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  2. It wont run out and it shouldn't. FPGA technically is not emulation. I am not a fan of the price of the 400 mini because after all, it is an emulator that will actually run WORSE than an emulator on my PC which has a better processor. Anything other than FPGA is an emulator, pure and simple, and you can get emulators for free and run them great. You are basically paying for look of it. Molded plastic to hit your nostalgia feels for $100. Also another thing is input lag. FPGA has zero lag. All emulators have some lag, but when you introduce a weak processor AND an emulator, the lag is even worse (see C64 mini using the already laggy Vice) *Please don't mention "game mode" on your PC on monitor to fight lag. Ive heard that excuse for 20 years and all my monitors and TVs were meticulously purchased and fine-tuned to avoid lag.*
  3. I think that the component has exactly the right frequency: 3.579545 MHz I don't know where you looked, but in the original Atari Service Manual and in many other sources the crystal Y1 is described with exactly this frequency and not with 3.57945 MHz
  4. Everywhere you go to discuss retro games these days you'll always find that one guy in the comments that swears up and down that FPGA is the future of retro gaming and that any retro/mini system that doesn't make use of this method of emulation isn't worth owning, case in point Pat and Ian from the CU podcast have been shit talking the latest Atari mini consoles the 2600+ and the 400 mini for months now all because they cost over a 100 bucks and apparently it's inexcusable that a retro mini console in current year 2024 could cost that amount without using FPGA, if it doesn't have FPGA built in it's automatically a rip off and nothing special ( aka atgames flashback tier garbage ). There was also the Polymega controversy a few years back when Playmaji made the decision to switch from FPGA to standard emulation in order to cut costs and focus on more important things for the project to succeed, almost immediately upon hearing the news many people completely changed their stance on the Polymega and started treating it like it was some piece of crap not worth paying attention to just because of that. So what do you guys think, do you agree with this sentiment that FPGA should become mandatory on any retro focused device, and if so why ?
  5. SIO including cassette tape and audio input, real cartridge port. I don't think anyone has ever had both of these on an FPGA device yet, have they?
  6. Castle Crisis is a game sold here on Atari Age ($30), so its inclusion on The400 is some real value.
  7. The part loading crashes, easiest to check by trying to boot the second disk. But otherwise the Atari800 MiSTer core bug tracker on GIThub has a list of other complaints...
  8. I do have a Skunkboard and also an EPROM programmer if I want to make something more permanent. Close enough.
  9. Here's the rest of the doc that I copied and pasted from for the above list of retro consoles/computers. I had to create this simple documentation to help me remember where things are and for conversations like this. In short, I stay in RF with a good amplified RF switch (not splitter) for Gen2 consoles (Colecovision, Intv, etc.) and then RGB / Component for as many things as possible until the HD native consoles like the PS3 or Xbox 360. These are the destination displays and video devices (switches, capture cards, scalers, etc.) that the above referred to with model numbers for some. Displays: ---------- WEGA = 27" KV-27FS210 CRT (RF, Composite, S-Video, Component) CURV = 27" KV-27S42 RGB modded CRT (S-Video, RGB) TATE = 20" 21PT4475 CRT (Composite, RGB) PVM = 20" PVM-20M2MDU CRT (Composite, S-Video, Component, RGB) 4K1 = 42" TCL 4K60 flat panel (Composite, Component, HD, 4K) TVRF = Generic flat panel TV (RF, Composite, VGA, HD) 1702-A = Commodore 1702 CRT #1 (Composite, S-Video) 1702-B = Commodore 1702 CRT #2 (Composite, S-Video) DELLVGA = 19" Dell VGA CRT (VGA) PROJECT = InFocus projector (Composite, S-Video, VGA) MONOCRT = Apple A2M2010 green monochrome CRT (Composite) Video devices: ---------- VCR = Converts RF to Composite for capture or to 1702-A or 1702-B GBSC = Scaler (RGB, VGA, Component) outputs HD to CAPTURE CAPTURE = Avermedia LGP2 (HDMI) outputs to a generic flat panel RGB2COMP = Transcodes RGB to Component to RCA1 SB41 = Shinybow SB-3714 SCART 4x distribution to: 1) RCA1 2) TATE 3) PVM 4) GBSC SCART1 = Otaku RCA and SCART switch to SB41 SCART2 = Bandbridge SCART switch to CURV RF1 = Archer amplified RF switch to TVRF, VCR, WEGA RCA1 = Monoprice Component switch to WEGA RCA2 = Monoprice Component switch to WEGA GSTOP1 = Gamestop Composite/S-Video switch to PVM and then to WEGA VGA1 = HD-15 switch to: 1) Component -> RCA1 2) RGB -> SCART1 (via RCA) 3) VGA -> DELLVGA 4) VGA -> PROJECT
  10. Personally, I think Montezuma's Revenge is just more of a crash victim on the 2600 than a hidden gem. The game was very well received on home computers and a big seller on those platforms. I like the 2600 version, but it is so small/short compared to the computer versions that it almost feels like a demo. Nice to have, and it definitely stands out on the 2600, but there's not much replay value there.
  11. That's the way I use my record player! Maybe the next accessory should be a Jag Vinyl VLM!!! Where's Minter? Get him on that one! On that thought, I'd really enjoy having the option to purchase the T2K Soundtrack on vinyl in a collectors edition with special vinyl coloring of some type.
  12. I generally just use the HDSC tool that comes with SpartaDOS X (on its toolkit disk). I'm sure others will be able to recommend menu-driven floppy duplicators.
  13. I think Karate Champ would be great with 2 controllers used at the same time. One stick for each disc. This is not meant as a plug for Caleb’s coupler, but I can see that accessory working well.
  14. Looking at the spec for the linked item, the frequency does not seem correct. The Atari XL spec is 3.57945 MHz
  15. My first impressions regarding PAL/NTSC as an European user. The sound is good! I am very happy that it is not as bad as the cheap unix devices that have to use an older version of the Libretro core 800 (but we still don't know which emulator the 400 mini is using). Sadly there is no stereo support. I have set up mine in 50hz (PAL mode) and all of the included games work fine and display the correct screen size when an European built-in game is selected (for example Henry's House and Elektra Glide). Sadly this is not the case when you load PAL-games from USB. The speed is correct and the emulation is in PAL (Inside by Spektra does not crash and Draconus has no flickering) but the screen is missing some of the extra lines many PAL games are using. There is a kind of work around for this, by setting the Display Height and Display Width to maximum and the Vertical Offset to minimum in the Game Settings menu, but even then some of the lines are still missing. I have noticed some input lag, but the lag was much less when I changed my TV to game mode. I am not really a fan of the included joystick. Maybe it is just my copy, but when playing (Bruce) Lee the controls are so much tighter than I am used to when playing this game on real hardware and a vintage joystick. Especially when I push the joystick right it often detects that the joystick is pushed down, when it really is not. As others already mentioned, it is also very easy to accidentally press the ring buttons. I will solve these problems by making a modification so normal 9 pin joysticks can be used. As for wireless keyboards and controllers, every one that comes with its own USB dongle will probably work fine. My wireless USB keyboard and cheap controllers (with their own dongles) work perfectly. But all in all a very nice toy to play with 😃
  16. Unfortunately SAMS cannot map into in the DSR space, >4000 - >5FFF - only into the normal expansion RAM areas. And pages are switched not using CRU but by writing to registers mapped into >4000 - >401f.
  17. You've got quite the collection @RockLobster. This does bring a question to mind though. What is everyone using to connect all these AV devices to their TV? I haven't looked too hard but is there a really good AV switch product out there that people are using to have all these consoles connected and not have to move cables around every time you switch systems?
  18. Never used them before but I am aware DVI and HDMI have some similarities, but you lose audio.
  19. Here's a video: https://invidio.us/watch?v=hAWxhRgXDKY&list=PLTYsLUSfI7z7xS0_WGWVsU2ifFZ3Vuj_5&index=2 Seeing it in motion tells a whole different story than those stills. If you just wanted the game play, something could be done similar to how Blue Lightning was done. Maybe some voxel terrain could be used instead of polygons and then do sprite scaling for the objects. The player's plane could be pre-rendered.
  20. Yeah I don’t know how the Cuttle Cart deals with things like bankswitching which are critical for this game. But good to know a straight conversion seems to work on the Backbit.
  21. I played a bit more last night, and I like Thunder Blade. One problem is that it is very hard to fire consistently - especially on the "3d" stages. Press button = sometimes fires. What is this group's opinion about turbo or auto-fire? Because it is like a completely different game when using it. Here's another score when NOT using auto-fire 692,000:
  22. I always feel bad for homebrew developers whom put forth all the effort, yet due to time + scarcity end up with the least amount of profit from their work. That is NOT a knock against anyone selling their stuff for what people are willing to pay for it down the road, please don't read it as being so. It just kinda sucks for the developer.
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