Atari Flashback 8 - some observations

[AlwaysOnPlanetPatrol]

I've seen these units around for years, especially in the Bed, Bad and Beyond stores as well as the odd Toys R Us. Never felt inclined to pick those up, mostly due to the limited number of games and the semi-poor reviews on the controllers. So I kept using my 7800s to play the cartridges I wanted. On and off I'd be tempted to grab an Intellivision Flashback (don't play InTV that much), Colecovision (no Donkey Kong), and the 10 versions of the Atari one. Every time I would just put it back on the shelf after thinking it over. Kept also looking for a cheap Flashback 2, but realistically I don't think I would ever add a cartridge slot.

 

I had an eye out for the Flashback 8 Activision edition just because it has pretty sizeable list of games and most of the Activision games.

 

Well, I saw one at the local Walmart and did an impulse purchase of the Flashback 8 Gold. It was not the Activision edition, but it had some titles. What grabbed me was the HDMI connection ...

 

So some thoughts:

 

- I was surprised to see some M-Network games, especially Air Raiders which is one of my favourite games. Overall the list is pretty decent.

 

- I'm very happy with the HDMI connection. It lets me keep my existing connections on my TV intact (i.e. leave my component for the 7800) so I just plug the unit into the AV receiver and am good to go.

 

- The actual resolution (upscaled and no visible spacing between lines) is actually pretty good, and typically how I would I would play on the Stella emulator.

 

- There are wireless joysticks which also allow to pause/rewind the game and give you the main menu functionality. I haven't put in batteries and tried these out. I've been just playing with my standard CX-40 joysticks and it works really well.

 

- In regards to the wired joysticks, having the joystick ports in the front is really convenient. The button layout on the console is a bit odd, with the reset button the 2nd left button, and the select at the very right. There's no Color/BW button as far as I can tell, so not clear how Space Shuttle would work on a console like this.

 

- The main menu is running at 720p and displays HD images of the boxes to select and gives you basic game instructions. It's fairly well done and also allows you to filter to just Atari and Activision games.

 

- Frogger is some sort of arcade or newer console variation. I guess the Parker Bros rights could not be obtained. It looks great, but totally out of place with the Atari 2600 games. The thing that actually bothers me is the lack of in-game music in this version. It's also only single-player.

 

- The Space Invaders is also a non-2600 variety. I didn't play it yet. It looks like the arcade edition.

 

- On the emulation I started seeing some quirks; I especially noticed them in Frostbite where the ice floes would be partially rendered. The odd thing is that this is not just a visual glitch as the collision detection seems to respect the lack of graphic portion, so this totally impacted the game play. In Air Sea Battle, I saw a graphical shift at the right section of the screen for the rows (but not moving objects).

 

- Since I got the non-Activision version, I started looking at ways I can potentially mod it. So opening it up, I see that it's an older generation Raspberry Pi and there's no USB port. On my list to-do for this week is to go to the electronics store and get some parts to do the same that BitMerge did: http://atariage.com/forums/gallery/image/25564-usb-connection/

 

- Apparently the full library of games is installed, but not enabled as per one of the comments on this post; http://www.instructables.com/id/Adding-Games-to-Atgames-Genesis-Flashback-HD/. That will be the goal to see if I can enable all Activision games, and enable all the other hidden ones (which ever those may be). I'll poke around to see how more roms could be added beyond that.

 

I'll post back my findings once I have a USB connection enabled and see what I can find.

 

 

[Flojomojo]

 

A positive review! I think they're neat, too.

 

Bill Logiduice has stated that the new one will have a way to add more games, so you might want to wait for an official announcement before hacking it to bits.

[TheGreyBush47]

Let me get this right, the FB8 has a RPi1 or 2 inside, not a Android based board? I have the FB8 Activision ver and it's Android.

[thetick1]

Let me get this right, the FB8 has a RPi1 or 2 inside, not a Android based board? I have the FB8 Activision ver and it's Android.

 

Likely a really cheap NONC (NES On A Chip) with emulation software on a stripped down customized Android. It's not a Raspberry Pie as that would cost more money in large volumes. As Flojomojo suggested you are MUCH better waiting for the new AF as an issider who posts here mentioned it will have the ability to add games ... which very likely means rom images on SD or USB.

[KevinMos3]

Let me get this right, the FB8 has a RPi1 or 2 inside, not a Android based board? I have the FB8 Activision ver and it's Android.

 

No, it's an Android.

 

You can add a usb port. There are holes in the board for a pin header. You can also get micro usb ports that fit directly onto a pin header which makes it super easy to install (I think I ordered a 10-pack off ebay for about $0.99 a while back). You can also get a regular usb cable that has a header pin connector on one end which is also super easy to do. From there, you can follow any of the guides to add/remove/edit games on your Flashback HD.

[AlwaysOnPlanetPatrol]

A positive review! I think they're neat, too.

 

Bill Logiduice has stated that the new one will have a way to add more games, so you might want to wait for an official announcement before hacking it to bits.

 

Yeah, I think I saw that one as well in another thread, thanks for pointing that out. It's good they keep innovating and they may reach a point where it's just good enough in the near future. The games library is certainly a feature that they can playing with to entice folks.

 

Unfortunately chances are, it will probably take me another 10 years to buy another Flashback device, considering how long I waited for my first one. I have so many gadgets that I have been a lot more selective what I bring into the house now. I like the idea of a simple device I can use at my other place when I go up north, so if I can enable a few more games then I'm good. I think with my Harmony cart I cover the angle for the missing games that I don't have in my collection.

[AlwaysOnPlanetPatrol]

You can add a usb port. There are holes in the board for a pin header. You can also get micro usb ports that fit directly onto a pin header which makes it super easy to install (I think I ordered a 10-pack off ebay for about $0.99 a while back). You can also get a regular usb cable that has a header pin connector on one end which is also super easy to do. From there, you can follow any of the guides to add/remove/edit games on your Flashback HD.

 

Thanks, that's the route I'm going to with. Going to the electronics store today where they have a bunch of add-ons for Arduino/Raspberry and if they don't, I'll order the PCB connectors somewhere from China and just wait a few weeks.

[AlwaysOnPlanetPatrol]

Added the USB Connector: http://atariage.com/forums/blog/687/entry-15078-modding-the-flashback-8-hd/

 

Yesterday I was able to add a game to it:

http://atariage.com/forums/blog/687/entry-15080-modding-the-flashback-8-hd-part-two/