Mapper: Difference between revisions
m (→External links: since we've got our full table here, we may as well use his) |
m (→iNES 1.0 mapper grid: According to nestopia's source, a lot of mappers were Sachen's fault, too.) |
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| [[File:Mfr icon Missing.png]] [[INES Mapper 131|131]] | | [[File:Mfr icon Missing.png]] [[INES Mapper 131|131]] | ||
| [[File:Mfr icon Missing.png]] [[INES Mapper 132|132]] | | [[File:Mfr icon Missing.png]] [[INES Mapper 132|132]] | ||
| [[File:Mfr icon | | [[File:Mfr icon Sachen.png]] [[INES Mapper 133|133]] | ||
| [[File:Mfr icon Missing.png]] [[INES Mapper 134|134]] | | [[File:Mfr icon Missing.png]] [[INES Mapper 134|134]] | ||
| [[File:Mfr icon Missing.png]] [[INES Mapper 135|135]] | | [[File:Mfr icon Missing.png]] [[INES Mapper 135|135]] | ||
| [[File:Mfr icon | | [[File:Mfr icon Sachen.png]] [[INES Mapper 136|136]] | ||
| [[File:Mfr icon | | [[File:Mfr icon Sachen.png]] [[INES Mapper 137|137]] | ||
| [[File:Mfr icon | | [[File:Mfr icon Sachen.png]] [[INES Mapper 138|138]] | ||
| [[File:Mfr icon | | [[File:Mfr icon Sachen.png]] [[INES Mapper 139|139]] | ||
| [[File:Mfr icon Jaleco.png]] [[INES Mapper 140|140]] | | [[File:Mfr icon Jaleco.png]] [[INES Mapper 140|140]] | ||
| [[File:Mfr icon | | [[File:Mfr icon Sachen.png]] [[INES Mapper 141|141]] | ||
| [[File:Mfr icon Missing.png]] [[INES Mapper 142|142]] | | [[File:Mfr icon Missing.png]] [[INES Mapper 142|142]] | ||
| [[File:Mfr icon | | [[File:Mfr icon Sachen.png]] [[INES Mapper 143|143]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[File:Mfr icon AGCI.png]] [[INES Mapper 144|144]] | | [[File:Mfr icon AGCI.png]] [[INES Mapper 144|144]] | ||
| [[File:Mfr icon | | [[File:Mfr icon Sachen.png]] [[INES Mapper 145|145]] | ||
| [[File:Mfr icon Sachen.png]] [[INES Mapper 146|146]] | | [[File:Mfr icon Sachen.png]] [[INES Mapper 146|146]] | ||
| [[File:Mfr icon | | [[File:Mfr icon Sachen.png]] [[INES Mapper 147|147]] | ||
| [[File:Mfr icon | | [[File:Mfr icon Sachen.png]] [[INES Mapper 148|148]] | ||
| [[File:Mfr icon | | [[File:Mfr icon Sachen.png]] [[INES Mapper 149|149]] | ||
| [[File:Mfr icon | | [[File:Mfr icon Sachen.png]] [[INES Mapper 150|150]] | ||
| [[File:Mfr icon Missing.png]] [[INES Mapper 151|151]] | | [[File:Mfr icon Missing.png]] [[INES Mapper 151|151]] | ||
| [[File:Mfr icon Bandai.png]] [[INES Mapper 152|152]] | | [[File:Mfr icon Bandai.png]] [[INES Mapper 152|152]] | ||
| Line 273: | Line 273: | ||
| [[File:Mfr icon Generic.png]] [[INES Mapper 241|241]] | | [[File:Mfr icon Generic.png]] [[INES Mapper 241|241]] | ||
| [[File:Mfr icon Waixing.png]] [[INES Mapper 242|242]] | | [[File:Mfr icon Waixing.png]] [[INES Mapper 242|242]] | ||
| [[File:Mfr icon | | [[File:Mfr icon Sachen.png]] [[INES Mapper 243|243]] | ||
| [[File:Mfr icon Missing.png]] [[INES Mapper 244|244]] | | [[File:Mfr icon Missing.png]] [[INES Mapper 244|244]] | ||
| [[File:Mfr icon Waixing.png]] [[INES Mapper 245|245]] | | [[File:Mfr icon Waixing.png]] [[INES Mapper 245|245]] | ||
Revision as of 18:19, 5 October 2012
A mapper is a piece of hardware soldered to a cartridge's printed circuit board that performs address decoding, bank switching, and possibly other tasks. Some mappers can generate interrupts for timing; some Famicom games' mappers even have extra audio channels.
NES cartridges can include extra hardware which allows the use of large program and graphics ROMs and extra features. This extra hardware is usually referred to as a "mapper", as it is used primarily to map the relatively small CPU and PPU address spaces to a portion of the larger address space of the ROM(s) on the cartridge.
Mappers vary in how they translate addresses. The various CPU memory mapping schemes expand the maximum program size above the standard 32 KiB to larger powers of 2, while PPU memory mapping schemes can add new graphic features.
Most mappers fall into one of two categories: discrete logic, and ASIC based. Some discrete logic mappers are susceptible to bus conflicts. Nintendo uses the term Memory Management Controller (or MMC for short) for its ASIC mappers ("Why Game Paks Never Forget" article in Nintendo Power).
Discrete logic mappers are often referred to by the name of a board that they are commonly used in (e.g. "UNROM"). ASIC mappers are named after the ASIC (e.g. "MMC1" or "FME-7"), except in boards that use an ASIC in an unusual way (such as "TQROM", "TLSROM", or "NES-EVENT"). The emulation community generally refers to mappers by a numbering scheme that originated with the iNES emulator (e.g. "mapper 002").
iNES 1.0 mapper grid
Most icons next to mapper numbers refer to publishers. Nintendo-made boards with numerous publishers get the Nintendo icon; Nintendo-made boards dominated by one publisher get that publisher's icon. Other icons refer to status:
This mapper is "bad": it was used for something other than an actual cartridge. Some are mapper hacks on early copiers such as those made by Front.
"Pirate MMC3" mappers. Many are used for unauthorized demakes of 16-bit fighting games.
Mappers used primarily by illegally copied games, usually multicarts, sometimes single-game mapper hacks.
Mappers for which we have some information but no identified manufacturer.
Mappers that are not yet documented on this wiki. Do not assume undocumented mappers are currently unassigned; consult other sources.
See also
- Nintendo: MMC1, MMC2, MMC3, MMC4, MMC5 with audio, MMC6
- Konami: VRC1, VRC2, VRC3, VRC4, VRC6 with audio, VRC7 with audio, VRC irqs
- Others: Color Dreams, Namco 106 with audio, NINA-001, NINA-03/06, SUBOR, Sunsoft FME-7
- List of discrete logic mappers
- List of iNES mapper numbers
- Comparison of Nintendo mappers
- List of mapper names and corresponding iNES mapper numbers
- Hardware pinout, including mapper pinouts
External links
- Disch's detailed list of over 50 mappers at romhacking.net
- Kevtris's mapper checklist as implemented in his FPGA NES
