bmadgames Posted August 2, 2017 Share Posted August 2, 2017 Still in progress, but it's looking pretty good so far. That's great news. As always, thank you for keeping us updated Bill! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorclu Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 Is there a FAQ about the differences of the Atari Flashback Portable 2016 and 2017 versions? Did the emulation get improved or is it the same emulation as 2016? No wireless controllers? No second player option? Didn't think there would be as this is simply a retooled Sega Gopher. Did they make it where you could create your own menus and assign pictures like on the Sega Gopher? You mentioned that might be re-implemented on the 2017 AFP. Those are my questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 Is there a FAQ about the differences of the Atari Flashback Portable 2016 and 2017 versions? Did the emulation get improved or is it the same emulation as 2016? No wireless controllers? No second player option? Didn't think there would be as this is simply a retooled Sega Gopher. Did they make it where you could create your own menus and assign pictures like on the Sega Gopher? You mentioned that might be re-implemented on the 2017 AFP. Those are my questions. It's not a retooled Sega Gopher. The only major similarities are superficial. I have not had a chance to test the menu thing yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorclu Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 It's not a retooled Sega Gopher. The only major similarities are superficial. I have not had a chance to test the menu thing yet. That answers most of what I asked. Did they improve on the emulation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 That answers most of what I asked. Did they improve on the emulation? It was only improved to work with the games that are built-in that were previously not directly compatible, like Galaxian. I have not had a chance to do any testing to determine if that means some other incompatible games, like Berzerk, now work. The assumption is whatever was broken previously is probably still broken. There were also some UI/UX tweaks, like the difficulty display selection no longer being persistent on the screen. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveC1964 Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 It would be nice if when on the menu screen and it shows the box art if you could also press one of the buttons to bring up a simple instruction text of how to play the selected game. I swear with most of these games I have no idea of what to do. I could go online and look it up, yes, but that is hard if not by a phone or computer and it is extra work. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TF14 Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 (edited) In late July, I pre-ordered 2 Atari Flashback 8 Gold Consoles because the Gold Activision Edition was not available. I am really interested in Atari Flashback 8 Gold Activision Edition and wanted to confirm when pre-orders can be made and when it would ship: (1) Late July - We could pre-order the Atari Flashback 8 Gold Console. The delivery date I was provided by Target was mid-to late Sept. (2) Late Aug or late Sept - Pre-orders for the Atari Flashback 8 Gold Activision Edition A few questions... - For the Activision Edition, are pre-orders opening late Aug or late Sept? - Is there an estimated ship date for Flashback 8 Gold Activision Edition you can share? - Are there any games in the Atari Flashback 8 Gold Console that *are not* in the Activision Edition? - What are some reasons someone would want Atari Flashback 8 Gold Console over the Activision Edition? Thanks! Edited August 8, 2017 by TF14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 A few questions... - For the Activision Edition, are pre-orders opening late Aug or late Sept? - Is there an estimated ship date for Flashback 8 Gold Activision Edition you can share? - Are there any games in the Atari Flashback 8 Gold Console that *are not* in the Activision Edition? - What are some reasons someone would want Atari Flashback 8 Gold Console over the Activision Edition? Thanks! I posted the current pre-order schedule for the Activision HD earlier either in this thread or another. I can't recall at the moment. It will be 1 - 2 months AFTER the release of the Atari HD from what I remember. As of right now, the Atari and Activision models will be identical, save for the latter having additional Activision games. It makes sense to wait for the Activision version, although who knows if the Atari version will have a sale price around the time the Activision one is released. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 It would be nice if when on the menu screen and it shows the box art if you could also press one of the buttons to bring up a simple instruction text of how to play the selected game. I swear with most of these games I have no idea of what to do. I could go online and look it up, yes, but that is hard if not by a phone or computer and it is extra work. We have concise instructions for the Sega HD and Atari HD consoles on the respective game menu screens. They're definitely handy. Perhaps in the future if we bump up the resolution then it will be practical to do the same on the portables. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TF14 Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 Great Atari Flashback 8 Gold review by the Classic Game Room channel - https://youtu.be/i9WqxWdhA6A 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great Hierophant Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 Great Atari Flashback 8 Gold review by the Classic Game Room channel - https://youtu.be/i9WqxWdhA6A I watched that review, did Mark get a production unit or a reviewer unit? I ask because I saw Fat Harry rear his ugly head. No one expects perfect recreation of A2600 sound, but getting the right pitch shouldn't be too difficult or too much to ask from an $80 product. It wasn't back in 2004 when Pitfall was put on the Flashback 2. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 (edited) Bill just today said that it's now being worked on, now that the Sega fixes have been finished. http://atariage.com/forums/topic/259236-2017-flashback-faq-and-speculation-thread/?p=3823250 So it's safe to say that this isn't a fixed unit that was reviewed. Edited August 9, 2017 by Atariboy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveC1964 Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 (edited) We have concise instructions for the Sega HD and Atari HD consoles on the respective game menu screens. They're definitely handy. Perhaps in the future if we bump up the resolution then it will be practical to do the same on the portables. You don't really need more resolution. Just a page of text telling what to do. If it needs more pages due to the resolution just use the pad to go forward and back a page. I wouldn't worry about more resolution (not much use for 2600), I would just make the screen bigger (not smaller like they did). Also it would be nice if the firmware was upgrade-able so emulation and UI fixes could be made. Edited August 9, 2017 by DaveC1964 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TF14 Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 Another positive review of the Atari Flashback 8 Gold - this one from John Hancock includes Frogger and Space Invaders but they look like they are running at the original arcade resolution (appears at the end of the video) https://youtu.be/ZgY0WtTg4jw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hydro Thunder Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 I'm REALLY interested in both the Activision Atari unit and the new HD Sega Unit... But the kicker for me is going to be the Paddles, and I don't think I'm alone. Just for Kaboom! really. But in seriousness, it may be a dealbreaker. And if they do include the Paddles, I'd be willing to go $89 or possibly $99. For the Sega unit, I of course hope the problems get fixed...but I LOVE the design. And hope that any of the missing games can be solved by the cart slot, and hope it reads successfully from there & High Def's them up. If not, they're going to have to put Streets of Rage 2 and 3 on there. You can't do Sega without SOR in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 Frogger has been non-2600 version for a while now, hasn't it? One of the reasons seems to be all the music jingles that they couldn't license, and it was easier to reimplement the game in arcade like resolution minus the music than trying to hack the 2600 ROM to remove all music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariLeaf Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 I like that the Frogger is different. I have the real 2600 Frogger and it's little things like these differences that help make for an appealing product. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 Bill just today said that it's now being worked on, now that the Sega fixes have been finished. http://atariage.com/forums/topic/259236-2017-flashback-faq-and-speculation-thread/?p=3823250 So it's safe to say that this isn't a fixed unit that was reviewed. I hope the menu navigation was fixed, too. That's the kind of thing we all take for granted and it makes a really bad impression if not designed in a way that makes it easy to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveC1964 Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 (edited) Frogger has been non-2600 version for a while now, hasn't it? One of the reasons seems to be all the music jingles that they couldn't license, and it was easier to reimplement the game in arcade like resolution minus the music than trying to hack the 2600 ROM to remove all music. Then again, Frogger without the music isn't Frogger in my opinion, the music made it good. Edited August 9, 2017 by DaveC1964 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 I hope the menu navigation was fixed, too. That's the kind of thing we all take for granted and it makes a really bad impression if not designed in a way that makes it easy to use. The menu navigation has been improved for the Sega HD. I'm not sure yet about the Atari HD. Like I said, it's only recently been worked on since the Sega HD was higher priority due to the deeper issues with the early units. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Everett1954 Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 Bill, is the Atari 8 HD Activision version available for pre-order anywhere? I checked the above outlets and I don't see that version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 Bill, is the Atari 8 HD Activision version available for pre-order anywhere? I checked the above outlets and I don't see that version. No. I forget what I said earlier (or was it another thread?) but it's going to be 1 - 2 months behind the Atari HD in its scheduling. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TF14 Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 (edited) I'm REALLY interested in both the Activision Atari unit and the new HD Sega Unit... But the kicker for me is going to be the Paddles, and I don't think I'm alone. Just for Kaboom! really. But in seriousness, it may be a dealbreaker. And if they do include the Paddles, I'd be willing to go $89 or possibly $99. For the Sega unit, I of course hope the problems get fixed...but I LOVE the design. And hope that any of the missing games can be solved by the cart slot, and hope it reads successfully from there & High Def's them up. If not, they're going to have to put Streets of Rage 2 and 3 on there. You can't do Sega without SOR in my opinion. Why not pick up paddles separately? Based on the some of the video review's I've seen, paddles seem to be supported (e.g., I've seen Kaboom and other games being played). Edited August 10, 2017 by TF14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 That's not a bad idea. They're cheap on eBay, and if you're an Atari person, you probably already have some ...somewhere. I know I do. New and fresh would be great, though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hydro Thunder Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 Why not pick up paddles separately? Based on the some of the video review's I've seen, paddles seem to be supported (e.g., I've seen Kaboom and other games being played). I've had very poor luck with getting good used paddles (and am not handy with fixing stuff). Bought a few pairs (admittedly on the cheap) from local goodwills, game stores, etc and they'd work but were twitchy...tried some fixes. As Flojomojo said, I'd prefer, muuuuch prefer, new paddles. And I'm willing to pay for them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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