Atari 400/800 vs 5200 Game Differences

[oo7]

1 hour ago, Mostro said:

I wasn't paying enough attention(!) I just noticed that the most recent comment at the Atarimania "Compilation A" page- from "Fred Meijer"- includes a link to *his* dump of the tape:-

Fred Meijer - 21/08/2017
I have the taoe. It is definitely the 5200 version of Centipede but WITHOUT the crack screen. My dump is at Atariwiki: https://atariwiki.org/wiki/Wiki.jsp?page=Compilation A

 

The linked page also notes "The version on this tape of Centipede is not the regular 400/800 version but the version which was made for the 5200. "

 

 

Press ctrl plus g… its glenns. I own this

[Mostro]

11 hours ago, oo7 said:

Press ctrl plus g… its glenns. I own this

Do you mean search for "Glenn" at the Atarimania or Atariwiki page? I can't see mention of it at the Atariwiki page or contained within any of the dump files.

 

As I already noted, the Atarimania page does mention "Glenn the 5200 Man" and shows the backport with the crack screen (which someone refers to in the comments), but Fred Meijer suggested that the actual TXP7100 tape had the 5200 version *without* the credits.

 

Maybe I'm misunderstanding? Are you saying that you own TXP7100 (Compilation A) and that the version loaded from the original tape does include the crack screen crediting "Glenn"?

 

All I can say personally is that the similar "Atari Compilation"/"TX 9043" that I do own definitely *does* have the backported 5200 version *without* the credits...

Edited August 8, 2021 by Mostro
Clarification

[Tempest]

That's a really strange compilation tape.  Not only does it have the 5200 version of Centipede on it (never before released in Europe), it has Airstrike II which isn't even Atari but English Software.  Atari U.K. was doing some odd stuff that Atari U.S.A would never do.

[+DjayBee]

13 hours ago, Mostro said:

I wasn't paying enough attention(!) I just noticed that the most recent comment at the Atarimania "Compilation A" page- from "Fred Meijer"- includes a link to *his* dump of the tape:-

Fred Meijer - 21/08/2017
I have the taoe. It is definitely the 5200 version of Centipede but WITHOUT the crack screen. My dump is at Atariwiki: https://atariwiki.org/wiki/Wiki.jsp?page=Compilation A

 

The linked page also notes "The version on this tape of Centipede is not the regular 400/800 version but the version which was made for the 5200. "

 

 

Why not ask him personally about details?

@Fred_M

 

[Fred_M]

There is no crack screen on the tape. Ofcourse not  Atari UK would never leave that in.

 

As my original comment stated, the cas file can be downloaded from Atariwiki: https://atariwiki.org/wiki/Wiki.jsp?page=Compilation A

 

I have attached the wav-file of Centipede taken from my original copy of the compilation cassette.

 

 

 

Compilation_A_TXP7100_SideB_Centipede.rar

Edited August 8, 2021 by Fred_M

[Fred_M]

1 hour ago, Tempest said:

That's a really strange compilation tape.  Not only does it have the 5200 version of Centipede on it (never before released in Europe), it has Airstrike II which isn't even Atari but English Software.  Atari U.K. was doing some odd stuff that Atari U.S.A would never do.

There is also a compilation Atari UK tape that has Bug Byte game releases on them: Compilation C https://atariwiki.org/wiki/Wiki.jsp?page=Compilation C 

 

 

[Mostro]

53 minutes ago, Tempest said:

That's a really strange compilation tape.  Not only does it have the 5200 version of Centipede on it (never before released in Europe), it has Airstrike II which isn't even Atari but English Software.  Atari U.K. was doing some odd stuff that Atari U.S.A would never do.

It's odd. Going by Atarimania's listing, there appears to be a "Compilation A" and "Compilation B" that include a mixture of Atari games and at least one English Software release each (Airstrike II and Chop Suey respectively, not sure about "Chess"). There's also a "Compilation C" that consists entirely of releases licensed from "Bug Byte" (a UK software house whose name was later reused by another publisher) and even features their logo.

 

I strongly suspect that these three may have been intended- and licensed- solely for inclusion with "computer and tape deck" bundles (possibly for the likes of Dixons) and never sold separately.

 

That might explain why there are two similar releases- "Compilation A" (TXP7100) and "Atari Compilation" (TX 9043)- with three out of five games in common. The latter was advertised commercially (see my earlier post for scan) and only included Atari-owned games.

 

As the advert showed full-colour art, I was surprised when my "Atari Compilation" arrived in single-colour, text-only packaging. I'm not sure if any versions were actually released using that art (which I now know to have been recycled from the VCS version of Star Raiders) or whether that was only for the ad. Can't complain as it was only £5 for five games, but still odd for a nominally commercial release.

 

Atari UK's other tape-based commercial releases all appeared to feature proper artwork.

[www.atarimania.com]

Either there's some strange voodoo going on or I just don't get it... The version of Centipede on the Wiki page does have the Glenn screen as well, it's just hidden.

[Fred_M]

The red tapes* were bundled indeed. Dixons bundled many different tapes. I mentioned the red tapes too here: 

 

9 minutes ago, www.atarimania.com said:

Either there's some strange voodoo going on or I just don't get it... The version of Centipede on the Wiki page does have the Glenn screen as well, it's just hidden.

Okay, how do you access the screen then or is it not shown but still in the code?

 

* the red tapes are Compilation, Compilation A, Compilation B, Compilation C, Lone Raider, Invitation to programming, Chess, Star Raiders and European Countries & Capitals

Edited August 8, 2021 by Fred_M

[Mostro]

22 minutes ago, Fred_M said:

There is no crack screen on the tape. Ofcourse not  Atari UK would never leave that in.

 

As my original comment stated, the cas file can be downloaded from Atariwiki: https://atariwiki.org/wiki/Wiki.jsp?page=Compilation A

 

I have attached the wav-file of Centipede taken from my original copy of the compilation cassette.

Thank you for that Fred, and thank you for the original dump and comment at Atarimania as well!

 

I was happy to believe you on that count since- as I mentioned- my "Atari Compilation" also included the 5200 backport of Centipede but didn't feature the "Glenn" credit either.

 

As you say, it was unlikely that Atari UK would include a version with a crack screen showing(!), not even during the run-on-a-shoestring-budget Tramiel era(!!)

[Mostro]

17 minutes ago, www.atarimania.com said:

Either there's some strange voodoo going on or I just don't get it... The version of Centipede on the Wiki page does have the Glenn screen as well, it's just hidden.

Despite what I just said in my reply to Fred above, I *wouldn't* dismiss the possibility that they might have used Glenn's backport and simply bypassed/hid the crack screen while leaving it in, but hidden! (If the port already worked, this was probably less risky than removing it, and it was still their game they owned the copyright on).

 

On the other hand, it's odd/interesting that Atari UK used the 5200 version in the first place rather than simply dumping the 400/800 version. Maybe someone there did care and wanted to include the better version.

Edited August 8, 2021 by Mostro
Clarification

[Fred_M]

21 minutes ago, Mostro said:

Atari UK's other tape-based commercial releases all appeared to feature proper artwork.

Please take a look at Atariwiki for a full and correct list of all the official Atari UK releases: https://atariwiki.org/wiki/Wiki.jsp?page=Articles#section-Articles-UnitedKingdomAtariCorporationUK

 

You can see Atari UK has released several tapes and disks without full artwork  

 

Here some examples:

 

 

 

 

[_The Doctor__]

control key and g key pressed together to reveal credits is a possibility

[Fred_M]

6 minutes ago, _The Doctor__ said:

control key and g key pressed together to reveal credits is a possibility

Ah, you are right! I did not get that from 007's post. Indeed pressing CTRL G does show the Glenn-screen. Hahahaha that is really bad ?

 

Just checked my dumps, Centipede on the Compilation tape (TX9043) has the screen too.

Edited August 8, 2021 by Fred_M

[Mostro]

3 minutes ago, Fred_M said:

Please take a look at Atariwiki for a full and correct list of all the official Atari UK releases: https://atariwiki.org/wiki/Wiki.jsp?page=Articles#section-Articles-UnitedKingdomAtariCorporationUK

 

You can see Atari UK has released several tapes and disks without full artwork

Sorry, should have made clearer that the ones I had in mind were the new titles later commissioned for retail sale by Atari UK (such as Cygnus X-1, Thunderfox, Tiger Attack etc.)

 

I appreciate that some of the examples you gave were originally commercial releases in "proper" packaging, but were those bare-bones reissues intended for commercial sale?

 

The "Diskette Pack" shown above looks similiar to the disk pack I got with my 800XL/1050 bundle (albeit the one I had included "Paint" instead of the demonstration disk).

[Fred_M]

2 minutes ago, Mostro said:

I appreciate that some of the examples you gave were originally commercial releases in "proper" packaging, but were those bare-bones reissues intended for commercial sale?

I have no proof, but I think those bare-bones were not intended for commercial sale. Just as bundled in software. But I would not be surprised if some of them were sold separately.

 

3 minutes ago, Mostro said:

The "Diskette Pack" shown above looks similiar to the disk pack I got with my 800XL/1050 bundle (albeit the one I had included "Paint" instead of the demonstration disk).

I think you have this one?

 

[Mostro]

15 minutes ago, Fred_M said:

I have no proof, but I think those bare-bones were not intended for commercial sale. Just as bundled in software.

 

That's what I meant, that they (possibly) weren't intended for commercial sale.

 

15 minutes ago, Fred_M said:

I think you have this one?

 

Yes, that's the one!

 

15 minutes ago, Fred_M said:

 

[Fred_M]

29 minutes ago, Mostro said:

That's what I meant, that they (possibly) weren't intended for commercial sale.

After doing some research, it looks like the original Compilation tape (the one without A,B,C) was sold commercially. In Page 6 issue 34 (1988-07) the tape was reviewed on page 76. In later issues several stores offered this one in their adverts for 4.99 pounds. 

 

 

Just an example of an advert, I found more from several stores:

 

Edited August 8, 2021 by Fred_M

[Tempest]

So the version of Centipede on the compilation tape is Glenn's port and not an official Atari one?

[Fred_M]

16 minutes ago, Tempest said:

So the version of Centipede on the compilation tape is Glenn's port and not an official Atari one?

It looks like it, yes. It is still an official Atari one (5200 version), but Atari UK used the port Glenn made ?

Edited August 8, 2021 by Fred_M

[Mostro]

20 minutes ago, Fred_M said:

It looks like the original Compilation tape (the one without A,B,C) was sold commercially.

That's definitely correct- I bought it commercially via mail order after seeing it advertised and (I think) reviewed in Atari User.

 

My original post includes a scan of that advert, "Compilation" is at the bottom right.

 

As I mentioned in this comment, the only odd thing is that the ad shows- what you'd assume was- box art. That didn't appear on the copy I bought. (It's not clear whether any copies went out with that art, or whether it was used in the ad only. I suspect the latter, especially as I now know that it's just a cheap reuse of the art from the VCS version of Star Raiders).

[Fred_M]

2 minutes ago, Mostro said:

My original post includes a scan of that advert, "Compilation" is at the bottom right.

 

As I mentioned in this comment, the only odd thing is that the ad shows- what you'd assume was- box art. That didn't appear on the copy I bought. (It's not clear whether any copies went out with that art, or whether it was used in the ad only. I suspect the latter, especially as I now know that it's just a cheap reuse of the art from the VCS version of Star Raiders).

Thanks for the links, I was late to the party  

 

I have never seen the compilation tape with the artwork shown in the advert too. I am collecting Atari 8-bit for over 35 years  By the way, the artwork for Thunderfox in the advert is not correct either. 

 

It is fun to see that the reviewers of both UK Atari magazines (Page 6 and Atari User) did not notice that Centipede is the 5200 version. As both reviews don't show the box art, it is possible that they received a different copy of the compilation tape...

[+x=usr(1536)]

54 minutes ago, Fred_M said:

By any chance do you happen to know the name of the guy who owned Miles Better Software?  I recall that his first name was Miles, but cannot for the life of me remember his surname.

[Fred_M]

12 minutes ago, x=usr(1536) said:

By any chance do you happen to know the name of the guy who owned Miles Better Software?  I recall that his first name was Miles, but cannot for the life of me remember his surname.

 

I don't know, but I did a quick google search. Does the name Rob(ert) Miles ring a bell? This is on his Linkedin page:

 

Managing Director
Miles Better Software Ltd
Jun 1983 - Jul 2009 26 years 2 months
MBS started in 1983 and was one of the first computer games retails in the country. The business started with six computer games I was given at a trade show and grew to a turnover in excess of £1m. Within MBS I also started a very early internet sales arm called shop4games.co.uk. I also created Chase Business Solutions selling and supplying solutions to local business which eventually went on to become Chase Business Systems Ltd / Premier Software Solutions Ltd

link to his Linkedin profile: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/robertpmiles

 

[+x=usr(1536)]

Just now, Fred_M said:

 

I don't know, but I did a quick google search. Does the name Rob(ert) Miles ring a bell? This is on his Linkedin page:

 

Managing Director
Miles Better Software Ltd
Jun 1983 - Jul 2009 26 years 2 months
MBS started in 1983 and was one of the first computer games retails in the country. The business started with six computer games I was given at a trade show and grew to a turnover in excess of £1m. Within MBS I also started a very early internet sales arm called shop4games.co.uk. I also created Chase Business Solutions selling and supplying solutions to local business which eventually went on to become Chase Business Systems Ltd / Premier Software Solutions Ltd

link to his Linkedin profile: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/robertpmiles

 

Possibly.  It doesn't necessarily sound wrong, but I could've sworn that Miles was the given name.  Either way, appreciate the info!