Latest Harmony Cart software

[A.J. Franzman]

Harmony patched binaries that I have are: Midnight Magic, Road Runner, Cubis, Meteoroid and Stellar Doomsday Interceptor (SDI). So from your post apparently only the first two should be discarded.

[A.J. Franzman]

One other question: I can't seem to find a copy of the 1.04 BIOS to download anymore, in case something goes wrong in 1.05 and I want to revert it.

[+batari]

I took the 1.04 files down to avoid confusion. However, there is still a BIOS available based on 1.04, but with the Genesis controller override. Harmony carts sold after Mar. 23 or so were shipped with this BIOS. I think there have been enough carts with this BIOS out there that you could revert to this one.

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/158406-paddle-control-override/

[alex_79]

The zip file for bios 1.05 doesn't contain the eeprom loader. I used those packed with the old version (1.04e) that I still have on my hd and it worked fine. You should add a download in the first post for them.

[+batari]

The zip file for bios 1.05 doesn't contain the eeprom loader. I used those packed with the old version (1.04e) that I still have on my hd and it worked fine. You should add a download in the first post for them.

The eeloader has not changed, but you do need to use the 1.04e eeloader for 1.05 so I've modified the zip file to include it.

[keilbaca]

NICE! Compatible with the FB2! Can anyone test to see if games that previously did not work, like Jr. Pac-Man, work now?

[+batari]

NICE! Compatible with the FB2! Can anyone test to see if games that previously did not work, like Jr. Pac-Man, work now?

Unfortunately, if the actual game does not work on the FB2, it won't work on Harmony either. A12 does not go low during TIA/RAM reads and writes, and as such, original carts (and Harmony) can't tell the difference between a TIA/RAM access and a SARA chip access. Not even Harmony's MCU can get around this issue as it does with certain 7800s.

 

I don't know why the designers chose to keep A12 high and float the data bus during TIA/RAM access instead of simply running a proper signal to A12. That design choice is the cause of nearly all incompatibilities, including basically all SARA, 3F, CBS, and Supercharger games.

[A.J. Franzman]

This version of the software was included with Deluxe Harmony carts, and all production carts are using this version of the BIOS. If you are using a pre-production cart, I recommend upgrading to this BIOS as there were several improvements and bugfixes.

 

Linux 32-bit: http://harmony.atariage.com/files/harmonycart_1.1-1_i386.deb

Linux 64-bit: http://harmony.atariage.com/files/harmonycart_1.1-1_amd64.deb

OSX: http://harmony.atariage.com/files/HarmonyCartOSX1.1.dmg

Windows: http://harmony.atariage.com/files/HarmonyCart-1.1-win32.exe

Source code: http://harmony.atariage.com/files/harmonycart-1.1-src.tar.bz2

Which version of the EEPROM loader is included in the above distributions? The filename is eeloader_ntsc.bin, and there's no other version info apparently in the file.

[seanhq]

Quick question... is the Harmony BIOS pretty much stable now all things considered? I'm not experiencing any issues with version 1.05, so my comment is more of a "touching base" on any possible upcoming firmware updates mostly because version 1.05 was released/uploaded back on May 23, 2010 and it's obviously been a while since there was any update to the best of my knowledge. Thanks in advance.

[+batari]

Quick question... is the Harmony BIOS pretty much stable now all things considered? I'm not experiencing any issues with version 1.05, so my comment is more of a "touching base" on any possible upcoming firmware updates mostly because version 1.05 was released/uploaded back on May 23, 2010 and it's obviously been a while since there was any update to the best of my knowledge. Thanks in advance.

There have been a few small changes to the code but not enough to justify a release. There are a few things on the todo list (such as the 7800 detection code) that when finished will justify a release. However, the team just hasn't had time to work on it. Maybe early next year.

[seanhq]

Quick question... is the Harmony BIOS pretty much stable now all things considered? I'm not experiencing any issues with version 1.05, so my comment is more of a "touching base" on any possible upcoming firmware updates mostly because version 1.05 was released/uploaded back on May 23, 2010 and it's obviously been a while since there was any update to the best of my knowledge. Thanks in advance.

There have been a few small changes to the code but not enough to justify a release. There are a few things on the todo list (such as the 7800 detection code) that when finished will justify a release. However, the team just hasn't had time to work on it. Maybe early next year.

Thanks for the follow up. Enjoy your time off from the project. Looking forward to what's to come for the Harmony firmware.

[keithbk]

I just got my Harmony Cart and have been loving it.

 

Was hoping to get a chance to try out Dragonstomper, but the screen went wobbly and would not load properly. Does it need a different file extension? I used the .AR after the .BIN would not work, but still nothing.

Edited February 17, 2011 by keithbk

[+batari]

I just got my Harmony Cart and have been loving it.

 

Was hoping to get a chance to try out Dragonstomper, but the screen went wobbly and would not load properly. Does it need a different file extension? I used the .AR after the .BIN would not work, but still nothing.

Make sure you are using the version for your TV type (PAL or NTSC.) Also, all multiload Supercharger games need to be the 25k-33k combined versions and not multiple 8448 byte files. If you use the 8448 byte files in a multiload game, these will either fail after the first load or not work at all.

[Dan Iacovelli]

I found out the usb cable my brother was using for his removable hard drive (external) base fits the harmony cart so I got my bios and firmware updated

had to find tthe driver for usb connection, since I had to do on my laptop since desktop don't have sd card reader.

[A.J. Franzman]

I found what I think is a bug in the NTSC BIOS 1.05 menu, but I find it difficult to believe I'm the first to encounter or report it:

 

When navigating the menu using the console switches (Game Select and Game Reset), pressing Select when the cursor is at the bottom of the screen changes to the next page and resets the cursor to the top of the screen -- but the cursor then instantly jumps to the second position in the list without pausing, no matter how quickly I press the switch. I cannot launch any game that appears at the very top of a page this way.

 

The reason I'm trying to navigate without a controller is, I'm cleaning and repairing some controllers, and using different games and programs for testing. It's a little frustrating when the controller to be tested isn't working right, and the test program I want to load happens to be at the top of a page. Then I have to unplug the bad controller, put in a good one, load the program, then swap the controllers back again.

Edited March 10, 2011 by A.J. Franzman

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Interesting. I will have a look at this weekend.

 

Probably there is a delay missing when using the switches.

[+Omegamatrix]

Interesting. I will have a look at this weekend.

 

Probably there is a delay missing when using the switches.

Is this a bug that warrants a new release?

[Thomas Jentzsch]

This is weird. I can use select to go through the directory (and confirm your problem), but reset always leads me to the copyright screen instead of launching the current game.

 

How do you launch the games?

[Thomas Jentzsch]

This is weird. I can use select to go through the directory (and confirm your problem), but reset always leads me to the copyright screen instead of launching the current game.

 

How do you launch the games?

 

EDIT: Found my problem. Since there is no delay, if you select a subdirectory, you immediately go up again (and again) until you end up in the copyright screen.

[A.J. Franzman]

I'm glad you were able to confirm that there is a firmware bug. I just found out that the console I was using may have some issues with certain controller inputs, and I thought that that may have been the reason I was experiencing odd Harmony behavior.

[chupathingy]

Do current Harmony carts come pre-loaded with the firmware upgrade?

[+batari]

Harmony carts come with 1.05. The latest firmware (1.06) that fixes the bug in post #40 and a few other things is still not finished.

[Andrew Davie]

Is there anyone using a Harmony cartridge with Linux, particularly Ubuntu?

[Amstari]

Is there anyone using a Harmony cartridge with Linux, particularly Ubuntu?

 

I use Ubuntu and I have a Harmony cart. However I haven't tried a Harmony firmware update using Linux yet.

 

Are you have a problem with it? Let me know if there is anything you want me to test.

[snstay]

Is there any info on what we can expect from the next firmware update or how far along it is?

Thanks

 

 

 

scott