Pseudo Saturn Kai official thread

[cafe-alpha]

Well, if you just want to install Pseudo Saturn on your Action Replay cartridge, you just need to burn this iso file on a CD-R, boot it on a Saturn by using swap trick, and follow the instructions displayed on your TV screen.

If it doesn't works, please try with my flasher utility here : http://ppcenter.webou.net/pskai/ (link with "new" icon at the bottom of the page)

And there are many Pseudo Saturn installation tutorials on youtube, for example this one :

This readme wasn't written by me, and to be honest, I think it is relatively well written ...

 

[zone66x]

"installer is via cd image, which requires you to burn and boot the disc on the Saturn"
This sounds like the Saturn console has a built in CD burner. Did they release one? Maybe it should read something like, burn the cd image on your PC or laptop or whatever, then, put that disc into the Saturn drive.

Nah no built in CD burner for the Sega Saturn. 🙂 And yes that's what they mean. 😀 Burn the Pseudo Saturn flasher ISO on a blank CD-R and then boot it on your Sega Saturn. They also leave out the details on how to load the disc on you Sega Saturn. There's one of several ways you can do so:

-Use a Sega Saturn with a mod chip which bypasses copy protection.
-Use the swap trick.
-Use a Sega Saturn boot disc. This was used by developers to load CD-Rs. *RARE* (Wish I got one when they were cheap on ebay years ago >.<)
-Use a Sega Saturn with a Sega Saturn Rhea cd drive replacement installed and load Psudo Saturn ISO off an SD card.

"3. Select "Backup AR to Commlink" (Optional)"
What is this "optional" option or is "Backup AR to Commlink" the option i have to check to get to step 4?

This is assuming that you have an Action Replay with a commlink port. It looks like an old printer parallel port and would allow you to hook up your Action Replay to your computer. There's software that then allows you to backup save games from your Saturn to your PC, upload and execute Saturn homebrew from your PC and allow you to backup and flash the firmware on the Action Replay. Seeing how computer's don't come with comm port anymore the people who manufacture the Action Replay removed the connector on their cards a while ago to save costs. If you happen to have a card that has a commlink port on top you can use an old computer to do the "Backup AR to Commlink" (Optional)" or use a USB to Commlink device like the Saturn USB DataLink.

You could also install Pseudo Saturn using and Action Replay or Game Shark cartridge with a commlink port. cafe-alpha has a binary that you can load from your PC through the commlink port. It's on his Pseudo Saturn Kai webpage in the download section.

4. Use a utility designed for your commlink and download memory addresses 0x00200000-0x00240000. When finished go back to menu. (Optional)
So...im downloading the "memory addresses 0x00200000-0x00240000" from where? off the disc?

This is to backup your Action Replay firmware from the Sega Saturn memory via the method mentioned previously.

6. When ready hit buttons A+B+C.
I read that as ...AplusBplusC... together simultaneously at same time, or you goof up the whole darn procedure and have to report front and center to these forums for twenty lashes with a rubber chicken by vbt.

Yeah press all the buttons together 😀

vbt probably has better things to do than thrash you so I think you will be safe 😀

Well, as you would expect, ive been doing alot of finger exercises these past few days, i don't want to mess this one up.

I hear ya. 😀 Better being informed rather than sorry. This kind of stuff isn't exactly what a typical Sega Saturn user would do. 😀

I hope what I wrote was clear. I covered quite a few different topic which may seem obvious to me but maybe not so much for the uninitiated.

I guess a final suggestion for flashing your Action Replays would be to ask someone who is familiar with the procedure to do it for you.

Cheers,


Alex

 

[zone66x]

Pseudo Saturn Kai News Flash!! 😀

Here's a some picture of cartridge case for the cafe-alpha's proto Gamer's Cartridge (with the full Pseudo Saturn Kai firmware installed).

Pictures

It's made from transparent ABS and made using my DaVinci 2.0 Duo printer. I feel pretty happy with the results. 😀 . I'll be posting the printer files on my thingiverse page eventually.

Cheers,


Alex

 

[cafe-alpha]

Thank you zone66x for the detailed informations 🙂

I guess a final suggestion for flashing your Action Replays would be to ask someone who is familiar with the procedure to do it for you.

This is the best solution : ask to a local geek ^^
If not possible, following a tutorial on youtube is the simplest/safest way to install Pseudo Saturn.

Pseudo Saturn Kai News Flash!! 😀

Here's a some picture of cartridge case for the cafe-alpha's proto Gamer's Cartridge (with the full Pseudo Saturn Kai firmware installed).

Pictures

It's made from transparent ABS and made using my DaVinci 2.0 Duo printer. I feel pretty happy with the results. 😀 . I'll be posting the printer files on my thingiverse page eventually.

Very good job !
LEDs over transparent plastic is cool 🙂



Another news flash : "save data direct access on SD card" (Virtual Memory Cart) finally supports Dezaemon 2 :]
That means that playing Dezaemon 2 games is now possible with a single cartridge : no more need to install modchip/rhea/whatever in order to boot it.

And, sharing your own Dezaemon 2 games is possible with that same cartridge : just copy the save file(s) from your SD card and you're ready to send it to your Dezaemon 2 friends 🙂
(Until now, sharing Dezaemon games required a modchip + official memory cartridge + Saturn FDD + Action Replay + USB Data Link ...)

 

[JDE]

Cool guys, thanks for the info! Will have a go at it in the next day or so and let you know how i went.
I used to be the only one in this neck of the woods who installed mod boards for Saturn years ago, so that part is covered.
I got three of those ARC plus carts, but hopefully it will work first time! 😀

 

[cafe-alpha]

Cool guys, thanks for the info! Will have a go at it in the next day or so and let you know how i went.
I used to be the only one in this neck of the woods who installed mod boards for Saturn years ago, so that part is covered.
I got three of those ARC plus carts, but hopefully it will work first time! 😀

Please keep us informed 🙂

 

[SegaSaturnShrine]

Well, if you just want to install Pseudo Saturn on your Action Replay cartridge, you just need to burn this iso file on a CD-R, boot it on a Saturn by using swap trick, and follow the instructions displayed on your TV screen.

If it doesn't works, please try with my flasher utility here : http://ppcenter.webou.net/pskai/ (link with "new" icon at the bottom of the page)

And there are many Pseudo Saturn installation tutorials on youtube, for example this one :

This readme wasn't written by me, and to be honest, I think it is relatively well written ...

I literally registered on here, simply because that's me in the video XD. That and I love the saturn and homebrew/mods etc

 

[zone66x]

Welcome to SegaXtreme SegaSaturnShrin. 😀 There's definitely some homebrew and mod stuff going on around here. 🙂

 

[SegaSaturnShrine]

I'm glad to see that the Pseudosaturn project hasn't died out with CyberwarriorX abandoning it. I'm glad to see cafe alpha picking up where he left off 🙂.

Ya its funny, I was literally just looking up random stuff about the saturn on google and I came across this thread and while scrolling through, I saw my own face and was like (WHAT!?) then I realized it was one of my youtube videos. haha did a double take

 

[cafe-alpha]

I'm glad to see that the Pseudosaturn project hasn't died out with CyberwarriorX abandoning it. I'm glad to see cafe alpha picking up where he left off 🙂.

CyberwarriorX did a lot of work around Pseudo Saturn, so I understand he wanted to shift to other projects.
And thanks to open source nature of the project, I can improve it 🙂

Ya its funny, I was literally just looking up random stuff about the saturn on google and I came across this thread and while scrolling through, I saw my own face and was like (WHAT!?) then I realized it was one of my youtube videos. haha did a double take

Erf, that was a strange feeling for you 😀 Sorry !
And, thank you for your video ! It's cool to see a community growing around Pseudo Saturn project.

 

[SegaSaturnShrine]

No worries, just funny is all. I mean I made the video with the intention of people watching AND sharing it anyways 😛. I like what you're doing with the homebrew cartridge dev stuff too (the open source hardware/firmware projects) I'd lend a hand but I'm swamped with work and school at the moment. Maybe over the summer I could help out some. I'm an electronics engineering major so yeah 😛.

I also recently opened a sega saturn shop for modding stuff etc, but don't want to post the link just yet here as I'm a brand new member (don't want to be flagged as a spammer/scammer lol).

Keep up the good work 🙂

 

[JDE]

Yep, that worked well! ok, now what? Is there one more step in the procedure that may have been missed?

So, i de-solder the mod board now that it is not needed? How else will i know if this newly flashed ARC really works or not?

 

[zone66x]

Yep, that worked well! ok, now what? Is there one more step in the procedure that may have been missed?

So, i de-solder the mod board now that it is not needed? How else will i know if this newly flashed ARC really works or not?

Pretty much that's it. You should be able to play burned games now and play games for any region.

 

[SegaSaturnShrine]

JDE, you looking to maybe get rid of that Saturn modchip by any chance? That's assuming that everything went well with pseudo saturn for you. I might be willing to pay you for the chip if it works and is in decent shape (works etc). If you're interested, send me a PM.

 

[JDE]

Ah, i see now fellas! Didn't need to de-solder the mod board to test it, i just put the flashed ARC into one of the other five or six unmodded Saturns i own to check it out.
I thought that the firmware up date modified the actual bios or cmos (VPAL-C-v1.01a) and that the newly flashed ARC would ONLY work on the Saturn you flashed from the burned disc. So far its worked on two more consoles and i will check the rest in over the next few days.
Thank you for your help gents!


@ SegaSaturnShrine, sorry bro, i gotta keep this mod board.

 

[JDE]

Went through my whole Saturn console collection testing this cart fellas. Out my ten Saturn's, four are faulty and one will only boot up with the green power led.
Three of the faulty Saturn's are Chinese models, so i might be able to make one working console if i swap around enough bits.

Some Pseudo Saturn feedback and thoughts.
Just a reminder if you get a "loading error_01" after you "insert the disc", re-boot and try to load the same game again. So far this has happened to me a couple of times since i started testing. Im not blaming the code or the cart at any rate, after all, some of my games have small scuff marks etc...and the lasers in these old machines have been doing pretty darn well for twenty years down the road me thinks. When i re-boot the same game it worked second time around.

I can't complain.

Also, the cart does NOT like my only 64pin MB Saturn. I have cleaned the cart with ISO alcohol and cotton buds and sprayed contact cleaner in the console cart slot but she will not boot up with the loader screen at all.

 

[SegaSaturnShrine]

Ah, i see now fellas! Didn't need to de-solder the mod board to test it, i just put the flashed ARC into one of the other five or six unmodded Saturns i own to check it out.
I thought that the firmware up date modified the actual bios or cmos (VPAL-C-v1.01a) and that the newly flashed ARC would ONLY work on the Saturn you flashed from the burned disc. So far its worked on two more consoles and i will check the rest in over the next few days.
Thank you for your help gents!


@ SegaSaturnShrine, sorry bro, i gotta keep this mod board.

No worries thanks for getting back to me! And yeah pseudo saturn doesn't touch the console at all. Nothing is flashed on it, just the cartridge gets flashed itself. Its a bootloader that "confuses" the saturn into thinking the game disc is a mixed media disc, then it "hijacks" the boot process and boots it therefore bypassing the copy protection checks. This may not be the most technical description of what's going on but its how I understand it. I've never looked at the source code to be honest. cafe-alpha would know a lot more about that than I would 😛

 

[SegaSaturnShrine]

Hey everyone,

Just a thought, but 3d printing pcb's is starting to become a reality. While its still somewhat experimental I've been following it for quite a while as an electronics engineering major. Now it wouldn't really be worthwhile in this niche saturn dev market for someone to just go out and buy a 3d printer that's capable of printing pcb's once they're more reliable, however, it might be worth starting starting a kickstarter or other crowdfunding venture to try to get one so some of these homebrew carts can be mass produced more in a more affordable manner. Of course, I don't mean for this to be a profitable venture by any means, not enough of a market for it realistically, but it would make it much easier to produce these cartridges for the people that do want them. Instead of hiring a company to produce the pcb's for you guys (and others) somebody with one of these printers could do it and it would only really cost the price of the materials. From there the rest of the assembly process would remain the same (hand soldering components to the board at order request, no sense in stock piling premade carts that may or may not sell), programming ic's etc. Just a thought.... The community would essentially pay for the 3d printer that one person could hold on to (someone trust worthy, who's already proven their worthiness like cafe-alpha so we don't end up getting ripped off by a fly-by-night scammer looking for a free 3d printer). It would save time and money in the process and make the carts more readily available to those who want them.

EDIT: Not now but over the summer when I'm out of school (I take every summer off for sanity purposes lol), I would be willing to work on reverse engineering some of the saturn carts and modchips as well to help further the scene which could lead to even better exploits, mods, development etc which that info could potentially be used in conjunction with such a 3d printer to manufacture new devices for us saturn nerds 😛. I will not run the kickstarter or have anything to do with it though as I'm such as newcomer to this community and want to prove my worth, because we all know every scene has its fair share of scammers and trolls. I wouldn't mind donating some money on the rare occassion I have some spare change to contribute though 😛

 

[cafe-alpha]

Sorry, but I have few interests in PCB 3D printing : guys at seeed studio (I'm not affiliated with them) are already doing good job 🙂

And I personally don't like kickstarter/whatever crowfunding things : my Saturn projects are and will remain hobby.
Rather than crowfunding, I prefer to develop things little by little, and pay prototyping fees for current project with benefits from previous ones : I have a "normal" work (with deadlines to respect, responsibilities, customer support, etc) that is enough to pay my bills, so I want to keep the fun around my Saturn projects.

And, another limiting factor regarding 3D PCB printing is "wife agreement" : I don't think the would accept one more electronics gadget at home 😀

 

[SegaSaturnShrine]

Okay fair enough, just a thought 😛