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Atari 2600+ Firmware Update Instructions | v1.1 Rev2


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Posted
Justin
This post was recognized by Justin!

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MaximumRD was awarded the badge 'Great Support' and 10 points.

I do not have one and likely will not but that does not stop me from being fascinated and living through others, as well I am an update nut admittedly, I KNOW SOME SUBSCRIBE TO THE "If it ain't broke don't fix it" mantra but I have always been one to always update, use the latest firmware, use alternate or streamlined firmware that addresses or fixes issues or adds other features etc. In short, I will always be one to "tinker" 🤷‍♂️😝so with that, I JUST saw this video and thought some of you might lucky 2600+ owners may appreciate this. I know many are aware of the update and some even being early Beta testers however for the average Joe or those who may be wondering about the process this is for you. 

 

I am Rob aka MaximumRD aka OldSchoolRetroGamer and THIS is my world http://about.me/maximumrd

"For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday."

 - M. Bison

Posted

My only issue with videos like this right now, is that it is all but assured that Atari will replace this process out with something more user friendly. So while I can appreciate someone creating a video like this for those of us wanting to test the latest BETA release, it isn't good to have this on YouTube because a year or so from now, this process being shown won't be relevant and you wouldn't want someone to come across it thinking this is how you update the console and then end up making a mess of their system using incompatible FW etc. 

So I do think stuff like this shouldn't be posted in this particular medium until the actual FW release and process has been made more public and finalized.

 

See what I'm up to over at the Ivory Tower Collections: http://www.youtube.com/ivorytowercollections

 

Posted
On 1/5/2024 at 10:05 PM, 7800 Pro Gamer said:

I was wondering if the process was going to be made simpler.  Honestly it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be but it definitely felt a bit chaotic the way it was presented and done.  I hope they make it idiot proof because I messed it up initially, so if they need an idiot for testing I'm here! Lol

Well, compared to how you might do a FW update on most other consumer devices, I would say it more complex yes. Even the BIOS upgrade for my motherboard is usually just a single exe file I run and let it do its thing.

The fact that the update is pretty much only for Windows users is another thing I'm sure they will correct releasing something more official. 

See what I'm up to over at the Ivory Tower Collections: http://www.youtube.com/ivorytowercollections

 

Posted (edited)
On 1/8/2024 at 1:46 PM, CrossBow said:

Well, compared to how you might do a FW update on most other consumer devices, I would say it more complex yes. Even the BIOS upgrade for my motherboard is usually just a single exe file I run and let it do its thing.

The fact that the update is pretty much only for Windows users is another thing I'm sure they will correct releasing something more official. 

The initial update (including the dumper) is a bit odd, but after that, updating the firmware itself, is fairly easy. I think they did a pretty good job at cobbling this together in a short amount of time. 

Edited by sramirez2008
Posted
21 minutes ago, sramirez2008 said:

The initial update (including the dumper) is a bit odd, but after that, updating the firmware itself, is fairly easy. I think they did a pretty good job at cobbling this together in a short amount of time. 

Correct, but again, many folks appear to have issues even getting the program to run or see their 2600+ etc. So ideally it all needs to be compiled into a single program that you run, that carefully guides you through the process and then updates whatever is needed. 

I think the process to modify the FW on my NES/SNES and Genesis mini consoles was easier are more friendly as an example and those weren't created by a large company.

 

See what I'm up to over at the Ivory Tower Collections: http://www.youtube.com/ivorytowercollections

 

Posted
8 hours ago, Sabertooth said:

New update with additional fixes is up now at AA.

1.1 Rev2

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/360038-atari-2600-beta-update-11-rev2/

 

Update completed. I’ve tested a couple of games and will continue to do so as I have time throughout the day.

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/360038-atari-2600-beta-update-11-rev2/?do=findComment&comment=5396285

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/360038-atari-2600-beta-update-11-rev2/?do=findComment&comment=5396289

Posted
10 hours ago, Sabertooth said:

7800 compatibility has really improved with v1.1 REV2.  My copies of Klax, Rampage and Double Dragon all now work.  Also, the composite filter for Tower Toppler and Jinx look terrific.  Finally Tower Toppler looks decent in HD!

So cool they're doing this. I was able to do the first update in December, I had trouble finding the unknown device under Device Manager last time, but I found out that the 2600+ showed up as an Evercade since I updated it on the PC I am using. This new update, the same issue happened, only this time, I can't find it at all, no Evercade showing and no Unknown Device showing either? Anyone else having this issue??

Posted
12 hours ago, Cryptocoffee13 said:

So cool they're doing this. I was able to do the first update in December, I had trouble finding the unknown device under Device Manager last time, but I found out that the 2600+ showed up as an Evercade since I updated it on the PC I am using. This new update, the same issue happened, only this time, I can't find it at all, no Evercade showing and no Unknown Device showing either? Anyone else having this issue??

For the second update it was just the dumper and firmware image, so I skipped that step altogether.

Posted (edited)
21 hours ago, CrossBow said:

Is this different from the dumper and update files we were given to test with before to get the new games working? I'm assuming it is the same minus the extra debug stuff we were having to record and report back with?

 

It's the same (last) dumper that I was provided. The firmware is labeled differently, and may have additional stuff on the 2600 side. Robot Tank (NTSC version) now works and it hadn't before. I only updated the firmware as I already had the dumper. The final firmware that I had been provided (during my testing) with this dumper was labled differently.

Edited by sramirez2008
Grammer
Posted
On 2/25/2024 at 2:14 PM, G69 said:

What happened to this firmware update? It seemed to disappear off the earth. Are there any issues? Or are they releasing a new version?

I would like to update mine.

 

thanks

The Rev2 and experimental firmware are still up at AA. I think that you have to be logged in to download the files.

REV 2:

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/360038-atari-2600-beta-update-11-rev2/

Experimental:

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/361600-experimental-2600-firmware/

 

Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, Sabertooth said:

The Rev2 and experimental firmware are still up at AA. I think that you have to be logged in to download the files.

REV 2:

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/360038-atari-2600-beta-update-11-rev2/

Experimental:

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/361600-experimental-2600-firmware/

 

Yep. They released a Rev2 for the Experimental firmware yesterday. I chose the dub bug Rev2 Experimental and it seems to be working fine. I can now play Aardvark.

IMG_4001.jpeg

Edited by sramirez2008
Posted
2 hours ago, 7800 Pro Gamer said:

I wonder if this fixes the double dragon ladder glitch of doom...

I've not tested this newer experimental yet. Just haven't had the time. But I did notice that maybe the timer is just fast? I've playing DD through my BBpro on another 7800 I worked on, and was able to climb the ladders without issue. But the timer was still darn fast. I was mainly using the elbow punches to take out the enemies and still lost my first live on the first level due to the timer and I don't remember it being so quick before?

 

See what I'm up to over at the Ivory Tower Collections: http://www.youtube.com/ivorytowercollections

 

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