Supercharger games are way over rated!

[128bytes]

Let's be honest, how many times have any of us played Atari with even two people, let alone four?

 

Actually, I'm pretty lucky. I play 2 -4 player Atari well over half the time. Often with kids. Back in the '80s I played 2 player around 20% of the time.

[mos6507]

You make it sound like the Supercharger was some kind of conspiracy against the consumer. Implementing RAM on the 2600 was expensive. That's why carts with RAM on them were few and far between, and when they did have RAM, they didn't have a heck of a lot of it. It was common sense to try coming up with ONE cartridge that had all RAM in it and then distribute games on cassettes as it was being done in the home computer world. It had the potential of making games more affordable, just like selling games on CD vs. carts or digital downloads vs. CDs.

 

Of course, in reality the 3rd parties glutted the market and caused carts to be sold for pennies on the dollar, invalidating what was an otherwise sound theory.

 

A lot of 2600 games were held back in one way or another because of a lack of RAM. The RAM helps, even with 6K. (For instance, Suicide Mission's kernel would not have been possible otherwise.) It would have been better if it had more than 6K, but that's where the multiloads come in. There weren't enough multiloads games. There was a lot of untapped potential.

 

Nevertheless, I remember the reviews in the magazines at the time being universally positive for games like Commie Mutants, Suicide Mission, Mindmaster, and Dragonstomper.

 

Unfortunately the Supercharger was not properly documented until the modern era. In retrospect, what Starpath should have done was open-source the Supercharger. That way other 3rd parties could jump into it to build up a library. And anyone with a 6502-based home computer with a good enough audio output and a way to dub tapes could start their own third party.

[Shawn]

It was just a gimmick.

 

It's totally the 32X of Atari

 

 

You took the words right out of my mouth. Like the 32x, the SC has one or two good titles but past that it's just a gimick.

 

EDIT: But I do think you might have got a longer customer support out of he SC compaired to the 32x. Sega supported it for what about 6 months?

Edited December 8, 2006 by Shawn Sr.

[PressureCooker2600]

Last week I said Phaser Patrol while talking about Planet Patrol, to the horror and amusement of all. Flubbing a game name around here is like wearing a Stormtrooper suit to a Star Trek convention.

 

thats the funniest thing i've heard all day

[PressureCooker2600]

i would have an idea of how to react to this topic if i HAD a supercharger.....don't feel like forkin over 50 bucks just to buy a few other games......some of the games sounded fun in concept, just the execution, i guess

 

BTW...32X is my fav gimmick

[shadow460]

Only one of the negative comments towards the SC and Arcadia (that's what it was supposed to be called, and I got the docs to back that up), is true, but I'll get to it later.

 

I remember reading that the Supercharger's price dropped to $40 at one point. My family spent well under $200 for it and the ten games I still have for it. Arcadia didn't fall due to their clusmy interface--they almost fell to Emerson Radio, then they became one of the first casualties of the crash.

Everyone I knew with a VCS back then either had the Supercharger or they wanted one. I, personally, played Arcadia and Starpath titles almost exclusively. Just about every title it had simply destroyed the competition, and I see better graphics on all of their titles than I do on some 5200 and 7800 games! Properly programmed, sure, both Antic and Maria can smoke the SC, but to see the SC give those chips some small amount of competition says a lot about its designers.

 

IMO, the only game that I've played on hardware that compares to the Supercharger titles is Pitfall II. There are a lot of 32K games that are great, like Jr Pac Man. There are a lot of smaller titles that are awesome, like Megamania. None had the polish and the classy feel that the SC could handle.

I do agree with the open source bit--the device should have been made available to more than just a startup software company.

Imagine what Activision could have done with the Supercharger. Imagic probably wouldn't have developed for it, but they seemed to have graphics down pat anyway. Imagine what Parker Brothers could have done, and the kind of games Avalon Hill would have produced with that hardware. I don't see AH letting anything less than stellar go out the door.

 

But back then, who knew that add on hardware just would not last in the marketplace?

 

Yes, in hindsight, the Supercharger really is a forerunner of the Jupiter oops, 32X, only it was done without another system hogging up R&D resources (hint, hint).

 

If you don't like Arcadia, then don't buy their games or hardware. That'll make it easier for those of us who do like them to finish our collections.

Edited December 9, 2006 by shadow460

[godzillajoe]

I will say that I liked how their games were numbered on the boxes with huge numbers. if Atari did that I'd be buying boxed instead of loose. It's pretty cool to have 1-7 all lined up right there

 

This thread has been very interesting and I'll have to revisit some of their games in the future.

 

Admittedly I did only try them out for a few minutes to make sure the unit worked.

[jboypacman]

Of the ones i have played on a friends emulator i really got into Fireball.I just thought it was a kick butt version of Breakout.My friend plays Communist Mutants from Space alot its one the reasons he has the emulator on his computer.

[PressureCooker2600]

yea....you gotta admit that number scheme on the boxes was pretty damn cool

[PressureCooker2600]

now heres a stupid question.....you plug in the connector to a headphone jack and hit play on the tape.....so wouldn't the tape ever reach an end and stop like a regular cassette tape

[Big Player]

now heres a stupid question.....you plug in the connector to a headphone jack and hit play on the tape.....so wouldn't the tape ever reach an end and stop like a regular cassette tape

 

You get a screen display "Stop Tape" after the game has loaded. It lasts for a second or two before the game comes up.

 

Only the multi-load games need to have the tape stopped so the next level will get loaded correctly. But it only takes approximately 10 seconds to load the games, so there is no need to take your hand off the tape player.

[PressureCooker2600]

now heres a stupid question.....you plug in the connector to a headphone jack and hit play on the tape.....so wouldn't the tape ever reach an end and stop like a regular cassette tape

 

You get a screen display "Stop Tape" after the game has loaded. It lasts for a second or two before the game comes up.

 

Only the multi-load games need to have the tape stopped so the next level will get loaded correctly. But it only takes approximately 10 seconds to load the games, so there is no need to take your hand off the tape player.

 

thanks...i always wondered how the hell that worked

[godzillajoe]

I believe there are two copies of the game on each side of the tape so you never really have to rewind anything.

 

I never actually used the tapes because I would hate for my temperamental Walkman that has been collecting dust for 10 years to eat them as I plan on selling them after the holidays.

 

I loaded the roms from a laptop and have since bought a SGENB CD.

 

In fact, now seems like a good time to play some Killer Satellites.

[rheffera]

Well i guess its like 2600 carts, some games are better than others and some like carts others dont. all a matter of opinion

[Paranoid]

I will say that I liked how their games were numbered on the boxes with huge numbers. if Atari did that I'd be buying boxed instead of loose. It's pretty cool to have 1-7 all lined up right there

 

This thread has been very interesting and I'll have to revisit some of their games in the future.

 

Admittedly I did only try them out for a few minutes to make sure the unit worked.

 

 

Yeah, you might have maybe should have given the games a spin on Stella before you dropped change on the actual hardware. BTW, if you're playing the games off tape, put those puppies in storage and hunt yourself down a copy of Stella Gets a New Brain on CD. Much more durable solution for long term *gaming*. The tapes are a pretty consumable media format.

 

Their best titles do have to grow on you. Dragonstomper is an *involved* adventure that requires a lot of strategy. You need to stay in the first load until you've built up your stats and collected a good trove of gold and treasure. Then in the second load, you have to buy the *right* materials and resources... in the dungeon, well... there is a strategy there, as well. Learn to avoid traps, and how to effectively confront the dragon. It'll take you a lot longer to beat the dragon for the first time than it took to find the chalice on Lvl 3 on Adventure the first time. I don't think I have *ever* converted the dragon/stole the gem back. I always killed him. It adds up to a game with a LOT of replay value, til this day.

 

Mindmaster didn't age as well for me... it is equally frustrating and repetitive now that I am older... but it was highly mentally stimulating when I was a kid. It is still interesting, and, IMO, a technical masterpiece considering the era and the platform.

 

The rest were almost all just interesting and expanded interpetations of other staple titles (Breakout, Asteroids, Galaxian, etc). In some cases, I think the Supercharger buries the cart based alternative, like Frogger. Supercharger Frogger rises to the level of 5200 Frogger. Parker Bros frogger is decent, yet is CLEARLY a 2600 arcade port. I guess the best example I can give is that if Supercharger had a Donkey Kong, it would feel like the 5200/8 bit Donkey Kong, whereas the 2600 Donkey Kong is clearly a 2600 title...

 

That is... 2600 PB Frogger is to 2600 Donkey Kong as Supercharger Frogger is to 5200/8bit Donkey Kong.

 

I spent the entire day in a Debate Tournament. I just can't form any more coherent thoughts from a critical perspective. I've squeezed them all out of my head for the day.

[Mezrabad]

That is flat out not true. The CV, Supercharger and 5200 were all released in the fall of 1982. By the time the SC price dropped, other games had dropped as well so it was more four times the typical cart. Communist Mutants was also competing with good vertical shooters like Phoenix and Megamania, which were far more interesting.

 

So for the price of Starmaster, Parker's Frogger, Megamania and Asteroids you could get a Supercharger with Phaser Patrol. Not a wise deal.

 

You are probably right about the price, after all, I had to borrow a Supercharger in order to play it. However, since the Supercharger was out of my price range you can bet that the ColecoVision and 5200 were even farther out. Of course, all that would change circa 1984, when the friend who loaned me the Supercharger was able to buy a 5200 for what was supposedly very little. Of course, by then, I'd moved on to the Commodore 64, something for which, oddly, my parents had been willing to spend the money.

 

Still, I don't know of a game like Dragonstomper or even like MindMaster on the 5200, though I'm told ColecoVision has a pretty good version of Gateway to Apshai (Aphsai?).

[+SpiceWare]

Of course, by then, I'd moved on to the Commodore 64, something for which, oddly, my parents had been willing to spend the money.

Not that odd, a C= 64 could do a lot more than just play games.

[PressureCooker2600]

That is flat out not true. The CV, Supercharger and 5200 were all released in the fall of 1982. By the time the SC price dropped, other games had dropped as well so it was more four times the typical cart. Communist Mutants was also competing with good vertical shooters like Phoenix and Megamania, which were far more interesting.

 

So for the price of Starmaster, Parker's Frogger, Megamania and Asteroids you could get a Supercharger with Phaser Patrol. Not a wise deal.

 

You are probably right about the price, after all, I had to borrow a Supercharger in order to play it. However, since the Supercharger was out of my price range you can bet that the ColecoVision and 5200 were even farther out. Of course, all that would change circa 1984, when the friend who loaned me the Supercharger was able to buy a 5200 for what was supposedly very little. Of course, by then, I'd moved on to the Commodore 64, something for which, oddly, my parents had been willing to spend the money.

 

Still, I don't know of a game like Dragonstomper or even like MindMaster on the 5200, though I'm told ColecoVision has a pretty good version of Gateway to Apshai (Aphsai?).

 

dont know about colecos gateway to asphai but i had it on the C64 and it was one of my favorite games on the computer. now i have it on a C64 plug-and-play joystick

[ubersaurus]

I dig all the supercharger games. But the one I really loved was the original prototype version of Suicide Mission that had the Asteroids style physics in it. Now THAT was a spot on port of Asteroids, and I don't think a better one came long until the 7800's. Shame Atari didn't let it get out like that-it would have rocked hard.

[mos6507]

I believe there are two copies of the game on each side of the tape so you never really have to rewind anything.

 

The two copies on opposite sides of the tape were not meant as a way to reload games without rewinding. They were recorded at two different speeds. If your tape player had bad heads or the tape started developing dropouts you could switch to the slower speed. The Supercharger audio decoding hardware had the advantage over others in not being keyed to a single baud rate but could work over a fairly wide range. This meant it could go slower than the norm as in this case or faster in the case of cleaner digital signals on CD or via makewav/playbin (Turbo mode).

 

Another cool feature was the inclusion of noninteractive demos of other games on the tapes. I don't know of any other cases this was done with cassette games, but it was really a great idea. It didn't cost them anything extra to do this and it gave players a really accurate look at the other titles.

[Mezrabad]

Of course, by then, I'd moved on to the Commodore 64, something for which, oddly, my parents had been willing to spend the money.

Not that odd, a C= 64 could do a lot more than just play games.

 

When I said "oddly" I meant that it wasn't odd at all. The tone was somewhere between sarcasm and irony. By careless oversight, I neglected to include an emoticon so I'm sure you're not the only one who mistook me seriously.

 

Yes, of course, they were willing to spend the dough on a C-64; it was an actual computer on which we could potentially learn to do things. In that spirit, I learned to do things like play Gateway to Aphsai, about a half dozen Infocom text adventures, Hacker, Aliens and Impossible Mission. Obviously, their money wasn't wasted.

[PressureCooker2600]

dude......Aliens was my favorite game on the C64.....that game was so fuckin awesome.....i wish there had been more ports of it.....especially for a console system

[godzillajoe]

I first learned how to program on my Timex Sinclair 1000

 

And how to download .GIF files of Samantha Fox on the C= 64

 

Rock Star Ate My Hamster!

[shadow460]

Still, I don't know of a game like Dragonstomper or even like MindMaster on the 5200, though I'm told ColecoVision has a pretty good version of Gateway to Apshai (Aphsai?).

 

Escape From the MindMaster is available for the ColecoVision. The game's graphics were totally redone and the result is way less than stellar. The 2600 version blows away its CV counterpart.

[Zoyx]

I have all of SuperCharger tapes (no prototypes, however). Sounds like you can transfer these to CD. What is the best technique for this. Do you use MS Sound Recorder to make a .wav file, then burn to CD as a music CD?