919 replies to this topic

[Curt Vendel]

August 26th...    Work begins :-)


Yes.... there WILL be a cartridge slot... sorta




Curt

[ATARIeric]

Curt Vendel, on Wed Aug 17, 2005 10:08 PM, said:

August 26th...    Work begins :-)


Yes.... there WILL be a cartridge slot... sorta


Curt

Thats some good news!  

I wonder if the board is going to have a spot where we can just solder a cart connector to it ?  or will the FB3 have its own cart connector ?

[SteveW]

And you can't give us a little more information to whet our appetites?  

What could possibly be in a new Flashback? Since the Atari 2600, 5200, 7800, and Lynx all use variations of the 6502 processor, could the Flashback 3 have cartridge ports for all of them? And the XEGS too? That would totally rock!  

Edited by SteveW, Wed Aug 17, 2005 9:15 PM.

[Clint Thompson]

That's so cool man.... I'm anxious to see / hear all the juicy details!!!

[ehenciak]

SteveW, on Wed Aug 17, 2005 10:14 PM, said:

And you can't give us a little more information to whet our appetites? 

What could possibly be in a new Flashback? Since the Atari 2600, 5200, 7800, and Lynx all use variations of the 6502 processor, could the Flashback 3 have cartridge ports for all of them? And the XEGS too? That would totally rock! 

Yes, please, could it?!?!?!!?!?  Well, maybe not Lynx, but why not all three of the above...?!?!?!

Ed

[ATARIeric]

Curt said sorta a cart port inside     i doubt there will be 3 or 4 cart ports inside the FB3,  if there is then I want to smoke whatever the FB3 engineering team is smoking  

Edited by ATARIeric, Wed Aug 17, 2005 9:24 PM.

[ZylonBane]

ATARIeric, on Wed Aug 17, 2005 10:14 PM, said:

I wonder if the board is going to have a spot where we can just solder a cart connector to it ?  or will the FB3 have its own cart connector?

Most likely not. The reasons for not having one on the FB2 still exist. I'm hoping/guessing the cart slot Curt is referring to is some kind of standard memory card slot.

I wonder what it'll look like though? The 7800 and 2600 case designs have already been used. The 5200 looks practically identical to the 7800. Hrmm.

[ATARIeric]

ZylonBane, on Wed Aug 17, 2005 10:30 PM, said:

I'm hoping/guessing the cart slot Curt is referring to is some kind of standard memory card slot.

That would be the coolest!

[Clint Thompson]

I envision an 800/XL/XE version of some sort accepting flash media.... mmmmm  

Edited by Clint Thompson, Wed Aug 17, 2005 9:49 PM.

[Flojomojo]

Curt Vendel, on Wed Aug 17, 2005 11:08 PM, said:

Yes.... there WILL be a cartridge slot... sorta

Tantalizing!  Something tells me digital rights management will be invoked if there is some kind of removable media, but I'd LOVE to be proven wrong.

Which case style will be used?  Maybe a mini-Jaguar?  I'd love the Minter games on a stick if it could be done.

[keilbaca]

I only want ONE thing, and I know its possible because the Onyx Jr has it.

A pause switch.

[remowilliams]

My guess is that it will have a cart slot for "expansion" type carts sold after the release of the FB3.  They will be proprietary and contain a certain number of additional games (for whatever system the FB3 actually is).  This would be the most probable outcome, considering Jaks seems to be heading towards a similar business model.

Still, overall the news of FB3 (whatever it may be) and future expansion is welcome news

[andy_bernstein]

Curt,

That sounds great.

What would be the deadline for an homebrew to be included on the FB3 ?

Thanks,

AB.

P.S.: see you at E3 2006 !

[hookem]

I'd love to see the FB3 styled after a 5200 or 400/800.. mini-version, though, like the FB1 and 2... and playing the 8bit games!

In fact, it would be poetic justice to redo the 5200 controllers.  Same style, but auto centering with better buttons... without the keypads, that would be too expensive.  And if they could actually work on a real 5200   ... but no, probably too expensive.

And I don't think the 7800 and 5200 styles are "almost identical"... the 5200 is a true "wedge", with mid-80's style sharp edges.  The 7800/2800/Sears Video Arcade II is more of a watered-down modern style.  It's like saying a Hummer is almost identical to a Durango.

Edited by hookem, Wed Aug 17, 2005 10:29 PM.

[atarilovesyou]

No disrespect here, Curt, but come on now....sort of?

What other possible reason would one want to buy another version of the Flashback if it DIDN'T have some sort of cart port standard?..either it would, or I wouldn't really consider buying one...I mean, of course I'd buy one!!...however, there's only so much appeal to picking up another console based system without a substantial upgrade.  A cart port would seal the deal, and we all know it would see like GANGBUSTERS.

Not to spoil surprises as it will be a year away anyway, but after I buy the FB2, I'm not going to froth at the mouth for another year to purchase a slot-less FB3.  But I'll buy one.

[retrocon]

I predict a 2600/5200/7800 compatible system with genesis type gamepads and an SD memory card slot, and with a good mix of 40 or so of the best games for those three consoles.

And then load all the 2600, 5200 and 7800 roms you want onto that SD card and have fun! Damn, that would be a sweet machine... Fun to dream...

[Ferris]

Suggestion - allow Regan to design this one.  He's available and he digs the Flashabck projects.

[Feralstorm]

Tell whoever is doing new any all-new games for the thing to start yesterday, and tell the money people to pay them better.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Will it use the same hardware as FB2? Or will the obvious incompatibilities
be fixed?

I suppose the AA community could be of some kind of help here, testing cartport hacked FB2s with various games and reporting problems.

[keilbaca]

Thomas Jentzsch, on Thu Aug 18, 2005 2:30 AM, said:

Will it use the same hardware as FB2? Or will the obvious incompatibilities
be fixed?

I suppose the AA community could be of some kind of help here, testing cartport hacked FB2s with various games and reporting problems.

As soon as I get a real one, I'll start testing em.

[Curt Vendel]

No need to solder, a cart port will be included, electrically compatible with a particular system, but in a different physical layout/formfactor.


Curt

ATARIeric, on Wed Aug 17, 2005 10:14 PM, said:

Curt Vendel, on Wed Aug 17, 2005 10:08 PM, said:

August 26th...    Work begins :-)


Yes.... there WILL be a cartridge slot... sorta


Curt

Thats some good news!  

I wonder if the board is going to have a spot where we can just solder a cart connector to it ?  or will the FB3 have its own cart connector ?

[Curt Vendel]

What Jakks is doing sort burns me - they are selling limited release games on their sticks, then if you want the rest of the game you have to buy their cards to get the remaining level's and such, that's total BS...

FB3 Carts would have full games, not some lame (here's the rest of your game) upgrade like Jakks.



Curt

remowilliams, on Wed Aug 17, 2005 11:14 PM, said:

My guess is that it will have a cart slot for "expansion" type carts sold after the release of the FB3.  They will be proprietary and contain a certain number of additional games (for whatever system the FB3 actually is).  This would be the most probable outcome, considering Jaks seems to be heading towards a similar business model.

Still, overall the news of FB3 (whatever it may be) and future expansion is welcome news

[Curt Vendel]

Thomas Jentzsch, on Thu Aug 18, 2005 2:30 AM, said:

Will it use the same hardware as FB2? Or will the obvious incompatibilities
be fixed?

I suppose the AA community could be of some kind of help here, testing cartport hacked FB2s with various games and reporting problems.

Different platform...


Curt

[SteveW]

As long as the cartridge port doesn't work like Jakks Pacific's 'key cartridge', I'll be happy. The Flashback 3 needs to be compatible with classic Atari cartridges. I don't want to see a new machine with proprietary carts.

[keilbaca]

Curt Vendel, on Thu Aug 18, 2005 8:36 AM, said:

Thomas Jentzsch, on Thu Aug 18, 2005 2:30 AM, said:

Will it use the same hardware as FB2? Or will the obvious incompatibilities
be fixed?

I suppose the AA community could be of some kind of help here, testing cartport hacked FB2s with various games and reporting problems.

Different platform...


Curt

Different platform? He sounds like he's throwing together a 8 bit system.