Fangorn81

Anyone know what is going on under the hood of this thing? Likelihood of adding ROMs? How are breakout and pong included when I don't see any paddle control??

Haha, I think I just figured it out. It looks like that's one of the screw holes and it just has something jammed in there.... Duh.

I was at a vintage/thrift store this weekend and saw a Flashback 2 sitting on the shelf. There was no box or anything, and I already have two working 2600 consoles but I can't resist Atari stuff so I pick it up and give it the once over. I think it was marked at like $35-40 or something dumb so I was ready to move on.... Until I noticed this: Now, I'm no Flashback expert, but I've never seen a joystick with a green LED (or maybe just a light?) on the bottom. It doesn't look like a mod, the hole looks like part of the molded controller...The rest of the joystick had all the same traits as the Flashback joysticks I have at home, threaded removable stick, logo without the word "Atari" under it on the front, but this has me stumped. Plus I can't find anything about it on the forum, or in a Google image search. Is this some kind of unicorn or just a variant I missed in the past few years?

Did this happen? I just came across my Dig Dug design from way back then. I don't remember if I ever got an email or not...I certainly never got to trade any labels! O_o

Well, I hope everyone's rude opinions on what is or isn't art and at what price someone should be allowed to sell something that they created doesn't keep the game's author from answering my question. I think $500 is high, but I also know what it's like to work for countless hours and spend thousands of dollars on something purely for the love of it, and not ever come close to making any money off all your efforts. I created a theme for jailbroken iPhones, which has been downloaded around 14,000 times and i have received ONE donation for $5. I also have never made any money (despite winning awards, and spending around $4000 to make them) from any of my short films. But sometimes you just want other people to enjoy what you have created. I think he has every right to try and get whatever he wants/feels his work is worth. If you disagree that's fair. Not everyone can afford to give things away, and I think the limited run of 20 games is more of an attempt to be able to live off what he does than make his work unaccessable to the masses. I don't see any need to talk crap about someone else's art just because something about it doesn't suit you. The $20 version is definitely fairly priced, and while it may not have a real Atari cart included, at least he's made the experience of his work available to anyone with $20, not JUST the 20 people who can afford the limited edition. I'm sure people willing to buy one of the limited run are aware that they are making an investment in an artist they believe in, as much as they are buying a limited edition piece of artwork. Ok, rant has concluded.

Ian. I am glad you are on these forums! I have been following A Slow Year for a while, waiting for it to be released. I have met with mild disappointment, though, since I would love to have the game on a real Atari cart, but could never afford the $500 limited edition. I understand the logic in it, but it leaves many of us cart-less! Would you have a problem with someone (me) buying the regular CD and booklet edition and paying to have the .bin put on a cart through AtariAge? I wouldn't attempt to replicate the Limited Edition cart labels or anything. I just want to play it properly on a console. Or, perhaps you could release a sort of 2nd tier edition in between the two available now that includes a cart but no fancy leather cases or editions or signature?

Second that.

No, neither the inside of the housing nor the circuit boards, or pin-outs are worked out. This is just sort of a proof of concept rendering. Most likely if this were ever produced, it would end up looking far different. And, what do you mean remote? It is really a "far from necessary" concept. Maybe if the entire 2600 chipset gets fully reverse engineered, and a system-on-a-chip gets produced, we can release a whole new console with S-video & HDMI out, Pause (on the controller), USB joystick ports and controllers with the Select, Reset, B/W and Power switches built in like shoulder buttons (so playing Space Shuttle would actually be feasible without crouching down 2 feet away from the TV). Now that would be cool. But, I'm getting off topic!

As promised:

Now I can't wait to get home so I can play this thing! Looks really great from the screen shots. Awesome.

New renderings coming tonight! Of course, these are still just drawings...and fairly simple ones at that. Just to get the idea across. I like the hard angles, but I totally see why people would want something a bit softer in the hand...

I'd have to say it's a tie between the original Xbox and the Intellivision. Both quite hideous. Contrary to many, I think the TurboGrafix 16, NES, Jaguar and more were designed rather well. I think a good test is to see how well the designs hold up over time. Solid lines, good visual weight, balance between different elements and a nice palette of colors all make many of these machines still look pretty cool today.

Ok, I didn't get to that rendering last night. But, it's on my priority list!

I am really starting to think I should try to go all out with the modular aspect of this...I have something brewing in my brain. I'll have to try and whip up a rendering when I get home.

You wouldn't be using both the paddle and the D-pad at the same time. You just plug in whichever one you need for the game you are playing. I think the large main image may be misleading some people... EDIT: Now I see what you are saying...I feel like it wouldn't be too hard to have separate contacts inside the socket that complete the circuit differently for the fire button depending on which module is plugged in. Yes, that is my intention. I have no idea why any of this would come into play?! @.@; It seems feasible to incorporate a micro controller (or something) to be able to send signal from two paddles at once, but could the Atari console make use of such input coming in from one joystick port? Also, It could be possible to also have a two button "Core" or a joystick module, or a keypad module, or even a trackball module....that would make it one versatile controller!

I've been kicking around this idea for a while and want to know what people think of it. The idea is that you can save space, reducing the joystick "rats nest" and also get a more reliable controller to play your classic games. The Atari 2600 is my target console, but I suppose any one-button serial port setup could be feasible, or even USB. If you can't tell from the picture, the central "core" module has the fire button and the cord, and the other D-pad and paddle modules plug into either side of it (whichever you prefer) depending on which game you're playing. I grew up on the Coleco Gemeni, so the idea of a different/revamped controller for the Atari 2600 doesn't seem at all like heresy to me, but I'd like to know if you all agree.

I would have voted for the back of design #1 on the front of a shirt with the word "red" taken out of the tag line, and the AtariAge logo on the back centered... But the new design is pretty cool too.

Ok, so this is gonna sound stupid. I forgot all about this until last night! good thing it hasn't gone ahead yet. But, man has it taken a while! I am still in!

I am interested, but I certainly couldn't afford a fair offer!

I can't follow the guide because the board isn't the same?