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Anything here? (Bonus Gemini, odd Space Robot, 'Astrobattle')


Good_Times

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I was here years ago (I believe it was this site, anyhow?) and I'm reasonably sure that I showed these games at some point. If memory serves, I was having trouble taking a decent pic at the time and was looking to have them scanned. (?)

 

Vague recollections of a guy helping me out....Indiana Jones avatar.....sound familiar? Anyhow, here are the games in question:

 

post-61233-0-98038000-1499018033_thumb.jpg

 

post-61233-0-82219500-1499018005_thumb.jpg

 

Looks to be a cobbled-together homemade thing, but if that's the case, why the strange/seemingly random nature picture sticker, and why choose the name 'Astrobattle'?

 

post-61233-0-02201000-1499017980_thumb.jpg

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Well, Indiana Jones is our expert Rom Hunter here, and that would most likely be who you spoke with back then. That much I can add here!

 

(and that the center cart is most likely a 2600 mouse trap that's missing the label.)

 

Ah, thanks! Yeah, someone helped me with his name via PM last night, as well, hehe. There was some speculation that the weirdo 'Nancy Drew sticker/Astrobattle' cart might be a PAL prototype, but it's more than likely just a bizarre homemade thing. When I spotted the carts in the wild, they were surrounded by European/British pop-culture stuff of the era (Monster in my Pocket, cassettes, Palitoy playset figures, etc.), so it's anyone's guess...

 

I've got to grab a 2600 locally to test these on. Trouble is, although many older cart & disc-based consoles are a dime-a-dozen in this city, for some reason whenever I spot a 2600 in the wild (regardless of condition) the seller seems to have stars in his/her eyes, shooting for that 'RARE!! COLLECTIBLE!!' dollar. :roll:

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As noted above, the beige case game could be Mouse Trap or (possibly) Donkey Kong. I have seen both with the Gemini pack-in sticker on the back.

 

Right on. Yeah, someone mentioned Mouse Trap via PM. I personally love the game, so I might hang on to it if it's not really 'sought after'.

 

As for the other two, I think the best bet at this point would be to send them off to a (highly) trusted member for proper testing. I was told that if they are in fact PAL games that the picture would roll/behave spastically if I attempted to play them on NTSC stuff. (shrug)

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Right on. Yeah, someone mentioned Mouse Trap via PM. I personally love the game, so I might hang on to it if it's not really 'sought after'.

 

As for the other two, I think the best bet at this point would be to send them off to a (highly) trusted member for proper testing. I was told that if they are in fact PAL games that the picture would roll/behave spastically if I attempted to play them on NTSC stuff. (shrug)

 

Good to hear from you again, Good Times.

 

That Space Robot is something special, because it has a white label.

 

I think it's a very early Sinmax (perhaps pre-production) release:

http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-2600-vcs-space-robot_14784.html

 

The reason I think this is because the other cart has an Astrobattle sticker, which was Sinmax' first title for Astrowar before they officially released it as Astrowar:

http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-2600-vcs-astrowar_14785.html

 

PAL for sure.

 

Thanks for the better pictures!

 

Pictures / scans of each cart completely visible would be even better.

 

What I would like to know is which brand is visible on screen when you start up Astrobattle.

 

8)

 

 

Edited by Rom Hunter
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Good to hear from you again, Good Times.

 

That Space Robot is something special, because it has a white label.

 

I think it's an early Sinmax release:

http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-2600-vcs-space-robot_14784.html

 

The reason I think this is because the other cart has an Astrobattle sticker, which was Sinmax' first title for Astrowar before they officially released it as Astrowar:

http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-2600-vcs-astrowar_14785.html

 

Thanks for the better pictures!

 

Pictures / scans of each cart completely visible would be even better.

 

8)

 

 

 

Ah, hey man. Yeah, I don't remember my user id from when I was here (briefly) years ago, lol.

 

Space Robot is "something special", eh? Coooool. Always nice to pull such things from random yard sales/fleas.

 

Whaddya mean "completely visible scans", as in take the carts apart and get shots of the innards, or? I know of the scanner tray devices, but wouldn't close-up pics of every angle achieve the same goal? (Am I missing the boat here?)

 

Do you have the ability to run PAL stuff?

Edited by Good_Times
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Ah, hey man. Yeah, I don't remember my user id from when I was here (briefly) years ago, lol.

 

Space Robot is "something special", eh? Coooool. Always nice to pull such things from random yard sales/fleas. Do you believe that they are PAL format?

 

Whaddya mean "completely visible scans", as in take the carts apart and get shots of the innards, or? I know of the scanner tray devices, but wouldn't close-up pics of every angle achieve the same goal? (Am I missing the boat here?)

 

Do you have the ability to run PAL stuff?

Yes, both are in PAL format. I'm pretty sure about that.

 

What I mean is: pictures on which the whole front of the cart is visible (not cut of by the picture itself).

 

Like this picture:

http://www.atarimania.com/2600/boxes/hi_res/the_end_of_the_world_dimax_sinmax_cart_2.jpg

 

That Astrobattle is special too.

 

The sticker of the two men walking the log is most probably put on later.

 

But the sticker with Astrobattle written on it is IMO genuine (because Astrobattle was the pre-production title):

http://www.atarimania.com/pubs/hi_res/sinmax_ad.jpg

 

Again: it would be great to see the start-up screen of Astrobattle to know which brand is visible on screen.

 

The white Mouse Trap came with the Gemini. Nothing special about that one.

 

8)

Edited by Rom Hunter
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Yes, both are in PAL format. I'm pretty sure about that.

 

What I mean is: pictures on which the whole front of the cart is visible (not cut of by the picture itself).

 

Like this picture:

http://www.atarimania.com/2600/boxes/hi_res/the_end_of_the_world_dimax_sinmax_cart_2.jpg

 

That Astrobattle is special too.

 

The sticker of the two men walking the log is most probably put on later.

 

But the sticker with Astrobattle written on it is IMO genuine (because Astrobattle was the pre-production title):

http://www.atarimania.com/pubs/hi_res/sinmax_ad.jpg

 

Again: it would be great to see the start-up screen of Astrobattle to know which brand is visible on screen.

 

The white Mouse Trap came with the Gemini. Nothing special about that one.

 

8)

 

post-61233-0-36405900-1499199942_thumb.jpg

 

post-61233-0-58956800-1499199956_thumb.jpg

 

post-61233-0-63698100-1499199993_thumb.jpg

 

Do you believe Mouse Trap is PAL, as well? If so, I may as well pass it on to someone that can play it...not as if I'm gonna get any use out of it.

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Thanks!

No, I think that Mouse Trap is NTSC.

Lots of Coleco titles are known with this sticker on the back (also with English / French stickers for Canada).

Is it possible to make one more picture of Space Robot seperately?

8)

Edited by Rom Hunter
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Looks to be a cobbled-together homemade thing, but if that's the case, why the strange/seemingly random nature picture sticker, and why choose the name 'Astrobattle'?

 

 

As you can see here:

http://www.atarimania.com/2600/screens/astrowar_dimax_sinmax.gif

 

the Dimax logo is on screen.

 

Would be nice to know which brand is on screen in your version (unfortunately the PAL games would indeed roll on your system, but perhaps you can make it out).

 

8)

Edited by Rom Hunter
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IMO the most interesting thing about your Space Robot cart, is that it's the first Atari 2600 game hack (rip off) ever made in video game history.

 

Space Robot is a Taiwanese hack of Atari's Missile Command:

http://www.atarimania.com/game-missile-command_s6870.html

 

8)

 

Missile Command, eh? Neat. Y'know, I never cared for MC. Same goes for another beloved classic, Asteroids. I certainly tried to enjoy them back in the day, they just weren't for me. The Vectrex Asteroids clone, however, can be a BLAST when played in the dark! 8)

 

I've got no nostalgic attachment to 'Space Robot' and it'd likely be much more appreciated in the hands of a more interested collector, so tell me: what's it worth, cash-wise, so I've got some sort of trade ratio outline? (I'll probably swap it for a bundle of 'common' carts.....how big/small a bundle, in other words?)

 

As for Astrobattle/Hardy Boys Log Crossing Fun (lol), I'll be hanging on to it for a bit. Finding a 2600 to test it on is job one! :thumbsup:

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Missile Command, eh? Neat. Y'know, I never cared for MC. Same goes for another beloved classic, Asteroids. I certainly tried to enjoy them back in the day, they just weren't for me. The Vectrex Asteroids clone, however, can be a BLAST when played in the dark! 8)

 

I've got no nostalgic attachment to 'Space Robot' and it'd likely be much more appreciated in the hands of a more interested collector, so tell me: what's it worth, cash-wise, so I've got some sort of trade ratio outline? (I'll probably swap it for a bundle of 'common' carts.....how big/small a bundle, in other words?)

 

As for Astrobattle/Hardy Boys Log Crossing Fun (lol), I'll be hanging on to it for a bit. Finding a 2600 to test it on is job one! :thumbsup:

It's only worth something for die hard PAL collectors.

 

I honestly don't know what they would give for it.

 

The Astrobattle on-screen brand could make a difference for collectors.

 

If it says Sinmax (instead of Dimax) then it's worth more.

 

8)

 

Edited by Rom Hunter
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It's only worth something for die hard PAL collectors.

 

I honestly don't know what they would give for it.

 

The Astrobattle on-screen brand could make a difference for collectors.

 

If it says Sinmax (instead of Dimax) then it's worth more.

 

8)

 

 

Ah, gotcha.

 

I wonder if a local gaming place would have a 2600 hooked up that I could try it on? Trouble with that is, all the local places, even the mom & pops shops, seem to focus more on modern stuff/Nintendo/Sega.

Some of them have 2600s for sale, but they are sitting on dust-covered shelves with ridiculously insulting price tags.

 

You mentioned the screen rolling indicating that it's a PAL cart. Should I still be able to make out any graphics/text, or does it flicker to the point of being indistinguishable?

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Ah, gotcha.

 

I wonder if a local gaming place would have a 2600 hooked up that I could try it on? Trouble with that is, all the local places, even the mom & pops shops, seem to focus more on modern stuff/Nintendo/Sega.

Some of them have 2600s for sale, but they are sitting on dust-covered shelves with ridiculously insulting price tags.

 

You mentioned the screen rolling indicating that it's a PAL cart. Should I still be able to make out any graphics/text, or does it flicker to the point of being indistinguishable?

Sometimes you can make out what's on screen even when it rolls.

 

In this case, it's only the brand that matters.

 

8)

Edited by Rom Hunter
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Sometimes you can make out what's on screen even when it rolls.

In this case, it's only the brand that matters.

 

8)

Sinmax, got it.

 

Hell, I COULD pop it in only to discover that it's Combat, hehe. (Doubtful, but it's possible.)

 

Curious: Should I try to (CAREFULLY!) peel back the Hardy Boys sticker, unscrew it, and get some shots of the interior, or would that be a bad idea?

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Sinmax, got it.

 

Hell, I COULD pop it in only to discover that it's Combat, hehe. (Doubtful, but it's possible.)

 

Curious: Should I try to (CAREFULLY!) peel back the Hardy Boys sticker, unscrew it, and get some shots of the interior, or would that be a bad idea?

LOL

 

It's not Combat.

 

I'm pretty sure it looks like this:

http://www.atarimania.com/2600/screens/astrowar_dimax_sinmax.gif

 

Leave the stickers where they are.

 

No need to take it apart.

 

8)

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  • 4 weeks later...

So, working on getting a 2600 (I know, right? I must have owned dozens through the years, lol) so I can finally play, and this just occurred to me: If this is the 'Sinmax' game you speak of, do I need to do the 'rom dump' thing, or? Not sure at all how that stuff works, but I just want to be clear that I'd of course dump it; I'm not one of those stingy/selfish assholes that wouldn't dump it for whatever reason(s).

;)

 

Again, I have no clue how this shit works, but I've got my own feelings on the prosperity of the hobby.

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So, working on getting a 2600 (I know, right? I must have owned dozens through the years, lol) so I can finally play, and this just occurred to me: If this is the 'Sinmax' game you speak of, do I need to do the 'rom dump' thing, or? Not sure at all how that stuff works, but I just want to be clear that I'd of course dump it; I'm not one of those stingy/selfish assholes that wouldn't dump it for whatever reason(s).

;)

 

Again, I have no clue how this shit works, but I've got my own feelings on the prosperity of the hobby.

Better make a screenshot of the game first to see which logo is on screen.

 

8)

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  • 1 month later...

Incredible...

Then my theory was correct.

You own a very, very rare game, sir.

It's the first Sinmax game ever found and it predates the Dimax release.

A true PAL original indeed.

This most certainly increases the value for serious VCS PAL game collectors.

IMO this one should be dumped.

Thanks for sharing!

Makes my day.

8)

Edited by Rom Hunter
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Incredible...

 

Then my theory was correct.

 

You own a very, very rare game, sir.

 

It's the first Sinmax game ever found and it predates the Dimax release.

 

A true PAL original indeed.

 

This most certainly increases the value for serious VCS PAL game collectors.

 

IMO this one should be dumped.

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

Makes my day.

 

8)

 

Whoa, what news to wake up to! Too cool!!

 

post-61233-0-90012900-1506431388.gif

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