Sega Megadrive (Genesis) Flashback Mini HD with an USB on internal mother board

MicroNut99

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The Flashback HD Arcade is open.

Not getting what you want out of your Flashback HD?
Here is some information that can make it a little better.

What do I need?
A one wire power mod and an OTG cable to get the most out of this, however it is not needed.
There is limited internal space on the 2GB models and the mod is needed to expand storage space.

All of these apps have free versions approved for personal use and some are open sourced by license.
AutoStart Light here
Xplore file manager here
The Generations keyboard: Vendor_0001_Product_0001.kl

How do I make this happen?

1. Using ADB push the Generations keyboard to the console and reboot.
Code:
adb devices
Echo Installing keycodes
adb shell mount -o rw,remount,rw /system
adb push Vendor_0001_Product_0001.kl /system/usr/keylayout/Vendor_0001_Product_0001.kl
adb shell mount -o ro,remount,ro /system
pause
adb reboot


2. Then install Xplore and Autostart.
Start Xplore from ADB:
Code:
adb shell monkey -p com.lonelycatgames.Xplore -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1


3. Start and configure Autostart using Xplore to launch Xplore on first boot.

Or just download the custom install package: here
AutoStart will hang until the Rk3039 or MTP Device shows up in windows.
If the console is in OTG mode then AutoStart will launch Xplore everytime, on time.
AutoStart is rock sold.... you can chain load more than one app if you want.

So what works?
These 3 apps work from good to great on this console.
They also work just as well using the Generations dashboard.

1. Final Burn Alpha for Android by Cpasjuste
aFBA v1.6 here.
Works out of the box. Setup is easy but will require a reinstall if the setup is performed wrong.
If a rom does not run in FBA then should work using these other two options.

2. MAME4Droid aka MAME4All by: seleuconicator
MAME4Droid v1.5.1 here
Plays most roms on its list. It needs a custom gamepad pushed to console.
Having trouble?
a. Use this keyevent after installing to open the applications settings
Code:
adb shell input keyevent 82
b. Try creating 2 "roms" directories instead of just one at the storage location in advance for instance:
/mnt/usb_storage/USB_DISK0/udisk0/MAME4all/roms/roms
I dont mean edit the preferance.xml. Just create two roms folders on the USB drive or internal SD.


3. Capcom System 2 emulator by Cpasjuste
CPS2 v1.3 here.
Plays most roms on its list. It needs a custom gamepad pushed to console.

Custom install packages here:
MAME4Droid controller preferences
CPS emulator controller preferences

Hints and tips:
Be careful with internal rom storage. The NAND can be overwritten and you will lose read/write access and will need to reflash the NAND from backup.
The controller prefs are the biggest hurdle for MAME and CPS. Push twice and reboot the console.
When pushing external prefs if the files and folders are not in the expected place then they are reset.
Xplore file manager is great for managing apps and it has a media player built in.
Starting and uninstalling an application is very easy with Xplore.
Go into Configuration at the top right and turn on the Dark theme for an alternate view or adjust the dpi and resolution.
There is only one guest user on this console so if an app has any preferences that can be exported they can be found here for instance: /data/data/fr.mydedibox.cps2emu/shared_prefs/
MAME4Droid requires a custom preference pushed for external access because there is no way to browse to the external drive. It also has the most troublesome custom gamepad setup but the best I could find is part of the custom preference.
CPS is a CPS2 system emulator. It requires a custom preference controller for the Gamepad to work correctly.
Both game pads maybe needed to exit the cabinet switches.

aFBA just works out of the box.
Setting up the controls:

Start a game.
Press B to open the control bar.
Open the Joystick.
Go to Physical Controls and setup all buttons up,down,left,right, a,b,c,x,y,z, start, menu, rewind.
Turn the Virtual controller off. Do this last or control over the emu will be lost and you'll need to reinstall. Now use the Rewind button to open the control bar in-game to save, adjust the graphics or exit the emu. Previews for all can be downloaded externally. There is no cheat function and it says that is compatible with too many roms.
Press the "B" button on the "..." in the upper right hand corner of the screen to start browsing the file system.

It is best to limit what games work to a short list for each emulator.
Unfortunately there are no 2 player game options for any of the emulators listed.

ihmo ATGames built a solid piece of hardware but failed to create decent software to run it.
and there is a lot more in the works but I cannot talk about it yet.

Please Back-up your console before attempting any of this.

Enjoy!

BIG THANK YOU goes out to: jkgamer, ASPER, HEKEL and WDGaster!
Without your work and the Generations KL all of this fails.


PS
Yes you can have it all.
screenshot.png
 
Last edited by MicroNut99,

Mal9762

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Newbie here. I recently purchased a Sega Genesis Flashback and want to add some games for it. I've been looking at some tutorials and it's a little bit confusing with all the tools and stuff scattered across the thread. Is there some sort of wiki or post that compiles all the tools and tutorials in one place? I'm trying to decide between playing it safe and using the default built-in emulator or use a different emulator/frontend like retroarch.

Also another question, if I go through the basic tutorial of adding games, I know there's a 17 game limit before the system starts becoming unstable and there are some workarounds. Would removing the "Bonus Games"(aka the homebrew junk), and replacing them with legit Genesis titles be a good idea?
 
Last edited by Mal9762,

rrifonas

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Newbie here. I recently purchased a Sega Genesis Flashback and want to add some games for it. I've been looking at some tutorials and it's a little bit confusing with all the tools and stuff scattered across the thread. Is there some sort of wiki or post that compiles all the tools and tutorials in one place? I'm trying to decide between playing it safe and using the default built-in emulator or use a different emulator/frontend like retroarch.

Also another question, if I go through the basic tutorial of adding games, I know there's a 17 game limit before the system starts becoming unstable and there are some workarounds. Would removing the "Bonus Games"(aka the homebrew junk), and replacing them with legit Genesis titles be a good idea?

First of all, confirm if your Genesis Flashback HD is the 2017 or 2018 version. 2018 version has a SD Card slow and it's not possible to add new games yet.
Now, assuming you have the 2017 version, I recommend you to read all this thread (I know, there is a lot of stuff here) and check if your Flashback HD is the "obb version" or the "non-obb version".
If you have the non-obb version, you can review instructions in 2 different places:
https://www.mdfbrew.org/
https://www.instructables.com/id/Adding-Games-to-Atgames-Genesis-Flashback-HD/

If you follow the instructions in the second link and you don't have all-games.ini under /system/atgames, you likely have the obb version. If that's your case, take a look at this topic/thread: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/266499-new-genesis-flashback/page-13#entry3895318

You can edit the all-games.ini (backup yours before start changing it) and remove the 'bonus games' if you want. And the limit is way beyond 17 games, I think the limit is 17 pages! And it looks like the US launcher - Genesis Flashback HD - is more stable than the European version.

Start playing with the default emulator and if you feel confident/comfortable, you can take a look at the "Generations Dashboard" and the .emu emulators. RetroArch is just too complex to work with (for now).

Once again, I recommend you the read this thread and backup your device before adding games. While the process in the non-obb version is not too complex you can still brick the console.
 
Last edited by rrifonas,

Mal9762

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Thanks for the links. I also have another quick question: are the box art pics needed and if so is there someone with pre-made box art pics. I mean, I can do it myself(but it will take a while), but I want to see if I could save some time.

Edit: Found out the answer myself by mistake. I forgot to rename some files .bin.png and it just shows a blank white box. Otherwise the games play.

Either way, thanks a bundle to everyone in the thread.
 
Last edited by Mal9762,

rrifonas

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Thanks for the links. I also have another quick question: are the box art pics needed and if so is there someone with pre-made box art pics. I mean, I can do it myself(but it will take a while), but I want to see if I could save some time.

Edit: Found out the answer myself by mistake. I forgot to rename some files .bin.png and it just shows a blank white box. Otherwise the games play.

Either way, thanks a bundle to everyone in the thread.
You don't need to add box art. If you don't add it, you will have a generic atgames 'box art'.
 

Mal9762

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I want to add a few things that I've learned from this experience:

1. If you get a blank screen after the AtGames logo, It may not be completely bricked and it probably means that your all-games.ini file got corrupted somehow.

2. Keep a backup of the original all-games.ini file(no brainer)

3. Make a backup of your modified all-games.ini file

I learned this the hard way when trying to copy the files back onto the hard drive to avoid having to redo the boxarts and noticed it wouldn't copy back the all-games.ini file. Thankfully I still had the original all-games.ini file in my adb folder.
 
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rrifonas

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I want to add a few things that I've learned from this experience:

1. If you get a blank screen after the AtGames logo, It may not be completely bricked and it probably means that your all-games.ini file got corrupted somehow.

2. Keep a backup of the original all-games.ini file(no brainer)

3. Make a backup of your modified all-games.ini file

I learned this the hard way when trying to copy the files back onto the hard drive to avoid having to redo the boxarts and noticed it wouldn't copy back the all-games.ini file. Thankfully I still had the original all-games.ini file in my adb folder.

That's it... with a backup in hand his thing is almost unbrickable. The program with the .ini file is that we are doing changes with the launcher running and trying to read the file.
 
Last edited by rrifonas,

esali

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Hello,

can someone send me the Sega Flashback loader.bin or say where ic can find the loader I have already tried with google but find nothing
I have low formated my sega :/

thanks
 

Menzo1986

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does anyone have a gamelist of the 2018 genesis/mega drive flashback version with sd card slot.
i cant find it anywhere.
im just wondering if it still has some homebrew or gamegear games on it or only genesis/mega drive this time.
 

rrifonas

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ChaosWeeb

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Guys I need help.
I have the ADB drivers installed, but when I plug my Flashback HD (2017 model) into my computer, it wont show up. I have tried multiple Micro A cables. It could just be all my cables but I dont know
 

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