Mikebloke

Yeah, I imagine it was a tad expensive, but hey, I'm earning a bit more than I used to these days so what the hell! I can still count the number of games I spent more than £50 on one hand, so I can't complain. Ps: I won that hand with that pair ?

I did win the loose casino poker. I thought I might as well go as high as I could go, I'm on the final stretch for games and I'm happy enough just having the UK released ones CIB. I did offer $75 for it. $25 postage and then the super import tax for an extra $25-30 on top. I like looking at the number in £££ because it makes me feel better about spending that much for just a cart. It does mean the fairchild is plugged back in now, so it'll get some use. Gamecube went back into storage!

Hi everyone, I've poked my head up occasionally for other consoles. I've done some demo stuff for both the Intellivision and the Fairchild Channel F, but haven't really got to the point of truly finishing a project yet - other than a random original odyssey demake from the Channel F (but that doesn't really count!). I've realised that starting from the Fairchild as someone who had never used assembly before was a bit silly, and decided to take full advantage of the better access to 2600 resources instead. I found that this course https://www.udemy.com/course/programming-games-for-the-atari-2600/ really helped as he went through it line by line, but in a way I understood better than many resources online. I have a number of books that help starting out too that is available on lulu etc. I decided my first serious project for the 2600 should be to port submarine from the PC-50x, mainly because it appeared to be the only game on the console that didn't have an obvious comparison on the 2600 (perhaps shooting gallery too, but maybe that can be the next project!). Submarine offers a varied number of modes, both single and 2 player. There is also a really bad "space" version of the same game on the cartridge, which from memory I think is only 2 player. I intend to get all of it in a 2600 rom in time but just trying to get all the basics first. If anyone is curious about the console (and game) itself check out: here TheProgrammerIncarnate has done an amazing job regarding converting it to fpga, check it out! Anyway, back to my unworkable rubbish. I've been working on my game through https://8bitworkshop.com/ which is incredibly helpful for testing games live. The site now includes other consoles including the 7800 too. I've found I get different results depending on whether I use the website, stella emulator or my UNO cart on my PAL consoles. That's fine, I guess its to be expected, I haven't even attempted to worry about NTSC and PAL just yet. I'm very slowly learning the ropes, so I would appreciate constructive feedback in the form of help (ideally particularly on the code itself) about specific parts. I've made this by watching the above udemy course, and editing and altering, adding as I tend to learn languages that way, and then it should move onto other projects being more independent. What I have here is probably the first project where I've actually been able to write code for assembly without pure copy paste and editing numbers, so go easy on me as I'm already pretty proud I got this far! Also, please assume I'm stupid, if there is something that you think I should have understood by this point to make something this far Assume I don't know it and I've just been guessing. I learn by breaking things and then fixing them again, but it does mean I don't learn it "right". My goal is to not only do a few 2600 games (not going over the top, I'm not going to be Champ Games level at any point) but to move back to Fairchild and other assembly consoles. What you should get is a few years of me developing homebrew games for a number of consoles, original and ports - so please help support me reach my goal and I will reward with games! I'll upload my code and rom: submarine aa help.zip submarine aa help.rom Specific things I'm after is: 1) Why doesn't collision detection between Player 0 and Missile 1 work? (CHeckCXM1P) This was because I was clearing the collision flag from copy pasting code between M0 and P1 - this isn't required and I just deleted the line sta CXCLR 2) Why is the second black ship (the pyramid looking one) jumping instead of "sliding" like the player and the top ship? (This is me using Player 1 for multiple objects, I was pretty proud of myself as I worked out some of this on my own!) I worked this one out - I needed to reuse HMOVE once switching Player 1 for the 3rd ship in the middle. After doing this, the player started skipping, so I moved it to when the 3rd ship changes X co-ordinate as well! 3) Why is Missile 1 a line and not a dot like Missile 0 (is this linked to stretching of the player? is it linked because Player1 is stretched using NUSIZ1?) This is because of NUSIZ1, I just haven't worked out how to change it yet without also changing the ship stretch. 4) How do I add sound effects effectively? There is essentially three in the original game, the "submarine" sound, the "missile" sound and the "hit" sound. Submarine is a continuing 2 tone sonar like sound during play, missile is a beep-beep-beep-beep sound after firing while moving (Missile 0 only) and the hit sound is like a weird twang, which then goes silent until the players can move again (slight delay). I have a really basic understanding from the udemy course for how it works, but any help on sound creation for the 2600 would be greatly appreciated. I don't think I've found a true "tutorial" on it yet, if someone can link me to one if they exist, would be extremely thankful! 5) If there is anything obvious that 8bitworkshop is doing that is effecting differences in stella or on actual hardware (I'm aware that it won't look the same on my PAL console - I'll work on that later). Things I think I can work out on my own or I'll deal with later: 1) Closer colours and proportions to the original game (I know its off, I'm still getting used to the idea of 'racing the beam' though do explain it to me if there is really obvious things you think I need to know to help). 2) Some optimisation. There is lots to do, and I think I know how to optimise some of it, be kind if you mention this! and explain why its better. 3) Getting the other modes in. I currently only have one, the standard game where you have two ships you can hit. I have 1 and 2 player in, but I still need to add the other subtypes, including a "blind" version and the space game that was also added into the cartridge. 4) Adapting it for PAL later on, I'm getting the basics in first and understanding how it works, I'll be doing a PAL version for sure as its what I use. 5) I'm aware that I've saved it as a 2kb game. I'd love to get the whole thing into 2kb, if only to get last place in the Atari Homebrew awards next year ? Thanks in advance for any support given, know that genuine offers for support is really appreciated, and that due to my own neurological condition, while I type smart sometimes, it takes me quite awhile to learn new things and develop them. The end goal (other than finishing this game) should be that you'll see a lot more projects from me in a playable format. I quite like demakes/upmakes so it might be my main domain of development - but I imagine I'll get a few original stuff out too. Thanks Thanks Thanks.

I think many of us questioned why advertising and marketing for the product is so bad. Given their recent history of cancelling things, a lot of us assumed this was a premonition not only that it would happen again, but that it was perhaps planned - and perhaps planned previously too - as a form of intentional scamming akin to Nigerian money scams etc. We still obviously haven't seen any produced for backers, but this video is genuinely the first thing to suggest its actually real. Given it was revealed in June 2017, its nearly taken 3 years to convince us its a real product, that is seriously flawed.

Yep. I'm happy that this shows a competent ability to load various apps. And yes, it was quite quick, thankfully. Would be worried if it didn't go too fast. Yes the silence thing is weird, but it seems to be their thing, like they are still selling this product as an amateur adventure. Plus points for finally showing the wires going in and it all working without cuts though, I'm still of the impression that previously this was done to hide things - but this shows it working. Just need to considerably drop the price now. Edit: Don't think this surprised anyone though.

Ahhh I see the back now, I looked at the front label and because I didn't see the Z logo I thought it was dodgy looking. 15 hours till my offer for the cart only one is over, will probably be sad and then buy a bunch of unneeded 2600 carts to cheer me up.

And if by magic....! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RARE-FAIRCHILD-VIDEOCART-25-CASINO-POKER-VIDEO-GAME-CARTRIDGE-F-BOX-INSTRUCTIONS/274235061362?hash=item3fd9aef472:g:2ekAAOSwGpBeMKMI Also I got a counter offer, but I've put in another offer. If I don't get a response/rejected I'll post what got offered to me in case anyone else wanted to have a go. Edit: noticed this from same seller: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RARE-FAIRCHILD-VIDEOCART-17-PINBALL-CHALLENGE-VIDEO-GAME-CARTRIDGE-F-BOX-WARRAN/254496009352?hash=item3b4124ec88:g:OUsAAOSwD9JeMKTk Con job? 17 never came with a clear box did it?

I just read the pcmag article as I was curious. I guess this actually proves they were in Las Vegas after all, because believe me nothing I've actually seen to date really did prove it. I'm basing this all on what I regard to be a reputable source, if they said they saw it in Las Vegas I'll believe them. However you dig into the article, and the proof of the matter is, still, that other than see it boot to windows in "sandbox" mode nobody has actually seen it do a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g. Well done to the backers actually pushing the hard questions, ultimately, Ataris game is to not utilise what they actually have effectively, and to hide others badly. 1) show a video clearly of it being plugged in and turned on. 2) show a game, any game, inside the os loading from the menu and not just showing images or promotional videos. 3) be clearer with the backers on how long you suspect it will take for production to start, and then we can assume a 20+ day increase on that for shipping. 4) Consider what else you should give to make it more valuable. I wouldn't consider buying it for any more than half the price you are suggesting, it just isn't worth it from buying another console or a dedicated pc. Give stuff away to make it more worthwhile, what we already have on pcs is not enough.

I'd go for a fully compatible 7800 romcart! One of the few consoles now that I don't have something I can stick an SD card in.

I've made an offer for Casino poker, with the extra import tax I couldn't really go any higher.

That's what you call proper referencing ?

To the spies: the next question to ask Atari is who was in the CES rooms. We have one guy from a youtube channel of 14,000 subs watch a menu flip between two screens, who else was in the room? Why hasn't anyone else come out to brag they were able to get exclusive access? If this was any other company, they would be pushing the people to get on social media for it, pictures, video, etc. Is Atari that bad at marketing they can't even copy upstart "influencers" who don't even see a paycheck? Or are they specifically trying to not be mentioned?

Maybe this is a weird pairing code when manufacturing, like the -10 is the box and the -01 is the instructions... then you make sure you have one of each? (not sure how you could mix them up, but hey!) Very odd. Sega used a lot of codes generally on their boxes, but unlike Playstation 2 where there is some logic to it, Sega did a mix and even switched them for regions too, so it gets a tad confusing.

I'm based in the old world, are any of the planned hotels in any areas associated with the gaming or streaming industries? I guess that would help with seasonal sales as someone going to a trade show or GDQ event might think: "hey let's goto the atari Hotel!". 1 Hotel makes sense, but 8? They seem to be suggesting these will be full blown hotels as well, and not just guest houses for 4-12 occupants at a time. Will they fill the rooms???

All of them, weirdly. I have been using the Retron 77 quite a bit, but I have an uno cart too so I tend to use the 7800 when I'm playing a 7800 game and want the backwards compatibility. I tend to use emulation on PC when I just want to double check features of a game, or how a mechanic or menu works. I don't tend to actually use it to play games. I'm using online emulators for testing my own games.

I would rather see Atari themed hotels than gambling centres for children in Kenya. I actually think they've done well to secure that deal, it makes good business sense, got them a nice immediate cash bonus, potential additional revenue (but lets be honest, its probably more like tens of thousands a year than hundreds of thousands / millions), someone else does all the leg work, and they don't have to do anything and its nothing that's offensive against fans/society/God. Good work. I appreciate this probably comes as sarcasm, but its genuine praise.

This is what happens when no news is good news, we start chatting about other shite and turning on each other. No news is all ataris grand plan to destroy us. Also, that last video demo exclusive from a couple of days ago is hilarious, no demo, pre recorded footage at painful fps and now we're being told it's not a console. Flip flop flip flop!

Here in the UK I barely remember the 32x, it's not that it was a terrible idea, its just that the cd had already came out for the console. I think most gamers weren't keen on expansion consoles so it was just easier to get the next one up. So yeah, 32x probably hampered sega but as a consumer I didn't really notice it. The problems I felt with saturn was more : 1) it simply lost the advertising war with Sony from start to finish. I don't even remember saturn having TV ads in the UK. 2) there was a cartridge slot, but not for games. Feels like a real shame, 32x compatibility could have ensured people bought the games at least and kept some mega drive owners still in with the new games if they couldn't afford a saturn. 3) ports just took too long. Years of waiting for games from ps1 to saturn, and many decent games with extra features was Japan only. 4) the great games came too late. FF7 and a number of other hit titles from what most people then would regard as niche genres really stuck out for Sony, pds and sf3 were too late. I don't agree that the saturn should have kept going either, although I never got a dreamcast at the time I remember being in awe of it, keeping the saturn going longer would be a repeat of the 32x saturn issue.

Just my personal opinion but I imagine Pinball Challenge was named and arted specifically to cash in on titles being released elsewhere. It may have also been a way of not infringing on ataris naming rights, as that period of time was rife with lawsuits and the video game industry was experiencing a few around that time. I know in the 20 years of Stella interviews or however long it was there is some brief mentions of the channel F as programmers worked on both systems. I assume some of them are named above, I'm not great with names.

When someone does a dissertation on the mentality of the backers of failed commercial ventures, this topic will be part of the source content ?

Sounds good!

Hi I was wondering if anyone had a clue, or remembers how Paddle Derby gameplay worked. There is this really helpful flyer here: https://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=flyer&db=videodb&id=2431&image=2 Which explains most of it, but I just wanted to confirm for sure before I moved forward with an idea. My understanding is that the screen has four segments, each a different colour (presumably black and white on the screen, but with overlays to colour it), each player plays in their individual grid independently, the ball bounces on all walls* but you get a point if you hit it. Whoever gets x amount of points first wins. For those who might have seen one of these in action or remembers it, how does it work specifically?: Do all players who have coined in play at the exact same time, or in turns? * Does it bounce off the wall behind the paddle, or does it exit and then reappear? Was the small paddle setting say half the size of standard? Did ball appear in a set location of each players field or was it randomised? Presumably direction and speed was different to some degree? Any idea how many points was required for a win? I appreciate that this might be a difficult one, it appears to be one of the earliest variants of Pong and dates back maybe as far as the same year. Its a curious mechanic, in that its multiplayer but not directly competitive. I'm curious about different arcade games, as most pong styles was represented on the 2600 in Video Olympics, but some never made the cut (Gotcha for example, has been homebrewed for the 2600). Although it might be one of the lamest things ever, I wondered whether I could assembly a version of Paddle Derby myself for use with the double paddle controllers to get the full 4 player experience on the 2600.

Its extremely grey. Its why I have only ever backed projects by people I trust had a viable product or software that already existed - and were only funding upgrades or continued development. If its a good product it will sell itself when it hits shelves. If I was another company that shared the Atari name I would be extremely worried my brand recognition was about to go down the pan. Cancelling a Smart watch is niche, consoles is not.

Hi Stefan! I'm not in your group. I'm not even on Facebook. I'm not even on social media. I actually want a competent Atari product. I would probably buy the VCS for a reasonable price, £40-50 similar to "mini" or "classic" consoles, even though the VCS is not a mini console if it comes with the controllers. The current product does nothing my aged laptop which is falling apart doesn't do better already, and has the same games. Perhaps you can quote this in your group and get Atari to reduce the price point to 15% of its current planned price, something that would be competitive, and perhaps a serious contender against a Raspberry Pi as that seems to be a reasonable level of competition, given you are going to lose to Amico in the retro-nostalgia scene.

Metro readers should rip them to shreds on this, although the articles tend to be relatively casual this might be the dumbest thing they've printed on the gaming scene, the gaming readership tends to similar to what you'd find on AA - dedicated gamers with experience and knowledge. There'll be plenty of people who will go "wait, isn't that just Atari-Vault?".