custom firmware for sega flashback 2018

[ATFlashback2018]

Pico won't run CHD. Also, make sure the naming of the BIOS files are correct. I think the naming of BIOS is different for Pico.

Do you happen to know how I can rename the bios for Pico? I tried keep bios_CD_U.bin in GAME and added chd, but like you said chd files don't work. Added 7 zip and WinRAR files, didn't work. Extracted them and added bios in their subfolder. Nothing. I don't know how to get Sega CD games to work in Pico after 4 days it is really pissing me off I seriously don't understand how people here got any Sega CD game to work in Pico.

Edit : I figured it out. The bios DOES have to be like other GenesisGX emu so bios_CD_U.bin the trick is to extract a Sega CD zip, then rename both cue and bin files say SoulStar_(U) and select only cue version in Game but I add both cue plus bin. Now I got sms gen 32x scd etc games working, 150 gems! More than Genesis Mini 1 and 2 combined and way less money =) Only Sega CD game I can't get to work so far is hacked Eternal Champions CD with All Characters, but oh well it is because it uses ISO+40 bin music tracks. That is another thing, IMPORTANT, try to download zips of Bin+CUE ( and unzip and rename for example CD_FinalFight ) but not Iso with seperate music tracks because those wont work with this version of PICO but will even unZipped with PowKitty v90. And CHD dont work with Pico either.

I wish I can find AHX bin/cue, BatmanReturns bin/cue, BattleCorps bin/cue, EarthwormJimSE bin/cue, EternalChampionsCDAINerf2.0 bin/cue, SonicCD++ just bin/cue, Spiderman bin/cue, Silpheed bin/cue, TerminatorCD bin/cue and 5in1 Games bin/cue and my list will be complete. One day...maybe somebody can PM me those. So far I got FinalFight, GameSack, MusicCD games and SoulStar.

 

[ATFlashback2018]

Hi, I'm using the picodrive firmware and the sound on 32X virtua fighter is very crackly. Is this the same for everyone or do I have a bad rom?I

I am also getting an error using the game manager on some but not all 32X games. Pathway restricted. This could be an error in my pc. But all genesis and Sega CD games work fine.

Anyway thank you to everyone involved. It's a great little machine now.

How did you get Sega CD games to work in Pico?

Edit : I figured it out. The bios DOES have to be like other GenesisGX emu so bios_CD_U.bin the trick is to extract a Sega CD zip, then rename both cue and bin files say SoulStar_(U) and select only cue version in Game but I add both cue plus bin. Now I got sms gen 32x scd etc games working 150 gems.

And also think of the cost, I got my Flashback for $45. To get a SegaTowerOfPower you will need to buy a
1) Genesis Hi Definition $50
2) Sega CD---------------- $200
3) 32x------------------------$100
4) 3x Power Supply-----$020
5) Video Cable------------$020
6) Controller--------------$010
7) Everdrive Pro---------$100

That's $500 for Original hardware plus if you collect games more =0
Or buying both Genesis Mini 1 2019 and 2 2022 would be $200 to $300

This does everything sms gen scd 32x plus Demons of Ast and Pier Solar work =)

 

[ATFlashback2018]

Hi, could you suggest me where to find the right megacd bios files to insert with the custom firmware version picodrive in order to run the megacd games

I need to know too.

Edit : I figured it out. The bios DOES have to be like other GenesisGX emu so bios_CD_U.bin the trick is to extract a Sega CD zip, then rename both cue and bin files say SoulStar_(U) and select only cue version in Game but I add both cue plus bin. Now I got sms gen 32x scd etc games working 150 gems.

Even got the Music games to work.

 

[ATFlashback2018]

please a detailed guide on how can we play sega cd games no one answer this in a very clear and detailed way

Exactly. I feel your pain...honestly it is not easy taking SD card in and out 100 times a day to try get CD games working from my wheelchair only for them not to work. Take SD out Genesis, put in netbook, rename stuff, take out netbook wheel over to Genesis put SD in, don't work, take SD out Genesis etc.

If you use Pico but NOT using Box Art Game Manager INI interface. Do this:

Edit : I figured it out. The bios DOES have to be like other GenesisGX emu so bios_CD_U.bin the trick is to extract a Sega CD zip, then rename both cue and bin files say SoulStar_(U) and select only cue version in Game but I add both cue plus bin. Now I got sms gen 32x scd etc games working 150 gems.
Weirdly it dawned on me how to do it for Flashback by me remembering what I did for my Powkitty v90 in 2019 or so (As it uses same Pico emu but don't have power in its chip to fully play 32x games) however bingo, got it.
Only difference is Flashback can't read zips like v90 but just extracting cue and bin and renaming them selecting cue game works.

Hope it helps the 5 of us who use Pico.
Please read all my posts the last 2 pages and you'll hack your Flashback masterfully.

 

[JomasterII]

Yo gamers, just wondering - I don't know if this is the right place to ask but is there any way I could change the music from the generic ass stock music in the 2.0.1 firmware to... like, something more pleasant? I've got the .ogg file ready to go but I have no idea how to correctly compile a custom .img.

...also if there's some way I could have the 2.0.1 firmware with the Mega Drive text as well instead of Genesis, that too... Technical shit like this goes way over my head.

 

[rrifonas]

Yo gamers, just wondering - I don't know if this is the right place to ask but is there any way I could change the music from the generic ass stock music in the 2.0.1 firmware to... like, something more pleasant? I've got the .ogg file ready to go but I have no idea how to correctly compile a custom .img.

...also if there's some way I could have the 2.0.1 firmware with the Mega Drive text as well instead of Genesis, that too... Technical shit like this goes way over my head.

Post #528 has the answer. spanner compiled all the info from several threads/posts in a single place, and there are instructions on how to extract the img files, edit the emulator partition and rebuild the img file.

About the firmware 2.0.1 with Mega Drive text, it doesn't exist officially. Atgames never released an official firmware update for the EU version. There is only a custom firmware with the Mega Drive logos, I made it merging the asset files from the original Mega Drive FB firmware with the Genesis firmware provided by Atgames.

 

[JomasterII]

Post #528 has the answer. spanner compiled all the info from several threads/posts in a single place, and there are instructions on how to extract the img files, edit the emulator partition and rebuild the img file.

About the firmware 2.0.1 with Mega Drive text, it doesn't exist officially. Atgames never released an official firmware update for the EU version. There is only a custom firmware with the Mega Drive logos, I made it merging the asset files from the original Mega Drive FB firmware with the Genesis firmware provided by Atgames.

Appreciated! I'll give this all my best shot. That's what I meant by 'getting the 2.0.1 firmware with MD text' too, it's in the same boat as trying to mod the music. ^-^''

 

[Rehpyc]

Dear all,

can you please tell me how to the extract the individual game roms from the original "rom.img" -file?
I tried imgRePackerRK, but all I got was an "unsupported format" message ...

 

[rrifonas]

Dear all,

can you please tell me how to the extract the individual game roms from the original "rom.img" -file?
I tried imgRePackerRK, but all I got was an "unsupported format" message ...

7-zip.

 

[Rehpyc]

D'oh!
No idea, why I couldn't figure that out ...

Thanks so much for helping me out there!!!

 

[Rehpyc]

You need to dump first the parameter file: Start = 0, Count =2
Then you can compare your parameter file with this one:
0x00000800@0x00000800(misc)
0x00004000@0x00001000(recovery)
0x00000800@0x00005000(boot)
0x00000800@0x00005800(resource)
0x00002800@0x00006000(kernel)
0x00007000@0x00008800(rootfs)
0x0001E000@0x0000F800(rom)
0x00004000@0x0002D800(emulator)
-@0x00031800(data)
The address on the RIGHT is the "Start" and the address on the LEFT is the "Count"
You will need to dump each partition individually. And you don't need the "data" partition as the update in Atgames site is just the same thing.

Taking it one step further from my previous posting: Which software / OS is best used for creating this dump?
Would like to have everything in place before I unscrew the whole device and do some potential soldering ...

 

[rrifonas]

Taking it one step further from my previous posting: Which software / OS is best used for creating this dump?
Would like to have everything in place before I unscrew the whole device and do some potential soldering ...

You don't need to understand any of these old steps, there are 'better tools' to dump/backup the entire device.

A Windows PC (Win10 or Win11) with the Windows Subsystem for Linux (wsl) running Ubuntu or Debian is enough. You will only need wsl to rebuild the squashfs partition. wsl is free and you can install from the Windows Store.

I recommend backup the device before start messing it with, you will need:

• rkDumper from xda-developers forum
• Rockchip driver for Windows
• Jumper 2 points of solder to enable the USB data lines, spanner's page has a screenshot from the board - it came from this thread - with 2 red lines, these are the points to jumper. You can solder a small wire or a blob of solder. Before I did a proper jumper, I just tested if the USB connection was working using a small wire and clean tape to keep it in place. You don't need to destroy a USB cable like the instructions in the page (by the way, the steps there are not for "UART" connection but just USB data connection).
• [Optional] RKAndroidTool 2.xx to recover the device - This post has a package with the drivers and all tools to backup and restore the device, it's the same for the 2017 and 2018/9 models

The key to avoid a brick is to keep the "emulator" partition under 8MB. To edit the partition, you will only need:

• ImgRepackerRK (from xda-developers forum)
• A tool to build "squashfs" partitions. There is a version of mksquashfs for Windows but it didn't work for me (again, I don't work with these devices since 2019 so the tools could be improved). I use the Windows Subsystem for Linux (wsl) every time I need to run Linux tools
• You don't need to "unsquash" the content, 7-zip extracts squashfs partitions just fine

Spanner's page should have everything you will need to figure out what to do.

 

[Rehpyc]

Thanks for your detailed reply, much appreciated!
I'll study these instructions carefully and hopefully will then be able to finish this operation successfully!

Post automatically merged: Jan 8, 2023

Ok, I gave it a try, but something does not seem to work.
At least RK Android Tool is telling me "No Device Found".

I've installed the RK drivers and (for now) I bridged the two jumpers with a small piece of wire.
Do I need to press any additional buttons while doing so?
There was talk about a "Recovery Button" earlier on - is this the small button right next to it?
When would I press it and for how long?

Otherwise Is this the correct order for the whole process?
(1) Bridging the jumpers
(2) Inserting an USB-Data Cable (does it have to be OTG?)
(3) Starting Android Tools

 

[rrifonas]

Some instructions I wrote 3 years ago:

PREPARING THE ENVIRONMENT:
1) Install the Rockchip drivers
a. Go the "Drivers
b. Run DriverInstall.exe
2) Connect the device using the USB interface
3) Press the recovery button in the main board and turn the device on
4) Open AndroidTool, it will detect the device in LOADER mode

BACKUP YOUR DEVICE:
1) Connect the device to the computer using the USB interface
2) Press the recovery button in the main board and turn the device on
3) Open AndroidTool.exe, it will detect the device in LOADER mode
5) Run dumper.cmd as "Administrator" and wait
6) Device will reset when backup is complete
7) Backup will be stored in "Output" directory

FLASH THE FIRMWARE:
1) Connect the device to the computer using the USB interface
2) Press the recovery button in the main board and turn the device on
3) Open AndroidTool.exe, it will detect the device in LOADER mode
4) Select the "parameter" partition (if not select) and click "Download"
5) Wait until the flash complete
6) Device will restart

This is the last thing I can do to help you. If you are not feeling confident with the instructions on this thread, my suggestion is to just leave the device as it is, or just install my last custom firmware available for this model. The CFW copies all roms from the "roms" partition to the SD Card, just follow the instructions in the readme.

 

[copperarmen]

Hello,
Someone had referred me to this thread and gave me some instructions but they were not working.
Is this an update that would make it possible to run 32X games?

I have an AtGames SEGA Genesis, the second model. The one that has a SD card slot to the right.
The controllers have a rewind button.

I have installed the latest firmware from the official website.
The update was released on
Thursday, Nov 28, 2019
Size = 138.4 MB

 

[rrifonas]

There is no AtGames firmware with 32x support. The original firmware runs Genesis Plus GX, which supports Genesis, Master System and Game Gear games. There is a custom firmware running Picodrive, which supports 32x games but breaks Game Gear support. GG support was added to Picodrive much later and I never had motivation to update the CFW with the latest core.
Take a look at post #171 for more information.

 

[copperarmen]

I see.
Forgive me for this dumb question, but what is the primary goal of replacing the firmware of this AtGames SEGA Genesis?

I looked at post 1. It is written by WD_GASTER2. He says
EDIT: ATGAMES has released their own firmware that supports this. get it at their website


So, he makes it sound like the goal was to load games from an SD card but eventually, AtGames added that feature in their firmware.

When I bought my AtGames SEGA Genesis, there wasn’t the SD card thing on the left side menu. I did the update and then it appeared. The firmware came from their website.
Then, I had to download a bunch of ROM files. Then, I had to write a program to properly format all the filenames, copy to SD card, and they worked.

The only thing missing was the images for each game and the order of the games was not alphabetical.

 

[rrifonas]

That's exactly what you understood. The initial goal was to 'unlock' the SD Card to load games.
You only needed a single file in the right place to unlock the feature. Atgames eventually released an update to enable it, and later released an update to the emulator. If you only want to run Genesis games and accept how the built-in support works (no images and games sorted by date), you are good with the official update.

The official firmware only supports Genesis games in the SD card (.BIN extension), so people started asking for other Sega platforms... Master System, Game Gear, Sega CD, 32x.

The initial custom firmware was just a hack in the menu executable to remove the extension lock so any file in the GAME folder would be read by the menu. Later, I tried replacing the Genesis Plus GX core with Picodrive to run 32x games. At the time, the problem with Picodrive was the lack of Game Gear and CHD support, this was added to the libretro core around 2021 or 2022 but never ported to the cfw.

Then people asked for more customization, like add box art to the games, replace bezels, etc... and it's the current state of the custom firmware. It has some hooks to copy the contents from the partitions with the emulator and games to the SD card, allowing people to edit the list of games, replace bezels and background music.

 

[copperarmen]

I think the file extensions are meaningless. BIN, ROM, RES, RAW. These are jump dumps of what the cartridge contains.
DOC, DOCX, ODT are real file formats.

You can just rename all your Genesis and whatever dumps to .BIN

What is CHD?

Let’s say I want to do the picodrive update to get 32X and SEGA CD game support.
Post 574 seems to have the instructions. I need Windows 10?
I have Kubuntu but I have another PC with Windows 10.

 

[rrifonas]

Extensions are not meaningless for some cores as they load different modules based on it. Genesis cores are typical as they need to load different modules or mappers for Genesis, SMS, GG, CD... Renaming a SMS game to .BIN will cause the game to attempt loading as a Genesis game and it won't work.

CHD is a lossless file format to compress HD and CD images. In some cases it's better than those multiple bin files you see in redump images.

You don't need a Windows machine unless you want to backup your device or rebuild the update images. The custom firmware for these devices is just a img file you can drop in a SD Card formatted as FAT32. To be honest I don't like the 32x performance on this device as there are some framerate issues.