Atari 7800 Screenshots - Snapshots

+Trebor · October 18, 2021

Tomcat - The F-14 Fighter Simulator

+Trebor · October 18, 2021

Touchdown Football

+Trebor · October 18, 2021

Tower Toppler

+Trebor · October 18, 2021

Water Ski

+Trebor · October 18, 2021

Winter Games

+Trebor · October 18, 2021

Xenophobe

+Trebor · October 18, 2021

Xevious

+Trebor · October 18, 2021

Joust

TwoShedsWilson · October 18, 2021

Would you have an objection to me using these in my book? It's something I'm doing for fun and will post for free when finished. Getting good screen captures has become the most annoying aspect of trying to finish the thing and this would eliminate that. Either way, thanks for all you do for the 7800 community.

+sramirez2008 · October 18, 2021

4 hours ago, Trebor said:

I've put together a collection of ten screen captures for each original retail release. There are some really rough captures out in the wild, especially from a time when emulation of the 7800 MARIA graphics chip had yet to mature. Frequently, realistically possible color palettes were not being applied, proper screen ratio including accounting for borders was lacking.

A few games look best when the console is cooler, other titles hotter; all look respectful under a warm console. When the aforementioned games were being developed and colors chosen, they were viewed on a traditional screen display.

For the sake of consistency, fairness and clarity, for all captures, simulation of a bright vivid CRT, utilized under a warm console palette that was converted to RGB format, taken at 640x480 resolution, was performed within the A7800 emulator. The only exception is Tower Toppler, in which a very clean YIQ software filter is also applied.

Very cool. I'll have to compare these to my console. Thank you.

+Muddyfunster · October 18, 2021

Very nice, thanks @Trebor

+-^CrossBow^- · October 18, 2021

1 hour ago, sramirez2008 said:

Very cool. I'll have to compare these to my console. Thank you.

Likely won't look the same on LCDs as they produce he colors on their screen differently so this is only likely going to look similar on actual CRTs. Just an FYI. Trebor has a entire thread on this with sample screenshots to match.

+sramirez2008 · October 18, 2021

8 minutes ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

Likely won't look the same on LCDs as they produce he colors on their screen differently so this is only likely going to look similar on actual CRTs. Just an FYI. Trebor has a entire thread on this with sample screenshots to match.

I normally stick to my 14" CRT (Toshiba 14AF44).

+save2600 · October 18, 2021

Awesome reference to help "dial in" the colors of 7800's and TV's - thank you!

Ironically, one that I always used as a reference was Joust, which is absent. I see there's another placeholder or two left though, so imagine that'll eventually find its way here.

+Trebor · October 18, 2021

9 hours ago, sramirez2008 said:

Very cool. I'll have to compare these to my console. Thank you.

You're welcome. To be very clear, this is exactly what was stated.. a collection, as there is no the collection. Even on the same system, same display with same exact settings, depending if the console is cool, warm, or hot, some colors may look different. Disregarding the console temperature color deltas, just a cursory look into the high score forum from individuals who post from console hardware and displays, there are a wide range of appearances shown as well. This of course is not unique to the 7800, but any console that does not provide RGB hard coded values.. Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, Tint, play into it all.

The purpose here was to provide at least a reasonable and possible set of screenshots that are clean, neat, and within proper proportions as would be commonly seen under its original intended hardware. The 7800 platform in particular has seen many years of inaccurate and misleading captures that are leveraged even to this day, unfortunately. Hopefully this will help some, whether from a collection, archive, or curiosity perspective.

8 hours ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

Likely won't look the same on LCDs as they produce he colors on their screen differently so this is only likely going to look similar on actual CRTs. Just an FYI. Trebor has a entire thread on this with sample screenshots to match.

Indeed, modern displays produce a few considerable different colors, especially in line with Hue $1x. It's not as if the entire palette is different, but there are definitely some notable differences. From the aforementioned thread, here is a gif of the system's color palette under several different settings, including both CRTs and LCDs:

When row 1 appears greenish, that's an example of an LCD.

When row 1 appears goldish, that's an example of a CRT.

The above is in regards to NTSC; PAL, as usual, is more consistent with its colors, but there are differences there as well. Neither region is exempt from console temperature changes to state the least. More info at 7800 8BitDev, here.

13 hours ago, TwoShedsWilson said:

Would you have an objection to me using these in my book? It's something I'm doing for fun and will post for free when finished. Getting good screen captures has become the most annoying aspect of trying to finish the thing and this would eliminate that. Either way, thanks for all you do for the 7800 community.

If it's being posted for free.. absolutely can be used. I request any manipulation to make them 'fit' is done proportionally. For example, 640x480 --> 320x240 --> 160x120 --> 80x60. Part of the process of going through this creation of screenshots and posting them is to avoid the incorrect aspect ratios, removed borders, or/and stretching that is evident in many images already in circulation.

+Trebor · October 18, 2021

3 hours ago, save2600 said:

Awesome reference to help "dial in" the colors of their 7800's and TV's - thank you!

Ironically, one that I always used as a reference was Joust, which is absent. I see there's another placeholder or two left though, so imagine that'll eventually find its way here.

I unintentionally left Joust out, sorry about that. Joust was added to the (formerly) last "Reserve" space.

Joust is a very tough one to leverage for color calibration, particularly when viewing the enemy birds. The enemy birds leverage the Hue $Ex range. Commonly, that range is seen green when the console is first powered on from a cold state. It changes though as the console warms up. By the time the console is hot, it is in the golden range.

The game also suffers badly under modern displays. The platforms all leverage the Hue $1x range (Specifically.. $10, $14, $1A). Also, the player's body uses Hue $1E, as does the player's score. On a CRT, the Hue $1x range is as intended, appearing in the gold spectrum. Under LCDs and other modern displays, it leans green or chartreuse.

Unlike the Hue $Ex range, the Hue $1x range remains the same regardless of console temperature.

+save2600 · October 18, 2021

10 minutes ago, Trebor said:

Joust is a very tough one to leverage for color calibration...

...precisely why I use it.

Not to oversimplify, and assuming a warmed system ...when you dial in the enemy birds just so, I've found you're pretty much 'golden' on all the other games.

+Trebor · November 17, 2021

I have made another collection set of ten screen captures for each original retail release. Once again, a realistic possible color palette is applied along with proper screen ratio, accounting for borders.

While the previous batch represented a warm console, this batch represents a hot console.

Relative to the last batch, colors are less saturated, darker with a different (slightly greener) hue setting, but still representative of what may be seen on a standard CRT.

Palette converted to RGB, captures taken at 640x480 under the A7800 emulator with a very clean YIQ software filter for Tower Toppler only, is still applicable.