VCS Store Problems (Discussion/Tips)

[E. King]

10 hours ago, Atari_JaguarVCS said:

Good luck with the Classic Joystick. I think the zip code issue and other issues have been resolved for now with the Atari VCS store so you shouldn't have a problem getting the game 🙂

Ok I think I was wrong about the zip code glitch being supposedly "fixed"

 

I have not hooked my VCS up for weeks because I have not been able to get games since Ultimate Ski Jumping released that is the last game I was able to purchase, have had the zip code glitch ever since that.  I also had the zip code glitch before that game but for some reason it let me get that one game that day Ultimate Ski Jump released.

 

Well, I just hooked up my VCS to get Berzerk Recharged thinking it was going to be fixed because that was the recent report that it was fixed but I am still getting the zip code glitch.  And people wonder why I am always so aggravated by my Atari VCS. 

 

I have to say that I am not surprised but it sure would help my VCS attitude if it worked correctly.

Edited November 10, 2023 by E. King
typo fix

[E. King]

I just tried to get Berzerk Recharged and I am getting the zip code glitch that is preventing me from getting games.

 

Is anyone else getting this zip code glitch again?

 

I have not been able to get games for a long time on VCS but that is ok no big deal.

[Atari_JaguarVCS]

43 minutes ago, E. King said:

Ok I think I was wrong about the zip code glitch being supposedly "fixed"

 

I have not hooked my VCS up for weeks because I have not been able to get games since Ultimate Ski Jumping released that is the last game I was able to purchase, have had the zip code glitch ever since that.  I also had the zip code glitch before that game but for some reason it let me get that one game that day Ultimate Ski Jump released.

 

Well, I just hooked up my VCS to get Berzerk Recharged thinking it was going to be fixed because that was the recent report that it was fixed but I am still getting the zip code glitch.  And people wonder why I am always so aggravated by my Atari VCS. 

 

I have to say that I am not surprised but it sure would help my VCS attitude if it worked correctly.

I don't think it was ever really fixed if I'm fully honest, what i think is happening here is that the issue somehow resolves itself and Atari take credit for finally fixing it and then it breaks again?. This really isn't a good situation. I've never been effected with the issue but i feel your frustration regarding it.

 

A few days ago on Davids Twitch stream he said something along the lines of potentially starting a developer fund, basically i think if you subscribe to his Twitch channel and link your Amazon prime to it, which i plan to do over the weekend he can basically make money in which he wants to use to pay small indie Devs to make games for the Atari VCS. I think any revenue gained via the Twitch streams should go towards getting the OS fixed and up to scratch and the store fixed and rebuilt first over anything so the zip code issue cant happens again, the indie games could come later as i have no idea how the devs feel about there games just sitting there on the store with customers unable to purchase them for weeks, sometimes months on end. I think things need to get prioritized properly once and for all.

[E. King]

14 minutes ago, Atari_JaguarVCS said:

I don't think it was ever really fixed if I'm fully honest, what i think is happening here is that the issue somehow resolves itself and Atari take credit for finally fixing it and then it breaks again?. This really isn't a good situation. I've never been effected with the issue but i feel your frustration regarding it.

 

A few days ago on Davids Twitch stream he said something along the lines of potentially starting a developer fund, basically i think if you subscribe to his Twitch channel and link your Amazon prime to it, which i plan to do over the weekend he can basically make money in which he wants to use to pay small indie Devs to make games for the Atari VCS. I think any revenue gained via the Twitch streams should go towards getting the OS fixed and up to scratch and the store fixed and rebuilt first over anything so the zip code issue cant happens again, the indie games could come later as i have no idea how the devs feel about there games just sitting there on the store with customers unable to purchase them for weeks, sometimes months on end. I think things need to get prioritized properly once and for all.

You might have a good point there that maybe Atari just simply can't afford to fix it properly.  Maybe Atari should start a GoFundMe campaign so we can all donate to them to pay someone to get this fixed once and for all.

[Atari_JaguarVCS]

10 minutes ago, E. King said:

You might have a good point there that maybe Atari just simply can't afford to fix it properly.  Maybe Atari should start a GoFundMe campaign so we can all donate to them to pay someone to get this fixed once and for all.

I've been thinking that for a while. I wouldn't mind putting in a large donation myself if it means this zip code issue goes away for others and a few brain cells get added to the store, just Incase games get taken of again in the future. Its sad the VCS is a decent piece of hardware and its still being plagued with these issues, here's hoping it keeps getting better, somehow, with the very limited resources available to it. 

[+Neon Wraith]

1 hour ago, E. King said:

I just tried to get Berzerk Recharged and I am getting the zip code glitch that is preventing me from getting games.

 

Is anyone else getting this zip code glitch again?

 

I have not been able to get games for a long time on VCS but that is ok no big deal.

I have not tried to purchase yet but so far (knock on wood) I haven't had this bug.  There are a few others on Discord that have posted about it.  I would definitely post in the bug report channel on the VCS Discord and tag any Atari team member that you can.

[MrTrust]

9 hours ago, Atari_JaguarVCS said:

A few days ago on Davids Twitch stream he said something along the lines of potentially starting a developer fund, basically i think if you subscribe to his Twitch channel and link your Amazon prime to it, which i plan to do over the weekend he can basically make money in which he wants to use to pay small indie Devs to make games for the Atari VCS.

 

If this were to produce another End's Reach, it would be a worthy effort, but the chances of that are not all that good.  It's fairly easy for a dev with a good idea to raise money on his own these days through crowdfunding these days.  If a guy is so hard up he needs to go to Dave for his Amazon affiliate bucks... we're not talking about recruiting from the A squad, are we?

 

9 hours ago, Atari_JaguarVCS said:

think any revenue gained via the Twitch streams should go towards getting the OS fixed and up to scratch and the store fixed and rebuilt first over anything so the zip code issue cant happens again, the indie games could come later as i have no idea how the devs feel about there games just sitting there on the store with customers unable to purchase them for weeks, sometimes months on end. I think things need to get prioritized properly once and for all.

 

That, or what about tools to make games easier to port to the VCS?  Why is a game like Owlboy not in the store, for example?  It's perfect for the hardware, runs natively in Linux, it would be a guaranteed seller on the machine and, according to Dave, it's an 80/20 split.  Why would any dev not want to take advantage of that unless the porting process is a headache?  Or, like I said, they couldn't take something like the 2012 Yars' Revenge and bundle it with WINE like they do with their Microprose + DosBox stuff?  There's not a thousand little indie games like Doodle Derby or Dead End Job that they could realistically get running on the machine and in the store if they came up with the right tools?

 

I have all those games, but I would have bought them on VCS and given Atari money - and presumably the developers more money than I did - if they were available in the store.

 

One could say this is an unrealistic idea, but once we're talking about funding development through Twitch streams and Amazon links, everything is on the table.

 

8 hours ago, E. King said:

You might have a good point there that maybe Atari just simply can't afford to fix it properly.

 

They could afford it; they just aren't going to devote the resources to doing it.  Got to print that next run of goofy T-shirts, after all.  Got to finance that next run of Starship for the 2600 but with a cool label!

 

It's pretty apparent that Dave is the only thing keeping the lights on with this system, and unless he's a liar, they didn't even tell him they were planning to acquire AA, which you'd think would be within his purview given the effort of getting more homebrews onto the system.  That's a fairly good indicator of how the company at large treats the platform.

[+MrZarniwoop]

I don't know if this is a related bug. I've had my VCS for quite some time now, and buying games has never been fully smooth. In the past, the process might hang and I'd have to to try a few times before the purchase or the download would go through.

 

Now, it's similarly frustrating but a little bit different. If I try to buy something, and it shows my saved credit card, then all is good. But 4 out of 5 times, it shows a blank credit card form. If I back out and try again and keep trying, it eventually "remembers" my saved card and info and I can purchase and continue.

[zzip]

 

14 hours ago, E. King said:

You might have a good point there that maybe Atari just simply can't afford to fix it properly.  Maybe Atari should start a GoFundMe campaign so we can all donate to them to pay someone to get this fixed once and for all.

They claim the issue is with their payment provider.   I guess only thing Atari could do if they can't get the provider to fix it is find a new provider.

[Atari_JaguarVCS]

4 hours ago, zzip said:

 

They claim the issue is with their payment provider.   I guess only thing Atari could do if they can't get the provider to fix it is find a new provider.

I think they'll need to hurry up and get a new payment provider, looks like a lot more people on Discord are being effect with the issue now, the complaints are coming in fast with people sounding like there on the brink of giving up on the system. If Atari don't get this resolved by xmas i can see lots of unhappy new Atari VCS owners and a grim looking 2024 for the VCS where the lights might actually go off for good for the system.

[+Sauron]

3 hours ago, Atari_JaguarVCS said:

I think they'll need to hurry up and get a new payment provider, looks like a lot more people on Discord are being effect with the issue now, the complaints are coming in fast with people sounding like there on the brink of giving up on the system. If Atari don't get this resolved by xmas i can see lots of unhappy new Atari VCS owners and a grim looking 2024 for the VCS where the lights might actually go off for good for the system.

I hate to say it, but you're probably right. The zip code issue has struck me again, and it's beyond frustrating that it decided to crop back up right when Berzerk: Recharged came out. And I think I've been more patient with this issue than most. 

 

[Atari_JaguarVCS]

25 minutes ago, Sauron said:

I hate to say it, but you're probably right. The zip code issue has struck me again, and it's beyond frustrating that it decided to crop back up right when Berzerk: Recharged came out. And I think I've been more patient with this issue than most. 

 

Although I've personally not experienced this particular issue in the three years I've owned an Atari VCS 800 its getting hard to deny this problem is real and spreading and i find it totally unacceptable now for current and possibly soon to be Atari VCS owners at Christmas. I think if Atari are not willing to do what it takes and just spend some money on the Atari VCS store and infrastructure, they might as well just pull the plug on the system and call it done and everyone uses it as a mini PC or shelf's it. I really don't want to see that happen, they need to take the full store offline and just deal with it instead of waiting for it to fix itself. I really am getting worried now with the year coming to a close soon. If they need funding or something to fix this issue they really need to put it to the community and ask for help, i know most VCS owners would probably chip in if it keeps the Atari VCS alive and gets rid of the zip code issue.  

[+Sauron]

17 hours ago, MrZarniwoop said:

I don't know if this is a related bug. I've had my VCS for quite some time now, and buying games has never been fully smooth. In the past, the process might hang and I'd have to to try a few times before the purchase or the download would go through.

 

Now, it's similarly frustrating but a little bit different. If I try to buy something, and it shows my saved credit card, then all is good. But 4 out of 5 times, it shows a blank credit card form. If I back out and try again and keep trying, it eventually "remembers" my saved card and info and I can purchase and continue.

I just played around with it myself, and it's doing the same thing for me as it is for you. Granted, I also tried this a while back when the issue was happening to me before, which didn't solve it, but now it seems to be spotty. 

 

[john_q_atari]

I just unboxed my VCS that I have had sitting on the shelf for more than 2 years. I was able to get it updated to the latest software and firmware, and when I went to the store to buy A.R.T.I., which was the whole reason for me pulling the VCS off the shelf, I get the Purchase Failed zipcode error with both my credit cards. Happy to know it is not just me, but frustrated I can't download the game I wanted to play...

 

@davpa

Is there any workaround at all? For example maybe purchasing some sort of auth code then entering that code to download the game or something?

 

Edited November 11, 2023 by john_q_atari
grammar

[Atari_JaguarVCS]

42 minutes ago, john_q_atari said:

Is there any workaround at all? For example maybe purchasing some sort of auth code then entering that code to download the game or something?

Unfortunately there's still no work around for this issue at the moment, absolutely no way to purchase codes to get the game or bypass the issue either. Its going to be a case of waiting for the issue to resolve on its own again, it usually starts working on its own after a month or so once its broken and is normally good untill the next big game releases and it breaks again, its really a case of waiting for Atari to find a new payment vendor and rebuild the store. This issue is being worked on and has been for months. I've read of a few people recently getting lucky and able to purchase after repeatedly trying so that might be a strategy to try a few times throughout the day if you can. 

[+CyranoJ]

Just get them on Steam, they're more future proofed for whatever machine you buy next and not locked to the VCS, and on top of all that they're usually cheaper.

[Atari_JaguarVCS]

43 minutes ago, CyranoJ said:

Just get them on Steam, they're more future proofed for whatever machine you buy next and not locked to the VCS, and on top of all that they're usually cheaper.

Wait is A.R.T. I on Steam? I'll need to check it out as id love to play it on the go on my Steam Deck for sure.

[+CyranoJ]

1 minute ago, Atari_JaguarVCS said:

Wait is A.R.T. I on Steam? I'll need to check it out as id love to play it on the go on my Steam Deck for sure.

 

Nope, but the recharged games are. And you'll have a space bar to press when asked to as well!

 

Recommend buying a 7800 just to play ARTI and EXO on the real thing.

[Atari_JaguarVCS]

7 minutes ago, CyranoJ said:

 

Nope, but the recharged games are. And you'll have a space bar to press when asked to as well!

 

Recommend buying a 7800 just to play ARTI and EXO on the real thing.

i see, i have most of the Recharged games on Steam as well as the Atari VCS 800 myself. I go with the VCS version of the Recharged games for the joystick support and the Steam versions for portability, sometimes put the VCS into PC mode and play them that way on Steam to. 

 

I really want to pick up EXO and A. R. T. I. on cartridge at some point as i already have a 7800 that i recently started collecting games for. Hopefully those carts will work on the 2600+ to which i have PRE ordered.  

[john_q_atari]

7 minutes ago, Atari_JaguarVCS said:

I really want to pick up EXO and A. R. T. I. on cartridge at some point as i already have a 7800 that i recently started collecting games for. Hopefully those carts will work on the 2600+ to which i have PRE ordered.  

Muddyfunster sells the E.X.O. rom so if you have the 7800GD or dragonfly you can play the game on that.

[Atari_JaguarVCS]

Just now, john_q_atari said:

Muddyfunster sells the E.X.O. rom so if you have the 7800GD or dragonfly you can play the game on that.

Thanks for the heads up! Ill need to look into that. I tried to get the 7800GD earlier in the year but unfortunately it was sold out, I'll need to have another check on the stock situation with it as there are only a few places here in the UK that stock them. If i can get a 7800GD soon I'll pick up the E.X.O rom. I bet the game looks awesome on the CRT i really love playing the game on the Atari VCS but it would be something special seeing it in action on real hardware on my CRT 

[john_q_atari]

1 minute ago, Atari_JaguarVCS said:

Thanks for the heads up! Ill need to look into that. I tried to get the 7800GD earlier in the year but unfortunately it was sold out, I'll need to have another check on the stock situation with it as there are only a few places here in the UK that stock them. If i can get a 7800GD soon I'll pick up the E.X.O rom. I bet the game looks awesome on the CRT i really love playing the game on the Atari VCS but it would be something special seeing it in action on real hardware on my CRT 

Retro Towers currently has them in stock. https://www.retrotowers.co.uk/7800-gamedrive

[Atari_JaguarVCS]

5 minutes ago, john_q_atari said:

Retro Towers currently has them in stock. https://www.retrotowers.co.uk/7800-gamedrive

Thanks for that! I'm going to order one asap and the Mega Drive controller adapter  😀

[john_q_atari]

13 minutes ago, Atari_JaguarVCS said:

Thanks for that! I'm going to order one asap and the Mega Drive controller adapter  😀

It's a nice combination. I used them both 7800GD with save states, and MD controller adapter with my 6 button genesis controller to play and complete E.X.O.

[Mechamania]

On 10/20/2023 at 10:02 AM, Atari_JaguarVCS said:

I think a simple solution to fix this would be to add and option to pay for your games via PayPal, i don't know how difficult that would be to integrate into the store though. If i was having the zip code issue id use the down time to play through some of my games i previously purchased, use PC mode and dig into my Steam collection as this problem with the zip code will get fixed eventually. I believe the problem was fixed before, people on Discord where able to buy games again. I really hope it gets resolved for you. If only Atari where a bigger company with more staff etc it probably would have been fixed by now, its easy to forget that at times.

Appreciate the thought, but I would NEVER use PayPal and would HAVE NEVER bought a VCS, if that were the method of payment (the only option so many times, if they go that direction, which is essentially no solution). They don’t need a band-aid. They need a fix, with regalar currency — for their own sakes! It’s MORE unfair to consumers than simply not being able to buy a game to be turning away so many purchases for a platform *we supported to help keep Atari going,* as an investment of sorts, for future games — but the VCS becomes unattractive to developers by the lower purchase numbers the VCS gets from this bug, not to mention the idea of wanting to develop for a platform that doesn’t let you use a credit card on a *digital only* console! They’re not Nintendo, either. While I’d accept a gift card—or buy one for someone else, if I were to know someone who owned one—but who knows if their “partners” could ever handle that? So, I and a lot of other people simply wouldn’t go the extra mile buy those, if they were the only way to get VCS games — let alone to set up a fourth-party account, simply to buy a game! In other words, this is doing more than preventing us from buying games, when we want to, but it also discourages other VCS owners and VCS devs, which in turn takes that much more away from the platform—and Atari—in general. Not being able to use a credit card, in 2023, is beyond amateurish — it’d be laughable, if it weren’t so SAD...