Flashcart and Multicart List - All systems

[Tempest]

So does the Famicom/NES everdrive support Family BASIC?

They should. I have a PowerPack and it supports Family Basic. I think I needed a modified rom though IIRC.

[Andromeda Stardust]

They should. I have a PowerPack and it supports Family Basic. I think I needed a modified rom though IIRC.

Provided you own a Famicom keyboard, yes it should work.

[Greg2600]

One minor quibble, SRAM saving is not automatic in Goomba. You need to access the Goomba emulation menu (L+R) and manually select "save state" option in order to record the SRAM state for current game. Even if you never resume from current save state, next time you boot the game, it will boot to title screen with current save progress intact.

 

I personally hated using those "emulators" on the EZFlash IV. Having to "build" the .gba file from the roms I wanted was a pain in the neck. More than fine with using the GBC Everdrive instead, annoyance gone. Ha ha ha.

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

I personally hated using those "emulators" on the EZFlash IV. Having to "build" the .gba file from the roms I wanted was a pain in the neck. More than fine with using the GBC Everdrive instead, annoyance gone. Ha ha ha.

That's just it. Krikzz built them into the menu. You just need to go download Goomba from the author's website, extract Goomba.gba, and drop it in the GBASYS folder. Now you run native GB/C ROMs from the flash card without any patch utility. Ditto for NES. While I did see slowdown in a few GBC games, most run flawless. You can abuse save states too, or not. Just be sure to create a savestate after you save ingame and before you turn off power, otherwise it won't store to the X5 SRAM where it counts.

 

Kinda ironic, I said "what if Krikzz just build the emulator into the menu like he did with NES on N64."

 

Krikzz be like, "that not gonna happen," then three or four updates later, whoop there it is!

 

Not sure I like the way NES games look on GBA as there is notable sprite scaling in the vertical domain. Honestly the Classic NES Edition and Famicom Mini Series GBA ROMs look better...

[Greg2600]

That's just it. Krikzz built them into the menu. You just need to go download Goomba from the author's website, extract Goomba.gba, and drop it in the GBASYS folder. Now you run native GB/C ROMs from the flash card without any patch utility. Ditto for NES. While I did see slowdown in a few GBC games, most run flawless. You can abuse save states too, or not. Just be sure to create a savestate after you save ingame and before you turn off power, otherwise it won't store to the X5 SRAM where it counts.

 

Kinda ironic, I said "what if Krikzz just build the emulator into the menu like he did with NES on N64."

 

Krikzz be like, "that not gonna happen," then three or four updates later, whoop there it is!

 

Not sure I like the way NES games look on GBA as there is notable sprite scaling in the vertical domain. Honestly the Classic NES Edition and Famicom Mini Series GBA ROMs look better...

 

Oh shizzzzzzz! Wow, that is AWESOME! I'm stillllll waiting on my deluxe from SAG, but I'm even more excited now, ha ha ha. I rarely save games anyway. Does PocketNES adjust the resolution at all, because this was always an issue before, the NES and GBA rez are not quite the same?

Edited September 5, 2016 by Greg2600

[StarshipUK]

Intellivision News!

 

Heads Up - The LTO Flash Cart for Intellivision is now available to buy: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/228141-lto-flash-intellivision-flash-cartridge-information/?p=3587931

 

There is a shop in Germany selling these too for those of us in Europe - Details and links on that thread. I have just ordered mine

[StarshipUK]

I also noticed this one does not seem to have been posted in this thread yet, but judging by the huge number of orders I expect most already know about this:

 

Atari Lynx SD Multi Card: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/250637-lynx-multi-card-preorders/

 

Rumour is he is also working on a long overdue Jaguar SD card too.

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

Oh shizzzzzzz! Wow, that is AWESOME! I'm stillllll waiting on my deluxe from SAG, but I'm even more excited now, ha ha ha. I rarely save games anyway. Does PocketNES adjust the resolution at all, because this was always an issue before, the NES and GBA rez are not quite the same?

NES is 240p native (hardware is not 224 pixels vertical as most emu screenshots lead people to believe). GBA is 160p native. PocketNES crops a bit off the top and bottom of the screen and then compresses the sprites in the vertical domain. 2/3 would result in cropless conversion of uncropped NES screenshot to GBA resolution. The next usable simple ratio beyond 2/3 is 3/4. At 3/4 compression, the GBA screen would occupy roughly 213 NES scanlines and crop the rest. Based on Super Mario screenshots, PocketNES crops exactly 16 pixels off the top which would leave roughly ~11 pixels cropped from the bottom. The bricks in Super Mario Bros confirm this as the status text is exactly on the upper edge of the GBA screen. In real hardware there is 2 rows of 16 pixel ground blocks below the floor and two rows of 16 pixel empty blocks above the playfield. Most TVs show only the upper portion of the bottom Row below the ground. This is consistent with the PocketNES screenshots which show less than 8 pixels of the bottom row.

 

The result of the 3/4 compression is that PocketNES appears to be displaying two clean 1:1 scanlines then one squished 2:1 scanline. This effect is very noticeable on any screen with a lot of text you can see that some scanlines are squished together while others aren't. It doesn't kill playability as everything onscreen is still clearly visible, just the sprites and especially text don't always look right. I've yet to test it with a vertically scrolling game but I'd imagine there will be major shimmering going on.

 

The GBA Classic NES and Famicom Mini Series actually altered the character graphics a bit and modified the NES emulator to display the compressed tiles. I think the background tiles might be a couple pixels shorter than 8x8 square. They also modified the ROMs in various games to move important game data into a reduced "safe area" footprint to make everything fit on the GBA screen. For instance, the status bar in Super Mario Bros was moved down 8 pixels to be even with the top of the playfield blocks. Zelda's status bar was similarly modified. Regardless, due to the hand tweaking NIntendo did to modify the NES graphics and ROM info, the sprites look normal and do not appear distorted.

 

Both the official NES ports and the PocketNES emulator crop the right and leftmost 8 pixels off. This creates a horizontal screen resolution of 240 instead of 256 pixels and fits the GBA perfectly without cropping into the safe area.

[Omega-TI]

There is a compilation of ready to download programs for the FlashROM 99

which is an SD card based cartridge for the TI-99/4A

<< HERE >>

[Mark Wolfe]

 

There is a compilation of ready to download programs for the FlashROM 99

which is an SD card based cartridge for the TI-99/4A

<< HERE >>

 

 

 

How do I get one ? Where can I buy it ?

 

I don't recall ever seeing it listed in this thread which is a shame

[metzger130]

Those that have used the GBA everdrive for GB, GBC games, have you found any issues with games? I am going to get the GBA one, since I now own a GBA, and wait til I see if I need the GB everdrive or not.

[Andromeda Stardust]

Those that have used the GBA everdrive for GB, GBC games, have you found any issues with games? I am going to get the GBA one, since I now own a GBA, and wait til I see if I need the GB everdrive or not.

The Goomba Game Boy Color emulator has a couple issues. The emulators store the GB SRAM in the GBA internal memory rather than the X5 SRAM. This means if you play any Game Boy game that uses SRAM and save the game, the save will get lost if you power down the system. So you must use the save state option from the emulator menu to save progress, which then writes the state machine to the battery-backed X5 SRAM. Any I/O you can see the red LED in the X5 flash momentarily which will let you know progress is saved. Next time you boot the game you can load from the previously stored state.

 

Some Game Boy Color games also have issues where the save states fail because there is not enough "free memory" to save your progress. This happens a lot in Wario Land 3 and potentially other late release Game Boy Color games. Since the emulated game's SRAM is not saved to the cart when saving in game (emulated SRAM is stored in GBA internal memory, not X5 SRAM), you must create a save state before powering off the GBA in order to save your progress.

 

The workaround if there is not enough free memory to store a save state before a power off event is to soft-reset the game by pressing A+B+Start+Select. This will soft reset the emulated game without losing the contents of the emulated SRAM. The save states are compressed data so as you play more garbage fills up the console memory which adds filesize to the compressed save state. The soft reset clears much of this residual garbage increasing the likelihood that you can successfully save the state again before turning the game off.

 

All around the process is a bit clunky. I wish the Goomba emulator could be updated to auto-update the emulated SRAM in the X5 cart's SRAM instead of the GBA internal memory so we could just power off after saving in game without relying on save states to record progress. Ultimately I think the GB Everdrive is still the best option for playing GB/GBC ROMs on the GBA (excluding GBA Micro and DS models) since it boots natively into GB mode. With the current implementation, save stating in Game Boy Color games tends to be a bit unreliable.

 

Only other issues I've really noticed is that sprite scaling can look a bit odd in the NES/SMS emulators. The NES emulator crops the first and last 8 horizontal pixels to 240 pixels horizontal, much like the Classic NES Edition GBA ROMs. In the vertical domain, the emulator crops the top 16 pixels vertically off the NES screen, then deletes two lines out of every background and sprite tile, I believe the 4th and 8th lines from every sprite but I could be mistaken. This compresses all in game sprites down to 6 pixels tall which can occasionally cause text and graphics to appear distorted.

 

Using 3/4 scaling in the vertical domain also esults in the bottom 10 or 11 or 12 or so pixels being cropped. The main difference visually between Classic NES Edition games and native NES ROMs running on PocketNES is that the Classic NES Edition ROMs have had their CHR data tweaked and optimized for 6 pixel tall sprite display but the original NES ROMs have not. It's not hugely distracting to play NES games in this manner and once you get sucked into a game you'll forget that the sprite data is mushed, but it is noticeable and can be distracting at times, especially with text-heavy gameplay. SMS gameplay has similar vertical scaling artifacts.

 

Overall though, having access to the full libraries for GBA plus GB/GBC, NES, GG/SMS games is amazing. You will need to provide the base GBA ROMs for Goomba, PocketNES, and SMSAdvance for free from their respective project sites and dump them in the GBASYS folder.

[metzger130]

So it sounds like I am going to have to buy the Gameboy everdrive also. Kind of sucks, but at same time don't mind having to spend it on the everdrive as I love my N8, TG16, and genesis ones. at least I can play the GB and GBC games til I can afford the gameboy everdrive.

[StarshipUK]

Just found this Colecovision 192 in 1 multicart which I do not think has been mentioned here before: http://www.retroelectronik.com/en/xin1-multigames-cartridge/78-colecovision-192-in-1-multicart-system-3863349509097.html

 

Dip Switch based, rather than menu based and quite cheap at 38 Euros.

[StarshipUK]

How do I get one ? Where can I buy it ?

 

I don't recall ever seeing it listed in this thread which is a shame

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/127752-flashcart-and-multicart-list-all-systems/?p=3516987

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

Dip Switch based, rather than menu based and quite cheap at 38 Euros.

DIP switches suck for game selection. Ditto for anything that requires re-programming to change out ROMs. SD card or bust for me.

[Mark Wolfe]

Dip switches are not the greatest but for someone just getting into coleco the price is very nice . I had a cart like that for Atari 2600 that I loved using but then I got my Supercharger all modded up and in conjunction with an iPod I was able to run just about any game and then of course the Harnony cart came out

 

But a lot of people can't afford that much on a multi carts

 

I think it's a great addition. I assume the maker of it can flash games in any order or maybe you can flash it yourself I have not checked but even if it was just the same games in the same order you can't beat the price

[Mark Wolfe]

Dip switches are not the greatest but for someone just getting into coleco the price is very nice . I had a cart like that for Atari 2600 that I loved using but then I got my Supercharger all modded up and in conjunction with an iPod I was able to run just about any game and then of course the Harnony cart came out

 

But a lot of people can't afford that much on a multi carts

 

I think it's a great addition. I assume the maker of it can flash games in any order or maybe you can flash it yourself I have not checked but even if it was just the same games in the same order you can't beat the price

[carlsson]

For those interested, Charlie (SirMorris) now has a second generation of his M5 multicart under testing with a selected few users.

The M5 Multi II (for the Sord/CGL/Takara M5 and possibly compatible models) is now available for sale, £40 + shipping:

http://www.sellmyretro.com/offer/details/21788

[billysastard]

another new famicom fds flashcard called the magic wild card is now available from http://www.tototek.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_35&products_id=199to buyers outside the usa (a link to the usa seller is on the above page).

 

unlike the fdsstick this has two plus points first and most importantly it's micro SD based (mmc, sd or sdhc, not sdxc) so no custom pc software required and secondly it supports not only the standard .fds filetype used on commercial discs but also the less common .a files used by some old copiers and homebrew. it also sorts the file list alphabetically.

 

prices are $25 uncased and $30 with a 3d printed case (+ any additional shipping costs, mine was about $8 for registered shipping).

 

don't forget that as with all the other fds emulators you'll need to already own at least a famicom fds memory unit (if not a complete fds system) and of course a famicom.

[Andromeda Stardust]

Since I have a Concerto shipping to my door, and am currently on the wait-list for the Lynx multicart, I will soon have Flash carts for every cart system I own (pre-DS):

 

NES PowerPak

 

2600 Harmony (pre-Encore version)

7800 Concerto*

 

Famicom Everdrive N8

Super Everdrive v2.0 w/ DSP1

Everdrive MD v3

Turbo ED v1.1

ED64 v3

EDGB

GBA ED x5

 

SainT Lynx multi**

 

* shipped

** waitlist

 

[NIAD]

Just found this Colecovision 192 in 1 multicart which I do not think has been mentioned here before: http://www.retroelectronik.com/en/xin1-multigames-cartridge/78-colecovision-192-in-1-multicart-system-3863349509097.html

 

Dip Switch based, rather than menu based and quite cheap at 38 Euros.

While this product would have been a must buy back in the pre AtariMax Ultimate SD Cart days, especially at that incredible price, it just doesn't make much sense to buy it now-a-days considering what a tremendous and easy to use product that AtariMax sells... even at the higher price point of $130. For anyone looking to buy a ColecoVision and ADAM Computer compatible multi-cart, do yourself a favor and read up on AtariMax's products for the CV & ADAM, but make sure to buy the Ultimate SD Cart and not the 128-in-1 USB Cart.

 

http://www.atarimax.com

[NIAD]

The Coleco ADAM Computer finally has an SD Drive solution thanks to the efforts of MicroFox and The ADAM News Network. The Virtual ADAMnet Disk Drive was recently released in a very small run of 10 units to gauge interest and unfortunately has already sold out, but a larger run is already being planned and if you are interested, I recommend highly to follow the link provided below and send an email to AtariAge member adamcon via his website to get on the waiting list.

 

Their website does not go into a lot of detail about the product, but it is:

 

- An ADAMnet product which means the ADAM system will immediately recognize it without any need to patch the Operating System (known as E.O.S.) or load drivers

- It can function as Disk Drive #1 or #2

- Allows for a max of 100 disk images to be accessible thru menu software displayed on an LCD screen built into the unit

- The disk image lineup in this 100 lot can be changed via a PC or Mac computer with an SD Card slot

- Is compatible with all disk images widely available for use with ADAM emulators including sizes 5 1/4" 160K, 5 1/4" 320K, 3 1/2" 720K, 3 1/2" 1.44Mb and other odd sizes should work as well

- Can, of course, read from the disk image, but also can write back to it to save changes

 

Here is the link, follow it and then click on "ANN Catalog (U.S.)" in the typewriter roller: http://ann.hollowdreams.com/

[CatPix]

I learned recently of the C4CPC, a Flash cart for the Amstrad Plus systems, the 464Plus, 6128Plus and GX4000.

 

 

http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/C4CPC

 

As for now, the flash cart can "only" play cart images, not disk images. But it's still a good idea, given the price of the Plus cartridges those days.

And Floppy games are being converted to cart format too.

Edited November 2, 2016 by CatPix

[Tempest]

The Coleco ADAM Computer finally has an SD Drive solution thanks to the efforts of MicroFox and The ADAM News Network. The Virtual ADAMnet Disk Drive was recently released in a very small run of 10 units to gauge interest and unfortunately has already sold out, but a larger run is already being planned and if you are interested, I recommend highly to follow the link provided below and send an email to AtariAge member adamcon via his website to get on the waiting list.

 

Their website does not go into a lot of detail about the product, but it is:

 

- An ADAMnet product which means the ADAM system will immediately recognize it without any need to patch the Operating System (known as E.O.S.) or load drivers

- It can function as Disk Drive #1 or #2

- Allows for a max of 100 disk images to be accessible thru menu software displayed on an LCD screen built into the unit

- The disk image lineup in this 100 lot can be changed via a PC or Mac computer with an SD Card slot

- Is compatible with all disk images widely available for use with ADAM emulators including sizes 5 1/4" 160K, 5 1/4" 320K, 3 1/2" 720K, 3 1/2" 1.44Mb and other odd sizes should work as well

- Can, of course, read from the disk image, but also can write back to it to save changes

 

Here is the link, follow it and then click on "ANN Catalog (U.S.)" in the typewriter roller: http://ann.hollowdreams.com/

 

So it's a 100% replacement for a real Adam disk drive? No downside?