The SD card and How to add game ROMs to your Pandoras arcade box

There are two ways to install more 2D and 3D games onto your Pandora’s Box 3D console.

Both methods take some prep work however the result is well worth it.

The first method has been tested on s812 (18s, Saga, EX2, EX3 boards. This process or variations of it will work on other boards depending on many factors. Part of this will be included in the second method that’s been tested on additional boards.

This import method is required as most Pandora Boxes encrypt the Micro SD card data, making it impossible to write directly to the card.

Thankfully, our Alpha 3D+ gameboard ensures maximum access by eliminating encryption. This means you can read and write to the card using your computer. While there are still some technical requirements, you can edit config, button remap files, access the database that holds game data, and delete or add your own game ROM files -our retro game consoles for TV use the new Alpha boards.

Do keep in mind, in the emulation world instant or any success is not guaranteed. The level of success will vary depending on the emulator your gameboard uses, the ROM version, and the file extension you chose to import. Some consoles be it Mame may have more success than say N64.

As an example Mame being arcade games come in many versions including 0.37b5, 0.78, 0.106, 0.139. So the challenge is finding the ROM version of the game that works with the core and version your gameboard has. This is one of the reasons some games will work and others will unknowingly fail.

You will also need to make sure your file extension is supported – this is shown later on under emulator types and related ROMs. Some emulators prefer the natural file extension while others require the file in a zip extension.

So while importing games can be done successfully it can also be hit and miss. On a test with Mame titles, we had 2 out of 5 imports fail. So with expectations set, before we dive into the first method, make sure you have;

1. Desired game ROMs
2. Short video preview of each game – if you don’t have and a must refer to Skraper below
3. Big enough USB stick
4. Computer to do the grunt work on – we used Windows 10
5. and MOST IMPORTANTLY back up your MicroSD card in case something goes wrong.

Backing up your game card

When importing games the Micro SD card is modified. Depending on your console it can be anything from 16GB – 128GB. The EX2 boards come with 8k games 64GB and 10k games on a 128GB Micro SD card.
With anything tech, things can go wrong so it’s strongly advised that you back up the card. Keep in mind that in most cases your computer won’t be able to read the contents and may prompt you to format the card which you must avoid!

In order to backup the card you will need at-least 128GB free space on your computer and preferably a USB 3.0 Micro SD card reader.
This guide should assist in finding and removing the Pandora Box card.

Once removed insert it into the card reader and if prompted to format or anything else click cancel/no.

Depending on your computer you can use programs like

• Win32 Disk Imager
• balenaEtcher

Once you have inserted your card into the reader and started your desired backup program, you will need to select the card source and destination folder on your computer.

This will create an .IMG file that cannot be read using Windows. Its sole purpose will be to restore the existing card or a replacement card should you need to revert to the current state at any time. Keeping a backup is highly recomended.

OK, back to it.. 

Here is the first method, which can be identified by the use of the folder /mcgames

You’ll need a USB stick and a mcgames folder, a subfolder for each game you want to import along with a number of files, and the game/ROM you want to install in each folder.

So lets get started..

The USB stick “File System” must be formatted to “exFAT”. It might be easier to format your USB to ensure this is the case. Of course, be sure to backup any data prior.

Once done, let’s create that mcgames folder in the root (main area) of the USB stick.

In Windows 10 or similar right click> New> Folder

Then in the /mcgames folder let’s create “install.txt” right click> New> Text Document

You will now create a new folder under /mcgames for each game you want to add to your Pandora console. Here we have 2 games. So there are 2 folders and the exact name of each folder is also placed on a separate line in the install.txt file.

When naming each folder go out of your way to ensure it is unique as this helps avoid a game of that name already existing in your Pandora’s box which will mean that game import fails.

Within each game folder you will include;

1. The game ROM and extension will depend on the console for example .bin .iso .zip
2. Video preview of the game in .mp4 which shows in the main menu – more on this later
3. A text file that you will create with the exact same name as the folder we are in – the same name is also used in the install.txt file for this game – see reference and steps below

The above “nbajteusagamegear.xml” file was created in the same fashion by right click> New> Text Document 

Once you’ve finished updating the details in the file you will however need to rename it from a *.txt to *.xml. For example “nbajteusagamegear.txt” to “nbajteusagamegear.xml” by using right click> Rename on the file.

Here is the contents of the above file;

—

<game emulator=”15″>
  <information>
    <description>NBA Jam – Tournament Edition GGR</description>
    <genre>4</genre>
  </information>
  <file>
    <rom name=”nbajteusagamegear.bin”/>
  </file>
  <translation>
    <string language=”en”>
      <name>NBA Jam – Tournament Edition GGR</name>
    </string>
  </translation>
  <config>
    <load_time>0</load_time>
    <free_play>1</free_play>
    <save_state>1</save_state>
    <start_directly>1</start_directly>
  </config>
</game>

—

Once you have created this file you can simply right click> Copy & right click> Paste to duplicate the file and re-use it by adjusting only what’s needed each time.

In this case “game emulator 15″ is Gamegear and in the Pandora menu will show the relevant icon, so if you get this wrong for any reason simply delete that game, tweak the .xml file, and re-import that game/folder only.

Genre is the game category used for filtering as below;

• 0 – Other
• 1 – Fighting
• 2 – Action
• 3 – Shooting
• 4 – Sport
• 5 – Puzzle
• 6 – Racing

“rom name” must be the exact file name of the game, in this case being nbajteusagamegear.bin

..and lastly “name” & “description” are the same as what’s shown in the Pandora games list menu.

The rest can be tweaked if you want to explore more, but otherwise left as is.

Save_state shows when you pause a game giving you the option to save/load game progress.

By default, the new games will be shown last being at the end of the games menu list. Keep in mind not all games will work well, so if some don’t go as planned you can delete it by pressing the config button at the back of your Pandora unit.

Here are the emulator types and related ROMs supported.

Supported Mame versions

Mame 0.37b5, 0.78, 0.106, 0.139

Skraper and video previews

If you don’t have the short video preview for the game/s you’re adding and want to add it you can use a beta program called Skraper. This checks your chosen folders and crawls the web to match/find the game’s artwork/video.

It is recommended you use skraper before renaming your game ROM files.

Here’s a quick rundown.

You’ll need to visit https://www.skraper.net/ and download/install it for Windows, Mac or Linux.

Once installed and running it will load up its resources – how long this takes depends on the site’s load. given its a free system time can vary dramatically. Signing up for a free account will give you priority over unregistered users. If you like the service please donate.

After each page and selection click next :-). Your first selection is “recalbox”, then let it know the main folder your game ROMs are located in. it will then check your folder and identify consoles the found ROMs belong to. Ok once you reach the last page go take a break as it retrieves the assets for your ROMs.

Now as we don’t need any image media, we click the side arrows and select “VIDEO”.

 Click the play button and take a break…

Once its completed, you’ll need to copy each video to the right game folder and ensure its the right file name.

Once done right click on USB drive and select eject.

Now for the fun part, plug the USB stick into the bottom rear port on your Pandora’s box. It should pick it up and prompt you for a YES (Button A) or NO (Button B).

Click button A and the import process should start. Once done, turn your Pandora’s box off, remove the USB stick, and reboot.

You can then scroll to the last page of your games list where you should see the newly imported games.

If any games are not there, you’ll need to check the file name and compatibility of that ROM. Failed games can be tried on an individual basis.

Happy gaming…

electroarcade

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