KevinMos3

I just updated both the standard "Boom" model and the 9 Gold. I definitely like the scanlines better now, but sound seems to have taken a pretty big hit. I never noticed it being so off before. One of the first games I tried was California Games and the sounds really stood out as being off. I most noticed it in the Half Pipe event, but you can definitely tell they're off elsewhere. In Foot Bag, the sound seems off enough that some effects are cut off or nearly missing. I'm wondering if the emulator build was updated in the most recent update and the hardware is struggling to keep up. I know that Rewind also makes performance take a hit. I love having Rewind available, but I think both this and the Genesis model would benefit from an option to enable or disable Rewind in the menu (like the option to enable or disable scanlines).

The Space Invaders game on the Flashback 8 is an android app. Not compatible with the Portable.

I think it would really benefit from a sound when braking. Squeal them tires!

This really looks awesome. I love the sprites and playfield so far. I'm excited to see where you go with it.

Very cool. Glad to see you still working on this.

Ive read through the included instructions, the AtGames website FAQ, and tried various controller combinations, but Ive not found anything for the BW/Color (TV Type) switch. If I remember correctly, you could access it on the FB 8 with a button/controller combination, but Ive not gotten that to work on the FB 9. Does anyone know how to access it, or was it a total oversight on the FB 9?

Pardon me for not remembering the rules on sprite widths with doubles or triples, but could you do a double wide (or more) P0 sprite that is repeated (doubled or tripled)? Or are repeated sprites not stretchable... I don't remember. Could you add another HMOVE above where the bomb never appears, to use P0 up there for buildings? Here's a mockup with the sunset being background color changes and the buildings as a triple P0 sprite (double wide). And a more crappy tripled standard width sprite:

Thank you very much! I have one more request: It seems to now recognize all extensions. Can you make it only list certain ones again, (bin, smd, cue, sms, gg, 32x, etc.)? The reason I ask is because I'd like for some things to not show up in my games list. Right now, it even shows the brm files that the emulator creates for Sega CD games. I'd also like only my cues, not my ISOs to not show up by renaming the bins to something like scd or whatever.

I noticed that SMS and Game Gear games are not recognized from the SD card of the Genesis Flashback model. Would you mind editing the latest firmware to recognize these other extensions (Master System, Game Gear, Sega CD) on the Genesis FB?

The link to the ebay auction you posted is for a 2018 model Genesis/MegaDrive Flashback. These are good systems. They run Genesis Plus GX on linux, rather than the custom android emulator of 2017. A quick, easy way to determine the 2018 model by looking at the box is the mock volume slider on the left. The 2017 model didn't have that. Also, the box mentions an SD card slot, only available on the 2018 model. The firmware on the AtGames website is for the 2018 model, not the 2017 model, and enables loading roms from the SD card. The only critisisms I have of the 2018 model is: - Master System and Game Gear roms are not yet supported from the SD card. The emulator can clearly run them, but the firmware does not reconize the extension. Hopefully a future update will change this. - Boxarts on the SD card are not supported. I imagine it would cause moving through pages of roms to be a bit slower, but I'd like to have the option to add them. - The sound of PAL roms is not handled correctly in the Genesis model. Hopefully this gets fixed in a future update. Otherwise, the 2018 model is a very solid system.

I have both the Boom! Version and the Gold version. I first experienced the issue with the Boom one, since I bought it first. I tried several hdmi cables (all of which work fine with other equipment). I mentioned this in a post back in November. Later, (this month), I also bought the Gold version and forgot about the hdmi/sound issue because I had only been playing it on the bedroom TV. However, when I brought it to the living room the other day, thats when the Gold exhibited the same behavior as the Boom version and I remembered it was an issue. Both TVs are of the same brand, and both of the same year, but different models, as one is a 24 and the other a 32 smart tv. I need to contact at games about it, but havent yet. Also, this does NOT happen with the 2018 Genesis FB, only the Atari FB 9s.

Ive been loving my FB 9 Gold, but Id forgotten that sound doesnt work at all on my main TV unless I unplug/replug the hdmi cable every time I load a game (whether included on the console, or from the SD card) and every time I return to menu. Id forgotten about the issue since I had been playing on the bedroom TV, but was frustratingly reminded when I took it to the living room over the weekend. Yesterday, for the first time, I ran into an issue where the sound dropped out mid-game (with the TV that the console hadnt had issues with). When I exited the game, sound came back in the menu, but when loading a game again, would either drop out or get really scratchy sounding. I still love this FB9 Gold, but this makes 2 things I really want to see updated in firmware: (1) sound fix, (2) ability to add boxarts for sd card games.

For anyone in the US, GameStop has them for $0.99 for 1GB and 2GB cards, and $1.99 for 4GB cards. If youre a pro member or elite pro, take 10% or 20% off that respectively. If you dont have a store near you, you could still buy them from their website, last I checked. I bought several (all a local store had), thinking Id have a few extra, then realized I have more things I can use them in than I thought (FB 2018 models, FB portables, Harmonies, and everdrives), so I went to another local store for more. Now all my consoles and everdrives have their own SD cards... umm, just thought of a couple more consoles that could use a card, like the retro-bit generations. Very true. Although certain brands do sometimes have issues with certain hardware, Ive used cards larger than what hardware was specd at in the past by formatting the card to the specified size and not had any problems. This did not include SDHC cards with SD only equipment, of course. However, if the equipment merely has a size limit it can read/write to, but can read SDHC, then formatting a card to size should work fine. Sometimes, the listed size restriction (like with many phones/tablets, 3DS etc.) is really only saying itll read fat32 and not exfat, so theyll often work with cards of any size (128GB, 256GB etc.) as long as its formatted fat32. For FB portables that say 8GB max, Ive used larger cards by limiting the formatted size to 8GB.

I just purchased volumes 1 & 2 a few hours ago (before your post about the holiday book). I was wanting to buy the full color version of vol 1, but couldn't pass on the B&W ones since I could get both for less than the cost of 1 color book. While I ordering, I also bought several of amazon's "suggested books" from Michael Salzman. Really looking forward to receiving all of them.

Yes, these games work great. I tried several versions of Frantic and all but the MAM1b worked great (including the version with the super sexy explosions). The Aardvark demo also works. Everything I've thrown at it worked great except Super Cobra Arcade and ones that we know aren't supported like Mappy and the later Draconian ROMs (the earlier ones work fine before the kernel change). Also, everything on the list as not working with the Retron 77, such as Challenge of Nexar and Robot Tank work great. Although, I don't know if that Retron 77 list accounts for the latest community update (I'd assume it would be for stock R77 units, but haven't confirmed).

Scramble works fine on the Flashback 9 (standard and Gold). However, Super Cobra Arcade does not. I agree this year's FB 9 (and Genesis FB, btw), are pretty solid. I really enjoy mine and the wireless controllers are great, like last year's. The main things I want to see are lag-less paddles and the ability to add boxarts for roms on the SD card. Those are the only 2 big items on my wish list now. P.S. Does anyone know how to access the color/bw function? Last years had an undocumented button/joystick combination, but I haven't been able to find how in the 9 model.

This years Genesis Flashback console itself feels much higher quality as well. The plastic feels thick and sturdy, not light and cheap like previous ones. I've been pretty impressed with it. There are a few things I'd like to see changed, like the ability to add boxarts for games added on the SD Card (my biggest wish for this model). The scanline filter doesn't look as good as it did in last year's. It would be nice to have a few more options for background music or be able to add your own. These are things I would think could be added by future firmware updates if they're willing to give the customer support. That would pretty much make it perfect in my opinion. It's much better than before and I'm pretty happy with it overall. The only other issue I've noticed is that the Piko Interactive cartridge release of Duke Nukem 3D worked on last year's, but not this year's. The ROM works fine though. I haven't tried many other carts yet.

The way the SD card is formatted can be very finicky. I don't know exactly what causes the issue, but I had an SD card that worked just fine. I tried another one, also formatted FAT32, but it wouldn't work (grayed out). So, I cloned the SD card that worked to the other one and then it worked just fine. So, my advice is to try different formatting programs until you find one that works for you. It may not like one formatted FAT23 with Windows, but work just fine with something else like GUIFormat etc. edit: or... Sounds like you didn't have the "Game" folder in the root of your card.

I picked up a Flashback 9 over the weekend (saw it with a $35 clearance tag on it, marked down from $44.88). Mine definitely has sound issues. It has no sound at all when you turn it on. I have to unplug the HDMI cable and plug it back in to get sound. If that wasn't enough of a nuisance, every time I load a game, I have to repeat this process (unplug/replug hdmi cable). When I go back to the menu after playing a game, same thing. No sound. Unplug/replug. I thought it might be the HDMI cable, so I tried another, but it has the same issue. I thought maybe it didn't like something about my TV, so I tried it on another one. On the bedroom TV, it will not have sound after powering on either. However, I only have to unplug/replug the HDMI once and then the sound will work after that. It seems to not like some TVs. It doesn't like either of mine, but it likes one better than the other. I'm just about done. I think I've been more than patient and bought products over the past several years. I've been looking forward to this years Atari and Sega release. I know the Sega one was cancelled, but I still looked forward to the Atari FB. So far, it's been pretty disappointing, even though the Stella emulator is much better. The sound issue is very frustrating, I do not understand why they would release a product that does not work with original paddle controllers (especially since there's a category of "Paddle" games on the console, and the "Boom!" on the menu looks ridiculous (the most minor of the 3 annoyances so far). I don't understand why they can't seem to product test and do a PROPER release. Year after year, we keep asking for things and they eventually give us a couple (SD Card slot and better emulation), but then overlook the most basic functionality that gets broken, like paddles and sound breaking. I'm not clear if they're releasing portables this year, but I remember Bill saying they weren't fixing the sound emulation on the Sega Portable this year anyway... an issue that's been known for several years and the fix made available by a Brazilian guy for a few years now, but they still couldn't be bothered to fix the next year's release.

That's exactly how I feel these days. I have SO LITTLE time to play anything that it can't be very challenging. While I don't expect to breeze right through everything, the moment it gets too tough, I put it down... although even if it's not too tough, I soon have to put it down and get back to responsibilities. I did order this game from Best Buy with the 20% off Gamer's Club Unlocked discount (had to order online because I've been away from home for a bit and won't be back for another week) and don't really expect to spend any time with it for a very long time. I've been buying WAY too many games (over 150 for the Switch so far) and haven't had time to really sink into any of them. I did spend a weekend playing Ys VIII and Lego City Undercover though (was surprised how that 2nd one hooked me). I keep buying because they're cartridges and I'm hoping they'll last through the years so I'll eventually have time to play... or my future kid(s) will.

Bill, will AtGames still be making a Genesis unit this year? I've heard the widespread news of the "Genesis/MegaDrive Mini" being taken from AtGames, but I wasn't clear if ppl were just calling the Genesis Flashback a mini and confusing terms, or if it was something completely different. So far, I'm really looking forward to the Atari Gold unit and was still hoping for a Genesis unit (mentioned earlier this year) with a better / more common emulator. Also, from what you said earlier this year, they were releasing another Genesis portable without fixing the emulation/sound issue. Is this still accurate?

It may not be totally clear on the box, but it does play the games. All artwork, play screens, etc., are representative. So there won't be any refunds, compensation, etc. Some early review units sent out featured arcade versions, which could not be produced at the last minute, so the home versions featured in all stores is solely what's available to buy. There are not different versions out there. Sorry for any confusion. If there's a change, they'll make an announcement. And to reiterate one more time, the Bandai-Namco Blast! features the home versions of the games. Walmart has Pac-Mania instead of Tower of Druaga. That's the only difference in products. If the products change, there will be a future announcement. The good thing about these is most retailers like Walmart, Target, etc. have pretty liberal return policies. If Walmart stocks these in their toy department (like the mini arcades) then they have a 90-day return window instead of 15 days for electronics. While I understand some licensing issues may have kept the arcade roms from being put on the units at the last minute and I don't think it was a dishonest move on Atgames part, the change definitely makes me no longer interested.

I like that you're bringing this game to the 2600. There are 2 things that stand out to me, one that you probably can't fix, but one that you probably can (not listed in that order). 1) The game looks like Choplifter, but doesn't feel like it because of the lack of momentum in the chopper's movement. Yes, there's a delay in liftoff, but everything else is so rigid, it doesn't feel like Choplifter. I had put off saying anything because I thought maybe it was just part of it being a work in progress, but it's definitely something I hope you can correct before it's truly final. 2) The way the buildings pop into the screen. I know you said in a previous post that you were pretty much out of rom space, and this would probably require drawing more sprites for progressive appearance of the buildings, so it's probably not an issue you can fix. 3) This one's not a complaint, but more of a what-if. You said you completely removed all playfield, and this would probably also require more rom space than you have left, but it would really be nice to see the playfield used for mountains in the background. Anyway, the game is looking good and it's impressive to see it done in bB. (I do like the title music btw). I really hope you can add momentum to the movement though.

Although my opinion is obviously and unquestionably superior, I will allow you to hold such an opinion, as it aligns with mine. In all seriousness though, I do really like Montezuma's Revenge as well, but Pitfall II was and is my favorite. One of my best friends in elementary used to have it and I couldn't wait till the next time I would get to visit him and play it. I can't remember any other 2600 game that had as much of a draw for me back then. My first experience with Montezuma's Revenge was on the Apple II in middle school. I didn't see the 2600 port until many years later and it couldn't hold up to my memory of the Apple II version, but it's still a great game.

Thank you! A key to playing this version, the 2600 version, and even the Sega Master System version (to some extent), is to keep the enemies chasing you rather than letting them line up with you for attack. Enemies in the 7800 version have 2 modes, one where they are moving to get by you and get in line with you, and the other when they are moving in for attack. If they are in attack mode, you are going to get hit unless you break that up. One way to break it up is by hitting them first (which is easiest to do with a jumpkick or reverse jumpkick), or by moving out of their attack path enough times that they go back into their other mode. If you pay attention to those 2 enemy patterns and keep them from lining up with you while they're in attack mode, you can really have your way with them. The reverse jumpkick tactic isn't even needed to totally dominate the enemies.