Originally posted by lashower@eBay.com



This auction is for a Sega Saturn PSY-Q Development System. 



SN Systems Psy-Q for the Sega Saturn was the fastest PC based cross development system for producing and testing mixed C and/or assembler programs for the Sega Saturn console. Ive personally used a Psy-Q system for developing various titles for the Sega Saturn including Mortal Kombat Trilogy. It is a complete development solution for the Saturn programmer... or these days, Saturn programming hobbyist. It originally cost about $5,000 new.



Auction includes:

High performance Psy-Q SCSI interface card for host PC (16-bit ISA card). Sorry, but you cant use a fancy SCSI controller with this card. PsyBios (the TSR that talks to the adapter cartridge) will to talk to this card only. Because of this, the system requires a PC with at least one free 16-bit ISA slot.
Compact Saturn adapter cartridge, including extensive firmware stored in battery-backed SRAM
Japanese Sega Saturn with Psy-Q modification board. Im not quite sure anymore what the modification board did - it either added a NMI line for the debugger to catch crashes or allowed for additional CD emulation... or both. Im including an original CD of Segas Virtua Fighter (Japanese version). This is needed to boot the Saturn. Technical mumbo-jumbo aside, it works in lieu of a Saturn key disk. Power supply cable and video cable are included. Youll need your own controllers.
A CD of Psy-Q software. I do not have the original installation disks. The CD should contain everything you need to get going - let me know if it doesn't. The SGL and SBL can be easily obtained online. Ill give you the URL.
300+ page manual
All the software you need:

Two RISC SH2 assemblers compatible with standard C compilers including the popular Freeware Gnu-C
Fast 68000 assembler with numerous directives
High Speed Linker and Librarian, with extensive link-time options.
Powerful Source Level Debugger, allowing the programmer to step, trace and set breakpoints directly in the source code
Additional hardware required:

Host 386/486/Pentium PC with hard disk drive, at least 1 Megabyte of memory and 1 free 16-bit ISA slot. Ive run PsyQs (and SNasms, their predecessors) on DOS, Windows 3.1, Windows 95 and Windows 98 boxes. The debugger will most likely not run under Windows 2000 or XP. The assembler(s) and linker will run fine, though.
What makes this better than a "freeware" solution?

The Psy-Q provides a high-speed genuine SCSI parallel link between Host PC and target system, with a data transfer rate of over 1mbyte per second. The system supports up to 7 connected target devices, and cable lengths of over 6 meters.
Host based I/O allows you to use simulate file I/O from your PC. This saves you from having to burn CDs with your data files.
The debugger is simply amazing. It is very easy to switch debugging windows from the Master SH to the Slave SH to the 68000. All with symbolic source level debugging. DBUGSAT also supports 132 column mode and is infinitely configurable (panes, sizes, etc.) The debugging interface is through hardware - if your code crashes, the debugger will catch it. Ive been using SnSystems debuggers since 1992 (Genesis, SegaCD, Sega 32x, Saturn, PSX, N64, PS2 and GameCube) and they simply are unsurpassed.
Code overlays, dynamic linking, etc. Fun stuff!
My setup / usage support is not what it used to be, as I havent used one of these things in 6 years. The VDP2 programming information in my brain has been replaced with PS2 VU information. J



The system appears to work. I powered up the Saturn and plugged the cartridge in. My TV displayed a nice "PSY-Q" screen. I can't verify functionality, as my system does not have any 16-bit ISA slots. However, the card (and adapter cart) has had a happy home in a nice anti-static bag for the past 6 years, so everything should be good.



Note: The sale is final. If you decide that programming the Saturn is a pain (compared to the original Playstation, it was), then keep at it! It's not that bad! J