Alternative Atari 800/5200 Emulator?
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Are there any alternative Atari 800/5200 emulators available than the one available through the setup scripts? I don't like the one provided because every time you go to run a game, you have to pick what kind of cartridge it is. Unless you KNOW, the chances of picking the correct one is like 1 out of 8 (or however many there are on the list). That's ridiculous. What's worse, you have to use a keyboard to navigate that menu inside the emulator, you can't just use your controller. There's got to be a better option out there somewhere. If not, does anybody have any hacks or something that minimizes the requirement for user input, and just launches the game out right?
Who's Scruffy Looking?
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Whats up Han. I also tried the Atari800 emulator for my 5200 roms and didn't like it. I'm pretty sure MESS has a 5200 emulator but, I honestly haven't given it a go. IMO the 5200 games are poop anyway and no loss without em.
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My dad bought an Atari 5200 when I was very little and I remember playing it until I got my NES in December of 1985 and I never looked back. I agree with @celly the games were poop. I still own this Atari 5200 with a handful of games (even though most of the buttons on the controllers don't work) but I just can't bring myself to play these games. I guess anything less than 8bit doesn't hold my attention very well.
I also tried getting the the Atari 800/5200 emulator(s) working I never get them to work. One time i got it to load up the Atari logo and then it would kick back out after that so yeah, this emulator is not ideal. I do have the Atari 2600 and 7800 working just fine even though I never play them.
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I'm more interested in getting the Atari 800 computer system to work, rather than the 5200. This was THE gaming system we had growing up before we got a Sega Genesis. There's a lot of cool games on there I'd love to get playing again. Hopes are still high something will come around.
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I have the Atari 800/5200 Emulator in Retropie up and running with full controller support. Along the way, I learned a few things that might be of some help here. First off, there seems to be a bug in that almost any setting that is altered from the menu GUI will corrupt the config file, resulting in a software lock-up the next time the emulator is launched. This can be solved by making all the alterations to the config file using an external text editor.
Secondly, I developed a joystick control scheme using xboxdrv that can handle both 5200 games and 800 games universally, including analog-based titles and keypad-based titles, as well as the actual emulator menu itself. I'll post my config below and highlight a few of it's features.
sudo /opt/retropie/supplementary/xboxdrv/bin/xboxdrv \ --evdev /dev/input/by-path/platform-3f980000.usb-usb-0:1.2:1.0-event-joystick \ --detach-kernel-driver \ --force-feedback \ --dpad-as-button \ --trigger-as-button \ --deadzone-trigger 15% \ --deadzone 4000 \ --device-name "Logitech Rumblepad 2 (xboxdrv)" \ --silent \ --axismap -Y1=Y1,-Y2=Y2 \ --buttonmap tl^toggle=tl \ --buttonmap tr^toggle=tr \ --evdev-absmap ABS_X=x1,ABS_Y=y1,ABS_Z=x2,ABS_RZ=y2,ABS_HAT0X=dpad_x,ABS_HAT0Y=dpad_y \ --evdev-keymap BTN_THUMB2=a,BTN_THUMB=b,BTN_TOP=x,BTN_TRIGGER=y,BTN_BASE3=back,BTN_BASE4=start,BTN_TOP2=lb,BTN_PINKIE=rb,BTN_BASE5=tl,BTN_BASE6=tr,BTN_BASE=lt,BTN_BASE2=rt \ --ui-axismap X1=KEY_KP4:KEY_KP6,Y1=KEY_KP8:KEY_KP5 \ --ui-axismap X2=KEY_1:KEY_2,Y2=KEY_3:KEY_4,lt+X2=KEY_5:KEY_6,lt+Y2=KEY_7:KEY_8,rt+X2=KEY_9:KEY_0,rt+Y2=KEY_KPASTERISK:KEY_EQUAL \ --ui-buttonmap b=KEY_RIGHTCTRL,a=KEY_F2,x=KEY_EQUAL,y=KEY_KPASTERISK,lb=KEY_UNKNOWN,rb=KEY_UNKNOWN,du=KEY_KP8,dd=KEY_KP5,dl=KEY_KP4,dr=KEY_KP6,start=KEY_F4,back=KEY_F3,lt=KEY_UNKNOWN,rt=KEY_UNKNOWN,tl=KEY_UNKNOWN,tr=KEY_UNKNOWN \ --ui-buttonmap back+x=KEY_F1,back+start=KEY_F9,back+b=KEY_F5 \ --ui-buttonmap rt+a=KEY_ENTER,rt+b=KEY_ESC,rt+du=KEY_UP,rt+dd=KEY_DOWN,rt+dl=KEY_LEFT,rt+dr=KEY_RIGHT \ --ui-axismap tl+x1=REL_X:20,tl+y1=REL_Y:20 \ --ui-buttonmap tr+b=BTN_LEFT,tr+a=BTN_RIGHT \ --ui-buttonmap lt+a=KEY_A,lt+b=KEY_B,lt+x=KEY_X,lt+y=KEY_Y,lt+lb=KEY_L,lt+rb=KEY_R,lt+du=KEY_UP,lt+dd=KEY_DOWN,lt+dl=KEY_LEFT,lt+dr=KEY_RIGHT,lt+start=KEY_T,lt+back=KEY_E \ --ui-buttonmap guide=voidThe key-map here makes use of the default key assignments in the emulator and is mapped to a Logitech RumblePad 2, which is functionally identical to a PS2/3 controller. Up,Down,Left and right on the DPad and the left analog stick are identically mapped so you can choose between the two on a game-by-game basis and 'B&A' act as the primary action buttons as one would expect.
I invoke the emulator GUI menu with 'select+x' to Match the RetroArch cores. From there, I can navigate the menus by first pressing the 'R2' button. This acts as a modifier which allows me to then press up,down,left and right on my controller with the 'A&B' buttons now functioning as forward and backward. I also mapped the entirety of the keypad to the right analog stick. Keypad buttons 1-4 are mapped to U,D,L&R, 5-8 are mapped to 'RT'+U,D,L&R and 9,0,*,# are mapped to 'RT'+U,D,L&R.
The last major feature of note is analog control. This is important for playing some games that will not respond to any other control scheme, such as Atari 800 mouse-based games as well as the basic pack-in title for the 5200, 'Super Break-Out'. Seeing as how these games are in the minority, I chose to use a toggle modifier that would change the left analog stick to mouse movement only when I needed it. I decided to use button 'L3' on my controller, as it normally goes unused 99% of the time. Once pressed, the emulator sees the left analog stick as if it were a normal mouse and the 'A&B' buttons function as they normally would. However, if you also press the 'R3' toggle button, the 'A&B' buttons function as a left and right mouse click, allowing Atari 800 mouse-based games to function right from the controller.
In closing, I'll include my mapping for Player 2 which is functionally identical, but obviously mapped for player 2 input.
sudo /opt/retropie/supplementary/xboxdrv/bin/xboxdrv \ --evdev /dev/input/by-path/platform-3f980000.usb-usb-0:1.4:1.0-event-joystick \ --detach-kernel-driver \ --force-feedback \ --dpad-as-button \ --trigger-as-button \ --deadzone-trigger 15% \ --deadzone 4000 \ --device-name "Logitech Rumblepad 2 (xboxdrv)" \ --silent \ --axismap -Y1=Y1,-Y2=Y2 \ --buttonmap tl^toggle=tl \ --evdev-absmap ABS_X=x1,ABS_Y=y1,ABS_Z=x2,ABS_RZ=y2,ABS_HAT0X=dpad_x,ABS_HAT0Y=dpad_y \ --evdev-keymap BTN_THUMB2=a,BTN_THUMB=b,BTN_TOP=x,BTN_TRIGGER=y,BTN_BASE3=back,BTN_BASE4=start,BTN_TOP2=lb,BTN_PINKIE=rb,BTN_BASE5=tl,BTN_BASE6=tr,BTN_BASE=lt,BTN_BASE2=rt \ --ui-axismap X1=KEY_A:KEY_D,Y1=KEY_W:KEY_S \ --ui-axismap X2=KEY_1:KEY_2,Y2=KEY_3:KEY_4,lt+X2=KEY_5:KEY_6,lt+Y2=KEY_7:KEY_8,rt+X2=KEY_9:KEY_0,rt+Y2=KEY_KPASTERISK:KEY_EQUAL \ --ui-buttonmap b=KEY_LEFTCTRL,a=KEY_F2,x=KEY_EQUAL,y=KEY_KPASTERISK,lb=KEY_UNKNOWN,rb=KEY_UNKNOWN,du=KEY_W,dd=KEY_S,dl=KEY_A,dr=KEY_D,start=KEY_F4,back=KEY_F3,lt=KEY_UNKNOWN,rt=KEY_UNKNOWN,tl=KEY_UNKNOWN,tr=KEY_UNKNOWN \ --ui-buttonmap back+x=KEY_F1,back+start=KEY_F9,back+b=KEY_F5 \ --ui-buttonmap rt+a=KEY_ENTER,rt+b=KEY_ESC,rt+du=KEY_UP,rt+dd=KEY_DOWN,rt+dl=KEY_LEFT,rt+dr=KEY_RIGHT \ --ui-axismap tl+x1=REL_X:20,tl+y1=REL_Y:20 \ --ui-buttonmap tl+rb=BTN_LEFT,tl+lb=BTN_RIGHT \ --ui-buttonmap lt+a=KEY_A,lt+b=KEY_B,lt+x=KEY_X,lt+y=KEY_Y,lt+lb=KEY_L,lt+rb=KEY_R,lt+du=KEY_UP,lt+dd=KEY_DOWN,lt+dl=KEY_LEFT,lt+dr=KEY_RIGHT,lt+start=KEY_T,lt+back=KEY_E \ --ui-buttonmap guide=void -
@mediamogul
In what file and where are you putting this? -
It works in conjunction with this guide.
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Wow, that's really confusing.. :(
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Hah! Yeah, it's a bit daunting at first and it took me a while to wrap my head around it as well. However, once you have it down, there's really almost nothing you can't control in RetroPie with just about any device imaginable. I have 36 systems installed and the only time I need to bring out a keyboard is for Z-Machine titles ;). The end result is a setup that really feels like a console gaming environment in every system.
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@mediamogul said in Alternative Atari 800/5200 Emulator?:
Hah! Yeah, it's a bit daunting at first and it took me a while to wrap my head around it as well. However, once you have it down, there's really almost nothing you can't control in RetroPie with just about any device imaginable. I have 36 systems installed and the only time I need to bring out a keyboard is for Z-Machine titles ;). The end result is a setup that really feels like a console gaming environment in every system.
Sorry to necropost, but how in the world did you install Atari 800 emulator on RetroPie 4????
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