phuzaxeman
-
Posts
1,056 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Blogs
Gallery
Events
Store
Posts posted by phuzaxeman
-
-
1 hour ago, christo930 said:
To be honest, I'm not particularly crazy about Breakout on the 2600. But Super Breakout improves the game in every way. I especially like the "progressive" version of the game. Oddly enough, the progressive setting is the one minor shortcoming of the game and that was the lack of RAM (presumably, since any cell on the screen can be a brick or not a brick, this would mean 2 screens worth of RAM, both the player and the non-playing player) to make it a 2 player game. But since I rarely play Super Breakout with friends today, it's not really an issue.
I never noticed any "ram" issue with progressive mode. As a family, we even played 4 players on Super Breakout progressive mode.
1 hour ago, christo930 said:It's not really about what I like or don't like, though admittedly, I do "like" the paddle control. It's how the game was designed in the first place. From day 1 it was meant to use a paddle and the arcade cabinets had paddle controllers. To be the most authentic to the arcade, it has to played with a paddle.
I've been to a lot of arcades in the 80s. A lot. I've never seen a Super Breakout machine let along a machine with paddles. The arcade analogy doesn't apply.
Asteroids was made to control with buttons. Should we dog the Atari 2600 Asteroids game because people love using the 2600 sticks but it was not like the arcade?
The 5200 sticks play Super Breakout perfectly for me.
1 hour ago, christo930 said:It's not like I don't "know" the analog stick version. I just find it doesn't control well for me despite giving it a lot of effort. Some people can work around bad controls, some cannot. I'm just one of those who cannot.
If it doesn't work for you and you prefer paddles that's fine. But you cannot deny the fact that it works fine for me. To say the 5200 sticks are bad controls for Super Breakout is ignorant. Bad controls wouldn't allow me to get high scores. The 5200 sticks in the 80s were unreliable not bad. Imagine playing Super Breakout on the Colecovision or Intellivision.
-
11 minutes ago, leech said:
So just to throw a wrench in here... what if someone built a 5200 style controller option for the XL?
I've read about this topic before. I'm not a programmer but using 5200 sticks for the 8bit to work like a 5200 would also need reprogramming of the 8bit software itself to move and feel like the 5200. I imagine playing games like Realsports Baseball or Star Raiders using the 5200 keypad on the 8bit would also need the keypad to be routed. Programmers would have more technical insight.
-
1
-
-
On 4/5/2022 at 12:33 PM, baktra said:
Please use the following link:
https://baktra.wz.cz/baha-software/train-for-atari-5200/
I've migrated to a small paid hosting. The previous one was a decent free hosting, however the data was completely destroyed by a ransomware attack.
I just played the Train game on my 5200. I thought it was another version from the 8bit. I've never tried this one. It reminds me of Snafu on Intellivision but with trains. I thought the controllers worked well. I had to wait for it to start because it didn't start when I press the start button.
Everything else works great!
Thanks so much for your work and adding the Train game to the 5200 library.
-
10 hours ago, ledzep said:
Meaning, Breakout (any version) is supposed to be played with a paddle. Doesn't matter if some people like/do great with analog joysticks (or trak-balls), paddle über alles. It's more accurate (more precise stopping from one direction to the other) and it's what the game expects.
I disagree with you. It does matter if people like the analog sticks. It's what I play and prefer. To say that 5200 Super Breakout is supposed to be played on paddles is an opinion. 5200 Super Breakout was created with the analog sticks in mind.
Second, using paddles on 5200 Super Breakout doesn't mean it's more accurate and the 5200 analog sticks are inaccurate. I grew up with the 2600 Breakout and 5200 Super Breakout and I find that the 5200 analog sticks are more accurate to me. It's actually physically faster to go from right to left using analog sticks than to turn a paddle. I've tested it. I grew up on the analog sticks and that's why I'm good at it.
That's like someone telling me to use digital sticks for 5200 Galaxian because digital sticks are more accurate. Lol.
Some visitors are forgetting that there are 5200 fans that grew up on the 5200 in an Atari 5200 forum.
-
16 hours ago, Flyindrew said:
To start, aside from Neo Breakout on Atari 50, the 5200/8 bit version of Super Breakout is my favorite. But....I kinda have to disagree about the controller. I have Super Breakout both on my 5200 and 8 bit cartridge. The traditional paddle controller (on the 8 bit) is far superior than the 5200 controller. However, there are other 5200 games (looking at you Defender, Moon Patrol, Pole Position) where I love the traditional 5200 controller as opposed to a CX40 or 7800 controller.
I have the Atari Age scores to back up my claims the 5200 sticks are great for Super Breakout. And in 1982, 5200 Super Breakout was it's only version with this analog sticks.
I get it. Most people like the traditional 2600 Breakout with paddle controllers. That's what people know.
But games like 5200 Super Breakout, Centipede, and Galaxian really make the 5200 controllers a unique experience and an advantage in my case.
Modern technology has fixed the reliability issues and given the 5200 different controller options too.
-
1
-
-
On 6/8/2023 at 8:30 PM, christo930 said:
"Uh, the controller is entirely unsuitable for the game and the game is from the 70s with very basic graphics and sound that looks and plays near perfectly on the old not-super system"
I get the humor. And Super Breakout wouldn't be my choice for a pack in game.
But the stock controls are perfect for Super Breakout. Better then the 2600 paddle for Breakout for me.
There is a difference between 2600 breakout and 5200 Super Breakout starting with the more detailed graphics even if it is minimal. The effect of the bricks disintegrating are cool. The sounds are also better too on the 5200. 2600 breakout is clunky and redundant compared to the 5200.
Super Breakout gets ridiculed because it was the pack in game but it's a great title and many hard core 5200 fans stand behind it.
The controller had an issue with reliability. Today, that issue is not a problem with updates. The controls is what made the 5200 a cutting edge experience. If you don't know how to use them or didn't grow up with them, you don't understand.
-
2
-
-
On 6/13/2023 at 2:08 PM, BIGHMW said:
I have that DVD (the original 1999 DVD release in the snapcase) where's the glitch at? I've never seen the film, I have it, 300, and also plan on getting John Wick (the first one) since that, like the other two, has the same FX in it, John Wick 4 dropped today on DVD. How good is the John Wick series of films, I'm not too much a fan of new (post-2010) films as I consider most of them to be nothing more than frivolous crap coming out of Hollywood mostly with actors I've never even heard of. I haven't even gone into a movie theater since 2003 (Terminator 3 - Rise Of The Machines).
Watch the films so you can see the glitch.
-
1
-
-
On 6/17/2023 at 3:40 PM, x=usr(1536) said:
Call me strange, but I'm pretty sure that THE GUY WHO ACTUALLY WRITES SOFTWARE gets to call the shots on both how appreciation is perceived and what he works on, not you.
He won't understand. It's like a broken record that doesn't stop...
-
2
-
1
-
-
On 6/17/2023 at 5:34 AM, BIGHMW said:
I was going to try and get 5200 Tempest ported over so I could play her on the XL/XE/XEGS as opposed to having to be stuck with 2 different systems....
You actually did try to get 5200 Tempest on the 8bit.
I'm glad it didn't happened officially and is a 5200 exclusive.
-
2
-
-
2 hours ago, MrFish said:
He may be exaggerating (which everybody knows is for the sake humor and drama), but the main points he's making are reality.
1. No end labels. Not having end labels sucks.
2. The controllers have serious failure issues.
3. Pumping electricity through the RF modulator was a bad choice -- which was basically admitted by Atari when they eliminated it.
4. The console is a bit oversized. It may be a plus or not a big deal for some people; but it's a fact worth noting.
5. 3rd party controllers exist, but there are factors to be aware of regarding them.
6. The 5200 failed (and disappeared) as the successor to the 2600; meanwhile, life continued on for the 2600 many years.
1. I prefer the clean look on my shelf. End labels are overrated.
2. The controls are great. I have the scores that prove it. I'll challenge anyone on Centipede using the stock controls. The failure is the flex and the buttons. I have 12+ year old controls from the upgrades. I've broken 3 2600 sticks since then.
4. The oversized console allows me to store my controllers and protect them. That's why my controllers have lasted 12+ years.
5. I don't need 3rd party controls because of the upgrades like new flex and gold dot buttons.
6. Every Atari console not name the 2600 failed in the grand scheme of things. But programmers like you and fans like me have the 5200 living today. More people are joining the 5200 cult.
-
2
-
-
1 hour ago, MrFish said:
Yes, there are some individuals, like yourself, who care about it. It's too bad there aren't more. I do see a fair amount of support for @Ryan Witmer's work. Also, I should note, that, even though I don't own a 5200, I always support those working on development; because I'd like to see the system continue getting more software. Plus, in my eyes, if they're working on the 5200, they're working on the 8-bit computers -- even if they don't end up porting their work over. It's the same basic hardware.
TBH, I'm making my judgement based on a the few hacks that I carried over from the 8-bits quite a few years ago (2015, 2016..); but I seriously got no response whatsoever for them (except for the hundreds of downloads). It's possible things have changed over the years, somewhat, since then.
Here are the threads where they were posted.
I may have done one or two more hacks before quitting. I don't recall exactly.
The details of your updates are great! Thanks again for those updates. I'm not always on here so I missed these.
If you look at @ryan's threads there are a lot of members that have been grateful.
I think there's a lot of 5200 emulator people that come and go that are downloading that don't always say thanks. But if you've been Facebook, there's a lot of people that truly are thankful for people like you and other programmers for their generosity.
I played the 5200 from 82-84. From 84-into the 90's, it was all the 8bit. Unless one have owned the 5200, the 5200 and 8bit have different experiences. Centipede alone is a perfect example. Th 8bit version vs 5200 is totally different based on the analog/trackball alone.
If you play Intellidiscs with the 5200 controls, it's also much different. There's an Intellivision feel that the 8bit joystick lacks that the 5200 can recreate because of the keypad. It's those details for a purist gamer like me that understands that.
You cannot play properly 5200 Realsports Baseball on the 8bit because of the limitations on the controller. If I want to bunt, the 5200 allows you to move the analog stick half way which a digital stick cannot do. Also, when I want to throw, I press the top button (an Atari stick has only 1) to select the player who I'm throwing on defense. It's those details that are left out when people make a debate between the 8bit vs 5200. I come from both sides but my 5200 gets more playtime in 2023.
-
1
-
-
37 minutes ago, MrFish said:
Also, my point about the many downloads, is that apparently the 5200 community (in the broad sense) isn't all that small. So, I get the sense that 5200 community generally doesn't care whether or not new or updated software is created for the system. And if they don't care, then neither do I about producing it. I'll put my time back into what I'm interested in doing.
I have thanked every programmer that have offered their work on Atariage. I appreciate your work and others that have contributed to the 5200. I also have put my money to support the homebrews that have been released over the years. Not every 5200 owner here is ungrateful.
-
2
-
-
Just now, Stephen said:
It's been a few weeks - what did you expect?
It's like this glitch from the Matrix that won't go away.
-
1
-
2
-
-
1 hour ago, BIGHMW said:
Any possibility, even remotely that since I've got both posted here that somebody can make a 5200 version of either one depending on which one can be converted as I still don't have the AVG Cart (Ultimate Cart is still not available)?
Are you requesting another 5200 conversion? Seriously?
-
1
-
-
2 hours ago, zzip said:
Stuff spread from BBS to BBS, either somebody was paying the long distance charges or shipping disks around. In the US it wasn't hard to find European software on the BBSes, so I imagine the reverse was true.
There was also stuff like "Fido Net" that allowed BBSes to set up a dial-up network with other BBSes and share content (forum posts and email for sure, download wouldn't surprise me)
Those 300 baud modems took forever. lol.
-
1
-
-
4 minutes ago, Tempest said:
No he was from the US. My best guess is that the employees at Atari UK got it from a BBS or disks that got passed around.
I remember, there were some 5200 conversions that I was able to get on my Atari 800Xl like Countermeasure in the late 80s. There were some sound glitches I encountered.
-
1 hour ago, Tempest said:
Sort of. Atari UK accidentally used the 5200 Centipede on one of their compilation cassettes.
Was Glenn from Europe? How did 5200 Centipede make its way to Europe?
-
3 hours ago, Tempest said:
Yes, I helped beta test it.
That's awesome!
-
6 hours ago, Tempest said:
I grew up with the 8-Bit version and loved it. I haven't really played the 5200 version much because I'm so used to the 8-Bit version that it feels off even though it's actually closer to the arcade game (which I've also never played more than once). Odd how they never back ported the 5200 version like they did with Dig Dug.
Hey Tempest, have you played 5200 Tempest? It's another arcade port that was amazingly done that's not available on the 8bit.
-
1
-
-
On 6/11/2023 at 1:44 PM, edladdin said:
Many, many hours and much love playing this on my 4 port 5200 as a teenager. I never saw the arcade version back in the Golden Age, and precious few since then. By coincidence, I just saw one at Funspot last week!
Great find!
-
5 hours ago, BassGuitari said:
*Raises hand*
I wasn't familiar with the game until I started getting into Atari stuff in the late '90s. I actually had it in my collection for several years before I made a serious attempt to play it; it didn't seem interesting to me at first. Once I knew how the game worked, I really got into it. It's one of my go-to Atari 5200 games now. (Although, so are most Atari 5200 games. There aren't too many duds on this system!)
Very cool!
-
Cool design. I would advertise on the Atari 5200 page too. Cheers.
-
1
-
-
First try in a long time, 39,800.
-
18 hours ago, Cafeman said:
You better believe I love 5200 Qix (and the coin-op original). Qix is one of my most-played 5200 game, addictive game. We did a HSC of 5200 Qix a few months back (I didn't win), loved playing it again.
A8 Qix is so slow at filling in the playfield though.
It takes so long if you're filling up a large space. Seems like forever.
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
5200 and the arcade experience
in Atari 5200
Posted · Edited by phuzaxeman
For you. Did you want me to make video of me clearing a screen with no problem on Super Breakout and the controllers can be used flawlessly?