View Full Version : Virtua Racing 32X
I have had a pal copy of vr for the 32x for ages now... one of the things i hate about it is when you turn of the game you loose any fast lap time and any cups you have got from winning races(in normal mode), ok recently got a jap version of the same game, great love it. but turned it of, went back to it a day or so later.... games saved. Did any one else know that the jap version had battery backup??? Does the us version?? Also the SEGA logo is not the same, and some of the level select screens have diff colours? and parts of one track are diff too.. Great, still getting excited about 15 year old games.. in 2009!!! How sad?? :lol:
AntiPasta
01-02-2009, 10:07 PM
Perhaps the backup battery (provided it doesn't use EEPROM) is simply dead?
That makes perfect sense, but this is the third PAL copy of VR32X ive owned, including the one i bought when the console launched. and it didnt work then either.. i think there are prolly a few things we dont know about the 32x as its life was so short..
I did not even know that VR had any saving features
Here are a few pics of the PAL and JAP game internals
http://i44.tinypic.com/33vm77k.jpg
JAP Close up!!
http://i41.tinypic.com/sw3jgi.jpg
PAL Close up!!
http://i41.tinypic.com/11mghnl.jpg
As you can see they are both made in 1994 and both in Japan.. and both different.. Could the "RAMTRON" chip on the Jap game be flash.. what do you think... Because it def saves and the Pal def dont.:-(
UPDATE: The cartridge has a small amount of non-volatile RAM built into it, in the form of a Ramtron FM1208S-200CC CMOS module.
so cool.. it is flash. going to check my other jap games to see how many support the save function.
Another example of how the PAL regions got shafted while the home market (Japan) got the good stuff.. (Im not bitter honest)
Yakumo
01-05-2009, 09:09 AM
I've never played the PAL version. Could you point out what Track details are different between that and the Japanese version?
yakumo
Midwinter
01-05-2009, 09:36 AM
Here are a few pics of the PAL and JAP game internals
http://i44.tinypic.com/33vm77k.jpg
JAP Close up!!
http://i41.tinypic.com/sw3jgi.jpg
PAL Close up!!
http://i41.tinypic.com/11mghnl.jpg
As you can see they are both made in 1994 and both in Japan.. and both different.. Could the "RAMTRON" chip on the Jap game be flash.. what do you think... Because it def saves and the Pal def dont.:-(
UPDATE: The cartridge has a small amount of non-volatile RAM built into it, in the form of a Ramtron FM1208S-200CC CMOS module.
so cool.. it is flash. going to check my other jap games to see how many support the save function.
Another example of how the PAL regions got shafted while the home market (Japan) got the good stuff.. (Im not bitter honest)
Yeah - they even stiffed you when stamping "Sega" on the chips... The Japanese cartridge has nice Sega Logo stamping... :110:
That Ramtron chip is a FRAM chip, and that is where the data is saved. No need for battery or more. Only catch is that when you read a byte, you have to write it back...
grahf
01-05-2009, 04:44 PM
Pretty cool. I didn't know they were using flash for saving that long ago.
its not flash, its ferro-electric memory... EEPROM would be flash
ASSEMbler
01-05-2009, 07:17 PM
Holy crap a FRAM chip. Why is there a demultiplex in there for the uk... curious.
Fonzie
01-06-2009, 01:39 AM
Wow, great :D It's nice to see how Sega did remove features for euro/usa releases.
Can you post pics about "lso the SEGA logo is not the same, and some of the level select screens have diff colours? and parts of one track are diff too.."
?
:D
Thanks a ton.
Here are the only track diffs i could find. Its Sandpark..
PAL Reverse.. then Jap..
http://i39.tinypic.com/sxbxoy.jpg
http://i44.tinypic.com/2r5yyis.jpg
JAP..
http://i40.tinypic.com/2cwtyf6.jpg
PAL..
http://i39.tinypic.com/15hfyht.jpg
http://i39.tinypic.com/atszfm.jpg JAP
http://i44.tinypic.com/32zqkbd.jpg PAL..
http://i41.tinypic.com/10covvs.jpg JAP...
http://i43.tinypic.com/2n0iusp.jpg PAL.. Again.
The JAP SEGA Logo sweeps in from left to right with music not the engine noise from the PAL/US..
Holy crap a FRAM chip. Why is there a demultiplex in there for the uk... curious.
it manages address decoding for the 2 ROM chips.... its either that or a 74xx00... I guess Sega had surplus of 74xx139 chips :P
I'd like to see the other side of the JP cart board, I'm quite sure there's at least 2 more chips...
Dr.Wily
01-06-2009, 12:49 PM
Game like NBA Jam with saving feature has RAMTRON chip too. (PAL)
Yakumo
01-07-2009, 08:46 AM
Thanks for the screen shots. From looking at them it would seem that the PAL version is earlier build.
Yakumo
Jamtex
01-08-2009, 06:17 AM
Well the Japanese Super 32X did come ouit way after the Sega Saturn as some kind of after thought...
Yakumo
01-08-2009, 09:31 AM
Well the Japanese Super 32X did come ouit way after the Sega Saturn as some kind of after thought...That's true. Makes you wonder why, doesn't it? If Sega never brought the Multimega (officially) or the Nomad to Japan then why the hell bring the 32X after the Saturn had already been released? They must have been smoking some serious shit when they came up with that decision :033: :confused: :033: .
AntiPasta
01-08-2009, 09:07 PM
TmEE, mind elaborating on this FRAM tech? Never heard of it!
Johnny
01-08-2009, 09:15 PM
Great topic! Seems like the JAP version is the way to go.
What about US version? Can someone check it too?
Alchy
01-08-2009, 09:36 PM
That's true. Makes you wonder why, doesn't it? If Sega never brought the Multimega (officially) or the Nomad to Japan then why the hell bring the 32X after the Saturn had already been released? They must have been smoking some serious shit when they came up with that decision :033: :confused: :033: .It reeks of internal politics. No sane corporation would act as Sega did in the mid-nineties. Seven active, distinct hardware platforms (Megadrive, Mega-CD, 32X, CD-32X, Saturn, Pico, Game Gear), some in competition with each other - madness.
TmEE, mind elaborating on this FRAM tech? Never heard of it!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferroelectric_RAM
Wikipedia has all answers...
FRAM is kinda like DRAM, but no refreshing is needed, it operates like SRAM, though you will have to write the data back which you read as the memory cell will lose its contents on read... its pretty nice thing.
ASSEMbler
01-17-2009, 06:24 AM
Must have cost a bit to use the fram, but I guess it evened out for them somehow.
I wonder if the fram chip is worth more than the cart itself these days.
Arthur-Otaku
04-14-2009, 09:57 PM
Great topic! Seems like the JAP version is the way to go.
What about US version? Can someone check it too?
Yes, very interesting!
The US ver menu is same of jap version and pal menu is really different, I think that both US and JAP are same
But there is no save on track records of US version, maybe my battery is dead, or not
Rabid Peanut-Butter
06-01-2009, 01:13 AM
I have the US version as well and never remember it saving lap times either. Regardless, this is fascinating.
Barc0de
06-01-2009, 04:21 PM
the only version of Virtua Racing sporting a battery was the JP one as far as I know.
Piglet
06-04-2009, 08:53 PM
I converted BC Racers from tge PC to the 32X. Those SH2 chips work well in tandem even for things like scaling. The bus access sorts itself out because of the cache.
One of my most basic tests for an assembly language is how efficiently it will calculate & draw a mode-7 type floor.
I also did the floor for the 3D0 and although it uses fewer instructions, the ARM chip inside it is a)slow & b)inefficient.
The most efficient was the MIPS inside the Playstation (Mode 7 floor for Shellshock).
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