SEGA Saturn 28th Anniversary Game Competition

[Ponut]

GitHub - ponut64/SCSP_poneSound: 68K Driver

68K Driver. Contribute to ponut64/SCSP_poneSound development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

Why is this showing up again?
Multiple entries are showing up this year which do use it. It has been updated over the course of the year with some small changes, mostly to enable a greater number of sounds to be played back (for vbt) and to decrease the quality floor for compressed audio (both vbt and XL2 requested this). There have been other bug fixes as well, such as in the streaming library and in the driver itself. One thing that definitely took some effort was improving the synchronization code for ADX audio so that all bitrates both worked and worked for longer.

But mostly, that token to show that I'm still active on Saturn.

What even is it?
This is driver software for the SEGA Saturn to be implemented in games who want to use the M68K to control the SCSP for the playback of CD-DA, ADX, and uncompressed PCM audio.
Last year, it was posited that this could be submitted into the "Utilities" category. I am unsure, since this is not a tool in and of itself, it's just bits of code that other developers often really like using in their games.

 

[EmeraldNova]

Didn't put in enough time to finish inserting text but, submitting Bastard Baroque.

Bastard Baroque

Emerald Nova & Knight0fDragon Present: Bastard Baroque The game is largely translated from Japanese via basic text replacement and transcription adapted from Baroque . Items will be largely understandable and the combat of the game playable. In...

segaxtreme.net

Incomplete bastardized translation of Baroque with the caveat of the inserted text fits within Japanese character count restraints.

 

[Shadowmask]

On behalf of @Danthrax , @Lacquerware , @Cargodin and the rest of the Stellar Assault SS Localization Team, I'd like to submit a patched version of the standalone demo disc, Stellar Assault SS Taikenban to the Hacks, Patches and Translations category.

We found out about this demo pretty recently. Since it uses some of the same assets as the full localization patch currently deep in development, we decided it would be fun to patch in some of the new clips that we've been working on, as well as translating and implementing an english splash screen declaring, "3D Space Combat Simulator - Releasing spring 2023 at SegaXtreme.net" after going idle on the main menu. This was done by @Danthrax and involved extracting, modifying and reconstructing the original 8bpp, 8 x 8 pixel tiles using MS Paint, CrystalTile and HxD.

It was also necessary to find a way to mute the sequenced music that plays over the intro FMV. In the demo, the SCSP sequenced sounds are louder than the final version, which was drowning out our FMV audio. We decided to remove it, in favor of baking in the music to the video clips. This was done by muting the raw pcm audio portions of the games audio binaries.

Before we began recording dialogue for the project, I spent some time reverse-engineering the sequenced music from the game for fun. This involved using an x64 compatible build of seq2mid (courtesy of Mstea) and extracting raw pcm sound samples from the game's data. These samples were assembled into an SF2 soundfont using Polyphone to be used as live VST instruments triggered by the Extracted MIDI data. Editing and Mixing was done in Pro Tools. The two cinepak clips viewable in the demo menu, "Prologue Movie" and "English Promo" use these recreated music tracks as well as recreated sound effects. In these demo clips, all sounds are original works in one form or another. This wasn't strictly necessary, but the demo presented an opportunity to showcase that work. The final game will naturally use the original music.

The gameplay is limited to a single environment with endless spawning enemy ships. Voice over dialogue had yet to be implemented at the time of this demo, so there was no straight-forward way to insert our english game dialogue for this patch, to our dismay. If you've never played the game, it's still a good demonstration of the flight characteristics of your ship, enemy AI and of course the amazing music and sound effects.

We'd like to thank the many talented volunteer voice actors who took the time to audition for this project. We've had a lot of fun working together through the many extended recording session, and persevered though sickness and other life obligations. Please enjoy this limited promotional demo while you wait for the final patch in Spring of 2023, or check out SaturnDave's let's play over on Sega Saturn Shiro's youtube channel:

A special thank you to the cast:

Edgar - Dan Bosley
Maria - CrouchingMouse
Jake MacPherson - Ramir-Pascal von Bannisseht
Alan Vergil - Mike Dent
Brad Feel - Rocco DeFeo
Brenda Bright - Diana Allocco
Aya Hijikata - Renee Martin
Umbrella Pilot - Rowin Dincht
Unnamed Pilot - Space Galaga

 

[slinga]

Edit: 1.0 released on github: GitHub - slinga-homebrew/Disasteroids: 12-Player Asteroids clone for the Sega Saturn.

Disasteroids is a 12-player Asteroids clone for the Sega Saturn. Requires two 6 Player Adaptors for full twelve player support. Code will be cleaned up and released in a few days.

Screenshots

Credits
- Reyeme - disasteroid generation algorithm, advice
- EmeraldNova and KnightOfDragon - basic geometry refresher, advice
- Lots of advice and feedback from the #segaxtreme Discord (Fafling, Ndiddy, Ponut, and more)
- Jo Engine
- Intro Song: "Powerup!" by Jeremy Blake. No Copyright.


Notes for Judges:
Title screen explanation:
- MOD = game mode
-- CO = CO-OP. CO-OP mode is 1-12 players. Try to last for as many waves as possible. Game ends when all players are out of lives. Colliding players will bounce off of each other. Player projectiles will cause other players to bounce, not die.
-- VS = Versus mode. Versus game will not start if you do not have atleast two controllers plugged in. Game ends when there is only one player left standing. Players die by colliding with disasteroids or other player projectiles.
- TRY = number of lives
- HUD = color of text and disasteroids

Game Controls:
- A/C to shoot
- UP\B to thrust
- Left\Right to angle your ship
- X to change your ship color with an unused ship color (doesn't work if all 12 colors are used)

Player 1-Only Controls:
- control the menu
- pause (to see score, quit back to menu)
- Y to change HUD color
- Z for debugging info

Gameplay
- In CO-OP all players spawn with invulnerability frames in a ring in the center of the field. The disasteroids spawn in an outer ring with a delay before they start moving. Destroy all diasteroids before moving on to the next wave. At the start of the next wave, players are re-spawned in the center. This was my only solution to spawning diasteroids fairly. Waves slowly increase the speed and number of disasteroids.
- In VS mode all players spawn in an outer ring and disasteroids spawn inside.
- I didn't have time to add the alien =(

Bugs
- wrong track plays on game over
- I need to restrict the game over screen to only use the start button. Currently if player 1 dies while bashing the A button the game will auto restart.

 

[The_SSG]

Gungriffon II English Localized
Alpha build v.0.97.5 (open alpha build)

This open alpha build of the game has been available since January 16th, 2022. I have been unable to put any time towards the project since then, but considering the amount of work that was done in the 2 weeks following last years submission ( One line of text originally submitted ), I thought it appropriate to submit the updated patch. All patch info has been lifted from the original resource page and its update page. Hope y'all enjoy it.

Gungriffon II Localization Team Members:

Samuel "The SSG" Myles
Text and image translation and localization
Coding and implementation

Anthony "Knigh0fDragon" Randazzo
Reverse engineering
Technical advice

Greg "Lacquerware" Moore
Text and image translation and localization assistance

PATCH NOTES +

1. 4 additional lines of text added.
2. Modification of text on non-scrolling text to accommodate CRT over scan.
3. This fix will require further changes to graphics on certain screens to accommodate the text shift.
4. Further changes are currently in R&D concerning scrolling text screens.

PATCH NOTES

1. Currently, 97% percent of written text within the game has been translated and replaced.
2. The only text that remains is that concerning the “2 Player” mode only accessible via the Saturn Link Cable. I, The SSG, do not have access to this cable at the moment, so I cannot ensure text is implemented properly.
3. Japanese that appears on screen outside of the chat boxes are not injected text, but rather images. This along with English audio, will be handled during the Beta phase of this project.
4. Please report any issues you may come across in the projects discord server. Join the Gungriffon II Translation / Localization Project Discord Server! This could include graphical issues with text (if you see text that looks like a bunch of squished up boxes, then that is untranslated text.), sound issues, or crashes.
5. While we are happy to release this alpha build for community testing, we ask that you do not distribute this build of the game. This includes pre-patched versions of the game. The Gungriffon II Localization Team does not in any way endorse pre-patched versions of the game, and we ask that you report them to us immediately.
6. Suit up, WW3 isn’t gonna fight itself!

 

[Knight0fDragon]

(Post will be updated with new information periodically, content package will remain the same unless game breaking)

This year, I will be throwing my hat into the ring on all 3 categories.
Judges, you will find a zipped up package of the contents here: Judge link

For the Homebrew Competition, I submit Unnamed Shooter App.

For the Hacks and Translations, I submit Netlink OS* + Bomberman patch**

For Utilities, I submit my 3D printouts for the serial cable, as well the header file needed to get homebrew working with Netlink OS


I have also included a heavily modified version of SEGA RPG FAN's tunnel software. I would recommend getting his to work prior to using this build.

*Netlink OS is a tentative title
**Patch is not included in post due to needing to distribute full image. Patching is currently not possible due to certain limitations. Judges can request access to the drive link above.



What is this you may ask?

Well this is how we will get more folks playing online together with the Sega Saturn.

This new OS will allow folks to use different communication devices to play against their friends.

Currently, the following devices are supported:
USB Dev Cart
Netlink Modem
XBand Modem
Yabause Netlink Modem (in Yabause)

What will be supported in the future:
Serial port (This is mostly working, dealing with size constraints though)
Controller port. (Not attempted yet)
Anything you can think of, since netlink OS allows you to select drivers.

---

Unnamed shooter is a very basic shooting app for two players designed to show off the networking capabilities of the new OS.
The goal is to fire shots at your opponent to kill them. Your bullets can be used to destroy their bullets, with the exception of the super bullet. The super bullet can go through anything. Use your regular bullets to trap your opponent, then send down a super bullet to put them out of their misery.

Controls are:
Left ->Moves ship left
Right -> Moves ship right
A -> Fires slow bullet
B -> Fires medium bullet
C -> Fires fast bullet
XYZ -> Fires super bullet

---

The 3d Models are as follows:

topEthernet -> Top casing for the serial adapter. Pins that are not used are blocked
bottomEthernet -> Bottom casing for the serial adapter. Pins that are not used are blocked

topMidi -> Top casing for the serial adapter. Pins are all open
bottomMidi -> Bottom casing for the serial adapter. Pins are all open

cableCasing -> Designed to go behind serial adapter to offer stronger support on the wire
usbShell -> Shell for USB -> RS232 adapters

Other files:
Serial Adapter Pinouts -> Explains how to use CAT5E cables to create a Serial Adapter and accessories.
NetlinkOS.h -> Header file people can use to communicate with the netlink OS library.

---

---

========================Instructions to establish a connection with Netlink OS===============================

---

---

Due to requiring additional hardware, the best way to currently set up a connection is to use YABAUSE 0.9.15


First thing to establsh is that settings are correct:

When opening Yabause, on the top left, hit File, then Settings. Make sure your settings match closely to the image below.
(A legit bios is needed, the path does not have to be exact)

After finishing the settings, save and restart yabause.

Click File, Open ISO.

Search for where you saved netlinkOSHB.iso and open it.

---

The first time you open the app, you should see a screen similart to:

If you do not see this screen, then you need to delete the netlink OS save file via the Saturn CD Multiplayer screen,

---

Hit down once to go to YABA_H2H.DRV then hit A or C. This is a special driver used that supports how Yabause does netlink communication.

---

You should now be at a screen that looks similar to:

This means we have successfully established that the driver is loaded.

Go ahead and close Yabause for now.

Head back to where the project was extracted.

You now what to start the NetBand tunnel by clicking on run.bat.

(If there are any issues running python, see the troubleshooting efforts involved with the NetBand Tunnel Project)

---

At this point, we need to ensure that the TCP method is detected. Some computers will have devices that create COM ports.

You will either want to disable these via the Device Manager, or open enough copies of run.bat to get through them all.


If you see Device found at TCP, then congratulations, the tunnel is setup for Yabause

---

Let us restart Yabause and the netlinkOSHB iso.

If this is the first time attempting to connect to the tunnel, the following prompt may happen:

Be sure to click on Allow access to give the python access to your network.

If everything went well, you should eventually land on this screen:

---

The settings option right now allows you to change the driver if you desire, and see your name and taunt.

You can also access this by holding L or R when booting up. Be sure to reboot after changing the driver.

Your name and taunt can be found in the file playerinfo.txt under the NetlinkTunnel folder of the project if you so desire to change it.

This is to show that you indeed have transferred data from the tunnel program into the Saturn.

Hit A, C, or Start to exit.

---

The other option is the Dial option.

This will allow you do dial the opponent's IP you wish to dial.

Hitting X will also download a directory from the tunnel server if you decide to save IPs of friends you commonly play.

This can be found in directory.txt in the NetlinkTunnel folder.

Press up and down to choose a person, and A or C to select them

---

If you are unhappy with the IP, you are free to hit the B button to edit it.

The DPAD will allow you to select the number, where UP LEFT = 1 UP = 2, UP RIGHT = 3, LEFT = 4, Neutral = 5 (Activates after the dpad is pressed, otherwise it is 0,) RIGHT = 6, DOWN LEFT = 7, DOWN = 8, DOWN RIGHT = 9. If you hit the direction pad, but did not insert the digit with A, hitting the B button will bring it back to 0.

---

Now that the IP is selected, communicate with an opponent to establish a connection. For testing purposes, you will need to use a second PC (This is because yabause uses a communal setting)

Go through the same setup, as before, but have the recipient simply wait on the Main Menu.


Once the two machines are prepared. Go ahead and hit C on the Main machine to Dial.


The opponent screen will now be prompted to accept or decline.

If all is done correctly and the opponent accepts, the netlink OS should boot the game and prompt with a SEGA logo.




Utility 3D model printouts:

---

Disclaimer and thanks:
Netlink OS is based on reverse engineered XBand OS, with additional features.
3D models took inspiration from zone66x and tzmwx. Thank you guys for your great works.
Netlink Tunnel is based on SEGA RPG FAN's NetBand 4.3. Thanks for getting this process started.
Serial to USB designs based on works from waterfuell and hitomi2500.

Thanks to everybody in the SegaXtreme and Sega Shiro groups for the support and keeping Saturn alive.
If I missed anybody, please mention it so that I can add you onto the list.

 

[Ervilsoft]

Hello,

For my second submission, I created an utility to transfer save games through the use of QR codes, I started working on this just out of curiosity to see if it was even possible to accomplish on the Saturn. The idea first occurred to me while working on Sartist as a possible method for exporting the artwork out of the Saturn. While there are already quite a few means available to backup save data, this one might come in handy for some as it doesn't require connecting any hardware or peripheral directly to the Saturn.

So how does it work?
There is two parts to it, for the Saturn side of things a disc image with the 'save2qr' application that compresses the data of your individual saves and converts it into QR codes, then to turn your QR codes back into saves a simple Windows C++ application 'qr2save'.

So basically use the 'save2qr' on the Saturn to browse saves from either the Internal Memory, Cartridge or an External Device, then press (A) button to generate and display the QR code, take a picture of the QR Code and copy it to your computer, then just drag and drop the image file over the 'qr2save' application executable and a .BUP format save backup file will be created in the same folder.

You can drag and drop multiple pictures at once, also if a save doesn't fit in a single QR code it will be split into multiple QR codes so that you can just take pictures of all of them and then drag and drop over the 'qr2save' application. You can mix pictures from different saves or multi-part QR codes and drag and drop all at once, the application will sort everything out automatically.
Then if you want to use your saves on an emulator or anything else you can use the Saturn Save Converter application to convert them to other formats.

 

[EmeraldNova]

All entries are in. In order of entry:

Original Games

01 - The Case of the City Botucaiba – sansigolo​

02 - SHMUP SALAD – DamageX​

03 - Irréel – XL2​

04 - GalaXmas - Emerald Nova​

05 - Bridget Bishop - Fran Matsusaka​

06 - Magic – vbt​

07 - Sonic X-Treme (homebrew version) - Voxel​

08 - Multiboot (Wolf 3D) – vbt​

09 - CHIP-8 Emulator – Ervilsoft​

10 - Sky Blaster - SuperReye​

11 - Disasteroids – Slinga​

12 - Unnamed Shooter App - Knight 0f Dragon​

Hacks, Patches, and Translations

01 - Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Translation - Mr Conan​

02 - Drift King 97 / Syutoko Battle 97 – Malenko​

03 - J.B. Harold: Blue Chicago Blues - English Patch - Arjak​

04 - NBA Jam TE Walrus Edition Hack – Malenko​

05 - Suprise Translation Project – TrekkiesUnite118​

06 - Bastard Baroque - Emerald Nova​

07 - Stellar Assault SS Taikenban – ShadowMask​

08 - Gungriffon II - The Southern Sega Gentleman​

09 - Bomberman Netlink OS Patch - Knight 0f Dragon​

Utilities

01 – Sega Saturn FILM Muxer - TrekkiesUnite118​

02 - NetBand - SEGA RPG FAN​

03 - ponésound – Ponut64​

04 – Netlink OS - Knight 0f Dragon​

05 - QR Save Transfer – Ervilsoft​

Judges have until February 2nd, 2023 to post scores. Final scores will be announced soon after.

 

[SaturnDave]

ORIGINAL GAMES
01. Bridget Bishop by Fran Matsusaka - (A remarkable little game, so well conceived and executed. Complete with story, character development, logical puzzles, minigames and loads of charm. A turning point in Saturn Homebrew.)
02. Irreel by XL2 - (An absolute feast for the senses, and a mind-boggling achievement to those familiar with the obstacles that must be overcome with Saturn's hardware. A faithful re-creation of a classic benchmark PC game. Brilliant!)
03. Sonic X-Treme by Voxel - (The return on a promise nearly 3 decades old. This is the closest approximation of what we drooled over back in the 90's, complete with assets from the infamous demo itself. An amazing technical showcase.)
04. The Case of the City Botucaiba by Sansigolo - (A solid visual mystery novel that establishes mood from the get go, and offers a chill & relaxed gameplay experience. This sequel improves upon the prequel in many ways.)
05. Disasteroids by Slinga - (Another amazing demonstration in creative multi-player action. A great classic game, now playable by up to 12 players at the same time! This game is colorful and performs very well on real hardware!)
06. Shmup Salad by DamageX - (A novel idea for a shooter, and very well executed, indeed. The variety of utensil artillery is a delight and adds to the game's overall challenge. Sprite work is simple yet colorful, and gameplay is great!)
07. Multiboot Wolf 3D by VBT - (A submission jam-packed with content that is sure to please any FPS fan! Wolf 3D performs amazing on Saturn and comes in many different flavors for folks to enjoy. Multiboot is also quite impressive!)
08. SkyBlaster (UPDATE) by SuperReye - (An impressive entry in last year's competition is even more impressive this time around, with an awesome original FMV sequence and more amazing music from Random Stuff. Excellent!.)
09. GalaXmas by Emerald Nova - (A good old '24 hour game jam' yields a surprisingly competent little holiday-themed shooter, where you take the reigns and reign terror down upon the artic tundra. Not bad... Merry GalaXmas!)
10. Shooter for NetLinkOS by Knight0fDragon - (While perhaps not impressive at first glance, what we have here represents the beginning of the future for Saturn Online... This is one to watch closely for future updates...)
11. Chip-8 Emulator by Ervilsoft - (A very nicely presented Chip-8 emulator for Saturn that performs pretty well, too. This entry offers a large variety of tiny public domain Chip-8 games to have fun with, and even more can be added!)
12. Magic by VBT - (This entry suffers from a repetitive gameplay loop that lacks any controller input, making it a short experience, guilty of stretching itself beyond its initial appeal. However, it's ultimately saved by a banger soundtrack!)

HACKS, PATCHES & TRANSLATIONS
01. Tokyo Highway Battle '97 by Malenko - (This game has been unlocked and opened up for me in a way that has significantly added to my enjoyment and mastery of it. I was thrilled upon its release, and it's my #1 for sure.)
02. Bastard Baroque by Emerald Nova - (Another title that I've longed to play on Saturn for so long, Emerald's BASTARD translation may be short on polish, but it gets the job done. I can finally understand where to go... LOL.)
03. Stellar Assault SS ENG Promo by Stellar Assault Team - (A demo for a game that will no doubt contend for top spot in next year's competition, this demo has been reverse-engineered and altered beyond simple translation.)
04. Sakura Wars 2 Promo by NoahSteam - (Aside from the pedigree of its title, this short and sweet demo was quite nicely done, and it offers an exciting look at what we can expect from the full game, hopefully out next year...)
05. Lunar 2 Eternal Blue (UPDATE) by Mr. Conan - (Much like Bastard Baroque, this WIP enables me to play through the entire game from start to finish, which is amazing. It's lower rank is due to its prior entry last year.)
06. GunGriffon II (UPDATE) by SSG - (Again, this is another WIP that enables play through the entire game from start to finish. While I remain excited for its completion, I had to weigh my vote based on previous competition..)
07. Saturn Bomberman for NetLinkOS by Knight0fDragon - (This patched game represents the potential for future online experiences to be supported across platforms and communication methods. A remarkable entry!)
08. NBA JAM TE 'Walrus Edition' by Malenko - (While this type of patch has never been my personal 'cup of tea', I can still appreciate the work that went into this very niche fan service. Is it a game? Is it a meme? Why not both?)
09. J.B Harold: Blue Chicago Blues by Arjak - (This is perhaps one of the games I am most excited to see finished, yet currently it offers just a glimpse of what we can expect (hopefully) in next year's competition. Fingers crossed...)

TOOLS & UTILITIES
01. NetBand Tunnel v4.3 by SEGA RPG Fan - (A project that has its roots way back in the VoIP exploit circa 2017, this Tunnel is a HEAVY HITTER in my book. It has resurrected Saturn's online 'scene' and has brought folks together!)
02. NetLink OS & Serial Cable by Knight0fDragon - (This represents the future of Saturn play & all the possibilities that it holds. A future that supports more games, doesn't require expensive hardware & is accessible to all...)
03. Sega Saturn FILM Muxer by TrekkiesUnite118 - (Much like last year's PoneSound entry, this is an amazing asset that the community will likely put to great use in several future projects, preserving original source material.)
04. PoneSound Driver (UPDATE) by Ponut64 - (An impressive second place in last year's competition, PoneSound has been updated and used to great effect in many of this year's projects. That dynamic 3D stereo is amazing!)
05. Save2QR <-> QR2Save by Ervilsoft - (This tool is a clever way for folks who only have a Pseudo Saturn cart to back up saves to a phone or PC and even share them. A marked improvement on the prior audio modulation tool.)

 

[PandaMonium]

Hats off to everyone who submitted projects this year. A ton of incredible entries, this blows me away every time I get the privilege to help judge. A big thank you to Dr. Emerald Nova for having me on to judge for the third year in a row. Would love to keep doing this if you'll have me.

All of you should be proud of your work. Judging is always the most difficult part since it means I have to "rank" them and decide, like, which ten projects are better than this already incredible submission. Please — do not interpret a low ranking as indication of poor work. I hope you all find the time to carry on your Saturn projects, as they all hold great merit. Even vbt's Magic. This Saturn scene is eating VERY VERY well.
Alright, here goes.

Original Games:
Really, the majority of these have the potential to go Top 3. We're being asked to rank based on progress since previous submissions, yet most of these are brand new Saturn games.

1: Irreel
This is the Saturn's greatest technical achievement. A culmination of leaping past hardware hurdles, leading to this. The simple fact that a complex PC first person shooter from 1998 was ported (at least in part) to a 1994 console with no external help is, by itself, an artistic statement. This single handedly squashes any notion of Saturn being incapable of good 3D. While I'm certain this was not easy to pull off, this should smash down the doors for future endeavors on this machine. Should the "Saturn Unreal engine," or rather the "XL2 engine" ever go open source, we will witness a Saturn renaissance.

2: Bridget Bishop
This is a delightful little witchy adventure. Between the dialogue, the art style, the RE style gameplay, sound design, music, the mini games, the puzzles and cute storytelling — I'd say this is a god damn video game alright. A victory in sheer style. Much like how Panzer Dragoon worked with low knowledge of hardware, this is using the inherent limitations of Jo Engine to its advantage, letting it play into the style of this game on purpose, resulting in a uniquely pleasant experience. It is a bit short, and I sincerely hope to see a sequel or some kind of expanded version. Great job.

3: Sky Blaster
What a massive jump from last year. The addition of a new intro cutscene, story mode demo, multiple new levels, 2 player co-op, and SEVERAL new fire songs from Random are all bringing this much closer to a fully fledged video game. An enjoyable and addictive shmup. Lots of potential here, and I'm psyched to see where this goes in the future.

4: Wolf 3D Multiboot
Coming in at a clean 60 frames per second with CREAMY 3D graphics and 12 versions of Wolfenstein, multiboot is a game I will continue to revisit to play again and again over time. It just works! Great to finally have a complete port of this game to Saturn, along with the numerous other wads. Needs Garfield tho.

5: Sonic X-Treme
Great job pulling this off. It really does feel like I'm playing the demos shown off in those historic videos of the real game. Lots of attention to detail with getting the levels designed just like they appear, and I thought the boss fight with Fang was a lot of fun.

6: Disasteroids
I MUST get 11 other people to try this out. I can only imagine how chaotic this would get. Love the vectors, the colors, the sounds — really, a bang up job of making this concept turn into reality. Long live the Saturn Multiplayer Task Force!!!
Total side note, I got five player Balloonatics going at a friends house a few months ago, and we all had a great time.

7: Chip-8 Emulator
I gotta admit, never heard of Chip-8 before this year's contest. Great job with this emulator, especially with the presentation style of your menus and other features.

8: Shmup Salad
Please finish this game! I loved the first two levels and the overall concept. Your soundtrack matches the vibe of the bizarre enemies. The shmup fleets and bullet patterns were fun to play and the weapons are all neat. If you plan to make this into a six+ level shmup, let me know. Will shoot for that 1CC, elbows off the table and everything.

9: The Case of the City Botucaiba
Great to see Rene and Julia come back for this fun side story! Lovely soundtrack, photography and art. As a side note, I am psyched to play your completed Red Moon game when it comes out later this year, and I hope to see it in next year's contest.

10: Galaxmas
Twenty four hours and here we are! Another Christmas Saturn game in the library! I loved hearing you guys talk about this idea on my livestream, then seeing it actually happen later that weekend. The experience was euphoric and electric.

11: Unnamed Shooter App
N E T L I N K H Y P E

12: Magic
Where the f*ck is Garfield


Translations/Patches:

1: GunGriffon II
We went from one line translated to basically ALL the lines translated. It's a sequel the west should have received, and now the Saturn community is making it happen. Shoutout to SSG for, without any prior experience, taking it upon himself to learn how to patch just so the world can play this explosive mech battler in English. F*ck yeah.

2: Drift King 97
A tough choice between this and Grif. Your ability to get this entire thing patched within a calendar year is highly commendable. While racing games are widely playable without translations, this particular game has a lot of customizable parts that are essential to mastering the gameplay, so us English readers strongly benefit from having this patch. Also, big ups to papa Craig.

3: Sakura Wars 2 Demo
We knew someone was gonna hit em with the ol' Saky Tasy. I rank this highly for the polish, even though it's just a demo. Having to draw in English lines in the FMV, getting the Start Screen assets to be in English while matching the style, making the text boxes look oh so clean... That's a lot, even for a demo. Psyched for the final patch. Great work to the entire team.

4: Stellar Assault SS Demo
Tough to compare this with the Saky Tasy 2 demo. Like, both are showing great signs of the overall prowess from the team. Having seen the beta patch footage, I know this is going to sweep if the final patch is submitted next year. Voice acting sounds incredible, and the patched in text is of course clean. Best wishes to the entire team, cannot wait to play through this in the spring.

5: Lunar 2
Still just disc 1, but there are obvious improvements over last year's patch. Looking good!

6: NBA Jam Walrus Edition
Stadler... HE'S ON FIRE. Malenko, thank you for making a panda man happy. You are also laying down the groundwork for future mods to this port of NBA Jam TE, and that is critical for the project to move forward. Also, the inclusion of Sonic was very well done.

7: Bastard Baroque
Thanks a ton for giving this game a patch! I love the gameplay, the crawling through dungeons, spells and other weapons. The text is there, but a little hard to parse at times. Though I understand this is not done yet. Great work so far!

8: Bomberman Net Patch
N E T L I N K H Y P E

9: Blue Chicago Blues
Not a lot is patched so far, but what is here is looking great. Please keep this up, we need the more obscure games patched. I will play the whole thing if it is completed someday.


Tools/Utilities:

1: Netlink OS
Okay, so getting it so that a real Saturn can netlink with a Yabause emulator hundreds of miles away is ridiculous. On top of this, it sounds like this will soon have the capabilities to streamline netlink through a serial cable attachment. This is huge.

2: The Tunnel
A very close second, as it is laying the groundwork for Netlink OS to happen, and brought Saturn online play into the phonelineless future.

3: SaveQR
Great idea!! This should greatly expand the capabilities of Saturn players to share save files. Such a simple concept that I'm surprised no one else thought of until now.

4: Ponesound
Since we rank based on progress from previous builds, this is placed here. It is clear that a LOT of homebrewers are finding this tool useful. Well done.

5: Saturn Film Muxer
Should greatly benefit many patchers and homebrewers down the line.


Great job to everyone. Cannot wait to see what the next contest holds, this is truly the most wonderful time of the year.

 

[Saturn Memories]

My evaluations. Also available here and here.

Patches:

--------------------------------------------------
Sakura Wars 2: Special Edition by TrekkiesUnite118
--------------------------------------------------
+ Subtitled FMV intro
+ Title screen displays English-language logo
+ Polished in-game translation
+ Went the extra mile hacking a unique demo
- But in the end, this is just a demo

While this special edition of Sakura Wars 2 is but a small preview,
it afforded the translation team ample opportunities to demonstrate
their abounding talent. I'm not a fan of RPGs or dating sims, yet I'm
so impressed by their work that I find myself interested in a game
that I'd otherwise take a pass on. Because of that, this project gets
my nod for best in competition. I look forward to trying out the
eventual patch for the full game sometime in the near future.

RANK: 1st

----------------------------------------
J.B. Harold: Blue Chicago Blues by Arjak
----------------------------------------
+ Memory select, title screen, and save/load menus translated
+ Title screen displays English-language logo
+ Japanese dubbed FMVs swapped for English-language versions
+ Standalone Japanese voiceover swapped for English-language audio
+ In-game menus translated
- New FMVs are slightly washed out and exhibit more compression artifacts
- Still a work in progress

A pretty solid conversion of Blue Chicago Blues, this patch substitutes
assets from the Japan-exclusive Saturn release for ones from the
English-language PC port. Aside from being limited to the game's first
chapter, the only other downside here is the FMVs -- either the
reencoding process led to some minor degradation or the surrogate
videos themselves were of worse quality to begin with.

RANK: 2nd

-----------------------------------
Tokyo Highway Battle '97 by Malenko
-----------------------------------
+ Title screen displays English-language logo
+ Translated menu text and dialog
+ Subtitled FMV sequences
- FMV subtitles resemble closed captioning
- Rival driver swapped for Craig Stadler

The sole finished entry in this category, Malenko's patch successfully
bestows full accessibility upon a title with a few language barrier issues
that don't normally crop up in racing games. Had it not been for the
excessively large borders around FMV subtitles and the out-of-place
meme, it probably would have come in a notch higher. Still, this is a
very worthy contender, deserving of a top spot.

RANK: 3rd

------------------------------------------------
Stellar Assault SS (Trial Version) by Shadowmask
------------------------------------------------
+ Opening FMVs dubbed into English
+ Advertisment for game's original release date altered to reflect patch release
- Trial version lacks content to showcase more of the translation team's work

From the people who went above and beyond to bring us the legendary
Bulk Slash translation comes a new patch for Stellar Assault SS!
Unfortunately, this trial version is rather lacking in content, so I can only
base my evaluation on the two FMVs that have received the, as per usual,
exceptional dub treatment this group is known for. That's why I currently
have this project ranked around the middle of the pack. But between the
reputation of the team involved and SASS being one of my favorite 3D
titles on the system, I'm confident I'll have no reservations giving the
patch for the full game higher marks once it's ready.

RANK: 4th

--------------------------------------------
Gungriffon II by The Southern Sega Gentleman
--------------------------------------------
+ Mission briefing text has been translated
- But not much else (still very much a work in progress)

With its briefings translated, Gungriffon II is probably now playable from
start to finish sans guide. That said, there are still a number of Japanese
prompts during missions and other bits of text scattered about that have
yet to be addressed. I'm sure, in time, this will be a great patch for fans
of mech games, but it's not quite there yet.

RANK: 5th

----------------------------------
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue by Mr. Conan
----------------------------------
+ In-game dialog text swapped for WD translation
+ Battle text translated
+ Shop text translated
- Text/voiced dialog desync from one another inside ruins
- Still very much a work in progress
* PLEASE hack in the ability to skip FMVs...

Like the Blue Chicago Blues submission, this Lunar 2 patch makes extensive
use of existing assets -- in this case, they're from Working Designs'
translation of the PlayStation version. There's been a lot done here, but
since this is a longer game with more "moving parts" to it, the workflow
can't exactly be linear. In its current state, you can expect to regularly
run into untranslated content throughout the course of a playthrough.

RANK: 6TH

-------------------------------
Bastard Baroque by Emerald Nova
-------------------------------
+ Menus translated
+ Dialog translated
- Most text abbreviated
- Corrupted text in some spots

I suppose the "bastard" in Bastard Baroque is there for a reason. This is
rough... Probably due to space limitations, most text is abbreviated, which
makes reading it awkward and occasionally difficult. Worse yet, some menus
and prompts display corrupted text. Maybe it's just because I don't play many
RPGs, but I couldn't make much headway in the game even with this patch.

RANK: 7th

-------------------------------------
NBA Jam TE: Walrus Edition by Malenko
-------------------------------------
+ Adds five new characters
- Corrupts audio in various annoying ways

Might be worth spending more time with if the audio glitch didn't make me
want to pierce my own eardrums.

RANK: 8th

Original Games:

-------------
Irreel by XL2
-------------
+ Analog support
+ Intuitive, responsive controls
+ Frame rate mostly stable
+ Tons of level geometry
+ Impressive draw distance
+ True transparencies
+ Dynamic lighting effects EVERYWHERE
+ CCTV mirrors player's actions
+ Useful pause menu options
- Stick drift (need adjustable dead zone)

RANK: 1st

--------------------------------
Bridget Bishop by Fran Matsusaka
--------------------------------
+ Animated logo at startup
+ Save/Load system
+ Stable frame rate
+ Fairly polished 3D models
+ Customizable character
+ Cute sound effects
+ BGM utilizes SCSP
+ Overall presentation VERY charming
- Character's hair clips through hat
- Prerendered backgrounds are a bit washed out
- Ended way too soon (what's in the basement?!)*

*Apparently, I managed to break sequence somehow!

RANK: 2nd

----------------------
SHMUP SALAD by DamageX
----------------------
+ Transparent menu backgrounds
+ Partially customizable controls
+ Stable frame rate
+ BGM utilizes SCSP
+ Five upgradeable weapons
+ Decent gameplay
- L/R would have been better for weapon swapping

RANK: 3rd

------------------------
Sky Blaster by SuperReye
------------------------
+ Impressive FMV intro
+ Analog support
+ Two-player support
+ Stable frame rate
+ High-energy soundtrack
+ BG shifts color between stages
- Sluggish controls
- Stick drift (need dead zone adjustment)
- Very basic 3D models

RANK: 4th

----------------------
Sonic X-treme by Voxel
----------------------
+ Sprite scaling on title screen
+ VDP2 infinite plane trick on title screen
+ FMV utilized in level select menu
+ Multiple stages available
+ Analog support
- Harsh audio clipping in menus
- Stick drift (need dead zone adjustment)
- Backing out of a menu dumps player back to intro upon exit
- VERY poor draw distance (makes game borderline unplayable)
- Disabling fisheye lens makes some platforms impossible to see from ANY angle
- Sonic's shadow and sometimes even the ground beneath his feet disappear when jumping
- Difficult to control (Sonic literally slides around)

RANK: 5th

----------------------------
CHIP-8 Emulator by Ervilsoft
----------------------------
+ Technically sound (everything, presumably, runs as intended)
+ Clean, useful interface
+ Supports over 50 games!
- Emulation rather than programmer's own original games

RANK: 6th

------------------------
GalaXmas by Emerald Nova
------------------------
+ Stable frame rate
+ Functional control layout
+ Heavy metal soundtrack
+ Numerous stages
- Sprites lack animation
- Same BG used throughout
- Hitboxes too small
- No pause feature
- Very easy until Lvl. 6

RANK: 7th

---------------------------------
Wolfenstein 3D (Multiboot) by vbt
---------------------------------
+ Wolf 3D running on Saturn!
+ Supports multiple versions/mods
- Strafing not mapped to controller
- Sound effects mangled
- Some wall textures disappear when turning
- HUD partially disappears during results screen
- Several options (Save/Load/Controls) not available
- Emulation rather than programmer's own original game

RANK: 8th

----------------------
Disasteroids by Slinga
----------------------
+ Vector graphics!
+ Spiffy intro and menu
+ Two-player support
- Difficult to control (too much thrust)

RANK: 9th

-------------------------------------------
The Case of the City Botucaiba by sansigolo
-------------------------------------------
+ Technically sound (everything works as it should)
- Odd plot (perhaps something was lost in translation?)
- Lacking gameplay (only about three opportunities for meaningful interaction)
- Visuals limited to actual photos of real life locations and two character portraits
- Same background music track repeating ad nauseam

RANK: 10th

------------
Magic by vbt
------------
+ Kitty!
+ Squash and stretch video or series of sprites (not really sure)
- Basically just a 10-second tech demo

RANK: 11th

I didn't attempt to evaluate the utilities because I feel I'm not qualified to do so.

 

[David Gámiz Jiménez]

Hi community. Here are my scores. I tried to appreciate each work and efforts. I didn't test all the works in real hardware or even in emulators. But along this year I was able to see the progress and achievements of most of them. This year we have a lot of great projects in each category. It's really hard for me, guys! 😉

Original Games​	Ranking​
05 - Bridget Bishop - Fran Matsusaka​	1​
09 - CHIP-8 Emulator - Ervilsoft​	2​
03 - Irréel - XL2​	3​
07 - Sonic X-Treme (homebrew version) - Voxel​	4​
01 - The Case of the City Botucaiba - sansigolo​	5​
02 - SHMUP SALAD - DamageX​	6​
10 - Sky Blaster - SuperReye​	7​
11 - Disasteroids - Slinga​	8​
08 - Multiboot (Wolf 3D) - vbt​	9​
04 - GalaXmas - Emerald Nova​	10​
12 - Unnamed Shooter App - Knight 0f Dragon​	11​
06 - Magic - vbt​	12​
​	​
​	​
Hacks Patches and Translations​	Ranking​
07 - Stellar Assault SS Taikenban - ShadowMask​	1​
02 - Drift King 97 / Syutoko Battle 97 - Malenko​	2​
09 - Bomberman Netlink OS Patch - Knight 0f Dragon​	3​
03 - J.B. Harold: Blue Chicago Blues - English Patch - Arjak​	4​
05 - Suprise Translation Project - TrekkiesUnite118​	5​
01 - Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Translation - Mr Conan​	6​
08 - Gungriffon II - The Southern Sega Gentleman​	7​
06 - Bastard Baroque - Emerald Nova​	8​
04 - NBA Jam TE Walrus Edition Hack - Malenko​	9​
​	​
​	​
Utilities​	Ranking​
04 - Netlink OS - Knight 0f Dragon​	1​
01 - Sega Saturn FILM Muxer - TrekkiesUnite118​	2​
03 - ponésound - Ponut64​	3​
02 - NetBand - SEGA RPG FAN​	4​
05 - QR Save Transfer - Ervilsoft​	5​

 

[johannes]

Hi everyone,

I was very impressed by all these homebrews 🙂!
So much technical progress made !

It was really not easy to decide, but I arrived at the following scores:

Original Games	Ranking
05 - Bridget Bishop - Fran Matsusaka	1​
03 - Irréel - XL2	2​
10 - Sky Blaster - SuperReye	3​
07 - Sonic X-Treme (homebrew version) - Voxel	4​
09 - CHIP-8 Emulator - Ervilsoft	5​
01 - The Case of the City Botucaiba - sansigolo	6​
11 - Disasteroids - Slinga	7​
02 - SHMUP SALAD - DamageX	8​
08 - Multiboot (Wolf 3D) - vbt	9​
04 - GalaXmas - Emerald Nova	10​
06 - Magic - vbt	11​
12 - Unnamed Shooter App - Knight 0f Dragon	12​
Hacks Patches and Translations	Ranking
02 - Drift King 97 / Syutoko Battle 97 - Malenko	1​
08 - Gungriffon II - The Southern Sega Gentleman	2​
07 - Stellar Assault SS Taikenban - ShadowMask	3​
06 - Bastard Baroque - Emerald Nova	4​
01 - Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Translation - Mr Conan	5​
05 - Suprise Translation Project - TrekkiesUnite118	6​
09 - Bomberman Netlink OS Patch - Knight 0f Dragon	7​
03 - J.B. Harold: Blue Chicago Blues - English Patch - Arjak	8​
04 - NBA Jam TE Walrus Edition Hack - Malenko	9​
Utilities	Ranking
02 - NetBand - SEGA RPG FAN	1​
04 - Netlink OS - Knight 0f Dragon	2​
03 - ponésound - Ponut64	3​
05 - QR Save Transfer - Ervilsoft	4​
01 - Sega Saturn FILM Muxer - TrekkiesUnite118	5​

Congratulations to all!

 

[FilmCow]

Thank you once again Emerald Nova for all the work you put into this holding this competition, and for inviting me to judge. And thank you to everyone who has put so much love and effort into these projects!

Original Games:

1) Irreel
2) Bridget Bishop
3) Chip-8 Emulator
4) The Case of the City Botucaiba
5) Sonic X-Treme
6) SkyBlaster
7) Shmup Salad
8) Multiboot
9) Disasteroids
10) GalaXmas
11) Shooter for NetLinkOS
12) Magic


Hacks, Patches & Translations:

1) Tokyo Highway Battle '97
2) GunGriffon II
3) Sakura Wars 2 Promo
4) Bastard Baroque
5) Lunar 2 Eternal Blue
6) Stellar Assault SS ENG Promo
7) Saturn Bomberman for NetLinkOS
8) NBA JAM TE 'Walrus Edition'
9) J.B Harold: Blue Chicago Blues


Tooks & Utilities:

1) Netlink OS
2) Sega Saturn FILM Muxer
3) NetBand Tunnel
4) PoneSound Driver
5) Save2QR

 

[TraynoCo]

Was a ton of great competition this year, and I really enjoyed playing each one! Thanks again for all the hard work guys, can't wait to see what's gonna be on the slab next year!

Original Games:

1: Bridget Bishop

2: Irreel

3: Wolf 3D Multiboot

4: Sky Blaster

5: Unnamed Shooter App

6: Sonic X-Treme

7: Disasteroids

8: Chip-8 Emulator

9: The Case of the City Botucaiba

10: Shmup Salad

11: Galaxmas

12: Magic


Translations/Patches:

1: GunGriffon II

2: Sakura Wars 2 Demo

3: Stellar Assault SS Demo

4: Drift King 97

5: Lunar 2

6: NBA Jam Walrus Edition

7: Blue Chicago Blues

8: Bomberman Net Patch

9: Bastard Baroque


Tools/Utilities:

1: Netlink OS

2: SaveQR

3: The Tunnel

4: Saturn Film Muxer

5: Ponesound

 

[EmeraldNova]

Scores completed from six judges. Unfortunately issues with some of the titles did not allow Saturn Memories' scores to be included this time around.

Original Games

8​	Bridget Bishop - Fran Matsusaka​
11​	Irréel - XL2​
27​	Sonic X-Treme (homebrew version) - Voxel​
31​	Sky Blaster - SuperReye​
36​	CHIP-8 Emulator - Ervilsoft​
37​	The Case of the City Botucaiba - sansigol​
40​	Multiboot (Wolf 3D) - vbt​
42​	Disasteroids - Slinga​
45​	SHMUP SALAD - DamageX​
60​	GalaXmas - Emerald Nova​
​	Unnamed Shooter App - Knight 0f Dragon​
71​	Magic – vbt​

Hacks, Patches, and Translations

11​	Drift King 97 / Syutoko Battle 97 - Malenko​
19​	Gungriffon II - The Southern Sega Gentleman​
20​	Stellar Assault SS Taikenban - ShadowMask​
23​	Suprise Translation Project - TrekkiesUnite118​
31​	Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Translation - Mr Conan​
34​	Bastard Baroque - Emerald Nova​
40​	Bomberman Netlink OS Patch - Knight 0f Drago​
46​	NBA Jam TE Walrus Edition Hack - Malenko​
​	J.B. Harold: Blue Chicago Blues - English Patch - Arja​

Utilities

8​	Netlink OS - Knight 0f Dragon​
14​	NetBand - SEGA RPG FAN​
21​	Sega Saturn FILM Muxer - TrekkiesUnite118​
23​	ponésound - Ponut64​
24​	QR Save Transfer - Ervilsoft​

Prize Pool

Ranking	Original Game	Hacks, Patches, and Translations	Utilities
1	15% ($195.04)	12% ($156.03)	10% ($130.02)
2	10% ($130.02)	7% ($91.02)	3% ($39.00)
3	8% ($104.02)	4% ($52.01)	1% ($13.08)
4	7% ($91.02)	3% ($39.00)
5	6% ($78.01)	2% ($26.00)
6	5% ($65.01)
7	4% ($52.01)
8	3% ($39.00)

Congratulations to all the entrants and thank you for participating. If you are a ranking winner in the prize pool, please contact me about prize money and physical prize shipping. I would also like to involve your games in a T-shirt to commemorate the competition with permission.

 

[EmeraldNova]

Currently $585.11 / $1300.29 of the prize money is accounted for. (I.E. MOST OF YOU HAVEN'T COME FOR YOUR MONEY.) For most prize winners, one of the following needs to be resolved:

1) Prize money payment information.

2) 3D print selection and shipping address.

3) Confirmation or denial of permission to include game in commemorative T shirt for next year.

Emerald Jr. is due this month, and I cannot get started on 3D prints until I have the entire selection determined. PLEASE get back to me very soon. I may have to forfeit your 3D print if selection and shipping details are not resolved in the next few weeks.

 

[Knight0fDragon]

We should probably sticky and lock these. They have great utility in them that will eventually get buried in time unless bumped.