Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration

[Shannon]

On 11/14/2022 at 10:57 AM, DrVenkman said:

I’m actually enjoying the “Reimagined” games quite a bit, especially VCTR SCTR and whatever the Haunted House game is called. I also quite enjoy the trippy version of YARS’ with the funky music - it would be even more fun after a couple beers or whatever. I wonder: does anyone know if the new version incudes the HSWWSH easter egg? I hit the Qotile several times but couldn’t trigger an easter egg but that might be because it’s not there. 

 

 

 

 

I just want to know if the neutral zone in the middle is the actual code from the game. 

 

Edited November 22, 2023 by Shannon

[Shannon]

ok.. Finally got around to trying this set like a whole year later. 

 

I really like it and pretty much everyone's comments here reflect my thoughts.

 

A few odd thoughts.

 

The historical timeline is pretty well fleshed out but it does get a little thin in the post 2600 years.  Could use some improvement.  No doubt a licensing thing.  Sadly some great Atari classics missing as well due to lost licenses.  Not much can be done with that.

 

The byproduct of the Jag Emu making it to the PC is worth it alone.

 

I like how they let you select the game difficulty level ( with full description ) without having to worry about some "game matrix".  Also the game manual is easily accessible for quick perusing.

 

The reimagined games are quite good.  I actually like them better than the Re-Charged series.  Which most I consider to be lacking.  As far as Re-Charged goes.  I may post on that later.  But Gravitar and Tempest 4000 are the only ones that stuck out for me.  I had issues with the other ones that they all seemed to have in common.

 

Some games like Star Raiders they mapped the buttons to make it easier on you.  That was nice.  You can really tell they put a lot of thought into those aspects.  They also have options like adjustable scanlines and other goodies which is also nice.

 

The navigation system isn't the best.  Sometimes it can be a little hard to find what you are looking for.

 

This is probably the best Atari compilation I've seen since the Atari Anthology set for the OG XBOX.  It was good and had a confusion navigation system as well.

 

[Video]

I finally got around to playing mine this weekend, heh, lost quite a few hours on it, time got away from me. Love there's some lynx and jag titles in addition to old stuff. I got the switch version. The only real issue I have is lack of volume. Played tempest 2k and with the system and volume cranked all the way up it just wasn't suitably loud at all. I also ran into a glitch when I died on 2600 asteroids it left a star on the screen that stayed for all 2600 games, including the menu system. I think it stayed till I played some jag games.

 

Love access to the instruction manual anytime, but would have liked a txt only version as an option, having to zoom in to read it, and scroll both vertical AND horizontal sucks. I don't like the jag games using the shoulder button for one of the face buttons.

 

Anyhow, pretty cool, like the Atari 150 collection, but more info, and additional games outside the 8 bit era. Nice to start seeing lynx and jag get love at long last. Sure 2600 is what their known for, but people should be able to experience their other stuff too.

[Shannon]

Apparently there is going to be an update on December 6th that adds 12 games.  Two are rumored to be 2600 Basketball and steeplechase ( the horse racing game ).

 

Any speculation on what the other games will be?  I'm thinking the m-network games.  But who knows.

 

[Atariboy]

Night Driver, Double Dunk, and Track & Field.

[Jess Ragan]

There absolutely needs to be more Atari Lynx games. It's ridiculous that the killer apps for this system were not included. If you have to make a deal with the Bridgestone, the current owners of the Epyx IP, just make it happen. If you have to charge more money for the DLC, I'll pay it. I'm not picky.

[boog]

Sort of trivial, but I wish they'd add an info node about the 7800 hardware to the timeline. Strange that they ignored the system and jumped straight to the games.

[82-T/A]

46 minutes ago, boog said:

Sort of trivial, but I wish they'd add an info node about the 7800 hardware to the timeline. Strange that they ignored the system and jumped straight to the games.

 

Oh man, I don't think I even noticed that...

 

The 7800 history was kind of... I dunno, unfortunate. I don't remember all the specifics, but it was something to the effect that Atari released the 7800 to the public, a few people bought it, and then they immediately pulled it off the shelves for like a year. Then the NES started to see significant success, and Atari re-released the 7800 into the market with all the old stuff they had (now a year old), and then didn't fully support it as they should. I should look it up, but that was my take-away.

 

I had a couple of Atari 7800s over the years, one of them has a feature port / auxiliary connector underneath (like how the NES 8-Bit does). I never figured out what it was supposed to be for, but I guess it would be if they decided to add some kind of aftermarket device to it.

 

 

EDIT: I bought the Atari 50th for the VCS... was really happy with it. I'm tempted to buy one of the 1-Up systems, and then buy an actual Atari cabinet and swap the parts over... I just don't know how I would be able to get the graphics reprinted.

Edited December 1, 2023 by 82-T/A

[NE146]

Dang.. I just realized I never bought this (I'd like the Switch version) and now it looks a tiny bit harder to find a physical copy online.  Amazon has it from a 3rd party seller but before I go that route I'll check the local Walmart/Target.

[Metal Ghost]

So, full transparency, I posted this question on this thread as well, but just noticed this one and thought I’d ask here also. 
 

I’ve had Atari 50 since last Christmas and have absolutely loved it. The fact that Atari decided to drop an additional 12 games was just so unexpected and very much appreciated. 

Anyway, it’s been a few months since last time I played, but wanted to hop on today to check out the new games. But I also found these Atari ‘Confidential’ folders which I swear I hadn’t noticed before. 
 

Were these there before?  Or did they get included in today’s update?

Update: @DavidD solved the mystery for me….i simply totally missed these upon launch. D’oh!  🤣

 

Edited December 6, 2023 by Metal Ghost

[Shannon]

Here is the game release list.  Mostly 2600.  2 Homebrew.  2 Prototypes.  1 Lynx game.

 

(2600)

Adventure II (HB)
Return To Haunted House (HB)

Aquaventure (Proto)
Save Mary (Proto)

Bowling
Circus Atari
Double Dunk
Maze Craze
Miniature Golf
Moto Rodea
Super Football

 

(Lynx)
Warbirds

[+Stephen]

So, does anybody know why 12 games (the largest of which is 128kB but most are under 16kB) required an 11+ GB update?

[zzip]

1 hour ago, Stephen said:

So, does anybody know why 12 games (the largest of which is 128kB but most are under 16kB) required an 11+ GB update?

You need the videos of the developers talking about the games!

 

Still though, at 11Gb, they must be forcing you to redownload the entire package.   I think it was (only?!) 8Gb in total when I downloaded last year.

[Shannon]

2 hours ago, Stephen said:

So, does anybody know why 12 games (the largest of which is 128kB but most are under 16kB) required an 11+ GB update?

 

The update takes place of the previous update.  So most likely it is only 2gb plus whatever was in the initial uodate.

[rockman_x_2002]

So I've had this collection since last year and have thoroughly enjoyed going through it. It's an amazing collection of titles, and this latest update makes the deal even sweeter. I know the implication is that there may possibly be further updates to the overall package in the future, but I do have one request, and I'm hoping that someone either from Atari themselves or Digital Eclipse may be lurking on the board.

 

In regard to the Jaguar titles, I know that most of the necessary buttons are mapped to modern controllers to allow the games to be played in a control scheme that makes sense.  However, I also know that some functionality doesn't work because some of the buttons on the number pad aren't mapped at all. For the most part, this is fine, but there are certain situations where it makes sense to have access to all of the number pad keys (for example, entering passcodes in Cybermorph). Unless I'm missing something, or unless this is something that got added in the latest update, so far as I've been able to tell, this isn't possible (I own the Nintendo Switch version, for clarity).

 

Is this something that's in the collection and I'm overlooking it (and if so, how do I access that feature)? Or if it is not something that's there, is this a feature that might be considered for a future update?

[Video]

Just realized, no pinball, I was pretty sure that's owned by atari, and is one of my favorites bitd. Yes its clunky looking and simple, but I could play it for hours. And for arcades, mostly 8 bit games, but would have been cool to see primal rage (one of my favorite tourney fighters) and area 51, which the switch has the weird uv remote thing for, so I assume it could do light guns. Maybe wrong atari, or just made by and not owned by.

 

Oh yeah, and...dark chambers was on 7800!? Kick ass! But while I cycled through the alphabet on easy and normal, I'm not sure I'm up to getting to the end of advanced (WAY to many unkillable monsterspawners, resulting in you just have to take tons of hits) I think I've only made it to j or k thus far.

 

There's one to do a reimagined version of. Come on Atari, dark chambers reimagined, DO IT!

Edited December 12, 2023 by Video

[NE146]

On 11/22/2023 at 5:54 PM, Shannon said:

 

 

I just want to know if the neutral zone in the middle is the actual code from the game. 

 

 

[Shannon]

3 hours ago, NE146 said:

 

 

Yeah I was referring to Yar's Revenge re-imagined..

 

[NE146]

9 hours ago, Shannon said:

 

Yeah I was referring to Yar's Revenge re-imagined..

 

Oh I just thought it was neat someone deep dived into it finally, so found the excuse to post it. 

Edited December 22, 2023 by NE146

[Shannon]

1 hour ago, NE146 said:

Oh I just thought it was neat someone deep dived into it finally, so found the excuse to post it. 

 

Thanks for that... It was very interesting.. although he started loosing me a little towards the end there. 

 

[Shaun David]

I bought this last year Iam glad they added 12 games, but they still haven't fixed the audio some games are too loud some are too soft and have audio clipping issues.

[Warboss Gegguz]

12 hours ago, Shaun David said:

I bought this last year Iam glad they added 12 games, but they still haven't fixed the audio some games are too loud some are too soft and have audio clipping issues.

I just want more Arcade games. That's like the only real reason to favor the Flashback Collection/Atari Vault over this.

Though I will say having a functional version of I, Robot is basically what sold me on Atari 50. Everything else is just a cool bonus.

I'm (mostly) joking, but still, Arcade emulation is WAY harder and more finicky vs the already super accurate emulation we get with Stella, Altirra, Atari800, A7800, and Prosystem, so more ports/decomps of arcade games would be nice.

 

At least give me Red Baron or something. I know we can't do Battlezone without some massive legal hurdles, so I'll take the next best alternative I promise (though if they could work out something with Rebellion, even if it were paid DLC I would absolutely buy it).

[Astro Rabby]

Wait they added some games? Better go update. Hope they do this more.

[Shannon]

Yep.. a handful of new games.

 

In other news.. I finally went through and did the 100% to get Grand Prix.. Uhh I mean Racer 500.. or whatever the heck the called it. 

 

It's real easy.  If you pay attention to the "icon" when an entry is selected you can tell whether it has been viewed or not.  Plus it does a little animation and sound if you view a non-viewed item.

 

[cimerians]

I haven't looked through this thread but I got this on Steam and it seems that its just a buggy mess with some games. 2600 Asteroids and Missile Command for example. Not sure if its GPU or TV related or what. 2600 Asteroids: No matter what game selection I pick, the asteroids don't show only the ship, made sure the difficulty switch is off too. In Missile command the missiles sometimes suddently appear at the bottom of the screen taking out my bases. Oh well the media part of this and history is real nice.