Stechmann Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 I have heard that the 2600+ does currently not support the cx22 and cx80 trackballs. Is this correct? is Atari planning to add trackball support in the future? that said, how about new trackball based games -- i would love a 7800 version of Marble Madness, for example Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stechmann Posted February 26 Author Share Posted February 26 @Ben from Plaion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben from Plaion Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 5 minutes ago, Stechmann said: I have heard that the 2600+ does currently not support the cx22 and cx80 trackballs. Is this correct? is Atari planning to add trackball support in the future? that said, how about new trackball based games -- i would love a 7800 version of Marble Madness, for example They work in JS mode only atm. We are looking at getting the TB mode to work. But no serious dev work has been done yet. Yes, it certainly would be nice for sure. How much would you pay for a CX80+ with 5 games? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean_1970 Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 20 minutes ago, Ben from Plaion said: They work in JS mode only atm. We are looking at getting the TB mode to work. But no serious dev work has been done yet. Yes, it certainly would be nice for sure. How much would you pay for a CX80+ with 5 games? More than I paid for the CX30+ with 4 games if we’re talking games retooled to work with trackball mode for sure 😁👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben from Plaion Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 (edited) 3 minutes ago, Sean_1970 said: More than I paid for the CX30+ with 4 games if we’re talking games retooled to work with trackball mode for sure 😁👍 It would have to be substantially more due to the size of the CX80+, tooling the molds for that beast would be many tens of thousands of dollars. Edited February 26 by Ben from Plaion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stechmann Posted February 26 Author Share Posted February 26 i would pay €100 for a trackball and 5 games... perhaps more, depending on the features and selection if games one feature that would be interesting, would be to have two buttons that are sepearate from another, like on the cx30. this would come in handy on a (patched) version of Missile Command, for example 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean_1970 Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 2 minutes ago, Ben from Plaion said: It would have to be substantially more due to the size of the CX80+, tooling the molds for that beast would be many tens of thousands of dollars. Okay, the paddles were £29.99, but that’s established controllers with established games. Given the trackball is being refreshed and the games are being retooled to support it natively would effectively be new to the console I’d do £60 without hesitation. If the games were enhanced with better graphics and sound I’d go higher, say £75 - to be honest I’d probably spend whatever you guys want to charge and I doubt I’m alone, but the real gamble is how many mad nostalgics are there? 🤔 Although I have a Couchcade that scratches that itch, I would imagine anything you guys produce hardware-wise would be better quality than that Arcade 1Up trackball and we already know the 2600+ looks great and unlike the Couchcade would use the full vertical of my screen. As to what games, the obvious ones are Centipede, Millipede, Missile Command and Crystal Castles. If someone was to work up a port of Quantum, that would be fresh as would a port of Major Havok. Or a fifth game could be the Tempest prototype retooled for trackball support (like Major Havok just using X-axis) - unless you had something else in mind? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben from Plaion Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 45 minutes ago, Sean_1970 said: Okay, the paddles were £29.99, but that’s established controllers with established games. Given the trackball is being refreshed and the games are being retooled to support it natively would effectively be new to the console I’d do £60 without hesitation. If the games were enhanced with better graphics and sound I’d go higher, say £75 - to be honest I’d probably spend whatever you guys want to charge and I doubt I’m alone, but the real gamble is how many mad nostalgics are there? 🤔 Although I have a Couchcade that scratches that itch, I would imagine anything you guys produce hardware-wise would be better quality than that Arcade 1Up trackball and we already know the 2600+ looks great and unlike the Couchcade would use the full vertical of my screen. As to what games, the obvious ones are Centipede, Millipede, Missile Command and Crystal Castles. If someone was to work up a port of Quantum, that would be fresh as would a port of Major Havok. Or a fifth game could be the Tempest prototype retooled for trackball support (like Major Havok just using X-axis) - unless you had something else in mind? Yes, indeed thats my line of thinking. Just need to get it to work. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plumbob Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 Given the high quality of the CX40+ build, I wouldn’t hesitate to pay at least $65 for a Plaion designed CX80+ trackball controller especially with 5 new games! I like the idea of a marble madness type game. I have two slightly autistic children who would probably find the tactile feel of interacting with a trackball as an input device to be quite the novelty. They have only ever experienced touch screens, Xbox controllers, and of course, the CX40+ and CX30+. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeM_ Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 12 hours ago, Ben from Plaion said: Yes, indeed thats my line of thinking. Just need to get it to work. This might be a stretch Ben, but if releasing a CX-22+ is too cost prohibitive, what would the possibility be of selling a refresh kit for the originals instead that replaces the pop-tab fire buttons and system board with new components and maybe includes a nice new (cue ball) trackball? Mine is in great shape except for the old school buttons which are no longer consistently firing. food for thought. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEANJIMMY Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 First get the support for Trakball integrated please, so we can test it. As I think about the jumpy paddles due to insufficient software resolution in scanning them, which gets noticable on some games, the support should run smooth before thinking about new hardware. Compared with Joystick, pads and paddles, a Trakball is hard to get in present time. I once bought one for 35€ with a little scratch a new one with box for 80€ but that was long time ago. Running out of space I do not have the box anymore, which I could sell now for 80 but I never cared much about boxes. My 2600+ box might go to a friend who collects (sometimes just) boxes some day as well. Space, the final frontier😉 As the only new available Trakball on ebay costs 160€ with a box, it should be possible to create a bundle which sells well. Many TB enhanced games are available on AA to be used. An 7800 version of Crystal Castles with TB suport would be a dream (I know). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben from Plaion Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 7 hours ago, DEANJIMMY said: First get the support for Trakball integrated please, so we can test it. As I think about the jumpy paddles due to insufficient software resolution in scanning them, which gets noticable on some games, the support should run smooth before thinking about new hardware. Compared with Joystick, pads and paddles, a Trakball is hard to get in present time. I once bought one for 35€ with a little scratch a new one with box for 80€ but that was long time ago. Running out of space I do not have the box anymore, which I could sell now for 80 but I never cared much about boxes. My 2600+ box might go to a friend who collects (sometimes just) boxes some day as well. Space, the final frontier😉 As the only new available Trakball on ebay costs 160€ with a box, it should be possible to create a bundle which sells well. Many TB enhanced games are available on AA to be used. An 7800 version of Crystal Castles with TB suport would be a dream (I know). I cant code for shit, but I tell you, I'm tempted to learn assembly to get into the MCU that controls the paddles positional reading and up the resolution, just so you stop mentioning it in every second post! also - you're the best Horst 😉 please keep bringing to atttention things that should be improved, its people like you that give invaluable feedback to make the product better, I greatly appreciate it. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben from Plaion Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 11 hours ago, MikeM_ said: This might be a stretch Ben, but if releasing a CX-22+ is too cost prohibitive, what would the possibility be of selling a refresh kit for the originals instead that replaces the pop-tab fire buttons and system board with new components and maybe includes a nice new (cue ball) trackball? Mine is in great shape except for the old school buttons which are no longer consistently firing. food for thought. No, I want to make one from scratch. My mind is made up. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jeremiahjt Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 On 2/26/2024 at 5:33 AM, Ben from Plaion said: How much would you pay for a CX80+ with 5 games? Probably no more than $20, but make it a CX-22+, that would be $100 easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben from Plaion Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 5 minutes ago, jeremiahjt said: Probably no more than $20, but make it a CX-22+, that would be $100 easy. Whats the difference apart from the CX80 looks better? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jeremiahjt Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 2 minutes ago, Ben from Plaion said: Whats the difference apart from the CX80 looks better? I am just joking around. Most people seem to like the CX-80 better, so I was just being contrarian. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEANJIMMY Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 3 minutes ago, Ben from Plaion said: Whats the difference apart from the CX80 looks better? The CX80 looks cool and has got much better quality🤙 I got sick of fixing the buttons of the CX22 and so I got a CX80. If you play Missile Command with a CX80 it feels great to hear the smack of the buttons and you are 100% sure to have fired a missille while the CX22 did fire so many duds... The look and feel of the CX80 is great and so was the quality. Although I added four washers to lift the top part of the case just a tiny bit to give to ball more space to roll😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben from Plaion Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 1 minute ago, DEANJIMMY said: The CX80 looks cool and has got much better quality🤙 I got sick of fixing the buttons of the CX22 and so I got a CX80. If you play Missile Command with a CX80 it feels great to hear the smack of the buttons and you are 100% sure to have fired a missille while the CX22 did fire so many duds... The look and feel of the CX80 is great and so was the quality. Although I added four washers to lift the top part of the case just a tiny bit to give to ball more space to roll😉 I couldnt beleive the design of the CX80. Never saw one till last year and I abolutely loved it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jeremiahjt Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 Thinking about this more, I believe the CX-22 was released for the 2600, and the CX-80 was released for the 8-bit computer line. For Atari to cover all their bases, they need to release a CX-22+ with a cartridge containing multiple games for the 2600+. They can then release a USB connected CX-80 for the 400 Mini and the like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicodemusLegend Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 (edited) In this theoretical world, I'm assuming we'd expect the games to be "true trackball" rather than simply rereleases of the original games. I know of a very few homebrews that have been coded for trackball that might be included. Do we already have enough (that Atari already has the rights to) to fill a multiple games cartridge satisfactorily, or would we be expecting Atari to have to code some new games? Edited February 27 by NicodemusLegend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stechmann Posted February 27 Author Share Posted February 27 (edited) this rumour about jumpy paddles, is it true? that makes three things i am waiting for to be fixed before i buy a 2600+: trackball support, smooth paddles, and uploading roms via usb Edited February 27 by Stechmann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEANJIMMY Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 41 minutes ago, Stechmann said: this rumour about jumpy paddles, is it true? that makes three things i am waiting for to be fixed before i buy a 2600+: trackball support, smooth paddles, and uploading roms via usb It depends on the game. Warlords e.g. plays very well. If it looks a bit jumpy on original HW (Super Breakout) you will notice it on the plus. For PAL games it improved on 1.1x, as the games run at 50Hz and the whole thing feels more smooth. Is it true? Steve Jobs would have said "don't hold the paddle that way"😉 It is not so bad as it sounds and I am confident it will be fixed🤙 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean_1970 Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 The paddle issues are a bit overblown. Yes, it could be smoother, but I have Super Breakout on my Evercade and in two comps on my PlayStation and I will still only play it on my 2600+ because anything other than the paddles feels like ass. I can play Crystal Castles, Centipede and Millipede with a dpad just fine, but Missile Command without a trackball (2600 port aside), is similarly bollocktastic. So yes if we can improve paddle performance yay and if we can get a trackball with retooled games that use it natively, yay! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Stamos Mullet Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Just whatever you do, don’t get tempted to make a “new” CX-80 or CX-22 with different parts, especially the rollers inside. There are lots of cheapo “arcade USB trackballs” on the market for the Arcade1up type setups and they are nearly all [i]full baby diaper in the dumpster of an Indian restaurant[/i] bad. keep with the original build with the large metal rollers on ball bearing rings (look like skateboard bearings). the one thing I would change though is the third diagonal line bearing - instead of a flat-faced bearing ring, it should just be one bearing ball so that it can spin smoothly and independently in all directions. the 3rd diagonal roller on the CX-80 is its Achilles heel. When you do a big solo spin in one direction, it makes the ball drift after a bit. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeM_ Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 @John Stamos Mullet i agree with you with one exception. I haven’t taken apart a cx80, but on the cx22 the buttons are the old metal tab style. Newer micro switches would be much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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