karri

The 2600+ dumps the cart and transfers the code to the internal CPU for execution. There is no way for the CPU to access the cart after that. So if there is a menu you will be able to run it. But if the menu tries to load in the game from the cart it does not have the means to do it. Another thing is that the 2600 can run most of the code from the flash. But there is some bankswitching schemes where the flas is too slow and you have to run it from Pico's RAM. There is also at least one scheme where even running at 400MHz from RAM is too slow. So the Pico is a fun experiment. But it is not as good as a dedicated multicart.

I am not so sure about it. If you want to use it on a 2600+ then the menu won't work. The RAM on a Pico is also too small to even hold one modern 7800 game. The limit is around 128k that I have been able to run.

224 lines is a compronize between NTSC and PAL. Both machines can show the playfield without large margins.

These legs could be bent 45 degrees and soldered directly to your board. No need for 90 degrees.

Looking at the schematics the capacitor is 0.068 (68nF perhaps). And the series resistor is 1.8k. So the RC would be between 0.12ms and 0.8ms. As the 60Hz frame takes 16.6ms I wonder if sending WSYNCs for 0.8ms during the blank period affects the screen.

Usually I just use hysteresis. I require several values before accepting a change. If the original value happens during the time window I just ignore the changes. This works well on a ship where waves would otherwise trigger alarms on and off all the times. So I have a gut feeling to do the same for the paddle. But it feels wrong to delay the data from the paddle. Another model is to think of the paddle position as a magnet that pulls the paddle towards the desired positiion. The magnet can jump back and forth but the paddle just tugs along with a certain maximum speed. The actual measuring of the paddle position would be at the BLANK period. It is probably like: *VBLANK = 0 // Start charging capacitor count = 0 loop WSYNC increment count until (INPUT & 0x80) or (count > 200) .... *VBLANK = 0x80 // Ground capacitor to discharge it I assume that I could read all 4 paddles at every frame. The other thing is that for games like Klondike (Easter) I don't want absolute positions of paddles. Instead I want to register just relative movements to left/right for scrolling through lists of cards.

In another thread there is a new cart connector for the 2600+ that has been created just for the 7800. I believe we could ask @Ben from Plaion to get us enough of these cart connectors for these new handheld 7800's.

I am trying to add paddle support to cc65. Paddles resistance may suddenly jump due to bending of the shaft or dirt. So my feeling is that smoothing may be the wrong algorithm as it won't filter out large changes and it also dampens small movements. Perhaps there could be a maximum speed of the paddle that I set depending on the game. So if there is a big jump I limit the movement of the paddle towards the desired position. This would leave the padle responsive to small movements while limiting big jumps. So many algorithms. What would work best? Comments?

If the pcb with easily sourced parts becomes available I am interested as well. Of course the hard to get parts I get from a real 7800.

Actually something like RED might be possible on the 7800. It is still in development.

A klondike card game with paddle/joystick control. Plus it has a nice TIA tune with no need for bankswitch/extra ram/sound hw. After all I believe Klondike was very popular on the early PC. Most gamers have played it at some point in their lives. leostune.mp3

Some updated Warlords game for 4 players using paddles. A 4-player game is really great for retro-event competitions. Obvious stuff you need is: - able to catch a ball by pressing fire. And shoot towards an other player by releasing fire. - write it for the 7800 to use better graphics.

KLAX is a nice strategy puzzle.

I believe some amazing new hobby release like Wilf would be a really nice puzzle game with a cute main character - a worm. The current demo already works on the 2600+. The game has a bit of British humour in it. This is a game I would buy myself. More fun than just a platformer or a shmup.

Nice! The stl files are indeed shared thanks to @ChrisKewl. Here they are: karrika/Otaku-flash: A single game flash card for Atari 2600, Atari 7800 and Atari 2600+ (github.com) The parts ending in 2 are a bit tighter. They worked better on PLA on my printer.