Improving the atari 800/5200 install.

dabone

The es_systems.cfg file type options is missing the .com extension for atari800.
The atari800.cfg file is being placed in the /opt/retropie/configs directory. It's just looks out of place there..
(You could have a different file for the 5200 and 800 emulations by placing the files in the correct sub directories)
The launch script is just launching the emulator without defining the machine type (800, 5200, etc.)
Why not default to the correct systems with launch?

-atari (800)
-1200 (1200XL)
-xl (800XL)
-xe (130XE)
-5200 (5200)
-320xe (130xe with 256k Compy-Shop Ram Upgrade)
-rambo (130xe with 256k Rambo Ram Upgrade)

And for automatic loading of carts, it's possible to convert the .bin files in to a cartridge image using the cartridge management menu of the atari800 emulator, after this is done, the cart loads and autostarts from emulationstation.

Thanks.
Later,
dabone

BuZz

I'll sort issues 1 / 2 (You can submit a PR for things like this though).

for 3 I can add a few emulator options to switch in runcommand (I dont think we need to add them all though)

BuZz

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

dabone

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?

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).

dabone

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

dabone

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

dabone

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

BuZz

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.

jfroco

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

dabone

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

JiggaWatt

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.

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.

Rion

@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.

hansolo77

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.

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.

tmo1138

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

creating CART versions of my 5200 roms

How do you do that?