Atari 7800 Thread

[Rogue Trooper]

Not me.Impressive though.

Did'nt realise it was going to be FMV of: 'A Day In The Life Of CHIPTUNE from RG Forum' though. :-)

[TL]

That is native hardware too, no extra chips in the cart or anything.

[TrekMD]

I have seen that video before.  It is pretty cool!

[onthinice]

Not I. Makes me sad, it reminds me of the unreleased Fido Dido for the 16-bit era.

[davyk]

I quite like the 7800 but I have 2 issues with it. Firstly its the PAL version so I'm always thinking what the NTSC games would be like - its unlikely PAL games got any speed optimisation (can someone here shed any light on that?).

Secondly the video out really is its achilles heel in this day and age. I run mine through a VCR which helps a bit but the image still suffers from the RF output. I hear you can get mods done but they seem very fiddly and there's variable results.

Not really an issue for me but the lack of POKEY onboard hurts it too - weird decision that.

Really like the lineup - I have a small but enjoyable collection. My favourites are the oldies - the built-in Asteroids game is excellent and its rock hard too. Centipede, Joust and Food Fight would be my other favourites and I got the Pacman Collection homebrew cart from Atari Age which is the business though the PAL version's colour conversion means one of the ghosts is a bit hard to see but from looking at other games like Donkey Kong it seems to be an issue with some official PAL games too - some reds look like a bit washed out.

It being the PAL version it means I have the better NES style controllers so that's a plus though I don't use the little screw in joysticks - a mate broke one during a frenetic Demon Attack session anyhow...which brings me to the final plus - 2600 compatibility - hard to knock though I'm convinced 2600 games look better on the woody.


One more thing - the weird power adaptor connector? Bit of a worry that if it came to the point where I would need a replacement given the relative low numbers of 7800s.

[TL]

The French version of the 7800 actually has an RGB socket, which makes it very sought after. I have always said that I would like to get a French model one day for this reason. There is barely any difference between the PAL and NTSC model speed wise. The PAL console has no region locking so will play most NTSC games, the only major one that doesn't work is Robotron 2084 The American console can't play PAL only games like Sentinel though. I have lots of problems with tuning on RF on my 7800 but the colours have always looked fine, never had that problem you speak of on Pacman Collection.

[davyk]

Cool - thanks for that - nice to know I'm getting a close to full speed experience.

Strange what you mention re Pacman Collection - maybe its my 7800's hookup isn't great. I can see the ghost OK and its perfectly playable - just I have to look a bit harder than I would expect to (then again at my age - my eyes aren't what they were!!)

Added a pic of my console - no box unfortunately - it fell apart once it was opened - should have chucked it up into the loft with the other boxes I keep but for reason I binned it

Quite like Planet Smashers despite the abysmal sound and the RSI - I think it would make a great little shmup if it were remade - like the crystal warp idea.

Don't really like the ports of Galaga and Dig Dug - Dig Dug looks a bit ugly and Galaga takes too long to get challenging and then it seems to stutter a bit (and the sound is horrible!!)

Had heard of the French models but thought they were composite - RGB? Wow - would love to get my hands on one of those....

[TL]

One more thing - the weird power adaptor connector? Bit of a worry that if it came to the point where I would need a replacement given the relative low numbers of 7800s.

My PSU failed a few years back and I got a new one from Telegames UK, wasn't a problem. It can always be modded to use a different type of power supply or you can cut the plug off and re-use that.

I like the fact the PAL 7800 is a bit more overstated than the US model, looks nicer IMO:

[davyk]

Yeah - think we got the better deal look wise.


Didn't know it was region free either - are the colours OK on NTSC games?

[TL]

Yeah - think we got the better deal look wise.


Didn't know it was region free either - are the colours OK on NTSC games?

Yeah they are fine, I have all the NTSC only games. Winter Games, Water Ski, Tank Command, Rampage, Super Skateboardin' and Summer Games all work fine although some games have a bit of glitching and Summer Games crashes unless you hit select right after it starts.

[TrekMD]

Secondly the video out really is its achilles heel in this day and age. I run mine through a VCR which helps a bit but the image still suffers from the RF output. I hear you can get mods done but they seem very fiddly and there's variable results.

I found a solution for this that does not require modding.  I use a signal amplifier with the TV I use to play games.  The video is crisp and clear.

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[davyk]

cool - will have a look around for one of those!!!

[TL]

This is another cool 7800 demo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXmyDvftpd8

[TrekMD]

I think I have that rom.  It's quite impressive!

[TL]

I think I haver that rom.  It's quite impressive!

What I found most impressive about it is that it's using the TIA chip and not a POKEY!