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question about 7800 "super" game carts?


Stun Runner 87

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I have always wondered what the difference is between the atari 7800 carts and 7800 super carts are. What makes the super carts better than the reg 7800 carts? The best 7800 carts don't even say super on the label.......What makes the "Super" labeled 7800 carts Super? Can anyone explain what makes "super" game carts more super than regular labeled 7800 carts???? I don't get it, LoL.....

 

Also as everyone knows, the Super game cart lettering are the only carts that have RED lettering on the labels except "Tower Toppler"...Why is that?....Was Tower Toppler supposed to be a super cart? Was it a mistake that the words Super Game Cart were not written on its label?......I'm not trolling, just curious about Ataris labeling of the Super carts as this has always made me curious because I don't see what made the super game carts any better than the regular labeled 7800 carts.....Anyone know what the reasoning is behind this conspiracy?????

post-33151-0-92151700-1351451817_thumb.jpeg

Edited by Stun Runner 87
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See????? Nobody knows, as my suspicions are justified.....The only answer I can come up with are that the word "super" were labeled on the carts as some sort of sales technique...When I used to go into Toys R Us as a young lad, I would run up to the boxes that said "super" first because the word "super" was an eye catcher to me....I would scream, "wow, super cart"...."these carts must be special because they say super on them"......Maybe my theory is not correct.......That's why I made this thread, with the hope that someone out there in Atari Land can answer my questions about the so called Super carts, but no one has the great answer yet as I can see.....This remains a mystery inside my thick skull. :(

Edited by Stun Runner 87
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They 're larger carts, up to 144 k

Yeah but the games arnt any better than the nonsuper labeled carts....as a matter of fact, the regualr game carts are simply better....most the super game carts suck......What about Tower Toppler? Now that game really was Super...

Edited by Stun Runner 87
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"Super games" = Atari 7800 & "Now you're playing with power" = NES

 

What's "super" about 7800 games, and what "power" are you playing with in respects to NES games?

 

They are marketing terms and gimmicks.

 

Sega had one too with the Genesis...They called it "blast processing".

Edited by Trebor
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"Super games" = Atari 7800 & "Now you're playing with power" = NES

 

What's "super" about 7800 games, and what "power" are you playing with in respects to NES games?

 

They are marketing terms and gimmicks.

 

Sega had one too with the Genesis...They called it "blast processing".

 

Blast Processing at least was a real technique. Basically, writing your code to maximize DMA transfers. Super Carts have no basis in anything. If they just said "Okay, every Super Cart must have 128k ROM, 16k RAM and Pokey" Nintendo games wouldn't have looked so good in comparison.

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Perhaps this will answer your questions:

 

 

Atari 7800 cart hardware types

by Dan Boris (danlb_2000@yahoo.com)

10/10/03

 

 

In the process of researching 7800 carts I discovered that there a quite a few variations of

the cart hardware. This list documents what I found in the cartridges I have, but it's possible that

some carts may have been made in more then one type. The type numbers below are totally

arbitrary and have no special significance.

 

Each cart in the list lists the name, type, ROM chip part number, and jumper setting.

 

 

Type 1: Standard ROM cart. PCB CO24926-xxx

Type 2: Standard ROM with resistor in series with +5V. PCB CO24926-xxx

Type 3: POKEY cart. PCB C026461. These carts also have 3 hardwired jumpers

Type 4: Supercart without RAM IC. PCB C100339. These carts have 8 soldered jumpers

Type 5: Supercart PCB board with only a ROM and U2 (74LS02). PCB C100339

Type 6: Small style Supercart with no RAM. PCB C300595. No jumpers

Type 7: Supercart without RAM IC. PCB C300565. These carts have 6 soldered jumpers

Type 8: Supercart with all IC's. PCB C100339. These carts have 8 soldered jumpers

Type 9: Supercart with all IC's. PCB C300565. These carts have 6 soldered jumpers

 

Centipede - Type 1 - C30048-001A

DigDug - Type 1 - C300048-003A

Ms. Pac Man - Type 1 - C300038-007A

Pole Position II - Type 1 - CO28408-01

Xevious - Type 1 - C028410A-38

FoodFight - Type 1 - C028404-38

 

Joust - Type 2 - C300049-006A

Robotron - Type 2 - C300049-009A-01

 

Ballblazer - Type 3 - C300049-015A-01 W1:1-2 W2:1-2 W3:on

 

Real Sports Baseball - Type 4 - C300514-034A W1:off W2:on W3,W4,W5,W6,W7,W8: off

 

Donkey Kong - Type 5 - C300050-048A W1:on W2:off W3:off W4:on W5:off W6:off W7:on W8:on

Donkey Kong Junior - Type 5 - C300050-049A W1:on W2:off W3:off W4:on W5:off W6:off W7:on W8:on

Hat Trick - Type 5 - C300050-029A W1:on W2:on W3:off W4:on W5:off W6:off W7:on W8:on

Mario Bros - Type 5 - C300050-050A W1:on W2:off W3:off W4:on W5:off W6:off W7:on W8:on

 

Mat Mania Challenge - Type 6 - C300051-063A

Midnight Mutants - Type 6 - C300051-089A

Ninja Golf - Type 6 - C300051-070A

Scrapyard Dog - Type 6 - C300051-079A

 

Barnyard Blaster - Type 7 - C300051-059A W1:off W2:on W3:on W4:off W5:off W6:off

Crack'ed - Type 7 - C300051-036A W1:off W2:on W3:on W4:off W5:off W6:off

Dark Chambers - Type 7 - C300051-037B W1:off W2:on W3:on W4:off W5:off W6:off

 

Crossbow - Type 8 - C300048-044A/C300051-044B W1:off W2:on W3:off W4:off W5:on W6:off W7:off W8:off

 

Jinks - Type 9 - C300051-057A W1:off W2:on W3:on W4:off W5:off W6:off

Tower Toppler - Type 9 - C300050-056A W1:off W2:on W3:off W4:on W5:off W6:off

Winter Games - Type 9 - C300051-031A W1:off W2:on W3:on w4:off W5:off W6:off

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Perhaps this will answer your questions:

 

 

Atari 7800 cart hardware types

by Dan Boris (danlb_2000@yahoo.com)

10/10/03

 

 

In the process of researching 7800 carts I discovered that there a quite a few variations of

the cart hardware. This list documents what I found in the cartridges I have, but it's possible that

some carts may have been made in more then one type. The type numbers below are totally

arbitrary and have no special significance.

 

Each cart in the list lists the name, type, ROM chip part number, and jumper setting.

 

 

Type 1: Standard ROM cart. PCB CO24926-xxx

Type 2: Standard ROM with resistor in series with +5V. PCB CO24926-xxx

Type 3: POKEY cart. PCB C026461. These carts also have 3 hardwired jumpers

Type 4: Supercart without RAM IC. PCB C100339. These carts have 8 soldered jumpers

Type 5: Supercart PCB board with only a ROM and U2 (74LS02). PCB C100339

Type 6: Small style Supercart with no RAM. PCB C300595. No jumpers

Type 7: Supercart without RAM IC. PCB C300565. These carts have 6 soldered jumpers

Type 8: Supercart with all IC's. PCB C100339. These carts have 8 soldered jumpers

Type 9: Supercart with all IC's. PCB C300565. These carts have 6 soldered jumpers

 

Centipede - Type 1 - C30048-001A

DigDug - Type 1 - C300048-003A

Ms. Pac Man - Type 1 - C300038-007A

Pole Position II - Type 1 - CO28408-01

Xevious - Type 1 - C028410A-38

FoodFight - Type 1 - C028404-38

 

Joust - Type 2 - C300049-006A

Robotron - Type 2 - C300049-009A-01

 

Ballblazer - Type 3 - C300049-015A-01 W1:1-2 W2:1-2 W3:on

 

Real Sports Baseball - Type 4 - C300514-034A W1:off W2:on W3,W4,W5,W6,W7,W8: off

 

Donkey Kong - Type 5 - C300050-048A W1:on W2:off W3:off W4:on W5:off W6:off W7:on W8:on

Donkey Kong Junior - Type 5 - C300050-049A W1:on W2:off W3:off W4:on W5:off W6:off W7:on W8:on

Hat Trick - Type 5 - C300050-029A W1:on W2:on W3:off W4:on W5:off W6:off W7:on W8:on

Mario Bros - Type 5 - C300050-050A W1:on W2:off W3:off W4:on W5:off W6:off W7:on W8:on

 

Mat Mania Challenge - Type 6 - C300051-063A

Midnight Mutants - Type 6 - C300051-089A

Ninja Golf - Type 6 - C300051-070A

Scrapyard Dog - Type 6 - C300051-079A

 

Barnyard Blaster - Type 7 - C300051-059A W1:off W2:on W3:on W4:off W5:off W6:off

Crack'ed - Type 7 - C300051-036A W1:off W2:on W3:on W4:off W5:off W6:off

Dark Chambers - Type 7 - C300051-037B W1:off W2:on W3:on W4:off W5:off W6:off

 

Crossbow - Type 8 - C300048-044A/C300051-044B W1:off W2:on W3:off W4:off W5:on W6:off W7:off W8:off

 

Jinks - Type 9 - C300051-057A W1:off W2:on W3:on W4:off W5:off W6:off

Tower Toppler - Type 9 - C300050-056A W1:off W2:on W3:off W4:on W5:off W6:off

Winter Games - Type 9 - C300051-031A W1:off W2:on W3:on w4:off W5:off W6:off

That's the best answer to my question. Thank you, ill sleep much better tonight.....Just 1 more thing, what type is Commando? :)

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That's the best answer to my question. Thank you, ill sleep much better tonight.....Just 1 more thing, what type is Commando? :)

 

After extensive searching on the internet...I have discovered that there is not much data concerning this particular cart..I did, however, come up with this.

 

Both Ballblazer and Commando use the POKEY chip for sound...which would make Commando a Type 3 cart

 

Now don't take this as true facts...this is just a logical assumption.

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After extensive searching on the internet...I have discovered that there is not much data concerning this particular cart..I did, however, come up with this.

 

Both Ballblazer and Commando use the POKEY chip for sound...which would make Commando a Type 3 cart

 

Now don't take this as true facts...this is just a logical assumption.

 

Edited by Stun Runner 87
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There's honestly no rhyme or reason to it. Some of the "Super Games" have bankswitching, like the epyx titles. (But so do some of the non-super games. In fact, the biggest 7800 games don't have this label). They usually refer to computer titles (Karateka, Impossible Mission, One on One Basketball), but some like DESERT FALCON are also branded super games.

 

It was abandoned fairly quickly. My theory is that it was originally intended for any 7800 titles with computer origins.

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Blast Processing at least was a real technique. Basically, writing your code to maximize DMA transfers.

 

Blast processing is DMA. But the SNES had DMA as well.

 

Sega was referring to one specific use of DMA that SNES could not do. It could rewrite the palette during display time providing a full 512 color picture.

 

There was a catch though - an inconsistent pixel size because they could not get the clocks to sync correctly.

 

As a result, despite the marketing campaign by Sega, "blast processing" wasn’t used in any Genesis game. Likely because, as mentioned, system timing would break.

Edited by Trebor
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No no no, where do you guys get your info? "Blast processing" was the technique by which Shaquille O'neal could be made to look like anybody BUT Shaquille O'neal. It was used in precisely two titles; Shaq-Fu, and Shinobi III.

 

"Shaq" in Shaq Fu:

15.jpg

 

and "Shaq" in Shinobi III:

Shinobi_III-_Return_of_the_Ninja_Master-title.png

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  • 11 months later...

I know it's an old tread but I found a Type 1 Robotron that wouldn't work past wave 1 on my 7800, according to the following:

 

Type 1: Standard ROM cart. PCB CO24926-xxx
Type 2: Standard ROM with resistor in series with +5V. PCB CO24926-xxx

...

Centipede - Type 1 - C30048-001A
...

Joust - Type 2 - C300049-006A
Robotron - Type 2 - C300049-009A-01

 

Robotron should have been Type 2 but mine was a Type 1 cart, to fix it I added a 330 Ohm resistor series on the +5V on the chip (pin 28) and it started working like a charm.

 

I do not know if 330 Ohm is the "correct" amount used in Type 2, I tried 1K Ohm and it wouldn't work, with 330 Ohm it started working and I could play to my heart's content so I haven't tried going any lower.

 

Not sure why full 5V doesn't work unless it could be out of spec and as such you need to reduce it a little. If the ROM is using 1mA the 330OHM resistor only lowers the voltage by 0.33V, if it is 2mA by 0.66 and so on. So it also acts as a current limiter but I am unsure what is the effect they were after.

 

Anyway I found one type1 game that should have been type 2 and that would not work on my 7800 past initial loading [not sure why it would even work for the first wave].

Edited by phoenixdownita
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I suspect Atari got some faulty ROM chips and the 150 ohm resistor in line with +5v was the fix. Sounds like you got one that was missed in testing.

 

Mitch

Can you confirm the 150 ohm value?

 

I can replace my fix although I doubt 150 vs 330 is such a big difference, I just want to have it run as per spec.

Anyway I suspect it also depends on the 7800, I bought the game used and the owner swears playing with it way past level 1, also type1 cards may not have any fix at all, some of them didn't even have the capacitor [which again in many cases is not strictly required].

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