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    Improving the atari 800/5200 install.

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Ideas and Development
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    • BuZzB
      BuZz administrators
      last edited by

      I have made the above changes. I included all the models in the end.

      To help us help you - please make sure you read the sticky topics before posting - https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
      • D
        dabone
        last edited by

        Ok, with the new changes, if you start the atari800 emulator as a 5200 and then do the

        (F1 -> Emulator Configuration -> System Rom Settings) and then save, then it won't be launch non 5200 games, because it sets the MACHINE_TYPE=Atari 5200 in the atari800.cfg

        After that is set, when you try launching a atari program file it gives the error.
        "binload: can't run Atari programs directly on the 5200"

        And the it runs the 5200 cart that was loaded with the config was saved.

        Not a error with retropie, but the emulator ignoring the command line parms.
        It's still looking at the parms, but apparently when that MACHINE_TYPE is defined in atari800.cfg, you can't change it via command line.

        The solutions I see are 2 different ways,

        1, have a different atari800.cfg file for each emulator, I'm trying to use the -c option, but I'm not having any luck getting it pick up a different config file.

        2, prepopulating the rom locations into the atari800.cfg,
        We do this with other systems, (coco, psx) so why not go ahead a define the rom names for the atari?

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        • BuZzB
          BuZz administrators
          last edited by BuZz

          Oh. I thought you may have already tested it when you suggested using the arguments.

          I think for now I'll put it back how it was in terms of the various emulator options until I have a solution.

          we don't prepopulate configs for psx - it just looks in a set location for the bios. - same for coco (we symlink it so it can find them).

          To help us help you - please make sure you read the sticky topics before posting - https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • D
            dabone
            last edited by

            Or the other option is in the wiki , tell people to leave that setting blank in the config file.
            If that setting is not set, the command line configs work fine.

            Later,
            dabone

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            • D
              dabone
              last edited by

              Alright, it's not a -c, you have to use -config.

              This allow this use of separate config files between the 5200 and 800 configs.

              "Oh. I thought you may have already tested it when you suggested using the arguments."

              I did, but I had edited the config file by hand to point to my bios files, I found the error as I was following the steps in the wiki to test.

              Say that the default emulators.cfg read as the following.

              Atari 5200

              atari800="/opt/retropie/emulators/atari800/bin/atari800 -config /opt/retropie/configs/atari5200/atari800.cfg -5200 %ROM%"

              Atari 800

              atari800="/opt/retropie/emulators/atari800/bin/atari800 -config /opt/retropie/configs/atari800/atari800.cfg -atari %ROM%"

              And removing the link from the /home/pi/.atari800.cfg

              This would allow for the 2 different systems to coexist while still using the easier method of using the gui to define the bios files, video modes, etc.

              Later,
              dabone

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              • D
                dabone
                last edited by

                And, in the current state, following the wiki is what is causing the broken config between modes.

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • BuZzB
                  BuZz administrators
                  last edited by

                  The problem with the multiple configs, is it means other things may need to be configured multiple times. As it is a single emulator, I should think a single config would be best. I will look into this further when I have some free time.

                  To help us help you - please make sure you read the sticky topics before posting - https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

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                  • J
                    jfroco
                    last edited by

                    Hi

                    I'm using

                    atari800="/opt/retropie/emulators/atari800/bin/atari800 -5200 -cart-type 4 -cart %ROM%"

                    in emulators.cfg for atari5200, and I try to use only 32KB carts (to avoid the first screen asking for cart type). If the cart-type is not the standard 32KB, the emulator asks for a new cart-type.

                    I'm also using my port of atari800, beta, to use my gamepad: START, Fire1 and Fire2 and EXIT (START+SELECT) and avoid using the keyboard: https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/847/atari-5200-new-version-of-atari800-beta-two-triggers-moon-patrol-hat-start-and-exit-buttons

                    Best regards

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                    • D
                      dabone
                      last edited by

                      If you load you bin files in the emulator, then you can save them back out as a cart, this adds the cart style header to the file, so it never asks what kind it is again.

                      Later,
                      dabone

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                      • J
                        JiggaWatt
                        last edited by

                        Hi all, I've just come across this discussion from the RetroPie git. I've had a lot of interest in getting this working on my own Pi2 to emulate 5200 games. I'd like to contribute what has worked for me to the discussion.

                        Some useful information I've compiled that will greatly aid in the discussion:

                        • atari800 Usage and Commandline parameters - Useful for what can be specified on a per-system basis. This works in conjuction with the atari800.config.
                        • atari800 Cart usage - This is very useful for setting up Cart style files making launching into the atari800 much more seamless without being bombarded with the initially cryptic "Choose your Cart" style menu.

                        I've essentially been using the emulator strictly for 5200 emulation, but everything I've read gives me the impression that the config needs to vary quite a bit depending on the system and not much is shared in common. That lead me to the conclusion of maintaining separate configs for each system and referencing them using the -config parameter.

                        Specifying a cart-type in the command line is essentially pointless. The 5200 comes in 4k, 8k, two version of 16k, and 32k cart types, and it must be specified on a per ROM basis. I ultimately ended up using the Cart guide to create .car files that contained the .a52 data with a cart-type header used by atari800 emulator. That essentially means creating custom roms for a specific emulator. It makes launching into games very seamless however. Considering this is currently the only 5200 emulator for Pi, that makes it less of a conflict issue with other emulators.

                        I took the approach of separating the roms, runcommands, and configs for each system. That really seemed the most logical. I didn't see a lot of overlap with maintaining a common config and it seemed far easier to drive everything through the config and runcommand command line parameters.

                        The setup of the BIOS files appears to be different enough for each system to justify the potential of having to config it through the atari800 menu on a per system basis, but that's MHO.

                        I'll share my emulator.config and atari800.config for the baseline XL and my 5200 setup when I have a chance that will illustrate the difference in configs.

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                        • J
                          JiggaWatt
                          last edited by JiggaWatt

                          My /opt/retropie/configs/atari800/atari800.cfg is identical to the RetroPie wiki page's example except for the DEFAULT_TV_MODE=NTSC. Here's the key section for the XL/XE

                          MACHINE_TYPE=Atari XL/XE
                          RAM_SIZE=64
                          DEFAULT_TV_MODE=NTSC
                          

                          My /opt/retropie/configs/atari5200/atari800.cfg key differences:

                          MACHINE_TYPE=
                          RAM_SIZE=16
                          DEFAULT_TV_MODE=NTSC
                          

                          I removed specifying the MACHINE_TYPE in the config and instead use the -5200 command line parameter. I found those command line parameters didn't always seem to override what was specified in the atari800.cfg. Meaning if it specified "Atari XL/XE", but in used -5200 it didn't seem to work correctly. The RAM size differs between these systems as well.

                          My /opt/retropie/configs/atari5200/emulators.cfg

                          atari800 = "/opt/retropie/emulators/atari800/bin/atari800 -config /opt/retropie/configs/atari5200/atari800.cfg -5200 -cart %ROM%"
                          default="atari800"
                          

                          Specifying my custom config. Specifying the MACHINE_TYPE in the command line rather than the config file. Also specifying that my ROM file is to be treated as a CART. I went through the painstaking process of creating CART versions of my 5200 roms. This is what really helped the seemlessness of launching into a 5200 rom from EmulationStation, and is a discussion in an of itself.

                          My 5200 entry in es_systems.cfg

                            <system>
                              <name>atari5200</name>
                              <fullname>Atari 5200</fullname>
                              <path>~/RetroPie/roms/atari5200</path>
                              <extension>.a52 .A52 .bin .BIN .car .CAR .rom .ROM</extension>
                              <command>/opt/retropie/supplementary/runcommand/runcommand.sh 0 _SYS_ atari5200 %ROM%</command>
                              <platform>atari5200</platform>
                              <theme>atari5200</theme>
                            </system>
                          

                          If someone can come up with a more unifying way, that's great. This is what worked for me. I still wish this was a libretro emulator that had the unified control benefits. I still have to have my keyboard handy to F1 and quit the emulator to return to EmulationStation.

                          RionR T 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 3
                          • RionR
                            Rion @JiggaWatt
                            last edited by

                            @JiggaWatt You may over come the use of the Keyboard if you map keyboard/mouse input using the xboxdrv.
                            @mediamogul Created this wonderful guide

                            Guide: Advanced Controller Mappings

                            Ps. You don't have to use a "System wide configuration" Instead you can use Key-Mapping For Individual Emulators.

                            FBNeo rom filtering
                            Mame2003 Arcade Bezels
                            Fba Arcade Bezels
                            Fba NeoGeo Bezels

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • hansolo77H
                              hansolo77
                              last edited by

                              Just inquiring on the status of this. I was browsing the RetroPi GIT and came across the issue and was brought here. Has there any any improvements made yet, or is the system still set up on default to just always prompt for the system and/or cart size? I'm still building my system and Atari 800/5200 is next up on my list.

                              Who's Scruffy Looking?

                              J 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • J
                                JiggaWatt @hansolo77
                                last edited by JiggaWatt

                                @hansolo77 Hi Han. You can split up the systems by having separate system folders (e.g. an "atari5200" folder) and settings in the RetroPie directories. You can reference my earlier posts for how to do that.

                                I meant to compile a guide on the wiki page on how to setup .cart files for the Atari800 emulator that will load your images directly into the emulator and bypass the selection screen. I haven't had a chance to yet, though it's not terribly complicated. You are welcome to explore the "Atari 800 Cart Usage" link I posted earlier and give it a try yourself, or I will update this post once I write it up.

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • T
                                  tmo1138 @JiggaWatt
                                  last edited by

                                  @JiggaWatt said in Improving the atari 800/5200 install.:

                                  creating CART versions of my 5200 roms

                                  How do you do that?

                                  RetroPie v4.1 • RPi3 Model B • 5.1V 2.5A PSU • 32GB Kingston microSD

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