ATARI 5200 SUPERSYSTEM FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Version 3.0 October 22, 1998 Maintained by Keita Iida and John Hardie Send additions/comments/corrections/suggestions to: keita@mindspring.com Copyright (c) 1996-1998 by Keita Iida, John Hardie, Atari Gaming Headquarters and others where noted. This file may be reproduced, in whole or part, provided the content of that portion reproduced is not modified, the copyright and contributors sections remain intact, and no fee is charged for the information. The data contained herein is provided for information purposes only. No warranty is made with regards to the accuracy of this information. * Where to get the latest copy of the Atari 5200 FAQ * ASCII (plain text) version: http://www.atarihq.com/5200/5200faq/5200faq.txt HTML version (for easy navigation) http://www.atarihq.com/5200/5200faq/ Usenet newsgroups where this FAQ is posted regularly: alt.games.video.classic rec.games.video classic rec.games.video.atari Finally, you can always ask for a copy at keita@mindspring.com. ------------- Contributors: ------------- Dan Boris Kevan Hearn Leonard Herman Brian Holscher Kevin Horton Jerry Jessop Mike Kahler Sean Kelly Bo Krogsgaard Scot Leibacher John Vivian Matthews Russ Perry, Jr. Scottie Prince Pete Schmek Joe Scoleri Jay Tilton ------------ Game Raters: ------------ Ralph Barbagallo (RB) Edward A. Brunner (EB) Clint Dyer (CD) Kevan Hearn (KHe) Kevin Horton (KH) Keita Iida (KI) Jeffry Johnston (JJ) Todd Lawrence (TL) John Vivian Matthews (JVM) Daniel A. Mazurowski (DAM) Dan Mowczan (DM) Daniel Edward Reinholtz (DER) Tony Salvaro (TS) Mike St.Clair (MSC) Jay Tilton (JT) Casey Wales (CW) Bert Whetstone (BW) ----------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS ----------------- FOREWARD by Sean Kelly 1.0) General Information 1.1 -- What is the Atari 5200 SuperSystem? 1.2 -- Did you know? 2.0) Cartridge Information 2.1 -- Atari 5200 game list 2.2 -- Label/game/box variations 2.3 -- Games believed not to exist 2.4 -- The best and worst 5200 games 2.5 -- General software info, tidbits, cheats and easter eggs 2.6 -- What's the REAL story behind Cloak and Dagger? 2.7 -- What games are compatible with the Trak-ball controller? 2.8 -- What is the 5200 Multicart and how can I get one? 3.0) Hardware Information 3.1 -- Hardware known to exist 3.2 -- Hardware believed not to exist 3.3 -- General hardware tidbits 3.4 -- What was the top-secret "Puffer Project"? 4.0) Technical Info and Hardware Specifications 4.1 -- Hardware specifications 4.2 -- Hardware overview 4.3 -- Memory map 4.4 -- BIOS 4.5 -- 5200 controller pinout 4.6 -- Cartridge slot pinout 4.7 -- Expansion port pinout 4.8 -- What are the differences between the 2-port and 4-port models? 4.9 -- How can the 4-port model be modified to work with the VCS cartridge adapter? 4.10 - 2-port production modifications 4.11 - Logic board IC chip functions 4.12 - Differences between the 5200 and Atari 8-bit computers 4.13 - Chroma/Luma (composite video) and audio output modification 4.14 - How do I build a switchbox for the 4-port 5200? 5.0) Maintenance, Replacement and Repair Tips 5.1 -- 5200 console 5.2 -- 5200 controllers 5.21 -- Cleaning and maintenance 5.22 -- Replacing and repairing 5200 controllers 6.0) Alternatives to the Standard Controllers 6.1 -- Third party joystick controllers 6.2 -- Masterplay Interface 6.3 -- Build your own 2600 joystick adapter 6.4 -- PC analog joystick to 5200 adapter 6.5 -- Standard Atari 5200 joystick with microswitch-fitted fire buttons 6.6 -- Converting a standard 5200 joystick to a paddle controller 7.0) Atari 5200 Emulators 8.0) Other Resources 8.1 -- Internet Resources 8.11 -- World Wide Web Pages 8.12 -- USENET Newsgroups 8.13 -- Internet Relay Chat (IRC) 8.14 -- FTP Sites 8.2 -- Books and periodicals 9.0) Atari 5200 Dealers -------- FOREWARD -------- BY SEAN KELLY I don't know that I would call myself anything of an expert on the Atari 5200, but I have played virtually every game for the system and actually like many of them whereas I'm not a real big fan of the 2600. The one thing that comes to most people's minds when the subject of the 5200 is brought up is its God-forsaken controllers, and rightfully so - they're undoubtedly one of the worst controllers made for any system in my opinion. However, the problem that I'd like to address for a few here is the fact that its lousy controllers have overshadowed the system overall which is NOT cool. Intellivision fans have dealt with what most people consider awful controllers, but they still enjoy many of the good games Mattel put out for the system so it doesn't make much sense why the 5200's faults can't be overlooked in the controller department - or does it. Atari launched the 5200 on the heels of what was (and still is) one of the most popular videogame systems of all time - the 2600. A system that set a standard for controllers to be followed for decades. Mattel went in its own direction from day one and pretty much went after people looking for a little more out of their video- games. Not necessarily "more" overall, but in terms of involvement. While the 2600 has several different types of controllers available for it, the system's basic capabilities just didn't offer the programmer much of a chance to get too far into their games no matter what controller they programmed it for. So as game systems advanced and Atari began to realize that there was only so much that programmers were going to be able to get out of the 2600, they came up with what was called the "Video System X" in its early stages of development. The system was to have a keypad like Intellivision and Colecovision, probably an excellent idea on Atari's part as it allows for a much wider array of gameplay options, but then they apparently felt they had to revolutionize the controller industry once again and decided to attach an analog joystick to that keypad! The 2600's controllers are what's called "digital," meaning you are either pressing a button or you're not. The joystick itself is simply a set of four buttons under the stick that you unknowingly press when you move the joystick in a direction. An analog signal measures HOW FAR you're moving the joystick which, here again I have to admit, does make for some interesting gameplay options, but since the 5200's sticks do not spring back to the center position when you let go of the stick it's difficult to get used to. Who's gonna complain about the keypad they came out with though? Start, pause and reset right on the controller? Gotta like that a lot! Now the games made for the 5200 are a completely different story and pretty much the whole point of my writing here. Most of the games on the system are fantastic! If you look at the games released for the Atari 400/800, which uses standard digital joysticks, they were excellent in many cases. The computer didn't have the controller problems the 5200 had and the games and computer were very well received. Since the 5200 is nothing more than an Atari 8-bit 400/800 with a few minor modifications, like games, for the most part, are quite similar, if not exactly carbon copies! Of course, the 5200 had many games that were not available on its 8-bit computer counterpart (and quite a few games that were available for both systems were superior on the 5200), so it's definitely worth getting into if you haven't already. Some of the classic ports are excellent and still not found on any other system. Space Dungeon immediately springs to mind. Some of the third-party controllers you will find described here overcome the problems of Atari's controller and could practically be called life-savers for the system. Check into a Competition Pro or Wico joystick if you absolutely cannot stand the Atari sticks. Better still is the Masterplay Interface if you can get your hands on one - they're pretty hard to come by. Judging the system by its controllers sucks in my opinion. Try and work around them if you can't deal with them and you'll be treated to a library of some of the very best games ever made! ========================== 1.0) GENERAL INFORMATION ========================== 1.1 -- WHAT IS THE ATARI 5200 SUPERSYSTEM? ------------------------------------------ The Atari 5200 SuperSystem premiered in 1982, and was the successor to the venerable VCS (2600) which dominated the first wave of cartridge-based home videogame systems. The 5200 offered improved graphics and several features not found on any other system during its time. When the 5200 was first unveiled, Atari had solid reasons for optimism. After all, beneath the sleek, uncluttered exterior of the unit lurked the throbbing power of a 16K computer designed specifically to play high-quality games. The heart of the Super System was, in essence, an Atari 400/800 computer, the most powerful 8-bit home computer system of its era, and thus games could theoretically be easily (and rapidly) ported between the two machines. The controllers have a small calculator-sized numeric keypad and two fire buttons are located at each side. The controller was a gallant attempt at cross-breeding the trak-ball and conventional joystick. It uses an analog control mechanism, offering a full 360 degrees of mobility instead of the usual 4 or 8 positions. There is a speed control built-in, which, on specific cartridges, allows the player to speed up the action. The harder the stick is pushed to any given direction, the faster the on-screen moving object will zip across the playfield. Also found on the controller is a "pause" button which enables the player to put any game on hold for as long as he likes. This now-standard feature on modern systems was first pioneered on the 5200. Atari's attempt at revolutionizing the joystick, however, turned out to be a mixed bag. The controllers do not self-center, making games like Pole Position and Star Raiders a joy to play. On the other hand, games that demand precise, 4-way input from the player (like Pac-Man) can be an exercise in frustration for many gamers. In addition, the joysticks are infamous for being among the most unreliable controllers ever made. In addition to the then-futuristic but flakey controllers, the SuperSystem offered several other advancements in hardware design. 4-port 5200 systems utilized a special switch box where the power supply plugs directly into the switch box and not the system itself. Furthermore, the switch box was automatic, meaning the user was no longer required to walk to the back of the television and select between "TV" or "Game" each time to select the mode he or she desired (later 2-port systems reverted back to the standard RF switchbox found in just about ever other game console.) In addition, a special feature only found in the 5200 put the screen on silent black when you change cartridges (no more raspy white noise.) Although the 5200 enjoyed moderate success during its heyday, the gaming public never completely warmed to the SuperSystem, and the "Great Videogame Crash of 1983" helped to seal its fate along with the rest of the home videogame consoles. It should be noted, however, that the 5200 was outselling the Colecovision when Atari decided to pull the plug on its advanced video game system in 1984. The software selection at launch consisted mostly of proven but tired classics that failed to utilize the 5200's audio/visual talents. Titles such as Super Breakout, Galaxian and Space Invaders were unsuccessful in generating excitement among gamers who were looking for the "next wave" in console gaming. Once the system passed through its introductory period, however, Atari began to liberally salt the 5200 library with glittering new gems like Qix, Vanguard, Robotron:2084, Space Dungeon, Pengo, Joust and Ms. Pac-Man. Atari also had first call on games marketed by its coin-op arm, which brought arcade hits such as Dig Dug, Pole Position and Centipede home. By the time the 5200 was settled in with a respectable library of quality titles, however, it was too late. The Great Crash of 1983 was well under way, and the 5200 joined the likes of Colecovision, Vectrex, Intellivision and others as the home console market came crumbling down. As a result, there is an inordinately high number of prototypes which exist for the 5200. Upon hindsight, the reasons as to why the 5200 never became the sales success that Atari had hoped are quite apparent. Despite being a large company for its time, not even a behemoth like Atari had the means to support four product lines with quality games for each (2600, 5200, 400/800 and coin-op). Resources which should have been allocated for 5200 game development went instead to the 2600, a system which was on its last legs and already saturated with software from Atari and its third party publishers. In addition, the fact that the 5200 was not compatible with the 2600 put off many 2600 owners who had accumulated a substantial library of games for the system (a VCS adapter which allowed 2600 games to be played on the 5200 was later released). Furthermore, although the 5200 was a quantum leap beyond the 2600 in terms of technology, the SuperSystem was not that much better than Colecovision and Vectrex. But perhaps the main factor that led to the doom of the 5200 -- and, for that matter, the entire home gaming industry -- was the result of the rapid price drop of affordable game-oriented computers like the Atari 800XL and Commodore 64, both of which were sub-$300 gaming machines that also doubled as computing and productivity devices. Today, the Atari 5200 is a favorite among retrogamers, nostalgists and collectors. While many of the coin-op translations have subsequently been improved upon by modern systems, there are an abundance of compelling games that no gamer should be without. Space Dungeon, Rescue on Fractalus, Qix, Beamrider, Gremlins, Bounty Bob Strikes Back (the spectacular sequel to Miner 2049er), Pengo, Wizard of Wor, Berzerk, Missile Command and Centipede are some of the shining stars among the impressive repertoire of 5200 cartridges. The latter two are especially enjoyable when played with the optional Trak-ball controller. For those who are more gamer than collector and have $125 to burn, he or she can purchase a 5200 multicart from Sean Kelly. Not only does the multicart contain every released game in the 5200 library, but virtually every prototype game known to exist is included as well! And that's a good thing when you consider that the SuperSystem has an outrageously large amount of prototypes, some of which are fantastic. (Jr. Pac-Man, Xari Arena, Meebzork, Millipede and Track and Field come to mind). Despite its relative small library of games and being a lukewarm seller in the early 1980s (compared to the 2600), the Atari 5200 has a significant following of die-hard enthusiasts and collectors who recognize its excellence as a gaming machine. And that, folks, speaks volumes about a home videogame system that rode off into the sunset over a decade ago! 1.2 -- DID YOU KNOW? -------------------- The 5200 was originally conceived as Atari's answer to Mattel's Intellivision, NOT the Colecovision as many people think. As an example, the 5200's analog joystick was a response to Mattel touting its unit having 16 positions of movement compared to the 2600's eight. Atari's plan was to upstage the Intellivision in this area by creating an analog controller with 360 degrees of full motion control. The 5200 was created at a time when poor marketing and questionable company policy ran rampant within Atari. The 5200 controller was developed by an individual who had NEVER even played a single video game in his life! Response to the controllers from focus groups and clinics were poor, but the marketing arm stubbornly insisted on releasing the system with the "groundbreaking" elements intact. In addition, the controller was partially influenced by corporate policy where hardware designers and engineers were offered bonuses for creating designs that received patents. Not surprisingly, many engineers and designers developed hardware that were innovative for the sake of being "original", with complete disregard for functionality. The engineers were so adamant in their disapproval of the 5200's controllers that they sent a petition to the director of engineering in hopes that the non-centering joystick would not be released in its finished form. The wedge-shape design of the 5200 was influenced mainly by the 2700 (aka. "RC Stella"), a prototype remote-controlled 2600. Other 2700 design features, such as the side-mounted fire buttons and the non- self-centering joystick mechanism, carried over to the 5200 design as well. The Atari 3600 (aka. "Silvia") was originally planned as the successor to the 2600. Silvia's bizarre 10-bit chip set (similar to the Intellivision) was designed in 1978-79. One must remember that the shelf life of typical home videogame systems during this period was generally two years at most, and Atari did not, in its wildest dreams, foresee the 2600 becoming the awesome videogaming force that it eventually became. The 3600 was killed by the game programmers who complained that it was too difficult to program games for the machine (as if 2600 game development was any cakewalk). Code names had always been popular at Warner Atari. The VCS was internally referred to as "Stella," the 400 computer was "Candy," the 800 was "Coleen" and the 5200 was nicknamed "Pam." All of the aforementioned machines were named after well-endowed female employees who were working at Atari. The 5200 was unique in that Atari strongly considered using Pam as the actual name of the unit before changing it to "Video System X" and eventually deciding on 5200. Why? Because it would have been the abbreviation for "Personal Arcade Machine." ============================ 2.0) CARTRIDGE INFORMATION ============================ 2.1 -- ATARI 5200 GAME LIST --------------------------- Rarity Ratings are as follows: C-, C, C+ ---- Common U-, U, U+ ---- Uncommon R-, R, R+ ---- Rare ER-, ER, ER+ - Extremely Rare UR ----------- Unbelievably Rare PROTO -------- Prototype only NR ----------- Not believed to exist, even as a prototype For example, an ER cart would be slightly more common than an ER+ and harder to find than an ER- game. GAMES THAT WERE RELEASED OR HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED TO EXIST -------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------- Over- Title Publisher Product # Rarity lay? ----- --------- --------- ------ ----- A.E. Atari PROTO NO ASTEROIDS Atari CX 5201 PROTO NO ASTRO CHASE Parker Brothers 9560 R+ NO BALLBLAZER Atari/Lucasfilm CX 5255 R NO BAR ROOM BASEBALL Atari PROTO NO BATTLEZONE Atari CX 5239 PROTO NO BEAMRIDER Activision FZ-009 ER- NO BEHIND JAGGI LINES Atari/Lucasfilm CX 5254 PROTO NO BERZERK Atari CX 5221 U NO BLACK BELT Atari CX 5231 PROTO NO BLUE PRINT CBS Electronics 80033 R- YES BOOGIE DEMO CART Atari PROTO NO BOUNTY BOB STRIKES BACK Big Five Soft. ER NO BUCK ROGERS: PLANET Sega 005-02 R- NO OF ZOOM CENTIPEDE Atari CX 5215 C YES CHOPLIFTER Atari CX 5253 R NO CONGO BONGO Sega 006-02 R- NO COUNTERMEASURE Atari CX 5210 C YES CRAM CARTRIDGE Atari ? NO DECATHLON Activision FZ-008 U NO DEFENDER Atari CX 5218 C YES DIAGNOSTIC CARTRIDGE Atari FD100144 ER NO DIG DUG Atari CX 5211 C+ NO DREADNAUGHT FACTOR, THE Activision FZ-005 R- NO FAIL SAFE Atari CX 5210 PROTO NO FINAL LEGACY Atari CX 5256 PROTO NO FOOTBALL Atari CX 5207 C YES FRISKY TOM Atari PROTO NO FROGGER Parker Brothers 9530 C+ YES FROGGER II: THREEEDEEP! Parker Brothers 9090 ER NO GALAXIAN Atari CX 5206 C YES GORF CBS Electronics 80013 R- YES GREMLINS Atari CX 5257 ER- NO GYRUSS Parker Brothers 9080 R NO H.E.R.O. Activision FZ-007 R NO JAMES BOND 007 Parker Brothers 9100 ER NO JOUST Atari CX 5240 U- NO JR. PAC-MAN Atari CX 5251 PROTO NO JUNGLE HUNT Atari CX 5222 U- NO JUNGLE RIVER CRUISE Atari PROTO NO K-RAZY SHOOTOUT CBS Electronics 80503 ER+ YES KABOOM! Activision FZ-001 U YES KANGAROO Atari CX 5229 C+ NO KEYSTONE KAPERS Activision FZ-006 U NO LAST STARFIGHTER, THE Atari CX 5260 PROTO NO LOONEY TUNES HOTEL Atari PROTO NO MARIO BROTHERS Atari CX 5247 U+ NO MEEBZORK Atari PROTO NO MEGAMANIA Activision FZ-003 U NO METEORITES Electra Concepts UR NO MICRO-GAMMON SB Atari PROTO NO MILLIPEDE Atari CX 5248 PROTO NO MINIATURE GOLF Atari CX 5230 PROTO NO MINER 2049ER Big Five Soft. BF1912 R+ NO MISSILE COMMAND Atari CX 5202 C+ YES MONTEZUMA'S REVENGE Parker Brothers 9460 R+ NO MOON PATROL Atari CX 5241 U NO MOUNTAIN KING CBS Electronics 80083 R YES MR. DO'S CASTLE Parker Brothers 9420 ER- NO MS. PAC-MAN Atari CX 5243 U- NO PAC-MAN Atari CX 5208 C- YES PENGO Atari CX 5236 R- NO PETE'S TEST CARTRIDGE Atari PROTO NO PITFALL! Activision FZ-004 U NO PITFALL II Activision FZ-011 U+ NO POLE POSITION Atari CX 5217 C+ NO POPEYE Parker Brothers 9510 C+ NO Q*BERT Parker Brothers 9500 C+ NO QIX Atari CX 5121 U- YES QUEST FOR QUINTANA ROO Sunrise Software #1603 ER- NO REALSPORTS BASEBALL Atari CX 5209 U YES REALSPORTS BASKETBALL Atari CX 5219 PROTO NO REALSPORTS FOOTBALL Atari CX 5207 C YES REALSPORTS SOCCER Atari CX 5213 C+ YES REALSPORTS TENNIS Atari CX 5214 U+ YES RESCUE ON FRACTALUS! Atari/Lucasfilm CX 5254 ER- NO RIVER RAID Activision FZ-002 U YES ROAD RUNNER Atari CX 5242 PROTO NO ROBOTRON: 2084 Atari CX 5225 U+ NO SOCCER Atari CX 5213 C YES SPACE DUNGEON Atari CX 5232 U NO SPACE INVADERS Atari CX 5204 C YES SPACE SHUTTLE Activision FZ-012 U+ YES SPITFIRE Atari PROTO NO SPORT GOOFY Atari CX 5237 PROTO NO STARGATE Atari CX 5252 PROTO NO STAR RAIDERS Atari CX 5205 C+ YES STAR TREK Sega 004-02 R NO STAR WARS ROTJ: DEATH Parker Brothers 9060 ER+ NO STAR BATTLE STAR WARS: THE ARCADE Parker Brothers 9040 R+ NO GAME SUPER BREAKOUT Atari CX 5203 C- YES SUPER COBRA Parker Brothers 9550 R NO SUPER PAC-MAN Atari PROTO NO TEMPEST Atari CX 5220 PROTO NO TICKER TAPE DEMO Atari PROTO NO TRACK 'N FIELD Atari CX 5258 PROTO NO TUMBLEWEEDS Atari PROTO NO VANGUARD Atari CX 5216 U- NO WIZARD OF WOR CBS Electronics 80003 R- YES XARI ARENA Atari PROTO NO XEVIOUS Atari CX 5246 PROTO NO YELLOW SUBMARINE DEMO Atari PROTO NO ZAXXON Sega 008-02 ER+ NO ZENJI Activision FZ-010 ER NO ZONE RANGER Activision FZ-101 R+ NO 2.2 -- LABEL/GAME/BOX VARIATIONS -------------------------------- As far as Atari releases are concerned, there are four main cart label variations. All Atari-released 5200 carts are similar in that there is only a front label, and no side or end labels. 1) Games with a copyright of 1982 have a large "ATARI" logo with the 5200 logo beside it. In addition, the trademark information and copyright dates are on the bottom edge of the front label, underneath the illustration. 2) Games with a copyright of 1983/84 are similar to the 1982 labels, with a few exceptions. The "Atari" logo (with the 5200 on the side) is smaller and is shifted to the top right side of the label. To the left of the logo, it reads "VIDEO GAME CARTRIDGE" and "ATARI 5200 SUPERSYSTEM," both with rather small fonts. The trademark and copyright information is on the left side of the label. 3) The labels on the 1986 Atari Corporation releases are exactly like the 1983/84 Atari Inc. carts, but with one MAJOR difference-- the title of the game is not mentioned anywhere on the cart! The illustration on the label is the only hint of what game the cart actually is. Of course, the game titles are typed on the front of the box and on the instruction manual. All Ballblazer and Rescue on Fractalus carts have this label, and the following titles are known to have this variation as well (along with the standard 1982 or 1983/84 label): Space Invaders Vanguard 4) Another minor variation found on Atari-released 5200 carts are the grayish labels (as opposed to the normal silver color) in some of the Atari Corp. releases. The label is dull-gray in appearance like the ones found in late release 2600 and 7800 carts. A few other Atari-released label oddities exist. For example, there is a 1986 release of Dig Dug which has the title on the cart, which is unlike almost any other 1986 release or re-release. 5) Football was later renamed Realsports Football. The title for Soccer was also later changed to Realsports Soccer. Differences in titles and slight alterations in the cart/box art work notwithstanding, the gameplay for both titles is the same. Both Bounty Bob Strikes Back and Miner 2049er by Big Five Software both have two different labels. The more common of the two variations features a picture label on a red case. A precious few have a silver foil label with plain text, which is much more difficult to find than the picture label carts. Zone Ranger by Activision comes in two flavors. The earlier release has a regular illustrated label, the type used in all other Activision games. The later, and more common version (mostly seen being sold by Telegames) has a silver foil label with black text. Masterplay Interface by Electra Concepts has two different boxes. The Masterplay was originally packaged in a small black box with red pinstripes and no illustration. Later (and more common) units had larger boxes with pictures and illustrations. Several late Activision releases for the 5200 have unusual box and manual variations. Whether it was a result of a cost-cutting initiative or merely a foul-up on their part, we may never know. Quite a few of the late releases come in 2600 boxes! Although they supposedly shipped that way from the factory as brand-new 5200 carts, the box clearly states "for Atari 2600" and in some cases states "for Colecovision." Some of these boxes have "for Atari 5200" stickers pasted on the box over where it originally stated a different system. That's not all. Some of the manuals included with the game were nothing more than photocopies with shrunken down text. Some of the manuals were also made with instructions for more than one version of that particular game (i.e., Pitfall for the 2600, Colecovision and Atari 5200). Finally, quite a few of the Activision releases had either manuals for the wrong system or had NO manuals packaged with the game! 2.3 -- GAMES NOT CONFIRMED TO EXIST ----------------------------------- Title Publisher Product # ----- --------- --------- ADVENTURE Atari ARABIAN Atari ASTEROIDS DELUXE Atari (Same as Asteroids?) ASTRO GROVER Atari CX 5233 BIG BIRD HIDE 'N SEEK Atari CX 5235 BLACK WIDOW Atari (Joystick connector) BRISTLES First Star Soft. BUMP 'N JUMP Sega CAMPAIGN '84 Sunrise Software CHESS Parker Brothers CLOAK AND DAGGER Atari (Joystick Connector) CRYSTAL CASTLES Atari CX 5223 (Trak-ball) DOMINO MAN CBS Electronics 80133 DONALD DUCK Atari CX 5244 DRAGONSTOMPER Starpath DUKES OF HAZZARD Atari ELEVATOR ACTION Atari CX 5250 ESCAPE FROM THE Starpath MINDMASTER ESPIAL Tigervision FALL GUY, THE 20th Century Fox FATHOM Imagic FLIP & FLOP First Star Soft. FOOD FIGHT Atari CX 5245 FOOTBALL Atari (For Video System X) GALAGA Atari CX 5228 GRAVITAR Atari CX 5224 HIGHWAY Atari CX 5227 INDIANA JONES AND THE Atari TEMPLE OF DOOM JAWBREAKER Sierra On-Line KRULL Atari LASER GATES Imagic LEGACY, THE Atari (Renamed Final Legacy) LOCO-MOTION Atari CX 5226 LODE RUNNER Broderbund MADDEN FOOTBALL CBS Electronics 80123 MAD PLANETS Parker Brothers MAJOR HAVOC Atari MARTIAL ARTS Atari CX 5231 MOONSWEEPER Imagic MS. PAC-MAN Atari ("Puffer" Edition) MUPPET GO-ROUND Atari CX 5234 OMEGA RACE CBS 80093 ORBITER Atari CX 5250 (Last Starfighter?) PARTY MIX Starpath POLARIS Tigervision 700752 POLE POSITION Atari ("Puffer" Edition) PURSUIT OF THE PINK Probe 2000 (Odyssey) PANTHER QUANTUM Atari (Trak-ball) QUICK STEP Imagic RABBIT TRANSIT Starpath RISK Parker Brothers RIVER PATROL Tigervision 700452 SATAN'S HOLLOW CBS 80143 SCRAPER CAPER Big Five Soft. SERPENTINE Broderbund SINISTAR Atari CX 5249 SKIING Atari SOLAR FOX CBS Electronics SPACE DUEL Atari SPRINGER Tigervision 700652 SPY HUNTER Sega STAR TREK III: SEARCH Sega FOR SPOCK STAR TREK: THE MOTION Milton Bradley PICTURE STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE Parker Brothers STRIKES BACK SUBTERFUGE Atari CX 5238 SUPERMAN III Atari CX 5222 SURVIVAL ISLAND Starpath SWEAT: THE DECATHLON Starpath GAME TAC-SCAN Sega TANK Atari CX 5210 TANK BATTLE Atari TAPPER Sega TOY BIZARRE Activision TUNNEL RUNNER CBS Electronics TUTANKHAM Parker Brothers 9540 UP 'N DOWN Sega WARP WARS Activision WINGS CBS Electronics WING WAR Imagic WRATH OF QUINTANA ROO Sunrise Software 2.4 -- THE BEST AND WORST 5200 GAMES ------------------------------------ 5200 gamers were asked to rate each game that they played, in both graphics and gameplay, on a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being best). Below are the results (ranked in order of their average gameplay scores). In an attempt to eliminate skew, the high and low scores are dropped when a game receives enough ratings from contributors. Only games that have been rated by at least three voters will be included in the poll. Otherwise, the sampling error would simply be too large for reliable scores. If you would like to contribute as a game rater, by all means drop me a line! Gameplay Graphics # Raters -------- -------- -------- 1. Montezuma's Revenge 4.71 4.43 (7) 2. Rescue on Fractalus! 4.6 4.2 (5) 3. Space Dungeon 4.5 4.08 (12) 4. Zaxxon 4.43 4.57 (7) 5. Pitfall II 4.33 4.33 (12) 6. Star Raiders 4.27 3.8 (15) Qix 4.27 3.73 (11) 8. Ballblazer 4.25 4.5 (8) 9. Wizard of Wor 4.22 4 (9) 10. Defender 4.15 4 (13) 11. Gyruss 4.14 3.29 (7) 12. Centipede 4.13 3.6 (15) 13. Moon Patrol 4.1 3.9 (10) Robotron: 2084 4.1 3.7 (10) 15. Jr. Pac-Man (Proto) 4 3.75 (4) Millipede 4 3.5 (4) Gremlins 4 3.8 (5) Choplifter! 4 3.14 (7) Miner 2049er 4 3.36 (11) Frogger II: Threeedeep! 4 4 (7) Mountain King 4 2.89 (9) Pengo 4 3.89 (8) 23. Pitfall! 3.9 3.6 (10) 24. Joust 3.87 3.87 (15) 25. Ms. Pac-Man 3.83 4.08 (12) Beamrider 3.83 3.5 (6) 27. Kaboom! 3.82 3.27 (11) 28. Bounty Bob Strikes Back 3.8 3.8 (5) Zone Ranger 3.8 3.8 (10) 30. River Raid 3.79 3.64 (14) 31. H.E.R.O. 3.75 3.75 (4) 32. Mario Bros. 3.73 3.55 (11) 33. Dig Dug 3.71 3.71 (14) Missile Command 3.71 3.36 (14) 35. Megamania 3.7 3.6 (10) 36. Xari Arena (Proto) 3.67 3.33 (3) Xevious (Proto) 3.67 3 (3) Star Trek 3.67 3.56 (9) 39. Pac-Man 3.6 3.73 (15) 40. Keystone Kapers 3.56 3.78 (9) 41. Berzerk 3.54 3.08 (13) 42. Jungle Hunt 3.5 3.83 (12) Vanguard 3.5 3.58 (12) Dreadnaught Factor, The 3.5 4 (8) Pole Position 3.5 3.43 (14) 46. RealSports Baseball 3.44 3.44 (9) 47. Q*Bert 3.38 3.46 (13) 48. Last Starfighter (Proto) 3.33 3.33 (3) 49. Galaxian 3.31 3.38 (16) 50. Buck Rogers 3.3 3.3 (10) 51. Frogger 3.25 3.83 (12) Gorf 3.25 3.38 (8) 53. Kangaroo 3.2 2.87 (15) 54. Blue Print 3.08 3.5 (12) 55. RealSports Tennis 3 3.33 (6) Mr. Do's Castle 3 2.86 (7) Super Cobra 3 3.33 (6) Super Breakout 3 2.71 (17) 59. Popeye 2.92 3.15 (13) 60. Star Wars: The Arcade Game 2.89 3.11 (9) 61. RealSports Soccer 2.88 2.62 (8) 62. Countermeasure 2.79 2.93 (14) 63. Astro Chase 2.75 3.62 (8) Meteorites 2.75 2.25 (4) Star Wars ROTJ: Death Star 2.75 2.75 (4) Battle 66. RealSports Football 2.73 2.64 (11) 67. Space Invaders 2.69 2.62 (13) 68. Road Runner (Proto) 2.67 2.67 (3) Zenji 2.67 2.67 (3) 70. Decathlon 2.6 3 (5) 71. Battlezone (Proto) 2.5 2 (4) 72. Space Shuttle 2.43 3.43 (7) 73. James Bond 007 2.29 2.57 (7) 74. Congo Bongo 2.27 2.27 (11) 75. Miniature Golf (Proto) 2 2 (3) 76. Quest for Quintana Roo 1.2 2.4 (5) PROVISIONALLY RATED (not enough responses for these games yet) ------------------- Super Pac-Man (Proto) 5 5 (2) Centipede ("Killer") 5 3 (1) Tempest (Proto) 4 5 (2) Final Legacy 3.5 3.5 (2) Track and Field (Proto) 3.5 3.5 (2) K-Razy Shootout 3.5 2 (2) Black Belt (Proto) 2.5 3.5 (2) Sport Goofy (Proto) 2 2 (2) Looney Tunes Hotel (Proto) 2 1.5 (2) Micro-gammon SB (Proto) 2.5 3 (2) Spitfire (Proto) 2 3 (2) Asteroids (Proto) 1.5 2 (2) RealSports Basketball (Proto) 1.5 1.5 (2) Comments from the Gamers ------------------------ The ratings after each comment are the scores given by that particular individual. A "5/4" would stand for Gameplay=4 Graphics=5. Asteroids (KI) - It's no wonder Atari canned the game. Sloppy isn't a brutal enough description of the controls. (1/2) Astro Chase (TL) - I don't understand it. What's the point? Graphics are good though. (score not given) Ballblazer (BW) - One of my all time favorites on any platform! (4/5) (KI) - Split screen, first person perspective and two player simultaneous gameplay. Who could ask for anything more? (4/5) Battlezone (Prototype) (DM) - How did they manage to make this game so bad? Redefined character sets made the tanks and obstacles unscalable, and just made the whole thing look like a bad game you typed-in on your own 8-bit from Antic magazine or something. (3/1) (KI) - No wonder this game was never released. (2/2) Berzerk (TL) - This cool game taught me how to fight like a robot instead of chicken. (4/4) (EB) - Best home version of this game. Speech is cool! (4/4) Black Belt (KI) - A very early and unfinished fighting game. Shows promise but the lack of collision detection makes it hard to judge the game. (2/3) Bounty Bob Strikes Back (KHe)- All I can say is "WOW!" I thought Miner 2049er was great (and it still is), but Bounty Bob is king! This game is incredibly fun AND challenging. It takes the best elements of Miner, then expands on them. There is so I like about this game: Lots-o-levels, tons of strategy, humor, warps, and a special configuration page to boot. Even the high score entry and display pages are great. This game is a definite 5/5 for graphics/playability. Thank you Bill Hogue! (5/5) (DER)- Game play is really different. Takes all the fun of Miner 2049er out, sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between the two except for the different colors. It's really difficult to jump from one level to another. I'll say it again; game play is really difficult. (1/2) Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom (DER)- A game I like except I wish they would have taken it further and made the graphics a bit better a la Ballblazer. A distant predecessor to games like 1942. (4/3) Centipede (DM) - My 5/5 rating is really based on the fact that this is a port, it's just a plain good 5200 version. Smooth moving enemies, fantastic sound, and the trak-ball makes this probably one of my favorite 5200 titles. (5/5) (KHe)- Gameplay improves when using trak-ball. (EB) - Different from (and better than) the Atari 8-bit Computer version. (4/3) (JJ) - Beats Atari Computer version by a mile. (5/5) Congo Bongo (JT) - Hate this damn game. Cheezy 3-D perspective doesn't work at all. (1/2) (DER)- It's an OK game. I liked playing it in the arcade, but the 5200 version is kinda lame. The opening level seems like a big splotch of yellow with some brown added to it. (3/3) (EB) - Awful, just awful. (1/2) Countermeasure (TL) - The 5200's version of Combat. (4/2) Decathlon (KI) - If you want to kill your joystick by playing this game, be my guest. Don't say that I didn't warn you, though. Decent enough game for those who don't mind the risk of thrashing their controllers. (2/4) Defender (DER)- I consider this game the "feel-good" game of the Atari series. It seems no matter how bad you are playing, you can always rack up a high score. I like Defender a lot, it's one of my all-time faves. (5/3) (TL) - Not a big fan of the game but the graphics are outstanding! (3/5) (KI) - Smooth gameplay coupled with the absence of flicker (unlike the 2600 version) combine to make this one of the most faithful ports of Defender on any classic system. (4/4) Dig Dug (DER)- I've seen better ports of this than the 5200 version, but there's something about Dig Dug I like that I can't put a finger on. An entertaining game. (3/3) Final Legacy (KI) - None of the sub-games is good enough to stand on its own, but judged as a whole it's slightly more enjoyable than Countermeasure. (3/4) Frogger (JT) - Friggin' retarded control scheme. (2/5) (TL) - What a sissy concept for a game. (2/3) (KHe)- Looks good, but button/joystick combo that you have to use to control Frogger's movement is a pain. Keypad controlling is even worse. (2/4) (KI) - Play this game with the Masterplay and you'll change your mind, guys :) (4/4) Frogger II: Threeedeep! (DER)- I like this game a lot. One of the last games I got before they became impossible to get. As a matter of fact, this game IS impossible to get. I like the graphics and it's a big improvement over the first one. (4/4) (KI) - Great sequel, but this game is bound to frustrate even the best gamers with its absurd difficulty. (4/4) Galaxian (BW) - Looks and plays like Galaxian, but just lacks something. (4/3) (DER)- This game is haunted by the fact that the game play and screens never change. (See also Space Invaders). I like this better than Space Invaders, however. (3/3) Gorf (TL) - I can't give it a 5/5 because they forgot the Galaxian level. Otherwise it is awesome! (4/5) Gyruss (JT) - Fantastic music. (4/5) (KI) - Along with Ballblazer, Pengo and Moon Patrol, this game is a showcase title of the 5200's remarkable audio capabilities. (4/3) James Bond 007 (KI) - An insanely difficult game, and an awful one to boot. (2/3) Joust (KI) - A faithful home port of the Williams coin-op. (4/4) Jungle Hunt (KHe)- Is it just me or is the final scene much more difficult than in the original coin-op? (3/4) (KI) - Most people either love this game or despise it. I'm somewhere in between, however. (3/4) K-Razy Shootout (KI) - A decent ripoff of Berzerk on a system that already has an (almost) pixel perfect port of the real thing. (3/2) Kaboom! (DM) - Although many people believe playing Kaboom! without a paddle is some kind of sacrilege, I love this version of the game. With the 5200 joystick, you're simply controlling the same potentiometer in the controller, but with a knob on the 2600 and a stick on the 5200. Output is analog either way. Plus, the 1812 Overture really gets me pumped up! (5/4) (KI) - The option of allowing a second player to play as the Mad Bomber is a cool feature not found in any other version of Kaboom! (4/3) Kangaroo (TL) - This game is downright stupid. The graphics are even worse. I bet they had Commodore shaking in their boots at the time. (1/1) (KI) - Controlling Mama-roo is tricky with the standard 5200 joystick, but this game truly shines for those lucky enough to have a third-party controller. (4/4) Mario Bros. (KHe)- Great port. Fun, especially with two players. (5/4) Megamania (TL) - Cool graphics, but redundant as #@$%. (3/4) (DM) - I love this game. Apart from the fact that this game just feels a little different from the 2600 version that we're all used to, this game is terrific in every way. And aside from the game, the label and box art are quite superior to its 2600 counterpart. If this one had come out first, they would have laughed the 2600 version out the door. (5/5) Meteorites (KI) - A pretty decent Asteroids clone. Speaking of which, whatever happened to Asteroids??? (4/3) Micro-gammon SB (Prototype) (DM) - I'm glad they used the highest resolution possible for at least one game. The computer may not be a very good backgammon player, but they really had a great idea here and I'm sorry it wasn't released. (3/5) Millipede (Prototype) (KI) - Absolutely phenomenal. The trak-ball option puts this version above the technically superior NES edition. (5/4) Miner 2049er (DER)- This game is everything that BBSB isn't. Easy to play, not too difficult, OK graphics, just a lot of fun. (4/2) (KHe)- Great game! Was my favorite as a kid. (5/5) Missile Command (TL) - This game has it all! Easily my favorite 5200 game and among my favorites of all time. Anyone have a trak-ball for sale? (5/5) (DM) - With two buttons and a keypad available, having only one missile base is inexcusable. They even fit two bases into the Atari ST version, using each button on the mouse. Why couldn't Atari port their own game worth a "bleep"? (2/3) Mountain King (KHe)- Fun; are the higher levels winnable? (5/3) Mr. Do's Castle (DM) - After seeing the Colecovision version, this is just plain sad. The 5200 could certainly have moved the Do-meister and the Chameleon Unicorns around better than it did. (3/2) Ms. Pac-Man (DER)- The successor to Pac-Man is more challenging than the original, and gameplay is better. (4/3) Pac-Man (TL) - The screen is just too wide. And what happened to the great sound effects that were included in the 2600 version? (3/2) Pengo (KHe)- Fun! I liked the arcade game, but wasn't too good at it. Played this version a lot! Great port (5/3) (KI) - A pixel perfect port of the coin-op cult classic. (4/5) Pitfall! (BW) - I actually like 2600 Pitfall better! (3/3) Pitfall II: Lost Caverns (KI) - For an additional challenge, try the secret Adventurer's world! (5/4) Pole Position (BW) - Made me want a 5200 back in the day (4/4) Popeye (TL) - Graphics leave a bit to be desired. (3/2) (KI) - Never cared for Nintendo's coin-op version, so the 5200 one doesn't do much for me. (3/3) Q*Bert (JT) - Retarded controls (like Frogger). (2/4) (KHe)- Not one of my favorite games, but seems to be a good port. Of course, it's missing the "thwack" of the original when Q*bert or Coily jumps off the side of the pyramid. (3/3) Qix (TL) - A true classic. Decent graphics. Great concept! One of the best ever! (5/5) RealSports Baseball (DER)- This game is fun! I like playing the higher levels, because the easy level is too easy. On the easy level, you can bunt for home runs. The voice in the game is cool, but can get old after a long time of playing. (4/4) RealSports Basketball (Prototype) (DER)- I played this game for two weeks as part of an Atari survey my Dad got in '83 in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. The graphics were terrible and the gameplay wasn't too much better. I suppose it would have been better if I had really good joysticks, or that I should have played it on the two-port version. (2/2) RealSports Football (DER)- This game is just above average. The playbooks are cool, but I can run the same play over and over again and demolish the computer. I don't understand how a player can run around the screen and end up on the other side. (2/2) RealSports Soccer (DER)- I'm a big fan of Soccer, and this game is an OK version. It seems that most of the time the other players are out just wandering around. (3/2) Rescue on Fractalus (KI) - The system of fractile geometry which was used to generate the planetary landscape was a gaming first. (5/5) River Raid (BW) - I don't like the jagged river edges, and the stick ruins it for me. (4/3) Space Dungeon (TL) - Berzerk in outer space with a little more meat in it. (4/4) (JJ) - Simply put, this game rules! (5/5) (KI) - Robotron meets Berzerk meets Zelda. A closet classic that begs to be played by everyone. (5/5) Space Invaders (DER)- I know it's an older game, but Galaxian and Megamania picked up where this one left off. Gameplay is OK and graphics are weak, but that's what it's like to be an original. (2/2) (KHe)- Not really like the original but kind of fun. The mother ship comes out constantly! (3/3) Star Raiders (BW) - Great, even with the 5200 stick! (5/5) (DER)- Predecessor to X-Wing and Wing Commander. Really involved for a 5200 game. It had one of the largest manuals for any game, 40-some pages. (5/3) (KHe)- I guess this is considered to be a "classic," but I just can't get into this game. Yuck! (1/1) Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator (EB) - Boring translation of a game that has no good home ports (vector to raster). (2/3) Star Wars: The Arcade Game (DM) - After this guy got fired from Atari for Battlezone, he must have went to Parker Brothers. Same crappy blocky Battlezone graphics ruined this one too. (3/2) (KI) - It (sort of) looks like the arcade version, and it sure sounds like it, too. But it plays nothing like its color vector parent. (2/3) Super Breakout (KHo)- The 2600 version blows this one out of the water! (1/1) (BW) - How do you rate graphics on Breakout? Of course they're blocky. (3/4) Super Pac-Man (KI) - Absolutely superb. The graphics are sharp and colorful, and everything that was found in the coin-op original is featured in the SuperSystem adaptation. (5/5) Tempest (KI) - Incomplete, but what's there shows tremendous promise. Control is spot-on, and the sound effects seem to have been taken straight out of the arcade version. (4/5) Vanguard (TL) - I liked the 2600 version better but credit is due for a great game like Vanguard. (3/5) (KHe)- Captures the spirit of the original. Sadly, the four fire button arrangement of the coin-op couldn't be duplicated. I hate how the ship doesn't move easily while firing. (3/3) Wizard of Wor (TL) - Cool game. Decent graphics. (4/4) Xari Arena (Prototype) (DM) - Good marks just based on originality. What a nifty game this was. (5/4) (KI) - If you liked Warlords, you'll absolutely love this prototype game. (4/3) Zaxxon (KHo)- Blows away the Colecovision and C-64 versions by a mile! (5/5) Zone Ranger (TL) - Playability is awesome. (4/4) 2.5 -- GENERAL SOFTWARE INFO, TIDBITS, CHEATS AND EASTER EGGS ------------------------------------------------------------- Adventure A box for this game was shown in a flyer for the "Video System X." A.E. An unreleased prototype that is similar to the Atari computer version, one was recently auctioned off by Best Electronics. Only a precious few are known to exist. Asteroids Recently discovered! The first Atari 5200 catalog (Part #CO18270 Rev.1) shows a picture of the box as well as a game description and screenshot. This game supports up to 4 players in head-to-head or cooperative play. After attempting to play it, you realize what we’ve all suspected for some time: The game is unplayable with the standard 5200 controller. Some interesting notes - This cart was found with an actual production label and a prototype 5200 Asteroids controller. Only one is known to exist, and was demonstrated for the first time at the World of Atari '98 show in Las Vegas. For more info on this game - including screenshots - check out Atari Gaming Headquarters (http://www.atarihq.com). Astrochase Licensed from First Star Software. Designed by Fernando Herrera, founder of First Star Software. An interesting note on the origin of this company - Atari had a program called the Atari Program Exchange (APX) which published user-written software for their 8-bit line of computers. The submission that was judged best by Atari each year was awarded the Atari Star award. Fernando Herrera wrote a program called "My First Alphabet" which was selected as the first-ever winner of the Atari Star Award; hence the name: First Star Software. Ballblazer Designed and programmed by David Levine, Peter Langston, David Riordan, and Garry Hare. Contributions and support by Charlie Kellner, Gary Winnick, and David Fox. According to sources at Atari, the working title for this game was "Topsy Turvy". One of only two Atari released games that came in a white box (Rescue on Fractalus was the other) instead of the standard issue grey and blue box. This game is also one of the few Atari titles that has no name on the cartridge label. Also one of the first games musically scored by a recognized musician, Pat Methany. Bar Room Baseball This version of RealSports Baseball has been modified and was intended for use in an arcade cabinet. The inclusion of a timer limited gameplay to 3 minutes per credit. Arcade cabinets with 5200 systems inside were sold in Mexico and other Latin American countries. Battlezone This version resorted to colorful backgrounds instead of the arcade vector graphics. Has a 2 joystick option and most likely would have been packaged with a controller holder like Robotron and Space Dungeon. Beamrider Designed by Dave Rolfe. 5200 adaptation by Action Graphics. Reaching sector 14 with 40,000 points or more got you a Beamriders patch if you sent Activision picture proof and $1. This and several other 5200 titles from Activision were later packaged in 2600 boxes with stickers on them. Behind Jaggi Lines Working title for Rescue on Fractalus, Behind Jaggi Lines was recently discovered and demonstrated for the first time at World of Atari '98 in Las Vegas. An exact duplicate of Rescue except for the different title on the title screen. Berzerk The first console game that had built-in voice synthesis without the need of additional hardware, 5200 Berzerk is a marvelous translation of the coin-op original. Highly recommended, particularly if you like to be taunted by Evil Otto with phrases like "Chicken, fight like a robot!" An interesting glitch exists that allows a player to make Evil Otto (that's the official name of "Mr. Happy") go the opposite direction from where you are on the screen, but this works only on the left exit. Position your character until he's just about to exit the maze (that is, the next joystick movement to the left will make him leave the maze). Evil Otto will start to bounce towards the right instead of coming after you. If you stand at the exit long enough, Evil Otto will wrap around to the left side of the screen. Whether he kills you when he touches you is uncertain; the wrap-around scenario has not been tested as of yet. This glitch is extremely useful, especially when you want to finish off the robots and Evil Otto comes in sooner than you anticipate. It takes practice to precisely position your character to make Evil Otto go the other way, but you'll get it right with practice. Another tip that can help in mastering the game has to do with your character's neck. Or should I say lack thereof? The open space below his head can be useful when facing robots straight to your left or right. If you position the character just right, the robot's lasers will go right through without killing him It's very tough to master, especially on higher levels when the lasers are traveling at the same speed that yours do. And last but not least, it's easier to avoid Evil Otto by going to the left or right exits than using the top or bottom ones. This is due to how Evil Otto bounces when he chances you. Of course, there will be times that the top or bottom exits will be your best retreat. Black Belt Similar to Karateka, Black Belt was to be Atari’s entry into the karate genre. Impressive graphics, with several different rooms. No collision detection and slow movement/gameplay keep this one from being complete. This title probably evolved from a title in the rumor mill called "Martial Arts". For more info on this game - including screenshots - check out Atari Gaming Headquarters (http://www.atarihq.com). Boogie Demo Cart It's difficult to tell if this one is anything more than someone at Atari "screwing around" or if there was an eventual purpose to this title. Not really a game, this music demo plays a repeating “Boogie” tune. Only a precious few are known to exist. Bounty Bob Strikes Back Designed and programmed by Bill Hogue, founder of Big 5 Software. Graphics designed by Curtis Mikolyski. A sequel that's better than the original? You bet! A follow-up to Miner 2049'er that could be the most enjoyable game ever made. The box for this game is extremely hard to come by, as is the full color poster that was packed in. To transport to another screen, grab the item mentioned below, then press and hold the number (also stated below) then press start. You will warp to the level mentioned. 1. Bob's Morning Flower pot / 1 / start = level 4 Calisthenics 2. Utility Hoist Aliens / paint roller / 3 / start = level 22 3. The Suction Tubes Goblet / 4 / start = level 15 5. Jumping 101 Coffee Pot / 8 / start = level 18 10. The Gravity Lift Pitch Fork / 5 / start = level 14 16. Adv. Suction Tubes Tube 1 to left/ pie / 9 / start = level 19 26. The End...... "Congratulations, you are an expert! For getting this far, you may start the game at any level you desire by setting special codes 1-25 in the Game Adjustment Screen and then pressing START." At the game adjustment screen, enter one of the following special codes and press * for a few secret messages: 5 6 49 69 100 213 666 782 818 2049 6861 Centipede (released version) Atari 5200 version designed by Frank Hausman and Sean W. Hennessy. One of the many games that is trak-ball compatible. Named the best game (covering all systems), best 5200 game and best graphics in a 5200 game in the first annual Videogame Illustrated "Vista Awards." Centipede, ("Killer hard version") Recently discovered, this particular prototype is similar to the released version of the same game, with the exception being that it's HARD! (as if the released version was a walk in the park to begin with). The Centipedes slide down the screen at a frantic pace, and the spiders have even better AI along with faster movement. Definitely an in-house "pet" project and never intended for release. Choplifter! Based on the Broderbund computer game designed by Dan Gorlin. The copyright on the back of the box has a printing error - ©1982 Dan Gorling. I'm sure Mr. Gorlin was thrilled. One of the last games released for the 5200. Cloak and Dagger Announced by Atari but never released. In the movie of the same name, the kid from ET can be seen holding a 5200 Cloak & Dagger cartridge (most likely just a mock-up). For further details surrounding the Cloak and Dagger mystery, see Section 2.6 of this FAQ. Congo Bongo Based on the Sega coin-op. The manual incorrectly claims that after selecting 1 or 2 players, the game will ask you whether or not you're using a joystick. Needless to say, no controller choices are given, although we're at a loss as to what choices they had in mind. As with most other versions of this game, only 2 of the 4 arcade version screens are present. Countermeasure An early prototype of this game has the name “Failsafe” although the game appears to be identical. One of a few games that never appeared on any other Atari system. Note the Atari symbol on the soldier's cap on the game box/cart picture. The failsafe code was a combination of the following letters: L, E, O. You have to wonder what the programmer's name or sign was... Here's an interesting easter egg... When the skull and crossbones appears, after you fail to enter the correct code, take a look at one of the bones.  You'll see the initials "RM,"  which is initials of the programmer. Cram Cartridge Cram is a nickname for the in-house version of the Atari 5200 Diagnostic Cartridge. Basically, it is a diagnostic cart that has pin #18 shorted to Ground, which forces the 5200 to turn on automatically when the cart is inserted. These carts were used for assembly line testing where employees would “CRAM” the cart into the machine to make sure they powered up and were functioning. Actually, any cartridge can be made into a Cram cart by shorting pin #18 as mentioned above. Decathlon Designed by David Crane. 5200 adaptation by Paul Willson. Scoring over 8,600 points could get you a "Bronze" patch, over 9,000 a "Silver" patch, and over 10,000 a "Gold" patch by sending proof to Activision along with $1. Defender Programmed by Steve Baker. One of the many games that is trak-ball compatible. Note the Atari symbol in the building's window at the top-left of the game box/instructions/cart picture. Second runner-up in the best 5200 game category in the first annual Videogaming Illustrated "Vista Awards." Diagnostic Cartridge Used by factory authorized service personnel to diagnose malfunctioning systems. Selections included tests for RAM, ROM, Video, Sound, Joystick Ports, Joysticks, along with the ability to examine memory locations. Several revisions exist. Dig Dug The 1986 Atari Corp. release has a label variation. The "5200" at the top of the cart is printed in an elongated font. The "vegetable"? for rounds 16 & 17 is a Galaxian. Dreadnaught Factor, The Designed by Tom Loughry. 5200 adaptation by Eric Nickell. Defeating the entire fleet of Dreadnaughts on level 4 or higher could net you a Dreadnaught Destroyer patch if you sent Activision a picture of your TV screen (you didn’t have to include $1 for this one). Fail Safe This was one of the working names for Countermeasure. The game is identical except for the name. Final Legacy Recently discovered and demonstrated for the first time at World of Atari '98 in Las Vegas. Nearly identical to the Atari computer version. There were two versions of this game for the Atari 8-bit computers. One had text for in-game selections while the other used icons. This version uses text, probably since the 5200 wasn’t exactly an “international” success. Seems complete. For more info on this game - including screenshots - check out Atari Gaming Headquarters (http://www.atarihq.com). Football Designed and implemented by Jim Huether, who years later also designed the Sega Genesis game "Joe Montana's Sportstalk Football". One of the many games that is trak-ball compatible. Originally just called "Football", Atari changed the name to fit their RealSports line-up. Score 199 points or more without allowing the other team to score more than 3 during a practice game in regulation time. You must also score the last touchdown with no time left. Instead of seeing the usual "Game Over" message you will see "DESIGNED BY THE WARLORD" on your screen. Football (for Video System X) Photos of this game, along with the Video System X (working title of the 5200) were shown at trade shows and in magazines before the 5200 was eventually released. The cart had a completely different label from 5200 Football, and it is not known whether this game is any different from the 5200 version (or if it was just a cart shell mockup, for that matter). Frisky Tom An unreleased game based on the coin-op by Nichibutsu, this game seems complete and is very playable. It even has the girl in the bath-tub. Frisky Tom pretty much popped out of nowhere. It was never mentioned in any magazines or literature and until it was found with several other protos, no-one even knew it existed. Only a precious few are known to exist. Frogger Players have the option of using the keypad buttons to control the direction of Frogger's movement. Press button #2 to hop Frogger forward, #8 to hop back, #4 to go left and #6 to go right. Frogger II: Threeedeep! Three distinctly different screens take Frogger on another homeward-bound journey, but this time it's underwater, over water, and through the air. As in Frogger, the player can choose to use the keypad buttons to control Frogger. Galaxian The manual mentions that after wave 10, the Galaxian fleet may surprise you with some special screen graphics. The only thing we've ever seen is sometimes when you destroy a Galaxian, an Atari symbol will flash briefly in the explosion. Gorf Programmed by Roklan Corp. Gremlins Designed and programmed by John Seghers. Animation by Courtney Granner. Sound by Robert Vieira. This game is completely different from the 2600 version. Gyruss Licensed from Konami. The game music is Johann Sebastian Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor". H.E.R.O. Designed by John Van Ryzin. 5200 adaptation by The Softworks. H.E.R.O. stands for Helicopter Emergency Rescue Operation. Scoring over 70,000 points got you an "Order of the H.E.R.O." patch by sending proof to Activision along with $1. James Bond 007 Contains 4 movie scenarios: Diamonds Are Forever, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, and For Your Eyes Only. Jr. Pac-Man The game appears complete, but it was not released commercially. An absolutely phenomenal conversion of the coin-op. Smooth scrolling and crisp sounds make this the best of the three Pac's in the 5200 library. Jungle River Cruise Designed for Atari's unreleased "Puffer" exercise bicycle, a prototype version of this game has recently been discovered. Formerly titled 'Riverboat' and 'River Rescue'. Kaboom! Designed by Larry Kaplan. 5200 adaptation by Paul Willson. The SuperSystem version is similar to the 2600 edition, but the former has an added feature of allowing two players to take turns playing the Mad Bomber (dropping the bombs), and catching the bombs with the buckets. By Paul Wilson. By scoring 1800 or more points in 1 player mode and sending in a picture of the score, players were awarded the Bucket Brigade Patch from Activision. Keystone Kapers Designed by Garry Kitchen. 5200 adaptation by Alex DeMeo. Krull Announced but never released. Only a prototype box of this game is known to exist. Furthermore, this box shares the same color scheme as the 2600 version of the same name, and even the "CX" number on the box is identical to the regular 2600 box (CX 2682). Last Starfighter, The Programmed by Gary Stark. This title went through a name change and became Star Raiders 2; only seeing release for the Atari 8-bit line of computers. Apparently, Atari purchased the rights but decided a sequel to Star Raiders would be better embraced by the masses. Also, it is possible that this title began its life as a game called "Orbiter". The game seems complete except for the lack of shields. Loco-motion Mattel had at least the Intellivision rights to this game, but a prototype box of this game from Atari exists. No word on whether a prototype cart exists at all. Looney Tunes Hotel Utilizing the Warner Bros. cartoon licenses, this game featured Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, and Devil (Tasmanian, we assume). The game seems to be in the early to middle stages of development. You control Bugs as he tries to get the carrots while avoiding the bombs, etc. Meebzork An adventure game for the 5200 with 6 stages of fun. This proto still has a few bugs that cause screen freezes and blackouts. Also, the game requires some precise movements which is almost impossible with the standard 5200 stick. Graphics aren't bad and include a nice 3-D effect on the Phoenix stage. Megamania Designed by Steve Cartwright. 5200 adaptation by Glyn Anderson. Activision would send you an official MegaManiacs emblem if you sent them proof that you scored 45,000 points or more. Meteorites Now here's an interesting tidbit. The working title of this Asteroids clone during its development stage was 'Disasteroids'! However, when Atari learned of the name upon visiting Electra Concepts' booth at the 1983 Summer Consumer Electronics Show, they quickly threatened to sue unless Electra changed the game title. Both Meteorites and the Masterplay Interface are sometimes listed as being made by a company called Intellicon. In actuality, Intellicon was nothing more than a mail-order company that bought and sold off the remaining inventory from Electra Concepts. Micro-gammon SB Programmed by Steve Baker. A nice backgammon game for the 5200. This game uses the keypad and fire buttons only; no joystick. The SB stands for Super Brain (not Steve Baker) and is one of the IQ settings for the computer opponent The game seems essentially complete. Millipede Complete. Exceptional port of the coin-op hit. Especially fun when played with the trak-ball. Miner 2049er Programmed by Bill Hogue. Graphics and Audio Visual Displays designed by Curtis Mikolyski and Bill Hogue with Jeff Konyu and Kelly Bakst. Circuitry designed by Bill Hogue. Package Artwork by Scott Ross. Start a zone. Jump onto the first platform and position Bounty Bob so that no creatures will touch him (do NOT pause game). Hold the UPPER red fire button down while entering Big Five's phone number (2137826861) on the keypad. You will know you did it right because it will immediately restart the zone again when you enter the last digit of the phone number. Congratulations, you now have a way to "warp" to any zone or station in the game! HOW TO USE IT Push the reset button on the joystick and select 1-0 on the keypad for the zone you want to play. (1=zone 1, 2=zone 2, ... 0=zone 10). Now, hold the upper red button down while pressing 1-0 on the keypad. This will allow you to select which station to play. You will immediately warp to the selected station! The warping ability will work at *ANY* time during the game! This is extremely useful for getting "unlimited" lives. (HINT: If you die on a level and IMMEDIATELY warp Bounty Bob, the game will keep track of your score, but won't take away a life!) NOTES: Miner is great fun at the difficult levels. Some levels are NOT clearable. After lots of playing, the following levels have been found to be possible to clear. ZONE STATION ---- ------- 1-8 ALL 9 1-9 10 1-4, 8, 9 Zone 8/station 10 is the hardest, but IS possible. Zone 10/station 4 requires a lot of thinking/strategy to clear. Try it, it's fun! For some reason on Zone 10, Bounty Bob walks very fast and jumps a LOOONG way. This makes certain levels difficult and others impossible. However, on Zone 10/station 10, the creatures just move too fast to make it possible to clear. It's a shame, we will always be left wondering what would happen if it had been cleared. Miniature Golf Programmed by Steve Baker. Looks to be complete. So-so graphics, with 18 holes and varying layouts. What's there is quite impressive. Mountain King Designed by E.F. Dryer. When first starting Mountain King, let it go through the "opening demonstration" where the MK guy jumps/dances to the music and eventually jumps to the top of the hill where the flame is. Once the "show" ends, maneuver the guy to the very bottom where the spider's "cave" is. Stand on top of where the spider comes out. Make the MK guy (does he have a name?) stand on the far right of the cave so that he is mostly balancing in mid-air with only his left foot barely touching the top of the cave. (See diagram 1... hopefully it will look right when viewed on your computer.) (1) (2) 0 <-- MK guy -|- / \ ----------- ______________ 0 spider _ _ -|- cave _ _/ \ _ _ __________________________ _____________________________ Ok, once you have him in position, pull down briefly/slightly (like you were going to make him squat) on the joystick once or twice and the guy should walk PART WAY DOWN the side of the cave and "hang" there. If he goes all the way to the floor, then try it again. (See diagram 2.) Now walk to the left. He should fall through/into the cave. Keep going left... you might have to jump to the left to get him to fall THROUGH the bottom of the screen. As you are falling, you should see a special message that tells who programmed the game! NOTES: When you do this, there is no way back out. Actually, I think you can catch on fire and die. :) This doesn't work right if you don't let the game do the demonstration/music sequence at the beginning. Ms. Pac-Man ("Puffer" Edition) Designed for Atari's unreleased "Puffer" exercise bicycle, this game was never planned for release. It was only developed for internal testing purposes as an example of a type of game that was not well-suited for the Puffer. Pac-Man This version includes the arcade intermissions. The Galaxian bonus item in the arcade version has been replaced with an Atari logo. Pac-man later replaced Super Breakout as the pack-in game for the 5200. On the Cherry screen, take off to the right and head straight up and into the right-hand tunnel. As you go off-screen, you'll hear a chomp. Pause the game and examine the dots to the left of the starting point. You'll find a missing dot. On the fifth key round, the ghosts start flashing immediately after Pac eats a power pellet, and they don't stop. Unless Pac eats them, they stay in a vulnerable state for the entire round. It doesn't happen in the sixth key round (after the intermission), but does for the seventh key and beyond. You have to be pretty stupid to die accidentally from there on. Named first runner up in the best 5200 game category and best arcade adaptation (all systems) in the first annual Videogaming Illustrated "Vista" awards. Pengo Programmed by Sean W. Hennessy. Pete's Test Cartridge Recently discovered, this system utility essentially tests for defects in key areas. Using a standard 5200 controller to select various options, you can test for brightness (or dimness), color balance, color contrast and joystick calibration, among other things. And no, we have no idea who Pete is. For more info on this demo - including screenshots - check out Atari Gaming Headquarters (http://www.atarihq.com). Pitfall! Designed by David Crane. 5200 adaptation by Beck-Tech. Scoring over 20,000 points could get you an "Explorer's Club" patch by sending proof to Activision. Pitfall II: Lost Caverns Designed by David Crane. 5200 Adventurer's Edition by Mike Lorenzen. What makes this version “The Adventurer's Edition”? The fact that once you completed the game, you could play a second, even more difficult mission, with a completely different maze (Write us for a layout). Scoring over 99,000 points could get you a "Cliff Hangers" patch by sending proof to Activision along with $1. Popeye This game came with a scratch-off "Spinach Can Game" card which gave you a chance to win a full size Popeye Arcade game or a Popeye T-shirt. Missing the Sea Hag found in level 3 of the coin-op. Pole Position ("Puffer" Edition) Designed for Atari's unreleased "Puffer" exercise bicycle. Unlike Jungle River Cruise and Tumbleweeds, however, a prototype version of this game has not (yet) been uncovered. Pursuit of the Pink Panther. Originally slated for an early 1984 release, the lack of adequate supplies of ROM chips was blamed by Probe 2000 as the reason for the cancellation of the game. 2600 and Colecovision editions were also announced but they too never saw the light of day. Q*Bert Invisible Pyramid -- On the first screen, hop down four squares and onto the disc. As soon as the disc turns yellow, press PAUSE and then the START key to start the game over. Keep pressing the HOP button the whole time you are doing this. When the game starts again, jump down 2 squares to the right, then back one square. Jump onto the middle square and then change the colors of the squares opposite the one on the right. Now hop up to the top square and off to the left onto the invisible pyramid. Quest for Quintana Roo "Help Yucatan Sam explore the dozens of terror-filled chambers that create the mystical temple of Mayan god Quintana Roo. You must use your supplies as well as your cat-like reactions to avoid the sleeping snakes, overcome the mummy's curse, and eliminate the other adversaries while attempting to solve the mystery that will deliver this hidden treasure to you and Yucatan Sam. Do you dare to get involved?" Passwords: Level 2 -- 1830 Level 3 -- 8817 RealSports Baseball Designed and programmed by James Andreasen and Keithen. One of two Atari releases to feature voice synthesis (Berzerk being the other.) The 0 key toggles the voice on and off. RealSports Basketball Programmed by Patrick Bass. This game was in the early stages of development and needs some polishing. The game is playable, however, the real beauty of this proto lies in the easter eggs. As a side note, we've seen 2 versions of R.S. Basketball, one dated 13 Oct. 83 and the other 31 Oct. 83. The easter eggs listed below only work on the later version. Start the Demo and press the number 5 key for a secret message: "When Running Into the Tropical Entropy Nightly, By Yourself, Project And Try Reaching Into Circles Killed Because All Seems Strange." The first letter of each word in the sentence spells out.... "Written by Patrick Bass." Also during the demo, the "*" key toggles the word RealSports on or off. The tones generated by the keypad are actual telephone dialing tones. Try it! RealSports Football See Football. RealSports Soccer See Soccer RealSports Tennis Designed by Sean W. Hennessy. One of the many games that is trak-ball compatible. Rescue on Fractalus Designed and programmed by David Fox, Loren Carpenter, Charlie Kellner, and Peter Langston. Contributions and support by Gary Winnick and David Levine. One of only two Atari released games that came in a white box (Ballblazer was the other) instead of the standard issue grey and blue box. This game is also one of the few Atari titles that has no name on the cartridge label. Working titles were "Behind Jaggi Lines", "Rescue Mission" and Star Mission." River Raid Designed by Carol Shaw. Scoring 40,000 points or more entitled you to a River Raiders patch if you sent a picture of your TV screen to Activision. Road Runner If you're thinking of the arcade game, forget it. This game resembles a sliding piece puzzle. We're not sure if the object of the game is to help the coyote to catch the Road Runner or to keep the two from colliding while eating all the birdseed, etc. There are 2 versions of this prototype around. One has sound (although minimal) and different colors on the opening screen while the other has no sound at all. Still some work to be done on this one. Robotron: 2084 Not as good as the 7800 version, but is actually more enjoyable because of the joystick connector that allows you dual-joystick action like in the coin-op. Packaged with the joystick connector. Skiing The box for this game was shown in a flyer for the "Video System X." Soccer Designed by John Seghers. One of the many games that is trak-ball compatible. Originally just called "Soccer", Atari changed the name to fit their RealSports line-up. On par with NASL Soccer for Intellivision. Particularly enjoyable when played with the trak-ball controller. Space Dungeon The only home console port of Taito's little-known gem of a coin-op. Packaged with a joystick connector which enables dual joystick control a-la Robotron: 2084. Space Invaders One of the many games that is trak-ball compatible. The game screen on the back of the box, and in the instruction manual is not an actual screen shot. In trying to re-work this classic, Atari dropped the ball. The saucers appear one right after the other and their max value is 60 points. Your shields don't reset after each wave. After every 7th wave, the mother ship comes out and flies off with your cannon. The game then resets the shields and the invaders start back at the top of the screen. The 1986 release of this game is one of the few Atari titles that has no name on the cartridge label. It's harder to find than the standard label version. Space Shuttle Designed by Steve Kitchen. 5200 adaptation by Bob Henderson. Steve Kitchen apparently consulted with NASA to make this game as accurate as possible. Like many other Activision titles, this game was later released in a 2600 box w/ photocopied instructions. Dock your shuttle 5 times and land with at least 4500 units of fuel and you were entitled to a “Space Shuttle Pilot” patch. Dock 6 times and land with at least 7500 units of fuel and you earned a “Space Shuttle Commander” patch. Just send the usual TV picture proof to Activision. Spitfire This seems to be a Zaxxon style game, but with full 360 degree movement and “Crystal Castles” style structures. Obviously in the very early stages of development. Sport Goofy In it's current form, this game consists of two separate "events". One is a platform Sky Diver type game where you guide Goofy to the top of a structure and then when he jumps off, you guide him into a waiting raft below. The other game is a Q*bert type game where you try to pop the overhead balloons as you hop between squares. Stargate Programmed by Steve Baker. The sequel to Defender suffers from screen flicker and poor control. Let's hope it was still in the early stages as we would hate to think this was almost ready for release. Star Raiders Originally a smash hit on the Atari 400/800 computers, Star Raiders is enshrined in the Electronic Games Magazine Videogame Hall of Fame. Super Breakout One of the few games that supports 4 players on the older 4-port models. Also one of the many games that is trak-ball compatible. This game was initially packaged with the Atari 5200 console, but was later replaced by Pac-Man. Superman III A box for this game exists, but an actual prototype game of Superman III has not yet been recovered. A prototype version for the Atari home computers does exist, however. Super Pac-Man Recently discovered! Was demonstrated for the first time at World of Atari '98 in Las Vegas. An absolutely fantastic translation -- nothing from the coin-op is missing in this one. For more info on this game - including screenshots - check out Atari Gaming Headquarters (http://www.atarihq.com). Tank The original (tentative) name of Countermeasure before its release. Who knows, perhaps a prototype of this version exists somewhere. Tank Battle The box art of this game was shown in a flyer for the "Video System X." Tempest It's been found! Demonstrated for the first time at World of Atari '98 in Las Vegas, the only prototype cartridge known to exist is 90% complete, with only the Superzapper, several enemies and collision detection missing. For more info on this game - including screenshots - check out Atari Gaming Headquarters (http://www.atarihq.com). Ticker Tape Demo Recently discovered and shown for the first time at World of Atari '98 in Las Vegas. Basically just a generic 5200 title screen, except that after seeing Rubio's copyright info, the phrase "Again Rubio Scores!" replaces the top line and begins to scroll and move side-to-side, banging on the left and right edges. Each time the phrase hits the outer edge of the screen, one of the letters on the outside disappears. This continues to occur until the word "Rubio" is left. This custom scrolling demo was done internally for Dan Kramer and DK Enterprises. Only one is know to exist. For more info on this demo, check out Atari Gaming Headquarters (http://www.atarihq.com). Toy Bizarre Made it to the C64, but not 5200. Track 'N Field Licensed from Konami. This one was probably ready for production. Seems very complete with no noticeable bugs or glitches. Tumbleweeds Designed for Atari's unreleased "Puffer" exercise bicycle, a prototype version of this game has recently been discovered. Vanguard This game would have been perfect for 2 joystick control a-la Space Dungeon and Robotron. The 1986 release of this game is one of the few Atari titles that has no name on the cartridge label. It's harder to find than the standard label version. Warp Wars Warp Wars was the working title for the game Zone Ranger. Wizard of Wor Programmed by Roklan Corp. Xari Arena Programmed by David Seghers. This game seems to be an updated Breakout type of game. What are those flying things in the middle of the screen? Haven’t figured out how to play it yet but it looks good. Xevious Programmed by Jim Huether. This very nice conversion of the coin-op utilizes both fire buttons. No noticeable bugs or glitches. Yellow Submarine Demo Not really a game, but rather a graphics demo where you control a submarine on the screen with your joystick. Only a precious few are known to exist. Zone Ranger Warp Wars was its working title. 2.6 -- WHAT'S THE REAL STORY BEHIND CLOAK AND DAGGER? ----------------------------------------------------- Many die-hard collectors and 5200 fans are aware that a Cloak and Dagger (and, for that matter, Tempest) cartridge was shown in the move of the same name as sort of a tantalizing preview of the game. What nobody knew, however, was whether Cloak and Dagger existed as a prototype, or if the game code even existed in any form. Alex Rosenberg gave us the definitive answer in 1994 when he posted to rec.games.video.classic. Here are some snippets from his newsgroup article. ------- From: alexr@apple.com (Alex Rosenberg) Re: 5200 Cloak and Dagger cartridge Date: Mon Sep 12 1994 I can give the definitive answer here. I used to work with the author of the 5200 version of Cloak and Dagger. I've previously asked him about it, and he had sent me the following message: --- CUT HERE --- Yes, I can answer your question about the Atari 5200 version of Cloak & Dagger. When Warner Communications sold the consumer side of Atari to Jack Tramiel (who founded Commodore) in mid-1984, I was working on the Atari 400/800/1200 version of Cloak & Dagger. Since the Atari 5200 was basically just an Atari 400 with a different controller, when I completed the home computer version, I was supposed to modify the game to use the "360-degree" 5200 controller (as opposed to the 9-position home computer joystick). By the way here's a little known fact about Cloak & Dagger: someone at Atari actually explored doing an Atari 2600 version of Cloak & Dagger, but very quickly decided that it couldn't be done, even with major simplifications... If you've ever seen the Cloak & Dagger movie, you'll know that the cartridge shown in the movie was a 5200 cartridge. Actually, the 5200 cartridge didn't even exist: it was a 5200 cartridge of another game with a "Cloak & Dagger" label slapped on it. Also, in the game store scenes, there were Atari 5200 Cloak & Dagger boxes shown. Those were also just mockups made for the movie. But wait a second! Wasn't the Atari 5200 Cloak & Dagger game actually PLAYED in the movie (and didn't it look damn good)? Hollywood movie magic! They took the output of the coin-operated game, converted the signal, and piped it to a TV set. So if you thought it looked a lot like the coin-op game, you were right. Another interesting fact: Henry Thomas wasn't really playing the game; instead, Atari sent down the game's software developer, Rusty Dawe, to play the coin-op game for the movie! So they showed Henry Thomas furiously working the 5200 controller, cut to the television showing Rusty's progress in the game (sometimes even with Henry's reflection in the screen), and back again. Rusty -- er, make that Russell B. Dawe -- got his own full- screen credit at the end of the movie for the game design. Although the rest of the game shown in the movie was taken from the real coin-op game, the spectacular 3D "secret plans" finale of the game was pure Holywood animation: the real game ends somewhat anti- climactically with one of several static, crudely-drawn blueprints. I don't recall whether Rusty ran short of ROM space or time, but the secret plans weren't up to the quality of the rest of the game, much less the movie game's ending. Oh, and another piece of trivia: the original name of the Cloak & Dagger coin-operated game was actually...Agent X (hence the name of the protagonist in the game and the off-hand comment by Dabney Coleman in the movie that he "used to be known as Agent X"). The game had been under development at Atari as "Agent X" for quite a while, and was nearly completed. The movie studio (can't remember which one off-hand, but I have the Laserdisc) had the movie under development as Cloak & Dagger. The game cartridge that was in the original screenplay was...Donkey Kong (at the time, the most popular home videogame)! Someone at either the movie studio or Atari found out about the other, "the secret agent recovers secret plans from bad guys" plots sounded like they were made for each other, the deal was signed, and the Agent X game was renamed Cloak & Dagger. Anyway, back to the layoff. My half of Atari (the half that just released the Jaguar videogame system; it's still known as "Atari, Inc.") got sold, and they laid off almost all the game developers who didn't have experience writing operating systems, myself included. When the layoffs happened, I was close to halfway done with the game. The basic structure of all the levels was done (conveyor belts, boxes, bubbling acid pits, box manufacturers, minefields) and you could move Agent X around, pick up boxes, and die from touching red boxes, being crushed by the box manufacturing thingies (what the hell were they called?), stepping in an acid pit, or touching a landmine (although the death animation wasn't in yet, so you just turned pitch black). But none of the enemies were done, you couldn't shoot yet (although, without enemies, you would only be able to shoot the boxes anyway), and the bomb in the center didn't explode (the animation of the bomb exploding in the coin-op game is fast, but it's actually pretty crude). No elevator scenes yet, either, although since the cartridge was supposed to be the first Atari home computer cartridge to reach a whopping 32K (all previous cartridges had been 16K or less!), there was enough room for many -- if not all -- of the elevator animations. (If you look closely, you'll notice that very little of Agent X actually moves in the elevator scenes: an arm, a facial expression, smoke, an arm and a yo-yo, etc.) In 1983, at one of Atari's periodic auctions of prototype and no longer needed coin-operated machines (including games like DigDug and Berzerk whose translations to Atari home computers and/or videogame systems had already been completed), I bought one of the original 25 (I believe) Agent X machines. These prototypes, which had been sent to arcades for test-marketing, had stereo sound (Atari went with mono sound for the final hardware) and the pre-Cloak & Dagger faceplates. The ROMs were upgraded to reflect the name change, however, so, on the inside, my machine is a real Cloak & Dagger! Anyway, hope you enjoyed the history and stories. I'd always wanted to finish the home computer version of Cloak & Dagger, but over the years, my free time has almost completed vanished. The Atari 5200 version of Cloak & Dagger, as well as versions of many other classic Atari games -- Crystal Castles (which was nearly finished when the layoff happened), Major Havoc (one of my favorite coin-op games, but the home computer conversion was barely started at the time of the layoffs), and Jr. Pac-Man (completed, but not released), to name just a few -- were all casualties of the sale of Atari's consumer business to Tramiel and the resulting layoffs. Everyone who was left immediately switched from developing games (new as well as conversions of coin-operated games) to working on the operating system for the Atari 520ST and 1040ST. Sorry to dash your hopes about the Atari 5200 Cloak & Dagger... -- Dave Comstock 2.7 -- WHAT GAMES ARE COMPATIBLE WITH THE TRAK-BALL CONTROLLER? --------------------------------------------------------------- * -- Plays best when used with the trak-ball # -- Some gamers prefer to play it with the trak-ball, others don't. X -- Works with the trak-ball but is not recommended. * Centipede # Football/RealSports Football X Galaxian # Kaboom! * Millipede * Missile Command X Pole Position X RealSports Baseball # Soccer/RealSports Soccer X Space Invaders # Super Breakout 2.8 -- WHAT IS THE 5200 MULTICART AND HOW CAN I GET ONE? -------------------------------------------------------- The Atari 5200 multi-cart is a single cartridge with virtually the entire Atari 5200 game library on it -- even prototypes. It comes packaged in a regular 5200 cartridge casing. Very basically, it can be looked at as a comparatively inexpensive way to be able to play all the 5200 games in one handy cart. Titles such as Meteorites, Star Wars: Death Star Battle, and others are going to cost you and arm and a leg if you are able to locate someone with a copy of them, but they are all included on the multi-cart, in their entirely mind you, for one flat-fee. As far as collectibility goes, the multi-cart is still being made and will continue to be for the foreseeable future so it's worth exactly what you pay for it - no more. If you are interested in purchasing one or would like additional information about it, you can e-mail Sean Kelly at skelly@xnet.com or pay a visit to his web page at http://www.xnet.com/~skelly/ where he has information about the multi-cart and all other multi-carts he makes. =========================== 3.0) HARDWARE INFORMATION =========================== 3.1 -- HARDWARE KNOWN TO EXIST ------------------------------ Name Company Product # Rarity ----- ------- --------- ------ ASTEROIDS CONTROLLER Atari PROTO ATARI 5100 GAME SYSTEM Atari CX 5100 PROTO (aka. 5200Jr.) ATARI 5200 CARRYING CASE Atari ATARI 5200 HOTEL UNIT Spectravision UR ATARI 5200 JOYSTICK Atari CX 52 ATARI 5200 JOYSTICK Atari PROTO (Self-Centering) ATARI 5200 JOYSTICK COUPLER Atari C021811 ATARI 5200 SUPERSYSTEM (2-Port) Atari CX 5200 ATARI 5200 SUPERSYSTEM (4-Port) Atari CX 5200 ATARI VCS CARTRIDGE ADAPTER Atari CX 55 R ATARI VIDEO SYSTEM X Atari PROTO COMPETITION PRO JOYSTICK Coin Controls ER CONTROL GUIDE Entert. Systems UR DUST COVER Classic Covers 20027 FIRE COMMAND JOYSTICK GIM Electronics UR KID'S CONTROLLER Atari PROTO MASTERPLAY INTERFACE Electra Concepts UR PADDLE CONTROLLER Atari PROTO TRAK-BALL CONTROLLER Atari CX 53 R TRAK-BALL CONTR. (Transparent) Atari PROTO TV/GAME SWITCHBOX (4-Port) Atari CX 522 WICO COMMAND CONTROL JOYSTICK Wico R+ WICO COMMAND CONTROL NUMERIC Wico ER- KEYPAD 3.2 -- HARDWARE NOT CONFIRMED TO EXIST -------------------------------------- Name Company ----- ------- ATARI 7800 CARTRIDGE ADAPTER Atari COMPUTER MODULE Atari FROB, THE FrobCo LASER DISC PLAYER Atari PUFFER EXERCISE BICYCLE Atari TRIGA ELITE JOYSTICK Electra Concepts VOICE COMMANDER MODULE Atari/Milton Bradley 3.3 -- GENERAL HARDWARE TIDBITS ------------------------------- 5200 Hotel Unit A console made by Spectravision (not to be mistaken for the third party publisher of 2600 games, that's a different Spectravision) that was used in hotels and motels. This unit had a selection switch for television, movies and games. Game boards were able to be added by placing them into a 4-game internal cartridge board rack. Asteroids Controller Recently discovered, this device was planned to compliment 5200 Asteroids. The control layout is identical to the coin-op. Only one of these items is known to exist. Atari 5100 A prototype system that is completely compatible with the (4-port) 5200. It was a trimmed down version of the 5200, much like how the 2600jr. was a low-cost redesign of the woodgrain VCS/2600. Atari 5200 Carrying Case Made of durable hard plastic and shaped like a suitcase, it can store the console, power supply and two joysticks. Similar to the cases found in Blockbuster video for systems that it rents out to its customers. Atari 7800 Cartridge Adapter Announced but never released. This adapter would have allowed 5200 owners to play 7800 games without buying the 7800 system separately (although the savings would probably have been negligible). Atari 5200 Joystick Coupler Allowed dual-joystick action for Robotron: 2084 and Space Dungeon by snapping two 5200 joysticks into place using this connector. Packaged with both Robotron: 2084 and Space Dungeon, and was not sold separately. Atari Video System X The working title of the 5200 before Atari opted for a numerical designation for its "third wave" videogame system. Actual photos of the VS-X, which looked almost exactly like the 5200 with the exception of a few cosmetic differences such as on the face plate, were shown throughout contemporary magazines for much of 1982. Competition Pro Joystick An excellent third-party controller, the Competition Pro is micro-switch based, giving a satisfying "click, click" response to movements in the joystick. (Arguably) Better than the Wico Command Control Joystick, but harder to find. Control Guide Here's a novel approach. Since games like Pac-Man require pin-point precision control (something the 5200 sticks are incapable of), Newport Controls decided to limit the movement of the stick. They designed a piece of plastic that goes over the top of a standard controller. It has grooves that only allows the stick to go up, down, left, and right. A steal for the $6.95 they originally sold for; so how come there aren't more of these floating around? Fire Command Joystick Offering a slightly different feel than its non-analog cousin for the 2600, the 5200-compatible version featured two buttons and a y-adapter that must be connected to the keypad for full compatibility (like the Wico and Competition Pro). Frob, The Allowed its owners to program 5200 games using an Apple II/II+/IIe computer. Kid's Controller Similar to the 2600 Kid's Controller, only one prototype of this peripheral is known to exist. Astro Grover and Big Bird's Hide & Seek are but two of the titles believed to support this device. Masterplay Interface Without a doubt, this is the ultimate solution to your 5200 joystick woes. Quite simply, this handy little box allows you to use 2600 compatible joysticks on the 5200 and has a port to plug in a standard Atari joystick for keypad functions, etc. For games that required the top fire button on a standard stick, the Masterplay comes packaged with an auxiliary fire button that does the job very well. There are two different boxes available for the Interface; one is similar to a cartridge box and the other is a smaller yet wider box. Both the Masterplay Interface and Meteorites are sometimes listed as being made by a company called Intellicon. In actuality, Intellicon was nothing more than a mail-order company that bought and sold off the remaining inventory from Electra Concepts. Paddle Controller Recently discovered, this device is identical in appearance to the standard 5200 joystick controller, except that a paddle is found on the top of the controller where the joystick is normally located. POP Demo Kiosk POP stands for Point Of Purchase. These demo units allowed gamers to sample several 5200 carts. Much like the demo kiosks for newer systems. Puffer, The A home exercise bicycle with two hand grip controllers, a wheel speed pickup, and the necessary interfacing for an Atari computer or 5200. For detailed information, see the Puffer section elsewhere in this FAQ. Trak-Ball Controller (Transparent) Recently discovered, the clear Trak-Ball was used for promotional purposes only and was never planned for release. Triga Elite Joystick Only a very few of these were made. It is not known whether they made it past the prototype stage and onto store shelves. This joystick had two fire buttons, an adjustable rapid-fire button, and a digital - analog switch. A picture can be seen on the back of the Masterplay Interface box (2nd stick from the left). Voice Commander Module Milton Bradley and Atari were jointly associated with this speech synthesis/recognition device, where Milton Bradley was to develop the add-on while Atari was responsible for developing games for it. However, Atari canned the idea shortly thereafter. A module for the 2600 was also planned, but it too was axed before development went too far. Milton Bradley later sued Atari for breach of contract. Wico Command Control Joystick An analog (but self-centering) controller that featured two fire buttons and the ability to calibrate the joysticks. Came packaged with a y-adapter cord which enabled the use of keypad functions of the standard 5200 controller. Wico Command Control Numeric Keypad A stand-alone keypad which substituted for the 5200 joystick keypad when used in conjunction with the Wico joystick. Although this item had a 9-pin connector, it was only compatible with the Wico controller. Sold separately from the joystick. 3.4 -- WHAT WAS THE TOP-SECRET "PUFFER PROJECT"? ------------------------------------------------ Sensing an opportunity to bring health fitness and videogames together, in 1982 Atari embarked on "Project Puffer," a top-secret mission to develop a home exercise bike with two hand grip controllers, a wheel speed pickup, and the necessary attachments for an Atari computer or 5200. By interfacing their machines to an exercise bicycle, Atari planned to make exercising fun. The Puffer featured hand controllers which easily attached to most existing exercise cycles and gave the conscientious user directional control. The act of peddling was to give the imaginary vehicle motion and the rider exercise. Therefore, no peddling--no motion. For the overzealous cyclist, a pulse rate sensor could be added to monitor excessive heart beat activity. The two hand controllers replaced the original hand grips on the exercycle. The Puffer controllers were designed to fit as many of the current exercycles as possible while at the same time remaining inexpensive and durable. A magnet attached to the wheel monitored the wheel speed and a Hall effect sensor detected the passing magnet which can be read by the computer to calculate the wheel speed. The housing for the sensor was also the junction box for the hand controller cables and the computer cable. The computer required only one cable to be connected to a joystick input. Three new programs were developed to show Puffer's capabilities in particular applications, and one more was modified to show its limitations. The games were Jungle River Cruise (originally called "Riverboat"), Tumbleweeds, Pole Position, and Ms. Pac-Man, all for the 5200 and 400/800 (a 2600 game appears to have never been developed). In order to reach a wide spectrum of consumers, Atari planned on producing three Puffer models - the Pro Model, an Arcade Model and a Home Model (for the 2600, 5200 and 8-bit computers) The Home Model consisted of two types -- a folding exercise bike sourced on an OEM basis with Atari controls mounted on them, or an add-on module for those who already own an exercise bike. The Home Puffer was to plug into the joystick port of a 5200, 400/800 or VCS. The suggested retail price was to be $150 with one game packaged with the Puffer. Atari had plans on releasing controllers to fit other exercise instruments such as rowing machines and foot pads if the Puffer proved to be a success. Just as Atari was ready for production of the Puffer and its compatible software programs, the project was put in the back burner as Atari began to lose an incredible amount of money in the marketplace. The Puffer was resurrected in early 1984, and Atari planned to aggressively market and sell the Puffer in the summer of 1984, with a full-scale marketing campaign that was to coincide with the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics. However, the purchase of Atari by Sam Tramiel in the Spring of 1984 brought an end to the ambitious product, as the new regime under the Tramiels sought to identify Atari as a professional home computer company. For more detailed information about the Puffer, including pictures, schematics, game information and internal corporate documents, please visit the Project Puffer Page at.. http://www.atarihq.com/puffer ================================================= 4.0) TECHNICAL INFO AND HARDWARE SPECIFICATIONS ================================================= 4.1 -- HARDWARE SPECIFICATIONS ------------------------------ CPU: 6502C (8-bit), 1.78 MHz Memory: 16K RAM Colors: 256, 16 on-screen Resolution: 320x192 Sound: 4-channel Power Supply: 4-Port: 11.5VDC @ 1.95A 2-Port: 9.3VDC @ 1.95A Note: You can ignore the power supply specifications. Both the 4-port and 2-port power supplies are functionally identical. As long as it's part #C018187, it will power either flavor 5200. Have trust in the console's voltage regulators to take care of things. 4.2 -- HARDWARE OVERVIEW ------------------------ The Atari 5200 is essentially a console version of the Atari 8-bit Computers (400/800, XL, XE, XEGS). The functions of the system are divided up between four major IC chips: CPU: The CPU in the 5200 is a modified 6502 processor. The only difference is that Atari's version of this CPU has some extra hardware on board that allows the ANTIC chip to take over the bus to do Direct Memory Access (DMA). POKEY: POKEY's main job is to generate sound and to perform a variety of other miscellaneous functions. The POKEY chip has four separate channels, and the pitch, volume and distortion values of each of these channels can be controlled individually. POKEY is also used to read the position of each of the joysticks, and scans the keypad on each controller for key presses. Its other functions include the random number generator, IRQ handling, and 3 high-speed counters. POKEY also has a serial communications port that is connected to the 5200's expansion port. ANTIC: ANTIC can be thought of as the 5200's graphics co-processor. ANTIC has direct access to RAM where it reads a special program called the display list. The display list tells ANTIC exactly how to draw the display and then sends information to the GTIA which generates the actual video signals. The 5200 supports 17 seperate video modes; some are character modes, others graphic. Each mode has a different combination of vertical size, horizontal size, and number of colors. Using the display list, these modes can be mixed freely on a single screen, so for example a screen could have a couple lines of text mode at the top, a block of hi-res graphics in the middle, and more text at the bottom. The location in memory that the display date comes from can easily be controlled through ANTIC. The display data can be almost anywhere in memory, and it is even possible for the data for each line to come from totally different places in memory. This allows horizontal and vertical scrolling to be implemented very easily. ANTIC is also responsible for controlling Non-Maskable Interrupt to the processor. GTIA: The GTIA's main responsibility is to generate the video signals to the TV and to handle sprites. The GTIA is where the actual colors are put into the video signal. The 5200 has a palette of 256 colors. Most video modes only allow four colors, but a facility in the ANTIC chip allows the values of these colors to be changed on each line of the screen, so it is possible to have all 256 colors on screen at once. The 5200 has four player and four missile sprites. Player sprite are eight pixels wide and either 128 or 256 pixels high, missiles are two pixels wide and either 128 or 256 pixels high. Each sprite can have its on color, independent from the normal screen colors. The GTIA chip can detect collisions between players, missiles, and the playfield. This chip is also responsible for reading joystick trigger buttons, and controlling which controller is being read by POKEY. 4.3 -- MEMORY MAP ----------------- $0000 - $3FFF RAM $4000 - $BFFF Cartridge ROM $C000 - $C0ff GTIA $D400 - $D5FF ANTIC $E800 - $E8FF POKEY $F800 - $FBFF Character Set ROM $FC00 - $FFFF System ROM 4.4 -- BIOS ----------- The 2K BIOS has three functions: 1) To initialize the system, draw the Atari rainbow logo, and transfer control to the cartridge. Note: Some cartridges bypass the Atari logo and init the system on their own. 2) To service interrupts. 3) To maintain RAM copies (shadows) of important hardware registers. 4.5 -- 5200 CONTROLLER PINOUT ----------------------------- Pin Function 1 Keypad -- right column 2 Keypad -- middle column 3 Keypad -- left column 4 Start, Pause and Reset column 5 Keypad -- third row and reset 6 Keypad -- second row and pause 7 Keypad -- top row and Start 8 Keypad -- bottom row 9 Pot common 10 Horizontal Pot (POT0, 2, 4, 6) 11 Vertical Pot (POT1, 3, 5, 7) 12 5 Volts DC 13 Bottom side buttons 14 Top side buttons 15 0 volts -- ground 4.6 -- CARTRIDGE SLOT PINOUT ---------------------------- TOP BOTTOM D0 1 36 Interlock D1 2 35 A11 D2 3 34 A12 D3 4 33 A10 D4 5 32 A13 D5 6 31 A9 D6 7 30 Audio In (2-port) D7 8 29 A8 Enable 80-BF 9 28 Not Connected Enable 40-7F 10 27 A7 Not Connected 11 26 +12VDC directly from the power adapter Ground 12 25 Ground Ground 13 24 Ground (Video In on 2-port) A6 15 22 A4 A5 16 21 A3 A2 17 20 A1 Interlock 18 19 A0 4.7 -- EXPANSION PORT PINOUT ---------------------------- TOP BOTTOM +5V DC 1 36 +5V DC Audio Out 2 35 Not connected (2 port) Ground 3 34 Ground R/W Early 4 33 Not connected Enable E0-EF 5 32 D7 D6 6 31 D5 D4 7 30 D3 D2 8 29 D1 D0 9 28 Ground IRQ 10 27 A0 Ground 11 26 A1 Serial Data In 12 25 A2 In Clock 13 24 A3 Serial Out Clock 14 23 A4 Serial Data Out 15 22 A5 Audio In 16 21 A6 A14 17 20 A7 System Clock 01 18 19 A11 4.8 -- WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE 2-PORT AND 4-PORT MODELS? ------------------------------------------------------ The 4-joystick-port model comes with an automated RF switch box that is not found in the 2-port machine. The 4-port unit has a unique power setup. The power supply plugs into the TV switchbox and the TV wire from the 5200 carries power to the system from the switchbox while also providing the video display to the TV. In addition, most 4-port 5200 systems cannot use the VCS cartridge adapter without modifications. Several other minor differences also exist between the two machines. -- (Taken from ANALOG Magazine) Later releases of the 5200 incorporate some minor hardware changes. Controller ports 3 and 4 have been eliminated, making POT7, TRIG2, TRIG3, and bit 1 of CONSOL useless. A few of the connector pins have been redefined. Pin 2 of the I/O expansion connector now carries POKEY's Audio Out signal. Three pins on the cartridge connector have changed to accommodate the new 2600 adapter. The system clock, 02, is output on pin 14, isolated through a diode. An alternate video input is taken from pin 24 and is also isolated through a diode. Pin 30 provides an alternate audio input. There is space on the newer boards for circuitry for a PAL (European TV standard) version of the 5200. Also, on power-up, the monitor program checks for the PAL version by examining the GTIA register PAL after step 2 of the initialization routine. It also checks the cartridge program for PAL compatibility. The byte at $BFE7 should read $02 if compatible, or $00 if not. This is the only important change to the monitor program. There are some additional hardware changes, but none affects the machine's operation from the programmer's view. 4.9 -- HOW CAN THE 4-PORT MODEL BE MODIFIED TO WORK WITH THE VCS CARTRIDGE ADAPTER? ---------------------------------------------------------------- Early 5200s that have four joystick ports cannot accept the VCS (2600) adapter unless modifications are made. However, Best Electronics offers an adapter kit which allows the use of the VCS adapter on 4-port models. *** NOTE -- Owners of 4-port 5200 machines with an "*" as part of the serial number are in luck. Atari apparently made a small run of VCS-compatible 4-port units before changing over to the 2-port units. 4.10 - 2-PORT PRODUCTION MODIFICATIONS -------------------------------------- There are three production modifications to the logic board of 2-port 5200 systems. A number of people have seen these mods on their 5200s and the mods appear to have been factory installed. 1. Pin 11 of A5 (GTIA) is lifted out of the socket. This pin on the GTIA is the trigger 3 input which is unused on the 2-port model. When it is in the socket, it is connected to trigger 1. This mod probably had something to do with the change from 4-ports to 2. 2. Pins 8,9,10 and 11 of A7 (POKEY) are connected to pin 1 of A7 on the back of the board. This mod connects the paddle 4,5,6 and 7 inputs to ground. This mod also had something to do with the change from 4-ports to 2. 3. A wire is run from the feed thru below C94 to A27 pin 1, pin 1 and 2 of A27 are connected together on the back of the board, pin 10 of A15 is lifted, and connected to A27 pin 3. This modification alters the timing of CAS to the dynamic RAM. 4.11 - LOGIC BOARD IC CHIP FUNCTIONS ------------------------------------ (Locations refer to the 2-port version, these may be different on the 4-port model) A1 4050 Video signal buffer A2 C014806 CPU 6502C This is a custom version of the standard 6502 microprocessor. It is functionally identical to a standard 6502, except that hardware has been added to it that allows the ANTIC chip to do Direct Memory Access (DMA). A3 C012296 ANTIC This chip is a microprocessor that reads data directly from RAM to determine how the screen should be drawn and controls the GTIA to actually generate the graphics. The ANTIC is also responsible for processing NMI's. A5 C014805 GTIA This chip is responsible for generating the video signal to the TV, generating sprites, reading the joystick trigger buttons, and controlling the reading of the joysticks and keypads (the actual reading is done by POKEY). A6 74LS139 Address decoding. A7 C012294 POKEY This chip is responsible for generating sound, reading the position of the joystick, reading the keypad buttons, processing IRQ's and, controlling the serial I/O port which is accessible through the expansion connector. A8 C019156A ROM BIOS This is a 2K ROM chip that holds the character set and the BIOS software. The BIOS initializes the system and to service interrupts. A9,10,11 4052 Keypad scanning multiplexers. A14 74LS125 Control signal buffering. A15 74LS51 DRAM control signals. A16,17 74LS258 DRAM address multiplexers. A18-25 MK4516 1x16K DRAM A26 4013 Power on/off switch latch. A27 74LS00 Miscellaneous logic. 4.12 - DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE 5200 AND ATARI 8-BIT COMPUTERS ------------------------------------------------------------- The 5200 is basically an Atari Computer without a keyboard. It has all the major chips that the computers have with the exception of the PIA chip, but most of the chips are at different memory locations. The differences between the two machines are as follows: * Memory The 5200 has a fixed 16K of RAM. Memory locations $00-$18 and $200-$21B are reserved for the BIOS to use. * ROM The BIOS ROM of the 5200 is only 2K instead of 10K. Virtually none of the computer's BIOS functions are implemented on the 5200. * ANTIC The 5200 does not have a System Reset key, so bit 5 of NMIST is not used. * GTIA The trigger inputs, TRIG0-TRIG3 are connected to the bottom buttons of the controllers. The 5200 does not have Start, Select, or Option buttons, so these lines are used as outputs. Bit 2 of CONSOL enables and disables the joystick pots. Bits 0 and 1 control which keypad controller is being read. This only affects the keypad buttons, and the top trigger buttons. * POKEY The eight paddle inputs from the computer are now wired to the joysticks, 2 to each stick, one for vertical position and the other for horizontal position. The joysticks are read in the same way that the computer's paddles are read. On the 5200 the KBCODE register bits 1-4 hold the scan code from the currently selected keypad controller. Bit 6 of KBCODE is used to read the top button of the controllers instead of the SHIFT key. They also cause the BREAK-key interrupt. The POKEY's serial lines are connected to the expansion connector. * Cartridge The cartridges can be up to 32K. There are two interlock connectors that are wired together on a cartridge board. The 5200 uses this as a switch for the cartridge's power connections and as a Reset signal. Therefore, a cartridge may be safely removed or inserted while the 5200 is powered on. 4.13 - CHROMA/LUMA (COMPOSITE VIDEO) AND AUDIO OUTPUT MODIFICATION ------------------------------------------------------------------ Differences between 2-port and 4-port consoles: Not surprisingly, there are very few appreciable differences between the 2-port and 4-port variations of the 5200. For the purposes of this article, they are considered to be identical. Where to get signals: Most of the components do not have visible labels on the board's silkscreen, so giving component numbers is not useful. In the upper right corner of the area of the board that's covered by the shielding, there is a horizontal row of components. o o o o o o o o o o o o | | | | | | | | | | | | C R3 R2 R1 D R R R R R R R | | | | | | | | | | | | o o o o o o o o o o o o ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ | | | | | `-Chroma | | | | `----Luma 1 | | | `-------Sync | | `----------Luma 0 | `-------------Luma 2 `----------------Luma 3 There is a row of components to the right of the GTIA (C014805) and below a cluster of inductors and transistors. o o o o o o o o o o o | | | | | | | | | | | R40 R R R R R C R R C C | | | | | | | | | | | o o o o o o o o o o o ^ `--Audio Luma output: The Luma signal needs amplification to be useful. After probing around on an Atari 800 (a close relative to the 5200 that conveniently has Croma/Luma outputs built-in), I realized the amplifier circuit they used is remarkably similar to the one attributed to Thomas Clancy in the Classic Atari Game Systems FAQ. Rather than try to copy the circuit on the Atari 800 or design one from scratch, I decided to use the one given there. The only significant difference is the addition of another level of luminance. Materials Needed: 100uF capacitor 10uF capacitor 10 ohm (2) 75ohm - an 82 ohm works well (RS 271-1107) 750 ohm 1.6 kohm 2 kohm 4.7 kohm 9.1 kohm 18 kohm 36 kohm CR - low power silicon diode (RS 276-1122) Q - 3904 or equivalent (RS 276-2016) RCA jack o+5V | | + |---|(----, | 100uF | | \/ GND | | 10uf |---/\/\/---,--|(--, CR1 750 1.6K | 10 | + | Sync --|<]--/\/\/-, ,-/\/\/-` | \/ GND 4.7K | | ___/-------` Luma 3 ---/\/\/-----| | Q /|/c\ 9.1K |--|------(b| ) RCA jack Luma 2 ---/\/\/-----| | \|\e/ 75 __ 18K | | \-----,---/\/\/-----O__ LUMA Luma 1 ---/\/\/-----| | 2K | | OUTPUT 36K | `-/\/\/----/\/\/--` GND \/ Luma 0 ---/\/\/-----` | 75 GND \/ Chroma output: In my experience, the 5200's chroma signal is sufficiently strong that it can be used without amplification. On my own 5200, I ran the chroma through a 2kohm resistor to "take the edge off," then a 1uF capacitor to filter the DC voltage off. Play around with the resistance there to find what suits you. RCA jack 2k 1uF __ Chroma ---/\/\/---|(-----------------------------------O__ CHROMA | OUTPUT GND \/ Audio output: This is just a capacitor to filter out the DC voltage. RCA jack 1uF __ Audio ------|(-----------------------------------------O__ AUDIO | OUTPUT GND \/ Composite video output: To gain composite output, just tie the Luma and Chroma outputs together into a single output. Where to put it: I mounted the circuits on a small project board from Radio Shack, tapping into the appropriate points on the 5200 board with a length of ribbon cable. I then tucked the board into the controller storage space at the back of the console and ran the output signals to three RCA jacks I had mounted in the removable expansion interface cover. That way the only permanently modified/damaged piece (the cover) is also one that is easily replaced. 4.14 -- HOW DO I BUILD A SWITCHBOX FOR THE 4-PORT 5200? ------------------------------------------------------- The early Atari 5200's came with an unusual switchbox which supplied power to the 5200 down the same wire the 5200 uses to send the video signal to your TV. The power supply plugged into the switchbox. Unfortunately, these switchboxes seem to have gotten lost over the years and are difficult to come by. Newer 5200's (the one with only two controller ports) had the power supply jack on the console itself. Fortunately, it is not difficult to construct your own RF/power supply box for the 5200. There is one difference, though. The original 5200 switchbox would automatically switch from your TV antenna/cable to the 5200 when you turned the console on. With the RF/power box described below, you will need to use a standard game/TV switchbox. The following parts are needed to construct the box. Where applicable, Radio Shack part numbers, and prices, have been provided (these may be outdated). You may use another RCA jack in place of the F jack if you wish. I chose to use the F jack to avoid ever accidentally plugging the 5200 and TV cables in backwards, which would result in 11.5 volts DC going into your TV set, possibly damaging it. RS# Part Price -------- ---------------------------- ----- 270-235 2"x2.75"x1.625" Aluminum Box $1.99 274-1563 Coaxial DC power jack $1.79 278-212 Cable TV type F jack (2 pack) $0.99 (optional, see above) 274-346 RCA type phono jack (4 pack) $2.49 272-131 0.01 uF Ceramic Disc capacitor (2 pack) $0.59 Small metal bolt (1" long, 3/8" diam, approx) 22 guage solid wire (14" or so) Total $7.85 + local tax Drill holes in the aluminum box for each jack to match the diagram below. The box itself forms the common ground connection to all three jacks. To reduce signal loss and ensure the common ground, it is recommended that chrome or gold plated type jacks be used. F jack (to TV) __ +-------------| |-------------+ | |__| |<--- Aluminum box | | | | \ 0.01uF | Solder the leads of the | \ _ Capacitor capacitor to the center pins | \/@| | of the F jack and the RCA jack. | \/ | jack. Make the choke by winding | \ | at least 10 turns of 22 gauge | Choke \ | solid, insulated wire around a | ---|/////|---\ | 3/8" (approx) diameter bolt. | _L _L | Wrap tape around the completed +------| |----------| |------+ choke to prevent it from |__| |__| unwinding. Strip the insulation DC power jack RCA jack off of each end of the choke (to pwr supply) (to 5200) leads. Solder the leads of the choke to the center pins of the DC power jack and the RCA jack. Screw the box shut. You're done. The switchbox works as follows. The capacitor transparently passes the video signal from the 5200 to the TV output jack, while at the same time preventing the DC power from the power supply jack from going into your TV. The choke (inductor) transparently passes the 11.5 volt DC power to the 5200 via the RCA jack while at the same time preventing the video signal from escaping back down the power supply wire. The bolt around which the choke is wound helps to increase the choke's inductance to block more of the video signal from going back into the power supply than it otherwise would. The aluminum box itself helps keep the video signal confined to where it belongs to prevent possible interference and to ensure that as much of the signal as possible gets to your TV. For this reason, plastic boxes are not recommended. Finally, another note about the 5200 power supply. The 5200 power supply is 11.5 volts DC @ 1.95 amps and has a standard type coaxial plug (center positive 5mm OD, 2.1mm ID). Or you could construct one from a transformer, 4 diodes, two capacitors, a resistor, a 3A adj. voltage regulator, heat sink, case, and cabling, or find a 12V 2A power supply and add a diode inline to drop the voltage by 0.5V. =============================================== 5.0) MAINTENANCE, REPLACEMENT AND REPAIR TIPS =============================================== 5.1 -- CONSOLE -------------- Coming Soon. 5.2 -- CONTROLLERS ------------------ 5.21 - CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE ------------------------------- Atari 5200 controller buttons, mainly the fire and start/pause/reset buttons, wear out prematurely, either by repeated use or by periods of non-use. Here's the easy way to fix the 5200 controller buttons. The buttons work by pressing a carbon coated disc against a set of circuits. The two circuits are interweaved and a connection is made when the carbon touches both traces. The traces look like this: |----- | | ------| |------ | | ------| The carbon coated discs are located on the underside of the rubber you press. What makes them quit working is the exposed circuit traces which corrode and get dirty, not allowing the connection to be made. This is especially true if the controllers are stored for some time in a damp place (or just unused for a long amount of time) (or especially if you spill pop on them :). The quick way to fix them is to clean the traces. This can be done by rubbing (gently!) with a pencil eraser until shiny clean. This will remedy the situation, but they will soon corrode again, depending on use. (some versions of the controllers used different coatings on the traces to avoid this, but these only slightly prolong the life of the buttons; I haven't seen any that don't need some periodic cleaning). To open the controller to clean, follow these steps EXACTLY: 1) With a small screwdriver, pry up the bezel surrounding the start/ pause/reset buttons. Remove the rubber buttons if they don't come out with the bezel. Now peel the printed circuit off the plastic case; it's just glued onto it. Lift the right side, as the left side has connections into the controller. Do NOT rip or remove the circuit, just unglue it from the case. 2) Remove the three screws from the bottom of the case. Center the joystick, and leave it there. Now seperate the case halves by first starting at the start/pause/reset end. The other end is pressed together; it will snap apart if you seperate the cases. Don't move the potentiometers in the bottom of the case for the stick won't mate back up when you put it back together. 3) Remove the fire buttons and their bezels. Now the traces for the fire buttons are exposed. Clean them by rubbing with an eraser. Wipe off with a clean napkin or something similar afterwards. 4) Place the fire buttons and their bezels into the lower half of the case. Guide the start/pause/reset circuit up through the upper case half where it belongs, and bring the two halves together. By centering the stick before placing the halves together, its receptacle will automatically fit into the bottom of the case, and the two directional axis plates will automatically hook up with the potentiometers. It's best to place the numerical keypad end together loosely first, as this will allow peering into the joystick end as it goes together to make sure everything lines up. The end of the joystick has to go into the hole in the bottom case, and the posts on the two arms on the potentiometers have to go into their respective holes on the plates in the upper case. After aligning everything together, make sure the stick moves in all directions freely and completely. If so, you can screw back in the three screws. 5) Re-stick the start/pause/reset circuit to the case, then clean these traces as described above. Replace the buttons and the bezel. You can also clean the keypad traces while it's apart, they don't seem to get used as much, so will usually work a lot longer. The flex circuits with the traces on them are fragile, so be gentle around them. A hairline crack in a trace can cause certain buttons not to work at all. These cracks can be repaired by soldering a bridge over the crack. Careful, the flex circuit often melts before the solder does! The permanent way to fix these buttons is by soldering sealed, surface-mount micro-button switches onto the circuits. This not only makes the buttons ALWAYS work, but also gives them a 'snap' action, compared to the mushy feel of the original buttons. The switches I use are small enough to fit under the original rubber buttons, so expect for them to work and feel different; you can't tell from the outside that any change has been made. If anyone is interested in having their sticks retro-fitted with these superior buttons, let me know. 5.22 - REPLACING AND REPAIRING 5200 CONTROLLERS ----------------------------------------------- One of the most "beat upon" parts of the joystick are the "fire" buttons. The good news is that they can be replaced easily. First you will need to order replacement parts. I recommend replacing all the internal parts except for the pots (unless you experience specific difficulties with them). Best Electronics offers the following: SPARE PARTS Description Quantity per joystick Part # $$$ ----------- --------------------- ------ --- Fire Buttons 2 (provides 4 buttons) C020501 $2 Start/Pause/Reset Buttons 1 C018128 $2.50 Numeric Keypad 1 C018126 $2.50 Internal Flex Circuit 1 C018124 $2.50 Controller Boot 1 C021084 $0.50 Boot Retaining Ring 1 C018116 $0.20 Total per joystick 7 $10.20 What Now?? 1. Use a knife to remove the plastic bezel containing the Start, Pause & Reset buttons. 2. Remove the 3 screws holding the joystick together. 3. Use a screwdriver, at the base, to seperate the two halves of the joystick. 4. Remove the fire buttons from each side, making sure to save the plastic bezel that holds them in (you'll need this when installing the new Fire buttons). 5. Remove the old flex circuit. It was probably attached with double-sided tape. Replace this tape when installing the new flex circuit. First make certain the new circuit fits well, then add the tape. 6. Replace the fire buttons mounted in their plastic bezels. 7. Center the numeric keypad on top of the flex circuit. Use the top half of the joystick to estimate where it should fit. Also use the guide pegs that align the FC into place. 8. Before re-attaching the joystick, make sure the pots are oriented correctly so that you maximize the chance that the stick will line up properly. The correct position of the pots are: Top pot peg positioned at 10 O'clock. Bottom pot peg positioned at 6 O'clock. 9. Re-attach the top half of the joystick. Make sure you feed the flex circuit for the start/pause/reset buttons through the slot on the left. Also make sure the joystick handle fits into the cup in between the two pots. 10. Before replacing the screws in the bottom, slowly move the joystick handle around to see if it "feel like it's in place. 11. If it feels good, replace the screws. How do you tell if it is lined up properly? Play a game like Missile Command or any game that features up/down movement as well as side-to-side. If one or more dircections fail you will need to reopen the joystick and follow from instruction #8 above. =============================================== 6.0) ALTERNATIVES TO THE STANDARD CONTROLLERS =============================================== 5200 gamers, rejoice! For individuals who have long suffered at the hands of the unreliable and imprecise (for some games) standard 5200 controllers, there are a slew of alternatives which are mentioned below. 6.1 -- THIRD PARTY JOYSTICK CONTROLLERS --------------------------------------- Wico Command Control Joystick (by Wico) A decent alternative to the original controllers, the Wico is an analog stick which comes with a Y-cable which enables the 5200 joystick to be used for keypad functions. Competition Pro Joystick (by Coin Controls) An excellent alternative to the standard 5200 joystick, this controller is a ball-handled microswitch joystick that offers tremendous feel and control for most games. Highly recommended. Fire Command Joystick (GIM Electronics) Unlike the aformentioned two "hand held" controllers, the Fire Command Joystick is an arcade-style tabletop joystick with a sturdy metallic base. It features two fire buttons on each side of the joystick, allowing for lefties to get in on the fun. The fire buttons are carbon copies of arcade buttons as well. A definite winner. 6.2 -- MASTERPLAY INTERFACE (by Electra Concepts) ------------------------------------------------- This is THE device to have for any collector or die-hard gamer. The handy plug-in unit allows 5200 owners to replace the system's analog joystick with any number of 2600-compatible, digital joysticks. In addition, the Interface features a slide switch so that a digital joystick can be used in either a remote 'start' mode or a 'fire' model depending upon the game. A second slide switch lets you keep the unit permanently connected to the console so that the analog controller functions, including the use of the keyboard portion by itself, can be accomplished simply and easily. The Masterplay Interface originally came packaged with a second fire button for games that require it. This button can either be taped or velcroed to the 2600-compatible controller. 6.3 -- BUILD YOUR OWN 2600 JOYSTICK ADAPTER ------------------------------------------- Materials needed * (1) 4069 (Hex Inverter) * (1) 4066 (Quad analog switch) * (2) PNP 3906 transistor or similiar * (2) silicon diodes * (4) 4.7 kohm resistor * (2) 10 kohm resistor * (2) 250 kohm resistor \ Values of these resistors are critical. * (2) 500 kohm resistor / Get as close as you can by stacking. Don't trust the stripes on those resistors; take the time to actually measure them. * (1) 9-pin male Dsub connector (for 2600 joystick connection) * (1) 15-pin female Dsub connector (for 5200 port connection) Schematic 5200 port 2600 stick pin func pin func --------- ---------- 12 +5V---------------------+--7 +5V (2600 sticks) `--5 +5V (Sega sticks) 15 Ground---------------------8 Ground 13 Bottom Fire----------------6 Fire (2600 fire, or Sega B button) 14 Top Fire-------------------9 Fire (Sega C button) 10K 10 Hpot___/\/\_ \ 1K PNP \|___/\/\_____3 West 3906 ^| | 9 Pot ________/ | Common | 4.7K | 12 +5V-------/\/\----------+ 10K 11 Vpot___/\/\_ \ 1K PNP \|___/\/\_____1 North 3906 ^| | 9 Pot ________/ | Common | 4.7K | 12 +5V-------/\/\----------+ 4.7K 12 +5V----+--/\/\---+---------4 East | 4.7K | `--/\/\---|--+------2 South | | | | _________ | +------------|1 \/ 14|--+5V | | | | | | +---------|2 13| | | | | | +--|--|---------|3 12| | | | | | | | | +------|4 4069 11| | | | | | | | | | | |5 10| | | | | | | | | | | |6 9| | | | | | | | | | | GND--|7_______8| | | | | | | | | | | | `---------------------------+ | | `---------------------------+ | | | | | 9 Pot | | 500K _________ | | Common-----------|--|--+---/\/\--|1 \/ 14|--+5V | | diode | | | | | | | 10 H-Pot---|<-------|--|--|------+--|2 13|-------' | diode | | | | | | | 11 V-Pot---|<----+ | | | `--|3 12|----------' | | | | 250K | | 500K | | | +---/\/\--|4 4066 11|--/\/\--+ | | | | | | | | | `--|---------|5 10|--+-----|--+ | | | | | | | | | `-----|---------|6 9|--' | | | | | | 250K | | | | GND--|7_______8|--/\/\--+ | | | | | | `----------------------------' | `----------------------------------------' Notice there are four unused inputs on the 4069. These could potentially be used for other things, like a rapid-fire circuit. If you're not going to use them, tie the inputs (pins 5, 9, 11, and 13) to ground. Function -------- * Pushing east on the stick grounds the horizontal circuit, mimicking the effect of infinite resistance between pot common and H-pot. * Pushing west causes a short circuit between pot common and H-pot, i.e. zero resistance. * The fire button works exactly like it does on the regular 5200 controller. * If you're using a Genesis controller, button B functions as the bottom fire button, and button C as the top. Good Things ----------- * No more problems with games that were unplayable with your non- centering 5200 sticks. * Cheap! It only costs about eleven dollars on the raw materials for one of these, including some rather fancy touches (Y-adapter, switchable analog stick, etc.) * It should work with every 2600 joystick there is. I've tested it with my mechanical switch sticks, my Genesis-to-7800 pad, my NES-to-7800 pad, and my 2600 remote control joysticks, and they all work peachy keen. Bad Things ---------- * 2600 sticks don't have two fire buttons. If you want, you can glue an extra fire button onto your 2600-compatible stick of choice. Just wire it up between port pins 14 and 15. * Won't work with games that require the analog capabilities of the 5200 stick, like Missile Command. A few other games like Galaxian and Centipede make limited use of the analog-osity of the regular stick by giving two movement speeds depending on how far you push the stick. With the adapter, you can only get the fastest speed. It's not a huge handicap, but it's probably worth mentioning. * Neither this adapter nor the Masterplay Interface gets along well with three particular games: Qix, Vanguard and Ms.Pac-Man. There are others, but I haven't gotten around to trying it on all the games yet. They will respond to pushing east (or south) on the stick as if you're pushing west (or north). No real clue exactly why this happens, but you may be able to make them work by starting up a game, thrashing the digital stick around until the game behaves itself, then starting a new game. It might work for you, and it might not. YMMV. 6.4 -- PC ANALOG JOYSTICK TO 5200 ADAPTER ----------------------------------------- Yes, you can build an adapter Y-cable for the 5200 to allow the use of a PC analog joystick. You plug the Atari 5200 controller into one connecter to use its keypad. You plug a PC joystick into the other connecter for movement and buttons. Great for Star Raiders and Galaxian. OK for Super Breakout if you have a steady hand. How to Connect a PC Joystick to an Atari 5200 System (Revision 1.0) 5/24/96 This is an adapter for connecting a PC joystick to an Atari 5200. It's a small cable with two 15 pin connectors on one end and one 15 pin connector on the other. The single connector end plugs into the A5200. One the other end, one connector is for a PC joystick and the other is for an Atari 5200 controller. The keypad and top row buttons are used on the 5200 controller as usual. The PC joystick replaces the A5200 direction control and fire buttons. Any PC compatible joystick will work, but some PC compatible joystick are digital instead of analog. These seem mostly of the joypad variety. You can still use digital joysticks, but some games will not work. Super Breakout is the big one that is impossible to play with a digital PC joystick (Well you can, but the paddle can only be all the way left, all the way right, or in the middle). Games like Pac-man and Defender play no different with a digital PC joystick. However, I have noticed, that games like Galaxian and Star Raiders play better with an analog joystick. For example the ship in Galaxian has two speeds in each direction. Moving the stick a little to the left will move the ship slowly to the left and moving the stick all the way to the left will move the ship at a faster speed. So these games are still playable with a digital joystick but won't have the same feel as an analog joystick. For the serious gamers, I would recommend an analog joystick with trimmer controls. The trimmers allow optimum sensitivity adjustment and as a bonus you can play Super Breakout with just the trimmer control. There's one from Quickshot called the Warrior 5 that is only $10. If you have a joystick without trimmers like the Thrustmaster, it still works, but it seems more sensitive in one direction than another. This can be fixed by playing with different capacitor values. Some of you may be wondering about calibration. I can't confirm this, but from my observations, there is some auto calibration going on. For example, I put in Galaxian, and press start. My ship starts moving right even though I'm in the neutral position. However, If I move all the way left and all the way right, the ship always stops when I'm in neutral position. I have observed this behavior with my adapter as well as the Atari 5200 controller. I have also been asked about the Gravis PC Gamepad. I don't know for sure, but I believe the Gravis PC Gamepad is digital. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong. If it is, it comes under the same restrictions discussed above. If anybody is interested in making these adapters to sell, you have my permission. All I ask is that somewhere you give me credit for the design. Now the Disclaimer. I am not responsible for: 1. Any damage done to your A5200 2. Any damage done to your PC Joystick. 3. Any errors in these instructions or schematic. I'm not going to give step by step instructions. I'm going to assume that the reader has some basic knowledge of electronics and can figure out what to do with the schematics and info presented here. I will, however, answer questions if asked. Now that I covered my backside, here is how to do it: Parts List: ----------- 2 15 pin Female Sub-miniature D connectors 2 15 pin Male Sub-miniature D connectors 2 .22uF Ceramic Capacitors 1 ~1 ft. 15 pin cable Schematic: ---------- ________ ________ | | | | | 1 1 |_________________________| 1 1 | | 5 | | 5 | | 2 |_________________________| 2 | | P | | P | A5200 | I 3 |_________________________| 3 I | Controller A5200 | N | | N | | 4 |_________________________| 4 | No connection | F | | M | on pins 9-15 | E 5 |_________________________| 5 A | | M | | L | | A 6 |_________________________| 6 E | | L | | | | E 7 |_________________________| 7 C | | | | O | | C 8 |_________________________| 8 N | | O | |________| | N | | | | | | | | | ________ | | | | | 13|_________________________| 2 1 | | | | 5 | | 14|_________________________| 7 | | | | P | PC | 9 |_________________________| 1 I | Joystick | | | N | | 10|_____x___________________| 3 | No connection | | | | F | on pins 5, 8-15 | 11|_____|_________x_________| 6 E | | | | | | M | | | _|_ _|_ | A | | | ___ ___ | L | | | | .22uF | .22uF | E | | | | | | | | 15|_____x_________x_________| 4 C | | | | O | | | Gnd | N | |________| |________| Notes: ------ 1. Wire up one end of the cable to a 15 pin female connector. This will be the connector that goes to the Atari 5200. Wire the other two connectors to the other end of the cable. 2. The value of the capacitors is not critical. If the PC joystick has a trimmer, a slightly smaller or larger value should work. 3. The type of capacitor is not important. If polarized caps are used, connect the negative leads to the 15---4 wire. 4. Because the Atari 5200 joystick connector is so deep, using a clam shell cover for this adapter connector makes it very loose. I recommend heat shrink tubing or electrical tape on this end. 6.5 -- STANDARD ATARI 5200 JOYSTICK WITH MICROSWITCH-FITTED FIRE BUTTONS ---------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, a trouble-free controller for the Atari 5200! These are the original Atari units, with sealed, micro-push-button switches fitted in all four fire buttons plus the start/pause/reset buttons. These replacement switches not only avoid the failures common to the Atari resistance type switches, but provide a tactile 'click' which makes the buttons much more responsive. No cosmetic differences are noticeable from the outside. After working on several of these, and getting several requests for pinouts, here's a semi-schematic, textual description of the controllers. I've heard a PC-type controller can be wired to work the stick, but then you've got 19 buttons to put somewhere! --------------------------------- \ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 / \ 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 / ----------------------------- This pinout is looking at the controller (female) end of a 5200 controller. The switches are arranged in a matrix, as shown in the diagram below. Any wire pair (1 horizontal, 1 vertical) passing through a key are the two wires that the switch must close. All the switches in the 5200 controller are normally open. (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (9) | | | | | | S---1---2---3---(2) LUF---RUF---(10) | | | | | | P---4---5---6---(3) LLF---RLF---(11) | | | | R---7---8---9---(4) S: start | | | P: pause *---0---#---(1) R: reset L|R U|L F: left|right upper|lower fire The potentiometers used for the stick are regular, 270 degree 3 terminal pots. (some models had pots limited to about 40 degrees of movement, but standard pots will work regardless). The pots used have a nominal resistance of 500K ohms, I checked several and found some to be nearer to 600K. Anything from 500 to 600K should work. The pots are arranged so X and Y movement rotates the pot about 20 degrees off center for each positive and negaltive movement. The remaining wires are connected to the pots so the following happens. (15) and (14) are connected to the X pot so at center, the difference between them os ~250K ohms. At the full +X position, ~450K ohms. At full -X position, ~10K ohms. Again, I checked several, and all readings varied about 100K ohms at any position, so these not need be exactally reproduced. As the 5200 does an A to D conversion, it probably compares the starting (center) position to an offset position, and calculates movement off that regardless what the actual ohm value is at any position. (13) and (15) go to the Y pot, again at center ~250K, but at full +Y ~10K, and at full -Y ~450K. Note that with this info, you could easily adapt a set of paddle controllers to operate the Y movement in the 5200 (for Super Breakout, etc.). Or you could just use your trak-ball! 6.6 -- CONVERTING A STANDARD 5200 JOYSTICK TO A PADDLE CONTROLLER ----------------------------------------------------------------- The analog 5200 joystick makes it perfect for a paddle conversion, right? Now there's a way to convert your joystick into a paddle controller. PARTS required: at least one *paddle* from an Atari 2600 (not from the driving controller) and one 5200 joystick controller. IMPORTANT NOTE: This project disables the horizontal capability of the 5200 stick which is assumed by the paddle controller. This works great for games like Breakout and Space Invaders but is less useful for things like Mario Brothers... Although the process is potentially reversible, it is recommended that you use a spare 5200 controller. Take the 2600 paddle and cut one of the control cables right behind the end of the 9-pin connector. (I'm not sure if cutting off one paddle will still leave the other active for one-player games since I was operating with a defective pair. If anyone experiments with this, drop me a note.) Open up the paddle and note the color of the wire connections to the pot (two wires) and fire button (two wires.) There should be three terminals on the pot. Unsolder the wire on the outside terminal (i.e. not the middle one) and solder it to the opposite side. If you don't do this, the paddle will cause the cursor to move in the wrong direction. Close up the 2600 controller and open up the 5200 controller. I used a small file to make a notch in the top half of the 5200 controller just below the silver logo plate. The U-shaped notch I made allows for the paddle cable to slip into it and be held in place when the 5200 controller is reassmbled. One you have a satisfactory test fit, you are ready to wire the controllers together. For convenenience, I will use the following colors based on the paddle I used. If your colors are different, make the appropriate substitutions: red- paddle pot, center terminal yellow - paddle pot, "outside" terminal brown - fire button black - fire button Take the open 5200 contrller and detach both wires from the horizontal pot (the "lower" pot, closest to the numeric keypad.) Connect the paddle yellow wire to the black wire from the 5200 pot (although removed from the horizontal pot, it will remain connected to the other pot.) Connect the red paddle wire to the brown wire from the 5200 pot. The remaining two paddle need to be connected "across" one of the lower 5200 buttons (to allow the paddle button to fire the ball in breakout.) You can do this by carefully scraping off the plastic from the traces going to each side of one of the lower buttons and carefully soldering the black and brown paddle wires to each side of the button. I chose to locate the on the outermost trace running down the left side of the numeric keypad and the brown wire on the next to outermost trace running down the right side of the numeric keypad. You may have to trim the keypad gasket edges slightly to clear these wires and allow it to lie flat. The new paddle-joystick may be tested before reassembly. Pop in the Breakout cartridge and select a game. The button on the paddle should fire the ball to start the game and the paddle (which can also be tested before the game is started) should move the onscreen paddle left and right just like on the 2600. If everything seems to be working ok, reassemble the 5200 stick with the paddle cable threaded out the side and enjoy! Be careful to route the paddle wires so they aren't crushed by any of the plastic supports in the 5200 stick and aren't in the way of the screw holes! If you've felt that the joystick just doesn't cut it for 5200 Super Breakout, Kaboom and others, you now have a solution! Contact themaverick@volcano.net for questions about this conversion. =========================== 7.0) ATARI 5200 EMULATORS =========================== VIRTUAL SUPER SYSTEM (VSS) -------------------------- Dan Boris's Emulator Page http://www.atarihq.com/danb/emulate.htm VSS (Virtual SuperSystem) is arguably the best Atari 5200 emulator among those that are currently available. It's for MS-DOS, and it's FREE. The current version runs about 95% of the ROM images I have almost flawlessly, and at a reasonable speed even on a 486 DX2/66. On a Pentium system the emulator gets close to, or better than full speed on a lot of games. To use this emulator you will need a copy of the 5200's 2K BIOS ROM, and 5200 ROM cart images. Unlike all the other emulators in this roundup, VSS is a dedicated, 5200-only emulator. RAINBOW ------- Rainbow Emulator Page http://www.tiac.net/users/jgoodman/atari/rainbow.html Rainbow is an Atari 8-Bit Emulator that allows Atari 8-bit Computer and 5200 game images to run on the Macintosh or Windows95/NT. Currently, only a preview demo is downloadable for Win95/NT, with the shareware version expected momentarily. A full shareware version for the Macintosh has been available for some time. Here's a quick rundown of key features in the full shareware version: * Accepts 16K and 32K ROMs for 5200. * Fast full and medium screen displays. * True 256 Atari colors. * Full ANTIC/GTIA graphics, namely all ANTIC modes, Player/Missile Graphics, fine scrolling and Display List interrupts. * Four joysticks (via keypad) and four paddles (using mouse) POKEY ----- Pokey Emulator Page http://w3.one.net/~mhill/pokey/pokey.html Pokey, like VSS, is a FREE Atari Computer emulator for DOS that can also emulate the 5200 if you have the 5200's 2K BIOS ROM. It is currently in its early stages of development but shows promise. Current Pokey features: * 320 X 200 screen (scrollable) or Mode X (320 X 240 or 360 X 240) * Supports two PC joysticks (swapple on the fly or upon loading) * DLI and VBI supported. * All ANTIC modes. * Player-missile graphics with collision detection * GTIA graphics * Horizontal and vertical fine scrolling * System monitor. Atari800 -------- Atari800 Emulator Page (Unix, DOS & Amiga versions): http://www.signus.demon.co.uk/Software/Portable/Atari800e/Index.html By David Firth Atari800Win Emulator Page (Windows 95/98/NT) http://www.cris.com/~Twist/atari800win By Rich Lawrence Atari800 Emulator Page (Atari Falcon version): http://cas3.zlin.vutbr.cz/~stehlik/a800.htm By Petr Stehlik This is a fine Atari 8-bit computer and 5200 emulator for Unix, Amiga, MS-DOS and Falcon and was originally written by David Firth. The 5200 mode currently support about 80% of all ROM images, which is slightly less than what VSS currently manages to achieve. With sound turned on, you will need a fast (Pentium II) PC to run at full speed. MESS ---- The Official MESS Page: http://internetter.com/titan/mess/ MESS is a free emulator that can emulate a variety of systems. The current release (0.1) supports the NES, Sega Genesis/Megadrive, TRS-80, Color Genie, and Colecovision. It is written in C and the source code is available for download. Ready-made binaries are available for a variety of systems. v0.2b4, a public beta version, is also available, with one of the supported systems being the Atari 5200. ====================== 8.0) OTHER RESOURCES ====================== 8.1 -- INTERNET RESOURCES ------------------------- 8.11 - WORLD WIDE WEB PAGES --------------------------- -- 5200 Instruction Manual Archive http://atarihq.com/5200/manuals 5200 Instruction Manuals in ASCII format. -- 5200 SuperSystem Homepage http://www.atarihq.com/5200 Your one stop resource for 5200 information. Home of the 5200 FAQ and rarity list. -- Atari 5200 Museum http://www.atarihq.com/5200/museum Tons of screenshots and pics of rare and unusual hardware, games and accessories. -- Atari Gaming Headquarters http://atarihq.com Your complete online Atari resource. -- Atari Prototypes and Vaporwares http://www.atari.nu Has several pics of prototype 5200 hardware items. -- BigDaddy's 5200 Image Archive http://www.eskimo.com/~bigdaddy/5200.htm A Atari 5200 fan site that contains game reviews, pictures, ROM images and more. -- Chris Knape's CVG Page http://www.net-link.net/~cknape/cvg.html Has a section on the SuperSystem along with several reviews. -- Dan Boris' Home Page http://atarihq.com/danb/ The man behind VSS -- a 5200 SuperSystem emulator. His site is also home to the 5200 Tech Page. -- Digital Press http://www.digitpress.com The venerable classic gaming fanzine devotes a sizeable portion of its content to coverage of the Atari 5200. -- History of Home Videogames Homepage http://videogames.org A comprehensive look at all the significant home videogame systems, from past to present. -- Pete's Vintage/Classic Games http://eliza.netaxis.com/~petebuilt/videogames/ Includes coverage of the 5200, as well as a section on how to build your own arcade-quality joystick for the 5200. 8.12 - USENET NEWSGROUPS ------------------------ -- rec.games.video.classic Discussion about any and all classic (pre-NES) games, Focuses primarily on home console videogames. (For coin-op enthusiasts there's rec.games.video.arcade-collecting). -- alt.games.video.classic Discussion about any and all classic (pre-NES) game hardware and software. Less activity than in rgvc. -- rec.games.video.marketplace A videogame newsgroup for those who wish to buy/sell/trade videogames. RGVM is not limited to classic systems, so be prepared to sort through piles of sale/trade posts for newer systems and games. -- rec.games.video.atari Although RGVA is primarily a Jaguar-centered newsgroup, other Atari game machines (5200 included) are periodically involved as topics of discussion. 8.13 - IRC (INTERNET RELAY CHAT) -------------------------------- -- #RGVC #RGVC is the official IRC channel of the rec.games.video.classic newsgroup. #RGVC was created in February, 1996 for people who enjoy classic games to chat about more or less anything, in a real time environment. There are usually people around 24 hours a day, so drop in and say hello anytime. If you're curious about learning more about the channel, point your browser to: http://www.atarihq.com/rgvc You'll find info about #rgvc's origin, some of the people who visit there, and tips on how to join. 8.14 - FTP SITES ---------------- If anyone has knowledge of ftp sites containing 5200 info, please let me know. 8.2 -- BOOKS AND PERIODICALS ---------------------------- "Phoenix: The Fall and Rise of Videogames", by Leonard Herman. Rolenta Press, rolenta@aol.com. PO Box 3814, Union, NJ 07083-1891. A MUST READ for those who would like to learn about the history of home videogames, from its very inception to the present. For a detailed description of the book, check out: http://www.atarihq.com/features/phoenix.html or e-mail Rolenta@aol.com. Classic Books and Periodicals List. Maintained by Lee Seitz http://fly.hiwaay.net/~lkseitz/cvg/cvglit.shtml An excellent index of reference materials. Atari Age Magazine The official magazine of the Atari club and published by Atari, Atari Age had a total of 11 bi-monthly issues. from May of 1982 until April, 1984. Similar to Nintendo Power in that it was basically a means for Atari to promote their products while at the same time providing readers with Atari news, articles and strategies. ========================= 9.0) ATARI 5200 DEALERS ========================= If you have a large inventory of Atari 5200 items and would like to be mentioned here, please drop me a line. DEALERS ------- B&C Computervisions myatari2@juno.com http://www.myatari.com 5917 Stope Way, El Dorado, CA 95623-4716 (530) 295-9270 Best Electronics 2021 The Alameda, Suite 290, San Jose, CA 95126-1127 (408) 243-6950 FMH Games ap748@cleveland.freenet.edu P.O. Box 493, Chesterland, OH 44026-0493 (206) 729-0761 JerryG Visionaries jerryg@hevanet.com http://www.atari2600.com 663 S. Dodge, Gilbert, AZ 85233-7207 Sean Kelly skelly@xnet.com http://www.xnet.com/~skelly/ 5789 N. Milwaukee, Chicago, IL 60646 (718) 583-1552 Steve Reed stever@on-ramp.ior.com http://bbs.prowlers.net/stever/index.htm Steven Tucker classics@nacs.net 9897 Yolk Road, N.Royalton, OH 44133 (216) 237-5308 Telegames http://www.telegames.com Box 901, Lancaster, TX 75146 (214) 228-0690 Then Games (Scott Stone and Mark Terry) tafoid@delphi.com http://people.delphi.com/tafoid/thengame.htm (802) 893-3004 Video 61 22735 Congo St. NE, Stacy, MN 55079 (612) 462-2500 Video Game Connections mike@videogameconnections.com http://www.videogameconnections.com 2434 Rt 9, Howell, NJ 07731 (732) 462-8343 Video Game Depot info@videogamedepot.com http://www.videogamedepot.com 130 Hoffman Lane, Islandia, NY 11722 (516) 582-5663 ============================================== End of Atari 5200 SuperSystem FAQ ==============================================