MiSTer FPGA - 7800 Core

[PacManPlus]

36 minutes ago, remowilliams said:

That's just something that's not going to happen.  There isn't enough free GPIO to accommodate the use case, and it's nowhere near a project goal.

I figured   Just a pipe dream

 

Thank you all for the help!

John - I'll answer your PM in a few minutes.

 

Thanks again!

Bob

 

ah!  SRAM boards in MB...  Wow, if that's the case, the memory for this is quite expensive!

 

[Kitrinx]

3 hours ago, PacManPlus said:

I figured   Just a pipe dream

 

Thank you all for the help!

John - I'll answer your PM in a few minutes.

 

Thanks again!

Bob

 

ah!  SRAM boards in MB...  Wow, if that's the case, the memory for this is quite expensive!

 

Sort of. It's sort of a custom part for a relatively small market, but also all types of ram aren't the same. There's SRAM, SDRAM, PSRAM, DDR3, etc. In this case the type of ram you're buying is SDRAM. The cost of the parts isn't that much less than the retail prices of it. It's used because of it's relatively fast and consistent speed that can emulate ROM well for these systems.

[gambler172]

What partsvdo i need for a complete machine?

[john_q_atari]

12 hours ago, gambler172 said:

What partsvdo i need for a complete machine?

Depends on what you mean by complete. To use mister all you really need are de10, USB hub, sdram board, and a controller connected through USB.

[Trebor]

On 11/18/2021 at 2:53 PM, gambler172 said:

What partsvdo i need for a complete machine?

My setup consists of the following..

 

I. 'Bare necessities':

Main hardware/motherboard:

1. DE10-Nano Kit
SOURCE: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B89YHSB

 

Hardware Memory.  Can go with as little as 32MB:

2. Mister SDRAM Extra Slim XSD v2.5 SD Board 128MB for Mister FPGA
SOURCE: https://www.ebay.com/itm/124592742937*

 

USB Hub:

3. MakerSpot Micro USB OTG Hub for Raspberry Pi Zero 4 Port High Speed Sync and Extension Cable Adapter
SOURCE: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JL837X8

 

USB Controller(s).  Of course, any USB Keyboard/Game Controller works fine:

4.  Mini Keyboard,Rii X8 Portable 2.4GHz Mini Wireless Keyboard Controller with Touchpad Mouse Combo
SOURCE: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D2BG6R5

5.  Saitek P880 USB Controller (Old, but still one of the best controllers I have ever utilized and still works like day 1)

 

II. Other stuff:

Additional Storage (I.E. ROMs).  Storage needs vary dependent on wants (DE10-Nano Kit comes with an 8GB card):

6.  SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS EVO Select 256GB MicroSDXC UHS-I U3 100MB/s Full HD & 4K UHD Memory Card with Adapter (MB-ME256HA)
SOURCE: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0887P21Z2

 

WiFi (Makes updating a breeze):

7. Vonets VAP11G-300 Wireless to Wired Ethernet dongle WiFi Bridge Wireless router Repeater

SOURCE: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QXNWRWJ

 

Cooling (Wasn't necessarily needed for my setup having no case with plenty of airflow, but so cheap, why not?):

8. MiSTer Fan and Heatsink
SOURCE: https://misterfpga.co.uk/product/mister-fpga-fan-and-heatsink/

 

III. Notes:

First time setup: https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Main_MiSTer/wiki/Setup-Guide**

Main 'news' repository I frequent: https://github.com/MiSTer-devel

MiSTer FPGA Forum: https://misterfpga.org/

Mindless updates: https://github.com/theypsilon/Update_All_MiSTer

 

*The SDRAM unfortunately is no longer available from the ebay seller I purchased from, but any reputable seller will suffice.

**Mr Fusion Installation Method (Recommended) is the path I leveraged.  For Step 2, of the three listed utilities, I utilized Win32 Disk Imager without issue on my Windows 10 Home x64 desktop.

[+Muddyfunster]

1 hour ago, Trebor said:

Mindless updates: https://github.com/theypsilon/Update_All_MiSTer

This is super useful. I discovered this a while back and it's great for updating "stuff"  

[cybercylon]

On 11/19/2021 at 7:07 AM, Trebor said:

My setup consists of the following..

 

I. 'Bare necessities':

Main hardware/motherboard:

1. DE10-Nano Kit
SOURCE: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B89YHSB

 

.....

Great post and deserves to be pinned. I've decided to hold off until the spring when my 2nd job kicks back in again as I need to watch spending, but I will definitely come back to that post.

[PacManPlus]

Hey Guys:

 

I downloaded the newest core and followed the first time setup.  Used the "Atari7800_pre.rbf" that was attached to the thread a few posts ago, and I got a BIOS and game working.  However, I cannot for the life of me get a Bluetooth joystick to work with the 7800.  The joystick works fine in the menus, but will not work in the 7800 (BTW, neither does the USB keyboard, even after 'defining buttons' for either device).  When I try defining buttons for the joystick I get "you need to define this joystick in menu core first".

 

If I do the 'Button/Key remap for game' for the keyboard and hit 'Enter' when I'm done, keyboard still doesn't work for the 7800 to control it.  If I do it for the joystick, I get a "joystick not defined" message on the screen.

Again, the joystick does work in the menu for navigation.  Not sure what's going on here.

 

Any ideas?

Thank you,

Bob

Edited November 22, 2021 by PacManPlus

[Trebor]

19 minutes ago, PacManPlus said:

...Any ideas?...

 

TLDR: Creating the folder "/config/inputs" fixes it.

 

Fingers crossed... YMWV (Your Millage WONT Vary). 

[PacManPlus]

Yeah...  I found that when I went looking.

 

The path is already there:

 

I even tried erasing the .map file and re-starting. 

 

Should have stated that before (sorry) - but thank you Trebor...

[Trebor]

29 minutes ago, PacManPlus said:

Yeah...  I found that when I went looking.

 

The path is already there:

 

I even tried erasing the .map file and re-starting. 

 

Should have stated that before (sorry) - but thank you Trebor...

There should be a main input*.map for the device, as well as a mapping for the Core present in the folder:

 

 

If the main input*.map is missing, try going through these steps after wiping the folder clean.

[PacManPlus]

Ok, I tried that, and now the menu buttons work, but the joystick and fire button still does not (nor does the keyboard still).

 

I've been fooling with this for too long tonight; I need to get back to Defender.  I didn't realize it would be this difficult to use.

 

Thanks, Trebor for all of the help.  You are awesome, as always.

 

*EDIT* I got it.  "Swap Joysticks" was on somehow.  It thought the joystick was player 2.

 

Thanks again Trebor - I'm pretty sure I got this working now.

Edited November 22, 2021 by PacManPlus

[theoakwoody]

On 11/22/2021 at 5:54 PM, PacManPlus said:

Ok, I tried that, and now the menu buttons work, but the joystick and fire button still does not (nor does the keyboard still).

 

I've been fooling with this for too long tonight; I need to get back to Defender.  I didn't realize it would be this difficult to use.

 

Thanks, Trebor for all of the help.  You are awesome, as always.

 

*EDIT* I got it.  "Swap Joysticks" was on somehow.  It thought the joystick was player 2.

 

Thanks again Trebor - I'm pretty sure I got this working now.

I saw the swap joysticks option.  I wonder why you would use that option?  

[Trebor]

3 hours ago, theoakwoody said:

I saw the swap joysticks option.  I wonder why you would use that option?  

Supports 2600 games..  Raiders of the Lost Ark.

 

Also, analog controller/mouse controller combo for the Player 1 controls, and you want to play a paddle game where P1 defaults to P2 paddle input.. Crazy Brix.

[Kitrinx]

For those who are interested, I've released the update to this core now.

 

Changelog:
- Added 2600 support with an entirely new implementation
- Autodetection of 2600 bankswitching mode (Alanswx)
- Many 2600 bankswitching types supported including Starpath supercharger
- Flickerblend, de-combing, and video stabilization for 2600
- Load starpath supercharger tapes using ADC
- Support custom palettes
- Toggle buttons for difficulty switches, b&w switch, and pausing the core
- Renamed difficulty switch labels for clarity
- Improved RIOT timer edge case accuracy
- Added omega booster grip and robotron controller input options
- Rework paddle handing with dynamic assignments and automatic range detection
- Update framework

 

For best results with paddles, it's suggested to use mouse or a dedicated spinner like Mr. Spinner or Ultimatemister's spinner. Analog sticks work but are more difficult to use, check the readme for more information.
 

You can get it here, or simply use the downloader script to update your MiSTer:

https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Atari7800_MiSTer/tree/master/releases

[Skeeter]

Thank you, the core is awesome.

[zetastrike]

Any chance games like Space Rocks and Galagon work with this implementation?

[Skeeter]

No on Space Rocks, at least not for me. I haven't tried Galagon.

 

I'm loving Commie Mutants myself. Never had or even saw those superchargers back in the day, I did have a 410 cassette drive for my 8-bits though, so this has been fun. As Space Invaders nut, Commie Mutants would have been a blast back in '82.

[+remowilliams]

1 hour ago, zetastrike said:

Any chance games like Space Rocks and Galagon work with this implementation?

No, they will not as they require Harmony/Melody functionality.  From the cores Readme:

 

Most 2600 games are supported including most bankswitching schemes, with a few exceptions. ARM based mappers, such as DPC+ require a 70mhz ARM cpu, which would be either very difficult, or impossible, to have run properly on the cyclone V that MiSTer FPGA uses. To make the experience better, an Out of Order screen will be shown when one of these games using modern hardware is loaded.

 

https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Atari7800_MiSTer

 

 

[Trebor]

In addition to the phenomenal job by Kitrinx forward progressing the MiSTer 7800 core, now containing a very robust 2600 core as well, overall, at the system level, MiSTer has recently seen a slew of Shadow Masks added.   

 

Between optional Shadow Masks and Scale filters, the video output can be customized quite extensively, or of course the KISS method can be applied and leave both disabled. 

 

Whether you're a gamer, developer, or both for the Atari 2600 and 7800 platforms, it is a fantastic time to be onboard with MiSTer. 

[mimo]

Gutted, my DE10 nano wasn't shipped on 30th November by Mouser as preciously informed, shipment is now expected 28th Jan 2022. 
Merry Christmas   I'm not going to have anything to open now ?

Edited December 6, 2021 by mimo

[Kitrinx]

NML Recently made a video showing the use of SNAC (native controller port) from this core with the atarivox+ peripheral:

 

[Trebor]

MiSTer 7800 Core distribution has been updated.

 

For fans of the default NTSC, PAL, and SECAM palettes found under the Stella emulator, they were added to the 'palettes' folder archive.  Located in the subfolder labeled 'Atari 2600 Only', as designated, these palette files work properly only under the 2600 portion of the core.

 

Any desiring to utilize palettes that match similar to Stella's NTSC and PAL defaults, including proper full compatibility for both the 2600 and 7800 systems, such palettes remain available in the 'Trebor' subfolder from the same archive.

 

Navigation is as follows:

NTSC: CRT_Colors --> Bright --> Desaturated --> CRT_V1_TLS --> NTSC --> ATARI_NTSC_CRT_V1_TLS-WARM.pal

PAL: CRT_Colors --> Dark --> Rich --> CRT_V3_DRK --> PAL --> ATARI_PAL_CRT_V3_DRK-HOT.pal

 

 

Background info..
As defaults under Stella, the main NTSC and PAL palettes are very different from one another in approach and appearance.

For NTSC, the emulator default is a palette that is very bright, less saturated, a hue setting leaning greener relative to the PAL default palette, and favors a warm console.  

For PAL, the emulator default is a palette that is darker, more saturated, a hue setting leaning redder relative to the NTSC default palette, and favors a hot console.

[BrianC]

On 12/8/2021 at 5:58 PM, Kitrinx said:

NML Recently made a video showing the use of SNAC (native controller port) from this core with the atarivox+ peripheral:

 

Neat. I'll give that a try. I couldn't get the AtariVox+ detected by MiSTer through the Stelladaptor II's special firmware (unless there is a setting I missed). 

[mimo]

3 hours ago, BrianC said:

Neat. I'll give that a try. I couldn't get the AtariVox+ detected by MiSTer through the Stelladaptor II's special firmware (unless there is a setting I missed). 

From what I have seen you need SNAC to use atarivox, light guns etc