+Allan Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 UPDATE: Keithen has added the spinners and the spikes so things are progressing. He just needs a few more programming days before he can send me a playable version to test. I will try to post any screenshots that I can once that happens. Fantastic. I think it really is going to happen!!! Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigO Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 (edited) The picture I saw had literally removed the stick from a 5200 controller and replaced it with a spinner. Not sure if I'll find it again... or maybe it was posted in response to my original Q. Have to go look... Interesting. Most of those are quadrature encoders (like the 2600's driving controller) and they return a sequence like 00 01 11 10 as they're turned. This means they need 2 extra digital lines which the 5200 doesn't have. I guess you could tie them into the pot lines and do fast pot scanning and read them. -Bry Would it be possible to repurpose some of the keypad I/O lines to be used by a quadrature encoder? I know they're pulsed and polled and whatnot so they might not be able to be read fast enough. But, given that a quadrature encoder can be read by a 2600 without the POKEY chip, the 5200 might be able to read those lines fast enough to catch the state changes. I know that one of the fire buttons connects directly to the GTIA, but the other is read by the POKEY through the 4052 multiplexer. If one were extremely desirous of supporting a true spinner and the POKEY couldn't read its I/O lines fast enough, you could maybe use the GTIA connected fire button inputs from two ports and have players alternate using one controller in a two player game (assuming a 2 port 5200). All academic, since it's highly unlikely that anyone would write a game to support a non-existent controller or adapter. Edited October 25, 2007 by BigO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Helmet Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 That would so be awesome, especially because it is Tempest! Thank you. Thank you very much... Actually you probably could do that somehow. All you would need to do is get power to the LED's somehow. Isn't there a power line in the cartridge port? Tempest It has been done with a 2600 cart before (Tronman) Yes, but someone would have to create molds for 5200 cartridge shells (which to my knowledge has never been done) and then produce a run of translucent carts. Would be very cool, but also crazy expensive, especially for the 5200 where you'd never recoup your investment in the molds. I sure would have liked to have new cartridge shells for Adventure II, as I spent a great deal of time removing labels, removing glue residue, disassembling the carts, and finally scrubbing the cart halves under running water (mainly to get rid of all the crap that gets stuck in the grooves along the sides). If I was to make a new 5200 shell, it would be a much simpler design!! ..Al A simpler design would be cool. I'd model it after the 2600 shell...complete with a spot for the end label Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 Allan That's clever. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 A simpler design would be cool. I'd model it after the 2600 shell...complete with a spot for the end label Yeah, having a drawer full of 5200 carts is a pain because you can't tell what the heck they are (well, except for most of the third-party carts). ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Allan Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 Allan That's clever. ..Al I have to credit CPUWIZ for the idea for the LED. It was my idea how to use though. Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxsolo2000 Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 Ideas like this are one of the reasons why I want to finally get a 5200 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phuzaxeman Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 Ideas like this are one of the reasons why I want to finally get a 5200 no 5200? you need to get one....you're missing out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
classics Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 A simpler design would be cool. I'd model it after the 2600 shell...complete with a spot for the end label Hmm sort of like the Big-5 cases but with little recesses for labels on the front and top? Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxsolo2000 Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 Ideas like this are one of the reasons why I want to finally get a 5200 no 5200? you need to get one....you're missing out. Sad I know but very true. Hopefully by Christmas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcleverly Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 Ideas like this are one of the reasons why I want to finally get a 5200 no 5200? you need to get one....you're missing out. Sad I know but very true. Hopefully by Christmas now, curious question.... how long is it gonna take the game from being finished to production copies?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Helmet Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 A simpler design would be cool. I'd model it after the 2600 shell...complete with a spot for the end label Hmm sort of like the Big-5 cases but with little recesses for labels on the front and top? Steve Exactly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 Hopefully, they'll fit better in a 5200 than the Big 5 cartridges do. I have to stick an index card in the cartridge slot to keep Miner 2049'er from freezing on me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcleverly Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 i dunno. i think at least one version should be released with a standard atari 5200 cart case, like it would have had it made it to production... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 i dunno. i think at least one version should be released with a standard atari 5200 cart case, like it would have had it made it to production... I don't think there's any danger of new 5200 shells being produced, so no need to really worry about that. And I do agree that a 5200 Tempest should be released in genuine Atari shells. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scihorror Posted November 2, 2007 Share Posted November 2, 2007 I don't think there's any danger of new 5200 shells being produced, so no need to really worry about that. And I do agree that a 5200 Tempest should be released in genuine Atari shells. ..Al I have a few commons that I can donate for the cause once it's ready to be produced... Al, is there anything that would help you from a production standpoint before common carts are traded in? (i.e., would you prefer that labels are removed, carts scrubbed, etc.?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted November 3, 2007 Share Posted November 3, 2007 I don't think there's any danger of new 5200 shells being produced, so no need to really worry about that. And I do agree that a 5200 Tempest should be released in genuine Atari shells. ..Al I have a few commons that I can donate for the cause once it's ready to be produced... Al, is there anything that would help you from a production standpoint before common carts are traded in? (i.e., would you prefer that labels are removed, carts scrubbed, etc.?) The most time consuming aspect now of producing 5200 games is getting the carts ready. This involves: 1) Removing labels. Less than half of 5200 labels can be removed just via heat gun, as the glue on the others is just too damn strong. For the others, I have to let them soak in a fun chemical for a bit and then scrape them off with a plastic scraper. Using the chemical is not the preferred way of doing it, as it's more time consuming as the top half of the cart has to soak, then I can usually get most of the label off, then soak again, get the rest of the label off, then rinse the carts thoroughly, and then let them air dry. 2) Disassemble the carts, separating all the pieces (two cart shell halves, two plastic dust cover pieces, metal spring, screw, PCB). 3) Scrubbing the two cart shell halves under warm water. In particular the sides with the notches are scrubbed with a nylon scrub brush to get any dirt buildup out of them (those notches are dirt magnets!) 4) The carts must then dry before disassembly. Overall it's a pain in the neck, so yes, receiving carts with the labels removed would be a big help. If you do remove labels from the carts, please do not scrape them off with anything that will dig into the label surface, as I am unable to use carts damaged in this way. Thanks! ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Cafeman Posted November 3, 2007 Share Posted November 3, 2007 I experienced the exact same !@#$ problems. WHAT A PAIN. Another question for Al - is it problematic to find enough 5200 shells, or are they still plentiful? I had guesssed that 5200 fans would have moved to RAM Carts/online distr. of ROMs by now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4ever2600 Posted November 12, 2007 Share Posted November 12, 2007 Just an FYI Al, as per our last conversation, I have 24 Atari 5200 carts (commons) I'll be happy to part with for the TEMPEST cause, that's a guarantee. I'm gonna try removing labels off of them for you. I've done it in the past, it is a pain, though I know I can do this without damageing the carts... Anyways, I'll keep ya posted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted November 12, 2007 Share Posted November 12, 2007 I experienced the exact same !@#$ problems. WHAT A PAIN. Another question for Al - is it problematic to find enough 5200 shells, or are they still plentiful? Not problematic, per se, but I have to be more vigilant about it than I do with 2600 shells (which are vastly more plentiful). This is complicated by the fact that 5200 labels are often notoriously difficult to remove. I had guesssed that 5200 fans would have moved to RAM Carts/online distr. of ROMs by now. This is great for playing the many prototypes and homebrews for which the ROMs have been released, but nothing beats having a purpose-built, physical cart of a game in your hand. As it was true for Adventure II, I'm sure people will also want a nice looking Tempest cart they can pop into their system and play. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted November 12, 2007 Share Posted November 12, 2007 Just an FYI Al, as per our last conversation, I have 24 Atari 5200 carts (commons) I'll be happy to part with for the TEMPEST cause, that's a guarantee. I'm gonna try removing labels off of them for you. I've done it in the past, it is a pain, though I know I can do this without damageing the carts... Anyways, I'll keep ya posted! That's great, thanks! ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorf Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 So where does Tempest5200 stand at this point? Are we getting closer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[d2f]Iggy*SJB Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 The pricing is not yet known, Albert might know as he is handling all the publishing. The main problem is coming up with 300 cartridge cases. Yup, that's why I grab them when I can. Allan Now I feel like an idiot for throwing away 3 dead carts a few years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 The pricing is not yet known, Albert might know as he is handling all the publishing. The main problem is coming up with 300 cartridge cases. Yup, that's why I grab them when I can. Allan Now I feel like an idiot for throwing away 3 dead carts a few years ago. *Gasp!!* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutchman2000 Posted December 16, 2007 Author Share Posted December 16, 2007 So where does Tempest5200 stand at this point? Are we getting closer? Current status is: Pulsars, zooming and enemy shots need to be added. Then general code cleanup and debugging. Spinners and spikes were implemented and I will be posting screen shots of those soon. Keithen is making great progress in his spare time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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