Lord Thag

Yeah I agree. There are a lot of people (plenty of youtube vids do this too) just popping a cart in once or twice and saying 'hey this doesn't work'. The cart port on the 2600+ is *very* picky, it's taken me sometimes multiple tries/cleanings to get something to work (although weirdly once it does, it stays working). At minimum, the cart should be cleaned before being tested and a couple of other people confirm that yeah, there's an issue with that cart. So far, for me (as I am going through and testing stuff), the carts that I have tried/cleaned multiple times that do not work are: 1. Rescue Terra 1: launches and crashes the same way every time. 2. Time pilot (and most Coleco games I have tested): Does not work 3. Spikes Peak: Loads but immediately freezes (single ender). Other Xonox stuff seems to work fine, even rarer stuff like Sir Lancelot 4. All of the CBS 'Ram Plus' carts don't work that I have tried, I assume because of the extra chip. So far, all the Atari, Activision, Imagic, Fox, Tigervision, and Telesys carts I've tested all play fine, but I am by no means going through each library. Just playing them as the mood strikes.

I have a few: Stardew Valley. It's incredibly relaxing, the dev still releases free content updates, and it's just fun without applying any pressure. You can farm, fish, be social, explore, dungeon dive etc all in a nice, calm, quaint little world that is kind of cozy, relaxing and nice. No Mans Sky: When life seems confining, exploring an infinite universe will billions of systems at your own pace is very, very fun. Plus the fact that the dev is still supporting this game, for free, and that's it's gone from a problematic launch to a game that makes Starfield look like a dollar store knockoff by comparison. Mechwarrior 5 or Battletech: Big stompy robots, an incredibly deep (and believably messed up) setting that's even more corrupt than ours is, and enough lore to make the history of the Roman empire look short by comparison... did I mention big stompy robots with lasers? Bonus points for also being the universe that Tex and the Black Pants Legion over on youtube make the worlds best content for. For classic stuff, I am always a sucker for Adventure II (800/5200) and Haunted Adventure II (VCS).

A 1200XL. The best trade I have ever made in school as a kid was a gameboy and some carts for this guy Eric's (thanks dude!) 800 and mountain of software and mags. I remember drooling over the adverts. I'm a sucker for sleek black/chrome 80s design anyways, and the 1200 (and 800xl) line just looked so much sleeker than my boxy (but beloved) 800. Fast forward to 2004 or so. This guy I worked with walks into my office and says he heard I liked Atari stuff. Turned out one of my staff mentioned it in passing. He asks me if I am free on lunch, so I say sure. We head over to his place which was around the block. He proceeds to throw three large boxes at me, refuses to take money either. In them, are two 600xls and a mint condition 1200xl. Mind=blown. Later that day I ran by the local music/game/movie place and right as I am walking in some guys drops of 40 8-bit carts. That was a *good* freaking day.

Great. I get paid on friday, will order some carts then. Much appreciated!

Speaking from personal experience, if you can make it to any of the decent sized retrogaming expos, you can make a killing in terms of cheap carts. Lots of vendors will have bins of Atari games, and you can often wheel and deal, as the vendors frequently (especially towards the end of the show) don't wanna haul stuff back. Another option is to post here. A lot of long time collectors often have a stack or two of duplicate carts. The cool thing about the VCS is that most of the really fun games are not that rare, and most of the rare stuff is pretty meh to actually play (there are exceptions of course: Rescue Terra I, Crazy Climber etc). Even today, it's pretty simple to amass a collection of 150 good carts over a couple of years for not much more than you spend on Starbucks per cart.

Cool idea. I had a similar idea back in the day, and programmed it in q-basic for DOS back in the 90s (now long lost). It worked pretty well. The berzerk game does lend itself well to a 'zelda dungeon' format with keycards and whatnot. With the larger memory cart/eeprom combos available today, this would probably be doable for sure (look at something like Haunted Adventure II, which has a similarly sized world). The art has a very 'Buck Rogers' vibe. I'd buy a cart in a second if something like this ever gets made. Berzerk is on of my favs.

I've been away for a few months. Nice to the Amico dumpster fire is still burning, lighting our way in these dark times.

I play new stuff all the time. I've been a gamer since Combat was new. I play just as many modern titles as older ones, honestly. That said, when I say I play lots of modern games, I'm not (usually) referring to AAA titles. I'm beyond tired of the overpriced drudge from Activision, Ubisoft etc outside the occasional exception like Elden Ring. Much prefer stuff from mid tier and indie developers like Riftmaker, Dwarf Fortress, Deep Rock Galactic, System Shock Remake, Grounded, Battletech etc. Admittedly though, I have way more time than most. My partner and I don't have (or want) kids so I can play mostly when I want. I can't imagine being able to do that juggling work and a couple of kids.

Yeah I agree, I have seen several Tank Commands for sale IRL at expos over the years, and on ebay, and I've never once seen an Ikari Warriors or a Mean 18 outside the ones I own (one was a lucky buy back in the day on clearance, the other happened to drop into my lap due to a badly phrased ebay auction) and the two that @swlovinist has in his museum collection. I could have (and should have) picked up one of the Tank Commands I'd seen, they're stupidly overpriced now. Not a great game either, hence my ambivalence. Sadly, the only game I happen to be missing for 7800. I don't really complete sets though, I just got a lot of 7800 syuff super cheap back in the day. One of the best decisions I made collecting years ago was to say 'screw it' to the completionist stuff. Having all of it just checks off some OCD box in your head, but doesn't really add much to the actual enjoyment of owning the games since half those are garbage. But then again, I am not the graded/sealed kinda collector. I'm the loose cart inscribed with 'Bobbie' in sharpie marker who invites people over to play the games kind. So take my advice with a grain of salt if you are all about boxed/completed/museum quality sets.

I'm not aware of any archive that is just commercial/US. Would be handy to have. Most of the sites I get ROMs from are like Fandals: everything in one place. Most of us kind of make our own libraries of stuff, so I suspect you may have better luck with individual AA members. Like I have a huge SIDE compatible archive of stuff, sorted be genre, name etc. but it isn't posted online. The focus is more play-ability than being a comprehensive commercial release archive though. If that would be useful for ya, shoot me a PM.

My main Atari 2600 is a SVA2. If I'm understanding you correctly, there is no need for a comprehensive list. All 4-player paddle games that work on a standard VCS also work on the SVA2/2800 with the single port specialized Joystick/Paddle devices. It just depends on how you set the Joystick/Paddle switches on the console. The 8-bit line needs the list because no Atari after the 800 could take advantage of those 4-port games, because the hardware no longer existed on later models. Here, all the games work on any Atari 2600 compatible system, it's just a matter of setting the Joystick/Paddle buttons on the SVA2 depending on whether you have standard paddles or the fancy joystick/paddle combo sticks.

Old thread, but I will never pass up an opportunity to promote Solar Storm. Nobody, and I mean *nobody* ever seems to mention this game. It was a huge favorite in my neighborhood as a kid, and frankly, I like it for the same reason I do Kaboom!, only it's slightly better I think. It's a super frantic shooter crossed with Kaboom, with the anxiety inducing mechanic of every target you miss ramps up the temperature. It also gives you occasional (much needed) brief breaks when you complete a wave and have to shoot the motherships down. Fantastic game. By far my favorite. Warlords/Medieval Mayhem is the best for multiplayer.

Generally with stuff like this, it's either you plug the device's USB-C connector into the PC, and run a windows executable to update it, or you copy a file over the usb connection and the system reboots and installs it. As to the windows PC, it depends: if it's copying a file over to the 2600+, the USB connection should work fine on a mac. If it's a windows executable, then you will need a windows PC unless they supply Mac/Linux executables as well (unlikely, at least at first). There are some options though. You could buy a cheap 'windows pc on a stick' for $60 on amazon and use that (they make nice emulation devices for a spare tv). The Nucbox 5 is like $150 and makes a fantastic media center device if you want to spend a bit more. Alternately, you could install windows to a Mac virtual machine (run windows under MacOS) and give it USB access, and that may work. Lastly, it's theoretically possible that you could run the executable with something like wine and get it to work, depending on what it requires to run, but I don't think Wine allows USB access if memory serves, so that's probably out. Lastly, depending on your physical location, you might be able to meet up with someone or send the unit to someone to update for you. Atariage folks are often nice like that I have found.

You too huh? I *almost* convinced my mom to grab the Tron game on clearance with the stick back in the day, and then my damn brother threw a tantrum and blew it. Never did get one. Damn you, whiny sibling! But I agree. Half the fun of being in this hobby is playing/experiencing all the new hacks and homebrews that create or correct the experience we all wish we had as kids. The track ball games are glorious. Nice to see someone else who appreciates the Starplex. I love that thing. It's also great for games like Stargate, Thrust+ and Riddle of the Sphinx where you need a second controller. I just use my foot.

The 'ET is the worst game ever' thing is like the 'Mr Rogers used to be a navy seal!' thing: it's bullshit, but lots of people just hear it and parrot it. I mean, there are tons of worse games on the VCS, and ET isn't any worse (or better) than something equally janky, occasionally annoying, but basically fun like Raiders of the Ark. Back in the day, most of my Atari playing friends regarded both as about the same level: occasionally fun on a saturday afternoon if you were in the mood, but by no means something you'd play as often as games like Demon Attack, River Raid, Pitfall or Phoenix. Everybody whines about pits. You ever try catching the damn bushes on the Mesas on Raiders followed by the damn TseTse flies? The Swordquest games were just as high profile and far, far worse to play. You want really bad games, go play some Mythicon, Froggo or Apollo carts. See how long you can stand playing Raquetball or Firefly vs ET. ET is fun but flawed. Raquetball could be used as an interrogation tactic lol

I think it will. I've dealt with the new Atari quite a bit (a friend of mine got me a surprise VCS for xmas last year) and I've come to the conclusion that, while they may be small and their stuff is a bit janky at launch, unlike Hyperkin, they always make it right, support the hardware (what are we on, year 4 of the VCS now?) and have good communication with fans. Al also seems to be hinting that firmware is in development for this. So if it's anything like the VCS, we'll get the firmware, it just may take a minute. Given that the only issues I've had with the 2600+ are homebrews, Coleco and M-Network carts, I'm content to wait a bit. Got plenty to keep me busy. And damn... do Atari games look nice in HDMI.

That's great to hear. I've been away from here for a bit, didn't realize Fred was making a harmony expansion either. All great stuff. I'll be ordering several carts from you when you go live. Had no idea you did Elevator Agent either, I freaking love that game.

Penult is probably the closest I have seen to a working real RPG. Cool to see it's actually finished, that's new since I last checked. I'll have to play it and see, but I suspect it will be more 'well cool, someone actually pulled this off' than 'omg this is a game I play every time I drag out my Atari'. But I will *happily* be proved wrong 🙂

My out of box experience was far better than with the '77. Positives: So far, about 98% of the (original) 2600 games I have tested work, though often with a bit of cleaning needed. The only ones that don't are mostly all games with extra chips/non standard formats. Almost everything else works. A far higher ration than the Retron 77 manages even now, and we're only on firmware 1.00 The CX-40 redo is surprisingly excellent. Feels and responds like the real thing. Very nice job. Paddles are a bit stiff, but work mostly fine, though they seem ever so slightly less sensitive that a well maintained original set. The console switches are also extremely solid and feel like the real deal. Negatives: The cart port on this thing is sensitive as shit. It works fine, but it's like a picky three year old with a new food at dinner. It'll eventually cooperate, but it takes a lot of work 😆 7800 compatibility is pretty meh at this stage. The 7800 *needs* homebrews working. Bob D pretty much single handedly made it into a system I play regularly. Need me some Moon Cresta and Pac Man Collection on this bad boy! Things that need tweaking: This thing could use better messaging when loading carts to see if it's an incompatible format, can't read the cart slot, or what have you

I have a pretty mint Time Pilot, which works fine on my 2600. It does not work on the 2600+, even with the usual cleaning/fiddling. A couple of other carts I have not gotten to work: Rescue Terra I: Boots but text is garbled, and crashes to a pink screen shortly after booting. Works fine on a real 2600. Omega Race: Won't boot at all

Has anyone tested if one of the Seagull SEGA -> 7800 adapters for sale on Atariage (here) works on this thing? My 7800 controllers work fine on the 2600+ so I would assume one of these will adapt sega stuff as well?

These days I'll occasionally pop it in for old times sake, but Space Rocks has pretty much replaced it, much as Medieval Mayhem has replaced Warlords. It's hard to understate its importance though. This was a staple for me, and most of my friends back in the day. Fun game, and not a bad effort for the time it came out.

Will I pay $20? Yes, but only if it's an A-tier game I will play the heck out of. Which Champ Games entire catalog qualifies for. I have several of their releases on cart and they never make it back on the shelf, but sit in a multi selector unit that plugs into my VCS because when I play Atari, they're usually first on the list. They're *that* good. That said, I haven't bought the ROMS from Champ games because I'd MUCH rather own a physical cart, so I am waiting to see if those do appear for sale on their site first.

Every time life gets busy and I am away from here for months, I'll log back on, check the 2600 forum, and someone here will have dredged up ol' Hardwork, Team Savage and the Knight Rider 2600 project😆 It never stops being funny. Truly, Hardwork's contributions to the homebrew scene have created something that will last decades. Amazing. As to the topic at hand: yeah, the VCS does simple action/arcade games well, with some adventure games thrown in. I've yet to see anyone do an actual rpg or full strategy game well, outside the occasional simple board game like checkers or backgammon. With the new circuit boards and add on chips though, I suspect you might be able to make something these days, but will it really be worth playing? I'd rather have an arcade port. As ledzep mentioned above, Vector games usually don't port well either (though Omega Race was pretty good), and neither do any sort of fighting/brawling games generally.

I never once beat any level without the starbase being destroyed, that I can recall. I think it's impossible, regardless of what the manual states, even on Novice difficulty. I played this game for literally years, daily, after school too. You really should check out the 8-bit/5200 version of Star Raiders though, even if just on an emulator. It's far, far better than this one. You'll never go back. There's a huge map with dozens of fleets, multiple starbases, fore and aft views combat views, a long range scanner, as well as much more challenging combat and the ability to actually dock at starbases graphically. It's probably my favorite Atari game ever. Even better, Aric Wilmunder's long lost Star Raiders sequel (and not the last starfighter rebranding) has been found, which has wireframe enemies, planets to land and fight on, and all kinds of insane stuff. Well worth your time :)