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Serious

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  1. Posted

     

    So...Serious...it's your call. 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. The Sherlock Holmes game isn't all that bad either for those that like to solve mysteries. I'm surprised that no one has tried to make homebrewed games for it since it uses a slimmed down version of Windows 3.1.

     

     

     

    Certainly. Can you let me know how the scoring works on "Links"?

  2. Posted

    I think that there is an issue with the 2600 Othello Rules. On the site it states:

     

    "Both difficulty switches set to A. Game 1 unless otherwise specified. Must be played on a real 2600-compatible console or expansion module. No frying or use of hacked ROMs. No continues. 1 player only."

     

    In the instruction manual it states:

     

     

    Unless the left difficult switch is in the "B" position. By official Othello game rules black always goes first so the right difficulty switch needs to be in the "A" position as well. You might want to modify your rules to express this or there might be some confusion. If I am understanding it correctly, the only variation of the game allowed is Game 3 "B" position, "A" position. Correct?

     

    Thanks for pointing this out!

     

    The rules that you're seeing are specific to the category. I don't yet have game-specific rules in place.

     

    I will move these variations into the categories that don't specify difficulty switch settings, which will hopefully eliminate any confusion caused by the conflict in what the rules are saying and what the game title specifies.

  3. Posted

    Playstation steering wheels aren't seen as a mouse.

     

    Furthermore, they're not free spinning like the Atari 2600's driving controller, a wheel on an overhead arcade racer like Super Sprint, or rotary arcade controls such as in Tempest are. They're going to be about 180 degrees from lock to lock so even if you could control Tempest X3 with it, you wouldn't want to.

     

    I found a controller that provides a 360 degree wheel.

     

    I just tested it out with Tempest on Atari Anniversary Redux (PS1), and its not bad.

     

    The controller is called the "Innovation Jolt Pad". Here is a photo:

     

    41x2qWa6LtL._SL500_SX450_.jpg

     

    The controller has multiple modes:

     

    Mode 1: JogCon (red LED) "standard joypad without any function on steering wheel"

    Mode 2: JogCom (green LED) "R4 joypad with force feedback function on steering wheel"

    Mode 3: Analog (green LED) "normal joypad with normal steering wheel function"

    Mode 4: Analog (red LED) "normal joypad with force feedback function on steering wheel"

    Mode 5: Analog (yellow LED) "only as a rotary steering wheel with force feedback"

     

    I am getting ok results with it on Tempest. What I have found to work best is to set the game's analog sensitivity to 1 and to put the controller into mode 5. This seems to provide the most accurate control.

     

    However, it does not work like a spinner/knob would, or how I suspect the mouse would work. The amount you turn the knob is the speed at which you rotate in one of two directions. So I can't say it is giving me the kind of precision control I'm looking for.

     

    I think I'm going to keep looking for a Nyko Track Ball.

  4. Posted

    Playstation steering wheels aren't seen as a mouse.

     

    They're going to be about 180 degrees from lock to lock so even if you could control Tempest X3 with it, you wouldn't want to.

     

     

    I was worried that would be the case.

     

     

    Maybe I wasn't clear. Why not try using your PC trackball with a PS1 emulator on your PC? That would theoretically allow you to use your trackball with the PS1 versions of these games, like you were wanting to do.

     

    Primarily because I'm exploring alternatives to PC-based emulators for playing classic arcade games, so emulating the Playstation wouldn't achieve what I'm trying to do.
    There are people in the competitive gaming community who regard MAME as unsuitable for competition, but sanction Wii Virtual Console (since it is not easily manipulated). The Wii Virtual Console doesn't have very many arcade titles, though, so I'm looking at the PS1/PS2.

     

    And... terrible. I've tried playing Tempest with both a NeGcon and an UltraRacer, and it's no good. The game isn't designed with them in mind (though they are supported), and only responds to a small section of the wheel's entire range of movement. You wind up having to tweak the wheel just a tiny bit left or right of center, and it just doesn't work very well, at least not for Tempest.

     

    Thanks very much for the insight. I'll try using a trackball for Tempest instead. Unless I can find a way to connect a USB spinner to the console, this may be the best option.

     

     

  5. Posted

    I seriously doubt this will work at all with actual hardware.

    Why not try an emulator?

     

    I already have a MAME cabinet with a trackball, but I also own alot of arcade classics discs for the PSX. The various arcade sticks available for that platform are great for most of those games, but given that many Atari games used spinners and trackballs, and the Atari collection for the PSX (as well as Tempest X3) apparently have Playstation Mouse support, I'd like to find a way to use a trackball (and possibly a USB spinner) to get more accurate control.

     

     

    Why not just buy the Nyko Playstation track ball? Works well in the track ball/mouse compatible classic compilations like Atari Anniversary. Not arcade quality, but far more satisfactory than a gamepad.

    4A04D358-C811-FFE6-B632C22234503BB1.jpg

     

    Cool. I wasn't familiar with this device. I'll look for one and will give it a try!

     

    Edit: I guess you're talking about 3rd party devices meant to allow such control in a game that only supports the gamepad. I rather doubt something that only provides okay control at best in a FPS, which is what they're built for, would translate very well to a completely different type of game like Missile Command.

     

    Nah, I wouldn't expect good results there, either. I'm just looking for a solution for Atari Anniversary Redux and Tempest X3 that would be more true to the arcade experience while leveraging the built-in mouse support of these games.

     

    I wonder how a steering wheel would work for Tempest X3?

  6. Posted

    I ordered 2 of these adapters this week, along with PS1/PS2 -> Xbox adapters. I plan to use my Battlestation II with my old PS2 and original Xbox consoles for playing arcade games.

     

    I will probably route the left SNES port to my PS2 and the right SNES port to an Xbox. I have both of the Atari ports going to my 7800 for Robotron.

     

    I'm trying to think of what can be done (beyond the obvious) to take advantage of the Genesis ports. For example, it would be great if I could figure out a way to connect it to my Vectrex via these ports. :)

  7. Posted

    I would like to use a USB trackball on PS1 games that support the Playstation Mouse (especially Atari Anniversary).

     

    I'm wondering if anyone knows if there is any type of adapter that would work for this?

     

    There seem to be adapters out there that are designed to allow the use of USB mouse and keyboard on FPS for the PS2, but since those games were likely not designed for the Playstation Mouse, I am doubtful that I'd get the same kind of accuracy and responsiveness on games designed for the Playstation Mouse, but perhaps I am wrong?

     

     

     

  8. Posted

    Looking to buy some loose 7800 commons at a good price:


    Asteroids

    Ballblazer

    Barnyard Blaster

    Centipede

    Crack'ed

    Dark Chambers

    Desert Falcon

    Galaga

    Jinks

    Karateka

    Scrapyard Dog

    Tower Toppler


    I also have 2600 carts to trade, if preferred.






  9. Posted

    OK, got mine applied..

    A59508D1-3B43-41E1-A660-B638B42B7BAE_zps

     

    Looks nice, and my wife thinks it's really nice too.. Always a plus... ;-)

    @save2600, definitely on the "sprucing up a less than perfect" vec. My vec has some dings and such. No cracks, but it's seen hard times.. So this is really nice...

     

    desiv

     

    That really looks awesome..

     

    Maybe I should get a second Vectrex...

  12. Posted

    I finally found a source for an adapter that allows you to use a SNES controller on a PS1/PS2:

     

    http://raphnet-tech.com/products/snes2psx_adapter/index.php

     

    This site is controller adapter central! I just ordered it, so I will report back when I have a chance to test it out. But I'm looking forward to having one stick to rule them all.

     

     

    Wow, this is awesome. I'm definitely going to order that SNES -> PS1/PS2 adapter.

  13. Posted

     

    Based on the feedback I got from everyone, I have identified a number of enhancements that I will be working on:
    1. Provide an easier way for a user to browse through all of the scores in the database.
    2. Add more ways to sort/organize the trophy case.
    3. Make it easier for a user to leave comments while voting, so the score submitter gets better feedback on their submission.
    4. Better support for smartphones and tablets.
    5. Add more ways to share videos and photos.
    6. Make it easier to keep track of your friends' scores.
    7. Notifications should link to a page containing the event that the notification is about.
    8. Users should receive a notification when they crack someone else's trophy.
    9. Give users the ability to add evidence after a score has been submitted.
    10. Allow the user to set preferences on what types of scores they see when voting and browsing the site. (Some retro games may not want to see Candy Crush scores, and vice versa. Some users only want to see games for a specific console. Etc.)
    11. Allow users to record their scores in the database for their own personal reference, and not without submit them for voting.
    12. Let a user see the status of their requested additions to the game database.

     

     

    Hi everyone,

    I thought this would be a good point for me to update you on progress made on the items that were identified as to-do's from the feedback you all provided last Fall.
    The list above is all of the to-do items that I have been working on since that time (in addition to handling other feedback received since then, and adding other improvements).
    Here is the status of each:

     

    1. Provide an easier way for a user to browse through all of the scores in the database.

     

    I have done some work here, but I want to do more.
    Here is what is done:
    1. Top Scores page now has sub-pages based on category/system.
    2. The game title under each category now links to the list of all of the top scores for that game, not just the details on the top score.
    I want to also provide a way to easily access and browse all of the scores in the database without being logged in. You can currently access the list of scores for any game without being logged in by searching, but I want to add a drill-down directory of all of the scores as well. This is something I should be able to implement soon.

     

    2. Add more ways to sort/organize the trophy case.

    This is something I haven't worked on, yet, but I know it is important for those of you who have an extremely large number of trophies.

     

    I plan to add these additional methods of sorting and customizing your trophy cases:

     

    1. Hide lower-value regional trophies and only show the highest-value trophy you won for a certain game.

    2. Hide cracked trophies.

    3. Sort/organize/group all of the trophies in your trophy case by trophy type. (Special trophies first, Worldwide trophies first, etc.)

    4. Sort/organize/group all of the trophies by the game name.

     

     

    3. Make it easier for a user to leave comments while voting, so the score submitter gets better feedback on their submission.

    What has been done: Link provided directly to the score page (where comments can be left) from the voting page.
    What is planned: Allowing the voter to send anonymous feedback to the score submitter on the reasons why they voted against their submission.
    (A pop-up with a multiple choice list of the reasons why you voted against their score will appear after clicking 'No').

     

    4. Better support for smartphones and tablets.

    This is a big one, and I haven't worked on it, yet. This is the largest amount of work still on my plate for any to-do list item, and it is also one of the most important.
    I will probably be tackling this after I have finished most of the other improvements/enhancements on my list at present.
    Now that there is support for direct uploading of photos to High Score, I want to make it easy for you when you have a smartphone to take a picture of your score and submit it directly to the site with your score from your smartphone.
    I also want to make is so that people clicking through on a link from Twitter or Facebook on their smartphones will see your score rendered in a way that fits the smartphone display better.

     

    5. Add more ways to share videos and photos.

    Many improvements have been made here.
    1. You can now directly upload your photos to High Score. This eliminates the need to support multiple photo-hosting services.
    2. You can submit archived Twitch videos as evidence.
    3. Facebook video support has been added to help out anyone using the "Share" button on their PS4 to upload a video (since Facebook was the first option offered for PS4 sharing).
    4. Embedding of video hosted at Photobucket is now supported.

     

    6. Make it easier to keep track of your friends' scores.

    The news feature I've launched today lays the groundwork for this. You will soon be able to "follow" your friends on High Score and see events related to them (scores submitted, scored passed, trophies won/cracked, etc) in your news feed.

     

    7. Notifications should link to a page containing the event that the notification is about.

    You will now see news items in an activity feed on your home page. These contain links that will take you directly to the page that contains the event that the news item is about (comments made, scores accepted, trophies cracked, trophies won, etc).
    Many more news types will be added in the future.

     

    8. Users should receive a notification when they crack someone else's trophy.

    Done. This now appears in your news feed.

     

    9. Give users the ability to add evidence after a score has been submitted.

    Done. There is now a button on your score pages that will allow you to add additional evidence. This button will disappear after your score has been voted legit.

     

    10. Allow the user to set preferences on what types of scores they see when voting and browsing the site. (Some retro games may not want to see Candy Crush scores, and vice versa. Some users only want to see games for a specific console. Etc.)

    Some work has been done here, more is planned.

     

    What is done: When you go to the voting section, you now have the option of choosing what category you want to vote on.

     

    This will be expanded in the future so that you can also choose to vote on (or not) some specific games that have more of a niche following (i.e. Candy Crush Saga). This will help make the site better for people who are only interested in one game, and will also allow other to ignore these games if they are not interested in them.

     

    11. Allow users to record their scores in the database for their own personal reference, and not without submit them for voting.

    Done. If you do not add evidence to your score, it will never go into voting.
    I want to add more features to enhance this in the future. I think there are many users who might want to just log their own personal scores for their own record-keeping, but who aren't interested in competing with others or doing the work to prove their scores to others.

    12. Let a user see the status of their requested additions to the game database.

     

    This is going to soon appear in your news feed.

     

    I will also be adding a page where you can see the items you requested that have not been added, yet.

     

     

    Many other improvements have been made in addition to the ones listed above, and many others are planned.

     

    I will provide another update on this thread when I have finished with the rest of the enhancements in this list.

     

    Thanks!

    • Like 1

  18. Posted

     

    For a good 2600 demo check out Sound Coder (NTSC). The YT video audio is poor - it sounds a lot better on Stella.

     

     

    This is very cool.

     

    Can you share a location where the ROM can be downloaded?

  20. Posted

    Ok, I just played my first game of Robotron on the 7800 using this controller. (It was also my first time playing the 7800 version of this game at all.)

     

    In intermediate mode, I reached the 43rd level and scored 1,334,425 points.

     

    6053575E-2C91-46A0-8853-125493C9F23D_zps

     

    Based on the other scores I've seen on this game, this appears to me to be a better-than-average performance, and I can't attribute it to my skill with this game, since it was my first time playing this version of it. (Playing this game without a dual joystick probably puts the player at an extreme disadvantage.)

    I have to say that the controller made this game very fun. I can't imagine playing this game without some type of dual joystick controller. However, I can't say that it was super accurate. I'd love it if was as accurate as the microswitch-based joystick I usually use. For most of my game play, I'm probably going to stick with my favorite microswitch-based joystick controller, but I can see me spending much more time playing Robotron with this.

     

    I'm kind of a joystick nut, so I tend to be really picky on which controllers I use with which games.

     

    If anyone has one of these that is non-functional, I might be interested in buying it so I can try gutting it and replacing joysticks and the buttons with higher quality components.

  21. Posted

    You and I might be the only people in the world with a Battlestation II and a Wico Odyssey adapter. I've never used my adapter, which is still NIB. I could test a little later. Do you need two adapters to play Freedom Fighters?

     

    Also, did you play with the Commodore/Amiga switch on?

    Cool. It would be interesting to hear if you experience something similar.

     

    To use both joysticks at once, you will need 2 Wico adapters. The game can be played with 1 joystick, but each joystick does something different.

     

    I tried with both settings on that switch, and didn't notice any difference.

  22. Posted

    I spent some quality time with mine yesterday for the first time.

     

    I had some weirdness with it when using with my Odyssey 2 via the Wico Atari-to-Odyssey2 adapters to play Freedom Fighters (a dual joystick game). At first, until I tightened to cable connections to the joystick, the fire buttons were slightly unresponsive and also caused my ship to move a little. Once I tightened these connections, I could only fire when holding down two buttons at once, but I no longer had the movement problem.

     

    I have not yet encountered anything like this when playing on other systems.

     

    I picked up Robotron for the 7800 last night at Game Over. I'm looking forward to giving that one a try.

  23. Posted

    Are there any great games out there which only made it to one classic system...but that you feel should have been ported to everything else?.

    I am very fond of the Odyssey 2 and some of the unique titles in its library.

     

    Turtles is one of the few arcade conversions for that console, and I am not sure it it was converted for any other systems.

     

    The whole genre of mixing a board game with a video game was unique to the O2, and it still is, as far as I know. With the recent surge in the popularity of board gaming, this seems like an idea that someone else could leverage to do some interesting things.

     

    Killer Bees and UFO were already mentioned, though Killer Bees was recently ported to Zx Spectrum. It would be interesting to see what could have been done with UFO on the arcade technology that was available around 1980.

     

    Though KC Munchkin is very much a Pac-Man clone, it has some uniqueness that would make it very interesting to see it on other systems (and I believe someone is working on a 7800 version right now).

     

    For other platforms:

     

    Utopia is a game that very much made me want to own an Intellivision when I was young.

  24. Posted

    - It seems like most of the games reset after the loss of one life. I haven't played an O2 since I was 8 or 9 and at that age I didn't notice the lack of multiple player lives and a game over screen. Was it always this way?

     

     

    Yes, this is the norm. I like it.

     

    Turtles and Demon Attack are two notable games that give you extra lives.

     

    - Generally, the scores are low compared to the arcades and other consoles of the day.

     

    Yep. Some games are similar to early 2 player 2600 games from the 70s, where it is a race to 10 or something like that.

     

    On the more arcade style games, the high score and player name display consumes much of the screen space that could otherwise be used for your score

    [/score]

     

     

    - The graphics are sharp and bright.

     

    - The controllers rock! I wish they were detachable but they feel extremely responsive and sturdy. If I decide to get into O2 seriously, I may pick up the earlier unit with silver controllers. A big thumbs up!

     

     

    Yep. I love the graphics and the controllers. I used to hate the standard Atari controllers when I was a kid because I was used to arcade controls and the O2 joysticks, and the Atari CX40 seemed dinky in comparison.

     

    There are O2 consoles with detachable controllers, but they are less common.

     

    I believe you can still replace the controllers on your version by opening the case, if needed.

  25. Posted

    Yup. :?

    Cool. Glad to hear you didn't leave them sitting in your garage for years. This seems to have happened to about a third of the consoles I've acquired as parts of big lots.

     

    I like Wongojack's suggestions. Swapping your power supplies is a great place to start.

     

    I'm wondering if you're using a Voice module? If so, the standard O2 power supplies often don't do well with them. Magnavox shipped a replacement power supply with the Voice that isn't the cube-ish shape of the standard ones.

     

    Also, corrosion on the cartridge edge connectors might cause something like this, but my assumption is that you tried multiple carts already. It is possible that there is something in the cartridge port on the console.

     

    But listen to Wongojack before you listen to me on this. I'm making stabs in the dark compared to his insight.

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