Let's talk Escape from the Mind Master

[Fellow Atari Man]

I guess it could have been.  But wouldn't the thing refuse to load at all if it didn't load properly?  It seemed to me that the cart was really sensitive to having the tape load right.

 

Just flip the tape over and let the other side load it. Mine started doing that last week; it wouldn't load after the second load, so I just fast forwarded to the end of the tape, turned it over, and even though I had been through two loads, it still loaded the third one. Age is just getting to the tape. Yes, I've got them backed up, but on one cassette (don't have a recordable cd player yet), which I don't feel like fast forwarding around trying to find it, so I'm using the originals right now (except for Phaser Patrol, I use my backup tape for it, since it's first on there anyway ). Takes a little longer using side B, but that's ok for now.

[elviticus]

Hard game, fun game, love it....

 

This must be one of the earliest games to have "mini games" in it?

 

I thought that was cool - I never had a Supercharger back in the day either... I've been loving it since I got it though.

[oystron]

Anyone here ever surpass 600 points?

 

My highest score was 620 points. I had the score published on the italian video games magazine "Video Giochi", and I should still have the picture of the TV screen somewhere.

However, here's a scan of the magazine.. do you accept this as a proof?

 

[ulij20]

WOW!! Do you happen to remember what your rating was?

[WildBillTX]

This may be off topic and im not a programmer so pardon me...

 

Can someone reprogram an Supercharger game so it can be burned and played off a 8K or 16K EPROM chip instead?

[SteveW]

I freakin' LOVED Mindmaster. It's still, to this day, my absolute favorite 2600 game. I managed to get a Supercharger for something like $12.50, and Mindmaster and Communist Mutants from Space around the time of the game crash. The game would get really tense when i'd hear that heartbeat sound get really fast and high pitched, meaning the monster was right behind me. Sweet. And I always liked level 6, too. No monster to avoid, just a grid of one-way doors to use trial and error on.

 

Once I bought the Stella Gets A New Brain CD, I got to put my Supercharger to real use. And all the games for it show a heck of a lot more imagination than any other 2600 games at the time. But the multi-load games were totally amazing.

 

Now why can't anyone do some homebrews designed to use the Supercharger's hardware? Wasn't there some development stuff on the Stella Gets A New Brain CD? I'd love to see some more multi-load games.

[SteveW]

Can someone reprogram an Supercharger game so it can be burned and played off a 8K or 16K EPROM chip instead?

 

I know Rabbit Transit was put onto cartridge by Atari. The carts would need extra RAM in them, not just an 8K or 16K ROM. The Supercharger added something like either 2K or 4K of extra system memory for games to run in, which is why Supercharger games are visually more complex than regular 2600 games.

[oystron]

WOW!!  Do you happen to remember what your rating was?

 

Today I was looking for my spare car key... instead I found that old picture of my Escape from Mindmaster high score!! It's a slide so quality isn't the best.. but you should be able to read the text "The mind master declares you to be cheating" and of course the "620" points.

Now if I could only find that key

 

 

Here's a bigger version: http://www.maltagliato.it/pics/mindmaster620big.jpg

[hookem]

Mindmaster was probably the second most played game I ever owned. It was (Carl's voice) FREAKIN AWESOME. I too thought the mini games were the coolest thing ever.

 

Still have my original Arcadia Supercharger, and Mindmaster, Phaser Patrol, and Frogger tapes. Need a Stella CD tho...

 

FYI, the game it came in second to was Kaboom.... and that is just because me and my brothers would play head-to-head for hours on that game. The paddles were just much more comfortable to play with, I couldn't do the marathon-game sessions with CX40s..

[supercat]

Now why can't anyone do some homebrews designed to use the Supercharger's hardware?

686605[/snapback]

 

Check out my 1k minigame on this thread: http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...350&hl=doomsday

 

Since it's only 1K, there's no numerical score readout (instead there's just a row of dots to show what level you reach) and the sound effects are pretty feeble. But it's still much more action-packed than would be possible without the SuperCharger (up to 30 missiles or explosions on screen at once at 30Hz flicker).

[shadow460]

Your 620 is my new goal after passing 600. My high is 611.

Your record will not stand very long.

The key to beating it is, of course, SPEED. Mindmaster is actually one of the shortest games on the 2600 when played properly.

 

This is easily the best of the Starpath bunch in technical terms, although Dragonstomper went into new and better territory minus the eye popping graphics.

Mindmaster could well be the best 2600 game ever. It's a toss up between Mindmaster and Pitfall II IMHO. Even Avalon Hill's London Blitz, while it's very well executed, doesn't hold up to either of those titles.

He's not too well known, but for Starpath, Dennis Caswell was the equivalent of David Crane.

 

A few other opinions about Mr. Caswell's games: Phaser Patrol blew away Starmaster and Star Raiders as far as flight simulators go. Starmaster had almost the same depth, but it lacked the graphics and elegance of Phaser Patrol. It also lacked a safety net of sorts--equipment would be destroyed completely instead of just damaged. The destroyed shields = death on the next hit part was a little too realistic. Alan Miller later created Robot Tank along the same lines, and it matched Starmaster's quality.

Star Raiders didn't even come close. Air Raiders almost did.

 

Then there are four player Atari games. They go into two groups: Four player simultaneous games, and four player simultaneous games that are actually fun.

That last includes Warlords and Party Mix.

 

In any case, back to the MindMaster. Anyone wanna talk shop about beating 600 points?

BTW, if the mods allow it, when my name comes up in the high score competition, this will be the game for that week.

 

Oh, and by the way, you don't use a classic CX-40 for this game. Use the brand new CX-40's or, preferrably, the Amiga Power Stick.

Edited August 23, 2005 by shadow460

[JL]

I remember playing this back in the day at a good friends. At the time we thought it was the single greatest achievement in the history of man. OK, so it wasn't, I know, we were very young...Still one if not my favorite on my top 3 video games ever (on a classic system)...

[shadow460]

Now if I could only find that key 

 

917198[/snapback]

 

If you complete a peg puzzle, your car door will unlock!

[Mayhem]

I presume you've read my Denis Caswell interview on my site Shadow?

 

I wonder just what "Labyrinth" is though as Denis said he doesn't remember anything about it. First load hack? Preview version he can't recall? Who knows...

[shadow460]

This guy obviously knew his stuff. His only games I've played were the three Starpath titles and the frustrating Pitstop II. I'd take Ironman's Indy 500 (arcade game) any day over Pitstop II, but oh well.

 

Interestingly, he seems quite introverted. Party Mix is a big surprise coming from him, and I think would be an awesome four player game.

 

I guess Labyrinth would have been a work in progress he was assigned to finish. The object had not yet been overlaid on the walls to smooth them, and Dennis did mention that the overlays were his work. Steve Hales or Craig Nelson might have had something to do with its release.

 

I like the idea behind MindMaster, though. "A game with no shooting." One of the best, if not the best, 2600 titles was a push toward non violent games.

 

Escape From the Mindmaster--an Acorn Multi Load game. That just sounds wrong.

[mos6507]

Can someone reprogram an Supercharger game so it can be burned and played off a 8K or 16K EPROM chip instead?

 

I know Rabbit Transit was put onto cartridge by Atari. The carts would need extra RAM in them, not just an 8K or 16K ROM. The Supercharger added something like either 2K or 4K of extra system memory for games to run in, which is why Supercharger games are visually more complex than regular 2600 games.

686611[/snapback]

 

I don't want to discuss it in too much detail right now because it's still in the planning stages, but I'm trying to help guide/fund a project to come up with a cart that can hold preprogrammed Supercharger games including multiloads. This is as a complement to the programming contest going on. The cart would be sold with or without an embedded game. Both types would always have the ability to load games externally.

 

But the goal is to make this cost little more than a conventional homebrew title in the AtariAge store.

 

I and/or the designer will be sure to share more if it gets beyond the vaporware stage.

[shadow460]

 

What did I tell you?

I am the MindMaster's daddy!

 

Did this on a late model 7800 that was manufactured without the timing circuit or port. The Supercharger is a late Starpath model as well.

Difficulty was AA, and I used an FB2 joystick.

 

Sorry if I talked a little too much smack, but it's been my goal to beat 620 for about three months.

My next goal is 635, then 650.

 

Anyway, the max score is over 700. You get 60 points per maze, times six equals 360. You can score around 36 points per test (more on some) times five for a total of 180. A 200 point bonus is available as well.

This makes the highest possible score to be 740.

I wonder what the MindMaster says if you score over 700?

[shadow460]

Hey we need some of you Colecovision owners to chime in here, too.

What's the option 5 maze restart!? What are the four difficulty levels?

I think 1 would equal BB, 2 would be BA, 3 would be AB, and four would be the only level to play at, AA.

 

The highest Twin Galaxies score for Epyx's CV port is 493. If the ROM is the same as that for the VCS, then I've just smoked the Twin Galaxies record by twenty percent.

No records exist for the VCS version, and I didn't record my run. I just snapped a digital screen shot.

 

There are some other ames I'm just crazy good at, though--some of them are on the VCS. I may have to try a few of the records.

Edited August 25, 2005 by shadow460

[Jess Ragan]

I had the chance to play the game on a real ColecoVision years ago, and was impressed with it. However, it just wasn't my kind of game. After spending an hour with it, you start to feel like a rat trapped in someone's scientific experiment.

 

Also, is it me, or are the graphics in the 2600 version more stylish than the ones used in the ColecoVision game? The fonts especially are noticably different... the ColecoVision game relies on the system's default typeset, while the 2600 spices things up a bit with its own custom fonts.

 

JR

[shadow460]

Oh my, I just tried the CV version, and it sucks!. The belt broke on my vacuum cleaner. Has anyone got the Epyx/CV version of MindMaster so I can clean my rug?

 

All the 5200 fans over in their forum have a right to stand up for Atari!

 

I was pushing the Twin Galaxies high score without even trying. I failed the second and third tests miserably because I could not see the arrows!

 

There are a couple of things that were added, though. You can see which direction the alien stalker travels, and there's a time indicator on the fourth skill test.

 

Still, this port looks way too much like Labyrinth did with the blocky walls. It's not MindMaster, just the mazes are the same as MindMaster's.

The stalkers are different, there are no force field panels (they just have an annoying white flash instead), and the pegs are all different. Gone are the smooth wireframe graphics.

 

Happily, my FAQ can be changed to include this port of the game. It won't take much to tell people they need to buy a 2600!

 

Geez, the 2600 outperforming the ColecoVision? This is my first time of ever using any CV software, and I am not impressed.