DavidD Posted November 26, 2022 Share Posted November 26, 2022 3 hours ago, bradhig1 said: Did you guys turn the shields on? You start with them turned off. I had the shields turned on -- I just kept losing ship systems. I thought I started on Pilot mode, but it seemed like it started off on the harder difficulties as I was losing things like targeting systems and engines. It was annoying when I got my ship fixed up at a base, and then I lost most of systems within 30 seconds. I don't remember the 800 version knocking out ship systems at the easiest difficulties. Maybe I started the game at a higher difficulty level and didn't realize it, though! I'll check back later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidD Posted November 26, 2022 Share Posted November 26, 2022 19 hours ago, bradhig1 said: Those basestars on Pilot mission of star raiders are kiling me. I can get down to two or three enemy fleets left and those things wipe out my photons like crazy. I turned off the tracking which was causing me to switch to aft view when I didn't want it. Wait -- this sounds like what I was seeing. I was fairly sure in the 800 version you didn't lose systems (like photons) on Pilot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Intellivision Master Posted November 27, 2022 Share Posted November 27, 2022 18 hours ago, bradhig1 said: Did you guys turn the shields on? You start with them turned off. I don't think the shields were on. I can't remember. Also, I'm not sure if the game was on easy when I started. I'll have to replay it and make some changes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMaddog Posted November 27, 2022 Share Posted November 27, 2022 17 hours ago, DavidD said: Wait -- this sounds like what I was seeing. I was fairly sure in the 800 version you didn't lose systems (like photons) on Pilot. It's the Novice setting that you don't lose systems when you have shields up (or have to center your crosshairs in Hyperspace). Pilot is the "real" game where you lose systems with each hit and have to return to starbases for repairs. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidD Posted November 27, 2022 Share Posted November 27, 2022 6 hours ago, MrMaddog said: It's the Novice setting that you don't lose systems when you have shields up (or have to center your crosshairs in Hyperspace). Pilot is the "real" game where you lose systems with each hit and have to return to starbases for repairs. Ah. I must have switched modes -- I mean, I'd normally play on the harder settings, I was just surprised that "easy mode" was knocking out systems. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidD Posted November 28, 2022 Share Posted November 28, 2022 This is interesting/odd... While skimming through the videos to unlock stuff, I let the "Ready Player One Homebrew" video play... and Mika, the programmer, says how excited he is that "The Stacks" will be part of a "50th Anniversary of Atari" package and that people will be able to play it. The game isn't in Atari 50, as far as I can tell. Mika is one of the chief folks at Digital Eclipse, who put the whole title together. It sounds like "The Stacks" was intended to be part of the collection, but it isn't (as far as I can tell)... unless I'm missing something? The game isn't accessible from the timeline, and I don't see it in the game library either... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roots.genoa Posted November 28, 2022 Share Posted November 28, 2022 Yeah I noticed that too. But I seem to remember seeing it in the timeline though, even if you can't play it obviously. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidD Posted December 2, 2022 Share Posted December 2, 2022 On 11/28/2022 at 1:23 PM, roots.genoa said: Yeah I noticed that too. But I seem to remember seeing it in the timeline though, even if you can't play it obviously. Yes, it's in there -- you just can't play it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidD Posted December 3, 2022 Share Posted December 3, 2022 I've been trying to put together one of the Digital Eclipse Nintendo Switch paddle prints... and I am having no success. I don't actually own a 3D printer, but the local library system does have 3D printing options. However, the two attempts I've made have been less than successful... the supports are extremely difficult to remove, and BOTH of the grips I printed lost their "rack tabs" when I tried to clip the rack gear on. It would be nice if there were an easy, non-stupidly-expensive way to get "kits" of the parts of these, or even pre-assembled clip-on paddle adapters. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradhig1 Posted December 4, 2022 Share Posted December 4, 2022 Anyone know how many levels there are in neo breakout? I am up to level 41 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy2600 Posted December 11, 2022 Share Posted December 11, 2022 Sadly I dont have the game and may not get it till next year and what so funny is I also turn 50 this year but now its too late to get one before the end of the year. Oh well. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradhig1 Posted December 11, 2022 Share Posted December 11, 2022 There are 51 levels in neo breakout. After beating level 51 you start over at level 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles N Posted January 21, 2023 Share Posted January 21, 2023 Why can’t they re-draw and rename ‘Grampa’ in Midnight Mutants, and get it out there, circumventing all the license-things…? The C64 Cart for the Evercade, effectively renamed Godzilla, as ‘Lizzardo’, and as time pass, things gets to be taken on a note of common sense… its just fun, mind ye… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles N Posted January 22, 2023 Share Posted January 22, 2023 (edited) I hope the 50th anniversary sells well, so that Atari can get some revenue to begin to build things up again. So, I’d promote this in support of the future of retro-gaming. As to content, I guess, if I hadn’t already gotten most of stuff I’m interested in on the 2600, 5200 and 7800, and some Lynx-things on Evercade, this would have been introducing me to at least some nice aspects of Atari-history. Yet, they have some way still to go, in order to begin release things on player-demand rather than Atari-purism. The Megadrive Mini 1 and 2, the NES mini and SNES mini are good examples of delivering the goods by the standrards of the player not the company. Atari has been doing both hardware and software, and they seem just too reluctant to get at stuff made by others which are really showing off their hardware if they weren’t the initial producers. The line-up is way too dedicated to the 2600, which has been almost annual mini-runs for who knows how long. Since this package also should have demonstrated emulation of the best use their hardware, they should have bought licences (and no, I don’t spending at least some monies on that think that would sink the Atari forever into the abyss, but rather be an investment in getting back into the light of 2020ies, not endlessly circle around 1978-1983 Atari-only-glory), as so present examples of what their hardware did at the time, as utilized by the best programmers/companies) Still, there are good things in here, but my-oh-my how I scratched my head seeing how few Lynx-titles were included, as it was a Hardware-Monster at the times, and some of its titles really made waves back in the 90ies, and boy how I missed more titles on the 7800, and licenced show-off pieces for the 5200. For me, their Atari-purism was not making me happy. Again, if I hadn’t already collected a lot, it would be cool to be exposed to many of these titles, but as it now, I consider my use of money on it, purely as something charitable to Atari. It was like I paid 35$ for Turbo-Sub, and 5$ for titles that I’m just not interested in playing through, only try 1 or 2 times. I just try to think what Haunted House reimagined would’ve looked if Nintendo had done it… or that matter … me … with a couple of dev.tools. Its like … how much wouid it take to make something better than this…? Hope they get some money and get-on from there, delivering whats quality from a player-perspective rather than endless Atari-purist selfindulgance. I’ve heard critics say they had good/valid reasons for not including this or that title. Well, unless we speak Star Wars/Empire Strikes Back etc, they had perhaps their reasons. I cannot imagine they were good. There are results, then there excuses. They seem to often ignore their fan-base. Running it the way they use to. Putting out yet another reiteration spinning around their 2600-glory days, throwing in some new titles every now again. Road of least effort, least resistance, sparing as much work and expenses they can. So, after a sqillion Mini-consoles with 2600 titles and a few 7800-titles, and some collections for Switch including Atari-arcade titles, 2600 and 5200-versions, they celebrate their Atari-purism by reshuffling titles from these and throwing in some a minimum of Lynx-titles and some Jaguar-stuff that’s just not very inviting (with the exception the Tempest version). I mean… Club Drive, not Iron Soldier…? What to expect…? 60th Anniversary Collection coming out in 2032, will feature the titles in this pack, and in addition 3 Lynx-titles, 1 Jaguar-reimagined title, 30 more 2600 titles, a 3D graphics version of the Atari St, which you can view from all angles… so that you can see what it looked like, 2 more 5200-titles, 365 hours of of non-interactive video interviews with the original Atari people, speaking about Atari-greatness (of the past)… and you can use 3D glasses like to watch it in … 3D… coz’ thats kinda retro, and then you can open an secret additional 25 2600-games, 15 of them that weren’t finished back in the days, due to sales -worries. And then of course, you get 1500 authentic photographies of the 2600-console, which you… guess what… watch … Is this what Atari is planning…? Is this what I ought to expect to finally get my hands on by … 2032…? To put it in perspective, I wonder what Nintendo’s take on their old stuff will look and play like by 2032… … or Sega’s retro-stuff… And, its just not good enough to say ‘no money, no games’, … when I can put together better things myself using dev.software on IOS or PC. Then questions of money and licenses and all the almost impossible obstacles that Atari face are moot, beside the point, and eventually just excuses for not delivering stuff by not seeing things from player/gamer-demand, only from their own Atari-purist nostalgia. Hope they get to point where actually dare do something a little gutsy, something that really delivers. At least I see the value in having actual hardware, where I can buy those games that are the best, independent of developer and license-issues, and also get into the homebrew-world. But since I cannot afford to have everything witb every title, I should’ve wished Atari had provided at least 5 more titles for the 5200, 5 more for the 7800, 5 more for the Lynx, 5 more the Jag. After so long time, and with so many re-releases of 2600-stuff, they by now had made both gamers and themselves a favour by really delivering the goods, not taking money for a history-lesson in Atari’s ups ‘n downs… Edited January 22, 2023 by Giles N 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMaddog Posted January 22, 2023 Share Posted January 22, 2023 You want moar Atari games? Then download all the ROMz... Quote "Bu...buh...but that's illegal!! 3rd party IP owners need to be financially compensated!" Now you know why DE & Atari couldn't include all those other games. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidD Posted January 22, 2023 Share Posted January 22, 2023 21 hours ago, Giles N said: Why can’t they re-draw and rename ‘Grampa’ in Midnight Mutants, and get it out there, circumventing all the license-things…? The C64 Cart for the Evercade, effectively renamed Godzilla, as ‘Lizzardo’, and as time pass, things gets to be taken on a note of common sense… its just fun, mind ye… Is there any chance Midnight Mutants isn't owned by Atari, but merely licensed by it? That is, do we know they still own the rights? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles N Posted January 23, 2023 Share Posted January 23, 2023 3 hours ago, DavidD said: Is there any chance Midnight Mutants isn't owned by Atari, but merely licensed by it? That is, do we know they still own the rights? Think it has to do with using the name of an actor at the time of publication. But the history of Atari is so complex and fractured, its really hard to tell. Anyway, - I wouldn’t think it would be absolutely impossible to buy it back - and as investment, change the content ox whatever is connected to actor-name licences and publish it. Sega redrew the Ferrari in Out Run after Saturn (that is from Dreamcast versions onwards), and I’ve seen other games - initially bound to license-things being just slightly changed. Top Gear 1 and 2 for the SNES became Top Racer 1 and 2 etc. These things aren’t impossible to get around, either using money or some imagination (or both). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy Posted January 23, 2023 Share Posted January 23, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, Giles N said: Top Gear 1 and 2 for the SNES became Top Racer 1 and 2 etc. Nothing was modified in this particular instance (excluding the erasing of the old copyright information and the substitution of a Piko copyright on the title screen). It was always called Top Racer in Japan. And it's the Japanese version that was always all in English that is rereleased these days on AtGames and Evercade products. That's why there's a Super Famicom controller in the controller options screen instead of a SNES controller (And there are some other subtle changes like the white car burning fuel significantly faster in Top Racer than in Top Gear). I don't know if Kemco held on to the Top Gear name for potential future use when the SNES trilogy was sold to Piko or if Piko perhaps is scared of the BBC, but presumably there's a reason why the Japanese Top Racer is the version that is rereleased. There was never a connection with the show with this title, but Top Racer obviously avoids any potential conflict with today's extremely litigious BBC. Here's comparisons I just made in an emulator to illustrate. Edited January 23, 2023 by Atariboy 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles N Posted January 23, 2023 Share Posted January 23, 2023 (edited) @Atariboy Ok, fair ‘nough about Top Racer being unrelated to Top Gear. But, as to licenses and changes: The monsters are based on popular movie monsters such as The Blob, Mothra, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, and the Transformers, and Epyx was able to officially license Godzilla.», and in the Evercade release Godzilla is remamed as Lizzardo. And Sega did redraw the car in Out Run from Dreamcast-versions onward. Even the car in Turbo Out Run for the Japanese collection of 2DS/3DS Sega Ages games, is redrawn. My point was that its possibly to get around license-issues if one really wants to, using a little effort and/or imagination. Edited January 23, 2023 by Giles N Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy Posted January 23, 2023 Share Posted January 23, 2023 (edited) I don't disagree with you. In fact I made a similar argument in another Atari 50 thread here recently. But the SNES Top Gear fan inside of me couldn't resist explaining that Top Racer on something like the Piko Evercade cartridge isn't actually a modern day rom edit, but rather is simply the Japanese version of the game from back in the day. Edited January 23, 2023 by Atariboy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles N Posted January 23, 2023 Share Posted January 23, 2023 (edited) 10 hours ago, Atariboy said: I don't disagree with you. In fact I made a similar argument in another Atari 50 thread here recently. Please link-to thread—>comment, if you like 👍🏻 —- As to your question, what Atari…, uhm … Atari as of 2023 … ,actually owns, its just not that easy to find all the most direct sources… Yet, - when Nintendo and Sega buy lincenses for use from other companies (guess their called 3rd parties), (—>) in order to promote all they did and got right in the past (c.1985-1995… give or take mind ya), both as to provide solid Hardware as well as game-design, what good/solid reasons should Atari give not to do the same, at least to a certain amount proportional license/deal/sharing/reputation of revenue, divided by % of investments in a) original hardware production, b) original software-production, c) costs for modern-console emulation…? —- One thing is having good reasons, like Star Wars/Empire Strikes Back (arcade) way too costly, or - for the Jaguar - Aliens vs Predator being way too expensive… — ‘key & fair ‘nough. But…what about all the other stuff that could have used to demonstrate how Lynx and the Jaguar were far ahead (like 5 years) in advance of competing consoles at the time…? Edited January 23, 2023 by Giles N 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles N Posted January 23, 2023 Share Posted January 23, 2023 (edited) On 1/22/2023 at 10:22 PM, DavidD said: any chance Midnight Mutants isn't owned by Atari, but merely licensed by it? That is, do we know they still own the rights? … hmm, good question. I’m neither Lawyer nor Barrister. Really haven’t much clue to details concerning specific deals involving rights of intellectual property and how this will get passed on to other systems/generations of hardware… … but according to Wikipedia: « The name "Munsters" was never referred to in the show or its promotion and Lewis' character was simply referred to as "Grandpa". Lewis also played the role in 1-900 commercials around the same time. In 1990, Atari Corporation released Midnight Mutants, a video game featuring "Grampa" as played by Al Lewis.[4] Daniel Roebuck was cast to play the part in the 2022 Rob Zombie reboot film, The Munsters.[5]» —> ReferencesEdit ^ "Al Lewis, 95, Is Dead; Played Grandpa on 'The Munsters'". The New York Times. 2006-02-05. Retrieved 2010-10-10. ^ King, Susan (1991-06-16). "Old Munsters Never Die". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-10-09. ^ "E-gor's Chamber of TV Horror Hosts — List of Names starting with G". Archived from the original on 2006-08-16. Retrieved 2010-04-17. ^ Midnight Mutants at Moby Games ^ Tangcay, Jazz (2021-10-18). "'The Munsters' First Look: Rob Zombie Shares the Cast in Costume in Front of the Iconic Mansion". Variety. Retrieved 2021-10-19 Edited January 23, 2023 by Giles N Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles N Posted January 23, 2023 Share Posted January 23, 2023 (edited) @DavidD … and all it would take would be to secure the stuff Radioactive Software produced (yes, - oh yes - involving the concepts of investments in intellectual property, … even paying money), then change one single screen-image… … wow…, gotta … hurt …(?) … unless there are secondary license-strings attached of course… … Then what hope may be left…? … then it’d be all dark, … so dark… dark, midnight-dark… even Atari having to go the way of many other companies… … utter horror … - buying back a game-license… (who can endure such outrage…?) And… Atari, - now ruled - by the rampant financial vampirism of the coorporate World-Stage (unless they make a common 50/50% deal with other companies for a 50/50% share-sales-outcome-benefit), … and Atari, so left to themselves, all alone, just because they won’t have other Company-titles in there, up there… with , with … __ (?) __ … even with a Lynx Warbirds-license in their hands. - alas - to what avail, - when they’d have to stop the multiplayer-thing… delete a botton-option (unspeakable!), just so they could demonstrate the meager, skinny reality, - that the Lynx was 10 years in technological advance of its main-competitor - the 4-grey-shade gameboy - at the time. (What a loss to Atari-reputation, to Atari history..!!) Poor, poor Atari - having to actually invest to get back to owning stuff that made them great and ahead of their times!!!) How unfair!!! — And… of course, - I aknowledge my own irony, may caustic tone and all that… yeah, yeah … just another gamer out there, and I set my face in flint against the slings and arrows of unfortunate coorporate conceptions… — But, - just how they managed to throw away the best stuff, - like into obscurity -, not retrieving it, not promoting it, not remembering it, not sharing it… … beyond me… - - - Yes, I know ‘Pong (C)’ was a classic like in 1978… or whatever year… But … I don’t care… (Unless someone makes a World of Pong or something) - - - Or - - - … they can deliver and provide cool retro-games, even it takes common gutsiness, even spending some bucks on licenses… Or spend some deep-time on real, true re-imagination of original games (point here is the word ‘real’) If they haven’t hired caterory-inventing geniuses…like Tokuro Fujiwara or Shigeru Miyamoto, … perhaps, just perhaps they ought to listen to the Atari-core-gaming-crowd… (… what about that for a starter…) … just giving into the idea, that the common retro-gamer have a feel for whats cool, whats fun, whats likeable, whats worthy of ones gaming-time, …. a real chance… Edited January 23, 2023 by Giles N Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles N Posted January 26, 2023 Share Posted January 26, 2023 On 1/23/2023 at 8:51 AM, Giles N said: @Atariboy in the Evercade release Godzilla is remamed as Lizzardo. Hmm… just how freudian was that ‘re-mamed’-typo … A-hem… some stuff, may be considered universal ideas after all… … most ancient civilzations had their ideas of massively huge reptilian creatures … quadrupedal as well as bipdal… … and with strange emeralds in jewelry, ommitting strange forces, … why shouldn’t it be held as a copyrighted topic … that an ancient, slumbering Dino got high again on just that right doze of radioactive emission…? Whether people, way, way back then in the middle of … the 1980ies… called the Dino-Monster - ‘Lizzardo’ or ‘Godzilla’… who really cares when your own block goes down in the dust…? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles N Posted January 26, 2023 Share Posted January 26, 2023 As to the topic - the Atari 50th Anniversary Collection: In my view, such a collection should put together possible highlights concerning what Atari have provided and produced, both as a) to hardware-capabilities (even if emulated), and b) what the best/most-liked games they’ve released themselves. a) wouldn’t need to be all-atari, as long as it shows what their hardware would be able to pull off. b) would include gamer-favourites made by Atari and/or games made by Atari that somehow did unusual and impressive stuff. As to Jaguar titles, I miss these: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defender_2000, Iron Soldier, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Soldier_2, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlemorph, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkered_Flag_(1994_video_game) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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