Ferris

BTW - What Curt said could very well be true too. I havent ever seen anything that would make me think these things were for real. I just have heard the story a few times, and I'm goin on pure word of mouth here. I'd still like to see a picture though.

Eric - I am fortunate enough to be a DeLorean owner myself as well as a 7800 freak so I know a bit about this strange tale. Long story short, those 7800s had *nothing* to do with Atari what-so-ever. The reason you can't call this thing a prototype is because it wasn't anything Atari was involved with. Believe me, I looked into this as best as I could. There was an automotive conglomerate in Columbus, OH that was a big DeLorean dealership in the early 1980s. They continued to provide parts for the cars after they stoped production in January of 1983. Appearantly this automotive conglomerate had a "Holiday Catalogue" that was sent out around every Christmas with little gift ideas, etc. Sometime in the mid 80's (I'm guessing Christmas 1986) they had a 7800 game set with a 7800 and a few games. Only difference was they "DeLorean-ized" it to make it special for their dealership. Again, this was THEM doing it, NOT Atari. I'm not sure of the name of this group but I can try to find out. What makes yours special is that it's silver. I have seen two other units like this at a DeLorean get-together and they weren't any different from the standard 7800 units except the strip along the button area (power, pause, select, reset) was silver, and they had "DeLorean" on the metal name plate. Why yours is silver I dont know, but I'd venture a guess that the one you have is the dealership's "rough draft" of what they wanted to do. I'm guessing that making them silver was too much work? I'd really like to see a picture of what you have. From what I know, most of these are lost to the wild. Most likely some kid got one for Christmas and was dissapointed because he didn't get a Nintendo, and pitched it two years later when he finally did. There is a man in Belfast, Northern Ireland who contacted me several years ago who claimed to have two of these things and he was offering them to me for a lot of money. I turned him down. Frankly I think it was kind of a silly idea. I hate to see 7800 units bastardized like that. I like my coffee with cream and no sugar. I like my 7800s with Galaga and no goofy mods.

I have been sitting on one for a year. It has been supplied to me on the condition that I keep a low profile on the development and not reveal the source who supplied me with the correction. There are some legal situations being worked out with the folks who own Epyx right now. Hopefully everything will be fine and the cartridges will be produced by a vendor (not Atari 7800.com) and distributed to other interested vendors. If we can get permission from the individual who placed all his time and effort into this fix, the rom would certainly be released. It's his decision though so there's not much I can do. At least we got the bug fixed. *shruggs*

Just wait till we get to see Electrocop. It is supposed to be extreemly impressive. As for Rampage, I feel your pain. I didn't get a copy of Rampage until I had already been used to playing it on the Lynx. When I saw it on the 7800 I literally turned off the 7800 and took out the cartridge to make sure I didn't get a 2600 cartridge by mistake. The 7800 is capable of much more than the NES was, but as usual there was another big let-down. Fatal Run? They should have ported Roadblasters and done it correctly. Then again there are those times when I'm playing Impossible Mission and I marvel at how smoothly the secret agent man leaps across the screen and basically performs ballet as he searches for more pieces of the puzzle.

I'd really like to see a PS2 controller converted to work with a 5200. The analog joystick would feel great, and if you could have a digital option (as on the PS2) for control, that would be even nicer in games like Pac-Man, etc. ...Just a thought. Maybe a talented hacker will pick up this idea and run with it.

Any luck today?

I know what you mean about it being half-assed. I was just excited at the time that a significant title like that was even available for the 7800. It would have been much better if they would have put in a little more time and thought into the project. But there are a lot of half-assed games that I'm a big fan of. E.T. is one of my favorite games for the 2600. ....seriously... and Jinks for the 7800 isnt half bad either. At least once you get the hang of it. It's sorta like Breakout on acid minus the paddles.

Does anybody have an original High Score Cartridge prototype from when Atari under Warner and GCC were developing it? Did they ever get to the point where they had it on a cartridge, or have any sort of design for the concept as far as what the cartridge was going to look like, etc? Curt?

Actually I shouldnt say 6x of everything.... more like 6x of everything NTSC that was officially released, and at least one of everything that has been released as reproduction cartridges, etc. I have some boxed PAL cartridges, but not a lot. Most of my collection comes from when this stuff went on clearance and from when I used to get things directly from Atari.

See, that all makes sense to me. Everything they touched wreaked of Activision's fingerprints. The cartridge shells were nearly identical, the programing style was similar, and their games were generally fun. And yes, I liked Double Dragon too.

Agent X - How closely tied was Absolute to Activision? I always thought that Absolute was some sort of subsidary of Activision... I've never really been too sure about that one.

Why not? I'm obsessed. I want to preserve this stuff for the future, Ive had a complete collection since the early 1990s. I want to make sure my kids and grandkids can enjoy these games later on down the road.

Everyone I talk to has mixed feelings about the joypad. They either LOVE it...or they DESPISE it. I had seen them in the "Atari Advantage" poster that I had received when I bought Ballblazer in 1988 or 1989. I wanted one ever since then. I went back to Toys R Us and kept on pestering them to get me one of those controllers because I wanted a Nintendo style joypad, not a joystick. I was just a kid and I felt "left out" when all the Nintendo kids had these nifty new controllers. I finally got one from Holland in 1993, and I was a little bit dissapointed at first. After a while though, it grows on you.

Everything ever made for the 7800, boxed, x6 with the exception of the High Score Cartridge of which I only have one.

How could you hate the greatness that is Alien Brigade?! Crack Rocks my friend... Crack Rocks.

As long as you have the standard coax input on the back of your tv set... which most all tvs of the past two decades do... you should be all set. (It's the little silver metal one that is threaded so you can screw on to it.) The guys at radio shack should be able to help you if you have more questions. Atari 7800 On-Line Owners Manual

Hmm.... somehow I dont think 5200 Tempest is down for the count just yet.

Before you go to Radio Shack make a roster of what items you have and a checklist of what items you need to get. You will want to make sure that the 7800 power adapter works and you get the red light to come on when you power up the unit. That's half the battle. Like I said, chances are its just because you are using an incompatable RF switchbox with your deck. When you go to Radio Shack, make sure you have a MANUAL RF switchbox for older video game systems. If you have a modern television, make sure that it is either a cable ready box, or that you spend another buck fifty to get the Y-cord to coaxial converter. You will also want to get an RF cable that connects the new switch box to your 7800. Once you have all of these things you should be set for gameplay. Good luck!!! Atari 7800 On-Line Owners Manual

I like it too. It's one of my favorites. I know I know call me crazy. It's just got a lot of that circa 1982 Speilberg charm.

Sure would be nice. Looks like a stellar title.

Yeah, if they modified it, it should be pretty clear. If they did a mod to it, it would most likely be to add composite video outputs so there would be RCA jacks poking out of the back and you should be able to see that the plastic casing has been cut or shaved. If they did an auto RF modification, chances are you would see that internally. If your auto RF switchbox isnt working with the 7800, it is more likely that the person who sold you the unit is confused and is confusing you in the process. Ive had hundreds of 7800s go thru my hands in the past and not one had been modified for auto RF out. Your best bet is to purchase one of the direct connectors from AtariAge or go to Radio Shack and bite the bullet and spend six dollars on the manual RF switchbox.

Still, Tempest looks like a nice little demo of how well the 5200 can handle pseudo-vector graphics. The first time I saw the Tempest prototype I was totally impressed. Maybe someday someone will take the time to sit down and complete the game.

That's true. I forgot about those little gizmos. Those are quite helpful and the picture is SOOO much clearer, it's about as good as it gets thru RF.

Either they did a modification to your 7800 or they are mistaken. The 7800 does not work with automatic switchboxes. Believe me, I've been trying that all my life

That's your problem right there. You need a *MANUAL* game switch box from Radio Shack. It is the one where you have to move the little switch to select between GAME and TV. If you need any more assistance, you can read the on-line Atari 7800 ProSystem instruction manual on my website at www.atari7800.com/html/7800manual.htm Good luck with your new 7800!