Utopos (Online game by author of Guntech) - (in VCS store)

[Utopos (Online game by author of Guntech) - (in VCS store)]

1 hour ago, Mockduck said:

I notice that you - can - change your Arena or player name, but you need a keyboard attached. You can't do it with a controller + virtual keyboard.

Yes, and you can also change the arena names which you create. My first was Holland. 🙂
I changed my username to... JustClaws.  OK, strategically, perhaps a bad idea, ha ha.



So far, I've seen this screen quite a lot, but I am sure this will be less, later. 🙂

[Utopos (Online game by author of Guntech) - (in VCS store)]

Yes, very happy to get this one, early access, and the first online multi-player.



I tried first against 3 bots, and gosh, they're already tough without practice!
Next, I created an arena, Holland, and soon had a fellow "real-life" player join.
So, this game will take investigation... jumping straight in, I got fast game-over!



As well as creating a game in your own region, you can also switch regions.

[The Atari VCS Info Thread]

Ha ha!
...and if you have a Tesla you can play Atari games while charging your battery in the hotel carpark.  
 

7 minutes ago, toiletunes said:

I just hope they don't do a Swordquest Hotel, you'd never find the right room.

https://www.ign.com/articles/atari-hotels-concept-art-shows-off-a-futuristic-cyberpunk-style-hotel

[The Atari VCS Info Thread]

25 minutes ago, x=usr(1536) said:

If they never were an Atari Project, how do you explain press releases like this one?

Let's be realistic here.  Given that Atari's name carries very little weight in today's world and hospitality is not an area they have ever operated in (with the exception of the Spectradyne Spectravision Hotel Unit), it's nearly impossible to believe that any company would be willing to partner with them on a zero-outlay basis for Atari.

Uh-huh.  And how many licensees have even announced a statement of intent to 'partner' with Atari SA on this?

And their track record of not allowing that to happen with any old tat will certainly ensure that it does! 🙄

As I read it, Atarihotels clearly bought a licence for Atari name on hotels; it's not Atari.
There are McDonalds stores all over The Netherlands, but only one is owned by McDonalds, I'm told.

I'm just going off what Chesnais said in an interview, and the Atari investment reports.
This was widely reported, but I'm not an investor; perhaps I read all the articles wrongly.
https://venturebeat.com/2020/12/31/fred-chesnais-interview-on-blockchain-bets-atari-hotels-and-shipping-the-vcs-console/

The Atari team created a concept, and (so far) last year licensees paid over $1 million for rights.
Atari don't put any capital down, and even if no hotel is ever built, Atari has the money to invest
in other projects, like production of more VCS consoles, more games, and even more employees!
To me, that looks like good news.

Oh, and re: T-shirts and bags, I already asked a European manufacturer of brand-merchandise
(Atari included) if they have any VCS stuff coming. They told me they hope to, later in the year.
They sell numerous brands of products worldwide. I'm looking forward to getting a VCS T-shirt.

[The Atari VCS Info Thread]

2 minutes ago, Stephen said:

So, where do these awesome new bomb-diggity Atari themed hotels come into play?

They never were an Atari project. They're only income for Atari, with no expenditure by Atari.

They're just a licencing deal, where Atari allows a hotel builder to use the Atari name on them,
just the same as licensing sale of Atari T-shirts and Atari bags, but on a rather bigger scale.
Atari only has to ensure that any licensee puts the name on something of good quality first.

[Amico public play at the National Videogame Museum]

As nobody else posted it in this thread... I will. 🙂  Nice to see this.
 

 

[PC Mode: Stable Oblivion Mod build reccs?]

When the game works fine unmodded, but the game crashes with the mods installed, it's most lilkely
a problem with the version of game clashing with the mods, and under Windows it's not going to be
anything VCS specific. I guess you'd get more information on a forum for the game; I've not tried it.

A quick Google search found somebody else with almost the exact same problem; it seems not rare.
Probably best don't mention your computer is a VCS PC, else you'll get unhelpful replies from some.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/22330/discussions/0/3362406825534049827/

 

[Atari Vault - volume #2, 50 game expansion pack (in VCS Store)]

Another quite in-depth run through for people on-the-fence about Atari Vault#2.
 

 

[Aery - Little Bird Adventure - (in VCS store)]

46 minutes ago, Mockduck said:

Word is this - might - be fixed although i havent had a chance to check it out myself.

Yes, the progression to the next level is fixed, and I think some other graphical tweaks.
I confirm also, I *did not* lose any game save in the update. 
If I get sat with the game now, I'll probably be flying for an hour, so better wait a bit...

[Utopos (Online game by author of Guntech) - (in VCS store)]

A news update from Jani via Facebook.

"We just launched it for PC and Mac on Steam today, and as we speak, I am currently putting together the VCS build. I can't promise it will be out tomorrow, but maybe the day after? I'm working as hard as I can to make it happen ASAP!

[Steam link n/a, but see image]

Normally the game would be out on Steam in Early Access for a few months before console launch, but we made a deal with Atari that allows the VCS owners to participate in Early Access on VCS! Utopos will be available in VCS Store, for the same discounted Early Access price as it is on Steam - just $9.99.

Utopos is an online multiplayer game, and it supports cross-platform multiplayer so you'll be playing against gamers on other platforms!"
 

[Guntech - an indie developer launch title for Atari VCS - (In VCS Store)]

19 hours ago, MarcelM said:

Wel that is what I would think too, but today I connected the ethernet cable and worked just fine. No, not in 4K mode. 

That's a useful bit of information! Maybe Jani left some network dependency in the code which he overlooked.
Great to hear that it works fine now!  

[So are those classic controllers any good?]

This is also very interesting, about the classic controller, but it's more a programming topic, so...

 

Now there's a link to an extended video in my later post below, also.
 

[Programming & Development]

If you have Facebook, a clever programmer created a nice demo of what is now possible
with some imagination using new classic VCS controller. I guess this does not preview
on AtariAge, but I have asked him if he would have a YouTube video for me to link to.

By turning the classic controller handle, a yellow light plays with two orange, and they
all move independently. Those lights aren't only for show, they're genuinely useful. 🙂
https://www.facebook.com/enet4mikeenet/videos/3717456638291785

[Aery - Little Bird Adventure - (in VCS store)]

I have been in contact with the developer directly, and they confirmed they're working on a fix for the bug.
They suggested it should be ready in about a week, and then Atari have to check, and push it to the store.

The levels are all selected from a map, so yes, after finding all the feathers on a level, it opens up a new
location, and this can be selected from the map. So far, also, I only tried the game with the Atari modern
controller, and a weird thing happened with 2 controllers. I do enjoy the game as intended; relaxation.

The images are just phone camera shots.
I don't have a 4K display so I don't know how it runs with that, but it's good at default of 1080p, ultra.





GamesJustWannaHaveFun made an appropriate video, which shows the game nicely.
 

- The later levels are much more complex, with beautiful dream-like landscapes.
(Sorry for the quality of this photo from my phone... 

[Guntech - an indie developer launch title for Atari VCS - (In VCS Store)]

7 hours ago, MarcelM said:

I downloaded the free demo, really like it so far, but I experience a lot of lag, slow screen build up which makes it unplayable. First time I experienced this I blamed it on a download I was doing in parallel, but yesterday that was not the case and it still was unplayable. I will try by connecting a network cable but could it be wifi related? 

Are you playing the game in 4K resolution?

The game is written to be played in 1080p, and in that mode there should be no lag.
(He said he never anticipated people would be playing his game in 4K resolution at all.)
Jani does not force the resolution to 1080p, which is bad decision IMHO. However, Atari
do have an update expected for 4K acceleration, and with that mode the issue may go.

WIFI should have no impact, because after download the game does not operate online.
Cheers, Richard.

[Slipstream coming to VCS]

This deal may be more useful than it first appears.

They just signed another deal, with Nolan Bushnell's son, and that is detailed here.
https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2020/09/30/2101299/6999/en/Liquid-Partners-With-Polycade-to-Release-Retro-Gaming-Titles.html

Polycade also looks interesting, similar to Antstream.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/turn-any-pc-into-a-polycade-video-gaming-system-with-polycades-new-arcade-gaming-software-and-supporting-hardware-301158245.html

The Home Arcade Hardware
https://home.polycade.com/pages/overview

[SuperMash retro throwback - indie game (in VCS Store)]

I was checking out SuperSmash today, and indeed the update for glitches I had before are resolved.
I did not have any trouble with the controller function, and now finally the on-screen prompts for
game start, and Quick Mash etc., actually match the required keys. It's now much more enjoyable!

[VCS System Software Update Log (2021/03/27 and later)]

There is another update out on the VCS, which will apply at startup, and also a BIOS update.
It took just a few minutes to download and install, problem free.
Updates now show count of those remaining, rather than a misleading percentage, but not time.



I will add details of updates as they are known, as I did not see a list. Atari referred to the store.
- The VCS Store now supports international payments better, and supports non-USA post/zip codes.
- The System menu supports an HD resolution (720p mode) as well as full-HD which is the default.
- It's widely reported that the fan is less active in Atari mode, but it does not change it for PC-Mode.
- Maybe new, you can choose download destination, and this seems to be saved as a default storage.

As Nintendo would write, this seems to be mostly an update for "performance and stability" otherwise.

The BIOS update is only a point release, and does not yet unlock some features needing BIOS password.
There is a BIOS update coming for that, but it's no doubt not going to be flagged in advance on Discord.

I here add some screenshots.

- The VCS Store now supports international payments better, and supports non-USA post/zip codes.



- The System menu supports an HD resolution (720p mode) as well as full-HD which is the default.



- It's widely reported that the fan is less active in Atari mode, but it does not change it for PC-Mode.
- Maybe new, you can choose download destination, and this seems to be saved as a default storage.

The BIOS update was done automatically, and presented no problems, either.


 

[Guntech - an indie developer launch title for Atari VCS - (In VCS Store)]

For anybody who wanted Guntech, but was put-off by the developer's higher price,
there is good news for 1 week. Jani posted this message on the Facebook VCS group.
(* Normally I'd not be so keen to report a sale, but this is the first sale item for VCS.)

Jani Penttinen
AtariVCS Fans - Official, Yesterday at 00:32  · 

I have *excellent* news for everyone who has been wanting to buy Guntech but has been holding off because of the price:
Guntech special sale for just $14.99 for one week only!
We're running the discount on Steam to celebrate the launch of URG on Linux, and in anticipation of launch of our next game Utopos, so we decided to extend the offer to VCS as well!
Remember: Utopos launches for the VCS on March 30. It's based on the same universe as Guntech, except this time you get to play against other people online. This is an excellent chance to improve those rocket-flying skills before hitting the Utopos arena!

[SuperMash retro throwback - indie game (in VCS Store)]

As I am working away from home all week, at the moment, and without my VCS, I cannot verify,
but I understand that there was an update just released for this game. I hope that they were able
to fix the cosmetic glitches, but more importantly extend the control options which may help you.

[Aery - Little Bird Adventure - (in VCS store)]

This is a new title in the VCS store.
The developer page describes it this way.

The Game
Aery is a peaceful exploration game from the perspective of a little bird who decided to discover the world.
Calm down from the hassle of your daily life, experience the feeling of flying and immerse into beautiful and atmospheric landscapes.

What does this game offer?

• Experience the feeling of flying with fluid and responsive flight controls 

• See the world with the eyes of a bird with intuitive and relaxing gameplay

• Experience the speed of an bird without enemies or other threats 

• Explore 8 vast landscapes with different theme, style and mood 

• Follow the cute story of a little bird 

• Collect the feathers of other birds to unlock the next area 

• Play with gamepads or with keyboard and mouse 

• Immerse into the atmosphere with a vibrant minimalistic yet sometimes even surreal art style

• Enjoy the beautiful bright colors with interesting and different color themes in every area

• Discover hidden areas and many little surprises on your way

This is the official video-trailer for the game.
 

The developer web-site is here.
https://www.epixrgames.com/aery-little-bird-adventure

It is a multi-platform game, having been released on Steam, Xbox, Nintendo switch, perhaps more.
For me, it's good to have such multi-platforms on the VCS, as I do not have most other platforms...

[Intellivision Amico - Tommy Tallarico introduction + Q&A]

21 hours ago, Silverbot said:

We have an Argos card so it’s buy now pay in 6 months, but I think normally you would pay up front.

For people paying up-front, the Amico is a bit discounted at Game Collection.
239 instead of 249, and they offer to refund the difference if the price drops.
https://www.thegamecollection.net/intellivision-amico

[Atari Vault - volume #2, 50 game expansion pack (in VCS Store)]

...and another video about Atari Vault #2 by OEBPete, who's got a VCS.
As he mentions, the Atari Vault 2 includes the M-Network Intellivision games ported for the 2600.
At that time, there was an interesting cross-over of games between Atari and Intellivision. Maybe
one day there will be something similar with the VCS and Amigo, even if it's emulation on VCS.
 

 

[The New VCS Unboxing Thread]

The number one Intellivision Amico YouTube fan (IMHO) has just got himself an Atari VCS, and 
posted a video. Tommy Tallarico, Intellivision CEO, is a regular on his channel, but Tommy has
said in the past also that the VCS and Amico are not really competitors, as they are aimed at
very different markets, so I am sure he will forgive Pete for buying, looking at another system.
Anyway, here is the video... 
 

 

[Utopos (Online game by author of Guntech) - (in VCS store)]

Jani just posted on Facebook an update.
He wrote:

Utopos Dev Diary part 2! https://youtu.be/-U3J-0SZyo4

I had a good call with Atari and we've decided to aim March 30 as the VCS version launch date, just one week after the Steam version. The video explains this is more detail. Almost there!