The 400 Mini

[infinite.pies]

Despite my initial enthusiasm, I've cooled on the 400 after reading first impressions on here.

 

Amazon still hasn't despatched my order, so I just cancelled it.

 

For now, I'll spend the money on 2600 games instead.

 

I might have another look at the 400 in future when it's all settled down a bit. I might be tempted if it ever becomes available to buy locally, although I don't think any of the Retro Games consoles have ever been sold here.

 

 

[Brad_from_the_80s]

I went back and loaded some 8-bit software.  The 8-bit Pac-Man plays without issue.  5200 might work okay with another controller (Xbox/PS) and some fine-tuning, but not with the included CXSTICK.  Tried a few more classics and generally easy to start and play, although a few I tried have to be run as 130XL.  The 8-bit Pole Position was kind of cool because you actually need to use low gear. 

[shane857]

Just watched MetalJesusRocks review the 400 mini on youtube. Apparently the issues people are having with the included joysick not functioning properly with games like LEE, are due to the sensitivity/how much force you put on the joystick.

Less/more gentle force apparently fixes this slightly. 🤔

[+LS650]

30 minutes ago, shane857 said:

Just watched MetalJesusRocks review the 400 mini on youtube. Apparently the issues people are having with the included joysick not functioning properly with games like LEE, are due to the sensitivity/how much force you put on the joystick.  Less/more gentle force apparently fixes this slightly. 🤔

Which sounds like a CYA crock of stuff to me. 

C'mon, gamers have been using the CX-40 for 45 years: you're going to tell them now, "You're doing it all wrong"..?

 

[shane857]

3 hours ago, LS650 said:

Which sounds like a CYA crock of stuff to me. 

C'mon, gamers have been using the CX-40 for 45 years: you're going to tell them now, "You're doing it all wrong"..?

 

I have not got a 400 mini. Just wanted to post this for people who have bought it and experiencing original controller issues...

[MikeM_]

Just got my CXStick and can report that mine isn’t too bad. It’s not perfect, and the CX40+ is definitely superior (Thank you @Ben from Plaion for the outstanding work you did on that. You deserve a raise for everything you have done so far to make the 2600+ the premier Atari product in their catalog), but it’s mostly a good controller for me on my RecalBox. 
 

I suspect that with a break-in period, it might become better. One of the rare examples where a used one might end up better than a new one. We’ll see. 
 

@Ben from Plaion Any chance that your equivalent product manager for The400 or someone at least on that project would be willing to start contributing to the discussions over in that forum? There is a bit of damage control needed I think to address the word of mouth trend that is already happening around the controllers.
 

Having a direct line to the company like we’ve had with you would go a long way towards easing the tone over there. 

[Ben from Plaion]

23 hours ago, MikeM_ said:

 

@Ben from Plaion Any chance that your equivalent product manager for The400 or someone at least on that project would be willing to start contributing to the discussions over in that forum? There is a bit of damage control needed I think to address the word of mouth trend that is already happening around the controllers.
 

Having a direct line to the company like we’ve had with you would go a long way towards easing the tone over there. 

I'll pass this message on to relevant person.

 

Thanks

[Sean_1970]

My CX stick works fine, but why it’s doing some weird shit with 5200 carts is beyond me. I’ll try my PS4 controller with those in the hopes the analogue thumb sticks work, but other than Super Breakout what would play differently with digital controls? Beamrider is basically unplayable because directions are randomly detected for some reason…

[+LS650]

I received my 400 Mini today, and I've spent the last 3 or 4 hours trying a variety of different games out.  My opinion: the 400 Mini is a nice try, but it could have been better with just a bit more effort.  The tiny main unit actually does a decent job of emulating the old 8-bits, and I have had very little trouble loading a wide number of different games.  I would give the system itself a 9 out of 10.  If I find fault with anything, it's that it's actually too small.  I don't think it needs to be full-size, but I think the 400 Mini needs more physical heft to it.  Maybe 80% scale like the Plus would have been ideal.

 

There's been a lot of negative comments about the CX-stick.  I find the stick itself is decent for control.  I've seen some folks complaining of false diagonal inputs, and I haven't seen anything like that.  I find the stick reasonably responsive, as is the fire button.  I've also read complaints of people frequently hitting the four 'ring' buttons during game play - and that I do agree with.  In a couple of games (Ms. Pacman, Dig Dug) I was in the middle of a game that was going well, and I accidentally pressed against the Left ring button with the base of my thumb.  This corresponds to the Option key, and ends those games immediately, taking you back to the Select/Options screen.  Maddening. Whenever I try a game I haven't played previously, my first step is to remove the Option key mapping from the left Ring button.  Luckily the 400 saves this mapping for each individual game file, but what a pain.

 

I find this flaw puzzling, because I stumbled into this within 30 minutes of playing.  How was this not noticed early in the development stage?  It feels to me like the team was so eager to do something 'clever' like putting functionality into the orange ring, that they didn't actually test it with a lot of games.  I've tried putting the CX-stick into another USB port, and then trying a couple of different gamepads in port 1.  That works out for some games, yet, others it did not.

 

I really think the designers should have just left the ring as a solid decoration like the original CX-40, and put some buttons on the front edge, similar to the Menu/Home buttons.  Now that I think about it, a possible software fix would be to have the Mini only recognize the Ring buttons if they pressed in pair with one of the other buttons such as the shoulder or Menu button.  Overall, I think I'll get my money's worth out of the 400 Mini, but the controller is somewhat flawed, and this could have easily been fixed early on. 

 

 

[DEANJIMMY]

1 hour ago, LS650 said:

How was this not noticed early in the development stage? 

Well, 5200 included 😂

[shane857]

15 hours ago, LS650 said:

I received my 400 Mini today, and I've spent the last 3 or 4 hours trying a variety of different games out.  My opinion: the 400 Mini is a nice try, but it could have been better with just a bit more effort.  The tiny main unit actually does a decent job of emulating the old 8-bits, and I have had very little trouble loading a wide number of different games.  I would give the system itself a 9 out of 10.  If I find fault with anything, it's that it's actually too small.  I don't think it needs to be full-size, but I think the 400 Mini needs more physical heft to it.  Maybe 80% scale like the Plus would have been ideal.

 

There's been a lot of negative comments about the CX-stick.  I find the stick itself is decent for control.  I've seen some folks complaining of false diagonal inputs, and I haven't seen anything like that.  I find the stick reasonably responsive, as is the fire button.  I've also read complaints of people frequently hitting the four 'ring' buttons during game play - and that I do agree with.  In a couple of games (Ms. Pacman, Dig Dug) I was in the middle of a game that was going well, and I accidentally pressed against the Left ring button with the base of my thumb.  This corresponds to the Select key I believe, and ends those games immediately, taking you back to the Select/Options screen.  Maddening - and I don't think there's an elegant solution, other than to just hold the joystick more carefully.

 

I find this flaw puzzling, because I stumbled into this within 30 minutes of playing.  How was this not noticed early in the development stage?  It feels to me like the team was so eager to do something 'clever' like putting functionality into the orange ring, that they didn't actually test it with a lot of games.  I've tried putting the CX-stick into another USB port, and then trying a couple of different gamepads in port 1.  That works out for some games, yet, others it did not.

 

I really think the designers should have just left the ring as a solid decoration like the original CX-40, and put some buttons on the front edge, similar to the Menu/Home buttons.  Now that I think about it, a possible software fix would be to have the Mini only recognize the Ring buttons if they pressed in pair with one of the other buttons such as the shoulder or Menu button.  Overall, I think I'll get my money's worth out of the 400 Mini, but the controller is seriously flawed, and this could have easily been fixed early on. 

 

 

Yes, I agree not as much effort as the 2600+.

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]