Ramses

January 13

Haha, this is one that perplexed me for decades. It wasn't until about a year ago when I finally saw the way Pisces was supposed to be interpreted. I kept concentrating on the white space in the center and not the black. I thought it was two fish that were blended together and the eyes were their tails. It also made me think that the one pixel that sticks out on the left was a glitch/mistake as I thought it was supposed to be a circular emblem.

I also wondered what was up with that floating pixel below Capricorn's head.

All of that said, I kinda like the sprites in the game. They've been etched into my brain ever since I played it as a little kid.

January 7

16 minutes ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

The UAVs composite output is comparable to most of the other kits although it seems a bit brighter with less interference in most cases. The s-video is really where the UAV is at and while most would think I'm biased here having installed sooo many of the UAVs in various consoles. The truth is that I've installed so many because it is worth spending the time to install for folks and provides very good results.

If you want the best output, then the only real option there aside from the UAV is to get a 7800GD and use the RGB output from that cartridge. But then you are limited to only using it with games you have in ROM form to play from the cartridge. So I feel the best option is to go with a UAV setup and get the composite and s-video both done. Especially if you already have holes in the case already for the composite and audio, what is one more for the s-video? Then later on if you have the funds etc...get the 7800GD and enjoy the emulation quality output that provides. Or get a Retrotink 2x, 5x..etc. and run the s-video output through one of those scalers and you might find you are happy enough with that.

I might go ahead with the UAV mod then. Yeah, unfortunately, I missed the 7800GD - I didn't know about it until a couple of weeks ago. Not sure when another batch will be released but I'll definitely try to get it if I can. I probably won't use the RGB output though as I would have to hook it up to my PVM and I already have too many systems connected to it. I currently have an older Magnavox CRT for my pre-NES systems and it only has composite in. Maybe I'll replace it down the road with an s-video CRT if I come across one.

January 7

Thanks. Doesn't seem too bad. I'll probably still try to get someone else to do it if I can as I tend to have bad luck with soldering.

That said, I was also debating on whether it would be worth it to go with a different composite mod. I heard the Longhorn mod isn't great and the UAV mod is the best. Do any of you know how the current Retrofixes mod I have installed right now compares to the UAV (assuming I don't use S-Video)? I haven't been totally satisfied with the Retrofixes mod as I get some moving diagonal lines and off-color blocky artifacts when there are large patches of solid color.

January 7

After finding out about the crash and the bargain bins as an adult, the one thing that still perplexes me was when I got Millipede for my birthday. It was 1988. My parents took me to Toys R Us to pick out a few birthday presents - I didn't have an NES yet (only a 2600). There were still Atari 2600 games there that weren't in any bargain bin. Now they were still discounted but not at ridiculously cheap prices like $1 to $5. There were a few games that were still over $20 including Millipede which was almost $30 - I remember my mom trying to convince me to get one or two of the $10 games instead, but I really wanted Millipede and eventually convinced her to get it.

I believe the crash happened. I just find it odd that there were still 2600 games in that price range that long after the crash.

January 7

I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction regarding the audio issue I'm having on my 7800. It has a composite AV mod from around 10 years ago. Recently, after picking up Popeye, I discovered it doesn't seem to export Pokey/Hokey audio. I'm guessing it's because of the AV mod I had done. Looking at the pics, what all would need to be done to rectify this?

October 14, 2023

I got the 7800 ProSystem joystick back in 2016 and I still use it today for 2600 games. I also have an Edladdin twin stick controller, but I generally only use it for 7800 Robotron and a few other games that use two controllers.

May 23, 2023

17 hours ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

Does your 7800 have an AV upgrade installed?

I guess that's it. The HOKEY isn't compatible with AV modded 7800s? If so that's quite a disappointment.

May 22, 2023

I finally got to try my copy, however, unfortunately my 7800 doesn't seem to like the HOKEY chip. I only get the basic sound effects. No music.

May 2, 2023

On 4/30/2023 at 4:50 PM, imstarryeyed said:

I honestly love this pinball game, I would love to see Cutie Q (the one this ones based on) and Gee Bee on an Atari cart, that would be amazing!

There's also Bomb Bee. I haven't played them extensively so I'm not sure which ones would be better of the three.

March 17, 2022

Thanks! I ended up ordering it and I was able to download!

March 16, 2022

This is tempting, but I'm a bit apprehensive. I already purchased D2K Arcade through Carl's site last year, but he went MIA and I never received anything. Is IntellivisionCollector.com pretty good at supplying the ROMs after purchase? I've never ordered there before.

March 12, 2022

Thanks! I wasn't aware.

March 11, 2022

I'm actually getting an "Unrecognized file type!" error when I try to run the 2600-words-9-NTSC.bin build on my Harmony Cart. It's the first time I've ever gotten that error with a game rom. I copied the file from the SD card back to the computer and ran it in Stella successfully so I don't know what's up.

November 13, 2021

How about the 3DO and all of those FMV games?

October 24, 2021

I sent a donation to Carl for D2K a week ago, though now I wish I had seen this thread first. Looks like it's going to be a looooong wait.

September 19, 2021

I played the Genesis version first when it came out. One small thing I thought was neat in the arcade version is that you don't have to kill Solo (jetpack cyborg guy) on the mountain top in level 2 and if you don't he'll pester you throughout the level. I never realized (until now) that you can actually beat the level without killing him.

September 18, 2021

SMW was never a favorite of mine either. I don't hate it or anything like that. I really liked when it first came out, but the level design didn't feel as tight as SMB3 to me.

April 18, 2021

13 hours ago, IntelliMission said:

That Bruce Lee-style Conan game for the Apple II/C64 looks pretty neat for 1984. I should give it a try, since it's only 7 levels (screens) long.

Yeah, if you like those types of games, you should check it out. It's easily my favorite Apple II game.

April 17, 2021

The Upper Lands four seasons forest in Secret of Mana

Super Mario Bros. 2 - Level 5-2

I don't know why, but it always felt comforting to me. It was a good night level.

Conan: Hall of Volta - the tree level (level 2)

Mota overworld in Phantasy Star II

The water level (3-3) in Bonk's Adventure and Piranha River from Bonk's Revenge

March 5, 2021

1 hour ago, AtariSphinx said:

An absolutely forgotten controller. I love the paddles and the paddle games. Gamers tend to have a love / hate relationship with them. Not sure if because they get jittery and don't know how to clean them or if not being used to them.

I think it's the former—the jittery problems that many of the Atari paddle controllers would get over time. I believe it was an inherent issue with using potentiometers. Spinners are a lot better in that regard.

March 5, 2021

On 3/3/2021 at 9:27 PM, Keatah said:

Absolutely. Having had all the major consoles prior to NES, and several contemporary 8-bit micros like the Apple II, C64, and Atari 400/800, there was indeed always something to play.

It was loads fun experiencing the arcade ports and system exclusives.

So very true. Good to hear others state this as I often thought myself the odd-one-out when it came to two thumbs. There are a few arcade games that translate well, or acceptably well, to the dual-thumb model. One would be Atari Assault. Each tread needs its own forward and reverse control. You also need to split or sway to lob and roll.

But otherwise I prefer a keyboard, mouse, and joystick. Been gaming on the PC like that since the 90's. It's like when I play Descent I'll do pitch, yaw, and fire on the joystick. Roll, throttle, and weapons select on the keyboard. Sliding on either a hat or keyboard.

Adapting that layout to a dual-thumb controller would make me all thumbs!

The controller I really miss the most is the paddle/spinner. Yeah, you can just use one axis on the mouse to do the same thing, but the tactile feel of rotating the paddle feels so much better and is more enjoyable. It also seems more intuitive for me, especially when it is controlling steering/turning.

I built a usb controller that features a TurboTwist 2 spinner (with the knob that can be set for more friction, giving it a paddle feel) with three buttons and I am currently in the experimenting phase with a few game prototypes that I've specifically designed for a paddle control. I feel that the paddle went extinct too early and wasn't fully explored as a video game controller.

March 5, 2021

4 hours ago, Rhomaios said:

I do like the second button. Jump+fire or jump+swing etc. is a great combination for action games. Four is tolerable, but really once you get to the weird N64 and Dual Shock stuff, it just isn't as good as classics.

Two or three is the sweet spot for me. With three you can have the two for attack/movement combos and one for a special ability or selecting/toggling stuff. You right, four is pushing it a bit and once you go over that, it becomes messy.

March 5, 2021

Yeah. Controlling the elevators would be nice. I just like that I can finally beat at least one level in this version (haven't gotten past the 2nd level yet).

March 3, 2021

Someone recently made a new version, Bagman Comes Back, for Windows and Amiga. It uses the same graphics/sound as the original and it plays the same as well. However, it sports 8 new levels and the difficulty curve seems to be improved. Not bad. I just wish the creator incorporated elements from Super Bagman.

January 2, 2021

On 5/3/2020 at 12:56 PM, Daj said:

...except for the save system. You get one save state slot and apparently it deletes itself when you game over? I want to pick the brain of the madman that came up with this. A lot of arcade games are unapproachable without save states to work out the trouble spots (unless you just credit feed), this is enough to make me pass on some games I was on the fence about. Frustrating.

It's probably due to the leaderboards. It would be way too easy to cheat. That said, they could have maybe included a separate menu option that allows of multiple reloadable save states, with the caveat being your score doesn't get put up on the leaderboard.

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