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Serious

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Posts posted by Serious

  1. Posted

    I'm definitely getting back into DOS games in a big way.. I love the games, but the hardware issues that I'm running into (like a soundcard driver failure) are reminding me of some of the less enjoyable aspects of DOS machines as a gaming platform..

     

     

    I don't ever think that retro PCs will ever be as collectible as consoles, and that's a good thing right now. Compared to the console and console game prices, the price of motherboards, CPUs, video cards, sound cards, and games are quite reasonable. Sites like Abandonia.com even host awesome titles that are considered "abandonware." But there's also the collectible element too that makes things interesting--finding a Gravis Ultrasound or Roland card, for instance.

     

     

     

    I don't know about it not being as collectible, etc.. Classic PC hardware can get kinda pricey, if you're looking for some of the less common configurations/components that many DOS games utilize.

     

    For example, Tandy 1000 hardware, and some soundcards (like Gravis Ultrasound cards) aren't exactly cheap.

     

    When I started looking for some components, I was really shocked at the asking price on some of this stuff.. 5.25 floppy drives, for example..

  2. Posted

    Actually, Zektor is on the Playstation 2. :)

     

    It's a bonus arcade game in Sega Genesis Collection along with Altered Beast, Future Spy, Tac/Scan, and Zaxxon. Three of which remain exclusive to it to this day and didn't reappear in their PS3/360 compilation of a few years ago.

     

     

    Cool! Thanks for telling me. I actually bought that collection, recently, but I hadn't tried it out, yet.

     

    And the companion PSP release has a different selection with Super Zaxxon, Astro Blaster, Congo Bongo, Elimnator, and Space Fury. And the Taito Legends PSP collection has Space Dungeon which sadly never appeared on any of the Japanese or Western Taito console collections. Too bad this thing can't be interfaced, at least easily, with the PSP which has quite a lineup of classic arcade games that can't be found elsewhere.

     

    I knew about Space Dungeon, but not those other Sega arcade games. I've been hoping that VitaTV would be announced in the U.S. so I can play Space Dungeon on a full-size monitor. (If VitaTV doesn't happen here, I'll probably get a PSP Slim.)

     

    Hopefully, there will be a device that will allow connecting a fight stick to a Bluetooth adapter for the VitaTV. If so, then we might be in business.

  3. Posted

    Ha, good idea! I've already installed that one I bought into my homemade cabinet for MAME but I did think it would neat mounted into a coffee table with a flip up monitor....the leading edge even matches the arc of my oval coffee table.

     

    The PS2 is such a great machine for arcade gaming, with all of the arcade collections for it, and the wide availability of arcade sticks for it.

     

    I've counted 255 arcade titles that are playable on the PS2 (a few of which are only available on PS1 collections).

     

    If it weren't for a few titles I like that aren't available on the PS2 (Gorf, Space Dungeon, Zektor, Mad Planets, and Reactor being the ones that come to mind), I'd probably not play MAME at all.

    • Like 1

  4. Posted

     

    Damn! I'm building a PS2 Arcade Table and that would have been perfect!! (albeit outside my budget as i'm keeping the cost down by recycling or using stuff I already have or can get for cheapish).

     

    Apologies for busting in without an introduction, i'm new here and in Australia, thanks to the info in this thread it made my decision to buy a Battlestation II easy. TBH i'd never even seen them before and stumbled across one on a local Trade site whilst looking for something else.

     

    So I decided to get it, cost me AU$20 (no box but has the bag) apparently unused but the connectors look like they need a little cleaning as you can see in this picture:

     

    914385_570977879685594_1237783220_n.jpg

     

    Can't wait to test it out on my Megadrive (Plugnplay) which I will be using on said Arcade Table as i'll be including RCA inputs on the front so I can enjoy the old systems on a proper CRT screen just like the old days.

     

    I have my original Atari VCS and Sega Megadrve I and II (Genesis in the US) at my parents' place overseas (along with all my boxed games) so i'll be trying to ship that back here when I next visit them.

     

    Anyway, I like the look of this place and it contains some awesome info.

     

    :)

     

    I think you're going to be happy with it.

     

    For $20AUD, that was a steal. Mine didn't come with the bag.. That may be unique to Aussie ones..

     

    So far, I've found a way through a combination of adapters to use it with any system I've tried, except for old DOS games running natively (though I could probably make it work via USB adapters with DOSBox).

     

    That being said, I'm tending to use it mostly now for Atari-joystick-compatible systems, instead of trying to use it as my primary controller on all systems. There are two reasons for this:

     

    1. During intense gameplay, it doesn't tend to stay still when I set it on a desk. (It works best in your lap.) I have PS2 sticks that do stay put, so for the systems I keep on my desk, I'm tending to use my best PS2 arcade stick more often.

     

    2. You can't have it connected to multiple systems at once. When I first discovered this, I considered using a serial port switch to overcome this limitation, but all of those cables tend to get in my way.

     

    Some games I play with the BS2, I do better with it than I do with a handheld joystick. And sometimes, the opposite is true.

     

    It is a weapon I'm very glad to have as a part of my arsenal, and is my go-to controller for many games, but I'm finding I still have plenty of use for other parts of my arsenal as well. :)

  5. Posted

     

    So, does anyone know of a definitive list of Atari 2600 game patches from Activision? Were there any made for the PAL regions or were they just for the North American market?

     

     

    The patches were the same regardless of region. But the 2600 patches were usually different than the patches for games on other systems. Intellivision had some unique designs, but most other systems shared a common patch design (though they weren't always earned the same way).

     

    There are a couple of rare variations on the 2600 patches:

     

    There is an early Starmaster patch that Todd Rogers has, which looks completely embroidered (if my memory is correct). I'm not sure if there is more than 1 known to exist.

     

    The half-moon Beamrider patch that Zwackery mentioned is the 2600 variation of the patch. However, for some reason, Activision mostly mailed out the version that was meant for the Intellivision. It could be that they didn't produce enough of the 2600 version, or they over-produced the Intellivision version. This 2600 half-moon Beamrider is probably the rarest 2600 Activision patch that it is actually feasible to acquire (for a price).

     

    If you are interested in what is required to qualify for all of the patches on all systems, this is a pretty good list. It is missing the C64 and Atari 400/800 patches (which are visually identical to the 5200 patches, with the exception of Toy Bizarre).

     

    I'm also unsure if there were patch qualifications for other systems that had Pitfall, River Raid, etc.. IBM PCjr is one such system that these games were available for.. This is something I plan to research..

     

    Activision also sent letters with these patches, and issued certificates.

     

    Lots of great info in this old thread that Zwackery started in 2007..

  6. Posted

    A couple of updates on recent experiments:

     

    The PSX -> TG16 adapter arrived this week and I tried it out on the BS2 today (by using an SNES -> PSX adapter cable). For whatever reason, it did not work. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the PSX -> TG16 adapter, as I was able to use a PSX arcade stick with this adapter, and I had no issues.

     

    I also tried connecting the BS2's Control Pin-Out port to my PC's parallel port via a DB25 cable, I ran SNESKEY, and no matter how I initialized it, nothing seemed to work. I also tried a DB9 -> DB25 cable on both the Atari and Genesis outputs, and also no luck. It may be that power is needed, but I'm thinking that the normal wiring on a serial cable just isn't what SNESKEY is meant to handle.

     

     

    I'm not sure what I'm going to try next. I can live without using the BS2 on a TG16 (though that sure would be nice), but I'd really like to be able to have a re-mappable arcade stick for DOS gaming.

  7. Posted

    Surprised I've never seen this controller before.

     

    Very cool, but I think the only way I'd have any hope of enjoying it would be if it were built into some kind of pedestal that is sturdy and allows me to sit or stand in a comfortable position. I'm just putting the finishing touches on an X-arcade Tank Stick pedestal for my garage, and indeed, having it solidly mounted and comfortable makes all the difference in the world.

     

    It actually fits comfortably in my lap.

     

    I've been using it on a desk lately, and I'm finding that in intense gameplay, I'm moving it around, so I may need to do something to make it more stationary..

     

    P.S. There is a defective one on eBay right now.

  8. Posted

    A photo (found on SegaAge forums) from the BS2 manual describing the "Control Pin-Out" port:

     

    cpobs.jpg

     

    So it sounds like this was added to support Jamma boards..?

     

    It looks like a standard DB25 connection, so I think I'll buy a $6 DB25 cable, connect it directly to the LPT1 port, run SNESKey for DOS, and see what happens..

     

     

    Maybe you could commission someone on AA to make one of these adapters.

     

    If the above doesn't work, that's what I'd like to do.

  9. Posted

    I think that the classic DOS (digital) controller is the Gravis Gamepad. Many DOS games have support for it. So the trick would be to convert the BS2 signal into a Gravis Gamepad signal. Alternately, you could try to convert the BS2 signal to keyboard inputs.

    I'm not familiar with the Gravis Gamepad, but I like the idea of keymapping, because it opens up the possibility of using all of the buttons on the BS2 (or any other controller) in a configurable way for all PC games.

     

    I have a MAME cabinet that uses a card to map arcade buttons to re-mappable keyboard input. (I think it is called a KE72.) It might be easier to do something with that since it outputs to the keyboard port instead of the parallel port. The fact that the BS2 has DB9 connections on it means that I could probably split apart a cheap serial port cable.

     

    You now.. Now that I think about it, there is that big "expansion" port (or whatever they call it) on the BS2 as well. I wonder what could be done with that? I'm not at home right now, so I can't look at it, but that might basically be a parallel port.

  10. Posted

     

    Have you seen this site?

     

    http://arcadecontrols.com/Mirrors/www.ziplabel.com/dpadpro/index.html

     

    However, it doesn't say that the adapter will work in DOS, just Win95 and Win98.

     

    EDIT: didn't see your link above to SNESkey!

    I haven't, but I am guessing this is the same thing, but Windows-based software.

     

    I am clumsy when trying to do hardware mods, so I'd rather find somewhere that I could buy one of these parallel port adapters, but no luck so far.

     

    I recently acquired Silpheed (DOS) and a Roland MT-32, and I'd love to connect my Battlestation 2 to my retro PC for use with this great game. :)

  11. Posted

    I'm still waiting for the TG16 adapter to arrive, so no updates there..

     

    But after inquiring on the VOGONS forum, I think I've found a way to connect the BS2 to a PC for DOS gaming.

     

    It is possible to connect classic game controllers to the parallel port of a PC via an adapter, and to map the control output to keyboard input using a TSR program called SNESkey.

     

    You apparently can write an ini file for the key mapping, so I'm thinking I could write an ini file for each game (based on which keys it uses) and initialize SNESkey with the settings for a specific game before loading the game.

     

    I am thinking that this should also allow using the BS2 on MAME.

  15. Posted

    I'm looking to start playing some of my old DOS games from the early 90s.. But I have a problem.

     

    Most of my disks were formatted in a special format using a program called 800.COM that allowed formatting 3.5 floppies to hold 800k (instead of the 720k).

     

    Attempting to use a search engine to find "800.com" yields only unrelated results.

     

    I'm wondering if any of you are familiar with this program and know where I might find it, or if anyone has any suggestions on some sites/resources where I might find this?

     

    Thanks..

     

  19. Posted

    I received my SNES adapter for PSX last week. A little rough looking, but it works great. I included a photo of it in this thread: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/224378-my-controller-adapter-collection/

     

    I also picked up a Wii/Gamecube adapter for Genesis controllers from the same outfit. Haven't had a chance to test it yet, but it will allow me to use my BS2 with VC games. I may invest in a couple of TG16 VC games just to test it out.

     

    I'll be interested to hear how that turns out. I'd be even more interested in a way to connect it to a real TG16 console..

     

    I'd also like to find a way to connect this to a PC game port for some old DOS games.. But I think those controllers are analog, so that might be tricky.. I'm not sure the Stelladapter would help, here, since that's a USB adapter..

     

     

    I received my SNES adapter for PSX last week. A little rough looking, but it works great. I included a photo of it in this thread: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/224378-my-controller-adapter-collection/

     

    Ok, so I received the same adapters this week, and they look the same as yours. My guess is that these are SNES extension cables spliced into PSX extension cables..

     

    I got some weird results with connecting my BS2 to my PS2...

     

    First issue which puzzled me greatly for about 20 minutes was that the PS2 didn't respond to any control movement or buttons at all. I tried toggling the "Atari/Commodore only" switch both ways, swapped out cables and adapters, etc..

     

    What I eventually figured out is that you have to disconnect the cables from the Atari/Commodore ports. Apparently, the signal never gets to the NES/SNES ports if the Atari cables are connected. This is very disappointing! Given that you have to screw the cable connectors to the base unit, swapping out these cables when I want to change systems is going to be a pain. I'm going to experiment to see if there is something I can do to find a way to get around this problem (like using a serial port switch or something). If I find something that works, I'll post it here.

     

    (On a related note, I'm thinking that a serial port switch might also make it easy to re-route the BS2's connections to various consoles without plugging/unplugging.. I'm thinking of trying this to switch control between my 7800, my C64, and my Amiga 500...

     

    Second issue which I still haven't figured out: The video display on my PS2 goes dark when I plug in the controller to the PS2 while the PS2 is powered on, and same thing if I connect/disconnect/wiggle the cable connections to the BS2 controller. I guess that there is some kind of electric current looping back into the PS2 from the controller that it doesn't know how to deal with. So far, it hasn't interfered with any gameplay, but I'm not sure it is good for the PS2.. Luckily, PS2 consoles are cheap and abundant..

     

    But perhaps something like your Colecovision fix may be beneficial here.. And I'm also curious if that might not also be the same problem affecting the Odyssey 2?

     

     

     

     

     

  20. Posted

    Would it be possible to take an extension cable for a Playstation controller and an extension cable for an Atari 7800/2600 joystick and splice them together so the Playstation controller will work on the Atari 7800/2600?

     

    I don't know about splicing them, but it is possible to make an adapter. I bought a couple from someone years back. Wish I could refer you to them, but it was a long time ago..

  23. Posted

     

    Can you add the Tandy/Magnavox VIS to the list and Links: The Challenge of Golf for it? I spent $20 on it and if just for this game then I feel it was worth it.

     

     

    I've just added:

     

    Links: The Challenge of Golf [Male/Beginner/18 Holes]

     

    I used these settings based on what was in your video.

     

    Scoring is lowest points are best.

  24. Posted

    I like the "no" coming with standard comments choosen from a list. Examples: "i don't believe this score", "It needed a video to know this is legit", "Your evidence isn't signed, it could be from anyone" and even "others".

     

    On the other side, the list (and free comments more!) will slow down the voting process, making it more painfull.

     

    I will try to avoid doing this in a way that will be painful.

     

    My plan is just to have a little dialog pop-up with some options to choose from (no free-text entry), which will immediately disappear, and the next score will load. I don't think it will add more than a second or two.

  25. Posted

     

    I think the re-vote option would be a better solution because it would present the issue to everyone who is voting, to reconsider a score which has been called into question by a significant number of users. you would have a better portion of members brought into the decision.

     

    -- how does that sound?

     

    I like this approach. I already have spent some time trying to implement a "recall" system, and it has been more complicated to implement (with the approach I took) than I anticipated.

     

    One of the complexities is how to get the score in front of users for voting.

     

    My thinking now is that instead of this being a separate workflow, the score should be dumped back into the normal voting system, with a special status that alerts the voter that it is a recall vote, and notes from the user who flagged it as to why they think it should be reconsidered.

     

    Some things I haven't worked out, yet:

     

    What happens if a score passes the recall vote? Should it be ineligible for another recall vote? Or maybe just the person who initiated the recall vote cannot do so again?

     

    Should the person who initiates the recall pay some kind of cost (perhaps in points?) to discourage frivolous recalls? (And given that I plan to only allow black-belt-level users to initiate a recall vote, is it even necessary to impose a cost?) Right now, there is no one at the black belt level who I think would abuse this, but in the future there could be, so that's a problem I'm considering.

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