Keatah Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 Love the Gravis controller! --- If Hyperkin isn't in talks with Stephena, then who? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 Yep - that would work, and I think that would be preferable to the centered ones Darrell posted (those look very uncomfortable). I was thinking more from a cost standpoint, for keeping one button. If they're thinking gamepads, the best gamepad I owned was one by Gravis. Besides being very comfortable and responsive, it had two big plusses: It's truly ambidextrous, just by flipping it around (you changed preferences in the control panel) It had a little screw-in thumbstick, which made it infinitely more controllable Downsides? It wasn't USB (I had a Mac version that was ADB), so you had to adapt it to work with newer computers, assuming the driver still worked The thumbstick was plastic and could snap off (although the base it screwed into was metal) Pictures! gravis-gamepad.jpg gravis-gamepad-w-stick.jpg Now... if they made something like this, but with a metal thumbstick, USB, and made the buttons assignable (so you could have Select and Reset on the controller, plus support for 2600 games that use Genesis controllers, etc.), I'd buy one in a heartbeat. Plus, the same controller could work on a 7800 version of the console. I had an idea in my head similar to this that I like to dub the "flip flop." Basically start with a cigar box and install a single joystick and fire button. Cable goes out the joystick side instead of the front or back. On the far side where the button is, install dual ganged DPDT toggle switches. These switches flip the UD and LR inputs on the joystick. So you flip the switch and rotate the joystick 180 degrees. Now you might be wondering where is the prototype? Didn't feel the need to create one. It's much less confusing and possibly cheaper and less work to just install a second fire button on the other side and not worry the user about orientation or toggle switches being in the proper location. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mr. Video Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 Kinda tempted to get one of these even though I already have a 2600 Jr. and a 7800. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stephena Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 If Hyperkin isn't in talks with Stephena, then who? Not confirmed yet, but it may be possible that this device won't be using the latest version of Stella Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaiju Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 Question is Can they come close to replicating the beautiful accuracy and feel of the oem paddles, if they make new ones. I feel they will make some sort of paddle/joystick combo controller I just got my Retron 1HD in today. Great little hardware powered system, sure it's not perfect, but it's: Better than software emulation in sound and quality Let's me play carts with extra hardware (castlevania 3) Easy to setup on my main tv But best of all, let's me put my NES in proper storage for safety. I plan on doing this with the '77. Just wish there was a "pro edition" or something coming out that supports 7800.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 But best of all, let's me put my NES in proper storage for safety. Why would you need to put your NES in storage for safety? There's not exactly a shortage. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorclu Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 A RetroN with Atari support... FINALLY!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sramirez2008 Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 Question is Can they come close to replicating the beautiful accuracy and feel of the oem paddles, if they make new ones. I plan on using my original joysticks, paddles and Starplex controller with the '77 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBeefy Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 Im glad they are making one, but i dont see the need unless you have no old tv's, or a flatscreen that can take av outputs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 (edited) ..which describes more and more gamers these days. Vintage and newcomers alike! And while many flatscreens can still take analog input, they sometimes don't know how to handle a VCS signal, or not all games look good. And there's other issues like lag or incorrect colors. Or even offset positioning. On the other hand, some reproduce the signal so well they grab all interference and jailbar lines and other unpleasantness that a vintage CRT/TV would gloss over. I've been saying for years now that the best way to play vintage games is entirely in the digital domain. This gives you consistent control of how the image looks - even if it is a little different than the CRT/TV experience of yesterday. Color #F91812 should give you a vibrant red with a hint of orange, not violet, not pink-red, not any off-color like this or that.. A digital display working with a digital signal will do that for you. And the displays can reproduce that arbitrary color as easy (and at the same time) as #055EA and #32A214. Adjustments can be specific and individual - i.e. changing one color will not affect the others. And many people are finally coming to see the advantage of no muss no fuss of HDMI, as opposed to matching and tuning and messing with getting analog hardware to work right. No more farting around with video mods either. Edited June 16, 2017 by Keatah 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 I may (or may not) be biased against analog color adjustments and all that. I just remember as a kid I had to put on my clodhoppers and kick the Zenith ChromaColor II real hard otherwise it would have this green/purple tint. I remember having had to do it a couple of times during warm-up or when the weather was a certain way outside. And it frustrated me to no end. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 no muss no fuss of HDMI I never thought I'd see those two terms together in a sentence. HDMI is nice when it works. And if it keeps working. But when it doesn't, it's a huge pain to troubleshoot (thanks for that, HDCP). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 Well yes. It's been my observations that the common (non-videogame-enthusiast) loves it compared to the old analog. Troubleshooting and HDCP I've not had any issues, but then I'm not messing around with it all the time either. So there's that.. Will the standard keep working? As long as it's profitable to its special interest group and the industry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 If HDMI signal doesn't work, replace the cable? Next step would be to check that some unsupported display resolution isn't being forced upon the set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great Hierophant Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 Yep - that would work, and I think that would be preferable to the centered ones Darrell posted (those look very uncomfortable). I was thinking more from a cost standpoint, for keeping one button. If they're thinking gamepads, the best gamepad I owned was one by Gravis. Besides being very comfortable and responsive, it had two big plusses: It's truly ambidextrous, just by flipping it around (you changed preferences in the control panel) It had a little screw-in thumbstick, which made it infinitely more controllable Downsides? It wasn't USB (I had a Mac version that was ADB), so you had to adapt it to work with newer computers, assuming the driver still worked The thumbstick was plastic and could snap off (although the base it screwed into was metal) Pictures! gravis-gamepad.jpg gravis-gamepad-w-stick.jpg Now... if they made something like this, but with a metal thumbstick, USB, and made the buttons assignable (so you could have Select and Reset on the controller, plus support for 2600 games that use Genesis controllers, etc.), I'd buy one in a heartbeat. Plus, the same controller could work on a 7800 version of the console. There are two switches on a Gravis Gamepad. One switch changes the pad from righty to lefty, no Control Panel required. The other switch toggles between four buttons and two normal buttons and two turbo buttons. The plastic thumbsticks can break off, but I found a screw that works very well : 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAA177 Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 Someone has probably already mentioned this -- I can't get through all the thread right now -- but the interesting thing about there being a clone that accepts carts is that maybe it will encourage more homebrews and maybe larger companies to make promotional carts. As an example, imagine if a new "Ghostbusters" game were made to promote the 2016 film. I hope there aren't going to be shortage issues -- what is the opinion on that? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great Hierophant Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 Question is Can they come close to replicating the beautiful accuracy and feel of the oem paddles, if they make new ones. I feel they will make some sort of paddle/joystick combo controller I just got my Retron 1HD in today. Great little hardware powered system, sure it's not perfect, but it's: Better than software emulation in sound and quality I would get your hearing checked or get up to date with the news, the RetroN 1 HD's sound emulation is pathetic compared to your average good NES software emulator : http://atariage.com/forums/topic/265390-new-retron-1-hd-out/?hl=+retron 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+GoldLeader Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 I may (or may not) be biased against analog color adjustments and all that. I just remember as a kid I had to put on my clodhoppers and kick the Zenith ChromaColor II real hard otherwise it would have this green/purple tint. I remember having had to do it a couple of times during warm-up or when the weather was a certain way outside. And it frustrated me to no end. My mom also used to call my shoes clodhoppers...just wanted to thank you for the memory 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butt_Rogers Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 I think we may be forgetting just how many young retro enthusiasts out there are interested in collecting for the 2600, but just don't want to bother with the hassle of buying a 2600 that may not be in tip top condition, AV modding it (requiring soldering skills they may not have), all to play games with fuzzy picture quality.People want a quick solution these days. They see the stacks of cheap 2600 games on the shelves of these retro game stores, or see the boxes of games going for cheap on Ebay, and think "Huh. It would be fun to start a collection of 2600 games." But then they realize it's not as easy as taking the system home and plugging it into their flat screen, and they lose interest.Now imagine that same person goes into that retro game store, or does a quick ebay search, and sees that there's a $50 Atari 2600 clone system with HDMI, and those piles of cheap 2600 games are still there. They're going to be much more likely to pull the trigger. No hassle. No soldering. No fuzzy picture. Impulse buy. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 That's right. I'm a veteran gamer having had the VCS when I was a kid, and even I don't want the hassle and inconsistency of older analog-style equipment. Not when I've experienced the games 100% in the digital domain. Yes I can tune RC networks and track down crosstalk and high current drain on an address line. But why when there's a better way altogether? I also would not expect the new and current generation of gamers to spend time hunting down CRTs, adjusting them, cleaning them, and aligning them, and learning enough electronics to make it all work. And what if they dislike electronics or don't have the tools to begin with? Sure some of on AA wouldn't have it any other way. Some of us even *like* doing it for fun. But for the wider general populace, read as casual gamer or budding collector, it's a different story. The hassle factor is too great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iesposta Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 I have that. And yep, it's ADB. Yep - that would work, and I think that would be preferable to the centered ones Darrell posted (those look very uncomfortable). I was thinking more from a cost standpoint, for keeping one button. If they're thinking gamepads, the best gamepad I owned was one by Gravis. Besides being very comfortable and responsive, it had two big plusses: It's truly ambidextrous, just by flipping it around (you changed preferences in the control panel) It had a little screw-in thumbstick, which made it infinitely more controllable Downsides? It wasn't USB (I had a Mac version that was ADB), so you had to adapt it to work with newer computers, assuming the driver still worked The thumbstick was plastic and could snap off (although the base it screwed into was metal) Pictures! gravis-gamepad.jpg gravis-gamepad-w-stick.jpg Now... if they made something like this, but with a metal thumbstick, USB, and made the buttons assignable (so you could have Select and Reset on the controller, plus support for 2600 games that use Genesis controllers, etc.), I'd buy one in a heartbeat. Plus, the same controller could work on a 7800 version of the console. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 A lot of VCS homebrews that use the B/W switch as a pause function are comatible with both models. Press B/W to pause. A long press and hold will unpause the game when the input is released, but a quick press and release, the game will remain paused until the second press and release. Sans any signal bounce on the 2600 models, this method works well regardless of if you are playing on a 7800 or 2600. Let us not forget that some 2600 carts just don't cooperate on certain 7800 revisions for whatever reason, so always good to have a spare. Robot Tank comes to mind specifically. Also my 7800 rejected Reindeer Rescue as well. So yes, any newly created 7800 clone system should address compatibility issues with 7800 and 2600 software. An FPGA implementation could simply swap cores when it detects 2600 games, why Kevtris decided to use separate 24- pin and 36-pin slots for 2600/7800 games, that and a proper 7800 connector could not be fabricated easily. I used to think my Robot Tank was broke for something like 10 years or so. Then I found out about it, the Super Charger, and I think a couple others from this site. I have a few spares now. I have pretty much a 7800 complete in box collection minus a few titles. I lost count on how many VCS's I have. Maybe 15. You know you're sick when you "need" a Sunnyvale Heavy Sixer, Taiwan Heavy Sixer, Sears Heavy Sixer, a Vader with a light sixer bottom, trying to get VCS's made from different manufacturers, a Dactar 007, Gemini, a few Juniors, etc. Anyway, my hoarding turned out to be useful because it helped with finding compatibility issues and bugs when I was helping Random Terrain playtest and come up with ideas for Seaweed Assault for a few months. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 Heh.. Emulator Stella rules them all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaiju Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 I would get your hearing checked or get up to date with the news, the RetroN 1 HD's sound emulation is pathetic compared to your average good NES software emulator : http://atariage.com/forums/topic/265390-new-retron-1-hd-out/?hl=+retron No. My hearing is fine. Perhaps I should of focused my statement. I was referring to retron products and personal preference. Having both the hd and retron 5 the HD is preferable on my sound system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaiju Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 Why would you need to put your NES in storage for safety? There's not exactly a shortage. Not everything is about monetary value..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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