Propane13

Hello! I have this weird, weird feeling that it's one of the 3 below: * Radar Lock (http://www.atariage.com/screenshot_page.html?SoftwareLabelID=390) * Moonsweeper (http://www.atariage.com/screenshot_page.html?SoftwareLabelID=312&ItemTypeID=SCREENSHOT) * Solaris (http://www.atariage.com/screenshot_page.html?SoftwareLabelID=450) -John

Is the game any fun? I'd be interested in a review. -John P.S. Hats off to CPUWIZ; I'm always glad to see preservation activities, which are seldom rewarded for the large amount of work invested. Awesome job!

I just think this thread is about somebody trolling for attention... this guy is obviously not serious about this at all (having programmed the 7800, I would hope my opinion is valid). I've decided to stop reading this thread; I'd recommend that others do as well. -John

Oh man! That reminds me of the time that I had returned Tower Toppler because when I plugged it in, it just rotated through the towers. I think I took back 2 copies before my Dad told me to read the instructions. From that point, if I got stuck, I read the manual! -John

1) How old are you? 26 2) What sex are you? M 3) When did you get an Atari? When I was 4 or 5. Christmas present! 4) When did you become involved with the Atari? (i.e. you wanted to play this over newer systems at the time or today). Pretty much from the start. Other systems had appeal, but this was *mine*. I learned how to get 99 points in RealSports football on easy mode, and then on hard mode against the computer. I'd beaten Pitfall 2. I just wanted more. 5) Why the 2600? What does it offer to YOU that other systems, whether old or new, don't? My system of choice was the 7800. I got it, and realized that it was going to have an AWESOME line-up of games. So, I slowly kept buying what I could. Then, I remember one day when my Mom came up to me (I was in Junior High or High School), and there was an Article from Big Lots saying that it had Atari 2600 and 7800 games for $1, $2, or $3. I freaked out. I pooled all my money and walked home with about 20-30 games, and a huge smile. From that point, I did some research, and found out about Video 61. I heard that there were even more 7800 games that they had that I didn't, and they were *weird* titles. Ikari Warriors. Scrapyard Dog. Ninja Golf. So, I'd save up money from paychecks, and make sporadic orders, trying to fill the collection. It always has a soft spot in my heart cuz it had great potentialy that was unfortunately underutilized. I also loved showing people these bizarre new titles I was getting, and having them say "Wow! What a system. That could have been cool!". Everyone loved Midnight Mutants. 6) What drink keeps you going? (in case you spend long hours on the 2600). Haven't spent the long hours in awhile, actually. When I was tired, just stopped playing. 7) How many hours a day or at a time do you play the Atari? Used to be many (3-6), now it's essentially zero. How many days a week do you spend on it? Used to be afterschool, 3x a week or so. 9) Your top 3-5 games. WHY these choices? Pitfall 2: this is the only game I can beat perfectly. It took me FOREVER to be able to do this Star Raiders: Used to freak me out as a kid 10) Do you play any other systems besides the 2600? 7800, NES, SNES (for Mega Man 7 and Mario Kart), N64 for Zelda 64, GameBoy Advance, Virtual Boy. 11) How do you view gaming of today as compared to the 70's/80's? Kinda weak. Arcade games seem to be... all the same. Driving games. Fighting games. Sports games. Shooting games. That's about 85% of what's out there to play. I liked more variety back then. And, games seem easier. I know people who can finish Ghosts n' Goblins and Dragon's Lair. I sure as hell can't do that. Think about the quarters involved! Nowadays, such difficulties are hard to find, in my opinion. I think today's gamers would be frustrated if they weren't impressed by 3d graphics and the ability to make a quarter feel like it's lasting. 12) Do you usually just play the 2600 alone or have someone play with you? (If so, is it a relative or friend?) Usually have a friend. Decathlon tournaments in college were prime. 13) Finally, do you or have you ever tried to turn someone to the "Atari side"? Of course. And, I've succeeded very often. -John

So, why the 1990? Is this actually an ancient homebrew that is just seeing the light of day? It would be kind of cool to hear a little about some history behind the thing. -John

Hi there! Not sure if anyone can help me with this one... From all forums I've tried, I've come up blank. Back when I was a kid (not too long ago, but long enough), I remember playing a game on the classroon Apple II computers. I don't remember much, but I think you were in a museum or a mansion, and you could type "S" to search the room. It showed you a picture of each room that filled the screen. Don't remember if your character could walk around or not. I do remember that in one room, there was a coffin, but it was locked (I think). If you opened it, it took you to another room. I also remember that on one of the floors was a Gorgon (maybe Medusa), and you had to use the Looking Glass on her to get into the next room. I'm not sure if *anyone* at all will ever know what the heck I'm talking about, since everyone I've talked too says "yeah! That's familiar" but otherwise has come up blank. And, the older I get, the more my memory stops being as ideal as it once was. So, perhaps I'm wrong about a few of the pieces, but I hope I've posted enough info so that some poor soul out there can remember what I'm referencing. Any help would be appreciated! -John

Hi Harry! I believe that there was a Combat game hidden in the Monitor cart, if memory serves (which it doesn't these days). http://www.atari7800.org/screenshots/Monitorscreen.htm Is this just porting of that to cart-form (hence the name Combat 1990)? Or, is this something completley different? Just curious as to the origin. Unfortunately, I remember very little of the monitor cart, but it was a cool concept that could have potentially brought the 7800 out of its slump when I was a kid. I have one at home, but haven't plugged it in in ages. -John

If there are any left, then toss me on the list-- I'd want one too. I'd be sure you could get quite a demand for them; they're a heck of a conversation piece. -John

http://gccprinters.com/corporate/history.html

I'm still a little unhappy with those guys; I actually finished the Merlin's Walls challenge (and have all the maps written out somewhere at home), and was supposed to win a free copy of Pac Man because I was the first person to reportedly do it. Remember how every game had a challenge? The Merlin's Walls question was "what color is the final maze?" Merlin's Walls is my favorite, just because it's so... different. My neck will never be the same. Still, I wish I had my Pac-Man version that I won... Are these guys even still around? -John

I'd recommend taking a look at my tower maps (that Mitch has so graciously hosted on his awesome site): http://www.atari7800.org/hints/toppler/towertopplermaps.htm -John

This coming from the man who beat Karateka? And, what about Planet Smashers? I always get the Earth Shield nuked, and then find out that all of my reserve men are toast. For Scrapyard dog, IIRC *most* of the bad sewer jumps can be worked around. You just have to find a tube/pipe/hole that warps you past them. I believe this can be done in 80% of all "hard jump" situations. You just have to be willing enough to explore a little. Of course, while exploring, you'll probably end up screwed in one of these bad-jump situations anyway, but, well, they all "techincally" can be beaten. But, they still do suck. if you have one in particular you're stuck on, let me know. Maybe I can plot a path for ya. -John

The moon! Of course; it happens to be night. How slow I am. Anyway that this game could be hacked to be... more interesting? Or, maybe after a few beers, it would be somewhat fun. I do remember playing it when I was a kid with my sister, and I had an awesome move where I could get behind the couch in less than 1 second. And, when my sister would "seek", she'd always be screwed (because there was less than a second to search the whole house). I guess that if you had a fixed location and knew how to get in there right away, everyone else was pretty much hosed. Good tactics, I say! -John

Never been that bored to find out. Does the game actually end? -John

Scrapyard Dog has an ending. The difference between the "lose the last puzzle" and the "beat the last puzzle" endings are so minor though. Too minor. I was distraught sitting there and waiting to watch the poor little dog squirming in that last scene (snif!). I'll never let you down again, Scraps! Never! -John

Oh, it's definitely beatable, if you have the working version . I had to prove that myself before distributing the NTSC ROM. What's a release without beta testing, after all? The beatable ROM is available in a thread somewhere. -John

Hey everyone, 1) Is there a good story as to how this was found? 2) How was it found out that David Crane programmed it? -John

First of all, I'll say up-front that I do not have a prototype, have never seen a prototype, or anything of that nature. But, what I will say is this-- I did talk with the developer, and interviewed him a long while back. But, he wishes anonymity, and I can respect that. I believe he said he had finished the game, but sadly, he no longer had a copy. If he did, he sounded like he was very willing to share. Anyway, that's all I know (and I have probably said too much-- remember, the guy wants to remain anonymous and unfound). So, for this title, it's "confirm by hearsay" with the man who wrote it. It was either complete, or very close to it. -John

The developer no longer has any copies either. I've said too much -John

It was done. No, I don't have it-- slipped through my fingers. -John

Hello, Not that anyone cares, but the negativity in the community is just one reason that I've become much less involved with Atari stuff as of late. Digital Press is not evil. John Hardie is definitely not evil. I don't even think that Randy Crihfield is evil, although the community was very fast to completely destroy his reputation and nuke his business. In Randy's case, I know there were intellectual property concerns that were legit, but those should have been between the developers affected and Randy. I remember seeing hate threads about boycots, and I believe Randy even shaid that his hate mail had gone from zero to 50 in a matter of hours. You guys can be nuts sometimes. That's why I don't develop for the community anymore. Anyway, on to the point-- Instead of everyone just jumping on the bandwagon with pitchforks and torches saying "hey-- this guy won't share something-- he sucks!", think before you post that kind of crap. I'm starting to think that if I ever had a prototype game, that I wouldn't even bother sharing it anymore. Whoever owns a prorotype has either a) stumbled across it, or b) got it with significant effort and cost. They have no obligation to share with anyone. If they do, well, that's nice, but just because you're a part of the community doesn't entitle you to anything. Maybe you should be the one out there looking for prototypes, digging through trash bins, attending Atari estate sales and putting your hard money on the line before making such a claim that someone is not sharing because they're an evil bastard. John Hardie and DP have shared a lot up to this point-- don't forget that. For anyone's info, there are known issues preventing a cartridge run of those 7800 games. They work on dev boards only. Actual hardware has issues (as evidenced with the Plutos screen rolling comment). Even MIA has issues on actual hardware, from my understanding. So, will these be resolved? Perhaps someday, but it would probably be done by someone that DP chooses to help. I'm glad to see the community excited about this game, but c'mon! Let it go. I'm sure it will be released as soon as it can be. -John

Pressure Gauge 2 was a 4-player paddle game too (and, I thought it was kinda fun, at least when testing it). This topic has been raised before; I'm sure someone could provide a link to either that topic, or the link to PG2 in the Dig. If anyone ever tries it out, drop me a line. Regards, -John

Ok; this title exists on the Flashback 2-- any idea where it came from? I did some searching that came up nil; perhaps a better searcher can redirect me to the right thread / post. Anyway, for the "non-release" games that are on the Flashback 2, where do they come from? Regards, -John

Hey-o, Actually, Paul is apparently referenced in the DVD too (although his name needs an update per the unofficial wiki site): http://www.hrwiki.org/index.php/personal_favorites Check under "commentary transcript" -John