Super Mario World: SuperFX chip test

Read the following before commenting!

This was made for snes9x, and doesn't work on bsnes, meaning that the effect wouldn't work on an actual SNES. In fact, it'll probably crash the ROM. This video shouldn't be really taken seriously. This video can't really prove that the SuperFX is really doing this too anyway.

Here's misc. information about the SuperFX chip:
The SuperFX chip is a GSU (Graphical Support Unit). It's a programmable chip, and its maximum clocking state can be around 21MHz. The chip is made especially for graphical functions such as pixel-plotting into a SRAM buffer, which is why it is so suitable for generating dynamic graphics on the fly. WIth this method you can generate images from a pixel source (e.g. rotate/scale an existing sprite image). It is also possible to generate polygons by plotting lines between coordinates using the pixel-plot method, and the coordinates would get supplied by the game's engine. The chip is also suitable for taking on huge subroutines such as decompressing graphics. What would normally take millions of cycles on the SNES' chip would take a considerably large amount of LESS time on the SuperFX chip.

To implement the SuperFX chip into a ROM, you'll have to free up RAM $7E0100-$7E010F or something like that for the interrupt vectors, because the interrupts MUST be located in the WRAM in order for the SNES to work when the SuperFX chip is running. I didn't do that in this video, so implementing it was a breeze, but it just isn't right. I have no future plans to add "correct" SuperFX support to Super Mario World.

Now with bsnes out and me raising my emulation accuracy standards, I consider this accomplishment of mine as null, because this just won't work on a real SNES.

Yup.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• SuperFX

[tf2cheats]

wouldnt the SA1 have been more conveniant for super mario world 2 since it more simular to the standard cpu but at 10mhz, like mario rpg had it. dont know if the super fx is better overall, even for 2D.

[ersanio]

@tf2cheats I have updated the video description to something much more useful. Maybe it'll answer your question :D

About the SA-1: It does have some sort of a bitmap-DMA thing which Id on't know how it works, however it doesn't have the pixel-plotting feature like the SuperFX has. One can probably code the pixel-plotting feature from scratch, but it'll execute much slower compared to the SuperFX itself. Without pixel-plotting, -generating- dynamic graphics will be pretty difficult.

[SonicTheJackrabbit]

What? I don't see any polygons, stretching or rotating? How can this be Super FX?

[ersanio]

@SonicTheJackrabbit SuperFX doesn't do stretching/rotating/whatever else all the time. It's basically a programmable chip; you write some functions, then call it, just like the ricoh 5a22 chip does. SuperFX is mainly made to do graphical effects, because if it was tried in a ricoh it'd cause massive slowdown constantly.

I just programmed the chip to increase the background color every frame.

[CrackerAttacker1]

im a clam

[tf2cheats]

@ersanio thanks for the answer, i guess the FX is alot more specialised for true effects, while SA chip is more about the same known SNES capabilities but more and faster.

If i ever have the time i would love to learn proper assembly and code for those old Z80 cpus and all those special SNES chips :)

[PsychoKrazyTime]

Super Nuclear Meltdown World?

[ioctlvoid]

Neat! Akin to a hello world of the Super FX. :-)

You wouldn't want to consider giving the source code for this test?

[kyoxiong1]

SEIZURE

[Kevinskie555]

Why the damn chip use exanimation lol

[melvoin]

I'm sure Yoshi's Island primarily ran off the FX chip rather than the SNES processor, just like the 3D games. Beyond the special 3D effects, the game handles a lot more action on screen without slowdown than the typical SNES game. It certainly wasn't just used to rotate and stretch things.