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Homebrews on Uno-2600 cartridge


KB3L0CA

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Hey guys, quick question for the owners of UNO cartridge.

 

I know that the UNO runs all atari original games, but what about the homebrews or hacks?

 

Does it work with Halo2600?

 

Which ones you guys noticed that doesn't run with this cartridge?

 

Thanks in advance!

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I think just some ARM-assisted homebrews don't work with the Uno. Other than that, I'd be surprised if there were any homebrews or hacks that didn't work. I'll be happy to try the ROM for Halo 2600 on mine to confirm, however,

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post-30777-0-07586300-1560288020.jpg

With ARM games I think it's more like Windows being incompatible with the Mac - the UNO cart has an ARM processor too but ARM assisted games can also rely on operating system calls in addition to running the gameloop.

 

With a different OS, only a translation layer can make those games playable on the UNO; I think there is already discussion of one underway.

 

I wrote a similar translation layer to allow SuperCharger games to be recompiled as CBS RAM games, though both classic formats are supported on the UNO and the Harmony.

 

The SuperCharger format has the distinction of being the only legacy format with an OS to place calls to, though luckily few calls are made since the OS is even more minimal; translation to CBS RAM format requires no OS calls are made to load data.

 

Not sure what the limitations would be for writing ARM game translators in either direction with the UNO and Harmony ensemble.

 

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Thanks dude! It was very explanatory!

attachicon.gifDell.jpg

With ARM games I think it's more like Windows being incompatible with the Mac - the UNO cart has an ARM processor too but ARM assisted games can also rely on operating system calls in addition to running the gameloop.

 

With a different OS, only a translation layer can make those games playable on the UNO; I think there is already discussion of one underway.

 

I wrote a similar translation layer to allow SuperCharger games to be recompiled as CBS RAM games, though both classic formats are supported on the UNO and the Harmony.

 

The SuperCharger format has the distinction of being the only legacy format with an OS to place calls to, though luckily few calls are made since the OS is even more minimal; translation to CBS RAM format requires no OS calls are made to load data.

 

Not sure what the limitations would be for writing ARM game translators in either direction with the UNO and Harmony ensemble.

 

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I've played:

 

balloon trip
blinky goes up
boulder dash
crazy balloon
climber 5
colony 7
go fish
hunchy 2
lady bug
seawolf
star fire
thrust
toy shop trouble
vault assault

 

asstd AA multicart roms

Melody board games like Draconian, space rocks do not work

Wasn't too familiar with Mappy or Wizard of wor arcade, but did not work

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Thanks a lot for sharing the games! I really appreciate it! I've wondered Mappy wasn't going to run due to the AMR programming used in the harmony cartridge.

I've played:

 

balloon trip
blinky goes up
boulder dash
crazy balloon
climber 5
colony 7
go fish
hunchy 2
lady bug
seawolf
star fire
thrust
toy shop trouble
vault assault

 

asstd AA multicart roms

Melody board games like Draconian, space rocks do not work

Wasn't too familiar with Mappy or Wizard of wor arcade, but did not work

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Hi KB,

 

I recently bought an UNO cart, and I'm very happy with it, as stated some homebrew won't work, things like the galaga demo recently released, Space Cactus Canyon which is really fun doesn't work either :( I think these are labelled as "DPC+" or something, it relates to the way Harmony Encore carts can take advantage by altered hardware in the cart, while Stella can run these games (such as on Retron 77) UNO carts can't yet as they run much more like original carts.

 

I can play things like Halo 2600, Zippy the Porcupine, Princess Rescue and many others from it.

 

Here is some games I have under my homebrew folder:

 

Arcade ports: Avalanche, ColorGotcha, DK VCS

Demakes: Aadvark (I think there is two versions, only one work on UNO), Beeware (Super Bee on Videopac), Choplifter, Distopia, Halo 2600, Ladybug, Princess Rescue, Scramble, TitanAxe (Golden Axe!), Zippy

Others: Robo Ninja Climb, Osytron, Assembloids, Dungeon etc

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Thanks a lot Mike! I've bought it too and I'm looking forward to play some homebrew games as well. Good to know that Zippy and the others runs on it!

 

Thanks for sharing it dude!

Hi KB,

 

I recently bought an UNO cart, and I'm very happy with it, as stated some homebrew won't work, things like the galaga demo recently released, Space Cactus Canyon which is really fun doesn't work either :( I think these are labelled as "DPC+" or something, it relates to the way Harmony Encore carts can take advantage by altered hardware in the cart, while Stella can run these games (such as on Retron 77) UNO carts can't yet as they run much more like original carts.

 

I can play things like Halo 2600, Zippy the Porcupine, Princess Rescue and many others from it.

 

Here is some games I have under my homebrew folder:

 

Arcade ports: Avalanche, ColorGotcha, DK VCS

Demakes: Aadvark (I think there is two versions, only one work on UNO), Beeware (Super Bee on Videopac), Choplifter, Distopia, Halo 2600, Ladybug, Princess Rescue, Scramble, TitanAxe (Golden Axe!), Zippy

Others: Robo Ninja Climb, Osytron, Assembloids, Dungeon etc

Edited by KB3L0CA
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  • 2 years later...
On 6/13/2019 at 10:30 AM, Mikebloke said:

Hi KB,

 

I recently bought an UNO cart, and I'm very happy with it, as stated some homebrew won't work, things like the galaga demo recently released, Space Cactus Canyon which is really fun doesn't work either :( I think these are labelled as "DPC+" or something, it relates to the way Harmony Encore carts can take advantage by altered hardware in the cart, while Stella can run these games (such as on Retron 77) UNO carts can't yet as they run much more like original carts.

 

I can play things like Halo 2600, Zippy the Porcupine, Princess Rescue and many others from it.

 

Here is some games I have under my homebrew folder:

 

Arcade ports: Avalanche, ColorGotcha, DK VCS

Demakes: Aadvark (I think there is two versions, only one work on UNO), Beeware (Super Bee on Videopac), Choplifter, Distopia, Halo 2600, Ladybug, Princess Rescue, Scramble, TitanAxe (Golden Axe!), Zippy

Others: Robo Ninja Climb, Osytron, Assembloids, Dungeon etc

The question is how did you get scramble to work with the UNO Cart it's supposed to be DPC+ & Harmony compatible?

It works on Stella for Windows & 2600 Emu for android phones. It also starts up on my Blaze Atari Retro Handheld Console but crashes as soon as you start the game. But I've tried every PAL version of the Demo on the UNO Cart & get a scramble of color then black screen!

Please help is there any way to get it working? or a different download somewhere? as was in your list of games that work? Or am I just going to have to buy scramble on a PAL 60 cartridge when I get paid in a couple of weeks? 

Thanks in advance. 

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The available Scramble ROM cannot work with the UNO cart. The Harmony ARM chip is too different. These games would have to be recompiled for the UnoCart ARM chip. AFAIK this hasn't happened yet.

 

BTW: All versions of Aardvark should work with the UnoCart. 

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14 minutes ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

The available Scramble ROM cannot work with the UNO cart. The Harmony ARM chip is too different. These games would have to be recompiled for the UnoCart ARM chip. AFAIK this hasn't happened yet.

 

BTW: All versions of Aardvark should work with the UnoCart. 

Thanks for the reply.

That's exactly what I thought, although still don't know why it loads the title in my Blaze Atari Retro Handheld Console & then crashes as soon as you start the game? 

I'm definitely going to buy scramble pay day in 2 weeks as its an excellent game & want to play it on my PAL Atari 2600 Vader with a Sega Master System controller (preferably, rather than a Genesis/Megadrive controller as the 2 buttons on a Master System controller work perfectly). 

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On 7/22/2021 at 9:33 PM, Ian Smiler B said:

The question is how did you get scramble to work with the UNO Cart it's supposed to be DPC+ & Harmony compatible?

It works on Stella for Windows & 2600 Emu for android phones. It also starts up on my Blaze Atari Retro Handheld Console but crashes as soon as you start the game. But I've tried every PAL version of the Demo on the UNO Cart & get a scramble of color then black screen!

Please help is there any way to get it working? or a different download somewhere? as was in your list of games that work? Or am I just going to have to buy scramble on a PAL 60 cartridge when I get paid in a couple of weeks? 

Thanks in advance. 

Apologies from what I remember quoting scramble was a mistake, convo went to DMs but didn't correct my mistake here. Still a nice cart though for those that didn't have the money to spend on a harmony cart. 

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On 7/24/2021 at 8:22 AM, Mikebloke said:

Apologies from what I remember quoting scramble was a mistake, convo went to DMs but didn't correct my mistake here. Still a nice cart though for those that didn't have the money to spend on a harmony cart. 

That's ok. Glad that was sorted out.

I think I would prefer Scramble on a 2600 cartridge anyway.

The UNO Cart does most games so I'm happy with it rather than the slightly more pricey Harmony Cart. 

Looking forward to pay day so I can order Scramble for the Atari 2600. 

As I said in a earlier message, the Rom of the Scramble Demo partially worked (only title screen working) on the Blaze Atari Retro Handheld Console. Well I figured out the Atari 7800 Rom of Scramble works great with both buttons working for guns & bombs. 

Pictured below is (first 2 pics) the Atari 7800 Rom working on the New Argon emulator for Android & (second 2 pics) the Atari 2600 Demo Rom working on the 2600 Emu emulator for Android. 

Can't wait to play the complete version properly on my Atari 2600 Vader.

Shame nobody converted it to work on the UNO Cart or many new homebrew games too & maybe one day homebrew developers take advantage of what the UNO Cart can do. 

Screenshot_2021-07-26_152021.jpg

Screenshot_2021-07-26_152115.jpg

Screenshot_2021-07-26_152155.jpg

Screenshot_2021-07-26_152228.jpg

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15 hours ago, Ian Smiler B said:

The UNO Cart does most games so I'm happy with it rather than the slightly more pricey Harmony Cart.

I have seen this sort of thing said before. Are people unaware that a standard Harmony cart is $39.99 + $3.99 shipping?

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On 6/12/2019 at 8:00 PM, KB3L0CA said:

I've wondered Mappy wasn't going to run due to the AMR programming used in the harmony cartridge.

 

My understanding is the biggest difference between the Harmony and the UNO is the memory map. For the Harmony:

  • 0x00000000 ROM
  • 0x40000000 RAM

For the UNO:

  • 0x08000000 ROM
  • 0x20000000 RAM

Programs don't work correctly when things are not located where they are expected to be.

 

I target the Harmony because then my games can be released in cartridge form using the Melody board, which is basically a Harmony cartridge minus the SD slot and USB port. I don't believe there's a stand-alone board like the Melody for the UNO, though I haven't kept up with its development.

 

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11 hours ago, SpiceWare said:

I target the Harmony because then my games can be released in cartridge form using the Melody board, which is basically a Harmony cartridge minus the SD slot and USB port. I don't believe there's a stand-alone board like the Melody for the UNO, though I haven't kept up with its development.

Advanced cart boards are nothing new, and neither is the chicken-and-egg problem, where homebrewers won't write a game for a board that doesn't already exist in sufficient numbers to release the game, and hardware guys seem reluctant to produce thousands of boards that have no homebrews to release on them. So we end up with a stalemate and nothing happens.

 

One way that could break the stalemate is for someone to make a big investment in cart boards and make them available at an affordable price either to homebrewers or to an experienced, trusted game publisher like AtariAge. That's what I did for Melody. Someone may do something similar here eventually.

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