Bill Loguidice Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 There's no joystick port on the Atari portable, just video out. All the embedded games on it will be for one player only. Yes, and it's important to note that certain bizarro games like Atari Basketball that use the RIGHT (player two) joystick for player one won't work right because the onboard "joystick" functions as a controller in the LEFT (player one) port. I assume hacking a Basketball ROM to switch ports and sticking it on the SD card would be relatively easy considering some of the other hacks out there. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 Yes, and it's important to note that certain bizarro games like Atari Basketball that use the RIGHT (player two) joystick for player one won't work right because the onboard "joystick" functions as a controller in the LEFT (player one) port. I assume hacking a Basketball ROM to switch ports and sticking it on the SD card would be relatively easy considering some of the other hacks out there. I had forgotten that about VCS Basketball -- I wonder how long its been since I have played it on real hardware? I struck it from my guesses about the game list because it is old and primitive, and because there are two other basketball games. Even a broken clock is right twice a day! If AtGames follows their trends from the past, we should be able to play with these things in 60 days or less! Here's my old TRU preorder (which I cancelled when I got them from the store several days prior) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inky Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 Yes, and it's important to note that certain bizarro games like Atari Basketball that use the RIGHT (player two) joystick for player one won't work right because the onboard "joystick" functions as a controller in the LEFT (player one) port. I assume hacking a Basketball ROM to switch ports and sticking it on the SD card would be relatively easy considering some of the other hacks out there. Hmm. I wonder if any of our hackers extrodinaire on here would take a stab at converting some of these games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 I had forgotten that about VCS Basketball -- I wonder how long its been since I have played it on real hardware? I struck it from my guesses about the game list because it is old and primitive, and because there are two other basketball games. Even a broken clock is right twice a day! If AtGames follows their trends from the past, we should be able to play with these things in 60 days or less! Here's my old TRU preorder (which I cancelled when I got them from the store several days prior) Last I saw, October 1 was still the official release dates on the AtGames side. It's quite possible the stores will get it early, in September again. I don't think retailers are prohibited from selling by AtGames once they get stock in. Supposedly I'll get some review units of the final shipping products this month. We'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 Hmm. I wonder if any of our hackers extrodinaire on here would take a stab at converting some of these games. I haven't come across anything other than Basketball that switches player one and player two ports (they did it on Basketball because player one starts on the right of the screen and this was a time when every system was guaranteed to have two controllers, so I suppose it's logical). It doesn't mean there aren't more, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inky Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 I haven't come across anything other than Basketball that switches player one and player two ports (they did it on Basketball because player one starts on the right of the screen and this was a time when every system was guaranteed to have two controllers, so I suppose it's logical). It doesn't mean there aren't more, though. I believe Wizard of Wor was the same way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 I believe Wizard of Wor was the same way. You're right, it is. Darn. So that's two that need hacks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 I believe Wizard of Wor was the same way. You're right, it is. Darn. So that's two that need hacks! There's a hack underway to make it more like the arcade. I posted in the thread asking if they'd consider switching the joystick ports, too! http://atariage.com/forums/topic/209266-wizard-of-wor-2-the-arena/page-1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 Yes, and it's important to note that certain bizarro games like Atari Basketball that use the RIGHT (player two) joystick for player one won't work right because the onboard "joystick" functions as a controller in the LEFT (player one) port. I assume hacking a Basketball ROM to switch ports and sticking it on the SD card would be relatively easy considering some of the other hacks out there. IIRC, I think Surround also used the right port, though I could be mistaken. Very little standardization back then. Maybe Atgames could have provided a physical switch to swap between the left and right joystick port. The NES Advantage had one, and it allowed sequential two player games to take turns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 A Wizard of Wor workaround, via the hack thread: You just hit Select until only the left side player is shown, and you can Reset that to start a game with the left stick. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 IIRC, I think Surround also used the right port, though I could be mistaken. Very little standardization back then. Maybe Atgames could have provided a physical switch to swap between the left and right joystick port. The NES Advantage had one, and it allowed sequential two player games to take turns. A hardware switch wouldn't be doable, but I bet something can be done in software. I'll suggest it for the next revision. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asaki Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 Amazon always has this stuff, this year should be no different. I would order it online instead of trying to find it in a store. They aren't in short supply. You can still get one right now if you do a web search for online stores carrying the sega genesis porta Right, but I'm not paying $60+ for one of those. I wouldn't pay more than $30 until they fix the audio, so hopefully 2017 does see those changes. Would gladly pay $40 for the handheld Atari, though. I love the Nintendo DS collections, but the SD card support has me sold. I might have to order it online, but I will definitely try to check Dollar General first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 Right, but I'm not paying $60+ for one of those. I wouldn't pay more than $30 until they fix the audio, so hopefully 2017 does see those changes.The NES mini is $60 and presumably has no audio issues. Don't expect the price to drop on Nintendo stuffs. AtSega's sound was garbage though. Would gladly pay $40 for the handheld Atari, though. I love the Nintendo DS collections, but the SD card support has me sold. I might have to order it online, but I will definitely try to check Dollar General first.I for one am super stoked about the Atari portable. Pity Melody homebrews won't work though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asaki Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 The NES mini is $60 and presumably has no audio issues. Don't expect the price to drop on Nintendo stuffs. I was talking about the Sega Ultimate Portable. I'm not interested in the NES, and if Amiibos have taught us anything, it's very likely that pre-order tickets and the consoles themselves will immediately sell out and wind up on eBay for crazy money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxdrive Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 Was the battery save on the at games sega systems something they were going to do already or did the nes mini with final fantasy and legend of Zelda make them add it in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 Was the battery save on the at games sega systems something they were going to do already or did the nes mini with final fantasy and legend of Zelda make them add it inThis thing was planned and locked in long before the NES item was announced -- you can tell that from Bill L's responses in this thread alone. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 This thing was planned and locked in long before the NES item was announced -- you can tell that from Bill L's responses in this thread alone. Correct. This was settled long ago. It's different from the NES Mini's save states, obviously. It's just straight up save games like on the original RPG cartridges. Save states and a whole lot more should be addressed on the AtGames side in 2017. From a timing standpoint, specs pretty much need to be settled in the first quarter of the year if production and distribution is going to take place in the fourth quarter of the same year. I'm sure a massive company like Nintendo can compress that time frame considerably, though. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 Was the battery save on the at games sega systems something they were going to do already or did the nes mini with final fantasy and legend of Zelda make them add it inFor the 1000th time, the AtGames Sega consoles are NOT an answer to the NES Mini. They've been doing these for years with incremental upgrades. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 For the 1000th time, the AtGames Sega consoles are NOT an answer to the NES Mini. They've been doing these for years with incremental upgrades. It's only about the 6th time, you've got miles to go before you sleep 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toiletunes Posted August 7, 2016 Author Share Posted August 7, 2016 Towering inferno uses the wrong port. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asaki Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 Was the battery save on the at games sega systems something they were going to do already or did the nes mini with final fantasy and legend of Zelda make them add it in They may have been planning it for a while, but I'm sure they must have gotten more than a few complaints when they added Mega Man but no save support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 They may have been planning it for a while, but I'm sure they must have gotten more than a few complaints when they added Mega Man but no save support. I'm not aware of any complaints and there are no Mega Man games in the latest release. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 ^^Since when did Megaman have save support? IIRC, all the games used pass codes to save progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asaki Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 I think it was last year's model, or maybe the year before. We saw it in the lineup and were all wondering if it meant save support was added, but you said no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asaki Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 (edited) ^^Since when did Megaman have save support? When it was on the Megadrive It was called The Wily Wars, and has remakes of the first three games, and I think maybe some bonus stuff. I think it also supports passwords, but I don't remember. Edited August 8, 2016 by Asaki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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