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Atari 7800 SD Cart (Concerto?)


Tempest

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On 9/20/2019 at 4:48 PM, save2600 said:

I talked to Fred about 2 (maybe 3 now) years ago and asked about Concerto. Said he had enough parts laying around to make a few and would get back to me. That never happened.   :(

Sorry. I suppose I still could do that but Concerto has changed a bit. Since this thread asked specifically about Concerto I should post something up. Better to wait for the new version at this point...

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8 minutes ago, batari said:

Sorry. I suppose I still could do that but Concerto has changed a bit. Since this thread asked specifically about Concerto I should post something up. Better to wait for the new version at this point...

 

So you still plan on it seeing a wide release in the future? If so, that is good news. Hopefully you are able to finish up any remaining work on this new version with as little 7800 frustration on your end as possible.  

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2 minutes ago, Shawn said:

 

So you still plan on it seeing a wide release in the future? If so, that is good news. Hopefully you are able to finish up any remaining work on this new version with as little 7800 frustration on your end as possible.  

That is the hope. I think the biggest issue (aside from the inherent evilness of the 7800's hardware itself) is that Concerto was built atop Harmony Encore hardware and it's just too complicated. The new version is simplified a lot.

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Since the topic mentions Concerto, I want to reassure everyone that Concerto will indeed be released if the hardware issues are resolved to my satisfaction. The hardware has been changed. It hasn't changed significantly (I stuck within the same chip family so DPC+, CDF and existing Harmony stuff will still play without too much trouble on my part), but definitely, the new hardware has all changed enough so the firmware will not be compatible.

 

Because of the hardware change, existing Concerto owners will be able to send theirs back to me and get the new cart with all the bells and whistles for no charge. They could of course choose to keep their old Concertos and use them as is, or load up Harmony firmware and use them as Harmony Encore carts.

 

I decided to make several versions of Concerto instead of a one-size-fits all, and it is no longer 100% hardware-compatible with Harmony Encore as before. This helped me to simplify a lot and make it cheaper.

 

One version will be a base model. I would guess it will support 95% or more of games. But by making these compromises, I can price it in the $60 range. The base model will be fully upgradeable.

 

The fully-loaded Concerto is intended to support all current 7800 games that I know of. As implied, existing Concerto owners can trade theirs in for a fully-loaded Concerto with everything. I don't have a price on this but hope to get under $100.

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8 minutes ago, batari said:

That is the hope. I think the biggest issue (aside from the inherent evilness of the 7800's hardware itself) is that Concerto was built atop Harmony Encore hardware and it's just too complicated. The new version is simplified a lot.

 

If that entails removing 2600 binary use in favor of proper 7800 use, I would agree there is already many solutions for the 2600 to do such things and a 7800 only device would be warmly welcomed. If someone wants to run 2600 software they can get a harmony. If they want to run 7800 software, they get a concerto. :)

 

Does that sound about right?

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10 minutes ago, Shawn said:

 

...a 7800 only device would be warmly welcomed. If someone wants to run 2600 software they can get a harmony. If they want to run 7800 software, they get a concerto. :)

Couldn’t agree more.  Especially now that the UnoCart is also available for the 2600. 

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17 minutes ago, Shawn said:

 

If that entails removing 2600 binary use in favor of proper 7800 use, I would agree there is already many solutions for the 2600 to do such things and a 7800 only device would be warmly welcomed. If someone wants to run 2600 software they can get a harmony. If they want to run 7800 software, they get a concerto. :)

 

Does that sound about right?

Yes, true, but 2600 binary support is something people will want. Though the big draw is 7800 games, I think being able to play the full 2600 library, including DPC+ and CDF games on Concerto is a big plus.

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14 hours ago, batari said:

Yes, true, but 2600 binary support is something people will want. Though the big draw is 7800 games, I think being able to play the full 2600 library, including DPC+ and CDF games on Concerto is a big plus.

I have both a UNO and a Harmony, so 2600 support is less important to me.  What really interests me is good support for all the existing 7800 games, homebrew and commercial, and POKEY support if possible. 

 

Thank you very much for the update information on your recent progress!  :)

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I was lucky enough to acquire a Concerto from CPUWIZ. It is very compatible with my daily driver S-Video modded 7800. But I would still buy the newer version when it is ready.

Also before I got that Concerto I was also lucky to get a Mateos 16 in 1 flash cart before Juan dropped off the planet.

Like has been stated by others before me I am committed to any new tech to make my 7800 better and more enjoyable.

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I would join the queue for a cart also. I'm loving working on Arkanoid for the 7800 and want to continue developing for the platform going forward. 

 

Emulation is great for 99% for development (A7800 ???) but you still need to get a feel for it on the real thing. Looking forward to one day hooking up my paddles for Arkanoid 

 

Thank you to you all for your work towards hopefully providing these options for everyone in the community in the future - the 7800 is clearly a difficult beast to tame but your efforts are very much appreciated.

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2 minutes ago, Tempest said:

2600 support would be nice, but I have a 2600 and Harmony.  I'd settle for a 7800 only SD cart at this point.  Besides, playing 2600 games on the 7800 can be a bit flaky.

Absolutly true! For example Kaboom! 2600 shows extra graphics on screen which are two pillars of dashed lines that change with the movement of the paddle. It is probibly a bit of code for the positioning of the paddle abd the 2600 sees this code as instructions where the 7800 seets it as instructions as well as graphics.

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