MiSTer (also known as MiSTer FPGA) is an open-source project that aims to recreate various classic computers, game consoles and arcade machines, using modern FPGA-based hardware.[1] It allows software and video game images to run as they would on original hardware, using peripherals such as mice, keyboards, joysticks and other game controllers.[2]
The MiSTer project was created by Alexey “Sorgelig” Melnikov, and was introduced on GitHub in June 2017. MiSTer originated as a port of the MiST project, a similar project that started as an FPGA recreation of the Amiga and Atari ST computers.[3] When Sorgelig was developing and porting cores for MiST, he often struggled to get a picture on any of his monitors or televisions. The hardware used for MiST only featured analog video output, while all his monitors and TVs used HDMI. This led him to think about ways to get HDMI directly from an FPGA board, which eventually led to the MiSTer project.[4]
Unlike MiST, which used a custom-built FPGA board from Lotharek, Sorgelig decided his open-source project should be based on a mass-produced board – one that anyone could pick up with ease. He figured it would not only make development more straightforward but cheaper, and he eventually settled on Terasic's DE10-Nano which is built around the Intel SoC FPGA.[4]
MiSTer was initially named after the MiST project, whose name stands for "AMiga/ST".[5] MiSTer's name originally stood for "MiST on Terasic board".[6] However, MiSTer is currently only a simple name without anything underneath.[7] The project is licensed under version 3 of the GNU General Public Licence.[8]
The MiSTer project revolves around a general-purpose printed circuit board by Terasic called the DE10-Nano, which incorporates a field-programmable gate array (FPGA).[9] Contributors of the project developed various "cores" designed to run on the DE10-Nano,[10] written in a hardware description language. Each core is designed to configure the FPGA into a specific computer, (handheld) game console, or arcade system board. Unlike a software-based emulator MiSTer's cores replicate systems through hardware emulation. This approach essentially matches the original hardware gate for gate[citation needed].
While the MiSTer platform can be used with just the basic DE10-Nano board, its features can be greatly expanded with the use of additional hardware expansions.[11] Available add-on boards include:
Dozens of game consoles, arcade systems, and microcomputers have supported cores. This includes many of the popular 8-bit and 16-bit systems.[15][16][17]