Public project preview / controlled beta testing in progress.
Binary packages are currently provided only to selected testers through private links or prepared USB media. There is no public binary download yet.
NeoConnect VirtualBus connects multiple Neo Geo instances across MAME, MiSTer and dedicated ESP adapters. It provides cabinet identity, session roles, transport-independent framing, game-specific MCU profiles, InputSync diagnostics and controlled reconnect behavior.
The latest controlled-test package is 0.9.0-beta.5.1. It remains on the
qualified beta.5 functional contract; the corrected START MISTER text and
the cyclic MAME -> MISTER -> DUALMODE -> MAME selector are UI-only changes,
not beta.6 protocol features. The original beta.5 archive remains immutable;
beta.5.1 has its own manifest and checksums.
The next public candidate, beta.6, adds MiSTer InputSync frame authority and deterministic preflight contracts, but it is not published or release-qualified yet. Its physical WAIT/commit/rejoin/preflight/F3 acceptance gates must pass first.
No download is intentionally attached to this repository yet. The first public GitHub Release will contain one immutable user package, its SHA256 checksum, release notes and the corresponding source/license material required for every redistributed GPL component.
See Beta Scope for the exact supported boundary and Release Process for the publication gates.
The controlled test group is validating the real external-user path: package verification, ESP flashing, cabinet configuration, MAME/MiSTer installation, session startup and useful failure logs. Test packages remain versioned and must not be mixed even during this closed phase.
Open a beta tester interest request and describe the hardware and topology you can test. Requests are public; do not include email addresses, credentials, ROM information or other personal data. Package access is provided only to selected testers through an appropriate private channel.
- MAME to MAME for the documented LKG profiles.
- MAME to MiSTer for documented MCU profiles at original timing.
- Riding Hero and League Bowling reference topologies.
- Thrash Rally M58 protocol and membership path, with a documented initiator timing limit.
- MAME InputSync F1/F5 transport and authoritative F3 diagnostics.
- NodeMCU USB and local WLAN/LAN transports.
- Timeout, peer-loss, reconnect and portable launcher diagnostics.
- MiSTer Original/Fixed16/Fixed24 local clock profiles.
Git tracks public documentation and release metadata. Compiled packages are published only as immutable GitHub Release assets:
VirtualBus-<version>-User_USB_Portable.zip
VirtualBus-<version>-Corresponding_Source.zip
SHA256SUMS.txt
The internal Developer Reference, complete logs, historical LKGs and research snapshots are archived separately and are not public release assets.
- No ROM, BIOS or CHD data is included or provided.
- NodeMCU RS485 is protocol-validated but not release-qualified for continuous real-time InputSync.
- ESP32 HardwareSerial/MAX485 remains a separate hardware qualification block.
- Public relay, lobby, accounts and NAT traversal are outside the current beta.
- Mixed-clock MAME/MiSTer InputSync is not qualified until original-timing same-frame authority passes on hardware.
- Read Beta Scope.
- Read Installation.
- Review the Protocol Overview.
- Keep MAME, MiSTer, frontend and ESP components from one release together.
VirtualBus follows the principles in the Project Charter: local operation, self-hosting, transparent diagnostics, voluntary telemetry and preservation are part of the system contract.
AI accelerated the implementation, but it did not define the project. I designed the system, chose the experiments, interpreted the results and made the architectural decisions. AI effectively gave me a virtual development team, allowing me to implement and test ideas at roughly the speed I could reason about them.