FM Towns

FM Towns

FM Towns Model 2F
Developer	Fujitsu
Manufacturer	Fujitsu
Product family	FM Towns
Generation	Fourth Generation
Release date	JP:February 28, 1989
Lifespan	1989–1997
Discontinued	Summer 1997
Units sold	500,000
Media	Compact disc
Operating system	Towns OS,Windows 3.1,Windows 95
Display	320×200 - 720×512resolutions, 256 colors on-screen out of a palette of32 768
Graphics	Fujitsu custom graphics chip
Sound	Ricoh RF5c68 Yamaha YM2612
Power	100 VAC ～
Related	FM Towns Marty

TheFM Towns(Japanese:エフエムタウンズ,Hepburn:Efu Emu Taunzu)is a Japanesepersonal computerbuilt byFujitsufrom February 1989 to the summer of 1997. It started as a proprietary PC variant intended formultimediaapplications andPC games,but later became more compatible with IBM PC compatibles. In 1993, theFM Towns Martywas released, a game console compatible with existing FM Towns games.

The "FM" part of the name means "Fujitsu Micro" like their earlier products, while the "Towns" part is derived from the code name the system was assigned while in development, "Townes". This refers toCharles Townes,one of the winners of the 1964Nobel Prize in Physics,following a custom of Fujitsu at the time to code name PC products afterNobel Prizewinners. The e in "Townes" was dropped when the system went into production to make it clearer that the term was to be pronounced like the word "towns" rather than the potential "tow-nes".

History

Fujitsudecided to release a new home computer after theFM-7was technologically overcome byNEC'sPC-8801.During the life of the FM-7, Fujitsu learnt that software sales drove hardware sales, and in order to acquire usable software quickly, the new computer was to be based on Fujitsu's "FMR50" system architecture. The FMR50 system, released at 1986, was another x86/DOS-based computer similar to NEC's popularPC-9801.The FMR50 computers were sold with moderate success in Japanese offices, particularly in Japanese government offices. There were hundreds of software packages available for the FMR, includingLotus 1-2-3,WordStar,Multiplan,anddBASE III.With this basis of compatibility, the more multimedia-friendly FM Towns was created.

NEC's PC-9801 computers were widespread and dominated in the 1980s, at one point reaching 70% of the 16/32-bit computer market, but the early models had limited graphics (640×400 with 16 of 4096 colors) and sounds (4-operator/3 voice monaural FM sounds + 3 channel SSG sounds). Just asCommodoresaw an opening for theAmigain some global markets against theIBMPC, a computer with improved graphics and sound was considered to overcome the PC-9801 in the home-use field in Japan.

With many multimedia innovations for its time, the FM Towns was that system, though for a number of reasons it never broke far beyond the boundaries of its niche market status.

Eventually the FM Towns lost much of its uniqueness by adding aDOS/V(PC clone plus DOS with native Japanese language support) compatibility mode switch, until Fujitsu finally discontinued making FM Towns specific hardware and software and moved to focus on the IBM PC clones (Fujitsu FMV) that many Japanese manufacturers - who previously were not players in the PC market - were building by the mid to late 1990s. To this day, Fujitsu is known for its laptop PCs globally, and FM Towns (and Marty) users have been relegated to a small community of aficionados.

Overview

Several variants were built; the first system (FM TOWNS model1 and model2) is based on anIntel80386DXprocessor running at a clock speed of 16MHz,with the option of adding an80387FPU,features one or twomegabytesofRAM(with a possible maximum of 6 MB), one or two 3.5 "floppy diskdrives, aPCMCIAmemory card slot and a single-speedCD-ROMdrive. Its package includes agamepad,amouseand amicrophone.

The earlier, more distinctive models featuring a vertical CD-ROM tray on the front of the case (model1, model2, 1F, 2F, 1H, 2H, 10F and 20F) were often referred to as the "Gray" Towns, and were the ones most directly associated with the "FM Towns" brand. Most featured 3 memory expansion slots and used 72-pin non-parity SIMMs with a required timing of 100ns or less and a recommended timing of 60ns.

Hard drives are not standard equipment, and are not required for most uses. The OS is loaded from CD-ROM by default. A SCSI Centronics 50/SCSI-1/Full-Pitch port is provided for connecting external SCSI disk drives, and is the most common way to connect a hard drive to an FM Towns PC. Although internal drives are rare, there is a hidden compartment with a SCSI 50-pin connector where a hard drive may be connected, but the power supply module does not typically provide the required Molex connector to power the drive.

The video output is 15 kHz RGB (though some programs used a 31 kHz mode) using the same DB15 connector and pinouts as the PC-9801.

Operating system

Theoperating systemused isWindows3.0/3.1/95 and a graphical OS called Towns OS, based onMS-DOSand thePhar LapDOS extender(RUN386.EXE). Most games for the system were written inprotected modeAssemblyandCusing the Phar Lap DOS extender. These games usually utilize the Towns OS API (TBIOS) for handling several graphic modes, sprites, sounds, a mouse, gamepads, and CD-audio.

The FM Towns is capable of booting its graphical Towns OS straight from CD in 1989 - two years beforeAmiga CDTVbooted its GUI-basedAmigaOS 1.3from internal CD drive and the CD-bootableSystem 7was released for theMacintoshin 1991, and five years before theEl Toritospecification standardized boot-CDs on IBM PC compatibles in 1994.

To boot the system fromCD-ROM,the FM TOWNS has a "hidden C:"ROMdrive in which a minimumMS-DOSsystem, CD-ROM driver andMSCDEX.EXEare installed. This minimalDOSsystem runs first, and the DOS system reads and executes the Towns OSIPLstored in CD-ROM after that. The Towns OS CD-ROM has an IPL, MS-DOS system (IO.SYS), DOS extender, and TownsAPI(TBIOS).

A minimal DOS system that allows the CD-ROM drive to be accessed is contained in a systemROM;this, coupled with Fujitsu's decision to charge only a minimal license fee for the inclusion of a bare-bones Towns OS on game CD-ROMs, allows game developers to make games bootable directly from CD-ROM without the need for a boot floppy or hard disk.

VariousLinuxandBSDdistributions have also been ported to the FM Towns system, includingDebianandGentoo.

Graphics

The FM Towns features a custom Fujitsu graphics chip, enabling video modes ranging from 320×200 to 720×512 resolutions,with 16 to 32,768 simultaneous colors out of a possible 4096 to 16 million (depending on the video mode); most of these video modes have twomemorypages,and it allows the use of up to 1024spritesof 16×16 pixels each. It also has a built-in fontROMfor the display ofkanjicharacters.

The system has the ability to overlay different video modes; for example, the 320×200 video mode with 32,768 colors can be overlaid with a 640×480 mode using 16 colors, which allows games to combine high-color graphics with high-resolution kanji text.

It uses 640KBofvideo RAM,including 512 KBVRAMand 128 KBsprite RAM.

Spritelayer:

• Resolution:256×240pixels
• Colors:256on screen out of 32,768palette
• Sprite RAM:128KB(8 KB attributes, 120 KB pattern/colour data)
• Maximum sprite count: Up to 1024 on screen
• Sprite size: 16×16 pixels
• Colors per sprite: 16
• Overlay support: Bitmap modes 1-11

Up to two graphical layers can be overlaid, whether it is two bitmap layers, or the sprite layer with a bitmap background layer. The latter is useful foraction games,though the sprite function is not as advanced as that of rival32-bitcomputer, theSharp X68000.When the sprite layer is used, it is rendered to VRAM layer 1 on top, with the bitmap background as VRAM layer 0 below. When two bitmap layers are used, then both are rendered to VRAM layers 0 and 1.

CPU

FM TOWNS II, HR and MX models

The following is a list of models and the CPUs they contain from the factory:

• 80386SX (16 MHz): UX, Marty, Marty II, Car Marty
• 80386SX (20 MHz): UG
• 80386DX (16 MHz): CX
• 80386DX (20 MHz): HG
• 80486SX (20 MHz): HR, UR
• 80486SX (25 MHz): ME
• 80486SX (33 MHz): MA, MF, Fresh, FreshTV, Fresh-T, EA
• 80486DX2 (66 MHz): MX, Fresh-E, Fresh-ES, Fresh-ET, HA
• 486DX4 (100 MHz): Fresh-FS, Fresh-FT
• Pentium (Socket4/60 MHz): HB
• Pentium (Socket5/90 MHz): HC

FMV Towns

• Pentium (Socket5/90 MHz): Fresh GT, Fresh GS
• Pentium (Socket5/120 MHz): Model H

Sound

The FM Towns system is able to play regularaudio CDs,and also supports the use of 8PCMvoices and 6FMchannels, using theRicoh RF5c68andYamaha YM2612sound chips, respectively. The system has ports in the front to accommodatekaraoke,LEDs to indicate volume level, and software to add popular voice-altering effects such as echoes.

Games on the FM Towns regularly useRed Book Audio CDmusic tracks, especially if they are designed specifically for the Fujitsu system. Games ported from the PC-9801, for instance, might have used only PCM/FM music. This was a novelty and innovation far ahead of other PCs of the time made possible by the standard CD-ROM drive found in every FM Towns computer.

Ricoh RF5c68

TheRicoh RF5c68is an eight-channelsound chipdeveloped byRicoh.It is notably used in Fujitsu's FM Towns computer series, along withSega'sSystem 18andSystem 32arcade gamesystem boards.

The RF5c68 supports eight 8-bitPCMchannels, with 19.6kHzor variablesampling rate.Audio bit depthranges from8-bitto10-bit.

See also

• List of FM Towns games
• FM-8
• FM-7
• FM-11
• FM-16β
• FM Towns Marty

External links

• FM Towns entryat Old-Computers
• The world of FM Towns
• UNZ (うんづ) - an FM Towns emulator
• FM Towns/Bochs– an FM Towns emulator based onBochs
• The Collectible Ultimasite referencing theUltima VIfor FM Towns.
• Vector: Freeware Library For FM Towns(Japanese)
• How to create and format an HD image and installing MS-DOS with full CD support in it using the Unz emulator
• FM Towns entryat GameEx