so_tough! Posted November 9, 2007 Author Share Posted November 9, 2007 Hey Davy I get most of my games from ebay or online..there are a few 7800's for sale on ebay at the minute, thinking of purchasing one-i have no idea why Atari didn't release the pads in America as well? Telegames is far too expensive, but i did get a Jag pad there and bought some Atari magazines from them today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atarifever Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 I'm tempted with Pac man Collection (especially at the current exchange rate). Yeah, I'm making a lot of exchange rate based purchases lately. Gotta love that devaluing American dollar. I'm getting videogame stuff for half the price I was 5 years ago now that our dollar is worth more than theirs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 Bob has made a PAL version of Pac Man Collection, if you are buying it may be worth asking Bob or Albert if they can do a PAL cart for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davyK Posted November 12, 2007 Share Posted November 12, 2007 Bob has made a PAL version of Pac Man Collection, if you are buying it may be worth asking Bob or Albert if they can do a PAL cart for you. yeah..it seems that you can select PAL when ordering it from the Atariage shop. My resolve is failing - found PAL Food Fight yesterday going cheap and I've bought that but it hasn't eased the urge to order Pac man collection Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davyK Posted November 12, 2007 Share Posted November 12, 2007 Well that's that....just gone and ordered it!!!! With delivery its just short of $40 - less than 20 quid - can't be bad for something that has so much kudos behind it with it being homebrew and all. Looking forward to it. I really need to wise up and start buying other people's christmas presents.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
so_tough! Posted November 12, 2007 Author Share Posted November 12, 2007 (edited) Well that's that....just gone and ordered it!!!! With delivery its just short of $40 - less than 20 quid - can't be bad for something that has so much kudos behind it with it being homebrew and all. Looking forward to it. I really need to wise up and start buying other people's christmas presents.... That last line sounds so norn iron so you want to buy me a present? I just bought myself street fighter two for pe engine today! Edited November 12, 2007 by so_tough! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacManPlus Posted November 12, 2007 Share Posted November 12, 2007 Bob has made a PAL version of Pac Man Collection, if you are buying it may be worth asking Bob or Albert if they can do a PAL cart for you. yeah..it seems that you can select PAL when ordering it from the Atariage shop. My resolve is failing - found PAL Food Fight yesterday going cheap and I've bought that but it hasn't eased the urge to order Pac man collection *looks into davyK's eyes and dangles a pocket watch* ... you ... must ... buy ... PacManCollection ... ... you ... must ... buy ... PacManCollection ... ... you ... must ... buy ... PacManCollection ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davyK Posted November 13, 2007 Share Posted November 13, 2007 (edited) Bob has made a PAL version of Pac Man Collection, if you are buying it may be worth asking Bob or Albert if they can do a PAL cart for you. yeah..it seems that you can select PAL when ordering it from the Atariage shop. My resolve is failing - found PAL Food Fight yesterday going cheap and I've bought that but it hasn't eased the urge to order Pac man collection *looks into davyK's eyes and dangles a pocket watch* ... you ... must ... buy ... PacManCollection ... ... you ... must ... buy ... PacManCollection ... ... you ... must ... buy ... PacManCollection ... Don't worry - as you can see earlier in the thread I have already ordered it. You'll feel better getting a sale out of someone who isn't in a hypnotic trance Are these in stock or are they built to order? Edited November 16, 2007 by davyK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davyK Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 (edited) 'tis in transit. Can't wait. I'm of a mind to do a good review of this when I get it comparing it to Ms. Pacman on the Megadrive, the Jakks plug and play and also the Namco Collections for PS2 and PS1. Its funny - I haven't had the 7800 (or the 2600) powered up in ages. Playing these games just brings back the old feelings I had in the early 80s when I really got into games - far better than playing with retro compilations on more modern consoles - good as they are. Its hard to figure out why for instance 7800 Centipede is so addictive - it just is. My 9 year old daughter loves playing in co-op mode. Edited November 15, 2007 by davyK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davyK Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 (edited) Well my copy of Pacman Collection has arrived. I've only had a quick blast through some of the variations and I'm very pleased with it - worth every penny. I will be posting a detailed review of this soon. Some initial thoughts... First of all I have to commend the quality of the presentation - the quality of the cartridge label and manual are better than any official 7800 title I have. The packaging it was sent to me in cannot be faulted either - everything arrived in pristine condition in a strong crush-proof cardboard box filled with polystrene packing chips and the cartridge and manual came in their own polythene sleeves (the manual even had piece of card as a strengthener inserted with it into its sleeve in the off chance it was folded or bent during transit. On the game itself, the only issue I might have (and I say might) is that the red ghost isn't particularly red - more a reddy-brown and doesn't stand out as much as the others. When I was playing this for the 1st time it was on a spare TV facing a window on a bright day with the sun shining on the screen and I mistook the red ghost for a pair of eyes racing back to the den to regenerate. I don't see it being a major thing as I soon adjusted to this and just stared a bit harder and don't think it will be like this under normal playing conditions. I suppose its hard to test on a PAL TV when you don't live in PAL land but its a point worth noting. This is an impressive product - the only other thing I think the author could have done was to give us the option to play on the old 2600 version maze? Overall I'm delighted - it just has that wonderful old-school feel that the modern retro complilations just don't have for some reason. Control is spot on with the euro controllers - haven't tried it with the 2600 joystick yet. Looking forward to playing and reviewing this in depth. Edited November 26, 2007 by davyK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacManPlus Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 (edited) Well my copy of Pacman Collection has arrived. I've only had a quick blast through some of the variations and I'm very pleased with it - worth every penny. Thanks! First of all I have to commend the quality of the presentation - the quality of the cartridge label and manual are better than any official 7800 title I have. The packaging it was sent to me in cannot be faulted either - everything arrived in pristine condition in a strong crush-proof cardboard box filled with polystrene packing chips and the cartridge and manual came in their own polythene sleeves (the manual even had piece of card as a strengthener inserted with it into its sleeve in the off chance it was folded or bent during transit. Yes, Al does an excellent job in packaging. Actually, he does an excellent job in everything pertaining to this website. The label picture is AtariBoy2600's doing. He is an awesome artist. I have not come across one of his labels that I haven't liked yet. On the game itself, the only issue I might have (and I say might) is that the red ghost isn't particularly red - more a reddy-brown and doesn't stand out as much as the others. When I was playing this for the 1st time it was on a spare TV facing a window on a bright day with the sun shining on the screen and I mistook the red ghost for a pair of eyes racing back to the den to regenerate. I don't see it being a major thing as I soon adjusted to this and just stared a bit harder and don't think it will be like this under normal playing conditions. I suppose its hard to test on a PAL TV when you don't live in PAL land but its a point worth noting. I only recently figured out how to convert one of my hacks to PAL mode... The colors apparently are different, and it is difficult tweaking it without seeing it. I did have a PAL 7800 unit here, but couldn't get a picture out of it to save my life. This is an impressive product - the only other thing I think the author could have done was to give us the option to play on the old 2600 version maze? Overall I'm delighted - it just has that wonderful old-school feel that the modern retro complilations just don't have for some reason. Control is spot on with the euro controllers - haven't tried it with the 2600 joystick yet. Thanks I actually wish I had put more mazes in it - I had a little room left. I was just too excited about getting it out there. I would have liked to add he NES mazes and now that you mentioned it the 2600 maze, although that would have been more difficult - being a landscape maze when the rest are of portrait orientation. Thanks for the compliments and the constructive comments! Bob Edited November 26, 2007 by PacManPlus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 @PMP- now you have a PAL Beta Tester Do you still have that PAL 7800? Longhorn is working on a PAL video upgrade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davyK Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 (edited) @PMP- now you have a PAL Beta Tester Do you still have that PAL 7800? Longhorn is working on a PAL video upgrade I played this a fair old bit last night on a different TV and while you can see the "red" ghost OK he doesn't exactly stand out either. The playability is great but I have a few more comments to make. Speed : I played an early ROM via MESS and the game on the PAL hardware does seem to run slightly slower - this is to be expected due to the difference in framerates - it is noticable but it isn't a showstopper. It is more noticable with the music as it is a fair bit slower than what I experience via MESS - some notes run together on the PAL hardware into one long tone - this happens in the PAL version of Dig Dug too. Colours : The ghost colours are reddy-brown, pink, light blue and a kind of orangey-yellow. They are all noticeable but as before the red one is harder to see but it doesn't affect gameplay. Its hard to comment on the colours of the mazes - I have encountered one maze (forget which variation) where the dots are the same colour as the red ghost and are harder to see - the fruit bonuses are quite dark too - no doubt due to the difference in reds. The border colours (blue, green, pink) seem to match what is described in the manual but I can't comment on the colours of mazes in the more wacky variations. I have encountered some rather fetching tan-coloured mazes! To be honest, I'm not sure if this can all be attributed to the PAL colour palette problems as the graphics are quite detailed and playing this game via on old RF lead doesn't help either! The text ("ready" and "game over") is not very clear when displayed in certain colours (blue especially) and very clear in others. I'll do a more detailed analysis and try and take some screenshots... By the way I'm not complaining - I still love this - its just if I can help in any way with future PAL conversions I'll do my best. I appreciate the technical difficulties (I'm an IT manager now but I have a development background) and also the low demand for PAL versions - but I'll try and do my bit. Edited November 27, 2007 by davyK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacManPlus Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 Hey Mimo / DavyK: Thanks to both of you. I actually no longer have that PAL unit, but I appreciate the feedback. I wish I knew how to make the game faster for PAL... I was afraid of the slowdown. Certain colors (I noticed this on the NTSC version as well) look better on the screen than others. This may be why GCC used 'Hot Pink' for Blinky instead of red, and changed the color of the first maze. I think the difference between PAL and NTSC colors (at least on the 7800) someone mentioned that you just have to shift one column to get them to be a closer match (referring to the color table). E.G. a color in NTSC would be $BC and for PAL it would be $AC. I wonder how accurate that is. Thanks again. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 I like the PAL slowdown, gives me a chance As for the colo(u)rs, I want to reserve judgment until I get a PAL s-video 7800 sorted so I can compare like for like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atarifever Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 As for the colo(u)rs It's only correct when spelled with the "U," I don't care what anyone says. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davyK Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 (edited) I like the PAL slowdown, gives me a chance As for the colo(u)rs, I want to reserve judgment until I get a PAL s-video 7800 sorted so I can compare like for like. Does someone offer that as a service ? I've looked at some "how tos" on that but I've no soldering skills. The slower speed of the PAL version isn't really an issue - its just noticable when you compare the two. I don't know how it could be dealt with except by skipping frames or really getting into heavyweight code optimisation which given the size of the target audience isn't fair to expect. Since I got a universal SNES with a 50/60Hz switch I tend not to notice any great difference in speed - its the full screen graphics that make the real difference on that console. Edited November 27, 2007 by davyK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 I like the PAL slowdown, gives me a chance As for the colo(u)rs, I want to reserve judgment until I get a PAL s-video 7800 sorted so I can compare like for like. Does someone offer that as a service ? I've looked at some "how tos" on that but I've no soldering skills. Longhorn Engineer is working on the pinouts and resistance values for his kits. Really easy to fit, or you can send your 7800 to me and I will do it for you (once the boards are done and I have tested one) If I had more than half a brain I would build my own boards. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davyK Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 I may take you up on that. I used to go to Leicester on business quite a bit (working with the city council). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classic Pac Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 The only way I know that if your going to like a certain game is to play it. Meaning through an emulator played on your computer, you can find what you need on the main Atari Age site look under 7800 > Emulation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davyK Posted November 29, 2007 Share Posted November 29, 2007 (edited) Emulators are all well and good but they won't necessarily give you an impression of how the game will look when played on original hardware on a TV. They can let you know if you like the gameplay or not and thats what I use MESS for. While I was playing Pacman Collection the other night, I also had a few quick goes on some of my other cartridges. It was then that I noticed when playing Donkey Kong that Mario's overalls are of the same muddy colour as the "red" ghost...and the hammers are very dark too. There may be issues with the PAL 7800's pallette, or maybe the developers just didn't have time to get the colours absolutely right - I imagine Tramiel didn't give 'em much time to get games ready for the European market. Other games like Food Fight are more vibrant though. Edited November 29, 2007 by davyK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Random Terrain Posted November 29, 2007 Share Posted November 29, 2007 Speaking of emulators and Food Fight, it sure is a lot more fun using a thumbstick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
so_tough! Posted November 30, 2007 Author Share Posted November 30, 2007 I may have a 7800 in ten minutes. *the wonderful world of ebay* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
so_tough! Posted December 1, 2007 Author Share Posted December 1, 2007 (edited) In the interest of Christmas spirit, I let the 7800 go to the person who had already bid (I hadn't). Edited December 1, 2007 by so_tough! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
so_tough! Posted December 10, 2007 Author Share Posted December 10, 2007 okay found another one and I am ready to buy (its a buy now). Only trouble is... LISTED AS SPARES OR REPAIR JUST FOR THE REASON POWER SUPPLY IS A LOOSE FITTING IN THE BACK OF THE CONSOLE , PROBABLY AN EASY FIX. Its 10 pounds, all boxed etc. What do you guys think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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