[Let's Play] Party Like its 1987! Let's Experience the Atari Computer! Part 3 of 2013: 18 or so Month Retrospective and Follow Up.

My it has been a damned while since I updated this little project, discounting this mini double update that finished here: http://wargamedork.blogspot.com/2013/02/lets-play-party-like-its-1987-lets.html .

I am calling this update a basic "what have I done and where am I going?" post.  I will show off my entire collection as it currently stands, talk a little bit about my experiences, and what I will do next.

First off, my mostly alphabetized and organized games:

When I started my Summer 2012 game organization and photo thing (some of which has appeared on my blog, others still just as photos on Facebook) I tried to organize alphabetically and by type.  At this time these were my cartridge titles.  Centipede, Gateway to Apshai (one of the first action RPGs!), Miner 2049er, Pac Man (a good game.  How the computers could get this amazing title and the Atari 2600 got such an awful port is beyond me.  OH WAIT CORPORATE STUPIDITY.), the best version of River Raid, a good version of Up n Down (but C64 is better.  Prettier sprites and not the flicker.) for the loose cartridges.  For the boxed we have the action strategy classic Archon, the ok Gauntlet clone Dark Chambers which is MUCH prettier on the Atari 7800, an interesting turn based wargame in Eastern Front, a "Frig it, its cheap and I am getting other things from the seller" deal flight sim in Jumbo Jet Pilot, and the unfairly maligned Return of the Jedi Death Star Battle, a game I loved as a kid on the 2600.  I still think it is a fun bit of blasting.

And my loose disks.  Ghostbusters which is solid but not a patch on the C64 version (itself outshone by the Sega Master System), Operation Whirlwind which is another wargame, Pole Position which is a great port of a classic arcade game (and honestly more playable than most emulated collections of it today!), Rescue at Rigel which is another Apshai Engine RPG, 3 freeware titles thanks to a fine Texan from Atari Age sending me disk versions.  (Crownland which is technically amazing but is almost unplayable if you aren't on a PAL machine due to sprite flicker, His Dark Majesty which is a buggy but great wargame, and Yoomp! which is an absolutely BRILLIANT game.)  The Temple of Apshai Trilogy which is a vastly improved remake of the first 3 Apshai games (at least to 1986 standards), and the Microprose WW2 Submarine simulator Silent Service.

Combat Leader is one of the earliest Real Time Strategy titles, F-15 Strike Eagle was the first major Flight Simulator release from Microprose, Gemstone Warrior is an Action RPG that is buggy as sin, Jupiter Mission is a weird but innovative series of minigames (programmed in Basic because Avalon Hill were slackers) set up into a grand adventure over a buttload of disks, Ogre is an amazing rendition of the tabletop classic, Pinball Construction Set is the real founder of the Construction Set and video Pinball subgenres, and Pitstop II on the Commodore 64 is an amazing arcade racing game.  Sadly my SEALED COPY had somehow been stored in a way that rubbed and ruined the disk.  Poopy.

Panzer Jagd is another wargame as is VC. (I think we can guess the topic of each.)  Star Raiders is the amazing for its time first person space flight simulator.  Wargame Construction Set does what it says on the tin.  (It is just less pretty than the ST version, but still way more flexible than WCS 2 and 3 would be on DOS/Win 9x era PCs.)  And then the at the time 3 Cassette titles of which I got Fort Apocalypse to load ONCE because tape loading is pure hell.  I covered Fort Apocalypse as a pair of Youtube videos you might want to watch on my channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/CaptainRufus .  Zaxxon I never got to load at all.  Temple of Apshai is the original A8 bit version of this founding member of the electronic RPG family.  And it was the apparently rare single tape side loader.  And my annoying 1010 drive ate it.  RAAAGE.

Now for the games I got after this organization.  Now that my collection is getting to the point it no longer fits at all in the small plastic storage tub with lid.  (Even though the disk holder for the loose games sits on top.)

Again, forgive the non Atari 8 bit game pictures in the shots.  I try to save picture space and count this way.  Plus as I tend to get games piecemeal here and there I would have even longer gaps between pictures taken.

First off is Crush, Crumble, and Chomp!  Its a semi real time strategy game using the Apshai engine (again!) where you play as a giant monster getting to stomp around cities.

Great American Cross Country Road Race is an ok for its time racing game.  Mail Order Monsters I haven't gotten to try out yet but its a mixture of Archon, Pokemon, and the previous Crush, Crumble, and Chomp.  Telengard is another AVALON HILL ONLY PROGRAMS IN BASIC game, this time an RPG which is one of the earliest in the genre, another Roguelike styled game based on many of the early mainframe and PLATO type network RPGs folks in our Defense, Science, and University industries might have putzed around with on lunchbreaks.  (We would all never play videogames during work time, especially not with taxpayer dollars.  Nope.)

We see some Tandy Color Computer games that I have before owning the system (I learned my lesson from this Atari mayhem!) and then into the A8 yet again!  I haven't even loaded any of these up so I don't even know if they work.  I have too many projects both fun and essential, not to mention some days and times I just don't have the heart to do anything.  Depression is a BASTARD. :(  Eidolon is one of the first FPS titles as we might know them today, Jumpman is a classic puzzle platformer that was hugely popular in the early 80s, Curse of Ra is an Apshai Engine expansion that seems to have a pirated copy of actual Temple of Apshai meaning my ownership of the eaten tape copy now has some use due to the manual and stuff, and Battle of Chickamauga is another wargame.

And of course those games from my February Ebay shenanigans:  (And friends.  Those being Autoduel and International Karate.  Got em elsewhere.)

Auto Duel whose character disk sadly isn't working right (it is an action RPG based on Car Wars and was one of the first Commodore 64 games I wanted but never got.), Chicken which is a fun little Paddle type game in a lovely translucent red cartridge, Dig Dug the classic arcade game, Flight Simulator II which is the legendary simulator whose installments kept coming up as far as last year's Microsoft Flight, International Karate which is another damn tape game I can't get to bloody load (think a Karate Champ sort of fighting game), Ms Pac Man which continues the Atari computers getting good Pac Man ports, Summer Games which is that old classic sports series that isn't the wagglefest of Track n Field, and Super Huey which is a combat helicopter simulator that isn't half as good as Gunship which was what I got the Christmas I got my Commodore 64 instead of Auto Duel.

Here we have Racing Destruction Set which is the classic arcade racer/construction set that much like Pinball Construction Set would get later sequels from Electronic Arts in the Genesis/SNES days, Realm of Impossibility which is a neat action strategy adventure game, and Superman which is confusing and stupid.

Oh and a few more:

GORF on cartridge with now proper digital joystick controls instead of the gonzo 5200 analog play, and Beyond Castle Wolfenstein!  A game I have been hunting for a good year but it usually goes for 2-3 times what I am willing to pay.  Even though this is just a budget rerelease it will cover me nicely.

Where I am so far:

Well, for one thing I need more time/mental energy to not only try out the games to make sure they all work (so far only Autoduel and Pitstop II don't work and Autoduel may be my fault.  Power strip stuff when it was saving my character.  I just need a new Player disk!) but to properly learn and ENJOY the games.  Right now most of these titles I haven't played for more than 20-30 minutes each outside a few of them.

But that is an issue with my game and media collections as a whole.  I buy more than I make use of, which is probably one of the reasons I am so cheap with how much I am willing to pay.  And then add in storage space, self loathing for buying such silliness, and time to utilize it and its a big give and take situation.

Sure I could just go to one of the great sites full of Atari games and documentation and use like the excellent http://www.virtualdub.org/altirra.html emulator, but I prefer to be legal and legit as possible.

Even though some games I want like Bounty Bob Strikes Back, Wolfenstein 1 & 2, H.E.R.O., Ultima Series, and SSI RPG/Wargames all tend to go for more than I am willing to pay.  (Activision's Pastfinder is another case.  A case where I have basically decided I probably won't ever own it even though it looks cool.)

For me, 10-25 dollars is around my sweet spot for boxed and complete games.  I am very happy to go under that (obviously) if possible but some of the above even loose go for twice that!

I am trying to be a bit smarter and all.  Heck I am also collecting for the Tandy Color Computer 3, and Texas Intruments TI 99/4a and I won't buy either machine till I get the games I want for a good price.  Same with the MSX 2, Lynx, and Jaguar.  Once I get the games I want for the prices I am willing to pay I will investigate getting the machine.  Or just feeling like I can then emulate the games since I own the game and all.

(Of course I also have other retro electronic game collecting sub themes I do too.  Like Alien franchise, Batman, Castlevania, Hobby Game conversions, and Ultima.)

And yeah, I should probably get a solid state drive solution for the machine too.  http://www.lotharek.pl/product.php?pid=23 to use for when even the floppy drive decides to die or the magnetic disks fart out.  As is my cassette games almost never load period and I am always unsure if its the drive, the tapes, or BOTH.  

But it is all part of the fun and challenge.  Its not just about playing the games.  Its not just about amassing a good collection.  It isn't just about the history.  It is all of it plus the DO IT YOURSELF aspect of maintenance and the authenticity of playing on real hardware.

It is a serious love/hate relationship.

[Let's Play] Party Like its 1987! Let's Experience the Atari Computer! Part Extra: Ebay Fun Part 2

I am writing this here and there over the time as I have access to a proper typing computer (because try typing on a Kindle Fire screen.  To say nothing of an iPod Touch 2nd gen..) and results come up.

5:55 AM 1 Feb:   With 1 day and 13 hours left my bid on "Raid on Iran", the only hobby game on this little list got outbid.  My max bid: 12.50.

(Final Winning Bid: 33.00.  No way in hell would I pay this much for a mini game.  I like mini games such as this and it would be funny to make late 70s jokes or jokes at Iran in general (protip: Read or watch Perseopolis: The Story of a Childhood.  Its a great first hand account of someone who grew up in Iran during all this.) since they seem to be constantly lead by douchebags but no.  Not 33 dollars.  NOPE.)

4 PM 1 Feb: Broadsides.  Outbid by 50 cents about 5 hours before auction end.  My max bid: 10 bucks.  I love SSI but I know little about the game itself other than its you know, by SSI and is an Age of Sail game.  Money is tight and I was just giving it a shot.  I wanted it, but not super bad.  Oh well.

9 PM 1 Feb: Caverns of Mars.  Outbid by 50 cents with 3 minutes left in the auction.  My max bid: 10 bucks.  Another game I have heard decent things about but was mostly just bidding because it was there.  I don't feel bad again.  Its pretty common, though a sealed copy which I think is cartridge version would have been swell.

4 PM 1 Feb: Atlantis.  Outbid by 50 cents in the last 30 seconds of the auction.  My max bid: 8.50.  I love Imagic.  Next to Activision, they are the best early 80s game publisher.  And they had the best boxes and cartridges EVER.  Sadly many versions of Atlantis don't run on the XL/XE series of computers (I have the 130XE) so I didn't go big.  Plus Atlantis isn't my favorite Imagic game.  (Cosmic Ark or Riddle of the Sphinx are my top loves.)  I shrug.

430 PM 2 Feb: Lords of Conquest.  Outbid by 50 cents 7 hours before auction end.  My max bid: 8.50.  I have kind of wanted this game since I first saw it on a Commodore 64 in 1989 in my Vo Tech High School Electronics shop on one of the last days of the year.  Its sort of like Risk but better I think.  Also its an Electronic Arts game and 80s EA owned before they became evil.  What Activision and Imagic were to early 80s cartridge systems EA was to computer disk games.  I will survive.  Next time Gadget.

6 PM 2 Feb: Galaxian.  Outbid by 50 cents in the last 2 minutes of the auction.  My max bid: 5.50.  It was another "Well it's there" bid.  Galaga is MUCH better than Galaxian but if I could get the boxed cart cheap why not go for that heat? Also I have a couple retro collections with arcade Galaxian too.  I care not.


9 AM 3 Feb:  Popeye.  Outbid by 50 cents 12 hours before auction end.  My max bid: 7.50.  If Activision and Imagic are my early 80s cartridge Alpha and Beta, Parker Brothers is whatever the third place is in fancy talk.  And I kind of have wanted Popeye for years.  But not NEED IT NOOOOWS level of want.  Darnit.

9 AM 3 Feb: Q-Bert.  Outbid by 50 cents 13 hours before auction end.  My max bid: 5.50.  Another Parker Brothers game.  But really I should more want the Playstation Network version since it is you know, the arcade version.  Another one I was just giving a shot.  I also loved their version of it on the 2600 back in the day.  Like the Germans, Parker Brothers makes good stuff.

9 AM 3 Feb: Qix.  Outbid by 50 cents 13 hours before auction end.  My max bid: 6.00.  It was there.  I have the Taito collections with proper arcade version.  Also I am not a big Qix guy.  I've probably played more of the Gals' Panic nudie version of this game by Kaneko on ACTUAL ARCADE CABINETS IN PUBLIC than I have Qix in any form.  We had a lot of arcade games on the Naval Bases I was stationed in during the early 90s..  Next to Galaxian this is the game I care the least about losing on.


650 PM 3 Feb: Moon Patrol.  Outbid by 50 cents 3 and a half hours before auction end.  My max bid: 7.50.  This is a game I quite wanted but.. money be tight and its pretty common so I lowballed as I am wont to do.  Bugger.  :(

What have we seen with the losses?  Other people bidding low who might have wanted them more than me. Not a single item was bid on (besides me anyhow!) more than 48 hours before auction end, most in the last 12 hours.  Outside of two of the auctions no more than two people bid on them.  Myself and someone else.

The modern Ebay situation is one where people generally avoid bidding wars.  Not a ton of bid sniping.  A couple items I probably would have gone 1-7.50 more on had I more money but most of these were not my primary bids anyhow.  Just things I bid on since they were along with the things the seller had I really wanted.

Now to FRAWRESS VICTOLY:

Outside of Flight Simulator 2 which my bid of 3.50 won, all of these I got for the seller's starting price.

Realm of Impossibility and Racing Destruction Set were the reasons I bid on ANY of this and I got both for 5 and 4 dollars respectively, when sellers normally have them up for 30+ individually, and I have lost auctions for each in the 20 dollar range.  And again, they are EA titles from their golden age.  A nfity action puzzler I have always wanted to try, and a fun racing/construction set I played a bit on a friend's C64 as a kid.

Ms Pac Man I got for 6 dollars.  While I already have multiple arcade versions of the game and the remix Genesis cartridge, I REALLY like the Pac Man port on the A8 bit, moreso than the actual arcade game.  So.. why not try for the superior game?

Going back to Flight Simulator 2.  Yes there is a super common cartridge version.  But this is the disk version with the giant manuals and docs and all.  Even if I grab a cart loose later on I can now play it properly.  Or keep trying for Solo Flight which is my preferred flight sim where I cannot shoot down whoever it was Americans had to irrationally hate and fear in the 80s.

I got Dig Dug for 8.  I would MUCH rather play the "Arranged" remake of it on one of the Namco arcade collections but I do like me some Taizo Hori monster popping fun.  Will be nice just to see how they made it work on a 70s tech micro.

Chicken for 6.  Its a lovely transparent red cartridge.  And the game is named Chicken.  I can grab it strongly and say I am choking my Chicken.  For a dollar over the price of a Starbucks' latte I can make endless masturbation jokes.  Plus its a pretty cartridge.  And I just popped over to "Atarimania" to look at the game.  Its a joystick OR paddle game.  With a good score.  I look forward to LPing it and making wank jokes all the while.

Superman for 2.  Apparently its GOD AWFUL.  Like nearly Superman N64 bad.  But 2 bucks?  I spend more than that most weeks on candy from vending machines.

Summer Games for 2.  Yes I have cart versions.  But if EA is to computers what Activision is to early consoles then Epyx is Imagic.  And Epyx has bomb ass boxes to their games.

Super Huey for 6.  I played this a bit as a kid but not a lot.  I owned Gunship which is still the best helicopter combat sim.  But I love helicopter sims where I get to blow up helpless commies from the sky.

I did WELL.  For 2.50 more than a recently released Nintendo 3DS game I want (the newest Fire Emblem) I got 10 new games to play, all boxed and complete.  Not too shabby.  And I still have another bid or two with this seller active and might wait to see what wins and doesn't and get more awesome stuff.

See friends, there is a trick to Ebay:

BE CHEAP, BE PATIENT, KNOW OTHER PEOPLE HAVE MORE MONEY AND LESS SENSE THAN YOU DO.

You don't need any of this.  Its just stuff for fun.  Bills and important stuff comes first.  Know the value of your local currency.  Be willing to wait.  I have gotten things sometimes for HALF their normal going price just by being patient and willing to lose.

My "White Box" edition of 1974 Dungeons & Dragons?  Under 50 bucks.  Normally it runs 100 or more.  You can get deals if you are patient and accept the snipers or gougers who put things up for idiotic prices.

With this knowledge you too can have The Touch, Prism Power Might, Whatever the Hell Those Pastel Ponies Have, The Care Bear Stare, The Wu Tang Secret.

Now let's attack aggressively in.. not spending aggressively and laughing at idiots who pay more than we do for goofy crap we really don't need.

And if you are a seller thank the modern Ebay buyer for ruining your profit margins.

[Let's Play] Party Like its 1987! Let's Experience the Atari Computer! Part Extra: Ebay Fun

Yes its a little bonus update posty thing.  Which will have a sequel possibly.  Or I will just add it to this post next week.

The sad state of computer game collecting is this: most stores don't stock retro computer stuff, especially not pre Windows era in the US/Canada.  All the retro shops or garage sales or flea markets have tons and tons of console goodies but computer stuff is virtually nonexistent.

Thus its off to the great rat race that is online auction sites, the king of course being Ebay.  (Yes I know about Amazon sellers and whatnot but sometimes they are worse than any bidding war.)

As someone who has used the Bay since the days of 2nd edition Warhammer 40,000 I have some experience with it, both as a buyer and seller.  It has become mostly a buyer's market, albeit one sellers can make a quick buck or do a little legit price fixing.  Or make a quicker buck by undercutting current going rates with a good Buy It Now price.

But buyers have basically destroyed the whole auction concept by and large.  See many people use bidding services for things without a BIN and will put in microbids during the last minutes of an auction destroying the bonus money a bidding war might cause and almost making it pointless to bid on anything before then.

The only day of an auction that matters is the last unless again, it has a BIN and nobody bid on the lower price to make a deal.  I have done this and in a few small cases made the seller extra scratch as some other knucklehead with more money than sense (something almost every collecting hobby has TONS of) bids well beyond that price.

But here is the background to this fun mini project:

I have a number of items on search.  Some of which usually go for much more than my cheap and semi logical (for a collector anyways.  I am only mildly idiotic to the "Full Dipstick" of most collectors.) self is willing to pay.

One of them came up from a seller who put up a whole gaggle of tasty Atari 8 bit and C64 games.  Inexpensive shipping per item (always a huge thing!  Remember: SHIPPING SHOULD BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT WITH ANY ORDER OF ANYTHING.), which of course if I win multiples will get me quite the savings.  I bid on that item, and many of the others, mostly going super lowball bids over the starting price due to my desire for the items (come on.  Its just... STUFF.  I don't need it.  Its just for funsies!) and you know, being pretty broke.

We shall soon see what of these I win, for how much, and what the final bids in the final moments were:

Join me next week as we investigate this.  Wish me luck on around 50 total dollars including shipping of luck.  But not more than that otherwise I can't punch my credit card bill in the face as fast!