Lynxpro
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Posts posted by Lynxpro
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On 6/30/2019 at 9:05 PM, RushJet1 said:It didn't get a ton of press coverage, though some smaller sites picked it up. I'm surprised that AtariAge itself didn't have anything to say about it.
We got it reviewed on a decently-sized YouTuber's page (The 8-bit Guy) but 1) the game was reviewed as a part of 3 games being reviewed, and 2) most of those people are interested computers more than consoles, and even if they are, they'll be interested in the hardware copy if at all, and he doesn't mention that it's available on Steam anywhere. Otherwise though it's a decent review of the hardware cart.
I watch The 8-bit Guy but he's not going to pimp anything hard unless it's Commodore-related. MetalJesusRocks - and hopefully The Immortal John Hancock in the same video - would pimp the shiznet out of it. MetalJesus would also mention the Windows version too; he'd probably be completely amazed that you wrote your own 7800 emulator just to play the game on Windows...and he'd mention that if the community wants to see the game on the Switch that the Windows version needs to sell more...
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I wonder if micro switches would still be beneficial. I really like the couple of videos on YouTube of folks adding micro switches to the Sega Genesis game pads.
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We should've had the entire Atari Games Corp library on the Jag.
An arcade-perfect Gauntlet II done as well as Atari Games/Tengen did with Gauntlet [iV] on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive would've been a far better pack-in than Cybermorph. It would've also sold a sh*t-tonne of Team Tap Adapters.
Like with the Lynx, MIDI Maze should've been licensed even before work on the console began. It was such a slap in the face when BPS licensed it as Faceball 2000 and ported it to just about every non-Atari console available at the time.
That would be just for starters. I'd still love to see an enhanced version of Starball made for the Jag...
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I don't see the point of whole this "which soundchip sounds better, why not dual ..." debate. It was not common to have stereo sound in those years in computers. Why was no Dual board for ST then ? Maybe just because was no bigger interest for ... And all it just losing sense when DMA audio is used, or DSP in case of Falcon.
Every product for mass market is heavily with lot of compromisses. For instance, I would like instead some better soundchip better graphic capability. Like more video modes. But that would increase price, of course. Some would like better keyboard and so on ...
There was an interest in better audio. The Tweety Board sold well. And folks with disposable money bought the Roland MT-32 just to play Sierra's titles with the best audio available...
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there is a solution, unfortunately only for XL/XE - Sonari: 2 x YM2149F plus Pokey from XL:
Amazing. Yeah, it boggles my mind that there wasn't a Dual YM2149 board for the ST going back to around the time Practical Peripherals released their "Tweety" board. There's Dual YM2149 boards for other computers that used the AY/YM chip. Hell, the Apple II line had Mockinboards with Dual AY chips on them a good 2 or 3 years before the 520ST was even released. And with those, they could have 2 Mockingboards connected together for 4 AY/YM chips.
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Since the 2600 version is completed but you're working on a 7800 version, if you incorporated support for the AtariVox, it would be even more similar to the TI-99 4/A original. I know that's the one thing that about the original that makes it stand apart from Defender and Scramble in my book.
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Funny; I was discussing this subject with my cousin last week since he paints and solders and he was interested in side projects for some cash.
We were discussing painting CX40 joysticks to match the various color schemes of the different Atari computers. All gray - like the "rare" official XEGS versions - to match the ST and XE lines; the "tan" color - or whatever that color is, cream-ish? - of the XLs on the sides [but leave the top black]; and the "beige" of the 400/800s...
Which reminds me... the first person who I ever saw do custom paint jobs to [Atari] computers and equipment was Jay Pierstorff in his Atari computer store - called "Computer Safari" -in nearby Woodland, CA. He'd custom paint STs, especially with a "safari" motif [zebra stripes]... I wish I had pics of them.
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a top down indy500 or a champion sprint would have been cool i like the 5200 but the commodore 64 is my first choice
Was Super Sprint/Championship Sprint released for A8? I know the C64 got one of them. That was during the post Atari Inc breakup where some of the Atari Games/Tengen/Domark/US Gold titles did make it to A8 [like Gauntlet] while others didn't...
And didn't someone port the arcade original version of Indy 500/Sprint to A8? I vaguely remember that being a big deal since they also used the 2600 Driving Controller with it. I guess one would have to do a "Driving Controller" mod to a CX52 - like the Paddle Mods - for the CX52 if that was ultimately ported to the 5200.
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The 5200 only has 4 single color player sprites, and 4 missile sprites. That is the reason for blank billboards, used with a dynamically widened missile, but only 1 color and no bitmap image.
True, the cars are really ugly. But compare it to the 2600 version!
Don't forget about software sprites!
The limitations are probably due to cart size and GCC not really going the extra mile on the coding. After all, Warner didn't nickname them "The Toaster" for nothing.
What's that one really impressive - yet similar - racing game on A8? The Great American Cross Country Road Race? There you go. Convert/transport it over to the 5200 and bankswitch the memory and Bob's your uncle.
Hell, mod that game into RoadBlasters. I'm surprised that hasn't already been done on the A8 eons ago.
Now, as for Pole Position, and what I'd also want to see from The Great American Cross Country Road Race/Roadblasters ported to the 5200, would be the codes for the Trak-Ball Controller. Dan Kramer had GCC add Trak-Ball Controller support to 5200 Pole Position because he was going to build a Steering Wheel/Shifter/Pedals controller for the 5200. Of course, playing the game with a converted 5200 Paddle - like with Pole Position - would be an awesome experience.
Edit: Leech beat me to it. Needless to say, this idea has been in my head for awhile...
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I've done a conversion of an SNES controller to 7800. for a 2 button 1 D-Pad controller it was too many buttons doing the same thing. This could definitely work, easiest way to start is by drawing a rough schematic of all controllers and "combining" them. then hack the controller apart, remove anything connected to the chip on the board and wire from scratch like below...
Or you can abandon that idea altogether like I did and just redesign a PCB and make your own controller drop in...
Imagine a drop-in replacement PCB - well, a PCB in 4 parts - for the 5200's CX52 joystick.... not to work with a 7800 but to work better with the 5200! You've missed your calling, Danth Wader!
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Pics and links are appreciated...
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It would've been more expensive and would've required a larger ROM but the best OS combo Atari Corp could've went with was MicroWare OS-9 with DRI's GEM running atop it. It's a shame MicroWare and DRI didn't merge. Microsoft even tried to acquire MicroWare but MicroWare rejected their offers.
Amigans can chime in all they want to about MetaComCo's Trip-OS/AmigaOS but OS-9 was multitasking and multiuser at the same time. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be on the radar of either Atari Inc or the successor Atari Corp, at least until OS-9 was later ported to the ST.
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Thank you Lynxpro, this is very interesting information because, of course I opened it when I bought it and it was cut
In fact I purchased it together with a 1040STF and now it makes all the sense in the world. I thought it was something that the original owner did but based on what you say this "mod" was more widespread than what I initially thought... I am really happy, learning all these anecdotes (especially for someone like me who started with an Atari back in the 80s but in Europe) is part of the pleasure of hunting and collecting...
Out of curiosity, do you remember who was that Atari dealer?
It might've been Best Electronics since whomever the dealer was, they had acquired a lot of Atari Inc stuff dirty cheap from Atari Corp. So I was also able to buy a lot of metal pins of various Atari arcade games from the same dealer. Or maybe they were different. I can't remember. There's very little information on the net from searching for "World of Atari" show in 1989...
In 1989, it was fair to say there was very little support for anything related to the 5200 so an Atari computer dealer had a definite interest in buying up as many 5200 carrying cases dirt cheap, cutting them so an ST could fit inside them, and then sell them for a decent markup. They certainly didn't sell them with the box included. I think I paid $20 - $30 for it. I doubt I paid less than $20.
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Why do gnomes, collect underpants?
Because.... PROFIT!
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Anyone have an XBoard and a PokeyONE to test it with?
[ducks!]
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All I remember from arcade cab mods was the "Zoom" button that seemed to be added to a ridiculous number of Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man arcade machines in the Sacramento market back in the day... And I swear it was a lot faster than the turbo options that Tengen later coded directly into their Sega Genesis version of Ms. Pac-Man. Like the top speed of KITT in "Super Pursuit Mode" on the later seasons of Knight Rider...
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They are rare. An Atari computer dealer bought tons of them up in circa 1988 and started cutting the insides with an exacto knife so an Atari 1040ST can find inside it. As an ST owner back then [and no, I didn't have a 5200 back then], I bought one - modded as such - at the 1989 World of Atari show at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim CA.
So to find one that hasn't been cut for use with an ST at this point makes it an even rarer find.
Also, the Atari 5200 logo was originally in color but they fade like yours over the years. I even kept mine out of sunlight in a dark closet and it still faded like that.
I used mine to cart my 1040STf to the Atari Users' Group I belonged to back then. We connected STs up with null modem cables to play Falcon head-to-head. Of course, after the Lynx was released and so many of the group's members bought them, we ended up losing interest in the null modem cable network gaming method and went with ComLynxing up as many Lynxes as we could after the general business of the group and the presentations finished up.
Open up the case and see if its been modded or not...
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Are there pics of any with the thumbstick on the left side of the case?
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Since I wanted to test the overall alignment and basically do a prove of concept, I used contact cement, thinking that later once I have the whole floppy drive mech aligned with respect to the sf354 face plate, I will have to use epoxy glue to fix it permanently.
I haven't done the fit of the drive mech. to the sf354 case since I am not sure what to buy to rise the level of the drive to make it match the faceplate. But so far, the contact glue worked much better than I thought and I might keep it.
As an observer, and also as an ST owner, I like your idea the best. Use PC disk drive mechanisms. They're plentiful, unlike the Atari drives. Now as a hater of the SF354, I'm more than happy for people to repurpose their cases for such projects because in a lot of ST fans' opinions, Atari Corp shouldn't have ever made that drive for the ST. The SF314 is a whole different story...
Which reminds me, does Best Electronics [or any other vendor] have XF351 badges? [like how Best has always had the European market 2080ST/e and 4160ST/e badges].
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AMY was never finalized and fully-debugged so it's doubtful it could be properly recreated. On the other hand, it's completely possible to use a better, more modern sound chip instead, either the actual IC or through FPGA implementation of something well-understood.
Slight correction. Sight+Sound finalized their "corrected" version of the AMY. But all of the schematics and production run versions were housed in a warehouse that burnt to the ground. Allegedly.
I know the rumor about 3-letter intelligence agencies being involved in the shenanigans is unbelievable for some, but the seemingly unnecessary secrecy on the part of ex-S+S employees to this day concerning all of the events is highly peculiar. After all, Atari Corp doesn't exist anymore to sue them today over any new revelations of impropriety and anything that was potentially patented has expired. Their behavior is straight-up bizarre.
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So you're saying a VME expansion card couldn't be used to add the Enhanced Joystick Ports to a Mega STe or TT?
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What an interesting thread to stumble upon...
Just to give you guys some inspiration, back-in-the-day in Atari Inc's Consumer Engineering Division, Dan Kramer and others built custom Trak-Balls with 3 Fire Buttons so they could accurately play Missile Command on their A8s. The custom in-house version is referred to as 3-Base Missile Command. Here's a pic of Dan's custom 3-button Trak-Ball Controller for use with it:
Rob Zdybel suggested using the Paddle Lines for the 2 extra Fire Buttons.
Mr. Robot's pic of the various Atari arcade controllers reminded me that had Warner not forced Atari Inc to cancel the 5200, Dan Kramer would've finished up a Driving Controller [based upon Atari's Pole Position Steering Wheel and Shifter] and a Yoke Controller [based upon Atari's Star Wars Yoke] for that doomed console.
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Well, if you want to come to a negative conclusions about a company and there motives because you haven't personally seen evidence, i can't stop you
It's hard not to come to a negative conclusion concerning GCC's motivations. They were the ones who claimed to Warner that they couldn't fit a POKEY onto the 7800 motherboard but coincidentally they had the skills and know-how on creating a cart-based sound chip that would be more powerful than the POKEY and cheaper to manufacture. And after Trammel Technologies bought the assets of Atari Inc's Consumer Division which then became Atari Corp, it was GCC who refused to accept payment from Atari Corp for the 7800 - insisting Warner pay them instead - and then they refused to Atari Corp selling the 7800 for $59.99 at Christmas 1984 because it would've cut down on their potential per unit profit vs. the original $149.99 MSRP. Consequently, they delayed the 7800's release until early 1986 which allowed Nintendo to walk in backwards while saying they were leaving into the North American video game industry market and take over with their monopolistic business practices. GCC thus cut their own throats and doomed this industry to Japanese domination ever since...
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Hmmm...? Isn't that what Atari did with the "Amy Chip" for the ST...? They had problems getting it to work so the ditch the whole thing all together and ST users were stuck with the mediocre YM-2149? A slightly better chip than the Pokey, but still no where near as good as what the AMY chip had to offer. Sounds a little bit like a repeat of history if you cancel the YM 2151. Just saying that's all, but I can certainly understand the impatience for a final release of the XM module.
Getting the ST out the door meant an aggressive-and-accelerated development window. Shiraz couldn't get the AMY working in the ST so Atari Corp went to Sight+Sound for assistance. That meant ditching the AMY from the initial ST and why it was then planned for the 65XEM. Atari Corp would've probably included it later on in future ST models had S+S supposedly not double-crossed them. Atari Corp tried to get the YM2151 as a replacement for the AMY in the ST but Yamaha would only sell them the YM2149 because they were saving the YM2151 for their own music computer that they hoped would outsell the ST [the ST still demolished it outside of Japan amongst musicians].
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