What are 10 Things You Would Like to Change about the Genesis?

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Originally Posted by CMA Death Adder

In a perfect world:
1). 256 colors on screen
2). Only ONE version of the console for each region (Instead of 500 of them each with minor hardware and / or BIOS differences!)
3). Full Master System backwards compatibility without need for the stupid adaptor
4). YM3812 (OPL2) sound chip instead of YM2612
5). Scaling and rotation via hardware
6). SegaCD never created / released

But primarily just 1) and 2) - 256 colors would've been divine, and having to test code on 8,000 slightly different models of the Genesis and the Megadrive is just a needless pain. Over the years I have become a fan of the YM2612 chip, even if the AdLib (OPL2) will always remain my absolute favorite.

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OPL2 is not as good sounding as OPN2... I have experience with both and OPN2 definately kicks the ass of OPL2/3. With some efforts, you can get 4op OPL3 stuff sound on OPN2. 2op FM is no good compared to 4op and OPL2 couldn't do 4op sound.

What's so different between each model ? I've found all code to be working exaxtly same on all machines... cycle accurate, even same VDP artifacts (i.e when doing midframe palette changes).

Also can you imagine MD having another cartslot ? if MD carts would be same as SMS ones.... I can't imagine how MD would have functioned, definately not in very functional fashion (pretty unexpandable cart pinout of SMS, very Z80 specific).

Scaling and rotation in HW would be nice actually....

and Mega Drive is lot better name than Genesis IMO. Mega Drive, damn it sounds so good :)

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Originally Posted by TmEE

and Mega Drive is lot better name than Genesis IMO. Mega Drive, damn it sounds so good :)

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Mega Drive sounds damn stupid.:mad:
I hate names with senseless words like Super, Mega, Turbo, Ultra and the likes...sounds so childish.

Sega Mega.... it rhymes so well, and sounds so good

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Originally Posted by xbrinkx

I'm sure...if it wasn't complete, I don't think it would function - but hey, maybe that's just me.
As for the 10 things I would change for the Genesis...
just a larger palette (at least 4096 colors, like the stock Amiga)

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The Megadrive effectivley does have the same colour pallete as the original OCS Amiga's. The 4096 colours on screen had to use a hardware trick known as HAM - Hold And Modify, which was only really useable on still images and still had noticeable side effects then.

256 colours on screen at a time would have been a more realistic target.

It really should have had hardware scaling, considering sega released all those arcade ports early on like Galaxy Force 2, Space Harrier 2 etc which suffer from not having it.

Add me as another person who can't see the reason why people go crazy over having a ultra bright Blue LED. Personally I look at the TV when playing not the console, and if I did look I'd like to see a red terminator eye looking back at me! :cool:

As for having no sms adaptor for compatability, I think that would have been a real daft move having a sms cart slot in Japan and US where sms didn't do all that well. Using an adaptor was fine, the fact Sega completely over charged for it is the real complaint. They sold it for around £35, when theres nothing really in it so it could have been £10 easily.

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Originally Posted by Joe Redifer

1. Blue LED. Only god damn assholes like red LEDs. I hope anyone who likes red LEDs gets cancer in the face. Only cool kidz like blu ledz. blu wud make sistem soo much bettrz lololol. Seriously though, I don't understand the fascination modders have with blue LEDs. They are too bright, but even if you get a lower wattage one, they aren't anything special. But the modding community goes apeshit over them. I think that fascination is retarded.

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+1 I don't get that either. Then again I also don't get the ion blue blinkers on cars either. Or for that matter HID lightbulbs on cars. I mean, really, what, are you driving at 200 mph through a pitch black cave?

Revisions I would make to Genesis:
1. Sound chip more like SNES. Sorry, but I never was a fan of the Genesis sound chip, only a handful of games like Midnight Resistance, Captain America, Streets of Rage 2, and a couple Sonic songs were ever worth listening to. On the other hand, listen to TMNT IV: Turtles in Time, Mega Man X, or Sparkster on the SNES, "WOW" is the only word to describe it.

2. A memory card feature. Yeah, its sounds like a "duh" idea now, but back then the technology was there (Sega CD RAM cart anyone?) but they just didn't implement it. I think more games with save features would make the 16 bit era more enjoyable.

3. 4 controller ports...meh, why not have some super NBA JAM arcade action?

4. hardware scaling. Even if the CPU can handle it in software, programmers are always more likely to utilize stuff like that if its easy to implement.

5. A/V outs. Come on, the original NES had it for crying out loud.

6. A reset button that works. I think this was only a problem on model 2s, but it seems everyone I know that has one has a non-working reset button. Not that it really matters, but come on, gimme a break.

7. better marketing of the Sega CD and 32X, and by that I mean sell Sega CD games well below cartridge prices (since they are much cheaper to make) to justify the add on cost and then actually give the 32X a fighting chance before scrapping it (since it actually did well initially). I guess another way to put it would be to make a Neptune CD instead of a Saturn.

thats all I can really say, the Genesis was pretty damn good how it was except for the sound chip.

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Originally Posted by 108 Stars

Mega Drive sounds damn stupid.:mad:
I hate names with senseless words like Super, Mega, Turbo, Ultra and the likes...sounds so childish.

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agreed, I always preferred Genesis. In fact, Genesis is probably my favorite console name of any system out there. Plus, Mega Drive somehow confuses me with Master System, I guess because they are both 2 word names that start with "M" and I found out about the Master System and the name Mega Drive about the same time. I never liked the name Game Gear either, it sounded like an accessory kit or something, not a game system. Nomad was a much better name, they should've called the Game Gear that and just called the Nomad Genesis P or something.

OK, my serious list:

1. Graphic hardware exactly like the Neo Geo, only different (more competently constructed/manufactured, non-gigantic cartridge size, hardware rotation, an actual BG layer or two, etc)

2. Sound hardware like the Neo Geo, but with more PCM, FM and PSG channels. At least 10 PCM channels with 16-bit-44.1Khz sampling, 10 FM channels (with SMS-FM compatibility) and 4 PSG channels.

3. 8 megabytes (not bits) of work RAM

4. 2 megabytes of video RAM

5. 1 megabyte of sound RAM

6. Smallest game size = 1 megabyte.

7. Stereo audio out on rear, composite and s-video out on rear. RGB out still available.

8. Channels 3, 4 AND 5 selectable for RF.

9. Sega CD would not need extra hardware since the Genesis had scaling and rotation built in. Just a CD player with some extra RAM. It would have cost very little.

10. 6 button controller from the start with two shoulder buttons instead of one MODE button.

having the PSG built in the 2612

5 PCM channels with 256kb ram

larger color palette.

12.5 mHz 68k so it makes a better main station for segacd

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Originally Posted by Joe Redifer

OK, my serious list:

1. Graphic hardware exactly like the Neo Geo, only different (more competently constructed/manufactured, non-gigantic cartridge size, hardware rotation, an actual BG layer or two, etc)

2. Sound hardware like the Neo Geo, but with more PCM, FM and PSG channels. At least 10 PCM channels with 16-bit-44.1Khz sampling, 10 FM channels (with SMS-FM compatibility) and 4 PSG channels.

3. 8 megabytes (not bits) of work RAM

4. 2 megabytes of video RAM

5. 1 megabyte of sound RAM

6. Smallest game size = 1 megabyte.

7. Stereo audio out on rear, composite and s-video out on rear. RGB out still available.

8. Channels 3, 4 AND 5 selectable for RF.

9. Sega CD would not need extra hardware since the Genesis had scaling and rotation built in. Just a CD player with some extra RAM. It would have cost very little.

10. 6 button controller from the start with two shoulder buttons instead of one MODE button.

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8 Meg of main RAM, this sounds more like a super computer than a console for that time! :D

Memory was stupid expensive back then, plus with carts to pull data off theres no need for that much RAM anyway.

Joe, the idea was doing a list that might have been realistic for late 1988; had Sega made the hardware like that, the MD would not have survived as long as 1990 on the market.^^

S-video is not realistic for 1988.

Also, the Neo Geo was supported for a faaaar longer time than the Genesis.

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Originally Posted by Joe Redifer

S-video is not realistic for 1988.

Also, the Neo Geo was supported for a faaaar longer time than the Genesis.

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But 11 megabytes of RAM is totally unrealistic, the console would have launched at well over $1000. Surely you jest?

The Neo Geo only lasted as long as it did because the same games were sold in arcades. Plus the games were still several hundred £ even at the end, and they only made small numbers of home versions.

Anyway we all know what the Megadrive really needed - Knight Rider lights on the front!

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Originally Posted by Joe Redifer

S-video is not realistic for 1988.

Also, the Neo Geo was supported for a faaaar longer time than the Genesis.

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The last licensed game was released in 2002 in Japan. So they were pretty much equal.

Very interesting thread, many fair ideas.

I'm wondering how much more some of these extra components would have cost?

With all these suggestions implemented would any of you (or indeed your parents) have spent say $500 on a console in 1989/90 (that's around $850 in today's money)?

Or could we have even seen some sort of super console retailing for the same sort of money as an amiga?

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Originally Posted by Joe Redifer

OK, my serious list:

1. Graphic hardware exactly like the Neo Geo, only different (more competently constructed/manufactured, non-gigantic cartridge size, hardware rotation, an actual BG layer or two, etc)

2. Sound hardware like the Neo Geo, but with more PCM, FM and PSG channels. At least 10 PCM channels with 16-bit-44.1Khz sampling, 10 FM channels (with SMS-FM compatibility) and 4 PSG channels.

3. 8 megabytes (not bits) of work RAM

4. 2 megabytes of video RAM

5. 1 megabyte of sound RAM

6. Smallest game size = 1 megabyte.

7. Stereo audio out on rear, composite and s-video out on rear. RGB out still available.

8. Channels 3, 4 AND 5 selectable for RF.

9. Sega CD would not need extra hardware since the Genesis had scaling and rotation built in. Just a CD player with some extra RAM. It would have cost very little.

10. 6 button controller from the start with two shoulder buttons instead of one MODE button.

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Why don't you just say, System 16 arcade board in a console form :)