Difference between revisions of "A78 Header Specification"

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Line 140: Line 140:
 
         DC.B    $00,$00,256->ROMTOP,$00; 49..52 data length      - 4 bytes
 
         DC.B    $00,$00,256->ROMTOP,$00; 49..52 data length      - 4 bytes
 
         DC.B    $00,$00  ; 53..54 cart type      - 2 bytes
 
         DC.B    $00,$00  ; 53..54 cart type      - 2 bytes
     ;    bit 0 - pokey at $4000
+
     ;    bit 0 - pokey at 4000
     ;    bit 1 - supergame bank switched
+
     ;    bit 1 - supergame bank switched
     ;    bit 2 - supergame ram at $4000
+
     ;    bit 2 - supergame ram at $4000
     ;    bit 3 - rom at $4000
+
     ;    bit 3 - rom at $4000
     ;    bit 4 - bank 6 at $4000
+
     ;    bit 4 - bank 6 at $4000
     ;    bit 5 - supergame banked ram
+
     ;    bit 5 - supergame banked ram
     ;    bit 6 - pokey at $450
+
     ;    bit 6 - pokey at $450
     ;    bit 7 - mirror ram at $4000
+
     ;    bit 7 - mirror ram at $4000
     ;    bit 8-15 - Special
+
     ;    bit 8 - activision banking
 +
    ;    bit  9 - absolute banking
 +
    ;    bit 10 - pokey at $440
 +
    ;    bit 11 - ym2151 at $461/462
 +
    ;    bit 12-15 - Special
 
     ;  0 = Normal cart
 
     ;  0 = Normal cart
 
         DC.B    1  ; 55  controller 1 type  - 1 byte
 
         DC.B    1  ; 55  controller 1 type  - 1 byte
Line 166: Line 170:
 
         ORG    HEADER+100      ; 100..127 "ACTUAL CART DATA STARTS HERE" - 28 bytes
 
         ORG    HEADER+100      ; 100..127 "ACTUAL CART DATA STARTS HERE" - 28 bytes
 
         DC.B    "ACTUAL CART DATA STARTS HERE"
 
         DC.B    "ACTUAL CART DATA STARTS HERE"
 +
 
ROMTOP  ORG    $8000
 
ROMTOP  ORG    $8000
 
</pre>
 
</pre>

Revision as of 03:48, 9 March 2021

History and Purpose

The A78 header was originally created by Dan Boris, in tandem with his A7800 emulator. The header, which is added to the beginning of ROM images, serves to tell the emulator which hardware should be present for the game to run correctly.

The format has since been expanded to incorporate new hardware, and is now being used by multiple emulators and the Concerto 7800 flash cart.

A78 Header Fields

A78 Header Fields
0000 01 41 54 41 52 49 37 38 30 30 00 00 00 00 00 00 .ATARI7800......
0010 00 43 6f 6d 6d 61 6e 64 6f 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 .Commando.......
0020 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
0030 00 00 02 00 00 00 03 01 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
0040 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
0050 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
0060 00 00 00 00 41 43 54 55 41 4c 20 43 41 52 54 20 ....ACTUAL CART
0070 44 41 54 41 20 53 54 41 52 54 53 20 48 45 52 45 DATA STARTS HERE
color purpose size offset
  header version 1 byte 0 / 0x00
  ATARI7800 magic-text 16 bytes 1 / 0x01
  cart title 32 bytes 17 / 0x11
  rom size without header 4 bytes 49 / 0x31
  cart type 2 bytes 53 / 0x35
  controller 1 type 1 byte 55 / 0x37
  controller 2 type 1 byte 56 / 0x38
  TV type 1 byte 57 / 0x39
  save device 1 byte 58 / 0x3A
  reserved    
  expansion module 1 byte 63 / 0x3F
  header end magic-text 28 bytes 100 / 0x64

cart type word details::

  bit 0    = pokey at $4000
  bit 1    = supergame bank switched
  bit 2    = supergame ram at $4000
  bit 3    = rom at $4000
  bit 4    = bank 6 at $4000
  bit 5    = supergame banked ram
  bit 6    = pokey at $450
  bit 7    = mirror ram at $4000
  bit 8    = activision banking
  bit 9    = absolute banking
  bit 10   = pokey at $440
  bit 11   = ym2151 at $460/$461
  bit 12-15 = special

controller type byte details:

  0 = none
  1 = 7800 joystick
  2 = lightgun
  3 = paddle
  4 = trakball
  5 = 2600 joystick
  6 = 2600 driving
  7 = 2600 keypad
  8 = ST mouse
  9 = Amiga mouse

TV type details:

  0 = NTSC
  1 = PAL

save device details:

  bit 1    = HSC
  bit 2    = SaveKey/AtariVox


expansion module:

  bit 1    = XM

Adding Or Modifying an A78 Header on an Existing ROM

You can add or update an A78 header with the interactive command-line utility 7800header, which is distributed with 7800basic and the 7800AsmDevKit.

The utility displays the current header (or default header if the file is headerless) and you can set/unset hardware features with the displayed commands.

7800 A78 Header Info

    embedded game name : commando
    rom size           : 131072
    cart format        : Pokey@4000 SuperGame 
    controller 1       : Joystick 
    controller 2       : None 
    save peripheral    : None 
    xm/xboard          : not enabled 
    tv format          : NTSC

Commands: "save"           Save the A78 file and exit.
          "set [option]"   Set one of the options.
          "unset [option]" Unset one of the options.
          "name game name" Set the game name in the header.
          "exit"           Exit the utility. Unsaved changes will be lost.

Options:  rom@4000 bank6@4000 pokey@450 pokey@4000 supergame supergameram
          supergamebankram absolute activision tvpal tvntsc savekey hsc xm
          joystick1 joystick2 lightgun1 lightgun2 

> exit

Adding an A78 Header to Source Code

To add an A78 header to your DASM source code, you can add or include the header at the start of your source, and adjust the fields to encode the hardware your game requires.

        SEG     ROM
HEADER  ORG     ROMTOP-128
        DC.B    1  ; 0   Header version     - 1 byte
        DC.B    "ATARI7800"     ; 1..16  "ATARI7800   "  - 16 bytes
        DS      7,32
        DC.B    "Your Name Here"; 17..48 Cart title      - 32 bytes
        DS      HEADER+49-.,0
        DC.B    $00,$00,256->ROMTOP,$00; 49..52 data length      - 4 bytes
        DC.B    $00,$00  ; 53..54 cart type      - 2 bytes
    ;    bit  0 - pokey at 4000
    ;    bit  1 - supergame bank switched
    ;    bit  2 - supergame ram at $4000
    ;    bit  3 - rom at $4000
    ;    bit  4 - bank 6 at $4000
    ;    bit  5 - supergame banked ram
    ;    bit  6 - pokey at $450
    ;    bit  7 - mirror ram at $4000
    ;    bit  8 - activision banking
    ;    bit  9 - absolute banking
    ;    bit 10 - pokey at $440
    ;    bit 11 - ym2151 at $461/462
    ;    bit 12-15 - Special
    ;   0 = Normal cart
        DC.B    1  ; 55   controller 1 type  - 1 byte
        DC.B    1  ; 56   controller 2 type  - 1 byte
    ;    0 = None
    ;    1 = Joystick
    ;    2 = Light Gun
        DC.B    0  ; 57 0 = NTSC 1 = PAL
        DC.B    0  ; 58   Save data peripheral - 1 byte (version 2)
    ;    0 = None / unknown (default)
    ;    1 = High Score Cart (HSC)
    ;    2 = SaveKey
        ORG     HEADER+63
        DC.B    0  ; 63   Expansion module
    ;    0 = No expansion module (default on all currently released games)
    ;    1 = Expansion module required
        ORG     HEADER+100      ; 100..127 "ACTUAL CART DATA STARTS HERE" - 28 bytes
        DC.B    "ACTUAL CART DATA STARTS HERE"

ROMTOP  ORG     $8000