🚨 UPDATES 🚨 • You can spoof 2600 paddle support. GSP seems to key off of certain names, so in my example, changing the Kaboom ROM & supporting images to instead be named, "Breakout" (.a26, .jpg, .png), the paddle works fine launching from the menu.
If it's working the way it did before you might want to try renamining it to Warlords. Breakout worked but I think it was missing support for the second player. When I tried Warlords.a26 way back I think it gave support for both players on the paddle control. I started using Warlords.a26 for everything else.
Now I could read the forum and probably do this myself but then I would miss another enthusiastic master class video from you John. Thanks for sharing.
Oh man. The doors this opens up! This really pushes the value of this as an emulation platform! This avenue changes everything. There is a lot of work ahead. But the result is beautiful. Now, I just need more time to do this process 2000 times. 😂 oh well. I can’t do it all at once. I will just have to start with my favorites and work down. Thanks Jon. This is another exciting and excellent video on my beloved GSP. ❤
Thank you for taking the time to break down these instructions step by step (not just for this video, but for any of these types of videos for various equipment) - it really helps!
Nice job, Jon! I posted an update in the Atari Age GSP forum for you to get you and Brad more publicity. Hopefully that will get more views and get more traffic to your channel.
What an incredible update! It's almost unheard of to be able to add things to the UI like this so I think this is fantastic. I did something wrong the first attempt and somehow made it so it wouldn't see any games! Just formatted the card and started over and I've successfully added Oink! to the GUI. I hope to see this level of support for the 2600 plus in the same fashion although I understand it doesn't have a UI to modified, I hope they continue to work on the compatibility for that system (Rampage 7800 anyone???). Also just a random video request I'd love to see you do more homebrew coverage. Maybe a list of your favorite (still available) homebrews!
This is cool! I wish a group can get together and harvest/scrape the box art, screenshots, and description info, and also update the games.ini file for SD card use to cover the entire 2600 library. If I had the free time, I'd be all over it.
My Atari GameStation Pro arrived last week and finally got around to playing with it. I've updated the firmware to this 1.30c "community" firmware, managed to scare up a spare micro SD card that I had lying around (it was only 16 gigs, will have to run out and get a larger one - 128 gigs, should be plenty large enough) added a couple of additional Atari games such as River Raid, Pitfall and Pitfall II just to try it out. This is really friggan cool! Hmmm, if time allows, I may have to consider looking at writing a configuration tool to allow easier adding of games instead of having to manually edit that ".ini" file. It would not be difficult, but it is not trivial either. Then again, this is coming from a senior software engineer with 30+ years of experience that has written similar configuration tools in the past to be used on equipment much, much, MUCH more expensive than the Atari GameStation Pro (think 6 digits)! Just need to find the time and motivation to do it, as it can be tough to want to do more on my free time of what I already do all day at work.
@@GenXGrownUp The GSP took over gaming in my house all weekend. My kids especailly loved the simplicity and the joysticks are a hit. Have upated the firmware and added roms. I'm concerned about adding this comunity firmware update, what if it conflicts with My Arcade's next official firmware update? It's compelling tho, I love the idea of dressing up the games on the main UI.
@@mattcorso5802 Good to be forward-thinking, Matt. There's no conflict. If My Arcade were to release a new firmware, it would disable your games added to the menu, but only until the community releases its own follow-up. For example, MA puts out 1.40 and you'd be on stock software until Brad (or one of his contemporaries) releases 1.40c, and then you're back at the party!
There's been a similar (but official) update for the ZX Touch (ZX Spectrum handheld) so I've been spending hours adding games and creating info screens for the frontend on that machine, and now it looks like i've got another project. Thanks for the video!
This is insane. Funny how you can take a basic console and upgrade it for free to something so exceptional, thanks to that SD card slot and hobbyist like you who make it happen and then share your skills. Thank you!
I'm going to give this a try tomorrow. I'm glad it's not destructive to the system, as in removing the card leaves the system just as it was, save for the new firmware. This GSP has become my new favorite Atari retro gaming console. With this said, it'd be just plain outstanding if My Arcade created a wireless paddle controller for this system that is just like the actual 2600 paddles. I know this is highly unlikely, as the controller already has a paddle knob, but one can dream.
I’m sure there will be an easier way in the next iteration of the community firmware. There are plenty of legal sites to get artwork from, whether original or reproduction. And they have all the meta data needed as well. Still this is an option to put on a few games onto the GSP 👍
Thanks for the video, Jon! I downloaded all of the files from the forum the other day and this is a project that will take me some time to set up but I need to update the firmware first.
Sweet desktop background, reminds me of some of those covers from Zzap!64 👍 Since my last post here I did put that pre-order in on that A400 Mini so that'll be at my PO box sometime in March I believe, lookin forward to it.
@@GenXGrownUp works a treat! I had a problem to start with as my SD card was formatted to FAT32. I read the info on AtariAge and it said that 1.30c would only work if the SD card was formatted to exFAT, so once I reformatted it was fine. Now all I need to do is go find all that artwork!
This is So Awesome how the Community is Killing it, I wonder if they are gonna.. I think youre about to answer my question... Guess Now we just have to wait for someone to make a GUI Editor I'd assume for Windows lol
There was a editor for Genesis Flashback 2018 model which also had custom firmware and used a all-games.ini file to display games within it's menus. The windows tool allowed you to add a game, set images and also add descriptions etc. that's what is needed to make editing of the ini file much easier
@@davidy67 Thats Exactly what I was thinking, I wonder. Does the; Windows Only; Screen Scraper app make ini files for a folder you scrape for artwork.. I only recently figured it out, I typically run Linux, but got it working under a VM
You had to add images manually as far as I could remember but still anythings easier than having to edit image sizes etc at least it did it for you @@MotownBatman
A "complete" build would be quite an undertaking, and questionable to distribute due to all the copyright holders. There are some sets over on AtariAge, but everyone's tastes are bound to be different, and may not include your favorites from any given platform.
Hey Jon let me give you my honest opinion! 😊 this is all nice and everything but it's way too much work for the average person! Furthermore if the game system breaks gets lost or stolen you loose everything I prefer to put everything on my SD card all my games which I have a little over 40 now but if something goes wrong with my game station Pro I've got my backup SD card may not be pretty but it's a lot more simple!! And that leads me to this, I hope my arcade is looking at this and it would be nice to see games like pitfall or river raid already added in new updates! I hope they're looking at this because this is what we all really want and of course I'm speaking for my friends and family! But great video🎮👍
Not sure if you watched to the end, but I predicted your comment. 😜 Those games you're hoping for aren't being held back by My Arcade - they simply don't have right legal right to distribute them. So adding them ourselves is going to be the path forward for the foreseeable future. BTW, all this configuration lives on the SD card, so you can back it up just like you suggested.
Hey GXGU. I've been enjoying your videos on Atari consoles. I recently purchased the Atari 2600+ and have been enjoying not only the nostalgia of playing the old games, but on enhanced HDMI graphics. After watching your videos on the GSP, I am considering purchasing the console. Nothing would suit me better than to be able to play the arcade versions of the likes of Berzerk, Donkey Kong, Pengo, Super Cobra, Frogger and Rygar just to name a few. However, with the recent developments of now being able to load hundreds of additional games onto the console via SD memory card, and also Atari's recent acquisitions to the rights of Intellivision and Stern games; I am just wondering if it may be both economical and strategic to wait and see if Atari should release an enhanced version of the GSP. As for original Atari 2600 games on the GSP, can you confirm whether or not the console accommodates the video touch pad required to play Star Raiders?
Thanks for watching. Keep in mind that the GSP isn't released by Atari, but My Arcade under license. A GSP (especially at its current price) is a great option, but there are control limitations like you mentioned that just aren't available. Keep your eye on the Gamestation Go.
took me 5 hours to get this working. sd card must be formatted to fat ex or it wont work if its formatted as fat 32! also its easier to put the roms in the directory provided
Five hours! Wow, that's diligence! "Easier" is subjective - I found that putting items in their own directory allowed me to keep better track of my changes.
Have added a bunch of games so far! Very exciting. Having an issue with GORF and Stay Frosty 2 playing (pressing A button doesn't start the game). Question: All of the other images are aiming and working correctly, but my banner images are HUGE and I'm using the correct sizing dimensions. Anyone else having the same banner size issue? If there's another place online to discuss these things, please let me know. Thanks!
Heh. Yeah, you don't want to use the entire height of the transparent image to fill with a logo. I've found that if I make the logo about 2/3 the height it looks about right. We're talking about the GSP and expansion a great deal with other viewers over on our Discord server. Pop in and head over to the #retro-gaming channel. 😀
Thanks, Cap. I agree it's an avalanche of detail work if you're looking to index every game, but if you have a dozen favorites that you'd like to integrate, it's an hour of work for the satisfaction of it looking nice! 😁
Hopefully they make a future community update that allows you to rip game box art and game screenshots off the internet from the Atari game station pro.
Try for Kaboom to change the game_type to 15 which is a libretro core for stella which should have paddle support, the default core for most games for 2600 is game_type 5 which uses stella2014 libretro core, havent tried it yet though so i could be wrong.
Just verified, sadly, that my game_type was already set to 15 as I copied from Breakout. I'm betting it's keyed off of games names, so I bet I could fool it by renaming my Kaboom ROM... 🤔
Great Video! Very informative! I have installed the custom firmware and have the data file on my sd card. I have my roms, boxart at recommended resolution, and screenshots at recommended resolution. Where do I get the Title Logos...that is the last piece of my proverbial puzzle. Any help anyone could provided would be greatly appreciated!
Hey, thanks - glad it helped! The title banner images are ones I created using a paint program (like Photoshop or GIMP) to create a canvas with transparency and then place the logo (sourced from Google searches) at the more aesthetically pleasing location & size. Try opening up a few of the pre-existing images to see what a finished one should look like. If you need further guidance, hop over to the #tech-support channel of our Discord server where some of our friendly followers will be glad to help you out!
John as I am getting ready to buy this, is there any possibility of someone making available an image for this? Before I settle down for a long process, thought I would ask.
Maybe it can play the recently discovered Atari Proto's that were dumped. I think prototypes are interesting because they are like a time capsule. I remember you covered Sonar and Snark.
Jon, where are you getting the box art from? It’s all so consistent and looks great! I’m trying to make sure it all looks the same. Is there a one-stop shop where you are finding much of that box art or you are simply and eventually finding it thru Google searches?
That's a really good question. I've found that the LaunchBox Game Media library has the nicest & most consistent quality in their collection, so I get most box cover art from there. As for game logos, I collect those in a folder as I need them for videos & thumbnails through the years, but if there's no logo, I just snatch the one off the box art! 😁 forums.launchbox-app.com/files/category/4-game-media/
I'll wait for someone to do up a prebuilt, the flashback has all this with better controls. I like the gsp I have two and already slideloaded but I am not a fan of the joysticks.
The joysticks seem to be a weak spot. I'll have to disagree about the Flashback being equivalent - it's a one-trick 2600 pony where the GSP opens the door to so many varied platforms.
Thanks. You won't find exactly waht you need online, but I just did a Google image search for, "berzerk arcade logo transparent" and then brought that into a properly-sized transparent canvas in my paint program and pasted & sized the logo.
I just want this machine to support all the 8bitDo controlllers. I manage to make the PC-engine controllers to work with 2 buttons, but it only worked once with a lot of random trial and errors. Never managed to make them work ever again..
@GenXGrownUp I was just bashing the silver Adventure boxart, but only because it pales in comparison to the original. I feel the same for Gravitar too, the original silver is much nicer than the red box.
@@jeremiahthomas8140 That's one of the great things about getting access to the interface - I can fix all those things that bug me (like Video Olympics!)
Is anyone else having issues adding roms? I've done the 1.30c fw update, it worked as expected. I tried adding a single rom (Qbert for the 2600 in this case): got the latest rom from atariage, put it and the three graphic files in the correct formats/sizes all into the new "Atari 2600_C" folder within the Atari 2600 folder within the "games" folder (I've tried both upper and lower case "G"). It shows up alphabetically in the gsp menu but has a random different box art image applied, when I click "A" it takes me to the Qbert page I created, has the correct "about" and "controls" sections that I edited but again has a randomly different box art image, no screenshot or banner images and when I click "A" again to play, does nothing. I tried with Pitfall next, same thing. No idea what I may have done wrong, I've gone back and redone it a couple times. GGrrrrrrrrrrrr..............
apologies, that should have read "Atari 2600_c" folder. Also, I definitely changed the "games.ini" first line value to update_db=1 each time I've attempted this.
Just sounds like a configuration problem. If you'd like some more help, open a new topic in the #tech-support channel of our Discord server. Including your ini and screenshots of your folder structure will come in handy.
Hey, Jon. Question: I'm a total knucklehead when it comes to this stuff and I'm patiently waiting for things to settle down before I attempt any updates. My deadline is when MyArcade releases those new control designs that you gave us a sneak peek of a couple of months ago. 👍☺ If I'm not mistaken, this is your third video discussing updates for the GSP. My actual question is, I gather that I need to process those original updates 'before' this one. Is that correct? If memory serves me correctly, MyArcafe offers a firmware update and then there is the addition of games video that you generated, and now this one. When I'm ready to go, I still do all three processes in order, to benefit from the full experience of my GSP? Is that correct? Thanks! ✌
Hey, Z. Don't sell yourself short - I'm sure you've got this! 😁 You can certainly take some shortcuts. If your goal is to be on the community firmware, you can upgrade directly to 1.30c skipping 1.30 entirely. Once that's done (and regardless which version you're on), you will need to gather your ROMs and place them in a "Games" folder in order to run them from the SD via that white/blue file structure. Then you can proceed to tinker with adding your favorites to the graphical menu so they'll run from there, too. If you run into trouble, I'd invite you to visit the GenXGrownUp Discord server and sound off in the #tech-support thread where any one of a number of our friendly and knowledgable memebers can help you out.
@@GenXGrownUp Great, thanks! And maybe we'll see you on discord. Besides that, I'm looking forward to your next video. Keep that Atari goodness coming. ✌😎
Where do you put the artwork? Does go inside of the "Artwork' folder which, for example, is '\Games\Atari 2600\Artwork' or should it be in the root of the Atari 2600 folder '\Games\Atari 2600\'? And, should all the .26 ROMs be placed in root of 'Atari 2600' with this latest CFW, or still organize them in alphabetical folders as you showed us previously in the official firmware? Thanks in advance!
I covered addition of the artwork folder in this video: ua-cam.com/video/l-Thh8b7i7o/v-deo.html Short version, artwork is a sibling folder to where ever you have your samples folder. As for sorting of 2600 games, that's up to you. Community firmware doesn't affect how games are seen and launched from the existing "blue screen" file lister.
OMG bro hahaha I just realized I have the same crappy DYNEX TV! LMAO. Anyway... I seem to remember that when I paired my Xbox Series X controller to the GSP, to play SNES the "Y" button would open the overlay menu. Does this fix that?
I love that Dynex TV! It has all the connections I need and looks great on camera! 🎥 But, no. This community firmware doesn't change any of the features or functions of the GSP, only moves the operating directory to a place where it can be modified.
@@GenXGrownUp It really does, though! Coax! Old yeller! The rainbow cable, AND HDMI?!?! PLUS it's a tank (My mother and I have a tradition of watching Football together every Sunday on the back porch and have ... "forgotten" to bring the TV in after some brewski's) And the ONLY thing wrong is the Old yeller and Rainbow cables display black and white now :( I had to get that silly little HDMI converter (which was the wrong one apparently, everything still makes me feel like I have astigmatism. But it works. Thanks for the reply. I really wish I could figure out that "y" button thing, so my wife and I can at least sit back in bed and play Mario instead of having to get the mini out and basically stand in front of the dresser lmao. Maybe i'll plug THIS custom firmware into Visual Studio and see if I can figure something out. Love the channel and have recommended you to everyone i know into retro gaming. Most already knew XD
@@TheVulgrOne That's very kind of you. Thanks for the recommendations. I seem to remember some folks on Atari Age finding a way so inject controller remappings into certain games via config files. If poking around in VB doesn't scare you off, then that stuff is probably going to be easy enough for you to wrap your head around.
How hard is it to add games/ find games? I want to get one of these for rainy days camping 😊 but I want to add a few games like pac man, Q*Bert, road rash, Dr Mario, super Mario world and super Mario kart, Earth worm Jim, maybe a few others. Will any games work? And how hard is it to do this ?(for someone who's never done anything like this 😂)
Question: does this all need to be done on a PC/windows computer? Or can all the images, screenshots, banner images be grabbed in an Apple and then out on the micro SD? Maybe just the roms need to be done on a PC? Thanks!
If I was to get a Gamestation Pro I would like to have my own custom made covers (and logos) of my favorite Atari games Glad you downloaded Sonar on the Gamestation
@@mainps1 Certainly can be. I can't imagine any smart company investing in more licensing fees to add free games to a console already sold. Perhaps in future products, though.
@GenXGrownUp yes this is the one part that Atari is behind in! It's real simple just add more games on updates the average person is not going to go through all that trouble downloading games!
Renaming the .zip archive to .a26 isn't what you need. You need to extract the .a26 file from the .zip archive. www.filecenter.com/blog/how-to-unzip-files-mac-iphone-android-windows/
Got it brand new, attempt to update firmware and FAILED to update , turning the console into a useless piece dead weight. Returned to seller so quick my head still spinning. After checking forums, realized I am not the only one.
@@GenXGrownUp Thanks a lot, actually watching your videos motivated me to get the console, but I think I will have to wait until they release a later pcb version or factory firmware. If you check the forums you will see many people waiting for myarcade to resolve this issue. I simply didn't want to wait undefined time but I share the passion for ATARI just the same.
Hopefully "My Arcade" won't get a stick in their butt concerning CFW. Only time will tell. Haven't done any official updates so I guess I do that first then the CFW. THANKS!
No kidding. Distribution of all these ROMs from so many publishers is such a gray area legally (or worse, depending on who you ask). That's the #1 reason nobody has done it yet.
I thought I’d bricked mine when I first did this. The firmware update seemed to work and all the game data etc got copied to my SD card after firing it up first time. BUT…. No games worked. At all. Like not even the built in ones. Then I looked on the AtariAge website and it mentioned that the SD card had to be formatted as exFAT. Mine was formatted to FAT32. I must’ve missed this somewhere along the way when first setting up my own game folders. Anyway, once I’d reformatted the SD card to exFAT (and copied all my games back of course, don’t forget to back them up before you reformat the card!), everything worked again.
@@johncamp8520 I ended up opening up the GSP and shorting out a couple of pins on the board that reset the unit to factory settings. I was then able to flash the unit.
Hi Jon, Thank you for this wonderful information and tutorial. On your fourth picture Berzerk.zip Arcade ; what the name and size? 236x322? berzerk_thumb.png?
Remember that non-bonus arcade games use four images. Here's what I have: berzerk.jpg 362x278 berzerk.png 236x322 berzerk_menu.png 473x605 (seems too big - GSP scaling it?) berzerk_title.png 960x186 If you hit me up in a DM on Discord I can share my images with you. (Link to our server in the vid description.)
🚨 UPDATES 🚨
• You can spoof 2600 paddle support. GSP seems to key off of certain names, so in my example, changing the Kaboom ROM & supporting images to instead be named, "Breakout" (.a26, .jpg, .png), the paddle works fine launching from the menu.
Nice to see this update!
If it's working the way it did before you might want to try renamining it to Warlords. Breakout worked but I think it was missing support for the second player. When I tried Warlords.a26 way back I think it gave support for both players on the paddle control. I started using Warlords.a26 for everything else.
I'm fairly ignorant about this kind of thing, so if I do this firmware do I need to do the 1.3 beforehand? I'm learning, slowly.
@@RlsIII-uz1kl No problem. 😁 This community firmware builds upon 1.30, so you can go straight from 1.20 to 1.30c if you'd like.
Now I could read the forum and probably do this myself but then I would miss another enthusiastic master class video from you John. Thanks for sharing.
Hahaha! You're too kind! 🥰 I appreciate you making the time to watch, Blue.
The homebrew scene is the best thing to ever happen to Atari. Good video! 👍
Oh man. The doors this opens up! This really pushes the value of this as an emulation platform! This avenue changes everything. There is a lot of work ahead. But the result is beautiful. Now, I just need more time to do this process 2000 times. 😂 oh well. I can’t do it all at once. I will just have to start with my favorites and work down. Thanks Jon. This is another exciting and excellent video on my beloved GSP. ❤
Couldn't agree more!
Thank you for taking the time to break down these instructions step by step (not just for this video, but for any of these types of videos for various equipment) - it really helps!
Glad it was helpful! I try to produce tutorials that I would want to see, so it's very gratifying to hear you find them valuable. 😁
Nice job, Jon! I posted an update in the Atari Age GSP forum for you to get you and Brad more publicity. Hopefully that will get more views and get more traffic to your channel.
Thanks for that. I hope you find the tutorial of value. 😄
What an incredible update! It's almost unheard of to be able to add things to the UI like this so I think this is fantastic. I did something wrong the first attempt and somehow made it so it wouldn't see any games! Just formatted the card and started over and I've successfully added Oink! to the GUI. I hope to see this level of support for the 2600 plus in the same fashion although I understand it doesn't have a UI to modified, I hope they continue to work on the compatibility for that system (Rampage 7800 anyone???).
Also just a random video request I'd love to see you do more homebrew coverage. Maybe a list of your favorite (still available) homebrews!
This is cool! I wish a group can get together and harvest/scrape the box art, screenshots, and description info, and also update the games.ini file for SD card use to cover the entire 2600 library. If I had the free time, I'd be all over it.
My Atari GameStation Pro arrived last week and finally got around to playing with it. I've updated the firmware to this 1.30c "community" firmware, managed to scare up a spare micro SD card that I had lying around (it was only 16 gigs, will have to run out and get a larger one - 128 gigs, should be plenty large enough) added a couple of additional Atari games such as River Raid, Pitfall and Pitfall II just to try it out. This is really friggan cool! Hmmm, if time allows, I may have to consider looking at writing a configuration tool to allow easier adding of games instead of having to manually edit that ".ini" file. It would not be difficult, but it is not trivial either. Then again, this is coming from a senior software engineer with 30+ years of experience that has written similar configuration tools in the past to be used on equipment much, much, MUCH more expensive than the Atari GameStation Pro (think 6 digits)! Just need to find the time and motivation to do it, as it can be tough to want to do more on my free time of what I already do all day at work.
Glad you're enjoying it. 😁
Just got my game station pro last week and upgraded the firmware the same day. Thanks for the tutorial
Glad I could help
Great information!! Thanks for sharing
Thanks for the tutorial. Ordered a GSP, it's on the way!
Let me know how it goes!
@@GenXGrownUp The GSP took over gaming in my house all weekend. My kids especailly loved the simplicity and the joysticks are a hit. Have upated the firmware and added roms. I'm concerned about adding this comunity firmware update, what if it conflicts with My Arcade's next official firmware update? It's compelling tho, I love the idea of dressing up the games on the main UI.
@@mattcorso5802 Good to be forward-thinking, Matt. There's no conflict. If My Arcade were to release a new firmware, it would disable your games added to the menu, but only until the community releases its own follow-up. For example, MA puts out 1.40 and you'd be on stock software until Brad (or one of his contemporaries) releases 1.40c, and then you're back at the party!
There's been a similar (but official) update for the ZX Touch (ZX Spectrum handheld) so I've been spending hours adding games and creating info screens for the frontend on that machine, and now it looks like i've got another project. Thanks for the video!
This is insane. Funny how you can take a basic console and upgrade it for free to something so exceptional, thanks to that SD card slot and hobbyist like you who make it happen and then share your skills. Thank you!
I'm going to give this a try tomorrow. I'm glad it's not destructive to the system, as in removing the card leaves the system just as it was, save for the new firmware. This GSP has become my new favorite Atari retro gaming console. With this said, it'd be just plain outstanding if My Arcade created a wireless paddle controller for this system that is just like the actual 2600 paddles. I know this is highly unlikely, as the controller already has a paddle knob, but one can dream.
Love this! Thank you!
You are so welcome!
Thanks Jon. You’re helping to make GSP even better!!! 🙏
That's very heartwarming to hear. Thanks for watching. 😀
Great video Jon! Well done :-)
Yep, some work involved, but sure looks fantastic after. I've got 5 pages of 5200 games showing now!
Nice!
I’m sure there will be an easier way in the next iteration of the community firmware. There are plenty of legal sites to get artwork from, whether original or reproduction. And they have all the meta data needed as well. Still this is an option to put on a few games onto the GSP 👍
Thanks John! Very thorough. Appreciate it! Now... there's work to be done!
Oh, yeah - there IS work to be done! 😁 Thanks for watching.
Seriously thank you for the update, i know this is something that we asked for and this is incredibly useful to understand,
Glad it was helpful!
A custom Atari will be a thing in the future. Can't wait to do the same on mine!
Thanks for the video, Jon! I downloaded all of the files from the forum the other day and this is a project that will take me some time to set up but I need to update the firmware first.
You're quite welcome! 😀 Thanks for watching.
Sweet desktop background, reminds me of some of those covers from Zzap!64 👍
Since my last post here I did put that pre-order in on that A400 Mini so that'll be at my PO box sometime in March I believe, lookin forward to it.
Very cool!
Thanks Jon, great video. Been looking forward to this since you teased it a few days ago. Can’t wait to give this a go.
You're welcome. Please let me know how it goes! 😁
@@GenXGrownUp works a treat! I had a problem to start with as my SD card was formatted to FAT32. I read the info on AtariAge and it said that 1.30c would only work if the SD card was formatted to exFAT, so once I reformatted it was fine. Now all I need to do is go find all that artwork!
@@GenXGrownUp works a treat! I just need to find some suitable artwork now.
This is great Jon. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for putting this together.
You bet!
Awesome Sauce 🤠💯👍🏽
Awesome
Nice!
Thank you! Cheers!
This is So Awesome how the Community is Killing it, I wonder if they are gonna.. I think youre about to answer my question...
Guess Now we just have to wait for someone to make a GUI Editor I'd assume for Windows lol
There was a editor for Genesis Flashback 2018 model which also had custom firmware and used a all-games.ini file to display games within it's menus. The windows tool allowed you to add a game, set images and also add descriptions etc. that's what is needed to make editing of the ini file much easier
@@davidy67 Thats Exactly what I was thinking, I wonder.
Does the; Windows Only; Screen Scraper app make ini files for a folder you scrape for artwork..
I only recently figured it out, I typically run Linux, but got it working under a VM
Yes, I used that on my Megadrive flashback. So good!
You had to add images manually as far as I could remember but still anythings easier than having to edit image sizes etc at least it did it for you @@MotownBatman
Are there complete builds available yet? If so, you should do a follow up video.
A "complete" build would be quite an undertaking, and questionable to distribute due to all the copyright holders. There are some sets over on AtariAge, but everyone's tastes are bound to be different, and may not include your favorites from any given platform.
Thank you so much.
You're welcome!
I broke down and ordered a refurbished model. I hope it comes tomorrow.
Great video! Has anyone gotten colecovision to work?
I love it when the community makes custom firmware. I'm sure someone will make an app at some point that will scrape the artwork.
Hey Jon let me give you my honest opinion! 😊 this is all nice and everything but it's way too much work for the average person! Furthermore if the game system breaks gets lost or stolen you loose everything I prefer to put everything on my SD card all my games which I have a little over 40 now but if something goes wrong with my game station Pro I've got my backup SD card may not be pretty but it's a lot more simple!!
And that leads me to this, I hope my arcade is looking at this and it would be nice to see games like pitfall or river raid already added in new updates! I hope they're looking at this because this is what we all really want and of course I'm speaking for my friends and family! But great video🎮👍
Not sure if you watched to the end, but I predicted your comment. 😜
Those games you're hoping for aren't being held back by My Arcade - they simply don't have right legal right to distribute them. So adding them ourselves is going to be the path forward for the foreseeable future. BTW, all this configuration lives on the SD card, so you can back it up just like you suggested.
Hey GXGU. I've been enjoying your videos on Atari consoles. I recently purchased the Atari 2600+ and have been enjoying not only the nostalgia of playing the old games, but on enhanced HDMI graphics.
After watching your videos on the GSP, I am considering purchasing the console. Nothing would suit me better than to be able to play the arcade versions of the likes of Berzerk, Donkey Kong, Pengo, Super Cobra, Frogger and Rygar just to name a few.
However, with the recent developments of now being able to load hundreds of additional games onto the console via SD memory card, and also Atari's recent acquisitions to the rights of Intellivision and Stern games; I am just wondering if it may be both economical and strategic to wait and see if Atari should release an enhanced version of the GSP.
As for original Atari 2600 games on the GSP, can you confirm whether or not the console accommodates the video touch pad required to play Star Raiders?
Thanks for watching. Keep in mind that the GSP isn't released by Atari, but My Arcade under license. A GSP (especially at its current price) is a great option, but there are control limitations like you mentioned that just aren't available. Keep your eye on the Gamestation Go.
took me 5 hours to get this working. sd card must be formatted to fat ex or it wont work if its formatted as fat 32! also its easier to put the roms in the directory provided
Five hours! Wow, that's diligence! "Easier" is subjective - I found that putting items in their own directory allowed me to keep better track of my changes.
Have added a bunch of games so far! Very exciting. Having an issue with GORF and Stay Frosty 2 playing (pressing A button doesn't start the game). Question: All of the other images are aiming and working correctly, but my banner images are HUGE and I'm using the correct sizing dimensions. Anyone else having the same banner size issue? If there's another place online to discuss these things, please let me know. Thanks!
Heh. Yeah, you don't want to use the entire height of the transparent image to fill with a logo. I've found that if I make the logo about 2/3 the height it looks about right. We're talking about the GSP and expansion a great deal with other viewers over on our Discord server. Pop in and head over to the #retro-gaming channel. 😀
@@GenXGrownUpJon, is there a discord invite link?
@@glenjust630 You bet! It's in the description below every video I produce... including this one! 😜
I hope we can get a pre-installed pack of a bunch of art and descriptions at least. Then I could more easily dump my roms and go play.
Impressive work from both of you but way too much hassle right now. For me at least.
Thanks, Cap. I agree it's an avalanche of detail work if you're looking to index every game, but if you have a dozen favorites that you'd like to integrate, it's an hour of work for the satisfaction of it looking nice! 😁
Hopefully they make a future community update that allows you to rip game box art and game screenshots off the internet from the Atari game station pro.
delicious!!❤🎉
Try for Kaboom to change the game_type to 15 which is a libretro core for stella which should have paddle support, the default core for most games for 2600 is game_type 5 which uses stella2014 libretro core, havent tried it yet though so i could be wrong.
I'll give it a try. I cloned the entry for Breakout and left the game_type alone, but whatever works. Thanks for the suggestion!
Just verified, sadly, that my game_type was already set to 15 as I copied from Breakout. I'm betting it's keyed off of games names, so I bet I could fool it by renaming my Kaboom ROM... 🤔
Great Video! Very informative! I have installed the custom firmware and have the data file on my sd card. I have my roms, boxart at recommended resolution, and screenshots at recommended resolution. Where do I get the Title Logos...that is the last piece of my proverbial puzzle. Any help anyone could provided would be greatly appreciated!
Hey, thanks - glad it helped! The title banner images are ones I created using a paint program (like Photoshop or GIMP) to create a canvas with transparency and then place the logo (sourced from Google searches) at the more aesthetically pleasing location & size. Try opening up a few of the pre-existing images to see what a finished one should look like. If you need further guidance, hop over to the #tech-support channel of our Discord server where some of our friendly followers will be glad to help you out!
John as I am getting ready to buy this, is there any possibility of someone making available an image for this? Before I settle down for a long process, thought I would ask.
Not one I know of. I know there were some members over at AtariAge talking about image collaboration but I don't know how far that got.
Maybe it can play the recently discovered Atari Proto's that were dumped. I think prototypes are interesting because they are like a time capsule. I remember you covered Sonar and Snark.
Did you not see in the video that I already added Sonar?
Yes, but I was thinking about the recently discovered prototypes that were reviewed by John Hancock and others a few days ago.@ownUp
@@McLovin_2007 Ah. Yeah, I haven't even looked at those yet.
Jon, where are you getting the box art from? It’s all so consistent and looks great! I’m trying to make sure it all looks the same. Is there a one-stop shop where you are finding much of that box art or you are simply and eventually finding it thru Google searches?
That's a really good question. I've found that the LaunchBox Game Media library has the nicest & most consistent quality in their collection, so I get most box cover art from there. As for game logos, I collect those in a folder as I need them for videos & thumbnails through the years, but if there's no logo, I just snatch the one off the box art! 😁
forums.launchbox-app.com/files/category/4-game-media/
I'll wait for someone to do up a prebuilt, the flashback has all this with better controls. I like the gsp I have two and already slideloaded but I am not a fan of the joysticks.
The joysticks seem to be a weak spot. I'll have to disagree about the Flashback being equivalent - it's a one-trick 2600 pony where the GSP opens the door to so many varied platforms.
Very helpful video! Where did you find you banner you user for Bezerk?
Thanks. You won't find exactly waht you need online, but I just did a Google image search for, "berzerk arcade logo transparent" and then brought that into a properly-sized transparent canvas in my paint program and pasted & sized the logo.
I just want this machine to support all the 8bitDo controlllers.
I manage to make the PC-engine controllers to work with 2 buttons, but it only worked once with a lot of random trial and errors. Never managed to make them work ever again..
Awesome video, but you really need to fix that Adventure boxart. I do not know where Atari got that silver box, but it is hideous.
Oh, yeah - that's on my to-do list! 🙂
@GenXGrownUp I was just bashing the silver Adventure boxart, but only because it pales in comparison to the original. I feel the same for Gravitar too, the original silver is much nicer than the red box.
@@jeremiahthomas8140 That's one of the great things about getting access to the interface - I can fix all those things that bug me (like Video Olympics!)
Now we’re just waiting for a tool to remap our own controllers!
At this rate, the community may beat My Arcade to the punch!
What will they think of next?
If I may ask, where did you get the hi-res scans of the Berzerk box art and logo from please?
Sure. Google searches and Launchbox's media forum.
forums.launchbox-app.com/forum/60-game-media/
Is anyone else having issues adding roms? I've done the 1.30c fw update, it worked as expected. I tried adding a single rom (Qbert for the 2600 in this case): got the latest rom from atariage, put it and the three graphic files in the correct formats/sizes all into the new "Atari 2600_C" folder within the Atari 2600 folder within the "games" folder (I've tried both upper and lower case "G"). It shows up alphabetically in the gsp menu but has a random different box art image applied, when I click "A" it takes me to the Qbert page I created, has the correct "about" and "controls" sections that I edited but again has a randomly different box art image, no screenshot or banner images and when I click "A" again to play, does nothing. I tried with Pitfall next, same thing. No idea what I may have done wrong, I've gone back and redone it a couple times. GGrrrrrrrrrrrr..............
apologies, that should have read "Atari 2600_c" folder. Also, I definitely changed the "games.ini" first line value to update_db=1 each time I've attempted this.
Just sounds like a configuration problem. If you'd like some more help, open a new topic in the #tech-support channel of our Discord server. Including your ini and screenshots of your folder structure will come in handy.
@@GenXGrownUp rock on, i've put up a post on the tech support channel, thanks a ton!!
Hey, Jon. Question:
I'm a total knucklehead when it comes to this stuff and I'm patiently waiting for things to settle down before I attempt any updates. My deadline is when MyArcade releases those new control designs that you gave us a sneak peek of a couple of months ago. 👍☺
If I'm not mistaken, this is your third video discussing updates for the GSP. My actual question is, I gather that I need to process those original updates 'before' this one. Is that correct? If memory serves me correctly, MyArcafe offers a firmware update and then there is the addition of games video that you generated, and now this one. When I'm ready to go, I still do all three processes in order, to benefit from the full experience of my GSP? Is that correct?
Thanks! ✌
Hey, Z. Don't sell yourself short - I'm sure you've got this! 😁 You can certainly take some shortcuts. If your goal is to be on the community firmware, you can upgrade directly to 1.30c skipping 1.30 entirely. Once that's done (and regardless which version you're on), you will need to gather your ROMs and place them in a "Games" folder in order to run them from the SD via that white/blue file structure. Then you can proceed to tinker with adding your favorites to the graphical menu so they'll run from there, too.
If you run into trouble, I'd invite you to visit the GenXGrownUp Discord server and sound off in the #tech-support thread where any one of a number of our friendly and knowledgable memebers can help you out.
@@GenXGrownUp Great, thanks! And maybe we'll see you on discord.
Besides that, I'm looking forward to your next video. Keep that Atari goodness coming. ✌😎
There is a problem with mame vertical games on SD card. Aspect ratio is stretched to 4:3. We need a new firmware upgrade to fix it
👌
Where do you put the artwork? Does go inside of the "Artwork' folder which, for example, is '\Games\Atari 2600\Artwork' or should it be in the root of the Atari 2600 folder '\Games\Atari 2600\'? And, should all the .26 ROMs be placed in root of 'Atari 2600' with this latest CFW, or still organize them in alphabetical folders as you showed us previously in the official firmware? Thanks in advance!
I covered addition of the artwork folder in this video: ua-cam.com/video/l-Thh8b7i7o/v-deo.html
Short version, artwork is a sibling folder to where ever you have your samples folder. As for sorting of 2600 games, that's up to you. Community firmware doesn't affect how games are seen and launched from the existing "blue screen" file lister.
OMG bro hahaha I just realized I have the same crappy DYNEX TV! LMAO.
Anyway... I seem to remember that when I paired my Xbox Series X controller to the GSP, to play SNES the "Y" button would open the overlay menu. Does this fix that?
I love that Dynex TV! It has all the connections I need and looks great on camera! 🎥
But, no. This community firmware doesn't change any of the features or functions of the GSP, only moves the operating directory to a place where it can be modified.
@@GenXGrownUp It really does, though! Coax! Old yeller! The rainbow cable, AND HDMI?!?! PLUS it's a tank (My mother and I have a tradition of watching Football together every Sunday on the back porch and have ... "forgotten" to bring the TV in after some brewski's) And the ONLY thing wrong is the Old yeller and Rainbow cables display black and white now :( I had to get that silly little HDMI converter (which was the wrong one apparently, everything still makes me feel like I have astigmatism. But it works.
Thanks for the reply. I really wish I could figure out that "y" button thing, so my wife and I can at least sit back in bed and play Mario instead of having to get the mini out and basically stand in front of the dresser lmao.
Maybe i'll plug THIS custom firmware into Visual Studio and see if I can figure something out.
Love the channel and have recommended you to everyone i know into retro gaming. Most already knew XD
@@GenXGrownUp HAHA This guy that made the firmware had a game called "Little Naughty Paris" on his SD Card and idk wtf that even is lmao
@@TheVulgrOne That's very kind of you. Thanks for the recommendations.
I seem to remember some folks on Atari Age finding a way so inject controller remappings into certain games via config files. If poking around in VB doesn't scare you off, then that stuff is probably going to be easy enough for you to wrap your head around.
How hard is it to add games/ find games? I want to get one of these for rainy days camping 😊 but I want to add a few games like pac man, Q*Bert, road rash, Dr Mario, super Mario world and super Mario kart, Earth worm Jim, maybe a few others. Will any games work? And how hard is it to do this ?(for someone who's never done anything like this 😂)
I have a number of videos to walk you through what and how to upgrade the GSP.
Question: does this all need to be done on a PC/windows computer? Or can all the images, screenshots, banner images be grabbed in an Apple and then out on the micro SD? Maybe just the roms need to be done on a PC? Thanks!
Nothing we're doing here (aside from the firmware update itself) is platform specific. You could theoretically do it with a mobile device, even!
If I was to get a Gamestation Pro I would like to have my own custom made covers (and logos) of my favorite Atari games
Glad you downloaded Sonar on the Gamestation
No idea what I did incorrectly. Machine boots fine I followed your single directions for Berzerk and ended up with empty menus.
Likely some incorrect formatting of the games.ini. Just pull the card and start over.
Yeah, that’s a lot of work.
I agree 100% way too much work for the average person just give us a new games in the new updates simple!😊
My prophecy has come true.
@GenXGrownUp it can be done other game companies have done it and went through the proper channels for licensing!
@@mainps1 Certainly can be. I can't imagine any smart company investing in more licensing fees to add free games to a console already sold. Perhaps in future products, though.
@GenXGrownUp yes this is the one part that Atari is behind in! It's real simple just add more games on updates the average person is not going to go through all that trouble downloading games!
@genxgrownup can that new firmware update or the console of Atari Gamestation pro can play 64-bits games?
Heh. I promise if this firmware added support for new platforms I would've mentioned it.
very much appreciated, just wanted to make sure that the hardware does not supports/play 64-bits games?@@GenXGrownUp
Couldnt you use retrobat to download your artwork?
Depends how configurable its output parameters are.
has anybody managed to compile a massive collection of these visual assets?
There have been some efforts over on Atari Age.
How do you rename the 2600 .zip files to .26? What exactly do you rename in these rom.zipj
Renaming the .zip archive to .a26 isn't what you need. You need to extract the .a26 file from the .zip archive.
www.filecenter.com/blog/how-to-unzip-files-mac-iphone-android-windows/
Do you have to flash the loader again too if youre already on the stock 1.3 firmware?
I definitely did. I repeated everything from the 1.30 update except for choosing the community firmware instead of the My Arcade-provided one.
Got it brand new, attempt to update firmware and FAILED to update , turning the console into a useless piece dead weight. Returned to seller so quick my head still spinning. After checking forums, realized I am not the only one.
Sorry you had that experience. I've flashed a half dozen units all dozens of times for video production and never had a hiccup.
@@GenXGrownUp Thanks a lot, actually watching your videos motivated me to get the console, but I think I will have to wait until they release a later pcb version or factory firmware. If you check the forums you will see many people waiting for myarcade to resolve this issue. I simply didn't want to wait undefined time but I share the passion for ATARI just the same.
Where to put the samples folder?
The samples folder containing a zipped sample set for a game must in the same folder where the ROM you're playing exists.
Be great if this usb card’s were sold fully loaded 😉
Sure would.
Out of curiosity, are you sponsored by these companies like Atari or My Arcade or are these related videos just by your own passion?
No sponsorships from these companies. Supported by Patrons.
Hopefully "My Arcade" won't get a stick in their butt concerning CFW. Only time will tell. Haven't done any official updates so I guess I do that first then the CFW. THANKS!
You can skip official 1.30 if you want and go straight to 1.30c. All the same features plus the customization options. 😀
It'd be nice if the micro sd cards were available to purchase with all this work done.
No kidding. Distribution of all these ROMs from so many publishers is such a gray area legally (or worse, depending on who you ask). That's the #1 reason nobody has done it yet.
First
🎉
Bricked my GSP :(
Oh, my. How did that occur? I've flashed my GSPs dozens of times capturing footage for videos and never had an incident.
I thought I’d bricked mine when I first did this. The firmware update seemed to work and all the game data etc got copied to my SD card after firing it up first time. BUT…. No games worked. At all. Like not even the built in ones. Then I looked on the AtariAge website and it mentioned that the SD card had to be formatted as exFAT. Mine was formatted to FAT32. I must’ve missed this somewhere along the way when first setting up my own game folders. Anyway, once I’d reformatted the SD card to exFAT (and copied all my games back of course, don’t forget to back them up before you reformat the card!), everything worked again.
@@johncamp8520 I ended up opening up the GSP and shorting out a couple of pins on the board that reset the unit to factory settings.
I was then able to flash the unit.
8
9
Who really understands how to do this stuff..... I guess I'm too old
Nah, you're not too old. Get your hands dirty with some digital tomfoolery and you just may surprise yourself. I believe in you! 🫡
Hi Jon, Thank you for this wonderful information and tutorial. On your fourth picture Berzerk.zip Arcade ; what the name and size? 236x322? berzerk_thumb.png?
Remember that non-bonus arcade games use four images. Here's what I have:
berzerk.jpg 362x278
berzerk.png 236x322
berzerk_menu.png 473x605 (seems too big - GSP scaling it?)
berzerk_title.png 960x186
If you hit me up in a DM on Discord I can share my images with you. (Link to our server in the vid description.)