Custom firmware for Atari Gamestation Pro

[big_guitar]

Using "Atari - ST" on GSP (see hatari_setup_files.zip)

 

hatari_setup_files.zip

 

These instructions assume that you have firmware 1.30c and have deployed the runme.sh 
  included with 057b or greater gsp-games application (0.6.2 preferred).  Modern controller required.

 

Connect the sdcard from your GSP to your Windows system 

• Place hatari_libretro.so in the \cores folder off the root of the sdcard
• Create the folder "Hatari" under \data\retroarch\config\;  Add the Hatari.opt file to that folder. 
   [\data\retroarch\config\Hatari\Hatari.opt]
• Place tos.img in the \data\retroarch\system folder
• Place XB_DP1_L0_SAV2.cfg in the \racfg folder
• Add Atari ST games (zip, .st, .stx, .m3u) in folder referenced in the trigger (e.g., \ATARIST\) 
   check archive.org for Atari ST examples
• Using the gsp-games app, configure a trigger record similar to the image provided in the attached zip file
    (the 'game rom path' may differ)
    Save the trigger record (to update the \data\games.db file on the sdcard)

Using the Hatari core:

• Press "select" to toggle mouse mode/joystick mode... use left analog for moving mouse (or d-pad)
• Double-press the A button (south) on PRG files to load .. 
• Press "X" (west button) to TOGGLE the virtual keyboard;
• The START button brings up the Hatari menu interface.

  
Stario game example (not included here)
-Use d-pad to select the space bar on the virtual keyboard (for Stario game) and press "A" btn to press the key
-Select the "F1" from the virtual keyboard, and press "A" to select that key to start the game;  Press SELECT again to go to joystick mode

 

Portions of this video example have been sped up (see the clock in the lower-right corner) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 9 by big_guitar

[That_80s_Girl]

On 2/13/2024 at 1:56 PM, Brad_from_the_80s said:

Greetings Atarians!

 

 For those who have been asking, here is my customized firmware image for the Atari Gamestation Pro.  This is along the same lines as the custom firmwares I have produced for Atari Flashback devices.  It allows you to add games and box art from the SD card to the Gamestation Pro menu and perform other customizations.
 
The filename is Firmware-c.img and you install it using the same method for the official 1.30 firmware.  On successful install it will update your version number to 1.30c

 

To use the new firmware features your SD card should be formatted as exFAT.  The custom firmware will not function correctly with FAT32 currently.

 

The firmware is activated by detecting a "mount_sd.ini" file on the sd card in the /agsp directory.  Extract /agsp folder from the attached agsp.zip archive to your sd card.  When the firmware sees the mount_sd.ini file inside this folder it will dump the internal /data partition to the sd card and remount it there.  The data folder will contain all of the system's game roms and boxart as well as the games.db file for the menu.  Dumping data takes about 40s with my sd card, a Sandisk Extreme UHS-I card that can write up to 90MB/s.  You will see the Loading screen while it is busy writing.  If you are using an old/slow SD card then the operation may take longer for you.  Give it up to 5-10 minutes in the extreme.

 

After dumping the /data partition (if it is not already present on the sd card), the firmware will run the startup.sh script in the agsp folder on the card.  This script will detect if a games.ini file needs to be generated (ie /data/games.ini doesn't exist).  It will run a simple SQL command piped to an awk script to spit out the .ini file.  If the games.ini file does exist, the script will read the first value in the file, "update_db".  If this value is set to 1 then the script will run a couple of SQL statements to truncate the db tables and execute a small binary utility, ini2gamedb, to import the ini file contents back into games.db.  It will then clear the update_db flag back to 0 in the games.ini file.

 

Finally there is a dump_retro flag in mount_sd.ini.  Set it and the script will extract retroarch binary and cores to a folder on the sd_card.  This does not really activate them from the sd card, but will enable the community to play around with using or modifying them as they see fit.  This is more a proof-of-concept of what can be done.  You can modify the startup.sh script as needed, but you'll need to test what works correctly with the busybox variant of ash shell.  Similarly the game launch script "start_local_sd.sh" will now be located under /data on the sd card.  The support for sourcing runme.sh from /agsp from the earlier patched firmware is still present, but you can modify it however you wish.  Of course if you break this script then your games won't launch.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Adding games should be fairly straightforward.  For each game to display in the menu add a new ini section to /data/games.ini file.  The section name should match the rom file name exactly.  Fill in the rest of the ini sections, copying values from similar existing games where necessary.  For the "about" and "controls" sections, these are text bodies for display in the UI game description screen.  For larger entries that span multiple lines or have line breaks for formatting you need to be sure to start and end the content with a double quote (").  The ini converter generally should ignore entries it does not understand, but if anything goes wrong it should write a small log file under /data.

 

Here is a sample of a new game entry added to the new games.ini file:

 

[Pac-Man]
display_name=Pac-Man
suffix=.a26
release_date=1981
players=1 OR 2
class_type=1
game_type=5
hard=0
save=1
timer=/data/Games/Atari_Games/Atari 2600
about="We know that millions of people all over the world just love the PAC-MAN arcade game.  PAC-MAN has won the hearts of men, women, and children everywhere.  We also know that PAC-MAN has traditionally been an arcade game.  Well, we at ATARI know all about arcade games. After all, we make some of the greatest arcade games in the world, and we know how to bring the same dynamite game play into your home."
controls=Press A, then use the Joystick.
vertical=0

 

Some of the fields are pretty obvious.  The section name must match the rom file name, although it can contain spaces.  The display name can be prettier.  The path to the rom location for some weird reason is called "timer".  The game_type should correspond to what has been documented in the discussion threads already, and as found in the game launch script.  The class_type and hard fields are a little more obscure.  We have attached some information (thanks @Vic20Ian ), but the community may have to experiment with those.  Generally just try to copy values from similar types of games.  I am also providing a .csv dump of the original tbl_game table from games.db.

 

Remember to set the games.ini "update_db" value to 1 (first line of file) any time you want to import new custom entries into the games.db file on startup.

 

Place the matching rom file in the appropriate folder under /data/Games.  Co-located with the game are the menu images.  They each share the same file name as the rom.  There is a .png image for the box art, a .jpg image for the screen shot, and a <GameName>_title.png image for the title banner text/graphic.  Any new games added to the system should have corresponding image files of the same/matching size.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I have tried to make my implementation reasonably resilient and recoverable, but issues may still occur.

 

If you somehow create a really bad ini file or corrupt the games.db file (not likely but possible) there are different things you can do.  Delete the /data/games.ini file and the startup script will generate a new one from games.db.  Delete the /data/games.db and the system will copy the default one back to the sd card /data folder on startup.  Delete or rename the entire /data folder and the system will regenerate it on startup so long as it sees the /agsp/mount_sd.ini file.  Delete or rename the /agsp folder or mount_sd.ini file, or remove the sd card, and the system will just run off of the default internal /data partition and stock configuration. The functionality related to using a /Games folder on the sd card should remain unaffected.

 

Also it is not known how many games you can add to the UI before it starts to encounter any loading or performance issues.

 

No promises, no warranties.  Use this firmware at your own risk.  But I hope the community gets some utility out of it for enhancing their Atari Gamestation Pros.

Firmware-c.img 215.5 MB · 1,149 downloads agsp.zip 1.67 kB · 1,187 downloads game_type.txt 1.16 kB · 981 downloads class_type.txt 686 B · 937 downloads tbl_game_202401280228.csv 114.7 kB · 901 downloads

Is this firmware somewhere else? I can't find it here. When I click on it, it says it is missing or removed.

[Brad_from_the_80s]

39 minutes ago, That_80s_Girl said:

Is this firmware somewhere else? I can't find it here. When I click on it, it says it is missing or removed.

I just downloaded it from bottom of first post.  Make sure you're signed in or try a different browser/computer?

[RJF]

Hey Brad and fellow Atari enthusiasts.  I'm new to the forum and am looking for pointers on how to utilize my Atari Gamestation Pro, which arrived earlier this week!

 

Before I purchase any microSD cards, I need to verify what else I will need to transfer files from my computer to the console.  The computer I have is an Acer Aspire that is about six years old.  It has a typical SD slot and UBS ports on the front.  I've been advised that I will likely require some kind of adapter to transfer files from my computer to the micro SD chip, as there does not appear to be a slot of the micro SD chip size.

 

Any assistance and direction would be appreciated.

 

[Spanner]

On 8/9/2024 at 1:51 PM, big_guitar said:

Using "Atari - ST" on GSP (see hatari_setup_files.zip)

 

hatari_setup_files.zip 1.24 MB · 7 downloads

 

These instructions assume that you have firmware 1.30c and have deployed the runme.sh 
  included with 057b or greater gsp-games application (0.6.2 preferred).  Modern controller required.

 

Connect the sdcard from your GSP to your Windows system 

• Place hatari_libretro.so in the \cores folder off the root of the sdcard
• Create the folder "Hatari" under \data\retroarch\config\;  Add the Hatari.opt file to that folder. 
   [\data\retroarch\config\Hatari\Hatari.opt]
• Place tos.img in the \data\retroarch\system folder
• Place XB_DP1_L0_SAV2.cfg in the \racfg folder
• Add Atari ST games (zip, .st, .stx, .m3u) in folder referenced in the trigger (e.g., \ATARIST\) 
   check archive.org for Atari ST examples
• Using the gsp-games app, configure a trigger record similar to the image provided in the attached zip file
    (the 'game rom path' may differ)
    Save the trigger record (to update the \data\games.db file on the sdcard)

Using the Hatari core:

• Press "select" to toggle mouse mode/joystick mode... use left analog for moving mouse (or d-pad)
• Double-press the A button (south) on PRG files to load .. 
• Press "X" (west button) to TOGGLE the virtual keyboard;
• The START button brings up the Hatari menu interface.

  
Stario game example (not included here)
-Use d-pad to select the space bar on the virtual keyboard (for Stario game) and press "A" btn to press the key
-Select the "F1" from the virtual keyboard, and press "A" to select that key to start the game;  Press SELECT again to go to joystick mode

 

Portions of this video example have been sped up (see the clock in the lower-right corner) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How's the mouse working...? 

[big_guitar]

11 hours ago, Spanner said:

How's the mouse working...? 

The dpad or left analog moves the mouse (use select button to toggle between mouse and joystick mode)

[Nevaditude]

🫡 Brad... one small word💬, but w/ a lot of meaning....THANKS! 👍

[davy]

On 8/17/2024 at 12:31 AM, big_guitar said:

The dpad or left analog moves the mouse (use select button to toggle between mouse and joystick mode)

is full mouse support possible ?

[big_guitar]

On 8/18/2024 at 12:10 PM, davy said:

is full mouse support possible ?

Do you mean on the GSP in general, or with "Atari ST"?    I don't think a mouse will work using the built-in retroarch, the same as keyboards won't really work.

However, if you use an alternative retroarch executable, such as perhaps this one, an actual mouse might work.

But with that Atari ST core, you can use the d-pad or left analog in "mouse mode" to move the mouse.

Edited August 20 by big_guitar

[davy]

i mean with the AGSP in general and i  tryed the solution you said but its not working only the buttons work and no movement 

[big_guitar]

9 hours ago, davy said:

i mean with the AGSP in general and i  tryed the solution you said but its not working only the buttons work and no movement 

I've only had it work like a mouse under that Atari st core, but there might be other cores that feature the option to emulate the mouse with a dpad or analog stick.

[Spanner]

I can not do any more work on PCUAE at the moment, my parter is in hospital with Pneumonia  and they do not know what the infection is so she has been put into a inducted Coma and do not know if she will pull though it or not, complication with her COPD and Pneumonia that the NHS doctors can not identify ... 

They are giving her Antibiotics but they working very slow on the infection in her lungs, its so weird.
Sorry.
DO NOT START SMOKING, YOU WILL END UP GETTING COPD AND HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS LATER IN LIFE, SHES ONLY 58.

Edited August 26 by Spanner

[big_guitar]

4 hours ago, Spanner said:

she has been put into a inducted Coma

Sorry to hear about the health issues. I will pray for her recovery.

[Spanner]

11 hours ago, big_guitar said:

Sorry to hear about the health issues. I will pray for her recovery.

Thanks, its just so weird how they do not know what the infection is in her lugs, must be a new infection, they think its Bacterial Pneumonia but not sure, very weird, the inducted coma helps her lugs rest and give them a chance to heal because she on a ventilator so its taking over here breathing so they can kill the infection easier, I just hope it works..  she could be in a come for 2 weeks, I have never been away from her for 30 years (1994) we have always been together.
Anyway, need to stay on topic, I just wanted people to know thats all, I will probably work on PCUAE again but it will take time and will depend on what happens, she liked PCUAE and said " I said you were clever, its brilliant"..

Edited August 27 by Spanner

[MarsAttacks]

On 7/1/2024 at 12:29 AM, Marky316 said:

Hey all, well I think I got my GSP where I need it to be at this time.

I see all this great help on here and with files.

Thank you to everyone for posting fixes and info.

Too many to name but THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!

 

So this is my rundown of what I got on my GSP as of now. Without the games files you will see my lineup and files.

I must say that SNES games slow up that's why I only have 2 on it for now.

Most of my images I did that long hard way as I am more of a cut and paste guy and can never get that transparent background to work on my titles  for the games I have added.

 

If you like to fix up my files please go right ahead, but kindly let me know if you do. A lot of the images are from the Lunch Box site and the many fine good people on this forum. Again Thank you in advanced if you do fix things up.

 

Also I have a few questions is anyone can help out..

 

1> I have to ask this again has anyone have GSP controller fixes for Discs of Tron to use the paddle on the GSP controller like Super breakout does?

 

2> Road Runner, Star Wars, Empire arcades is still not great in GSP controller has anyone found a fix for that.

In Splatterhouse is there a way to turn on the BLOOD mode from the GSP, like you can do in Mame

 

3> 5200, The Last Starfighter ,Star Wars, Pitfall and Kaboom, controls are not great for the GSP controller any fix on the 5200 games?

 

Enjoy the files... if ya needed some of these I hope I help you out as you all helped me.

 

M316 Atari backup.rar 112.67 MB · 29 downloads

Where can I get missing game files to complete your backup?

[Mr_T]

Hi. I am a UK Atari 8 bit fan who had an 800XL back in the 80s, a bit like GenXGrownup.

I have an AGSP from Amazon US, now flashed to 1.30c.

I managed to run PCUAE 4.4.1.4100 successfully including atr files and working joystick by installing to both SD and USB. Thankyou Spanner for a great program, and hope your partner makes a speedy recover. Airwolf music also took me back to the 80s.

 

I am now moved back to the Database extended (triggers) method, learned when using PCUAE.

I have not found much documentation or videos so have attached a working copy of the SD to help others.

 

The only issue remaining is that the joystick doesn't work on the Atari 800 games.

Does anyone have a solution?

 

 

 

 

 

AGSP_SD Ext.zip

[Marky316]

On 8/31/2024 at 1:52 PM, MarsAttacks said:

Where can I get missing game files to complete your backup?

Google is your friend.... search Rom Sets or  you tube

 

[Mr_T]

Atari 800 games - AGSP Joystick got working.

Add from the previous post SD card copy file as follows

 

Copy attached "a5200_4_3.cfg" file to the "racfg" folder of the SD card.

Within the GSP Games Editor change trigger so that "cfg path:" reads "/sdcard/racfg/a5200_4_3.cfg"

 

This is for Pac-Man and Donkey Kong shown in the A5200 section

 

a5200_4_3.cfg

[Boots01]

WOW - my gsp joystick works now for A800 games ! [with help from the _AGSP-SD Ext.zip_ from  _Mr_T_  ] above & new cfg file.

I added   Henry's House   and works fine also. [my new microSD card - PCUAE 4.4.1]

I suppose more game adding is in the future for me.

[Mr_T]

3 hours ago, Boots01 said:

WOW - my gsp joystick works now for A800 games ! [with help from the _AGSP-SD Ext.zip_ from  _Mr_T_  ] above & new cfg file.

I added   Henry's House   and works fine also. [my new microSD card - PCUAE 4.4.1]

I suppose more game adding is in the future for me.

Touche - thanks to Spanner's work.

 

Joystick is currently limited to NSEW and A button. Great for games that start with the A button.

 

How can we map the Atari joystick start button to Start key for most other games?

 

[Vic20Ian]

5 hours ago, Mr_T said:

Touche - thanks to Spanner's work.

 

Yes, Spanner / Nick is a genius I supported PCUAE development and debugging.

 

His work in the 3D Arcade is also awesome.

 

I hope his partner is recovering and he will be able to come back soon.

[Mr_T]

Updated SD card starting point to GSPG 0.62, and much smaller download now.

Atari 800 games working with AGSP joystick - PacMan(atr-disk) & Donkey Kong(com-cartridge).

Added configs into GSPG lists under the Extended DB Options menu to make adding Atari 800 Games much easier.

 

I am now trying to follow the documentation for adding triggers for A800 games so they appear in the Blue Text menus of the AGSP.

Think I understand, but just can't get it to work for A800 games presently.

 

AGSP_SD Ex 062.zip gspgames-062 (1).zip

[big_guitar]

17 hours ago, Mr_T said:

I am now trying to follow the documentation for adding triggers for A800 games so they appear in the Blue Text menus of the AGSP.

Sorry, are you talking about the folder navigation?  What exactly is it you're trying to accomplish?  

If you want the triggers visible via folder navigation, the trigger files must be under the /sdcard/Games  folder... 

Not all rom files will likely work for A800 core.  (note, the core file I was using in the video has an audio bug, but the latest a800 should be fine)

 

 

Edited September 8 by big_guitar

[Mr_T]

Hi Big Guitar

Thanks for the help.

 

"Blue Text menus" = folder navigation, so yes.

"What exactly is it you're trying to accomplish?" - a trigger file in a folder accessible by folder navigation for Atari 800 games.

"If you want the triggers visible via folder navigation, the trigger files must be under the /sdcard/Games  folder..."  - already got that bit from documentation, and of course the trigger file needs an extension (.md) that makes the trigger file accessible/visible.

 

You put the Fortune Hunter game in a zip - was the game in the zip a XEX, COM, BIN,ATR ?

You used a "test_4_3.cfg" file for the joystick - what is your file source? (is it a rename of the "A5200_4_3.cfg"?) are you able to upload it?

Can you provide a trigger for Pac-Man.atr (attached) that I got from PCUAE.?

 

Sorry for asking so many questions - I think there is much interest, especially those AGSP owners looking for THEA400mini functionality.

Pac-Man.atr

[big_guitar]

2 hours ago, Mr_T said:

was the game in the zip a XEX, COM, BIN,ATR ?

Inside the Fortune Hunter ZIP is an ATR file.  But the file was acquired as a zip to begin with.

Another A800 zip file I got to work was Leader Board Golf and Space Harrier. But a number of other files just wouldn't load properly.

 

2 hours ago, Mr_T said:

You used a "test_4_3.cfg" file

See my post here (the test cfg file is attached to that post). 

I think in the end, I used a Pac-Man.rom file and NOT the ATR file, as something wouldn't load properly with the first ATR file I had.  [8,192 bytes] Pac-Man.rom

I think I eventually found a better ATR file that also worked, so there are some files out there that just won't work.

 

For the CFG file, it seems I started with zip_4_3.cfg (built-in config under the root file system) and I modified just 2 settings, core_options_path and user_language.

 

 

For the Treasure Hunter game, although the player moves fine with d-pad (or gsp stick), the shooting direction is odd in that it seems to not be able to shoot in a direct north or south direction, but shooting all other directions is fine. So if you fire while walking straight up, it still shoots in a diagonal direction, but I think that is just the way the game was designed, or else it was just a bug in the product that was never fixed. East/West shooting is fine.  Even online videos of this game exemplify this same behavior.  It's been a while since I've messed with A800 files.

Edited September 8 by big_guitar