System Software Update v1.1.20 Preview

Hi Everyone,

Good news! Polymega System Software Update 1.1.20 will be releasing next week, and we wanted to share a little preview of what's to come. Some of the new features include a new Audio CD Player, more SFC/SNES game support, Advanced Database Filtering Tools, Power Savings Mode, and Recovery Mode, but there's so much more to this update, we highly recommend reading the full notes at the bottom of this post to get all the details!

1. Red Book Audio CD Support

With this update, Polymega can now play Red Book Audio CD's that are inserted into the system. The new Audio Player Interface elegantly allows you to play all of your CD's, including access to cover art, track listings, and more for most Audio CD's (internet connection required).

Additionally, you can also launch the Audio Player from the "Play" menu of any supported game system which features Red Book Audio (currently supporting PCECD/TGCD, SEGA/MEGA CD, and NEO GEO CD). This will present you with the Audio Player screen for the game, as well as a listing of the audio tracks available to play. You can enjoy listening to thousands of CD quality music tracks from your favorite games in this way. If you really love a song, you can even change it to Polymega's background music!

You can also "Insert Audio CD" via the in-game menu to use Audio CD's with games that support generative game content such as Monster Rancher/モンスターファーム (PS1), Vib Ribbon/ビブリボン (PS1), or CD Battle Hikari no Yuushatachi/CDバトル 光の勇者たち (PCECD). You can also add custom soundtracks to games which supported such features on the original systems, such as Ridge Racer (PS1). Using the "Insert Audio CD" icon will prompt you to load an Audio CD, and once inserted, the game will read the Audio CD and proceed forward with generating in-game content. Once finished, the game will ask you to re-insert your game disc, which you can do via the in-game menu, as well (both installed and physical media discs are supported when switching back to the game disc).

2. More SFC/SNES Game Support

Update v1.1.20 improves SFC/SNES to include support for the OBC-1 and SPC7110 enhancement chips, and also adds support for Sufami Turbo games. You can now play games like Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge, Momotarou Dentetsu Happy, Super Power League 4, Tengai Makyou Zero, and more on Polymega! The popular English patches for Tokimeki Memorial and Tengai Makyou Zero are supported as of v1.1.20, as well.

3. Pin a Filter in Collection Views

Polymega continues to improve your experience with improved database search tools. With Update v1.1.20, you can now pin a filter in any grid-based view in Polymega's UI. For example, if you want to see every game released on Super Famicom in Chronological order, you can now do that by selecting "View Database", then highlighting the "System" filter, and pressing the confirm button. This will bring up a list of all available systems that you can select from.

Selecting one of these systems (eg; Super Famicom) will filter all other facets of the Collection Grid to be narrowed by that System only. You can then highlight the "Year" filter and scroll down to see all games released on that system chronologically. If you were to do the same thing in the "Genre" filter (available in any game details page), you could also see all games released within a specific genre, on a specific system, chronologically. This is an evolutionary step for our Collection Management and Database browsing tools which we expect to continue to build upon in the future.

4. Power Save Mode

A new option has been added in the Display Settings menu that will allow you to set an inactivity timer for your Polymega to go into Power Save Mode when left unattended. Once this inactivity timer is reached, the screen will dim and the system will go into power savings mode until a controller is moved to wake it up.

5. Recovery Mode

In the rare case that something happens to your system and you're unable to access the home screen, you can now access Recovery Mode by pressing and holding the CD Eject button on the front of the console while booting the system. Doing so will load up a special screen that will allow you to Factory Reset your Polymega.

There's a lot more to this update than just these few points, and you can find the full patch notes below. We anticipate this update to go live May 2nd (PST).

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New Features:

• Added ability to swap in Audio CD's while playing disc games, allowing games like Monster Rancher/モンスターファーム (PS1) and Vib Ribbon/ビブリボン (PS1) to work as originally designed, generating game content based on Audio CD data. To use this feature, use the "Console > Insert Audio CD" option in the In-Game Menu while the game prompts you to insert an Audio CD. You can also add custom soundtracks to games which supported such features on the original systems, such as Ridge Racer (PS1). 
• Added Audio CD player which identifies your CD, including providing album art, track metadata, and more (Internet Connection Required for album art and metadata).
• Added Audio player for games which use Red Book Audio (PCECD/TGCD, SCD/MCD, NGCD, SS, PS1). Games that do not feature Red Book Audio will not have an Audio Player option in the Play menu.
• Added functionality to override Polymega's background music with a track from an Audio CD or from an installed CD game that features Red Book Audio.
• Added improved XDELTA CD game patching, which fixes several previously not working games. You can now change between Scheme 1 and Scheme 2 patching.
• Added support for Sufami Turbo, SPC7110, and OBC-1 based cartridges on EM02 Super Module.
• Added video option to force Full RGB color range.
• Added Emergency Factory Reset mode. Initiate it by holding down the CD Eject button while booting Polymega. This will restore your system to its factory state, and delete all installed and collected games, so proceed with caution. 
• Added Self-healing data integrity checks to fix issues that may come up if Polymega crashes. In the event one of these issues occurs, you will see a boot screen informing you of the error, and what it is doing to recover. Follow the on-screen prompts.
• Added ability to re-order games inside of a playlist.
• Added Power Saving options. You can set how long Polymega is inactive before blanking or dimming the screen (depending on what action you select). Polymega will go into power save mode until you use the control pad.
• Added an option to disable the default screenshot shortcut (Settings > Controllers).
• Added option to disable the default button swap (Confirm/Cancel, etc...) when in Japan & Asia region (Settings > Controllers).
• Added new warning when user tries to start game with game state that is older than game save data.
• Added ability to pin a value for a specific filter in the grid view for database and collection modes. This allows you to further narrow your database searches by more than one filter option.
• Added a System Information screen which includes details on your system and module firmware version, and more.
• Added ability to use L1/R1 to jump to the beginning and end of Playlists.

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed a rare crash which sometimes occurs when a CD is inserted while trying to play a game that is installed.
• Fixed Arkanoid controls for Famicom/NES.
• Fixed TMNT 2 and further improved game cartridge recognition on EM01 Power Module. 
• Fixed NHL '98, Zero Wing (JP/EU), Zany Golf, Ultracore on EM03 Mega Module.
• Fixed Night Creatures on EM04 Turbo Module.
• Fixed Extended Set Multidisc CD games that have been manually resolved using the database so that they reflect proper disc number.
• Fixed issue where if you cancel background installation, sometimes the CD icon would disappear until you ejected and re-inserted a CD.
• Fixed text position on System Update screen for certain languages.
• Fixed erratic UI behavior when ejecting an element module with a controller plugged in and registered.
• Fixed superfluous confirmation clicking sounds when interacting with the UI.
• Fixed Virtual Keyboard character selection wrap-around.
• Fixed various issues with SNES patching.
• Fixed issue where some discs would be ejected prematurely toward the end of an install. If you have undamaged CD games that wouldn't install previously, please try installing them again.
• Fixed an issue where game titles would not auto-scroll when when creating a title for an extended set game.
• Fixed an issue where some scrolling text would incorrectly wrap to the next line.
• Fixed a database issue which could sometimes result in a crash.
• Fixed issue where button legends in system menu would sometimes show incorrectly after playing a game.
• Fixed rare issue where some game discs would crash Richter.
• Fixed issue when leaving keypad from the top leaves that key selected the next time you go into the keypad.
• Fixed several box art images that were not displayed correctly.
• Fixed issue on details page where description text and any game tile rows underneath could be positioned incorrectly after exiting a game session with Game Database Recommendations disabled.
• Fixed incorrect button legends on some HUD elements when using 2-button controllers.
• Fixed an issue where the home screen could wind up at the incorrect scroll position after removing games and controllers.
• Fixed a rare issue which could cause certain CD games to fail to play, even if they are compatible with Polymega.

 Patch Notes Updated May 3rd, 2022