|
||||||||||||||
Saturn’s 3D Control Pad Has Gone WirelessBack in November of 2021, SHIRO! reported on some exciting work in progress by two individuals (Drew Kenaz & Izzi Patrick) to make Saturn’s 3D Analog Control Pad completely wireless. After nearly 8 months, significant progress has been made, and here we’ll bring folks up to speed on how all of this came together from the start… At the very beginning of the pandemic (around May of 2020) , Arthrimus created a new edge connection PCB for the Saturn’s 3D Control Pad (famous for it’s detachable cable, originally intended to accommodate several add-on peripherals ) . Sega Saturn 3D pad PCBs arrived and have been tested and confirmed working. Thanks @RetroRGB for the write-up on this. BTW the PCB is actually designed to work with Saturn extension cables, not official Saturn controller cables. https://t.co/sQ5vo5YQ1V pic.twitter.com/mMvonaO3Cl — Arthrimus (@Arthrimus) May 19, 2020 Original PCB by Arthrimus – making all of this possible…Bob from RetroRGB did a write up on this, reaching console-hacking tech-tinkerer, Drew Kanaz (aka HexFreq ), who was inspired to pair it with an Arduino Nano, in hopes of finally “cutting the cord” on the 3D Control Pad… Well, this makes me happy.
Drew’s project quickly began to take shape, successfully getting wireless Bluetooth link working… After a bit of the code being a pain, I have the Bluetooth link working on the
#SegaSaturn
3D Controller.
This exciting progress in turn inspired Izzi Patrick (aka GamingNJncos ) to try their own hand at a wireless Bluetooth solution with a very ambitious set of goals… Little update on the wireless 3D controller.
Not too shabby for first try #segasaturn pic.twitter.com/WmSwzY1SfT — GamingNJncos (@GamingNJncos) June 16, 2021 A 3D Printed enclosure for the wireless moduleIt was at this point that SHIRO! became aware of these 2 simultaneous projects, and we wrote up an informative article covering the extent of what they had accomplished and what they had planned. (see below…)  SHIRO! Article: In The Works: Wireless 3D Pad Mod
Soon thereafter, we would see further progress on Izzi’s side, with proof of successful wireless input in this short video demonstration. While there did seem to be a fair bit of input lag, this was still a huge step forward… I have been trying my best to keep this under wraps but maybe just a tease.. pic.twitter.com/lma4vzwb64 — GamingNJncos (@GamingNJncos) May 28, 2022 Proof of Successful Wireless InputJust days later, we would also see Izzi’s display attachment (obviously inspired by Dreamcast’s VMU) showing customizable boot logo, mode switching and battery stats readout! Wireless 3D boot logo (Customizable), mode switching, and Battery stats readout demo
As of June 12 both Izzy & Drew were working together, making progress on the Bluetooth Low Energy solution, and shouting Arthrimus for the PCB that made all of this possible. @hexfreq
and I making some headway on that Wireless (BLE) Saturn 3D controller.
Fast forward just a couple weeks to the present, and now we see the input lag has been at least somewhat reduced… Quick Button Test on the wireless 3D pic.twitter.com/DRtBgZKlst — GamingNJncos (@GamingNJncos) June 16, 2022 Quick Button Press DemonstrationHere we see a video demonstration of NiGHTS into Dreams.., a game with such nuanced control that relies very heavily on quick and precise input. If you watch the thumb rotation in contrast to the character movement on screen, you will observe that there is still a significant degree of latency. It’s still amazing to see this game being played wirelessly, and we have high hopes for further improvement in regard to the issue of latency… Just taking the Wireless 3D for a quick spin @SaturnJunkyard @SaturnMemories @playsegasaturn pic.twitter.com/JN0gnOxJuO — GamingNJncos (@GamingNJncos) June 16, 2022 NiGHTS into Dreams… Wireless Gameplay DemonstrationWe don’t currently know if there are any plans for a 2.4Ghz implementation of this mod, though with low power efficiency at the core of these designs, it may not be practical. That said, lower latency might be achieved by going that route, so perhaps it’s something the creators may consider down the road. Drew had also mentioned interest in seeing if it was possible to get this working with the Brook Wingman Adapter , so that’s another possibility that we will be following up on in the future… When asked about the potential availability of this mod as a consumer product for sale, Izzi had this to say… Initial plan and primary motivation is just to release the pcbs and code to the community.
Izzi gave us further information regarding future plans for the project:
We will be sure to keep folks updated as more information becomes available… One thing is for sure… This community has a way of individuals inspiring each other to make great things happen, and this is a good example of that. What all started from a clever PCB design made available to the public, has taken shape into something many folks might have thought to be impossible. We will continue to follow this project with great anticipation.
|
||||||||||||||
