RickR

Happiest of birthday wishes to your dad. 80??? He doesn't look that old! Both of your parents look healthy and happy.

I'm going to suggest a switch over to "Strange New Worlds" for you, as it REALLY good. You'll get a flavor of that in Season 2 Discovery. So maybe watch season 2 and then cut over. Very much appreciated. Thanks!

All: There's a great new TI newsletter available for everyone interested in the TI computers. Please take a look here: https://www.chicagotiug.org/chicago-times-newsletter We're also lucky enough to have creator @John Behnke here. Please spread the word and make sure you ask any questions you might have or help you need here in the atari.io forums.

John, I'm going to create a new thread for your newsletter and club. I think it's great and I just started reading your first newsletter today. I hope we can help you drum up more interest.

I can appreciate everyone that can look at these machines objectively. All of them have their plusses and minuses. But mostly, they all offer a ton of retro fun. I was thinking of putting together a quickie "Retro Gaming on TI for New Users" guide here. Just a way for anyone that has interested know what they need to get started. But boy, it sure does add up quickly. Computer (but not a beige one), set of joysticks. 32k sidecar, a flashrom of some kind, voice module (and then do the 5V power fix)....it gets complicated fast.

Jon from GenXGrownUp does a great job explaining how to use the "pause" function to beat the game in 0 seconds! I think this is pretty neat. You know the REAL Superman could do it in 0 seconds 🙂

My wife and I watched S5, E1 last night. I'm eager to know what you all thought. Warning: SPOILERS! Some very general notes: I find it really hard to remember what happened in S4. Something about planets blowing up and then a big argument about how to deal with the aliens. Not a good sign when a nerd like me can't remember what happened. But I guess it has been a while. Lots of action in this episode! I don't know if I like this or not. Mostly because I don't think it's very well done. Examples: LOTS of YELLING! That alien settlement in trouble -- we see the same 5 people over and over. It looks like a rip off of Joku on Star Wars. Where is Rey when you need her? There are moments here from TNG! I love this! But wait, they only last a few moments. I don't like this. I sure hope they re-activate Fred at some point. The Iron Man tech in this show is distracting and pointless. Setting us so far in the future maybe not the best idea. Reminds me of the magic turbolift. Not good. I'm trying to forget that happened. Why no expert from "N'Var" on their mission? Seems very strange. A sign of bad writing. I guess it doesn't matter, they only spend a few action moments on that ship. RickR gives this one a solid C.

Moving the discussion over here. Season 5 has started!

I like to compare the TI to the other computer systems of the time because of all the time I spent in electronics stores as a kid after school. I can remember noodling around on a TI display identical to the one above. I remember being a bit cheesed-off that the screen was so high! Not easy to see for a short kid. Munch-man was the game I'd settle on from the demo and it was a lot of fun. But also, it was pretty obvious that there was no "real" Pac-Man or any other licensed games. Commodore had Gorf/Omega Race -- knowing how cheap Jack Tramiel was, how did they do that??? (This needs more research and would make an interesting topic on its own). TI boxes were pretty boring, about the same as Commodore. Atari had them both beat. But the display of the selection of games -- TI was great. Commodore kiosks were tiny and you had to stoop low to see what they had. What would I do differently knowing the TI system so much better now? They should have emphasized the voice module a lot more in the demos! I think it would have blown people away to have the kiosk showing software that speaks!

4960, playing on a modded PS1 Classic. This game is cute, but it will take some time to get used to the rhythm of the game.

I am trying to decide whether to play on Atari 50 on VCS or load the ATR file on real hardware. There's only one right answer for me....BOTH! I'll let you know which one I like better. 🙂 Also going to see if Pengo is already loaded on my modded PS1 Classic. Scores will be posted soon....

Good question! I think they did the same thing with Berzerk and Mr. Run and Jump when those were on pre-order. They did ship with boxes. It may be worth a question on the Atari Discord. I'll get back to you.

Re-releasing some old games that include a cart and box for $30. Good deal if you ask me. Pre-order now for shipment in May 2024 Ninja Golf: https://atari.com/products/ninja-golf-7800 Food Fight: https://atari.com/products/food-fight-7800 Fatal Run: https://atari.com/products/fatal-run-7800

I've read the book "Commodore: The Inside Story" -- it is excellent. I look forward to watching this video. Thanks!

I wonder if Doom has been ported to it?

I don't own one, but the video reviews I've seen mention that the keyboard (non-functional) has the correct feel to it, meaning raised key edges.

Oldie but goodie

Link to the AtariAge thread: https://forums.atariage.com/topic/362854-atlantis-game-port/ User Cheung has created a really good port of Atlantis for the TI and the ROM is available for download (for free!) Here is a video: Super impressive and I'm going to give this a try on mine. Should work in emulation too.

Change is inevitable

You guys, I'm going to create a "Share Your Vectrex Collection" thread, as we have some truly awesome stuff here for a very unique console.

An update on my old laptop...I found the perfect OS for it... ChromeOS. Installing this turned it into a Chromebook, and you know what? It works great! I've donated it to a disabled gentleman who broke his old Chromebook. Anyway, if anyone else has a really old laptop, you might want to try the ChromeOS install to give it new life.

Sometimes, I have a hard time overlooking that preposterous magic turbolift scene. 🙂 Looking forward to some new Star Trek! Thanks for the reminder.