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CrossBow

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Posts posted by CrossBow

  1. Atari 2600+ My experiences and helpful information

    in Atari 2600

    Posted

    2 hours ago, 7800 Pro Gamer said:

    So what's weird is I can't climb up any ladder on 2600+ at the Volkswagen sign no matter when I try to initiate it. But on 7800 I can go up and down whenever I want. 

    But is there an even knewer firmware than what you told me about @CrossBow?

    Edit 

    Ok I downloaded the firmware from the above post and still the same issues.  I'm still playing through but it feels like enemies are spawning too soon to me. But I'd have to go back and verify on real hardware or a 7800 I guess

    No the firmware labeled as experimental is even newer than the one I was telling you about. It was just released over the weekend. So I'm glad I'm not completely crazy then on the Beetle bug poster screen with the ladders. I know you can climb them normally as soon as they appear and I normally climb it to trick the Linda in going up the ladder, hit her to take the whip and then use it again her and the Williams enemy. I then usually walk over along the top to get the Abobo and other enemy on the screen. Have him climb the ladder with his bat, take him out with the whip, then grab the bat from the top and drop down with it to take out the Abobo. But as we aren't able to climb the ladders here, none of that is possible.

    I've not noticed if the enemies are going out sooner than usual, but I have noticed the timer is running too fast. I've yet to even beat level 1 without the timer running out of me and usually that timer isn't even a blip in my thought when playing this game because it was never an issue. So either the enemies are taking a lot longer to take down than normal, or the timer is running faster.

     

  2. Atari 2600+ My experiences and helpful information

    in Atari 2600

    Posted

    Okay, So I need someone else that also has a physical cart of 7800 Double Dragon to test something for me. Previously with the builds we had, while DD was working, I had controller input issues happening near the beginning when the 2 William's enemies both show up. this newer update corrects for this now. But another issue I noticed even before then is still  happening and I can't figure it out.

    The issue is ladders. Specifically the first two you come across about midway through the first level. Where the Beetle bug poster is? Pretty sure on the actual 7800 I can climb that first ladder without any issue as soon as it appears on the screen. But on the 2600+ my character will NOT climb this ladder no matter what? He will climb the second one..but not until the Abobo and other enemy are on the screen and after that first ladder has been scrolled off screen? 

    I'm so dang rusty on this game that I've not been able to get past the 2nd level yet to see if it happens anywhere else. But I know this isn't how those two ladders work on my actual console.

    @sramirez2008 or anyone else able to test this for me so I know I'm not going crazy? (at least before I should be...)

     

  6. Atari 2600+ My experiences and helpful information

    in Atari 2600

    Posted

    18 minutes ago, sramirez2008 said:

    They have released the experimental FW. It’s the same one that a was provided earlier to test Juno First with. 
     

    Here’s the thread: https://forums.atariage.com/topic/361600-experimental-2600-firmware/

    Hmm... I see that and yes it is the same labeled revision I was sent on Friday to test privately. Sigh... I simply haven't time to just stop other plans to devote to these in as timely a manner as I guess they need then.

     

  7. What is going on with Zero Page Homebrew?

    in Podcasts

    Posted · Edited by CrossBow

    It is also worth mentioning that the games that are nominated are either released publicly making them easy to play or have a demo version in most cases that give a good representation of the game as a whole.

    But I have noticed that a few of the games this year are essentially (here is a YT video of it in action), and that is all that is provided to base judgement. I don't agree with such games being allowed because in my eyes, you can't judge a game properly unless you have a chance to be able to play it in some form.

    I'm not actually voting this year and it is the first time I'm taking this stance. I also declined being on the nomination team last year and this year not only for similar reasons already stated, but also because I was a tester on some of these and that will always bring about some bias. James stated he doesn't vote because he feels folks will think he has a natural bias on the games and I agree with him on that. But then lots of the Devs that watch his streams etc..., said he should vote?

     

  8. Atari 2600+ My experiences and helpful information

    in Atari 2600

    Posted

    1 hour ago, 7800 Pro Gamer said:

    Thanks for the tip on the new 2600+ firmware.  I should've looked before I did that stream but I'm glad to have it now.  So is there going to be an official firmware eventually because that's 2 betas right?  Or just marginal improvements to a single beta?

    That I don't know. I would assume that at some point, Atari will call it good and come up with an easier way for folks to update the console on their own that doesn't require having to use specific software, only work on Windows, etc... 

    Speaking of FW, I was sent a new one to test Friday that I need to get loaded up today and give a spin. One thing I didn't mention in your stream, is that even with the beta FW that has been released, I was getting some very odd controller responses while playing Double Dragon. Things like movements suddenly speeding up acting like it was suddenly responding to commands I'd given a second or two earlier now executing in quick speed. Also issues with my movements not seeming to work right.

    Apparently no one else really reported this, but I found out that the games running on the 2600+ with the current beta FW are only running at 30fps. That is why some complaints about graphics missing etc... is occurring is due to this limitation of the 2600+. But the new FW I was sent apparently ups the gameplay to 60fps again so...yeah I need to give it a spin.

  11. Post your latest/recent pickups!

    in Classic Gaming General

    Posted

    1 hour ago, sramirez2008 said:

    That's a nice looking controller. What's the button on the lower right do? Is it a 4 way or 8 way?

    The button on the lower right side is a mechanical button that switches the controller between 2600 2-btn & SMS 2 btn mode and 7800 2-btn mode. So the controller is designed to work on 3 different consoles to full capacity. The pause button is also wired up so that any console I modify internally using a simple logic gate circuit can have the console remotely paused. This is mainly for the SMS games. Many SMS games use the pause button on the console as a 3rd button to access inventory or stats in games. With that pause button being on the console itself, it isn't exactly ideal to have to get up each time I want to access that pause. But it can also be added to a 7800 as well pretty easily. 

    The controller is using arcade level components and not the clones. In my case I opted for silent switches because all my other controllers have clicky switches and at night, it can be annoying when I want to play in low volume conditions.

  13. Post your latest/recent pickups!

    in Classic Gaming General

    Posted

    10 minutes ago, TrekMD said:

    Nice find!  And it is sealed.  I see the sticker that it is not for use with the 7800.  What's the issue with this game and the 7800?

    Mid era made 7800s don't work with the game unless you disable the extra timing circuit on the 7800 first. But doing that will then break 2600 Dark Chambers and 2600 Kung Fu master from working. So I guess Activision felt it was better to add that sticker on later made copies of the game so they didn't have to field support calls on why the game didn't work in a customer's 7800. Again, it only really effects those 7800s with the extra timing circuit. But consumers had no way of knowing if that was in their 7800 or not, so this was the best way to avoid it.

     

  16. PS3 Question

    in Modern Gaming

    Posted

    3D Dot Game Heroes is an excellent choice!

    I will add that the Uncharted games are another excellent choice. But do you list those separately taking up 3 spots in that top ten or as one? 

    Fallout: New Vegas (Once patched up it was my favorite of the Fall out games by far)

    I liked the Infamous games on the PS3 but didn't play the one for PS4

    Ni No Kuni:Wrath of the white witch

     

    Not a top ten per se, but those are some I plan to keep that I might not have a better way of playing elsewhere currently.

     

  19. Atari 2600+ Firmware Update Instructions | v1.1 Rev2

    in Atari 2600

    Posted

    21 minutes ago, sramirez2008 said:

    The initial update (including the dumper) is a bit odd, but after that, updating the firmware itself, is fairly easy. I think they did a pretty good job at cobbling this together in a short amount of time. 

    Correct, but again, many folks appear to have issues even getting the program to run or see their 2600+ etc. So ideally it all needs to be compiled into a single program that you run, that carefully guides you through the process and then updates whatever is needed. 

    I think the process to modify the FW on my NES/SNES and Genesis mini consoles was easier are more friendly as an example and those weren't created by a large company.

     

  20. Atari 2600+ Firmware Update Instructions | v1.1 Rev2

    in Atari 2600

    Posted

    On 1/5/2024 at 10:05 PM, 7800 Pro Gamer said:

    I was wondering if the process was going to be made simpler.  Honestly it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be but it definitely felt a bit chaotic the way it was presented and done.  I hope they make it idiot proof because I messed it up initially, so if they need an idiot for testing I'm here! Lol

    Well, compared to how you might do a FW update on most other consumer devices, I would say it more complex yes. Even the BIOS upgrade for my motherboard is usually just a single exe file I run and let it do its thing.

    The fact that the update is pretty much only for Windows users is another thing I'm sure they will correct releasing something more official. 

  22. Crazy about LOOM, the Magical Adventure Game! CRT Pixels Only

    in Classic Computing

    Posted · Edited by CrossBow

    Loom is one of my favorites of the era. And it really cool to see it played on the PS/2 like in that video. As that is how I first saw the game when my best friend at the time first got it and that was how we played the game. Although, once I bought the game for myself a few months later, I played it with Adlib audio. It wasn't until much later.. .like over a decade later, that I got to experience the game as it was meant through my LAPC-I sound board so I could finally hear the MT-32 soundtrack the game first came with.

    My only complaint in the video, is that when he shows the VGA graphics, it is apparent that a filter is being used like an HQ2 method or something because it looks far too smoothed out and that is why it looks off. Without such a filter in place the VGA graphics actually really good. But he is correct in that the 'talkie' version of the game features shorter music sections being played, and the dialog was cut quite a bit. Other things added/stripped is that the closeups of character faces was removed in the CD version but the extra scene he talks about if you play the game on hard on the EGA version I believe is always shown in the VGA version regardless of difficulty chosen. 

    I only the game now as the 'talkie' version boxed as I had a tendency back then to give away my older floppy disk versions of my games when I bought the newer versions on CD later. But, I did make sure to still have George 'The Fatman' Sanger sign my copy of Loom as he was responsible for the soundtrack compilations in all versions of the game. In fact, the digital audio music played in the CD version is just the MT-32 soundtrack recorded. But again, the full pieces of the music don't play on the CD version as they do on the EGA original release with an MT-32.

    There was very much a certain type of magic when playing the game and it was quite different when it was released back then as compared to most. But yes, Loom along with another Lucasarts later release of The Dig are two of my favorites in this genre for PCs back in the day.

     

  24. Atari 2600+ My experiences and helpful information

    in Atari 2600

    Posted · Edited by CrossBow

    14 minutes ago, Sabertooth said:

    That's a really cool addition @CrossBow. Thanks for sharing! It's fantastic that Plaion/Atari are working with the community techies to improve emulation over all. Focusing on a single game goes beyond my expectations.

    Any progress on 7800 Rampage or Double Dragon in your build? My 7800 Klax (from CPUWIZ about a decade ago) doesn't work, but I've seen others whose carts do work.

    Yes and no on the Rampage Double Dragon question.

    One of the changes that my FW has is that it provides very specific information from the Dumper side of things on what it actually detects. Comparing the results of my cartridges with those of others has revealed something that is a bit interesting although not quite sure why. So Double Dragon and Rampage were apparently released in multiple revisions that aren't well documented. What is more strange is that the code of the games themselves isn't really different. But what is different is the bank switching schemes used and apparently other changes on the hardware level of the cartridges themselves appear to be confusing the dumper. So as a result I don't just provide a pass/fail on my testing. I also have to provide a bunch of other data that is shown from the system when I activate a specific controller combo. So hopefully that data can be used to get those games working.

    Klax is another one I've been testing. I don't own the actual cartridge as honestly, Klax isn't my style of game that I enjoy that much. But I was provided ROM images of the two main ones out there. The one that CPU made is basically the prototype as it was found as it happens to work on actual 7800 consoles. But it seems the header information for it isn't quite right and so the 'fixed' version that was released later on does work on the 2600+. Not sure if they will work around that on the 2600+ since it is sort of a special case and again, the same ROM with corrected header info in it, does work as expected.

    Another thing I've been testing is more modern home brew releases. But a small snag has been found between the ROM of the final games and what is actually on the carts. That small snag is the HOKEY itself. Most of the modern brews are working with updated FW on the 7800 but those games with HOKEYs in them vs actual POKEYs aren't playing the Pokey audio or in some cases, failing to load up. Last night with revised FW I was finally able to get Keystone Koppers to come up and work with full Pokey audio. So this is a good step towards hopefully getting more of those games working. Again, everything I've been testing with is actually slightly older FW than what everyone has been given access too. But that is because the FW I'm working with and being provided is just to test stuff on the 7800 side of things so that it can eventually be implemented into a much more robust FW update in the future. As an example, the 2600 games that have been corrected and are working with the beta 1.1FW that everyone else has been loading up, do NOT work for me on my FW because those changes weren't or aren't being implemented. Again, my testing focus is on the 7800 side.

     

  25. Atari 2600+ My experiences and helpful information

    in Atari 2600

    Posted

    Check it out folks! There is some really cool new stuff coming to the 2600+. For those not aware, I'm testing separate FW from what everyone else is testing that has some experimental stuff on it. Mostly 7800 centric in nature and this is one that I was just advised to test and confirm. 

     

     

    If you weren't aware, Tower Toppler usually looks like a striped mess of graphics on anything higher than composite video output. That is because the games graphics rely on the use of NTSC artifacting to make the graphics and colors look the way they did back in the day. But once you go with s-video of above, then the artifacting effect is lost and you see the graphics as they were actually programmed but not as they were intended to be seen. And it isn't pretty. Well, the new FW currently loaded on my 2600+ features a new test composite filter for Tower Toppler to siumlate the artifacting effect. It isn't 100% and I'm not sure how much more work will be done on it, but this is far far better than it what it looks like right now to everyone else on the 2600+ and at least makes it possible to know what you are looking at. 

     

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