Sega Neptune 3D Model

[DK1105]

I am currently working on a 3d render of the Sega Neptune prototype and I figured I should post some of the work in progress shots to get some criticism and see if I am missing anything. This thing is hard to get any good reference images to work off of. By no means is this project done but getting some extras eye on it wouldn't hurt.

I most glaring thing missing is the cuts on the sides. I am waiting to put those on as one of the last things.

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[wiggyx]

Looks like a good start. The area around the cart port looks to be missing some definition (the "valley" formed by the shape of the shell looks a tad shallow). Other than that, nothing stands out as off or not quite right as best I can tell.

[xelement5x]

Very cool! If you get it finished it would be awesome if it could be imported to a 3D printer and printed out for those of us who make Neptune consoles.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

What is the Sega Neptune again? Was that a Prototype Saturn? My memory of the mid 90s Sega stuff is hazy.

[saferkefka]

What is the Sega Neptune again? Was that a Prototype Saturn? My memory of the mid 90s Sega stuff is hazy.

it was a genesis and 32x all in one thingy.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Oh. I never had a 32x, but I thought the thing was a pass through device like the Power Base Converter.

So what exactly is this project all about? Redesigning a 3D printable shell for something that doesn't exist?

[Cornelius]

Pretty sure there was an official prototype (two?), so it 'exists', just not available at all. And the 32x was more than a pass-through, but did slot in like the power base. Lastly, people have made/make functional "Neptune equivalents", combining Genesis and 32x hardware in a single shell.

Cool project! Almost enough to get me interested in the 32x. Almost.

[PreZZ]

Wiggy, print some of those shells and put your magic touch to produce fully functionning neptunes!

[DK1105]

To my knowledge there is only one known sega neptune prototype and it's an empty shell.

The only real point to this project to for me to do some more 3D modeling and depending on how it turns out put it into my portfolio for work. I have been talking to a buddy of mine that does 3D printing but his printer is to small to do something this size and wouldn't exactly be cheap to do.

Depending on interest I might look into getting a few made.

I have a some new updates to share though. The back side is also finished. I'm just working on some final touches and really putting off putting on the side vents.

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[sloan]

By your pictures, you are good with surface modeling. I was going to ask what CAD program you are using. SolidWorks would most likely not give the nice photo renderings you captured in your images, without some other add-on program. So, are you using PTC Wildfire, Catia, UGNX, SolidEdge or something else?

I would also think that since you are going to the trouble, you could at least donate .stl, .stp. .igs, or other file formats to the gaming community at large so that someone could 3D print it if they wished to do so.

[Greg2600]

Looking good.

[DeputyMoniker]

By your pictures, you are good with surface modeling. I was going to ask what CAD program you are using. SolidWorks would most likely not give the nice photo renderings you captured in your images, without some other add-on program. So, are you using PTC Wildfire, Catia, UGNX, SolidEdge or something else?

I would also think that since you are going to the trouble, you could at least donate .stl, .stp. .igs, or other file formats to the gaming community at large so that someone could 3D print it if they wished to do so.

Wouldn't it be easier/better to just work out a deal with the owner of the proto and 3D scan it?

[wiggyx]

Wiggy, print some of those shells and put your magic touch to produce fully functionning neptunes!

Too much monies to do that :

Something that people sometimes aren't aware of is that printing parts is both time consuming and (can be) quite expensive. I just had an NES cart-sized pair of parts prototyped on a high-end 3D printer (mine is pretty base model, and getting precise parts is tough at best), and the material cost alone was $60+. That's with zero markup on the material and no charge for the print time (was printed by a friend). Printing the 9 parts needed for the SNES shell would likely consume upwards of $250-300 in materials alone :(


Wouldn't it be easier/better to just work out a deal with the owner of the proto and 3D scan it?

No. 3D scans don't provide perfect, usable math models. The scan just acts as an "underlay" of sorts, meaning that the modeler has to go in and do a ton of cleanup work to make it viable. The Neptune is a pretty simple design, and the scale can be assessed fairly easily based on constants such as the controller ports (they exist and are easily measured in real life).

[nathanallan]

True, 3D scanning doesn't give you a model that's ready to go. It has a ways to go before that's possible.

Also, yeah, the cost of 3D printing can be prohibitively expensive, but then again when you get a gamer with a 3D printer, it costs much less. I'm a gamer with a 3D printer, and I'm itching to make a Neptune!

So there you go, I'm interested as a printer owner, classic gamer AND Sega lover.

Not sure why the materials cost was so high in the post above by wiggyx, I have found the actual costs of the material to be negligible or at least extremely manageable.

I'm into this, and as a personal project I have been wanting to make console cases to be FUNCTIONAL and not just decorative.

What I have on the table now, is an enclosure to make the brown Intellivoice board fit into, to match the Intellivision II, and I'm almost done with it.

I found this thread, had to register and reply. Anybody can contact me if they want something printed, and I'll give it a good go at making it happen.

nathan.dkassandra4@gmail.com

[wiggyx]

What printer and materials are you using?

I coulda printed the parts on our replicator 2 and it would have cost a lot less, but the part quality would have been significantly reduced as well. Not all 3D printers and printing materials are created equal.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Hey wiggy, did you read the pm I sent you? I didn't hear back from you, so I wasn't sure.

[wiggyx]

I'm in PM hell across like 10 forums. I'll check it sooner than later and get back to ya.

[IrishNinja]

I'd been waiting for a day to actually get a functional Neptune, and this effort puts us one step closer to that. good work OP, keep at it!

[dutchconsolefreak]

The 3D model looks great!! Maybe one day, we all have a Neptune in our gaming room. :)

As for sizing, i believe they used the bottom from a Genesis/Megadrive 2 for the prototype.

http://imageshack.us/a/img600/3070/neptune04.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img51/2271/neptune06.jpg

[xelement5x]

While very similar, the back of the proto Neptune is much different than a stock Genesis 2 actually.

[dutchconsolefreak]

While very similar, the back of the proto Neptune is much different than a stock Genesis 2 actually.

True, the connector panel on the back is much larger, but the bottom itself is exactly the same.
I composed some pictures for easy comparison, you can click on them for more detail.

BACK
http://home.kpn.nl/baart201/sega-genesis-2-neptune-small.jpg (http://home.kpn.nl/baart201/sega-genesis-2-neptune-large.jpg)

BOTTOM (neptune proto on the right)
http://home.kpn.nl/baart201/sega-genesis-2-neptune-bottom-small.jpg (http://home.kpn.nl/baart201/sega-genesis-2-neptune-bottom-large.jpg)

[wiggyx]

The footprint is exactly the same, but that's only so that it may still connect to the Sega CD. The bottom half of the shell itself is an entirely different part and is made up of more than just the very bottom face.

[dutchconsolefreak]

The footprint is exactly the same, but that's only so that it may still connect to the Sega CD. The bottom half of the shell itself is an entirely different part and is made up of more than just the very bottom face.The footprint is about 80% of the bottom half of the shell. When you look at the picture in my first post, you can see that even the edge at the front has the same height and shape, also the controller ports are at the very same position have the same spacing.

The only thing thats different, is the size and shape of the backside connector panel.

Why do you call it a "entirely different part", when it is obviously the same?

[wiggyx]

Because it came from an entirely different tool. The two sorts are not interchangeable. This sort of thing is actually what I do for a living; design parts.

[Ed Oscuro]

@ DK1105: Maybe it's just the brightness or resolution, but the light has an interesting look to it. What 3D renderer did you use (not the modeling program, the actual render plugin, if you used a special one)?

[BlastProcessing402]

Wow, that's a lot smaller than I thought it was. I dunno why but for some reason I always pictured Neptune being closer to the size of a Saturn, seeing it right next to a model 2 Gen really clears that up.

[sloan]

Something that hasn't been addressed in this thread yet is the internal electronics. That proto shell looks awfully low profile to fit the original Genesis mobo plus a 32X board on top along with the necessary cartridge pins. I would think that issue needs investigated before going ahead with a 3D printing plan for the shells.

[xelement5x]

Something that hasn't been addressed in this thread yet is the internal electronics. That proto shell looks awfully low profile to fit the original Genesis mobo plus a 32X board on top along with the necessary cartridge pins. I would think that issue needs investigated before going ahead with a 3D printing plan for the shells.

I agree. The original proto probably assumed there would be a new revision of the hardware with everything combined onto a single PCB instead of what people are doing now. But I think keeping the same style and just adding a bit more height to it would fix the issue for people making their own system.

I think the easiest thing to do from a manufacturing standpoint, would be to keep the bottom shell the same despite the differences from the proto, and just make a new top shell part that would fit onto an existing M2 Genesis bottom. You'd still get the look of a Neptune, but would only need need to have tooling done for that top shell. Bonus points if you didn't need to fab the cart slot flaps and could match them with existing 32x ones.

[IrishNinja]

Something that hasn't been addressed in this thread yet is the internal electronics. That proto shell looks awfully low profile to fit the original Genesis mobo plus a 32X board on top along with the necessary cartridge pins. I would think that issue needs investigated before going ahead with a 3D printing plan for the shells.

hadn't considered that...stupid question but didn't the mobo trim down by the time of the model 3?

[Valet2]

Hey there! I'm that guy who traveled from Russia to Las Vegas and made these hi-res photos of Neptune. You can download ALL stuff regarding the Neptune that I've captured on the expo (the archive is 2 GB): ftp://ftp.valet2.com/neptune_stuff.zip

I'm glad that it's became useful for the fans!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrcEwhQblB4

http://vk.com/club59968663

[kevwiener]

did you ever finish the model if so will you be sharing it with the community at all ?

[rob black]

update?

[Einzelherz]

99% sure he's making a mesh model, not a solid. So there's next to no chance of you guys getting a printed part.

[ThatGamingKid]

Has there been ANY UPDATES to the Neptune's shell?

[Satoshi_Matrix]

I'm surprised nobody has brought this up, but there already is a reimagining of the Neptune shell:

http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/180gmo8bgern1jpg/original.jpg

[wiggyx]

99% sure he's making a mesh model, not a solid. So there's next to no chance of you guys getting a printed part.

It's not difficult to make a solid from a mesh model. Unfortunately you just end up with a block of whatever which needs to be dealt with.

The real problem would come with working out all the standoffs, screw bosses, support walls, etc. That is where the real work would start :/

[Greg2600]

https://www.dexerto.com/tech/unreleased-sega-console-resurrected-by-modder-who-actually-built-it-2406741/

https://www.pcbway.com/project/shareproject/The_Neptune_Project_abf52b41.html

https://pcbwayfile.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/web/23/12/13/0502509536481m.jpg https://pcbwayfile.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/web/23/06/22/0203522165275m.jpg https://pcbwayfile.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/web/23/06/22/0205599027574m.png


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz_8-sqxLjs

Amazingly, a slew of folks' contributions have finally led to a true "Build Your Own Neptune" Project!

[Gametrek]

The biggest problem with SEGA was how to impliment the SEGA CD. We are talking about ROM-chips and not Flash. SEGA did make it possible to combine them into one system, but they literally failed
to consider the fact that Nobody cared at this point in the game and previous titles was unable to work when they solved the problem.

SEGA was beautiful, but Nintendo did it better. Think about it, They were literally converting the Genesis into a Game-Gear for whch the game-gear was the Master-System/Mark III ( Not same ). Nintendo was rocking the Gameboy and the one thing they did wrong was to change the formula ( made the cards smaller ) We could be playing the Gameboy instead of the switch if it was not for that one change.
Even have a full on SNES/Famicom cart converter built inside the switch.

[Greg2600]

https://www.timeextension.com/news/2024/06/segas-cancelled-neptune-console-is-getting-revived-in-fpga-form

You can soon buy a "Sega" Neptune...

[YoshiM]

https://www.timeextension.com/news/2024/06/segas-cancelled-neptune-console-is-getting-revived-in-fpga-form

You can soon buy a "Sega" Neptune...

That looks pretty dang cool. I just hope it won't cost an arm and a tail.

[Tron 2.0]

https://www.timeextension.com/news/2024/06/segas-cancelled-neptune-console-is-getting-revived-in-fpga-form

You can soon buy a "Sega" Neptune...
This has me interested since i missed out on the mega sg and i all ways wanted a genesis fpga clone of some kind.btw neat this will support the 32x as well.