ATARI 2600 is back !

[RetroGamingFan]

 

Will you continue creating new cores for other systems?

 

Yes we will continue the support for other systems.

 

What's next isn't fully decided today.

 

I guess we will run a vote in the community to see what they would like to see next.

[NML32]

 

Will you continue creating new cores for other systems?

 

Yes we will continue the support for other systems.

 

What's next isn't fully decided today.

 

I guess we will run a vote in the community to see what they would like to see next.

Thanks, I really feel my money was well spent.

[oldgamesrule]

I am so going to buy one of these.

 

One thing can or will it use older joysticks from Atari and the paddles? Also will a keyboard be need to select game play B&W so on?

 

I may be the only one but could it also support Magnavox Odyssey games and Bally Astrocade? With future upgrades.

[yell0w_lantern]

So far, yes, original joysticks seem to work. Don't know about paddles.

[RetroGamingFan]

I am so going to buy one of these.

 

One thing can or will it use older joysticks from Atari and the paddles? Also will a keyboard be need to select game play B&W so on?

 

I may be the only one but could it also support Magnavox Odyssey games and Bally Astrocade? With future upgrades.

 

Yes the original Joystick will work with the MCC. If you use the original Joystick you will need a keyboard in addition for the selection of the options. If you use the Joystick shipped with the MCC it's most likely not necessary to use the keyboard to select the level, B&W, etc.

 

We currently investigation if we can use the paddles. However it might not be that easy as we have digital ports and no analog ports on the MCC.

 

We have to check into the Magnavox and Bally. What are the specific requirements in terms of hardware for such games ?

[+batari]

I am so going to buy one of these.

 

One thing can or will it use older joysticks from Atari and the paddles? Also will a keyboard be need to select game play B&W so on?

 

I may be the only one but could it also support Magnavox Odyssey games and Bally Astrocade? With future upgrades.

 

Yes the original Joystick will work with the MCC. If you use the original Joystick you will need a keyboard in addition for the selection of the options. If you use the Joystick shipped with the MCC it's most likely not necessary to use the keyboard to select the level, B&W, etc.

 

We currently investigation if we can use the paddles. However it might not be that easy as we have digital ports and no analog ports on the MCC.

 

We have to check into the Magnavox and Bally. What are the specific requirements in terms of hardware for such games ?

The paddle uses a digital port - it discharges a cap in the console, then the pot in the paddle charges the cap until it reads a logic level 1 and game code measures the time it takes. A FPGA should be able to handle that, though you may need to adjust the cap size depending on what voltage you need for a logic 1. Edited September 23, 2010 by batari

[oldgamesrule]

Had to do some searching to find the specs. Hope these are right.

 

Bally Astrocade Specifications and Juicy Tidbits

 

MANUFACTURER: Bally

ORIGIN: U.S.A.

YEAR: September 1977

END OF PRODUCTION: 1985

BUILT IN SOFTWARE / GAMES: 4 built-in programs (Gunfight, Checkmate, Calculator, Scribbling)

CONTROLLERS: 2 pistol-grip controllers with 1 trigger and a short 8 directions joystick / analog knob

CPU: Z80

SPEED: 3.579 MHz

RAM: 4 KB

ROM: 8 KB

GRAPHIC MODES: 160 x 102 (Basic cartridge : 160 x 88)

COLORS: 8 (Basic cartridge : 2)

SOUND: 3 voices + noise & vibrato

SIZE / WEIGHT: 15” (W) x 10 3/4” (D) x 4 3/4” (H)

I/O PORTS: Cartridge slot, 4 controller connectors, Expansion port, Light pen connector

MEDIA: Cartridges

NUMBER OF GAMES: About 40 cartridges released

PERIPHERALS: 2 additional controllers, audio cassette interface, RAM expansions, Computer expansion, light-pen

PRICE: $299 (USA, 1977) (1977 Dollars - equivalent to $1,000 now!)

 

 

Found this info I think the o2 would play the first o games.

 

I've not been able to find any technical specs for the Odyssey.

 

Technical Specs for the Odyssey 2:

 

CPU: 8-bit Intel 8048 (1.79MHz)

RAM: 64B (integrated in CPU)

Colors: 16 (4 on screen)

Resolution: 280x192

Sprites: 4

Sound: 1-channel mono

Game Media: 2K programmable game card

[oldgamesrule]

Had to do some searching to find the specs. Hope these are right.

 

Bally Astrocade Specifications and Juicy Tidbits

 

MANUFACTURER: Bally

ORIGIN: U.S.A.

YEAR: September 1977

END OF PRODUCTION: 1985

BUILT IN SOFTWARE / GAMES: 4 built-in programs (Gunfight, Checkmate, Calculator, Scribbling)

CONTROLLERS: 2 pistol-grip controllers with 1 trigger and a short 8 directions joystick / analog knob

CPU: Z80

SPEED: 3.579 MHz

RAM: 4 KB

ROM: 8 KB

GRAPHIC MODES: 160 x 102 (Basic cartridge : 160 x 88)

COLORS: 8 (Basic cartridge : 2)

SOUND: 3 voices + noise & vibrato

SIZE / WEIGHT: 15” (W) x 10 3/4” (D) x 4 3/4” (H)

I/O PORTS: Cartridge slot, 4 controller connectors, Expansion port, Light pen connector

MEDIA: Cartridges

NUMBER OF GAMES: About 40 cartridges released

PERIPHERALS: 2 additional controllers, audio cassette interface, RAM expansions, Computer expansion, light-pen

PRICE: $299 (USA, 1977) (1977 Dollars - equivalent to $1,000 now!)

Wiki info on it says this

Specifications

 

[edit]Circuit Board and Cartridges

CPU: Z80, 1.789 MHz

RAM: 4k (up to 64k with external modules in the expansion port)

ROM: 8k

Cart ROM: 8k

Expansion: 64K total

Ports: 4 controller, 1 expansion, 1 light pen

Sound: 3 voices + noise/vibrato effects (played through the TV)

[edit]Video

Resolution: True 160x102 / Basic 160x88 / Expanded RAM 320x204

Colors: True 8* / Basic 2

The bitmap structure of the Bally actually only allows for 4 color settings. However, through the use of 2 color palettes and a left/right boundary control byte you could have the left section of screen (this could be the play field) use 1 set of colors while the right side (this could show information such as lives and score) used an entirely different set of colors, thus 8 total colors were possible.

Graphic type: Bitmap, 2 plane bitpacked

 

Found this info I think the o2 would play the first o games.

 

I've not been able to find any technical specs for the Odyssey.

 

Technical Specs for the Odyssey 2:

 

CPU: 8-bit Intel 8048 (1.79MHz)

RAM: 64B (integrated in CPU)

Colors: 16 (4 on screen)

Resolution: 280x192

Sprites: 4

Sound: 1-channel mono

Game Media: 2K programmable game card

More tech specs.

 

Technical specifications

 

CPU

Intel 8048 8-bit microcontroller running at 1.79 MHz

Memory:

CPU-internal RAM: 64 bytes

Audio/video RAM: 128 bytes

BIOS ROM: 1024 bytes

Video:

Intel 8244 custom IC

160×200 resolution (NTSC)

16-color fixed palette; sprites may only use 8 of these colors

4 8×8 single-color user-defined sprites; each sprite's color may be set independently

12 8×8 single-color characters; must be one of the 64 shapes built into the ROM BIOS; can be freely positioned like sprites, but cannot overlap each other; each character's color may be set independently

4 quad characters; groups of four characters displayed in a row

9×8 background grid; dots, lines, or solid blocks

Audio:

Intel 8244 custom IC

mono

24-bit shift register, clockable at 2 frequencies

noise generator

NOTE: There is only one 8244 chip in the system, which performs both audio and video functions.

Input:

Two 8-way, one-button, digital joysticks. In the first production runs of the Magnavox Odyssey and the Philips 7000, these were permanently attached to the console; in later models, they were removable and replaceable.

QWERTY-layout membrane keyboard

Output:

RF Audio/Video connector

Péritel/SCART connector (France only)

Media:

ROM cartridges, typically 2 KB, 4 KB, or 8 KB in size.

 

Expansion modules:

The Voice - provides speech synthesis & enhanced sound effects

Chess Module - The Odyssey2 didn't have enough memory and computing power for a decent implementation of chess on its own, so the C7010 chess module contained a secondary CPU with its own extra memory to run the chess program.

Edited September 24, 2010 by oldgamesrule

[RetroGamingFan]

I am so going to buy one of these.

 

One thing can or will it use older joysticks from Atari and the paddles? Also will a keyboard be need to select game play B&W so on?

 

I may be the only one but could it also support Magnavox Odyssey games and Bally Astrocade? With future upgrades.

 

Yes the original Joystick will work with the MCC. If you use the original Joystick you will need a keyboard in addition for the selection of the options. If you use the Joystick shipped with the MCC it's most likely not necessary to use the keyboard to select the level, B&W, etc.

 

We currently investigation if we can use the paddles. However it might not be that easy as we have digital ports and no analog ports on the MCC.

 

We have to check into the Magnavox and Bally. What are the specific requirements in terms of hardware for such games ?

The paddle uses a digital port - it discharges a cap in the console, then the pot in the paddle charges the cap until it reads a logic level 1 and game code measures the time it takes. A FPGA should be able to handle that, though you may need to adjust the cap size depending on what voltage you need for a logic 1.

 

That sounds possible to me as well. We will check it in more details and provide an answer if we can support the paddle as well with the MCC. Thanks for the details.

[+LS650]

This device looks very interesting..!

[maiki]

Someone tell me why this product is better than something like a modded Xbox?

 

Well, if that retro thing is running at true progressive old school 15 kHz video modes, then for sure it is MILES better than Xbox. Since Xbox does not support any sort of progressive old-school video modes. Sad but true, unlike Playstation 2 or Nintendo Wii, there is no true video output on Xbox that would match video modes used by Atari 2600, Nintendo NES, SNES, Sega Master System, Genesis, or even Playstation PSX!

 

I feel really sorry for people using Xbox on CRT staring at flickering 480i mess filled with blur effects to reduce that 480i flicker, improper aspect ratio, or even improper number of pixels!!! There is no way to get around that. Xbox is fixed to 640x480 you won't get 320x240 out of it.

 

Do not try to argue that Xbox has progressive modes. It has no progressive modes to match old-school. Full stop. You do not get anything by switching the output to 480p - this is not the resolution the old school games were made for.

 

And if you do not mind it, then why bother with Xbox. You could be easily playing on a PC with LCD, having the image of Atari 2600 game stretched out onto 1920x1080 widescreen full of LCD ghosting at fast scrolling games...

[maiki]

OK, I had a quick look at the specifications of the MCC and my major complaint is:

 

- There is no 15 kHz RGB TV output! The european version should have this. Vast majority of EU CRT TVs accept RGB signals but do not accept S-Video!!! I know RGB is not what US TVs have but think ybout it... every single arcade coin-op machine has RGB... guess why...

- No USB ports - would be much wiser to have JUST these instead of obsolete PS/2 ports...

- Would be very useful if the device supported USB modern gamepads and joysticks with the ability to remap keys for the individual needs of the games

[RetroGamingFan]

OK, I had a quick look at the specifications of the MCC and my major complaint is:

 

- There is no 15 kHz RGB TV output! The european version should have this. Vast majority of EU CRT TVs accept RGB signals but do not accept S-Video!!! I know RGB is not what US TVs have but think ybout it... every single arcade coin-op machine has RGB... guess why...

- No USB ports - would be much wiser to have JUST these instead of obsolete PS/2 ports...

- Would be very useful if the device supported USB modern gamepads and joysticks with the ability to remap keys for the individual needs of the games

 

The Multiple Classic Computer will soon be available in two different versions.

 

1.) The standard MCC-216 with S-video output. For Europe you can get an adapter cable to either convert the S-Video to SCART (which is really just a different connector as it supports as well Y and C) or you can get an SVIDEO to CVBS (FBAS) cable for Europe. We support with on MCC booth PAL and NTSC. So no issue from the HW side.

 

2.) We will launch an Multiple Classic Computer with VGA output. I guess we will simply call it MCC-216 VGA.

It will support all different resolutions and screen refresh rates. This will be the best quality picture you can imagine.

 

We currently have already a test system with VGA out and it looks to me crisp like HD.

 

As we don't modulate the signal the difference between an old school ATARI 2600 hocked up to a Plasma TV and the MCC is great with S-video and even better with VGA.

 

Just some comment to the USB. The Multiple Classic Computer supports USB and has one USB port in the front.

However we have currently not enabled it from the software side.

If the demand will be high enough to support USB controllers we can release a new software and you can update the MCC

without exchanging the hardware. As you mentioned the key mapping is something which need to be defined for the different classic computers.

 

Currently we are going a little bit in the other direction and looking into solutions to interface analog joysticks for the ATARI 2600 (paddles). I understood their was as well a steering wheel and a gun ? If so has anyone more details about the pinning and the internal schematics of this devices ? This would be very helpful to determine the right solution.

 

HAPPY RETRO GAMING.

[RetroGamingFan]

Someone tell me why this product is better than something like a modded Xbox?

 

Well, if that retro thing is running at true progressive old school 15 kHz video modes, then for sure it is MILES better than Xbox. Since Xbox does not support any sort of progressive old-school video modes. Sad but true, unlike Playstation 2 or Nintendo Wii, there is no true video output on Xbox that would match video modes used by Atari 2600, Nintendo NES, SNES, Sega Master System, Genesis, or even Playstation PSX!

 

I feel really sorry for people using Xbox on CRT staring at flickering 480i mess filled with blur effects to reduce that 480i flicker, improper aspect ratio, or even improper number of pixels!!! There is no way to get around that. Xbox is fixed to 640x480 you won't get 320x240 out of it.

 

Do not try to argue that Xbox has progressive modes. It has no progressive modes to match old-school. Full stop. You do not get anything by switching the output to 480p - this is not the resolution the old school games were made for.

 

And if you do not mind it, then why bother with Xbox. You could be easily playing on a PC with LCD, having the image of Atari 2600 game stretched out onto 1920x1080 widescreen full of LCD ghosting at fast scrolling games...

 

Thanks for pointing this out.

 

This is exactly what we observed as well.

 

In addition you still have no cycle exact representation of the original classic computer if it is emulated in software.

If you play games with the software based emulator and try the Multiple Classic Computer or the original console you will experience the difference.

 

Especially if it comes to the C64 and the AMIGA we really see some issues with the existing emulators.

 

HAPPY RETRO GAMING.

[RetroGamingFan]

We are more than happy to announce today the official launch of the Multiple Classic Computer wiht VGA high quality video output (MCC-216 VGA).

 

The ArcadeRetroGaming engineering team has done another great job !

 

This version supports now as well the demand for all classic computer users who like to use a VGA computer monitor or a beamer (projector).

Should your TV support VGA input you can as well use the MCC-216 VGA with your TV set.

 

Please check out the following link:

 

Online Store

 

Parallel to the launch of the MCC-216 VGA we release officially the C64 VGA core with improved image quality.

 

ARG_Download

 

 

Last but not least we like to announce that we will upload after our internal release as well the AMIGA core for the MCC-216 (S-video) and MCC-216 VGA for FREE download !

 

Thanks for supporting our effort to preserve the classic computer and special thanks to the people who contacted us for development support.

 

 

HAPPY RETRO GAMING (now in even better video quality)

[OldAtarian]

Now it is official.

 

Arcade Retro Gaming decided to support the ATARI 2600 on their Multiple Classic Computer.

 

This enables the MCC user to play classic ATARI, C64 and AMIGA games cycle exact.

 

No incorrect reaction time behavior as most software based emulation in PC and other modern gaming consoles show today.

This is as close as you can get to the original with newest innovative technology.

 

Please check out the following link:

 

 

www.ArcadeRetroGaming.com

 

The Retro Gaming Experts !

 

How do you like it ?

 

If I can't plug my 2600 carts into it, why do I need it? Until someone releases a fully 2600 compatible system with a cart slot the 2600 remains dead. And $220? I can get both a real 2600 and a real C64 for less than that and be able to use all the peripherals and use a wider range of software for both systems. Not a very good value for the money to me.

Edited October 3, 2010 by OldAtarian

[roland p]

If I can't plug my 2600 carts into it, why do I need it? Until someone releases a fully 2600 compatible system with a cart slot the 2600 remains dead. And $220? I can get both a real 2600 and a real C64 for less than that and be able to use all the peripherals and use a wider range of software for both systems. Not a very good value for the money to me.

The price of an original atari 2600 was $199 so it's only $21 more expensive

[SpaceDice2010]

What you are saying is true. However, having one system that uses SD cards to play all the games just rocks. I don't know about most people here but I surely don't have the room to have multiple systems hooked up, especially disk drives. When the Amiga is supported I am going to jump on this baby.

 

Regarding value. I guess it depends on how you look at it. At the moment I think it is actually a good value; but just not for me as I am not the biggest C64 game fan in the world. I am going to grab the VIC 20 multi cart for $100 and will probably spend $50 on a VIC 20 in decent condition just to play the games. That alone is $150. For $70 more you get..

[roland p]

I think the price is ok, especially for a niche product. And the more cores it gets the more valuable it will be.

[Cliff Friedel]

 

Will you continue creating new cores for other systems?

 

Yes we will continue the support for other systems.

 

What's next isn't fully decided today.

 

I guess we will run a vote in the community to see what they would like to see next.

 

The Atari 8-bit computer line would be great. That would be my vote.

[Cliff Friedel]

I think the price is ok, especially for a niche product. And the more cores it gets the more valuable it will be.

 

I agree. Once the Amiga and 2600 cores are released, it will definitely increase the value. Even with just the c64 cores, it was enough for me to buy just to save space vs having a real machine. I am hoping they will allow disk writes soon to d64s, but even without it, I can play most stuff.

[desiv]

I'm guessing that the NTSC/PAL options require a TV that can handle either format?

(Someone mentioned scrolling when in the wrong mode in this thread)

 

What I was wondering about would be some time of FPGA (or ?) based conversion.

So, you can play PAL games on an NTSC TV...

 

I know they have external PAL/NTSC converters, but something built in would be great.

 

I know with my Amiga 1200, I can do PAL, but none of my TVs like it...

 

This probably isn't an issue with the VGA version, but the s-video..

 

If there was an easy way to let us Americans play PAL C64 and Amiga (and maybe eventually a Speccy core??) games, that would be great..

 

Just throwing that out there. I actually have an s-video to VGA adapter that does PAL and since I have my Amiga's (and JUST a few days ago) ordered an Amiga 1000, my finances aren't going to let me do anything in the near future.. :-(

 

desiv

p.s. Is your FPGA big enough to possible handle the AGA Amiga core that the "FPGA Arcade" is going to use? (It's a much fancier and more expensive project; I assume it's a bigger FPGA.)

[Pioneer4x4]

I think the price is ok, especially for a niche product. And the more cores it gets the more valuable it will be.

$20 for a sticker is kinda steep though! I would pay MORE for the black one without the flaming colours.

[+wood_jl]

On eBay now. A couple listings at $220 and one at $200 as I type this. The first says "Amiga Atari C64" and the last just says "C64"

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 200527310664

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 200517367930

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 200517367759

 

and also a Mega-Drive joystick with 100 games:

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 200522866440

 

eBay Seller: dudi4711

[+Gemintronic]

I think the price is ok, especially for a niche product. And the more cores it gets the more valuable it will be.

 

I agree. Once the Amiga and 2600 cores are released, it will definitely increase the value. Even with just the c64 cores, it was enough for me to buy just to save space vs having a real machine. I am hoping they will allow disk writes soon to d64s, but even without it, I can play most stuff.

 

All my C64s have flaky disk drives and poor video out. C64 disk write capability is what will make me buy this. Already have a Minimig so Amiga emulation isn't a biggie. Already have a harmony cart so Atari 2600 isn't a biggie.

 

@wood_jl: Yeah, initially I was kinda unsettled by the ebay auctions. However, the more I look into it, the more I think these are legitimate ebay listings from Arcade Retro Gaming. Notice dudi4711 is in the same state Arcade Retro Gaming is located in (Alabama). Also, the owner of Arcade Retro Gaming seems to be Dirk Dudenbostel which matches nicely with the "du" and "di" parts of the ebay sellers name.

 

Still, I think once C64 disk writing is supported I'll buy directly through their web site and not ebay.

Edited October 5, 2010 by theloon