Popeye 7800

[JagChris]

43 minutes ago, darryl1970 said:

Thanks. Popeye was licensed by Parker Bros, before the 83-84 game crash. Parker Bros was no longer in the video game business by the time the 7800 was re-released. Nintendo had a exclusive licensing agreements. Popeye was also a Nintendo arcade game. Probably would have been tough to get that back into circulation.  I doubt Atari would have sought out quality programmers.

 

Popeye is not a popular title amongst modern gamers. I have the arcade game, as does an arcade down the street from me. Guests rarely play my machine, and I am told the arcade Popeye gets very little play. I don't think people understand it. People don't understand why they can't punch Brutus at anytime. Some find it confusing that there isn't a jump, like the "Kong" games. It really caught my eye back in the day. The graphics were unheard of for the time, and Brutus was so "real" in his mannerisms. Modern day players take that kind of realism for granted, and they raise it 100x.

 

Overall, I doubt it would have sold very well, as it was an aging title. The nostalgia wave that we are riding now was not a thing then. Gamers were looking for more modern arcade ports. Furthermore, the "New Atari" had a very low budget. Once the licensing fee was finally paid to release the 7800, it appears that Jaclk's sole purpose was to liquidate inventory and try to make a buck off of budget software. Quality was not on Atari's radar.

 

I think this combined with Atari's cheapness. I got Choplifter and its one of the worst versions I have played IMO. Then I noticed the version was done by IBIDINC. Should have changed their name to.I BID THE LOWEST INC.

[johannesmutlu]

4 hours ago, Albert said:

Shipped 110 orders yesterday, have shipped another 50 today so far, and expect to be well over 200 by the end of the day.  After that, smaller batches of orders will go out each day until I get through them all. 

 

 ..Al

Wow definitely something interesting and good to know👍

[Silver Back]

21 hours ago, Albert said:

Shipped 110 orders yesterday, have shipped another 50 today so far, and expect to be well over 200 by the end of the day.  After that, smaller batches of orders will go out each day until I get through them all. 

 

 ..Al

Got my tracking number, thank you so much Al.  Anybody who hasn't seen the pictures of the mountains of games this man soldered, labeled and just put together needs to see it.  This was a herculean endeavor and I appreciate your dedication and commitment to the community.  Once you get the last boxes out for the love of God take a vacation. 

[+DrVenkman]

7 minutes ago, Silver Back said:

Once you get the last boxes out for the love of God take a vacation. 

Rest up, Al! I’ll be ordering more games this summer for my birthday.

[SalemFrost7800]

Got my tracking number also, Very Excited for this release.

[+DrVenkman]

USPS tells me my Popeye cart is 35 miles away in Nashville but not scheduled for delivery until tomorrow. Grrr. Very much looking forward to playing a full game of this one finally!!!

[John Stamos Mullet]

Mine says Saturday, which is fine. I'll have time then.

[+DrVenkman]

For a middle-aged nerd, three of the happiest words in the English language: “Out for delivery.”  

[Silver Back]

Mine was supposed to be out for delivery today but apparently it didn't make it out of my local sort center on time.  I can make it one more day .....

[bikeguychicago]

21 minutes ago, DrVenkman said:

For a middle-aged nerd, three of the happiest words in the English language: “Out for delivery.”  

My two (Popeye & Keystone Koppers) should be here today as well. I received the 5200 Millipede earlier in the week so that's been tiding me over until these two arrive. 

[+DrVenkman]

Just now, bikeguychicago said:

I received the 5200 Millipede earlier in the week so that's been tiding me over

That’s a super-fun game as well. Always great to have more Trak-Ball games. The big 5200 Trak-Ball is much more satisfying to use than the smaller CX-22/80 models for other systems. 

[bikeguychicago]

1 hour ago, DrVenkman said:

That’s a super-fun game as well. Always great to have more Trak-Ball games. The big 5200 Trak-Ball is much more satisfying to use than the smaller CX-22/80 models for other systems. 

I always thought Millipede on the 5200 seemed a bit more sluggish compared to Centipede but, after a playing few games, I've realized that it goes from 0 to bonkers in no time.  

 

And, yes, the Trak-Ball makes a huge difference. 

[7800Knight]

It finally arrived!  I will fire it up tonight after work!

[+DrVenkman]

W00t!

 

 

EDIT: @darryl1970, this is SOO good and I am SOO bad but I'm going to work at it! Major props to you, @Synthpopalooza for the music, and everyone else involved. @Albert, thanks for the gorgeous box, manual and inserts and the fantastic packaging. My box was dropped on the edge of my front porch during a torrential thunderstorm and despite the cardboard being pretty wet on the outside, everything inside was nice and dry inside the perfectly wrapped and taped bubble wrap and packaging materials. 

[7800Knight]

The game is definitely much harder than I remember.  After an hour, I still couldn't make it past the first screen!  I'll need more practice.

 

Popeye is an excellent conversion and it's better than the NES port, especially against that port's smaller sprites!

[+DrVenkman]

11 minutes ago, 7800Knight said:

The game is definitely much harder than I remember.  After an hour, I still couldn't make it past the first screen!  I'll need more practice.

 

I can make it to the second screen on Arcade, but I turned it down to Novice just to get to experience the third level tonight, lol. I tried the joystick combo shown in the first post to remove the red screen but couldn't get it to work. Oh, well. I'll be playing Arcade most of the time anyway. 

[+darryl1970]

9 hours ago, DrVenkman said:

That’s a super-fun game as well. Always great to have more Trak-Ball games. The big 5200 Trak-Ball is much more satisfying to use than the smaller CX-22/80 models for other systems. 

I'll have to try it, but I can't get over the choppiness from using text mode graphics. Centipede, for the 5200, was so above and beyond. The sound effects and smooth software sprites were great. I always kind of disliked the player sprite, but eh. It was so well done.

8 hours ago, bikeguychicago said:

I always thought Millipede on the 5200 seemed a bit more sluggish compared to Centipede but, after a playing few games, I've realized that it goes from 0 to bonkers in no time.  

 

And, yes, the Trak-Ball makes a huge difference. 

I agree with the sluggish. It suffers a similar difference between Donkey Kong A8 and Donkey Kong Jr. A8. An extra color is gained using the 4x8 tile mode, but the animation is so much jerkier. (Except for XE Mario Bros, where they used a bunch of tricks and memory!).

To be fair, Millipede may have just added too many on-screen colors and moving sprites to do it like they did Centipede.

12 minutes ago, 7800Knight said:

The game is definitely much harder than I remember.  After an hour, I still couldn't make it past the first screen!  I'll need more practice.

I hope you get plenty of time to play. It will get easier. If you prefer Novice, without the Rev F colors, you can enter a joystick combination on the title screen to make it just "Novice". Right, Down, Right, Up, Up, Down. Arcade gets easier once you get the hang of Brutus's tactics.

12 minutes ago, 7800Knight said:

Popeye is an excellent conversion and it's better than the NES port, especially against that port's smaller sprites!

Thank you!

[+darryl1970]

12 minutes ago, DrVenkman said:

I can make it to the second screen on Arcade, but I turned it down to Novice just to get to experience the third level tonight, lol. I tried the joystick combo shown in the first post to remove the red screen but couldn't get it to work. Oh, well. I'll be playing Arcade most of the time anyway. 

It's not on the first screen. It's on the title screen, where the Popeye music plays. Right, Down, Right, Up, Up, Down. (There's no rush to enter it in quickly, other than the title screen going away.) Also, watch the diagonals. I know that messes me up on my touch screen devices.

 

Also, funny about the arcade.  I can play my Popeye on arcade, to about 200k. My highest score on my arcade is 128,790. I have stalled there and below. I can't even come close anymore. I get about 50-100lk per game, and I can't even get my initials up on my own cabinet (with high score save device). It's depressing. LOL.

[7800Knight]

I played more last night.  I was able to clear all three stages on novice setting but once the game looped around, the white skulls were too much for me.  I'll need more practice.

[John Stamos Mullet]

Mine arrived yesterday too! 2 full days earlier than the USPS estimate! Played it right away, and it's fantastic!

[SalemFrost7800]

Mine is "out for Delivery" and I have all weekend to play it!!

[John Stamos Mullet]

13 hours ago, darryl1970 said:

It's not on the first screen. It's on the title screen, where the Popeye music plays. Right, Down, Right, Up, Up, Down. (There's no rush to enter it in quickly, other than the title screen going away.) Also, watch the diagonals. I know that messes me up on my touch screen devices.

 

Also, funny about the arcade.  I can play my Popeye on arcade, to about 200k. My highest score on my arcade is 128,790. I have stalled there and below. I can't even come close anymore. I get about 50-100lk per game, and I can't even get my initials up on my own cabinet (with high score save device). It's depressing. LOL.

I have the Arcade version on my MAME/FBNeo CAbinet, and I love it - but that game is hard as balls. Completely unforgiving collision detection. 

[SalemFrost7800]

I got mine in the mail today, can't wait to play it!!

[bikeguychicago]

On 3/11/2023 at 6:51 AM, GaryH917 said:

I love when Al includes the extra brochures with the upcoming releases! Played the crap out of this on the 5200. Need to order this very soon. Great job Darryl!!!

The 5200 was my go-to version before this one. The Intellivision version is absolute dreck. 

[SalemFrost7800]

I'm so sad  my cart isn't working, I just sent a message to albert and hopefully I can get a replacement cart quickly.