Famicom World

Family Computer => Famicom / Disk System => Topic started by: tobasoft on February 12, 2020, 11:46:14 am

Title: Question about translations on real hardware.
Post by: tobasoft on February 12, 2020, 11:46:14 am
I am going to be rewriting my copy of Dead Zone with the correct game this weekend but I was thinking of adding the english translation to it, will it work on my hardware with the patch?
Title: Re: Question about translations on real hardware.
Post by: ericj on February 12, 2020, 02:09:02 pm
Yes, it should work fine.
Title: Re: Question about translations on real hardware.
Post by: portnoyd on February 12, 2020, 03:21:03 pm
That's the nice thing about FDS. Write translated ROM, play, finish, write it back to stock. Wish we could do that with carts!

Odd note, I asked kev a few years ago if it was possible to make an adapter you can put onto a Famicom cart, pop a SD card in the adapter and plug it in your NES/Famicom and the adapter would patch the ROM on the cart on the fly with a translation patch. Unfortunately, he said if it was even possible (knowing kev it would be), it'd be incredibly difficult to develop and would be unwieldy.
Title: Re: Question about translations on real hardware.
Post by: P on February 13, 2020, 01:35:20 am
I just wish someone knew a reliable way to write disks so that it works like it should on all drives.


QuoteI asked kev a few years ago if it was possible to make an adapter you can put onto a Famicom cart, pop a SD card in the adapter and plug it in your NES/Famicom and the adapter would patch the ROM on the cart on the fly with a translation patch. Unfortunately, he said if it was even possible (knowing kev it would be), it'd be incredibly difficult to develop and would be unwieldy.
Huh? That's what devcarts/flashcarts are for.
Title: Re: Question about translations on real hardware.
Post by: portnoyd on February 13, 2020, 03:13:50 am
Quote from: P on February 13, 2020, 01:35:20 amI asked kev a few years ago if it was possible to make an adapter you can put onto a Famicom cart, pop a SD card in the adapter and plug it in your NES/Famicom and the adapter would patch the ROM on the cart on the fly with a translation patch. Unfortunately, he said if it was even possible (knowing kev it would be), it'd be incredibly difficult to develop and would be unwieldy.
Huh? That's what devcarts/flashcarts are for.
[/quote]

The point was to still be able to use the original carts, without modifying them permanently.
Title: Re: Question about translations on real hardware.
Post by: P on February 13, 2020, 06:03:16 am
Oh I see, an adapter that intercepts the communications with the ROM chips and patches them on the fly without disturbing anything. Sounds very advanced indeed.
Title: Re: Question about translations on real hardware.
Post by: UglyJoe on February 14, 2020, 09:03:27 pm
Quote from: P on February 13, 2020, 06:03:16 amOh I see, an adapter that intercepts the communications with the ROM chips and patches them on the fly without disturbing anything. Sounds very advanced indeed.

That's exactly what a Game Genie does, except that GG can only modify three bytes ;D

Quote from: P on February 13, 2020, 01:35:20 amHuh? That's what devcarts/flashcarts are for.

That's what I am thinking.  It seems like that's where such a device would ultimately end up, just with a more confusing hardware bus so that the actual mapper chips would get used (when applicable).
Title: Re: Question about translations on real hardware.
Post by: portnoyd on February 14, 2020, 09:12:10 pm
It's indefensibly an unnecessary piece of equipment for a specific purpose, for a specific user who wants to play Famicom carts in English without a flashcart or a repro with the translation on it. I figured it couldn't hurt to ask.
Title: Re: Question about translations on real hardware.
Post by: P on February 16, 2020, 01:31:45 am
I understand the desire to be able to use your own carts instead of a flashcart. Flashcarts are also not always ideal, and making an EPROM devcart requires hard to get parts or donors and will only work with games using the same board.

But for now flashcarts is the easiest way to play most hacks in an authentic way. Besides there are more of them than ever before so they are relatively easy to get.
Title: Re: Question about translations on real hardware.
Post by: Jedi Master Baiter on February 16, 2020, 06:58:31 am
But is there a single flashcart that can play every known mapper and soundchip?
Title: Re: Question about translations on real hardware.
Post by: portnoyd on February 16, 2020, 11:35:02 am
Probably not but I would guess the Everdrive is close.

It was really a "science, we're about could-a, not should-a" (to quote Patton Oswalt) kind of thing.
Title: Re: Question about translations on real hardware.
Post by: P on February 16, 2020, 02:13:30 pm
No way, there's not even an emulator that can do every known mapper/board. That's one of the reasons flashcarts are not always ideal. Another is when things doesn't work the same on a flashcart as on a normal cart. Like FF's RNG.

Everdrive and Powerpak are both very good though, and the Everdrive seems to still be improving by updates and a new hardware version.