Neo Myth Menu v1.1

Chilly Willy · Post by **Chilly Willy** » Sat Dec 19, 2009 2:18 am

Okay, time for v1.1! All new thread to make sure people realize this is the latest!

New for v1.1:

Now can be used as CD BRAM!! I included the SCD_SRAM.BIN file as it's nothing but 0xFF04 repeated over and over. Copy this file to the SD card (or burn it to the flash). When you "run" this file, it'll switch the cart into CD BRAM mode, giving you 2045 blocks of save ram for the CD!!

Has better recognition of files on the SD card.

Will recognize and load SMD format files from the SD card (not the flash).

Will auto-boot an Enhanced Menu from the flash - this will be how we move to a larger, more sophisticated menu in the future. I didn't care for a two-stage menu, but it seems that's where we're going. You can also run the Enhanced Menu from the SD card, but it won't do it automatically. What this means is that this menu is nearing completion, and any further enhancements will be in the Enhanced Menu, not this menu.

12/18/2009 - v1.1b1 released. NeoMythMenu1.1b1.zip
12/19/2009 - v1.1b2 released. NeoMythMenu1.1b2.zip
12/24/2009 - v1.1b3 released. NeoMythMenu1.1b3.zip
12/30/2009 - v1.1b4 released. NeoMythMenu1.1b4.zip
12/30/2009 - v1.1b5 released. NeoMythMenu1.1b5.zip
01/03/2010 - v1.1b6 released. NeoMythMenu1.1b6.zip

Chilly Willy · Post by **Chilly Willy** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 3:17 am

Beta 2, for your enjoyment. Fixes include removing unneeded patching for save ram, and Reset-to-Menu now works for 32X and CD games.

The main new feature again has to do with the SCD backup RAM. This feature takes 1Mbit of save ram. The big problem is that this is the same save ram you use for all your other games. Not very convenient, is it? Well, did you ever notice in the feature lists for the flash cards the Neo Myth takes that they have 2 Mbits of save ram?? So why can't we use that other Mbit of save ram?

The issue with why the menu only ever gave 1 Mbit of save ram is that's the most you can access in one block with GBA/NDS flash carts. So how do you access the rest? You send a command to the flash cart to change an address offset to the save ram. And that just what I've done. When you choose an SMS/MD/32X game, the save ram address offset is set to 0, and when you choose a CD BIOS/BRAM, it's set to 1 Mbit. So now the 1 Mbit of save ram the CD backup uses is a completely different save ram than the 1 Mbit allowed for MD/32X/SMS games!

Now you don't have to worry about constantly saving and restoring the save ram to save/restore your CD backup ram.

Flygon · Post by **Flygon** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 12:14 am

Excuse me if I sound silly, but I have this nagging curiosity in my mind.

Is it possible for software launched by the SD menu to actually be able to access files off the SD card, not unlike an ordinary DS flash cart or is it much more secluded then that?

Chilly Willy · Post by **Chilly Willy** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 2:33 am

Yes, software that is "myth-aware" can read/write files on the SD card. The MD menu v1.1 can load and run myth-aware homebrew. I suppose with enough work, you could hack an existing game to be myth-aware. I'll probably work on a version of Sonic that uses the SD card. Sonic 1/2/3/S&K have been disassembled and documented enough that it can be done.

Myth-aware homebrew has up to 1MB of flash rom for code and static data, 1MB of ram for variables and arrays, and 7MB of ram for bank selected data, all in addition to the SD card access. I plan to port a few games I have worked on on other consoles to the Neo Myth.

Flygon · Post by **Flygon** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 12:45 am

Thanks for answering my question.

I can only imagine the possibilities doable with these expansions, it's simply insane. Now to actually work up $150, the joys of being incomeless, but let's not discuss that here.

Chilly Willy · Post by **Chilly Willy** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 3:21 am

Yes, the Neo Myth is expensive, but I think it's worth saving up for. You can run all MD, 32X, and SMS games. You can use it as CD backup RAM, and run the CD BIOS from another region to run games from that other region. And then you also have the SD card interface if you get a Neo2-SD/TF. I was hesitant to buy one myself at first, but I'm glad I did. I also had fun working on the menu. It's the most low-level 68000 coding I've done since the Amiga.

Now I'm going to start on some Myth-aware homebrew.

Chilly Willy · Post by **Chilly Willy** » Fri Dec 25, 2009 4:22 am

Okay, v1.1b3 is up. The main change in this version is that you are allowed to set the save ram size and bank in the options screen for SMS roms as well as MD or 32X.

The current Windows app has a tendency to screw up the run mode if you set the sram in it. So I suggest that until that gets cleared up, never set the sram in the Windows app. Instead, use the options screen in my MD menu to set the sram. I was able to run Phantasy Star with save ram that way - it works great.

Chilly Willy · Post by **Chilly Willy** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 1:54 am

Beta 4 now up. I tried to work on compatibility of the SD cards since we've seen some that don't work. I failed - I couldn't get any of my non-working cards to work. All I managed to do was add V2 SD, SDHC, and FAT32. Sorry.

Chilly Willy · Post by **Chilly Willy** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 5:57 am

Okay, beta 5 has a quick edit to the SD driver that got another card working. Might help some folks.

Chilly Willy · Post by **Chilly Willy** » Sun Jan 03, 2010 11:08 pm

Happy New Year! v1.1b6 now up. This version has a work-around for certain cards that failed with older versions. Please try all your cards to see how it works. I now have only one card remaining that doesn't work.