+bhall408 Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 My own personal "first love" is coming soon to Argon - Atari 8-bit series. Special thanks to Altirra ( @phaeron - OS) and Atari++ ( @thorfdbg - core) We're currently doing internal testing and refinement, and ready to start adding games to the catalog ahead of release. Initial support is for XEX and CAR formats (ie, no ATR/disks), and games that are "couch compliant" (controller + start/select/option, ie, keyboard optional) Our default configuration is an NTSC Atari 130XE, Altirra OS, and a joystick, which we can override as needed on a per-game basis. We'll be supporting touch tablet/koala pad and light pen, such that you can play those games with a mouse/trackpad (TV/Chromebook/PC), or touch/stylus (phone/tablet). Argon is available for Android phones, tablets, TVs and Chromebook on Google Play, with a version for Amazon App Store is in private testing for Amazon Fire Tablet, Amazon Fire TV and Windows 11. Atari 800 will be our first computer supported -- we've been supporting games for consoles for a while now - Atari 2600/5200/7800/Lynx, ColecoVision, Intellivision, Vectrex and NES. If you are a developer of a free game, and would like to see it appear in the Argon free play section, you can submit it online at playargon.com/submitfreeplay If you are a developer of a commercial game and would like it considered for premium, ping me directly. Watch here and/or our social media (twitter, instagram, facebook) for an announcement when we update the public version of Argon with Atari 8-bit support. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rra Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 I'm really looking forward to the addition of Atari 800 to Argon. I'm also looking forward to a Amazon Firestick version which I know is in the works. I'm happy to say that all 14 of our A/W/A Atari 800 games are "couch compliant" and I can see by your screenshot that you have included them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bhall408 Posted March 7, 2022 Author Share Posted March 7, 2022 17 minutes ago, rra said: I'm also looking forward to a Amazon Firestick version which I know is in the works. We're in the process of getting the app moved from private to public access on Amazon app store. We have a few more hoops to jump. In the meantime, folks comfortable side loading, can do that on Amazon devices and/or Windows 11. For Raspberry Pi4, we support the Android TV build by KonstaKang. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bhall408 Posted March 7, 2022 Author Share Posted March 7, 2022 25 minutes ago, rra said: I'm happy to say that all 14 of our A/W/A Atari 800 games are "couch compliant" and I can see by your screenshot that you have included them. Yep - I tested them all on Saturday and they work fine. THANKS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rra Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 26 minutes ago, bhall408 said: We're in the process of getting the app moved from private to public access on Amazon app store. We have a few more hoops to jump. In the meantime, folks comfortable side loading, can do that on Amazon devices and/or Windows 11. For Raspberry Pi4, we support the Android TV build by KonstaKang. I actually tried sideloading it on my Firestick and got it up and running. I didn't have a compatible joystick, though. Have you thought about using the Firestick remote as a joystick (turned sideways)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bhall408 Posted March 7, 2022 Author Share Posted March 7, 2022 20 minutes ago, rra said: I actually tried sideloading it on my Firestick and got it up and running. I didn't have a compatible joystick, though. Have you thought about using the Firestick remote as a joystick (turned sideways)? We support it in the "normal" orientation, but due to the limited buttons, only directions + fire. See https://support.markspace.com/kb/faq.php?id=12 And when "fire" is the center of the d-pad on a TV controller, that makes for a poor experience to say the least. Amazon sells a Fire TV wireless game controller, you should also be able to use any game controller that the version of Android they base Fire OS on supports. ie, PS4, XBOX, Switch controllers. (example for PS4 to FireTV) There are YouTube videos on how to pair them. Usually the tough part is figuring out how to get a particular controllers into pairing mode - after that, it's easy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGB1718 Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 (edited) Will it work on an Nvidia Shield ? It's Android based Edited March 7, 2022 by TGB1718 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bhall408 Posted March 7, 2022 Author Share Posted March 7, 2022 43 minutes ago, TGB1718 said: Will it work on an Nvidia Shield ? It's Android based Absolutely - that is what we do all of our Android TV development/testing with. You can use either the Shield game controller, or any controller Android supports (fight stick, PlayStation, XBOX, etc) Here is what the TV UI looks like... We had a special tile/category thru end of February for games that were in the Atari Homebrew Awards. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vitoco Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 Good to know that A8 will be included. Will it work for both NTSC and PAL respectively? I submitted "The Children" for the Atari Homebrew Awards category, but it never appeared there because it was A8. I don't remember if I sent the complete ATR (with both PAL and NTSC executables) or an XEX. If the category persists, I suppose it will be included there soon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGB1718 Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 11 hours ago, bhall408 said: Absolutely - that is what we do all of our Android TV development/testing with. Wonderful, many thanks, I look forward to trying this out ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bhall408 Posted March 8, 2022 Author Share Posted March 8, 2022 4 hours ago, vitoco said: Good to know that A8 will be included. Will it work for both NTSC and PAL respectively? Yes. As we default to NTSC, we'll need to know when a game is PAL so we can flag it in the database. 4 hours ago, vitoco said: I submitted "The Children" for the Atari Homebrew Awards category, but it never appeared there because it was A8. I don't remember if I sent the complete ATR (with both PAL and NTSC executables) or an XEX. If the category persists, I suppose it will be included there soon. We received the submission, but at the time weren't ready to add it. We'll add it today and test it internally. You submitted the XEX. Is that PAL? If so, do you have an NTSC version? We likely won't have the support in the database for the PAL flag till later in the month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bhall408 Posted March 8, 2022 Author Share Posted March 8, 2022 4 hours ago, vitoco said: submitted "The Children" for the Atari Homebrew Awards category, but it never appeared there because it was A8. I don't remember if I sent the complete ATR (with both PAL and NTSC executables) or an XEX. If the category persists, I suppose it will be included there soon. It already had been added I tested it over the weekend. Based on these shots, if it was PAL, does it look like it is being handled correctly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vitoco Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 It looks like it's the NTSC version. I'll PM you both versions to be compared with that one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bhall408 Posted March 8, 2022 Author Share Posted March 8, 2022 3 minutes ago, vitoco said: It looks like it's the NTSC version. I'll PM you both versions to be compared with that one. We'll compare the versions and likely switch to the NTSC one if we weren't already using it. If you have any others you'd like to submit, go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bhall408 Posted March 8, 2022 Author Share Posted March 8, 2022 Worth mentioning, we have two facebook groups, one for gamers, one for developers/publishers. Argon Developers Arcade and Argonauts - Argon Retro Gaming Community Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bhall408 Posted March 14, 2022 Author Share Posted March 14, 2022 Atari 800 coming along... Was playing Buried Bucks by Tom Hudson as a way to test the new on-screen layouts we're working on for foldable clamshell phones such as Samsung Galaxy Flip and Moto Razr... Attached shots show traditional phone landscape and portrait, as well as "book" pose (held landscape and folded) and "laptop" pose (clamshell style). The magenta line in the screen shot shows where the "fold" is on a folding phone. We're also doing folding support for Surface Duo and Galaxy Fold. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bhall408 Posted April 1, 2022 Author Share Posted April 1, 2022 Preliminary Atari 8-Bit support is now in the public beta on Google Play - give it a try! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bhall408 Posted April 1, 2022 Author Share Posted April 1, 2022 And also in this latest release -- support for folding devices such as Microsoft Surface Duo (below), Samsung Fold, Samsung Flip and Moto Razr... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bhall408 Posted April 9, 2022 Author Share Posted April 9, 2022 We're currently working on adding paddle support for (among other systems) 5200 and 8-bit games. Here is an early draft, showing our "ribbon controller" with the 5200 version Castle Crisis. See the bottom left for the controller. Like a paddle, it remembers where left it when not being touched/used, and it slides back and forth through the min and max values for a paddle. So far, it is very playable, and testing well. This new feature should show up in the next public beta update later this month. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rra Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 That is a clever way to implement a paddle controller. I'm looking forward to the upcoming release. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bhall408 Posted May 6, 2022 Author Share Posted May 6, 2022 Next up - Twin Stick games. We did it yesterday for Vectrex. We can do it for 8-bit as well. We're looking for games we can try it on (games that we can get permission for, so that means homebrew/indie for the most part) We're adding it to 7800 next, so that we can support twin stick in T:ME Salvo. Here is a picture of the Vectrex support. If a game developer wants to get crazy, it can even be a combo of a stick plus a slider/paddle (imagine one for move, one for tool/weapon direction). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bhall408 Posted May 15, 2022 Author Share Posted May 15, 2022 Here is the fun for this week -- touch/stylus support for Planetary Defense 2012 (in Koala Pad mode) by Tom Hudson (@klankster). See attached video. You can use your finger to tap to fire, or a stylus/smart pen (such as Samsung, Microsoft and Motorola have on their devices) to "hover" (aims/positions the cursor only) vs tap (which fires at the location you tap). Similarly, you can use a mouse or trackpad (either on Chromebook, or via USB/Bluetooth to a phone/tablet/tv). Since 5200 sticks look the same (to game code) as a Koala Pad, we tried the same technique for some 5200 analog stick games. If you are using a smart pen (as Samsung and Microsoft have), you can "hover" over a location to aim. Tapping tricks the 5200 into seeing a fire button press at a specific location. For Missile Command it is even cooler - you can tap multiple places at the same time, and we queue up the requests/feed them to the game in sequence. ie, you can "chord" 2, 3 or more fingers to tap on multiple targets at the same time. You can also play with mouse/trackpad (ie, on a laptop or Chromebook). It is pretty awesome. If we can manage to get a license, we'll release it. Touch/stylus support for Planetary Defense will show up in the next public beta (likely this coming week). argon duo and pen.m4v Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGHMW Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 Any word on whether a 5200 version of Planetary Defense 2012 will be available for download, and if and when you do come out with one I'd like to see trak-ball/analog joystick (CX53/CX52) support, my Atarimax awaits the ROM for this one, from what I hear she plays kinda like a hybrid of both Missile Command and also Liberator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bhall408 Posted June 4, 2022 Author Share Posted June 4, 2022 On 6/3/2022 at 12:55 AM, BIGHMW said: Any word on whether a 5200 version of Planetary Defense 2012 will be available for download, and if and when you do come out with one I'd like to see trak-ball/analog joystick (CX53/CX52) support, my Atarimax awaits the ROM for this one, from what I hear she plays kinda like a hybrid of both Missile Command and also Liberator. Since we solved the problem (getting Planetary Defense to work in Argon via touch) by adding Atari 8-bit and koala pad emulation to Argon, we won't be doing a 5200 port of the game ourselves. Someone else could do it - the source is posted on github. Go for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0078265317 Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 Can you use a Bluetooth controller with argon or only on screen controlls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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