Shining in the Darkness - trapped in intro screen :-(

BelPowerslave wrote:
>> There are only two options - continue (no way to do that without a save)
>> and delete... !!! WTF? Can anyone advise on how on earth I get past this
>> old guy in purple with only these two choices?
>
> Have you tried doing "Delete" to clear the cart's memory? If so, and it
> still gives you that screen, it's possible the battery is dead. Why that
> would stop you from, at least, starting the game, I'm not sure, but it's
> possible that's the issue. What *should* happen is the guy asking you
> what your name is, you enter it and then the game starts...
>
> Bel

I'd agree with this, except with a dead battery, you should simply have
no saves on there at all. The battery just keeps the data in the RAM,
and without that battery, the ram empties itself when the power is off.

From the sound of this situation, there's something corrupted with the
save files (or possibly the game itself).

--
-benstylus

In article <00251605$0$24169$c3e8da3@news.astraweb.com>,
benstylus <blacklion DeleteThis @juno.com> wrote:
>BelPowerslave wrote:
>>> There are only two options - continue (no way to do that without a save)
>>> and delete... !!! WTF? Can anyone advise on how on earth I get past this
>>> old guy in purple with only these two choices?
>>
>> Have you tried doing "Delete" to clear the cart's memory? If so, and it
>> still gives you that screen, it's possible the battery is dead. Why that
>> would stop you from, at least, starting the game, I'm not sure, but it's
>> possible that's the issue. What *should* happen is the guy asking you
>> what your name is, you enter it and then the game starts...
>
>I'd agree with this, except with a dead battery, you should simply have
>no saves on there at all. The battery just keeps the data in the RAM,
>and without that battery, the ram empties itself when the power is off.
>
> From the sound of this situation, there's something corrupted with the
>save files (or possibly the game itself).

I agree with Ben's diagnosis. There's not an easy way to confirm it, or
repair the damage if it's true though. The first thing I can think of to
do is to disconnect the battery entirely and try to run the game through
the paces of saving a file and starting a saved game. If that all works,
then the problem is definitely with low or erratic voltage into the save
RAM chip. If you get the same behavior even without the battery, then
there's no good way to proceed unless you have the tools to do
byte-by-byte write tests of the chip.

SitD is relatively common now on the aftermarket, so the fast fix is just
to get a replacement cart. There was one of those in every Genesis or
Megadrive lot of games I picked up over the years.

-KKC, headed out shopping...
--
-- A class action lawsuit has been settled against | kendrick @
Paypal for $3.5 million. Read the full notification | io . com
at http://www.steelesettlement.com/ and see if you |
are eligible for class membership and payment. | http://www.io.com/~kkc

In article <1iqjjo7.1qmes3mgj2etgN%jamiekg@wizardling.geek.nz>,
Jamie Kahn Genet <jamiekg RemoveThis @wizardling.geek.nz> wrote:
>
>P.S. Anyone else tempted to go 100% with emulation nowadays? Maybe I
>take gaming way too seriously, but with more and more hardware dying on
>me as the years pass I REALLY don't like the idea of losing high scores
>and important saves. The trouble is of course that emulation still
>leaves much to be desired compared to the real thing *sigh*

Or you could get this thing:

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/11/06/sega-announces-sonics-ultimate-genes...collect

It happens to include Shining in the Darkness, and uses the same emulator
that the Xbox Live Arcade and/or PS Network uses. I'm getting it because
I want to see how they implement a save function for Fatal Labyrinth,
which famously did not have one in the original cartridge.

-KKC, hunting around for one of his spare Shining carts.
--
-- A class action lawsuit has been settled against | kendrick @
Paypal for $3.5 million. Read the full notification | io . com
at http://www.steelesettlement.com/ and see if you |
are eligible for class membership and payment. | http://www.io.com/~kkc

> forward. So long as I've a way to backup my ROM files I'm safe. It's
> unlikely that classic console emulation will die out in my lifetime so I
> should always have emulation software on newer computers to run the ROM
> files.
>
> Now if I could just replicate the experience of an old TV set and decent
> gamepad I'd be set... but there's still something... unsatisfactory
> about playing old games on my computer. It's not _quite_ right. Heh, I
> need help, don't I?
>
> Regards,
>  Jamie Kahn Genet
> --
> If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

Emulation may be the easiest way to play these games but it is by far
the least preferable solution. Don't get me wrong, I have a Mamebox
hooked up to my RPTV at all times, and I use emulation extensively for
game testing. I've also found that even using a Saturn control pad
emulation introduces gameplay flaws, control and timing issues, and a
generally different experience than the original game. I'd say it's
worth $15 to play an excellent game like Shining in the Darkness in
its original form.

Kendrick Kerwin Chua <kendrick.RemoveThis@nospam.io> wrote:

> In article <1iqjjo7.1qmes3mgj2etgN%jamiekg@wizardling.geek.nz>,
> Jamie Kahn Genet <jamiekg.RemoveThis@wizardling.geek.nz> wrote:
> >
> >P.S. Anyone else tempted to go 100% with emulation nowadays? Maybe I
> >take gaming way too seriously, but with more and more hardware dying on
> >me as the years pass I REALLY don't like the idea of losing high scores
> >and important saves. The trouble is of course that emulation still
> >leaves much to be desired compared to the real thing *sigh*
>
> Or you could get this thing:
>
> http://www.joystiq.com/2008/11/06/sega-announces-sonics-ultimate-genesis-c
> ollection-includes-4/
>
> It happens to include Shining in the Darkness, and uses the same emulator
> that the Xbox Live Arcade and/or PS Network uses. I'm getting it because
> I want to see how they implement a save function for Fatal Labyrinth,
> which famously did not have one in the original cartridge.
>
> -KKC, hunting around for one of his spare Shining carts.

Sounds cool, but I'm a Nintendo fan nowadays. I have the major classic
consoles, but since the N64 I've stuck with Nintendo. Likewise since on
handhelds since the GB.
It's not that I don't like the DC, PS, etc. I just have to ration my
gaming or I'll go completely insane I already have more GBA and DS
games than I can play in one lifetime! As more and more classic games
get released on the Wii's Virtual Console I'll probably learn to live
with that. But I worry what happens when the Wii is obsolete and
Nintendo shuts down the online service and then eventually support...

No, the more I think about it the surer I am that emulation is the way
forward. So long as I've a way to backup my ROM files I'm safe. It's
unlikely that classic console emulation will die out in my lifetime so I
should always have emulation software on newer computers to run the ROM
files.

Now if I could just replicate the experience of an old TV set and decent
gamepad I'd be set... but there's still something... unsatisfactory
about playing old games on my computer. It's not _quite_ right. Heh, I
need help, don't I?

Regards,
Jamie Kahn Genet
--
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

Jamie Kahn Genet <jamiekg.DeleteThis@wizardling.geek.nz> wrote:

> Now if I could just replicate the experience of an old TV set and decent
> gamepad I'd be set... but there's still something... unsatisfactory
> about playing old games on my computer. It's not _quite_ right. Heh, I
> need help, don't I?

Eheh, I have your same feeling. You have to know that I am currently
living in the US. I am Italian and I will stay in the US for one year.

Given that I was not able to bring here my consoles (different TV
system), I was wondering if to buy some old system here.

While thinking about it, I also thought that maybe I could have used
some emulators on my Mac but...you are right, it doesn't seem to be fair
and it is definitely not the same.

In the end...yesterday I came out and I bought an old NES system. I
never had this system (at that time I played on the Sega Master System).
Eheh, I am enjoying my Nintendo and I am happy I decided to get rid of
emulators. They are good, but they are not for real hardcore gamers
--
iChat (AIM): botolo86
GTalk: botolo86
Skype: superbotolo

> Huh - precisely when? Like - I turn on the system, the old guy appears
> and then... what _should_ happen if there are no saves?

As far as I recall, he should immediately ask you your name. From there
you type it in and he keeps going with the story.

> P.S. Anyone else tempted to go 100% with emulation nowadays? Maybe I
> take gaming way too seriously, but with more and more hardware dying on
> me as the years pass I REALLY don't like the idea of losing high scores
> and important saves. The trouble is of course that emulation still
> leaves much to be desired compared to the real thing *sigh*

It depends on the system, for me. For stuff I don't care anything about,
like the NES, N64, Lynx, Turbografx, etc., or the stuff where the
hardware is way too expensive and/or shitty, like the Neo Geo, Neo Geo
CD, any given arcade game, etc. I don't mind emulation.

For stuff that I own the actual hardware, I won't emulate it for
anything other than testing purposes(to see if the game is even worth
buying, etc) or getting screenshots. That's just me though...a lot of
people don't mind emulating everything...

Bel
--
Whip Ass Gaming: http://www.whipassgaming.com/

"Cat's out of the bag on that one isn't it? Who puts cats in bags
anyway? Cats hate bags."
- Sheogorath, Oblivion: The Shivering Isles

> Now if I could just replicate the experience of an old TV set and decent
> gamepad I'd be set... but there's still something... unsatisfactory
> about playing old games on my computer. It's not _quite_ right. Heh, I
> need help, don't I?

No, you're right, there's just something not right about it...I've never
been able to put my finger on it. It's almost like you feel dirty doing
it, you know? Again though, I only feel that way if I'm emulating games
on hardware I own...for MAME and stuff, I don't really have any
issues(probably because I just don't care as much about that stuff).

There's a nice converter out there called the "3 in 1 PC Joy Box" that
allows you to use Saturn, Xbox, PSX or GC controllers on your PC/Mac. I
only use the Saturn controller with it, and it rocks. I have two of
these, and it *will* allow you to plug them both in to the same computer
and play two player games with.

Bel
-
Whip Ass Gaming: http://www.whipassgaming.com/

"PsychoGun kicks ass!"
- Cobra, The Space Adventure

BelPowerslave wrote:
>> Huh - precisely when? Like - I turn on the system, the old guy appears
>> and then... what _should_ happen if there are no saves?
>
> As far as I recall, he should immediately ask you your name. From there
> you type it in and he keeps going with the story.
>
>> P.S. Anyone else tempted to go 100% with emulation nowadays? Maybe I
>> take gaming way too seriously, but with more and more hardware dying on
>> me as the years pass I REALLY don't like the idea of losing high scores
>> and important saves. The trouble is of course that emulation still
>> leaves much to be desired compared to the real thing *sigh*
>
> It depends on the system, for me. For stuff I don't care anything about,
> like the NES, N64, Lynx, Turbografx, etc., or the stuff where the
> hardware is way too expensive and/or shitty, like the Neo Geo, Neo Geo
> CD, any given arcade game, etc. I don't mind emulation.
>
> For stuff that I own the actual hardware, I won't emulate it for
> anything other than testing purposes(to see if the game is even worth
> buying, etc) or getting screenshots. That's just me though...a lot of
> people don't mind emulating everything...
>
> Bel

emulating sega is a sin.

--
-benstylus

benstylus wrote:
> BelPowerslave wrote:
>>> Huh - precisely when? Like - I turn on the system, the old guy appears
>>> and then... what _should_ happen if there are no saves?
>>
>> As far as I recall, he should immediately ask you your name. From
>> there you type it in and he keeps going with the story.
>>
>>> P.S. Anyone else tempted to go 100% with emulation nowadays? Maybe I
>>> take gaming way too seriously, but with more and more hardware dying on
>>> me as the years pass I REALLY don't like the idea of losing high scores
>>> and important saves. The trouble is of course that emulation still
>>> leaves much to be desired compared to the real thing *sigh*
>>
>> It depends on the system, for me. For stuff I don't care anything
>> about, like the NES, N64, Lynx, Turbografx, etc., or the stuff where
>> the hardware is way too expensive and/or shitty, like the Neo Geo, Neo
>> Geo CD, any given arcade game, etc. I don't mind emulation.
>>
>> For stuff that I own the actual hardware, I won't emulate it for
>> anything other than testing purposes(to see if the game is even worth
>> buying, etc) or getting screenshots. That's just me though...a lot of
>> people don't mind emulating everything...
>>
>> Bel
>
> emulating sega is a sin.
>

That's right, do it and the next time you have a hardware problem we'll
ignore you.


--

-
Scott
www.gamepilgrimage.com

Botolo <newsgroup.TakeThisOut@botolo.otherinbox.com> wrote:

> Jamie Kahn Genet <jamiekg.TakeThisOut@wizardling.geek.nz> wrote:
>
> > Now if I could just replicate the experience of an old TV set and decent
> > gamepad I'd be set... but there's still something... unsatisfactory
> > about playing old games on my computer. It's not _quite_ right. Heh, I
> > need help, don't I?
>
> Eheh, I have your same feeling. You have to know that I am currently
> living in the US. I am Italian and I will stay in the US for one year.
>
> Given that I was not able to bring here my consoles (different TV
> system), I was wondering if to buy some old system here.
>
> While thinking about it, I also thought that maybe I could have used
> some emulators on my Mac but...you are right, it doesn't seem to be fair
> and it is definitely not the same.
>
> In the end...yesterday I came out and I bought an old NES system. I
> never had this system (at that time I played on the Sega Master System).
> Eheh, I am enjoying my Nintendo and I am happy I decided to get rid of
> emulators. They are good, but they are not for real hardcore gamers

Man - you're new to the NES? You have GOT to try Blaster Master,
Metroid, Mappy Land, Balloon Fight... hell, I could go on for DAYS.
You're in for a real treat there.

So what do you like best on he SMS? You ever play Zillion? Awesome game!
--
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

Jamie Kahn Genet <jamiekg.RemoveThis@wizardling.geek.nz> wrote:

> Man - you're new to the NES? You have GOT to try Blaster Master,
> Metroid, Mappy Land, Balloon Fight... hell, I could go on for DAYS.
> You're in for a real treat there.

Wow, great titles' suggestions! Thanks, I will look into them.

> So what do you like best on he SMS? You ever play Zillion? Awesome game!

I loved Choplifter, Alex Kidd, Transbot, My Hero (spectacular eheh)...
--
iChat (AIM): botolo86
GTalk: botolo86
Skype: superbotolo

Scott H <weaponx013.DeleteThis@yahoo.com> wrote:

> benstylus wrote:
> > BelPowerslave wrote:
> >>> Huh - precisely when? Like - I turn on the system, the old guy appears
> >>> and then... what _should_ happen if there are no saves?
> >>
> >> As far as I recall, he should immediately ask you your name. From
> >> there you type it in and he keeps going with the story.
> >>
> >>> P.S. Anyone else tempted to go 100% with emulation nowadays? Maybe I
> >>> take gaming way too seriously, but with more and more hardware dying on
> >>> me as the years pass I REALLY don't like the idea of losing high scores
> >>> and important saves. The trouble is of course that emulation still
> >>> leaves much to be desired compared to the real thing *sigh*
> >>
> >> It depends on the system, for me. For stuff I don't care anything
> >> about, like the NES, N64, Lynx, Turbografx, etc., or the stuff where
> >> the hardware is way too expensive and/or shitty, like the Neo Geo, Neo
> >> Geo CD, any given arcade game, etc. I don't mind emulation.
> >>
> >> For stuff that I own the actual hardware, I won't emulate it for
> >> anything other than testing purposes(to see if the game is even worth
> >> buying, etc) or getting screenshots. That's just me though...a lot of
> >> people don't mind emulating everything...
> >>
> >> Bel
> >
> > emulating sega is a sin.
> >
>
> That's right, do it and the next time you have a hardware problem we'll
> ignore you.

Heh, well I'd better not have any more troubles then I emulate just
about every classic console and home computer I ever ran across, and a
couple I never had the pleasure of using. But I still far prefer the
real thing. I really envy folk with access to the European and American
secondhand markets. Hardware is a PITA to come by here in NZ.
--
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.