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Keatah

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Posts posted by Keatah

  1. Posted

    Well.. I can you that after my collection reached huge proportions it became very depressing and time consuming to manage and maintain it. Not to mention how expensive it was. After I acquired the common material, the hard-to-find stuff began taking up a disproportionate amount of time. The ratio kept getting worse and worse. It would take 2-3 hours to make a thrift-store run and come back with maybe 5 carts or other related items. And then spend a whole day and come back empty handed. Till I quit. Gave up on the whole gig. The shit was proliferating everywhere.

     

    That was in the early 2000s. The trail end of the dotcom boom.

     

    Today and the past 7 or so years I thoroughly enjoy a very small collection of just some PC and Apple II stuff. The material I had as a kid. The fun factor has multiplied manyfold since.

     

    Now whether that will happen with you - that's impossible for me to say.

     

     

    • Like 5

  2. Posted

    3 hours ago, MrTrust said:

    Sure.  Wouldn't argue otherwise.  Although, every now and again the masses do end up getting it right, or at least not crazily wrong.

    And even if the masses get it wrong, it always turns out being right. The complainers can be reduced to irrelevancy. The inferior product can undergo evolutionary and migratory changes to make it work as expected. The inferior product can simply be adopted as the norm.

  3. Posted

    First time I saw Doom in any form was in EB or Software Etc. in Stratford Square Mall. This was sometime around early spring 1994. Saw it during one of my weekly treks to all the local area computer stores.

     

    It was this unassuming paper jewel-box with two floppies. Distributed by GT Interactive as a "New Virtual Reality" game. (Everything back then was a virtual reality craze.) It was sitting in a rack, on the counter, next to the checkout register. Listed for just under $10 bucks. I bought that and that other renowned shooter, Raptor. Also packaged and priced similarly.

     

    This was a casual purchase, an add-on purchase, like candy at the supermarket. I had no preconceptions or expectations about what it would look like, how it would play, or even what genre of game it was. I was pleasantly surprised to find it had smooth animation and that every pixel on the screen was used to represent the 3D world. The sound was complete, the graphics had great attention to detail. And everything worked! No time limits, no missing items. A full Episode of 10 levels. Great replay value. Felt like a complete game. For cheap too! Nothing to make you feel bad or coerced. Wasn't even put-off by the fact that it was really free to download on BBS'es elsewhere. I mean I got a "box" and disks. The distro model fit the times.

     

    I would soon go on to purchase the original full three-episode set via mail order. Took about 2-3 weeks to arrive as did most things of the 80's and early 90's. I remember asking myself if I could trust this whole thing. Well it worked out fine.

     

    The most impressive thing was that I had what I considered a basic workstation-class PC. 16MB 486 DX2/50, with 200MB HDD. Loaded with Windows 3.1 and various productivity packages. And all of a sudden it became a capable game machine! I had no idea a "serious" computer could play games like so. A standard Cirrus Logic 5422 graphics chip not really known for anything except, maybe, static hi-resolutions and boring "PC stuff" was instantly converted into rapid-fire fun. Something exceeding all the consoles & coin-ops I ever played to date.

     

    Guys. Let me tell you. It was magic. Pure unadulterated magic! I quickly got into reading and discovering just how programmable and versatile VGA was. What else was in there?

     

    When Heretic, Hexen, and Quake came out I was just as impressed over and over again.

  4. Posted

    52 minutes ago, oracle_jedi said:

    Or maybe they felt Missile Command 2600 didn't stink, and it was good enough for the 7800?

    After thinking about it, this makes good sense. VCS version played well - and even has new life in Stella since you can speed-up or slow-down the game action with the 'turbo' feature. Not only that, there is a trackball/mouse version too. MC on the VCS had the simpler mechanics of one base (and it belonged to me). With three there were too many distractions for my infantile intellect. My focus was removed from the targeting action above.

     

    Asteroids wasn't that bad on the VCS. It of course wasn't vector graphic. And there were differences in the rock trajectories. But the coin-op was too hard for me. So VCS it was. The 400/800 version just sucked. The graphics were not smooth. The sound was all scratchy. The ballistics felt different, definitely not an improvement. The whole experience was tacky.

     

    And VCS SpaceInvaders was just simply better all around. More appealing colors. Bigger targets. Better sounds. Tons of options. The quintessential killer-app!

     

    Overall as a kid bitd I preferred many VCS games over their arcade counterparts. And we thoroughly enjoyed the many game variations. Something no con-op really offered

     

    Sure we like our VCS consoles. They were genuinely rewarding and fun to play. Especially on rainy days which made BMX'ing to the arcade unpleasant. The amount of fun-per-dollar we had was a good ratio that got better with time. Despite its simplistic graphics, the gameplay was anything but. And consider the VCS was originally designed as a Pong machine with 2-3 year lifespan - tops.

     

    15 minutes ago, Zonie said:

    I think an enhanced missile command would be a cool title for the 7800.

    It might be. Certainly be fun to see and experience. But I've never taken a long-term liking to many enhanced/remade arcade games. Not a purist or anything. Just that they seem "different" from their progenitors. Especially when the patterns and mechanics are shuffled.

    • Like 2

  5. Posted · Edited by Keatah
    Fix punktshooayshun.

    In thinking about the 7800 I got wondering about Missile Command. And I couldn't find it anywhere! Has there been anything in the last two decades of sleuthing history that'd give us a reason why MC hasn't been ported to the 7800?

     

    The old lady says it's just a case of port fatigue and wasn't necessary - since the 7800 plays VCS games anyway. How many versions are needed when you have the excellent VCS and 400/800 iterations? I tend to agree because I've not sought out anything beyond those and the actual arcade cab.

     

    There's this thread, but it's 20 years out of date and stagnant.

     

    • Like 2

  6. Posted

    3 hours ago, John Stamos Mullet said:

    learn from my experience - ease up. It's just atariage. It's not Twitter or Reddit or 4chan.

    Not even that. It's just post America Online. The time when they let everyone use the internet.

    • Like 3

  8. Posted

    2 hours ago, newtmonkey said:

    I like it quite a bit, but I'd definitely rank it below Doom.

    Yes. Agree.

     

    2 hours ago, newtmonkey said:

    I like that the levels in Heretic are typically quite large and open, as it makes it seem like you are actually exploring a space compared with the tight corridors of Doom or the puzzle maps of Doom 2.

    True enough. Noticed that as the Doom franchise progressed, the levels have become more tight, more tedious, more tactical, and that isn't my style. I love levels like UAC_dead. Huge. Wide. Expansive in scope. These large environments create a sense of exploration, uniqueness, and progression. So much less fatiguing to work through.

     

    There's no way I'm going to sit through Sigil. Not right now. I swear it's an overdesigned button-mashing fest. Grinding. Made by someone making something because it needed to be done, yet having a lot of energy to put into it. I mean it's not a bad effort - just not my gig.

     

    3 hours ago, awbacon said:

    anyone else into Heretic?

    It's something I've been meaning to get back into. Sooner or later.

  10. Posted

    19 hours ago, schuwalker said:

    Absolutely a genius move on Coleco's part and a head scratcher from Ataris going with a paddle game from '78. The 5200 controllers were a big turn off for me. Looking back, I was never really fond of the Colecovision controllers as well.

    As kids we were never discerning about controllers. We plugged and played and had fun.

     

    19 hours ago, schuwalker said:

    I found over the years that this era of gaming is definitely my favorite albeit was short-lived, I'll group the computer and the arcade scene as well. I have much respect for all the consoles from this timeline.

    Respect indeed. Up to the NES era each console was a unique expression of the new electronic artform of videogaming. Once NES got underway everything started feeling the same. Churn'n'burn. And it hasn't slowed down one iota.

     

    • Like 1

  11. Posted

    3 hours ago, hizzy said:

    Why get the retron? Why not use a Pi?

    Only issue I see here is the Retron works right out of the box. Everyone knows how to read a quickstart guide and plug things in. The Pi is a little more involved, though there is that Atari kit thing from MicroCenter? or Fry's?

  12. Posted

    3 hours ago, WaverBoy said:

    No, we need an SD card slot just like the Super Nt and Mega Sg, for the many of us who have moved on from dusty cartridges but still want the authentic playing experience (except for the fuzzy CRT and dusty cartridge part 🤓).

    Oh I completely wholeheartedly agree with the dusty cartridges and fuzzy CRT issues. Ever since I got my 1st LCD monitor in the dot-com days, I never wanted anything else. Free from burn-in, dot-addressable perfect geometry being huge huge factors. Other features like refresh rates, brightness, and contrast needed more evolution at that early juncture.

     

    I see 2 paths with an FPGA console. Build-in Harmony cartridge compatibility by using a chip that has an ARM on it and is able to access it like a real VCS would. Or just get an HC straight away and consider that as your SD slot. Both eliminate the mound of carts.

     

    IDK.. Personally I've been rocking Stella since it was command-line only. The Brad Mott days.

  13. Posted · Edited by Keatah

    Now unwrap that bad boy!

     

    7 hours ago, GoldLeader said:

    Not accurate to me though...Maybe the latest and  greatest is better, but on my multicade I see some things, (granted it's a tiny amount) that are not arcade perfect at all, i.e.  Frenzy is missing the Death sound and the other sounds have extreme lag, it's like push the button, wait a second, hear the sound, (I don't remember if Berzerk is this way or not, or if I have Berzerk on there), Mr. Do!  is not as random as the actual arcade game (That one is very subtle, but trust me)...

    I haven't heard any lag on Frenzy's sound. Perhaps it's a setting or the version/hardware you're using. I don't know all the fine points in Mr. Do! so I can't fairly comment on the subtle patterns or randomness.

     

    Thing with MAME, to me and likely most of the people that play it, is that it may not be precisely absolutely 100% perfect. And that is ok. It's a very necessary part of any vintage gamer's arsenal.

     

    Ohh what did I buy today? 2 more Apple II manuals. No fear. I'm still in casual accumulation mode. Just that a bunch became available recently. Throughout the rest of the year I'll likely not get more than 10 more. Tops. I swear it!

    • Like 1
    • Haha 1

  14. Posted

    This hypothetical VCS replicant shouldn't have an SD slot. Because, then, stuff like Draconian would need the ARM/Harmony gig also be replicated. And that's going to add unnecessary complexity for playing something in a way that was not meant to be played. Well. Time will tell.

     

    • Like 1

  15. Posted

    9 hours ago, WaverBoy said:

    Jesus I hope Analogue decides to give us a retro-stylishly designed Analogue Av FPGA console for Atari VCS/5200/7800/400/800/1200XL games [..]

    Well if they ever do I would expect (and demand) many changes and inclusions that are non-existent on other FPGA implementations. The switches on the VCS section need to work correctly so we can play games like SpaceShuttle and others. I would also demand that it play all ARM games and run Harmony carts. AND have correct voltage levels and signaling on the DB9 ports - so that we may use things like AtariVOX, SaveKey, Quadtari, and other future peripherals.

     

    And it must be a normal & practical looking console. No "because 80's" boombox style or other circus acts. Not wanted. Not required. No mix of switches in the front and back. Put everything up front. AND NO CARTRIDGE LOADING FAKERY. Of course that's not needed with FPGA.

    • Like 2

  18. Posted

    I do NOT want that anywhere near my gaming setup!

     

    Did they make it Day-Glo Orange so it's louder and shows up better on e-commerce pages or some shit like that?

    • Like 1

  20. Posted

    IIRC motherboards have holes on the bottom directly under Agnus. These allow you to push the chip out with some sorta stick. If you still want/need to do that.

     

    I've also used thick paperclips to rock those chips back and forth to get them out without using a correct puller. Takes a good number of tries and gentle nudging to not crack the socket.

  23. Posted · Edited by Keatah

    Yes I get all that. I tend to want to replicate the look as I remember it BITD. Or going one better in the direction of perfect geometry and consistent colors from day to day and year to year. As kids in the late 70's we imagined "super" displays. The tech level we thought of as sci-fi level came to be real with the advent of 1600x1200x32 monitors. That was in the 90's.

     

    I keep meaning to get into MiSTer more than the occasional messing around. I'm just happy that it IS gaining some popularity. And it certainly helps that a team effort is involved - this stuff takes significant man hours. Imagine how less developed MAME would be if it were a one-man gig? Not only that, but having many contributors helps insure continuity throughout the ages. These projects are bigger than any one individual..

     

    And in this hobby there are so many ways to go about doing something. There's really no right or wrong. It's very easy to get carried away promoting one's own gaming style as the ONLY way to play.

    • Like 2

  24. Posted · Edited by Keatah

    Small desktops are rapidly gaining popularity. Thrice because of low power consumption, semi-portability, and aesthetics. They fit anywhere.

     

    If you put Software Emulation and FPGA side-by-side you’ll likely find that SE is developed at a much faster pace, more thoroughly, and that there are more choices. And each SE has all kinds of customization options.

     

    I dislike the harsh hi-res lines of unfiltered emulation, unless I’m studying something in a game. Otherwise it’s full-on effects. But gently 10-20% across the board. Like very good RF or Composite. Barely visible scanlines.

     

    I do like a deep and saturated color palette however. Even back in the 80’s halcyon days. And always go overboard on that!

  25. Posted

    37 minutes ago, MrTrust said:

    To this day, the Millennials I work with will bristle at having to switch applications for something, or even moving to a new version.  And actually getting a new piece of software, reading the manual, and toying around with it to see what it can do?  Forget about.  You still have to write out step-by-step, click-this-thing-then-click-that-thing instructions for them or they just shut down.

    This is a growing problem that no one seems inclined to address. Or even recognize exists. Are they that stupid where they can't merge concepts into a whole to achieve a desired outcome? Are they just lazy and balk at the thought of having to think for one iota? Instead just drifting away on single-click social media activities which induce even more incompetence.

     

    I guess that's why Windows 10 got rid of local detailed help. I guess that's why we have pictorial quickstart guides instead of a real manual with text that has to be, OMG!, read and understood. I guess that's why manuals (if you can get one) don't have Theory of Operation or even Product Introduction sections anymore.

    • Like 4
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