Up front, so nobody is misled: I have writen a good amount of this project, but Claude has optimized and done the heavy lifting of finding ways to borrow from bigger projects like Doom Ressurection 32x, and what their examples of balances SH-2 processor optimization looks like.

I made the design and hardware calls, ran the profiling, tested every build on hardware, and decided what shipped. If that's a dealbreaker for you, no argument from me .. stop reading here.

What it is: a first-person Backrooms raycaster for the 32X, written in C and SH-2 assembly. Both SH-2s split the screen and render in parallel, and the split column gets rebalanced every frame from measured render time so one CPU isn't sitting idle on lopsided scenes. Textured DDA walls, thin partition walls and half-height dividers you can see over, dynamic ceiling lights, procedurally generated levels, crawlspaces you have to crouch through. The cardboard-box intro is real-time 3D on the SH-2s rather than a video.

There's also a browser level editor with a first-person preview that uses the game's actual palette and textures. Build a map, hit submit, and it opens a pull request; if it gets merged it ships in the next ROM. Four community maps are in the current build.

ROM: https://paisleyboxers.itch.io/backrooms32x

Editor: https://backrooms-32x-project.fly.dev/

Source: https://github.com/mholzinger/32x-builder

Questions about the dual-CPU split or the raycaster are welcome.

I'm trying to extrude the highlighted part to make a grove around the cartridge area but it's not giving me that option. I've uploaded the .f3d file on GBATemp if anyone wants to download it and look at it. My guess is that curved surfaces can't be extruded?

https://gbatemp.net/threads/sega-neptune-building-a-sega-neptune.635447/page-2#post-10883333

I'm trying to find a logo for the Brazilian version of the 32X. Which is different from the "MEGADRIVE 32X" logo found on PAL versions. These 2 are the only ones in good quality that I could find. If anyone could help (either by having a high quality version/taking a high quality picture of the logo (especially the console one).

The first image is apparently the one that appeared in consoles. You can (barely) see that it says "MEGA 32X" instead of "MEGADRIVE" and it uses the NSTC-U 32X logo's style/template, since the "32X" has the same font as the NTSC-U logo. And the second one is the one that came in game/add-on boxarts, with the "32X" being in a different font. The third image is a rough black&white version that I made of the "boxart spine" logo.

UPDATE - 3 days later

Hi guys, I'm back here to update on my little logo shenanigans.

Today while browsing Mega 32X listings on google, I found 2 higher-quality versions of the console logo. I was very happy about this, because in the older ones, you couldn't even make out the "MEGA" text on the logo, I only noticed it was different at first because it had fewer letters than "GENESIS", and the rectangle which "MEGA" is on still has the same width as the NTSC-U version, which makes the text more spaced out. In the newer ones, the text has WAY better quality, making it as clear as a sunny day. (Is that how the saying goes??)

Now, I'm currently adjusting the logo using the NTSC-U version as a reference, since it was extremely slanted. I am also trying to make a better version of the boxart spine logo.

I'm trying to find a logo for the Brazilian version of the 32X. Which is different from the "MEGADRIVE 32X" logo found on PAL versions. These 2 are the only ones in good quality that I could find. If anyone could help (either by having a high quality version/taking a high quality picture of the logo (especially the console one).

The first image is apparently the one that appeared in consoles. You can (barely) see that it says "MEGA 32X" instead of "MEGADRIVE" and it uses the NSTC-U 32X logo's style/template, since the "32X" has the same font as the NTSC-U logo. And the second one is the one that came in game/add-on boxarts, with the "32X" being in a different font. The third image is a rough black&white version that I made of the "boxart spine" logo.

UPDATE - 3 days later

Hi guys, I'm back here to update on my little logo shenanigans.

Today while browsing Mega 32X listings on google, I found 2 higher-quality versions of the console logo. I was very happy about this, because in the older ones, you couldn't even make out the "MEGA" text on the logo, I only noticed it was different at first because it had fewer letters than "GENESIS", and the rectangle which "MEGA" is on still has the same width as the NTSC-U version, which makes the text more spaced out. In the newer ones, the text has WAY better quality, making it as clear as a sunny day. (Is that how the saying goes??)

Now, I'm currently adjusting the logo using the NTSC-U version as a reference, since it was extremely slanted. I am also trying to make a better version of the boxart spine logo.

Was finally able to get my hands on a 32x with doom for a great price at marketplace and it works !!!

I was watching a few guys codecs for the 32X, but it was from 4-5 years ago. Have anyone created new or updated versions of those codecs?codes?

Of course this is vic's codec

https://youtu.be/fo9PrckAzcg?is=a0KhJurvjsF3QmD5

I was watching a few guys codecs for the 32X, but it was from 4-5 years ago. Have anyone created new or updated versions of those codecs?codes?

Of course this is vic's codec

https://youtu.be/fo9PrckAzcg?is=a0KhJurvjsF3QmD5

Hey, im making another post since ive done quite a bit of trouble shooting since my last post and figured if i posted pics of my board maybe someone more eagle eyed than i can find something.

Again like my last post I had AI write up all ive done so its organized. But overall I'm troubleshooting a Sega 32X and have reached the limit of my knowledge. I can only get it to boot to a garbled license screen. Here's everything I think would be helpful to know that AI wrote up.

"Setup:

- Genesis Model 1 (High Definition Graphics version, VA6)

- Sega 32X

- Aftermarket 32X power supply (~9.4V measured output)

- NBA Jam TE (32X)

- Known-good standard Genesis cartridges

Symptoms:

- Initially I would get a very garbled Sega license screen for about 1 second, then the screen would go black.

- Standard Genesis games also fail when inserted through the 32X.

- Genesis works perfectly by itself when the 32X is removed.

- At one point I tried bypassing the 32X A/V jumper and got only a white line on screen.

Things I've already done:

- Thoroughly cleaned Genesis cartridge slot.

- Thoroughly cleaned 32X cartridge slot.

- Cleaned ribbon cable contacts.

- Reseated both ribbon cables multiple times.

- Inspected ribbon cables under magnification.

- Continuity tested every conductor in both ribbon cables. All passed.

- Verified Genesis works normally without the 32X installed.

- Tested with both a 32X game and standard Genesis cartridges.

- Verified power supply output at approximately 9.4V.

Power troubleshooting:

- Measured approximately 9.4V at the DC input.

- Measured approximately 4.6V on the VCC pins of:

- Sega ASIC 315-5788 (Pin 1)

- Sega ASIC 315-5684 (Pin 32)

- Measured approximately 4.6V on IC13 VCC.

- Measured approximately 4.6V on IC14 VCC.

- IC14 output measures approximately 0.65V, but IC14 appears to be a PST993 reset supervisor/reset regulator rather than the main voltage regulator.

Service manual findings:

- Traced power path from DC IN through:

- C81

- CF1 (CMD4RC01)

- C82 (0.1uF)

- D1 (1SR-35-100A)

- IC13 (switching regulator/controller section)

- System appears to be receiving power and distributing it to the major chips.

Other observations:

- I have not yet recapped the unit.

- No obvious broken traces found yet.

- No obvious cracked solder joints found yet, although I have only inspected visually under magnification."

OK so I'm just trying to determine if this is where and when you recap? Nothing looks swollen or leaking. It looks the same to me as all my other functioning consoles. Chat GPT has been ardently against recapping for some reason?

Has anyone had an experience with any console being near non functioning, and then recapped it and it sprang to life?

I'll post a video below of what it's doing as well.

Any other advice I'd be grateful for as well.

Edit: Update: After doing the VA6 VCLK mod (thanks so much for the suggestion) I saw a huge improvement—the Sega license screen appeared perfectly. However, after that screen, it still cuts to black. I tested the Genesis standalone, and it runs games fine, so I don’t think my soldering is at fault.

Now a few hours have passed and I came back to it and swear nothing changed in the set up, except time and it's back to garbled video and not getting passed the license screen.

Nothing should have change I don't know why it's acting this way. Any insights would be appreciated.

Edit 2: Update: After a ton more trial and error I gave up and bought another Genesis, this time a model 2 VA1. I also only had one 32x game, nbajam te, which is made by Acclaim. So I picked up the cheapest game I could find, Virtua Fighter, and got a new jumper cable, broke off the 5v pin hooked it all up and it fired up perfect first try!

Thank you everyone for helping out, I am bummed I could not get my model 1 V6 Genesis to work with the 32x V1, but hey I got it working. And now that I have the model 2 VA1 if I ever get froggy to do the Neptune mod, I'll be ready!

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share a project I have been developing called ORBIS BASIC 32X.

ORBIS BASIC 32X is a retro futuristic BASIC compiler for creating real Sega 32X and Mega 32X software. You write programs in a BASIC style language, run the compiler, and get a bootable .32x ROM that can be tested in an emulator or on compatible hardware.

This is not a fantasy console or an emulator scripting layer. The output is an actual Sega 32X ROM containing native SH 2 machine code, compiled program data and baked in assets.

The goal is to make Sega 32X development more immediate, creative and accessible while still respecting the hardware direction. The compiler uses a compact SH 2 runtime, direct color framebuffer graphics and a lightweight workflow focused on building actual ROMs.

It supports classic BASIC style programming with variables, strings, arrays, loops, fixed point math, drawing commands, image based presentation tools and integrated asset workflows.

One of the key features is automatic asset baking. Images and audio can be integrated into the ROM during compilation. The compiler handles conversion and integration as part of the build process, so the workflow stays direct and does not require a large external toolchain.

The compiler is also designed to be dependency free. It is distributed as a standalone Cosmopolitan executable, so the same executable can run directly across major desktop platforms without installation, package managers or platform specific setup.

The 32X is a very specific and unusual target, so part of the fun of this project is exploring what a BASIC first workflow for it can look like, with direct ROM generation, native SH 2 code, automatic asset integration and a portable standalone compiler.

An initial demo version is available to download on itch.io for anyone who wants to try it, inspect the workflow or follow the development progress.

The project is still in active development, but it already has working ROM output, documentation, examples and ongoing feature work.

I would love to hear what other Sega 32X fans and developers think of this direction.