The Atari 2600+ is live for preorders!

[Thomas Jentzsch]

20 minutes ago, remowilliams said:

Which I think would work great.  The complicating factor here is Atari apparently using the libretro build.

And I have no clue why. That build is not only missing an UI.

[Brad_from_the_80s]

4 minutes ago, Glorkbot said:

Stella, the emulator, isn't a "consumer product." It's free. Yes, it's being used in this consumer product...probably because it's the best Atari emulator there is...but it itself is hardly a consumer product.

 

Or maybe I'm totally misunderstanding what you're on about. If so, forget it, I apologize.  I'd delete this message but that doesn't seem to be an option.

It's okay, I get your point, but also Stella is not what I'm referring to.  Stella is wonderful.  It's also an implementation detail (a really really big one).  The consumer product I'm referring to is the 2600+ itself and the experience it provides.  Many consumers won't know or understand exactly what Stella is, nor should they have to.  In my humble opinion.

[+remowilliams]

13 minutes ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

And I have no clue why. That build is not only missing an UI.

It's a puzzling decision to me as well.

[MikeM_]

13 hours ago, protomank said:

2. The other options like Atari 50 the VCS, etc; do not allow you to play your own carts. I do not believe one should be restricted by the other and vice versa.

This is a fair point that I was missing. 
 

If this product does well enough with consumers that aren’t on this forum (or FB), then I could see Atari throwing more budget out to get features added (perhaps even a 2.0 model). 
 

My main desire is to have a device that plays all carts with the same or better simplicity and stability that an original console would have fresh out of the factory.
 

We still have a ways to go before all carts work so before we start thinking about feature adds, I’d like to see 100% (or as close as possible) compatibility first. 
 

After that, so long as we don’t take any steps backwards, then any hidden features  that would further enhance the experience wouldn’t hurt my feelings any, as long as they don’t take anything away from the base experience. 
 

 

[Ben from Plaion]

On 12/30/2023 at 12:09 PM, Thomas Jentzsch said:

Try again, please. With the default audio settings, the CPU might no be able to handle them.

alsathread

[Thomas Jentzsch]

17 minutes ago, Ben from Plaion said:

alsathread

That's nothing Stella knows. Seems to be from RetroArch.

 

We need the settings in Stella. The parameter is named audio.preset (1..5, default is 3, for R77 we use 1, which is a custom setting, with values between presets 2 and 3)

 

Edited January 3 by Thomas Jentzsch

[DEANJIMMY]

15 hours ago, Ben from Plaion said:

The direct access to the Stella UI is really the only option here, solves loads of issues in one go.

 

But alas apparently it's not as simple as setting Stella UI to show via an option in the build process. 

 

We'll see.

Next to the Stella UI one for the Prosystem could be usefull too.

 

I do not know the available options but a few things came into my mind, like kicking it into PAL/NTSC mode (would be nice for Stella too, if PAL 60), adjust screen position, color palette selection and scanline intensity would be great (no idea if prosystem supports it).

Save states optional for games like Midnight Mutants.

 

But extended controller support like the Trakball would be my personal priority for the next update.

Edited January 3 by DEANJIMMY

[Dr Karnov]

I thought this was a good review / comparison against original hardware:

 

https://youtu.be/6b7SZIDERRA?si=wYW3GvGUqPNwr1hJ

[Ben from Plaion]

On 1/3/2024 at 10:43 AM, Thomas Jentzsch said:

That's nothing Stella knows. Seems to be from RetroArch.

 

We need the settings in Stella. The parameter is named audio.preset (1..5, default is 3, for R77 we use 1, which is a custom setting, with values between presets 2 and 3)

 

Stella set is audio.preset =5

 

[+remowilliams]

That might explain a thing or two.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

1 hour ago, remowilliams said:

That might explain a thing or two.

Yes. That's most likely way too high to the Rockchip.

[Ben from Plaion]

2 hours ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

Yes. That's most likely way too high to the Rockchip.

What should I set it to?

[Thomas Jentzsch]

1 hour ago, Ben from Plaion said:

What should I set it to?

Try 1. If it sounds bad, try 2. If that's too much, try custom setting in between (see R77).

[pseudografx]

@Ben from Plaion Some time in November/December there was an announcement that the paddles will also be sold separately, without the cartridge. When can we expect these to be available? Also, how is the work on the CX-78+ progressing?

Edited January 11 by pseudografx

[Ben from Plaion]

2 minutes ago, pseudografx said:

@Ben from Plaion Some time in November/December there was an announcement that the paddles will also be sold separately, without the cartridge. When can we expect these to be available? Also, how is the work on the CX-78+ progressing?

Its all ready to be announced and listed on retail for preorder Just have to go through many hoops to actually do it. Wont be long.

 

CX78+ is pretty much done, works great I use it a lot to test. I got a couple of interesting small changes to it though before we go into manufacture, firstly the back of the pads horizontal edges are a bit too sharp in the hand and the mould needs adjusting. Second, the dpad needs a bit of roll when pressed, difficult to explain without showing images but the plastic that protrudes on the underside of the dpad that touches the elastomer is flat and needs I think a tiny curve like the original and other dpads, thirdly the silver logo print comes off to easily.