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CV Gus

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Posts posted by CV Gus

  1. Posted · Edited by CV Gus

    Well, so far, I've had absolutely no luck with games for anything, except a Commodore-64.

     

    But I have had some luck with hardware.

     

    So far, it's been:

     

    No-Battery Driving Module (hint- check out how the spinner on a Super Action Controller works...).

     

    Converting a regular controller to a four-button-type- with a flick of the switch.

     

    Paddle Controller for the 5200.

     

    And the ultimate so far: a Digital Controller for the 5200.

     

     

    Today, I managed to get two key components for my next and toughest project yet: A Slow Fire Module for the CV.

     

    What it (hopefully) will do is this: when you plug in a controller to it, and it into the CV, it can limit the rate of fire you are capable of. This is adjustable.

     

    Take Looping. The way to beat this game is to loop back once, shooting the missile there, and then align yourself with the green line and shoot as quickly as possible, accelerating in spurts. This way, you stay ahead of the balloons, but can shoot out the bricks and missiles all in one run.

     

    I like this game so much, I hate having beat it so easily. Since I cannot change the software, I decided to go about it with hardware. Since the module will slow the rate of fire, you cannot use that trick. This makes the game much harder (I've done this by deliberately firing more slowly).

     

    Essentially, it taps in to the controller wiring by "piggybacking" a current to a relay from a capacitor, starting with the blue wire, which is disconnected from the CV when the module is activated (a current from a battery will not go "into" the CV). It is actually a glorified version of those flashing light kits you used to see at Radio Shack.

     

    This should make Spectar, Mr. Do!'s Castle, and Tarzan tougher, too.

     

    Wish me luck. Now, if only the two Zener diodes would arrive.

  2. Posted

    For it was a Donkey Kong/Donkey Kong Jr. cartridge.

     

    This one had all four screens, in arcade order, with intermissions.

     

    Neither NES Donkey Kong nor NES Donkey Kong/DK Junior feature all 4 screens.

     

     

    Well, the standard versions do have all four screens for DK Jr.

     

    But I'm dead serious here- the game was for the regular NES, and it was complete. SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE, must also know of it. It even has intermissions. Since this was the only version I'd ever played on the NES, I was astonished to discover that it was unusual. Trust me, I know the difference.

     

    Besides, on the CV, there is a 4-screen version of DK Jr. on cartridge. I purchased it from ADAM's House some years ago. So why not a rare "super" version for the NES?

     

    As far as any version goes- you have to remember that a system's fullest abilities were rarely used. There was actually a five-screen version of Gorf for the CV, but the bean counters wanted the memory to be kept down. It was clearly the same with the NES, 7800, etc.

  3. Posted

    Coleco released a 2600 adapter for the ColecoVision, and I think a 2600 work-alike called the Gemini.

     

    They also- rather foolishly- released 2600 versions of a number of CV games for the 2600.

     

    To my knowledge, Coleco never itself released any versions for the 5200.

  4. Posted · Edited by CV Gus

    The 7800 version isn't that much worse than the NES version, except...

     

    Around 1997, a fellow ColecoVision fan's wife had an NES. An NES, NOT a Super NES.

     

    For it was a Donkey Kong/Donkey Kong Jr. cartridge.

     

    This one had all four screens, in arcade order, with intermissions.

     

    This was the only NES version I'd ever played. This was why, when I picked up an NES in 2000, I was surprised to find out that this was NOT the standard version.

     

    Could a similar 7800 version exist?

     

     

    By the way, I don't think 128K would be needed. The ColecoVision has a four-screen DK Jr., and it does not take nearly that much.

  7. Posted · Edited by CV Gus

    By the way- UFOs stop appearing when there are 8 or less invaders.

     

    How does your version compare with Opcode's fantastic CV version? The only thing missing there is a slot to shove the quarters in!

     

    Think I'll play it as soon as I get home!

     

    Good luck and keep up the excellent work. You obviously know the Atari 7800.

  8. Posted · Edited by CV Gus

    This game was a serious letdown. Really.

     

    First of all, the game graphics were AWFUL. The colors and shapes were absolutely terrible. Reds, greens, and blues- like in the arcade game- were the way to go, not oranges, purples, and whites.

     

    The shells on your fighter were always cyan, no matter which you chose.

     

    Worse yet, the gameplay, never very complicated, was not reproduced. In the arcade version, complete aliens tumbled like an asteroid from Asteroids, but could shoot red fireballs.

     

    Incomplete aliens could not shoot, but would chase you like a guided missile. They became faster and faster, so you had to shoot them quickly. The CV version does NOT have this- they differ from complete aliens only in that they do not fire fireballs.

     

    You can beat this game simply by first allowing 3 incomplete aliens (the limit here is 3) onscreen- then shoot ONE of them. As a new one tries to form, shoot one or more segments. You will again have 3 incomplete aliens.

     

    Repeat above.

     

    Since they never get any faster and do not shoot, you can, with some practice, almost be assured of getting through the round.

  9. Posted

    I don't know why, but I'm always happy to see a new game for the 7800- the system that died from a terminal case of "Tramielitis."

     

    This version looks fine. From what I can see, it captures the "essence" of the arcade version, something the 5200 version didn't do.

     

    It's interesting to consider this: by the latter half og the 1980s, when we were in the NES era, the people most likely to purchase the 7800 were older gamers, like yours truly. Therefore, older arcade games were the best way to go.

     

    Imagine a 7800 version of Snap Jack or Jump Bug.

     

    Best to you.

  11. Posted

    Actually, you have a point.

     

    There were several things involved here...

     

    First and foremost, programming style. Opcode has proven that ability is just as important as a system's ability; compare his CV Pac-Man to even that of the NES.

    The 5200 games, overall, did have a more, well, "arcade" look about it. Compare 5200 Robotron to that of the 7800. The explosions on the 5200 are far better, and I like the fact that the 5200 has the border. Movement is smoother on the 7800 and it has the color green, but overall, I actually like the 5200 better. Not to mention sound. Likewise 5200 Centipede is just more like the arcade version than the 7800.

     

    Secondly, and this is probably more important for older gamers, was the game selection available at the time. The 5200 had games that were current, while the 7800, overall, did not. In the 5200's time Atari was big, a real powerhouse, with its arcade division and all. By the time the 7800 was "widely" released, it was the time of Nintendo, and Atari had been split up. This was significant: with the 5200, it was reasonable to expect "Atari" arcade games to appear on it. With the 7800, "Atari" arcade games were from an entirely different company.

     

    The 7800 had pitiful support. I never felt as though the Tramiels really gave a damn about us 7800 owners- the same could NOT be said for the 5200 owners.

     

    In short, overall, it was just better having a 5200 in its time than a 7800 in its time.

  15. Posted

    Don't forget that Atari 2600 compatibility was not nearly as significant during the NES era as it was back in the days of the 5200/ColecoVision.

     

    I know how much things had changed in those years- I was there. The Atari 5200 was abandoned by Atari itself in 1984. The ColecoVision continued on, one way or the other, after 1984. It had a loyal base of three to six million. It lasted into the NES era- somewhat. Which was more than the 5200 could claim. Stores still had games for it on proper display through 1986 where I was- even into 1987.

     

    If someone had decided to get the rights to the ColecoVision in say, 1985, and release some MSX games for it- as Opcode has done with Yi-Ar Kung Fu and the splendid Sky Jaguar- we would've gobbled them up. Add in Lord of the Dungeon, and more RPGs, as well as some side-scrollers like Nemesis, or whatever, and the fact that the CV was established and popular would've given it a better chance than the 7800. Esp. since the 7800 was not that much better than a CV, and the CV had better sound.

     

    Ultimately-

     

    1) The 7800 was released too late,

     

    2) The initial batch of games were mostly rehashes, several of which were there are coming for the NES (Xevious, Joust, Galaga...),

     

    3) There was no R&D to speak of,

     

    4) The Tramiels were CHEAPSKATES!!!!!!!!!! :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x

     

    5) People still felt betrayed by the 5200 fiasco,

     

    6) Nintendo had grabbed up the arcade rights by then.

     

    7) Yes, there's more, but I don't have all day. You get the idea.

     

    By the 1990s, Atari-Tramiel had such a bad reputation, the Jaguar was doomed, too.

  16. Posted · Edited by CV Gus

    Double Breakout: 2105

     

    There's a sneaky, but legal, trick you can try:

     

    When you only have a couple of bricks left, especially no "fast ball" bricks, lose the current turn on purpose. If you are lucky, when both new balls are in play and you get those last bricks, the new wall will appear while one of them is above it- it will trash most of the wall (esp. the fast ball bricks!) before you have much to worry about with the one you are deflecting, and your score will soar since two are in play.

  17. Posted

    Only being familiar with Commodore computers, I was able to achieve a "vector look" with letters and numbers on a game called "Vecktar" simply by using the custom characters trick- the computer read character shapes from a secured RAM location instead of the usual ROM location.

     

    It wasn't at all complicated on the C-64- but I assume it is on an Atari? How does it work (please keep it simple for this "Atari Challenged!")?

     

    I'm just trying to get an idea of what's going on here. You just program the game however you want! :P

  18. Posted

    Well, it is a fact that the CV pounded the 5200 in sales. Otherwise, again, why would Atari have dropped it when it was finally getting somewhere? This would only have destroyed any consumer faith in Atari. In the post-1984 era, they apparently did this with their computers, too. But the 5200? Even someone as cynical as I am just can't believe anyone is that idiotic.

     

    Simple. Jack bought the company and he wanted to make computers to squash Commodore. He didn't want to make game systems. He only went back to game systems when he realized he could never compete with the asia PC market.

     

    Allan

     

     

    But then what made him think that he could possibly compete with the Asian console market? If computers were a dead end, then it must have been obvious to a dead trout that the NES was at that point invincible. It would've made more sense to try and make whatever deals were necessary to bring back the ColecoVision and put it up against the NES and SMS, rather than the trying it with the 7800, which at the beginning had no base, just mostly rehashes, and was not really much better than a ColecoVision. Joust certainly illustrates this, and you know the sound was better on the CV!

    Hell, if they could have gotten Sky Jaguar, Xanac, Yi-Ar Kung Fu, the Nemesis games, and Lord of the Dungeon out in 1986, then it might have worked.

     

    But not long after I bought an Atari 7800 in 1988, I could see that the whole thing was doomed to failure.

     

    I just don't get it. Didn't the Tramiels have any real business plan? Did they think they could be so cheap on R&D, and match the NES? So cheap on EVERYTHING? Were they just trying to make a few dollars off of people like me? If so, then all they managed to do was ruin their reputations completely, which may be one of the biggest reasons the Jaguar didn't make it in 1993/1994, even.

     

    Look- if you really try, and it's obvious, you will at least have people's trust; you don't think they're saps. The Tramiels should either have gone in guns blazing no later than early-early 1986 (again, I never saw a 7800 in stores until 1988- in a populated and more affluent area), and have really TRIED.

     

    Then...who knows?

     

    Then again, maybe my CV idea was better. With the Tramiels controlling the fate of the 7800, the Odyssey2 would've had a better chance...

  19. Posted

    (Twice Upon A Time?)

     

     

    So far, it looks promising. I especially like the way you are trying to keep the vector look; CV Space Fury and Omega Race were graphics disasters, although Star Trek was good.

     

    Tempest was one of those games that NEEDED a home version. It was really stupid of Atari not to release one, esp. for the 5200 (could they have done so for the 7800, or was the game the property of Atari Games?).

     

     

    Out of curiosity- how would a CV version look?

     

    Keep it up. The 5200 homebrew library is finally becoming something to look out for.

  20. Posted

    I do not have a computer of my own; I'm stuck using these library computers. This is probably why I cannot run most emulators.

     

    The only ones I've ever been able to run- and this is not 100%- are the ones you just click and start. If anything else is required, you run into the proverbial brick wall. Keep in mind that NOBODY here has been able to do it- even when they try other things that DO work on their home computers.

  22. Posted

    Well, it is a fact that the CV pounded the 5200 in sales. Otherwise, again, why would Atari have dropped it when it was finally getting somewhere? This would only have destroyed any consumer faith in Atari. In the post-1984 era, they apparently did this with their computers, too. But the 5200? Even someone as cynical as I am just can't believe anyone is that idiotic.

     

    Oddly enough, both systems died for the same reason- idiot marketers giving know-nothing advice, and boneheaded CEOs who believed them. This is what caused the so-called "crash."

     

    I resent the usual theory because it's yet another case of the Baby Boomers trying to blame US for their stupid ideas. The whole crash theory assumes that since there were too many games, we spread the money out too thinly for any of the companies to survive. Therefore, the crash was OUR fault. That is one generation that demands the powers of a tyrant, expects us to obey them (watch Judge Joe Brown and see this sort of behavior) in every way,..and then makes us "more than equal" when the obvious disastrous results occur.and it's time to assign blame.

     

    In other words, we were too stupid to know a good game from a bad one. 5200 Ms. Pac-Man sold as well as I Want My Mommy or Dishaster? CV Slurpy sold as well as Pepper 2 or Bump `N Jump? It's ridiculous, and I'm just fed up with taking the blame caused by someone else's stupidity. So should you, really. Neither the 5200 nor the CV should have perished when they did. Period.

     

     

    Support the homebrewers of your classic system. ;)

     

    .

    • Like 1

  23. Posted

    Including Super Breakout was really foolish. Again, anyone who wanted this game had the 2600 version, and with the paddle controllers, it was better.

     

    5200 Space Invaders was, quite frankly, inferior to the 2600 version, which looked as good and was more like the arcade version in spirit. Plus, it had more options.

     

    But never forget that the 5200 had a tough act to follow. The ColecoVision didn't, it came out sooner, and its first batch of games were better and did NOT have previous versions to follow.

     

    Atari should have had the sense to realize that the 5200, especially with those controllers, was doomed to, at the very least, a slow start. While Qix, Defender, and Berzerk, as well as Space Dungeon and Pengo, not to mention Ms. Pac-Man, were great, it was going to take time. They absolutely should NOT have abandoned it in 1984. Doing so damned them in the eyes of their consumer base, who felt abandoned themselves, especially since the 7800 AGAIN just had rehashes of games mostly seen on the 2600 AND 5200.

     

    It's still hard to believe to the Tramiels actually thought the 7800, with a late start and other handicaps, like Nintendo grabbing up the then-recent arcade titles, ever had a chance. Had they stood with the 5200, especially as programming improved (look at Super Pac-Man), they may have been able to stand up to the NES, especially as Nintendo was originally afraid of trying to match the NES against Atari here in America, and Atari would have held on to the arcade manufacturers here. But they dropped out, and what did they think those manufacturers were going to do- float about in Limbo?

     

    This all was a textbook example of how NOT to run a business. Dilbert's boss couldn't have done any worse.

  24. Posted

    Gluing aluminum foil to those tiny black contacts works for me.

     

    But know this- You must be VERY careful when taking apart and closing up these things. Move slowly, and don't take any short cuts. These controllers are notoriously fragile and easily broken, because of the stupid plastic "circuitry tape" they use. I've managed to solder it, but man, it's easier stealing a steak from a starving wolverine.

     

    The Angry Gaming Nerd was 100% on target about the 5200 controllers.

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