the original cartridge never presented the colored borders. Too bad there's no more updates for my Everdrive.

Edit: Just found the OP created a a thread at Krikzz forums.

Just for the record, I have the Turma de Monica versions of these carts and there are no borders. So yes, it's a problem with the EverDrive, unfortunately.

It would be relatively simple to make a ROM patch to “fix” the behaviour. Maybe alternatively a patch to the “OS” if it allows it?

sverx wrote

I suspect it's the Master EverDrive messing with VDP Register #7 (overscan area color number), the ROM doesn't seem to modify it, thus it's probably assuming its value is 0, and that's mapped to a black value in sprite's palette.

Just to try and make sure I understand this, do you think that this is happening because the EverDrive program changes the VDP registers in order to display its menus and what have you (I don't have an EverDrive so don't know what the experience is like), and never restores them to the defaults – whether they be hardware defaults or what the original BIOS would have set them to be? Or put another way, the game cart is relying on the VDP registers being in a certain state when it boots?

willbritton wrote

sverx wrote

I suspect it's the Master EverDrive messing with VDP Register #7 (overscan area color number), the ROM doesn't seem to modify it, thus it's probably assuming its value is 0, and that's mapped to a black value in sprite's palette.

Just to try and make sure I understand this, do you think that this is happening because the EverDrive program changes the VDP registers in order to display its menus and what have you (I don't have an EverDrive so don't know what the experience is like), and never restores them to the defaults – whether they be hardware defaults or what the original BIOS would have set them to be? Or put another way, the game cart is relying on the VDP registers being in a certain state when it boots?

willbritton wrote

I don't have an EverDrive so don't know what the experience is like

You can experience it by emulating it in Emulicious. You just need to download the Everdrive OS file.

willbritton wrote

Or put another way, the game cart is relying on the VDP registers being in a certain state when it boots?

Yes, that's the case.

willbritton wrote

the EverDrive program changes the VDP registers in order to display its menus

It sets the backdrop color to 2.

willbritton wrote

and never restores them to the defaults

Yes.

@Calindro - thanks! ♥

Ah great, thanks both for the clarification.
Also, I didn't realise you could download the EverDrive OS, but of course, makes perfect sense - thanks for the tip, will have a play with it.

I found an IPS patch file for WBIII, in a web archive link (the website exists, but the file link is dead). I'm uploading the file here.

"http://web.archive.org/web/20201010060538/http://frs.badcoffee.info/SMS-patches.html"

The readme.txt states:

Quote

Wonder Boy 3 enhancement patch
------------------------------
(c) 2019 by FRS

This patch does many enhancements to the game Wonder Boy 3:

- Fix FM detection to work on export consoles
- Force to show WB-III logo
- Added mega drive joypad support (START = PAUSE)
- Set border color to 0 (the game didn't initialize the border). This fixed
the incorrect border color when started on flash carts

EDIT: For those who prefer to hexedit the rom just for fixing the border color:
000002BD: 87

WonderBoy3Fix.zip (2.08 KB)

Author	Message
markpaterson Joined: 25 Feb 2022 Posts: 3	Border color difference when playing Wonder Boy III on Everdrive Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 3:38 pm Last edited by markpaterson on Fri Feb 25, 2022 5:35 pm; edited 1 time in total
markpaterson Joined: 25 Feb 2022 Posts: 3	(Old subject was: "I've found a difference between my Wonder Boy III cartridge and the common ROM dump found online") I have a SEGA Master System (US model 1) and a Master Everdrive X7. I've noticed that there's a difference between my cartridge version of Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap and the ROM dump that's available all over the internet. My cartridge has BLACK borders, but the ROM dump has COLORED borders! The ROM in question is named "Wonder Boy III - The Dragon's Trap (USA, Europe).sms" and the SHA256 hash is f2db2cbdaaedb3275fc6d334dc36514cbad969a5be62f63b93e14e7dbb7d9897. I've had a quick look around online and this is the only version of the game I can find. My cartridge (and the game box) has a sticker which says "SEGA for the 90s. The New Generation". According to the page about the game on this very site, it looks like I could have a second US release of the cartridge. I believe that "SEGA for the 90s" campaign was in-part to promote the release of the Master System II. Any idea what version number my cartridge is? I'm curious what else is different about it. Maybe this is a version 1.1? Anyway, I really hate the colored borders, I find them very distracting. Is there a ROM dump of this second US release out in the wild? You don't need to post direct links if that is against the policy of this site, but I'd appreciate getting pointed in the right direction, i.e. what exactly to search for. Again, I own the original cartridge, so I don't consider this piracy. I just prefer playing it from the Everdrive to preserve the original cartridge and for the convenience of save states. IMG_4774.jpg (124.95 KB) Cartridge Title Screen IMG_4786.jpg (141.08 KB) Cartridge Game Footage IMG_4762.jpg (146.83 KB) ROM Title Screen IMG_4773.jpg (164.17 KB) ROM Game Footage IMG_4790.jpg (151.54 KB) My cartridge

sverx Joined: 05 Sep 2013 Posts: 3827 Location: Stockholm, Sweden	Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 4:04 pm
	I suspect it's the Master EverDrive messing with VDP Register #7 (overscan area color number), the ROM doesn't seem to modify it, thus it's probably assuming its value is 0, and that's mapped to a black value in sprite's palette. Sure if you could dump the ROM you would be able to compare it to the known one and see if it's different... edit: try your ROM with Emulicious and see if you see colored borders or black ones. I see black ones.

markpaterson Joined: 25 Feb 2022 Posts: 3	Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 5:34 pm Last edited by markpaterson on Fri Feb 25, 2022 5:50 pm; edited 1 time in total
markpaterson Joined: 25 Feb 2022 Posts: 3	I just tried the ROM in Emulicious and also OpenEmu. Black borders! So yes, I guess the issue is with the Master Everdrive X7. I have the latest firmware installed, v1.04. Is there a way to modify the ROM to force the black border? Thanks for your help.

sverx Joined: 05 Sep 2013 Posts: 3827 Location: Stockholm, Sweden	Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 5:47 pm
	You can submit Krikzz a bug report when the war is over (hopefully soon) :\|

markpaterson Joined: 25 Feb 2022 Posts: 3	Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 6:00 pm
markpaterson Joined: 25 Feb 2022 Posts: 3	sverx wrote You can submit Krikzz a bug report when the war is over (hopefully soon) :\| These are awful times. I can't imagine what he's going through.

dplc81 Joined: 20 Apr 2011 Posts: 33	Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2022 9:20 pm
dplc81 Joined: 20 Apr 2011 Posts: 33	The game is super annoying with these out of place brown borders... I tried other games and maybe this is the only one presenting this behavior. I've tested this same Wonder Boy rom, and also the Brazilian variant (Turma da Monica em O Resgate) using a 2017 Master Everdrive, a Mega Everdrive Pro and a Neo Myth MD. My results: 1) Master System I (Alex Kidd Miracle World BIOS) with Master Everdrive Colored borders 2) Master System II (Sonic The Hedgehog BIOS) with Master Everdrive Colored Borders 3) Game Gear with Master Gear Adapter Colored Borders 4) Mega Drive NTSC Non TMSS with oficial Master System adapter Colored borders 5) Mega Drive NTSC with the Neo Myth MD Black Borders 6) Mega Drive NTSC with the Mega Everdrive Pro Black Borders Unfortunately I've lost my Tectoy original cartridge somewhere in my house, but I will test when I eventually find it. sverx wrote I suspect it's the Master EverDrive messing with VDP Register #7 (overscan area color number), the ROM doesn't seem to modify it, thus it's probably assuming its value is 0, and that's mapped to a black value in sprite's palette. I think brown borders are the default behavior, and somehow the Mega Everdrive and the Neo Myth MD change the overscan area colors, whereas the Master Everdrive 2017 doesn't. But if that was the case, I wonder why no emulators I've tested display brown borders, including Emulicious, Fusion, Meka, BizHawk and SMSPlus.

Calindro Joined: 14 Apr 2013 Posts: 624	Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2022 9:37 pm
Calindro Joined: 14 Apr 2013 Posts: 624	dplc81 wrote The game is super annoying with these out of place brown borders... I tried other games and maybe this is the only one presenting this behavior. I've tested this same Wonder Boy rom, and also the Brazilian variant (Turma da Monica em O Resgate) using a 2017 Master Everdrive, a Mega Everdrive Pro and a Neo Myth MD. My results: 1) Master System I (Alex Kidd Miracle World BIOS) with Master Everdrive Colored borders 2) Master System II (Sonic The Hedgehog BIOS) with Master Everdrive Colored Borders 3) Game Gear with Master Gear Adapter Colored Borders 4) Mega Drive NTSC Non TMSS with oficial Master System adapter Colored borders 5) Mega Drive NTSC with the Neo Myth MD Black Borders 6) Mega Drive NTSC with the Mega Everdrive Pro Black Borders Unfortunately I've lost my Tectoy original cartridge somewhere in my house, but I will test when I eventually find it. sverx wrote I suspect it's the Master EverDrive messing with VDP Register #7 (overscan area color number), the ROM doesn't seem to modify it, thus it's probably assuming its value is 0, and that's mapped to a black value in sprite's palette. I think brown borders are the default behavior, and somehow the Mega Everdrive and the Neo Myth MD change the overscan area colors, whereas the Master Everdrive 2017 doesn't. But if that was the case, I wonder why no emulators I've tested display brown borders, including Emulicious, Fusion, Meka, BizHawk and SMSPlus. Looks quite brown to me in Emulicious. Only requirement is that emulate the SAME system as yours. I.e. emulating the Everdrive as well. WonderBoyIIIbrownBorder.png (18.77 KB)

dplc81 Joined: 20 Apr 2011 Posts: 33	Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2022 2:04 am
dplc81 Joined: 20 Apr 2011 Posts: 33	Ok, so it may really be an issue with the Master Everdrive. From what I recall, the original cartridge never presented the colored borders. Too bad there's no more updates for my Everdrive. Edit: Just found the OP created a a thread at Krikzz forums.

Maraakate Joined: 05 Jun 2010 Posts: 757 Location: Pennsylvania, USA	Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2022 12:53 pm
	Just for the record, I have the Turma de Monica versions of these carts and there are no borders. So yes, it's a problem with the EverDrive, unfortunately.

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14740 Location: London	Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2022 5:12 pm
	It would be relatively simple to make a ROM patch to “fix” the behaviour. Maybe alternatively a patch to the “OS” if it allows it?

willbritton Joined: 06 Mar 2022 Posts: 670 Location: London, UK	Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2022 8:06 pm
	sverx wrote I suspect it's the Master EverDrive messing with VDP Register #7 (overscan area color number), the ROM doesn't seem to modify it, thus it's probably assuming its value is 0, and that's mapped to a black value in sprite's palette. Just to try and make sure I understand this, do you think that this is happening because the EverDrive program changes the VDP registers in order to display its menus and what have you (I don't have an EverDrive so don't know what the experience is like), and never restores them to the defaults – whether they be hardware defaults or what the original BIOS would have set them to be? Or put another way, the game cart is relying on the VDP registers being in a certain state when it boots?

Calindro Joined: 14 Apr 2013 Posts: 624	Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2022 10:35 pm
Calindro Joined: 14 Apr 2013 Posts: 624	willbritton wrote sverx wrote I suspect it's the Master EverDrive messing with VDP Register #7 (overscan area color number), the ROM doesn't seem to modify it, thus it's probably assuming its value is 0, and that's mapped to a black value in sprite's palette. Just to try and make sure I understand this, do you think that this is happening because the EverDrive program changes the VDP registers in order to display its menus and what have you (I don't have an EverDrive so don't know what the experience is like), and never restores them to the defaults – whether they be hardware defaults or what the original BIOS would have set them to be? Or put another way, the game cart is relying on the VDP registers being in a certain state when it boots? willbritton wrote I don't have an EverDrive so don't know what the experience is like You can experience it by emulating it in Emulicious. You just need to download the Everdrive OS file. willbritton wrote Or put another way, the game cart is relying on the VDP registers being in a certain state when it boots? Yes, that's the case. willbritton wrote the EverDrive program changes the VDP registers in order to display its menus It sets the backdrop color to 2. willbritton wrote and never restores them to the defaults Yes.

sverx Joined: 05 Sep 2013 Posts: 3827 Location: Stockholm, Sweden	Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2022 11:12 am
	@Calindro - thanks! ♥

willbritton Joined: 06 Mar 2022 Posts: 670 Location: London, UK	Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2022 11:46 am
	Ah great, thanks both for the clarification. Also, I didn't realise you could download the EverDrive OS, but of course, makes perfect sense - thanks for the tip, will have a play with it.

dplc81 Joined: 20 Apr 2011 Posts: 33	Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2022 9:40 pm
dplc81 Joined: 20 Apr 2011 Posts: 33	I found an IPS patch file for WBIII, in a web archive link (the website exists, but the file link is dead). I'm uploading the file here. "http://web.archive.org/web/20201010060538/http://frs.badcoffee.info/SMS-patches.html" The readme.txt states: Quote Wonder Boy 3 enhancement patch ------------------------------ (c) 2019 by FRS This patch does many enhancements to the game Wonder Boy 3: - Fix FM detection to work on export consoles - Force to show WB-III logo - Added mega drive joypad support (START = PAUSE) - Set border color to 0 (the game didn't initialize the border). This fixed the incorrect border color when started on flash carts EDIT: For those who prefer to hexedit the rom just for fixing the border color: 000002BD: 87 WonderBoy3Fix.zip (2.08 KB)

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