The first week with a 5200

[Talneharus]

Well as most of you know I'm a proud new owner of a 5200. So after a week with this beast i gotta say its really f&*(ing awesome! Alas as everyone here already knows the controller is so unreliable. The one that came with the console was already half dead with the left side fire buttons not working and after a cleaning it gave up more buttons. Looks like its time to go gold and refurbish it. Other than that though its an awesome machine can't wait to expand my library. So anyone else remember their first time with a 5200? Was it nutty too? Was your first impression of the beast good or perhaps just meh?

[Keatah]

I loved the 5200 when I had one. It was so full of promise and I was too dumb to see the similarity between it and the 400/800. It and Spandau Ballet music and Larry Niven books made for many a perfect and relaxing evening.

[Nutsy Doodleheimer]

I bought my 5200 a few years ago, the first one I purchased was the 2 port model. It took me a little bit to get used to using the controllers as it had an awkward feel to it, especially the joystick not self centering. I love it regardless. I also got a 4 port system added in my gameroom as well as the 5200 trakball controller and the Atarimax SD multicart. Glad to see another one enjoy the system. I personally love having it in my collection. A great investment.

[Schizophretard]

So anyone else remember their first time with a 5200? Was it nutty too? Was your first impression of the beast good or perhaps just meh?

I remember the first time I saw a 5200 when I was a teenager at a Goodwill. It didn't have much with it and was possibly just the console without anything at all. Whatever it came with it was apparently not enough to be playable because I would have grabbed it then. I remember thinking something like,"I have a 2600, 7800, have seen Atari computers, and seen Pong consoles but what is this? I'm an Atari fan! How do I not know this and yet why does it seem familiar to me?(It was familiar to me because I subconsciously was remembering it from Atari catalogs and probably didn't figure that out at that moment because it looks way more massive in person.) It is huge and beautiful! That is so awesome!" So, my first look impression was very good.

 

Later when I bought it online(I think I may have got my other one that came with Competition Pro controllers at the flea market), I bought a lot of what it needs in a relatively short time. I got a four port and two port version, Competition Pro controllers, Wico controllers, Masterplay 5200 interface NIB with the extra fire button, a pile of games, some of the stock controllers(I may have one of the upgraded ones), a multicart with dip-switches, and I feel like I'm forgetting something else.

 

Anyway, with that stuff my first hands on impressions were pretty good but if I just had the stock controllers it probably wouldn't have been. It isn't so much that I think the analog stick sucks but that it is so precise that it makes me feel like I suck. Controlling it reminds me of how it feels to try to draw something nice with a mouse on MS Paint but in joystick form. I feel like if I'm not holding it just right and/or let go of it for a second then "I'll draw outside of the lines". The alternative controllers are alright though. I definitely need to eventually get the track-ball and controllers modified into paddles. Also, a flash cart.

[Keatah]

At one time I got to thinking the 7800 would have been redundant if Atari only spent time developing for the 5200 more instead of just porting 8-bit computer stuff.

[Mister-VCS]

At one time I got to thinking the 7800 would have been redundant if Atari only spent time developing for the 5200 more instead of just porting 8-bit computer stuff.

 

7800 Joust looks and plays so much better than 5200/XL/XE Joust - there is no reason to return to the 5200/XL/XE-version.

[PhoenixMoonPatrol]

Wasn't a fan of the system once I owned one.

My fault though,didn't dig up the 800XL conversions and had some really bad controllers that needed cleaning.

Fast forward years later and I like it allot more. Lots of hidden gems and I love the feel of the analogs and the look to the system.

 

Its weird because I remember 1983 and the Atari 5200 as abit of an odd happening in those days. One of my friends suddenly buying the 5200 when it released. Called me over to play PacMan and I was so amazed at what I saw. But he wound up returning the console cause he later hated it. I was really mad that he did that because I owned a Colecovision and I wanted him to own the 5200 just so that we could have different systems to play when we slept over the others house on weekends. So the system didn;t really start off with a bang at all from the beginning even though my friend and his family were hardcore Atari fanatics. Years go by and I eventually owned the console that I always wanted as a kid,the library sure did grow over the years thanks to the community. But yeah it does take abit of growing into the system as its abit of a WTF at first. But it really is an underrated system when you realize how many great and hidden gems there are to discover. In short - don't judge that book by its cover.

Edited February 4, 2016 by PhoenixMoonPatrol

[VectorGamer]

I wasn't impressed with it until I got the AtariMax SD cart so that I could play all the games the system has to offer.

[Ransom]

I was amazed at the 5200 when my parents bought one for me the Christmas after it was released. The controller was sophisticated, with a ten-key pad that accepted overlays so you could play complex games. It had Pause, Start, and Reset right on the controller! And it had two fire buttons!

 

And the whole console just looked so futuristic. Shiny dark plastic, four controller ports, a storage compartment (with lid!) for the controllers, and a single wire to connect it to both TV and power. And a switchbox you didn't have to physically switch!

 

As for the games...hell, yeah, they were awesome! Pac-Man was light years ahead of the 2600 version, as was Missile Command. Galaxian was great. On the other hand, Space Invaders looked neat but wasn't as good as the VCS one I was used to. But Star Raiders made up for that, in spades! Here was a game that was exciting, complex, and different every time you played it. Plus the neat touches like when you undocked from the starport and could fly alongside the fueling module if you wanted. (But where was it going? Was it a one-use device that just flew itself into the nearest star after it was used up?)

 

The 5200 was amazing for its time, and remains a great system today.

[+sramirez2008]

Well I certainly have contracted the 5200 bug. I picked up my first 2-port just before the new year, and quickly added the following:

 

• CX52 Gold Joysticks - Best Electronics
• MasterPlay Clone w/Modified Paddle (My preferred choice for Breakout, Kaboom and even Blowsub)
• AtariMax SD Cart (a must have)
• Trak-Ball (another must have. Awesome controller after a good cleaning with Nevr-Dull Metal Polish and 3-In-One Oil)
• Dip Switch Multi-Cart (no longer necessary, but I came across one in the wild and couldn't resist )

 

Also picked up a 4-port (arrived earlier this week) and a new Switch Box from Best.

 

IMO, having the system in today's world is great, considering what the AtariMax and MasterPlay Clone bring to the table. Props to Steven Tucker, atariguy1021 and anyone who has or will be working on an 8-bit port.

[tep392]

 

 

IMO, having the system in today's world is great, considering what the AtariMax and MasterPlay Clone bring to the table. Props to Steven Tucker, atariguy1021 and anyone who has or will be working on an 8-bit port.

I was getting killed in Pac-man and Zaxxon until I got my MasterPlay Clone. It made a huge difference in my scores being able to use a 2600 compatible digital stick. Can't recommend it enough.

[Brian R.]

I bought a rebuilt controller, and it quickly failed, too.

 

Finding a Wico saved my 5200. But the start button barely worked on my stock controller, which I needed at minimum to start games.

 

Much later I got the Wico keypad, and I doubt I'll ever touch the stock controller again.

[+sramirez2008]

I was getting killed in Pac-man and Zaxxon until I got my MasterPlay Clone. It made a huge difference in my scores being able to use a 2600 compatible digital stick. Can't recommend it enough.

 

100% in agreement. Highly recommend the MasterPlay Clone.

 

Now I just connect my Edladdin 'Supreme 78: All Play 4/8' to my Clone and have a great time playing maze type games.

[PhoenixMoonPatrol]

I wasn't impressed with it until I got the AtariMax SD cart so that I could play all the games the system has to offer.

Yep. Thats my story right now. My Atari Max will be here sometime today. For the past week I've been rounding up all the hacks and 800XL ports trying them out on an emulator and is like night and day with the game quality now. Blaster, Fort Apocalypse, Oils Well,Sea Dragon,these games on the 5200 just shine!

Then there's the retail games that I don't have on cart like Defender and Star Trek that turned out pretty well on the system. AtariMax SD is pretty much the key to opening up the gate to so many good games on the system.

And I just pulled out of storage a Redemption adapter that I've had for 7 years,wow. Its pretty much in new condition too. Gad I bought this years ago from Atari Age.

Edited February 4, 2016 by PhoenixMoonPatrol

[Brian R.]

I have enough real 5200 games on cartridges I feel no need to get a multicart.

 

Those carts are just so damn sexy, like the system itself.

 

I missed the Redemption adapter. I'd buy one immediately if they were produced again.

 

In my experience emulation removes too much of the experience, and even what you really only get - the game - is often messed up, too.

Edited February 4, 2016 by Brian R.

[PhoenixMoonPatrol]

I was getting killed in Pac-man and Zaxxon until I got my MasterPlay Clone. It made a huge difference in my scores being able to use a 2600 compatible digital stick. Can't recommend it enough.

 

How does the masterplay clone work with Tempest, not the proto type version but the final release of Tempest from the Atari Age store. Does Tempest work well with it? My 5200 sticks are toast and I don't feel like opening them up again to clean and fix them. Master Play clone looks really nice so I'm tempted to buy one soon. Besides Tempest are there any other games with pros and cons with the masterplay controller? I already know of some games like Gorf and Missile Command that won't with it at all. Your info would help allot. Thanks.

Edited February 5, 2016 by PhoenixMoonPatrol

[Talneharus]

Wowsers! I didn't expect this topic to take off so well. Anyhow after reading all of the posts it seems I'm missing some key components to the whole 5200 experience. Looks like I need to pick up a track ball and some form of aftermarket arcade stick. I too am getting smacked around by Pac Man hahaha. I do want some more games for sure those carts are some of the coolest ever! Luckily for me my start button and right side fire buttons work on my controller as does the stick so i can at least enjoy this beast! I think I may have been bitten by the Atari bug . I've been eyeballing both the 7800 and the XEGS on Ebay lately. Might have to devote some more space to more consoles. Of course Atari isn't the only thing on my list. I need to get a Genesis back in my house sooooooo badly! Really need to scratch the S3&K itch! Who'da thunk getting a 5200 would have opened so many doors to more games and consoles!? Anywho I totally dig the big ol beast that is my 5200! Also quick side question, kinda off topic but, does any one own a 2600 trackball controller? The CX-22 I think. I've been wondering if it makes some 2600 games like centipede or missile command better on the 2600 or not.

[Lynxpro]

Wowsers! I didn't expect this topic to take off so well. Anyhow after reading all of the posts it seems I'm missing some key components to the whole 5200 experience. Looks like I need to pick up a track ball and some form of aftermarket arcade stick. I too am getting smacked around by Pac Man hahaha. I do want some more games for sure those carts are some of the coolest ever! Luckily for me my start button and right side fire buttons work on my controller as does the stick so i can at least enjoy this beast! I think I may have been bitten by the Atari bug . I've been eyeballing both the 7800 and the XEGS on Ebay lately. Might have to devote some more space to more consoles. Of course Atari isn't the only thing on my list. I need to get a Genesis back in my house sooooooo badly! Really need to scratch the S3&K itch! Who'da thunk getting a 5200 would have opened so many doors to more games and consoles!? Anywho I totally dig the big ol beast that is my 5200! Also quick side question, kinda off topic but, does any one own a 2600 trackball controller? The CX-22 I think. I've been wondering if it makes some 2600 games like centipede or missile command better on the 2600 or not.

 

I'll answer that, being a Trak-Ball aficionado.

 

The CX22 is great but it's not as awesome as the CX53. Atari Inc never produced 2600 games with native Trak-Ball support - and only Missile Command on Atari 8-bit computers had native Trak-Ball support as well - so the best you could do with it was joystick emulation which is why there was the switch on most of those units to select "joystick" or "Trak-Ball". Now, during the lifetime of the 5200, Glenn the 5200 Man didn't like the fact that so many 5200 games had native Trak-Ball support whereas the 8-bit computer versions didn't so he back ported a bunch of those games to the 8-bit line so the CX22 or CX80 could use them. Shortly after the debut of the Atari ST and the Amiga, several of their users took CX80s and modified them so they could serve as mouse replacements and also play the mouse-based games for those computer platforms.

 

Years later, AtariAge users themselves have gone back and hacked Trak-Ball support for the 2600 games that should've had such support from the start. Thomas Jentzsch and OmegaMatrix have been adding support furiously in the past couple of months to several 2600 titles including those that were thought to be impossible to do [Centipede, Millipede, Reactor, Star Wars the Arcade Game, Colony 7, etc]; Thomas started the trend years ago by releasing Missile Command-TB for the 2600. Kenfused did the same with Centipede on the 7800.

 

There's not as active of a Trak-Ball loving scene these days in the 5200 and Atari 8-bit lands although Playsoft has converted Slime, Missile Command+, and Blowsub over to the 5200 with Trak-Ball support. And we definitely thank him for it! Keithen Hayenga's completed Atari 5200 Tempest port also famously supports the CX53 well. One overlooked piece of 5200 software that really could use CX53 Trak-Ball support would be the menu system on the AtariMax SD Cartridge Adapter. Hopefully, AtariMax will do that and release a firmware update for it.

 

The gold standards for Trak-Ball gaming would be Crystal Castles and Marble Madness. Unfortunately, the consensus is that all 8-bit home versions of Crystal Castles would be impossible to add Trak-Ball support to because the kernels access the CPU far too much. That goes for the 2600 version as well as both Atari 8-bit computer versions as well as those versions converted to 5200 use. It's been theorized the 2600 version could be rewritten to support the Activision DPC chip - and the DPC+ emulated version - but that would take a massive code rewrite and nobody's announced an intent to do so. As for Marble Madness, there's no known Atari 8-bit [2600, Atari 8-bit computer/5200, 7800] version to add such support to. Versions were made for the C64, NES, and I believe the Sega Master System (SMS) but no wholesome goodness Atari 8-bit platforms in comparison. Both Crystal Castles and Marble Madness are on the ST [and Marble Madness also on the Amiga; some assert EA's version is better than the arcade original] so conceivably one could use a CX80 to play them in "native" mode. There's also 2 versions [EA and Tengen Japan] of Marble Madness for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive with conflicting reports as to whether they somewhat support the Sega Sports Pad trackball controller originally for the SMS.

 

Finally, there's some ST mouse games that have been ported to the Atari Jaguar in recent years which can be used with a specific ST mouse adapter thus it's conceivable again that a CX80 could then be used to play them.

Edited February 5, 2016 by Lynxpro

[+playsoft]

The 5200 trak-ball has the advantage that you don't have to monitor it and count the ticks to compute the speed. It does that itself, you just read it like a normal 5200 joystick. So there is less overhead reading the 5200 trak-ball compared to the others.

 

Adding trak-ball support into an existing game will probably work best if the game has analog control to begin with (analog joystick or paddles), as the game will have been designed to accommodate the player moving by variable amounts. This will not be the case with games designed for digital control. Take the Crystal Castles port as an example where Bentley moves one square at a time. For true trak-ball control I think you'd want him to be able to move fractions of a square and multiple squares. I think it would be very difficult to hack the game for that sort of functionality, it probably needs to be designed in from the start.

 

That said, given the ease of reading the 5200 trak-ball you could modify any game to have "joystick mode" style trak-ball control. The question is whether that would be playable or not. In his guide Dan Kramer says not to do this although he was talking about the design of new games, not hacking 30 year old ones.

 

PS. Someone else did Missile Command+ but I did a trak-ball port of Bug Hunt.

[Lynxpro]

At one time I got to thinking the 7800 would have been redundant if Atari only spent time developing for the 5200 more instead of just porting 8-bit computer stuff.

 

Many of Atari's engineers felt the same way. They didn't like GCC's meddling nor did they like Warner brass telling them what to do. That's why Tod Frye and Jerry Jessop designed a rival console - with off-the-Atari-shelf-parts - that was more powerful than the 7800 but was backwards-compatible with the 2600 and 5200. But Warner shot them down.

[Talneharus]

I think if they would have upgraded the 7800 more before taking it out of storage and releasing it they might have done better. Seeing as it was developed then shelved for a few years its no wonder the NES was such a beast. I also feel that if they would have stuck to their guns with the 5200 it could have taken off especially if they revised the innards of the controllers. Speaking of controllers I've tried cleaning the contacts in mine and now the pause reset and keypad is kaput >.< le sigh. Also the left side fire buttons were D.O.A. Guess its time to get the gold contact kit and replace the old circuit. Still love this console though! Just gotta expand my library now. Really need joust and tempest!

[kiwilove]

Nintendo knew the value of software development - or learnt it.

 

With the NES it's not just about the hardware - the software development is as or more important.

 

Atari did not treat it's development staff/etc with dignity and respect. To make the money, you have

to spend the money to create killer games.

 

Of course, it was the wild west back then - no one knew or could predict anything. Now several generations of hardware later we see the obvious same thing(s) happening over and over again.

 

Harvey

[Talneharus]

Ah yes licensing games and ensuring quality and not mass produced garbage assuredly made the NES a quality machine with out its great titles is could have faded into obscurity too. I had heard about Atari being greedy and treating staff like crap kinda reminds me of Konami at the moment haha.

[Schizophretard]

I think if they would have upgraded the 7800 more before taking it out of storage and releasing it they might have done better. Seeing as it was developed then shelved for a few years its no wonder the NES was such a beast. I also feel that if they would have stuck to their guns with the 5200 it could have taken off especially if they revised the innards of the controllers. Speaking of controllers I've tried cleaning the contacts in mine and now the pause reset and keypad is kaput >.< le sigh. Also the left side fire buttons were D.O.A. Guess its time to get the gold contact kit and replace the old circuit. Still love this console though! Just gotta expand my library now. Really need joust and tempest!

 

The way I understood it is that the people at Atari,Inc. didn't even know Atari was up for sale and therefore was already taking the correct steps to come out ahead after the video game crash but Jack Tramiel shut all of that down when he bought it. They already started launching the 7800 and 2600 Jr., they already completed the 7800 keyboard, they were working on the 7800 high score cart, they were working on the 7800 ProSystem Adapter to upgrade the 5200 to play 7800 games, they were working on an upgraded self centering 5200 joystick, they were working on a low cost junior model of the 5200 just like they did for the 2600, they were working on getting more games developed,etc. And they were going to put all of this into high gear with a huge marketing campaign around the Summer Olympics but then there was Jack...

[kiwilove]

Give credit where it is due.

 

Some did miss out on the millions that was generated by their idea/creation.

 

Space Invaders comes to mind, and Pac Man.

 

Harvey