x=usr(1536)

This is the sort of game that, by rights, should interest me regardless of whether or not it's a Yars' Somethingorother game. However, from watching the video, the following things are immediately putting me off: The character's voice. Hearing it reminds me of finding a YouTube channel or podcast that looks like it could be really interesting - right up to the point where the presenter speaks and puts themselves right at the 'too annoying to watch or listen to' end of the spectrum. Does not fit in with the aesthetic or setting at all, and it's difficult to imagine playing it through without muting the audio. The bombardment of callouts, easter eggs, nostalgia tugs on the heartstrings, etc. By all means have these things in the game, but FFS tone it down a little. It doesn't need to come out of the firehose in the same way that, say, 'Ready Player One' deluged the audience with similar tropes. Frankly, that was something that majorly put me off of that movie, and if there's this much of it in a trailer it's likely a sign of more things to have to sit through. Does the game remain playable if both audio and video are disabled? The gameplay doesn't look be a total fit with the world it's set in. It's fine, but feels like it could be a reskin of a game set in a completely different universe. Do a graphics swap with Top Banana and it could pretty much be the 2024 'reimagining' of that game. I want to like this game, but the preview is not giving me the warm fuzzies. If there's a playable demo on the Switch I'll at least check it out, but it feels like it has an uphill battle to win over my interest enough to actually purchase it.

Not speaking for Mathy, but as an interested observer, it's not totally clear to me what the new featureset will be U1MB / Incognito compatibility is also a consideration. FWIW, I've been holding off on installing a PokeyMax for some time because V4 was on the horizon. With potentially 6 machines that would end up with one in them, I'd really prefer to use a single variant than have multiple versions scattered across the range if possible.

Because AtariArtist is specifically designed to work with the Atari Touch Tablet. The tablet just generates X and Y values as paddle input. It's up to the software to decide which paddle represents X and which one represents Y. If AtariArtist sees paddle(0) as X and paddle(1) as Y, that's what it'll use, but a KoalaPad, for example. may invert that so that paddle(1) is X and paddle(0) is Y. Similarly, the X or Y inputs can be read left-to-right, right-to-left, top-to-bottom, or bottom-to-top. It's up to the software to decide which direction is the 'correct' orientation for a given axis.

Not to mention that he has a screenshot of his eBay feedback in the item photos. Anytime that crops up, run - don't walk - away. Even if the seller is legit, they're probably a total nutter and will end up on your doorstep one day wanting to check up on the machine that they sold you.

The cartridge could, conceivably, be injected with some form of caulk, foam, gel, or epoxy. This would have to be done with the cartridge assembled in order to reach all of the potential voids within, but would definitely stop the rattles. Weight would increase, but it's a small price to pay for correcting Atari's original mistake. Mashed potatoes could also be used, but gravy should go in first so that it doesn't leak out of the slot where the cartridge's edge connector is located.

Are those programs compatible with the CX-77? It's been decades since I last had one, but it was owned alongside a KoalaPad, and I can recall incompatibilities in some software with certain touchpads. AtariArtist sticks in my mind as only working with the CX-77; you could be running into the same thing with other titles. BTW, a copy of Florian Dingler's Perhipheral Tester is attached. Might want to run the tablet against it and see what the results are. Peripheral Tester, v2.0 (Florian Dingler, 2008).atr

Very possible. That certainly is ringing bells, but I'm not quite 100% sure that's it. Either way, thanks for the refresher; it'd been quite some time since I'd read about that

Why not use your extensive familiarity with this specific process to handle it yourself? It sounds as though you are more than capable of doing so. Seriously... Don't be the guy who does this. It's like listening to someone drone on about why they use Linux exclusively.

Gonna go out on a limb here. The story of a bugged release is ringing bells in my head. Really distant ones of the "I heard this as a kid" variety, but it's definitely not the first time I've heard this stated. That's about as far as I'm willing to go with it, however. More than happy to hear from anyone with supporting evidence, or even evidence to the contrary. It's just not new news to me for one reason or another, though.

This, I think, is a very fair assessment of the overall picture. Both of these are games that I've owned at one time or another, and while I like both, they're not games that really engage the casual game players. If you put the time in to learn them, they're great - but there's more to both than the attract modes suggest, and building a following isn't really straightforward when nuance comes into play. That said, I can see exactly why they might not do well on location. Excellent games, but with appeal that pretty much requires players who are willing to spend time with them.

It also couldn't hurt to hit it with some Deoxit fader cleaner or similar; the level of oxidation could be enough that it needs some chemical assistance.

Totally understood. My concern was the possibility of behaviour changing after the system had been on for a while (i.e., after it had warmed up); I've seen chips test OK outside of a system that subsequently go flaky after they've been powered up for a time.

Possibly. Just out of curiosity, are the RAM ICs made by MT?

Were you able to get any sort of picture from it at all? Out of curiosity, did you perform the same wire-plus-resistor mod as described in Step 7 of this article? From how the issue is described, it sounds as though the chroma signal isn't making it to either a) pin 5 of the monitor jack or b) where it mixes with luma to provide composite output, which would happen before the composite signal enters the RF modulator or goes off to the monitor port's composite pin. My suggestion would be to do two things: firstly, check for cold solder joints on the monitor jack; secondly, work backwards from the chroma pin at the jack and see if there's anything that might be damaged or not working in that path. Can you provide photos of what's happening with both the RF and monitor output? This would help greatly in figuring out which side of things the problem may lay on. Also, if you don't yet have a set of schematics to work from, grab both the Atari 800XL Field Service Manual and Sam's Computerfacts for the 800XL from here. They'll be invaluable as you work through the problem.