Last Update: 9/15/2022
The Legends Core Max (LCM), has a similar form-factor as the Legends Core but about 1/3 larger. The light ring around the device is purple, rather than green. It includes the same number of games (100) as that of the Legends Core. Where the LCM differs is in the CPU (or Central Processing Unit) or the “brains” of the device. The LCM includes the same processing power as the higher-end AtGames Legends Pinball machine (RK3399 chipset, see Specifications for details).
What this means, is that you’ll experience the same fluid game-play and table compatibility that you would expect from the Legends Pinball on the Legends Core Max while playing Pinball tables. However, there is only one HDMI port. So, for those expecting to have a playfield and backglass available using this device, this isn’t currently possible. You will certainly be able to play pinball tables using a single main-playfield for the table and rotate the display in either horizontal (landscape) or vertical (portrait) mode, however only the one display will be available to you with this device.
Due to the greater processing power that the Legends Core Max provides, you will have a smoother and better game-play experience than you might expect from the AtGames Legends Core, Legends Ultimate or Ultimate Mini. The LCM also provides a rather interesting feature called APL or Arcade Play Link. I’ll discuss more about APL below, just know that it provides a method of connecting the LCM to the HDMI port of your Legends product simply by attaching the HDMI cable.
As you might expect with the increased processing power of the Legends Core Max, you should be able to play more powerful Arcade and Console games as a result. This will be explored in the future once the community has had an opportunity to bring additional consoles to the platform. The LCM should be able to play PS1 without issue and many Dreamcast and PSP games as well. However, that remains to be seen – at present.
Table of Contents
Specifications
The following are the specifications and features of the AtGames Legends Core Max:
| Details | |
| CPU | RK3399 Dual-core Cortex-A72 up to 1.8GHz Quad-core Cortex-A53 up to 1.4GHz |
| GPU | Mali-T860 GPU |
| Storage | 16GB |
| Memory | 2GB |
| TV Compatibility | Up to 1080p (1920 x 1080) with up-scaling from 720p |
| Ports | HDMI (x1), Micro USB (x1 for power), USB 3.0 (x1) |
| Bluetooth | 4.2 |
| Power Input | 5V 3A |
| Networking | 802.11 AC/ABGN |
| Pinball | Play TAITO, Zaccaria, and Gottlieb pinball tables on big-screen displays at 1080p/60fps |
| Games | 100 Licensed Arcade and Console Games |
| Controllers | Pairs with Legends Gamer Pro/Mini controller, Legends GamePad™, and other compatible controllers |
Resources
The following are a collection of resources that may be helpful to you :
- AtGames Legends Core (including MAX) – AtGames website product page.
- Official AtGames Legends Arcade Family Support Page – Receive direct customer support using this page. There is also a purple chat icon (lower-right) which will get you in touch with a customer service representative during normal business hours (see link for details).
- AtGames official YouTube Channel – Many helpful videos and updates.
- Official Global Arcade Fan Page (Facebook)
- List of Controllers – Special thank you to Dudemo who provided a list of controllers which may work with the Legends series of devices.
AtGames News Updates
For the latest AtGames News, visit the AtGames News Updates page.
Purchase Locations
The AtGames Legends Core Max may be found at the following locations:
Accessories
*NOTE – During my testing of the LCM, I did experience some latency when using the Legends GamePad. The latency issue appears to have been resolved with the latest update for the LCM. See here for more details.
The following are some accessories that you may find interesting or to enhance your experience with the Core Max. Each I’ve personally tried and added a few notes should you consider the same.
- LoveRPi MicroUSB Push On Off Power Switch – If you wish your Core Max included an On/Off switch, this is a great solution for you. Install it between the Core Max and the microUSB connector to your power cable and instantly have an on-off switch!
- Samsung MUF-256AB/AM FIT Plus 256GB – USB 3.1 Flash Drive for adding additional applications (CoinOpsX, Pinball Tables, etc.). I anticipate there will be more higher-end emulators available in the coming weeks/months. While you can use a smaller capacity drive, might be ideal to consider this USB stick.
- Legends GamePad – The advantage to using this controller is that you have the ability to update the firmware which will provide rumble/haptic feedback while play the Zaccaria/TAITO pinball tables. More information about this update may be found here.
- 8Bitdo Sn30 Pro+ Bluetooth Controller Wireless Gamepad – This Bluetooth controller connected easily to the LCM. For pairing instructions, see the manual. After pairing, the L button is the back button while in-menu. The Select button will bring up the menu wile in-game. While navigating the tabs, the L/R button can be used to page through the tabs.
- Rii RK707 (Keyboard + Controller) – Connected the included USB dongle to this controller+keyboard combo and was impressed that no button mapping was required. The button between the Turbo+Clear button will allow accessing the menu in-game. The d-pad and left stick work fine for navigating menus or playing a game, as well as the A/B/X/Y buttons. The only issue that I ran into is that by pressing down on the left stick, it would rewind the game. Just a minor thing worth noting, otherwise a very pleased with it.
- Anker 4-Port USB 3.0 Hub – If you want to expand the number of USB ports available, this hub worked out well with the Rii Keyboard+controller and CoinOpsX.
LCM Updates
On June 30th, 2022 AtGames released an update exclusively (at this time) for the Legends Core Max. This update provides a number of very interesting features and fixes that were needed for the LCM.
A new tile will exist in the AppStoreX tab for One-Time LCM Download Manager. You will run this utility, it will perform a check to make sure the update may be applied to your LCM. It appears that some devices will require a hardware swap to take advantage of the new features mentioned below. If your device cannot be upgraded, you’ll be prompted to contact AtGames Customer Service for a hardware update/swap.
Fixes / Features
- Latency – As identified in my initial review, latency was an issue prior to the update. After the update, latency no longer appears to be an issue.
- Pinball Table Sharing – The LCM wasn’t being recognized as a Legends Pinball Machine and after this update it is. Therefore, any pinball tables purchased for the ALP will now work on the LCM.
- Utilize Internal Storage – The LCM has 16GB of internal storage. However, until this update, it wasn’t user-accessible. After the update, you can now install your AppStoreX content (Pinball tables, CoinOpsX, etc.) to the internal 16GB flash storage. This eliminates the need for a USB stick to play pinball tables. However, for the CoinOpsX games themselves, you will still need to setup the games on an external USB drive.
- Login Requirement Removed – You no longer need to be logged in nor connected to the network to play games via CoinOpsX/AddOnX. This is a feature many have requested. After the update, you no longer have to re-connect to the network every 5 launches of CoinOpsX/AddOnX and those games may be played fully off-line.
Update Q&A
Below are a few Questions and Answers that you may find helpful:
- Q: Do I still need Flash Drive X partitions for CoinOpsX/AddOnX? A: No, if you are using a pre-existing COX/AOX USB drive the LCM will ignore any previous FDX partitions and still be able to access your games on the exFat partition as you previously had it (as described here for COX Horizontal or COX Vertical). You will need to re-install CoinOpsX from the AppStoreX tab to launch the application from the internal flash storage.
- Q: I ran the One-Time LCM Download Manager and it indicated a hardware update was needed. How do I do this? A: Complete the form here: https://arcades.atgames.net/contact. You can locate the UUID in the Settings tab on the LCM by selecting the Device Info tile.
- Q: How long will it take to receive my replacement LCM? A: Shipping times will vary depending on when the request was received, day of the week and availability. However, a typical scenario will be within 10 business days.
- Q: What can be run from the internal Flash storage? A: Everything that you typically would have installed to the external USB Flash Drive under AppStoreX can be installed directly to the internal flash storage. This includes: Pinball table volumes, PixelcadeX, CoinOpsX, Demos, Applications -everything.
- Q: I received a replacement LCM, the Firmware version is 10990_A22. Do I need to update the firmware? A: Your replacement device should ship with 10990_A22 pre-installed. At the time of this writing, no newer version of the firmware has been released and your device is running the latest firmware. At this point, you can install your pinball tables, applications, etc. to the internal flash storage.
- Q: I received a message when attempting to install Gottlieb Table Bundle Vol 1-2 stating “file size is x and requires 3549 MB on AppStoreX dedicated memory to install”. Why? A: If you installed the Zaccaria packs 1-4 from the single AppStoreX tile, uninstall it. Then, install Gottlieb Table Bundle Vol 1-2, then Zaccaria 1, 2, 3 & 4 individually. I notified AtGames that installing from the single Zaccaria 1-4 pack may not be fully removing the installation archive from flash memory.
Game Play
There are 100 included arcade and console games which ship with the Legends Core Max. These games include many popular titles such as: Bad Dudes, Burger Time, Elevator Action, Space Invaders, Tetris and many others. It is a nice selection of games, though not as many games are available compared to the ALU. You will also find that navigating the menus, settings and CoinOpsX will be more responsive to that of other non-Legends Pinball devices.
As mentioned, the LCM has a more powerful CPU. As a result, it’s quite capable of playing all of the available Zaccaria and TAITO pinball tables at 1080p/60fps. This includes the more demanding Zaccaria Deluxe tables. However, in terms of Arcade and Console games, there are no games included with the LCM that take advantage of this more powerful CPU. This is likely going to change very soon as the community jumps in and begins to implement packages which should allow playing PS1, Dreamcast, Saturn and PSP games. At this point, we’ll have to wait and see. The CPU is certainly capable of emulating these systems and many games should become playable as a result.
Upload High Scores
Many of the included games support the ability to upload your high-score to the on-line leaderboards. Here’s how:
- Once your game is finished, click the AtGames/Menu button and select Save High Score.
- You’ll then see the results of your game with your score highlighted, press A to Proceed.
- Use the Joystick to enter your initials (left/right and up/down).
- Press A to submit your score. When you exit the game, your score will be uploaded to the AtGames servers.
- That’s it!
APL
APL Stands for Arcade Play Link. Essentially, what this technology allows is for you to simply connect an HDMI cable from your Legends Core Max to the HDMI input to your Legends Ultimate or Legends Ultimate Mini and experience the faster processor provided on the Legends Core Max on those machines. You can use the power adapter provided with your LCM or an available USB port on the ALU/ALUM. Keep in mind, it doesn’t use OTG at all and a USB connection to the target machine (ALU, ALUM, etc.) is not needed (though, can be used to power the LCM).
One thing to note, with APL, the Legends Core Max remains a completely separate device. That is, the games that you have installed on the ALU or ALUM won’t be visible on the LCM, when connected. Any pinball tables you’ve purchased will need to be installed on the LCM to show up on the connected device.
The LCM is an APL device to provide enhanced processing power to other AtGames products. You can learn more about other available APL-enabled AtGames products such as: The Legends Ultimate (ALU) and Legends Ultimate Mini (ALUM).
CoinOpsX
Horizontal CoinOpsX Guide
Vertical CoinOpsX Guide
CoinOpsX allows you to play those classic Arcade Games that may not be available from AtGames. For a full guide on how to setup CoinOpsX, visit the AtGames CoinOpsX Guide.
If you’re looking for the AtGames CoinOpsX Guide (saUCEy Edition) (Horizontal/Landscape), please see the guide here.
Legends Gaming
For details on all the latest available Gaming Packs (Arcade and Pinball), Flash Drive X Setup, Code Redemption, Installing/Uninstalling games, check out the Legends Gaming Guide.
Settings
For an explanation of each of the options that are available in the Settings tab, please see the Settings Guide.
Operation
Mastering the basic operation on the Legends Core Max isn’t difficult. Though, when you’re first getting started knowing how to navigate the UI may be a little challenging. Below we’ll cover some basics to get you going.
- Navigating the Menus – Use the left joystick or d-pad to move up/down/left right to select the tiles or the menu/tabs at the top. You will typically press A to select an option or B to go back. However, check the bottom of each screen as it will provide more tips on other options/buttons that are available.
- Favorites List – You can create a favorites list of all your favorite games using the following:
- Select the game from the list and press A (don’t launch it, just browse to the game menu).
- Then press the C button to toggle the Favorite selection.
- Press B to go back to the Game selection.
- Press the AtGames/home button.
- Using the left stick or d-pad move down into to the Favorites option and press the A button.
- Now you’ll only see your favorite games (if nothing is there, you didn’t add a game to the Favorites list).
- Return to All Games (from Favorites) – To return to seeing All Games:
- Highlight one of the games in the list.
- Press the AtGames/Menu button.
- Select All Games and press A.
- Now you should see All Games.
- Filtering Game List – Using the same technique shown above for Return to All Games, you can also filter by other categories: All Games, Featured, Favorites, Leaderboard, Recent, Channels (Atari, Data East, Disney, etc.), Platforms (Arcade, Atari 2600, Genesis, etc.)
- Updating the Firmware – Login using your ArcadeNet account first, then: On the top tab bar, go to Settings → Version (x.y.z) and press the A button. If no update exists, press the B Button to exit. Otherwise, select the Download option. Once complete, select the Update option (this may take ~10+ min. to apply the firmware update). The machine will restart and display the status on the display while updating, then it will reboot once more when the firmware update has completed.
ArcadeNet
ArcadeNet is a service provided by AtGames for your device which provides a number of features which consist of both free (basic) and paid for (standard) services. For details about the creation of your ArcadeNet account, please see the AtGames ArcadeNet page here (scroll towards the bottom).
In addition to leaderboards, ArcadeNet also lets you stream games from a virtual server in the cloud to your machine. There is no need to install anything. For the best results, you’ll want to connect an Ethernet cable to the Legends Core instead of WiFi. While both will work, you’ll get much better performance with an Ethernet cable attached. When you play a multi-player game from the Lobby, you’re accessing a remote server to play your opponent.
Quick Tips
More tips are coming, this is just a start. If you have your own, please share them by adding a comment in any of my AtGames YouTube videos.
- How to Pause a Game – A quick and easy way to pause a game is to simply press the AtGames/Menu button. Just press it again to resume.
- Firmware Updates – AtGames typically releases new firmware the 3rd Thursday of each month. It’s a good idea to download the updates periodically. They often include new features, fixes and overall improvements to the system.
- Can I add More Games? – Yes you can! If you want to play thousands of classic Arcade Games (in addition to the included 100 games) check out the CoinOpsX guide here. It will step you through how to partition your USB drive, copy the files and run the AddOnX tool. Once done, several thousand games can be easily played and you only need a USB drive (128GB or larger recommended).
Troubleshooting
No troubleshooting information available at this time. As questions arise and solutions are found, more information will be added here.
Change Log
- 2022-09-15 – Added the new Legends Gaming guide to replace duplicated sections in this guide.
- 2022-07-05 – Update broken links.
- 2022-07-02 – Added section describing the new LCM update with many new features here.
- 2022-06-11 – Updated Resources with CS information.
- 2022-06-02– Updated News heading.
- 2022-04-05 – Added AtGames support graphic and link.
- 2022-04-01 – Review video added.
- 2022-03-31 – Continuation; preparation for public release of this guide.
- 2022-02-15 – Start to this guide.