Good Atari 2600 games hacks

[Materion]

Hello,

 

Could You please post here some good hacks for original official Atari 2600 games ?

 

Would be nice to know what to get :).

 

Thanks in advance

Edited March 18, 2021 by Materion

[+wongojack]

FYI that there is an entire forum just for hacks:  Hacks - AtariAge Forums and a sub forum focused on the 2600:  https://atariage.com/forums/forum/66-atari-2600-hacks/.  You have to work for it, but you'll find a ton of hacks in there. 

 

Here's an old thread asking your question: What are the must-have hacks? - Atari 2600 Hacks - AtariAge Forums

 

Very popular hacks include the 2-button hacks that let you use an additional button when playing with a Sega Genesis pad: https://atariage.com/forums/topic/158430-rom-hacks-to-support-2-buttons-with-genesis-controllers/

 

There's also these really cool hacks that add menus to some games:  Original Games Updated With Menus - Atari 2600 - AtariAge Forums

 

And games hacked to work with a track ball:  Atari 2600 Trak-Ball Games - Atari 2600 - AtariAge Forums

 

[CapitanClassic]

That thread is out of date, and not updated since 2011.

 

Newer hacks I know of:

 

There is also @Omegamatrix’s excellent Venture Hack.

Also @Thomas Jentzsch’s excellent Pitfallx256 that creates 255 new jungle layouts and also increases the difficulty (switches).

 

 

[Voxel]

Some great hacks are available in the store too.

[Jstick]

20 hours ago, CapitanClassic said:

There is also @Omegamatrix’s excellent Venture Hack.

This one really exceeds the definition of hack in my opinion, having so much extra added...

 

I think this is the only "hack" I would consider buying an actual cart for (maybe with the exception of Berzerk VE, but that is more of a cool novelty)

 

I'm sure everyone would agree Venture Reloaded definitively replaces the original.

[CapitanClassic]

30 minutes ago, Jstick said:

This one really exceeds the definition of hack in my opinion, having so much extra added...

 

I think this is the only "hack" I would consider buying an actual cart for (maybe with the exception of Berzerk VE, but that is more of a cool novelty)

 

I'm sure everyone would agree Venture Reloaded definitively replaces the original.

I agree, and would call it a Total Conversion in line with those *.wad files in the Doom days like Aliens TC that replaced basically all the resources in the game, but Omegamatrix himself calls it a hack.

[Materion]

Good hack is Amidar DS - making Your character move 2x faster than original making this game much more playable. I'm wondering if there are more hacks like this that makes games more playable by fixing some issues.

[+wongojack]

There is a Jr. Pac-Man thread that does a similar thing (speeds you up)

[CapitanClassic]

6 hours ago, Materion said:

Good hack is Amidar DS - making Your character move 2x faster than original making this game much more playable. I'm wondering if there are more hacks like this that makes games more playable by fixing some issues.

There is the E.T. hack that fixes the pit issue. You only fall in now when your feet move over the pit, not any part of your sprite.

[JasperAK]

10 hours ago, Jstick said:

This one really exceeds the definition of hack in my opinion, having so much extra added...

 

I think this is the only "hack" I would consider buying an actual cart for (maybe with the exception of Berzerk VE, but that is more of a cool novelty)

 

I'm sure everyone would agree Venture Reloaded definitively replaces the original.

I can't possibly upvote or like this post enough.

 

This Venture hack shows what the original hardware is capable of. This Venture hack is amazing, and something I would like to have on a cart. Look at what is possible with this little 6502 system we have been dicking with for the past 40 years. And that's not even talking about what is possible with ARM.

[roadrunner]

Cool Road Runner hack here -

 

 

[keithbk]

Is it a Hack if it is an entirely new Kernal? That is the question.

 

For example, Adventure has been hacked numerous times with alternate graphics while maintaining the same Kernal.

 

Then, my version (Another Adventure) uses a significantly altered Kernal, while maintaining much of the feel of parts of the original.

 

Just something that makes me wonder on some of the above games. Does Venture Reloaded actually utilize the same Kernal, or is it completely rewritten? And if it is rewritten, is it a hack?

[Raiu]

I have to add this hack for E.T., introducing a ton of QOL changes: http://www.neocomputer.org/projects/et/

 

I've always loved the original game (and didn't even learn it was supposed to be the "worst game ever" until later, which surprised me, since I've played much worse games), but this hack improves it in every way, including adding the "Scientist but no FBI Agent" game variation I'd wished for as a kid.