davyK

You have used a CRT before , but I will state the obvious here - you will have to tune the TV into the channel the 2600 is set to. Better said than assumed. I'm in the UK and when I bought a US 2600 my CRT wouldn't pick up its signal - moved up and down the entire tuning range and nothing. Had to get the 2600 modified for composite. Tuning controls are at the front. Some TVs have auto tune but you have to press a button to activate it. Please don't think I'm being condescending here but I don't know how old you are if you have never owned a CRT you may not know that.

I don't remember any games in shrinkwrap when I was buying new 2600 games 82-84. I got a brand new copy of Super Breakout in the late 90s and it wasn't shrinkwrapped - the box top was glued closed.

I agree re Night Driver - it's actually a smooth game. But maybe some variation with oncoming vehicles would be nice. My suggestions:- Surround could benefit with a graphical and sonic overhaul. Kaboom! with a 2P versus mode (one player controls the bomber - such a modification of the ROM is in the hack threads) Official Warlords update to bring it up to the level of Medieval Mayhem. Circus with round(er) balloons? Keystone Kapers with different shop layouts. Sky Diver with slightly higher res graphics with smaller parachutists and targets having longer to fall. Small change to Yars Revenge - don't restart the game with a button press after a game over!!! Leave it a few seconds before reading the button so I can see the score!!! Outlaw update to the level of Gunfight.

For classic arcade games - to set a high score it has to be independently witnessed at an event recognised by TG. It's the only way. Throw any non event witnessed score in the bin. Or at least have them in a "best score" category for historic reasons with official high scores being the genuine article. Even with best intentions and I'd say old TG had the best of them, it simply isn't feasible to do it any other way. Now that there's room for doubt with the Todd Rogers Dragster time analysis in emulators and the Mitchell DK MAME presentation then it can't be done any other way.

Years on and the old Dx is still working great.

Yep - that sound is the intended one - I get it on my Dx cabinet too.

Apparently Tempest has a glitch that gives infinite credits. I came across a Tempest one time and the previous player must have executed it because I was able to play and play and play without putting a coin in!! I remember finding the "BP" easter egg in 2600 Defender. Also remember the secret bonuses in Track n Field (photo finish in 100m and 110m, hurdles, the bird in the javelin and the mole in the high jump). Got the photo finish once and the bird many times.

It's possible HSW also has a life with higher priorities.

oh please....

Megamania with the laser temp feature added to it would make it a great deal tougher.

I don't want to speak out of turn but I suspect it was maybe over ambitious. A straight narrated/commented source code listing with some text to explain some of the techniques would be a job in itself. I think that would have made most people happy? Better that than nothing. The most famous case of over ambition is Knuth's The Art of Computer Programming Started in 1962 and it still isn't finished!!! Vols 1,2,3,4a and 4b are published (these were initally planned to be chapters!) but there's a planned volumes 4c-4f , 5 , 6 and 7 !!! All the code examples in the book are in assembler.

These sum the 70s up for me:- Pong and its variants (Video Olympics) Breakout/Super Breakout (1981 sadly, so the original will have to do even though Super is a 70s game). Tank (Combat) Night Driver (1980 on 2600 unfortunately, but it's very much a game of the 70s) I remember playing the old "belt" racing games with back projection and Night Driver was marvellous step up from those. Surround Dodge 'em Air Sea Battle (stands in for all those 70s timed shooting gallery style games) Gunfight (Outlaw) Space War Something like Tailgunner would complete that lineup - Star Ship is the closest thing to that.

Just looking at the plan of that book and all its chapters. Very ambitious. There's a pile of work in it just looking at that.

Loved Astro Blaster in the arcade but it was super tough. Run out of fuel and it's game over even if you have more lives!!! It's a real MAME favourite now. Quite ahead of its time with the secret bonuses etc - not unlike modern day achievements. Megamania is a clearly inspired by it.

Agree with you there, but they had the freedom to take influences instead of having to do an accurate arcade port. Chopper Command and Defender is a case in point - you don't have to rescue and catch falling humanoids in Chopper Command for example. That must have been a nightmare to implement in Defender.