Hi, I'm new to all this console game developement stuff, but I can't seem to find any websites that have snes game dev related info. I've only found 2 websites that have some articles for download(programmer's heaven and zophar), and 1 really good website that has articles and code examples(snes lobby). But I have yet to find any websites that are like this one, but for snes, especially with a forum. Does anyone know any? Thanks for any info. I wish there was an snesdev.parodius.com :(

Yeah, I've looked around and couldn't find a good snesdev site either.

There was one website, I don't remember the URL but it was called something like "Realtime Simulations and Roleplaying Games". There were some interesting SNES programs/sources on there.

Realtme simulation IS the snes lobby website I was referring to. But there is no forums there and it hasn't been updated in over a year. I sent an email to the webmaster 2 days ago asking him if he's still continuing with the website and I have not gotten any response yet. It's a shame if that website goes down, it a really good resource (cept I was told his music routines don't work on the real snes hardware, just in the emulators). I have everyone of his files downloaded onto my computer incase it does go down.
http://filebox.vt.edu/users/rogrubb3/SNESDev/
that's the website.
Anyway, you ever consider expanding the website to have an snes game and emulator dev section? I wish someone would do a website like this one but for snes. If I had the knowledge I would, but I'm just starting out learning about assembly and snes game developement, (like 4 days ago lol, I'm a super-newbie), I don't even know any html, so I wouldn't be any help. I don't understand why the snes dev websites are so scarce compared to nes info I've seen, is it because snes is harder to program or what? I don't get it.

I've considered it, but the SNES doesn't interest me as much as the NES. And I'm one of those people who wants to do something well, or not at all. I'm sure a few people out there have been watching the SNESdev scene since it's beginning, whether or not they'd want to make a site about it; I dunno.

But, what I will do is put new SNES stuff up that's sent to me, if it's not available on another site. Then I can add links to other sites, like the one you mentioned.

The SNES is harder to program than the NES in some ways, only because it's more complex. The NES has maybe a dozen or so registers (excluding sound) that you need to work with, but the SNES has more than I'd want to count. And it's CPU can be a pain sometimes when you switch between 8-bit and 16-bit modes in subroutines.

I'm doing a bit of SNES and SPC-700 programming myself, if I hadn't gotten that Gamestation from the y2kode compo I probably wouldn't have ever considered trying it. My program will be released once it's close enough to perfection. What I'd really like to see is a good music engine for the SNES, especially a MOD or XM player.

What's Gamestation?

It's one of those Professor/Game Doctor SF7 copiers built-in to an SNES-clone system. It has a CD-ROM, and an interface for floppy drive. It has no cartridge port.

The information is hardly scarce, by my standards (I can find more information today than I ever could back in 1992). There's information publically available that supercedes pretty much everything "outdated."

It's also fairly well-known that after about 1994 or so, people started giving one another SNES development manuals. Sure, it's hundreds of pages to photocopy, hole-punch and mail out, but people were doing it. If you know the right people, you can get this, and it basically has everything you need to know (hell, it's all that even the professional developers had).

The reason why SNES development isn't such a big deal anymore is because that era is over. The SNES development scene is long dead; if you can still find archives of the snesdev and famidev mailing lists, take a look at the dates in each post. Everyone did demos and trainers, and programmers kept doing more and more with the system. Everyone was doing it because they wanted to, and because it was fun -- emulators were not in ANYONE'S mind, because the idea was silly (why emulate when you can use the real thing?). Now with the coming of emulators, the stigma has essentially died with it.

"So if the SNES is newer, then why is everyone still making NES emulators?"

Because for some fucking reason, people think the NES is the MOST RADDEST AWESOMEST SYSTEM EVAR, DOOD! I REMEMBER WHEN I GOT MY NES, I WAS 4 YEARS OLD!!! MAN IT WAS THE SHIT, HEY WANNA SMOKE THE REEFER? MAN THE NES IS SO COOL!! I WANNA HANG OUT IN #NESDEV AND BE AN ELITE COOL DUDE LIKE THESE OTHER ELITE COOL DUDES, DUDE!!!

That's essentially the mentality today, which is why you can find probably over 100 different NES emulators. Everyone thinks the NES is "easy" because it's old, 8-bit, and cheesy. Bzzzzzzzt. Wrong. I consider the NES to be the most technically complex console I personally have ever worked on. Consoles like the Atari 2600 scare the living shit out of me (counting cycles to put pixels on a screen -- ONLY! -- isn't my idea of fun).

The SNES was logical and very easy to deal with; everything NES developers dreamed of was in the SNES for the most part. H/V counters are built-in, DMA is present, there's a seperate CPU for audio (8 digital channels, in stereo), 128KBytes of RAM, 256 colours, 16-bit registers with a changable zero (direct) page, yadda yadda yadda...

I think you'd have an easier time programming for the SNES than you would the NES. Just happens to be that Memblers and I disagree on the matter -- no big deal, everyone has their experiences.

-- jdc

How about a snesdev section in the forum? :D