Sega - Saturn (Beetle Saturn)¶

Background¶

This is fork of Mednafen Saturn. It has been ported to the libretro API. It currently runs on Linux, OSX and Windows.

The Beetle Saturn core has been authored by

Mednafen Team

The Beetle Saturn core is licensed under

GPLv2

A summary of the licenses behind RetroArch and its cores can be found here.

Extensions¶

Content that can be loaded by the Beetle Saturn core have the following file extensions:

.cue
.toc
.m3u
.ccd
.chd

RetroArch database(s) that are associated with the Beetle Saturn core:

Sega - Saturn

BIOS¶

Required or optional firmware files go in the frontend's system directory.

Attention

The King of Fighters '95 and Ultraman: Hikari no Kyojin Densetsu ROM Cartridges can be manually selected with the 'Cartridge' core option.

Filename	Description	md5sum
sega_101.bin	Saturn JP BIOS - Required for JP games	85ec9ca47d8f6807718151cbcca8b964
mpr-17933.bin	Saturn US.mdEU BIOS - Required for US/EU games	3240872c70984b6cbfda1586cab68dbe
mpr-18811-mx.ic1	The King of Fighters '95 ROM Cartridge - Required for this game	255113ba943c92a54facd25a10fd780c
mpr-19367-mx.ic1	Ultraman: Hikari no Kyojin Densetsu ROM Cartridge - Required for this game	1cd19988d1d72a3e7caa0b73234c96b4

Features¶

Frontend-level settings or features that the Beetle Saturn core respects.

Feature	Supported
Restart	✔
Screenshots	✔
Saves	✔
States	✔
Rewind	✔
Netplay	✔
Core Options	✔
RetroAchievements	✔
RetroArch Cheats	-
Native Cheats	✕
Controls	✔
Remapping	✔
Multi-Mouse	✔
Rumble	✕
Sensors	✕
Camera	✕
Location	✕
Subsystem	✕
Softpatching	✕
Disk Control	✕
Username	✕
Language	✕
Crop Overscan	✕
LEDs	✕

Directories¶

The Beetle Saturn core's library name is 'Beetle Saturn'

The Beetle Saturn core saves/loads to/from these directories.

Frontend's Save directory

File	Description
*.bcr	External cartridge backup save
*.bkr	Internal save
*.smpc	SMPC's emulated Real-Time Clock save

Frontend's State directory

File	Description
*.state#	State

Geometry and timing¶

The Beetle Saturn core's core provided FPS is 59.88 for NTSC games and 49.96 for PAL games
The Beetle Saturn core's core provided sample rate is 44100 Hz
The Beetle Saturn core's base width is 320
The Beetle Saturn core's base height is 240
The Beetle Saturn core's max width is 704
The Beetle Saturn core's max height is 576
The Beetle Saturn core's core provided aspect ratio is 4/3

Loading Saturn Sega content¶

Beetle Saturn needs a cue-sheet that points to an image file. A cue sheet, or cue file, is a metadata file which describes how the tracks of a CD or DVD are laid out.

If you have e.g. foo.bin, you should create a text file and save it as foo.cue. If you're playing a single-track Saturn game, then the cue file contents should look like this:

foobin.cue

 FILE "foo.bin" BINARY
  TRACK 01 MODE1/2352
   INDEX 01 00:00:00

After that, you can load the foo.cue file in RetroArch with the Beetle Saturn core.

Attention

Certain Saturn games are multi-track, so their .cue files might be more complicated.

Multiple-disk games¶

If foo is a multiple-disk game, you should have .cue files for each one, e.g. foo (Disc 1).cue, foo (Disc 2).cue, foo (Disc 3).cue.

To take advantage of Beetle Saturn's Disk Control feature for disk swapping, an index file (a m3u file) should be made.

Create a text file and save it as foo.m3u. Then enter your game's .cue files on it. The m3u file contents should look something like this:

foo.m3u

foo (Disc 1).cue
foo (Disc 2).cue
foo (Disc 3).cue

Swapping disks¶

Swapping disks follows this procedure

Open tray (Disk Cycle Tray Status)
Change the Disk Index to the disk you want to swap to.
Close tray (Disk Cycle Tray Status)
Return to the game and wait a few seconds to let it take effect

After that, you can load the foo.m3u file in RetroArch with the Beetle Saturn core.

Core options¶

The Beetle Saturn core has the following option(s) that can be tweaked from the core options menu. The default setting is bolded.

Settings with (Restart) means that core has to be closed for the new setting to be applied on next launch.

System Region [beetle_saturn_region] (Auto Detect|Japan|North America|Europe|South Korea|Asia (NTSC)|Asia (PAL)|Brazil|Latin America)

Choose which region the system is from.
Cartridge [beetle_saturn_cart] (Auto Detect|None|Backup Memory|Extended RAM (1MB)|Extended RAM (4MB)|The King of Fighters '95|Ultraman: Hikari no Kyojin Densetsu)

A list of games that require a cartridge can be found here.
6Player Adaptor on Port 1 [beetle_saturn_multitap_port1] (disabled|enabled)

Enable multitap on Saturn port 1.
6Player Adaptor on Port 2 [beetle_saturn_multitap_port2] (disabled|enabled)

Enable multitap on Saturn port 2.
Analog Stick Deadzone [beetle_saturn_analog_stick_deadzone] (15%|20%|25%|30%|0%|5%|10%)

Configure the '3D Control Pad' Device Type's analog deadzone.
Trigger Deadzone [beetle_saturn_trigger_deadzone] (15%|20%|25%|30%|0%|5%|10%)

Configure the '3D Control Pad' Device Type's trigger deadzone.
Mouse Sensitivity [beetle_saturn_mouse_sensitivity] (5% to 200% in increments of 5%. 100% is default)

Configure the 'Mouse' device type's sensitivity.
Gun Crosshair [beetle_saturn_virtuagun_crosshair] (Cross|Dot|Off)

Choose the crosshair for the 'Stunner' and 'Virtua Gun' device types. Setting it to Off disables the crosshair.

Gun - Crosshair - Cross

Gun - Crosshair - Dot

Gun - Crosshair - Off

CD Image Cache (restart) [beetle_saturn_cdimagecache] (disabled|enabled)

Loads the complete image in memory at startup. Can potentially decrease loading times at the cost of increased startup time.
Requires a restart in order for a change to take effect.
Mid-frame Input Synchronization [beetle_saturn_midsync] (disabled|enabled)

Mid-frame synchronization can reduce input latency, but it will increase CPU requirements.
Automatically set RTC on game load [beetle_saturn_autortc] (enabled|disabled)

Automatically set the SMPC's emulated Real-Time Clock to the host system's current time and date upon game load.
BIOS language [beetle_saturn_autortc_lang] (english|german|french|spanish|italian|japanese)

Self explanatory. Also affects language used in some games (e.g. the European release of "Panzer Dragoon").
Horizontal Overscan Mask [beetle_saturn_horizontal_overscan] (0 to 60 in increments of 2. 0 is default)

Self-explanatory.
Initial scanline [beetle_saturn_initial_scanline] (0 to 40 in increments of 1. 0 is default)

Adjust the first displayed scanline in NTSC mode.
Last scanline [beetle_saturn_last_scanline] (210 to 239 in increments of 1. 239 is default)

Adjust the last displayed scanline in NTSC mode.
Initial scanline PAL [beetle_saturn_initial_scanline_pal] (0 to 60 in increments of 1. 16 is default)

Adjust the first displayed scanline in NTSC mode.
Last scanline PAL [beetle_saturn_last_scanline_pal] (230 to 287 in increments of 1. 271 is default)

Adjust the last displayed scanline in PAL mode.
Enable Horizontal Blend(blur) [beetle_saturn_horizontal_blend] (disabled|enabled)

Enable horizontal blend(blur) filter. Has a more noticeable effect with the Saturn's higher horizontal resolution modes(640/704).

Enable Horizontal Blend(blur) - Off

Enable Horizontal Blend(blur) - On

User 1 - 12 device types¶

The Beetle Saturn core supports the following device type(s) in the controls menu, bolded device types are the default for the specified user(s):

None - Input disabled.
Control Pad - Joypad
3D Control Pad - Analog
Arcade Racer - Analog
Mission Stick - Analog
Mouse - Mouse
Stunner - Lightgun
Twin-Stick - Analog
Virtua Gun - Lightgun
Dual Mission Sticks - Analog - Panzer Dragoon Zwei only

Multitap¶

Activating multitap support in compatible games can be configured by the '6Player Adaptor on Port 1' and '6Player Adaptor on Port 2' core options.

Joypad¶

RetroPad Inputs	User 1 - 12 input descriptors	Control Pad	3D Control Pad	Arcade Racer	Mission Stick	Twin-Stick	Dual Mission Sticks
	A Button	A Button	A Button	A Button	A Button		A Button
	X Button	X Button	X Button	X Button	X Button		X Button
	Mode Switch		Mode Switch
	Start Button	Start Button	Start Button	Start Button	Start Button	Start Button	Start Button
	D-Pad Up	D-Pad Up	D-Pad Up
	D-Pad Down	D-Pad Down	D-Pad Down
	D-Pad Left	D-Pad Left	D-Pad Left
	D-Pad Right	D-Pad Right	D-Pad Right
	B Button	B Button	B Button	B Button	B Button		B Button
	Y Button	Y Button	Y Button	Y Button	Y Button		Y Button
	Z Button	Z Button	Z Button	Z Button	Z Button	Left Stick Button	Z Button
	C Button	C Button	C Button	C Button	C Button	Right Stick Button	C Button
	L Button	L Button	L Button	Left shift paddle (Up)	L Button	Left Stick Trigger	L Button
	R Button	R Button	R Button	Right shift paddle (Down)	R Button	Right Stick Trigger	R Button
					Throttle latch		Throttle latch
X	Analog X		Analog X	Analog wheel	Analog Stick X	Left Stick X	Left Analog Stick X
Y	Analog Y		Analog Y		Analog Stick Y	Left Stick Y	Left Analog Stick Y
X	Analog X (Right)					Right Stick X	Right Analog Stick X
Y	Analog Y (Right)				Throttle	Right Stick Y	Right Analog Stick Y

Mouse¶

RetroMouse Inputs	Mouse
Mouse Cursor	Mouse Cursor
Mouse 1	Mouse A
Mouse 2	Mouse B
Mouse 3	Mouse C
Mouse 4	Mouse Start
Mouse 5	Mouse Start

Lightgun¶

RetroLightgun Inputs	Stunner	Virtua Gun
Gun Crosshair	Stunner Crosshair	Virtua Gun Crosshair
Gun Trigger	Stunner Trigger	Virtua Gun Trigger
Gun Reload	Stunner Reload	Virtua Gun Reload
Gun Start	Stunner Start	Virtua Gun Start

External Links¶

Saturn¶

Last update: 2024-04-19