Jump to content
IGNORED

Atari Flashback X Custom Firmware for USB roms and boxart


Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, Draxxon said:

I use these
Amazon.com: AuviPal 2-in-1 Micro USB to USB Adapter (OTG Cable + Power Cable) - 2 Pack: Electronics

I wonder if your mount_sd and startup files got jacked up???

Capture.PNG

Thanks! AuviPal 2-in-1 Micro USB to USB Adapter (OTG Cable + Power Cable) - 2 Pack appears to be available on amazon.ca here:

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07FY9Z9GD

I will check the mount_sd.ini & startup.sh when I get home and let you know what I find.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, I haven't had much time to talk to tinker with the paddle functionality until today. Oddly my paddles behave the same way in the 2600 version of Warlords as they do in the Mame or 5200 paddle games. That is only the buttons move the player left and right. I also haven't been getting the pop up message about removing the joystick.

Not sure what's going on, as the paddles worked fine before and I tested it with a second pair.

Sent from my Surface Duo using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i noticed the same thing with kaboom. we must have changed something???

Except, I have had the paddles work as intended as well, without making any system changes.

I have no clue what's causing it. the retroplayer? I thought maybe it was just me and

my frankenpaddles.

 

Here are are steam atari vault games. not sure they will be much use to us tho.

FOCAL_Emulator.rar

Edited by Draxxon
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's what I was saying about Kaboom the other day, Sometimes paddles work, sometimes the buttons move the man. So, probably not the retroplayer??? Sometimes taking the paddles out and putting them back in makes it go away. I'm guessing its in the stytem recognizing whats plugged in? Maybe not seeing the wireless joystick message when it happens is a clue, Scoob? I'm at a loss.

Also should probably point out, I noticed this all the way back when I first spliced the OG A2600 and AtGames paddles. It has been there the whole time for me, but since no one else said anything, again, I thought it was just the Frankenpaddles on my end. But when they worked on an actual 4 switch and Jr w/ astroblast, I suspected it wasnt the paddles.

 

I've been trying to figure out what causes it and I can't... :( 

Edited by Draxxon
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's what I was saying about Kaboom the other day, Sometimes paddles work, sometimes the buttons move the man. So, probably not the retroplayer??? Sometimes taking the paddles out and putting them back in makes it go away. I'm guessing its in the stytem recognizing whats plugged in? Maybe not seeing the wireless joystick message when it happens is a clue, Scoob? I'm at a loss.

Also should probably point out, I noticed this all the way back when I first spliced the OG A2600 and AtGames paddles. It has been there the whole time for me, but since no one else said anything, again, I thought it was just the Frankenpaddles on my end. But when they worked on an actual 4 switch and Jr w/ astroblast, I suspected it wasnt the paddles.
 
I've been trying to figure out what causes it and I can't... [emoji20] 
I wonder if whatever is causing it, is also preventing the paddles from being detected in mame.

Sent from my Surface Duo using Tapatalk

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

A few more quick questions - still hacking around with my AFX (that arrived a few hours after my first post - yay!) and an unbelievably contrived OTG setup (I can either have a joystick in port 1 *or* OTG, but not both, currently - I concur with the gentleman a few posts ago, out of 4 OTG adapters I have, only 1 works reliably with AFX!)...

 

- The joystick.  GODS, the joystick.  I thought the Trooper was loose - this thing is like driving a semi on ice!  I've got two with the P1 buttons, and both are so loose it's practically impossible to play (well).  Is there any way to tighten them up?  (Ideally, I'd just use a real OG stick, but you actually _need_ the menu button *sigh*)

 

- Overclocking.  1.2GHz seems to be a bit too much - see Asteroids for a very visible demonstration.  Saw the FB9 is actually clocked at 1,008,000MHz...any chance of getting a test OC update that uses that as the target setting (versus 1,200,000)?  I think it may actually be the sweet spot in smoothness vs. compatibility.  (Alternatively, tell me how to un/repack an IMG file and I'll do it myself :)

 

- Dumping flash contents...I read WAY earlier in this thread that some of the original CFW would look for certain directories on USB and, if not found, would automatically dump the (relevant) contents of flash to USB and then run from there in the future.  I'm aware things like NEXUS have taken that a *LOT* further...but is there any way to force (for example, Deluxe CFW 0.1.9) to dump to USB so I can keep my setup very simple and only very slightly modified from stock?

 

Thanks to EVERYONE who has contributed to this thread and device...I concur with others, my RetroN77 is my go-to device, but there's just _something_ about this tiny little box that makes it special and worth the effort!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have got questions as well.

What version do you have? is there a reset hole on the bottom?

How do you have OTG thru player one? You want to use the micro usb power port.

The joystick is super loose, but it works. You can totally use other controllers because...

menu is select+Down, and rewind is select+Up.

overclock is a bit more than just unpacking and repacking CFW with imgrepacker.

Keep in mind the 1.2 Ghz also helps MAME and FBA games (that I realize youre not interested in running)

yes, to dump the partitions put these files on your drive by themselves and wait a very, very, very very long time.

 

 

mount_sd.ini startup.sh

Edited by Draxxon
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, bionicdave said:

I will check the mount_sd.ini & startup.sh when I get home and let you know what I find.

Copied mount_sd.ini & startup.sh fresh from the Nexus.

Tried a different USB flash drive.

Same lame result in both cases.:sad:

I guess it's off to amazon to get a new OTG and hope for the best.

  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

that sucks. At least they are cheap.

So, as a result of trying to rip the Atari Vault games for the NEXUS pack, I now have Atari Vault Extended (all 150 games) running standalone without Steam. It looks like its a Steam Emulator running it.

 

Atari Vault Extended - 150 Games (for Windows 7 or higher)

Requirements: Processor 2.0Ghz, Memory 2GB RAM, DirectX9.0c or higher, 1GB storage space.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Th9wA_5IQNH4FQYQ0gkmOahpPkyXTQK5/view?usp=sharing

Artwork:
AV_Artwork.rar

Edited by Draxxon
Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, Draxxon said:

I have got questions as well.

What version do you have? is there a reset hole on the bottom?

The late-model Deluxe with the reset hole on the bottom, yes.

27 minutes ago, Draxxon said:

How do you have OTG thru player one? You want to use the micro usb power port.

Sorry, I explained this badly.  It is through micro, but the only working OTG I possess (until tomorrow) is a right-angle adapter that blocks the left joystick port.

27 minutes ago, Draxxon said:

The joystick is super loose, but it works. You can totally use other controllers because...

menu is select+Down, and rewind is select+Up.

Nice!!!  That opens up a metric ton of controllers for me.  Thank you!

27 minutes ago, Draxxon said:

overclock is a bit more than just unpacking and repacking CFW with imgrepacker.

Keep in mind the 1.2 Ghz also helps MAME and FBA games (that I realize youre not interested in running)

True...but I think it still important, because the base games themselves are currently screwed one way or the other.  It'd be nice if the choice were at least available.

 

I've got quite a bit of Linux experience going back 25 years, but not a lot of experience (yet) with Android.  I trust it's not just a repack, but I haven't yet determined the format of firmware.img.  I'm going to do some reading on Android boot partitions tomorrow and try to gain at least enough knowledge to hack something together.

 

By the way, I've seen some interest in messing around with OC on the FB9 as well...I've got one I'm willing to sacrifice if needed.

27 minutes ago, Draxxon said:

yes, to dump the partitions put these files on your drive by themselves and wait a very, very, very very long time.

Got it - thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like you know your stuff. You and Rocketfan will hit it off, I'm sure.

We can OC the AFBX to the speed of the AFB9, but why then overclock the 9 if it already has the optimal speed?

also, one AFB9 has been sacrificed to the brick gods already working on OC. Only advice I can give is that the AFBX

overclock is NOT, repeat NOT, compatible with the AFB9. lmmfao.

But yes, I agree, we should at least test it out. And the option should be available. As far as the base games having priority over

the added arcade games, IDK, doesn't the 1.2 Ghz only negatively affect a handful of a2600 games and positively affect dozens

of arcade games? I want to say Atari Arcade games like Kangaroo only played correctly after the overclock. Its just another flexible

choice like the retroplayers and the scanlines and object flicker in a handful of other games. Pros and Cons. Give and Take. Personal

Preferences, in my humble opinion. Don't get me wrong, if your project is strictly retail a2600 only, I understand why they would be the priority.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For me, whats special about the AFB9/X is it feels like a little computer. It is a modern SBC, like a cheap-ass rasberry pi, for atgames.

Granted you cant do a whole lot with it until after the NEXUS pack came about, but now, I feel like I am working with a tiny

atari computer, getting the same things to work on it that I have all the other minis and PCs over the years. The RetroN77 feels

like a "Stella-Box" to me, and thats great. No more need for an old ass PC, and Im sure the VCS is a sweet atari PC to mess with,

but, who has those or 500 bucks to spend on one? 

 

Also, I like that all these files being added to this afb are so old. Its neat to see all the members here work with vintage atari

computers, and again, not every one has access to one of those. there is only so much a community can do with a community

project like the RetroN77, Add all the a26 games, and update stella, maybe build a UI that doesnt suck... lol. At this point with

the afbs, they are just another little retroarch box, probably the least powerful one. but, I see the potential for everyone to

make there own setup/project and hopefully 30 years from now, people will still be messing with it. :) And, you just never

know because people still want AFB2s and a cartridge port.

 

i really wanted to help make the AFB9 and AFBX as important as the AFB2 was. I didnt want it to end up like an afb 3-7.
I hope when people go out garage sale-ing and Thrift shopping, when they see a 9 or an X it means something like a 2.

Edited by Draxxon
Link to comment
Share on other sites

NEXUS NEWS:

 

Button Swapping MAME Magic was used to get the following Atari Vault arcade games working:

  - Atari Baseball, Atari Basketball, Atari Soccer, Black Widow, Fire Truck, Gravitar, Lunar Lander,

    Major Havoc, Skydiver, Space Duel, Sprint 2, Super Breakout and Tempest.

  - Also, Xevious was added (not on Atari Vault).

 

The MAME2003 Core was added (.zi3 file extension).

  - RocketFan built it from source like he did the a800 and Stella 6.1 cores.

  - It should open up options for a few of the missing Atari Vault arcade games.

  - A working version of the Atari arcade game, Destroyer, was added.

  - It allows access to the MAME config screen (Tap Rewind), and you can actually still use rewind (Hold Rewind).

  - It uses the set of non-merged MAME2003 0.78 ROMs (Archive org).

Atari 2600 ROMs can now use multiple retroplayers (.a269 file extension).

  - The retroplayer for a2600 ROMs is now currently set to retroplayer.x by default for .a26 file extensions (light scanline filter).

  - Use the new .a269 file extension to use the retroplayer.9 on a per game basis (removes the flicker bug in some games,

    heavy scanline filter).

Next side project is to see if the Daphne core can also be built from source.

 

apps.38022.14033862822154025.0f9a6b05-7b52-4b43-9a23-948a1f48cbf4.jpg

Edited by Draxxon
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

How is this for an idea?

 

Maybe RocketFan, Rodney H. and MrFister could colab on a perfect a2600 pack and optimal speed for 

a new CFW. Obviously said pack would have to fit on the system itself. So that way, without an OTG

adapter and flashdrive, you will have a "complete" a2600 library at optimal clock rate.

 

Then, you could still plug in the OTG adapter and flashdrive and run the NEXUS pack, and any other 

pack you wanted on other flashdrives as well.

 

Also, I asked this elsewhere earlier "is there a way to run multiple setups from one flashdrive without

having to go to a Windows PC and juggle folders on the root of the drive???" However, I realized you could

easily just build anyone's setup into the NEXUS with goto's in a choose your own adventure book style.

Just like we did in NEXUSv1 with the Psuedo Factory Restore switch and the stock /rom and /emu folders,

or Fister's NTSC pack as the a2600 base. Depending how intricate their setup was we could be back to 

a menu, in a menu, in a menu, #inception-ass.

Edited by Draxxon
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Rodney Hester said:

- Overclocking.  1.2GHz seems to be a bit too much - see Asteroids for a very visible demonstration.

 

Hi Rodney,

 

Possibly switching to the .x retroplayer will reduce the speed a bit.  See below.  As Draxxon mentioned, it is probably going to be switched back to ,x anyway to get the better looking scan-line filter, with a special case extension available for games like mousetrap which have a display bug related to the .x retroplayer.

 

Edit your /emulator/runcommand script.  This is the wrapper script that launches games,  In the case statement of game extensions, find the a26 part:

"a26")
     /usr/bin/startx /tmp/retroplayer.9 ${dev}/emulator/stella_libretro.so  $gm >/dev/null 2>&1 ;# >${dev}/output_a26.txt
     ;;

Change retroplayer.9 to retroplayer.x:

"a26")
     /usr/bin/startx /tmp/retroplayer.x ${dev}/emulator/stella_libretro.so  $gm >/dev/null 2>&1 ;# >${dev}/output_a26.txt
     ;;

 

If that doesn't correct things then yes a 1008Mhz clock is a possibility.  In fact, we are not necessarily limited to a single clock rate.  Linux has commands that allow controlling it on the fly (when the right option is set - why don't I keep notes on this stuff?), so it could be possible to have both 1200Mhz and 1008Mhz and switch dynamically.  When I tried it before a month or whatever ago, I was playing with clock rates apparently too high for the device (or maybe just drawing to much current?) and all I got was a black screen and trip back to my Windows PC and Android tools for the un-brick.  Things are complicated enough already though - so one thing at a time.  ? 

 

I already passed MrFister a 1200Mhz overclock attempt resources partition (not actual FW) for the AFB9 (non-Gold), and waiting to see if he can also provide the required Resources partition from a Gold.  The overclock is in the ARM Linux "device tree" which is in the resources.img, and this is also something in common with Android devices, BTW. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, rocketfan said:

Possibly switching to the .x retroplayer will reduce the speed a bit.  See below.  As Draxxon mentioned, it is probably going to be switched back to ,x anyway to get the better looking scan-line filter, with a special case extension available for games like mousetrap which have a display bug related to the .x retroplayer.

Unfortunately, no - I'm not on NEXUS, just CFW, so I'm already using the X Retroplayer.

2 hours ago, rocketfan said:

If that doesn't correct things then yes a 1008Mhz clock is a possibility.  In fact, we are not necessarily limited to a single clock rate.  Linux has commands that allow controlling it on the fly (when the right option is set - why don't I keep notes on this stuff?), so it could be possible to have both 1200Mhz and 1008Mhz and switch dynamically.  When I tried it before a month or whatever ago, I was playing with clock rates apparently too high for the device (or maybe just drawing to much current?) and all I got was a black screen and trip back to my Windows PC and Android tools for the un-brick.  Things are complicated enough already though - so one thing at a time.  ? 

The on-the-fly thing is more about reducing power consumption and thermals when not under load...but when playing a game through Retroplayer, you're _definitely_ under load, and it'll clock right up to max no matter what.  Thus, the 1008MHz clock idea, just trying to figure out at what point Asteroids breaks.  I strongly suspect the 1200MHz clock was just too high, and thus the brick on the FB9.  The required inrush current would be soaked up by most any 2A adapter (I'm testing with a 2.5A setup), so it wasn't brownout.

2 hours ago, rocketfan said:

I already passed MrFister a 1200Mhz overclock attempt resources partition (not actual FW) for the AFB9 (non-Gold), and waiting to see if he can also provide the required Resources partition from a Gold.  The overclock is in the ARM Linux "device tree" which is in the resources.img, and this is also something in common with Android devices, BTW. 

Got it.  The 'sacrificial lamb' 9 I can offer up for testing/research is also non-Gold.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Rodney Hester said:

I strongly suspect the 1200MHz clock was just too high, and thus the brick on the FB9.

No, I don't think that was it, I think the place where the OC goes isnt even the same on the 9s.

The CFW never even finished flashing.
Also, Legends Flasgbacks 1 & 2s have been running on OC 1.2Ghz CFW for a couple years now,

I havent heard of any issues. Only thing I can say what I've seen, AFB9s have a high defective

rate, especially when people are flashing FW updates.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Draxxon said:

No, I don't think that was it, I think the place where the OC goes isnt even the same on the 9s.

Agree with Draxxon on this.  The boards are pretty much the same, but they have different "options" and the device trees are pretty radically different and not compatible. For example, the FB9 has an SD card slot that the X does not.  You can't mix and match that resources partition between the devices!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Rodney Hester said:

and it'll clock right up to max no matter what. 

I agree that is essentially why I got the brick effect when trying to go past 1200Mhz, because the limit was probably the highest OPP available.  However the thing to achieve is setting the max or cap at different levels, and this can be done in the Kernel available by writing the correct values at the right time.  Here's a post that hovers in the right general area:

 

https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/120328/how-to-set-the-cpu-freq-in-linux

 

Ultimately, I found this:  There's a cpu frequency governor called "userspace", which you can set, then you can set the max scaling frequency.  However, when experimenting (before I actually unpacked the device tree) I realized after seeing some commands work, that by default the atGames images/device trees only have a single OPP enabled.  So with only one OPP defined the max and the min are the same and there is no point trying to change anything.  The original overclock just traded a new one in, which is what I reproduced via copy and paste from the LFB.  What I still suspect can be done is to have the two you want, then after after boot drop the max to 1008, then only as needed elevate it up to 1200.

 

Here's another link that's somewhat relevant:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/CPU_frequency_scaling

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@rocketfan That's what I meant earlier - the max is the max, I'm not aware of any way in a Linux-like environment to alter the ceiling once the kernel is up and doing its thing.  The dynamic adjustment is entirely about power savings, there's no way to dynamically tell any governor 'clock to exactly this and stay there until I tell you different'.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Where is the mame.ini file for the mame emulation? I was looking to see what is in it related to paddle support, but I only see a mame.ini in rom_cvfb/data/mame2010/ini

In that file is:
paddle_device keyboard


I think it should be set to mouse, but I'm not sure why it's under the colecovision section...?


Sent from my Surface Duo using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I dug into it pretty far at one point, and I found several references that (on some devices) you can just write to the max frequency in the "live" tree (I later found out you MUST be using the "userspace" governor, BTW) then you can do it dynamically - yes, still bears proving, but don't knock it til you try it! ?  

 

Here - check out the part "How to reset Max Frequency"

 

https://askubuntu.com/questions/1057710/change-min-and-max-cpu-frequency

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, Velvis said:

Where is the mame.ini file for the mame emulation?

Hi Velvis, at least for the mame core you currently have mame2000 there is no mame.ini I am aware of.  Keep in mind we are using Libretro core implementations of the emulator - not a full mame like someone would run in Windows.  Probably the retroplayer.ini is analogous to mame.ini in a sense, but as previously mentioned each core just exposes a pretty limited set of parameters that can be set there.  

Edited by rocketfan
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...