Coding for the World's Trickiest Chip – SEGA's Saturn DSP [video]
The Sega Saturn is my go-to favourite console to write homebrew for.<p>I spend some free time reading and re-reading technical documents regarding the infrastructure of the system, and the functions and features each chip has.<p>With it’s vast complexity but incredible feature set, it’s not a wonder that average console programmers at the time could absolutely not wrap their heads around making the most of the console, and yet dedicated enough teams like Traveller’s Tales, with Sonic R, and Sonic Team, with NiGHTS and Burning Rangers, were able to get some unbelievably beautiful effects and performance from the system.<p>Jo-Engine (<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;jo-engine.org" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;jo-engine.org</a>) is a fantastic, open-source homebrew development kit that enables an incredibly simple and effective starting point for anyone wishing to code for this fantastic and overlooked system.<p>XL2’s fantastic Sonic Z-Treme is an example of the insane levels of creativity and performance this engine is capable of.