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

[Beetch18]

If you use the original dashboard its cause of cache overflow. Its not possible to fix this without rewrite the code. Youre better using the custom dashboard.

Regards

I am not very technical at all and Hekel is probably correct it relates to a cache overflow.

 

[Hekel]

I am not very technical at all and Hekel is probably correct it relates to a cache overflow. However, i too have had the same issue with the last two pages of games not being available. A user by the name of supurman602 over on you tube posted the tip if you delete the entire "Games" folder from the flashback and recopy and paste it from your computer to the flashback this should correct the issue and all pages will be available. This has worked for me. Sometimes it takes multiple deletes (sometimes more than 5) from the flashback and adding back of the "Games" folder to the flashback but in the end it has always worked and once it works and all pages are available i don't have any further issues other than the occasional game freeze.

Well this trick might work if you dont have too many games added.. i added a PAL Fullset of roms to the Original Dashboard and there is still a limitation to the pages. You can not reach all pages no matter if you scroll from left to right or right to left. Even some game names in a special order is able to break the dashboard... as i sad its very bugy.. and cause of this i ported retroshield.

Regards

 

[tguk611]

Well the main reason you have to use the same size of characters is cause youre hex editing the existing data. If you like to completly change the names and other stuff you would need to decompile the files. ATGames didnt made a great job in the dashboard.. its very bugy and unstable. We better not start to talk about the emulator itself xD... im pretty busy at moment cause im cleaning out my old stuff that is staying around.. but if i find the time i create a .bat for you.

Thanks so much yeah I'm able to manipulate it with spaces as long as the characters meet the original character number but being able to add more would be great but I understand you have a lot on your plate.

Hi, I was wondering if anyone can assist me. I have been adding many games to the system and editing the ini file accordingly. All works well, except the last two pages are inaccessible, the console freezes briefly and then goes back up to favourites. If though I go into the game description and go through them individually the games are accessible and playable. It doesn't matter how many games I add its always the last two pages that don't work. Anyone know why this might be?

So I've messed around with the .ini a lot and I've noticed a few things first make sure there is a character after "description=" if there is a line break or a space like "description= The..." because all your added games after that game might not show up and delete pages, so that might be the cause, I have 80/80/40/40 games on my system and they all work fine.

Also I've had just random issues where I've had to insert line breaks in certain spaces for games which I can then remove after it's working again but these we're a pain because I had to narrow down the problem game and find out where to inset the line break.

 

[Beetch18]

Well this trick might work if you dont have too many games added.. i added a PAL Fullset of roms to the Original Dashboard and there is still a limitation to the pages. You can not reach all pages no matter if you scroll from left to right or right to left. Even some game names in a special order is able to break the dashboard... as i sad its very bugy.. and cause of this i ported retroshield.

Regards

Thanks Hekel, you are probably right.

 

[HollywoodGravy]

Thanks for all your replies. I thought the gap may be an issue in the description so I have eliminated all of those. Now to try 5 times. If all else fails then I will look into installing retroarch.

 

[hossbags2]

Hi Hekel...how close are you with releasing retroshield....Will it remove preinstall games. Also will it support 32x games and large games like Pier Solar.

 

[Hekel]

Hi Hekel...how close are you with releasing retroshield....Will it remove preinstall games. Also will it support 32x games and large games like Pier Solar.

Hey, please read the full topic in future, this would answer all of your questions. But Ok.. All kind of games will work (roms and cartridges, Homebrew and Original Games). You can Boot them from internal NAND / USB-Stick or USB HDD. Yes 32X Cartridges will work but you need an adapter to put it into youre console as they will not fit into the cartridge Slot. The preinstalled stock games will remain but the covers will be replaced with ones that haves better resolution. Regards

 

[Nils]

Do y'all have the same issue that after adding new games, the console doesn't read cartridges anymore? This buggy software starts getting on my nerves. I need to find a way to reset everything to default. Can someone please upload an image of the default settings of the software (non-obb)?

 

[Beetch18]

Do y'all have the same issue that after adding new games, the console doesn't read cartridges anymore? This buggy software starts getting on my nerves. I need to find a way to reset everything to default. Can someone please upload an image of the default settings of the software (non-obb)?

Have had no issues with the cartridge slot.

 

[Nils]

I added 145 games by following the ETA prime video on YouTube. Have had no issues with the cartridge slot. It works just fine for me after adding the games. Sorry I can't be of much help. Not sure why you may be experiencing problems.

Interesting. Unfortunately this didn't work for me. Maybe it is due to different versions and regions. :-\ The ETA prime tutorial seems to work, but I've experienced failure of reading cartridges and this issue still isn't solved after restoring the original all-games.ini and deleting the Games folder. I'm so done with this...

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

I'm really looking forward to Retro Shield programing a new firmware with a new dashboard that works stable.

Following major bugs need to be fixed:

1. Sometimes games freeze during gameplay, so the console needs to be powered off and on again.
2. The ingame menue pops up from time to time during gameplay even if not touching the menue button at all.
3. It seems like there's a limit to saving games. After reaching that limit, further game slots can't be used anymore.
4. Failure of reading cartridges after adding games to the console.

 

[Hekel]

Interesting. Unfortunately this didn't work for me. Maybe it is due to different versions and regions. :-\ The ETA prime tutorial seems to work, but I've experienced failure of reading cartridges and this issue still isn't solved after restoring the original all-games.ini and deleting the Games folder. I'm so done with this...

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

I'm really looking forward to Retro Shield programing a new firmware with a new dashboard that works stable.

Following major bugs need to be fixed:

1. Sometimes games freeze during gameplay, so the console needs to be powered off and on again.
2. The ingame menue pops up from time to time during gameplay even if not touching the menue button at all.
3. It seems like there's a limit to saving games. After reaching that limit, further game slots can't be used anymore.
4. Failure of reading cartridges after adding games to the console.

Well i never had problems with the Cartridge Slot. Might a silly question but you know that you have to reboot the console each time you put a new cartridge in? I have all versions of the console here and i can tell you theyre identical beside of small revision changes.. i spend alot time in compare them. RetroShield for Sure does not have this bugs! The main core works perfect. And there is a near 100% support of: Master System / SG100 / Game Gear / Mega Drive / 32X / Mega CD. But still i cant name any Release date yet.. i dont wanna release a beta. Hope you can still wait for it cause i can tell you its worth.

 

[Nils]

Well i never had problems with the Cartridge Slot. Might a silly question but you know that you have to reboot the console each time you put a new cartridge in? I have all versions of the console here and i can tell you theyre identical beside of small revision changes.. i spend alot time in compare them. RetroShield for Sure does not have this bugs! The main core works perfect. And there is a near 100% support of: Master System / SG100 / Game Gear / Mega Drive / 32X / Mega CD. But still i cant name any Release date yet.. i dont wanna release a beta. Hope you can still wait for it cause i can tell you its worth.

Of course I know you have to restart the console each time after putting in a new cartridge... The problem with this console is that after putting new games on it and restarting it over and over again, the system just doesn't recognize any cartridges anymore. It just doesn't load the rom from the cartridge at startup like it used to and the cartridge option in the menue can't be selected even though there's a cartridge inside that worked before perfectly.

I'll just wait for RetroShield to be released. Take your time, as long as it'll be stable. Until then I just throw the console in the corner and waste no more time on this piece of ****!

 

[HollywoodGravy]

Well this trick might work if you dont have too many games added.. i added a PAL Fullset of roms to the Original Dashboard and there is still a limitation to the pages. You can not reach all pages no matter if you scroll from left to right or right to left. Even some game names in a special order is able to break the dashboard... as i sad its very bugy.. and cause of this i ported retroshield.

Regards

Hi, how did you get Jimmy White to run? Mine states that it will only run on pal megadrives. I have no idea how to set it to pal. (It is a UK version machine)

 

[asper]

The game is in this list so it has some kind of region check. If original atgames emulator gives you that error you need another emulator to run the cartridge.

 

[ArugulaZ]

Jimmy "Superfly" Snooker, you say?

Uh, anyway. I've got a mini USB to USB adapter coming in the mail. Assuming I ordered the right thing and there are no other major crap-ups, I'm gonna try to connect a mouse to this thing. I've got MD.emu on this and I'm hoping I can force it as the default emulator... I can't seem to select it with the joypad.

 

[tguk611]

Thanky for your quick reply, Hekel.

Since I've bought this console, I played so many games on it and really value my save game data, because it cost me so much time and effort to get to certain places in the games.
So I really would love to backup my save game data. :-)

Can you please tell me the exact commands, that I have to type in in ADB in order to copy or backup my save game data?
And then delete and restore it, just like you have explained before?

I have already pulled some data from the console using the command "adb pull /system" but still I couldn't find any save game data in any of the folders. :-(
It should be located in the "atgames" folder, I guess, but it isn't...

I'm also looking forward to the retroshield upgrade!

I found .sav files but they're not in the /system directory they we're in /sdcard if you run adb and change the directory to /sdcard and run type "ls" it will list all the files and folders and you'll see .sav files but unfortunately they are the ram saves and not save states so even if you delete the .sav files your save states will still be there. I also tried running the pulled .savs in other emulators but they would not work so they might be encrypted I only tried a few though. I know this probably won't help your problem but I figured it might help you if you want to try looking yourself, you can also something like adb file explorer to browse the directories easier I was only really interested in saving my the .savs for use in other emulators but I'll give another shot at looking for the save states.

EDIT: I found the sms and gg saves they're located in data/data/com.atgames.sms/files the save state is in .sta and there is a .png as well, I deleted the first save slot for phantasy star and the rest still seemed to work but do this at your own risk

the genesis save states are located in data/data/com.atgames.genesis/files and also use the same extension .sta.

 

[ArugulaZ]

The mini USB to female USB adapter fits, but won't recognize input devices. I would power the port, but I have had less than zero luck doing any soldering lately. Frustrating as all hell. Can anyone confirm whether or not input devices like joysticks and mouses will work with a properly powered Genesis Flashback HD USB port?

EDIT: Yes, the mini USB port IS compatible with other input devices, so long as it's powered. I couldn't solder together a solution so I just connected the Flashback to an adapter, then the adapter to a USB hub, then the hub to my computer. It's not elegant, but it works. I was able to use a mouse to select MD.emu as my preferred emulator in Sega Generations; something I wasn't able to do without one. As for my soldering quandry, I think I'm going to need more light in the house and better equipment.

 

[Nils]

I have tried to plug this old school 9 pin joystick to the Sega Flashback HD console.
Unfortunately, it was'n recognized. Nothing happened. Didn't work at all.

 

[ArugulaZ]

My understanding is that the Flashback HD won't work with three button controllers; only the six button controller designed for the Sega Genesis. It follows that Atari joysticks wouldn't work either. It's a picky beast... maybe not as picky as the Super Retrocade, but picky.

 

[tguk611]

I made some .bats to dump,remove, and upload the genesis and gg/sms save states. I tested them and they worked but like always use at your own risk, I have the 2GB non-obb version so I don't know if the folders are structured the same for the different versions. Also this is for the save states only, the ram saves are located on the internal sd card and I couldn't find a way to pull just the .savs, you can pull the entire directory but it will also contain the folder for all the roms you added as well but both the genesis and gg/sms ram saves get stored there in .sav format. I wasn't able to get the .savs or the the save states to work on md.emu but I'm going to try a couple retroarch emulators tonight.

I don't know how much use this will be for people but it will allow you to back up your save states. Also I was able to interchange the save states for roms loaded on the console and cartridge loaded games by renaming them, I only tried this with Streets of Rage and Streets of Rage 2 so this might not work for all games especially if the rom is a revision. There are .png files for each save state which makes finding the cartridge loaded save states easier since they are basically just numbers for example my streets of rage 2 save state was "rom-9409.sta.0"

Also on a side note I would really like to be able to add button combinations in the game descriptions like "A+B" or "Down+A", unfortunately atgames only included a handful like "Up+C", "Dpad+B" which we're used for the included games. I saw the included button combinations in a couple of the .smali files but was wondering if it's possible to add more by editing these files.