Originally posted by: qixmaster
not too far back it was virtually impossible to make SNES and NES repros. Someone will make em someday
Interesting, did people only say that because at the time, not much information was known about NES and SNES hardware? It seems we're relatively well enough informed about the N64... Enough to know it's wildly different from preceding pieces of hardware in how it handles the cartridge. I would consider N64 repros to be an incredible achievement.
@Winroba:
It's hard to remember the specifics, but others have said the N64 multiplexes the data transfer from cartridge to internal hardware (RAM, processors with DMA etc). I think the incredibly low number of cart slot pins is evident of that. From what I've read, not even 512Mb (64MB) cartridges need a mapper or bank switching.
I suppose a good place to start, if anyone was in favor of doing research into N64 repros, would be trying to repro an existing game... That is, re-creating a (hopefully) known example of working N64 cartridge hardware. A better option would be to dig up original documentation... From Rareware preferably, the N64 was their bitch!
To be honest though, I'm just anxious about the possibility of N64 repros, to go along with the treasure trove of discovered unreleased games and betas. I too would love to hear news that the N64 repro has been proven... It's just the prospect so far isn't very encouraging...
Speaking of carts, anybody know what can fail in an N64 cart? I've finally come across a dead cart. Killer Instinct Gold. I don't want to throw it out in case something can be done about it's inability to boot. In older cartridges, sometimes the repair is as simple as replacing a capacitor, or other discrete components that have failed. N64 carts are quite different, so it's not wise to apply older methods to newer technology. Has there been any research into this?
http://goo.gl/xmzKR...
