MegaWiFi, and why you should code for it

It's been a long time since I wrote here about MegaWiFi. To date, there are still no games released using it, so you might think this project is long dead, do you?

Well, if you do, you are wrong! Progress has been slow (my spare time is limited), but lot of things have happened:

• MegaWiFi API has greatly matured (currently it is version 1.3), and I spent a lot of time working on making it easy to use. I have created an implementation of pseudo threads and timers, allowing to use the APIs in both synchronous and asynchronous flavors. It has support for TCP, UDP, SNTP, HTTP/HTTPS, etc.
• I also spent a lot of time working on API documentation. All API functions are pretty well documented, and I have provided properly explained examples for most common use cases.
• There was an initial effort long time ago to add MegaWiFi support to the great Blastem! emulator. Unfortunately this was halted prior completion. But recently I have resumed work on this, and now MegaWiFi support in Blastem! is very usable.
• There is a game finished and ready for release (WorldCup 1985 by Pocket Lucho) with MegaWiFi support! It should be released soon by 1985alternativo. Go to my previous post to reach the repos

 

Megadrive/PC cross play, what a time to be alive!

• There is at least another game with MegaWiFi support in early development, again by Pocket Lucho.
• I added support to use MegaWiFi with the popular SGDK development kit, with detailed instructions and a precompiled toolchain for Windows, ready to use.
• I wrote a Gaming Channel implementation, allowing devs to publish games online, and users downloading them directly to the cart. This shows the platform is rock-solid stable, allowing to flawlessly download and play games.

 

Steam is something from the past!

• And there are many many more features I will not bring here now, to avoid making this post too long.

So, to sum it all, if you like coding for these vintage devices, you should consider starting coding a WiFi enabled Megadrive game NOW! The reasons?:

1. Hardware and Firmware are mature.
2. API is mature, well documented and easy to use.
3. You can code your way or use SGDK for an easy kickstart.
4. There are great development tools readily available, and emulator support, including integrated debugger with breakpoints, variables watch, etc. Yes, Blastem! is great!
5. You should be able to publish the games in physical cartridge format, make them available as digital downloads directly to the Megadrive, or play them via emulator.
6. Everything is Open Source Software and Hardware: the cart and programmer schematics, the firmware for the WiFi module and programmer, the API for Megadrive, the PC tool for programming, the WiFi bootloader...). Go to my previous post to reach the repos.
7. Megadrive is cool, and WiFi on the Megadrive is even cooler!