The Atari thread 👾

[TrekMD | 1,379]

I got this update today from Carl at Songbird and I thought I'd share it here...

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After many years of wishful thinking, the Songbird website has finally completed a major overhaul. You can now browse items and add them to your shopping cart or wish list, create a user account, and use modern secure payment processing tools. I also have a blog which I will update periodically. Some particular items of interest:

    1.  Inventory is now managed online, meaning items will go out of stock automatically when the last one is ordered. It isn't complete yet but it's better than the old manual system. I have set up all item quantities to be conservative to ensure I have them in stock at the moment.
    2.  International customers can now select a couple of shipping options, depending on the weight of the order. International shipping ranges from $20-40, where $40 is insured and guaranteed but the cheaper options are not. USA customers remain at a flat $8 shipping for any order.
    3.  Songbird Lynx games which support comlynx are now available in a discounted "duo" option, where you get two curved lip carts, one box, and one manual. This allows you to pick up a second copy for comlynx at a much better price.

To celebrate, I've added some new items to the store including:

• Limited quantities of imported Telegames Jaguar and Lynx releases
• Limited quantities of SIMIS, T-tris, and Othello for the Lynx

Take the new site for a spin, and let me know if you run into any glitches!

Carl Forhan
Songbird Productions

[TrekMD | 1,379]

The guys from Champ Games have begun working on a new homebrew title for the Atari 2600 called Champ Baseball!  The game is in very early development and there are no binaries yet there are are some images of the game.

Their plans for Champ Sports Baseball include:

Multiple built-in teams (16 is the current # we're hoping to include), including unique team colors, lineups, etc.
- Team editor for name/uniform colors, etc.
- Different field types (artificial turf vs. grass)

Multiple game modes
- Exhibition mode: play with any two teams
- Tournament mode: choose a team and compete in a tournament-style march to the championship!
- Practice mode: hone your skills with batting, fielding and pitching practice

Multiple play modes:
- 1 player vs. computer
- 2 players vs. and team modes

Multiple screen views:
- Pitcher/catcher
- Infield view
- Multiple outfield views (left, left center, center, right center and right field)

Other:
- Double and triple plays
- Infield fly rule
- Bunts, sacrifice flies
- Steals, hit and runs, pickoff plays, pitch outs
- Left/right handed pitchers and batters, plus switch hitters
- Player skills (throwing, fielding, hitting, running)
- Throwing and fielding errors
- Game stats

Read more about the game here:  Champ Sports Baseball (Atari 2600)

Pitcher/catcher view with full scoreboard:

Infield view.  The solid red player - the catcher -  shows player that has the ball:

Left-center view.  The ball and shadow can be seen around 2nd base.  The yellow cross hairs show where the ball will land to aid in fielding (can be disabled for advanced players):

[Inzoreno | 102]

On 11/9/2019 at 12:51 AM, The Strangest said:

No manual unfortunately, but I was really excited to find a boxed copy from this relatively obscure developer. Some of their cartridges were only made with end labels and missing the top labels like this one.

This here is why I love Atari. While I have no interest in playing the games themselves, I love the history. It was the wild west of video games, so you could have completely obscure companies produce titles in limited quantities and then vanish without a trace. 

[Strange | 1,700]

Well, I never thought I would start collecting for the 5200 but here I am. Besides thinking that the cartridges and boxes are kind of sweet, and that the versions of the arcade classics on that console are legitimately good, I had no intention of wrestling with the documented issues of the console.

... then I found out they’re overblown. The controller can be fixed fairly easily with a kit you can buy that replaces the buttons and contacts with a more durable material that should last you as long as you need it to. I’m told the non-centering joystick is no more of a pain than the discs on the Intellivision and Colecovision, which I’m used to. And the Trak ball controller is beyond sweet.

All of this is cool, but I still wasn’t sold. Then I found out there’s a dedicated group of people converting floppy games from the 8-bit computer line to 5200 carts and I was sold. I LOVE Atari homebrew and hacks.

Anyway, enjoy the most 80s video game ad you’ve ever seen:

 

[Tulpa | 3,488]

18 minutes ago, The Strangest said:

Anyway, enjoy the most 80s video game ad you’ve ever seen:

Those people are grandparents by now.

[Strange | 1,700]

25 minutes ago, Tulpa said:

Those people are grandparents by now.

“I remember the first time I ever saw a woman, it was in an old Atari commercial!” - those dudes, probably

[captmorgandrinker | 1,649]

For any 7800 fans, Curt Vendel passed away unexpectedly on August 30th.

[TrekMD | 1,379]

I just learned about Curt's death a few minutes ago.  Really unfortunate and a great loss to the retro community.  RIP, Curt.