Brad_from_the_80s Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 For anybody interested, I have been working on a custom firmware for the GSP, similar to what I did for recent Atari Flashback models. At this point I have done a successful end-to-end test with a custom firmware that dumps internal roms and the menu database to sd card, extracts db tables to an ini file, allows users to edit the ini and add roms/box art, and will refresh the game menu database with the contents of the ini file based on a flag setting. I may add an option to dump the retroarch binaries to sd. The game launcher script will now be on the SD card, which will enable people to customize it however they want. Longer term the entire UI could be re-written or replaced, but this customization just deals with it as-is. It's a combination of small scripts, config files, small firmware image changes and a bit of C++ coding. At this point I need to create a cleaned up custom firmware image, test and tweak a little more and write out some instructions. The process of customizing the UI will be similar to doing it via ini file on the Flashbacks, with just a tad more complexity. There are also still a couple unknown fields in the database that will take some people experimenting with them. The db table design is simple if a bit sloppy, and I've figured out enough to get it working. Anyway, when it's ready I will post the firmware and information in its own topic in one of these forums. 4 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big_guitar Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 2 minutes ago, Brad_from_the_80s said: For anybody interested, I have been working on a custom firmware for the GSP, similar to what I did for recent Atari Flashback models. At this point I have done a successful end-to-end test with a custom firmware that dumps internal roms and the menu database to sd card, extracts db tables to an ini file, allows users to edit the ini and add roms/box art, and will refresh the game menu database with the contents of the ini file based on a flag setting. I may add an option to dump the retroarch binaries to sd. The game launcher script will now be on the SD card, which will enable people to customize it however they want. Longer term the entire UI could be re-written or replaced, but this customization just deals with it as-is. It's a combination of small scripts, config files, small firmware image changes and a bit of C++ coding. At this point I need to create a cleaned up custom firmware image, test and tweak a little more and write out some instructions. The process of customizing the UI will be similar to doing it via ini file on the Flashbacks, with just a tad more complexity. There are also still a couple unknown fields in the database that will take some people experimenting with them. The db table design is simple if a bit sloppy, and I've figured out enough to get it working. Anyway, when it's ready I will post the firmware and information in its own topic in one of these forums. Sounds great, thank you for your efforts! Do you have any ideas towards a way to install a different flavor of retroarch that doesn't disable the keyboard for example? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad_from_the_80s Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 16 minutes ago, big_guitar said: Sounds great, thank you for your efforts! Do you have any ideas towards a way to install a different flavor of retroarch that doesn't disable the keyboard for example? With the launcher script on sd and ability to move/run retroarch from there, in theory you could use any compatible retroarch build you want. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r_chase Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 (edited) 2 hours ago, Brad_from_the_80s said: For anybody interested, I have been working on a custom firmware for the GSP, similar to what I did for recent Atari Flashback models. At this point I have done a successful end-to-end test with a custom firmware that dumps internal roms and the menu database to sd card, extracts db tables to an ini file, allows users to edit the ini and add roms/box art, and will refresh the game menu database with the contents of the ini file based on a flag setting. I may add an option to dump the retroarch binaries to sd. The game launcher script will now be on the SD card, which will enable people to customize it however they want. Longer term the entire UI could be re-written or replaced, but this customization just deals with it as-is. It's a combination of small scripts, config files, small firmware image changes and a bit of C++ coding. At this point I need to create a cleaned up custom firmware image, test and tweak a little more and write out some instructions. The process of customizing the UI will be similar to doing it via ini file on the Flashbacks, with just a tad more complexity. There are also still a couple unknown fields in the database that will take some people experimenting with them. The db table design is simple if a bit sloppy, and I've figured out enough to get it working. Anyway, when it's ready I will post the firmware and information in its own topic in one of these forums. Just a quick question: should I be able to install the custom firmware through an SD card or do I have to do it using what I've dubbed so far the "MyArcade" way? Because I use a Linux computer and I wish there was a way to install the firmware without having to plug it into a Windows computer. Edited January 29 by r_chase Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clyde Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 2 hours ago, Brad_from_the_80s said: For anybody interested, I have been working on a custom firmware for the GSP Thanks so much for your work on this! Looking forward to being able to find games without guessing what filename.zip is in the Arcade folder! One question: will it be possible to revert back to OEM firmware? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad_from_the_80s Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 12 minutes ago, r_chase said: Just a quick question: should I be able to install the custom firmware through an SD card or do I have to do it using what I've dubbed so far the "MyArcade" way? Because I use a Linux computer and I wish there was a way to install the firmware without having to plug it into a Windows computer. There should be options but I don't have definite details right now. I've heard the intent was to enable SDcard-based flashing, although I've not really checked into that. There are linux tools available, command-line tools and a bit fiddly to use, but technically it has to be possible via that route. I've not really done it with this unit. My workstation here where I've done all of this is Linux, but then I have a big Windows machine right next to it where I've just been running the firmware flashes the "supported" way. Maybe look into rkflashtool, rkflashkit or upgrade_tool, but you can also potentially brick a device with these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad_from_the_80s Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 1 minute ago, clyde said: Thanks so much for your work on this! Looking forward to being able to find games without guessing what filename.zip is in the Arcade folder! One question: will it be possible to revert back to OEM firmware? You can always flash back to oem. You can also just leave the SD card out or remove the config files the CFW looks for and it will just use the internal roms/menu entries. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big_guitar Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 [C64-VICE]: Seems there was just some corruption in the PRG I tried to load, so that's shouldn't be an issue. As I believe default settings will be set for joystick 2, some games like Choplifter will need an options file to set vice_joyport = "1". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samwars95 Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 (edited) Do you think with ur custom firmware we will be able to updates the emulators for greater compatibility ? Edited January 30 by samwars95 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad_from_the_80s Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 3 hours ago, samwars95 said: Do you think with ur custom firmware we will be able to updates the emulators for greater compatibility ? Although I haven't gotten around to it, I think this firmware will make experimenting with that easier for people. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad_from_the_80s Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Looking pretty solid now. These all run from the SD card. Here you can see games that were automatically imported from my ini file instead of manually editing the menu database, and shown in the correct alphabetical positions. And here you can see where you can get a little creative with the game details screen title graphic, as well as validating this works for other types of games. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boots01 Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 (edited) 9 hours ago, Brad_from_the_80s said: Looking pretty solid now. These all run from the SD card. Here you can see games that were automatically imported from my ini file instead of manually editing the menu database, and shown in the correct alphabetical positions. And here you can see where you can get a little creative with the game details screen title graphic, as well as validating this works for other types of games. ============================================================================================== >> from Boots01 Maybe a screenshot of 5200 games boxart that it could look like now, that would be greatly anticipated. The main ABOUT section will show - Firmware 1.31 (by Brad_from_the_80s) ??? Edited January 30 by Boots01 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1980gamer Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Any chance this device could work? Atari 5200 Controller to USB Adapter - 2 Joystick Ports with LCD Screen | eBay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boots01 Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 (edited) 1 hour ago, Boots01 said: ** MANUALLY ALTERED SAMPLE IMAGE (text game name not altered yet (quickie)) maybe looking like this ??? Edited January 30 by Boots01 updated image info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad_from_the_80s Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 4 hours ago, Boots01 said: So the way this will work is all the box art will move to the SD card and you can change or replace them however you want. Right now the version is just 1.30c, for "custom" 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big_guitar Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 [3DO-Opera] I was able to get 3DO to run on GSP using a newer core build, but roms are definitely too slow by default. However, there are some core CPU overclock options I will try and other tweaks to see if anything could be reasonably playable, but not too hopeful at this point. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4096kb Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 On 1/27/2024 at 2:22 PM, r_chase said: Okay, since I just bought a "first-gen" GSP model, can I actually upgrade the firmware using something like Etcher on Linux? I'm really getting tired of that question being ignored. Might as well tell me to just look through the pages even though I'd rather not at the moment. Yes there is. You'll need RKDevelopTool from Rockchip in order to do this. The page from Rockchip, the SOC vendor for this device, is here: https://opensource.rock-chips.com/wiki_Rkdeveloptool. The program is also in the AUR if you're on Arch but I haven't tested this. I compiled from source on Ubuntu 22.04 using the provided instructions and that worked for me. Here's the steps I use. Load the bootloader as follows: rkdeveloptool db Loader.bin Loading this bootloader lets us access the device's DRAM which is needed for more complex things such as reading/writing data on the 256MB SPI chip. You can then flash the device with this command: rkdeveloptool wl 0 Firmware.img This'll start writing the firmware from the first memory address on the flash through the end of the Firmware.img file. This should be a drop-in replacement for the Windows software, however, you _will_ need to use the command line. Some other useful commands: `rkdeveloptool ppt` will print partition info `rkdeveloptool rfi` will print information about the flash chip `rkdeveloptool ld` will list attached devices `rkdeveloptool wlx` and `rlx` allow you to read and write individual partitions - this is helpful for making modifications to the root and data partitions separately This next part applies for anyone. I'm not sure if this has been brought up in the thread yet, but if at any point your device is improperly flashed, you can still restore the device. If the SOC sees no attached storage, it will boot directly into RockUSB mode, the same thing that happens when you hold the rear button. This may seem redundant, but the rear button may not work properly if something goes wrong with the UBoot partition on the device. If you bridge the CLK pin on the SPI flash to ground like so, it'll boot into RockUSB and you can restore the device. There's also a UART header on the board for those who didn't know. I've attached the pinout I've observed. I've documented my findings on this device on my personal website, https://4096kb.gay/posts/myarcadedoom. Maybe these findings will be helpful to others? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4096kb Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 1 hour ago, 4096kb said: Yes there is. You'll need RKDevelopTool from Rockchip in order to do this. The page from Rockchip, the SOC vendor for this device, is here: https://opensource.rock-chips.com/wiki_Rkdeveloptool. The program is also in the AUR if you're on Arch but I haven't tested this. I compiled from source on Ubuntu 22.04 using the provided instructions and that worked for me. Here's the steps I use. Load the bootloader as follows: rkdeveloptool db Loader.bin Loading this bootloader lets us access the device's DRAM which is needed for more complex things such as reading/writing data on the 256MB SPI chip. You can then flash the device with this command: rkdeveloptool wl 0 Firmware.img This'll start writing the firmware from the first memory address on the flash through the end of the Firmware.img file. This should be a drop-in replacement for the Windows software, however, you _will_ need to use the command line. Some other useful commands: `rkdeveloptool ppt` will print partition info `rkdeveloptool rfi` will print information about the flash chip `rkdeveloptool ld` will list attached devices `rkdeveloptool wlx` and `rlx` allow you to read and write individual partitions - this is helpful for making modifications to the root and data partitions separately This next part applies for anyone. I'm not sure if this has been brought up in the thread yet, but if at any point your device is improperly flashed, you can still restore the device. If the SOC sees no attached storage, it will boot directly into RockUSB mode, the same thing that happens when you hold the rear button. This may seem redundant, but the rear button may not work properly if something goes wrong with the UBoot partition on the device. If you bridge the CLK pin on the SPI flash to ground like so, it'll boot into RockUSB and you can restore the device. There's also a UART header on the board for those who didn't know. I've attached the pinout I've observed. I've documented my findings on this device on my personal website, https://4096kb.gay/posts/myarcadedoom. Maybe these findings will be helpful to others? Oops, didn't mean to leave a period on the end of that hyperlink. Proper link is https://4096kb.gay/posts/myarcadedoom. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazality Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 On 1/29/2024 at 10:40 PM, Brad_from_the_80s said: Looking pretty solid now. These all run from the SD card. Here you can see games that were automatically imported from my ini file instead of manually editing the menu database, and shown in the correct alphabetical positions. And here you can see where you can get a little creative with the game details screen title graphic, as well as validating this works for other types of games. Thanks for all your hard work with this custom firmware! Looking forward to all the improvements this will bring to GSP once its ready to go. In regards to the UI—how complicated and/or challenging is it to modify some of the visual elements? For example, the current thumbnail box art of games on the Main Menu selection screen has always seemed a bit too small. Ideally, it would be nice to see the box art (thumbnails) slightly bigger in size, similar to the latest Atari Flashback UI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 11 minutes ago, 4096kb said: Oops, didn't mean to leave a period on the end of that hyperlink. Proper link is https://4096kb.gay/posts/myarcadedoom. I fixed it in the original post. ..Al 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad_from_the_80s Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 48 minutes ago, Jazality said: Thanks for all your hard work with this custom firmware! Looking forward to all the improvements this will bring to GSP once its ready to go. In regards to the UI—how complicated and/or challenging is it to modify some of the visual elements? For example, the current thumbnail box art of games on the Main Menu selection screen has always seemed a bit too small. Ideally, it would be nice to see the box art (thumbnails) slightly bigger in size, similar to the latest Atari Flashback UI. You'll be able to easily modify or replace the box art, screen shot and title images, but how they are displayed is probably coded into the menu binary. Even if it accepts a higher resolution file it likely will not display any larger. But I leave a lot of this for others to experiment with after I release the firmware. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cilantro55 Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 Can anyone confirm if I got the wrong controller? I got a Power A Xbox controller.... though I didn't realize that it was a third party controller. It doesn't seem to work on the GSP even though it appears to be the same as mentioned Xbox controllers that work...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big_guitar Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 (edited) 40 minutes ago, Cilantro55 said: I got a Power A Xbox controller.... though I didn't realize that it was a third party controller. It doesn't seem to work on the GSP even though it appears to be the same as mentioned Xbox controllers that work...? If you were not avert to installing the runme patch which @fluxit provided, you could dump some data about how the device is seen to a text file on the sdcard, and we could see which event codes it recognizes. Edited February 1 by big_guitar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big_guitar Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 [ECWOLF-Castle Wolfenstein 3D] OK so attempting to run the 3DO version of Castle Wolfenstein on GSP was just too slow and had audio issues. I believe this ECWOLF core is fairly newish for libretro, but I was able to run this well, quite zippy in fact. As CW3D a bit older than DOOM, not quite as impressive as the PRBOOM to me, which also had exceptional performance, but happy I was able to get CW3D to work. This one took a bit more effort, you have to put all the related files in the same folder, but in the end it worked! Will have to see about getting save states to work after configuring ideal settings. The documentation didn't mention core options, but a lot of them show up when I invoke the rgui menu. Anyone else with any real interest for running the other cores, I certainly can provide more details. If there was interest in using GSP controllers, would probably have to use 2 together to have the best experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big_guitar Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 (edited) 2 hours ago, big_guitar said: [ECWOLF-Castle Wolfenstein 3D] Sorry, of course I meant to refer to "Wolfenstein 3D" and not the older 2d Castle Wolfenstein. Just have always associated the 'Castle' with it. 🧐 Edited February 1 by big_guitar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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