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[1MB ISA VGA card]

Couldn't edit my old thread. Some things I'm (still) looking for....(marked some of the more important things in bold but if you have any for sale/trade let me know).

1MB ISA VGA card
384mb of 66mhz SDRAM (either 256+128 or 128x3)
3DO/CD-i/Saturn controllers (good condition)
64 Magazine Issue 40
Acorn Archimedes A3020
CD-ROM drive(s) - anything faster than 4x. Must be beige though.
Commodore 64 Disk Drive
Creative CT2230, 2290 or CT2830 ISA sound card
Mega Drive Mouse
NTSC NES (console only)
Razer Boomslang 2100 mouse
Silver Gamecube controller
SNES mini (console only)
Voodoo 3 3000 AGP

Games:

Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (PC) - big box
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (PC) - big box
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (GBA) - cartridge only
Wario Land 4 (GBA) - cartridge only

So I made a triforce out of LED's for my sister's birthday. It's on a piece of vero-board that's approx 6x4 inches so the actual triforce is about 4x3.5 inches.... if you were wondering about the scale.





Looks even better in person.

[top-loading VHS player]

I bought a really nice top-loading VHS player a while ago for a fiver. Played tapes fine, but the idler tire had completely disintegrated so it wouldn't fast-forward, re-wind or most importantly reel the tape back up before ejecting so a bit would be hanging out the back.

I couldn't figure out how to get the actual thing out of the VCR to measure what size idler tire I needed, so I just bought a lot of 6 different kinds and tried to get one on there. It's not a perfect fit, but I did manage it.



It now works properly.

[Amstrad PC1512 (1986?)]

Don't remember if there was a thread like this on this forum. Thought I'd start it after seeing some of the posts in my 386 thread. Mine starts with....

Amstrad PC1512 (1986?) - I doubt any gaming was actually done on this, I just know it was around. It's in a picture from when I was 1 or 2.

286 (1987? - 1991) - It had big round buttons and a really nice LED numeric display. The first game I played was most likely on this. What that was though, I have no idea. Could be Sopwith, Rogue, Alleycat, 3-Demon which I know well from those days. Or possibly one of the more obscure games that I have vague memories of like Beast or Pango. It could even be Boppie's Great Word Chase which apparently we got in Canada - which would make it July 1987.

386 (1991-99?, 2014-) - This was the main machine. The one from the 386 repair thread I made. Most of the old-school PC gaming that I can remember clearly was on this. Commander Keen, Crystal Caves, Jazz Jackrabbit, Galactix, Kilo Blaster, Lemmings, Major Stryker, Lotus, the Dizzy games etc. It was still in use after it was replaced by a newer computer until around 1999.

Game Gear (1994-Present) - Despite all the computers we'd had my parents weren't fans of me or my sister spending lots of time playing video games and refused to buy a console that was specifically for gaming. For years I kept asking for a Master System or Mega Drive. I eventually had to settle for a Game Gear. It was cool at the time though but I only got a few games for it so it didn't have a massive impact on my gaming history. I still have it, caps replaced and in pretty nice condition with the original box.

P166 (1996-2001) - This was a significant upgrade at the time, having completely skipped over the 486. It meant the internet and online gaming. I first tried this with Hellbender and Quake 2 around 1998 I guess. I ended up playing a lot of Quake 2 online, initially with a 28k modem. It also meant getting up at 5 in the morning before school to play Destruction Derby. Oh yeah and CARMAGEDDON - I spent so much time playing that game.

N64 (1998-Present) - I was late to the party with this, but not too late. My friends all had N64's before I did (which is why I got one). It was a big deal for me as it was my first proper console and it was actually mine, unlike the computers which were my dads. I saved money from birthdays & xmas for it. £99.99 from Curry's (I think). The limited edition gold controller version. It was a very different experience than the PC gaming I'd done previously. Mostly due to the multiplayer. I'd played 2 player games with my sister before but this was so much different. Some of my best gaming memories come from those days playing multiplayer Goldeneye, DKR, Mario Party, Perfect Dark. It was also an interesting experience to be playing what was current. Buying magazines, reading about all the new games that were coming out and then actually buying them. We were always there or thereabouts with the PC, but never right at the cutting edge. I still have my original N64, box and everything, but I use RGB modded consoles now.

Various PC's (2001-2010) - There was no real "era" when it came to PC's at this point. I built several over the years, starting with a Duron 700 based system in 2001. I played a lot of Unreal Tournament online. Games like Morrowind, Knights of the Old Republic, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, Deus Ex are my standout games from this time-period. I even really liked the first Mass Effect and Dragon Age games, but it was around this time (2010) that I fell out with modern gaming - partially due to the sequels of those very games. My current main PC is a few years out of date, but not terribly. I could probably still play new games if I actually wanted to.

Various Consoles/Computers (2010-Present) - This is when the whole "retro" thing started. I'd had enough of modern gaming so I bought a nice 21" Trinitron, got my N64 out and so it began. Almost all of the systems in this picture were purchased from October 2010 onwards. The modding started soon after. In 2010 I couldn't use a soldering iron.

Other:

Acorn Electron (198?-199?) - Inter-weaved through my early gaming years was the Electron. My dad bought it before I was born. If the first gaming I did wasn't in fact on the 286 then it would have been on this. It was in use until some time in the early 90s when the PSU wire needed fixing. I recently fixed the wire so it is functional. However, like my original Game Gear & N64 it just sits in a box.
Mega Drive/Saturn (2001) - I did actually buy both a Mega Drive and Saturn from Cash Converters in 2001 but didn't really use them at that time.
Dreamcast (2005) - Same as above.
Gamecube (mid-2000's) - My sister bought a Gamecube in 2003 which I played a few games on. I got one a couple of years later but again, didn't play much on it at the time.

Wasn't quite sure where to put this - Tech lab, retro computers or gaming collections. Anyway...

When I think of gaming in the old days - even though there were computers before and after this, my dads 386 is what I remember most. For most people nostalgia is some kind of console or one the home computers. For me...this is it. I used it from when I was about 6 to 12 - which is one of the most memorable parts of your childhood gaming.

Kept in a loft for many years, the battery leaked and damaged the motherboard:



Probably seems weird that I'd be that attached to a PC. For most people, you change the parts... it doesn't matter. With any other computer I would have just tried to find a replacement, but I had to try and fix this one.

So, I cleaned up the area and had to find where the damaged traces linked to so I could re-wire them, which included desoldering some parts so I could see the board.  I also changed a few parts which looked like they might be damaged (after hitting a dead end). Spent a lot of time going back and forth trying again and again because every time I thought "it must work now, surely" it just wouldn't. But eventually.....





I'm not going to be too optimistic about how well it'll work once it's set up properly....or how long it'll last, but it's something.

Didn't get too many pictures of the process this time as I just wanted it to bloody work, but I'll see if I can find a couple more to upload.

[does]

I've been planning this for a while. There aren't many games that a 2D (Saturn in this case) controller would be useful for, but there are a few - a couple of 2/2.5D platformers and fighting games. Anyway, I had no idea if this would actually work - I gathered some info/pictures that described how the N64 controller board can be cut, but didn't see the end-result.

Here's how it went:


This is what's left of the N64 board:


....with the Saturn (PC) controller board:








It does work and at the moment the button config is:

A=C-Down
B=B
C=A
X=C-Up
Y=C-Left
Z=C-Right
L=Z
R=R

Like the screenshot challenge, but with random trivia (anything gaming related). Person who answers correctly asks the next question.

First question:

In which game will you find Gordon Quick?

As you may already know I hate joysticks and I've made several kinds of modified Mega Drive/Saturn controller for use with other systems before. There's this PC controller that I quite like - I have several already for the PC. I also have a drawer full of spare Mega Drive controllers that are unusable due to being completely worn out, so I made another "new" controller for my Atari/Commodore/Spectrum systems.

This controller is a later revision of one that originally had switches where I put mine. One is to connect/disconnect pin 5 - which lets you use it on an Atari ST. The other is to switch Up between the C button and Up on the D-Pad - since most of the games I'll be using this with have up as jump due to them being made for joysticks.









I made one like this a while ago using a Mega Drive style controller from a Plug & Play game system (don't think I posted this one before).





I use these on my Atari ST, 130XE, 2600, C64, Spectrum and Amiga.

[MADE]

Wasn't quite sure what thread to put this is, what section or what to call it.

I recently found this tie design that was drawn by a friend of mine back in the day. Can't actually remember who or why (except for the fact that we all had N64's).



As a birthday present my sister actually MADE me a tie based on this design.

Posted this over on a DOS games forum. I know there aren't a lot of old school PC gamers around here, but perhaps it was released on another system.

I'm looking for a game that I think was called either Boppy/Boppee or Bop-It/Boppit. Something like that.

I remember very little about it myself so I asked my sister for some help. Here's what she said...

"I think all the gameplay took place on one screen, on which there were several platforms. There were letters to collect to make a word, like on Word Rescue. I think you played as a ball*, a bit like the 'Bounders' from Commander Keen 4. The graphics were either CGA or Monochrome."

It looks something like this:



*Possbly a Pac-Man like character I think.

There's nothing else I remember about it myself. Just that it would have most likely been played on a 286 in the late 80's.

PS - It's not Boppin'

[Syberia]

Have you ever played a game that you didn't hate, maybe even liked the idea of but the gameplay just bored you to death?

I was trying to play Syberia the other day. I quite like point & click games and this one has pretty good reviews but I just found it so boring that I gave up after about an hour. I actually tried to play it 3 years ago and only made it about 30 mins back then.

Tomb Raider I also just found boring. Again, I tried a couple of times to play this hoping that it would get more interesting but I just couldn't take it.

[align=center:1czceaz2][/align:1czceaz2]

[this one]

Modded several Master System 2's before like this one. I always used to follow other guides pretty strictly so I used an MD1 style 8-pin din socket as was the common way to do it. Never really thought about why. Eventually I wondered - surely just putting a SCART connector in there would be better, right? No need to buy an expensive MD SCART lead or make yet another cable.

Here's how it turned out. Red, Green, Blue, Composite via 220uF caps & 75ohm resistors. C-Sync via 220uF cap and audio via 10uF.





I started this mod a while ago and had to leave it because I had a problem with the Master System I was using. I eventually got round to swapping the board and picked up where I left off (hence the change in the following pictures). Also, it took me a while to figure out exactly how I was going to have this all wired up so some other changes were made after this picture was taken.



...almost finished



...and from the back:



I'll post some more details on the wiring of the SCART pins when I get time.

Thought I'd try this as a forum thread for everyone else (did it in the chatbox earlier). Just name the game. Here are the first 5.

VGM Quiz 1

VGM Quiz 2

VGM Quiz 3

VGM Quiz 4

VGM Quiz 5

Answers:

1 -
2 -
3 -
4 -
5 -
6 -
7 -
8 -
9 -
10 -

So, I think I'm actually starting to prefer 8-bit games. Why? graphics.

Obviously, from a technical standpoint 16-bit games have better graphics. But that's the problem I've been having.

When a platform is just a row of blocks, I can clearly see where it starts and ends. When it's a tree branch covered in leaves or an animal or some other crap, How the hell am I supposed to know which pixel is the end? I don't. *falls off*

Also, sprite size. Everything seems way too big on 16-bit games not giving you enough time to react to what's happening. It's like playing zoomed in.

I don't know, maybe it's just the games I've been picking but they've been giving me some real trouble lately.

Anyone else have this problem?

Some of my favourites:

Beneath a Steel Sky
Dynowarz: Destruction of Spondylus
Metal Storm
Totally Rad

[Animorphs: Shattered Reality (PS1)]

How a game sounds is important for me. A good soundtrack not only makes a game memorable, but can really help you get "in the zone" when playing.

However, sometimes game music is just unbearable. This really started to happen in the 90's with CD-based systems introducing "real world" music into games. Which is a horrible idea as not everyone likes the same kind of music and eventually you end up playing something with music that you just can't stand.

Here are some examples of things that I couldn't stand.

From Animorphs: Shattered Reality (PS1)

Music from Animorphs: Shattered Reality - Place To Dwell

This was my face while playing:



From Buck Bumble (N64)   :102:

I also never played F-Zero GX for more than a minute because I couldn't stand the music.

I'm sure some will disagree and will hate some of my favourite soundtracks too, but that's why game music should just be proper old chip-tune style game music.

What games can't you stand listening to?

As you know, I like to complete games. However, on some systems it's difficult to find games that I can finish and actually have an ending. I'm aiming to complete at least one game on every system I own this year.

I'm looking for games on the:

Atari XE/XL
Atari ST
Atari 2600
BBC Micro
C64
ZX Spectrum

Also if you have any good recommendations for the CDi, 3DO and Saturn as well as I'm just not that familiar with the library of these systems.

Check this one out from a game called "Treasure Master" on the NES:



Some other favourites (by favourite, I mean most hilarious):

Hook (Master System/Mega Drive/SNES etc.) Skip to 5:10.

Master System Longplay [029] Hook (Beta)

Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow (SNES/MD/PC) Skip to 2:50 ish

SNES Longplay [257] Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow

You've probably heard of this mod before. You can get the boards here.

This is what it looks like wired up (just the blue wires).



...and here are some comparisons I recorded (best to listen with headphones):

Gley Lancer (Mega Drive 1)
Gley Lancer (Mega Drive 2)
Gley Lancer (Mega Drive 2 with CCAM)

Risky Woods (Mega Drive 1)
Risky Woods (Mega Drive 2)
Risky Woods (Mega Drive 2 with CCAM)

Shinobi 3 - Whirlwind (Mega Drive 1)
Shinobi 3 - Whirlwind (Mega Drive 2)
Shinobi 3 - Whirlwind (Mega Drive with CCAM)

Thunderforce IV - Stage 8 (Mega Drive 1)
Thunderforce IV - Stage 8 (Mega Drive 2)
Thunderforce IV - Stage 8 (Mega Drive 2 with CCAM)

Thunderforce IV - Course Select (Mega Drive 1)
Thunderforce IV - Course Select (Mega Drive 2)
Thunderforce IV - Course Select (Mega Drive 2 with CCAM)

Time Trax (Mega Drive 1)
Time Trax (Mega Drive 2)
Time Trax (Mega Drive 2 with CCAM)

While the MD2 with CCAM does sound a lot better than an MD2 without it, the Mega Drive 1 still sounds ace. On both MD2's I get some buzzing that I need to sort out. I tried to pick games that it wasn't (as) noticeable on. The crackling/fuzzy sound you get on Risky Woods highlights the difference between models quite a lot. However, with the exception of the Shinobi games, which seem to sound good with the CCAM, you just get a better bass sound on the MD1.

I should also add: I was also going to add the MD1 non-HD model to the list, but I recorded a couple of tracks and couldn't even notice the slightest difference to the HD model. I need to check the board revisions, I suspect I just don't have a late enough revision of the non-HD MD1. I was also going to add the MD1 with replacement YM3438 chip, but I've not yet got it working properly.

I was also going to add emulated sound to the list, but as my Mega Drives are all PAL machines and most of the tracks are recorded at 60hz, when playing NTSC roms the pitch is slightly different.

Unlike a lot of old games I play, I could have played this one years ago. My best friend at the time had it so I could have borrowed it. However, it looked boring so I didn't.

Many years passed and I would often hear about how great the series is. I finally decided to try it out...and guess what? I found it incredibly boring. If you've seen my completed games list for last year, you'll know I like to try and stick with a game to the end but I gave up. I had the same problem with Indiana Jones & The Infernal Machine - I don't know if I've ever tried so hard to make it to the end of a game and failed because of boredom.

With old games it's usually the difficulty that stops me, but in this case....it was just boring. I rarely play games that just feel so cold and dead that there's no fun to it at all.