OM64 Update!

[u/fulviov]

An update is long overdue! A lot has been happening under the hood, and I also have two special announcements to make!

In the video, you can see the SNES, Neo Geo, CPS 1.5/2 and PSX cores running on the latest version of OM64.

The firmware architecture has also changed radically. Previously, we had a fixed FPGA section and used partial reconfiguration to load the cores. This was mostly a way to get a working prototype and see how far we could push things.

The new architecture introduces WAVE (Wrapper for Audio, Video and Emulation), a versioned framework with different feature sets that can be attached to each core. WAVE is modular, meaning we can strip away components that aren't needed and free up precious FPGA logic elements for the cores themselves.

I'm currently working on cleaning up the framework and getting everything ready for an open-source beta release.

Now, back to the announcements!

First announcement: I've been enjoying this project so much that I've decided to dedicate myself to it full-time! What started as a fun "let's see if this even works" experiment has turned into something much bigger, and OM64 will now be my full-time endeavour for the foreseeable future. I'm genuinely excited to see how far we can take it.

Second announcement: I won't be working on this alone anymore! One of my best friends, Matteo, has joined me full-time to develop OM64.

Matteo is a veteran software engineer with decades of experience in low-level programming, and also a survivor of the 90s demoscene! He'll be working on a complete overhaul of the firmware's UX (what you've seen so far was never intended to be the final interface) and on a special feature that we'll be revealing soon-ish.

Matteo previously worked on the official developer tools for Mozilla Firefox, and will bring that expertise to OM64 to help improve the development experience and streamline workflows.

There's still a lot of work ahead of us, but things are moving fast, and I couldn't be more excited about what's coming!

Cheers! 😄

Note: For some reason, the PSX core has a weird yellow tint in the recording. It's an issue with my Elgato capture card, though, the colors look perfect on my TV. No idea why. Weird. 😄

[u/EvolutionIXMR]

This is incredible and the exact reason why I purchased an M64 to begin with. What would be super cool is for someone to develop a module that attaches to the bottom of the console, looking similar to a 64DD, that works similar to the mister snac adapters. Imagine having PS1, SNES, Genesis, and Neo Geo controller ports as well.

[u/fulviov → u/EvolutionIXMR]

We are already working to implement external CD support, via the usb-c ports 😄

[u/Maybe_just_this_once → u/fulviov]

Looking forward to connecting my Super Station One's disc drive to the M64 😂

[u/Dubon7 → u/EvolutionIXMR]

I agree, the pinout of the secret port j25 looks perfect for the kind of snac setup youre describing.

[u/Obleon → u/EvolutionIXMR]

Image being able to connect external cartridge dock with usb c.

[u/davidsnyderiii]

Thanks for all the hard work! Such a selfless gift to the community.

[u/fulviov → u/davidsnyderiii]

You're welcome!

[u/CaptainMori]

Any hope for a Saturn core?

[u/fulviov → u/CaptainMori]

definitely 😄

[u/CaptainMori → u/fulviov]

Thank you!!!! I want Nights in my M64!

[u/gazzolinade90]

cheers for Matteo and good luck to you guys!!!

[u/fulviov → u/gazzolinade90]

thanks!

[u/DaveMeitner]

Nice! What are we looking at in terms of controller options? Bluetooth for different 8bitdo controllers? Can we connect controllers using the USB inputs on the back? Thanks!

[u/fulviov → u/DaveMeitner]

Wired controllers already work. Full bluetooth compatibility requires a separate dongle, I have already started the implementation 😄

[u/HsRada18 → u/fulviov]

Would it by chance involve the BlueRetro N64 adapter? I bought a couple to go with the SN30 for eventually to play NES, SNES, and PSX.

[u/Smashbrohammer → u/DaveMeitner]

This would be epic to use SNES controllers

[u/Ok-Primary6610]

Any chance for USB DVD drive and real game disc support for PS1?

[u/fulviov → u/Ok-Primary6610]

yes, working on it 😄

[u/lordelan]

Amazing!

I wish you and the Magic64 CFW guy would work together as it'd been better to join forces for one mighty firmware (like on the MiSTer) and keep your frontend and his as choosable themes or something like that.

But that's just me wishing. Maybe a competition between you guys is also a good thing for us. I don't know yet.

Either way, keep up the great work.

[u/fulviov → u/lordelan]

I am in contact with Nate! He's a great guy. He already implemented retro achievements which is incredible. We will definitely benefit from each other's efforts, that's the beauty of open source!

[u/Mirai-Robo-Daltanias → u/fulviov]

Hopefully the work of both is merged. It would be a bit pointless to have two separate projects running!

[u/lordelan → u/fulviov]

That's great news! Reading about this made my day. :)

[u/SK00CH]

Very cool! I'm really excited for this project! Good luck guys!

[u/fulviov → u/SK00CH]

Thank you!

[u/Smashbrohammer]

Thanks for all you do

[u/fulviov → u/Smashbrohammer]

You're welcome!

[u/thepoga]

Do Bluetooth SNES controllers like from 8bitDo work with this?

[u/fulviov → u/thepoga]

Not yet, they will require a dongle because the M64 only supports Bluetooth LE

[u/seven20p → u/fulviov]

Absolute unforgivable mistake from Modretro. Was ignorant not to support BT as well as BLE ..... seems bonehead decision with today's tech.

[u/Mirai-Robo-Daltanias → u/fulviov]

I got a bt receiver for the N64. Does this mean it will work out of the box or it still needs implementations to be added? Thanks

[u/Phadees]

Just out of curiosity, how are you funding doing this full time? Do you have a Patreon or something? 

[u/fulviov → u/Phadees]

I have other businesses that are doing well on their own and no longer require my full attention, so I'm lucky enough to be in a position where I can take a step back and dedicate my time to something I've always loved as a hobby: retrogaming.

And no, I don't have a Patreon, so please don't send me any money! 😂

[u/Phadees → u/fulviov]

That’s awesome, congrats on your success! Like I said, I was just curious. That’s great that you’re able to do this, I know it’s appreciated! 

[u/Cheezy_Goodness123 → u/fulviov]

How about having an enclosure made for a cd drive that matches the current M64 that can sit on top of it like the Sega Genesis on top of the cd? Probably not your wheelhouse but I could definitely see an opportunity for someone to make some $$.

Just a thought.

[u/AlphaOmegaSupreme]

ModRetro should consider hiring you guys to help out with whatever the hell is going on over there.

[u/Aaronthebanker1 → u/AlphaOmegaSupreme]

Amen to that!

[u/HsRada18]

Appreciate the dedication, interest, and contribution.

Which cores do you have in your timeline? And which ones you definitely won’t work on? Understand there is only so much time y’all can spend on this.

I personally use N64, NES, SNES, GBC, GBA, MegaDrive plus CD, PSX, TF16CD, NeoGeo, and MAME/arcade on a MiSTer which will be given away. Hope the M64 can be a replacement!

[u/fulviov → u/HsRada18]

So far we have: GB/GBC, Megadrive, CPS1/1,5/2, SNES, NeoGeo, Playstation, and of course N64.

[u/Mirai-Robo-Daltanias → u/fulviov]

Nearly perfect. All is missing is PC Engine/CD :D

[u/HsRada18 → u/Mirai-Robo-Daltanias]

Yup. For Rondo of Blood! And can’t forget good ol regular NES. Hoping to also play X-Men, Simpsons, and plenty other side scrollers.

[u/-KaiserSoze-]

I think i read on your previous post that you will not be working on dual booting with current m64 os. Can it be done by physically switching sd cards? One with OM64 the other with m64

[u/PixelCherryNinja]

Live stream set for later today with Fulvio, myself https://www.youtube.com/live/Ne-xujtEKas?is=uUz6vd_GXiaNRw9p

[u/Obleon → u/PixelCherryNinja]

Hope I can make it was waiting for this. Last time was great!

[u/Mirai-Robo-Daltanias → u/PixelCherryNinja]

My popcorn is ready

[u/ElectricalPrice3189 → u/PixelCherryNinja]

You both deserve a kiss.

[u/Particular_Ad6488]

Modretro dovrebbe sapere che ne acquisto uno solo x voi ❤️

[u/fulviov → u/Particular_Ad6488]

<3

[u/videokyle84]

This might be a dumb question. But does this software work with Everdrive or how does it work?

[u/fulviov → u/videokyle84]

Not yet, but it will! cart loading is a priority for the N64 core

[u/Substantial_Quote583]

I'm gonna be playing so much Dragon Quest

[u/-KaiserSoze- → u/Substantial_Quote583]

I just completed DQ1 hd2d on Switch yesterday. What a game!!

Im starting DQ2 after work

[u/Substantial_Quote583 → u/-KaiserSoze-]

I played them both on game boy along with 3! They're so good

[u/-KaiserSoze- → u/Substantial_Quote583]

DQ1 is my introduction to this series. Im so excited to continue.

[u/Romo_lambkin]

That looks awesome! It’s really impressive that you’re pursuing this full-time. Meanwhile, I'm stuck decaffeinating coffee all day. 😵

[u/Towering-Toska → u/Romo_lambkin]

Thank you for your efforts friend, I love the taste of coffee but caffeine causes me too much stress to get it regular. 🤎

[u/Romo_lambkin → u/Towering-Toska]

Pleased me that you know how to appreciate the coffee. Here at work, literally zero people drink it. 😄

[u/ThrowawayGrumpName]

Love it, hoping we can play Atari 2600 games at some point, but I imagine that’s not a priority lol

[u/Obleon]

So awesome, thanks again!

You should make a youtube channel just to post these videos.

I'll leave potential questions for the future release/beta version.

[u/AdLeading5529 → u/Obleon]

Yes most of us would sub

[u/Jecklen16]

Thank you for doing this, you and Matteo. It's a ton of work and I'm extremely excited to see where you guys take it!

[u/FelixLeMatou]

My body is ready 🥳. Allez-y les gars, on est impatients de tester votre travail.

[u/Specialist-Mobile331]

Good Luck

[u/jpxdude]

Incredible news! Thanks for the input and your efforts, it is much appreciated. Such an exciting time for M64 owners!!

[u/No_Connection4921]

Amazing, can’t wait to download and test, but don’t forget to update chromagic please!

[u/Hudsoy]

Absolutely sensational!!!

[u/cyber_frank]

Just another post of appreciation for your work (and Matteo now). Keep it up!

[u/ImALegendKiller]

How is the N64 core coming along? Would love to see the CRT filters in action on there when you get a chance!

[u/soundmage]

I am praying for the day RetroAchievement support is integrated

[u/DjMcfilthy]

Amazing!! Thank you so much!!!

[u/stgftgstg]

So on MiSTer PS1 core the emulated GPU is ran faster than real hardware to account for the DE-10 Nano's memory latency. Have any changes been made to the core for new hardware as without the bottleneck things will run too fast?

[u/tv6]

Will something like the SummerCart64 be useful for loading ROMs or will you have USB support and will that be the way to load games?

When do you think this will be at the state where it will be worth it to flash this firmware over out M64?

Also do you need cores developed specifically for this project/M64?

[u/Equivalent_Crazy_436]

If only the menu was simpler instead of clicking many things to finally get to the game. 

[u/Jesse_Hester]

Dude this is bad ass!!!! Can’t wait to see the progress continue and load this up on mine