FDS not loading

[Prock78]

Hello!
I don't often come on this site but I did today and I've seen that there where recent firmwares for my Everdrive N8 (the original one, not the Pro version), with nice features. So I downloaded the latest firmware (nesos-v1.23), copied the files to my SD card and played NES games the whole evening. The NES games work great, as usual, but I realized none of the FDS games load. I remember a few ones worked before I updated the firmware (I have a PAL console) but none of them load now, I get a black screen and nothing happens. Have I missed something? 

[Prock78]

No answer... so I suppose it means nobody managed to launch FDS games on a PAL NES with the non-Pro N8 with OS 1.23...? 

[FME-7]

The simple answer is: Get an NTSC system.

FDS games (and apparently the N8's custom BIOS) rely on the timings of certain chips which work exclusively on the NTSC systems (NTSC NES/Famicoms).  A good example of this is Super Mario Bros. and Battletoads.

Super Mario Bros. uses literally nothing crazy, and the only real NTSC reliant thing is the sound, and some gameplay features, so the game is slightly slower in general.

Battletoads, on the other hand, would crash at the first stage. It relies on region specific tricks, and if you somehow found a way to pass the stage 1 crash you'd still crash at various other stages.

Not to mention the FDS isn't supposed to be played with PAL systems since it was never designed for that in the first place.

Unfortunately the tl;dr is getting an NTSC system.

[nuu]

I think I heard that the real FDS works on PAL systems though, and OP said it worked with the old OS. Something might be weird with the Everdrive's custom BIOS. I think it would be better if it allowed the user to use a real FDS BIOS to avoid copyright problems and compatibility problems.

[FME-7]

The original system works in PAL because it doesn't rely on region-specific timings. Krikzz probably cheesed his implementation and accidentally relied on something region-specific.


I too, would also support a proper authentic FDS BIOS implementation too, though.

[Prock78]

OK! thanks for your answers.
I can confirm it used to work with several FDS games with OS-V1.16. I had a few graphical glitches or oddities due to 50Hz, I'm well-aware of this, but most of the times games were playable. It seems broken since OS-V1.20: total black screen with ALL FDS games... 
I'd love to get a US NES but it's not so easy to find here, or at high price... 

[ifightdragons]

I think I heard that the real FDS works on PAL systems though, and OP said it worked with the old OS. Something might be weird with the Everdrive's custom BIOS. I think it would be better if it allowed the user to use a real FDS BIOS to avoid copyright problems and compatibility problems.

I have an NTSC system, and I can't load any FDS games either on the latest firmware.

Now, I am definitely a complete noob, but please correct me if I'm wrong:

1. The EverDrive N8 and N8 Pro BOTH support .fds ROMs?
2. You don't need an actual Famicom Disk System to actually play them via an EverDrive?

[nuu]

1. Yes, although not fully featured, FDS image files should at least load on both carts. I'm not sure if they need a header or not, some emulators do.
2. You don't need a real FDS. The N8/N8Pro "emulates" the FDS hardware.

[ifightdragons]

1. Yes, although not fully featured, FDS image files should at least load on both carts. I'm not sure if they need a header or not, some emulators do.
2. You don't need a real FDS. The N8/N8Pro "emulates" the FDS hardware.

Thanks for the reply.

Do you know of any tutorials on how to use the FDS emulation functionality?
For example, do I need to use a BIOS file? And if so, what should it be named and where should it dropped?

I just find it to be a weird functionality if no one knows how to properly use it.

[Prock78]

I used to play some of the FDS games some time ago on my N8, with OS-v1.16 and it was very easy as far as I can remember:
- copying FDS games (with *.fds file extension) on the SD card
- launching them on the N8 like any other *.nes games... that's all!
This is broken since OS-v1.20 

[ifightdragons]

I used to play some of the FDS games some time ago on my N8, with OS-v1.16 and it was very easy as far as I can remember:
- copying FDS games (with *.fds file extension) on the SD card
- launching them on the N8 like any other *.nes games... that's all!
This is broken since OS-v1.20 

Great insight! Thanks for clarifying.

It seems indeed that this is broken since the new OS update, along with random game crashes.