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Atari Flashback 8 Gold hack?


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Does anyone know how to add games to console? I read people were able to add several hundred games. I soldered USB connection and PC sees it, I hacked the Atari just like Sega Genesis Flashback. I installed ADB files. I created a Games folder and have the rom and .ini file in the Games folder. When I start up console after i install one rom in Games folder, I get a blank box and 3D tic tac toe disappears, I dont want any games to disappear and to have my installed games work.

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Hi,

I haven't tried this mod on my own so all I can do is trying to help you with what I have read about it (I'm very interested in this topic as well).

It seems that there are two different versions of the Flashback 8 gold (and the Genesis HD as well). One version can be modified in the way you tried: create a "Games" folder with the bin roms and modify the "all-games.ini" Here's a nice guide for it: https://www.instructables.com/id/Adding-Games-to-Atgames-Genesis-Flashback-HD/

The other version uses .obb files for storage of the games. If you can find an "Android" folder on the device, after it was recognized by your PC as a MTP-device, you do have the obb version. AFAIK the other version won't have this folder.

In this case you'll have to edit the .obb to add more games (Games folder on the SD won't work). Here's a great guide how to do this for the AtGames Genesis: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/266499-new-genesis-flashback/?p=3895318

Last but not least you can simply activate 20 more pre-installed games on some devices by removing the "#" signs from the entries in the all-games.ini file. Maybe these are the bonus games of the Flashback 8 Activision version.

Hopefully that helps a bit. It would be great if someone who managed to do the hack could write a guide for it :)

Good luck!

Edited by Merowech
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  • 1 month later...

I'm in the middle of working on my own mod with the Flashback 8 Gold (non-Activision). Installed a USB connection to the board.

 

Just a couple of observations:

a) In my version, there are no disabled games in the all-games.ini; what you see in the ROM folder is what you get

b) all games are stored in the /system/atgames/atari folder. They have the .26 ROM files for each game and an associated PNG image (same name as the ROM file) for the menu

c) I have not been able to successfully get the Atari 2600 Frogger version (don't like the quasi-arcade version that came with it). Funny enough there is Frogger.A26 ROM file in the folder, but the Flashback up seems to be hard-coded to invoke the APK file that resides in the /system/app folder.

d) For a lark, I tried adding the Atari 7800 Ninja Golf ROM. The Flashback doesn't like it and won't run launch it.

e) Was able to install the 2600 Double Dragon ROM (Arcade ROM) and can play it.

 

So based on e) I can add some games. I'm going to clean up my notes and post some step-by-step instructions.

 

 

First Results

Edited by AlwaysOnPlanetPatrol
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Added step-by-step example on how to add a game:

http://atariage.com/forums/blog/687/entry-15080-modding-the-flashback-8-hd-part-two/

 

Things to figure out:

- how to get the label to show up in the menu

- getting the standard Atari 2600 Frogger and Space Invaders working

- trying Pitfall II and Starpath games, or some RAM+ game to see if they work

- seeing how paddle games behave. There's no config setting to specify which controller type a ROM uses

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Most of these issues have been answered previously, but I'll answer them here so you don't have to dig.

 

Also, the best/easiest way to edit the contents of your Flashback HD is by using Android Commander. Android Commander might also solve some of the other issues you were having because this program will let you easily see the contents and folders, and permissions are handled correctly without extra effort.

 

 

b) all games are stored in the /system/atgames/atari folder. They have the .26 ROM files for each game and an associated PNG image (same name as the ROM file) for the menu

 

Yes, but to be clear, the png needs to also have the extension of the ROM in its name.

Example ROM file: AtariRom1.a26

Example PNG file: AtariRom1.a26.png

 

 

c) I have not been able to successfully get the Atari 2600 Frogger version (don't like the quasi-arcade version that came with it). Funny enough there is Frogger.A26 ROM file in the folder, but the Flashback up seems to be hard-coded to invoke the APK file that resides in the /system/app folder.

 

Other Frogger ROMs must have their name changed in some way. I have the Parker Bros. Frogger working on mine, but I had to rename it, (unfortunately I don't remember what I renamed it to and can't look it up right now). Maybe PK Frogger or Frogger (Parker Bros) or something. I wish I remembered. The same applies to Space Invaders if I remember correctly, because the arcade version's name is also hard coded, so any entry with "Space Invaders" will play the arcade version instead of the Atari version.

 

 

d) For a lark, I tried adding the Atari 7800 Ninja Golf ROM. The Flashback doesn't like it and won't run launch it.

 

Correct. The emulator is for 2600 ROMs only, although other emulators can be added to the Flashback and the dashboard can also be replaced if someone cares to do it. (I've not done it to mine, but will probably do that to my Genesis Flashback HD). In fact, there was a guy putting together a dashboard for the Genesis FB HD using RetroShield, but that stalled. There is another guy working on one called Generations, and he has a very recent release.

 

 

- how to get the label to show up in the menu

- getting the standard Atari 2600 Frogger and Space Invaders working

- trying Pitfall II and Starpath games, or some RAM+ game to see if they work

- seeing how paddle games behave. There's no config setting to specify which controller type a ROM uses

 

- Make sure you're naming it like I showed above.

- Make sure you're renaming the game name in the tag. You may have to experiment a little, but the game name is the key.

- Pitfall II and Starpath games do NOT work. However, RAM+ games like Tunnel Runner work great.

- Paddle games work pretty poorly. There is too much delay for them to be enjoyable. Games that don't require as fast reaction time are playable, but a game like Kaboom! really isn't. Sure, you can play it, but there's too much delay to stay alive when it starts speeding up.

 

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- Make sure you're naming it like I showed above.

- Make sure you're renaming the game name in the tag. You may have to experiment a little, but the game name is the key.

- Pitfall II and Starpath games do NOT work. However, RAM+ games like Tunnel Runner work great.

- Paddle games work pretty poorly. There is too much delay for them to be enjoyable. Games that don't require as fast reaction time are playable, but a game like Kaboom! really isn't. Sure, you can play it, but there's too much delay to stay alive when it starts speeding up.

 

 

Thanks KevinMos3 for the response; I just played your DD arcade hack just yesterday.

 

Appreciate the tip on Android Commander, I'll give that a try next time I open my Flashback. I put all the games I wanted in there.

 

Yes, I updated my blog entry in regards the image. It was the colour depth that was messing it up. It has to be 24 or 16 bit; I was playing with a 32 bit file.

 

Looking at the decompiled APK, the Flashback launcher seems to look for the strings "Invaders" and "Frogger". I renamed the ROM/image to "TheGame2". and it the description I used "F.r.o.g.g.e.r." ; made sure that there word "Frogger" was not used in my all-games.ini entry. Didn't try Space Invaders, although I recall "Spice Invaders" didn't work ;)

 

Yes, confirmed on the StarPath (Communist and official Frogger) and Pitfall II games. I played Roc'n'Rope on it; seemed to work just fine.

 

Two other things I noticed:

- The Frostbite colours were off; it appears that the PAL ROM was used. I replaced it with the NTSC version and have had no issues since.

- The speed of Double Dragon is off. Music plays faster and "timing" in the controls is off. I can barely make it past the 2nd screen. Guess the emulator has to be fine-tuned for DD.

 

Anyways, I think I have my Flashback in the state that I want and with the games (220 total) I wanted, so I probably won't open it for a while now.

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Added step-by-step example on how to add a game:

http://atariage.com/forums/blog/687/entry-15080-modding-the-flashback-8-hd-part-two/

 

Things to figure out:

- how to get the label to show up in the menu

- getting the standard Atari 2600 Frogger and Space Invaders working

- trying Pitfall II and Starpath games, or some RAM+ game to see if they work

- seeing how paddle games behave. There's no config setting to specify which controller type a ROM uses

 

Hard wired a USB cable to it, and I wonder if you could help with a couple questions:

 

1) My cable has 4 wires: I assume Green is D- and White is D+, and in which hole does the black GND cable go? ID? YSS?

2) I'm using a Mac. Do you know if I can get these Rockchip Drivers for the Mac anywhere?

 

I tried connecting with ADB and no luck yet. Thanks very much for you tutorial!

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UPDATE: Never needed the driver. Simply had the D+ and D- wires reversed. ADB saw the unit immediately after rewiring. Loading games works perfectly!

 

Thanks again for the tutorial..very easy to follow!

 

I'd recommend the following tool to convert PNG files. Photoshop doesn't seem to want anything to do with 24-bit color depth as far as I can tell. Run any PNG through this and set it to 24 bit and it works great

 

https://online-converting.com/image/convert2png/

Edited by Robotube
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UPDATE: Never needed the driver. Simply had the D+ and D- wires reversed. ADB saw the unit immediately after rewiring. Loading games works perfectly!

 

Thanks again for the tutorial..very easy to follow!

 

I'd recommend the following tool to convert PNG files. Photoshop doesn't seem to want anything to do with 24-bit color depth as far as I can tell. Run any PNG through this and set it to 24 bit and it works great

 

https://online-converting.com/image/convert2png/

 

Glad to hear you got it going. BitMerge6502 had some screenshots from his work: http://atariage.com/forums/gallery/image/25564-usb-connection/

 

And thanks for the online converter.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 4 months later...

Hello, I discovered a way to do this, with no breakout board needed. Simply take a USB cable and cut one end off, not the end that plugs into the PC and expose a bit of the black white and green wires. Heat a Phillips head screwdriver until it's very hot, use it to put a hole through the top at the rear starting from the inside and once it pushes through pull back fast to make all the plastic junk pull in wards where it can't be seen. You can remove it with a blade. Slide the tip you cut through this hole and feed it through to give yourself slack. Solder the white (d-) wire to dw, the green wire (d+) to pw, and black wire (ground) to vss, then reassemble the unit, pull out the extra slack. Once it's closed plug it in and turn it on and connect to PC. It will pop up as a composite device and can be adb connected to. Make sure not to use the red 5v wire as both the PC and Atari have power. When not in use slide the cord gently inside the atari and poke it in at the end and it will sit at an angle like the power cable does. Enjoy. :)

 

If you need more detail and photos I have a thread on xda, I'll create one here once I figure out how. I created the account after seeing this thread and figuring this out so I could share.

https://forum.xda-developers.com/general/off-topic/atari-flashback-8-gold-mod-to-add-roms-t3914699

Edited by Slaminger
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As an addition, I've added Garfield, double dragon, Donald ducks boat race, Tetris, pac man, Ms pac man, gauntlet, donkey Kong, Halloween, Porky's, Mario Bros, raiders of the lost ark, flash Gordon, Popeye,Gremlins, Ghostbusters 2, one wasn't working, it runs but can't move, ghost Manor, princess rescue, star wars - empire strikes back, I'll update this list as I try more. The first q-bert and berserk also work. Rampage didn't :(

Edited by Slaminger
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  • 4 months later...
On 10/5/2018 at 10:21 PM, Robotube said:

UPDATE: Never needed the driver. Simply had the D+ and D- wires reversed. ADB saw the unit immediately after rewiring. Loading games works perfectly!

 

Thanks again for the tutorial..very easy to follow!

 

I'd recommend the following tool to convert PNG files. Photoshop doesn't seem to want anything to do with 24-bit color depth as far as I can tell. Run any PNG through this and set it to 24 bit and it works great

 

https://online-converting.com/image/convert2png/

GIMP is also a good (& free) program to use to convert png images. You can change the bit depth to 24, and I believe to make them friendlier to the Flashback, they also need to have the color profile and any tags removed. Most software will not assign a color profile, but if your grabbing images from Google, then you may want to check using GIMP. "sRGB built-in" is the default color profile. Some photo editing software (like Photoshop) may add their own profile, which the Flashback may, or may not, have trouble with.

If running GIMP 2.8.14, under "Image" menu>  "Mode" = set to RGB. Also, under that same window you can "Assign Color Profile" to check. To remove needless tags: "File">"Properties">"Description" (you can also change this when exporting a file).

Edited by BitMerge6502
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  • 2 years later...

OK so I setup[ the white green and black wires where they should go

 

Flashback popped up on my computer as rk3036 with all the empty files

 

Installed ADB and CMD DOS seems to react when I type in ADB seems to know about the adb platform-tools

 

and then everything goes south at around running ADB Devices - Flashback doesn't arrive making the USB connection more a gloriofied SD Card than a emulator

 

Tried switching the white and green wire and that lead to it being unrecognized and not loading

 

Trying to figure it out here, gone over all the instruction pages. Everything seems just fine about 50% way through until it's time to start loading the games and then it's "What emulator?" despite seeing the Flashback on my drives page with rk3036

 

Any ideas of some shot in the dark moves I can make?

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