Illtiger1 Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 What is the draw of a flash cart? Most of us on here are collectors and want the original games (ideally CIB) played on the original hardware so where is the draw? I obviously see how you can save money and possibly program, but don't most collectors want to collect the original games and homebrews instead of roms? Don't get me wrong, I think they are cool and great for a system I may not really collect for but want to play on the original hardware, but I'm curious as to why a collector would want one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+JasonlikesINTV Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 I want one because: 1. It's collectible and I'm a completist 2. I can use it for my playing and not have to open my collectible games to play them. The non-gatefolds get a lot of wear and tear when opened and closed a lot. 3. Portable (on the road) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+intvsteve Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 There are some pragmatic reasons: Avoid wear and tear on cartridge port Avoid need to have carts at hand (space - you can keep things packed away) Avoid damage to materials Play unreleased games from compilations I've destroyed a cartridge port on a console. It just wore out. Fewer insert/remove cycles helps on these old systems. I've also made the mistake of leaving a game out and it getting stepped on or whatever by curious younglings. My fault, but easy to happen. Probably plenty of other reasons people will have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+intvsteve Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 I want one because: 1. It's collectible and I'm a completist 2. I can use it for my playing and not have to open my collectible games to play them. The non-gatefolds get a lot of wear and tear when opened and closed a lot. 3. Portable (on the road) How could I forget portability! I've done that a few times. You'll have every game, even the ones your friends liked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illtiger1 Posted August 30, 2014 Author Share Posted August 30, 2014 Portability is an excellent point I never thought about. Kind of like when I used to travel and pack a ton of cassettes or CDs and now can just stream or upload a library to a device. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LidLikesIntellivision Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 (edited) 1. It's great when you don't collect for a system but you prefer to play on the hardware. Example, I don't collect games for the Nes but I love to play on my original hardware (a clone from the 80/90s). 2. It's great when you only collect certain games for a system. I only collect homebrews for Colecovision and the flashcart gives me all the library to play. Same with my Atari collection, since I only pick special cartridges (those I had in the 80s, selected homebrews and M-Network/Mattel games). 3. I plan to have all Intellivision games, here flashcart will give me the possibility to play WIP games, to beta test games, some only available basic roms and it will give all above mentioned features. Edited August 30, 2014 by LidLikesIntellivision Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accousticguitar Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 What is the draw of a flash cart? Most of us on here are collectors and want the original games (ideally CIB) played on the original hardware so where is the draw? I obviously see how you can save money and possibly program, but don't most collectors want to collect the original games and homebrews instead of roms? Don't get me wrong, I think they are cool and great for a system I may not really collect for but want to play on the original hardware, but I'm curious as to why a collector would want one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accousticguitar Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 don't most collectors want to collect the original games and homebrews instead of roms?Not when they cost >$100. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illtiger1 Posted August 30, 2014 Author Share Posted August 30, 2014 Understood, but if I cared strictly about cost I would just download a romset and get a USB adapter for the controller on my PC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Lathe26 Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 These multi-carts are also great for developing on real hardware. The CC3's eventual rarity might have prevented some folks from getting into developing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+intvsteve Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Understood, but if I cared strictly about cost I would just download a romset and get a USB adapter for the controller on my PC. The one gotcha I've found w/ Ultimate PC Interface is that it doesn't support "chording" on the keypad. Then again, you could use the keyboard to pause. I can't think of any other cases off the top of my head that need it, other than getting to Easter Eggs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+intvsteve Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 (edited) These multi-carts are also great for developing on real hardware. The CC3's eventual rarity might have prevented some folks from getting into developing. Yes, indeed. Several (not all) of the newer generations of boards have also added some kind of new feature - more RAM, accelerated instructions, access to storage, etc. I'm not sure, but I think JLP has features not on the CC3, thus making it more burdensome to test software using JLP features on actual hardware. Unless you can burn JLP carts. I think requires some expertise and hardware, though, too. An emulator that knows about and implements board-specific features helps, but it's still emulation. Edited August 30, 2014 by intvsteve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zander21510 Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 I want one simply because I like to collect the consoles and a few games and show people and let them play the old consoles, but I don't have the time/money to collect all the cartridges. I got an SD launcher for my GameCube (allows me to play ISOs via an SD card plugged into the memory card slot) and I might get a flash cart for my Nintendo 64, and really I'd get one for any old console/computer I could get my hands on. I'm all about the experience of playing the game/using the device as you would have had to in 1980. To me, the difference between playing software that's on an original cartridge vs. playing on a flashcart (if they work like I expect/understand) on an original system is unnoticable to me and my friends who want to enjoy and laugh about the goofy Intellivision phone controllers, versus setting up an emulator where the experience of playing an Intellivision is lost, my friends won't notice/care that the game was an Intellivision game if it's on a computer. I've rigged up all my stuff to get as close to the original experience as possible, even if the "under the hood" stuff isnt: I have my Intellivision hooked up via an adapter into a DVD recorder and that into more adapters to end up on a '68 color TV, so I can get the exact same experience as using the stupid box screwed in to the back of the TV. I also have it so I can play on my 48" HDTV if I want to Or both at once! Gotta love modern technology. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accousticguitar Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Understood, but if I cared strictly about cost I would just download a romset and get a USB adapter for the controller on my PC.Imo emulation does not compare favorably with playing games on the original hardware, which leaves flash carts as the most economical option. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+intvsteve Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 ...To me, the difference between playing software that's on an original cartridge vs. playing on a flashcart (if they work like I expect/understand) on an original system is unnoticable to me and my friends who want to enjoy and laugh about the goofy Intellivision phone controllers, versus setting up an emulator where the experience of playing an Intellivision is lost, my friends won't notice/care that the game was an Intellivision game if it's on a computer. That's the great thing about flash carts. Typically you are playing the exact same game -- it's no different at all. The caveat is of course that the ROM that was extracted was extracted correctly. All the flash cart does is give you a way to choose which game from a list of games. Think of Triple Challenge or Triple Action on steroids as an analogy from the original games. Triple Challenge is the better comparison, in which they essentially took three existing games, added a little menu to choose the one you want to play, and put that on a cartridge. IIRC there's a story that Mattel had plans for making several 'album' cartridges over on the Intellivision Lives website. Down in the gory technical details, more things can be going on inside these kinds of carts, but at its simplest, that's it. Extra features aside, you get a menu to choose from a whole bunch of games in one convenient package. Speaking of which, why haven't I ever gotten one of these things for any other platform? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+intvsteve Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 (edited) Imo emulation does not compare favorably with playing games on the original hardware, which leaves flash carts as the most economical option. Yeah, that's ultimately how it turns out. There have been a couple really well-done emulators. Bliss seemed pretty good, but I haven't exercised it much. Nostalgia added some great features like network play and IIRC save state - things you can't do on the original consoles, which are valuable, but it's gone dormant. jzIntv is likely without question the most accurate emulator, and has been ported to quite a few platforms. And don't forget the original ones (INTVPC?) that started it off and formed the basis for the early Intellivision Lives products. Even with a way to hook real controllers to the emulator, it's always a little different. The new Flashback system is another emulator - and it would be interesting to know more about it, too. In a way, with those sexy controllers, if that emulator is up to scratch (though I guess it may have an issue or two - check the Intellivisionaries podcasts), it's ... what would George say... "The closest thing to the real thing." Now, *THAT* would be an ad campaign! I guess, hooking a really good emulator, with authentic controls, to an analog TV is going to be pretty darn close - certainly enough to pass the fun along to a new generation. Edited August 30, 2014 by intvsteve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+cmart604 Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 I want one because: 1. It's collectible and I'm a completist And I'm an idiot. I assume I don't need to explain any further given my track record. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DZ-Jay Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 How could I forget portability! I've done that a few times. You'll have every game, even the ones your friends liked. Hmm... I didn't know that portability was a big thing with the Intellivision. Do people really take their Master Component when they go on holiday? Understood, but if I cared strictly about cost I would just download a romset and get a USB adapter for the controller on my PC. You could, but then you don't get the Full Nostalgic Effect. A flash-cart allows you to do the same but on your old console. These multi-carts are also great for developing on real hardware. The CC3's eventual rarity might have prevented some folks from getting into developing. Now, now, let's not go exaggerating. There are plenty of reasons why the pool of Intellivision programmers is limited, but the lack of a CC3 is certainly not one of them. To me, the biggest driving feature of a flash-cart is having all your games in once single cartridge, plugged into your Master Component. You can then, on a whim, choose any game you want to play from a menu; and not have to go hunt it down in your cabinet or closet in order to plug in the individual cartridge. In that regard, it works exactly like a mixed tape, a CD changer--or for the younger kids--an iPod. -dZ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChefPepper Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Not having to take my INTV boxed games out of storage is the main reason I'm looking forward to the LTO Flash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+intvsteve Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Hmm... I didn't know that portability was a big thing with the Intellivision. Do people really take their Master Component when they go on holiday? Absolutely! Granted, not terribly often, but I've packed up a master component and hauled it cross country for our family's Christmas trips up north. But far more often, we'd have Classic Game Night at work. Instead of hauling bins of carts in my trunk, risking damage sitting parked in the brutal summer heat, I'd have a backpack with everything needed sitting in comfort at my desk until the party started. So, it's also a labor-saving device! If you go deluxe, you can put together a stack of overlays to keep with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+JasonlikesINTV Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 That's the great thing about flash carts. Typically you are playing the exact same game -- it's no different at all. The caveat is of course that the ROM that was extracted was extracted correctly. All the flash cart does is give you a way to choose which game from a list of games. Think of Triple Challenge or Triple Action on steroids as an analogy from the original games. Triple Challenge is the better comparison, in which they essentially took three existing games, added a little menu to choose the one you want to play, and put that on a cartridge. IIRC there's a story that Mattel had plans for making several 'album' cartridges over on the Intellivision Lives website. IIRC, Rev mentioned wanting to do a few of these, one of which was Tron Complete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 IIRC, Rev mentioned wanting to do a few of these, one of which was Tron Complete That has changed to Golden Girls: Complete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+intvsteve Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Since Bea has been bought up, I'd be remiss without reminding everyone of something terribly important. TODAY IS INTERNATIONAL BACON DAY! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SoulBuster Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 For all the reasons mentioned above. And especially for CGE. I will be bringing my CC3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+cmart604 Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Since Bea has been bought up, I'd be remiss without reminding everyone of something terribly important. TODAY IS INTERNATIONAL BACON DAY! Omg! How did I miss this!?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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