FM Towns Marty
Windows 95B OSR2 | |
CPU | AMD 386SX at 16 MHz |
---|---|
Memory | 2 MB |
Display | 352×232 – 640×480 resolutions, 256 colors on-screen out of a palette of 32 768; TV composite and S-Video output |
Graphics | Fujitsu custom graphics chip |
Sound |
|
Backward compatibility | FM Towns |
The FM Towns Marty
In 1994, a new version of the console called the FM Towns Marty 2 (エフエムタウンズマーティー2, Efu Emu Taunzu Mātī Tsū) was released. It featured a darker gray shell and a lower price (
There is also the FM Towns Car Marty (エフエムタウンズカーマーティー, Efu Emu Taunzu Kā Mātī) for installation in
and was subsequently sold with a video monitor.Technical specifications
- CPU
- MIPS[6])
- RAM
-
- Main RAM: 2 KB)
- VRAM, 128 KB sprite RAM)[7]
- Main RAM: 2
- Graphics
-
- GPU: Fujitsu custom graphics chip
- Display resolution: 256×240, 256×256, 320×240, 352×232, 360×240, 512×480, 640×200, 640×480, 720×480[8]
- Bitmap background planes: 1 (with sprite plane) or 2 (without sprite plane)
- Virtual resolution: 256×512, 512×256, 512×512, 640×819, 1024×512[8]
- Colors on screen: 16, or 256, or 32,768
- Sprite foreground plane: 256×240[8] to 640×480 resolution, 256 colors on screen, out of 32,768 color palette
- Hardware integer zooming: 1/2× vertical, 1/2/3/4/5× horizontal[10]
The Marty had only composite and S-Video output; no other video connectors are possible. As some FM Towns games were VGA-only, the Marty had a 15 kHz down-scan capability for displaying on a household TV screen.
- Sprites
- Up to 1024 sprites, 16×16 pixels sprite size, 16 colors per sprite[10]
- Sound
-
- Yamaha YM2612: 6 channel FM synthesis
- sample rate[11]
- sampling rate
- Data storage
-
- CD-ROM, single-speed (1x)
- Internal 3.5" HD PC98-style). This can be done from the BIOS GUI. The Marty's disk drive does not support 1440 KiB or 720 KiB FAT-formatted 3.5" floppy disks. For a PC to be compatible with FM Towns Marty floppies it must have a disk drive, BIOS and OS that supports "3 Mode". There are also USB floppy drives that support "3 Mode".
- Multi-purpose
- PCMCIAtype 1 slot
The Marty's IC Card slot is compatible with type 1 PCMCIA cards, including battery-backed SRAM cards (accessible from the BIOS menu) that can be mapped to a drive letter and used as a small drive. Fujitsu also officially released a PCMCIA 2400 bit/s modem (FMM-CM301) for the FM Towns Marty. This modem was bundled with the special TCMarty that also came with a printer port. While it is widely believed that the IC Card slot can be used for RAM expansions, this is not correct.
- Controllers
-
- 4-way D-pad, A and B buttons, Select, and Run, as well as an extra button above the two "face" buttons
- 2 standard controller ports
The controller connector is a
Sharp X68000.[12] - Keyboard port
Games
Reception
Despite having excellent hardware from a gameplay perspective, both the FM Towns and the FM Towns Marty were very poor sellers in Japan. They were expensive and the custom hardware meant expandability was not as easy as with
When Fujitsu lowered the price and released the Marty 2 sales started to increase, but the corporate attitude was that it was a lost cause, and so the system was dropped.
Notes
References
- ^ Die, 16-bit, Die! at
ign.com
- ISBN 4-87190-415-6、151頁。
- ^ "Home Page".
- ^ "FM Towns Marty Disassembly". Nfggames.com. 2007-08-12. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2016-06-24.
- ^ a b "International News". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 54. Ziff Davis. January 1994. p. 92.
- ^ Enterprise, I. D. G. (25 March 1991). "Computerworld". IDG Enterprise. Retrieved 24 June 2016 – via Google Books.
- ^ "ACE Magazine Issue 27". archive.org. December 1989. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
- ^ a b c d "OLD-COMPUTERS.COM: The Museum". old-computers.com. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
- ^ "Edge Magazine - GamesRadar+". edge-online.com. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
- ^ a b "MAME | SRC/Mess/Video/Fmtowns.c". Archived from the original on September 7, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
- ^ "RF5C68A PDF Datasheet - Ricoh Corporation - Datasheets360.com". www.datasheets360.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ "controls:capcompowerstick [NFG Games + GameSX]". gamesx.com. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
External links
- tripod.com/~faberp/: General information and pictures
- consoledatabase.com: Console Database entry
- nfggames.com: FM Towns Marty Disassembly
- gamesx.com: FM Towns Controller Connector
- xe-emulator.com: Xe, an emulator collection - domain appears to be squatted
- gamescollection.it: Fm Towns Marty games database