Atari 2600 - Game Compatibility/Display Issues

[Trebor]

What may be of value to reference is the scanline count list of VCS/2600 games by Digital Press:

 

https://www.digitpress.com/library/techdocs/vcs_scanlines.htm

 

Any NTSC game with a scanline count that does not equal 262 runs the risk of having display issues, particularly on modern displays, as CRTs are much more tolerant.

 

Any PAL game with a scanline count that does not equal 312 runs a similar risk.

 

For example, respecting some games:

Asteroids = Version 1 NTSC 262 | Version 2 NTSC 265 | Version 1 PAL N/A | Version 2 PAL 311-313
Buck Rogers = NTSC 240 | PAL 280 (title) / 296-297 (in-game)
Fast Food = NTSC 257 | PAL N/A
Moon Patrol = NTSC 256 | PAL 312
Star Wars - Empire Strikes Back = NTSC 261 | PAL 314
Warlords = NTSC 263 | PAL 312

 

Atari Compendium is another source for scanline count of games.

 

Noteworthy too, is Atarimania/ROM Hunter's collection is leveraged (Highly recommended for a proper/clean set of the original line-up of games), there are several official "fixed" version of titles that were released.  Leveraging the fixed version likely ensures best compatibility and overall gameplay experience.  Here are the details:

Activision Decathlon, The (1983) (Activision, David Crane) (AG-930-04, AZ-030) [fixed] ~
- Fixed the following bug in the original version: if you keep hitting the FIRE button after letting go of the pole during the pole vault event, you can clear heights well beyond the intended limit of 5.6m.

 

Astroblast (Paddle) (1982) (M Network - INTV - APh Technological Consulting, Hal Finney) (MT5666) [fixed] ~
- Fixed the following bugs in the original version: if two joysticks are plugged in and both are moved at the same time during the game, the following effects can happen (the same effects will happen if you use either controller): 
the laser base will fly up into space or below the bottom border, the laser base will become invisible and when a rock hits it, the screen will turn red, the base count will cycle from 99 down to zero, and/or the joysticks will stop operating.

 

Bridge (1980) (Activision, Larry Kaplan) (AX-006) [fixed] ~
- Fixed the following bug in the original version: the game crashes when you bid 8. It also fixed a branch target adress in the original version.

 

Congo Bongo (1983) (SEGA - Beck-Tech, Steve Beck, Phat Ho) (006-01) [fixed] ~
- Fixed the following bug in the original version: the game crashes frequently when you randomize the startup bank. 
The fixed version only displays some wrong graphics in that case.

 

Demon Attack (Death from Above) (1982) (Imagic, Rob Fulop) (720000-200, 720101-1B, 720101-1C, IA3200, IA3200C, IX-006-04) [fixed] ~
- Fixed the following bug in the original version: the screen will go black (because the code is stuck in an endless loop) after completing 84 waves (game modes 5 - 8 start on wave 13 and will freeze after completing wave 72). 
The fixed version goes all the way to level 255 before wrapping around back to level 0.

 

Dodge 'Em - Dodger Cars (Head On) (1980) (Atari, Carla Meninsky - Sears) (CX2637 - 49-75158) [fixed] ~ 
- Fixed the following bug in the original version: the car and score of the player(s) stay the same color in B/W demo mode. 
The fixed version also shows different colors after the game ends.

 

Gangster Alley (1982) (Spectravision - Spectravideo) (SA-201) [fixed] ~
- Fixed the following bug in the original version: instead of using an immediate value (prefixed by #), a zeropage address was used.

 

Gas Hog (1983) (Spectravideo, Mark Turmell) (SA-217) [fixed] ~
- Fixed the following bug in the original version: the scanline count was not constant.

 

Miner 2049er - Starring Bounty Bob (1983) (Tigervision) (7-008) [fixed] ~
- Fixed the following bug in the original version: RESET doesn't start the game with 3 lives if you only have 1 or 2 lives in reserve.

 

My Golf (1990) (HES - Imagineering, David R. Lubar) (535) (PAL) [fixed] ~
- Fixed the following bug in the original version: a branch was taken before an index register was updated to load a series of registers.

 

Skeet Shoot (1981) (Apollo - Games by Apollo, Ed Salvo) (AP-1001) [fixed] ~
- Fixed the following bug in the original version: a rolling gamescreen on some TV sets, due to the game counting 286 scanlines.

 

Space Invaders (1980) (Atari, Richard Maurer) (CX2632, CX2632P) (PAL) [different speed and colors] [fixed]
- Fixed a bug that affects the controls of the two-player modes 81 - 96 in the second PAL release of the game: the shots alternate between the players, but the movement doesn’t - only the right player moves the cannon.

 

StarMaster - Kommando Galaxis (1982) (Activision, Alan Miller - Ariola) (EAX-016, PAX-016 - 711 016-725) (PAL) [fixed]
- Fixed the following bug in the original version: a rolling gamescreen on some TV sets, due to the VSYNC pulse lasting for only 2 scanlines instead of 3.

 

Super Breakout (Paddle) (1982 - 1981) (Atari, Carol Shaw, Nick 'Sandy Maiwald' Turner - Sears) (CX2608 - 49-75165) [fixed] ~
- Fixed the following bug in the original version: the routine that handles the additional on-screen balls in game 3 - 6 is missing a comparison and branch.

 

Superman (1979) (Atari, John Dunn - Sears) (CX2631 - 49-75152) [fixed] ~
- Fixed the following bugs in the original version: 
1) Hold down the FIRE button and tap the joystick in any direction. When 2 seconds have elapsed, release the FIRE button: the bridge won’t blow up and you’re free to capture the criminals. 
2) Start the game and hold down the FIRE button when you are above the phone booth, then press SELECT and release the FIRE button. 
Wait for the screen to cycle 2 scenes over (to a subway entrance) and move towards the subway. 
The game will continue at that scene, but you won’t be able to fly up. 
If you go to the bridge scene, all the criminals will escape but the bridge will not blow up.

[Trebor]

Some games that have caused frequent problems for a good number of displays have been fixed by members of the community.  Considering some of the fixes posted span across 10 years, there is a centralized download for convenience: HERE

 

Here is the list of files in the attachment:

Asteroids (VSYNC fixed) (20170127) (FCD8AD72).bin
Battlezone (VSYNC fix) (20150701) (A2EB05D4).bin
Buck Rogers (Better Line Count Hack) (NTSC) (20100421) (05831E07).bin
Defender (VBLANK fix) (20150822) (E01CBE88).bin
Defender (VSYNC fix) (20150822) (8311200D).bin
Fast Food (1982) (262 Scanline Fix) (20181230) (AF26175D).bin
Moon Patrol (1983) (262 Scanline Fix) (20181230) (BC60F010).bin
Star Wars - Empire Strikes Back (More VSYNC fix) (20200614) (374976F9).bin
Tapper (Timing Fix) (20170726) (E7C43A16).bin
Warlords (VSYNC fix) (20150822) (3CF4E08D).bin

 

YMMV...some, most, or even all of the above may not be needed.  If so, feel free to ignore.

 

Otherwise, if experiencing issues, especially prevalent on modern day displays for the aforementioned games, give the attached images a try.

Hope it helps.

[alex_79]

54 minutes ago, Trebor said:

Any PAL game with a scanline count that does not equal 313 runs a similar risk.

Correction: that would be 312.

Because of how a PAL TIA generates the signal, PAL 2600 games must have an even number of scanlines, else they cause color issues on many PAL TVs (I think the phase ends up being wrong on every other frame). On CRTs you typically get either a B&W image ("PAL color loss") or wrong colors in the upper area of the screen, depending on the age of the TV. Newer digital TVs might not be affected by this, but I don't have much experience in running 2600 consoles with those.

 

Again, this only applies to 2600 games. PAL Maria always outputs 313 scanlines and has no color issues.

 

EDIT. And the color issues would only happens on RF, composite and s-video. RGB is not PAL anymore, and there's no "phase" of the color carrier that matters in that case.

 

Edited September 4, 2023 by alex_79

[Rey]

46 minutes ago, Trebor said:

Some games that have caused frequent problems for a good number of displays have been fixed by members of the community.  Considering some of the fixes posted span across 10 years, there is a centralized download for convenience: HERE

 

Here is the list of files in the attachment:

Asteroids (VSYNC fixed) (20170127) (FCD8AD72).bin
Battlezone (VSYNC fix) (20150701) (A2EB05D4).bin
Buck Rogers (Better Line Count Hack) (NTSC) (20100421) (05831E07).bin
Defender (VBLANK fix) (20150822) (E01CBE88).bin
Defender (VSYNC fix) (20150822) (8311200D).bin
Fast Food (1982) (262 Scanline Fix) (20181230) (AF26175D).bin
Moon Patrol (1983) (262 Scanline Fix) (20181230) (BC60F010).bin
Star Wars - Empire Strikes Back (More VSYNC fix) (20200614) (374976F9).bin
Tapper (Timing Fix) (20170726) (E7C43A16).bin
Warlords (VSYNC fix) (20150822) (3CF4E08D).bin

 

YMMV...some, most, or even all of the above may not be needed.  If so, feel free to ignore.

 

Otherwise, if experiencing issues, especially prevalent on modern day displays for the aforementioned games, give the attached images a try.

Hope it helps.

Thank you, I appreciate everyone's help. Out of this list, Buck Rodgers and Star wars still give me issues using RGB. So anytime I feel like playing these I have to switch over to S-Video on the Framemeister. There are a few more games too not on this list but not any I really play anyway. 

Edited September 4, 2023 by Rey

[Trebor]

47 minutes ago, alex_79 said:

Correction: that would be 312.

Yep... typo on my part.  Corrected. 

[Rey]

I wonder if the retrotink 5x pro would do a better job with these games via rgb compared to my xrgb mini. I've been looking for info on someone who owns one and is using it like me or with a rgb nodded 2600.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

21 minutes ago, Rey said:

I wonder if the retrotink 5x pro would do a better job with these games via rgb compared to my xrgb mini. I've been looking for info on someone who owns one and is using it like me or with a rgb nodded 2600.

@ZeroPage Homebrew uses a Tink5x Pro in their streams with their RGB upgraded 2600. Although I think they actually use component output vs the actual RGB, but still I believe using the Tink5x triple buffer mode, helps reduce the issue with a lot of the games. Not sure about buck rogers as that is the only game that gives me any issues both on my UAV outputs and even the RF on my TV. That game's title screen just does NOT play nice with my main gaming display.

 

 

[+ZeroPage Homebrew]

4 hours ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

@ZeroPage Homebrew uses a Tink5x Pro in their streams with their RGB upgraded 2600. Although I think they actually use component output vs the actual RGB, but still I believe using the Tink5x triple buffer mode, helps reduce the issue with a lot of the games. Not sure about buck rogers as that is the only game that gives me any issues both on my UAV outputs and even the RF on my TV. That game's title screen just does NOT play nice with my main gaming display.

 

@Rey  That's correct, I'm currently using component out from my Atari 2600 and below are examples of how the RetroTink 5x Pro behaves with Buck Rogers and Warlords starting with Triple Buffer then moving to Frame Lock and Gen Lock. The Triple Buffer won't magically fix the issues with the game but it will smooth the signal out and provide a steady output so that your TV won't drop signal for several seconds at a time.

 

The Triple Buffer on the 5X Pro has proven invaluable over the Framemeister I used to use. I used to not even be able to play certain games as I would lose signal to my TV and then lose the game while there was nothing showing on screen!

 

- James

 

BUCK ROGERS:

 

WARLORDS:

 

[Trebor]

Piggybacking off of @ZeroPage Homebrew above post, @SainT has commented:

Quote

With the TIA via FPGA I can help improve vsync stability a bit, but it will still be a little jittery. This is why I recommend an upscaler which has triple buffer capability (like tink 5xp) for maximum compatibility. If your TV is happy with hdmi jitter (my monitor doesn’t care at all), then you can simply use frame lock, but if it’s not (my bravia is unbelievably picky) then you’ll need to switch to triple buffer to get a picture. If you’re using a CRT, then it’s all good. CRTs just work.

He also stated:

Quote

The RAD2X is a scanline based upscaler, so it can do nothing to help sort out sync issues. My monitor, for example, doesn't care about this and will display a picture just fine (via OSSC in this case, same type of upscaler), but as mentioned the Bravia just wont work. I use a Tink5xp in framebuffer mode and have tested with component and RGB inputs from the 7800GD and it works perfectly, even with the Bravia's.

 

So, basically, it depends on your setup -- it may work just fine, it may not. If you already have a RAD2X, definitely test it before looking elsewhere, but you may find you need a framebuffer based upscaler.

 

[SainT]

23 hours ago, Rey said:

Buck Rodgers and Star wars still give me issues using RGB.

I'll give them a look. 👍