VRAM
VRAM stand for Video RAM.
The NeoGeo has 68KiB (physically 64KiB + 4KiB) of VRAM organised as 16 bits words, which is used to store sprite attributes and the map for the fix layer. Contrary to other systems, the VRAM here does not contain actual graphics.
It isn't mapped in the 68k's address space. The only way to read and write to it is by using 3 Memory mapped registers as i/o ports. Every address points to a word in VRAM, not a byte.
- VRAM_ADDR ($3C0000) sets the VRAM address for the next read/write operation
- VRAM_RW ($3C0002) is the data read or to write
- VRAM_MOD ($3C0004) is the signed value added to the VRAM address after a write
SNK specifies that the address register should be set directly instead of using auto-incrementation when changing between VRAM zones ($0000~$7FFF and $8000~$FFFF).
Memory map
| Start | End | Description |
| $0000 | $6FFF | SCB1 |
| $7000 | $7FFF | Fix map |
| $8000 | $81FF | SCB2 |
| $8200 | $83FF | SCB3 |
| $8400 | $85FF | SCB4 |
| $8600 | $867F | Sprite list for even scanlines |
| $8680 | $86FF | Sprite list for odd scanlines |
VRAM can be modified at any time, even during active display.
Timing considerations
After a write:
- Another write should be made after at least 12 cycles.
- An address change should be made after at least 16 cycles.
After an address change, reads should be made after at least 16 cycles.
Note that these timings only affect the VRAM accesses, and not the LSPC registers.