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Any Bally Arcaqde (Astrocade) fans here?


JamesD

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*Raises hand*

 

I love the system. Getting one that works is an expensive proposition, though. The rarity and prices of games seem kind of skewed, also (they seem to be mostly either $10 "commons" or $200 "super-rares").

 

The console and the software are amazing though, especially considering what else was around when it first came out (Channel F, Atari, Pongs...). The Bally was doing things in 1978-'79 that Atari and Intellivision weren't doing until 1981.

 

The Bally controller is also, in this gamer's opinion, one of the most innovative, comfortable, and useful controllers in all of classic gaming. They didn't invent the idea of a combined joystick/paddle (that, perhaps unwittingly, was probably Fairchild, although their controller didn't have a true paddle action), but I'd say they perfected it.

 

It's a shame the Bally system is as obscure as it is. If it had even an eighth of the homebrew following that the Atari VCS has, we'd have some mind-blowing Astrocade games.

 

(Incidentally, the Astrocade may have been the first system to actually have a homebrew following, thanks to its relatively superb BASIC...AND the ability to read/write to cassette.)

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So do you have those for sale or just as a proof of concept?

 

The system looks like it would be fun to develop for.

Are there any games that use paged memory carts or is that possible with the built in blitter function?

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I found all the ROMs on the net except the rare ones. I guess those have never been dumped.

 

 

If you check the Auctions forum in the Marketplace, there's a thread about an eBay seller who is currently selling several Astrocade units and some rare games.

Already saw the auctions.

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The Astrocade is one of the true undiscovered jems that await people who collect/play old video games. It doesn't have a huge library, and the console itself is about as reliable as an Xbox 360, but there are some great games to play.

 

Incredible Wizard is just that, incredible. Best home port of Wizard of Wor ever. Artillery Duel and Dogpatch are also great, and the system has several awesome space games, including Space Fortress, which is my favorite.

 

It's too bad the darn thing overheats and dies so easy. I'd play mine way more if it didn't

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The Astrocade is one of the true undiscovered jems that await people who collect/play old video games. It doesn't have a huge library, and the console itself is about as reliable as an Xbox 360, but there are some great games to play.

 

Incredible Wizard is just that, incredible. Best home port of Wizard of Wor ever. Artillery Duel and Dogpatch are also great, and the system has several awesome space games, including Space Fortress, which is my favorite.

 

It's too bad the darn thing overheats and dies so easy. I'd play mine way more if it didn't

It doesn't surprise me Incredible Wizard is so good. Wizard of Wor is built on the same graphics chip and Z80. It's just in hi-res. Incredible Wizard and the Galaxian clone are the main reasons I wanted an Astrocade.

 

With the amount of shielding required for FCC approval it's not surprising it overheats.

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The Astrocade is one of the true undiscovered jems that await people who collect/play old video games. It doesn't have a huge library, and the console itself is about as reliable as an Xbox 360, but there are some great games to play.

 

Incredible Wizard is just that, incredible. Best home port of Wizard of Wor ever. Artillery Duel and Dogpatch are also great, and the system has several awesome space games, including Space Fortress, which is my favorite.

 

It's too bad the darn thing overheats and dies so easy. I'd play mine way more if it didn't

 

I've passed up Dog Patch several times because I just don't know what it's about, and can't interpret it from screens. Can you give me a run down?

 

You're spot on about Incredible Wizard. Bally Pin is great and Space Fortress is unbelievably awesome for what it is, and so in the built in "Snake" game, is the best party game ever with four controllers.

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The Astrocade is one of the true undiscovered jems that await people who collect/play old video games. It doesn't have a huge library, and the console itself is about as reliable as an Xbox 360, but there are some great games to play.

 

Incredible Wizard is just that, incredible. Best home port of Wizard of Wor ever. Artillery Duel and Dogpatch are also great, and the system has several awesome space games, including Space Fortress, which is my favorite.

 

It's too bad the darn thing overheats and dies so easy. I'd play mine way more if it didn't

 

Easy fix: just rip the RF shield off, 99% of the time that's your overheat problem right there.

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I found all the ROMs on the net except the rare ones. I guess those have never been dumped.

 

 

If you check the Auctions forum in the Marketplace, there's a thread about an eBay seller who is currently selling several Astrocade units and some rare games.

 

 

I know, I scored myself a Muncher cart! :love: Plus some Atari 800 stuff. And yes, I love my Bally. It's one of the gems in my entire collection:

 

post-10357-125478470374_thumb.jpg

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The Astrocade is one of the true undiscovered jems that await people who collect/play old video games. It doesn't have a huge library, and the console itself is about as reliable as an Xbox 360, but there are some great games to play.

 

Incredible Wizard is just that, incredible. Best home port of Wizard of Wor ever. Artillery Duel and Dogpatch are also great, and the system has several awesome space games, including Space Fortress, which is my favorite.

 

It's too bad the darn thing overheats and dies so easy. I'd play mine way more if it didn't

 

Easy fix: just rip the RF shield off, 99% of the time that's your overheat problem right there.

 

Or get a laptop cooler. :D

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Just wondering if there are any Bally Arcade AKA Astrocade fans here.

I really wanted one as a kid but they were too expensive.

It had several games that looked really good but Bally obviously didn't realize that success was in lots of software.

 

 

I love the Bally. Mine went "belly-up" earlier this year. Still looking for one if anyone has one to sell.

 

-Lee

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I know, I scored myself a Muncher cart! :love: Plus some Atari 800 stuff. And yes, I love my Bally. It's one of the gems in my entire collection:

 

post-10357-125478470374_thumb.jpg

 

Nice picture, is that HLC (Home Library Computer) version you have in working condition?

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The console and the software are amazing though, especially considering what else was around when it first came out (Channel F, Atari, Pongs...). The Bally was doing things in 1978-'79 that Atari and Intellivision weren't doing until 1981.

 

I concur. The Astrocade was far ahead of its time.

 

I'm a recent owner thanks to a fellow AtariAge member. From the moment I plugged it in, I was in awe of the Astrocade. My first game was Astro Battle which is a very impressive Space Invaders clone with sharp graphics and colorful aliens. The controller was and still is one of the most unique for a classic console that I've used. It's very comfortable to use and it's nice that it's ambidextrous since being a lefty, I have had trouble with most classic controllers. The controller is also very versatile in that it functions as a joystick and paddle in one, and that it has an independent fire button unlike the Channel F.

 

I also love the look of the system - very 70s, very retro. I also like how the storage area in the back instead of being used for controllers, like most systems that had storage, actually is used for the games. That's where I keep my games and it's handy to have them right by the system. ;) The built-in calculator I thought was just a good conversation piece till I realized that it's integral to Bally Basic which is another reason why the Astrocade is so awesome. Can't beat a system that gives you the ability to make your own games.

 

I do agree that the system has overheating issues which is its major flaw. I had been reading about it but naively thought that my unit would be spared. After 5 minutes of gameplay the screen would go haywire and one time the unit just shut off on me. So, I sent it in to Atari2600.com to have the RF shielding removed and now it works perfectly! I highly recommend removing the shielding - a procedure you can do yourself I'm just not handy with a soldering iron. I'm not sure about the laptop cooling pad. I tried that initially before getting the shielding removed, I was able to get more game play time out of it but ultimately it still heated up. Maybe removing the shielding and a laptop cooling pad is the way to go.

 

Anyways it's an awesome system, and I'm looking forward to building my library.

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Nice picture, is that HLC (Home Library Computer) version you have in working condition?

 

Indeed, it is. I bought it from an older guy that said he purchased it, via mail-order, in 1977. What's odd though is that the inside commercial box shows the Bally Arcade. It could be that this unit was sold at the end of that model's run with the new one, being the Bally Arcade, going into production. I read in one of the Astrocade F.A.Q.'s that the Bally Arcade model numbers were, BPA1200, BPA1000 and BPA1100. The model number, as seen on the shipping box bellow, is BL-1200 as it does on the label on the bottom on the console itself. Plus the label specifically states Bally Home Library Computer.

 

post-10357-125488467365_thumb.jpg

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