From new firmware for ODEs to homemade projects with Raspberry Pis to homebrew at conventions, there’s always something going on in the Sega Saturn community. Let’s see what’s happened over the last week.
YZB updates his SAROO firmware
SAROO developer YZB released an update Monday for his firmware for the Saturn optical drive emulator cartridge. It’s available on its SegaXtreme Resources page.
According to its patch notes, the new firmware fixes a couple crashes — one when playing ADX audio files, WAV audio files and BIN audio files, and the other during the first stage of In the Hunt’s U.S. and PAL versions — and adds support for CD+G discs as long as they’re in one of two image formats created with CloneCD: IMG + CCD + CUE + SUB, or IMG + CCD + CUE + CDG.
The firmware also adds a button combo to return to the Saturn multiplayer BIOS menu, Start + A + B + C + L.
The patch notes included with the download give important directions for applying the firmware, so anyone who wants to try it out should pay close attention to those.
YZB’s first iteration of his SAROO firmware was released in October. It added new features to the SAROO like cheat codes, audio and video players, photo CD support and the ability to edit configuration files from within the menu while the system is running. But it also was unstable, with a possibility of bricking the cartridge; it only worked in Chinese, not other languages; and it included proprietary Sega code and ROM cartridge files for two games, a legally dubious situation.
Robert Dunn working on mini Saturn
Robert Dunn, who designs mini consoles with Raspberry Pi single-board computers inside through his Multi Game System boutique workshop, is showing off his latest design: a miniature Sega Saturn.
It’s a case that’s smaller than an original Saturn controller Dunn designed in CAD and 3D printed. It houses a Raspberry Pi 5 running Batocera, which supports the RetroArch iterations of Saturn emulators Kronos, Beetle and Yaba Sanshiro.
“It was my first 32-bit system as a kid,” Dunn said about the Saturn on his Facebook page. “I have very fond memories of the excitement that year for Christmas.”
The mini Saturn has two USB ports for controllers, an HDMI output, built-in Bluetooth and WiFi, and uses a USB-C for power.
He first revealed a 3D design for the case in mid-November and already had a working prototype in hand on Tuesday. He’s going to sell the prototype, and he plans on making more to sell to people who reach out to him via social media, just as he’s done for the mini Dreamcasts and mini GameCubes he’s already designed.
Luis Nai takes Dragon Ball homebrew to Game Dev Show
Luis Nai, a.k.a. NaiSan, showed off his Dragon Ball homebrew game for Saturn at the Game Dev Show in Jabaquara, Brazil, last weekend.
He posted the photo at right as well as a video on his Instagram account.
NaiSan has been hitting the convention circuit with his homebrew — SHIRO! reported on his showing at Retrocon in July.
He’s been working on his original Dragon Ball beat-em-up for about a year. His latest addition is a hub world that uses a VDP2 infinite plane for flying between levels and NPCs who talk to the player. He posted a video of it to the SegaXtreme Discord server two weeks ago:
The hub also features a radar and newly added sound effects.
NaiSan said he next plans to add support for the 3D analog controller, “add a few more visual effects to make everything look nicer” and test it on real hardware.
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