CrossBow
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Posts posted by CrossBow
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Well as I sold my composite/svid/audio RCA Atari 8-bit cable for a client this past weekend. The only cable I have now is my s-video output only cable from Hercules for my Atari 8-bits and I'm pretty sure that isn't going to work on my Ti or Vic since those put out s-video from their monitor ports right?
I see that Brewing Academy has them for the Ti with the longest offered being a 1.5m cable and composite/audio only. So I will see about adding one of those on my next order with them in the future.
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I need to get a replacement AV cable for mine first. I kinda gave away/sold the one I was using with my Ti and Vic-20 to a client this weekend that brought their Atari 400 over for an s-video upgrade. They didn't have a cable for it...
Is there a recommended site for a good quality cable for the Ti?
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Last time I pulled mine out of its box was to verify the cable I had would provide decent composite output from it and to check out my copy of Dragon's Lair 😉
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I have a HOKEY in my concerto that I picked up at PRGE. However, I have seen some graphical glitches on a few games like Commando and speaking of that, the audio is still not quite right in some places with the HOKEY in place. Fred has confirmed these issues and states he is looking into it. In the meantime, I've put a spare HOKEY into my older Mateos 16 in 1 cart as for what I use that for these days, the HOKEY is fine for it and will stick with using my DragonFly for actual multi game playing until the 7800GD comes out.
HOKEY is a great thing to see and have, but it does require some specific tweaks to make it work on a game by game basis. All of the new homebrew releases for the 7800 at PRGE that required POKEY audio in fact used HOKEYs in them, but each game required the HOKEY to be tweaked to sound correctly and I think on some of the games, the code on them had to be altered for the HOKEY to work. So even popping in a normal POKEY into those games might not work due to the changes needed for the HOKEY to work in them. But I'm not cracking open my Popeye or Petscii Robots carts to test that.
I do hope that whatever small issues remain with the HOKEY, Fred is able to iron out soon and able to provide a means to update the current ones.
- Sabertooth, TrekMD and RickR
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Been a bit since there was any new content added to the Intellivision section here so I'm going to break up that ice a bit.
Did anyone else besides me who attended PRGE also pick up any of the new Intellivision games from the Intellivision Revolutionaries booth? I picked up 3 games:
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Bank Panic
Parsec
I've only played Raiders and Bank Panic so far but they are both pretty impressive games! Bank Panic especially surprised me with how well it actually plays using the default controller. Using the keypad on that game to control the shots for the left,middle, and right doors is simple and prevents any fumbling which, is critical for this game since reaction times matter. And the overall graphics while of course not matching the arcade, are still quite good and it is just a general blast to play!
Raiders... Hmm.. Okay. Now there are a TON of spoilers ahead for this game, so if you haven't played it or don't know how to play it and want everything to be a surprise, then do NOT read beyond this point. If you would also rather not read all of this and see it in action instead, then I did a live stream game play through to the end last night. It isn't very long since the game is pretty short to play if you know what needs to be done. Again, it is a complete walk through play of the game so only watch if that isn't important to you.
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1636291689
SpoilerSo it is a direct port of the 2600 version of the game by HSW. That said, there are some changes to the core game play in the Intellivision version over the 2600 version that in my mind, make the game much easier than the 2600 version. Before I get to those differences, I will say that I really like the new graphical overhaul they have given to the game. It is very much what a port of a 2600 game to a better spec system should look like. The Indy sprite still looks basically the same and has the same smooth walking animation and that is good. And again the game play is a port of the 2600. Sounds are also similar but with that Intellivision sound to them. Now..about those differences:
- In the 2600 version you have a limit of only 6 items at a time that you can carry in your inventory. So in order to get through some parts of the 2600 game it becomes required to have to juggle what you really need vs want in order to get some items. On This new Intellivision port, this isn't an issue as you can carry a bunch of stuff all at once. This I consider a win in the Intellivision versions favor but does make the game overall much easier than the 2600 version. However,...
- There are 2 items that work very similar to each other in both the 2600 and Intellivision games. They are the hour glass an the Ankh. Both of which are gotten from the temple of the gods. They work the same in that both act as a grappling hook device that is needed to traverse the mesas section of the game. However, the difference between them is that the hour glass can be used and put away as needed in the 2600 version. The Ankh on the other hand, will not let you unequip it once you have it equipped and so you have to drop it when you are done with it on the 2600 version in order to have control of Indy again and move onto the next screen. The main advantage of the Ankh over the hour glass, is that when you activate the Ankh from most anywhere in the game, it will teleport you to the Mesas part of the game instantly. It is also nice to have in case you fall, because you can quickly teleport back to the top of the mesas before hitting the ground an losing a life in the process. The Hour glass does not teleport you and will not save your life if you fall and try to use it. Both of these items are in the Intellivision version as well. But unlike the 2600 version, you can also equip and unequip the Ankh. Therefore the hour glass is pointless to even get or use in the Intellivision version of the game since the Ankh does it all and you aren't stuck in grappling mode using it as you are in the 2600 version. This I'm undecided on being good or bad in the case of the Intellivision version. But it does seem like the hour glass is redundant and is a waste to include in the game.
- In the 2600 version of the game, there is a spider room and the spider only comes after you if your character happens to touch the spiders web, dictated by a small dot that shoots out from the spider that is hiding at the center of the screen. On the Intellivision version, the spider is always visible and will always come directly at the player character regardless. The spider in the Intellivision version also shoots out webs at the player character that if hit, will cause Indy to remain frozen on the screen for several seconds. So in the case of this room, the 2600 version is the easier of the two I think and this is a win for the Intellivision version.
- In the 2600 version there is a room with a timepiece that you can pick up. The only purpose of the timepiece is to give you an idea on what time of day it is so that you know how much longer you might have to wait in the map room later on. This object basically works the same in both versions of the game. Although on the Intellivision port, when you use the timepiece it will show the current time in 24hour format. In both versions of the game, the sun rises at around 12 noon so again, it is nice to have so you can see how long a wait it might be.
- In the 2600 version you have to be in very specific spots of the screen when exiting to the next screen or else Indy can fall to his death. These aren't issues in the Intellivision version. Examples of this are going to the map room from he Mesas and while in the map room itself. Again, on the 2600 version you had to be centered in parts of the screen or paths you walk to prevent from falling. In the intellivision version, the map room is a full size room with the map room being locked in a chamber within the room. So no risk of falling. Not sure if this is a win or not in the Intellivision's favor since I never had too much issue with it on the 2600 once I knew where I needed to be. But for new players it does make it much easier to play with less frustration on the Intellivision
- There are two parts in the 2600 game where there are thieves that move back and forth from the left and right sides of the screen that you have to dodge. One is the screen on the way to the black market, and the other on the way to the well of the souls. On the 2600 version you are safe on pretty much every other line of this since the thieves stay on their horizontal paths they enter the screen on. But on the Intellivision version, there are always two thieves on these screens and they come straight for the player. This is actually a more difficult screen on the Intellivision and I think is a win towards the intellivision version. It really makes the digging more difficult on the well of souls at the end because you have to move back and forth to dig but also dispatch the thieves that come after you at the same time.
- There is a character known as the Raving Lunatic on the 2600 version that doesn't move around. He is just a static object on the screen that represents a person. If you try and cross anywhere past him horizontally, then a quick black line appears on the screen and you lose a life. This character is present on the Intellivision version as well but in the manual it states he is harmless and to ignore him. And yes... you can move all around him without worry in the Intellivision version and nothing will happen to Indy. I do think this should have been added but maybe have the raving lunatic move around the screen erratically and slower than the thieves so he would at least be a threat to Indy instead of just sitting there and looking cool on the screen. So I don't consider that a win for the Intellivision version.
- There is a Gun you can get early in the game on both versions. On the 2600 version, you initially have 6 bullets when you buy the gun. Additional bullets can be purchased in the black market but only 3 bullets at a time with each one costing a back of gold. On the intellivision version, the gun has NO ammo when you first pick it up. Therefore, the only way to get ammo for it at the black market. However, unlike the 2600 version which, features limited ammo, once you buy the ammo on the Intellivision version, you have unlimited bullets from then on. I also do NOT consider this a win for the Intellivision version because it pretty much makes the gun pointless to have. Getting to the black market is towards the latter portion of the game so it seems pointless to not be able to use it until near the end when you might not even need it depending on how familiar you are with the game.
- Secret escape from guardian light room. In the 2600 version of the game, it was possible to move Indy in such a way that you could escape the dungeons in the light room that you go through on your way to the temple of the gods. However, escaping via this method would cause two of the doors in the time piece cave to close permanently and the one remaining way to exit to slowly start to close on you. So if you took too long getting around and having to retrace your steps, there would come a point that you could no longer access this part of the game if you triggered the trap with the doors. This same feature is in the Intellivision version, in that you can eventually escape the dungeon on the screen, but doing so will only cause the two bottom exits in the time piece cave to be closed off. The slowly descending door does not appear to be present in the Intellivision version so again, there isn't really a penalty for using this method as was initially intended on the 2600 version. So I do not consider this a win for the Intellivision version but some might like this option more.
So all of this sounds pretty cool and makes the Intellivision version seem pretty balanced with the 2600 version righ?! Well.. not quite. There is one... very LARGE difference between the 2600 original and this new port. And I think it is critical for replay value.
On the 2600 version, the location for the well of souls will randomly change from game to game. So you always have to visit the map room each time you play in order to know where the well of souls is. But in the Intellivision version... it never changes location. It is always in the same place each time. I played 3 games in a row yesterday and each game, the well of souls was in the exact same spot on the mesas. The kicker is, that the secret opening in the mesa wall that you have to use the parachute to get into, will NOT appear until you go through the map room process. So even though the location never seems to change, you still have to go through the full routine to find it before it is accessible to access the well of souls.
So overall I feel like the new graphics and sounds are a great addition and make the port very much worth playing. But more time could have gone into actually randomize the ark location from game to game to make it have more replay value. The addition of both the hour glass and Ankh is also a misstep because I think they could have done away with the hour glass and perhaps created a new item that Indy could use somewhere in the game. Or kept the 2600s feature where the Ankh remains constantly active and forcing you to drop it in some manner in order to proceed to the next screen.
Another interesting thing in regards to the 2600 manual, is that there is a section that states that in the map room is a symbol telling you which item you need in the map room. While this was never made to be a random item in the 2600 game, it might have been cool to do that in the Intellivision version. Yes I know the head piece on the staff of Ra is what was needed in the movie and it is here as well, but with the other liberties that were taken on the game play and locations, it wouldn't be that big of a stretch to have more than one such item that might have to be found and used first? Heck, while it would require adding a lot to the game, it would have been cool to have to do some stuff to first find where the head piece was located, and then have to find that first, and then have to buy a staff for it an then find the map room and well of souls. It would make the game play much more interesting although it would be more complex vs the 2600 version. I get they were trying to port the 2600 version an keep that. But then so many other changes were made that sorta detract from it being a true port. They did leave the YAR easter egg in there and the same method to activate it on the 2600 is done on the Intellivision version as well. However, unlike the 2600 version, it doesn't appear that there is a way to unlock HSW's initials in the game. Likely because he of course didn't have anything to do with this version of the game.
I also meant to add that like the 2600 version, there isn't a direct score in the game. When you beat the game on the 2600 version, Indy will be on a scissor lift like pedestal reaching up towards the ark. The height that Indy is at at the end of the game, indicates how many Adventure Points you earned. So the higher Indy is the better. The Intellivision version has this same feature. And it seems that to get the highest score requires getting and using all of the items at least once. Must use the secret escape method from the dungeons at least once. And last, you have to activate the Yar easter egg in the game.
I will have to give Parsec a try soon since I was told it does support the Intellivoice module and has all the same speech as the Ti original. Although I was never that good at the Ti version, more games for the Intellivision can only be a good thing!
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My replacement Aquaventure manual arrived the other day. It is funny because I doubled checked all of my emails from AtariXP and none of them mentioned the manual and only the replacement carts. So I'm not complaining just odd that I didn't receive an email regarding it being on the way or anything.
In other news, I shipped my original carts back to them on Saturday, and they were already delivered by Monday?! USPS has been on their game with my shipments lately. I shipped a console back out to its owner on Monday afternoon and the owner got it yesterday morning?! It wasn't supposed to be delivered until today, so quite impressive times. And that was from here in Oklahoma to Connecticut.
I need to look carefully at the replacement manual, because it actually seems like it it might be smaller and more cut down content wise than the original was? But I only took a cursory glance through the original. Enough to verify the missing page anyway in my original.
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3 hours ago, TrekMD said:
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Where did you find this?! And what is on the Genesis cart or is it just a static item? I have the collectors edition of this from LRG when it was first released and it came with the sound track but only on cassette tape so I had to be creative with finding another version that I would want to listen to sometimes.
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26 minutes ago, Sabertooth said:
I really want to get Popeye for the 7800. How is it @CrossBow ?
Pretty much arcade perfect near as I can tell and all the quarter munching difficulty that comes with it too! I'm likely to live stream some of the new games over the weekend to give others a look in more detail. But I wasn't even able to finish the second board on my play of it a bit last night.
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Trust me when I say it isn't much. Compared to what I know @sramirez2008 and @TrekMD picked up plus others I saw walking about with several grocery sized cloth bags full of stuff. No... mine is a pittance in pickups for what a person might normally get a convention.
And to be quite fair, there are quite a few more AtariAge releases I plan to get, but since many of them didn't have the boxes ready at the show, I decided I will wait until they hit the AA store next month.
One game I've quite disappointed about is E.X.O. It was supposed to get released at PRGE, but due to issues with the HOKEY still not working right with it, that wasn't possible. It has been told to Muddyfunster that E.X.O. isn't likely to come out until 2nd or 3rd qtr of 2023 possibly.
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1 hour ago, Sabertooth said:
Thanks for sharing the side-by-side @CrossBow . Fortunately, my originals weren't nearly that rough. It's amazing that Atari's manufacturing partner shipped anything like that out the door.
Well Saboteur was the worst of them. But they all have that odd light edging on them where the lamination layer is very obvious. This isn't seen on the newer labels. So yeah again, I've no issues with sending them back these sub part quality initial carts.
My current issue with both original and newer carts, is that there is some slop in the PCB because I have to kinda wiggle the cart when inserting it for it to actually seat and go into the slot properly. I don't seem to have this issue with other carts. But it is a minor thing.
- MaximumRD, RickR and Sabertooth
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My latest pickups are of course from PRGE 2022! I didn't get as much this year as I have in the past, but that was mostly due to just being very busy the entire weekend and also a lack of space in my suitcase for the return trip home. Additionally, I had a heads up that some of the new releases at AtariAge might not actually be available and boxes not available so I decided to wait until everything is in the store later for other stuff I'm wanting to get. That said...here is what I did grab.
First up is a new Atari 8-bit game from the AtariAge booth. I already own Adventure II with all the feelies for the 5200, but I know that Ron made some refinements to the game on this newer XE release and I just couldn't say no to that box art! The other 3 are new releases from the Intellivision Revolution booth. And yes, that Raiders is indeed a remake of the 2600 game but with enhanced Intelly graphics! Parsec is a port of the Ti-99 game and even retains the Ti logo in the background and makes use of the Intellivoice module!
These are my pickups mainly from the AtariAge booth. I was able to get the new release of Popeye for the 7800, along with Gorf Arcade for the 2600 and one of only about a dozen available working carts of Petscii Robots for the 7800. Petscii comes with a new SNES 2 Atari adapter that as the name implies, allows you to use the SNES controller with the game on a 7800. Astro Grover I picked up from John Hancock's booth and is one of the original 50 released and sold back during PRGE 2012. And I was even able to hand out a few of my new ITC cards to folks that were interested in console upgrades and services.
The last of my pickups came from the AA booth, Songbird, and another vendor that had some excellent prices on games and hardware. I picked up Asteroite for the Jaguar, a Jaguar Gamedrive (My biggest purchase of the event), one of Fred's latest Concerto's with a HOKEY chip pre-installed, an extra HOKEY to use in whatever I want, an extra AtariVox+ for use mainly with my Vectrex, and then an interesting but very decent controller and the Mr. Do and manual for the 2600. To give an idea on pricing, the Mr. Do with the manual was only $15. That was a great price and I saw at least one other Mr. Do at the event sans manual and with a much worse label that a vendor was asking $40 for?!
So yeah, I didn't pick up that much but I still manage to spend about what I always do all the same LOL!
- RickR, socrates63, TrekMD and 2 others
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@socrates63 Oh yes I was most certainly there indeed! My wife and I were the other two folks working the AA booth to help out Al and April. You also have a Sears INTV that I installed an earlier RGB upgrade board into in addition to the 5200 btw. Although we should talk about possibly having me replace that older board out sometime with one of the newer ones that works much better on today's scalers.
As for PRGE I had a great time but it was also a lot of work for me this year. As some of you may or may not know, I had suspended my services to the public over the summer. The reason was because Albert commissioned me to work on a lot of consoles to have ready for PRGE this year. In total I upgraded and serviced 22 consoles that were all present at PRGE and setup for people to play and check out the new games on. So yes, it was more work than usual for me this year! I wasn't able to take many pics at all because I was so busy running around that I just didn't think about it honestly. But I did get a few pics of the setup after we had finished up late Friday night. Sorry for the bad lighting, but it was actually only about this bright during setup.
I didn't pick up nearly as much as I usually do when I attend events like this. But that was mostly because I was limited on space in my suitcase for the return home. And as many of the games didn't have their boxes ready for the show, I decided I would grab them later when they are being sold in the store next month. What I did get, I will post in the new pickups thread.
I do believe this was the most systems that AtariAge has has setup at once for any event. I think it was 40 systems in total? There were 5 Jaguars setup, 4 5200s setup, 7 7800s setup, and the rest were 2600s. It was one of the most visually impressive setups at the event this year!
- socrates63, RickR and Sabertooth
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I had meant to post this here earlier and forgot. But here is an example of why I have NO problem sending them my original non working carts. In the pics below you can see that my originally received Saboteur has a nasty bubble line across the middle of it where the lamination layer didn't take well. If you look closely, you can see something similar around the edges of the label as well and all three of the originally received carts have something similar on them. The replacement on the right looks great and doesn't have any of these issues, plus it actually works.
- RickR and Sabertooth
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Well my plan to pick up a 32k sidecar or something didn't happen as it appears that the Brewing Academy didn't actually setup at PRGE. Although they were on the floor plan I never saw them. So I guess I'm back to looking for the best way to have a 32x expansion an still be able to use the speech module?
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Strangely I've NOT gotten any notices about the manuals. Only the notice that my carts had shipped and been delivered. Nothing since. It isn't that big a deal but I did already replace the carts with the new ones that work and have the originals boxed back up an labeled ready to send back to Atari XP in Philly.
I'm kinda surprised there are folks that don't plan to send their originals back as they feel it is part of the story and collection of the games? Funny to hear these same folks get bent out of shape about the games now working and demanding Atari fix the issue and then also feel okay with keeping the buggered carts? I hope that Atari XP has their card info on file and charges those folks for at least the cost of the replacements and shipping. If they had given the option, that is one thing, but they specifically ask in the emails that we return the originals, and there is a letter in the box with the replacements asking again to send back the originals.
The recycle process is likely nothing more than gutting them open to reuse the shells in future releases and I think that is fine. The current Atari and their smaller companies they are working with, do at least appear to be trying and I can give them credit for that and I feel we can all do a small part to help. If they want the originals that don't work sent back, then I say do it. They provided better looking and working replacements, with some extra goodies we didn't have to pay for. The cost of the non working and ugly labeled originals they sent us going back to them, is a cost I'm happy to pay.
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1 hour ago, TrekMD said:
My replacement carts are on their way!
It will be worth the wait once you get them. Wait and see...
I've also heard that some folks have gotten notice about replacement manuals on the way too. I'm assuming to correct for the missing section that exists in at least the Aquaventure manual?
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Welcome Steve! It is a quiet corner here, but it is full of quality and that is what matters most!
- sramirez2008, DegasElite and Justin
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I've heard of quite a few people still having lock issues and such with Yars' Return. I've not had any lockups, but I have had several odd glitches occur with mine that I do feel affect the game play. The worst of them is that it is very easy for Yar to just teleport through the walls protecting the quotile and I end up being trapped in the center with him. Yar doesn't die unless the quotile goes into his spinning launch mode. But it does make you have to scramble to start shooting quickly to get yourself out of the trapped area.
This issue is made worse on levels with the moving blocks naturally.
Another thing I don't understand about the game, is why there is a need for the blocks along the top protecting the quotile? It isn't like you can shot the zorlon cannon in an up/down fashion anyway, so yeah... I do not understand the reason for them.
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1 hour ago, - Ω - said:
@RickR is right. That little 32K only card CAN be powered through a speech synthesizer after soldering on single wire about three inches long. I recommend watching the video below as it's the variant of 32K I recommend. Why? Because it'll also give you TIPI capabilities in the future with the addition of one little Raspberry Pi Zero W. What will that get you? Watch the video, especially at the end, trust me, once you get into the TI, you can easily get hooked, so a couple of dollars extra at first can save you hundreds later.
TBA's 32k sidecar also is large enough to allow a TIPI install at a future time should one want to. So... again it is very likely something I'm going to look into and if someone at PRGE is selling them, that is most likely when I will pick one up.
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Thanks for this! I do have a finalgrom but do not have any mem expansion on my Ti. I don't plan to ever have a full setup for anything other than gaming so the RAM only cart seems like the best deal for me. I think The Brewing Academy offers a 32k expansion as well...let me check again real quick...
Yeap...here it is. About the same cost although the TBA version apparently requires you to power the 32x sidecar externally if you plan to use this in conjunction with a speech module? The one you posted doesn't seem to require this and might not be usable with the speech module attached as well? Seems the speech module doesn't provide power through and that is the reason for this.
https://thebrewingacademy.com/collections/ti-99-4a/products/ti-99-4a-32k-external-expansion
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12 hours ago, TrekMD said:
I preordered that TMP 4K LE the second I learned it was available. It sold out that same day!
Yeah but I figured the standard 4k release would be around a bit longer. I was wrong... very very wrong. Same thing happened with the Dune Steelbook version. I always get steelbooks whenever possible and didn't think to pre-order it because I didn't think it would be in such demand. Yeah... that didn't work out either LOL!
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VBXE - Is this upgrade for you?
in Atari 8-Bit Computers
Posted · Edited by CrossBow
Let me summarize what this is about first of all because it is quite interesting on a few things I'm about to talk about.
For those that aren't aware, the VBXE/VBXL is a video enhancement upgrade board that you install into your Atari XE or XL computer line that sandwiches in the middle of where the ANTIC IC is placed. What it does, is provide enhanced video features for games & programs that support it with higher resolutions and much more colors on the screen at once. The VBXE/XL boards have been around for nearly a decade so it isn't a new or recent upgrade option and can be purchased from several places but at about $100 for the board (at the time of typing this), it isn't a cheap upgrade but for what it does and providing a nice RGB output, isn't that unusual in cost compared to similar upgrades. Still, is the VBXE right for you? Let's talk about that...
I will be honest upfront in that I only installed my VBXE into my 130xe the other night. Therefore you would be right to ask and to be thinking "How can he already have some opinions on something he has only had for a few days?". That is a very valid question to ask. However, it does take me to the first issue regarding the VBXE:
- Lack of programs and games that really use it. There are quite a few demos that show off various features that are only possible with a VBXE along with a handful of games. But not nearly as you might think or possible expect from something that has been out and available for as long as it has.
- Mainly designed for use on PAL Atari 8-bit computers. Many of the demoscene programs and games expect to be running on a PAL Atari 8-bit computer and not NTSC. As a result, some games might exhibit some glitching in places graphically and many of the demos will refuse to run at all and just give a message on the screen that NTSC isn't supported and do not go further on loading up.
- Palette differences. The VBXE/XL allows for full compatibility with original games and programs but there is a small caveat that I've not seen listed on pages that sell the VBXE/XL boards. The issue is that the VBXE has a different palette programmed into it as compared to actual NTSC GTIA chips. As a result many games will show differences in their colors as compared to what you might be used to. In some cases, it doesn't make much of a difference and might not be noticed. In other more extreme cases it is quite obvious. Below is a comparison of this between two game title screens where the left is through s-video output and the right from the VBXE RGB output.
There is a jumper on the bottom of the VBXE to select between PAL and NTSC. Mine arrived already set to PAL but switching this back to NTSC did not make any difference that I could see. The only difference in setting them is that some PAL games that do work on NTSC end up looking even more glitched than usual and usually missing some colors or sprite information. So I advise leaving that jumper in whichever position matches the computer type you are using it with.
- Corrupted graphics when powering on or resetting the computer. As the VBXE is a separate video output device in the system, it seems as those the board might not initiate properly when powering on the computer or when pressing reset. The pics below show my Fujinet menu screen how it should look and how it might come up showing corrupted graphics. This never occurs when using composite or s-video from the actual monitor output and only happens from the VBXE output side. A reset will usually clear this in most cases although sometimes a full power off/on is needed.
- Several games have received graphical updates that take advantage of the VBXE's enhanced abilities. Below is one of the more impressive and extreme examples of this from a recently released home brew port of the game Bomb Jack. There is a version that supports the standard Atari 8-bit computers and a version specifically for use with VBXE enhanced computers. Note that the title of the game is different between the versions, but it is the same game programmed by the same people.
- However, not all games are as enhanced. The following example is of the two different versions of the game Jet Set Willy that has been ported to the Atari 8-bit comptuers. In this case the VBXE allows for a more faithful port graphically of the ZX80 Spectrum original vs the port done for the Atari 8-bits that works within the limitations of the original Atari hardware. So in a case like this, it is more about preference on playing a more faithful port vs any enhancements.
So there is my overview of the VBXE add-on for the Atari 8-bit computers. In summary it has some excellent features that it can bring to the Atari 8-bit line that almost makes the games and graphics approach 16-bit VGA and more. But even after nearly a decade of having been on the market there is still only a handful of programs that a gamer would find use for and with some exceptions, the non VBXE versions of the games would likely be enough for most enthusiasts. I do really like the enhanced clarity you get from using the RGB output over the s-video and certainly over composite. It has to be said that my captures in these pictures don't really do justice to the output since my capture device seems to introduce some noise that isn't present on my actual TV screen when playing and jpg compression isn't doing any favors either.
I will finish this post with a compilation of some other screen captures taken from the VBXE on my 130xe from some programs that support it along with a few pics of my VBXE install.
Overhead view of my 130xe mainboard with both VBXE and UAV boards in place.
Side profile of the UAV and VBXE boards installed. Due to clearance issues, I had to reinstall the UAV without any sockets to make it as low profile as possible. This isn't that ideal since it means the UAV is a pretty permanent part of this computer now.
As per most of my RGB setups, I've elected to remove the original RF modulator and installed a 9-pin mini din wired for use with Sega RGB cables. This did require me to bypass the 75Ω resistors on the VBXE RGB output lines since those resistors are present in the Sega RGB SCART housing already and if left in place on the VBXE would have resulted in a darker and more duller picture output.
Here is was the first initial tests of the VBXE with the s-video output from the UAV on the Left on the small CRT and RGB output from the VBXE on the right using my Retrotink2x SCART on the LCD.