Cripper Posted May 12, 2001 Share Posted May 12, 2001 hi i am wondering if all 7800 games were converted into the PAL format. The game list mentions one PAL only game i would like to know if any of the games are NTSC only. i have nearly all the 7800 games (pal) but i have never seen pal versions of titles like winter games or other third party games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted May 13, 2001 Share Posted May 13, 2001 There are only a few NTSC only games. Take a look here: http://members.aol.com/~Atari7800games/7800list.htm/ Mitch http://atari7800.atari.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kondre Posted June 8, 2001 Share Posted June 8, 2001 I just recently attained a Planet Smashers cart in box with instructions. The problem is that it is a PAL version. I was aware of the verions when i purchased it, i just figured i would be optimistic and hope it would work on my NTSE 7800. Well I was wrong, i get a black screen right after the Logo Screen. what can i do to get this cart to run properly? Thanks Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted June 8, 2001 Share Posted June 8, 2001 Not sure there is anything you can do. I know that you can't get it to work because it is failing the 7800's encyption key check which prevents non US or NTSC games from working in the US 7800's. You could try to obtain a modded bios for it that would allow the key check to disappear...but even then I am not sure if there is a hardware difference that might still prevent it from working. As I understand it...the PAL 7800 games when put into a modded 7800...will work...but only display a B/W screen so no color. Mitch...Eckhard...this is right correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JagDiesel Posted June 8, 2001 Share Posted June 8, 2001 If I am not mistaken, I believe Stellas Boneyard or Atari7800.com have a chip that you can put in a NTSC 7800 that allows you to also play PAL games on it... Hope that helps... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted June 9, 2001 Share Posted June 9, 2001 There are a couple issues with playing PAL 7800 games on an NTSC machine. The big one is obviously the encryption checking OS ROM. As was mentioned, you can modify your 7800 to use the Asteroids OS ROM or the OS ROM from Eckhard's Dev system. This will get you into the game but there are still a couple of problems. The screen will roll similar to using a 2600 PAL cart. Also, the graphics will be partially corrupted and depending on the game, may lock up and not play. Incidentally, the sound and color are fine. You get the Black and White picture with no sound when you use a PAL cart and Pal 7800 on an NTSC screen. Mitch http://atari7800.atari.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted June 9, 2001 Share Posted June 9, 2001 hehe... Okay...well I was on the right track. I knew there was a color issue in there somewhere. I think I got it from the fact that I believe you Mitch have a shot of Sentinel for the 7800..and it is B/W on your shot...right? anyway...the rom is a must have. So you do need to get a modded bios that either doesn't look for it..or get the dev kit from Eckharts site..and either burn yourself one..or get somebody to burn you a copy of the rom for your 7800. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted June 9, 2001 Share Posted June 9, 2001 quote I believe you Mitch have a shot of Sentinel for the 7800..and it is B/W on your shot...right? Ah yes, that was the old Sentinel screenshot. I have a color one up now that I got off the NTSC proto version. Not an original proto, I'm afraid, but one I built up from the ROM dump with a little help from Chad Schell. Sentinel's a lot more fun to play on a real 7800. Klax too. Mitch http://atari7800.atari.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted June 9, 2001 Share Posted June 9, 2001 Anyone know if a Pal version of Alien Brigade will work(with mod of course) on a ntsc 7800? I bought one off of e-bay with the same high hopes as Mitch, but haven't even tried it yet, because my 7800 is currently out of my reach(but in a safe place). I went ahead an bought it(A.B), because I used to get copied, copies of 8-bit computer games from England and Europe years ago, and some worked ok and some didn't, so I figured it would be a "pot luck" with the 7800 too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted June 9, 2001 Share Posted June 9, 2001 Mitch any hope of getting that proto of Sentinel for NTSC dumped? More importantly..have you tried in emulation? And...then of course...if it is possilbe to convert sentinel from PAL to NTSC...then what about Impossible Mission? That would be too cool... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted June 10, 2001 Share Posted June 10, 2001 quoteMitch any hope of getting that proto of Sentinel for NTSC dumped? More importantly..have you tried in emulation? Well, I've had it up on my site for a couple months. It works in emulation but MESS doesn't have light gun support currently, so it's not much fun. This is the dump that Bruce Tomlin made of his prototype a while back in S file format. Chad Schell converted it to the standard bin format. Mitch http://atari7800.atari.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+rdemming Posted June 10, 2001 Share Posted June 10, 2001 What about playing NTSC games on on PAL 7800. Is that possible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted June 10, 2001 Share Posted June 10, 2001 quoteWhat about playing NTSC games on on PAL 7800. Is that possible? I don't know as much from the PAL side of things but I believe that you will still have the corrupted graphics and possible lock up problems. Mitch http://atari7800.atari.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kondre Posted June 12, 2001 Share Posted June 12, 2001 Ok. well thanks for the great information on the PAL carts working or the lack there of in a NTSC machine. getting the rom chip and all sounds like it might be a pain in the butt, plus if it doesnt solve the issue completly, i dont think i will go that route. I think i will try to sell the cart on ebay and just keep looking for a NTSC version of the cart. Thanks a ton guys. Kevin O Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eckhard Stolberg Posted June 12, 2001 Share Posted June 12, 2001 quote: Originally posted by Robert: What about playing NTSC games on on PAL 7800. Is that possible? That depends on a game to game basis. The main differences between the NTSC and the PAL 7800 are that the the PAL 7800 does more scanlines per frame, which results in a lower framerate, and that the colour palette is shifted a bit. So even if you can get a game to work, it would still run slower than intended and the colours might be off a little. Also depending on your TV the topmost part of the game display might be in the invisible part of the TV screen. And since the console tries to display more lines than the game has set up, some other data would be interpreted as display information. If you are lucky, this would just cause some garbage on the lower part of the screen. But on some games this data might for example cause an interrupt, when the game has no proper interrupt routine set up, or something similar. In these cases the game will not work at all on the PAL 7800. So all in all, trying 7800 games for one TV standard on a 7800 console with a different TV standard is not something to be recomended. Ciao, Eckhard Stolberg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TunnelRunner Posted June 14, 2001 Share Posted June 14, 2001 There is a solution to the PAL/NTSC problem. Best Electronics does carry an OS ROM kit that boots up Asteroids with no cart installed, and allows you to play PAL carts. PAL carts are not encrypted with the MARIA code, so they don't boot up (you get a black screen). Some PAL games are flickery (Fatal Run is too much so), but Impossible Mission plays well, and the PAL version is the only one that can be solved, since the NTSC version has a programming bug. The kit ususally requires trace cutting and soldering/desoldering, so only for the experienced solder jocks. Otherwise I have done a few, no problem. Another weird effect with the new ROM is when you run the 7800 diagnostic cart. Instead of the test screen you get an eerie frowny face against an orange background and the number 14 below it. But Planet Smashers runs great on my adapted 7800. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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