84 replies to this topic

[bohoki]

flashback 7 has 100 games i guess if we wait till flashback 10 there should be 300 by then

i saw it demoed on qvc but frogger confused me it looks beyond 2600 capabilities

[iesposta]

flashback 7 has 100 games i guess if we wait till flashback 10 there should be 300 by then
i saw it demoed on qvc but frogger confused me it looks beyond 2600 capabilities

If they can get permission to use 300 games, they just might, although I rather not see it fill with crapware titles.

The Space Invaders of last year and Frogger of this year were added as bonus games, programmed to use the hardware in the Flashback, not the Atari 2600 emulation.
Frogger can have 7 channels of sound/music. They couldn't get a composer to write original tunes - I was asked to do the music, but when I found out it wasn't the TIA Atari sound I had to decline as I can barely do 3 channel DPC harmony, and 2 channel TIA if I'm copying or transposing notes. I haven't even done tunes with percussion like Sprybug's music. So 4-5 channel original Frogger-like music in 2 months was beyond my skills.
Maybe they will get music in the next model if they can still use Frogger.

[Arenafoot]

 

 

UAFB3.png

I love the graphics and layout - I wish stella would look that clean (along with the box artwork)!!!

[atarifan88]

 

Hey guys,

 

In my ongoing effort to play my favorite old video games with original controllers on my modern living room TV, instead of being banished to the CRT in my cold, dark basement, I've come up with the Ultimate Atari FB!  Here's the software in action:

 

Why trash a perfectly good Flashback?

• Crisp full-screen HDMI output.

• The ability to add any 2600 game.

• Upgraded menu selection screen with woodgrain goodness!

• The FB's make great Raspberry Pi cases!

 

What you'll need:

• Any Atari FB with front facing ports (FB's 3-7)

• Raspberry Pi 3

• Two 2600-daptor II's sans cases

• Upgraded FB 2A power supply

• Two USB A-B cables, on 6" and the other 12"

• Four 4-40 by 3/4" machine screws

• Wires and soldering skills

• Custom RetroPie software (see link below)

 

With the custom software, the console buttons all work, and holding down Select and Start (Reset) will get you back to the game menu.  See the attached manual below.

 

Console Button Wiring (Starting closest to power button):

1.  5V Power at GPIO 2

2.  Ground at GPIO 6 (or any other GPIO ground)

3.  GPIO 20

4.  GPIO 22

5.  GPIO 26

6.  GPIO 21

 

Suggestions:

• Remove the capacitor on the console PCB and solder in a jumper wire or you won't have enough power to the Pi.

• I suggest pairing a Bluetooth keyboard with the Pi or running a USB extension cable out the back.  You'll need this for adding box art, editing file names, transferring roms via USB, etc.

 

Software Manual (thanks to timdu!):

Ultimate Atari FB Manual.pdf

 

Micro-SD Card Image:  

• Download it here.

• Contains several great homebrews that have been publicly released in rom form!

 

Credits:

Thanks to fdr4pres, Tom Hafner, pimpmaul69, timdu, and intvdave for all the help!

 

 

I remember you mentioned you were having difficulty getting Stella to go full screen on the Raspberry Pi.  How did you end up getting this fixed?

Edited by atarifan88, Thu Nov 17, 2016 11:09 AM.

[Nathan Strum]

flashback 7 has 100 games i guess if we wait till flashback 10 there should be 300 by then

i saw it demoed on qvc but frogger confused me it looks beyond 2600 capabilities

 

 

Actually, the Flashback 6 had 100 games, the Flashback 7 has 101.

 

So by the Flashback 10, they'll be up to 104.

 

You'll have to wait a few hundred more Flashbacks to get to 300.

 

It's all about licensing costs anyway - they aren't going to want to pay big money to put certain games on there. They dropped Battlezone from it after the property was sold off to someone else.

[Byte Knight]

I remember you mentioned you were having difficulty getting Stella to go full screen on the Raspberry Pi.  How did you end up getting this fixed?

 

Under the Stella Video Settings I changed NTSC and PAL aspects from 90 to 120 and checked fill screen.  Pimpmaul69 figured that one out for me!  So if people don't like the 16:9 ratio they can change it back.

[BillLoguidice]

It's all about licensing costs anyway - they aren't going to want to pay big money to put certain games on there. They dropped Battlezone from it after the property was sold off to someone else.

 

And availability. We have been trying to get Battlezone back. So far, no luck, but we're still at it.

[bohoki]

they just need to put a dang sd card slot in the thing and let us use the roms in which we have carts

[BillLoguidice]

they just need to put a dang sd card slot in the thing and let us use the roms in which we have carts

 

The portable already has an SD card slot. You'll just have to wait for the 2017 models to see what upgrades will be in place for everything else.

[atarifan88]

The portable already has an SD card slot. You'll just have to wait for the 2017 models to see what upgrades will be in place for everything else.

HDMI output & SD card slot in the flashback 8 with better compatibility = more sales!

[BillLoguidice]

HDMI output & SD card slot in the flashback 8 with better compatibility = more sales!

 

I don't know how many more sales it would necessarily generate, but something like that would definitely be a better product.

[SpiceWare]

Slick, somehow I missed this!  The only downfall of using SELECT and RESET to return to the menu is that's how games with many options (like Space Invaders) let you rapidly increase the game number. 

 

Looks like you prefer to use images of boxes in your menu.  A small number of boxes were made for Medieval Mayhem, here's a scan of mine:

 

 

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[Atari_Warlord]

 

I don't know how many more sales it would necessarily generate, but something like that would definitely be a better product.

 

At least one new sale to me.  I haven't purchased a flashback since number 2.

[Jinroh]

Oh great idea, I have a busted Flashback 2 so I don't have to worry about messing up my good one.

[Nathan Strum]

Slick, somehow I missed this!  The only downfall of using SELECT and RESET to return to the menu is that's how games with many options (like Space Invaders) let you rapidly increase the game number. 

 

Also, at least one homebrew uses it to reset AtariVox scores. 

[iesposta]

 
Also, at least one homebrew uses it to reset AtariVox scores. 

But getting the USB to AtariVox+ (expensive) in there would make this The "Super" Ultimate Atari Flashback.

[Keatah]

HDMI output & SD card slot in the flashback 8 with better compatibility = more sales!

 

I think SD and HDMI are two features that will HAVE TO BE on all of these little "flashback" class machines going forward.

[fdr4prez]

Slick, somehow I missed this!  The only downfall of using SELECT and RESET to return to the menu is that's how games with many options (like Space Invaders) let you rapidly increase the game number. 

 

Unfortunately there aren't enough buttons on the Atari Flashback console to have separate Select, Reset AND a Quit button, so the decision was to make a combo out of the two existing buttons, and isn't that the default method on the standard Atari FB to quit the games?

 

If you want to install your own switch that would be for quitting, please let us know and we can help you with removing the combo setting and configuring the new third button in the Pi.

 

 

Also, at least one homebrew uses it to reset AtariVox scores. 

 

I am not familiar with AtariVox, or Stella and the 2600-dapters that are used in this build.  But if the three of those work nicely together then it should work here, and so if you want to install a third external switch for quitting, then as I mentioned above we can help you with the Pi configuration to remove the combo and add in the setting for the third switch.

[SpiceWare]

isn't that the default method on the standard Atari FB to quit the games?

 

Don't know, I picked up a Flashback 2 at some point in order to get a pair of new joysticks that I still use with my 2600.  The FB2's in a box somewhere.

 

If you want to install your own switch that would be for quitting, please let us know and we can help you with removing the combo setting and configuring the new third button in the Pi.

Thanks, but I don't plan to build one.  I'm too busy with other projects such as implementing Bus Stuffing on the 2600.  And yes, that's bus stuffing in action on my 2600.

[Byte Knight]

Slick, somehow I missed this!  The only downfall of using SELECT and RESET to return to the menu is that's how games with many options (like Space Invaders) let you rapidly increase the game number. 

 

Looks like you prefer to use images of boxes in your menu.  A small number of boxes were made for Medieval Mayhem, here's a scan of mine:

 

Thanks for the box art!  And the Start / Select combo is the way to exit games on the stock FB.  As fdr said, a separate button could be added to exit games if desired.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

It's all about licensing costs anyway - they aren't going to want to pay big money to put certain games on there. They dropped Battlezone from it after the property was sold off to someone else.

Also their excessive demands when asking for using a homebrew are probably putting of more homebrewers than only me.

[chavert]

Hi, i've just download the Micro-SD Card Image but i can't unzip it because there is an error unexpected. What is wrong ?

 

Is there another link for download ? Could you help me ?

 

Thank you for your answer.
 

[timdu]

please try to download the file once again. Perhaps something went wrong in the download of the ZIP fie and you did not get it all.  It is a big file. When it is completed, it is showing as 1,049,130 kilobytes   ( a little over 1 gigabyte )

[chavert]

I've tried 5 times and that doesn't works : error CRC corrupted file after unzip.

[fdr4prez]

I've tried 5 times and that doesn't works : error CRC corrupted file after unzip.

 

I had this happen when using 7-zip.

 

Please try a different unzipping app.

Edited by fdr4prez, Sun Nov 20, 2016 2:33 PM.