exxos's Atari, Amiga & retro forum

Well, in any case, they did well to accomplish what they did on these systems (in my view esp. the 2600VCS; one of the most hardcore cycle counting, optimisation sucking machines to code for. Please read 'Racing the beam' by Ian Bogost if you havent done so already; its a great read).

I'd say they very well deserved the 'lax' dress ethic and code of conduct.

Although, is it actually questionable work code/conduct? Or have we been accustomed to progressively stricter policies over the years since? :?:

mrbombermillzy wrote: 03 Jul 2025 17:25 Well, in any case, they did well to accomplish what they did on these systems (in my view esp. the 2600VCS; one of the most hardcore cycle counting, optimisation sucking machines to code for. Please read 'Racing the beam' by Ian Bogost if you havent done so already; its a great read).

Yeah, it was a tough nut to code for that's for sure, and I have Read racing the Beam, and watched a few documentaries too :) They definitely had to have a few tricks up their sleeves. and the guys who left for Activision did some amazing things.

I remember a video taling about Atari chess and how they used a venetian blind effect on the pieces to be able to get them all on screen. I think they had to share sprites and didn't have enough without multiplexing.

I did start a UDemy course on coding for the 2600, I should get back to it really.

mrbombermillzy wrote: 03 Jul 2025 17:25 I'd say they very well deserved the 'lax' dress ethic and code of conduct.

Definitely!

mrbombermillzy wrote: 03 Jul 2025 17:25 Although, is it actually questionable work code/conduct? Or have we been accustomed to progressively stricter policies over the years since? :?:

Work policies have got worse, that's for sure, though I get to work from home 4 days a week, so I'm usually sockless/shoeless in shorts and a T-Shirt so I shouldn't complain :)

I've also discovered an oddity with the Berzerk Enhanced edition for 2600!!!

The enhanced version includes speech and it's quite an upgrade for the 2600 version. It works fine on my PLUS hardware and on my composite modded 2600 Jr, however if I run it on my light-sixer, which is UHF, whenever there is speech, it kills the display!!!

I'm now considering if the light sixer-should get a comp mod as well, or if I perhaps I just disconnect the audio input into the UHF to see if it's something to do with the audio being mixed with video in the modulator.

Might need to have a look at the caps, see if there's anything that ought to be replaced.

rubber_jonnie wrote: 03 Jul 2025 18:13 I did start a UDemy course on coding for the 2600, I should get back to it really.

Could do with some more 65xx coders around here Jon. :)

rubber_jonnie wrote: 03 Jul 2025 18:29 The enhanced version includes speech and it's quite an upgrade for the 2600 version. It works fine on my PLUS hardware and on my composite modded 2600 Jr, however if I run it on my light-sixer, which is UHF, whenever there is speech, it kills the display!!!

That definitely needs looking into.

rubber_jonnie wrote: 03 Jul 2025 18:29 Might need to have a look at the caps, see if there's anything that ought to be replaced.

That would be a good place to start.

mrbombermillzy wrote: 03 Jul 2025 18:42
Could do with some more 65xx coders around here Jon. :)

I should go back and finish it really...

mrbombermillzy wrote: 03 Jul 2025 18:42 That definitely needs looking into.

Yep, it does. Especially one of the reasons was I wanted to play it on real hardware, and though the 2600 Jr is fine, I really want to play on my light sixer.

mrbombermillzy wrote: 03 Jul 2025 18:42 That would be a good place to start.

Looking back at the pics there aren't many caps around the modulator, but worth a try I guess.

I just got a PB on 2600 Berzerk on my 2600Jr:


Sorry for the poor image quality, not sure what happened, but very happy with my score of 7880. Boy do the robots move fast and shoot fast at the higher levels.

mrbombermillzy wrote: 03 Jul 2025 18:42
That would be a good place to start.

Well, I replaced the rather limited number of caps on the 2600 modulator board, and I still get the screen disappearing, as though out of tune, when the digitised voice audio plays.

I've ordered a comp mod that takes inputs directly from the TIA, it's called CleanComp (Retrosix - CleanComp)

@exxos Weren't you trying to build a similar board at one point? I seem to remember you were.

Anyway, since this will bypass the modulator directly and take the signals straight from the TIA it should hopefully mean that the issue should be gone, a bit like the 2600 Jr with comp mod.

@rubber_jonnie I made this viewtopic.php?p=22375#p22375

Those cheap transistor only things never worked at all on my TV. Other more advanced mods wasn't great and had various issues.. Its why I built my own composite mod. I think it was as good as composite could be.

But I gave up with composite in the end and got the scart mod instead.

Before you go too far Jon, I would say that from what has been posted here it is very likely not your console, but the game:

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/35876 ... nt-5375516

From what I can ascertain (amongst the other issues caused by the game), the specific problem you are having *seems* to be because to play the speech requires the screen to momentarily blank.

As to why this only happens on your light sixer... possibly the UHF signal is less 'tolerant' to the momentary missing signal (?).

Maybe a good idea to upgrade the vid output then after all?

exxos wrote: 04 Jul 2025 13:56 @rubber_jonnie I made this viewtopic.php?p=22375#p22375

Those cheap transistor only things never worked at all on my TV. Other more advanced mods wasn't great and had various issues.. Its why I built my own composite mod. I think it was as good as composite could be.

But I gave up with composite in the end and got the scart mod instead.

I did think you gave up :)

mrbombermillzy wrote: 04 Jul 2025 13:59 Before you go too far Jon, I would say that from what has been posted here it is very likely not your console, but the game:

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/35876 ... nt-5375516

From what I can ascertain (amongst the other issues caused by the game), the specific problem you are having *seems* to be because to play the speech requires the screen to momentarily blank.

As to why this only happens on your light sixer... possibly the UHF signal is less 'tolerant' to the momentary missing signal (?).

Maybe a good idea to upgrade the vid output then after all?

So the AA post isn't quite relevant for me as I'm not using a Retrotink, I'm connecting directly to composite on my display or with the light sixer, UHF.

The Berzerk 2600 Enhanced cartridge works on both of my composite modded 2600 Jr's and my original composite modded 7800. That is composite directly into a display, nothing in the middle. If I try it in my light sixer using UHF to a TV, the screen gets scrambled and I lose video and audio, so given that I have 2 2600 Jr's and a 7800 that work just fine with standard composite, I think a composite mod to the light sixer should resolve that issue.

There is a 'But'.

If I do use my Retrotink with the 2600 Jr's and 7800, so composite in and HDMI out then I get a black screen when there is speech. I can hear the speech, but the screen is black. It comes back on in time for the next level to start though.

Similarly if I use a cheap Chineseum composite/audio to HDMI adapter with the 2600 Jr's and 7800, the screen blanks whilst audio is playing same as with the RetroTink.

So I think that composite on the light sixer should be the ticket as well, though I will use a trailing cable for composite as I don't want to drill the case, I want the light sixer to remain as original as possible.