almightytodd

I said that... ...thank you for the compliment.

Hey Rom Hunter, Any chance you could make zip files of the ROMs from all three lists available from your Atarimania site? Say on your Total Collection download page? I've downloaded your collection (which is awesome, by the way...) but in actual practice for playing the games, it makes a lot more sense to have a folder with just the games I'm interested in playing and point Stella's .ini file there. I've assembled such a folder with all the FB2 games in it, so I have a "Virtual Flashback 2" along with my real one. I've noticed some games on all three lists that I don't think I've played before (Frostbite?) -- if there are that many players who consider these games among the best, I think I should at least give them a try. Thanks,

I love reading about the details of history like this. I very much enjoyed the Gamasutra article and the posts in this thread. Thanks everyone for contributing.

While I think we can all agree that the term "home brew" is not likely to go away anytime soon, would there be any point in throwing out some suggested alternatives? We've seen "Independent Release" as one suggestion. How about "Neo-retro game programming"?

Wow, they look so pretty when they're all shiny and new...

...I'm laughing... ...but only because it's true!

Sayton is THE LORD!

I want to throw in another vote for Space Invaders. The multiple options of playing it with two players represents a rare moment where the home game version actually surpassed the arcade version from which it was derived. I would also like to add a vote for 2 player and 4 player paddle games such as Video Olympics and even Street Racer (Scoop ball and Tandem Skiing... ...how cool is that?). And then there's the ultimate multi-player paddle-controller game: Medieval Mayhem. Not only can you play it with 1, 2, 3, or 4 human players, the advanced menu options let you decide where to put the human/computer opponents and you can give the human players an advantage by restricting the computer players from being allowed to "catch" fireballs.

...and while you're exploring great homebrew games, you can try out Darrell's awesome game "Medieval Mayhem" online at his website here, using the JStella embedded Java VCS emulator. (You're far too humble Darrell, it's quite simply THE BEST PADDLE-CONTROLLER GAME EVER MADE FOR THE VCS!) The computer opponents allow for a fun and challenging game. The menu options let you choose not only how many human/computer players there are, but also how they are positioned. The sounds (stereo!), graphics, music, and game play are all superb. It's just a great game all-around. It's hard to believe that it runs on a 2600, even taking into account that it's a bank-switched 32K ROM game. This thread discusses the joys of mixing the game with beer, plus it goes off on a tangent about how to restore paddle controllers to their original glory: http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=115638

What is your definition of "inexpensive"? A pair of good quality Atari-compatible joysticks is included with every Flashback 2 system. There are still a ton of these available on ebay (...many are advertised as new in the box) for around twenty bucks plus shipping. Since the FB2 originally sold in stores for about thirty bucks, it's still a good deal. IMHO, even if you have working original Atari gear, the FB2 is a "must have", as it provides for quick "plug and play" Atari fun and has a few "special" surprises all its own (like the "hidden" paddle-games and the auto-sensing paddle/joystick control option for the arcade-style Pong). The built-in games also include a few prototypes and hacks that are worth trying, such as "Save Mary", "Frog Pond" and a hacked "vector style" version of Asteroids. The Flashback 2 Owners Manual is available online, with detailed descriptions and instructions.

All hail SAYTON! Sayton is the Lord...

Following that line of thinking, I've already made the next Atari computer then... No, I'm not giving out the parts supplier list. That's awesome! Tell me more about it! Is it a Linux box running an emulator? Nathan I totally agree with this line of thinking. If you don't buy into my idea of "Create a new Atari experience and save the world one child at at time" concept of supporting the OLPC project (...you know, I'm not sure that I even buy into it, the more I think about it...), then figuring out a way to develop a tiny Linux-based system that boots right into Atari 8-bit emulation mode would be the next best thing. I think the most important thing is that it looks like something Atari, and acts like something Atari. I can totally love my FB2 without having to know about the gruesome details of the hardware (does it have a REAL 6507 CPU? Does it have separate TIA and I/O chips?). All I care is that it is playing the actual game ROMS and displaying them exactly as I remember them. Do the same thing with Intel or AMD chips running Atari emulation and have a USB port that you can plug a jump drive into with ROM files, and everyone who is into this stuff will be happy. Add a Web browser and maybe an IM client (with some kind of cool Atari-look skin) and it becomes a delightful bridge between today and yesterday. If you're a hardware purist and you demand that any such machine MUST be composed of native 8-bit processing hardware - well, start buying parts and hack a Frankenstein system like that together for yourself. We've seen plenty of examples of where people have done that. But don't expect such a thing to become a viable, marketable product. There just isn't a large enough consumer base to support it. Plus, when you get too authentic, you start competing with the market of the actual classic systems, which are frequently found in the under $100 price range. The FB2 was able to compete with this market because you got the plug-and-play system, 40 built-in games, two joystick controllers, and the comfort of knowing that if you hooked it all up and it didn't work, you could take it back and exchange it the same day... ...and all for 30 bucks.

Let me see if I can summarize your requirements: - low-cost "game/home computer" - functional, new, low cost - play 8-bit games - some new features - internet on it - $200 - $400 price range Is that right? Instead of focusing on the hardware aspects, may I suggest a focus on the experience of interacting with technology in a new way that was the main aspect of what made Atari so appealing? What if we could recapture that idea that we felt in the late 70's, that we were rushing forward into a bright, promising future where everything would be better? Here is what I propose: Build interest in participating in the "Give one, get one" program of the "One Laptop Per Child" project and adapt the machine as an Atari gaming platform. For $400 dollars, you get one machine, and the satisfaction of knowing that you are providing a needy child in a 3rd world country with an identical machine, filled with the promise of helping him/her to have the hope for a better future. The operating system is Linux-based, but completely unique in the computer world in its focus on helping children to use it as a learning/exploration device instead of a productivity or entertainment machine. The Atari gaming and computing endeavors could be ported as emulations, providing for the retro experience, while re-awakening that spirit of being on the forefront of something new, something exciting, something meaningful and perhaps life-changing. When Bushnell began experimenting with bringing the Space War experience shared by the few in college computer science programs to the masses as a coin-op machine realized in the Nutting Associates Computer Space game, he started a revolution in sharing the idea that computers could be fun and accessible by all. The OLPC project expands on that idea by saying that it should apply to children all around the world, not just those lucky enough to have been born in the countries at the forefront of new technologies. I think it's great that we all gather here to share our collective experiences of our memories of those exciting "new" machines of the 1970's and early 80's. Putting our energy (and money) behind a project of this sort could pay off in building more happy memories for ourselves, as well as the good feelings that come as a result of doing something for complete strangers that we will never meet, but who hold the promise for a better future for our children and grandchildren.

"Skip this turkey and pick up the far superior Atari Flashback 2." Well spoken Mr. B. from Sunnyvale, CA - Or should I call you "Nolan"?

I agree that the FB1 is a POS. But there must be some point at which the cost of ownership is worth it just to say you have it. Isn't there?

I really enjoyed reading this thread and the 2004 thread that Nukey posted. I realize this is why I enjoy reading the forums here at Atari Age so much. I don't know of any other source of Atari information that brings together quotes from the original Atari staff, combined with looks into the disassembled code, plus experiments with hacking the code to examine the feasibility of alternatives. Thanks to everyone for your thoughtful, well conceived, intelligent discussion!

Your explanation seems so reasonable and rational... ...perhaps the nick "Paranoid" is less than appropriate?

Does he care about Atari? Judging by one or two things I have seen, it seemed like he was pretty much all about making money. I'd rather have some crazy Atari fan billionaire take over who doesn't care if he makes a ton of money from the Atari name who would put out quality products most Atari fans have been waiting for. I agree. Bushnell has all of his (and other people's) money tied up in his uWink Bistro restaurant. He already lost his big expensive house over it when investors pulled the funding on the project prior to its opening date. He moved his family into an apartment in L.A. a few years ago to make the final push to get the doors open at the first uWink location. For people who know who Bushnell is, he already gets a boost from the Atari name, along with his success with Chuck E. Cheese. And for those who don't know the story, associating uWink with Atari would probably be a mistake, as uWink hopes to be the future of casual gaming, socializing and dining, while Atari is stuck in the past. As far as a "crazy Atari fan billionaire" - it would be nice if there was a real-life person like the character Jon Lovitz played in "Benchwarmers". Not likely though...

Hey Bob, Having new 7800 games to play with is AWESOME! Thanks so much for keeping this platform alive.

That's just frikkin' hilarious! "...a chick in a cheerleader outfit". How about a chick in bright yellow bell-bottoms? Seriously though: I think some arcade ports, like Asteroids and Space Invaders "feel" more like the original games when played using a keyboard, because the arcade versions used buttons instead of a joystick. It kinda makes me wish someone would rig up a "reverse Stelladapter" that lets me hook a PC keyboard up to an Atari! Also, there's something to be said for seeing vintage Atari graphics displayed on an LCD screen. It's like futuristic and retro at the same time...

The hip-hop song on Part 3 reminds me a lot of "Elephant Talk" by King Crimson...

The 30th Anniversary Demo file here is also in stereo...

Will someone here PLEASE screen-capture this and upload it to YouTube so I can share it with my friends who are mildly interested in the VCS, but not enough to install Stella, and then configure it to play PAL with 2-channel sound? My wussie "celery" CPU machine won't capture the audio and video simultaneously, and the AVI file resulting from a video-only capture is over 30 Meg using the freeware capture software I have. This demo is SO COOL!

Talkin' 'bout the 2600 is f*ckin' GREAT! Happy 30th Anniversary VCS!!!

I have an original Sunnyvale heavy sixer, two 7800's and a FB2. The VCS is missing a power supply right now and the power-on buttons on both 7800's are flakey, so I mostly emulate for games outside of the list in the FB2. But I love using the keyboard for games like Asteroids and Space Invaders where the arcade versions used buttons instead of the joystick. Plus, the new Tricade 30th Anniversary demo KICKS ASS!