[Red Sea Crossing Wanted Flyer]

I thought someone contacted him and he said no. I think it was in the thread about the ad being found.

Steve believed it was still his property and would not give his blessing on doing a run of Repros. Not much he can do now 29 years later.

 

The code is still his property, but if somebody was in position to make repros they could offer him a royalty.

He wasn't motivated by a couple thousand to go look to see how many more he may have in storage. He was absolutely against reproing, do you think a few bucks per cart would change his mind?

 

It's been a long time since I read that thread, but from what I remember it sounded to me like he took offense when he perceived that people wanted to start copying his game. It sounded to me like a respect for copyright issue. But it's a distant memory and I don't feel like digging up the thread.I've never met the guy, I have no idea if a royalty would change his mind. But it would be an appropriate way to open the conversation.

[Red Sea Crossing Wanted Flyer]

I thought someone contacted him and he said no. I think it was in the thread about the ad being found.

Steve believed it was still his property and would not give his blessing on doing a run of Repros. Not much he can do now 29 years later.

 

The code is still his property, but if somebody was in position to make repros they could offer him a royalty.

[Anyone finish Final Fight CD solo?]

I love that game, it's the one game that really made my Sega CD seem worthwhile. I actually think it's better than the arcade version.

Maybe I'm blind, but the color palette argument never held water to me. I don't see it, the graphics are very good in this version.

 

Beating the game single player is hard but doable, I did it a few times back in the 90s. So basically I think the challenge is pretty well calibrated - you can beat it but you have to get a lot of experience first. I still find it hard though, I never reached a point where I didn't struggle with it.

I've never beaten Final Fight in 2 player, nobody I ever played with was very good at it.

[NES/Famicom differences: Was it worth it?]

I'd have made at least some changes, maybe not all the same ones though.

The lockout chip definitely made sense. That made them a lot of money.

Detachable controllers make sense.

I'm also glad that they added all the buttons to the 2nd controller in exchange for losing the microphone, but that's not real important.

 

I would want to avoid changing the cartridge connector, except they need some accommodation for the lockout chip to work. Maybe it could repurpose an existing pin for lockout without breaking compatibility with anything important. Keep the audio pin though, I agree it sucks that they broke that.

An alternative to the lockout chip, and the connector pinout changes that may require, would be to instead use a boot ROM which checks a digital signature key like the 7800 used. That may have legal issues though, I know Atari wasn't able to export that system, not sure what would happen with Nintendo trying to bring it in.

 

I'd probably keep the cart shells the same as the jap ones, not much reason for them to be different. Except - having a larger shell allows room for an adapter when supply problems require it. As long as the lockout chip is used, the boards will never directly interchange.

The expansion connector might make some sense, even though obviously it didn't get used. They usually don't.

 

At minimum I would have definitely added the lockout chip, and detachable controllers. The rest I'm not sure about, it would depend on more investigation.

I think digital signature would have been a cleaner way to add a lockout with a minimum of redesign and electrical incompatibility.

[Your first game rental?]

My first rental was Goonies II. I still love that game, it's exactly the type of game I always associate with the NES.

The last rental for a long time was Mortal Kombat for the Sega CD. I had already lost interest in the system but when that came out I decided to try it. It sucked of course.

A few years later I think the last game I ever rented was Driver 2 for the Playstation. That was a fun game to screw around in.

[EA shutting down more servers]

I've always been suspicious of games that require the help of a remote online system to access (including anything on Steam). I'm afraid in 10 more years, every new game made will only be a rental.

It's not a big deal to some people, but when I buy a game I want to know I can play it as long as I like, regardless of whether anyone else on the planet cares about it anymore. It's at the point where whenever a modern game gets my interest, I have to research this issue before deciding to buy it.

[No time for Next-Gen games...]

I always seem to lose interest in RPGs before finishing them. Eventually I come back to them and don't know where I am anymore. That's not necessarily a bad thing, I like RPGs to be big and "beating" an RPG isn't very important to my enjoyment of it.

 

I did okay at finishing the old linear, story based console RPGs on the NES and Genesis, at least when I was a kid. I stopped finishing them in later years though. FF7, FF8, Lunar, and some others were all abandoned.

Open ended PC games though have always been hard for me to finish. In those type of games, I mostly just like to wander and do random quests. The storyline is not my attraction to the game, in fact I get annoyed at games which push their storylines too hard. I just want to hang out in the world of NeverEverWonderWoodLand, not grind through a "story".

 

It took me years to finish Ultima 7, which is still the only Ultima game I've actually beaten. Part of that was technical problems but part of it was just being too distracted with sidequests and such.

I think the last RPG I "finished" was the Morrowind main quest. It took persistence to do that. Now I have the expansions to do, but I'm bored with that character. I started a new character which can't handle the expansions, and I don't really feel like doing them anyway. There's too many more interesting things to do.

 

I'm almost done with Fallout 3, but I stopped playing it again right before what I think was the last mission. I just wasn't in the mood for it anymore.

[Who else is boycotting Skyrim/Bethesda?]

I haven't liked the way Bethesda's game design has evolved since Morrowind, so buying Skyrim was already going to be an arbitrary act of loyalty to a series. I had still decided to buy it though, in fact I was going to buy it at launch, something I haven't done in about 10 years.

I turned against buying Skyrim because it requires internet based DRM, which I dislike, and more specifically it bundles Steam, which I hate and refuse to install on my computer. That's my boycott, not the Scrolls lawsuit.

 

I'm going to register a trademark for "Craft" and rule the world.

[Random Question about Mortal Kombat for Sega CD]

I rented that game once on my front loader and it worked.

I don't have it anymore so I can't check the BIOS version, but it was a very early unit. I got it at Christmas when it had just come out, and from what I've read I think there was only 1 shipment at that point.

 

..however, it did break down (no power-prob the fuse) and I had it repaired at a local shop. I don't remember if that happened before or after I rented MK, and I have no idea if they did anything to the BIOS. I suppose it's possible.

[Best Football game ever made?]

I haven't played a lot of football games, but my favorite is NCAA 2003.

I'm sure there's something better though. That and 1 of the Madden games are the only 2 modern football games I've played.

They're both closely related games but I found I liked the NCAA version better. I put my high school into the game, and in a little over 1 season brought them up to a #1 ranking in the Big 10.

Wishful thinking. In real life my high school was 0-forever the whole time I attended. I hear they won a game the season after I graduated. People stormed the field, it was a big deal, sadly enough.

[Ultima VII help]

I tried Martian Dreams once, that game was just bizarre, I couldn't get into it for some reason. Should I give it another try?

 

I'm planning to some day.

Back when I played it, I had never played a PC RPG any newer than Ultima 3, and after that I had been playing NES RPGs. So I had this crazy idea in my head that if I could pick something up, I obviously should.

I littered the contents of an entire Martian town in a 3 screen radius around the landing site. Other than that accomplishment I never got far into the game.

[Ultima VII help]

I think the popularity of Ultima 8 has shifted in recent years.

Ultima veterans turned against U8 because it's a very different game (and flawed, but all the Ultimas have flaws). Later on, I think it became popular with people who weren't longtime Ultima fans and didn't have the same expectations. And after this many years, it's also become easier for veterans to put those expectations aside and give it a second look as a different kind of game.

For these reasons, I think U8 has become more popular in recent years than it was in the past. I've seen a number of positive comments on it from people who look at it as more of a Zelda type adventure game.

 

 

UII - My first Ultima, and I love it. It's unfairly criticized. Yes, when compared to the other installments, it's a bit unconventional, but it's chock full of ambition and great ideas, and it's a game that helped invent the whole genre, so cut it some slack and appreciate it for what it is, not what you think it should be 30 years on.

When I was a kid I couldn't get anywhere in U2 without starving to death, so it was impossible to like a game that wouldn't even let me play. The rate of food consumption in such a sparse world struck me as blatantly unfair and kills the game. Garriott was on something when he released it like this. But I've been told that it is in fact possible to play U2 productively, and I know people have done it, so I will try again someday when I get hold of it.

Right now, U2 ranks with Alternate Reality as the 2 most difficult RPGs to play for more than 10 minutes.

 

As far as the space travel and all that, I don't mind it, I think it's just weird enough to be cool. I like the wildness of the Sosarian Ultimas. U4+ have a more straight-laced feel to them.

 

My first RPG was U3. All the Ambrosia grinding didn't bother me because the concept of an RPG was new to me so I liked going through the process. I still do within reason, but at this point it's become more of a nuisance.

 

VI - I've always felt that the plot, while not dull, is a bit lackluster in comparison to the other installments. I could nitpick a few design/interface issues as well. Nevertheless, a solid entry in the series.

 

VII - The hallmarks of this game are its enormous scope (for its time) and its excellent plot. It has the most cohesive plot I've ever encountered in any RPG. It even puts more recent games like Baldur's Gate 2 and Dragons Age: Origins to shame in that respect. However, I struggled mightily with the interface, and the combat was a complete disappointment, and the requirement to keep my ravenous companions properly nourished throughout the game reached farcical proportions. Nevertheless, even with those serious flaws, this is a fantastic game. I still need to play Part 2.

I had pretty much the opposite take on the interface. U6 is a cool game but the interface is so painful it's hard to play. U7's interface is good, I can't think of any major problems with it. That was one of the best improvements it had over U6.

Food in U7 wasn't a big deal to me, I think we ate twice a day. If Spark complained during the day I ignored him, we ate dinner as a family.

Combat in U7 was pretty bad though.. basically just engage combat mode and watch the carnage. My Avatar hardly gained any levels.

[7800 crashes on certain games]

Thought I'd bump this since I managed to replace at least a couple of caps when I modded my 7800 last week. I replaced the 2200uF cap near the power supply jack and the 220uF cap in the center of the motherboard. Food Fight still crashes and I'm pretty sure PP II will still crash even though I haven't tested it yet. Would replacing the remaining original cap help or is there something else afoot?

If the remaining 220uF happens to be open then it might help, but at this point it looks increasingly unlikely that this is the problem. The 220uF caps are in parallel so they can cover for each other to some extent.

Most likely something else is wrong.

[Closing in on a 7800]

I've never tried the magic erasers on a plastic console shell. It was magical on the vinyl interior in my car though - nothing else could get all that grime out. I'd use water though, no alcohol.

They're abrasive and sometimes take off paint. I doubt it would do anything good to the plastic, and I'm not sure if it would leave the paint on the metal piece. But if you try it on the metal piece and it fails, I think Best Electronics sells new ones.

[Helping to Test 320 Mode on Ms. Pacman]

It can't be easily modified that way. To do these things you'd have to know how to program the 7800. That's a big subject. The "7800 Programming Guide" is the starting point. Ultimately it would be easier to rewrite the game from scratch, as I think PacManPlus did on his version.

[Is this possible? Paddles port 1 and Stick in port 2 same time?]

You can use both concurrently, that's not a problem.

[Choplifter glitch]

That's weird, I wonder how a resistor was supposed to be helpful. I've never heard of memory devices working better when you drop the voltage, only worse.

[Why the hate for "phone" controllers?]

Not understanding the dismissal of the N64 controller's d-pad.. I can think of a bunch of games that used it.

 

I wish more games supported it. I was especially annoyed by that in Paper Mario, I hate being forced to use the analog stick in that game. It's not necessary, but the programmers don't give you a choice.

[Does anyone collect third party controllers?]

Found a small picture. I can't look at much "gaming" stuff at work, but I could get this small pic. Man I would love another one or 4 of these. Makes the N64 playable again.

 

I have one of those. I hate it because the joystick is crooked. I think they thought it was ergonomic that way, but my mind isn't based on ergonomics, when I try to push up, I actually push up, not at the ergonomic angle that's built in to the controller.

It's in good physical condition though, and some of my younger relatives seem to like it.

I've never opened it, I wonder if the joystick could be easily rotated to point in the correct direction.

[Why the hate for "phone" controllers?]

I still think overlays are a cool concept. They don't work for primary action buttons but they're useful for secondary stuff that you don't need to push quickly. Using an overlay with 12 buttons under it you can make the interface more user friendly, and allow these functions to be used freely without navigating a menu.

 

That said I've only ever used them on an Intellivision, and I had some trouble with it.

 

Seems to me it ought to be possible to design a controller that has good ergonomics, good primary action buttons, but also has a space for an overlay. For 2D systems anyway, maybe not 3D systems with all the extra stuff they need.

I've never used a Jaguar but I wonder if I'd like those controllers.

The overlay concept isn't much different from PC games with tons of keyboard functions, except keyboard overlays aren't very practical so people just memorize the buttons.

[Does anyone collect third party controllers?]

The only 3rd party controller I actively sought out was a KBM joystick for Genesis, which uses early 90s Happs parts. It's also nice for Atari.

"Unfortunately", it came in the retail packaging with all papers and was practically like new, so I felt compelled to save that stuff. At least it doesn't add much to the storage space vs the joystick alone.

I don't want that to become a habit though. I don't collect controllers, as I think they look messy sitting around and I don't want to use space storing them. I just buy what I'll use, and pass on everything else.

[Is there a secret to keeping Sodas]

Cans taste half flat from the moment you open them. If they have a better seal, it's apparently helped by a lack of pressure contained within.

I especially notice this with Pepsi, maybe it's just the local Pepsi bottler who has this problem.

[modding controller]

I'd use either 63/37 or 60/40 SnPb, rosin core solder. Lead is in solder for good reason, avoid the lead free stuff if you can.

Assuming you're in US/Canada, Radio Shack should have it.

[Desperate modder needs help finishing s-video mod.]

I started working on an SVideo mod on a breadboard a very long time ago, which I must admit I never finished. I have a habit of not finishing things, often because of scope creep.

 

Anyway, I started with Saundby, except I hooked up only the 7800 signals, no 2600.

The most helpful modification I found was to put a 74HC4050 buffer on the luma+sync signals. Without that, you get a major pinstriping effect in luma. You can somewhat tweak that with the luma pot but I wasn't happy with it. Using the buffer chip was a major improvement.

It's not very noticeable on a CRT but on an LCD it's more significant.

 

I experimented with using an amplifier circuit on chroma but I never decided if it was helping or not. From what I remember I think it slightly helped my problem of color artifacts on edges of objects, but didn't really solve it.

 

As far as the washed out look, I'm not sure. I was planning to try using Atari's original resistor ladder values on LUMA, instead of the reduced values that Saundby used. I think LHE mentioned that this was a factor in making it look washed out, but I haven't tried it.

[Is there a secret to keeping Sodas]

I tried saving some of the Star Wars Pepsi cans back when the original movies were being rereleased. I had them in my closet. Within months, they started to leak and stink badly of bacteria so I threw them out. But I wasn't storing them carefully so they might have been dented.

 

My brother has saved an early Pepsi Throwback can for probably a year, and as far as I know it's still intact. It's just sitting on a shelf at room temperature.

A friend back around 1990 had a Chinese/Korean/whatever Coke can that he stored the same way. Just sitting on a table next to his bed, and nothing ever happened to it. But that was a long time ago and the can was a different size, maybe it was stronger.

If there's a secret to keeping them with soda inside, I don't know what it is.

 

 

In High School, I remember I had a can in my car on the deck (or whatever you call it) above the back seat next to the rear window. I don't know why it was there. One sunny day (rare in IL) as I was driving down the road it went off like a gunshot. Damn that startled me.