Ron Risley Interview |
My recollection is that the original NES cartridge used two ROMs, one
as a character generator and one with the program code. What I did
with the SuperCart was create a complete Z-80 computer with its own
ROM and RAM, and then mapped a second access stream into the Z-80 RAM
for the NES console.
The Z-80 could then modify the character generator and the NES's
program code in real time. For some applications (especially
player's-eye view or "3-D" rendering) we would actually replace the
entire character generator during horizontal retrace, so that we had
pixel-by-pixel control of the screen -- something you couldn't do
with straight NES cartridges even if you had the processor power
(which you didn't). So the effect was that we greatly increased the
effective amount of available ROM, we improved graphics control, and
we had a complete Z-80 that could run as a graphics co-processor.
I only know of two games ever written for the SC: Koala Chase, which
I wrote mainly for testing the SC and never finished (I don't think
it ever saw the light of day), and one commercial title that CD
produced but I never saw. Can't remember what it was called.
The SuperCart also used a proprietary circuit that Dan developed to
bypass Nintendo's anti-competitive lockout mechanism that prevented
third-parties from writing NES games without paying Nintendo a
substantial ransom.