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Atari Flashback X (10) spotted on Instagram?


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No SD card slot, no dice. I'll just stick to my Flashback 9, thanks.

 

That is what turned me on to the FB9 (I use the AR-3050 with HDMI after finding out the Canadian-market AR-3230 with RCA composite out did not work with some homebrews I enjoy including Chaotic Grill!, Space Rocks, Donkey Kong Arcade and Scramble among others, all 32K homebrew ports) after finding out about its SD card slot as I have over 650 titles on that SD card that I USED TO USE on both my old Flashback Portable and also on my old Harmony Encore, although the FB9 kinda disappointed me not working with my CX80 trak-ball and God knows when they'll put out those special FB9-compatible paddles for it. C'mon AtGames!!!

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On 8/4/2019 at 5:24 PM, ACML said:

Can't they just update the firmware to work on the much higher resistance on the original CX-30?

I suspect it's a hardware issue.  The analog-to-digital converter works by putting the pot between the high voltage, and a fixed resistor connected to ground.  This makes a voltage divider; the voltage level at that midpoint is directly based on the value of the pot.  If you have a mismatch between the fixed resistor and the range of the pot, then there won't be sufficient voltage levels to get a lot of different ADC readings.

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On 8/2/2019 at 2:00 AM, BIGHMW said:

No SD card slot, no dice. I'll just stick to my Flashback 9, thanks.

That was my first thought too, but is it a foregone conclusion that no SD slot means no ability to add games? I'm pretty uninformed, but the NES/SNES Classics don't have an SD card slot either, so isn't it possible games could be added to the Flashback X in a similar way?

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On 8/1/2019 at 8:40 PM, Bill Loguidice said:

It's not an issue per se. The 9-specific paddles have yet to be mass produced. I'm not sure what the eventual solution will be at this time, if any.

This is pretty disappointing. No matter how you parse it, it certainly is an issue. At this point, it's a no-brainer that these paddles will never see the light of day. 

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Yeah. Surprisingly, no one has hacked any of these flashbacks. They must have some kind of tank quality hack resistance as just about every other emulation mini I’m aware of has been hacked to add more games or change the emulTor version, etc.

 

 I think some people have tried with some of the older 2600 flashbacks with limited success. Took some soldering and hardware add ons , IIRC. 

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On 8/1/2019 at 8:25 AM, Bill Loguidice said:

Yes, that function is present. In terms of additional updates, at this point for the 9 series, it's likely there will be only bug fixes, if needed. It's already been updated to address any previous issues and I'm not aware of anything else of note.

Uh, there is still a huge bug left to fix which includes getting the paddles to work!  That's one of the reasons I bought a FB9 was for paddle support.  Since they have gone to Stella, I can't understand why the paddles still won't work.  There is obviously the opportunity for firmware updates to make this happen.  I feel like fixing this issue is being avoided all together...

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4 hours ago, atarifan88 said:

Uh, there is still a huge bug left to fix which includes getting the paddles to work!  That's one of the reasons I bought a FB9 was for paddle support.  Since they have gone to Stella, I can't understand why the paddles still won't work.  There is obviously the opportunity for firmware updates to make this happen.  I feel like fixing this issue is being avoided all together...

I'm sure the paddle controller is a huge thorn in the side of anyone who licenses Atari 2600 games these days. All that time, money, resources and peripherals just to get about 12 games to work properly. But admittedly, 4 of those paddle titles are among the greatest video games ever made (Warlords, Pong, Breakout & Kaboom.)

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On 8/8/2019 at 3:30 PM, Swami said:

Yeah. Surprisingly, no one has hacked any of these flashbacks. They must have some kind of tank quality hack resistance as just about every other emulation mini I’m aware of has been hacked to add more games or change the emulTor version, etc.

 

 I think some people have tried with some of the older 2600 flashbacks with limited success. Took some soldering and hardware add ons , IIRC. 

I was hopeful on the 9, but I have to assume the skilled folks out there just don't care enough to try.

On 8/6/2019 at 10:18 AM, Redjac said:

That was my first thought too, but is it a foregone conclusion that no SD slot means no ability to add games? I'm pretty uninformed, but the NES/SNES Classics don't have an SD card slot either, so isn't it possible games could be added to the Flashback X in a similar way?

If you have to crack it open and solder the thing or something, no thanks.

On 7/25/2019 at 10:54 PM, bmadgames said:

Agreed... I'm guessing it might have been a legal issue? Flashback 9 Gold was awesome except for the paddles issue. 

I'm guessing dollars and cents.

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14 minutes ago, BeamRider said:

New image that was posted on Atgames social media today (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram)

atari flashback x 10.jpg

Well, I guess we now know why the Dreamcade Replay's original design got nixed.  Not that anyone is really missing the Dreamcade Replay, though.  That being said, it does look really slick and much better than FB3-FB9 design.

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1 hour ago, bugcatcher88 said:

Their Facebook mentions 110 games, the same amount as the FB9 Boom. I was hoping for an increase to 130 at least (FB9 Gold has 120). I wonder if the game list will include anything different.

Yes, the game list has some differences.

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On 8/1/2019 at 6:38 PM, Bill Loguidice said:

I'd have to check again, but it's usually SELECT + UP on the joystick.

 

Definitely not accessible by this ^.

If it was omitted by oversight, that is definitely something worth a firmware update...

(along with a few other things previously mentioned, like fullscreen/4:3 switching, custom bezels and background music from SD card instead of just the handful of bezels in settings and single background tune option).

Also, the last updated firmware made the emulation slower than the previous one.

 

edit:  Oh, and a major bug present in the Atari Flashback 9, but not in the Genesis Flashback is TV compatibility.  The Atari Flashback 9 sound goes out every time a new game is loaded or you go back to the menu and I have to unplug/replug the hdmi cable.  This happens on 2 out of the 3 TVs I currently have, so it can't be that rare of an issue.  Again, this does not happen on the Genesis Flashback, only the Atari Flashback.

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2 hours ago, atarifan88 said:

Based on what you have experienced, is there any advantage of the Retron 77 over the FB9 besides the fact you can upgrade the version of stella?

 

The Emulation seems smoohter to me on newer Titles like Space Rocks e.g..

The Joysticks are better (heavier, more robust). The whole Console is a bit more on the Quality-Side.

Like you said, Retron can play all Titles available at the Moment with the Stella 6-Firmware and has more options for the Emulation at all (TV-Effects).

 

Downsides are the rather boring Stella 6-Look of the Frontend and that  I had problems with my SD-Card, which got locked (but that could be just purely random).

At the Moment the Screen has to be adjusted for a complete Image on most TVs But the Stella-Team is working on it and most TVs can solve the Problem with Options like "Overscan", "Picture Adjustment" and so on.

 

Overscan and MicroSd-Card

 

I've bought a second Retron just one Day after having received the first one - and I don't regret it!

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On 8/30/2019 at 2:10 AM, KevinMos3 said:

 

Definitely not accessible by this ^.

If it was omitted by oversight, that is definitely something worth a firmware update...

 

I have to press the 'select' button on the console itself (not the 'select' button on the joystick) for the status screen in Secret Quest to come up. I'm not sure if that method works for other games that uses the BW/color switch.

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On 9/2/2019 at 12:16 PM, bugcatcher88 said:

I have to press the 'select' button on the console itself (not the 'select' button on the joystick) for the status screen in Secret Quest to come up. I'm not sure if that method works for other games that uses the BW/color switch.

I tried the FB9 and tried to like it, but i just couldn't get past the "no paddle" support issue.  Too many good games that use paddles.  I did pick up a Retron 77 and upgraded it to  Stella 6.  Wow, this is what the FB9 coould have been.  A really nice Stella menu with title splash.  Works with CX-30 stock paddles and can run actual cartridges.  As stock, the Retron 77 is lacking and a disappointment, but once you reimage it to Stella 6, its like your on a PC.  The build quality of the Retron seems more robust than the FB9.  The FB9 is close, but no cigar and without an SD card on FB10, no sale.

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Any word on Flashback X/Portable 2019 game list yet? We're getting close to the time period of launch, aren't we? I know it probably won't be until November (my guess, anyway) but since it is past the first week of Sept., I was thinking maybe At Games would be issuing the list at this point, or the notable new entries...

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9 hours ago, ACML said:

I tried the FB9 and tried to like it, but i just couldn't get past the "no paddle" support issue.  Too many good games that use paddles.  I did pick up a Retron 77 and upgraded it to  Stella 6.  Wow, this is what the FB9 coould have been.  A really nice Stella menu with title splash.  Works with CX-30 stock paddles and can run actual cartridges.  As stock, the Retron 77 is lacking and a disappointment, but once you reimage it to Stella 6, its like your on a PC.  The build quality of the Retron seems more robust than the FB9.  The FB9 is close, but no cigar and without an SD card on FB10, no sale.

It's been a year and R77s are still going for a minimum of $67 new, so they seem to be holding their own for retail value. May have to pick one up if it ever does get cheap enough for another wuzzit around the home. Maybe black friday or January.

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