atari vcs and classic games?

[markboston36]

so is there a way for me to get games like space invaders dig dug three stooges pole position etc on the vcs? the vault on the store seems very limited in the games it has and i’m not able to find them searching directly in the store. 

[MikeM_]

There isn’t a way in the AtariOS to play your own ROMs. You’re pretty much going to be limited to the IP Atari currently has control over. 
 

If playing ROMs is what you’d like to do on your VCS, PC mode is the answer. Put an OS on a USB drive, install an emulator and there you go. 

[zzip]

Some people have reported success adding roms to the VCS's built in Stella

 

For maximum flexibility you'll need to go with PC Mode,  Batocera is a pretty slick emulation environment that you can put on a USB, just add your own games.

[SuperZapperRecharge]

7 hours ago, zzip said:

Batocera is a pretty slick emulation environment that you can put on a USB, just add your own games.

Second using Batocera. Makes the system feels like a super retro console!

I play  Atari 2600, 5200, 7880, 8-bit, Arcade, NES, SNES, N64, Vectrex all on the Atari VCS

 

Multi-boot into AtariOS, Batocera, Ubuntu, Windows 11 and soon straight into Stella or Gopher(Just for the latest emulators).

[markboston36]

for batocera what version should i pick? when i clicked on download its asking me what hardware i have. i don't see a choice for atari vcs. should i just pick a generic x86?

[markboston36]

i now see steam deck as a choice. is it using the same amd chip as the vcs?

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

19 minutes ago, markboston36 said:

i now see steam deck as a choice. is it using the same amd chip as the vcs?

The Steam Deck definitely has a more powerful APU. Designed to run more demanding games than the AtariVCS hands down. 

 

[markboston36]

i have batocera booted up. can i install this onto the vcs? or do i have to use it in live disk mode?

[markboston36]

so i have tested out batocera. i must say i am stunned by how many people i see recommending this i had a lot of issues with it. the main problem i had and why im not using it anymore is for some reason my controller(atari classic) would randomly stop working. the only way i could get it to work again is to unplug and re plug it. yes i know its bluetooth but i'd rather have a wired controlled.

 

also i did try updating the software which took a very long time despite my 1200gpbs(i usually get around a gig or slightly under) connection. then when it rebooted the system appeared to be locked. i let it sit thinking it was updating and just not showing the status but i let it sit for 10 minutes and still a black screen. so i rebooted thinking the update just failed, however according to the system info at least im updated to v40.

 

this software seems like a joke the collection of roms i downloaded don't have  any box art despite having that setting turned on and selecting it to use "fan art". i can understand some games being missing but everything in the atari directory? i have over 2000 games.

 

i can understand joe shmoe's game not having art but space invaders? or pitfall? oh another issue i had i tried playing space invaders but quit it because i didn't have the proper setting for aspect ratio or resolution. correcting that i went back to try space invaders again only now its not in my library anymore. 

[MikeM_]

Personally, I use RecalBox on my raspberry pi for emulation, and I do see they have an x86 version which would probably work on the VCS. 
 

I like the interface and have had very little issues with it. Just an option to consider if Batocera isn’t to your liking. 

[zzip]

On 3/29/2024 at 9:15 PM, OldSchoolRetroGamer said:

The Steam Deck definitely has a more powerful APU. Designed to run more demanding games than the AtariVCS hands down. 

But for emulation that won't matter unless you try emulating systems beyond say the PS2

 

On 3/30/2024 at 6:30 PM, markboston36 said:

i can understand joe shmoe's game not having art but space invaders? or pitfall? oh another issue i had i tried playing space invaders but quit it because i didn't have the proper setting for aspect ratio or resolution. correcting that i went back to try space invaders again only now its not in my library anymore. 

 

Found this on reddit about getting art to work:

 

Batocera, like any other EmulationStation frontend based setup, requires a gamelist.xml in the folder with the roms which lists each rom and contains lines which reference the name and location of any images and videos as well as Metadata like game synopsis, developer, release date, etc.

If you don't want to do all this by hand, you can either use the built in scraper in batocera or on a windows pc you can use an app like skraper.net to grab the art and videos as well as build the gamelist.xml file all in one shot and then just copy over the results.

[markboston36]

i think scrapping is turned on by default?

[SuperZapperRecharge]

On 3/30/2024 at 6:30 PM, markboston36 said:

so i have tested out batocera. i must say i am stunned by how many people i see recommending this i had a lot of issues with it. the main problem i had and why im not using it anymore is for some reason my controller(atari classic) would randomly stop working. the only way i could get it to work again is to unplug and re plug it. yes i know its bluetooth but i'd rather have a wired controlled.

 

also i did try updating the software which took a very long time despite my 1200gpbs(i usually get around a gig or slightly under) connection. then when it rebooted the system appeared to be locked. i let it sit thinking it was updating and just not showing the status but i let it sit for 10 minutes and still a black screen. so i rebooted thinking the update just failed, however according to the system info at least im updated to v40.

 

this software seems like a joke the collection of roms i downloaded don't have  any box art despite having that setting turned on and selecting it to use "fan art". i can understand some games being missing but everything in the atari directory? i have over 2000 games.

 

i can understand joe shmoe's game not having art but space invaders? or pitfall? oh another issue i had i tried playing space invaders but quit it because i didn't have the proper setting for aspect ratio or resolution. correcting that i went back to try space invaders again only now its not in my library anymore. 

Here is the YouTube video I followed.

Getting box art and videos is a bit of work but fully possible if you follow a few you tube videos. Definitely need to scrape to get the box art.

I do a Patrion donation of $5 per month for their great scraping database. It's a French based site.

Edited April 6 by SuperZapperRecharge