ROM Hacks: Starfox upgraded with SuperFX2 Chip

[RHDNBot]

Update By: kandowontu

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if Starfox used the SuperFX 2 chip that Starfox 2 uses? Well here it finally is!

Experience a speed increase that Starfox has never seen before!

Thanks to the help of Vitor Vilela, this patch was created for version 1.2 of Star Fox.

The speed differences can easily be seen simply by watching the scramble sequence.

Enjoy, and give this classic some more love!

RHDN Project Page

Relevant Link

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Sounds cool, so like the SA-1 hacks that remove the slow down from older SNES games ?
I see version 1.1 on the project page...but will wait for version 1.2 to be added.
Question, for a Windows 10 PC, what would be the best emulators to run SuperFX-2 games on ?
Currently only have Zsnes and wondering if there are other options available.
Also, are there any videos of this in action ?

[EvilJagaGenius]

I wonder if Exploration Showcase uses the SuperFX 2, it certainly seemed smoother to me than vanilla Star Fox.  If not, I'd love for this to get incorporated into there somehow - it's hard to go back to Star Fox without cockpit view anywhere.

Question, for a Windows 10 PC, what would be the best emulators to run SuperFX-2 games on ?
Currently only have Zsnes and wondering if there are other options available.

Snes9x and bsnes should have you covered.

[kandowontu]

>I wonder if Exploration Showcase uses the SuperFX 2, it certainly seemed smoother to me than vanilla Star Fox.  If not, I'd love for this to get incorporated into there somehow - it's hard to go back to Star Fox without cockpit view anywhere.
Yes, Exploration Showcase has upgraded to SuperFX 2 as of yesterday...its really going to need it for the 3 brand new courses/12 new worlds I'm currently filling up

>Sounds cool, so like the SA-1 hacks that remove the slow down from older SNES games ?
Sort of! This just enables the faster 21.4mhz SuperFX2 chip, so its kind of like having overclocking on an emulator without needing to turn on overclocking.

>I see version 1.1 on the project page...but will wait for version 1.2 to be added.
Version 1.1 is the final build. It got approved very quickly after 1.0.

>Question, for a Windows 10 PC, what would be the best emulators to run SuperFX-2 games on ?
I prefer SNES9X, with SuperFX overclock at max and CPU overclock at 400%.

>Also, are there any videos of this in action ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VTyBrMIReU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21Q-XCD8oe0

[Retro_Emulation_Nation]

Would this have the same issues as the Super FX overclock in the FXPak Pro flashcart?

[nesrocks]

This is incredibly awesome!  A huge leap forwards into providing the Star Fox experience the world deserves and that nintendo won't.
Personally, I feel like it's possible that it'd be more complete if the speeds were adjusted here and there to match the timing of the original. Music getting "out of sync" throws me off. I haven't tested it yet to see how much of a problem that could be or even if it's just a matter of nostalgia more than anything (could be). Intro seems to sync fine. Great!
The final step would be having an emulator that can run Super FX 3D in 4k resolution and without dithering.

Question: does running this on an overclocked emulator make it even better FPS?

[kandowontu]

Glad you are enjoying it Some timing issues COULD be dealt with, but they are minor and only serve to prove how much faster its going now.

>The final step would be having an emulator that can run Super FX 3D in 4k resolution and without dithering.
RTX on 

>Question: does running this on an overclocked emulator make it even better FPS?
A little bit! It really just helps with bottlenecking issues when there is a lot going on...you can REALLY see the difference on some of the new levels I'm working on. In my twitter profile is a discord if you want to check it out! @kandowontu

[xnamkcor]

Currently only have Zsnes and wondering if there are other options available.

It's like that one movie with Brendan Frasier, but with SNES emulators.

The final step would be having an emulator that can run Super FX 3D in 4k resolution and without dithering.

Is the polygonal mapping complicated in SNES games typically?

[kandowontu]

Is the polygonal mapping complicated in SNES games typically?

There's an 80 vert limit (set in the code), but yeah its pretty complex stuff. Its an object format exported from blender into an amiga format, then converted into a BSP text format for the code. Fun fun fun. We have managed a bunch of custom models though!

[gamingcat02261991]

The only problem I've come across involves music and sounds being truncated, like on the opening scene when starting the ROM itself up and the scene where the Arwings are about to take off when starting on Corneria.

[kandowontu]

The only problem I've come across involves music and sounds being truncated, like on the opening scene when starting the ROM itself up and the scene where the Arwings are about to take off when starting on Corneria.

Yeah thats really not even a problem imo, its just proof of the speed increase. Someone who cares enough can easily slow down the speed in the sections required to sync up the music though.

[18Phoenix]

Very nice - big thanks. 
Could we please get a release for the European (E)[!] and German (G)[!] version (with and without NTSC patch), too.
That would be fantastic 

[kandowontu]

The problem with that is the source code we have does not make the final StarWing EU/German builds. They must have been updated after the source code date that we acquired. I can make one for StarWing, but it will replace the title screen and likely any text with the NTSC version. LMK if you're still interested!

[18Phoenix]

The problem with that is the source code we have does not make the final StarWing EU/German builds. They must have been updated after the source code date that we acquired. I can make one for StarWing, but it will replace the title screen and likely any text with the NTSC version. LMK if you're still interested!

Oh. Thanks, but with the text of the NTSC version it's not German anymore.
StarFox is already English, so no real need for an English-StarWing-patch.
What a pity, but thanks a lot 

[Vindex18]

Can you do the same with the patched version in italian?

https://www.romhacking.net/community/4615/

[18Phoenix]

@kandowontu
Never had problems with previous versions.
The result I get with v1.3 is now headered (normally unheadered) and smaller (0.99MB).
Different tools say it's corrucpt (f.e. sfrom tool & tush).

[djedditt]

@kandowontu
Never had problems with previous versions.
The result I get with v1.3 is now headered (normally unheadered) and smaller (0.99MB).
Different tools say it's corrucpt (f.e. sfrom tool & tush).

Should be fixed in 1.4, it's live now. Sorry about that

[18Phoenix]

Yeah, it's fine now - big thanks.