CV Gus

First, my apologies- above I said 435,000 Ohms; it should be 235,000 Ohms. Second, good news- I am sending out the plans today! Thanks to Big O, they will soon be here! One of them is a very simple plan, using only a few simple parts: a bit of wire, a 235,000 Ohm (or even a 200,000 Ohm) resistor, a 10 Ohm resistor, and a variable resitor, if not from a 5200 controller, then one of, say, 500,000 Ohms. Since I do not know when I will next be here, I will give the text explanation in advance... In this set-up, you are using the BROWN and BLACK wires from the 5200 controller. This controls the HORIZONTAL movement. Thus, Missile Command or Super Breakout can be used as test cartridges. Keep in mind the following: 1) Electricity flows from negative to positive and, 2) Electricity always chooses the path of least restance. If you split a wire in two, connect a 100 Ohm resistor to one of them but nothing to the other, and then join the two wires together again, the current will not flow across the resistor; it will go across the other wire. ****************************** Upon setting this up... First, adjust the variable resistor until the paddle or crosshairs is centered horizontally. This is your NEUTRAL value, as if the joystick was centered. The current goes from the black wire through the twisted-together wire (simulating the "NORMALLY CLOSED" button) and through the variable resistor (path "A"). To simulate pushing LEFT, touch the ends of that broken wire together. This creates a "parallel resistor" set-up with the variable resistor and the 10 Ohm resistor- the result being a much, much lower resistance (as explained above). It would be close to 10 Ohms. Be sure to disconnect them again when you are done "pushing left." To simulate pushing RIGHT, disconnect the twisted-together wire. This simulates pushing down on the NORMALLY CLOSED button, which breaks the current. The only way the current can flow now is to go through the 235,000 (or 200,000) Ohm resistor (path "C"), IN ADDITION to the variable resistor (a "series resistor" set-up). This boosts the overall resistance in the circuit. That's all there is to it! The tricky part is actually building or modifying a joystick... Time's up for today. Good luck!

I'd have to say...the Atari 5200. This is probably because I was around in those days. It has to do with "current." The Atari 5200 came out in later 1982. What games did it offer at first and over the next year or so? Games like Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Pengo, Joust, Robotron: 2084, Gyruss, Blueprint, Frogger, Qix, Berzerk, Space Dungeon, etc. The Atari 7800, even in the more prosperous and populated area I used to live in, did not really make any sort of an appearance until 1988. In Kay-Bee Toys, no less. But even if we say 1987, what games did it offer? Why, Ms. Pac-Man, Centipede, Joust, Asteroids, Robotron: 2084, etc. See the problem? The games for the 5200 were recent and relative in its time. The games for the 7800 were by then dated, by which I mean that they were older and usually already done. What was one of the most exciting things about having a home system? When a cool-new-great arcade game was coming home. The 5200 had plenty of that; the 7800, very, very little. And when you see the 5200 that nearly was- Millipede, Tempest, Super Pac-Man, etc.- it would have been an even more uneven fight. Especially since games like Robotron: 2084, Ms. Pac-Man, and Centipede just weren't much better on the 7800- in fact, I liked the 5200 Centipede better, as it was more like the arcade in appearance, and had the Trak-Ball. Hell, if the CV versions of Joust, Dig-Dug, and Pac-Man had only been completed 100%, then the first two would've easily equaled the 7800 versions!

Help on 5200 I'm trying to make a Arcade Style Atari 5200 Controller, but don't know how to convert the digital signal of microswitches to analog. Can you help me? Fred Manaus - Amazonas - Brazil ******************************** Hello! First, I'm sorry for the delay- I do not have a computer myself, and so must use the ones at the library. At this time of year, it may be several weeks before I can do this (the winters up here are TERRIBLE). From your question, I assume that you are trying to build a controller yourself. The one thing you have to keep in mind is that when you move the stick on a 5200, you are turning little "potentiometers"- variable resistors. This increases or decreases the resistance of them. Look at it like this- do you remember the paddle controllers for the old Atari VCS (2600)? remember how they were a pair you'd plug into one controller jack? Now, think of Breakout. You'd turn the controller to move the paddle left and right. Now, imagine if by turning the OTHER controller, you could move it up and down, too. That is EXACTLY how a 5200 controller works. When you turn the paddle, you are changing the resistance in the potentiometer in the controller- that's all that it is. As the resistance changes, the paddle moves to a different place. Now, think of that paddle all the way to the left, all the way to the right, and in the very middle. If you made a controller with 3 buttons, each one a FIXED resistor with the correct value, you'd get the paddle to go to those 3 places by pushing those buttons. That's the heart of my controller design- if you read the text of my controller post, you'll notice that what I did was to design a controller that does something like the above. The 5200 potentiometers I use in my design you adjust until you get a "neutral" value- I use Missile Command. I adjust both potentiometers until the crosshairs (the +) is smack-dab in the center of the screen. When you've done this, the resistances in BOTH circuits are exactly what they'd be in a regular 5200 controller if the stick is centered. Now, what my joystick does is, when you want to move UP or LEFT, a fixed resistor is added in a "parallel" set-up. This DECREASES the resistance in the circuit, which moves you up or down. What gave me trouble was the DOWN and RIGHT. The only way to do this was with a button that works opposite of a normal one- this actually COMPLETES the circuit when you are NOT pressing it! (It's called a "Normally CLOSED" switch). When you pull DOWN or to the RIGHT, my joystick presses down on these buttons. The regular circuit is broken, forcing the current to go through a fixed resistor with a high resistance (in my prototype, 235,000 OHMS). That's the trick I use- those peculiar buttons. I am going to respond to that person who has offered to post my plans right now- soon, you will be able to see them, and that will explain it all clearly. Good luck!

We finally see Opcode's CV Pac-Man Collection. We will also see one of the reasons for the extensive delay: not content with the remarkable but single-color mazes for Ms. Pac-Man, he discovers a way to make them multi-colored AND arcade-accurate at the same time, thus earning a graphics rating of either "11" or at least "10+." Hopefully, more people will be able to purchase more homebrews, thus giving programmers incentive to keep making them!

I do have the plans (diagrams) for my version drawn up; I just do not have a scanner, or access to one. Therefore, I'd have to mail off copies to someone who does, so he can put them up here. But so far, nobody has ever expressed any interest in doing so.

My second 5200 controller project was a paddle controller (for Super Breakout). It was actually easy to build.

Here are the text instructions: PART ONE: WHAT IS IT? When the Atari 5200 was released in late 1982, it was an attempt by Atari to match the ColecoVision. As a result, it had a good number of arcade-to-home translations, including Atari arcade games (before mid-1984, "Atari" was a single huge company). Unfortunately, Atari was to make a technical decision that really ended up hurting 5200 sales: the console was released with strange controllers which did not self-center, and were "analog," not "digital." "Digital" simply means on or off. When you move a regular joystick controller in a particular direction, you activate a switch that allows current to go through. This tells the game that you are doing something. When you move diagonally, you are simply activating 2 such switches at the same time. The fire buttons work the same way. "Analog," however, means not only on or off, but how much. A light switch with a dimmer is a perfect example of this. With the 5200 joystick, when you moved the stick in a particular direction, the game not only knew which direction the stick was moved, but by how much. This is very clear in Missile Command- move the stick a bit to the left, and the cursor moves a bit to the left, and then stays there. Move it more, and the cursor moves more. How far the cursor moves depends on how far you move the stick over. Unfortunately, there wasn't a single arcade game from that era, to my knowledge, that had such a control scheme. Most had regular joystick controls; a few had trak-balls (Centipede, Missile Command) or paddles (such as Super Breakout). As a result, it was next to impossible to react very quickly, with short, precise moves. And while it did work moderately well for Missile Command, it just wasn't as good as paddle controls for Super Breakout. It was just a rotten idea. PART TWO: HOW DOES IT WORK? Using a 15-pin cable, the 5200 controller had a joystick with 4 fire buttons (2 on each side: upper and lower) and 15 buttons. These were the standard 1-9, 0, and * and #- just like on a touch-tone phone- below the joystick. The extra 3 were above the joystick and were START, PAUSE, and RESET. All but the latter 3 had different functions for different games. The buttons actually were pretty standard as far as circuitry went. When you pushed the button, a small piece of conductive material would touch 2 halves of a sort of disc-shape. Each half simply connected to two particular wires, so, when you pressed a button, it was like touching the ends of 2 different wires to each other. The joystick, however, was anything but standard. What the set-up actually did was to turn two different "potentiometers"- variable resistors- which are simply like two tiny paddle controllers. It was literally like having two paddle controllers: one for up and down, and one for left and right. "Resistors" are things which limit the flow of electricity, just like a faucet limits the flow of water. The higher the resistance, the less flow of electricity you have. The lower the resistance, the more electricity flows. Resistance is measured in "Ohms." A 100 Ohm resistor will limit the flow of electricity twice as much as a 50 Ohm resistor. A "potentiometer" is simply a resistor which can be adjusted- just like a faucet. Turn it one way, and the resistance increases; turn it the other way, and it decreases. The 5200 joystick can turn both potentiometers. One controls the vertical; the other, the horizontal. The 5200 games act based on the two values. In just about every 5200 game, it works like this: VERTICAL= Increasing resistance moves DOWN. Decreasing resistance moves UP. HORIZONTAL= Increasing resistance moves RIGHT. Decreasing resistance moves down. Therefore, when you move the joystick left decreases the resistance in that potentiometer. Pull it down, and you are increasing the resistance in the other one. The easiest way to see this is to plug in most games, and, after starting it, unplug the controller. You are completely breaking the circuit for both vertical and horizontal; this is "near infinite" resistance. Which way do you think the (whatever) on the screen will move? If you answered "down and right," then you've got it. PART 3: BASIC WIRING. Hmmmm...now we get down to it! The 5200 controller wiring is complicated only if you try to take it all in at once, looking in an actual 5200 controller. In reality, the scheme is pretty basic: with the exception of the joystick controls, everything else is simply a matter of 2 different wires touching to achieve something. That's it. So, without further ado...here it is! VERTICAL= RED and BLACK (with potentiometer). HORIZONTAL= BROWN and BLACK (with potentiometer). UPPER FIRE BUTTON= GREEN/WHITE and ORANGE. LOWER FIRE BUTTON= YELLOW and ORANGE. START= RED/WHITE and ORANGE/WHITE. PAUSE= PURPLE and ORANGE/WHITE. RESET= BLUE and ORANGE/WHITE. Keypad Buttons: 1= ORANGE 2= WHITE (1, 2, and 3 touch RED/WHITE) 3= GREY 4= ORANGE 5= WHITE (4, 5, and 6 touch PURPLE) 6= GREY 7= ORANGE 8= WHITE (7, 8, and 9 touch BLUE) 9= GREY *= ORANGE 0= WHITE (*, 0, and # touch GREEN) #= GREY In other words, touch ORANGE and GREEN and you "press" *. Touch GREY and GREEN and you "press" #. Touch WHITE and PURPLE and you "press"...if you said 5, then you have it. Now, these colors assume you are actually using the cable from a 5200 controller. What if you don't have such? No problem, because here's where those wires lead to in a 5200 cable: The 5200 controller plug has 15 holes: there are 2 rows; 8 in the top row, and 7 in the bottom row. OOOOOOOO OOOOOOO I will number them. This assumes you are looking at the holes in the plug, with the 8-hole row on top: 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 01= GREEN 02= RED/WHITE 03= PURPLE 04= BLUE 05= ORANGE/WHITE 06= NOTHING 07= WHITE 08= GREY 09= ORANGE 10= GREEN/WHITE 11= YELLOW 12= NOTHING 13= RED 14= BROWN 15= BLACK I also found a BLACK/WHITE wire, but it does not appear to do anything. It does not lead to any of the holes. So- what if you have a 15-pin controller cable from something else? All you have to do is use a multi-tester to figure out which wire leads to which hole (if the multi-tester prong is too big to fit in the holes, just twist a bit of stiff wire to the prong). If, for example, in your cable the GOLD wire leads to Hole 7, then treat it as the WHITE wire listed above. If the SILVER wire leads to Hole 12, then it is of no use; seal it off. PART 4: THE JOYSTICK ITSELF. This part is in conjunction with the diagrams... As mentioned earlier, the 5200 joystick control is analog, not digital. In this case, the joystick actually turns two little variable resistors ("potentiometers"); one controls the vertical, the other, the horizontal. It is exactly like two tiny paddle controllers (a paddle controller IS a potentiometer). As you already know, when you play Pong, Breakout, Super Breakout, Arkanoid, Canyon Bomber, or any game with a paddle controller, there is a point when the paddle (or whatever) is centered. This is because the resistance is at the point when the video game puts the object in the middle. This is important: when you release a normal joystick, it is "centered" because the game is not receiving any input from it. In the case of a 5200 joystick, the stick is "centered" only because the values of the two potentiometers are such that the game knows not to do anything (e.g. "don't move the Humanoid in Berzerk"). Vertical: Low Resistance=UP; High Resistance=DOWN. Horizontal: Low Resistance=LEFT; High Resistance=Right. When you unplug the controller, you are completely breaking the circuit. Electricity cannot flow. This is the same thing as VERY VERY VERY high resistance; that's why the game acts as if you have jammed the joystick down and to the right. If there wasn't ANY resistance to these 2 currents, it would be as if you jammed the joystick up and left. Therefore, the "neutral" position is between the two extremes. Unfortunately, I cannot give you these values. My testing equipment is not precise enough to do it; this is why I hooked up the 2 potentiometers to my joystick set-up; I simply adjust them until they are both at the neutral value. These two potentiometers take the place of two "fixed" resistors. Just keep in mind that, once adjusted, THESE TWO POTENTIOMETERS ACT AS TWO FIXED RESISTORS THAT WOULD HAVE THE "NEUTRAL" VALUES! Therefore, as long as you do nothing, the 5200 is receiving the same two values you would get if you properly centered a 5200 controller. Nothing happens. What my controller does here is to alter that "neutral" value. Lessen if you want to up/left. Increase if you want to go down/right. At this point, I should explain two things about connecting resistors: "Series" and "Parallel." "Series" connection is when you connect two (or more) resistors end-to-end, much as you would do two batteries in a flashlight (resistors, luckily, do not have a polarity). When you do it this way, you simply add the resistances to get the total. So, connecting two 10 Ohm resistors end-to-end gives you a total resistance of 20 Ohms. Pretty much what you'd expect. "Parallel" connection is when you put two resistors right next to each other and, say, twist them together, as if you were twisting two garbage ties together to get one double-strength garbage tie. If you do this with two resistors, to find the resistance you end up with use this formula: (Resistor 1)X(Resistor 2) _____________________ (Resistor 1)+(Resistor 2) Helpful Hint: if they are of the same value, you simply cut the value in half. Two 10-Ohm resistors would become a 5 Ohm resistor. So- let's take those two 10-Ohm resistors and twist them together. What do you get? (10X10)/(10+10)= (100)/(20)=5! This is the heart of my 5200 Digital Joystick. When you pull down and/or to the right, you are ADDING (in my case) 235,000 Ohms to the Neutral value(s). It is a series connection. When you push up or to the left, you are creating a parallel connection (you obviously can do this without twisting the two resistors together!), which greatly LOWERS the resistance(s). Since I use 10-Ohm resistors for this, and the neutral value is very high (thousands), you end up with a value a bit less than 10 (try the formula and see what you get). There are 2 diagrams here. One shows the 2 separate circuits; the other, combined.

Strangely enough, there is an NES version that has all four screens. It also has the intermissions, and the "complete" version of Donkey Kong Jr., too. I myself played it in the mid (later) 1990s. That is why, in 2000, when I found an NES at a garage sale and picked up a DK/DKJr. cartridge for it, I was surprised that it was the "regular" version; I assumed ALL cartridges were like the one I had played. And yes, it absolutely was an NES- NOT a Super Nintendo.

Hello! This is my first post in this particular area. Few 5200 owners will dispute the fact that the 5200 controllers were a disaster. Who came up with the idea to use clumsy analog controllers when just about every game for it- especially arcade games- used standard digital? Games like Ms. Pac-Man, Berzerk, Qix...just awful. So, being fed up, last year I set out to make a digital controller. I succeeded. The improvement in gameplay was fantastic. Just a short time afterwards, I beat 20,000 points in Berzerk! If anyone is interested, then I will post a detailed text description of the project; this will include which wires do what. It will include a basic description of what the analog controller actually does. And so on. I also have diagrams, but- I do not have a scanner, and I do not have access to one. Therefore, if you wish the diagrams to be posted here, then I will have to send them via regular mail to someone who can scan them. `Til next time!

"Matt Patrol" also had excellent scrolling. I did not think that it could have been done like that, in spite of Nova Blast.

According to Daniel Bienvenu's list that's an unrealistic number. The record for ColecoVision games released since the 90's is at 200 carts sold. Philipp 200? I thought that there were far more people purchasing homebrew games than that, especially since, in 2007, the "word" must have gotten out. Or maybe not? There are probably many more people out there who would be interested, but do not know. So, to help with this AWFUL problem, just post links to this website's store, the CV section (in this case), with a comment about what it is. For example, if you have a MySpace blog, or whatever it's called, and many people read it. Or as a "subtitle" to your posts. Might just work.

I cannot believe it- SPACE DUEL for the 7800? I really liked this game! But, I haven't played it in, oh, at least 20 years. It's a shame that vector games died out by the end of the 1980s; all of a sudden, they seemed to have mostly vanished from the arcade scene. The last time I was able to play one was back in 1998, when I happened across an old Asteroids machine. This version even has the vector "look," something sorely lacking from the dreadful-looking CV versions of Space Fury and Omega Race. My compliments to the programmer(s) behind this project! Keep it up!

You did look at the contest page, which talks a bit about the game, right? I tried last time, but it never "came up," even after waiting...and waiting... You have to remember that the computers I use often cannot do much very quickly, and I only have limited time here. Probably the same reason I can't get most emulators running, either. From your comment, though, I take it that this IS a complete version? If only the CV version had looked as good as the sequel did- that was 7800 or even NES-level graphics!

Will this game be a complete version of Q*Bert? I'd read earlier that it would only have the colored globes falling from above; if this is the case, then it sounds like a mid-1980s computer clone called "Q*Bopper." I would hope that it is a complete version. I purchased a 7800 in 1988, and always felt that Atari (under the Tramiels) never really even bothered to try.

Maybe a choice of different control can be offered, including the one you'd like? There are probably others who would appreciate it, too, if it would play better.

I'd like a copy of Road Fighter. Six screens, you say? Any screenshots? Can the game be beaten, or is there always more to do? How much is a copy, and where does one send a money order? Best of luck to you and yours. By the way- I recently built a digital controller for the Atari 5200 (hint!). You'd be surprised how much better 5200 games are with such a thing.

Hello, Opcode. It certainly has been some time since I last posted here (several months ago). It was a surprise to read this thread. I never read any of your blogs, so all I knew about you and your operation was the games. Be assured of this- if you are to be considered a third-party company, you are easily the best one for the ColecoVision that ever was. Is there anyone here who would even dare suggest that any of the Space Invaders Collection games would have turned out as brilliantly back in the 1980s? I can guarantee you that that would never have happened. And just look at Pac-Man Collection. Even the great Atarisoft version pales by comparison. I was intrigued to hear that you have moved here to America. Is this true? If so, then, well...welcome here. The concern shown for you is genuine, even though you have never actually met most of us here. Times are hard these days (my current work consists of loading 200+ pound logs into pickup trucks- by hand), but your games did more than trigger nostalgia from the past- it actually gave us something good in the present and future for something we fondly remember from years ago; in my case, from a better time. For that, I am very grateful- something to look forward to, just as back then! Please be careful about "medication," and consider very carefully before taking any. For the past three decades, that seems to be the answer to everything. These drugs can be dangerous, as seen a number of times recently. If you are depressed, first try to find out what DIDN'T make you so, and try to regain it. Maybe enhance those things. Best of luck to you!

Hi, Yes, they follow the arcade colors. Second has yellow dots, 3rd has red dots, 4th has white dots. Eduardo Oh, hohoho, man, I can't wait to see it! Eduardo, where do we send the money and to who, 'cause I'm sending mine IN ADVANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm at work right now so I can't check. Oh, and by the way, check my signature below. It's not just his website, it's our website. Sorry....

The ColecoVision. Especially with the controllers. The CV uses a 9-hole plug, so you can use all sorts of controllers, easy to find, for it- try that with a 5200. And those dumb-o controllers are ALWAYS breaking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! About the only thing the 5200 has over the CV is Star Raidres, the CV does'nt have any game like it that's any good, but I never played Blockade Runner so I'm not 100% sure.

No, no, no, I mean what do they look like, the colors? The colors of the dots in the one in the maze in his website (the first board) are white, are they always white in the other 3?

If it only has the red balls, isn't it like a rip-off called "Q*Bopper?"

What do the other mazes look like in Ms. Pac man? His website only has that one. Are the dots different colors?

How is this game going? And how can you make Ms. Pac man look better then it does in your website? Buy this game, people! 3 for 35 bucks?! You don't do better than that!

Yes- here it is! http://home.comcast.net/~mycoleco/cvss/cvss046.htm The title screen alone would make you want to try it.