Lord Thag

Moonsweeper. Great, multicolor graphics, and the scrolling moonscapes were awesome.

Space Spartans B-17 Bomber Bomb Squad Tron Solar Sailer These are the four intellivoice games. The first three are really fun. All of them are fairly cheap. The O2 has some fun games. If you get one pick up Pick Axe Pete, both of the K.C. Munchkin games, UFO, and Quest for the Rings. All of those are great.

Yeah, still having the original set is great. I still have my original stuff as well. Post some pics!

I will more than like die in an earthquake buried under a pile of my own games. I used to be a casual collector, and then became friends with a guy who has over 4000(!!) games in his collection. Now I spend way to much time doing this. Anyway, welcome to AA!

The 5200 version is great, but then again, so is the 7800 port, which nearly everyone forgets. Great graphics and two player co-op/vs ! The inty version is a good port, but a bit slow in my opinion, but otherwise fine. 2600 looks crappy, but plays well. The CV one is pretty, but doesn't have the best play. It feels a bit clunky and slow to me. That help?

I believe Best Electronics sells new ones. They have gads of parts and good, quick service.

They DO need a broader range of titles. I'm not saying they need to ditch the types of games that made them famous; far from it. I bought the system to play those games, but I bought an xbox to play everything else. They need to make games that appeal to all ages, because gaming has become a pastime for all ages, not just kids anymore. I don't think we need a bunch more GTA clones, but they need to have good first and third party titles that represent the broad spectrum of popular genre, not just mario and zelda.

Nintendo is doing the same thing Atari did. They were both industry giants that refused to adapt with the times, and both kept sticking with what made them popular to begin with. With Atari it was endlessley released arcade games over and over, and repackaged old hardware. With nintendo, it's the 'kid' image and idiotic decisions based on that 'we know what gamers want' mentality that is, sadly, not the case. What Nintendo doesn't seem to understand is that all of those kids who played their (admittedly good) kid-friendly games back on the NES are now, umm, like thirty or so. I really hope they can get their act together. I mean, there was the Sony CD deal, then they used cartriges on the N64 which were way more expensive, and then not even tTRYING to get the gamecube online. Sheesh, what's it take, ya know? Best of luck to them, but they're gonna be playing one heck of a catch up game. The DS they just released is a joke. The cynic in me is thinking that the next nintendo system may be the last. I hope not...

I just got a huge pile of C-64 stuff, including 5(!) disk drives, two boxed systems, and 50 or so carts, as well as a pile of docs. I began tinkering with it a week ago, and now have the beginnings of a game (redefined character graphics) programmed in BASIC. I am by no means an expert, but I haven't found the system all that difficult to program. The screen memory is remarkably easy to manipulate and/or relocate. The C64 is rapidly becoming a favorite of mine, even though I never touched one back in the day. Anyone know where you can get a machine language cart for the thing? I'd rather be using that than BASIC....

Dunno if this has been done before here... Have any of you ever had a game you've had for years and hated, and then been won over by? I'll give you an example. I've had Starmaster since I was a kid. I remember drooling over it in the stores until I finally picked it up. I was quite let down. I remember thinking the action slow and predictable compared to Star Raiders (which I love), and I rarely ever played it again. After reading lots of posts about the game on these boards, and hearing numerous glowing reviews, I gave it another go the other night. Much to my surprise, I found it quite a white knuckle experience, and I've been playing it ever night since. It's not as frantic as Star Raiders, and the combat is less chaotic, but it requires more precision to play well. Having a starmap with numerous groups of enemies is very cool too. Suffice to say I now like the game as much as Star Raiders. So, any of you have a specific game you once hated and now love? Tell us how you were won over! Who knows, maybe you'll convert one of us?

I don't think mountain king ends, I believe it just keeps repeating at a harder difficulty. I've only managed to get the crown to the top of the mountain a handfull of times, though, so I've only made it as high as level 3 I believe. I know there are a finite number of levels on Montezuma's Revenge and Miner 2049er, but I don't know if the games actually end at that point. Pitfall II has an ending, as does Pitfall I, though Pitfall II has a whole extra world in the 5200 version, which is cool. Dreadnaught Factor by Activision has several different difficulties, each with a different amount of dreanaughts to beat, so you can beat the game. I HIGHLY recommend it. It's one of my favorite games on the system. Personally, I prefer games I can't beat, as once I finish a game, I usually do not come back to it much. Depends on the game, I guess.

I was fortunate enough to have a family full of pack rats, so i still have most of my original stuff. I never really started collecting Atari as a hobby, I just never stopped in the first place. One day, fairly late in the *ahem* game, it dawned on me that having a huge bookshelf full of classic games qualified as a hobby. Then I got an internet connection and it was all over. My family says I will die buried under a pile of my own games. I told them they could just plug a controller in my head and make me do yardwork, undead-like.

Lucky you. My family responds to my classic gaming hobby with raised eyebrows and nice, condescending head shaking and smiles.

Amen!

The hole punch is a good idea

No apologies necessary. I *finally* got my hands on a stack of carts for my venerable, but unused XEGS. Like you say, it's a fine system. Donkey Kong is great. All four levels! It's better for playing pac man, mountain king, and the like. The 5200 plays games like Star Raiders and Rescue on Fractalus better, IMO. Both are good systems, but the 5200 looks sexier. Pastels do not work for me either

Collect them both! To be honest, though, while the 7800 does have some great games, nearly all of the 5200 games are good to great. I have 50 or so, and there are only one or two I never play. The 5200 sticks are good for everything except pac-man, and you can solve that with a 3rd party joystick, or one of the redemption adapters. They are not all that difficult to fix either, so read one of the threads on the topic before you decide. The 7800 makes playing 2600 games easier, and it has some nice arcade ports and a couple of outstanding titles, but to be honest, I play it less than the 5200. It's really a matter of prefernce though.

I'm good at star raiders, although it's been awhile. I routinely finished warrior missions a few months ago, as well as a commander mission or two. I'm good at beamrider and megamania, and I'm getting good at zone ranger. I pretty much suck at anything with 'pac man' in the title, which is kinda sad. I think learning to be good at a game involves not getting stuck in a rut and playing it the same way. Try different techniques. That's usually how I get over a slump. Except on pac-man, which I don't like well enough to try hard

A friend and I are currently working on a 5200 arcade stick, using standard arcade sticks and buttons. It looks promising so far, and I'll post the specs once we finish it. If it proves easy to manufacture, we may even sell them. Dunno. Don't hold me to that. I'll let you all know if it ever gets finished.

You can fix the traces by carefully peeling back the plastic over the trace (if there is any) with the tip of a knife, applying a tiny amount of super glue (I use a toothpick), and then use the same toothpick to 'draw' the graphite over the trace. It can take a few tries, and is somewhat fragile, but it does work. I usually order the rev 9's from best electronics though.

Here's another solution I like to use. Use superglue to coat the carbon dots, and then shoot some of that graphite dust that you use for cleaning locks. It's cheap. Let is dry, rub off the excess, and you have a good, long lasting alternative that will not slide off and makes excellent contact. You can even repair the traces on broken flex circuits if you are careful. For three bucks you'll never have to buy buttons again.

I picked up a huge lot of 40+ cartridges for my (until now) useless XE system from a friend the other day. I got some great stuff too, like Donkey Kong, Lode Runner, Blue Max, most of the classic 8-bit arcade ports, and quite a few other oddities like Cosmic Life and E.T. It's kind of strange going from nada to a nice collection if one fell swoop, but it's very cool. The 800/XL/XE line sure has some fun games. Outside of the c64, it's about the only Donkey Kong port with all the levels in the right order too. Archon is great. It's nice to find a system you've previously ignored, and then have it become a favorite. Good times

I picked up two 5200s in a pawn shop two years ago. Due to some luck, I now have upwards of 40 games for the system. It's become a real favorite. A friend had one back in the day, with broken controllers, but I remember drooling over pacman and star raiders. I play it constantly now, and have even managed to find Wico and Competition Pro sticks, as well as six or so working original joysticks. I actually like the original sticks. While balky, they non-centering thing is no big deal with a bit of practice. It's too bad more people don't give this system a chance.

Well, I had only been able to play a couple of weeks of the HSC before I had to make an unplanned move, but I really enjoyed it. When I get an ISP again (using a friends now), I'll definately be playing regularly. From what I've read above, I like the 'everyone submits a game at the beginning of the season' idea. It's fair, and eliminates the squabbling mid-season. In my book, what really matters is that there IS a HSC. I found it really fun and it made me drag out (and really enjoy) a couple of games I probably would not have touched otherwise. Whatever you guys decide to do, I'm in!

Yeah, my folks did good this year. I must have been *cough* 'good' or something Yeah, Narzod is fun, and I like cosmic chasm a lot. Webwarp is on the short list of Veccy stuff to get, along with those John Dondozilla homebrews. My next project is going to be printing up some overlays on transparancy sheets. I still can't get over the quality of Thrust and Star Fire though. It's been awhile since I've played a 2600 game for hours like I have today. Any of you who haven't tried either of these out owe it to yourself to do just that. Both of them are at the top of my 'play' pile. Impressive stuff!