Guy1

Nice work! Glad to have closure. I've pinned your YouTube comment for visibility.

The Designer was Mark Peters (Change In Heat, Iowa City). Maybe the way to create "PM Madness" is to have everyone Private Message this guy!

Hey folks, I've uploaded a longplay of Pondering About Max's (1989). Hope you enjoy. @Mclaneinc, @Gunstar, @Fred_M, @therealbountybob, @erichenneke, @Allan, @ivop

Heh. You might be in luck... I finished The Dream and PAM today, and I was thinking of uploading a longplay. But I wanted to make absolutely sure I wasn't missing anything important - like whatever this "PM Madness" thing is...

Things I've tried: Down-jumping onto the pile of pool balls. If you move left, an invisible hitbox kills you. Jumping to the left edge of the platform that Max is on. If you move right, an invisible hitbox kills you. Catching up to Max while in the pressure cooker. Nothing happens. Pic for reference.

So the game comes with a leaflet that says: Below I've listed some challenges and information not found in the booklet: - Make the right moves on the first level of The Dream to create "PM Madness" Anyone have any ideas?

Hey folks! I've put together a video showcasing 25 games on the Atari 800. I spend 1-2 minutes on each game - so you can get a proper feel of them.

It was advertised. It plays well. And it's rated fairly highly on AtariMania... And yet it is listed as a Prototype... Did Inhome Software go bankrupt or something? How and when did the prototype surface?

Thanks guys. Very informative. Just had a few thoughts about XEX/COM conversions - purely from a preservationist viewpoint: What about splash screens with information on them? Wouldn't the game load too fast for players to see them? Do you think fixing game load times might give the wrong impression for future players? Like maybe you stumble upon a game and think "Wow! What a great game! I can't believe it was rated so low / overlooked for all these years" - when really the game was only available on cassette and had long load times between every single screen.

I was under the impression that Atari 800 games came in three forms: Cart Files - ROM/COM/XEX/CART Disk Files - ATR/ATX Tape Files - CAS But then I stumbled upon some COM games that (according to AtariMania) were never released on cartridge: Air Support, Desmond's Dungeons, Encounter, Ghost Chaser, Zeppelin Moreover, the "Homesoft Collection" has a whole TRUCKLOAD of XEX games that were never released on cartridge. All of these load immediately - even with Altirra set to give accurate load times. So what gives? Did someone convert these disk files into XEX format? There is a small folder of "disk only" roms - Why couldn't these be converted?

Found something that fits quite nicely in my video. The intro to the In-Store Demonstration Program:

Hey! It looks like the notes played in the Atari XL/XE Audio-Visual Self Test are the start of Spelunker (1983).

Wow. This game is great. I love puzzle-platformers (and puzzle games in general). Currently on the fifth screen of The Dream... haven't even tried the other games in the collection. Do you happen to know any good puzzle games from around 1979-1985? I've already played The Goonies, Zorro, Zenji, Journey to the Planets, and Castle Hassle.

Alright. Spill the beans, Mclane. We know you're hiding some quality hidden gems. You might think they belong to your inner self identity or something... But we both know that they actually belong to the YouTube algorithm. /s

I'm working on a video and trying to pick out some sound effects for titles, etc. Closest I have found is the Audio-Visual Self Test sound for the Atari 800XL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXl0VOej2yA Is there an equivalent for the Atari 400/800? - What sound plays in your mind when you think of the system?

Just want to add that I have tried out each game on the Top 500 list released between 1979-1985. I have also scoured the database by year, looking at the genres I am interested in - Never would have found Maxwell Manor if I hadn't. But there's a good possibility that I missed some interesting games by limiting my genres, or simply judging by screenshots / user rating. You both seem like you have played a lot of Atari 8-bit games, so I have to ask, are there any games that you personally feel are underrated or overlooked?

I'm personally interested in platformers and action-adventures released before 1986. But feel free to post anything worth checking out. Here's a few games not on the list: Maxwell Manor (1984) - 7.5/10 - 17 votes Run For It (1984) - 7.5/10 - 14 votes Matterhorn (1984) - 6.9/10 - 19 votes Top 500 List: http://www.atarimania.com/top-atari-game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-_G_8_V_500.html

HEY! Did you update the website without saying anything? You sly dog... Thanks a billion! ? I'm already seeing some interesting titles... like Air Support (1984) - Anyone know if this is the very first RTS game? It's older than Herzog Zwei (1989), which Wikipedia cites as "often considered the first real-time strategy game". Pretty much all of the gems I found while digging through the catalog are in the Top 500... except for one. More people need to try out Maxwell Manor (7.6 - 16 Votes). It's quite an interesting action-adventure if you can get over the primitive camera and platforming sections. I'm sure there are other gems just like Maxwell Manor hidden in the depths of the catalog... But as for now, I'm a very happy camper - with 400 new games to check out! ? Any plans to make an announcement?

That sounds fantastic. Did I mention how awesome you and Franck are? Regarding that second point - I was under the impression that games needed over 20 votes to be included in the Top 100 List. At least, that's why I thought Operation Blood (8.0 - 21 votes) was included, but Super Breakout (8.2 - 20 votes) wasn't. I still hope a "Sort By Rating" option is added to the Advanced Search someday - considering this "over 20 votes" requirement. Otherwise, people could completely miss out on obscure titles like Super Breakout. But overall, I am very happy with this compromise. ?

That's a real shame about the ratings. Not even sure what can (or should) be done about it now. I'm still interested in seeing that data (if anyone has access) - perhaps holding on to the hope that the ratings evened-out over time. I do wonder if certain "Top 100" quirks caused the vote scumming in the first place... Not being able to see past the Top 100 effectively means that your favourite #101-ranked Atari game is invisible to most visitors. Likewise, any obscure, but highly-rated game with only 19 votes will remain completely off the charts until that precious 20th player takes the plunge. Does Atari Age have a community-voted Top Games list?

Hi folks. Does anyone know if it is possible to view beyond the Top 100 Games on AtariMania? There are some great games that unfortunately miss that cut-off - and some of them are exclusive to Atari 8-bit computers. It would be awesome to be able to see the votes/rating/downloads for every title. Does anyone have access to such a spreadsheet?