hex65000

When I sold NES decks, it was important to me that I do a couple of things first: -- Clean the deck inside and out (dust, crud, marker, whatever isn't part of the original hardware) -- Remove the old 72 pin connector -- Clean the contacts on the mainboard -- Replace the connector -- Burn in test: Run the system for at least an hour and ideally with a few different games. If everything works okay, youre done. I've done about 15-20 sytems this way, and out of those only one was truly dead and another had a replacement connector crap out on me. Hex. [ Tries to do it right, because anyone can screw it up. ]

The idea of independent game makers is novel, but it seems generally impractical in the modern console environment. First of all, you have to buy the big (very expensive) development kit for that platform. Then you have to get CDs pressed in the proper format, AND you have to convince all the GTA-thuggies that it's worth looking at even though they have never heard of your game. Or generate enough media hype through hook or crook to make people care. You _could_ sell it cheap enough, but then recouping cost would be harder. It's not impossible, but it would be way harder to do than an independent movie I'd think. Lastly, to comment on the article in the original post, the argument that originality will be lost (moreso) is quite believable. Really, the marketing droids come up with these demographics and then tailor a title to them. I like seeing something different out of left field, even if it's not _great_ the fact that it's some idea that I've not seen before adds to the cool factor. Katamari Damancy is definately up there on the weird factor and stateside, one of the more original concepts to come through in a while. Does this mean I want a bunch of sequels and clones of the series -- uh.. no. The thing is that if this was hit with heavy levels of 'market research' the title may not have ever made it to the US or could have been so horribly sanitized or thugified that it would have looked like something totally different than the very Japanese culture centric title that was presented. The fact that bigger money keeps crawling into the industry is beacuse they smell a bigger return on investment. In a way it's the one way humans are like sharks, if we smell money, the greed kicks in and any civility tends to go away. The possible loser will be the consumer who will have their options of what is available limited by this 'big money'. Hex. [ Not the expert on any of this... there I said it. ]

I shouldn't type when I'm tired. To get a 5V output on a 7805 voltage regulator, the general rule of thumb is to have at least 8V going into the regulator (a 3V difference). If you drop below 8V, the output will start to sag below 5V. The heat plate is the big blob of circuit trace that is directly underneath the 7805 regulator. That was Atari's solution for a heat sink. A proper heat sink will keep the voltage regulator cooler when its running. This isn't needed, but I think it's wise especially if your'e not a 'purist' on the originality of your hardware. Linky from the hardware forum... http://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=42451 Does that help? Hex. [ just keeps making it worse... ]

I have to admit that would be a fun kit to put together. I didn't see it up on your site though. Also, if you built an adapter for the 6502 -> 6507 why not incorporate it into the next board revision? Or does the 6502 add new compatability problems that I'm not aware of? Hex. [ A little bit of duct tape... ]

I tend to be a bit of a binge gamer. My most recent binge was when I was working on Fallout: Brotherhood. Where I logged about 11 hrs in a sitting interuppted only by my girlfriend wanting attention and I wanted to finish the chapter. Actually, I did finish the game that night. While enjoyable, I found that the replay value is somewhat broken in that the storyline seems to be about the same for every character. It is fun to at least unlock the other playable characters. I wonder if there are any more. Then I finally sat and logged about 2.5 on ff7 last night while 'testing' a copy of the game. I would have played more, but I was getting hungry. mmmm.... gil for chili? Hex. [ Robotic cottages that attack? weird. ]

After reading all of this, I feel like a real kook. I'm not motivated to buy anything on launch day. I'm still happily sucking up stuff for the systems I _Have_. Among them there are many games I haven't even begun to dig into yet. So other than the eye candy and the next generation of 'thugged up' titles. The question becomes: Why should I care? Another GTA with a map 5 times larger than the last one? Another Final Fantasy that just keeps going? Another retro-pack of the stuff I already have in many cases? I'm just not feeling that 'killer app' as of late. I do like backwards compatability when I can get it. I keep an original PS1 handy to keep the milage low on my ps2 though. On the other hand, I don't have a 2600 handy for my atari carts, I use my 7800 for most of that stuff. You also would be surprised to find how many people dont know that the GBA is capable of running the GB library. It's kind of sad really -- especially when they don't beleive me when I plug Pokemon yellow into my regular GBA and then insist that it probably won't work with their GBA-SP. Hex. [ I won't pay a lot for that muffler! ]

Here's my take on this one: Hark back to the hardware forum and how much voltage you have to have above your regulated voltage to have a generally good output. The answer was about 3V. If you drop below that threshold, your regulator will start to sag out pretty quick. The result is that now all of your 5V logic ICs are now running at a lower voltage and bits are going to get misinterpreted or other interesting issues. If this is hard on the ICs can probably be debated. If done in a fairly smooth manner, you can probably reduce any of the harsher transient spikes that will hurt your equipment. Also realize, you get a small transient whe your power up your console. Proper filtering of power is the key element there. The next question is what is happening when you toggle the power on and off rather quickly? My guess would be that you are doing something similar to the above only now you're jiggling the voltage around an awful lot. When you do a quick toggle or two, you still have capacitors with a charge that are going to discharge as soon as power is removed. So lets say you turn the power off, the caps start discharging and the system is in its dying process. Then you toggle the power back on and the caps are charged again and everything goes back to normal logic levels. The result is really similar, but now you are introducing a pretty harsh transient into the equasion -- that would be rough on the logic ICs. Lastly, overheating -- make sure that your 5V regulator is secured to the heat plate on the board, or you could add an extra heat sink if your'e ambitious. It's pretty easy to do and will keep your reguator running much cooler. Hex. [ Karma is the lazy man's revenge... ]

Yeah, for the most part I find myself running about with a mele weapon like the monster ripper (currently the tesla cleaver). That does solve a lot of my problems, that and I maxed out 'slayer' as fast as I could. Next on the list is 'Desert Soldier' for improved damage with kinetic weapons. I don't mind turn based RPGs for combat, it does let me ponder my approach a bit better than the action genre. Like I said, it's like playing a Diablo title, but post-apocolyptic. There's a lot of running about and killing things, but It has held my attention quite well. I'll probably play this until I'm sick of thinking about the game (could be a while), but for what cost me sub $20 on the PS2 this is not bad, the only other games to rival that much of my attention has been .//hack #1 and Katamari. I don't know how closely it follows the storyline of the PC versions of the game. But here's a lite version of the story so far... [ minor spoilers... ] You are an initiate of the Brotherhood of steel and you arrive in a beat down city to meet one or more Paladins in the Brotherhood. Instead, you have to cope with the fact that they have wandered off elsewhere and that raiders are kicking the crud out of everyone. Following the only lead you have, you go to a city consisting of ghouls. They don't like humans. Or much of anything really. Mutant humans have been sighted here, so be careful. You lose to the mutants through treachery (scripted) and are eventually saved by a small number of people in what's left of a vault. They need to escape -- the mutants want in the vault -- the computer has gone a little wonky -- and you need to clean house. Hex. [ It's a Nuclear blast... ]

Out of curiosity, has anyone else sat down and played this? It reminds me a lot of the Diablo series really. (In structure and gameplay) I've only gone through the first chapter, but I've logged easily over 8 hrs on it already. It does make me want to find the (uninstalled) copies of Fallout 1 & 2 that I have laying around the workshop. Right now I'm playing as the girl and _may_ reattempt to play as the ghoul on a harder setting if I can remain enthused long enough. I think I paid $15 for this thing, and so far I'm getting my money's worth. As a side note, it's funny that I've been picking up the PC versions of several console games simply because I can get them for much less new than the associated console title. (IE: Thirteen, Magic: Battlegrounds, any Unreal game) funny how that one came full circle... Hex. [ What's a nice girl like you doing in a post-apocolyptic future like this? ]

I have a quattro Spreadsheet made up I have big headers that descrobe the system, below I have the title, genre, manual, notes, and a running counter on one side so I can see how many I have of a certain platform. My list is also horribly out of date. I occasionally update a few things here and there. When I'm out and about, I usually just run off memory. Which has worked fairly well for the most part. I may have to add a new column for boxes since I'm starting to get a massive number of them for my Genesis carts. Hex. [ Brute force answers for elegant problems... ]

Okay, this is more of a collecting thing... I have two picture label copies of Asteroids. Nothing special. However, one shows the copyright date on it on startup and the other does not. The stickers look identical, was the no copyright screen version just a later run of the same game? Any thoughts? Hex. [ Just can't clean another contact today... ]

Two problems: -- Those switches are not designed to handle the higher frequencies of RF. They spew signal everywhere. I tried that trick with my pelican switch while having two systems on at the same time and selecting one. The picture became total crap. A proper routing of RF is needed for this one. -- Your theoretical 15 spots still means that you have to swap connectors down the line. This also gets compounded from the observations I've seen above. Okay, It's brainstorm time... The correct way to do this would be to use a relay system with some Xor logic to drive everybody. Conceptually, this would not be tough. They make (and I have had good luck with) high frequency relays that are quite compact. Add a smattering of CMOS logic, SPDT switches and some driver transistors and you are done. However, cost would be a big factor. Those relays cost about $4-$5 each. If you build a unit with 5 selections, you have ~$25 in relays. Bulk orders get a bit cheaper, but not much. Everything else would'nt cost that much really. Hex. [ Is slowly building up his parts bin for the 5200 switch redesign prod. run... ]

Actually, with a bit of work, you can get composite video out of you SMS pretty easily. You can use a standard 5 pin circular DIN connector and get the video and audio component out. For a more complex config (S-video), I can't help you. I don't know where to get an 8-pin DIN that will properly match the connector. (Yes I've tried to for another mini-project.) I assume that your NES is a top loader if you are going the RF route for video. I'm pretty sure that there was a report on the forums of the NES light gun not liking some of the newer TVs. Mine is pretty dated, so I dunno... Hex. [ Scrub scrub scrub those filthy cartridges... ]

Sort of on the topic, I recently broke down and bought one of the logitech wireless ctrlers for the PS2. It is nice. It's not $40 nice, but still, it works on the PS1 / 2 systems just fine. It also fixes the recessed D-pad of the playstation controller, and you can manually turn the vibration off (which I am thankful for) I got a chance to check out the XBOX version one day and concluded that yes; I will buy one of these for the house. Any obvious downsides? It does transmit RF at 2.4GHz. So it prolly bumps into a bunch of things in that spectrum. (IE: Lan, Phone) The manual claims that it does frequency hop to keep interference down. In a way, my luddite 'hardwired' network turned out in my favor there. And now that I think about it, I wonder how much power that thing is spewing out. It has to be less than a half-watt. The Motorola Walkie-talkies I have contain a stern warning because of the high power levels coming out. Heh, I don't want sentient cancers to appear because I decided to play a bunch of RPGs using the cordless ctrler. For the truly paranoid, grounded tinfoil gloves are recommended... Hex. [ So much to do... no idea where to start... ]

Note: This is not designed to be flamebait... just my NSH opinion. I'm going to have to go with Katamari Damancy. This game has me literally preaching it's strange merit to anyone who will listen to me. Yeah, I think it's that good. I can't comment on Halo2 yet because I haven't started playing. Having played Alien Hominid, it's pretty cool, but i really didn't see any major innovation. It's a contra/gunstar heros class title that appears to be well done, but at the same time the 2d-ish cell shading makes me think that this game could have been accomplished on the previous generation consoles to a reasonable degree. (IE: Dreamcast, PS1, N-64, even the Jag) GTA is GTA is an RPG. The series just doesn't do 'it' for me. I'll leave the rest for the historians to figure out... Hex. [ Is itching to try out all his new toys.... ]

Castle Shikigami 2 (PS2) Genre: Action / Scrolling Shooter Found at: Borders Books ~$10.00 new Worth: ~ $10.00 or less Similar to: Ikaruga / Gunbird 2 HD Loader Compatable: Yes. Good bits: Lots of things to shoot at, borders on possible for the uninitiated. It's moderately pretty and the character options give you some decent style options. Character art is acceptable. While I'm not a conneseur of this genre, it's a competent game and it's pretty challenging overall. I never was really good with the shooting pattern games like Ikaruga. I just like to blaze away and do as much damage as I can. What is unique is that you can select from a bank of characters, you can select from two different special types that are similar in style at the start. Each character has a standard weapon type and then if you hold the button down a 'special' attack. This is a nice aspect that allows you to pick from multiple different shooting styles. The screen layout reminds me of Ikaruga, and the fact that you play a person just floating in the air shooting all sorts of things reminds me of Gunbird 2. It's a shooter. Any questions? Bad Bits: Voice acting. It's painful. I suspect random employees were given a poorly translated Japanese script, and no context for what they were saying and just read the lines. Badly. The story might make more sense with a better translation. Is it worth it?: That's a toss up. The price is definately right. There is really nothing innovative going on here though. I also hate to say that the acting takes away from the joy of this game. Everything else is at least average in style and content. If you want a staple instead of R-Type Final, or Gradius 5 this is a possible choice... Just don't pay a lot for that muffler. What's Disturbing: There is a Castle Shikigami 1. The masochist in me must find it. Hex. [ Just does not get it... ]

I recently picked up the Pelican Arcade stick and it is big and clicky. It hasn't gotten a lot of milage yet, but it does support all 3 current-gen platforms. I have high hopes for this peice. I have a lot of titles that are digital only and could use a proper stick. My only complaint is a lack of autofire 'turbo' buttons. Still, a nice peice for a 3rd party. If/when I get around to cracking it open I'll comment on the internals. Linkies: http://www.consolegameworld.com/article.php/id/49/ http://www.talkxbox.com/hreview11.html Hex. [ Feels the blood pumping... must shovel snow. ]

I went a little crazy, since I've been putting off purchases of the homebrews for a while... So with the QB cart, I just (like a half hr ago) ordered... Climber 5, Oystron, SCSIcide, Skeleton+, Seawolf, Star Fire, This Planet Sucks, Vault Assault, Thrust+ Platinum, Venture II: The Abysmal Abyss, X3V0LuX, Foot Pedal Controller, and Backfire Who needs that Steel Batallion Uber ctler anyway... Hex. [ Established 2004 until 2006... ]

I swear this game is one of those where you just get your groove on and you can just roll up everything. I beat my head against the wall on Make a Star 7 all night last night. Today I managed to pull it off on the second try. There was a great feeling of glee as I started to roll up houses, cars, and Nessie!? Made it to about 22m. It's just a royal pain getting started is all. I think that truly is the hardest part of the game. Now I keep trying to collect as many different things as I can. Whee! Dammit, where is that missing majong tile? Hex. [ Ban Na Na ]

That reminds me, did you check out the trailer for Area 51 and Narc on the disc? Narc just screamed stupid honestly. Area 51 created mild interest for me, but nothing that would justify shelling out more than $15. for it and perhaps $10 for Narc. I too was disappointed in this title. Perhaps I had my expectations lowered a bit from the pounding it took on the AA forums. The good news is I didn't pay a lot for that muffler. I found it used for $10. I got my money's worth. As for the Atari Collection I think that too is going to go on my buy it used and cheap list. I have a good chunk of those games already in some other capacity, why buy them again? Also, just because I'm confuzzled, wasn't this an Infogrames/Atari release? Hex. [ Suspects that he's going to take on Roll a Star 7 very soon... ]

Some other worthwhiles that I haven't seen here: Ms. Pac Man, Klax, Sonic Spinball, and Roadblasters You really can't go wrong with any of the Sonic games and pts 1 & 2 are so common. While you indicated a distaste for RPG types, Shadowrun is pretty cool. A tough find though. Hex. [ Genesis OC revisted Project @ 30% completion... and progressing]

Another 'big hand' guy here... My only complaint about the BIG xbox ctrler is that stupid jewel in the middle telling you it's an Xbox ctrler. Look folks, if you aren't sure what game system you are playing on. Just ask someone. You make the rest of us men look bad. A VMU-style B&W or color LCD display running off the USB port would have been way cool. At least it wouldn't be a waste of space. Hex. [ needs to look into that thrustmaster ctrler... sweet. ]

Yep, that's going on my christmas boutique wish list. Hex. [ Can the carts get any bloody SMALLER??? ]

I could not bring myself to pick just one. So, I'll break it up into smaller peices: 8-bit: Vectrex I only have 2 carts for this system, but ChristianScott made a good point about the system being truly unique and impossible to 100% emulate. The runner ups were The NES and Colecovision. 16-Bit: Genesis Without beating the 16-bit wars horse again, I just find something pleasing and adaptable about the Genesis. The 32x, the CD drive, and the SMS Power converter. Runner up: SNES Hex. [ Nothing says Christmas like a big rubbery monster with it's white frosting breath. ]

I can't fix the form factor, but I have ideas on fixing the responsiveness of the ctler. Alas, another project for another day. The Power Supply is an odd duck. If anyone ever figures out where you can buy the connector to the system post it. the supply itself is a pretty simple design FWIW. Hex. [ Night of the missing lab report... ]