Jump to content
IGNORED

Latest Harmony Cart software


batari

Recommended Posts

I second that! I like the scrolling color effect and a different firmware which enables it by default would be better for me.

I doubt this will happen. We already have different versions for TV formats to handle. Adding more variations to change a default here and a menu there will just be too much. Sorry.

 

I sometimes miss the ability to navigate the menu using the console switches...

Uhm... did you even try? :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, I can move the cursor using the SELECT switch, but RESET registers as multiple button presses if I'm not fast enough to release the switch and I usually end up in the copyright screen and get stuck in there. I guess it would work if I had the roms in the root directory, but I organized my rom collection in subdirs.

 

I just downloaded the firmware from the first post and reflashed the cart just to be sure I was using the latest version, but nothing is changed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, unless your RESET switch is acting weird, this is a bug.

 

Since I am on vacation for some time, maybe someone else can test for me, if he can reproduce this problem?

 

Yep, gotta be a bug. Same thing here. V1.05 and a six-switcher. Reset brings you to the Copyright/Credits screen and hangs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

So, if I already have BIOS 1.05 on my Harmony, do I need to download the 1.2 flasher utility? Confused... :???:

 

BTW, I bought my Harmony cart in May of 2012 and I've never flashed it. Is there any reason to update it now?

 

OK, some explanation:

  • The latest BIOS is 1.05. The BIOS files are programmed and released by Thomas Jentzsch; I have no connection to that code at all.
  • The BIOS flasher tool (known as Harmony Programming Tool) is a separate piece of software which I maintain. Its latest version is 1.2.
  • You should go for the latest version of both pieces of software.
  • Each piece of software has a different release date, but the latest version of the flasher tool will always contain the most recent ROM up to that point (ie, flasher tool 1.2 contains BIOS 1.05).
  • If you already have the latest BIOS on your Harmony, you don't need to download the tool and update the BIOS again.
  • The Harmony cart has several different modes; for lack of a better description these can be called end-user and developer modes.
  • People using the end-user mode (ie, simply copying ROMs to an SD card) just need to have the latest BIOS installed, and can use whatever version of the flasher they want to install it (although again, it's recommended to use the latest version of the tool).
  • People using the developer mode should always upgrade to the latest version of the flasher tool, since it will contains bugfixes for features that developers use (ie, these extra features are irrelevant to the end-user, since they aren't using those parts of the flasher tool at all).

Hopefully that clears things up. Long story short, always upgrade the flasher tool, and in addition re-flash your BIOS if you're having problems that a newer BIOS addresses.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Harmony Programming Tool (the flash programmer explained above) version 1.3 is now released. Changelog is as follows:

  • Fixed bug when saving DPC+ and Custom ROMs in single-cart mode; the ROM data wasn't actually being written to the device.
  • Added support for 29KB DPC+ ROMs in single-cart mode (ie, ones without any ARM code); these ROMs now have ARM code automatically added before being downloaded.
  • Updated bankswitch autodetection code to latest from Stella 3.9.1.

For now, this can be downloaded from http://sourceforge.n...monycart/files/. I'm trying to contact Batari to place this notice on the front page, and also to come up with a more consistent website. Currently, the announcements are in this thread, the files themselves are on Sourceforge, and the main webpages are on AtariAge. So it's a bit confusing to figure out where everything is. We're working on it ...

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just tried to use the Programming Tool for the first time for Star Castle Arcade.

Stella reports it is an FA2*

Harmony programmer mode says FA2 is not supported.

It has always played off the SD card just fine.

It is a 29KB rom that has to be padded out to 31K then added to FA2.asm (also padded to 1K) to make a 32K bin that Harmony will play.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just tried to use the Programming Tool for the first time for Star Castle Arcade.

Stella reports it is an FA2*

Harmony programmer mode says FA2 is not supported.

It has always played off the SD card just fine.

It is a 29KB rom that has to be padded out to 31K then added to FA2.asm (also padded to 1K) to make a 32K bin that Harmony will play.

 

Where is this documented, and where would I get the FA2.asm file? It's easy enough to add, but nobody told me about this format (note that it isn't mentioned in the manual, which is what I'm going by).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, but in Stella the area with ARM code is completely ignored (in the 32KB version) or not present (in the 28KB version). So getting it working in Stella is straightforward. Creating a ROM in the format expected by the Harmony cart required more documentation, and specifically the ARM file to append. This is what happens in Stella (from CartFA2.hxx/cxx):

 

/**
 This is an extended version of the CBS RAM Plus bankswitching scheme
 supported by the Harmony cartridge.

 There are six (or seven) 4K banks and 256 bytes of RAM.  The 256 bytes
 of RAM can be loaded/saved to Harmony cart flash, which is emulated by
 storing in a file.
 For 29K versions of the scheme, the first 1K is ARM code
 (implements actual bankswitching on the Harmony cart), which is
 completely ignored by the emulator.
*/
 // 29/32K version of FA2 has valid data @ 1K - 29K
 if(size >= 29 * 1024)
 {
   image += 1024;
   mySize = 28 * 1024;
 }

 

So I don't necessarily have to know how it works on a real cart for it work in Stella :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry, doesn't seem to help. I tried that code, and also the latest release of Star Castle Atari in CU format, which already has the code in the right place. The ROM plays from SD card, but not when downloaded in single-cart mode. And I even tried the standalone lpc21isp utility (basically, the commandline version of what's in Harmony Programming Tool), so I know it's not the app. It seems that FA2 isn't supported in single-cart mode. I don't know if a new BIOS is needed, or perhaps I don't have all the required documentation???

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for trying.

 

Since you got it working (quickly) for princess rescue I thought I'd ask.

Princess Rescue is a standard bank switch format and Star Castle is a new custom type, right?

I have never used single cart mode before, but it would have helped save some time Harmony testing today.

I don't have any more information.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...

Hi!

 

Today I received my harmony cart, and I read the documentation very well. It's an outstanding project and looks fabulous, and feels very professional.

I'm very glad with this gadget!

 

But...

It doesn't work. I updated with the software to the Pal50Hz (I did both steps, so the firmware is updated succesfully; well I guess it is... it took about 15 seconds in a few stages), and I updated to the 50Hz HBIOS on the SD card. I ejected the SD cart succesfully, and retried the Harmony cart on my PAL Darth Vader model 2600.

 

Unfortunately the screen is still scrolling on my 50Hz PAL television. I also tried the 60Hz version. It all fails.

 

I'm using the Mac OS X upgrading tool. Since that all seems to work fine, I guess that is not the issue.

 

Any suggestions?

 

I have this issue also with original NON-Pal carts, so it is probably a NTSC/PAL (60/50 Hz) problem. My 2600 and television do accept Pal games (the ones with the P on the label, or the P-label on the backside). So it should work.

 

Any assistance is highly appreciated. Thanks

Prowizard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 months later...
  • 1 year later...
  • 2 months later...

Harmony Programming Tool (the flash programmer explained above) version 1.3 is now released. Changelog is as follows:

  • Fixed bug when saving DPC+ and Custom ROMs in single-cart mode; the ROM data wasn't actually being written to the device.
  • Added support for 29KB DPC+ ROMs in single-cart mode (ie, ones without any ARM code); these ROMs now have ARM code automatically added before being downloaded.
  • Updated bankswitch autodetection code to latest from Stella 3.9.1.
For now, this can be downloaded from http://sourceforge.n...monycart/files/. I'm trying to contact Batari to place this notice on the front page, and also to come up with a more consistent website. Currently, the announcements are in this thread, the files themselves are on Sourceforge, and the main webpages are on AtariAge. So it's a bit confusing to figure out where everything is. We're working on it ...

 

 

Is this different from the one in the first post? I downloaded the one in the first post and downloaded a DPC+ WIP to the Harmony cart and got nothing but a black screen. You posted your fixed version 2 years ago, so I assumed that the first post would have been updated by now with the latest.

 

Never mind. I see that I installed the ancient HarmonyCart-1.1-win32.exe from the first post. Damn, this is irritating. I'll go download your newest version from 2 years ago.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Must be some incompatibility. There could be several reasons, I suppose it a the slightly different TIA timing.

Thanks for reply, Thomas!

 

Other great difference on this Atari clone, is when you play with Mega Drive joystick, don't is necessary hold B button before turn console ON, for move in Harmony's menu screen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...