AtGames Sega Genesis Audio Distortion Fix

[simbin]

NEW GAME PLAN.. After learning the Radica and AtGames units are different enough that a hardware mod won't work.. I discovered the following:

I've tested this and the FireCore menu loads. Problem is it doesn't have the necessary code for the wireless controller. Would it be possible to hardwire a Genesis controller port?


So I was "gifted" one of these little AtGames Sega Genesis Arcade Motion Dual Plug n Play doohickeys. Of course the sound is horrible!

Then I saw this on the YouTubes and thought just maybe..

The AtGames board is slightly different than the Radica board but I've already managed to find some of the same pins.

I'm attaching a bunch of photos I took on my phone - sorry about the quality.
http://imgur.com/a/5SlKH

If anyone is interested in helping me with this project and needs any more information, please let me know how I can help. Thanks

* Disclaimer: Before anyone tries to rip me a new butt hole.. I already own an original Sega Genesis. This is just a fun little side project.

[ComradeOj]

Bad emulation is the root cause of the craptastic audio on those things. Not much, if anything that you can do, sadly.

Maybe someday the AtGames Genesis will be hacked, and a custom emulator written.

[simbin]

Bad emulation is the root cause of the craptastic audio on those things. Not much, if anything that you can do, sadly.

Maybe someday the AtGames Genesis will be hacked, and a custom emulator written.

In the video I linked, The 8-Bit Guy was able to remove a couple resistors and bridge two points to fix the audio distortion on the Radica.

What I've noticed with the AtGames unit is more like out-of-tune notes instead of audio distortion.

As you can see from the pictures I uploaded, the boards do share many similarities.

[zetastrike]

I had one of the radica clones as a kid. Even back then, the scratchy FM and quiet PSG bothered me. The Atgames stuff really goes to show how low the general public's standards are for things like this. How can you possibly listen to the sound coming out of those things and not cringe? I mean, everyone has played the Sonic games. Anyone could tell how wrong it sounds.

I was in a retro game store a couple weeks back and they had a Retron3 playing. I wasn't looking at the screen and it took me a few moments to realize that it was playing Sonic 3. Hydrocity sounded unrecognizable. The PSG was so loud, the theme sounded completely different.

[simbin]

I had one of the radica clones as a kid. Even back then, the scratchy FM and quiet PSG bothered me. The Atgames stuff really goes to show how low the general public's standards are for things like this. How can you possibly listen to the sound coming out of those things and not cringe? I mean, everyone has played the Sonic games. Anyone could tell how wrong it sounds.

I was in a retro game store a couple weeks back and they had a Retron3 playing. I wasn't looking at the screen and it took me a few moments to realize that it was playing Sonic 3. Hydrocity sounded unrecognizable. The PSG was so loud, the theme sounded completely different.

I'm a purist at heart. I use real hardware with expensive cables attached to a high-end RGB monitor. That said, I still find this little gadget fascinating. It's in my DNA to tinker with everything!

I did manage to find a modified bin file that loads a hacked menu with improved audio. The menu is for the Gopher portable, which is nearly identical except for the controllers. If I knew how to dump the ROM and compare the two, something might be possible. The source material is sparse and in Russian.

[Tower of Power]

I had one of the radica clones as a kid. Even back then, the scratchy FM and quiet PSG bothered me. The Atgames stuff really goes to show how low the general public's standards are for things like this. How can you possibly listen to the sound coming out of those things and not cringe? I mean, everyone has played the Sonic games. Anyone could tell how wrong it sounds.

I was in a retro game store a couple weeks back and they had a Retron3 playing. I wasn't looking at the screen and it took me a few moments to realize that it was playing Sonic 3. Hydrocity sounded unrecognizable. The PSG was so loud, the theme sounded completely different.

I think at least part of the reason Genesis has a reputation for bad sound quality is because of bad emulation like this. It's how many people experienced it for the first time.

[Shanobi]

Good luck with your attempts at fixing the atgames sound!

[Dougal]

I can confirm that the solution offered by the Russian dude works. It improves the shitty audio on my portable ATGAMES Megadrive portable. From 90% bad sound it becomes 50-60% bad sound.

[LinkueiBR]

yep
segaman did a great job with this fix menu.

Games that have 100% FM music sounds good, but the PSG channels still sounds out of tune

100% FM SOUNDTRACK:


FM+PSG MUSIC:

[Dougal]

Yeah same experience here. I think with some fine tuning this can be very promising.

[CrossBow]

Castlevania still sounds off. Like it is at a lower pitch octave. It is in tune, but...still doesn't like it does off my va2 HDG Genesis.

https://youtu.be/17G0nSTd61c

[LinkueiBR]

Be happy, Genesis/Mega Drive AtGames sound is finally fixed!!!

Made by Esrael Neto (The legendary Rom Hacker from the Sonic Hacking Scene) this Boot Loader fixes the sound pitch (FM+PSG) and some bugs from the new Tectoy's Mega Drive and fits like a glove in the AtGames Mega Drive like the Gopher (Tectoy's MD Play), Genesis Flashback and etc..
Source:
Latest version of the boot loader: goo.gl/nu6SJr
Tutorial made by Neto: goo.gl/9UstSi

Video that i made a test with Sonic and Knuckles: