Help fixing 3 SEGA Mega Drive game ROMS for the Mega Drive Arcade Ultimate Portable

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17th-December-2020, 22:35
futurest

Help fixing 3 SEGA Mega Drive game ROMS for the Mega Drive Arcade Ultimate Portable

So I own a Mega Drive Arcade Ultimate Portable, one of these:

https://media.pocketgamer.com/artwor...-portable1.jpg

For the first game: Spider-Man and Venom Separation Anxiety:

I am trying to get the game Spider-Man and Venom Separation Anxiety working on this handheld but there is a problem.

The rom itself boots fine and loads up to the main menu.

However when you select 1 player or 2 player, the game just freezes forcing me to restart my handheld.

This is the screen I cannot get past since it crashes when selecting either option:

https://segaretro.org/images/e/ed/Se...iety_title.png

I have attempted to fix the issue myself to no avail.

What I've tried:

- Making sure the rom is a .bin file (which this handheld prefers).
- trying out different versions of the game rom.
- fixing the checksums and adjusting the rom headers and switching regions to test every option.

The game roms run completely fine on my Fusion/PicoDrive/Gens emulators on my PC, and doesn't freeze up after selecting 1 player.

I have a feeling this might require something more drastic like modifying the rom or patching it somehow so that the emulator built into my handheld can run it smoothly. I am not skilled with any of that though, or have the faintest idea how to do that.

Maybe someone can try to patch this game so I can get this game working on this handheld?

I cannot seem to find a patched Separation Anxiety rom anywhere, nor would there need to be one made normally since the game runs fine in most instances. Just not this time.

For the second game Ms Pac-Man:

The ROM for Ms Pac-Man works fine on PC emulators. For handheld devices however, the rom doesn't load at all. It stays stuck on a black screen (it doesn't load the red "TENGEN" logo at all or even get to the menu).

I did some research on this and I found out that Ms Pac-Man is notorious for having issues IF you use a 6 button controller, causing the controls in game to be buggy. I figured this wasn't the problem as that wouldn't cause the game to remain on a black screen.

I decided to turn on my brain, and realised that another game was released by TENGEN within a VERY short time of Ms Pac-Man, called Pac-Mania.

Pac-Mania runs and loads and plays fine on the handheld device, but Ms Pac-Man doesn't load at all!

Look how similar they are on the ROM headers:

Ms Pac-Man:

Firm: (C)T-48
Build Date: 1991.MAR
Program Type: GM
S/N: T-48036
V/N: -00

Pac-Mania:

Firm: (C)T-48
Build Date: 1991.JUN
Program Type: GM
S/N: T-48056
V/N: -00

Maybe something could be used from the Pac-Mania rom that could be applied to the Ms Pac-Man rom which fixes Ms Pac-Man to load properly on the handheld device? After all both games seem very similar to each other, only one works and one doesn't.

For the third game Waterworld Prototype:

The Waterworld Prototype ROM has the same issue as the Ms Pac-Man ROM. It loads to a plain black screen, and doesn't load to the menu at all.

I think these roms require debugging and patching, preferably with an IPS patch. If anyone can help I am more than willing to test any patches on my handheld and provide feedback. The help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading!
17th-December-2020, 23:00
deadlegion

Besides using Neto Boot Loader on AtGames portables there isn't much you can do.
I'm not aware of any tools to patch roms to make them work, some just don't want to work or have serious issues :shrug:
Quite a few of the more recent games just don't want to work on my units (I think I have three atm, they're clones of AtGames type, couple of different versions but one is the same colour as the one in your picture).

Edit:
If you aren't using Neto Boot Loader already I have an upload of it here. I can link to it if you need it.
It does improve audio imo. It doesn't actually modify the handheld it's just a loader you select and run first, then you load roms. So your console is still essentially stock.
17th-December-2020, 23:18
futurest

Quote:

Originally Posted by deadlegion

Besides using Neto Boot Loader on AtGames portables there isn't much you can do.
I'm not aware of any tools to patch roms to make them work, some just don't want to work or have serious issues :shrug:
Quite a few of the more recent games just don't want to work on my units (I think I have three atm, they're clones of AtGames type, couple of different versions but one is the same colour as the one in your picture).

A similar thing happened with Super Bubble Bobble MD like what is happening with Separation Anxiety. Downloading the rom for that game, loads to the menu and freezes, making the game completely unplayable and to be discarded forever. BUT, I came across a "patched" rom of the game that works on my handheld, no more menu bug.

I think the rules of this site prevent me from linking to other forums where I found the patched rom, but if one game can be fixed with a patch then I'm sure others can too.
17th-December-2020, 23:21
deadlegion

Quote:

Originally Posted by futurest

A similar thing happened with Super Bubble Bobble MD like what is happening with Separation Anxiety. Downloading the rom for that game, loads to the menu and freezes, making the game completely unplayable and to be discarded forever. BUT, I came across a "patched" rom of the game that works on my handheld, no more menu bug.

I think the rules of this site prevent me from linking to other forums where I found the patched rom, but if one game can be fixed with a patch then I'm sure others can too.

That is correct, you can't link to other sites in this case (roms). If it were just a tutorial on a site that doesn't allow sharing roms it should be ok (I'd have to check it though).
Read the edit of my last post :)
17th-December-2020, 23:53
futurest

Quote:

Originally Posted by deadlegion

That is correct, you can't link to other sites in this case (roms). If it were just a tutorial on a site that doesn't allow sharing roms it should be ok (I'd have to check it though).
Read the edit of my last post :)

I have Neto installed the 1.46a English version. Wouldn't use my handheld without it, a great program.

I won't put any links but I'll say that the patched super bubble bobble game works like a charm on my device, both through neto and outside of neto on the handheld SD card itself (inside the game folder instead of neto's tectoy folder structure).

But yeah, if that game can be fixed, there has to be a possibility for these other games.
17th-December-2020, 23:58
deadlegion

Quote:

Originally Posted by futurest

I have Neto installed the 1.46a English version. Wouldn't use my handheld without it, a great program.

I won't put any links but I'll say that the patched super bubble bobble game works like a charm on my device, both through neto and outside of neto on the handheld SD card itself (inside the game folder instead of neto's tectoy folder structure).

But yeah, if that game can be fixed, there has to be a possibility for these other games.

Was the game patched specifically for the portable or was it patched for other AtGames console?

The main issue with these consoles is the crappy emu they use.

Edit:
I'll be busy for the next 8+ hours but I'll check this thread again later on.
18th-December-2020, 00:26
futurest

Quote:

Originally Posted by deadlegion

Was the game patched specifically for the portable or was it patched for other AtGames console?

The main issue with these consoles is the crappy emu they use.

Edit:
I'll be busy for the next 8+ hours but I'll check this thread again later on.

The Super Bubble Bobble patch was so it would work on an Everdrive. The short description is:

"The Rom was fixed, and now works with Everdrive hardware."

That's all I know about that particular fix. but it worked out for my handheld.
18th-December-2020, 00:45
deadlegion

Quote:

Originally Posted by futurest

The Super Bubble Bobble patch was so it would work on an Everdrive. The short description is:

"The Rom was fixed, and now works with Everdrive hardware."

That's all I know about that particular fix. but it worked out for my handheld.

I'm guessing it was patched to work on original Everdrive MD, which is the earlier flashcart that has lower compatibility. I actually have a clone of that early EDMD.
18th-December-2020, 00:53
futurest

Quote:

Originally Posted by deadlegion

I'm guessing it was patched to work on original Everdrive MD, which is the earlier flashcart that has lower compatibility. I actually have a clone of that early EDMD.

It could be worth testing out these games on the clone then to see if they have the same issues? Or whatever you think might be the best approach.
18th-December-2020, 09:52
deadlegion

Quote:

Originally Posted by futurest

It could be worth testing out these games on the clone then to see if they have the same issues? Or whatever you think might be the best approach.

I'm reluctant to randomly test games for people using that cart.
I don't think any of those games are exclusive variants or anything but please correct me if I'm wrong.

There is a limit to how many times you can flash roms to the cart before it becomes unusable. I think for the genuine carts it's something like 10,000 flashes or whatever (I honesty can't remember the actual number atm), but the cheap Chinese clones probably don't last that long. The clones carts are cheap straight from China (might take a little while to arrive atm though) and the original consoles are still cheap and easy to find. Maybe the "better" versions might cost a little more and be less easy to find though.

The portables I may have never seriously considered buying since many people now seem to think they're worth more than they should be. But I got all of mine for next to nothing... I think one was free, I do have one boxed but all are/were preowned. I don't think there's any difference between the clones and "genuine" ones, except the packaging and maybe the sticker on the back of the console itself.