jaybird3rd

Ugh ... I hope this doesn't turn into anything like the old ANTIC framebuffer debate.

I'm hoping that someone who owns or has built a MultiJoy8 interface can answer a question for me (although it's probably a dumb question). I'm thinking about building a MultiJoy8 for myself. This website and the accompanying wiring diagram looks like it has all the information I need EXCEPT the type/value of the capacitor that connects to JOY1 and the 74LS138. I haven't seen it in any of the write-ups I've found, and I'd be grateful if someone could let me know what capacitor I should use (or which ones they've used). Thanks in advance!

Turmoil from 20th Century Fox. Probably the closest we'll ever get to Tempest on the 2600.

I recently modified my Atari 7800 to use a third-party power supply, so I no longer need the original power supply from Atari. I'm offering it for sale here in case someone has a console without a power supply, or if anyone wants a spare. It is used, of course, but in very good physical and working condition. I'm asking $8 plus shipping for it. Thanks!

Really? That's surprising ... Fulop himself said (on "Stella at 20") that the last run of Missile Command had the "RF" removed. I haven't seen any cartridges without the "RF," but I have seen ROM dumps without it (although I suppose those could have been modified after they were dumped).

I'm afraid I can't help diagnose the problem, but I do have a spare 6507, so let me know if you decide you need a replacement.

I don't know if he "squandered" it or not, but he's certainly had his share of money troubles in recent years: http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/09...nell2-9937.html However badly Bushnell might have managed his money, after reading that article, I still think Merrill Lynch sucks.

True, but that wasn't really a new system either; it was another 400/800 retread and more a computer than a game system.

Ah, thanks for that clarification. My understanding of the incident comes primarily from hearing Bushnell's and Al Alcorn's version of the story, particularly from the "Stella at 20" documentary (in which Alcorn specifically mentions the one-year timeframe leading up to CES when Atari kept quiet about the 2600). Speaking of "unsung heroes," I'm so glad that Ralph Baer is finally beginning to get due recognition as one of the fathers of video games. Bushnell's innovation was commercializing video games and helping to make them a mainstream entertainment product, but he couldn't have done it if it wasn't for the trailblazing work of Ralph Baer (among others of course). It is a pity about Bushnell, though ... I still think of him as a visionary and I admire his ideas (particularly about education), but unless I missed something, he hasn't been able to parlay any of that into any kind of lasting commercial success since he left Atari. It's really too bad that he and Ray Kassar couldn't find a way to peacefully coexist; they could have been a lot more successful together than either of them were on their own after Bushnell left. Warner picked up the technology that Atari had created and brought the marketing dollars that made it successful, but without Bushnell and his original creative team (Miner, DeCuir, Mayer, Milner, etc), Warner didn't have the vision to create something better. All they knew was to stick with the 2600 (for far too long) because it was their cash cow, and aside for the 5200 (a bungled recycling of the 400/800), Atari never developed another game system; all their subsequent consoles came from outside the company.

To make a long story short, Magnavox sued Atari for patent infringement, and Atari worked out a one-year deal to pay Magnavox a royalty on every Pong system that Atari sold. Thanks to Nolan Bushnell's foresight, the deal "just happened" to expire right before the 1977 CES in Chicago, so Atari just kept the already-in-development 2600 under wraps until the show so they wouldn't have to pay Magnavox any royalties for it (which they would have had to do if they shipped it earlier). It only made the 2600's debut all the more exciting, because nobody at CES was expecting to see it.

And I really don't recommend being drunk and getting anywhere near a soldering iron!

Soldering would be the cleanest way to do it, but you could also cut and splice the wires inside the gamepad. That wouldn't require any soldering at all; just some wire cutters/strippers and some electrical tape.

Something else: it was one of the few (only?) superhero games that actually used the alter-ego aspect of the main character. Other games would let you play as the Incredible Hulk but never Dr. Banner, or as Wonder Woman but never Diana Prince. In 2600 Superman, you got to be Superman AND Clark Kent, and each one had a role in winning the game.

I generally stick with MAME 0.74 since that's the version I have the most ROM sets for. I used to keep a couple versions of MESS for emulating a few console/computer platforms, but I've since acquired most of those machines and now prefer to use the real thing. I do have some old emulators for DOS (XFormer, Nesticle, Genecyst, V9T9, etc) as well, but I only keep them around for nostalgic purposes and because they're just cool programs; I'm still amazed Nesticle can emulate an NES at full speed on a 486 computer.

Thanks for posting that info. I'll get my RSI joystick mod info together and will add it to this thread as soon as I can.

That's another reason I'm especially appreciative of cartridges these days ... the modern transition to non-tangible means of distributing content (games, music, movies, etc). With the heavy emphasis on DRM, I can't imagine that publishers will allow you to use what you buy for as long as you want or to use it any way you want. How will people in the future collect games when they all expire after a certain point or can only be played on certain consoles?

The CD and the DVD are both long-lasting discs if they are properly handled, but when it comes to game discs at least, people don't seem to care; a lot of the used ones I've seen look like they were kept in boxes made out of jagged rocks and razor blades. Cartridges, on the other hand, generally don't require any special treatment in particular: I've seen 2600 carts that have been soaked, frozen, lit on fire, left out in the sun, stepped on, run over by cars, and used to prop up table legs, and they all survived. That's why we'll still be using those same cartridges long after many newer CD games have been chewed up and thrown out.

I like the immediacy of being able to simply plug in the game and switch on the console. No load times, no downloads, no damaged media messing up the game when it's almost done loading ... it's perfect, especially when you don't have much spare time and need to get your gaming done in short bursts. I also like the durability of cartridges (especially the early built-like-tanks 2600 carts), which no modern media can match: how many of today's CDs or even flash drives will be working and usable after thirty years in circulation?

I've always pronounced Galaga the same way you do. Two questions I have along similar lines: does anyone know how "Gaiden" from "Ninja Gaiden" is pronounced (is it "guy den" or "gay den"), or how "Karateka" is pronounced (are the first six letters pronounced the same as "karate")?

Ah, I didn't catch that. I don't happen to know how much 4464s cost in those days, so it might not have been such an easy option then. Thanks also for that link; I knew that Best sold RAM upgrades but not video upgrades.

It's not necessary to add an external RAM upgrade. They're out there, but it's trivially easy to upgrade the RAM internally if you have the right chips (two 4464 DRAM chips, as I recall, which you can find on a lot of old PC video cards). There are instructions on how to do this online; it's literally a matter of swapping out the RAM chips, cutting a trace or two, and adding some wires. Thank goodness Atari socketed their chips in those days. Beyond the RAM issue, the only thing really going against the 600XL is the fact that it's limited to RF-modulated video. There are instructions online for composite and S-Video upgrades, and they supposedly work really well (I couldn't finish mine because I couldn't read the silkscreened component labels on my board, so I can't speak from experience).

That brings up something I've noticed about many of these "greatest game designer" discussions: they tend to focus on console and computer developers without giving enough consideration to the arcades, which is where many of the game concepts that console/computer developers later popularized actually originated. In the arcade field, I'd say one of the most underappreciated game creators/developers has to be Ed Logg (Asteroids, Centipede, Gauntlet, Xybots, Steel Talons, etc). Yes, I know that Gauntlet was derived from Dandy and that Donna Bailey had a hand in Centipede also (some of the design and about half the code, according to Logg), but he still doesn't get enough credit.

Thanks for posting this! I've got two 1020 plotters that are in need of repair, and this is exactly what I needed. Now if only somebody made new 1020 pens ...

Well, damn ... I guess you're right! I hadn't heard of them before, but here is some information about it. I've read that they went as high as 300MHz, although I'm not sure why Intel stuck with them that long; the later ones must have been somewhat rare. That's the biggest problem with recycling OEM CPUs; PC manufacturers often use(d) passive heatsinks and relied on a case fan to cool the CPU. I've got a desktop with a pair of PIII 500MHz chips in it, both of which use passive heatsinks and are out of range of any case fans, and I had to go as far as mounting two 60mm fans inside the overhanging hard drive bracket to keep them cool. It was a lot easier to do that than find new coolers. Yes, I use a solid copper Socket A cooler with my 500MHz K6-2, which is currently in my file/print server and has been running for about seven years with no problems. I've always liked the K6 series of processors. They were a vast improvement over the K5, put up a surprisingly good fight against the Pentium II and Celeron, and used some interesting x86-to-RISC translation/emulation technology (which AMD acquired from NexGen); they weren't cheap Pentium clones by any means. It's a pity that the K6-III is such a rare processor; I would love to build an emulation box around one someday.

Actually, they are; I've encountered several in my travels. Here's a random picture of one from eBay: I love Slocket adapters; they make it a whole lot easier to replace the heatsink/fan. I have a hard time finding new, high-quality Slot 1 coolers for either the Pentium II or the Pentium III these days, but even some new Socket A coolers can be used on Socket 370 processors. It's been a while since I've looked for one so my information may be out of date, but it always seemed to me that the 800MHz Pentium III was a lot harder to find with a 100MHz FSB than a 133MHz FSB (different versions were released at both speeds, in Slot and Socket form factors). That's the reason I suggested the Celeron 800 for CPU upgrades, especially for boards that won't support a 133MHz FSB or a clock multiplier higher than 8 (which would rule out the 1GHz PIII). But if an 800MHz PIII chip is available, there's no reason not to use that instead of the Celeron. Was there really a Pentium 1 released at 266MHz? I've never seen one faster than a 233MHz (I've got several of those); I believe the non-MMX Pentiums went up to 200MHz, with the MMX desktop models released at 166MHz, 200MHz, and 233MHz. I do like the K6-!!! processors, though; if you're into overclocking (which I'm not), you can push those chips pretty far beyond their real speeds.