what pack in game could compete with DK?

[CPUWIZ]

(and I currently do not even own a 5200 at the present time).

 

I can fix that problem for you, send me a PM.

[Dutchman2000]

Kenfused-

 

The buttons work now in DKJR, they are a little on the sensitive side but they do work. Might need to debounce the keyboard.

 

I'd love to see one on one basketball on the 5200 but I don't think it's possible as the game needs more then 16k of memory.

[tyranthraxus]

Kenfused-

 

The buttons work now in DKJR, they are a little on the sensitive side but they do work.  Might need to debounce the keyboard.

 

I'd love to see one on one basketball on the 5200 but I don't think it's possible as the game needs more then 16k of memory.

 

Yeah memory restrictions certainly foil a lot of wish lists. These are

some games that I think would fit the 5200 well:

 

Spy hunter, Gauntlent, MULE, Arkanoid & Satan's Hollow

 

John

[Ferris]

Tempest.

[sku_u]

Kenfused-

 

The buttons work now in DKJR, they are a little on the sensitive side but they do work.  Might need to debounce the keyboard.

 

I'd love to see one on one basketball on the 5200 but I don't think it's possible as the game needs more then 16k of memory.

 

Yeah memory restrictions certainly foil a lot of wish lists. These are

some games that I think would fit the 5200 well:

 

Spy hunter, Gauntlent, MULE, Arkanoid & Satan's Hollow

 

John

 

I second Satan's Hollow.

[kenfused]

 

Yeah memory restrictions certainly foil a lot of wish lists. These are

some games that I think would fit the 5200 well:

 

Spy hunter, Gauntlent, MULE, Arkanoid & Satan's Hollow

 

John

 

I second Satan's Hollow.

 

The Satan's Hollow's Hollow binary I have looks like it was a cartrige so it is probably doable as long as it does not need more than 16K RAM

 

The following criteria are important for easy convertion.

Cartriges with 16K ROM requiring 16K RAM

Games that load from disk or tape and require 16K RAM.

Cartriges with 32K ROM if it happens to copy 16K ROM to $4000-$7FFF (probably unlikely to be any of these).

More complex games would probably require 16K static RAM and/or bank switched ROM in the cartridge.

Note: All of the conversion I have done are done by adding some support code and patching the originals. A complete disassembly/reassembly would be possible but would require a lot more work. Is there a good list of cartriges that were available for the 8-bit computers and not the 5200...my big fear is creating a game that already exists in a prototype somewhere. Also, would anybody be interested in any old magazine ML games some of which could probably have multiple games available on one cartridge.

[+Allan]

 Also, would anybody be interested in any old magazine ML games some of which could probably have multiple games available on one cartridge.

 

Yes, that would be cool. Maybe some of JD Casten's games. What would be neat would be to do some non-game programs that don't require to many keyboard inputs like music programs, puzzles, card games, etc.

 

As far as games go I'd like to see Eastern Front, Caverns of Mars, Fort Apocalypse, Blue Max, Lode Runner, one of the Monopoly clones.

 

Allan

[kenfused]

They didn't put a r/!w line on the cartridge port :-(. That kinda leaves out supplementing the RAM for some games.

[RangerG]

Is there anyway AA or others will make repro carts of the 5200 DK? I'm dreaming of a new line or repro carts (the Atari 8-bit port line). Kenconfused - thanks for the effort and keep it up. This thread shoud be renamed or another one started because this is big news for 5200 fans.

[jetset]

So....who is going to make a label for DK and DK Jr. ?????

[PacManPlus]

Hopefully this will do for now:

[A2600]

Personal Pic:

Pole Position

Joust

 

Salesman Pic:

Pac-Man

Centipeade

 

RE-Repack in:

For 1983:

Jungle Hunt

 

Forget About Game for Pack-In:

Any Sports game!

[A2600]

Is there anyway AA or others will make repro carts of the 5200 DK? I'm dreaming of a new line or repro carts (the Atari 8-bit port line). Kenconfused - thanks for the effort and keep it up. This thread shoud be renamed or another one started because this is big news for 5200 fans.

 

Eventhough I have DK for the 400/800 on disk I would love to see/have a 5200 release!!

[jetset]

OH

MY

GOD !!!!

 

You 5200 fans HAVE to get these games made on a cart! I had both made and they absolutely rock! I LOVE THEM (both!)

Donkey Kong looks and sounds GREAT! I played it on the emulator, but only casually so I didnt get very far. This version has ALL the levels, including the pie (cement) factory!!!! I wasn't even thinking about it when I was playing, but it popped up after I cleared a level. I practicially jumped out of my seat when I saw it!

Call me a fanboy...but it's better than the Colecovision version, hands down!

DK Jr is awesome as well. The control is kinda touchy, and the game itself is tough, especially the 2nd screen with the keys. And I don't know if it has the 4th level (mario's laboratory), I haven't gotten that far. Nonetheless it's great!

I used the jpg files made by pacmanplus (Thanks man!) and made labels. Not very pretty looking (my printer sucks), but I sat them both in my bin with all the others and just STARED thinking "this is SO cool! FINALLY I have DK & DK Jr for the 5200!"

 

I know...the Atari 400/800 owners here aren't impressed....you've had this for years. I cant help being excited!!!!

 

TRUST me though....if you need convincing take my word for it, it's worth the money!!! Have someone who knows how burn you a copy.

[DEBRO]

This is the first I saw this.

@kenfused Excellent work!

[Vic George 2K3]

Looks good so far.

[mechanized]

Tempest.

 

Ungh. My dorky heart was veritably crushed when I found out there was no Tempest for the 5200.

 

Fortuantely there were enough quality titles (and a 2600 converter) to keep me interested.

 

And hey, I got my 5200 at a yard sale, it's practically new, and it came with three (malfunctioning) controllers, a trak-ball, and sixteen games. That was the clencher in which Atari system I bought.

[Mock]

I just found this out after talking with CPUWIZ and all I can say is WOW!

 

Very cool of you to do the conversion and I hope more will surface over time!

 

Mock

[DEBRO]

Two small things here...

 

There seems to be a little slight delay when pausing the game in Atari800WinPLus. Has anyone noticed this on the 5200? It's not a big deal but I thought I'd point it out if you wanted to change it.

 

Also, isn't it standard that the 5200 games go to game select when RESET is pressed? Right now you're doing a cold restart which will erase the high score and jump the player back to the boot up screen.

[jetset]

Two small things here...

 

There seems to be a little slight delay when pausing the game in Atari800WinPLus. Has anyone noticed this on the 5200? It's not a big deal but I thought I'd point it out if you wanted to change it.

 

Also, isn't it standard that the 5200 games go to game select when RESET is pressed? Right now you're doing a cold restart which will erase the high score and jump the player back to the boot up screen.

 

Yes, there is a teeny bit of hesitation in the pause on the 5200.

I haven't checked yet what happens with reset though..

[thegamezmaster]

Great Work!

[VectorGamer]

I think of the games that I played that work well with the analog controller my pick would be Pole Position. Others mentioned Pac-Man, but that game would have exposed the flaw of non-centering joysticks.

[+wongojack]

Great another version of Donkey Kong . . .

 

 

I am not really familiar with what was available at launch for the system, but I agree with the comment in one of the earlier posts that Coleco blew the roof off with DK as a pack in. They changed the thinking about the pack in game and Nintendo was paying attention. I think Atari was planning on Super Breakout as a "safe" launch title to do exactly what VectorGamer suggests - highlight the strengths of the system but also do it without giving away their most valuable properties. I happen to really like the 5200 version of SB, but it is definitely not going to gain many sales over DK.

 

Some of the suggestions that have been made are interesting to consider:

Berzerk

Pole Position

Centipede

Pac Man

 

I think that perhaps Pole Position makes the most sense from that list, but Pac Man is the one we all know they were counting on to move consoles.

 

I don't know if it was released yet, but I would add Defender to the list, and if there is any way they could have managed to give away the controller holder and Robotron as a pack in, that would have probably given CV some competition.

[Lord_Bobster]

I've given this a lot of thought. And being recently brought in as a co-host of the Atari 5200 Super Podcast (That's right. Captain Bob, here), I've been picking away at the decisions that Atari was making at the time with this console and all the missed opportunities that could have been capitalized on.

 

I've come up with some ideas that could have helped sell this machine. Just to let you know I'm not just blowing sunshine here, I used to work in sales and merchandising with Anheuser-Busch so I have a little background on this.

 

The main goal is to sell the system. How do you do that. Make people want it and make people talk about it. So what is the game that can do that? Here's my tips:

1. Mass appeal.

2. Household recognition.

3. Easy to learn and challenging to master.

4. A nearly faithful port from the arcade.

5. Showcases the strength of the console.

6. A thank you to the faithful.

So, in my opinion, Atari's best bet would have been Centipede. We go back to the list for this.

 

1. DK was loved by everyone. While Centipede was not as cuddly as DK, it had appeal to both men and women. Heck! It was even designed by a woman! Atari even had the numbers that showed this and they still chose to ignore them.

 

2. Here's where Pac-Man wins hands down, but the maze games, as we all know, are miserable to play with those analog joysticks. Other games were better known but I did not know of one kid who didn't know what Centipede was. Not as popular as Pac-Man or DK but it was right up there and the licensing was in-house. No payoffs to anyone but themselves.

 

3. Centipede is intuitive. It's a snap to understand this game. In the arcade, it was put in your quarter, move sprite with trak-ball, shoot anything that moved. With a little practice you could have an extra man. With a little more work you could start developing patterns and see how the bugs behaved. Then you could really rack up some high scores! Skills that could transfer to the arcade machine!

 

4. The July 1983 issue of JoyStik Magazine had a review of the 5200's port of Centipede. Five out of five stars were given to it. Their explanation? It's is exactly like the arcade in every way. Atari was originally going to call this the Personal Arcade Machine (PAM. It's prototype name). What better way to prove this than to have a game that is exactly like its arcade twin. Without a doubt, the true arcade experience at home. Try to beat that!

 

5. As we all know, there were very few games that worked well with the analog controllers. The engineering department even rebelled against marketing because of the controllers. But this was a game that showcased the power of analog. The previously mention JoyStik review even mentions that the controls are "fluid" and you can zip around the screen as you would in the arcade. And this game would have driven up demand for the Trak-Ball accessory which would have helped sales overall.

 

6. Here's where Atari really dropped the ball. People were not use to the concept of upgrading equipment and they didn't understand that these machines had limitations. When people bought something in this era it was going to be in the house for the next 20+ years. I call it the washing machine mentality. No matter what washing machine you buy it works the same. I put clothes and soap in it, I turn it on, it cleans my clothes. I buy a new one when this one breaks down. I remember my dad wanting to buy a game that was for the 5200 (In fact, I think it was Centipede) that was being demo'd in a store and finding out it wouldn't work in our 2600. The concept of buying another machine to upgrade was completely foreign to him. But he considered it! You had to have a game that was something your faithful customers felt like they were getting payback from Atari to invest in the new machine and get the people who didn't understand the concept of upgrading equipment to overcome it. Centipede did just that!

 

So that's my two cents and another $52 dollars on top of it. If anything, I hope this sparks a lively debate and we can have some fun with it.

Also, a shameless plug! Don't forget to listen to the Atari 5200 Super Podcast hosted by Willie and Ar-Kay! Hope to have all of you listening soon!

[thevnaguy]

One word Kenfused. AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you made me a very happy Willie!