The Atari 2600+ is live for preorders!

[tradyblix]

10 minutes ago, Brad_from_the_80s said:

Maybe.  Hot-swapping is just me being lazy, but using the power switch after first powering the unit on also just seems like a bit of theater.  Even though the games do not run from the cart, their execution is clearly tied to sensing that the cart is still in the slot, after the initial rom dump.  I've had game sessions where I've hot-swapped several 2600 carts without issue.  And I'm sure I tried powering off and on for the carts I had trouble with initially.  Very strange.

 

I don't find loading time to be an issue really, once the carts start working.  Might be different for 7800, I'm not sure.

yeah but I was hot swapping between 2600 and 7800 carts and then it's much worse. I'm gonna do what i'm gonna do and others can do what they want, call it theater, but since I've been doing it I haven't had any loading game fails. I'm still worried I'm gonna run into like, resets like I saw oline, but I think that is PAL 7800 cart related issues. Although the person was hotswapping. time will tell I guess. 

 

I used to reset the power switch all the time in the old days so it feels right to me. and I know computer systems accumulate problems over time while any kind of software runs, which is why they reset the space station computers every day, to avoid issues. 

 

Maybe once 7800 emulation/loading is a bit more stable I can go back to it. Course it could have just been dirty carts or stuff with a brand new slot but I hate flakiness and I'm gonna do my little ritual now lol

Edited November 22, 2023 by tradyblix

[Brad_from_the_80s]

14 minutes ago, tradyblix said:

I used to reset the power switch all the time in the old days so it feels right to me. and I know computer systems accumulate problems over time while any kind of software runs, which is why they reset the space station computers every day, to avoid issues. 

 

Maybe once 7800 emulation/loading is a bit more stable I can go back to it. Course it could have just been dirty carts or stuff with a brand new slot but I hate flakiness and I'm gonna do my little ritual now lol

The implementation could be leaking memory like a sieve or corrupting state for all we know, so yeah, power cycling could help in some cases.  Whatever seems to work.

[atwwong]

I just received my new Atari 2600+ from Amazon in Canada.

 

I just tested Basic Math (NTSC - just noticed PAL was tested), since it was still marked untested, and all 8 games are selectable and it works. At least I think it does, since this is the first time I ever played it, hardware or otherwise. 🤪 But I still have my basic math skills. The division with remainders almost caught me off guard...

 

I'd show a photo of my setup with Basic Math working, but it would be extremely embarrassing... So just the cart as proof.

 

Also, blatant self-plug but informational: the Atari Age version of Haunted Adventure Trilogy that Albert sent me works! Yay! I thought it was on a melody board...

Edited November 22, 2023 by atwwong
Added more information.

[DEANJIMMY]

2 hours ago, Brad_from_the_80s said:

I briefly saw "Loading Game Failed" pop up for the 10-in-1 cart today, although admittedly I was hot-swapping it.  I'm basically just collecting a few loose carts to start with.  About 3/4 of them just play.  A couple of them were even really dirty, which I cleaned them first, but they just played first time.  And then a couple carts that I received were tested and clean, but generated "Loading Game Failed" the first few times I tried to start them.  I would give them a clean with a alcohol and try again, but they still would not load the first few times I tried.  These are all NTSC 2600 carts.  And then it's as if the cart finally "wakes up" after 40 years and just starts working on subsequent insertions.  Weird.

 

I haven't found anything that just won't work at all yet, although I have a couple 7800 titles coming that I'm gonna try.  But the cart reader is clearly a bit more temperamental than OG hardware.  And after quickly discovering that hot swapping and auto detection are a thing, I'm wondering if it's a software sensitivity issue that can perhaps be adjusted in firmware, since the pins look perfectly fine and seem to make good contact.

7800 carts sit in the slot almost tight as in the original 7800.

The 2600 carts could be moved in the slot a little bit once inserted, which causes sometimes loading errors.

Therefore I started doing hot swapping, as you get faster feedback.

Few cards load fine and after next power off/on they fail (not moved). If I lift them a bit they load.

This is only related to 2600 carts in my case, as the 7800 carts either work or fail.

Power off/on triggers more something like a reset?

If you really want to power it off and forget everything (e.g. some strange behaviour) I guess you need to pull the plug?

The system checks the inserted cart even after succesful dump. I had it only once that while playing a 2600 cart I got Loading Failure and the game stopped.

Well, I don't care much about all of this right now, let's see how it develops over time.

[Ben from Plaion]

I'm testing a 50 / 60hz auto detect cart build this morning and the handful of PAL and NTSC carts are loading their appropriate hz

 

Apart from Galaga 7800 PAL cart, which is playing at 60hz. Thing is I have another build that forces 50hz and when I put Galaga in there its seems to be skipping a frame on a regular basis. 

 

Does anyone know the correct refresh rate of Galaga 7800 PAL?

[Dr Karnov]

3 minutes ago, Ben from Plaion said:

I'm testing a 50 / 60hz auto detect cart build this morning and the handful of PAL and NTSC carts are loading their appropriate hz

 

Apart from Galaga 7800 PAL cart, which is playing at 60hz. Thing is I have another build that forces 50hz and when I put Galaga in there its seems to be skipping a frame on a regular basis. 

 

Does anyone know the correct refresh rate of Galaga 7800 PAL?

Does any of this information help?:

 

https://consolemods.org/wiki/Atari_7800:Game_Incompatibilities

[Ben from Plaion]

6 minutes ago, Dr Karnov said:

Does any of this information help?:

 

https://consolemods.org/wiki/Atari_7800:Game_Incompatibilities

Its interesting but no hz info there

[Dr Karnov]

Does your new build have higher PAL 7800 cart compatibility?

[Ben from Plaion]

4 minutes ago, Dr Karnov said:

Does your new build have higher PAL 7800 cart compatibility?

Not yet.

[DEANJIMMY]

37 minutes ago, Dr Karnov said:

Does any of this information help?:

 

https://consolemods.org/wiki/Atari_7800:Game_Incompatibilities

Wow, that is quite interesting!

This list describes what happens if you put a PAL Ballblazer or Galaga cart into an NTSC system and that is the same result I get on the in 2600+

But for all the other PAL games the behaviour on the 2600+ is different...

 

But maybe this gives the developer an idea🤗

[Emehr]

16 hours ago, vagabondartist said:

New games are needed. It’s why I’m here. New games for retro consoles are where it’s at.

I hope this is the sentiment at Atari. Rope in the older players who grew up with this stuff and now have kids of their own - kids who may not care about Outlaw but may be interested if the gameplay resembled something they play on their phone or tablet. Simple pick pick up and play games are a common theme between Atari games and mobile games and I really hope Atari puts their marketing team behind that. Hire some of the talented developers here and run with it.

[turbo graphics 220]

One of the funnest things with the system is actually playing breakout with decent paddles, I never used good ones before. Changing switches is real quick, after a bit you can do it even when its in the system. I also figured out a technique to open the games while still keeping them sealed, you cover the games with clear contact and then when you open it the seal stays secure and shiny, I practiced on a blu ray first so these turned out real good. 😃

Was playing bezerk and wondering where crazy otto was, just found out I may have been using the wrong difficulty but he mustn't appear on the first few rooms. I also think the packaging looks amazing.

[+LS650]

Try settings 2 and 3 in Berzerk. Setting 2 makes Evil Otto appear but he is temporarily destroyable. Setting 3 he is invincible.

[dashv]

Got an update on my shipping from FedEx.

 

Looks like mine went out late then encountered bad weather delays so it’s supposed to arrive on Friday.

 

Hopefully that means I’ll get to play a bit this weekend before going back to work.

 

Oddly, my order details on the Atari page no longer link to the fedex tracking. I had to dig up the email from last week.

[+karri]

My 2600+ arrived one day early. The first impression is great. To my surprise the colours on 2600 Galaxian are nice and beautiful. On my 7800 PAL unit they were boring grayish. Even though the cart has the letter P. So it should be PAL.

[Atariboy]

Any chance that this works with 8BitDo's M30 without modifying the receiver?

[Recycled]

Any noticeable difference in the HDMI compared to the R77? (Won't be able to observe myself till December 🤪)

[Bitsized]

On 11/17/2023 at 12:16 AM, MittyOz said:

Tried Space Invaders, colors are correct played beautifully, except:  If you complete one set of invaders and then start another one, there is this weird audio glitch that seems to occur.  Be interested if anyone else notices this.

I just sat down with a session of Space Invaders (NTSC) (in game mode on 2 different monitors/hdmi TVs) and I noticed after some time in the games duration the "bullets" start to disappear and reappear.  Wondering if I'm the only one.

 

[SparkleFork]

I have an issue with my copy of Battlezone. Most of my carts are PAL so I was surprised when it came up with the correct colours, which would suggest it's NTSC. The game starts no problem but when i shoot it won't always show the missile. I hear it fire and it will still destroy enemy tanks, but i can only see about 1 in four shots I fire. 

 

I've cleaned up the contacts of the cart and it always boots up with no issues.  Anyone else had this experience?

[Thomas Jentzsch]

10 minutes ago, SparkleFork said:

I have an issue with my copy of Battlezone. Most of my carts are PAL so I was surprised when it came up with the correct colours, which would suggest it's NTSC. The game starts no problem but when i shoot it won't always show the missile. I hear it fire and it will still destroy enemy tanks, but i can only see about 1 in four shots I fire. 

The shots are displayed every 2nd frame. If you cannot see them, that means that frames are skipped. No good.

[Giles N]

14 hours ago, atwwong said:

I'd show a photo of my setup with Basic Math working, but it would be extremely embarrassing... So just the cart as proof.

Playthrough!! Playthrough!! Playthrough!! Playthrough!!

 

 

C’mon, you can do it! YouTube live!

Edited November 22, 2023 by Giles N

[Dalton]

Here is my unboxing + short review. It's in Polish and I'm going to add English subtitles soon. However, I wanted to show you the loose, flying screw inside the case: https://youtu.be/sKIcaA65oIk?t=331

 

[Tavi]

2 hours ago, Dalton said:

Here is my unboxing + short review. It's in Polish and I'm going to add English subtitles soon. However, I wanted to show you the loose, flying screw inside the case: https://youtu.be/sKIcaA65oIk?t=331

 

I would not really be impressed about the loose screw in the housing, luckily it did not seem to damage any internal components during shipping.

I am a bit impressed the 2600+ will run a 128-in-1 game cartridge. I really would have thought it would choke on any multicart.

[tradyblix]

49 minutes ago, Tavi said:

I would not really be impressed about the loose screw in the housing, luckily it did not seem to damage any internal components during shipping.

I am a bit impressed the 2600+ will run a 128-in-1 game cartridge. I really would have thought it would choke on any multicart.

This is video is good because in around 15 mins in on Amoeba Jump you can see the loading weirdness. and he is not using hotswapping, which may rule it out. 

 

it's something to do with how the cart is seated originally I guess. 

 

There might be people that don't give it that second or third try and just think "failed.". 

Edited November 23, 2023 by tradyblix

[SparkleFork]

12 hours ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

The shots are displayed every 2nd frame. If you cannot see them, that means that frames are skipped. No good.

Thanks Thomas. What would frame skipping be down to? Is it dumping the cartridge incorrectly, is the cart defective or something else entirely? Sorry for all the questions!