almightytodd

We're not quite there yet, but getting close... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyCyzB0CedM

When the episode first aired, I told my wife and daughter I was pretty sure I'd see a post at Atari Age about it. They're watching the episode again tonight, so I did a quick search here, and here we are... Cool games though; I especially like the Computer Space up and running.

Clearly I need to reply to this thread so I can find updates in "My Content"...

Fun game and nice concept. I especially like how the Galactopus comes down and destroys the city at the end.

...Which brings me to the one only true criticism I have of E.T... ...they made the most difficult, challenging, un-winnable version of the game, "Game 1", and then didn't make it clear that there are two other less challenging game versions to START WITH AND LEARN SOME RUNNING/NAVIGATION/ENERGY MANAGEMENT SKILLS so you can work out the "puzzle" aspect of the game without being constantly harassed by the two human adversaries. Have you ever tried playing "Game 3"? Did you even know it exists? There's plenty of satisfaction to be had in collecting the three phone pieces, having E.T. "phone home", and waiting at the space craft pick-up spot. And without the FBI agent and Scientist constantly on your ass, keeping yourself from falling in the pits is not terribly difficult. almightytodd, on 03 Aug 2014 - 4:49 PM, said: Simple explanation. There are no "pits" in Adventure. Yeah, I get that, but in Adventure there are also these dragons you have to fight with a sword, except the objective of the game is to collect items from castles that require that you're carrying a key to unlock, and then you have to drop the key to pick up the item you're trying to collect, and oh yeah, you have to drop whatever you're carrying to pick up a sword to fight the dragon... ...oh and there are these bats that just come out of nowhere and grab whatever you're carrying out of your hand... ...And EVERYBODY always plays the HARDEST game version of Adventure FIRST; no one EVER starts with Game version 1... ...tell me again how this is the greatest game that ever was and it's not in any way frustrating as hell? ...But E.T. is an unplayable steaming turd? ...oh, and in Adventure, you're a square block...

The game is by far the worse ever released for the 2600 and I actually enjoyed playing it... I'm guessing you meant to say, "The game is by far NOT the worse ever released...", because otherwise the statement is not consistent with the context... ...And the thing that always puzzles me, is how "Adventure" is so frequently ranked as one of the BEST Atari games ever, and yet the game-play and objectives (collect stuff, avoid or defeat enemies) are really quite similar. This is especially confusing to me when you compare the graphics in these two games (...you're an adventurer... ...that's you... ...a square block...).

I agree with the previous posts that it would be more accurate to say "Atari-2600-like" games or something similar. But one idea I haven't heard anyone kick around is, "What if this technology was used to prototype prospective games, or to test a game-play concept to see if it "works", before going to all of the trouble to program it "for real" in assembly or even Batari Basic?"

I noticed what looks like one of the XL models in one of the scenes as well, as shown here: But it looks like it's hooked up to an 80 column monochrome monitor, which wouldn't be right. As to the machine she uses to play the game... ...I don't think they're supposed to be using IBM PCs at Cardiff. You might recall that in the first or second episode, Gordon Clark buys an IBM PC so they can figure out which chip is the BIOS, and pull it out to reverse engineer it. In the scenes that show the software developer machines, it looks like they're either Zenith Z-100 computers or terminals... Zenith Z-100 computer Zenith Z-19 Terminal ...or some other terminal, such as the DEC VT52 connected to a Main Frame: DEC VT52 terminal ...In any case, none of the machines I've seen in the scenes of Cardiff Electric look like the original IBM 5150 PC: IBM 5150 PC The other question I had, was the program code they showed while she was working on writing a command-line interpreter: I question whether in 1983/84 she would be writing system-level program code for a 16 bit CPU using Camel-case "C" language code?! I am especially curious about this aspect, because in previous scenes, they've shown assembly language code on her screen. Is it realistic to believe she'd be proficient (or ingenious) in both? Am I getting too bogged down in the details?

I agree, and yet I still find I'm able to do better on this version than the arcade original through MAME... ...if I'm able to blow up the star cannon once, it's been a successful playing round. Twice is rare... ...three times? I may have done that once...

I was seriously interested in this and then I saw the note about the .7z file... ...oh why 7-Zip? Why, Why? Yeah, I get it that it's better compression but hard-drives are big, and broadband is everywhere. The last time I installed 7-zip on another computer, I had to dodge add-ons and browser bars and such in the install package; then, when I wanted to unzip regular zip files, 7-Zip was the default to do it, with a slightly more complicated UI than I want to deal with. I finally uninstalled it, but then noticed that my context-menu "create new compressed folder here" option was gone. Did some research and saw that there are registry tweaks to bring it back... ...but I'd rather spend my time at the computer surfing the Atari Age site and playing retro games than being "amateur systems admin guy" digging around in my registry. I have a new computer now with the original zip features that come with Windows 7... ...and I think I want to keep it that way. ...But other than that, this looks like a really cool app!

The 3-way switch is one I just picked up at a Big Lots! for ten bucks or something years ago. The VGA-to-NTSC converter is by Sewell. I don't know if they make them anymore. I ordered it online and I think it was like twenty bucks.

Well, here's what I use my Pentium 4 desktop computer for...

Great artwork and it's exciting to know this project is moving forward!

4) Emulation... ...of course there are downsides, but the upside is that it is significantly less expensive than the first three options... ...and you can still choose from any of the other options in addition to an emulation strategy.

The Space Invaders arcade game was one of the last, and arguably the best of the Black & White era. I've always felt that the fact that it was ported to the 2600 at all was a stunning achievement - given that the system was designed with built-in support for two players, two missiles and a background. Others have mentioned the challenges associated with a lower resolution available for the 2600 version, and there's also the problem that the arcade game was displayed in a portrait-orientation. Obviously, compromises had to be made. But I believe the design choices were good, resulting in a very playable home game that offered a huge variety of options not available in the arcade, including two-player simultaneous cooperative mode. The graphics for the 2600 game are possibly the most hacked of any game, starting with the "official" hack to create "Pepsi Invaders". I enjoy having the option of playing the original in MAME, the original VCS version and associated hacks, and all of the various ports to 8-bit systems. I even like to crank up the TI Invaders port every now and then .

Atari VCS -> TS1000 -> CoCo 2 -> Atari 7800 -> TI 99/4A -> NES -> SNES -> PC -> N64 -> PC -> PC -> PC -> Flashback 2 -> PC -> PC -> Wii -> Flashback 3 -> PC

Sneak-peek preview available on the website: http://www.amctv.com/full-episodes/halt-and-catch-fire/3571290828001/i-o-full-episode

Over the years, I've played Mountain King dozens of times, and only once, made it to the top of the mountain with the crown before the time ran out. When my son was in Jr High, there was no NES game that he couldn't rent over a weekend, and return it to the store on Monday having "finished" the game. I've never made it past the third level of Super Mario Bros 1, 2, or 3. NES Mega Man? Forget it... ...defeat one of the bosses? I can't even make it to one of the bosses. Are any of these games "the worst game ever made"? Of course not - they were all good sellers. Are they "incredibly frustrating"? They are to me, but not to everyone else who is somehow able to develop the skills and knowledge to survive, excel, and triumph when playing them. It sounds to me like a good case could be made that HSW was ahead of his time in creating a game that had a similar level of depth and challenge of games that would follow during a time when the typical video game challenge was, "move left and right, avoid collisions, and shoot aliens". My only gripe with E.T. all along has been that "game 1" is the hardest variation, while "game 3" provides a training experience free from pursuit by the Scientist and FBI agent, so you can figure out the world of the "E.T. cube" and practice getting in and out of the pits. I'm guessing that HSW must have thought if game 3 was the default, it would have been too easy and many of those "throw away the manual and play" types might not have ever discovered the challenges of out-running the humans in the other two game variations...

I really enjoy playing Colecovision games in emulation, but I find myself returning to only three or four favorite titles again and again. I'm interested in a Flashback unit if only for a simple plug-and-play casual gaming experience and a small collection of games without having to scour the web looking for ROM files.

At 54, I'm older than some here, but I'm glad to have had opportunities that many younger folks missed out on: Got to ride many Yesterland attractions at Disneyland, including the Flying Saucers, Adventure Thru Inner Space, the Rocket Jets, People Mover, and the Skyway between Tomorrowland and Fantasyland Witnessed the first human beings to set foot on the Moon on live television Witnessed the last human beings to set foot on the Moon on live television Played the first arcade videogames on real hardware (Computer Space, Pong, Space Race, etc.) when they were new Witnessed the birth of the integrated circuit, microprocessor, and the first microcomputers Got to open the box of a brand new original heavy sixer Atari VCS on Christmas morning 1977 Got to see 2001: A Space Odyssey on the big screen Got to see Star Wars Episode IV "A New Hope" on the big screen (...before it was known as Episode IV - when it was just "Star Wars") Other epic movies include: Jaws, West World, Logan's Run, Alien, all of the Star Trek movies, Planet of the Apes, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, ET, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Ghost Busters Learned how to type on a mechanical typewriter so I understand why the keys are arranged the way they are Saw the return of Halley's Comet when I was old enough to remember it Observed FM radio replace AM for music broadcasting Observed Color television replace Black & White programming Saw transistors and printed circuit board electronics replace vacuum tubes and point-to-point wiring in most consumer electronics Listened to Beatles songs on the radio when they were new, and the Beatles were still together Played with Hot Wheels cars when they were first introduced The nice thing is that with modern technology, I can virtually time-travel and relive a lot of those memories. I can emulate many of those classic arcade videogames, classic computers and game systems. I can re-visit the classic TV shows I grew up with. For example, I watched the pilot of "My Favorite Martian" on Hulu this weekend. I've watched the entire first season of Star Trek TOS on Netflix in the order that each episode was originally aired. In short, I feel like I grew up in an exciting and hopeful time, and I see little advantage in being younger and part of a jaded, cynical, hopeless generation who can look forward to being part of the 99% servant class catering to the wealthy 1%, fighting for scraps in a permanent trickle-down economy...

I'm glad to see the interest in this topic. ...just a little sad that my thread on this scrolled out of New Content before more than one person responded. Thanks Cobra Commander!

Yes, but that was a bit of a two-edged sword as well. Some people were nervous about the idea of spending upwards of $1,000 (1983) dollars (or more by the time you include a disk-drive, some software, and a dedicated TV to hook it up to) on a "game machine with a keyboard". I think a lot of TRS-80s sold during that time because they were cheaper than Apples, but seemed more like "real" computers than the "hook it up to your TV set" devices.

"What do YOU think?"... ...news from The Onion: http://www.theonion.com/articles/et-video-game-cartridges-unearthed-in-new-mexico-l,35909/

I don't have the skills, patience, or time to devote to 8 bit machine programming, but I am very interested to follow along in the efforts of others, and then to sample and enjoy the results. To me, there's an element of time-travel and time-shifted virtual affluence. When these systems were brand-new, if you could afford to own any of them at all (...a full-blown Atari 800 system with a disk drive and monitor would cost thousands in inflation-adjusted 2014 dollars, plus a few hundred dollars for a handful of software titles), you would have to carefully decide which system would provide the most value for you. Nobody except for the super rich could have a PET, a TRS-80, an Apple II, an Atari 800, an Atari VCS, 5200, 7800, XEGS, a Colecovision, an Intellivision, a TI 99/4A, a Tandy Color Computer, and a Nintendo Entertainment System. But now thirty some-odd years later, a person of even modest means could possess all of those systems (...space to display them becomes more of a limiting factor than cost), or at least run emulators to experience the game-play (...plus an arcade full of coin-op games via MAME). Back when I was taking computer courses in college in the early 1980's, there were some professors who were fond of drawing an analogy saying that, "...if the advancement of automobile technology had progressed in the past 20 years as much as computer technology, a Rolls Royce would have a a super-sonic top speed, would get a million miles to the gallon, and would cost five dollars". I don't think anyone even tries to create an updated version of that analogy because at this point I think all of those metrics would be approaching infinity. Consider the Flashback 4 with its 75 game titles... ...if you were to duplicate that collection in 1983 at $15 per cartridge (many carts were more at the time, as I recall), you would be looking at over a thousand dollars for the whole set.

Reading along as you guys work through this is awesome...