Vaughan

Not embarrassed, but there are a couple of games that I really truly enjoy that others don't seem to like so much. For example, Video Pinball. I love it. I could play it for days. The other is Dodge Em. Now Dodge Em isn't a bad game actually, but the fact is it only takes a few minutes to learn the patterns, and once you've done that the whole thing is pretty useless. But I still load it up every now and again and play through it. Talk about pointless.......

Any news on this?

Mame is extraordinary, it really is. I have 8000 working ROMs. However, that's only because I got obsessive. The truth is my interest in it - as in PLAYING the games - is very limited. My interest is Space Invaders up to and including the era of Gaplus, Metro Cross, and Trojan. The majority of my time is with the classics - Asteroids, Missile Command, Pac Man, Donkey Kong etc. I'd say there are 200 or so titles I'm truly going to play. The other 7800 are just there. As good as Mame is, I've long been an advocate of finding a version that works for you, and staying with it. There is no benefit to continual upgrades, unless there is a particular game you want. I do have a custom folder with all my favorites in them.

Holy toledo! Answer, yes, I used the default profile. I have now created my own custom profile, and have added everything I need to it. After a short test of ten minutes or so - - - - - - - sure enough, no problems! This deserves more extensive testing, so I'm going to enjoy some Atari over the next couple days and will most definitely post my findings back here - good or bad. Thanks a lot for your attention to this, it has been driving me mad. I know you have more pressing things to worry about than users with ridiculous problems like this, especially nasty intermittent ones that whine like I do. Seems like it's user error.

Huh, interesting experiment.... by the way, my 360 controller is a USB model (not wireless). Okay, so into Donkey Kong we go - full screen. After four screens the joystick stops working. Go out to CP, and it still detects the controller. Go into Altirra mapper, and IT still see's the controller. Go back to the game - the controller works again. I'm not sure if this helps at all. Altirra is a great emulator, but since this happens on two completely different computers - but with the same controller - I thought it worth bringing up again. 360 Controller driver date: 13/08/2009. Version: 2.1.0.1349 ps: I reinstalled the controller driver to confirm the version I have is the latest - it was. And I tested again with the same result. Donkey Kong lasted 6 levels this time, but the controller stopped working. Went into the mapper, and the mapper see's it fine. Cancelled out of the mapper, and the joystick works again inside the game..... pps: I am experimenting a little more. Found something interesting..... the entire controller does not die. It seems to be hats that go (which I use to move Mario about), I start the game, and select two player etc, I use the A and B button. When Mario stops moving around, the A and B buttons still work (so I can reset the game) although this doesn't fix the hat. Right button (the one above the right trigger) also stops working.... I don't suppose that helps....... Also, I assigned TURBO to the left button. I start Donkey Kong, give it a spurt of Turbo, and BAM.... the hats don't work...... Happens every time. Again, not sure if that helps.

Sorry to bring this up again, but I wondered if anything had come to light about a permanent fix. On my Windows 7 laptop I have had a recurring problem where Altirra forgets I'm using my 360 controller - it just stops taking input, usually mid-game. Someone posted a script which gets it working again, temporarily, but I find I have to run that a few times a day. Well this week I bought a whole new machine, a desktop this time, also Windows 7. Installed Altirra and.... same thing. Four levels into Donkey Kong and the 360 controller fails again. If there is another location I shoudl be asking this, just let me know, thanks!

Jeez.

Source

Well, a slight bit of progress. I fear level 6 is just too much for me, I've yet to get passed it.

Okay, this confirms my worst fears. You're doing nothing I don't already do - you just do it much much better.

I'm with you on this. I just can't figure the game out - it seems very random. For instance, I just scored more than 12k on the first level, but I did nothing I don't usually do. Obviously I got more bonuses, but what triggered them? Is it completely random?

Well, I was really disappointed with my score in Space Invaders. I'd consider myself to be quite good at that one, but just couldn't get into any kind of groove with it, even when I knew what to do. Bummer. But now on to Turmoil, I've never played this one before, so it's a welcome change. I'm convinced I can roll it with a bit of practice, but let's not curse myself before I've even started. Since it's new to me I don't have any good tips. Just some early observations. Firstly I'd say right off the bat - it's best to target the SLOW MOVING objects. These are the ones that cause me the most problems if I let them ride. If you don't get them early they end up blocking your way when you most need it. On the bonus pick ups, when running to the center don't forget you AUTOMATICALLY stop when you reach it. I lost a couple times because I was trying to time to stop with the joystick - but there's no need. I haven't gotten a handle on the scoring yet. For instance - my scores in Round 1 have been as low as a little over 3,000, to as high as 9,000. I'm just not sure what it is that is making the difference. Is it random somehow? The levels where the bars disappear are no more difficult than the levels with them. By the time you reach level 6 (my highest) things get a bit crazy and frantic. Such is the fun of Atari.... Nice game - my current high is 66,000.

Well, this is the least fun possible with this game. I'm hopeless. I'd do better if it were not for the damn moving "shields". 2330

I tried a trackball on this with Stella - and it was a no go. Oh sure, it worked, but as noted earlier, the reticle just doesn['t track quickly enough. Using a trackball is a good way of halving your score though. Same with the Atari 400/800 version - trackball was useless.

Thanks for the replies. What is the next game?

I'm new at this - when does the next game start?

Thanks again. I'll try your trick a second time and see if it helps.

Thanks for the help. Was this a permanent fix for you? I just did the manual Registry deletes, and it seems to fix it for a little bit, but now I'm back where I started. Was this the first version with the problem? Maybe an earlier version would help? ps: I just answered my own question, ran into the same problem with version 2.1. I guess this is a Windows 7 issue?

Hey guys - I just wanted to check if anyone else is having a new problem with Altirra. I use a 360 controller (hard wired) for the joystick. I find with this new version that it works for 2 minutes or so (sometimes less) but then inexplicably stops working. So I can move around and shoot in Shamus, for example, but after a couple minutes it'll stop responding to joystick input. Is it just me? ps: I've been spending several hours in Stella lately, without problems.

Good point on the arcade. To be fair, I think I've had my fill of Missile Command for a bit. If not for this game I'd not have rolled the score on it - I mean there are better gaming ways to spent two hours or so. I'll give game 16 another go, but I don't think I'll beat me current score. One frustrating - though more challenging - thing about the 2600 version - you are limited to three shots on screen at once, and the clouds don't grow as they do in the arcade and on the 400/800 version. This latter point makes things more difficult, and it's much harder to kill off more than one missile at a time. Either way though, MC is one of the best conversions to the 2600, imo. It has the essence of the arcade game exactly, and it turns its limitations into positives in making things harder/more interesting. Fantastic game.

I can't say I've actually enjoyed Game 16 yet. I've really not gotten any better at it either. I guess if I spent a lot more time on it I'd come up with strategies, but it's a bit full-on. Perhaps if it had a more gradual growth from easier to difficult. As it stands, I'm not always guaranteed of getting passed the first screen let alone scoring high. I did manage 30-odd thousand - but it was by luck rather than design. On the other hand its great that these cartridges had games like this on them, because it illustrates that the VCS had the ability to be harder than the arcade. Game 16 most definately is more difficult than the arcade........

Thanks guys. There's no trick in this game, no real tips that can help. I'll just say that my approach was a simple one. One way this game is different from the arcade is that some missiles miss their target. Learn how to spot them, and ignore them - there is usually something more urgent to be shot down. Also, after the first blue screen level, I picked two cities (the first two to the right of the base) and ONLY concentrated on saving them. All the other cities I let go. Even when new cities came up on 10,000 points, I let them go. To be honest, I nearly lost on two occasions with my score. I was saved both times by bonus points from unused shots. One by 700 points, the other by 400 points. When that happened the final base might be the most distant, so I kept that alive until closer ones to base came up, and then I let it go. Keeping one city alive, rather than two, is easier - but it's also more risky. Lose it, and the game is over. Hence I kept two going. That's about it - it's just a game of attrition and concentration. This score took around two hours of constant play to get. What game is next?

Well, I rolled it, finally. I did it with the help of Aerosmith - put on the stereo, and rock out for a couple hours. This is the last screen capture I could get before it rolled. After this is just gets reset. I could have gone on and on, I was in the groove. Personally speaking though, once the clock had rolled, I didn't feel any incentive to carry on. 1.000,000!

Game 16: 37800 It''s frantic, and the whole effort/reward thing goes right out the window. It's possibly the least fun you can have playing Missile Command.

I've gotten a little better at 16, but not by much. The trick seems to be double shots. You shoot one shot, and then a second later, shoot in the very same place. Those pesky missiles seem to get confused and die. Mind you, placement and timing have to be good.