ATARI 5200 Ultimate SD Wafer Drive (Up to 32GB of storage space)

[HDTV1080P]

There is a product on the market for Atari 5200 owners that is called the “Ultimate SD Wafer Drive” by ATARIMAX (also known as Ultimate SD cartridge on its old style label name). The Ultimate SD Wafer Drive has been produced in huge QTY’s and can be purchased directly on Amazon and EBAY. It ships with a fully licensed version of Beef Drop (32KB) Atari 5200 game on a 8GB SDHC media. One’s entire Atari 5200 cartridge rom image collection can fit on one SDHC wafer card.

The following are only a few advantages of the Ultimate SD Wafer Drive

1. It allows game developers to distribute games on low cost SD media. Blank 2GB size SD wafer cards can be purchased from online venders for only around $2 each (blank 8GB SDHC for around $2.50 each). Low cost 32GB SDHC wafer cards can be purchased from many different venders for under $10 if one needs that much space to distribute games. If the Atari game developers back in the 80’s would have had the ability to create videogames with 32GB of storage space for under $10, the quality of the games would have been something the world has never seen before. With 32GB of storage space programmers do not have to worry about trying to fit their games in a small amount of space. Now having a full 32GB of space for games has become a reality.

 

2. A future firmware update for the Ultimate SD Wafer Drive will offer full support for up to 2TB SDXC wafer cards with exFAT file support.

 

3. Current firmware supports up to 32GB SDHC wafer cards for programmers that want to create huge games and programs (The actual capacity of the current hardware is to allow up to 4MB of data to be loaded at any moment. A game developer can page data in and out from the 32GB SDHC wafer cards as needed, which means a programmer can literally make one large Atari 5200 videogame that takes up the entire 32GB of space on the SDHC wafer media).

 

4. Distributing games on SD wafer media is much more cheaper and powerful than game cartridges.

 

5. There are over 1.25 billion Windows PC’s in the world that can play Atari 5200 games with a software emulation program. An internal or external SDXC card reader can be purchased for under $5 that allows over a billion people to play the Atari 5200 SD Wafer rom images. Therefore distributing ones Atari 5200 games on SD Wafer media allows over 1.25 billion people to have the potential to play the game. Releasing the game on a physical cartridge limits the sales to a small amount of people with a 1982-1984 Atari 5200 game system.

 

6. SD Copy protection technology: Making a quality game for the Atari 5200 can take several months or years. There is technology that makes it impossible to copy a SD card so that the Atari 5200 game rom image cannot be duplicated with a simple copy and paste technique on a Windows PC. Game developers that want to protect their hard work from being copied can release all their games on copy protected SD media. Cartridges released today do not use copy protection, so SD media with copy protection is more secure to protect peoples hard work.

 

7. A future third party firmware update could make SD media 100% secure from being copied: Videogame developers that want to protect their hard work from being copied, could in the future release secure encrypted games onto SD media. With a third party firmware update to the Ultimate SD Wafer Drive, it would be possible to make an encryption system with a digital serial number key that would marry the SD card wafer game to only one Ultimate SD Wafer Drive.

 

Making videogames is a time consuming process. In the 21^st Century game programmers now have better tools to create videogames when compared to the technology Atari used in the early 80’s to create videogames. If research and development was spent with Supercomputers, it would be possible to create state of the art tools that would allow game developers to speed up the game developing process. Using a touchpad onscreen drawing interface and a supercomputer one could greatly speed up the Atari 5200 game code development time. If greater tools were created for 8 bit videogame systems like the Atari 5200 then amazing large 32GB size games could be created by a team of programmers in a few months instead of years. Opening up the games to be sold to a potential customer base of 1.25 billion people or more would create an entire new market for classic 8 bit videogames even if only less than 1% of those people were to purchase the game, one is looking at lot of Atari 5200 SD wafer game media being sold. A talented programmer could create games more popular than even Pacman and Donkey Kong by using their creative imagination.

 

_{More detailed information}

_{To help make things more clear I am creating this add on post that hopefully will answer everyone’s questions.}

 

_{1. Distributing games on SD media and using copy protection has nothing to do with ATARIMAX and their cartridges: There are different types of copy protection technologies and encryption technologies that keep data secure on SD cards. There is secure and so far unbreakable encryption technologies like 256 bit AES and 448 bit blowfish technology that keeps data secure. Now I understand that once one uses an authorized key to unlock that encryption and to covert the file to a standard unencrypted file, that the file or rom image can be copied and read once its back in its unencrypted state. Therefore, the purpose of the first post was to bring people’s attention that some different types of copy protection and/or encryption technology can be used on the SD media itself that would protect the media from being copied with a simple copy and paste in Windows, MAC, or Linux machine. Preventing the copy from occurring on the Windows PC, MAC, and Linux computer is the most important place to protect the SD Wafer rom image from being copied and not the cartridge SD wafer drive.}

 

_{2. The existing firmware in the Ultimate SD Wafer Drive is designed to read Atari 5200 or ColecoVision/ADAM videogames on cartridge that do not use any encryption or copy protection technology (Which is 100% of all current ROM images): Currently many people use the ATARIMAX Ultimate SD Wafer Drive to play classic public domain rom images for ColecoVision/ADAM and ATARI 5200 games that they have downloaded from various websites. In addition, some commercial ROM images are for sale on various third party websites that people purchase and can play with a PC with emulation program, or with the ATARIMAX Ultimate SD Wafer Drive on a real console. Game developers also use the Ultimate SD Wafer Drive to play their homemade videogames on an actual console.}

 

 

_{3. ATARIMAX firmware update information: ATARIMAX is currently working on an Official firmware update that will offer exFAT file support. Once that firmware update is released consumers can use up to 2TB SDXC wafer cards in theory. Currently in the year 2017 512GB SDXC cards are the largest available on the market; however in the lab 1TB and 2TB SDXC cards are being worked on for a future release in the years to come. So one day a 2TB size videogame for the ColecoVision/ADAM and ATARI 5200 system could become a reality if one had the time in their lifetime to make a videogame that size (Using Super computers with specially made software, one could greatly reduce the development time since the computer would write automated code with a graphic interface).}

 

_{4. A Possible future firmware update from a third party programmer can make copy protection and/or encryption technology possible in the Ultimate SD Wafer Drive cartridge: With my communication with ATARIMAX it was my understanding that anyone can make a special firmware update for the Ultimate SD Wafer Drive that would allow a game programmer to use copy protection and/or encryption technology with a digital serialized key that is unique to each cartridge. This means a SD wafer game can be serialized to run on only one Ultimate SD Wafer Drive. This would most likely be a third party firmware update only. However, it is my understanding that if enough videogame developers want this copy protection technology inside the Ultimate SD Wafer Drive cartridge, then ATARIMAX would consider maybe writing a firmware update to offer that feature.}

 

Edited September 2, 2017 by HDTV1080P

[Greg2600]

huh?

[Rybags]

Same.

 

SD media files copy protected? I think not. If you can read a simple .Rom file then you've copied it.

And sure, you could use an obscure file system on the SD card that's not supported by default with Windows or MacOS, but then it's just a case of using a utility to do a raw dump.

[+remowilliams]

There so much WTF here I don't know where to begin, but...

 

[tep392]

This is very strange. The seller on Amazon is named ATARIMAX. So why didn't Steve from Atarimax announce this? The same seller is also selling the Colecovision Ultimate SD cart, also renamed "wafer drive" They both sell for $20 OVER the cost charged on the Atarimax site. Steve includes Beefdrop with his as well.

[HDTV1080P]

There is copy protection technology available for SD cards and there is also encryption technology that can be used with SD cards to prevent the image on the SD card from being copied. It’s also possible to change the firmware in the Ultimate SD Wafer drive so there is a serial number in the cartridge so a SD card will only run the ROM image if the cartridge serial number is exact match.

[Heaven/TQA]

maybe better to use maximum font size....

 

I suggest 48....

[Rybags]

In theory something like Atarimax Ultimate SD could be serialized and you could do programs that only work on a unique host cart... but like everything it'd be cracked in a matter of weeks.

 

As for encryption... similar deal. Even a unique key per device and distribution based on that so a program will only work on the intended cartridge - wouldn't take long at all to hack.

Even if such a device used every trick in the book - a couple of hours doing a custom 5200 Bios that dumps out the cartridge once unlocked.

[tep392]

 

Even if such a device used every trick in the book - a couple of hours doing a custom 5200 Bios that dumps out the cartridge once unlocked.

That is the unescapeable loophole.

[Greg2600]

There is copy protection technology available for SD cards and there is also encryption technology that can be used with SD cards to prevent the image on the SD card from being copied. It’s also possible to change the firmware in the Ultimate SD Wafer drive so there is a serial number in the cartridge so a SD card will only run the ROM image if the cartridge serial number is exact match.

 

I'm still wondering if this and the CV thread are just jokes? Why on Earth would collectors buy games for a 35 year old system on an SD card? It's clear they want to "collect" the faux games.

[+remowilliams]

I'm still wondering if this and the CV thread are just jokes? Why on Earth would collectors buy games for a 35 year old system on an SD card? It's clear they want to "collect" the faux games.

 

How could 1.25 billion people potentially be wrong?

[gozar]

Same.

 

SD media files copy protected? I think not. If you can read a simple .Rom file then you've copied it.

And sure, you could use an obscure file system on the SD card that's not supported by default with Windows or MacOS, but then it's just a case of using a utility to do a raw dump.

 

Well, the SD in SD card is an acronym for secure digital, and the standard does have DRM built in.

 

But, yeah, this has WTF all over it. Why not include the 8-bit computer line too?

[gozar]

Oh, and beside going with this, if you are developing a game and want to use an SD card, then you can go the micro controller route that electrotrains used for the Uno cart. I think the cost that came up was less than $10 per cart.

[HDTV1080P]

However with a SDHC card you get 32GB of storage for under $10. Is there any ATARI 5200 cartridges that are even 8MB in ROM size? One could have over 10,000 game screens with a 32GB SDHC card. There is so much space for the game, a programmer can push the limits to the maximum.

Edited August 30, 2017 by HDTV1080P

[Heaven/TQA]

yes... potential market of coders using that "secure" feature for their games or even the storage alone for the games is about less than 10 WORDLWIDE imho. so who did the market researches? it's always easy to say "yeah Heaven... you can use 32gb of storage"... and yes? but will create those assets? for an 8bit platform???? on a 16k machine? ever thought what 32000 megabytes mean? you are talking about a 16k RAM machine...

 

I don't see the point....

 

and copy protection is another endless discussion but for me as coder i don't give a shit honestly. because who wants to have a cart... wants to have a cart with image on it... now when using EMUs on my rooted Sony PSP or FireTV... or even Altirra... now what to do?

[emkay]

I don't see the point....

How about THAT point?

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/269301-original/

[Kyle22]

Nobody likes copy protection of any kind, and we WILL beat it.

 

Get outta here, you troll.

 

Edit: this is addressed to the OP, of course:)

Edited September 1, 2017 by Kyle22

[Osgeld]

I can only imagine a 32 GIG burgertime complete with dithered reject saturday morning cartoons video

[HDTV1080P]

Nobody likes copy protection of any kind, and we WILL beat it.

 

Get outta here, you troll.

 

Edit: this is addressed to the OP, of course:)

A game programmer that spends a few years on making a state of the art videogame, has a personal decision to either copy protect his or her design or not to use any type of copy protection. No one is forcing anyone to use copy protection. The potential is there with SD cards if one decides to use it before releasing their game.

Edited September 2, 2017 by HDTV1080P

[tep392]

@HDTV1080P Does the firmware in the Ultimate SD Wafer Drives you are selling support copy protection now, or is that a future update?

[+CharlieChaplin]

Nobody likes copy protection of any kind, and we WILL beat it.

 

 

 

Addendum: Nobody likes copy protection of any kind, we will beat it - AND also preserve it.

[ivop]

Looks like the OP doesn't get it. You can protect the distribution media all you want, once the code is out of the cart inside the RAM of the Atari or the emulator, all bets are off.

[HDTV1080P]

_{More detailed information}

_{To help make things more clear I am creating this add on post that hopefully will answer everyone’s questions.}

 

_{1. Distributing games on SD media and using copy protection has nothing to do with ATARIMAX and their cartridges: There are different types of copy protection technologies and encryption technologies that keep data secure on SD cards. There is secure and so far unbreakable encryption technologies like 256 bit AES and 448 bit blowfish technology that keeps data secure. Now I understand that once one uses an authorized key to unlock that encryption and to covert the file to a standard unencrypted file, that the file or rom image can be copied and read once its back in its unencrypted state. Therefore, the purpose of the first post was to bring people’s attention that some different types of copy protection and/or encryption technology can be used on the SD media itself that would protect the media from being copied with a simple copy and paste in Windows, MAC, or Linux machine. Preventing the copy from occurring on the Windows PC, MAC, and Linux computer is the most important place to protect the SD Wafer rom image from being copied and not the cartridge SD wafer drive.}

 

_{2. The existing firmware in the Ultimate SD Wafer Drive is designed to read Atari 5200 or ColecoVision/ADAM videogames on cartridge that do not use any encryption or copy protection technology (Which is 100% of all current ROM images): Currently many people use the ATARIMAX Ultimate SD Wafer Drive to play classic public domain rom images for ColecoVision/ADAM and ATARI 5200 games that they have downloaded from various websites. In addition, some commercial ROM images are for sale on various third party websites that people purchase and can play with a PC with emulation program, or with the ATARIMAX Ultimate SD Wafer Drive on a real console. Game developers also use the Ultimate SD Wafer Drive to play their homemade videogames on an actual console.}

 

 

_{3. ATARIMAX firmware update information: ATARIMAX is currently working on an Official firmware update that will offer exFAT file support. Once that firmware update is released consumers can use up to 2TB SDXC wafer cards in theory. Currently in the year 2017 512GB SDXC cards are the largest available on the market; however in the lab 1TB and 2TB SDXC cards are being worked on for a future release in the years to come. So one day a 2TB size videogame for the ColecoVision/ADAM and ATARI 5200 system could become a reality if one had the time in their lifetime to make a videogame that size (Using Super computers with specially made software, one could greatly reduce the development time since the computer would write automated code with a graphic interface).}

 

_{4. A Possible future firmware update from a third party programmer can make copy protection and/or encryption technology possible in the Ultimate SD Wafer Drive cartridge: With my communication with ATARIMAX it was my understanding that anyone can make a special firmware update for the Ultimate SD Wafer Drive that would allow a game programmer to use copy protection and/or encryption technology with a digital serialized key that is unique to each cartridge. This means a SD wafer game can be serialized to run on only one Ultimate SD Wafer Drive. This would most likely be a third party firmware update only. However, it is my understanding that if enough videogame developers want this copy protection technology inside the Ultimate SD Wafer Drive cartridge, then ATARIMAX would consider maybe writing a firmware update to offer that feature.}

 

 

[Wrathchild]

I'll chime in here...

 

So from the last post, this describes a form of security in which an Ultimate SD Wafer Drive cartridge will only be able to execute the binary on an SD card if that binary was first encoded to a key unique to the cartridge?

 

That being the case, the code / data accessible from cartridge to the 5200 is decoded by the cartridge. Therefore this offers no protection at all as anyone can dump and reverse engineer it and hence able to produce a version that can be run without the Ultimate SD Wafer Drive cartridge (with the proviso that it is, say, less than 64K in size).

 

[Edit] It is also not covered if the (unencoded) binary itself is unique, for example it is built to include some specific markers in order to uniquely identify the purchaser.

In this scenario that purchaser could potentially be 'named and shamed' as a result of their binary being reverse engineered and distributed.

However in this case, all of the clever decoding being done by the cart's firmware is redundant, just giving out the uniquely stamped binary would achieve the same.

Sadly however, any hacker is probably smart enough to uncover the method of the unique stamping and simply remove it.

Edited September 2, 2017 by Wrathchild

[HDTV1080P]

This is why option one is the best option. If game boxes and color labels were made for SD media. Most consumers would try and copy the game on their Windows PC using a quick copy and paste technique. If a simple copy protection is used on the SD media to prevent copying in a Windows PC, MAC, and Linux machine, then one has eliminated the easiest way to copy the rom image. One would not need some serialized feature that would marry the SD card to one Ultimate SD Wafer Drive cartridge.

 

If the 32kb cartridge rom image is encrypted and copy protected for the ADAM computer system. Since the year 1983 there has existed technology to copy the cartridge rom image up to 32kb to a Digital Data Pack or floppy disk image. So yes unless one were to create a entire new videogame system with secure copy protected operating system, there is no perfect security.

Edited September 2, 2017 by HDTV1080P