How do i make games run on a Marty console???

[gbapalyer]

hello,

i own a FM Towns Marty console.

how do i make games run which dont boot automatically? for example i own Vain Dream 1 and 2. when i put the disc in the disc drive and the floppy disc in the floppy disc drive and turn the power on, the game does not boot. instead i can go into the marty menue with select and i can hear the games Soundtrack and so on. also the floppy disc drive makes a very loud noise. is that normal or is it broken?

a menue Translation or an english Manual for the marty would be perfect.

can somebody help me?

thanks
gbapalyer

[SuperDeadite]

Games autoboot.  The ones that don't will autoboot TownsOS, then you select the icon.  Most games boot from CD, a few come with special boot floppies.  However if you don't have compatible hardware the games will not boot.  For example a lot of the RPGs require a keyboard, if it's not plugged in, no boot.  Same for games that require a mouse.  Also games that require floppy disks often won't boot if they can't read the floppy drive, or don't find a compatible disk.  Some games require you to format the floppy disk yourself before booting, others just need any disk inserted.

To test your floppy drive, simply go into the system menu and attempt to format a floppy.  And in the end, even if you have everything, the games might not be Marty compatible, as I told you before, the Marty is a piece of shit.  It's alright for some of the older arcade ports, but for RPGs and more advanced games it is extremely limited.

Just about every "Marty compatible" list I've seen on the internet has errors.  Unless the game has the Marty logo on it, it's pure luck if it works or not.

[gbapalyer]

vain dream 1 and 2 have the marty logo on the package and they come with a floppy disc. i dont know if its a boot disc or a save disc...
i dont have any floppy discs to test the System...

[SuperDeadite]

Do you have a keyboard?  Excluding Xak III, all the RPGs I have require one.  And the games will not boot if they don't find one.  Typically games that come with floppy disks load from the floppy.    Most likely your floppy drive belt is bad and needs to be replaced.  But a simple format is the easiest way to test, get some disks, every RPG will need one for saving too anyway...

Also considering that the disks themselves are over 20 years old now, they could be bad as well.  But I'd suspect the floppy drive belt is most likely bad.

[gbapalyer]

vain dream 1 and 2, gunblaze, Dragon Knight 4, shangrlia 1+2, kigen, Dragon half, metal eye 1+2, rance 1-4, branmarker 2, bible master 1+2. do you have any experiences with those games? and could you tell me how to boot each?

also is there a Translation or faq about the marty menue somewhere on the net?
how do i Format FDs and which ones should i buy? i will look today if i can buy some around here...

[SuperDeadite]

I don't currently own any of those on Towns, as I prefer to play most of them on X68000...  But there is no special boot procedure, but disk in drive, put floppy in drive, push reset.  That's all there is to do on a Marty.  HDD install games work differently, but that's not an option on a Marty.

But in the end the only way to save is on a floppy disk.  So you will need some standard 3.5'' 2HD (1.44mbs) disks.  But considering you have two games that don't work and have floppies, you probably have a bad belt.  If you open up the drive, the belt will be broken, melted, or just worn out.

If you post some pics of the games individual requirements, I can help you more.  Going off hand, Dragon Knight IV requires a keyboard for sure.

[SuperDeadite]

Oh, certainly take some good pics of the requirements please, especially where you see the "marty" word.  Quite a few games actually say "This is NOT Marty compatible",  but I'm having troubles finding good enough box pics to read the kanji...

Ok, found a decent box cover pic of Towns Dragon Knight 4.  It flat out says not Marty compatible...
Also Rance 1 and 2 require 2 floppy drives, meaning, not Marty compatible, not sure on the later games...

[gbapalyer]

marty menue:




vain dream 1:






vain dream 2:






which logo is the one for "not compatible"?

also i noticed that the green lamp of the floppy drive does not lit up while starting the console with floppy and cd inserted...? more pics follow tomorrow morning, iam offline now...hope you can help me tomorrow? same time?^^

[SuperDeadite]

Those pic links don't work....

"Marty不可" = Not Marty compatible.  This is what Elf uses, different companies used different terms though, there was no standardized way.

Seems I can click on the links to view.
The green colored floppy logo is disk format.
Vain Dream 1 just says put the cd and floppy in the drives and reset.  Requires Towns pad, and floppy must not be write protected.  Marty = ok.
VD2 is the same as the first game.

Sounds like your floppy drive needs a new belt for sure.

[gbapalyer]

some compatibily lists say metal eye 1 and 2, Dragon Knight 4 are marty compatible.
i bought metal eye 1 and 2 from someone who also said it would run on marty -.-

if the lamp does not lid up, then the floppy drive is broken? how do i replace a belt?
i guess i would reconsider to send the marty back to the seller and let me give back my Money.
i think i should just buy an fm towns pc...but where can i find one with all Equipment and fully working?

[SuperDeadite]

if you take the drive apart, you can change the belt.  There is a yahoo seller that usually sells them.  Note Famicom Disk System belts are a different size and won't work.

For a Towns PC, Yahoo is your best bet.  I would recommend a later model such as a Towns II Fresh for ease of use, as they come equipped with HDDs, a powerful 486 CPU, double-speed CD-ROM, and can auto-upscale the old low-res games to VGA so you can use a modern monitor.

[Opethian]

Did that Uroku sanakobito sell you on the marty?

[Tatsujin]

Yeah, he's a German fellow too, and sure would know well, what runs on the marty and what not.

[gbapalyer]

yes i got metal eye from him...
think i just look for a fm towns pc. how much should i expect to pay and are they often on yahoo?
is it easy to make the games run on the pc without knowing japanese?

[SuperDeadite]

they are on yahoo daily.  Price will depend on model.  The 386 machines are usually quite cheap.  The 486 machines go for a lot more, and the Pentium machines are quite rare.

Most games run just like on a Marty console.  Turn machine on, but cd or floppy in drive, they boot themselves.  Using an HDD is a bit more complicated, but I'm not aware of any JRPGS that require one.   Even the original 1989 Towns PC is a better choice then the Marty.  Built way better too, the PCs all use modern floppy drives that don't have belts.  Only the cheaply made Marty uses the awful belt driven floppy drive.