HDN
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Posts posted by HDN
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A shoebox isn’t a bad idea. My mom has about 830 of them in her closet. I’m sure she’d let me use one or two.
Making a shelf might be something I try at one point in the future. My grandfather has taught me many things about woodworking (though I’m very far from being great at it). A decent shelf is probably in my wheelhouse.
1 hour ago, socrates63 said:I've also been using shoe boxes now that I've collected a small amount of loose cartridges
For my purposes I don’t often collect CIB. Sure, they look nice, but in so many cases they are much more expensive than loose games. Only CIB games I have (other than ones I got from when I was younger like DS) are 2600.
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I made these today because Nintendo didn’t bother to. I just put some masking tape on there. It’s not pretty, but I’d rather have this than spend $30 on some aftermarket labels. All I want is to know what my games are without pulling them out. Doesn’t have to be aesthetically pleasing.
The problem is: where to put them?
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1 minute ago, CrossBow said:
I know others will have more information, but I actually own #100 and as far as Curt told me, the last of the his original created HSCs from the early 2000s. However, mine like most of them, doesn't actually work properly I'm afraid. Specifically, the issue is that the early made carts have problems with not actually saving the data properly after powering off the console. They have batteries in them to maintain the data but yeah.... mine does load up and it will ask me to personalize it etc. And it will then work to play the game and even allow me to save my highscore if the game supports it. But once I power off the console to switch games, all of that is wiped. Replacing the battery did nothing and for a while, Curt was actually offering a service to change out the guts on your original HSC to that of his newer NVRAM version. But I never did send mine off to do this. I will be honest, in that given how Curt's projects tend to linger as they did, I was afraid that if I sent it off, I might not get it back. Sadly with Curt's passing, the only way to have HSC functionality now on those games and for the future, would be if someone picks up the mantle on the XM module as that included the HSC functionality within it. There is also the SaveKey device that AtariAge I think still sells and is also incorporated into the AtariVox+ module. But that is designed for saving scores and data for 2600 homebrews and not the 7800.
As a result, my HSC is really nothing more than a display case relic and its only use is for saving scores for a single game for a competition (I used to use it on some games in my classic tourneys I hosted during my OVGE conventions in the past) or for use as passthru cart for 2600 games that didn't fit properly in the cartridge slot. But I've modified my cartridge slot since so yeah, my HSC sits in the display case.
Also, as mine was the last production made one that Curt did back in the early 2000s, he never actually applied a label to mine. So it is housed in a old combat cartridge shell with the combat label severely torn off from it. I also had to replace out the battery holder sometime back as the original broke and wasn't making a good connection. Sadly that didn't fix the issue of it not saving the game scores and data though.
During my research on these older sites, I noticed a warning. If one were to leave the HSC in the cartridge slot of the 7800 for a long time, even if the system was powered off, the battery would very quickly drain. Perhaps there were other side effects. I know you replaced the battery, but could this perhaps be what happened to you?
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You know, the High Score Cartridge has been mentioned on this site numerous times over the years. Maybe, just maybe, @Justin could help me find where to get one of these in 2021.
I have kind of lucked into this one, being part of the site for a few months now. I had no idea about this previous iteration of this site I love so much. A 7800 HSC is something that I have wanted for a while, and now someone might be able to help me find one. Maybe. Hopefully.
Thanks, @socrates63, for finding this info. You’re a good detective!
And here’s an image I found on the site in late 2001 of a mysterious “Atari superhero”...
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Just now, socrates63 said:
Harry, are you talking about something like this? https://atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1194
No. Something like this. They were based on prototypes from the olden days of a peripheral that Atari never released. The early launch games by GCC (like Food Fight or Asteroids) actually still have HSC functionality built in. I believe Curt Vendel was somehow involved with this new version.
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Thanks, @socrates63. Now I’m able to do this:
And who would’ve thought this game had High Score Cartridge support? I can find one of those things anywhere for sale. I don’t think they make them anymore.
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83,948 points. I am starting to get the hang of this one. I should play on real hardware. I always seem to do better with it, no matter what the game.
- Rocker67, Dinobot711, nosweargamer and 2 others
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7 hours ago, socrates63 said:
That's correct, Harry. The cartridge was already in the junk box when I received it. I simply redirected it your way as I already had it in my collection.
And thanks again.
I love this game a lot.I believe I first played it on Namco Museum Remix for Wii, and I really enjoyed it there. I enjoyed it even more once I got my Pac-Man 35th Anniversary plug and play unit with the super clicky joystick. This game didn't see that many ports, sadly, so I thought that I wouldn't get a physical version of the game anytime soon. I'm very happy to have it on a home console, and I'm also happy that this game doesn't use a POKEY. The great BallBlazer POKEY harvest is like the carrier pigeons and the dodo birds; a once very common cart is now very hard to find (and pricey, mind you) for us 7800 newcomers. Plus, TIA audio has its own charm and is much more impressive when done well than POKEY stuff (not that I don't like POKEY audio; I'm listening to the Commando OST right now).
I also think that it's super cool to own a game for a 35- (technically 37-) year-old system that came out after I was born. I was three when this game came out in 2008! I actually (albeit vaguely) remember 2008! That's when my sister was born. Homebrews are super cool to me, and I've always wanted one since I first learned about them around 2011-2012 with Princess Rescue (which I have yet to put on my Wii). I don't think I'll get that one anytime soon. In fact, I didn't think I'd get ANY homebrew games recently as they're so expensive, especially for me. Not that they're bad games, but I could get a ton of used games that I don't have for the price of one of them. I'm happy to have one at all, especially one based on a game I really love.
And hey, now with the 7800 downstairs, the game's score isn't cut off by the overscan! If I wanted to see the score, I had to use the flatscreen upstairs, and you all know how much I hate playing retro systems on non-CRTs.
- RickR and socrates63
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Wow! Great job finding that Vectrex.
And you got a GBA, too? That's awesome! One of my favorite consoles, for sure.
Wait a minute... A BACKLIT SCREEN? What's the point of Game Boy Advance if you can see the screen?
Just messing with you, man. Have fun.
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Well, this is awkward. Turns out I forgot something.
I was actually playing this game earlier today when I realized that I hadn’t posted about it here yet! Not only is this a new 7800 game in the collection, but it is my first ever homebrew cart for any system! I love Super Pac-Man, and I was very happy to have received this game back in November. Thanks again, @socrates63! I hope you weren’t mad that I forgot to post about this game here in this thread.
Like I mentioned, this was from @socrates63. I believe that it was put into the retro junk box initially by @chas10e however. Correct me if I am wrong.
I love this game. This was a pitiful score, though...
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19 minutes ago, nosweargamer said:
Atari already nominated him, but another nomination might not hurt
Well then, I will change my nominee to our pal @socrates63, unless he too has been nominated already.
- socrates63, Rocker67 and nosweargamer
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Here it is. Do I need to nominate anyone, @nosweargamer? If so (and if he hasn’t been nominated already), @Willie!.
- Rocker67, RickR, nosweargamer and 1 other
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EXCELLENT idea, @nosweargamer! I will work on a short video this evening.
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37 minutes ago, Justin said:
Wonderful to see your Odyssey 2 rankings at Atari I/O @nosweargamer! We made a new addition to the Forums recently and created a dedicated subform for Magnavox Odyssey 2 High Scores in the Scoreboard Forum in part due to your activity there. Enjoy!
Woo! Thank you!
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I felt like this was an interesting topic, and that creating a thread for Atari I/O users to share their newly-discovered gems with everyone may help others find some great new games to play.
So, what is a retro game that you've only recently fallen in love with? I'll start.
I was never an RPG fan. Sure, back in like fifth and sixth grade I was into Pokemon like everyone else, and I even saved up for Moon and got it on launch day, but since those days I could never get back into them. There were a few that I found interesting and fun since then, like Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga and Earthbound, but I always got stuck in them and never found them that engaging. I would play for a session or two, and then just go back to playing my usual platformers and arcade-style games, forgetting about those RPGs that I thought were "fun enough" for months, sometimes even years, at a time. Even those old Pokemon games that I liked so much when I was eleven and twelve I have found hard to go back to. I always have a tough time balancing out my party in RPGs, always worrying about how much EXP everyone's getting and stuff like that.
However, the impossible happened the other day. I was cleaning up the basement, and with my new wireless headphones (thanks, grandma and papa) I was binge "watching" (more like listening) to Jeremy Parish's Game Boy Works series. If you haven't watched it yet, basically it's a chronological look at the Game Boy's library, one or two games at a time in order of release. Like Atari Archive, but for Game Boy. So far, he's nearing the end of 1990. He also does similar series on the NES, SNES, N64, and a plethora of other systems. If you haven't checked it out yet, I highly recommend it. But I digress.
I was listening to the Game Boy Works 1989 playlist while cleaning, and one of the games that was released on the Game Boy in that year (in Japan at least) was Makai Toushi Sa-Ga, released here in the States as The Final Fantasy Legend. I had heard this episode before this point, but not for a while, so this was sort of a refresher. In the video, Mr. Parish explains the mechanics of the game, as well as its history and other things like that. A retrospective. At the time, I thought that it might be interesting, but didn't really think much of it. However, later in the week I was browsing through my Game Boy ROMs directory on my DSi when I noticed that one of the few original Game Boy ROMs that my friend @Zerobeat2004 gave me back in 2019 was The Final Fantasy Legend (I haven't added many Game Boy ROMs since because the emulator I'm using won't accept ZIP files and it ends up being a pretty tedious process to unzip every file from the GB ROMs pack I downloaded). I thought that just for fun I'd check the game out.
When I started playing it, I knew that I was immediately hooked. This game was actually very well-suited to my tastes. No experience points? That alone helped me really get into it. All I had to worry about is money, which you get after every fight. I used that money to buy more weapons, better stat upgrades, healing items, and more. I didn't have to worry about leveling up, at least not in the strictest sense, and I especially was pleased that I didn't have to go to any stupid training grounds like in Might and Magic. There were only a couple different kinds of shops, so I didn't have that to worry about. There were also only three different classes. I couldn't tell the difference between elves and half-orcs in other games, but here there wasn't much to keep mental note of. Humans were pretty static and predictable (that's what you use the stat upgrades on), Mutants (I can't help but think of Kuato and Total Recall) have stats that change randomly and can cast spells, and monsters can only attack with their own attacks and can't hold any weapons, but can change shape completely if they eat another creature's meat. Because of cart limitations, NPC dialog is limited and gets right to the point. No crypticism. It's also kind of funny when they speak in such broken English. And the game doesn't take itself too seriously, either. You can shoot sentient eyeballs with submachine guns!
I've only gotten to the second floor of the tower so far, but I'm really enjoying the game. What games did you recently discover that are really fun? Please let us all know!
- RickR, Rocker67 and socrates63
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These old wooden shelves are remnants of the days when my grandparents called this place home. This used to be my grandpa’s workshop. There are lots of workbenches, vices, and leftover tools from when he used to live here. For years, these shelves have sat here filled with movies on tape, board games, and other junk. Today I realized that it is in fact quite easy to reposition the shelves and so, with a little reorganization and dusting, our NES, SNES, and Game Boy collections have a new home. I still have N64 and the disc-based games to worry about, but since those systems aren’t down here yet they aren’t a top priority. As you can see, the movies are still here on the top shelf. That may have to change in the future. The board games have been put with their kin on another basement shelf.
I imagine that it would be pretty easy to grab some more boards to add to the shelf. I found some shelf-mounting thingies on the top shelf before I repositioned them, so I should be good if I wanted to add another four shelves in the future, which is somewhat inevitable at this point.
- nosweargamer, RickR, sramirez2008 and 1 other
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On 12/30/2020 at 12:19 PM, RickR said:
OK, I don't want to dig up bad feelings. Advice: make the best of it. Maybe have one console out at a time if you don't have shelves to organize. Or get some milk crates to make shelves? You're a creative guy, you'll figure this out.
Milk crates for shelves? Now that is interesting. How does one make shelves out of those? I believe we have a few floating around somewhere.
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1 minute ago, RickR said:
Video Pinball was available in 1980. It's one of the first games my family purchased.
Really? I thought it was 1981. Wasn't that when the picture labels were introduced?
If we're going by the timeline laid out by Kevin Bunch of Atari Archive, who has already finished his chronology of the Atari-published VCS games of 1980, than it must have come out later. According to the copyright date on the cartridge itself, it also says 1981.
I do know that this was one of the earlier picture label games, though. It's got the lowercase letters.
I'm fairly certain that this was 1981. I'll do a little digging in some old 1980 catalogs and see which one of us is right. You've brought up an interesting topic, @RickR.
And by the way, dude-- you're really good at this! @chas10e as well, but he's a pinball wizard so that's kind of expected! This is one of your games for sure. According to "legend", my dad and his cousin were quite good at this game as well, though nowadays he kind of sucks. That may be chalked up to damn near forty years of rust, but he may just be stretching the truth.
I personally won't have to worry about rolling over the score; I suck!
- nosweargamer and Rocker67
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19 minutes ago, RickR said:
For an early Atari release, this game has amazing physics on that nudge.
Funny how a game from nearly a half-decade after the system launched is considered an “early release”. It really is a testament to how long the VCS lasted and how successful it was.
- Rocker67 and socrates63
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14 minutes ago, Justin said:
Man oh man this game is challenging. Even though it doesn't match up to Midnight Magic on the 2600 in terms of graphics, I enjoy it just as much. Here's my first score:
My High Score: 51,727
I think I actually like it more. MM just seems a little... barren to me. Just my opinion, though.
23,433. Wow! I had no idea that those holes would make the game this much harder. Those little guys are from satan.
- Rocker67, RickR, Atari Creep and 1 other
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25 minutes ago, RickR said:
Looks like a good way to get some exercise! I don't have a Switch. Maybe this is a good reason to get one.
Worth it for a great many things, my friend. You should also get Switch Online if you ever get the system; it comes with some sweet NES and SNES games that you can play online with friends.
I don’t have this game yet, but I hope to get it at SOME point. Looks like a lot of fun. At the moment, however, I don’t really have an open enough space in the house where I can spin a plastic ring around. I’ll stick with the Wii- (blank) series for now.
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I’ll start.
17,880 points on... wait a minute...
- Atari Creep, Rocker67, socrates63 and 2 others
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This is where I first learned about the Sesame Street song:
- Sabertooth and socrates63
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socrates63's gaming collection and setup
in Video Game Room Tours
Posted
I just so happen to have that one. And yes, it does seem a bit sluggish on the GBA. The only other way I have tried it is on my Super Game Boy, which it was partially designed for. It is much improved there and has special features as well. I know that the SGB runs the games slightly faster than intended, so maybe that's what is helping. However, I'd wager that it's some placebo effect thing going on.
I'd recommend getting a Super Game Boy in the future. It is THE way to play OG Game Boy games on the big screen. I might send you one someday. They're awesome.