2600+ w/7800 support

[+Defender_2600]

So the 2600+ will use the Stella emulator, that's great news. But I wonder which 7800 emulator will use.

[+sramirez2008]

Can’t wait to find out the version of Stella. 

[John Stamos Mullet]

I got sucked in... disposable cash, exhausted from laying patio tiles, under the influence of Bourbon and The Devil's Parsley.

 

With the Welcome15 discount it was $120 shipped. Whatever, I pay more for dinner out.

[+bent_pin]

16 minutes ago, John Stamos Mullet said:

I got sucked in... disposable cash, exhausted from laying patio tiles, under the influence of Bourbon and The Devil's Parsley.

 

With the Welcome15 discount it was $120 shipped. Whatever, I pay more for dinner out.

Welcome to the club of converts!

[Gunther]

 

[John Stamos Mullet]

I kinda hope not. The Atari 7800 europads are kinda terrible. 

[John Stamos Mullet]

On 8/22/2023 at 10:13 PM, MegaManFan said:

There's one cart that might work. Until it ships, we won't know for sure.

Which one?

[alex_79]

I guess it's the Dragonfly: when you power on the console the game selected is already loaded in the cartridge (by using the on-cart UI consisting in the switches and LCD display) and so it can be dumped like a regular cart.

[+sramirez2008]

On 8/25/2023 at 8:39 PM, sramirez2008 said:

Can’t wait to find out the version of Stella. 

Note: As noted in this thread, it’s using the latest version of Stella.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

3 hours ago, alex_79 said:

I guess it's the Dragonfly: when you power on the console the game selected is already loaded in the cartridge (by using the on-cart UI consisting in the switches and LCD display) and so it can be dumped like a regular cart.

This is correct. Although again, until we have one of these in hand, we won't know if that is the case or not. But yeah, because the DF preloads the game it emulates to the console outside of the console, I would suspect that it will just look like any normal cartridge and dump the BIN data off it to operate. Now, obviously stuff like the Covox, YM, dual pokeys isn't likely to work as that stuff is being addressed in ways that normal games back then never did. So I would only suspect the original released games to work and maybe those 'brews' using similar or same bank schemes and addressing the POKEY in the same manner as Commando, or Ballblazer do.

 

There is another older 7800 flash cart that I'm sure would work. And that is the old Mateos 16 in 1 carts. Those are literally using a rotary switch to select a bank of ROM space for the console to see the game data in. Basically just like the dip switch methods they are using on their 10 in 1 multicart but with a rotary switch. Course it is limited to games of 144k and below but all of the official released games should work from the Mateos on this console.

[+Atari_Warlord]

22 hours ago, John Stamos Mullet said:

I kinda hope not. The Atari 7800 europads are kinda terrible. 

I agree and the original controller also made my hand cramp.  I always wanted an original CX40 with two buttons.  The second button could go on the front below the regular button.  It may need a switch to change modes, I count 4 options:

 

1. Both Active (Default)

2. Switch the function of each button (Only affects two button games)

3. Only top button Active

4. Only front button Active

[+swlovinist]

19 hours ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

This is correct. Although again, until we have one of these in hand, we won't know if that is the case or not. But yeah, because the DF preloads the game it emulates to the console outside of the console, I would suspect that it will just look like any normal cartridge and dump the BIN data off it to operate. Now, obviously stuff like the Covox, YM, dual pokeys isn't likely to work as that stuff is being addressed in ways that normal games back then never did. So I would only suspect the original released games to work and maybe those 'brews' using similar or same bank schemes and addressing the POKEY in the same manner as Commando, or Ballblazer do.

 

There is another older 7800 flash cart that I'm sure would work. And that is the old Mateos 16 in 1 carts. Those are literally using a rotary switch to select a bank of ROM space for the console to see the game data in. Basically just like the dip switch methods they are using on their 10 in 1 multicart but with a rotary switch. Course it is limited to games of 144k and below but all of the official released games should work from the Mateos on this console.

Thank you for your perspective on this.   BTW, your Dragonfly videos were super helpful to me.   I picked up the Power adapter that you recommended for the Dragonfly.   I will test it when one arrives, whenever that is.   I did request a review unit but am not guaranteed.  

[+-^CrossBow^-]

2 minutes ago, swlovinist said:

Thank you for your perspective on this.   BTW, your Dragonfly videos were super helpful to me.   I picked up the Power adapter that you recommended for the Dragonfly.   I will test it when one arrives, whenever that is.   I did request a review unit but am not guaranteed.  

Excellent, although I don't remember recommending a specific power supply for the DF? The one I have is actually one of the Genesis clones PSUs from console5, but I clipped the cables and reversed them to match the polarity needed for the DF.

 

There is actually another DF video I have all the footage done on but never edited and released. That is a video I did on how to update the DF using a USB Blaster etc... I've got several vids that have been shot and never put together due to lack of time with other stuff in the hobby that always comes first before my YT channel.

 

 

[+swlovinist]

14 minutes ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

Excellent, although I don't remember recommending a specific power supply for the DF? The one I have is actually one of the Genesis clones PSUs from console5, but I clipped the cables and reversed them to match the polarity needed for the DF.

 

There is actually another DF video I have all the footage done on but never edited and released. That is a video I did on how to update the DF using a USB Blaster etc... I've got several vids that have been shot and never put together due to lack of time with other stuff in the hobby that always comes first before my YT channel.

 

 

You recommended a Triad Magnetics WSU090-2000 power adapter for the dragonfly I do believe.  

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/triad-magnetics/WSU090-2000/3094951

[+-^CrossBow^-]

18 minutes ago, swlovinist said:

You recommended a Triad Magnetics WSU090-2000 power adapter for the dragonfly I do believe.  

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/triad-magnetics/WSU090-2000/3094951

Yes that should do the business just fine and I see it is center positive polarity which, is correct for the DF.

[Zonie]

On 8/28/2023 at 6:17 AM, Atari_Warlord said:

I agree and the original controller also made my hand cramp.  I always wanted an original CX40 with two buttons.  The second button could go on the front below the regular button.  It may need a switch to change modes, I count 4 options:

 

1. Both Active (Default)

2. Switch the function of each button (Only affects two button games)

3. Only top button Active

4. Only front button Active

All you need is a button, two resistors, a 7800 painline controller cord, a soldering iron, and a drill.

 

This is the button.

 

Edited August 30, 2023 by Zonie

[+Muddyfunster]

They have popped up on Amazon UK for £99

 

[+Defender_2600]

Game compatibility list:

 

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0609/3658/5381/files/Atari-2600Plus-Compatibility.pdf

 

I hope the Atari 2600+ doesn't use ProSystem emulator for 7800 games.

[KrunchyTC]

On 8/28/2023 at 9:17 AM, Atari_Warlord said:

I agree and the original controller also made my hand cramp.  I always wanted an original CX40 with two buttons.  The second button could go on the front below the regular button.  It may need a switch to change modes, I count 4 options:

 

1. Both Active (Default)

2. Switch the function of each button (Only affects two button games)

3. Only top button Active

4. Only front button Active

I found that holding the Proline controllers sideways minimized hand cramping. And makes them easier to use IMO.

[+swlovinist]

I want to know the sound options for the 2600+.   If I insert a game that can use pokey sound, will it have that option?  If anything, I would like to have the option that if a game is programmed to use pokey sound, it can utilize it by having on the internal options to do so.   I know that this may be a longshot, but it might impact at least the direction of one homebrew game

[+-^CrossBow^-]

12 hours ago, swlovinist said:

I want to know the sound options for the 2600+.   If I insert a game that can use pokey sound, will it have that option?  If anything, I would like to have the option that if a game is programmed to use pokey sound, it can utilize it by having on the internal options to do so.   I know that this may be a longshot, but it might impact at least the direction of one homebrew game

Well, I believe Ballblazer was listed as being compatible in their list. So that tells me they have to have Pokey working somewhat since that is the ONLY audio that game uses unlike Commando which, uses both TIA and POKEY for all sounds heard in that game. So again, if BB is listed as working, then we have to assume it has audio as well and that would be Pokey.

 

[MegaManFan]

I think at this point whatever it does or doesn't support, it can't be more of a pile than Hyperkin's Retron 77, which without the community making custom firmware for it might as well be an expensive paperweight. Maybe this will turn out the same way but I'm willing to take a shot in the dark and see how it turns out.

[John Stamos Mullet]

14 hours ago, swlovinist said:

I want to know the sound options for the 2600+.   If I insert a game that can use pokey sound, will it have that option?  If anything, I would like to have the option that if a game is programmed to use pokey sound, it can utilize it by having on the internal options to do so.   I know that this may be a longshot, but it might impact at least the direction of one homebrew game

If you're talking about inserting a homebrew 2600 game that has POKEY sound coded, it's doubtful, since no 2600 games that were released commercially included POKEY sound. I don't know that there are any versions of Stella that support using POKEY on a 2600 game.

 

However, 7800 games with POKEY should work fine with it, since that is understood to be supported on the original hardware, and thus every 7800 emulator - or at least the commercially released ones.

[John Stamos Mullet]

33 minutes ago, MegaManFan said:

I think at this point whatever it does or doesn't support, it can't be more of a pile than Hyperkin's Retron 77, which without the community making custom firmware for it might as well be an expensive paperweight. Maybe this will turn out the same way but I'm willing to take a shot in the dark and see how it turns out.

That seems a bit harsh. It will play 99% of commercially released 2600 and 7800 games. Honestly, that's all they are required to do with this thing.

 

While it would certainly be nice if it also supported modern homebrews, I can completely understand Atari/Infogrames unwillingness to dive into that end of the pool because it opens them up to being possibly looped into potential lawsuits by the IP owners of original games that have been copied/updated/hacked by homebrewers.

 

We're all fans of the homebrew community here, but we're not even 1/100,000th of the audience for this kind of thing, and most of them don't even know modern homebrews exist.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

13 minutes ago, John Stamos Mullet said:

That seems a bit harsh. It will play 99% of commercially released 2600 and 7800 games. Honestly, that's all they are required to do with this thing.

 

While it would certainly be nice if it also supported modern homebrews, I can completely understand Atari/Infogrames unwillingness to dive into that end of the pool because it opens them up to being possibly looped into potential lawsuits by the IP owners of original games that have been copied/updated/hacked by homebrewers.

 

We're all fans of the homebrew community here, but we're not even 1/100,000th of the audience for this kind of thing, and most of them don't even know modern homebrews exist.

There is also the issue that current Atari wouldn't want to deal with support calls from customers when their homebrews they purchased outside of Atari, don't work. I noticed an email from Atari today, for the new Outlaw XP release and it states at the bottom that it will work in the upcoming Atari 2600+ console. So again, they are going to want a way to monitor and control what games will and won't work on something like this.