Jump to content
Have You Played Atari Today?
2600|5200|7800|Lynx|Jaguar|Forums|Store  

Tinman

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content Count

    296

  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Tinman

  3. Posted

    Hi bbg! If you like Adventure you should definitely give Superman a try. It was released around the same time as Adventure and even shares some of the same code (they were developed from the same kernel, if you're a programming type). Personally I think Superman is a great game!

     

    I completely agree with the recommendation for Superman. It is a very fun and totally underrated game, in my view. My best times, back in the day, were all under one minute.

  4. Posted

    Yeah, the Atari joysticks are simple parallel devices with each pin representing a different direction or button signal from the joystick. The DB8 serial connector on a PC has a different set of signals with only one pin for receive and one for transmit. You need a Atari joystick-to-USB convertor like the Stelladaptor (see http://atariage.com/...ct_detail&p=267). It's probably easier to get a modern recreation of a CX40 with USB plug like the one from Legacy Engineering (http://www.legacyeng...com/storefront/)

     

    You may want to be very careful ordering a joystick from Legacy Engineering. I ordered one in September of 2010 and it arrived defective, with a loose USB port that made it unusable. After sending more than one email I was able to get return information from Legacy and I sent it back to them to get a replacement. Since then I have followed up with Curt many, many times, but to this date, over a year later, I have never received the replacement. They took my money, but I have no joystick. Every time I follow up with Curt, I am assured that he will send the replacement "immediately", but it never happens.

     

    I'm not sure he intended to rip me off, but he did, so you may want to think carefully before buying from him.

    • Like 1

  5. Posted

    I admit that I hadn't played Starship in forever so I pulled it out and gave it a new try. Sorry, I still don't care for it much. I can appreciate what Atari was trying to do, I really can, but it just doesn't put me "in the cockpit" like the later games.

     

    Perhaps I came into my first Atari just a bit too late. We got ours shortly after Space Invaders had been released, and we quickly got Asteroids and Missile Command for it, too. But we never bought Starship. And it wasn't too long after that that I played Star Raiders on the Atari 800 for the first time. That game really gave me the "you're in the cockpit!" feel and it remains my all-time favorite video game to this day. On the 2600 I picked up Starmaster as soon as it was out and it is still my favorite 2600 game (along with Adventure). The 2600 version of Star Raiders is also good and I do like it, although I prefer the 800 version. And I've grown fond of Phaser Patrol, Space Attack, and Star Voyager, too, as worthy space-cockpit games.

  6. Posted

    I really WANTED to love this game. I couldn't love it, but I did like it, for what it was. If you remember when it came out and what other first-person space games there were back then (NONE), then it was indeed pretty impressive. Of course, it can't compare to Star Raiders or Starmaster (my all time favorite 2600 game), but then it didn't have to for the first four years or so that it was out.

  7. Posted

    Sorry if its a stupid question but would I get a picture and audio? I'd love to know as its a pain in the ass switching the coaxial cable on the back with the switch box so I can play an then swapping them back for TV, if its not possibly is there anything I can buy to replace the switch box that would allow me to have my 2600 connected at the same time as my cable?

     

    No, you absolutely would NOT get any video or audio. That yellow video in plug expects an analog video signal. The output from your 2600 is RF (radio frequency), essentially the same kind of signal you get from your cable via the coax cable. You have a couple of options to have both connected at the same time:

     

    1. Use a cable box for your cable connection, and connect the cable box to the television using the audio/video inputs (the yellow video-in along with the red and white audio-in plugs). Then, the 2600 can be connected via the coax plug with the switch set to the 2600 without needing to switch it. If your TV is an HDTV, your best bet is to connect the cable box to it via an HDMI cable.
    2. Hack a video output connection in the 2600 and then you can use the audio/video inputs on the TV.

  10. Posted

    In my opinion, yes, you should invest in an Atari 800; it's a terrific system with a lot of great games and applications.

     

    But no, it is NOT compatible with your 2600 games.

     

    You can, however, use the 2600 joysticks with it.

  14. Posted

    I found some info on Wikipedia that summed up the difference between the 2 and the 2+ nicely:

     

    The bulk of the included games in the Atari Flashback 2+ are the same. However, Pitfall, River Raid, Wizard, Caverns of Mars, and Atari Climber have been removed. In exchange, a sports section was added that included the games Realsports Boxing, Realsports Soccer, Super Baseball, Super Football, and Double Dunk.

  16. Posted

    I disagree on the joystick vs. paddle question. I think it would be a lot more fun with paddles. It certainly could provide for much faster action as you would be able to very quickly slam the car from rail to rail, top to bottom.

  17. Posted

    I think the Intv controllers are one of the best.I had the INTV since 83,i loved it every since. You have a disc you can control in all directions by using your thumb or thumbnail .I don't have hand cramps like i do with a joystick or a keypad on the other systems. I think Colecovsion has the worse controller with a knob and sometimes it gets very awkward to use. T he 5200 controller in my opinion is even better than the Coleco, besides the fire buttons. The Intv contollers after awhile you get the feel to know how to use and control the disc and keypad. Plus you have a nice fire buttons on the side with a nice and shiny overlay in the insert slot , to make the keypad more colorful. I don't think the system or the controllers deserve a bad rap . The Intv deserves love and respect as one of the better systems yesterday and today. What do you think?

     

    I agree, except for one thing: the stupid action buttons on the sides are too small, their edges are too sharp, and it is too hard to press. After playing for a while, I have a very deep imprint of the fire button on the face of my thumb. The disc I think is a good thing for most games.

     

    -dZ.

     

     

    Exactly. The side buttons are too small and too hard to press. I've never liked them.

     

     

    I can also never find the right overlay for whatever game I'm playing... :)

  20. Posted

    I hadn't seen that video; thanks for posting it! I'm reasonably familiar with the Atari architecture, partly from Crane's iOS apps, partly from these forums, and mostly from the book "Racing the Beam", but the video was still very interesting.

  21. Posted

    It's not a horrible game, considering the limitations of the Atari, but my biggest problem is that I just don't have the patience for that kind of game in general. The payoff isn't worth the effort of mapping, etc.

    I posted some maps to the four types of levels some years back. They're around here somewhere if you look for them. :)

     

    Michael

     

    Found them, thanks! I may give the game another try...

  22. Posted

    It's not a horrible game, considering the limitations of the Atari, but my biggest problem is that I just don't have the patience for that kind of game in general. The payoff isn't worth the effort of mapping, etc.

  23. Posted

    I think Robot Tank has more "advanced" features. I love the weather and time-of-day changes, the moving radar sweep, and the on-screen text messages. But Battlezone has better enemy tank movement for sure. I love that the enemies have to turn slowly towards you before they can fire at you. On Robot Tank, the enemy tanks seem to just face one side direction or the other and can fire at you no matter which way they're facing.

     

    Both games are pretty fun and offer pretty cool graphics for the 2600.

    • Like 1

  24. Posted

    I personally think that the original 8-bit version of Star Raiders is the best computer game ever made. It has always been my favorite and I think that the 2600 version is pretty decent, given the limitations ofnthe platform. However I actually like Activision Starmaster better on the 2600. It seems a bit faster-moving and just a more fun game. Starpath Phaser Patrol is excellent, too, especially with the improved graphics on the Supercharger.

    • Like 4
AtariAge
Forums
Store
General
Follow AtariAge

Copyright ©1998-2021 AtariAge

×
×
  • Create New...