The 2600+ Game Compatability Thread

[tradyblix]

37 minutes ago, MikeM_ said:

Yes. Mine is a white cart. 
 

thank you for all the effort you and your team are putting in to make this the best console possible. 

From the update thread, which is like multiple different conversations going on and sort of hard to follow at the moment, which to me is just sort of a testament to the excitement the 2600 plus has brought, somebody was saying that with the white carts there's three different versions for each title.  so just keep that in mind if you're testing only one version of it, you might not be testing all three different types for that particular game.

[MikeM_]

58 minutes ago, tradyblix said:

From the update thread, which is like multiple different conversations going on and sort of hard to follow at the moment, which to me is just sort of a testament to the excitement the 2600 plus has brought, somebody was saying that with the white carts there's three different versions for each title.  so just keep that in mind if you're testing only one version of it, you might not be testing all three different types for that particular game.

Yeah, I had read that too. Need to take a closer look at the contacts to see which one it might be. 
 

Been holding off on installing the beta builds, but with this latest dumper, I might go for it. See if it fixes my Zaxxon as well. 
 

The majority of my games work, so I have been on the fence. Still unsure if the Pitfall! clicking is my cart or the emulation and don’t recall seeing any traction on that issue. 

[tradyblix]

I have the same issue with Pitfall (on 1.1b). Sadly it makes it kind of unplayable as it's really annoying.

 

The stella maintainer who will remain nameless has stated it's not a problem with Stella and doesn't seem too interested in the 2600+'s success or helping with it, so I assume it's an issue the developers at AA actively working on the 2600+ can solve. They have already solved a large number of things that were critical for me to really enjoy the 2600+, so I'm hopeful. 

Edited January 20 by tradyblix

[chad5200]

On 1/4/2024 at 12:13 AM, MysticSword said:

@MikeM_ @chad5200 Same for me with the Smurf Rescue, it just goes to a garbage screen if it manages to load. I've cleaned the contacts several times, but I now think it's an incompatibility issue with my cartridge (even though it shows as a 'Pass' on the 2600+ compatibility PDF).

@MysticSword have you installed the new Beta 1.1 Rev 2?  If so, does Smurf Rescue work for you now?  If not, what does it do?

 

[MysticSword]

4 hours ago, chad5200 said:

@MysticSword have you installed the new Beta 1.1 Rev 2?  If so, does Smurf Rescue work for you now?  If not, what does it do?

 

After some jumping-through-hoops, I managed to update my 2600+ to the most current firmware.

 

Unfortunately my Smurf Rescue game still doesn't work. It just loads with a jumbled jittery mess of colored lines and a low tone noise.

I've taken pics of what my TV screen looks like with my Smurf game in and loaded, along with outside and inside look of the cartridge in case that's of any help or interest to anyone. The inside look, the board kind of looks like it's been gnawed on, ha ha. Maybe it was, or maybe I just have a lemon or dead Smurf game, and I don't have an original 2600 console to test it on.

No worries as it was a cheap find, so I'm only out a few dollars.

 

~

 

On the GOOD news though, after the update, my Robot Tank game finally works properly. Yay!

 

Edited January 25 by MysticSword
Fixed typos

[chad5200]

50 minutes ago, MysticSword said:

Unfortunately my Smurf Rescue game still doesn't work. It just loads with a jumbled jittery mess of colored lines and a low tone noise.

This is what my Smurf is doing also (on latest beta rev 2) so it is not just you.

 

It's interesting that your cartridge connector looks a lot like mine in that the contacts don't come all the way down to the edge of the circuit board.  I wonder what would happen (since yours is already easy to remove from the shell) if you took it out of the shell and pushed it all the way in as far as it would go into the 2600+?

 

 

[Glorkbot]

Does the Bentley Bear 7800 homebrew run on the 2600+?

[MysticSword]

4 hours ago, chad5200 said:

This is what my Smurf is doing also (on latest beta rev 2) so it is not just you.

 

It's interesting that your cartridge connector looks a lot like mine in that the contacts don't come all the way down to the edge of the circuit board.  I wonder what would happen (since yours is already easy to remove from the shell) if you took it out of the shell and pushed it all the way in as far as it would go into the 2600+?

 

 

I gave that a try, several times, but always still the same issue.

[timmah1979]

On 12/6/2023 at 4:28 PM, DEANJIMMY said:

"Carefully pulled back or tilted slightly"... that is something I experienced quite often with Activision carts.

And... once it works, switch off or shut down the power and they fail in the very same position next time... so I have to move them again. You develop magic hands over time 😉

The 7800 cards fit better, can't be moved and once they work, they work😊

Ok so I have kung fu Master.  It's an Activision title. And the game loads but it becomes extremely buggy seconds after (freezing, disappearing, insane high scores in matter of seconds, music loss, randon resets) could this be because of the pins or is it the software the + is using 

[DEANJIMMY]

35 minutes ago, timmah1979 said:

Ok so I have kung fu Master.  It's an Activision title. And the game loads but it becomes extremely buggy seconds after (freezing, disappearing, insane high scores in matter of seconds, music loss, randon resets) could this be because of the pins or is it the software the + is using 

I havn't tested Kung Fu Master, so far.

I've read this before, looks like on of these finicky carts?

Certain games do not work for a few players but work from a software perspective.

It is a combination of cart and slot. I have this with some carts working in some consoles but not all. Juno first 2600 Jr yes, 2600+ no, 7800 no. Warlords 2600+ yes, 2600 Jr no, 6er yes...

 

Does it work on original hardware?

[timmah1979]

12 minutes ago, DEANJIMMY said:

I havn't tested Kung Fu Master, so far.

I've read this before, looks like on of these finicky carts?

Certain games do not work for a few players but work from a software perspective.

It is a combination of cart and slot. I have this with some carts working in some consoles but not all. Juno first 2600 Jr yes, 2600+ no, 7800 no. Warlords 2600+ yes, 2600 Jr no, 6er yes...

 

Does it work on original hardware?

Yes it does. It was cleaned and tested before it got to me 

[Glorkbot]

7 hours ago, timmah1979 said:

Yes it does. It was cleaned and tested before it got to me 

If it was cleaned and tested on an original 2600 it might still need more cleaning to load properly on a 2600+.

[Aragorn7]

21 hours ago, timmah1979 said:

Yes it does. It was cleaned and tested before it got to me 

Oh, how many times have I received a cart described as cleaned and tested, only to have to give it an extra cleaning myself to make it work. Sometimes several times and on a few I had to disassemble the carts to be able to properly clean the contacts. It's a good idea to clean every old cart you receive before putting it into any console. This way you are not introducing any foreign debris or oxidated film (for lack of a better term). Nornally 91% isopropyl alcohol and some qtips will do the trick, but occasionally a more aggressive approach may be required.

[Marauder_64]

On 1/25/2024 at 10:09 PM, timmah1979 said:

Yes it does. It was cleaned and tested before it got to me 

I just tested Kung Fu Master and it works. It didn't crash after a few rounds, but I will try a longer test later. 

[timmah1979]

39 minutes ago, Marauder_64 said:

I just tested Kung Fu Master and it works. It didn't crash after a few rounds, but I will try a longer test later. 

Thanks for checking. I really do appreciate it.  The guy I bought the cart from tested it and cleaned it before it came out to me and it looked great when I received it.  I've done business with him before and never had any issues with the carts he's sent me so at the very least I know he's not just giving me a line of bs.

That being said I'll attempt  to clean it again and see if it plays ok.

Just an odd side note. I got through the first stage ok yesterday then it decided to be a pain and the issues I normally have on first stage it happened on the second stage.  It then went into it's first stage garbage once I hit reset.  This has come up. Not alot just a couple time. Is there a slim chance the cart got damaged between him sending it and me receiving it? 

[Marauder_64]

23 minutes ago, timmah1979 said:

Thanks for checking. I really do appreciate it.  The guy I bought the cart from tested it and cleaned it before it came out to me and it looked great when I received it.  I've done business with him before and never had any issues with the carts he's sent me so at the very least I know he's not just giving me a line of bs.

That being said I'll attempt  to clean it again and see if it plays ok.

Just an odd side note. I got through the first stage ok yesterday then it decided to be a pain and the issues I normally have on first stage it happened on the second stage.  It then went into it's first stage garbage once I hit reset.  This has come up. Not alot just a couple time. Is there a slim chance the cart got damaged between him sending it and me receiving it? 

You're welcome! These old cartridges can be finicky, and I think what you are experiencing might be oxidized contacts (even after cleaning) and/or tolerancing issues with the cartridge contacts and the cartridge port. I found that some cartridges that fail to load can be "persuaded" by gently pulling the cartridge out slightly while sliding side-to-side until you see the game start to load. This does not always work or must be attempted a few times before it works. Sometimes I find that once the game loads using this procedure it is needed less which would mean oxidation was the cause. 

[timmah1979]

18 hours ago, Marauder_64 said:

You're welcome! These old cartridges can be finicky, and I think what you are experiencing might be oxidized contacts (even after cleaning) and/or tolerancing issues with the cartridge contacts and the cartridge port. I found that some cartridges that fail to load can be "persuaded" by gently pulling the cartridge out slightly while sliding side-to-side until you see the game start to load. This does not always work or must be attempted a few times before it works. Sometimes I find that once the game loads using this procedure it is needed less which would mean oxidation was the cause. 

The game itself loads with absolutely no problem. It's once the game starts all hell breaks loose.   I'm going to clean it after work and see if it does anything.  I'll let ya know what happens! 

Makes me wish I had a retron or og Atari to test it on.  But I don't so gotta go through the trial and error.   Last night was another new one   I had level 3 things happen on level 1. And had over a million points score in less than 25 seconds 😂. That's gotta be a record 😂

[swiller]

On 12/13/2023 at 10:56 PM, MysticSword said:

Cool. I wanted to order one of them (a few days ago), but it was out of stock.

So I instead ordered a '7800 Mega Controller Adapter' (I'm still waiting on for it to be shipped. Maybe it could be up to a couple weeks or so before I get it, and then the Christmas season could add to delivery times).

A Review comment there mentions it's compatible with the 2600+ console.

 

As I plan on getting a few 7800 games I can play on my 2600+ console (and some 7800 games require a two-button 7800 compatible controller), I've been looking for 7800 game controllers, or modern 7800 compatible game-pads, but it seems currently there's not much available, or out of stock or are fairly expensive. And the traditional 7800 joystick controller looks awkward and uncomfortable to use (and I've seen mention that they are uncomfortable to use or can cause undue hand-strain).

      So I figured if I can get a cheaper Genesis gamepad (I found a fairly cheap 6 button one on Ebay, it looked in good condition), and then the controller adapter, it would still be a less expensive option then say trying to buy a new 7800 gamepad, something like the RetroGameBoyz ones, which do look great, though if I was to buy one of those I'm looking at around $100 in cost of where I live (item cost, shipping and duties / taxes), and if my idea works (with the Adapter and a Genesis gamepad) then it comes out to less than half the cost for me. *Fingers crossed it will all work*.

did the adapter work on the 2600+ for 7800 games? In the same boat.

[MysticSword]

On 2/8/2024 at 5:21 PM, swiller said:

did the adapter work on the 2600+ for 7800 games? In the same boat.

Yes. Got it a few weeks ago along with a 'Hyperkin Sega Genesis Controller' I got on Amazon fairly cheaply (around $14 USD). 

It works good as a two-button controller for the few 7800 games I currently have, and can also use it to play 2600 games as well. 

[+LS650]

On 12/12/2023 at 7:09 AM, Bitsized said:

Yes.  I have an issue with Tac-Scan - the start screen pops up but I can't get the game going.  I followed the instructions (putting the paddle on the right side). but no ability to start the game.  Is this what you found, as well?

Did this issue get resolved with the latest firmware?  (2600+ doesn't seem to recognize paddle in right-hand port for Tac-Scan).

 

[chad5200]

3 hours ago, LS650 said:

Did this issue get resolved with the latest firmware?  (2600+ doesn't seem to recognize paddle in right-hand port for Tac-Scan).

 

No.  Still an issue as of Beta 1.1 rev 2.

 

[Varanis Ridari]

The problem I find with cleaning is if you're buying a cart from eBay "cleaned and tested", and after literal hours of repeated cleanings to the contacts (both with alcohol and more polishing/abrasive solutions), the game still doesn't load or loads incorrectly, it's just not worth risking opening up.

 

Damaging the label to reach the screws will make a game unreturnable, so if oxidation went into the traces past the point where you can reach, it's just not worth it unless you're okay with eating the cost of the game, or it's something you already have owned and can conveniently play another way.

 

I recently had this experience with Jr. Pac-Man and Picnic, both games known to work on 2600+ and confirmed by many members here. Picnic just refused to load altogether, no matter what I did.

 

After repeated cleanings across several days, Jr Pac-Man still had weird visual glitches, no music, pellets didn't disappear when eaten, maze would automatically "complete" after only a few goes around. Almost like the system was reading only part of the ROM and missing parts of it, making an "incomplete" game dump.

 

Ordered a newer boxed Jr. Pac-Man  re-issue with an 88 copyright instead of an 83 copyright (to replace the refunded faulty cart), to see if there is something uniquely wrong with my 2600+ and that game specifically. I don't want to buy another 2600+ to see if it is some weird incompatibility with my specific unit. That's an unnecessarily expensive A to B test.

 

Hope it's not some issue unique to my serial, as I wanted to enjoy the HD readout of the 2600+ with this game over the analog signal of an unmodded OG VCS. I'm not interested in having a massive collection like the typical YouTuber, I just want the games I had, and this is the first real problem I've had.

 

I posted this image in the beta firmware thread, but after trying on 1.0 and 1.1b Rev2 with no difference, plus tons of cleaning, figured it's not the firmware or the contacts anymore.

Edited February 13 by Varanis Ridari

[MikeM_]

@Varanis Ridari

 

It wouldn’t surprise me at all, if what you’re seeing is related to the clicking sound others have seen, myself included, with pitfall!. 
 

do you have that game? Do you hear a clicking sound throughout playing it if you do?

 

Everything I’ve read in these forms and seen in the already released Beta updates, leads me to believe that a majority of the issues we are all seeing will get fixed. 
 

I suspect that we will see an official FW release in time for the May re-release of 7800 games and controllers. That means we could be in a beta test mode for at least another couple months. I’m OK with that. The more time spent testing means that more bugs will get fixed.
 

Not always the answer everyone wants to hear, but I think patience is going to be the key to getting the product We all want this to be.

[Varanis Ridari]

25 minutes ago, MikeM_ said:

@Varanis Ridari

 

It wouldn’t surprise me at all, if what you’re seeing is related to the clicking sound others have seen, myself included, with pitfall!. 
 

do you have that game? Do you hear a clicking sound throughout playing it if you do?

 

Everything I’ve read in these forms and seen in the already released Beta updates, leads me to believe that a majority of the issues we are all seeing will get fixed. 
 

I suspect that we will see an official FW release in time for the May re-release of 7800 games and controllers. That means we could be in a beta test mode for at least another couple months. I’m OK with that. The more time spent testing means that more bugs will get fixed.
 

Not always the answer everyone wants to hear, but I think patience is going to be the key to getting the product We all want this to be.

Possibly! My Pitfall has no clicky sounds and plays fine, so I guess I lucked out with that one!

 

Since so many people report Jr. Pac-Man runs fine on their 2600+ even with vanilla firmware (and Picnic too), I deduced there are either specific problems with my carts even after cleaning (without opening and going hog-wild on them), or specific problems with the hardware in my unit.

 

I can only try different versions of the  Jr. Pac-Man and Picnic carts at this point (which I have to buy again), since I don't have a second 2600+ to test on, and don't plan on buying a second one just for that test anyway.

 

Let's hope I get the same results as everyone else with a boxed/preserved Jr. Pac-Man, or at least a game that's fully playable like others report. I'll follow-up once I buy another copy of Picnic too. That one just refused to load at all.

[MikeM_]

12 minutes ago, Varanis Ridari said:

Possibly! My Pitfall has no clicky sounds and plays fine, so I guess I lucked out with that one!

 

Since so many people report Jr. Pac-Man runs fine on their 2600+ even with vanilla firmware (and Picnic too), I deduced there are either specific problems with my carts even after cleaning (without opening and going hog-wild on them), or specific problems with the hardware in my unit.

 

I can only try different versions of the  Jr. Pac-Man and Picnic carts at this point (which I have to buy again), since I don't have a second 2600+ to test on, and don't plan on buying a second one just for that test anyway.

 

Let's hope I get the same results as everyone else with a boxed/preserved Jr. Pac-Man, or at least a game that's fully playable like others report. I'll follow-up once I buy another copy of Picnic too. That one just refused to load at all.

Keep this in mind too. I've just about given up on some carts, then did one more cleaning that made them work again. 

 

I'm looking into trying DeoxIT on my carts to see if it does a better job than 99% isopropyl alcohol does. It's really hard sometimes to determine if the problem is with a brand new electronic device or a 40+ year old copper contact on a game that sat in someone's moldy basement for 20 years before selling it on ebay. lol

 

They are sturdier than we give them credit for though. Out of all my games, only 3 out of 172 have been actually bad and they were super common ones (Coleco White cart Donkey Kong, text label maze craze, text label backgammon). Picking up an ok condition orig 2600 will give you something to validate your games against and give better peace of mind in the quality of your purchases until the remaining bugs have been worked out of the +.