Super FX
Encyclopedia
Coprocessor
A coprocessor is a computer processor used to supplement the functions of the primary processor . Operations performed by the coprocessor may be floating point arithmetic, graphics, signal processing, string processing, or encryption. By offloading processor-intensive tasks from the main processor,...
chip used in select Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
(SNES) video game cartridges
ROM cartridge
A ROM cartridge, sometimes referred to as a cart, is a removable enclosure containing read-only memory devices designed to be connected to a computer or games console....
. This custom-made RISC processor was typically programmed to act like a graphics accelerator chip that would draw polygons to a frame buffer in the RAM
Ram
-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...
that sat adjacent to it. For those games, the data in this frame buffer were periodically transferred to the main video memory inside of the console using DMA
Direct memory access
Direct memory access is a feature of modern computers that allows certain hardware subsystems within the computer to access system memory independently of the central processing unit ....
in order to show up on the television display.
Development history
Argonaut Games
Argonaut Games plc was a British video game developer. Founded as Argonaut Software by teenager Jez San in 1982 the company name is a play on his name and the movie title Jason and the Argonauts. It had its head offices in Edgware, London....
, who also co-developed (with Nintendo) the 3D space scrolling shooter video game Star Fox to demonstrate the additional polygon
Polygon
In geometry a polygon is a flat shape consisting of straight lines that are joined to form a closed chain orcircuit.A polygon is traditionally a plane figure that is bounded by a closed path, composed of a finite sequence of straight line segments...
rendering capabilities the chip brought to the SNES. The hardware designers of the chip were Ben Cheese
Ben Cheese
Ben Cheese was the engineer who got Sinclair's ZX Microdrives to work. Authors Ian Adamson and Richard Kennedy, in their book Sinclair and the "Sunrise" Technology, writes that "it seems only fair to note that it was the tenacity and imagination of R&D staffer Ben Cheese that got the product...
(formerly of Sinclair
Sinclair Research Ltd
Sinclair Research Ltd is a British consumer electronics company founded by Sir Clive Sinclair in Cambridge. Originally incorporated in 1973 as Ablesdeal Ltd., it remained dormant until 1976, and did not adopt the name Sinclair Research until 1981....
and Flare Technology
Flare Technology
Flare Technology was a computer hardware company based in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1986 by Martin Brennan, Ben Cheese, and John Mathieson, former engineers at Sinclair Research....
) with Rob Macaulay and James Hakewill. The graphics were considered revolutionary at the time. Although Star Fox was capable of rendering polygons, the number of polygons was in the hundreds as opposed to the millions of today's games. Star Fox used scaling bitmaps for lasers, asteroids, and other obstacles, but other objects such as ships were rendered with polygons.
In addition to rendering polygons, the chip was also used to assist the SNES in rendering advanced 2D effects. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, originally released as in Japan, is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the SNES console. Despite its title, this game serves as a prequel to all other games within the established Mario Bros timeline...
used it for advanced graphics effects like sprite scaling and stretching, huge sprites that allowed for boss
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
characters to take up the whole screen, and multiple foreground and background parallax layers to give a greater illusion of depth. While the Super FX is primarily known for graphical enhancements, it's also been used to assist the S-CPU in processing game logic. Yoshi's Island offloads all sprite logic to the Super FX, in addition to the decompression of graphics.
Game cartridges that contain a Super FX chip have additional contacts at the bottom of the cartridge that connect to the extra slots in the cartridge port that were not normally used. Cartridge adapters such as cheat devices made before the release of Super FX games, such as the Game Genie
Game Genie
The Game Genie is a series of cheat systems designed by Codemasters and sold by Camerica and Galoob for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Mega Drive/Genesis, and Sega Game Gear that modifies game data, allowing the player to cheat, manipulate various...
, did not have a connection to these previously unused slots. This meant that Super FX games could not be plugged into these devices. Because of higher manufacturing costs, games that included additional hardware such as the Super FX chips retailed at a higher MSRP
Suggested retail price
The manufacturer's suggested retail price , list price or recommended retail price of a product is the price which the manufacturer recommends that the retailer sell the product. The intention was to help to standardise prices among locations...
than most SNES games.
Versions
The first version of the chip, GSU-1, commonly called the Super FX, is clocked with a 21 MHz signal, but an internal clock speed divider halved it to 10.5 MHz. Some early cartridges of StarFox shipped with a version of this chip that was marked "MARIO CHIP 1." Later on, the design was revised to become the GSU-2, known as the Super FX 2. Unlike earlier chips, this version was able to reach 21 MHz.All versions of the Super FX chip are functionally compatible in terms of their instruction set. The differences arise in how they are packaged, their pinout, and their internal clock speed. As a result of changing the package when creating the GSU-2, more external pins were available and assigned for addressing—as a result a larger amount of external ROM or RAM can be accessed.
The technology behind the SuperFX chip would later become the ARC
ARC International
ARC International plc was a developer of configurable microprocessor technology and is now owned by Synopsys. ARC developed synthesisable IP and licensed it to semiconductor companies....
(Argonaut RISC Core) embedded microprocessor.
List of games that use Super FX chips
Games released with the Super FX chip
- Dirt RacerDirt RacerDirt Racer is an Europe-exclusive video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System; which was released in 1994. This game uses the Super FX chip to provide enhanced graphics.-Summary:...
(PAL) - Dirt Trax FXDirt Trax FXDirt Trax FX is a racing video game developed by Sculptured Software and released by Acclaim Entertainment for the Super Nintendo in 1995. The 3D graphics of the game were made possible by the Super FX GSU-1 processor which was built into the cartridge....
- Star Fox (North America/Japan) / Starwing (PAL)
- Stunt Race FXStunt Race FXStunt Race FX, known in Japan as , is a cartoon-style, 3D-racing video game developed by Nintendo EAD with the assistance of Argonaut Software and published by Nintendo for the Super NES. It was the second game to use the 3D-centric Super FX chip.-Gameplay:Stunt Race FX appears to be like a zany...
(North America/PAL) / Wild Trax (Japan) - VortexVortex (video game)Vortex is a 3D shooter game developed by Argonaut Software and released by Electro Brain for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in September 1994...
Games released with the Super FX 2 chip
- Doom
- Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's IslandSuper Mario World 2: Yoshi's IslandSuper Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, originally released as in Japan, is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the SNES console. Despite its title, this game serves as a prequel to all other games within the established Mario Bros timeline...
- Winter GoldWinter GoldWinter Gold is a winter sports video game with events like bobsled, ski jump or snowboarding, all in a 3D graphics environment. Both single player and multi-player options are available; up to eight players can compete in the "competition mode". The game used the Super FX 2 chip...
/ FX Skiing
Cancelled/unreleased games
- ComancheComanche seriesComanche is a series of simulation games published by NovaLogic. The goal of each of these games is to fly military missions in a RAH-66 Comanche attack helicopter, which was in development and prototyping at the time of release....
- Powerslide FX
- FX FighterFX FighterFX Fighter is a video game developed by Argonaut Games and released by GTE Entertainment in 1995. It was an early realtime 3D fighting game to be developed for the PC...
(released for PC) - Star Fox 2Star Fox 2was an unreleased video game for the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It was to be the second of the Star Fox series and the direct sequel to Star Fox. Both Argonaut Games and Nintendo developed the game, with Nintendo planning to publish it. The Japanese version was completely...
(elements used in Super Mario 64Super Mario 64is a platform game, published by Nintendo and developed by its EAD division, for the Nintendo 64. Along with Pilotwings 64, it was one of the launch titles for the console. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, and later in North America, Europe, and Australia. Super Mario 64 has sold over...
, Star Fox 64Star Fox 64, known in Australia and Europe as Lylat Wars, is a scrolling shooter video game for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It is a reboot of the original Star Fox, and the only game in the Star Fox series to be released on the Nintendo 64....
and Star Fox CommandStar Fox Commandis the fifth game in Nintendo's Star Fox series which was published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS in 2006 and 2007. Released in Japan on August 3, 2006 and in North America on August 28, 2006, it was first announced at the E3 2005 conference, under the name Star Fox DS...
) - Super Mario FX (became Super Mario 64Super Mario 64is a platform game, published by Nintendo and developed by its EAD division, for the Nintendo 64. Along with Pilotwings 64, it was one of the launch titles for the console. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, and later in North America, Europe, and Australia. Super Mario 64 has sold over...
)
See also
- List of Super NES enhancement chips
- Wikibooks:Super NES Programming/Super FX tutorial
- Sega Virtua ProcessorSega Virtua ProcessorThe Sega Virtua Processor is a DSP introduced by Sega in 1994 to expand the Mega Drive's 3D capabilities. The SVP was Sega's answer to Nintendo's Super FX processor used in some of their SFC/SNES cartridges....
External links
- The Super FX chip at MyPSP News
- SNES and Super Famicom Tech specs and Hardware by Nintendo Land
- Points 02 ‘Super FX Documentary’ by 1UP.com1UP.com1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
(ep. 113)