MiSTer FPGA - Star Wars: Attack on the DEATH STAR / Sharp X68000
26Here's a neat Japan-only Star Wars game that many folks likely haven't played before, with the iconic music adapted by Yuzo Koshiro! The John Williams vibe in the Actraiser soundtrack makes more sense now. Another bit of historical significance is this being used as an example of "prior art" in the infamous case against Sega when they patented 3D perspective changes after releasing Virtua Racing. Nintendo, Konami, Technosoft, and T&E Soft battled Sega in court and got the patent revoked. Looking to get into MiSTer FPGA? Great quality kits, parts & support at https://www.MiSTerAddons.com
The RetroTink Slot mask turned out to be a great fit for the vector 3D graphics here- giving that nice and bright PC monitor & vector look, with the slot mask also being closer to the high res X68000 monitor appearance than aperture grille style masks. It's over-brightened here to some extent, but I feel it still works very well.
This plays very well on MiSTer's X68000 core, though there are some bugs like most of the library.
Use the X68000 core's CPU Turbo function for this one since it makes for a much smoother experience compared to the base model clock speed. I recommend leaving the display frequency at "Original" instead of "60fps", as the game feels smoother that way on a compatible display, though I recorded with the 60fps mode here for slightly smoother video and less flickering on YouTube.
For controls, a Sega Saturn style D-Pad worked best here- allowing for comfortable rolling motions in the trench run section especially, in order to dodge the lasers in a circular pattern.
X68000 core bugs in this one:
-Infrequent Audio clicking (happens in all games in the core)
-Voices sped up (happens in many games in the core)
-The game freezes sometimes. I think this becomes much more likely when using the "60fps" display mode instead of original.
-Death Star explosion has an odd pause, though may also happen on original hardware.
-Intro music seems to end too quickly in 55hz (original) mode. Seems it's supposed to end when the title appears, as it does in this video with "60fps" mode.
Thanks to Puu for the original implementation to FPGA, and others who have continued to work on it over the years. The dream is still alive for a more-polished X68000 core, though seems like it's going to take a while unfortunately.
*NOTE - There may be some stutter in scrolling due to the system's display output of 55hz. The core has a 60fps option to help smooth this out, but either way the scrolling will look better in-person on a compatible display compared to what is captured in videos. 60fps mode may speed up gameplay by ~9% if the game uses raster interrupt.
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X68000 core 2022-10-22 build - Star Wars: Attack on the DEATH STAR
a.k.a: スター・ウォーズ アタック・オン・ザ・デス・スタ
Difficulty: Easy // Final Score: 9:11:76
Filter Hori: Gaussian Sharp 85 // Filter Vert: Same as Hori
Shadow Mask: RetroTink Slot // Gamma: Off
Display Frequency: 60fps // CPU Turbo: On
Played using an OEM Saturn controller with Reflex Adapt USB adapter & 1ms USB polling.
Video: Fullscreen scaled to 1080p // HDMI to Datapath e1s capture card
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|:=-Timestamps-=:|
00:00 - Boot
00:20 - Credits
01:36 - Intro / Title
07:07 - St.1 - Space Battle
10:49 - St.2 - Death Star
13:35 - St.3 - Trench Run
17:22 - Ending / Name Entry
20:14 - Cinematic Replay
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Occasional livestreams on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/WalrusFPGA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WalrusFPGA
=---------------CONTRIBUTE---------------=
None of this would be possible without the constant hard work of Sorgelig. It cannot be overstated how much he has done and continues to do for this project, since its beginning. You can support him either at his Patreon in the link below, or on Paypal, depending on your preference. MiSTer is a paradigm shift in how we can experience these classic games. This is a long-term preservation project that will continue to grow so that gamers today and in the future can experience these excellent systems as accurately and lag-free as possible. Donating what you can will help keep the updates coming. Thank you.
Patreon: https://patreon.com/FPGAMiSTer
PayPal: https://paypal.me/FPGAMiSTer
=-----------------INFORM-----------------=
Github link for this core: https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/X68000_MiSTer
MiSTer Forum: http://MiSTerFPGA.org
MiSTer Documentation: https://mister-devel.github.io/MkDocs_MiSTer
Official MiSTer Discord: https://discord.gg/misterfpga
=------------------BUILD------------------=
Worldwide list of sellers for MiSTer expansion boards: https://misterfpga.org/viewforum.php?f=34&sid=74e1c5e7dae1b99284789d93194cfa0b
I have personally ordered all my parts from https://www.MiSTerAddons.com and have been 100% satisfied with the quality and service there. (North American seller. If in a different region, check list linked above for best local shipping rates.)
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At present, MiSTer Walrus FPGA has 1,084 views spread across 1 video for Star Wars, with his channel publishing less than an hour of Star Wars content. This makes up less than 0.13% of the total overall content on MiSTer Walrus FPGA's YouTube channel.