Experimental 2600+ Firmware and Dumper

[Ben from Plaion]

12 hours ago, MrChickenz said:

Where’s Ben? He’s got a pocket full of dumper files! And he’s not sharing!

lol. A lots been happening, the Atari illuminati have decreed a cease to anything going out from me till they are happy.  So I'm zippy till Commodus gives the thumbs up.

Edited March 14 by Ben from Plaion

[JetmanUK]

10 minutes ago, Sean_1970 said:

Dare I say that the phrase “nice BT speakers” seems like an oxymoron to me 😅?

Well if it's the latest BT protocol and made by a decent manufacturer, yeah I think they can be nice. I'm not talking the little battery powered travel ones that people seem to use.

Myself,  I like a wire to my Dali speakers, they are not top end, but sound nice hooked up tp my Marantz amp. I have a good set up, but no audiphile top end system. Are you a Hi-Fi man too?

[Spanner]

18 hours ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

Filters are already in Stella. And bezels are coming with 7.0 (and if we should do another release in R77 too).

 

But without a UI, the users will have no choice. So there can be only one, common setup. And no individual preferences.

But it uses Retroarch so the updates would need to be added to the RA's Stella Core, I have got Stella 7.0pre working in the Atari2600 Plus now and set it up so it reads the cartridge dump too so it can load a cartridge, its in PCUAE and to activate Stella you need a USB Keyboard and a USB Drive to load PCUAE, you can now flash PCUAE autoboot script that in the /oem partition, it only change the /oem partition now and dose not touch the rootfs.

Stella running on the Atari2600 Plus

[Thomas Jentzsch]

4 hours ago, Spanner said:

But it uses Retroarch...

Which we (the Stella team) do not understand at all.

[Spanner]

Maybe because the 7800 would still have to use retroarch, if Stella Team made a emulator for the 7800 then it could use both emulators made by the same team, looking at the Stella Emulator it has options for 7800 in it(I bet you make a dam good 7800 emulator too..   there are more 7800 emulators on Windows then Linux, I think there is only Retroarch on Linux.

Edited March 14 by Spanner

[MrChickenz]

1 hour ago, Spanner said:

 

Edited March 14 by MrChickenz

[raz0red]

While it is great to hear everyone's input, this thread was specifically created to collect feedback on this experimental firmware for the architecture that is currently a part of the 2600+.

 

Discussions of whether the Stella team is building a new 7800 emulator, or the fact that the 2600+ has been modified to run Stella proper would probably be great in their own threads (I think some of those threads already exist). 

 

Thanks,

Chris.

Edited March 14 by raz0red

[Thomas Jentzsch]

20 minutes ago, raz0red said:

Discussions of whether the Stella team is building a new 7800 emulator, or the fact that the 2600+ has been modified to run Stella proper would probably be great in their own threads (I think some of those threads already exist). 

No thread required, won't happen. We are fully utilized with our current tasks.

[John Stamos Mullet]

13 hours ago, JetmanUK said:

I agree, who wants to play music from their phone through some crappy speakers mounted in a turntable, whereas you might want the vinyl' audio sending to some nice BT speakers. But as well as old game consoles I also like to use (a now sadly old fashioned to many) HiFi stack for music, so I wouldn't touch those crappy turntables with speakers anyway. 🤣

“Nice Bluetooth speakers”

 

”jumbo shrimp”

 

my vinyl turntable has no Bluetooth, and is plugged into an analog marantz receiver with Cambridge Soundworks M-80 speaker. You can hear it in Canada. I live in Boston. lol 

[shane857]

Lets just keep the Atari 2600+ with no user interface please. Only switches configuration.

[DEANJIMMY]

2 hours ago, raz0red said:

While it is great to hear everyone's input, this thread was specifically created to collect feedback on this experimental firmware for the architecture that is currently a part of the 2600+.

 

Discussions of whether the Stella team is building a new 7800 emulator, or the fact that the 2600+ has been modified to run Stella proper would probably be great in their own threads (I think some of those threads already exist). 

 

Thanks,

Chris.

So, back to topic:

Playing HERO PAL sometimes (rarely) the sprite jumps two steps when I push the joystick just a little, so I die in front of a deadly wall.

The emulation with the new experimental load improved a lot but maybe it is still not perfect?

I tried it with a wired Arcadestick, which gives me best control.

With the the new video driver the sprite moves very smooth, while it did stutter on previous loads, so I was happy to see that improvement. 

If what I see is related to the 2600+, it might be rather the MCU reading the joystick input.

 

Did anybody notice this too?

 

If not I will test it on original hardware, if it is the same there too , I am just a bad gamer😉

 

Edited March 14 by DEANJIMMY

[shane857]

On 3/13/2024 at 9:21 PM, shane857 said:

Atari original VHS. 💪

Actual hardware not emulation is my preference.

[shane857]

20 minutes ago, DEANJIMMY said:

So, back to topic:

Playing HERO PAL sometimes (rarely) the sprite jumps two steps when I push the joystick just a little, so I die in front of a deadly wall.

The emulation with the new experimental load improved a lot but maybe it is still not perfect?

I tried it with a wired Arcadestick, which gives me best control.

With the the new video driver the sprite moves very smooth, while it did stutter on previous loads, so I was happy to see that improvement. 

If what I see is related to the 2600+, it might be rather the MCU reading the joystick input.

 

Did anybody notice this too?

 

If not I will test it on original hardware, if it is the same there too , I am just a bad gamer😉

 

Maybe just the arcadestick your using? 🤔 This is emulation so it is not like plugging it into your actual VCS. Compatibility maybe?

I would just use compatible joysticks/controllers that work for you best. 

[Sean_1970]

11 hours ago, JetmanUK said:

Well if it's the latest BT protocol and made by a decent manufacturer, yeah I think they can be nice. I'm not talking the little battery powered travel ones that people seem to use.

Myself,  I like a wire to my Dali speakers, they are not top end, but sound nice hooked up tp my Marantz amp. I have a good set up, but no audiphile top end system. Are you a Hi-Fi man too?

I’m not OTT about it, but all my audio goes through a Cambridge Audio DAC Magic 2 into a Yamaha 200w power amp. I switched to a 2.1 setup over a decade ago and I haven’t looked back. Only thing I kept from my old 5.1 setup is the subwoofer. As far as Bluetooth goes, if I wanted to listen to FM I’d sit in the car 😜, but I do have a Boom 2 i listen to when I shower and take on holiday.

[DEANJIMMY]

7 hours ago, shane857 said:

Maybe just the arcadestick your using? 🤔 This is emulation so it is not like plugging it into your actual VCS. Compatibility maybe?

I would just use compatible joysticks/controllers that work for you best. 

It is definitely not the stick, it is physically the same as a CX40, I wired it on my own. Also tried different sticks. In the end I tried my Arcade stick, as a Seimitsu LS40 is more responsive than all these toys and it is all just switches and wires.

 

It is either related to emulation or the same on real hardware, or the TV (which is in gaming mode).

Need to find out...

 

It feels like you pushed the stick too long which should not happen with micro switches, when I tap just a little. If you keep running and stop too late, it could be input lag of the TV but I am not referring to this. I tap the joystick to move the player sprite just one position.

It happened more often when I turn around the player sprite, so it could be programming of the game, like the little jumps of paddle in Kaboom (which amplifies on the plus).

 

Chasing ghosts😉

Edited March 15 by DEANJIMMY

[JetmanUK]

6 hours ago, Sean_1970 said:

I’m not OTT about it, but all my audio goes through a Cambridge Audio DAC Magic 2 into a Yamaha 200w power amp. I switched to a 2.1 setup over a decade ago and I haven’t looked back. Only thing I kept from my old 5.1 setup is the subwoofer. As far as Bluetooth goes, if I wanted to listen to FM I’d sit in the car 😜, but I do have a Boom 2 i listen to when I shower and take on holiday.

 

Sounds good. ✌🏻

It's a real shame that most people seem to use an echo or other smart speaker and that is their home audio. They are fine, I have them myself, but they can't replace 'real' audio kit. 

 

I have two HI-Fi stacks at home, both consist of new and classic kit. It's mostly Marantz, Teac and Sony. Vinyl, Cassette, MiniDisc, CD, Radio and streaming, no 8-track... and all wired! 💁🏻

 

My comment of using a 'nice BT speaker' seems to have to have got lost on here somewhere, the context was in use with one of those turntables with built in speakers. In that situation a 'nice BT speaker' would be much better than any of those units I've heard, they are usually small, low powered and extremely tinny. But maybe there's a decent model out there.

 

I myself don't even use BT for headphones at the gym! I'm the dinosaur with wired ones. 🤣. That isn't because of quality concerns, BT would be plenty good enough for a workout, it's because I can't be bothered charging the things... A wire never lets me down.. 💁🏻🤣🤟🏻

 

Anyway, we are definitely off topic here, apologies!

[DEANJIMMY]

11 hours ago, DEANJIMMY said:

So, back to topic:

Playing HERO PAL sometimes (rarely) the sprite jumps two steps when I push the joystick just a little, so I die in front of a deadly wall.

The emulation with the new experimental load improved a lot but maybe it is still not perfect?

I tried it with a wired Arcadestick, which gives me best control.

With the the new video driver the sprite moves very smooth, while it did stutter on previous loads, so I was happy to see that improvement. 

If what I see is related to the 2600+, it might be rather the MCU reading the joystick input.

 

Did anybody notice this too?

 

If not I will test it on original hardware, if it is the same there too , I am just a bad gamer😉

 

Did some testing with different setups and can't dupe it anymore😊

[JetmanUK]

33 minutes ago, DEANJIMMY said:

Did some testing with different setups and can't dupe it anymore😊

Thats good, I was gonna test it on my setup today, but I will skip it now.

[MrChickenz]

3 hours ago, DEANJIMMY said:

Did some testing with different setups and can't dupe it anymore😊

Maybe just the way it dumped that time! Not sure how many times it happened for you?

Edited March 15 by MrChickenz

[Spanner]

One Question, has the rootfs changed at all in each update of the firmware or is it the same as 1.0, I asked because its included in each update when you flash it...?
Do not worry I will not ask anything off topic, this is on topic because it about the firmware...  so all OK..  

[Ricardo Pim]

On 2/25/2024 at 5:16 PM, Plumbob said:

I recently acquired a newer HERO2 cart and I noticed that it has a green PCB whereas my older copy of HERO2 has a purple one. So there appears to be two different variations. I was delighted to find out that the green one does work on the 2600 plus!

All copies of HERO2 with serial number 200 or greater will work on the Atari 2600+. We made the necessary adjustments to run.

[+sramirez2008]

1 hour ago, Ricardo Pim said:

All copies of HERO2 with serial number 200 or greater will work on the Atari 2600+. We made the necessary adjustments to run.

How can we order a copy? Please don’t say facebook.

[Plumbob]

1 hour ago, sramirez2008 said:

How can we order a copy? Please don’t say facebook.

I was able to order my copy of HERO2 by contacting Ricardo Pim directly. So as not to derail the topic of this thread, here is the thread about how to order HERO2:
 

On 8/26/2023 at 4:18 PM, wongojack said:

 

At first, I was also a little bit perplexed at how to order HERO 2, but it turns out that all you need to do is email Ricardo at GameSelect at atarigameselect@gmail.com

 

 

I emailed him and he immediately responded with information about how to order.  I ordered HERO 2 and Asteroids Attack and they arrived fully tracked and signature guaranteed within only a few days. 

 

HERO 2 is an excellent and professionally done game with fully re-imagined levels very similar to the original.  I have personally played around with many different HERO clones and even tried my hand at re-coding the game and re-designing levels in windows.  This is an excellently done continuation of HERO that sits on the line between remake and full sequel.  I haven't played all the levels yet, but the manual says it has 20 levels (just like the original) and they are completely different and quite challenging.  The game REALLY seems to start at level 9 where there are multiple paths and an 'early' appearance of the chompers.

 

I'd say that if you enjoyed HERO, have a way to play 2600 carts, and really want to play every version there is that you should definitely add this to your collection.  The price + shipping may be a bit steep for some, but I don't think it is unreasonable for what you are getting - original game, original packaging and fully working 2600 cart.  If you are on the fence at all, I'd say just go through with it and email Ricardo.  Even if you end up regretting your purchase, you can probably find another Atari collector in your country who didn't email Ricardo and you can sell it to them later.

 

[+sramirez2008]

9 minutes ago, Plumbob said:

I was able to order my copy of HERO2 by contacting Ricardo Pim directly.

Thank you.

[Spanner]

Idea: A option to change the 50/60hz because some games are better at playing at say 60hz then 50hz on a PAL machine, some games are to slow and are better faster, like Pole Position 2 7800, I always play it at 60hz even if its meant to be 50hz and sometime Retroarch does not change it from 60hz to 50hz even if you asked it to because it says `will not adjust` so will not change it from 60hz to 50hz so play the game at 60hz anyway.

You could put it on the SELECT switch by pressing it down and holding it for 2 seconds then it says on the top of the screen `Changed to 60hz` or `Changed to 50hz`
If you use the SELECT like normal then it will change the option in the game.

This is just a idea so please do not shoot me....lol...