pboland

There's a fair amount of composition software. Notable titles are the early cartridge "Music Composer" and the popular disc titled "Advanced Music System" and "Music Construction Set". Looking through the Antic archives, I also saw mention of the "Colleen Music Creator", which has a drum machine mode. There'a a lot of good music articles at http://www.atarimagazines.com/index/index.php?issue=v2n8 Thanks for the the info! I like the sound of the DRUMESISER the best, but it is probably impossible to find the cart these days without giving up a kidney or something.

Is there any software for the 8-bits that turn the atari computer into a synth? If so, what are name of these software titles? I tried the search but all I get is some Hardsynth (which seem to be a collection of music programed by users with an atari computer,but not software the turns the computer into a synth.) stuff and the 2600 synth cart thing. Maybe I am just missing something?

I noticed a lot of people predicting Apple and EA getting into the game console wars, but didn't they already try? Wasn't the 3DO (The system was conceived by entrepreneur and EA Games founder Trip Hawkins) basicly EA's attempt at a console? Wasn't the Pippin Apple's attempt at a console? I guess they could always try again.

You gotta like the Handheld Game Video Glasses Nothing like an 80 inch video screen to play your fav PnP's!

Actually Genny's get marked at $15 at my Goodwills, too. Individual game pricing seems really schizophrenic, though. I got a bunch of box-and-book N64 games for $3/ea the other day, but have seen them marked at $10 at the same store. The Goodwill here in Portland seems to be run by people who do the pricing for the flea markets....."oh, yeah, that's a PS2 game, they're very popular, so $15...." and I'm like Yeah, but the game is Oni, and it goes for $2.99 at Gamestop..... Then you come in the next week, and its still there, of course, and then the week after its gone, and you're thinking, wait, did some idiot buy the thing??????? What gets me ticked off the most is when I remember that Goodwill gets their stuff for free! I understand people (companies) need to make a profit, but come on. They have zero product overhead, yet some idiot will come in and actually buy this crap at these high prices? (boy, I'm in rare form today) Sorry guys, I'll be quiet now.

I'm glad to see that a good portion of the community can still find video game stuff for a good price at their local thrift stores. The thrift market where I live dried up about 6-7 years ago. We still have the stores, but video game are far and few between. If you find a game at these stores the cheapest they go for is $5.00 most the time $8-10. A system will cost anywhere from $15-$30. Heck in the late 90's I was able to get games for quarter a piece! Most Genesis games just are not worth $5-10 to me. Most of them tend to be sports title anyway. I remember when I first realized that the video game thrift market (around me anyways) was dead. I went in one week found some atari carts for a $1 each. Two weeks later the whole chain (Goodwill) started pricing carts $5.00 each! We are talking Combat and Pac-Man carts here, for $5! Needless to say I don't shop the thrift stores anymore. Sorry, had to blow off some steam. I just came back from a Goodwill (something I haven't done for quite some time) They had Genesis marked $20.00 (system only) and that was it for video game stuff.

I know some will think this isn't a valid point, but I think the 7800 might be a bit more versatile system then the NES just for the fact that it can play most 2600 games. Why do I think this is a big deal? I do because, it was very forward thinking of Atari to have true backwards compatibility. It was the first system to have backwards compatibility without some kind of adapter. This would not be seen again until the PS2. This is part of the reason I always hated the "under 50 bucks!" 2600 console (don't get me wrong the 2600 jr. is a nice system, but wasn't needed). If there was that much demand back in the day for a 2600, Atari should have push the fact that the 7800 could play most of 2600 games. If they would have just dropped the price of the 7800 a bit (I know it was more than $50 but still) and push the fact that the 7800 could play most of the 2600 games, They would have had a much bigger user base. With a larger user base, there most likely would have been better support for the system and thus more time spent making better quality games. Then the gap between the 7800 and NES would be much smaller. Just a thought.

You are right about his demos using a PC, however he asked in his video for Nintendo game developers to please make some new games using his technique. I doubt he met for the Nintendo game developers to make PC games. I think he was trying to show a concept idea for the Wii. I'm sure it is much easier for him to program a standard laptop then it is to program a Wii just for a demo. In his FAQ he thinks the Wii can't handle the head tracking and the LCD shutter glasses at the same time. That would make sense, because a Wii is not as powerful as a top of the line laptop. On a side note, that should not stop PC game developers from making PC games like you suggest and I hope they do. P.S. I'm a huge fan of the Sega Master System and yes I have all the 3D games. The LCD shutter glasses kick butt. So, in whole I agree with your over all idea of use both techniques in games. Since it is a Nintendo Wii topic I was trying to keep it in that realm, so I don't want you to think I'm bashing your idea because a PC game like this needs (yes, needs) to be done.

On his FAQ he answers why LCD shutter glasses can not be used. Here's what he wrote: --Shutter/polarized glasses - if you are going to put something on your head covering your eyes for 3D, it is worth considering making shutter/polarized glasses which allows the computer to deliver a different image to each eye. This results in stereoscopic displays. Combined with head tracking, you get a DARPA grade 3D simulator. When just doing head tracking, the conflicting stereo depth cues weakens the illusion. I would love to do this, but it's quite a bit more hardware, and requires synchronization with the display refresh (or light polarization) which often isn't easy especially given the wide variety of display technologies out there. -- So basically he thinks the Wii could not handle the amount of processing needed to make it work that way. Even without the LCD shutter glasses I think it should be explored by Nintendo.

I sense some negative vibes here. Just for the record my purpose for that post was to show the untapped potential of the Wii and that Nintendo is doing a great disservice to the gaming community by not incorporating these techniques. The post was not aimed at anyone person, nor was it aimed at ticking anybody off.

I saw this thread and had to let you guys know just how much promise the Wii can give the hardcore gamer. I posted this in another thread about the Wii. I can't stress enough, that if you watch one video, watch the third one. You first person shooter types should like the possibilities that this video shows. If Nintendo doesn't try to incorporate these techniques into some of their new games, then they are just shooting themselves in the foot.

Has anybody in the Wii community (or at Nintendo) seen what this guy has done with the Wii-mote? If you only watch one of the three videos, watch the last one. The ideas for game are endless with this concept. Johnny Chung Lee Projects

The system rocks. As does the Jag! UFO and Attack of the Time Lord! Awsome. I think it would be cool to see an updated version of Attack of the Time Lord! on the Jaguar or UFO for that matter. Maybe even in 3D. (O.K. maybe I am getting a little carried away)

Odyssey 2 gets my vote. Ever owned one of those pieces of crap? I have to disagree with you. The Odyssey2 is my favorite system from that generation. I think it had the best (tactile wise) controls for the time. I know a lot of people hated the fact that the controllers (on most OD2s) were hard wired. However, on my systems that had detachable controllers the cords would go bad. I have never had an OD2 controller cord go bad on me. Maybe that is just me.

I think it would be cool to (I also own some 1980's game mags) but, not to be a pessimist, wouldn't there be some kind of legal thing here. Some of the mags we are talking about are still around or at least still owned by todays mag companies. That stuff is all copyrighted and they would shut us down so quick it would make are head spin. On a side note, if we can scan, we just need to split up the load. Each person could do maybe one a month? Just like a regular magazine. The more people that can scan the more we would get scanned a month. Of course we would all have to come up with some kind of scanning standard: Size of file, type of file, compression rate, size of scan...... Well you guys get the point.

So, has anyone figured out what Curt was talking about yet? I remembered this post after reading all the bad stuff that is going on at Atari these days. Official Atari Death Watch Thread I was kind of hoping for some good new. Well I'm sure what ever it is will be posted when it is ready.

Just thought I would put a link to a new article about Atari. It is an interview with Patrick Leleu. I'm guessing he is in charge at Atari? (what's left of it anyway). Honestly the article feels more like damage control for their image more than anything. You know the typical, "we know what we have to do" or "we are going to re-focus on what we do best" type stuff. Atari boss reveals turnaround plans At this point I don't know what to hope for. Do I want Atari to survive in their image? or Do I want Atari to go down in flames so it can be bought by someone else who can make it rise like a phoenix? Either way it will be interesting to watch.

Over at the 7800 fourm there were some questions on how to dye plastic. I thought this might be helpful for all of us trying to fix that yellowing problem. I did some quick searching and found some information. Here is a copy of the post I did in the 7800 fourm. I not 100% sure how doubledown did it, so I won't speculate, but you might want to look at these three links: Vinyl Dye Guide Beige Plastic: Can it be dyed? VHT Penetrating Vinyl Dye I also know that some nylon plastics can be dyed in the same way you dye a t-shirt. This is the way it use to be done in the RC cars community.

I not 100% sure how doubledown did it, so I won't speculate, but you might want to look at these three links: Vinyl Dye Guide Beige Plastic: Can it be dyed? VHT Penetrating Vinyl Dye I also know that some nylon plastics can be dyed in the same way you dye a t-shirt. This is the way it use to be done in the RC cars community.

This may be a dumb question (and if it is I apologize), but what good is a Jag II without software? Unless you are saying you already have software? I agree that a Jag II (or what ever it would be called) would be cool. Back to the topic: It seems that some people don't think a Jag flashback would sell, because it sold so poorly, However who ever said you have to call it a Jaguar, or for that matter, make it look like a Jag? You could put the technology of the Jag in a box and call it what ever you want. You could even make it look like a new 2600 flashback. Have some simulators built in for the 2600, 5200/A8, 7800 and could even play jag games. I think it would be bought just because it would have the atari name on it. (as long as the shape of the flashback is something people recognize, like a 2600) I think the biggest hurdle would be the cost. I don't know if it can be made cheap enough.

That makes sense, but if you ever make a 7800 controller from SMS controller, maybe it could look like this:

This is really cool! However..... This might be a dumb question, but wouldn't be easier to use a Sega Master system controller? It is already black (or at least pretty close), already has the right kind of connector, and one could easily put a new sticker over the sega one. The NES and SMS controllers are just about the same form factor. Just a thought. It is really cool though!

I agree. I wonder, there is a lot of space in the VCS. I even noticed that my heavy sixer has speaker locations molded into the case. If Atari originally planed to put speakers and a power supply in the VCS, would there be all that space under the hood? It seems to me that might take up all of the empty space in the VCS's case, and if that is the case, that would explain why the VCS is so large. (maybe I am thinking too much about this? )

Something tells me that Sears Tank & Atari Tank II are the same thing (don't know for sure, just a guess). BTW that catalog is cool. I don't have a Speedway IV, but how about just Speedway:

Well I had to put two & two together to figure out that this picture was the Odyssey 5000. Based on other website information that state the OD 5000 was a two or four player unit and the OD 2 design was base on the OD 5000 design (I took that to mean its shape). Knowing this, I found a set of three pictures in a Radio Electronics magazine. The three pictures had this caption: "THREE GENERATIONS of the Magnavox Odyssey. Lack of programmability was a major drawback of those units-the first that could be played on a home TV set. The eventual introduction of the programmable videogames-such as the Odyssey2-solved that problem." The first picture is the one I believe to be the Odyssey 5000, the second picture is a Odyssey 4000, and the third picture is an Odyssey 2000. So, I guess I should say that I believe this to be the Odyssey 5000 since the caption doesn't state the models. However I am pretty confident this is the elusive Odyssey 5000.