NoahsMyBro

Thomas - First, I've got to say, Thrust is as good or better than any professionally published 2600 game I've ever played. It is amazing! Secondly, in the first page of this thread you said that the last digit, modulo 5, indicates how many 100,000 points the player scored. I remember nothing of my advanced math, and don't know what that means. I just scored over 100k for the first time, and the last digit of my score is zero, just as it's always been, so my score looks like I scored under 10,000 points, rather than over 100,000. Could you explain how 'modulo' works, for the ignorant (like me) among us? Thanks, Steve

Shoot!!! I'm stuck on Level 6, dying at about 37k. This is very discouraging. I don't suppose there could be some sort of consolation prize for best effort, huh? Steve....wistful for those days of yore when he was a wee lad of 15, and could kick-butt-and-take-names in the videogaming realm....

Well, I couldn't get any emulators & Thrust to work satisfactorily under Win2k, so for this I'm booting into Windows 98SE. I've been thinking I should try altering my parallel port setting (Std, ECP, EPP, etc..), but I haven't had the time to deal with this since I posted. Considering I wanted to do this in order to compete in the Thrust+ contest, and that ends June 9, if I don't get this resolved soon it's all moot. If I figure anything out over the weekend I'll post back and let you guys know.

http://www.arcadecontrols.com/Mirrors/www....el.com/dpadpro/

-- I posted this in Classic Gaming General and got no responses. Any of you want to try your luck? -- Have any of you guys used DPadPro and connected a CX-40 to your PC? I cannot get it to work, and am wondering if anybody here can help. The only deviation I've made from the schematic is the wattage of the 2 resistors I used. Radio Shack doesn't sell 1/8 watt, so I used 1/4 watt or 1 watt (I don't remember which) resistors. My problem is that only the fire button is seen by the PC. Moving the joystick is undetected, either in the configuration of PCAEWin 2.6 or the Game Controller Calibration control panel applet within Windows. Thinking I may have a faulty connection in my wiring of the adapter, I whipped out my multimeter. It confirms a connection on each of the straight through lines, and where I'd expect a 10k resistance, it reads the resistance at 9.8-9.9x. I wired the adapter for the 2-button Atari/SMS sticks, assuming I could use 1-button sticks with it. I've tried 2 CX-40s, and an Epyx 500j with 2 buttons. I've tried using the LPT port built-in to my Dell Dimension 4100's motherboard, as well as one of the LPT ports on a Siig CyberPCI dual parallel-port card. Only the fire-buttons register in Windows. Do any of you know what's wrong? A coworker explained to me that the wattage of the resistors (they don't meet the spec) should have no bearing on how they affect the circuit's logical performance, & I'd expect the resistors to only affect the fire-button functionality anyway, and that part works fine. If the resistors are causing the problem, where could I find 1/8 watt resistors retail? Hell, while I'm asking, does anybody know where I may find .39ohm resistors to repair a Dreamcast with broken controller ports? Thanks, Steve

Have any of you guys used DPadPro and connected a CX-40 to your PC? I cannot get it to work, and am wondering if anybody here can help. The only deviation I've made from the schematic is the wattage of the 2 resistors I used. Radio Shack doesn't sell 1/8 watt, so I used 1/4 watt or 1 watt (I don't remember which) resistors. My problem is that only the fire button is seen by the PC. Moving the joystick is undetected, either in the configuration of PCAEWin 2.6 or the Game Controller Calibration control panel applet within Windows. Thinking I may have a faulty connection in my wiring of the adapter, I whipped out my multimeter. It confirms a connection on each of the straight through lines, and where I'd expect a 10k resistance, it reads the resistance at 9.8-9.9x. I wired the adapter for the 2-button Atari/SMS sticks, assuming I could use 1-button sticks with it. I've tried 2 CX-40s, and an Epyx 500j with 2 buttons. I've tried using the LPT port built-in to my Dell Dimension 4100's motherboard, as well as one of the LPT ports on a Siig CyberPCI dual parallel-port card. Only the fire-buttons register in Windows. Do any of you know what's wrong? A coworker explained to me that the wattage of the resistors (they don't meet the spec) should have no bearing on how they affect the circuit's logical performance, & I'd expect the resistors to only affect the fire-button functionality anyway, and that part works fine. If the resistors are causing the problem, where could I find 1/8 watt resistors retail? Hell, while I'm asking, does anybody know where I may find .39ohm resistors to repair a Dreamcast with broken controller ports? Thanks, Steve

193k !!! After getting stuck at around 45k, with my hand cramping up a lot, I decided using my MS Sidewinder was definitely NOT the right direction to go. So I spent a bunch of time this weekend fabricating an interface for my CX-40, and trying out the game with DirectPad Pro. Problem is, I haven't gotten the interface to work at all, and while I've been wasting time, you guys have been getting 193,000 points !!!! Shoot. I'm toast. But I'm gonna keep on trying anyway.

Stargate/Defender Marble Madness Spy Hunter Arkanoid Gravitar Elevator Action Xevious Star Castle Crystal Castles Space Wars The Pit Peter Packrat Pleaides Star Wars (cockpit) Berzerk Rally-X Super Sprint ...In No Particular Order..., but the tail end was harder to think of, for whatever that's worth.

JI2 is back up and running. http://www.atarihq.com/interactive/

For any interested parties, JI2 is back up.

Thomas - Is there any way for you to verify people are using version 1.2? I fear this message is going to start something that will ruin this contest (kind-of like that label contest that was spoiled a short while ago), but if people can get away with using v1.0 won't the outcome be skewed somehow? Steve

JohnnyWC - Just out of curiosity, how are you playing the game? Emulator (which), Cuttle Cart, some other option I haven't thought of? And what type/brand of controller are you using? Inquiring minds want to know.... I'm using an MS Sidewinder pad, running the game in PCAE 2.6. This morning I played for the second or third time, and scored about 40,000. My biggest difficulty is trying to adjust the ship's direction. I think my trouble is related to the sensitivity of the D-Pad. I often end up turning too far, especially if I am trying to point the ship perfectly vertical. Also, many times I'll inadvertently rotate when I try to apply thrust.

Well, I managed to get Thrust working in PCAE 2.6, under Win98, using my MS Sidewinder gamepad. (Completed one game - score-> about 13,000. Good? Lame? No shot at all at the prize?) BUT, assuming I'm stuck using emulators (IE, it won't work on a Supercharger), is there a way to play it in Windows 2000? I was unable to find an emulator that worked in WIndows 2000 and that would run Thrust. Thx, Steve [ 05-28-2002: Message edited by: Steve Jacobs ]

Thomas - I just read about the Thrust+ contest, and would strongly prefer to play Thrust on the real 2600, as opposed to the PC. There's no way I'll score as well on the emulator. Is it possible to run Thrust through an unmodified Supercharger? When I try to use the makewav utility, the utility responds that the .bin is an invalid file size for the Supercharger, and it aborts the operation. I don't have a Cuttle Cart; am I stuck playing the game on the emulator? Obviously I don't have the real Thrust cartridge either; one of the reasons I want to try and win one of the Thrust+ games in this contest! Thanks, Steve

I'm understandably late to the party, but to any of you more aware than I, please clarify for me, if you can, the pre-order status/procedure for Mental Kombat. IE, have I missed the boat on the limited run? If not, is there something I should do to reserve a copy, or are things not to that stage yet? Thx, Steve ...anxiously awaiting QB #86...

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My understanding is that with a US DC you simply need the Utopia CD. YOu could buy things like the CDX or Gameshark, but if you can burn yourself the Utopia CD it should work fine. From personal experience, I can tell you that I have the UK versions of Rez & Shenmue 2, and both function flawlessly on my US DC, purchased 9/18/99, using a self-burned Utopia 1.1 CD. Steve

Defender on the 2600. No contest. The playability is actually, fundamentally, changed! The absolute biggest disappointment I can remember from my childhood was finally getting Defender home & trying it out. Man, it sucked. Steve

Tempest, correct me if I'm wrong, but I assume he meant has the standard RF swtichbox connected to the Antenna input on the 4-port automatic switchbox. If the 4-port system is turned off, the 4-port switchbox will channel the antenna input to the TV. In this case, the traditional RF switchbox will not come into play and determine what is displayed on the screen.

I don't know if this is too risky or not, and obviously that's not my decision to make. But, if the games are already made, it might be a nice gesture to just send a copy to Matt Groening, along with an explanatory letter detailing what happened. I'm not suggesting you try and get him to work Fox, and I'm not suggesting any way for you to try and get the game OK'd. I just think he might like & appreciate the gesture, and if the games would just sit in a closet or be destroyed anyway it would be a nice gesture. Steve

It sounds to me like you're using a standard RF switchbox to connect the 5200 to the TV. The 4-port 5200's required a special, automatic switchbox. The AC Adapter connected to the switchbox rather than the 5200, and the 5200 got it's power from the same cable that carried the video signal from the unit to the switchbox. The switchbox then automatically switched to 'Game' when the 5200 was turned on, and 'TV' when you switched the game off. I've never owned a 4-port model, so I'm a little confused about your exact situation. How do you have power connected to the 5200? I am fairly certain though that the same switchbox won't possibly work with both an Intellivision & most 4-port 5200s. Steve

I need to get in touch with Carl Forhan ASAP. Anybody know how to do that, or if he is connected while at the show? Steve

Perhaps you could try to organize one yourself? You ought to be able to find some small location that wouldn't charge too much for an afternoon's use. And the allure of NO will help draw people that might be on the fence. It seems there are several Jaguar fans in TX, and of course there's bound to be a geek contingent (I was part of it) at LSU & TU. You could probably get enough people in on a Saturday afternoon for a small 1-day event. JagFest 98 wsn't too big, and everybody had a great time. Use the boards here, AtariHQ, Digital Press, etc... to gauge interest. Steve

I grew up in New Orleans! About 4 years ago I moved to NJ. And while NJ overall is a much worse place to live than NO, it's gaming mecca. For years it seemed all the good stuff was in the California or NY areas, and I was always missing out. Since arriving in NJ, I've been to 2 NAVA mtgs, both PhillyClassics, and am going to this weekend's once I'm done at work today. I've also been to a JagFest, and seen several different cool old &/or import videogame shops. And of course I earn far more than I ever earned in Louisiana, and I can afford to occasionally buy the games I want. And in June we get Arnone's Crawfish Fest. It's exactly like Jazz Fest, only a bit smaller and much less crowded. I know how you feel, I lived it for a while. But, wasn't JagFest in TX last year? And you could always take a trip up here. If you've got the time to drive it, driving up through the mountains in VA is gorgeous. Steve

EVERY time I see this topic header in the message-list, I'm reminded of my many nights at Rocky Horror Picture Show. Whatever happened to Fay Wray? That delicate satin draped frame As it clung to her thigh, how I started to cry 'Cause I wanted to be dressed just the same Give yourself over to absolute pleasure Swim the warm waters of sins of the flesh Erotic nightmares beyond any measure And sensual daydreams to treasure forever Can't you just see it. Whoa ho ho! Don't dream it, be it Don't dream it, be it