Jump to content
IGNORED

The Ultimate Intellivision Flashback


Byte Knight

Recommended Posts

I finally got my Ultimate Flashback up and running (mostly). I got a Raspberry Pi 3 for Christmas and had purchased the Ultimate Intellivision PC Interface from Byte Knight. Installed retropie 4 on it and started loading it up. Besides Intellivision, I wanted to include a number of other classic emulators and controllers.

 

This is not an easy project for the beginner, but thanks to the resources available, including this thread (that takes FOREVER to get through), I got it done. The part that was the hardest for me was getting the Intellivision emulator and flashback controller working. Getting the keyboard hack file installed was a pain. I don't know Linux and couldn't resolve the permissions issue to get the file into the jzintv directories (so I put it in a different folder and updated the path in the config file). Despite that, I could not get the flashback controller working properly. I spent HOURS on this, and finally discovered the flashback controller I was trying to use was bad! Switched to my other flashback controller and BOOM!

 

But the problems forced me to learn more about the process and how the files interact with each other. Many of the messages on this thread were very helpful, and I appreciate all of you sharing your knowledge with others. Thanks!

 

Still need to get the Atari 2600 and Colecovision joysticks working for their respective emulators, but I'm feeling pretty good about that.

 

Thanks!!!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is not an easy project for the beginner, but thanks to the resources available, including this thread (that takes FOREVER to get through), I got it done. The part that was the hardest for me was getting the Intellivision emulator and flashback controller working. Getting the keyboard hack file installed was a pain. I don't know Linux and couldn't resolve the permissions issue to get the file into the jzintv directories (so I put it in a different folder and updated the path in the config file).

 

Good job! And it took you forever to read through only 900+ posts?! :-D

 

Those damn permissions get me every time too. If you use Cyberduck to connect to your Pi, you can just highlight the file or folder, hit Command-I (or go to Action -> Info) and change the permissions to 777.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In re-reading that last post, I think the part about the scanlines could be confusing. I meant that I added scanlines to all the retroarch emu's...not the intellivision or coolcv, since those aren't retroarch emu's. But for all the others, I do like the scanline look. And then there are overlays....uh boy!

the crt-pi shader is awesome for scanlines in retroarch. Im thinking about spending the $100 for the hardware that creates scanlines so everything has scanlines.
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Scanlines just make all retro-games taste better. :)

I agree...love them little lines. I don't know about the hardware that creates scanlines (unless you mean a CRT). This is a little off-topic, as it doesn't really apply to the Intellivision emulator, but if you guys run MAME on the pi, there's a British fellow named John Merritt who's taken fantastic photos of arcade machines that make great overlays/bezels. If you like the authentic look of scanlines, check out those overlays...they're impressive!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Question for those with the Ultimate Intellivision Flashback and have added support for the Atari 2600. Have you been able to get an Atari 2600 joystick to work?

 

Using the Ultimate Interface, I can get it to recognize the 2600 joystick, can navigate the menus, and start the game, but I don't have a SELECT or START. If I put the Intellivision FB controller in Player 2 and the 2600 in Player 1, I have a SELECT and START on the Intellivision controller, and the 2600 joystick will work for direction, but the fire button isn't active!

 

Any tips on getting the 2600 joystick working with this setup?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As I understand it there are three main pieces: (1) the Ultimate Interface needs to be programmed for the Atari joystick in port 1 (2) the kbdhackfile that jzintv uses needs to be setup correctly for the 2nd port to send inputs that the Atari emulator will use and (3) the Atari emulator needs to be setup with inputs matching what the Intellivision controller is sending.

 

For (1), you hold down the fire button on the Atari joystick for like 5-10 seconds during bootup (i.e. when the Ultimate Interface powers on) and it understands that the Atari joystick is in port 1. Port 2 will keep its programmed state. To reset back to Intellivision controller, program it by holding the 0 key on the keypad during power up.

 

For (2), you need the kbdhackfile definitions to be correct. On my system the file is named hackfile.cfg and is in /opt/retropie/emulators/jzintv. I don't know if that's the same on every flashback / retropie setup or not.

 

For (3), I'm not an expert. My system is running a port of stella instead of lr-stella that retropie defaults to (I believe??). I think it gets definitions from files under ~/.stella, but my understanding stops there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rick is right about lr-stella. If you are using lr-stella it by default shares button mapping with the EmulationStation interface. According to the instructions the fire button should be mapped to input 'B'. You can have button mappings specific for lr-retro by creating and editing a file. See the instructions at this link. If you have an older version it could be different

https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/Atari-2600

 

But I don't think the jzintv keyboard hackfile has an affect on any 2600 emulator.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name="mr_me" post="3666333"

But I don't think the jzintv keyboard hackfile has an affect on any 2600 emulator.

 

Oh wow, that's correct. Not sure where my head was at when I wrote that. Of course, you just need whatever Stella you're using to recognize the inputs coming from the Inty controller.

 

You'll probably want matching definitions to be setup in the jzintv kbdhackfile just so the same inputs coming from the ultimate interface will work when playing inty games, but that is independent of how the Atari emulation would work.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Question for those with the Ultimate Intellivision Flashback and have added support for the Atari 2600. Have you been able to get an Atari 2600 joystick to work?

 

Using the Ultimate Interface, I can get it to recognize the 2600 joystick, can navigate the menus, and start the game, but I don't have a SELECT or START. If I put the Intellivision FB controller in Player 2 and the 2600 in Player 1, I have a SELECT and START on the Intellivision controller, and the 2600 joystick will work for direction, but the fire button isn't active!

 

Any tips on getting the 2600 joystick working with this setup?

you need to open the file /opt/retropie/configs/atari2600/retroarch.cfg and add these lines above the line that says #include....

 

Input_player1_b_btn = "0"

Input_player1_a_btn = "1"

Edited by pimpmaul69
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

This is my command line for in the run.sh script for my preferred Dragon’s Lair gameplay:

./daphne $1 vldp -framefile $2 -nohwaccel -nocrc -noissues -nolog -noserversend -latency 950 -x 640 -y 480 -bank 1 00110111 -bank 0 10011000

(Remember this is for Dragon’s Lair and its ROMs 2.1, renamed so this version runs with them.)

I don’t know if I like the blank seeking or not. You would have to add -blank_searches and/or -blank_skips for the emulation to blank like the original.

My first arcade experience must have been a prototype machine in the US (Pennsylvania) because it definitely had the drawbridge scene. ROMs and the correct ogg audio, m2v video files for each emulated game.

To get the drawbridge scene back, download the DLE_21 rom, unzip it, duplicate U3, then rename them dl_f2_u1.bin, dl_f2_u2.bin, dl_f2_u3.bin, and the duplicated u3 to dl_f2_u4.bin

Create a folder in daphne /roms/ named lair, set permissions to 777, copy the four .bin files into /lair/ (I set their permissions to 777 also). When run, it will complain each file’s checksum doesn’t match, then it will go to a black screen, wait, it will beep, then start.

 

Tips are correct, Mike :thumbsup:

 

For a better "arcade feeling" you have to set blanks this way:

 

-blank_searches -blank_skips -min_seek_delay 750 -seek_frames_per_ms 20

(where "delay=750" is something like the average searching time of a Pioneer LD-V1000, the NTSC laserdisc player which was (is ;) ) inside most of "your" US cabinets)

________________________________________

 

The version you played back in the middle of '83 is probably this :

 

[clip, taken from the net, in which you can see an early version of the cabinet: different marquee, different scoreboard, plexy angle, control panel...........]

 

But 2.1 version actually ISN'T this early version, because it was created by two friends of mine at the D-L-P community in 2005.

It's based on a romset specifically created to enhance the gameplay of Cinematronics' 1983 arcade version. Logical reconstruction to game organization and presentation has been implemented, and the result is what is believed to be the first and only Dragon's Lair game program that plays the game the way it was intended to be played while it was being designed/animated.

 

And the same year they create another set which was specifically programmed to also play the "extra footage" recorded onto the "Dragon's Lair Limited Edition Laserdisc", pressed in 2002 (200 numbered copies). These extra scenes come from a VHS (!!!) recorded from the entire footage of the very first revision of the arcade laserdisc, which was printed in something like 5 copies (as Rick Dyer said years ago in a "special" interview... ;) ) . Unfortunately we're (almost ?) sure those discs are all lost because in almost 30 years of "DEEP searching" we still haven't found one, just as we haven't found any prototype revision boardsets ! :_(

________________________________________

 

[clip of me playin' on my cabinet the "Prototype DL" version which included extra footage, extra ways, different paths and different moves ;) ]

Edited by macdlsa
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...
  • 5 months later...

I have 1 issues and 1 Question. I did a search on this thread and did not see any thing on these 2 topics.

 

 

1. Question..... High Scores. If I'm not mistaken When this was originally done the Ultimate flashback would save High Scores. But It does not any more. Can any one elaborate on this or tell me why this is and how if at all to make mine save the high scores.

 

2. Issue.......My problem...... Sound...... When I connect my Ultimate flashback directly to my TV via HDMI I get perfect sound. However if I go through my A/V Receiver I do not. it garbles the sound horribly. I thought maybe it was the HDMI cable but no that is not it. From what I can tell and maybe I need to play with it some more, the receiver will try to auto detect or auto decide on the best sound settings and It appears that the receiver keeps switching or changing its mind. anyone ever deal with this or see it happen?

 

 

Thanks all

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have 1 issues and 1 Question. I did a search on this thread and did not see any thing on these 2 topics.

 

 

1. Question..... High Scores. If I'm not mistaken When this was originally done the Ultimate flashback would save High Scores. But It does not any more. Can any one elaborate on this or tell me why this is and how if at all to make mine save the high scores.

 

2. Issue.......My problem...... Sound...... When I connect my Ultimate flashback directly to my TV via HDMI I get perfect sound. However if I go through my A/V Receiver I do not. it garbles the sound horribly. I thought maybe it was the HDMI cable but no that is not it. From what I can tell and maybe I need to play with it some more, the receiver will try to auto detect or auto decide on the best sound settings and It appears that the receiver keeps switching or changing its mind. anyone ever deal with this or see it happen?

 

 

Thanks all

 

Not sure about #1.

 

For #2, sound, please refer to https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/Sound-Issues and see if this helps. You can also do a Google search for Raspberry Pi audio issues, too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have 1 issues and 1 Question. I did a search on this thread and did not see any thing on these 2 topics.

 

 

1. Question..... High Scores. If I'm not mistaken When this was originally done the Ultimate flashback would save High Scores. But It does not any more. Can any one elaborate on this or tell me why this is and how if at all to make mine save the high scores.

 

2. Issue.......My problem...... Sound...... When I connect my Ultimate flashback directly to my TV via HDMI I get perfect sound. However if I go through my A/V Receiver I do not. it garbles the sound horribly. I thought maybe it was the HDMI cable but no that is not it. From what I can tell and maybe I need to play with it some more, the receiver will try to auto detect or auto decide on the best sound settings and It appears that the receiver keeps switching or changing its mind. anyone ever deal with this or see it happen?

 

 

Thanks all

question 1: what system and what emulator?

2: open up /boot/config.txt and remove the hashtag # in front of the line:

 

#hdmi_drive=2

so it looks like:

hdmi_drive=2

And save, then reboot. If that doesnt work there are a couple other things i will recommend.

Edited by pimpmaul69
Link to comment
Share on other sites

question 1: what system and what emulator?

2: open up /boot/config.txt and remove the hashtag # in front of the line:

 

#hdmi_drive=2

so it looks like:

hdmi_drive=2

And save, then reboot. If that doesnt work there are a couple other things i will recommend.

 

 

 

to thanks for the Reply and I'll give the edit a try,

 

As for the System and Emulator, this is an ultimate flashback, I believe it it JVintv, and retro pi on a rasberry pi, does that help?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

question 1: what system and what emulator?

2: open up /boot/config.txt and remove the hashtag # in front of the line:

 

#hdmi_drive=2

so it looks like:

hdmi_drive=2

And save, then reboot. If that doesnt work there are a couple other things i will recommend.

 

 

 

Ok I tried to remove the Hashtag, however it already was. so I experimented and put it in. Made no difference, so for now I'm just going to run it directly to the tv. as I'm 99% positive it is my stereo receiver and not the Ultimate Intellivision/Retro pi

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

 

Ok I tried to remove the Hashtag, however it already was. so I experimented and put it in. Made no difference, so for now I'm just going to run it directly to the tv. as I'm 99% positive it is my stereo receiver and not the Ultimate Intellivision/Retro pi

ok try this. However if it doesnt work remove it. Add:

 

hdmi_force_edid_audio=1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

 

Ok I tried to remove the Hashtag, however it already was. so I experimented and put it in. Made no difference, so for now I'm just going to run it directly to the tv. as I'm 99% positive it is my stereo receiver and not the Ultimate Intellivision/Retro pi

so if

 

hdmi_force_edid_audio=1

 

Doesnt work remove it and try:

 

hdmi_ignore_edid_audio=1

 

If that doesnt work remove it. Some tvs audio wont work with these options set so remove it if it doesnt fix your issue.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I sent a new flashback unit to ByteKnight to do the mod and I was a little worried about sending that plus money to someone I don't know, but he did the mod and got it back to me in about a week. For the price he's doing this for it's well worth it. All I can really say about the unit is "awesome". Everything looks great. I had a couple issues that were just my rusty linux skills. The unit has rebooted randomly a couple times (twice at a command line with ES shutdown) which I think might be a power issue, but we'll see. These flashback controllers don't seem to be as good as the originals like I read in a couple places, but they work ok. I still have my original Intellivision with an Intellicart to load roms from the PC directly to the console, which I thought was amazing at the time. This is much nicer with the Ultimate mod.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

post-41280-0-94156800-1510845294.gif

 

If you're going to use the hacked sports games that Gernot posted in this thread and you want new box images for the game menu, here you go. I edited the Mattel and Intv boxes to reflect the shortened game play he came up with. Below is a sample. The attached zip file has full resolution images.

 

attachicon.gifhacked sports games.jpg

 

 

nice, thanks

Edited by Gernot
Link to comment
Share on other sites

These flashback controllers don't seem to be as good as the originals like I read in a couple places, but they work ok.

 

You are the first person I know of to say this. Most people that have talked about the flashback controllers love them more than the original because the side buttons are much softer and do not leave imprints on your fingers. I purposely bought extra controllers from Keith Robinson just in case my other ones wear out. Having bought two INTV flashbacks and two more set of controllers, that puts me at a total of 6, which should be enough for my lifetime! :lol:

  • Like 1
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...