Terra Onion Mega SD

[bmoc]

Terra Onion has a new product up for preorder. It is an FPGA Sega CD ODE and flash cart.

Preorder and details here: https://shop.terraonion.com/en/products ... ridge.html

Doubt I will get one myself at that price but I'm glad something like this exists.

[Jagosaurus]

Yeah, this is sick! I was thinking I needed to emulate Vay...

So maybe I'm being too analytical here & reading too much into wording but it doesn't specifically mention save states for CD games, just cart.

[nightrnr]

Totally getting one (and I think I must have issues ).
But it's just too cool. And I really like Sega CD, just want a better way to play it (Xbox emulating isn't a bad way, but I really would rather have a Sega controller).
It would Also give me a better reason to play the obsolete ports of games I used to play (Samurai Shodown and Mortal Kombat for starters).
Also can't think of a better way to play through Snatcher (Justifier by my side).

I knew I passed on the Polymega for a good reason.

Love using the original consoles when possible.

[ElkinFencer10]

I would LOVE to have this, but since my Mega Everdrive will play every Genesis game (minus Virtua Racer) and every 32X game, and since the Sega CD will play burnt discs no problem, I just can't justify picking this up at this price. Down the line a few years, sure for convenience, but it's not for me right now.

[samsonlonghair]

I just watched TerraOnion's FPGA direct presentation here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fE0GR9prQE

I'm a little bit hard of hearing, so I sometimes struggle to understand thick accents. No disrespect to the speaker; he speaks English better than I can speak his language.

Here's what I took away from TerraOnion's video:

-The MegaSD can play SegaCD/MegaCD games from your Genesis/MegaDrive without the SegaCD addon.

-It's not just an Optical Drive Emulator. It's an FPGA that can replicates all the hardware in the SegaCD including the 12.5MHz Motorola 68000, the VDP Graphics Processor, Sound Chip, Program RAM, buffer RAM, and drive controller.

-The MegaSD can also play Master System and Genesis game ROMs.

-The MegaSD can play 32X games, but you do need to have 32X hardware.

-The MegaSD is compatible with practically every version of the Genesis/MegaDrive including the Model 1, the Model 2, the Nomad, the Model 3, and the Analog MegaSG, but it's not compatible with CDX, Wondermega, or JVC X'eye.

-The MegaSD takes advantage of two audio pins in the cartridge port to output full stereo CD quality audio through the Genesis (unless you have a model 3 Genesis I suppose). This was a problem when TerraOnion was revising the NeoSD to play NeoGeoCD games; they couldn't output stereo into the cartridge port of the NeoGeo AES.

-This SegaCD audio scheme was developed by Firebrand X, who helped TerraOnion fix audio issues in a previous product. Firebrand X is famous for his Genesis Audio Projects

-The MegaSD can NOT play those six 32X/SegaCD hybrid games because those games need data from the cartridge port and the expansion bus simultaneously.

Edit: corrections

[nightrnr]

Yeah Sega CD is the main reason for this.
Still would rather a true ODE for the Sega CD, or a makeshift add-on for the side of the system (leaving the cart slot free), but I'll take it.

Never was able to get a proper burn of a Sega CD game to play in the system. Doesn't it need like a 1x-4x speed to burn? Slowest my drive does is 8x. Rather not mess with it these days anyways.

Also, too bad about it not playing 32x CD games, but definitely not a dealbreaker; never even owned one, all 6 games were also released Standard Sega CD, and the true Sega CD experience is low-def grainy video (although I did see 32x Night Trap in its semi-glory days).

[bmoc]

RetroRGB just released a review for it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iACMZfhx1Ms

Short version is that he likes it. He said it will probably be the primary way he plays Sega CD games in the future. One thing of note is that you can't boot Sega CD or Master System games with a 32X inserted.

[samsonlonghair]

RetroRGB just released a review for it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iACMZfhx1Ms

Short version is that he likes it. He said it will probably be the primary way he plays Sega CD games in the future. One thing of note is that you can't boot Sega CD or Master System games with a 32X inserted.

Thanks for the link. It's a good video. Here are some takeaways:

-The MegaSD cannot work when the Genesis is plugged into a real SegaCD at the same time. The user must disconnect the SegaCD in order to use the MegaSD

-Wait... what about models with built-in SegaCD? You cannot disconnect a SegaCD from a JVC X'eye, a WonderMega, or a CDX. Unfortunately these consoles are not supported. I have updated my previous post to reflect this information.

-The MegaSD has crisp, clear audio. In fact, the MegaSD has audio that's ever clearer than the original SegaCD. The drawback is that the user can now hear scratches and pops from the original recording that had previously been masked by the relatively muddy audio output.

-The MegaSD can display a menu by pressing Up + Start. This Menu can be used to switch CDs or to reboot the game.

-As previously stated, The MegaSD can play 32X games if you have 32X hardware, but the 32X hardware causes compatibility issues with other game formats (Gen, CD, and SMS). The 32X hardware sits in between the Sega Genesis and the MegaSD. At this point, the MegaSD can only feed data into the 32X hardware, and not directly into the Sega Genesis. Because of this, the user should disconnect the 32X when not playing 32X games.

-To ease compatibility issues, the MegaSD menu only shows games that are compatible with the current hardware configuration. When the 32X hardware is connected, the MegaSD menu only displays 32X games; when the 32X hardware is disconnected, the MegaSD menu hides all 32X games, and displays the other game formats (Gen, CD, and SMS) to play.

-The MegaSD can play any Sega Master System game that's compatible with your Genesis hardware. This effectively means you can play any SMS game except F-16 Fighting Falcon, just like a powerbase convertor. This game relies on a SG-1000 compatibility which was included in the Original Sega Master System, but not included in the Genesis. This also means that Genesis 3 and Nomad models remain incompatible with Sega Master System games unless modified. These systems were always incompatible with the Power Base Convertor, so that's simply a limitation of those particular models.

-The Start button on the Genesis controller can start and pause the Sega Master System games.

-The on-screen menu does not work while running Sega Master System games. The user can press a button on the side of the MegaSD cartridge to return to the MegaSD menu.

-The MegaSD supports FM sound for supported Sega Master System games. The user will need to set this up in the main menu BEFORE staring the SMS game.

[Anapan]

The price tho!
I'm still not done recapping all of them. This is not how I want to do it.
Ghh - I'll probably give in. There might be a fully functioning tower of power in this year's charity auction, recapped even if things go well
This is a solid piece of kit - so good!
I don't like the sound of the FM synthesis. Not gonna hold that against it tho. I have other ways of making those few games play in 240p anyway.

[sevin0seven]

The MegaSD has crisp, clear audio. In fact, the MegaSD has audio that's ever clearer than the original SegaCD. The drawback is that the user can now hear scratches and pops from the original recording that had previously been masked by the relatively muddy audio output.

..now that is what i call high definition sound!