Sabertooth

2' 21" 37
Via Retroarch. I thought that I would get one in early.

 

Agreed, Saber! I have about 35 CIB Jag games so far and the game drive. I think it's also great for those to experience the Jag who have not yet. This is a free, easy way to enjoy those games for the first time! I also just got the Atari USB stick earlier tonight, will be doing a special on that soon.  Unboxed it later on in this episode along with the Flashback 50 Gold.

Very excited for this emulator even though I have a Jaguar Game Drive and a complete retail collection. I just love that more people will be able to experience the Jaguar. The Atari50 inclusions really don't do the platform justice- though Atari Karts, T2K and MC3D are all great.

Guess WHAT?!! A brand new Atari Jaguar emulator was released tonight! It's called BIGPEMU, it's free, plays in 4K, runs the ENTIRE Jaguar game library (with CD game support coming soon) & available now! Also: My Atari goodies arrived! What did I get? I unbox them for you, and also... a mysterious package also arrived from Europe bearing the name 'Microless.' What could it be?! STAY TUNED!
 
 

Here is a pretty decent first impressions video from John Hancock on this PC stick and walk through of Debian. It gives you a pretty good sense of what it can be used for from a gaming perspective but he doesn't get into productivity. Still worth checking out if you're curious about Linux on a VCS.
 

I tried using Linux, or more specifically Raspbian, once. I know everyone likes it but I personally can’t stand it. It’s probably a me problem but it seems like none of the programs I like to use are compatible with it.

Pros for Linux: Easy GUI (like macOS), lots of free and open-source productivity programs, free and open-source OS.
Cons for Linux: Might want to understand UNIX better to get its full potential, especially for compiling programs for use.

I was doing some testing with Debian 11 (Bullseye) today running as a "virtual machine" on the VCS. Using a fast USB, the VCS ran it like a champ. It was very quick for basic productivity apps and I ran a few modern games off of it without issue. I was actually surprised to get that performance out of the USB boot drive.
It was also cool that it recognized my VCS Classic and Modern Controllers via BT. Those Controllers need to be wired for Windows/XBOX Mode.

F-ZERO
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Controller: CONTROL PAD / KEYBOARD / PLAYER'S CHOICE
Difficulty Level: Grand Prix > Knight League > Standard Class > Mute City I
Bonus Challenge: Grand Prix > Knight League > Standard Class > Silence
Play on: Real Hardware / Dedicated Console / MAME / Emulation OK! ✔
Squad Challenge ends 11:59 pm PST December 31, 2022
Nominated by @Justin and @Atari 5200 Guy 
 
 
Objective
Play for the best possible time using the difficulty settings defined in the challenge. Post a photo or YouTube video of your score in this thread. Scores must be achieved between December 1st through December 31st, 2022. Screen captures are not allowed as they are more easily manipulated for falsified scores. Multiple submissions are permitted. The player with the fastest time at the end of the competition is the victor!
 
Eligibility
Anyone can join in. All players are welcome!
 
Play Rules
Games may be played on real hardware, Flashback / Mini console, or emulation, using any controller or keyboard, following all rules and game settings defined in the challenge. Choosing between real hardware or emulation, and choosing which controller to play on is part of formulating your strategy. Enhancements, rewinds and hacked versions of this game are not allowed.
 
Difficulty Level
Grand Prix > Knight League > Standard Class > Mute City I. This will be the 1st Circuit on Knight League, which will appear first when you begin your game. We are playing for the best overall time to complete the circuit at Mute City I. At the title screen select GRAND PRIX. Players may select any air car they wish. Next, select the League and class in which you wish to race. Players will select KNIGHT LEAGUE, then STANDARD CLASS. This will start you at Mute City I. For the primary Squad Challenge, we only need to post our scores for Mute City I. You do not have to play the rest of the courses unless you want to. The main Challenge is for the best overall time to complete the circuit at Mute City I.
 
Bonus Challenge
Grand Prix > Knight League > Standard Class > Silence. We are holding a BONUS CHALLENGE this year! If you complete Knight League and post a time for the Silence Circuit (the final course in Knight League) you can post your score as part of our Bonus Challenge. At the Final Standings we will be posting scores for both Mute City I AND Silence Circuits, similar to a Double Feature like we just did with our Frogger challenge. If submitting a score for the Bonus Challenge, please denote your score as being for the SILENCE Course. Silence is the 5th and last Circuit on Knight League, which will appear after you have successfully completed your race through the previous four Circuits in Knight League, which starts with Mute City I (as explained above).
 
Fair Play
Your integrity is everything. Players should play fairly, be honest, and have fun! Falsified scores will result in your immediate removal from the site. It goes without saying that we will not allow cheats, hacks, cartridge frying, enhancements, rewinds, deceitful photo manipulation, subterfuge, or any other unfair advantage. Everybody hates a cheater.
 
More
To review detailed rules on how to play, please visit the High Score Squad page here: 
 
 
Message
Welcome to our 140th Squad Challenge! This year we're celebrating the holidays and bringing in the new year with a visit back to where it all began, at Mute City I in F-ZERO on Super Nintendo, a true SNES classic! We are also holding a BONUS CHALLENGE for the Silence Circuit at the end of Knight League. I have wonderful Christmas memories of F-ZERO, I received the game with my SNES when I was not expecting much of anything for Christmas. The game brought my family a lot of fun and joy that year, and I love playing F-ZERO around Christmas. For years it's become a bit of a Christmas tradition in my house to play F-ZERO and a few other SNES Classics during the Holidays, and now it's become a tradition every year in the forums too, something special I like to share with all of you. ☃️❄️🎄 F-ZERO is one of the iconic titles on Super Nintendo, and it served as a great demonstration of the Super Nintendo's Mode 7 graphics. F-ZERO was a predecessor to anti-gravity racing leagues such as Wip3out (and probably pod racing!). PDF F-ZERO Instruction Booklet is attached below. Good luck, racers!
 
NOTE: Per conversations with @RickR and other members, we chose to make this a MONTH-LONG SQUAD CHALLENGE to give everybody time to join in and play during the Holiday Season! I hope you enjoy the game!
 
 

 
F-ZERO.pdf

Classic Game Room has a review of F-ZERO for Super Nintendo! It's a great place to start if you're new to the game!
 
 

This is a MONTH LONG Squad Challenge!
You have through December 31st to post your High Score!
Take the extra time to enjoy the game!
 
 

Best of luck to all of the participants in the F-Zero Challenge!

Congratulations greenween and Marco1019!
 
Congratulations to "The Mayor" @greenween for winning the Parker Bros. Frogger Squad Challenge, and likewise to the legendary @Marco1019 for winning the Starpath Frogger Squad Challenge! We had a lot of enthusiasm for our Frogger Double Feature and the high scores are incredible! In our Parker Bros. Squad Challenge for Frogger commonly found on the 2600 cartridge, @greenween went balls out to take the top spot on our leaderboard with an incredible score of 4,119 points! @Marco1019 takes 2nd Place with a score of 3,574 points, and @HDN joined us for this Squad Challenge, taking the 3rd Place spot with 2,301 points. @Csolo @Atari 5200 Guy @RickR @TrekMD and I all joined in on the Parker Bros. cartridge challenge, all posting fantastic scores and having a great time. In our Starpath Supercharger Squad Challenge for "Official Frogger" from Sega on the Starpath cassette, @Marco1019 takes the 1st Place spot on our Final Standings with an outstanding score of 28,190 points! I took 2nd Place with my score of 19,350 points, @TrekMD secured his position at 3rd Place with a score of 16,830, and @RickR rounds things out for us with a strong showing, taking 4th with his score of 8,360 points. Way to go on your incredible performances @greenween and @Marco1019, and THANK YOU to everyone who joined in this Squad Challenge! As always I'd like to encourage "The Mayor" @greenween and the legendary @Marco1019 to  post their new high scores on the Scoreboard, and let's make sure these Frogger Challenges continue on!
Once again, a very special "Thank You" to your Club VCS Moderator @Sabertooth who is doing incredible work hosting Atari VCS "Recharged" Squad Challenges and other fun events in our new Club VCS! If you're a VCS owner or just curious about what's been going on, be sure to check out Club VCS where this month's Challenge will be for Jetboard Joust, and thank Sabertooth for all the hard work he's put into building the best community for VCS gamers!
NOTE: Our next High Score Squad Challenge is a MONTH LONG EVENT: The 2022 F-ZERO Christmas Challenge for SNES. Be there!
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 

 

Jetboard Joust
Atari VCS
Controller: MODERN / PLAYER'S CHOICE
Difficulty Level: DEFAULT
Play on: Real Hardware ✔
Squad Challenge ends 11:59 pm PST December 31, 2022
 
 
Objective
Play for the highest possible score using the difficulty settings defined in the challenge. Post a photo or YouTube video of your score in this thread. Scores must be achieved between December 1st through December 31, 2022.  Screen captures are not allowed as they are more easily manipulated for falsified scores. Multiple submissions are permitted. The player with the highest score at the end of the competition is the victor!
 
Eligibility
This is a Club VCS Exclusive Challenge. All Club VCS players are welcome!
 
Play Rules
Games may be played on real Atari VCS hardware. Choosing which controller to play on is part of formulating your strategy. Enhancements, rewinds and hacked versions of this game are not allowed.
 
Difficulty Level
We are playing Jetboard: Joust in the default  mode. Play as long as you can for the highest score possible!
 
Fair Play
Your integrity is everything. Players should play fairly, be honest, and have fun! Falsified scores will result in your immediate removal from the site. It goes without saying that we will not allow cheats, hacks, cartridge frying, enhancements, rewinds, deceitful photo manipulation, subterfuge, or any other unfair advantage. Everybody hates a cheater.
 
More
To review detailed rules on how to play, please visit the High Score Squad page here: 
 
 
Message
Welcome to our tenth Club VCS Recharged Squad Challenge!!! For this challenge we're taking on Jetboard Joust!
Jetboard Joust is a fast-paced arcade action game by indie developer BitBull.  The game is a clear homage to Eugene Jarvis' excellent Defender.   Jetboard Joust takes the foundational elements of Jarvis’ classic and adds branching pathways, an intriguing upgrade system and fun joust mechanic to create an excellent modern arcade game!
Important note: Because of the unique way that Jetboard Joust handles continues, continues are allowed.  You may choose to play until you are out of continues.  You may also restart with teleports unlocked from a previous playthrough.
Summon the guardians and chart your path as you surf your way to a high score in this squad challenge!
 
Club VCS Recharged Squad Giveaway
This is the final game our second Club VCS Recharged Squad Challenge Giveaway!
1)  All challenge participants will receive one (1) entry for each challenge in which they submit a valid score!
2) The top scorer of each challenge will receive two (2) additional entries - for a total of three (3) entries in a single challenge!
3) On Twitch or Youtube?  Stream or record and post your ClubVCS high score attempt for one (1) additional entry in each round.  You must post a public link to the video in the Challenge.
BUT ARE THERE BUTTONS? 
Yes! We've made another set of ClubVCS buttons to celebrate the games in this series. There will be two ways to get a button set.
1) Win a challenge.
2) Post a valid score to all challenges in the 5 game series.
Only one button set will be mailed per member during the series.
This contest is open to everybody, including Atari I/O Moderators, with a U.S. or Canada  mailing address. It's really easy, all you have to do is participate be a Club VCS member and participate in our Recharged Squad Challenges.
 
 

 

New to Jetboard Joust?  Learn more about the game and why I named it my 2021 GOTY at this entry of the Sabertooth's Game Cave!
Not a reader or detest my shameless self-promotion?  Check out this review from @Mockduck:
 

Jetboard Joust
Atari VCS
Controller: MODERN / PLAYER'S CHOICE
Difficulty Level: DEFAULT
Play on: Real Hardware ✔
Squad Challenge ends 11:59 pm PST December 31, 2022
 
 
Objective
Play for the highest possible score using the difficulty settings defined in the challenge. Post a photo or YouTube video of your score in this thread. Scores must be achieved between December 1st through December 31, 2022.  Screen captures are not allowed as they are more easily manipulated for falsified scores. Multiple submissions are permitted. The player with the highest score at the end of the competition is the victor!
 
Eligibility
This is a Club VCS Exclusive Challenge. All Club VCS players are welcome!
 
Play Rules
Games may be played on real Atari VCS hardware. Choosing which controller to play on is part of formulating your strategy. Enhancements, rewinds and hacked versions of this game are not allowed.
 
Difficulty Level
We are playing Jetboard: Joust in the default  mode. Play as long as you can for the highest score possible!
 
Fair Play
Your integrity is everything. Players should play fairly, be honest, and have fun! Falsified scores will result in your immediate removal from the site. It goes without saying that we will not allow cheats, hacks, cartridge frying, enhancements, rewinds, deceitful photo manipulation, subterfuge, or any other unfair advantage. Everybody hates a cheater.
 
More
To review detailed rules on how to play, please visit the High Score Squad page here: 
 
 
Message
Welcome to our tenth Club VCS Recharged Squad Challenge!!! For this challenge we're taking on Jetboard Joust!
Jetboard Joust is a fast-paced arcade action game by indie developer BitBull.  The game is a clear homage to Eugene Jarvis' excellent Defender.   Jetboard Joust takes the foundational elements of Jarvis’ classic and adds branching pathways, an intriguing upgrade system and fun joust mechanic to create an excellent modern arcade game!
Important note: Because of the unique way that Jetboard Joust handles continues, continues are allowed.  You may choose to play until you are out of continues.  You may also restart with teleports unlocked from a previous playthrough.
Summon the guardians and chart your path as you surf your way to a high score in this squad challenge!
 
Club VCS Recharged Squad Giveaway
This is the final game our second Club VCS Recharged Squad Challenge Giveaway!
1)  All challenge participants will receive one (1) entry for each challenge in which they submit a valid score!
2) The top scorer of each challenge will receive two (2) additional entries - for a total of three (3) entries in a single challenge!
3) On Twitch or Youtube?  Stream or record and post your ClubVCS high score attempt for one (1) additional entry in each round.  You must post a public link to the video in the Challenge.
BUT ARE THERE BUTTONS? 
Yes! We've made another set of ClubVCS buttons to celebrate the games in this series. There will be two ways to get a button set.
1) Win a challenge.
2) Post a valid score to all challenges in the 5 game series.
Only one button set will be mailed per member during the series.
This contest is open to everybody, including Atari I/O Moderators, with a U.S. or Canada  mailing address. It's really easy, all you have to do is participate be a Club VCS member and participate in our Recharged Squad Challenges.
 
 

 

Congratulations tripled!
 
Congratulations to @tripledthe winner of our Gravitar: Recharged Squad Challenge!
@tripled takes his second Squad challenge win at ClubVCS with a galaxy imploding score of 36,889!  It was a crowded field at the top of the podium though with two other players breaking the 30K barrier.  @Davpa posted a last minute 11th hour entry of 31,375 to take the silver!  @stirrell came in just behind with an amazing score of 30,616 to take the bronze!  @Mockduck navigated his way to a score of 19,590 and a fourth place finish.  Finally, your host @Sabertooth and @RickR round out the boards with scores of 15,315 and 9,030, respectively. 
As the winner of this round @tripledwill receive 3 entries in the controller giveaway!
@Davpawill receive two entries since he posted his attempt via Twitch.  Everyone else will receive one entry!
I'd like to encourage @tripled to post his high score on the Scoreboard, and let's make sure this Challenge continues on!
Thanks also to @Marco1019 for getting the word out about this challenge!  If you haven't already, check him out on Twitch at www.twitch.tv/retrowithmarco!
Congratulations to tripled on his big win!  And a big congratulations to the rest of the Squad!  Gravitar: Recharged is one of the toughest games in Atari's new Recharged series and it takes patience and practice to do well.  It's also a vast improvement over the original arcade and 2600 games and makes great use of the Classic Controller.  I hope that everyone enjoyed navigating a variety of challenging environments and testing your skills as pilots.
NOTE: Our next Recharged Squad Challenge is Jetboard Joust! Be there!
 

New to Jetboard Joust?  Learn more about the game and why I named it my 2021 GOTY at this entry of the Sabertooth's Game Cave!
Not a reader or detest my shameless self-promotion?  Check out this review from @Mockduck:
 

Congratulations tripled!
 
Congratulations to @tripledthe winner of our Gravitar: Recharged Squad Challenge!
@tripled takes his second Squad challenge win at ClubVCS with a galaxy imploding score of 36,889!  It was a crowded field at the top of the podium though with two other players breaking the 30K barrier.  @Davpa posted a last minute 11th hour entry of 31,375 to take the silver!  @stirrell came in just behind with an amazing score of 30,616 to take the bronze!  @Mockduck navigated his way to a score of 19,590 and a fourth place finish.  Finally, your host @Sabertooth and @RickR round out the boards with scores of 15,315 and 9,030, respectively. 
As the winner of this round @tripledwill receive 3 entries in the controller giveaway!
@Davpawill receive two entries since he posted his attempt via Twitch.  Everyone else will receive one entry!
I'd like to encourage @tripled to post his high score on the Scoreboard, and let's make sure this Challenge continues on!
Thanks also to @Marco1019 for getting the word out about this challenge!  If you haven't already, check him out on Twitch at www.twitch.tv/retrowithmarco!
Congratulations to tripled on his big win!  And a big congratulations to the rest of the Squad!  Gravitar: Recharged is one of the toughest games in Atari's new Recharged series and it takes patience and practice to do well.  It's also a vast improvement over the original arcade and 2600 games and makes great use of the Classic Controller.  I hope that everyone enjoyed navigating a variety of challenging environments and testing your skills as pilots.
NOTE: Our next Recharged Squad Challenge is Jetboard Joust! Be there!
 

Last minute submission of 31375!

I was doing some testing with Debian 11 (Bullseye) today running as a "virtual machine" on the VCS. Using a fast USB, the VCS ran it like a champ. It was very quick for basic productivity apps and I ran a few modern games off of it without issue. I was actually surprised to get that performance out of the USB boot drive.
It was also cool that it recognized my VCS Classic and Modern Controllers via BT. Those Controllers need to be wired for Windows/XBOX Mode.

this is super cool and well worthit i tried to order one today but sold out.
would be nice if Atari provided a download link. its just a dabian linux with atari recovery utilities on it.
would someone beable to share the ISO of the usb so i can make my own?
 

Here's a video from @Davpa going over initial setup and functionality on a prototype version of the stick.
 

Thank you everyone for the thoughtful input!
Excellent suggestions @RickR, THANK YOU! I've heard good things about LibreOffice. For me to start with Linux would be with daily personal computing, which to a degree could be limited usage. I would be using it as a second machine, so if I ran into a roadblock of something I was unable to do easily with Linux I would have an alternative.
Do you have recommendations for web browsing and e-mail on Linux?
 
That was one of my concerns, and was hopeful that the Linux community had developed easy solutions.
 
That would be my biggest question. I'm curious what you guys are using, and what is commonly used among Linux users for daily computing. It becomes both confusing and incredibly interesting when looking at what hardware to start with, because there are so many options and yet there's no "Linux Store" at the mall. I've seen Bitcoin miners running on classic DMG Game Boys somehow running Linux. I don't see how that's even possible or how that would work for me. The VCS is an option. I've also seen $99 Raspberry Pi keyboards running Linux and able to perform every function of basic personal computing - LibreOffice, web browsing, e-mail and more, all in a low priced "keyboard". It's like the modern equivalent of what an Atari 8-Bit or C64 served, as a low-cost alternative to an expensive IBM. I think of Chrombook as being in this same category as well.
I was thinking of taking an older machine - let's say a 5 year old desktop or laptop in good condition - servicing it and installing Linux on it. Not sold on the idea yet. I'm also not opposed to buying a brand new machine, but I should probably try Linx out first and see if I like it.
 
That's an excellent suggestion and I may go that route as I want to spend more time enjoying the VCS. I hope they keep the VCS around for a long time.
 
I prefer Unix-like systems, and primarily use macOS. I'm very happy with it and there's not a pressing need for me to switch, but I'm curious about Linux, and Linux has been rock solid over the years with the servers I've worked with.
 
What are the three Linux flavors if you don't mind me asking, and is there one you prefer? I'm looking at Kali. I'm also curious about Debian and Ubuntu. What are the pros and cons?
 
That all sounds fun! Part of my curiosity in in the "is this really better, faster, safer" aspect of it all, and "what can I do with it?"
 
My computing history was always ambidextrous, I grew up using both macOS and Windows, (and of course using both Atari 8-bit and Apple II in the early days). I’ve always appreciated the “home appliance“ closed design of systems like Atari and Mac, while simultaneously appreciating open architecture hardware design and open source software. I also like Unix-like systems. Lately I’ve been looking at adding Linux to my daily routine but I wouldn’t even know where to start. I’ve worked with Linux servers but I’ve never had a basic Linux PC on my desk for personal computing. I thought someone in the forums may have taken an old beat-up Dell laptop and repurposed it into a lightning fast Linux machine they could show off. It's a fun idea to play around with.

This is the same emulator that Digital Eclipse used in Atari50. It was built for that purpose and is really solid. There were a lot of questions about whether a standalone emulator was forthcoming. I'm glad that the author is making it available.