Justin

THANK YOU for hosting this cool Evercade event @RickR 🙌

Well, it's pouring in California right now, so I decided to add to the misery & keep playing Midnight Magic*. New PB: 149,155
 
 
 
*I think I have reset this game about 250 times

132,480.
 

It's still raining in LA so I can't look up to see if the planets have aligned: 209,250
 

I feel so good about myself when I have the bumbers/center pin enabled and still manage to sink the ball anyways 😄
071775

New personal best:  193,675
I want to add a nitpick!  Every so often the ball comes down a return lane and manages to sort of "hover" over the flippers, regardless of the player activating said flippers, then plops right down the drain, ha!!

This score was particularly aggravating - after getting 187,000 on Ball 1, the table sank the next four balls in rapid succession.  This table hates the player and is not afraid to show it 😆

Alright, after obsessively playing this for far too long, managed to crawl all the way up to a 5x multiplier (but that lasted all of one entire second, ha).

412,185 on the 7800.

OK, just played a quick game.  Got a better score... 155,590

102,670.
 

190380
 

THANK YOU for hosting this cool Evercade event @RickR 🙌

Let's get the word out about this Recharged Squad Challenge!
The more people participating the more fun the challenge!
Spread the word and invite friends to play!

Berzerk: Recharged (2023)
Atari VCS
Controller: MODERN CONTROLLER / CLASSIC CONTROLLER / PLAYER'S CHOICE
Difficulty Level: Normal Game, Arcade Mode
Play on: Real Hardware ✔
Squad Challenge ends 11:59 pm PST March 31, 2024
 
 
Objective
Play for the highest possible score using the difficulty settings defined in the challenge. Post a photo or YouTube video of your score in this thread. Scores must be achieved between February 1st through February 29, 2024. Screen captures are not allowed as they are more easily manipulated for falsified scores. Multiple submissions are permitted. The player with the highest score at the end of the competition is the victor!
 
Eligibility
This is a Club VCS Exclusive Challenge. All Club VCS players are welcome!
 
Play Rules
Games may be played on real Atari VCS hardware. Choosing which controller to play on is part of formulating your strategy. Enhancements, rewinds and hacked versions of this game are not allowed.
 
Difficulty Level
We are playing BERZERK: RECHARGED in ARCADE MODE! Select your score modifiers of choice and fight like a robot to achieve the highest possible score! 
 
Fair Play
Your integrity is everything. Players should play fairly, be honest, and have fun! Falsified scores will result in your immediate removal from the site. It goes without saying that we will not allow cheats, hacks, cartridge frying, enhancements, rewinds, deceitful photo manipulation, subterfuge, or any other unfair advantage. Everybody hates a cheater.
 
More
To review detailed rules on how to play, please visit the High Score Squad page here: 
 
 
Message
Welcome to our 25th Club VCS Recharged Squad Challenge!!! For this challenge, we're taking on SqueakyBox and Atari's take on the classic Stern arcade title Berzerk!
When Atari announced its acquisition of a dozen Stern Electronics retro game IPs in March 2023, including Berzerk, everyone wondered how long it would take for the publisher to release BERZERK: RECHARGED.  Nine months later, a frenetic twin-stick shooter with a divisive art style and play mechanics.  As we wrote in Issue 01 of the Club VCS Fanzine preview, the design has received a mixed response from fans.  Some have likened the player character to a ‘50s sci-fi version of Conan O’brien. Others pine for a more traditional take on the robots and Evil Otto.
Taken on it's own, BERZERK: RECHARGED is a solid twin-stick and a lot of fun.  But don't take my word for.  Join in the challenge and fight like a robot!
Play in ARCADE mode from level one and take the game as far as you can for the high score!
 
Club VCS Recharged Squad Contest
This game is the third title in our fifth Club VCS contest giveaway! Prize details will be announced shortly.   This time we're going a full 12 rounds with the winner announced in January 2025!
 
1)  All challenge participants will receive one (1) entry for each challenge in which they submit a valid score!
2) The top scorer of each challenge will receive two (2) additional entries - for a total of three (3) entries in a single challenge!
3) On Twitch or Youtube?  Stream or record and post your ClubVCS high score attempt for one (1) additional entry in each round.  You must post a public link to the video in the Challenge.
This contest is open to everybody, including Atari I/O Moderators, with a U.S. or Canada  mailing address. It's really easy, all you have to do is participate be a Club VCS member and participate in our Recharged Squad Challenges.
 

 

THANK YOU to all that participated in this first "Lets all play" event.  I had a lot of fun with the Irem games and I hope you did too. 
I'm going to have to shelve this series temporarily due to personal issues that need my time and focus.  But if anyone else would like to choose a next game and start the ball rolling, I'm willing to help with the initial post and such. 
We will eventually get back to this.  In the meantime, don't forget to share any of your retro adventures on the Evercade in our club.
 
 

Here are the contest totals for the Series IV Giveaway ended December 31, 2023.  There are 38 entries total and an official Tempest Dad hat is up for grabs! If anyone does not wish to participate, please let me know by Thursday, March 15, 9:00 PM PST.  A winner will be named this month and the SERIES V prize will be revealed.
@D.joe - 5 entries
@jbmindtrick - 1 entry
@Mockduck - 8 entries
@RickR - 5 entries
@Sabertooth - 8 entries
@socrates63 - 2 entries
@Smell Dawg - 8 entries
@Yorkies TV - 1 entry

Congratulations MOCKDUCK!
 
Congratulations @Mockduck!  He takes the win in our Caverns of Mars: Recharged Challenge!
@Mockduck deftly piloted his craft to the center of the red planet, destroying the Martian core and taking the top spot with 221,935!  @Sabertooth broke the 200K barrier to take second with 201,265.  @Cryptocoffee13 blasted through Martian defenses with 199,365 for a third place finish.  @Atari 5200 Guy blistered underground cities with a solid score of 87,025.  @socrates63 and @RickR rounded out the final standings with 50,480 and 5,410, respectively.
If you want to see a solid run and gameplay strategy, I encourage you to check out Mockduck's video in the post above. 
As the winner of this round @Mockduck will receive three entries, plus a bonus entry for sharing his attempt on YouTube!  That's four (4) entries total!
Everyone else will receive one entry!
I'd like to encourage @Mockduck to post this high score on the Scoreboard so we can make sure this Challenge continues on!
The red planet is a hostile place where only the best pilots survive.  Congratulations to Mockduck on a fantastic win and to everyone else who jumped in!  MPG was the MVP of this round!

NOTE: Series Five of the Recharged Squad Challenge  continues with Berzerk: Recharged!  Be There!

Release Date: 3/29/24
Retail: $5.99
Developer: pixel games SARL-S
Publisher: pixel games SARL-S
Official Site
Synopsis:
Holy cow, it's all about the moooney! Embark on an udderly jolly adventure to rescue Cash Cow's riches from the clutches of the greedy Pig Pockets and reclaim what's rightfully hers! Get ready for a blast from the past with an 80s inspired arcade experience released 40 years late...
Features
    5 multi-screen levels, bonus stages and secrets     player speed selection: normal or turbo     arcade, speedrun and marathon modes     delightful chiptunes by Vincent Verger aka Tuï     illustration and official merch by Pete Ellison     B/W and color TV compatible (unplug antenna first)     cross-platform, worldwide leaderboards  

Welcome to the official topic for
CA$H COW DX
 

IMO, this was a really good interview. They covered several topics that should be informative for all, especially folks that may be new to the homebrew scene. 
 

I wonder if this fixes the double dragon ladder glitch of doom...

Here is some great information about use of an SD card from Facebook user "Mark McCabe" in the "Atari Gamestation Pro" group.
Using an SD Card in the GameStation Pro
From what I have read, the SD Micro card should be formatted to exFAT according to most users, some say FAT32 will work too I know for certain exFAT does work.. Top level folder should be named "Games" (the first letter must be a Capitol G or it won't work). If you have Firmware version V1.30 (or higher) Gamestation will support subfolders, if you have the original V1.20 it will not. in V1.30 and above. pressing the Home and Start button at the same time allows you switch to the SD card games menu, while pressing Home returns you to the internal games menu. If you have the original V1.20 you need to cycle power and go through the normal startup menu method. Suggested replacements for the OEM joysticks are the XBox1 or XBox PRO controllers.
  Supported ROM Files
.a26 - Atari 2600 Should play pretty much all # ** .a52 - Atari 5200 May not play many of them # .a78 - Atari 7800 Should play all ,gb - Game Boy (Black and White) .gba - Game Boy Advanced .gbc - Game Boy Color .bin - Sega Genesis just rename any .md files to .bin (they are the same) .sms - Sega Master System only with firmware 1.30 or higher .nes - NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) .sfc - Super Nintendo only with firmware 1.30 or higher*** MAME - Circa 2000 Arcade ROMS seem to work best Leave them in zipped format on the SD card. Archive.org has a selection of them. One youtuber recommends the 0.139 archive. .pce - TurboGraphic16 PC engine games only with firmware 1.30 or higher***
  Notes: ** In V1.30 they added paddle support to the 2600 SD card games. Make a subfolder named "Atari 2600 Paddle" and put the 2600 games that require the paddle functionality into that folder and the paddles will work. Notes: *** These games have issues with the controller due to button mapping. Hopefully in the next update they will allow users to remap their controllers to support these games better. Notes: # Many of these games when downloaded are in name.bin format as that is what some emulators expect. You can rename these, Foe example you can rename an atari 2600 name.bin file to name.a26 and it will work in the GameStation Pro just fine.

Sometime back I designed a two PCB set to help with installing mini din connectors in my Intellivision service work. I had requests from others to provide these files so that the PCBs can be used by all that might want to use them. Here is a link to the PDF guide that details the assembly process for the PCBs for use in the Intellivision 2609 model consoles. These can also be used on the Super Pro System and INTV III consoles as they are designed for installing in place of the RF modulator to provide a no cut solution for AV upgrades.
Link to 2609 mount board assembly PDF guide
The advantage of these mount boards is that being a 2 part PCB means I can use the same bottom base PCB for both model 2609 and INTV II consoles. With only the top PCB portion being different. Here is an example install I did very recently showing one of the completely mount board setups in place in a 2609 Intellivision that received an RGB upgrade. Here I used a 9pin mini din for the RGB and audio, but also the 9pin allows for composite to be wired up. This means that any Sega Genesis/MD model 2 AV cable setup can be used.

 
And the mount board has room to allow for aligning the mini din connector to be as centered as much as is possible.

 
I've also attached the PDF to this post to make it easier. Links for the gerber files to have PCBs made up can be found within the PDF. I do plan to make something similar for the INTV II model consoles as those have their own mount board PCB setup but is similar to build and use as the one shown here.
I've also released a video on my YT channel going through the assembly process and use of the mount PCBs into an actual 2609 model console I recently finished up for a client. The lighting is horrible on this as I had the exposure set way to high, but didn't really noticed until the very end so I apologize for that. Still, it shows detailed enough on how to use these PCBs.
 
 

Edition #3 for March is now out:

http://allthingscolecovision.com/