Worth owning Atari 2600 when you have an 800xl and C64?

[Worth owning Atari 2600 when you have an 800xl and C64?]

1 hour ago, Keatah said:

The thing with the VCS is that it does so much with so little. The console hardware is simplistic. A cut-down 6502/6507, 128bytes RAM, no ROM, and limited signals to the cartridge port. It's basically the ROM interacting with the processor and scratch-pad-sized memory. Nothing else to get in the way.

 

Many challenges in VCS games come from speed and reaction times. The VCS'es bare-metal programming style is good at enforcing a solid 30 or 60 FPS. Everything is based around the CRT's electron beam scanning left to right. No slowdowns like framebuffer based computers - where programmers always push the limit of what the processor can do at expense of smoothness in gameplay. This extends to ARM games too.

 

Does this explain why the Atari 2600 Asteroids feels as smooth as butter and the Atari 400/800 Asteroids just feels...off...to me..? Or was that just bad programming?

[Why can't you purchase roms for new games??]

2 hours ago, sn8k said:

 

ATARI AGE Volumes 1-5

 

I'd buy that. Atleast twice. 

Great idea!

[Worth owning Atari 2600 when you have an 800xl and C64?]

34 minutes ago, oracle_jedi said:

 

Have you checked out any of the newer games for the 2600 in the Atari Age store?   There's some real gems in there IMO, including Star Castle, Mappy, PacMan 8K, Super Cobra, Scramble and many more.

 

I was 100% with you on the 2600.  Didn't see any value in it as I had the Atari 8-bit computer, and a C64 as well as some other home computers.  But I got a 7800 in the end as my son is into console gaming, and it gave me something Atari to do at PRGE and SRGE.  The 7800 has some good games, albeit with often terrible sound, but some of the newer 2600 games have proven to be pretty cool too.

 

 

 

I've decided to keep my Atari 2600. The s-video out to Chroma Luma on my Commodore 1702 looks insanely too good to ever give up.

[Ordered a week ago, zero communication]

Well I am here to report the Harmony cart is pretty great and has ran just about everything I have thrown at it so far!

[Why can't you purchase roms for new games??]

I think $9.99 to $14.99 is a good price point for these roms.

[Joystick splitter question]

I want a splitter so I can have an Atari joystick and paddle hooked up at the same time on my 2600 so I dont have to keep unplugging.

 

Worried that some on Ebay might not work. Do any of you make any or know of one that will work? Thanks!

[Headaches, nausea, dizziness with Commodore 1702 CRT]

I have a Commodore 1702 monitor and a Commodore 64, Atari 800xl and Atari 2600 (s-video mod) hooked up to it through a 3-way switch. Its fantastic!

 

Lately after adding the Atari 2600 to the family (probably not related) I have been getting some minor nausea, slight dizziness and a couple of nasty headaches.

 

Might be difficult to pinpoint because I am on a computer all day long too. I bought some blue filter glasses for that.

I am 50 now and I am wondering if in my advanced age certain games with constant flashing (Beany Bopper, etc) might be causing this?

 

I've never had this before. Anyone else suddenly experience this? Do I just need to sit further back? Maybe some sunglasses to cut the glare? Maybe a glare screen filter?

 

Thanks!

[Atari 800XL SD Card solution navigate menus with joystick?]

Looks like I need to order out of the US for an AVG Cart.

I just want to run XEX and Cartridge games really. No need for multiload ATR etc..

[Atari 800XL SD Card solution navigate menus with joystick?]

I like my UNOCart and it plays just about every game I run on it.

My issue is, I have to use the keyboard to navigate. I would prefer to use a joystick.

 

It looks like my only option is the SiDE Cartirdge here: https://thebrewingacademy.com/collections/atari-800-xl-xe-xel-xld/products/side2-cartridge

Are there any other options? Will the SiDE run everything that the UNOCart will?

 

It also looks like you can download and use other interfaces? https://atari8.co.uk/firmware/side/

Am I understanding this correctly?

 

Thanks!

[Worth owning Atari 2600 when you have an 800xl and C64?]

Here is my updated list of MUST plays on the 2600.

 

These games either have versions on the Atari 800 or C64 that I don't like, are just exclusives, or I dont like the input delay from modern emulation:

 

Adventures of Tron
Aquaventure
Astroblast
Beany Bopper

Colony 7
Fast Eddiie
Gravitar
Maurauder
Osytron

Phoenix (is there a better version somewhere else?)

Pitfall 2 (somehow Atari 2600 magicians nailed this)
Planet Patrol
Robot Tank

Seaquest (tried the Atari 800 conversion it is not bad)
Secret Quest

Solaris
Spider Fighter
Super Breakout (still torn if the Atari computer version is better or not)
Video Pinball (yes, love this game)
Yars Revenge

 

There are also about 10 to 15 other games that I sometimes play.

Is this enough to justify keeping the 2600? I am beginning to think so.
 

[Why can't you purchase roms for new games??]

This goes for everything homebrew including the new 2600, 5200, 7800, Atari computers etc.

 

Why are the only options spending between $35 to $50 for a game that (let's be real here) would be worth $5 on Steam?

 

I'm an Ultima collector too, so I know the value of boxes, manuals etc but these are mostly simple arcade games not RPGs with spellbooks.

 

Why can't we have an option to download the rom for $14.99 or $19.99? I think there are a lot of good people here and I doubt we would pass the rom around DC for free.

 

Thoughts?

[Worth owning Atari 2600 when you have an 800xl and C64?]

I have a pretty good setup.

 

An Ultimate 64 (Commodore 64), Atari 800xl with Unocart both hooked up to my Commodore 1702 monitor via s-video (chrona/luma).

 

I just got an Atari 2600 with s-video now and I am thinking it might be overkill. So many of my favorites are better on the C64 and 800xl...Montezumas Revenge, Hero, Super Breakout, all Pac Mans, DKs, etc etc.

 

I do enjoy the 2600 but only a handful of games are either better or ONLY available on the 2600 like Astroblast, Beany Bopper, etc.

 

I know these are first world problems. I have a switch box connecting all three to the 1702. It's a dream setup, paddles too. But part of me thinks it's too much.

 

Should I ditch the 2600?

[Is there a way to make a CX10 joystick tighter like the CX40?]

I don't care for the travel distance of CX10 joysticks and prefer the tighter CX40's.

 

Is there a cheap and easy way to tighten up a CX10 joystick?

[Ordered a week ago, zero communication]

24 minutes ago, batari said:

Your cart shipped out yesterday, and the shipping label was created over the weekend, and as a part of that, a shipping notice should have gone to your email. I figured that shipping email would satisfy your desire for communication, but apparently, you haven't seen the email?

 

I will reiterate for future people seeing this message that the Harmony Order Faq specifies that USA orders take 3-10 days to arrive, and this FAQ has been in place for nearly a decade. Times have been longer in some cases due to a recent backlog and slow shipping due to COVID. The 10 days may include one week of lead time. The reason is because Harmony carts are built to order, as you can specify your options (SD, microSD, standard or Encore).

 

However, in the era of Amazon 2-day shipping, people have gotten really anxious about it in recent years.

My apologies, I found the email. No excuses, it was not even in my junkmail.
 

Quick question, is there a place that compares Harmony with Harmony Encore side by side? I could not find it on the site. I am hoping Harmony can play some of my favorites like Supercharger conversions, Alien 8k, Conquest of Mars, Crazy Balloon, Halo 2600, Oystron, Toyshop Trouble, etc, etc..

[Ordered a week ago, zero communication]

5 minutes ago, youxia said:

In the world of homebrew peripherial manufacturing a few days is nothing. It's advised to apply a sort of "dog years" multiplier to the amount of days passed without contact before starting to get worried

Yeah but UnoCarts are available ASAP. I guess I am just anxious because I received my new Atari 2600 s-video system and want to start playing.

 

I just want to know if its gonna be a week or a month or two months? That's not too much to ask is it?

[Ordered a week ago, zero communication]

8 hours ago, groundtrooper said:

Yes, communication can be this slow. Fred is busy building each cart by hand. And considering he is selling 2 different versions of Harmony Carts and the newly launched Concerto Cart which has a VERY HIGH demand right now. Thus he may be a little slow in responding to emails etc. because it's a one man show building carts and refining and upgrading firmware for said carts.

 

I don't mean to sound harsh but I think you could exercise a little patience. It's barely been 4 business days. since you placed your order. Also you didn't order this from Amazon so different expectations should be in play.  

I understand but I am talking about communication not really shipping. If it takes a couple weeks fine but I would like to get an email or PM answered after a few days which it has now been. Business days don't really apply to emails and especially PMs on this site considering Batari has been on this site over the weekend a lot, answering questions but he has not even looked at his PMs at all. 

 

But alas, I will show some patience..

[Ordered a week ago, zero communication]

Does anyone know how long it takes the Harmony Cart to arrive? I am on the West Coast and I ordered mine on Tuesday, March 2nd. I have sent emails to the Harmony email address and also sent a PM to Batari on this website to get shipping details and have not heard a word in almost a week.

 

Is communication usually this slow? 

 

[Atari 2600 feels more accessible than Intellivision]

Not to start a console war, I just wanted to know if anyone has the same thoughts as myself. I would prefer to hear from fans of both consoles! When i was younger in my teens and had both systems, the controller and overlay aspect of Intellivision did not bug me. I was always told how poor the controller was and really didn't care.

 

Now I am 50 years old and just got an Atari 2600 with s-video out and have that hooked up to my Commodore 1702 monitor and it looks stunning! The issue is, when I fire up my Intellivision I just don't get the same feeling. I still enjoy Intellivision but using that controller bugs me now more than it used to. 

 

I love with the 2600 how I can fire up a game and BOOM! I am there, grab the joystick and its easy, and the controls feel good.

 

Has anyone else had this issue appear over time with Intellivision? Forgive me if this post is best for the Intellivision forum!

 

 

[Intellivision PC Emulation through HDMI to RCA to Commodore Monitor?]

Has anyone tried firing up an Intellivision emulator on a PC and using the HDMI out into an RCA cable and hooking that up to an old CRT such as a Commodore 1702?

 

If so, how did it turn out?

[Looking for a forum post comparing Atari 400/800 with the C64]

Yeah I think what we have here is the following...

 

1. Just mentioning Atari and C64 in the same thread or sentence triggers the "locals".

2. I think a lot of you have spent way to long in these forums.

 

I appreciate the PM but I did not ask for any of that. I am not asking for a comparison. I am well aware of what both systems can do and cant do.

I have no horse in this race and NEVER did.

 

I love Atari and Commodore.

I have never felt that because you like one thing you need to hate the other. 99% of the population feels this way however, so I am immediately perceived as such.

 

I simply love great examples, and several years ago I saw this cool pencil picture comparison. I was just looking for that picture. Simple.

 

I was not trolling to start an Atari vs Commodore bait.

 

 

[Looking for a forum post comparing Atari 400/800 with the C64]

1 minute ago, Allan said:

With all due respect, please do not start another Atari verses Commodore thread. It ALWAYS leads to name calling. ALWAYS. If you are interested in the actually differences please search for them with the search function at the top of the forum. There are MANY to read. Again, I'm not trying to be mean or a jerk. I just don't want to see another one. That horse is not only dead, it's just a pile of pulp (sorry for the graphic description.)

Oh I was not starting a debate, I just really liked the graphical representation of both systems and that example in particular. I own both and use them with my Commodore 1702. 

The actual picture is difficult to find BECAUSE there have been so many debates on here, so there is a bit of irony here.

 

 

[Looking for a forum post comparing Atari 400/800 with the C64]

23 minutes ago, _The Doctor__ said:

well I found your pointless argument thread using the forums elastasearch but you look like a p*ssy argument kind of guy...

 

Hold my b, oh crap never-mind it wasn't even work....

Here's you thread jack *ss, https://atariage.com/forums/topic/134852-atari-v-commodore/?do=findComment&comment=1741168

 

ancient glue factory starting, it ends with the Atari having great pencils and pencil pictures and some straw man arguments being withdrawn...

 

smart-*ss out...

of course if you act like that when it really matters, many 'smart *sses' here might just let you suffer... and take pleasure in your search without answers. Good thing we're smart and not just *sses.

 

btw your welcome...

You sound like you are just looking for a fight...Chill out dude.

Still looking for the exact colored pencils picture...

 

[Looking for a forum post comparing Atari 400/800 with the C64]

31 minutes ago, _The Doctor__ said:

400/600 what? The comparison might be 800XL or 130XE...  as far as searching, well you could try the built in elastasearch box with the magnifying/spyglass on the page near the top right side on forum page. Or even a goo gle site search of atariage.com

 

That's some of the ways people find stuff...

Obviously I meant 800 not 600, I changed it.

 

And as I mentioned before you EFFING smartass, I did search but could not find the post.

[Looking for a forum post comparing Atari 400/800 with the C64]

Through searching I have seen on this forum many comparisons between the two. Commodore 64 can do more graphically but was limited in its colors. Atari computers could do more colors but not as detailed.

Anyways within a thread someone posted the best example of Atari computers vs Commodore 64 by showing two sets of colored pencils?

 

The Commodore set of colored pencils were more thin and had more detail but had less total colors while the Atari set of colored pencils were thicker, less detailed but had way more colors.

Does anyone remember this post? I've been looking but cannot find it anywhere. It was a response to an existing topic and it was not on the first page.

[Why are some Atari 2600 games better than Atari 400/800 versions?]

While we are at it, can someone link some of these better versions? I found the Asteroids Emulator one for the Atari computers. Where is the new Popeyes, etc? Thanks!