DJ Badger

Great! Incidentally, this is the type of thing for which I would gladly shell out more money if a professional box were produced. I don't know if that's a possibility or not (I'll buy it either way), but a box would be a MAJOR plus from this collector's standpoint. Thanks again, Badger

Hi, all. I was about to ask if anyone had released (or was planning to release) Stella At 20 on DVD, and then I found this old thread and thought I would resurrect it, in case things may have changed over the past several months. Like many, I only have Vol. 1 on VHS, I've really been wanting to acquire/see Vol. 2, and I would really like to have both of them on DVD. Bonus footage would be nice, but I don't think it's necessary if it will delay or prevent the possibility of a DVD release. Just having both volumes on DVD would be enough to make me want to buy it. Does anyone know the producers of the Stella At 20 project (or, for that matter, do they hang out here)? Is there any possibility that the volumes could be re-released as a DVD edition, even if it was a cheap DVD-R edition? I would be more than willing to shell out a reasonable amount of money to obtain such a release. Thanks very much! Badger

I have very fond memories of playing the original Castle Wolfenstein on my Apple IIe, about 20 years back. I would love to obtain one of these cartridges, whenever they are produced. Thus, count me in for one as well. Badger

I wish I could say that I was into it just for the fun of it, but I have an obsessive-compulsive nature and I have tended to pay quite a bit to add rarities to my collection. I've only had a couple of times (okay, maybe three) that I paid over $200 for a 2600 game. I'm not swimming in money, so those have been very substantial investments for me. They weren't really "fun" games, but important for the collection. The games that have been the most fun, for me, have usually cost me between $5 and $35 over the years. I have very few really rare/expensive games that I still need to acquire for the collectors' values. Sadly, the two games that I most want to acquire were two that I passed up the chance to purchase brand-new in the mid-to-late 1980s for a whopping $12.95 each. Those would be (a complete) Track and Field and Swordquest: Waterworld (which, yes, was available on the shelves of Kay-Bee Toys for a limited time. RIP Kay-Bee...) With each of those two games, I have a few deep regrets and multiple eBay horror stories... but I won't go into either of those at this point. However, I've been insanely lucky (in retrospect) more times than I'd care to count when it came to my Atari collection, so things kind of even out. I love the Atari 2600 for the good memories (the campiness and the warm fuzzy nostalgia), but I'll freely admit that I collect the rarities for the bragging rights. If I were introducing the 2600 to friends who'd never played it before, I would start by showing off a lot of the really common but fun games. (Let's face it: Combat is hilariously common, but it can still be a ton of simple, goofy fun.) Then, after a few games, I'd show off my really rare stuff. "Oh, yeah... that's a boxed Chase the Chuck Wagon. The gameplay blows, but it's just about impossible to find. Let me tell you a story about dog food..." Badger Amount paid to purchase 2600 Texas Chainsaw Massacre with manual, mid-80s: $12.95 + shipping. Amount paid to purchase 2600 Texas Chainsaw Massacre complete (to get the box), 2002: $205 + shipping.

I'm glad to hear that you've chosen to try out the 2600! Here are my recommendations. Keep in mind that I'm just throwing things out of the top of my head and I'm still just waking up: - Asteroids and Missile Command are both solid, standard hits with great playability. Excellent choices. - Atlantis is a respectable game, in my opinion. Good graphics and decent gameplay. Not a bad choice. Cosmic Ark is the "sequel" to Atlantis, but the two games are completely different. Incidentally, I think Cosmic Ark is a much better game. - Don't blow one of your 10 free games on Combat. It's incredibly common and you can probably find it for dirt cheap at a flea market or thrift store. It is a fun game nonetheless, but it's only for two players. - If they have Adventure, by all means get it. - Same applies for Pitfall! or (even more so) Pitfall! II: Lost Caverns. - Yar's Revenge is somewhat of a fan favourite, and I have fond memories of it. Good game. - If they happen to have Dragonfire, snag it. Same goes for H.E.R.O., though that's not as likely. - I agree with MattG that Frogger is great. For other old-fashioned arcade "standards" you might try getting Space Invaders (it gets monotonous, but it's a definitive old-school classic), Dig Dug, Mario Bros., Moon Patrol, Defender, Galaxian, Phoenix, Battlezone, Jungle Hunt, and Ms. Pac-Man. Honourable mentions to Berzerk and Vanguard, which I personally always thought was awesome. - Donkey Kong was a pretty atrocious arcade "translation," but if you're looking for old-school games, it's worth getting. (However, it's another super-cheap-and-easy-to-find game.) - I would avoid the original Pac-Man, which blows. Plus, it's ultra-common and you should be able to find it almost as dirt-cheap as Combat. - If you come upon Swordquest Earthworld or Fireworld, skip them. The Swordquest games had lots of hype, but sucked hard when it came to gameplay. If they have Swordquest Waterworld, get it as one of your 10 and send it to me; I'll give you $20 for it. Or, you can stick it on eBay and get a LOT for it. But, again, as far as games go, Swordquest games were pretty crappy. Nice label art, though. - Almost all of the Star Wars-related games rocked. I didn't really like Jedi Arena much, though... plus, it requires paddles, which brings us to... - I don't know if the Atari you're looking at comes with paddles, but keep that in mind if you're choosing games. It would suck to get a bunch of games home then realize they required paddle controllers. - Gopher by US Games rules. It rules. Whatever you end up getting, I hope you enjoy it! I commend you for giving such a wonderful old-school gaming system a chance - excellent choice. Take care. Badger

I have to check the inside of a Coleco cart, it will definitely require some hacking (either to the cartridge, PCB, or both) and it may not be possible at all depending on the internal configuration of the cartridge. No problem, Albert... Please don't go to too much trouble. I can use one of the red-label Atari versions as well (I have both versions with boxes/docs), though I would prefer the Coleco. Either way would be cool, trust me. Honestly, Lanna doesn't know the difference - she's an awesome geek but knows very little about the 2600. The Coleco preference was more of a personal/historical thing since it was the more "old-school" of the two. Yes, I'd be glad to help you with that, sounds like a great idea. I wonder how many of the recipients will have an Atari 2600 to test the cartridge out on. I also wonder how many will even know what it is. ..Al Well, we have very geeky (and I mean that in a positive way) friends, a few of which would be able to actually plug in the cart and see the picture. For those who didn't know what it was, I could explain it to them, and the newfound symbolism behind it. Now that I'm thinking about it, I might prefer to have the "invitation" carts done in black cartridges. They would look more "classic" that way. I know I'd want the black end labels with the standard red text reading "BADGER AND LANNA," but I'm not sure what I would want the top label to look like yet. Those are all bridges that we can 'splode when we come to them. This is going to be amazing. Thanks again! Badger

Oops; a quick correction... Andrew, I meant to say "if you can still hook me up with a custom GreetingCart BIN," not ROM... Sorry about that! Badger

Okay, I've decided to go ahead with the Donkey Kong idea, if possible. I'm going to send Paul Slocum a PM about the issue and see if he can fix me up with the BIN. Al, once he (or someone else) has the BIN ready, will it be possible to get a ROM that I can just fit into an existing white Coleco Donkey Kong cart? Or, do you have any spare DK carts (in really good shape; she knows I'm a collector, but I don't think ) that you could use to send me a pre-made proposal cartridge? Either way, please send me a PM and let me know what the price would be. I've decided that I'd really like to be able to propose within a month or so (yes, I'm officially insane), so I would like to be able to get that party done as quickly as I can. After the proposal, we'll plan an engagement party, and Andrew, if you can still hook me up with a custom GreetingCart ROM, I will likely use that to send out the engagement party invitations. (We'll probably get a good pic taken together at that point for you to boil down for the picture file.) Please PM me to let me know in advance how much that would be, if you can. Albert, if possible, I would really like to be able to purchase some ready-made carts from you at that point, possibly in red carts with custom labels (10-20 copies or so). Of course, I would reimburse you properly for the materials and labour; you do great work on the AtariAge carts, so I know I wouldn't be disappointed. We can discuss those arrangements in private as well, and if this is not possible due to any sort of time or material limitations, just let me know and I won't be offended in the least. I just think it would be a really fun idea. Everyone here has been SO cool about this entire situation; thanks again for everything!!! Badger

Wow, Andrew. Thanks! I looked up some of the GreetingCart pictures that were posted on the forums in the past and I was really impressed with the work. Ultracool. However, for the proposal, I'm leaning more and more towards the Donkey Kong idea. The heart made out of girders is just phenomenally cute, and she'll really go nuts for it. So many choices, though... Andrew, if possible, I might still consider sending a good picture of us for you to boil down (with plenty of compensation, of course) for a 2600 BIN after the proposition, then buy a good-sized batch of copies to send out to people as invitations to the engagement party (with customized labels with all the necessary text for our guests). The generosity and willingness to help a complete newcomer to the forum is amazing here... You all have no idea how much I appreciate it. Thank you very much for all the responses! Badger

I hate to throw in a "me too," but I'm new here in the forums and I would really love to get my hands on one of these... I get paid on Friday and would gladly send the money right away. Thanks very much! Badger

Hi, everyone. I want to give a huge "thank you" to everyone who has posted (or sent privately) replies so far. The Donkey Kong idea actually looks intensely cool, though I would have to feel a LITTLE guilty for horking someone else's DK idea. I know very very very little about 2600 programming... would it be really simple to modify it into a working BIN with the name "Lanna," and would you be willing to do that for me? Propane13, glad to find the original creator of the 2600-Post-It-Note. While the Post-It-Note was the original thing I was hoping to use for the proposal, I'm thinking that inserting it as a "surprise" into a game like Donkey Kong is probably going to be a better idea. Thank you so much for responding, though... and I will keep the offer in mind if I need something special in the future! Albert, thanks for the offer to produce the cartridge. In this case, I would probably only want the ROM board, so that I could install it into an original white Coleco Donkey Kong cartridge, if possible. Or, if you have a spare DK cart that you could install it into, I would gladly pay for the whole shebang. I just want it to look like a normal, old, innocent DK cart that I can include with others for a big 2600 gaming bash. If I obtain anything from you - ROM, cart, whatever, I want to pay something for it. The same goes for the programming work (to Paul or whomever can do this). I can't pay much, but I want to at least pay something to compensate for everyone's time and trouble. Also, while I don't think she would remember an article about the Donkey Kong proposal from back in April, Lanna does read Slashdot on a regular basis, so please, nobody post any new articles there about it this time around! Although I'm sure the answer is going to be "yes," it'll probably still be a while before I do the actual proposal... I still have to buy the ring. Plus, I need to get a lot more local "friends" beforehand, because dang it, I'm (hopefully) only getting engaged once and I'm going to rack up on the gifts while I can! HA! Again, I am ultragrateful for all the help... I'm really looking forward to this. Thanks! Badger [/i]

Hi, everyone. I'm a newbie to the forums, but I've been a fan of the AtariAge site for a loooong time. I'm 32, I work as a techy security geek by day, and I do part-time DJ work, remixing, and electronic music production after-hours. I got my first Atari 2600 for Christmas in 1981, and over the years I've managed to put together a pretty decent Atari collection, with over 300 of the cartridges with their boxes and manuals. It's still my most cherished console. I have an odd question, and after reading the rules of the forum I'm hoping that it's "on-topic." A few years back, a certain online homebrew creator/producer (I won't name him or his company because he eventually stirred up a lot of problems and went out of business - and this thread is NOT to dredge any of those old issues up) offered a cartridge which would basically print a message on the screen which was chosen by the customer. It was my understanding that the text would print in the middle of the screen with a rainbow of multicoloured bars above and below it. When the joystick button was pressed, a different message would appear in the middle. It was simple enough, but very cool because it was customizable. Well, here's the deal. A while back, I met a young lady named Lanna, who I soon found was basically the woman of my dreams. She quickly turned into the greatest girlfriend I have ever had. I'm sickly, cutesily, totally in love. She knows I'm a bit of a quirky dork, and that I dig the 2600. Incidentally, she's a gamer too, though I don't think she's played many of the 2600 games. I'm currently working on cleaning/redecorating my apartment, and whenever I finish that I'm going to have a really decent Atari setup and probably have quite a few friends over for an Atari gaming geekfest. I want to be able to use one of the cartridges to propose marriage to my girlfriend. Yes, I know there are more traditionally romantic ways to do it, and while I'm certainly not opposed to romance, surprising her with a proposal on-screen during a videogaming romp would be totally "in-character" for me. She'd love it. Would this be possible, and is there anyone out there who would be able to program something like that for me? It would be even cooler if it could be hidden "inside" one of the "normal" games, i.e., if someone could create a hack of Combat that would display a "Lanna, will you marry me?" message when a game was over, or something like that. Obviously, I would be willing to provide reasonable compensation for such an item, if one could be produced. However, I should point out at this time that I'm not rich! Again, hopefully I'm posting within the proper guidelines here. I am really looking forward to evolving as a member of the AtariAge community... Thanks in advance for any assistance you can offer! - DJ Badger