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HDN

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  1. Harry's Adventures in 7800 Collecting

    in Atari 7800

    Posted · Edited by HDN
    Updated list 10/21/20

    Real quick I'd like to thank everyone for convincing me to buy this amazing system!

    In this thread, we will explore my growing collection for the Atari 7800 ProSystem. Since I got it because of the people on this site, why not share it with them? 

    I first got my 1988 model 7800 on August 31 of this year, 2020. With it came bundled everything someone buying the system in the 1980s would: two ProLine controllers, the power cord, the R/F cord, etc. But for a while the only game I had for it was the pack-in, Pole Position II, a great game but absolutely horrendous pack-in title (unless you're @Atari 5200 Guy). I love this game with all my heart. I'm a pretty big Pole Position 1 fan, and this improves on that game in almost every way. Though I can see how some say it didn't age well, I still think it holds up to this day as a fun arcade racer. A great introduction to the system for me.

    image.jpg.c705df7e4ba9c3e7f205470649e979fb.jpg

    Shortly after I started playing, I noticed the two controllers were acting up. They were acting a bit sluggish and unresponsive. I cleaned one and it was fine... For a day. The left button started alternating between not working at all to constantly acting like being pressed down. I disassembled it again, repositioned the tape I used to hold down the metal thingy over the button contact and voila! It worked well again... For another day. Keep in mind these are NOT fun to reassemble once you've cleaned it. Today I did a bit of research and saw I was putting the mini button boards in on the wrong angle. WHOOPS! So for right now they both work, emphasis on "for right now".

    I said I would make a post about the two new 7800 games I got today, so here they are: One-on-One Basketball and Karateka. Why would I buy Karateka, you ask? Well, I actually spent zero dollars on this, depending on how you look at it. I got my $5 discount, which paid for One-on-One in its entirety, plus there was a buy one get one free thing going on. Buy a 7800 game, get Pole Position 2 or Karateka free.

    image.jpg.1d6620fb62603df97c7ed5bf744123ac.jpg

    Weird angle on that picture there...

    I'll talk about Karateka first, as it was the first of the lot I popped in. Is it as bad as everyone says it is? Well, no, but it's not very good either. If I didn't already listen to this episode of the 7800 GBG podcast I would have no clue what the controls did. But now that I do it's at least playable, so thanks, @nosweargamer, I guess. Overall, I've had my fun with it, but I wouldn't recommend it. Glad I got it for free just to see what all the fuss was about.

    One-on-One, on the other hand, is quite fun in both single and multiplayer. I played as both Bird and Erving and could tell no difference between the two. Controls are nice. Games last a touch too long. I can totally see this as a proto-NBA Jam. I would recommend it, and I hate sports games.

    I will reply to this as my collection grows. Feel free to reply to suggest things, ask questions, just talk, etc. Have a nice night, everyone!

     

    EDIT: THE LIST

    I'm going to keep this list updated as I collect new 7800 games.

    Pole Position II (Loose, pack-in variant)

    Karateka (Loose, color label)

    One-on-One Basketball (Loose, color label)

    Food Fight (Loose, B&W label, special edition Scotch Tape variant, 1988)

    Galaga (Loose, B&W label, 1987)

    Xevious (Loose, B&W label, 1986)

    Asteroids

    Centipede

    Choplifter!

    Crossbow

    Dark Chambers

    Desert Falcon

    Dig Dug

    Donkey Kong

    Donkey Kong Junior

    Hat Trick

    Joust

    Ms. Pac-Man

    Rampage

    RealSports Baseball

    Robotron: 2084

    Touchdown Football

    Xenophobe

    Commando

    + Duplicates of: Pole Position II, Galaga, Xevious, Xevious

  3. Activision Patch-worthy Scores of Atari I/O

    in Atari 2600

    Posted · Edited by HDN
    Badge thanks

    18 minutes ago, RickR said:

    I'm trying Robot Tank today.  The best I've done so far is 37.  I will keep trying or switch back to Galaxian. 

    This one is a very impressive game for the 2600.  The changing time and weather is pretty cool. 

    robot tank 001.JPG

    NOT FOR USE WITH ATARI 7800 PROSYSTEM. Or so I've heard. Robot Tank looks fun. I've never played, but I assume it's like a suped-up Battlezone. Activision was great at taking others' concepts and improving upon them. (Avalanche became Kaboom!,  Space Invaders, Galaxian, Phoenix, etc. became Megamania, Drag Race became Dragster, Donkey Kong (to an extent) became Pitfall!, et cetera)

    Speaking of the ProSystem, I'm going to be getting two new 7800 games today. The game store called for my sister, actually. She got Link Between Worlds (which is INFURIATING because she won't even give Link to the Past the time of day because of her need for modern graphics) and while there my dad saw some 7800 titles. There was a BOGO with the choice of two titles. I will tell you one was Pole Position II, so I obviously didn't get that one as I own it. The other (not BOGO game) was completely covered by our member discount. I will post later with the games! 

    Another hint: they are not Galaga, Food Fight, or Xevious. I hope to buy those from @chas10e soon!

    PS: thanks for the badge @socrates63! That took far less than 4 to 6 weeks!

  5. Activision Patch-worthy Scores of Atari I/O

    in Atari 2600

    Posted

    15 minutes ago, RickR said:

    You are doing the right thing, although I know how hard it is.

    It is hard. Sitting in the same spot in front of a computer in a video call in class with virtually no breaks sucks. The teachers walk away from the microphone so it's near impossible to hear them most of the time and they obviously prioritize the in-person people. Plus I can't talk to anyone. I don't have Snapchat or Instagram like any of my friends from school do, and that's mostly how they communicate. That's why this website is so great during this quarantine. Not saying I'm going to leave when the virus is over, but it is nice to have here during these strange and unfamiliar times. I love my grandparents and going over there to visit with them and help them weed the garden, make dinner, mow the lawn, etc. is much more important to me and worth the sacrifices. Some people have it way worse than I do right now, and I'm fortunate to have all that I do have in my life.

    22 minutes ago, RickR said:

    And GREAT JOB on the Kaboom score.  That is a super hard one.

    It is quite hard. I don't know how people like Mike Matei can play so well. But I've learned from a James and Mike video on Cinemassacre a while back to drop a bomb just before you reach 1,000, 2,000, 3,000 etc. points. When you get 1,000 etc. points, you get a bucket back, and when you drop a bomb the speed dies down a bit. You must turn off all of your surroundings and really focus to do well.

    This was one of the first games I bought for my 2600. I played on Wii 2600 beforehand, as expected. On that emulator you have to kind of roll the Wii Mote to play. It basically plays like a dirty paddle that way. You NEED the paddle for this game. I can't imagine playing this any other way and doing remotely well. I wonder what the 5200 version is like. Oh, @Atari 5200 Guy?

    Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go play Private Ey-- I mean... do Biology stuff. Yeah, let's go with that.

  6. Activision Patch-worthy Scores of Atari I/O

    in Atari 2600

    Posted

    WOO-HOO!!!! I got 3,385 points in Kaboom! Now I never have to play this again! I swear, I must've played around 200 rounds of this; they go so quickly and I suck! @socrates63, please send me my Bucket Brigade patch in 4-6 weeks!

    image.jpg.79912940dd7a140fb6217bcfef557dc7.jpg

    image.jpg.659c58847738849bc9ce66a36f797e21.jpg

    Only 3 games to go! Two are at my grandparent's house. I'll have to pick those up soon. I've been staying home so I don't get them sick when I visit!

  7. A View of the RickR Sanctum

    in Video Game Room Tours

    Posted

    47 minutes ago, RickR said:

    I have a picture of recent pickups to share.

    • The Paul McCartney album download is from a trade with @HDN
    • The NES Pac-Man (and bonus carbonite ice tray) is from a trade with @nosweargamer
    • "Tempest" is what I chose to buy with my ebay 25th anniversary gift card.

    Thank you guys for the trades.

     

    pickups 003.JPG

    How weird! That was mine at one point. I've never done a trade before. You were great to work with,  @RickR. I will leave some feedback when I get Galaxian on that page.

  8. Activision Patch-worthy Scores of Atari I/O

    in Atari 2600

    Posted

    3 minutes ago, socrates63 said:

    Yowza! Great job, Harry. 

    I tried yesterday both Crackpots and Keystone Kapers. I fell well short of the mark. These are pretty tough games!

    I can crush Keystone Kapers until the level with double bouncing balls, where I almost always promptly lose all my lives. Crackpots takes a bit to get used to.

    I'm 20 points away from Bucket Brigade. I must have tried well over  100 times. Kaboom is hard. I don't know how people do it. That's one perk of school online: near unlimited Atari access.

  10. Squad Challenge - Galaxian (Atari 2600)

    in High Score Squad

    Posted

    On September 6, 2020 at 4:38 AM, Atari 5200 Guy said:

    To appreciate Galaxian on the 5200 you would have to learn the 5200 on a per game basis because every game treats those analog controls differently.  The misconception is Galaxian only uses the analog feature as an analog joystick to a point.  If you move the joystick left the player moves left, move it right the player moves right, but put the joystick in an almost center state and the player stops.  The only difference is the speed of the ship which is determined by how far you move the joystick.  It has two speeds: slow and fast.  Both come in handy in avoiding enemies and their fire.

    Visually it is better than the 2600 port but that is about it.  I love the game because I grew to like it.  It was one of the first games I got Christmas morning with the system...but it is not 100% accurate.  The yellow Galaxians are not right, it has glitches if you know where to find them, and the sounds are way off.  It is still fun, still uses the same rules, and the 5200 can give a butt whippin' especially on skill level 9.  But I don't think it would work well with a paddle-modded controller.

     

    Ah, got it. I thought it might be like a paddle with the whole non-self-centering joystick. Thanks for enlightening me.

  12. Activision Patch-worthy Scores of Atari I/O

    in Atari 2600

    Posted

    11 minutes ago, socrates63 said:

    ee794b4eb4f623564d8fce8eb0125afd.jpg.b15fa4e5182dcaa1773666a9512de386.jpg  Great work, Harry! I played Crackpots a couple of times a few months ago. I didn't know what I was doing -- should have read the manual.

    So it's kind of like reverse Kaboom in a way; you're the guy at the top throwing stuff down. You drop flowerpots at the spiders below. There are 12 in a wave, I believe, and you have to make sure you don't let more than six of them in the building. If you let them in, they will eat a layer of the building, making the distance between the spiders on the ground and the windows closer. There are four kinds of spiders: 

    Black: these guys move up in a straight line to the windows

    Blue: these ones zig-zag, but not very wide; treat them like the black ones

    Red: these will move diagonally. The window they enter will be 3 spaces away from where they start climbing (2 if the building is low enough). You have to anticipate where they are going to be.

    Green: like the blue spiders, these will zig-zag, but they cover more horizontal ground. Time these decently well. It's easier on later levels as they move faster and will most likely hit your flowerpot.

    The game ends when the spiders eat just below the six red bricks near the top of the building. Good luck and enjoy!

  17. My trip to Aztalanan

    in Quick, Tell Us A Story!

    Posted

    This weekend my family went to Aztalan State Park. It is this ancient civilization thing they excavated. They don't know much about it. It's a sort of Mississippian civilization like the Aztecs sort of. There was even a dirt pyramid! They speculate that they partook in ritual sacrifice. It's from around 1000-1200 ad. It is a mystery why it is so far north and so much bigger than others they found like it; they had no written language. It was pretty creepy with the lack of people, the overcast skies, and chilly weather. We had a picnic there. It was very interesting.

    image.jpg.9fde9789907564ef4348d703dae900bb.jpg

  25. Activision Patch-worthy Scores of Atari I/O

    in Atari 2600

    Posted

    34 minutes ago, socrates63 said:

    @HDN not quite but almost there. 3800 is the minmum patch score

    WHOOPS! I misread it as 3,600! Well, here ya go. Still a far cry from my previous high score of 8,158, but 5,369 is good enough for now.

    101_0929.JPG.e06f600e5798c0d320638c604336e1ea.JPG

    I've been trying for Crackpots recently. It's hard and I haven't gotten within 20,000 points of the patch, but it's super fun and I'm definitely improving. I think I'm going to take a break from Crackpots and try for Kaboom or a higher level on Starmaster. I have a better shot at those for now, but expect a Crackpot soon!

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