Jap FZ-1 Mode A-B switch 240p tests.

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boabject78
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Jap FZ-1 Mode A-B switch 240p tests.

Post by boabject78 » Tue Mar 27, 2018 1:04 am

A few weeks ago I decided to swap out my US FZ-1 for my Jap version and noticed a small Mode A-B switch next to the rear expansion slot and decided to find out what its function was. After getting nowhere reading the console's manual I finally found an old post from Bitrate where he said that it switches between the 3do's native 480i output and 240p. Intrigued I switched to Mode B and began doing some testing with my usb host controller.

First thing that happened is that the composite picture quality on my HD lcd tv looked terrible with smeared colours and no definition but thankfully svideo looks great. Time to check out some games in 240p mode!

I have not had time to check out the entire library but here are some observations I have made from the games tested. Most games run normally but there are some oddities.

Wolfenstein 3D- runs really fast maybe twice as fast
Monster Manor- runs fast aswell just like Wolf 3D
Yu YU Hakusho- Fmv runs too fast and skips and after selecting from menu the game just hangs
Eye of Typhoon- runs but with graphical glitching in game
Another World- runs so fast I dont have the ability to outrun the first big beasty at the beginning
Crash N Burn- Fmv is faster and smoother and ingame seems a little quicker. Nice
Total Eclipse- Fmv seems normal but ingame is nice, quick and responsive. So much a better shooter now
Microcosm- Intro Fmv is double fast and ingame just stutters

Hope someone finds this as interesting as I have maybe the forum could check and report back with their own testing especially those of you that have 240p modded your 3dos.

End of line.
....the 3do could do that............if it felt like it.

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Austin
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Re: Jap FZ-1 Mode A-B switch 240p tests.

Post by Austin » Tue Mar 27, 2018 4:33 am

Thanks for posting about this. I was made aware of the FZ-1's 240p mode via a thread on another forum recently. I checked my system and sure enough, it has a switch. I tried several games on it and for the most part they pretty much play and perform the same. Microcosm however, I experienced what you did and I thought it was a bad disc. I'll switch it back to 480i and see if it continues to have issues.

As far as Wolfenstein 3D is concerned, what do you mean by it's faster? Does it have an improved framerate? This really intrigues me.

I unfortunately cannot test some games like Out of This World because my FZ-1's disc drive was replaced and it no longer reads burned media. I acquired a lot of physical games as a result but some of them like Wolf 3D and Out of This World, I do not own.

I'll try Monster Manor as I recently acquired a copy of that. I am curious how much faster it is.

Games I did try that seemed to perform the same as in 480i:

Slayer
Ballz
Bladeforce
The Need for Speed
Burning Soldier
Deathkeep
Immercenary
Shockwave
Return Fire
Way of the Warrior
Wicked 18
Gex
Alone in the Dark
Incredible Machine
Shanghai: Triple Threat

I still own/have to test: DOOM, Monster Manor, Fifa, Guardian War, Icebreaker, PaTaank, Primal Rage, and Super Street Fighter II.

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Re: Jap FZ-1 Mode A-B switch 240p tests.

Post by boabject78 » Tue Mar 27, 2018 7:53 am

Yeah Wolf 3D is noticeably faster which makes me sad that we still don't have an adapter which would allow the use of a pad with analogue control.
....the 3do could do that............if it felt like it.

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Re: Jap FZ-1 Mode A-B switch 240p tests.

Post by boabject78 » Tue Mar 27, 2018 1:22 pm

I have a PS1 pad converter but it doesn't do the analogue sticks unfortunately.
....the 3do could do that............if it felt like it.

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Re: Jap FZ-1 Mode A-B switch 240p tests.

Post by Austin » Mon Apr 23, 2018 3:25 am

I spent a lot of time in the 240p mode the other night and these are the ones that stuck out to me:

Out of This World - Game runs twice as fast. It's neat to see but it's pretty much unplayable. It also didn't play the introduction sequence for me.

Monster Manor - Game is much snappier. Framerate seems to have the same level of chop to it, but the controls are about twice as responsive and movement/turning is roughly twice as fast. This helps the game.

Icebreaker - Doesn't seem to want to play any of the FMV sequences. Everything else seems normal.

Some games I haven't played in 480i in a while, like Pataank, PO'ed or Fifa, while others I just experienced for the first time so I don't know how they compare in performance (Quarantine and Madden, to name a couple).

I think it would be interesting to go through the whole library and get back to back comparisons between the two modes. There are some games that are clearly better when played in 240p and it would be great to have a master list of what works, what doesn't, and what's preferred to play in 240p vs. 480i. Also, it's hard to form a list of real differences when simply going by memory. I first fired up Monstor Manor in 240p and immediately thought, "Oh, this is the same", based on the framerate. However, I switched it to 480i and the difference in responsiveness is like night and day--it's definitely more sluggish in 480i. So doing direct back to back comparisons like this would help. Some games might actually have performance or response time boosts in 240p and we just might not be realizing it going on memory alone.

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Re: Jap FZ-1 Mode A-B switch 240p tests.

Post by CRV » Mon Apr 23, 2018 4:35 am

boabject78 wrote:
Tue Mar 27, 2018 1:22 pm
I have a PS1 pad converter but it doesn't do the analogue sticks unfortunately.
Third-party controllers like the Mad Catz Dual Force 2 Pro let you use the sticks for pre-Dual Shock games. I guess it's just simulating/acting as the D-pad, but it's a nice feature. I wonder if that would work.

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