MrFish

According to the GenX guy (and probably the full manual; haven't looked at it thoroughly enough myself yet), you can mount more for games that need it (like Ultima, etc.), via playlists.

Yeah, I suppose. People can see what it is as soon as they start it up, though.

Interesting. Good to hear you've got one in hand now, so you can give it a good testing.

I think so, because when GenX was using the new VCS stick for the paddle with the hidden games (Super Breakout and Castle Crisis), he needed TheCX Stick plugged in for the function buttons (because he was playing carousel games, which can't remap the controller -- which they should probably change).

Yeah, he's always made the ROM available for download for the 8-bit computers and 5200; he just charged for physical copies (and a modest price at that). I imagine he would want to charge a fee to Atari for it to appear on their commercial product, though.

The ROM is available; but what I think he means is, for it to be included in a commercial product like this, there must have been some licensing involved, which should have meant exchange of funds for the developer ( @Bryan ).

Thus it becomes your duty to up the level of violence. Fire up some Commando, shoot everything and anything that moves, blast them with grenades, and walk right by all your desperate comrades imprisoned in the secret areas, leaving them there to rot and die.

Homesoft had an XEX version of Cheez-Wiz already. Cheez-Wiz.xex

Yeah, his review was really overall quite positive, but I think he wanted to stress that it's not perfect and that some people might want to wait until the manufacturer has had a chance to address some issues that will come up with this first round of users.

I didn't say anything about lag. I was specifically referring to @swlovinist's comments and review concerning control "issues". He didn't mention anything about lag, but rather issues being able to control certain games, wherein he was able to substitute alternate controllers and play the same games without any issues. Yes, I understand the value of using a CX40-inspired stick; but it seems their choice of locating buttons on the ring might not be the best. I'm looking forward to seeing some other reviews and opinions. I know they'll be plenty of other takes on some of the issues being discussed here.

I don't know; you seemed pretty unhappy in your review when you weren't able to use the controller provided for more than just one or two games. I know I'd find it disappointing if I paid for a controller and it didn't work as it's supposed to with the system; that's just throwing money away, as it constitutes a certain portion of item's price. Also, everybody doesn't have a suitable USB controller just laying around; I say "suitable" because every USB controller is not good for retro games. I find many gamepads difficult to use with these older games that were designed for joysticks.

Agreed; but I think a lot of the people reviewing these are not so into the 8-bit computers enough to know some of the differences. I suppose the developers could give up the information; but I don't see that happening soon, if at all. Yes, the disk version uses a redefined font, whereas the cart version just uses the default system font. Also, the disk version has a title screen (although not the best I've seen for a First Star game; their title screens for some other games are a bit nicer). Same with the disk version of Bristles; you get a nice title screen there. No title screen on the cart version. This is somewhat common. Carts didn't always have room for title screens to be included.

Yeah, I'd forgotten about there being multiple versions of Rockball posted. I have this version that was on an ATR. Maybe it's the proto? [Edit] It's different from the XEX I posted above, shown by a file compare. Rockball (2).xex I hadn't seen that before (I see someone has already responded and provided a thread about it now). Here's the only 8-bit binary from that thread. zaxxon32k8bitver.xex

Ah, I see. I'll be interested to hear some of those other reviews then. That's too bad. My initial impression of the controller is that it may be a weak point for the system. People (including myself) had doubts about the unique positions of the extra buttons (particularly the ring buttons) possibly being an issue for accidental triggering; and it seems those doubts are being confirmed by the GenX guy's experience so far. He had suggested redefining particular functions away from buttons that were being more easily triggered by accident; but this is hardly an ideal solution (and apparently not possible with the built-in games). To me, the problem is an indication that there may not have been enough testing done with the controller. It seems like a slick idea - to put buttons on the ring -- but in practice it might not function so great. As we all know, the controller is an important component for a game system. Having to bring our own controller lowers the value of that part of the system. Hopefully something can be done without too much trouble for the control issues you've experienced; but if they are hardware issues, they aren't going away easily. I suppose firmware changes could make the extra buttons less sensitive, in order to remedy the problem the GenX guy is experiencing. We'll see how things go.

Actually, it was more the habit in the 80's to employ crocheting and knitting against cheating companies that turned their computers into game consoles. Sewing didn't become so fashionable in this regard until the mid-90's.

Which reviewer would that be? I don't recall anyone else mentioning control problems. I just remember the GenX guy saying he was occasionally hitting some of the extra buttons unintentionally.

I have these three. Rent Wars.xex Rockball.xex Looney Tunes Hotel (5200).xex I don't believe there are executables of these available; and Xenophobe is kinda of a "no, no", because it's still being sold at Video61, and returning money to @Fandal for his rescue purchase (thousands of dollars paid on the Ebay purchase). I'm guessing you mean an executable of the disk version of Zaxxon? If so, here it is. Zaxxon (Disk).xex Any of the rest you mention, I would look on the Homesoft Atari site first, because he ( @nobody ) converts a lot of cartridge games to XEX for convenience. In fact, you might be able to request him to convert the other ones you need.

It is an XEGS gray controller gone beige. I got confused based on some former discussion about it, where someone had thought it was a beige controller that was specifically made.

OK, thanks for trying these out. They need to fix that issue (firmware update, etc.).

Yeah, I saw that in your review, which is why I thought about the cartridge version. So far, you seem to be the only reviewer having control issues with TheCX Stick. I'm wondering if there might be issues with the particular one that you got?

Wait, I may have gotten some bad information about that. It may very well be an XE gray stick that's yellowed (further research needed). Regardless, one that would be manufactured using the case color from the The400 Mini would be cool.

Maybe because they're rare and you haven't seen one before? This was a real Atari product for the 400/800 machines. I think they look great!

Here's the ROM version, in case it doesn't like the CAR version I posted above (they are different file types, other than just the extension). Blue Max.rom

The full user manual (38 PDF pages - English) for The400 Mini is now available from Retro Games' Support Page. The400 Mini - User Manual [Edit] Includes special information on how to use it for the following, additional fun features: seizures, repetitive-motion injuries, eyestrain, motion sickness, and electric shock. Sorry, no information on chord choking (strangulation, swallowing, etc.), poking your eyes out, or concussion injuries by hurling at or slamming on a friend's or loved one's head.

Thanks!