-
Posts
116 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Blogs
Gallery
Events
Store
Everything posted by radiohead
-
FB9 issue with 2-player mode on Space Invaders
radiohead replied to bobbav's topic in AtGames Flashback and Portable Consoles
I just checked my FB9 Gold and the same thing happens on my unit. Very odd. Additionally, the P2 joystick does not work on any of the two-player paddle games. Only P1 works. I wonder if it was always like that on the original hardware as both paddles plug into the left controller port. -
Flashback 9 Gold - Sound Issue
radiohead replied to Atari Nut's topic in AtGames Flashback and Portable Consoles
I have the FB9 "Gold" which came with its own HDMI cable, and I have had no major problems with the unit as a result. The "Boom" version does not come with an HDMI cable. Maybe the problem lies with the unit being picky with user-supplied HDMI cables as it is with user-supplied SD cards? They are the big variables that are different among all the users of this product. -
Flashback 9 Gold - Sound Issue
radiohead replied to Atari Nut's topic in AtGames Flashback and Portable Consoles
I got my FB9 Gold recently, updated the firmware (via Atariage) using a SanDisk SDHC 8Gb Memory Card. I played it for a few days with no trouble. Then I swapped out the original 8Gb SD for a smaller one (figuring why waste all that space on only 4 Mb of games). I replaced it with an older SanDisk 1Gb card I had (non SDHC). Formatted it, put the same rom set on it and that's when I experienced all the sound issues. I really noticed the sound issues after playing the SD roms. Going back to the main menu with that background music loop sometimes fixed it, but the sound was mostly bad after I played the games from the SD card. I switched HDTVs, same thing with the sound problems (loss of effects, bad sampling, static). I swapped back to the original SanDisk SDHC 8Gb Memory card, and now everything is fine on both HDTVs (Philips and Insignia). Even through my living room soundbar so far. Agreed, the FB9 is very finicky, but could it be something about the unit reading the SD card which is corrupting the rom and setting off a chain reaction to all other problems. That seemed to be the case with me. -
Just bought the FB 4 40th Anniversary console at SAMs Club for $38. Color me "relatively" happy. I was on the fence on buying yet another plug n play since they tend to look bad on HDTV sets, and offer limited game selection. But the price point was too good to pass up for the paddles, the posters and the ability to play wirelessly. The FB 4 emulation looks a whole lot better on HDTV as compared to my FB 2's authentic hardware (I know the technology wasn't designed for that.) The wireless joysticks work surprisingly well, even upto 12 feet from the console (after 6 years of the Wii, it's not that hard to keep the controller pointed at the receiver.) The paddles do have a bit of play and lag on the FB 4, but it seems to be a problem with the emulation. They play flawlessly on the FB 2's paddle games, so the AT Games paddle appears to have credible specs. My goal is to ultimately use the controllers with adapters to somehow play Stella on a computer connected to my living room TV or get the next gen 2600 console that offers an SD card.
-
Wow, that's brilliant! I tried something like that, but more mechancial with the potentiometers and the control stick... and it clearly didn't work. Will definately try this. Thanx!
-
I too would be very interested in step by step instructions and soldering points for this build. Love to have a working 2600 joystick via the nunchuk port for Wii2600. Your materials look easy to find. Very clever!
-
Thanks for the info. Just recently discovered your "Medieval Mayhem" and it's great. Warlords was one of those paddle games that I didn't appreciate enough when I was younger, (mostly played the 1 player games Kaboom & Breakout.) Always thought it was supposed to be walls protecting colored castles in the corners. But to me, they never real looked like anything. So they're the actual Warlord, huh? Thanks for clarifying. I guess I'm the kind of forum poster that homebrewers hate: suggest a hack without any understanding of how the coding works or the effort involved. I'll continue playing your game and Warlords on the plug n play. Thanks!
-
I just got the Jakks 13 Game Plug N Play Paddle (less than $6 bucks on Amazon!) and I've been getting back into playing Warlords. I see somebody has created a fabulous Arcade port for 2600 called "Medieval Mayhem", but has anyone done a simple graphic hack of the original 2600 Warlords? More to the point, the castle always bothered me. In the arcade and in "Medieval Mayhem" it looks like a castle, but on the original 2600 version, it looks like the side view of a Star Destroyer. It shouldn't be any harder than this, right? (depending on the allotted size of the existing sprite) X X X X X X X X XXXXXXX XXX XXX XXX Anyone ever tried something like this, or could try something like this? I'm no programmer so I don't know. If this is out there or can be done easily, I'd love to find out!
-
I recently took back my son's old 12 inch CRT and hooked up my FB2 (I had been playing Stella and Wii2600 Homebrew.) I had contemplated on spending the $$ to cart mod the FB2 and grab the Harmony Cart. If Curt's proposed FB3 portable has AV out, controller plugs, SD support, AND a retail cost comparable to what I was going to spend on the FB3 mod ($60 for Harmony/$20 for spare parts = $80), then sign me up. Otherwise, Atari's Greatest hits Vol I & II for the DS and Activision's Anthology for GBA is enough portable for me.
-
Moving diagonally helped tremendously for me. It became more playable. After clearing 2 boards, I then selected the more difficult games selections, which I wasn't inspired to do before. I think there still needs to be some subtle game/graphic change after clearing boards (Space Invaders get lower after each round, Pac-Man adds new fruit, Centipede & Missle Command change board colors, etc.) Maybe combine the other game variations as part of the level advances (game 2 is level 3, game 3 is level 5, and so on.) But just adding diagonal moves is a great fix. Keep up the good work!
-
It has potential, but it's hard. It's not enticing enough right now for me as the player to try to improve. I played about 8 straight rounds of losing my 3 men one right after another, only improving slightly each time. Even my 13 yr old video game wizard son took a crack at it. But ultimately, we didn't even complete the 1st level. I lost interest and just I gave up. Other than just trying to clear the board, I didn't feel much reward to continue. The other games variations, while good ideas, just make a hard game that much more frustrating. Maybe you could have the enemy stalk you slower in the first round, giving the player a better chance to win the level (maybe at the same slower speed used by the "smart enemy" in the Game 2.) Then with each completed level, the enemy gets a little faster, or more obstacles appear, etc. Build the challenge up. That way, a player can complete the first couple of screens and feel that they're making progress. The current speed of the enemy should be considered level 3 or 4. If you don't want to change up the speed, can you add hidden items in the red area that when uncovered, the enemy "freezes", reverses course, or disappears to another part of the screen away from you? Can the player move diagonally for a better chance to avoid the enemy? I know you're trying to keep it under 2K, so I don't know if any of this is possible. To me, it's like a carnival barker letting you make the first 2 shots into the basket, before you try for the winning 3rd shot. If you can't make the first shots, you're not going to stay and play his game for the prize. Unfortunately, that's how I feel with your game at the moment. Otherwise, it's a really clever game idea and I look forward to seeing more! Thanks!
-
We had the heavy six-er and it came with Combat. We used to get our games either at Kmart or at a local deli named "Independent Meat Market" which was walking distance from our house (that's right, a grocery deli that had a glass display cabinet at the checkout register with about a dozen Atari 2600 games back in the day!) We eventually got Pac-Man, but not when it first came out. I remember my friends having it first, and playing it at their houses. Funny, between the 4 friends I used to play Atari with (30 years later, we're all still friends and our families get together), we all had the SAME cartridges. We all had Comabt, Pac-Man, Defender, Asteroids, Missile Command, Pitfall, River Raid, Space Invaders, etc. It was never a question of what game to play, but at who's house you wanted to play it. (Don't recall ever bringing a game over to a friend's house since we all had the same exact games!) My original Atari and games are long since gone, but I have the FB2 and play the games on the Wii via HBC. I occassionally will hear sampled Pac-Man Atari 2600 sound effects (the distinctive opening 4 note chime and the death sfx) pop up on the online games or videos my kids play today.
-
I got JzINTV working with a GC controller... the C stick is more convenient to use to access the numeric pad for game selections (but not as good as how the Colecovision EMU utilizes it.) You have to use the wiimote when it first starts up, navigate through the menu to "controllers" and click (+) to take you to a 2nd menu where you select which controller config you will use. JzINTV isn't very slick or user friendly and not all roms work, but an "A" on the effort. Classic game console emulators are really the only reason why I installed HBC, or even play the Wii nowadays. Atari 2600, 7800, Coleco, MAME, Sega, NES, SNES, Gameboy & Intellivision emulators are the only homebrew I have. Over 200 roms on a 2GB SD card with plenty of room left (I also have Rockband DLC on the same SD so I can't upgrade to SDHC.)
-
Gamecube controllers / memory cards for Wii
radiohead replied to tremoloman2006's topic in Nintendo Wii / Wii U
I just bought a $5 Gamecube controller from Five Below. It's a fairly detailed knock-off of Ninty's original design, but I had to open it up because the "A" button wouldn't fire without REALLY pressing down. Re-adjusting the rubber button pads on the circuit board seemed to fix it. BTW - The packaging says "rumble feature" for feedback, but my controller had no rumble motor. The casing was molded for a rumble motor, just no rumbler installed. Oh well. I also have the Pelican Wireless GC controller, but it eats batteries quickly. Seems like every other time I want to use it, I have to swap batteries. Hence the reason for buying the wired controller. -
I bought the Wii Balance Board the day it came out 2 years ago. Also traded in the original Wii Fit for Wii Fit Plus. Now it just sits under the TV stand, collecting dust. The extra controller attachements (tennis rack, baseball bat, etc.), the steering wheel for Mario Kart, even Rockband 2 instruments... all now just lying around untouched. The problem I find with almost 5 years of Wii ownership is that most titles and their accesories are flash-in-the-pan. After a few plays, they've become boring. I resisted on upgrading to the Wii Motion Plus as there were a small amount of titles made for it. The same for the Balance Board. A good game should be good regardless of it's gimmick controller. My kids started trading in their Wii games for DS titles and PS2 games. They still play the evergreen titles like Super Mario Bros, Mario Kart and Wii Sports. And I ONLY use the Wii to play homebrew emulators like Atari 2600, N64 & NES. Portable gaming is starting to become the rage with my family. My oldest wants an Ipod Touch for game apps.
-
As ironic as this sounds, the homebrew app WiiMC actually convinced me to purchase a PS3. While WiiMC is a great app in a sea of mostly pointless homebrew, I found it far too buggy to use. Plus, with the need of purchasing and configuring an external USB HD to store media (and Rockband using up all my USB ports and issues with USB Hubs), I pulled the trigger on the PS3 and made that my main media center. Now I've converted 2 dozen of my DVDs to mp4 and keep them on the PS3, and I have Netflix installed (via HDMI, it looks great!) Then I started getting into BluRay, so it became a no-brainer. But my PS3 is not being used as a game console. My kids are now only playing mostly Wii's "A" titles like Metroid Other M, Super Smash Bros Brawl, and New Super Mario Bros. And I only play the Atari 2600, NES, SNES game emulators via HBC. That's it. We have about 10 WiiWare/VC titles that don't get played any more, and every few weeks we're trading in Wii game discs for cash to buy games or download points for my kids' DS Lite & DSi. In the end, it's all about gamesplay (and that's why still have classic titles for PS/PS2/GCN & Atari 2600 in the house.) The motion-control novelty has worn off for us (no interest at all in PS3's Move.) Even Wii's homebrew scene is slowing down. Curious to see what Ninty will carry over into the Wii 2, or start from scratch.
-
Flashback 2 picture quality
radiohead replied to Geffersan's topic in AtGames Flashback and Portable Consoles
I meant to say I have the original Flashback 2 (FB2). -
Flashback 2 picture quality
radiohead replied to Geffersan's topic in AtGames Flashback and Portable Consoles
It may a quality control issue with that particular unit. Maybe the Legacy Engineering members on this forum could explain possible technical causes/solutions or Atari's tech support. I have the orginal FB that's now about 5 years old. When I originally bought it, the picture image had what appeared to be a faint vertical line slowly scrolling from top to bottom (or maybe it was from bottom to top? It's been 5 years!) - Is this what you're experiencing? I thought it was my CRT TV, like a reception or connection issue. I connected the FB it to other CRTs and got the same results. An engineering friend suggested that the video wiring inside maybe was picking up interference (online pictures I've seen since appear to show that the wiring wraps around a magnet before the solder points.) I didn't dare open it, so I took it back to WalMart and got another one. That one DID NOT HAVE a faint vertical line scrolling, and that's the one I still have to this day. I'm sure it'll be a major hassle, but if it's still under warranty, try returning it to Atari - if that's at all an option. -
The News Channel is servicable, while a doppler radar option on the Weather Channel would make that more useful. But like everyone else, it's much easier to get that info off a computer. Photo Channel is not totally useless, but as just about every digital camera has a TV out to slideshow pictures and video they shot, it's easier to plug the camera in than removing the SD card, turning on and booting Wii, selecting Photo Channel, etc. Besides, my kids don't even access the "fun" picture doodling and puzzle aspects of that channel. Check Mii Out Channel is only used by my kids to get celebrity miis and get ideas to make more of their own (we always have the maximum 100 mii in the console.) It really should be an element of the Mii Channel and not a stand alone. Plus it always bothers me that the title is trunciated ("Check Mii Ou...") when it appears on the menu as a popup with the wiimote. Everybody Votes Channel is checked out once every couple of months. We answer the questions (that lasts about 2 minutes), then we're good for another couple of months. Internet Channel's Opera browser needs better flash support. Period. Nintendo Channel is the most used downloaded channel when there are behind the scenes speciality videos to view. Nintendo Week was entertainig when it started (Alison is so cute!), but now we're over it. Wii Shop Channel is what it needs to be. Though it should have better intergration with Nintendo Channel so you can at least watch a video of the game you want at the time you shop. We also have the pointless Wii Fit Channel and a Mario Kart Channel installed by their games. We almost never use them as 99% of the time you need the game disc to do what you want (except for weighing yourself in Wii Fit), so why use these channels when you can go through Disc Channel? If it wasn't the kids wanting them (Mario Kart, at least), they would be uninstalled. All my downloaded VC titles have been moved to the SD card, so they get viewed in that separate black menu via the SD button. Really, the only Channels getting regular activity is Disc Channel (and HBC!) A Netflix Channel would be incredibly useful, but can never happen with the current Wii. But since Ninty hasn't created any new channels that's not specific to a game title (Animal Crossing) in quite some time, I think even they realize they've carried the Wii Channels gimmick as far as it can go.
-
Atari Flashback Portable?
radiohead replied to AtariFan#1's topic in AtGames Flashback and Portable Consoles
My oldest son disregarded his GBA SP after recently getting the DSi XL. I found the 50 game Activision Anthology cart for GBA at Gamestop for $2.99 and a Namco Museum cart for $3.99, and now I'm carrying around the GBA SP playing the old acrade/Atari console games (for cheap!) Now that I just found out Atari is releasing a DSi cart of old 2600console/arcade games, I'm thinking of picking up a refurb DS that plays both. Unforunately, that seems the only viable way the old 2600 stuff will exist on portables. With an FB 2, 3 Plug 'n Plays, and various old school game disc collections for Wii, PS2 and PS3 all being activiely used in my possession - even I'm a bit hard pressed to justify the purchase of a new standalone portable console just for 2600 roms/carts. Now if Legacy or Atariage would publish homebrew/licensed roms on carts for existing portables? (Yeah, yeah I know the cost and fees involved... it's just a dream!) -
If you're playing the Flashback on a HDTV, it won't play very well. I have the FB2, and when I hook it up to my Visio 42" HDTV, it looks washed out, blurry and many of the sprites don't even appear (Yars, Missile Command, Asteroids Aracde, Lunar Lander are unplayable.) The FB2/FB2+ are just a little too faithful to the original Atari 2600. Others here will offer up better technical reasons, but it has something to do the game's native resolution and the way the graphics are drawn via scan lines, whereas HDTV has a completely different way to display images. In fact, all of my Plug N Play games play don't look or play well on HDTV. FB2/FB2+ were designed to be played on old fashioned CRT TVs, which were plentiful and in every living room back when the P'nP technology was being developed. Now, I play my Atari 2600 games via Wii Homebrew using component cables on my HDTV. The quality is outstanding, there's just no comparision!
-
Atari Flashback 2 Manual Scan Here's the Megaupload link for my quick scan of the Atari Flashback 2 Instruction Manual by request. I did not include the final 5 pages which included Terms & Conditions, US & Canada Tech Support, Warranty & Liability Info and Copyright, or else the file size would be needlessly bigger. Enjoy it with the one you love!
-
The links to the manuals seem to be broken. Does anyone have any saved copies of these manuals? I just got a used flashback 2 and it did not come with the printed manual. I have the original FB2 Instruction Manual booklet, not the online pdf. If you want, I could scan it for you. It'll be only 7 pages (not counting the technical credits and warranty pages.) It'll have to wait until I get home from work.