Atari/Legends Flashback Expansion Builds

[Cthulhu8u]

9 hours ago, rocketfan said:

Yes, agreed - it is time consuming and needs lot of work with text editor and so on.  So far, nothing to automate it in Windows or allow import on the device ever got implemented.  The on-system way would be kind of neat, but really not as convenient as a Windows utility, and getting something like that working (making a long story shorter) is really time consuming due to the debugging on these being all trial and error.  The guy who built 95% of the distribution could really crank through the process, and had suggested a set of tools that allow you to do it in batch. 

 

If you peek in the Instruction_Manual.txt at the root of the Nexus distribution (90% similar to what's going on on the Legends Flashback) you will see this:

====================================

 

*********
* TOOLS *
*********

In the /emulator/tools folder you will find all kinds of programs and help for these devices and the Exit Game Shortcut. Advanced Renamer lets you remove spaces, periods and brackets, change or add extensions, etc. to large numbers of filenames at once. Flexxi Art Resizer does just what it says to large batches of images, you can even convert files to .png format. The all-games.ini maker was lifted from the Legends Flashback. While it should be noted that it won't fill in every section of the all-games.ini entry correctly, it is a huge time saver and ensures that ROM filenames match. There are also drivers, tools and instructions on how to flash the AFBX and AFBX Deluxe 2019 models without the reset hole on the bottom of the console.

====================================

 

Most of that stuff is all also embedded on the Legends Ultimate Flashback builds in /emulator/tools.  So if you were adding lots of games for some reason you could use those tools to help.  Like there is a script you can run in a folder with just the games to build a big chunk of the all-games.ini.

Instruction_Manual.txt 36.86 kB · 0 downloads

Thanks for this. I will look into all in more detail when I have a bit more time. Up until now my image compiling cheat was using Attract Mode's scraper which allows you to download flyers and screen shots. I guess I could do that in conjunction with Flexxi, along with the other tools.

 

Also thank you for the file extensions list a bunch of posts above. I keep running into a weird problem - I will add a game to /game on the SDCard to see which extension will work. A bunch of them ran fine with .zip. But once I made a menu entry in all-games.ini and tested it, the game wouldn't launch. Turns out many .zip files also work with .zia. Once I change the extension to that (or some other listed extension that works) game runs fine from the menu. I wonder why some games run fine as a .zip from /game, but not when I create it as an entry... Of course I check spelling etc and it is fine, I just need to make it a different (compatible) extension.

[rocketfan]

@Cthulhu8u  One thing you might not be aware of - originally these systems supported a very limited set of rom types, and the executable files were hacked to support a slightly different set by overriding some via hex edits.  Then we figured out some additional hacks/tricks that let us use more extensions, but you could still only run the few overridden in the original "slots" out of /game.  So we added the extra .gme extension as a way to "pass through" from /game.  So if you have like mygame.zia, rename it to mygame.zia.gme when you put it in /game.  That allows it to be used from /game and the .gme is stripped off in a script before being passed to the emulator.  The script is /emulator/runcommand.lfb which handles the mappings for all the extensions and such.

[rocketfan]

For the Legends Flashback people - Today I got inspired when I found an SDL2 (what we need) port of the open source Jazz Jackrabbit engine.   So, after some experiments, here is what should be a new working port of that game.

 

jazz_LUFB.zip

 

Unload the contents of the .zip at the root of your SD card - should update your startup.sh and the ports section of your device.  When you go into ports you have Jazz Jackrabbit with the shareware level.

 

Start button selects.

Z button backs out (like escape).

A fires the weapon.

B jumps.

C cycles through weapons.

X pauses.

 

One thing I found - when a zone is completed, the Bonus calculation is very slow.  First time I crashed the game by fiddling controls during that.  Next time I kept hands off and it glitched a little but successfully loaded the next zone.  I made it to the third zone with a lot of tunnels, so it seems working well enough to have some fun.

 

Other than basic game play, I'm not sure what works or won't - there are a fair number of menus, and I believe some functionality may need a keyboard (and so won't work on the device).

[Cthulhu8u]

16 hours ago, rocketfan said:

@Cthulhu8u  One thing you might not be aware of - originally these systems supported a very limited set of rom types, and the executable files were hacked to support a slightly different set by overriding some via hex edits.  Then we figured out some additional hacks/tricks that let us use more extensions, but you could still only run the few overridden in the original "slots" out of /game.  So we added the extra .gme extension as a way to "pass through" from /game.  So if you have like mygame.zia, rename it to mygame.zia.gme when you put it in /game.  That allows it to be used from /game and the .gme is stripped off in a script before being passed to the emulator.  The script is /emulator/runcommand.lfb which handles the mappings for all the extensions and such.

Yes I read about needing .gme extensions somewhere. Either on this thread or the archived "somewhere" original thread with a certain banned user who seemed to really drive a lot of the original work. I've followed the rabbit hole that led me here lol

I have been succesful in running games from the /game folder because I did add .gme, just an odd thing how some work in /game as one extension, but not when added to all-games.ini. But the same game might work as another extension in the same .ini. In any case, I'm usually using the /game folder to try roms and see if they work and with what extension so I can add them to the menu later. It's a bit messy, but it all works and I'm very thankful. It's just a weird observation I'm making but since it usually works as something else anyway, I'm not concerned.

Edited January 23, 2023 by Cthulhu8u

[pimpmaul69]

20 hours ago, Cthulhu8u said:

Yes I read about needing .gme extensions somewhere. Either on this thread or the archived "somewhere" original thread with a certain banned user who seemed to really drive a lot of the original work. I've followed the rabbit hole that led me here lol

I have been succesful in running games from the /game folder because I did add .gme, just an odd thing how some work in /game as one extension, but not when added to all-games.ini. But the same game might work as another extension in the same .ini. In any case, I'm usually using the /game folder to try roms and see if they work and with what extension so I can add them to the menu later. It's a bit messy, but it all works and I'm very thankful. It's just a weird observation I'm making but since it usually works as something else anyway, I'm not concerned.

Its weird, a lot of mame roms work great in games folder and dont work in the arcade folder at all or they are really laggy in the arcade folder. And ive renamed them every possible file extension the arcade folder recognizes and no fixing it. I have found other rom version/region that fixed most of them in arcade folder but no real luck with some of the cps3 roms. 

[rocketfan]

10 hours ago, pimpmaul69 said:

Its weird, a lot of mame roms work great in games folder and dont work in the arcade folder at all or they are really laggy in the arcade folder.

Since you, are both seeing something similar I'm sure it's real.  It's also worth fixing because adding things by experimenting using /game is a lot easier.  I have a theory and it has to do with the "slots" in the retromenu program we use for the hack.  It's a long story with these slots and such, and since we are hex editing an executable it's not an exact science.  I am pretty sure .zim or .zip (or both) end up using a different libretro core when in game with the .gme extension vs. in a rom folder with the normal extension.  That's because .zim and .zip are still called out in slots, but when you put them in /game with a .gme tacked on it guarantees they fall through into the runcommand.lfb script switch statement to pick the emulation core.   Meaning there are two paths for those two extensions.

 

Pretty sure I can figure out what's happening with things or just brute force a fix when I have a little time to experiment.  When all the original arcade games were added (they were all one button games, btw) it was on an Atari flashback, and the runcommand is much simpler there, with fewer slots - probably the problem does not exist on those.

Edited January 25, 2023 by rocketfan

[pimpmaul69]

On 1/24/2023 at 10:07 PM, rocketfan said:

Since you, are both seeing something similar I'm sure it's real.  It's also worth fixing because adding things by experimenting using /game is a lot easier.  I have a theory and it has to do with the "slots" in the retromenu program we use for the hack.  It's a long story with these slots and such, and since we are hex editing an executable it's not an exact science.  I am pretty sure .zim or .zip (or both) end up using a different libretro core when in game with the .gme extension vs. in a rom folder with the normal extension.  That's because .zim and .zip are still called out in slots, but when you put them in /game with a .gme tacked on it guarantees they fall through into the runcommand.lfb script switch statement to pick the emulation core.   Meaning there are two paths for those two extensions.

 

Pretty sure I can figure out what's happening with things or just brute force a fix when I have a little time to experiment.  When all the original arcade games were added (they were all one button games, btw) it was on an Atari flashback, and the runcommand is much simpler there, with fewer slots - probably the problem does not exist on those.

Im not even naming them .gme. Im naming them .zip.zim .zia etc in the games folder and they work great in the games folder but no matter what file extension i use in the arcade folder i dont get the same compatibility in a bunch of games.

[Cthulhu8u]

On 1/27/2023 at 12:53 AM, pimpmaul69 said:

Im not even naming them .gme. Im naming them .zip.zim .zia etc in the games folder and they work great in the games folder but no matter what file extension i use in the arcade folder i dont get the same compatibility in a bunch of games.

That's weird, in the few games that I've dumped in the /game folder without the .gme extension they've never worked. Maybe the games you tried are already on the system?

As far as compatibility, the few I tested that worked in /game also worked in all-games.ini, except for a few cases where some .zip files had to be .zia instead to work in the arcade menu. But I don't notice a performance difference between the two. For other types of extensions yes, I have seen performance differences since it is running off a different core. I haven't really noticed a difference when I add them to the Arcade menu though. When I get a chance I'll pay more attention, but do you have an example of a ROM that does this? Then it would be easier to test.

[BIGHMW]

Question about Nexus 1.5.1 slim:

 

Will it allow me to play ARM-based games like what Champ games has out??? The AFB9 actually gets more playtime than either my 5200 or ColecoVision do and I find the AFB9 to be the best ever 2600 console because of all the controls being on the player 1 joystick and the fact I don't have to get up off the sofa in order to navigate from one game to another. I'd love to able to play ARM-based games on her but have been frustrated with the inferior Stella 3.9 it has, I'd love to be able to upgrade the firmware to the latest build so I can play games like Galagon, Gorf Arcade, Wizard Of Wor Arcade, Qyx and the new rubyQ port.

[rocketfan]

1 hour ago, BIGHMW said:

Will it allow me to play ARM-based games like what Champ games has out???

Yes, with an asterisk.  You can set the games with ".26a" extensions to use the newer Stella.  Galagon and Wizard Of War Arcade are in the pack already, and so do play (not sure I ever played that Wizard of War myself though).  I just tried RubyQ demo version (on my Flashback X), and it also plays.  The asterisk is because the newer Stella runs slow on the device.  So, 99% of games on the device run with "Stella 2014".  Galagon is not playing at full speed, but plays OK.  On RubyQ the game-play seemed fine to me - the demo ROM has no voice effects.  The intro is a little slower than I would guess it should be, which can be heard in the "have you played Atari today" jingle.  The PAL version seemed a bit better than NTSC to me.  Again, the game itself was very playable.  Great version of Q-Bert, really!

 

The retron77 has a better optimized version of the newer Stella, BTW.

Edited January 30, 2023 by rocketfan

[rocketfan]

On 1/27/2023 at 12:53 AM, pimpmaul69 said:

they work great in the games folder but no matter what file extension i use in the arcade folder i dont get the same compatibility in a bunch of games.

@pimpmaul69 Sounds like you are seeing something a bit different.  Still, I am attaching a new retromenu file you can drop in /emulator if you want - should make things compatible.  I do think you should tack on the .gme extension to make sure the games are run the same in both places though.

 

As @Cthulhu8u mentioned - an example game would help understand what's up.

 

Also, do you have the 2019 100 game unit, or the 2018 50 game unit?  Long story short under some circumstances it might make a difference - I generally am using a 2018 unit. 

 

 

retromenu.run.lfb

Edited January 30, 2023 by rocketfan

[rocketfan]

Random, but I have been playing a bit of Megadrive Flicky lately and really liking it.  Then I realized it's one button - yet the Megadrive and Arcade versions are not in the Nexus pack.  There is an MSX port in there, but it's not as good as the others - I like the Megadrive version better than the arcade version.  That's a fun 80's arcade style game - and a major oversight! 

 

https://segaretro.org/images/2/23/Flicky_MD_US_manual.pdf

[magnusfalkirk]

Rocketfan, is it possible to overclock the AFB 9? The reason I ask is that the Nexus build that I got with it when I bought it on eBay has Atari Jaguar games on it. The problem is it's not overclocked and those games don't want to run.

[rocketfan]

1 hour ago, magnusfalkirk said:

Rocketfan, is it possible to overclock the AFB 9?

Hello, yes - it is possible to apply an overclock to the AFB9 standard - the one with the wired controllers.  Note there is not an overclock for the Gold FB9 with wireless controllers.  You can find the update file in the /tools/Firmware_Backup/AFB9 folder of the recent builds.

 

Sadly, I have to report that Jaguar just doesn't work on these, and won't be playable - overclock or not.  It was only temporarily included more like a placeholder.  I have found that the Libretro Jaguar core just doesn't work that well, even on much higher-end hardware than we have in these.

 

The big news in Jaguar emulation has been BigPEmu, which allows good Jaguar emulation in Windows.  It has good compatibility and I have read is very efficient.  I also read someplace that the author was planning a Linux port, at which point there is a slim chance a standalone could be done for these devices.  Again, not sure if the performance of the hardware will be up to the task, but starting from a good emulator would be a much better place.

 

https://www.richwhitehouse.com/jaguar/index.php

[rocketfan]

Not quite as far off topic as my post about Flicky - today coming back from a road trip I stopped in an Ollie's Outlet store.  They had several copies of "Atari Flashback the Essential Companion" paperback priced at $3.99 stuck in the reference section.

 

That's a pretty good book, with nice Atari console background information, great Atari art throughout, and really in-depth information on a lot of 2600 games and the differences between the optional modes.

[rocketfan]

If you have an Atari Flashback 50th Anniversary Gold, you can run the Nexus build against it after applying the custom firmware posted here:

 

 

I have not tested a lot, but was able to play a couple of arcade games, an Atari 8-bit game (Shamus) and a paddle game (Super Breakout) from the Nexus build.

 

[rocketfan]

Looking just now I see the Gold units are not available already, which is a bummer.  I do see this on the atGames store though.  They infamously NEVER really get these in stock, but if they do at some point, then I would consider $70 for the Gold units a good price.

 

[magnusfalkirk]

14 hours ago, rocketfan said:

Hello, yes - it is possible to apply an overclock to the AFB9 standard - the one with the wired controllers.  Note there is not an overclock for the Gold FB9 with wireless controllers.  You can find the update file in the /tools/Firmware_Backup/AFB9 folder of the recent builds.

 

Sadly, I have to report that Jaguar just doesn't work on these, and won't be playable - overclock or not.  It was only temporarily included more like a placeholder.  I have found that the Libretro Jaguar core just doesn't work that well, even on much higher-end hardware than we have in these.

 

The big news in Jaguar emulation has been BigPEmu, which allows good Jaguar emulation in Windows.  It has good compatibility and I have read is very efficient.  I also read someplace that the author was planning a Linux port, at which point there is a slim chance a standalone could be done for these devices.  Again, not sure if the performance of the hardware will be up to the task, but starting from a good emulator would be a much better place.

 

https://www.richwhitehouse.com/jaguar/index.php

Thanks for the info. I'll remove the Jaguar file from the Nexus build I have. I've never really interested in playing Jaguar games anyway.

[hpo]

Hi guys, i've bought a Legends Flashback 2022, version Fb8660B with firmware 1.0.2.. I've tried to update the firmware with "LFB2_CFW_1.008Ghz", the custom firmware for the 2019 (100 Games) model. Unfortunately, it seems that i brick my device 🙄. 

So my question is: Did i something wrong, or how can i update the 2022 version to use it with the Expansion Build for Legends Flashback 1 (2018) and 2 (2019) models ? I would be very pleased if someone could help me.

 

Many thanks in advance and all the best, 

 

hpo

[rocketfan]

On 2/12/2023 at 8:41 AM, hpo said:

Unfortunately, it seems that i brick my device

Oh man, sorry to hear it.  So, my 100 game (aka 2019) device is a FB8660S - not sure if S stands for "Sam's" but it is in fact the version that came with 110 games with "Sam's Club" on the box.  That one took the custom firmware file you mentioned just fine. 

 

If your device is bricked - you mean you get nothing - no video if you put in an SD card with an arcade_update.img on it?  

 

First thing I would double check is that nothing else went wrong, like try different power adapter, just in case - yeah I know that's not likely.

 

If you can still do an update from the SD card, I suggest just try to put the stock firmware on it, they can be found here:

 

https://ia902501.us.archive.org/view_archive.php?archive=/3/items/firmware_backup/firmware_backup.rar

 

If it won't show video at all, the only thing I can think of is to try the "android tool" from Windows and see if you can get the device to flash one of the original firmware files.  If you plug in a known good micro-usb which allows data transfer (Chinese charging cables do not always) then you probably have to open the device and press and HOLD the reset button inside while you press the power button, then proceed more or less like the flash described by Bill L for the Atari flashback here:

 

https://armchairarcade.com/perspectives/2019/10/21/atari-flashback-x-2019-upgrade-to-support-external-usb-drives/

 

 

 

[magnusfalkirk]

On 1/20/2023 at 10:24 PM, rocketfan said:

Surprising to me, but the Legends Flashback "1" - 2018 version is being sold "new" on Amazon now in 2023. 

 

https://www.amazon.com/At-Games-Legends-Flashback-Boom-electronic/dp/B07FK2GQFY

 

It's a third party seller but "ships from Amazon" so eligible for free shipping and returns.

 

Of course those can generally be picked up used for a pretty good bargain if you keep your eyes open.

@rocketfan checked the link you posted about Amazon selling the 2018 version of the LFB as "new". Scrolled down the page a little way and saw a "bundle" that they were offering, the LFB, a high-speed HDMI cable and the Atari Flashback 9, which was also listed as "new". What caught my eye was the price of the FB9, $208.00!

Edited February 20, 2023 by magnusfalkirk

[rocketfan]

On 2/20/2023 at 1:52 PM, magnusfalkirk said:

What caught my eye was the price of the FB9, $208.00!

Hah, yes, Amazon scalpers are worse than e-bay scalpers!  I see an FB8 gold listed on Amazon for $399!  Don't buy at those prices! Watch shopgoodwill.com patiently instead.  There are still decent deals to be had on flashbacks there, though the shipping and handling often ruins what could be a good deal there.  A while back I bought a couple of LFB's there around $20 each after shipping and handling. FB8 gold there in-box right now - bidding is currently at $10. 

 

I still see the standard edition Atari Flashback 50th Anniversary (no paddles) listed as $70 on Amazon as of today.  That's not too bad!

 

https://www.amazon.com/Flashback-Anniversary-Controllers-Not-Machine-Specific/dp/B0BN9SX5VG

 

 

[rocketfan]

Contrary to my earlier post, it does appear that atGames' online store has the Gold unit available listed at $70.  It's also back on Amazon for a bit more.  Not sure what atGames charges for  S&H, so maybe it's a wash?

 

https://www.atgames.us/products/atari-flashback-gold-50th-anniversary-edition

Edited March 13, 2023 by rocketfan

[rocketfan]

Hi there, haven't been on in a LONG time, but looks like activity has died down in any case.  I'm posting an overclock UNDO for the AFBX as someone has recently asked for it via PM.

 

The overclock works when running Nexus (because Nexus tweaks the clock rate back to original for VCS games run via Stella 2014) but will break a few games if you run stock with no USB stick installed.

 

This file should ONLY be applied to an AFBX to undo the previous overclock.  Follow the typical instructions to apply a FW update.

 

 

undo_overclock_AFBX.img

[rocketfan]

Also, in other news - here is a working Watara Supervision core (Potator) for these devices.  

 

It will allow you to play games like these:

 

 

Yes, they are very simplistic GameBoy-like games, but I certainly like them, and are in the spirit of the 8-bit games that play very well on these devices.  There are quite a few simple shmups, and there even seem to be quite a few games that use only a single action button.

 

You would need to put the core in /emulator, and add a section to emulator/runcommand (or runcommand.lfb) like this:

   "sv")
 /usr/bin/startx /tmp/retroplayer.l ${dev}/emulator/potator_libretro.so  $gm >/dev/null 2>&1 ;# >${dev}/output_sv.txt
     ;;

 

You need to use input mapping for the Atari flashbacks (second action is select) with Nexus like this.

[KeyMappingUser]
GalacticCrusader.sv=0,1,9,8,10,11
GalaxyFighter.sv=0,1,9,8,10,11

 

 

In some future version, I'll add a section.  Unless some kindred spirit puts one together before me.  🙂

 

 

potator_libretro.so