Show HN: Running Game Boy ROMs on the STM32 ARM Cortex Microcontroller

#1

Post by janosch9001 » Tue, Oct 08, 2024, 5:03 AM UTC

Got Tetris running on a 26€ STM32F429 Discovery board emulating the Game Boy CPU and graphics on the ARM Cortex M4. Really fun project to hack together, need to try the original Game Boy Pokemon (red/blue) games next.

Show HN: Running Game Boy ROMs on the STM32 ARM Cortex Microcontroller
github.com

Re: Show HN: Running Game Boy ROMs on the STM32 ARM Cortex Microcontroller

#2

Post by Beretta_Vexee » Tue, Oct 08, 2024, 8:00 AM UTC

A DMCA take down from Nintendo should reach you before your morning coffee. /s https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41762397

Re: Show HN: Running Game Boy ROMs on the STM32 ARM Cortex Microcontroller

#3

Post by dvh » Tue, Oct 08, 2024, 8:35 AM UTC

How does F429 speed compares to F103 on real world loads?

Re: Show HN: Running Game Boy ROMs on the STM32 ARM Cortex Microcontroller

#4

Post by not_a_dane » Tue, Oct 08, 2024, 10:24 AM UTC

Does anyone have insights on how to license ARM chips after a hobby project reaches maturity?

Re: Show HN: Running Game Boy ROMs on the STM32 ARM Cortex Microcontroller

#5

Post by scottapotamas » Tue, Oct 08, 2024, 10:37 AM UTC

not_a_dane wrote: post #4

Does anyone have insights on how to license ARM chips after a hobby project reaches maturity?

You just buy the microcontrollers and put them on your custom PCB.

The devkits aren’t suitable for resale but there’s no additional licence when you buy an ARM micro from pretty much any manufacturer.

Re: Show HN: Running Game Boy ROMs on the STM32 ARM Cortex Microcontroller

#6

Post by jamesmunns » Tue, Oct 08, 2024, 10:38 AM UTC

not_a_dane wrote: post #4

Does anyone have insights on how to license ARM chips after a hobby project reaches maturity?

You don't generally need to license Arm chips unless you are designing your own chips for sale, like STM32 or Raspberry Pi do. This is something very few companies do, relative to those who just build things from existing chips.

If you're just building something with an existing Arm microcontrollers. The vendor (Like STMicro) has already licensed the Arm design and sold it to you.

Re: Show HN: Running Game Boy ROMs on the STM32 ARM Cortex Microcontroller

#7

Post by anthk » Tue, Oct 08, 2024, 11:11 AM UTC

Public domain Tetris ROM to try it:

https://github.com/tbsp/Adjustris

https://github.com/tbsp/Adjustris/releases

Another one, a platform game, GPLv3 licensed:

https://github.com/mholtkamp/carazu

https://github.com/mholtkamp/carazu/releases

You need this to compile both ROMs:

https://github.com/gbdev/rgbds

Re: Show HN: Running Game Boy ROMs on the STM32 ARM Cortex Microcontroller

#8

Post by Tepix » Tue, Oct 08, 2024, 11:24 AM UTC

Does it only run on the STM32F4 or also some other STM32 CPUs? Looking at https://www.st.com/en/microcontrollers-microprocessors/stm32... how many coremarcs do you think are required for emulation?

Re: Show HN: Running Game Boy ROMs on the STM32 ARM Cortex Microcontroller

#9

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Oct 08, 2024, 11:51 AM UTC

Beretta_Vexee wrote: post #2

A DMCA take down from Nintendo should reach you before your morning coffee. /s https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41762397

[deleted]

Re: Show HN: Running Game Boy ROMs on the STM32 ARM Cortex Microcontroller

#10

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Oct 08, 2024, 11:54 AM UTC

[deleted]