All things Atari VCS Thread

[hansolo77]

I haven't bought many VCS games so I don't know what all is available to link.  And so far, besides my brother, you're the only other VCS user to get Batocera, so there's not much support there.  I can help from my experience.

The way I did my setup, I installed Batocera on the M.2.  The VCS has it's own dedicated storage, so there's no risk of losing it unless you're not paying attention and install on the wrong drive.  I also configured the boot order in the BIOS to load the M.2, and basically disabled the the other drives so the VCS doesn't try to load itself.  At the time, 2tb was the max size M.2 I could find, so I also added an external 4tb USB hard drive.  I also have my home server, so I link to a shared folder on that for things like foreign CD/DVD roms (full libraries, a lot more games available in Japan than were released in US,.. etc...).  It's a mess, but it works.  The problem is that my setup requires accessing the root filesystem and editing the `fstab` (file system table) to add a line that will mount the external hard drive before EmulationStation loads.  I also had to create a script that will mount the network share.  Every time the devs release a new version, I have to go back and add in those modifications.  It's not that big a deal but annoying to have to do.

You mentioned setting up controllers.  It should be fairly easy.  The VCS gamepad worked right away for me.  Mapping follows the SNES controller layout, so A & B are reversed.  But I think Batocera is moving towards using a picture of the layout rather than specific button letters.  All you have to do is plug it in.  If you don't have any other input devices connected, it will prompt for the controller to be mapped on start up.  Just hold down any button and it will bring up the configurator.  If you add any other controllers, you just need to go into the START menu of Batocera and access the controller menu and start another assignment.  So far, I've been able to map the VCS game pad, the VCS joystick (twist function doesn't work quite right), different versions of the 8bitdo controllers, an xbox360 dongle will map up to 4 controllers including guitars, the built in bluetooth on the VCS will allow for Xbox One (not series s/x) mapping.  I don't own a ps3 to check if that will map, but i'm sure it will since it's a standard bluetooth.  I've also mapped a 6-button sega genesis controller using a Mayflash adapter.  Basically, anything with a USB should be capable of being setup.  If you use the VCS gamepad, you might want to map it while plugged in and not; it will work wirelessly!  When wireless, Batocera will recognize it as an Atari Gamepad.  If wired, it will be an Atari Gamepad if the Atari Logo LED is on, and a Microsoft Xbox gamepad if the LED is off (hold Start+Select to swap).  Xbox mode is only available while wired, but it's good if you want to have rumble in games for PSX/PS2, etc.  Also, you can map the Atari Logo button as your hotkey, which is nice.  It needs playing around with though - Future Pinball only works in Atari mode because the Xbox mode doesn't supply enough configurable buttons for some reason... Clone Hero requires all other controllers disconnected except the dongle or it doesn't map the guitar when the game loads.

Something else you can play around with is DOS and Windows games.  I've added a few, like Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, Quake 3.  My brother wants to try adding WOW, but I'm like "figure it out yourself I don't want to mess with that" lol.  Batocera added flatpak in the latest release, so you can add some native Linux games through that.  Unfortunately for me, the 2 or 3 games I tried to install had no sound, which they said was a problem during the beta but should have been fixed; I created a github ticket for them but it might not get resolved quickly since none of the devs HAVE a VCS to test with.

Hit me up if you hit some snags and need help!  Of course, this thread is fine too, I still check daily.

[Draco1962]

My current setup has Batocera on a Samsung 128 GB flash drive. My M.2 is a 1 TB WD.  My setup will be a little simpler as I won't be streaming anything. 

I will probably limit myself to a few systems so the setup will probably do me well. Systems I am likely to run for starters:

- Atari 2600

- Atari 5200

- Atari 7800

- Atari 800

- Atari ST

- Nintendo GameBoy

- Nintendo N64

- Sega Game Gear

[hansolo77]

Shouldn't have any trouble with most of those.  N64 is a tricky beast, with all computers too.  For the most part, if you have your controller mapped correctly it will work fine out of the box.  Batocera provides a nice interface for tweaking almost everything.  If a system has more than one emulator (usually RetroArch, but some have standalone versions) you can select which one to use on a per system and even a per game basis.  You might have better compatibility and experience with a standalone emulator, but RetroArch is nice because it offers a much easier and uniform backend system.  RetroArch also supports retroachievements, which I think is the greatest thing to come out of emulation in a long time!

[Draco1962]

On 5/24/2018 at 2:04 PM, Draco1962 said:

Take my money! 

 

Well, in some ways they did. At least they kept that promise. 

Following is my personal opinion which may be at odds with other purchasers, but when has that stopped me?

First, despite promises of fixes and support for the VCS, Atari has been inconsistent at best. Hardware compatibility, Bluetooth,and wireless issues add to tbe struggles for most. I have avoided most.

Software issues, especially with the Recharged series, continue to plague the VCS marketplace. Fixes are abundant for Steam patrons, but not the Atari-reborn or flagship system.

Instead of providing a clean dual-boot system for VCS or PC mode, well, nothing. You have to unplug your external drive or go thtough s convoluted and poorly documented bootstrap to a consumer added m.2 drive. 

Too many obstacles and empty promises. There are some that sing its praises and I will likely put my upgraded system for sale to the songbirds at a reasonable price. I have been down the Atari path paved in gold plate before. Better to get off the path before investing more and the path rubs off on my feet and turns my soles green.

[hansolo77]

I agree.  Pretty upset about the whole thing.  It still has much potential, but they lack the fundamentals.  Very short on staff.  A lack of drive and motiviation from the higher level staff.  No enticing timeline and release schedule/plans.  They lack developers and engineers.  I don't know why they haven't released games that Atari made years ago on older systems that run just fine in emulation.  Not just stuff like Atari 2600, but even stuff they developed recently.  They're still picking up the pieces on their underlying system backends.  Not only is the hardware faulty and needing matured, the software itself is glitchy at best.  The OS/online functionality is practically useless.  I don't know if it's because it's running low level, but it acts like it needs a hypervisor supporting CPU.  You can't "switch screens", like have a game playing and decide to watch Netflix.  You have to close the program to open another.  Even Windows 3.1 could do multi-tasking if memory serves.  I'm tired of seeing "new" games being released that are purposely "retro-fied".  The hardware, fractured as it is, is capable of so much better.  I just wish they had more to offer.  The ship is sinking fast.

[Draco1962]

Not sure if this real, a tease, or just someone trying to hitch a ride on the Atari horse...

Atari VR Headset

It looks nice, has some old-school features down to the 80s earphone design.

[tthurman]

“Yanko Design”

 

[Draco1962]

5 hours ago, tthurman said:

“Yanko Design”

 

Yup. Never heard of them.

[hansolo77]

I'd call that a fake.  It'd be interesting if it's not, but come on.  They had like 1 game back in the 80's they had developed to use their VR headset they were creating back then, and it flopped.  I would say this is true ONLY if I saw an official announcement, from something like my subscription mailing list.  Not heard anything.

[Draco1962]

It plays PONG!