I was agreeing with you two on everything you said! The 400 Mini looks great, but the controls are so frustrating. I was way better on Bruce Lee with the original Atari joystick. I played Realm of Impossibility with my son, and I did fine with my PC joystick, but then I played with the CX stick and discovered why my son struggled with the game. And going back to the menu is maddening. Also, it took some workaround to get my PC controller to work in USB slot 2. And I also noticed the missing M.U.L.Es. immediately!

I want to commend the both of you on a great video. It truly is an honest video. It's on point with what many people are experiencing with this terrible iteration of mini emulation. You have the pulse of the community when you point out all the shortcomings of the 400 mini. This is in total contrast with the shills for the company that produced this frustrating unit. They have videos out there praising the unit and saying to us that if it doesn't work then maybe it's not right for you.Then they offer ways to take apart unit to try to make it work. Make all kinds of excuses for why it doesn't work . The videos make no sense and have no place in reality. Thank you again for giving the community a REAL HONEST NO SHILL review!! Keep up the great work. My unit is on its way back as I power up my 800.

@steveafulton

Ай бұрын

Yeah we are long time Atari 8bit users. We were genuinely excited that someone was going to create a product around it. We spend our own money on these products and so we get to enjoy the highs and lows like everyone else. I do hope they make some fixes to it soon.

@vaf51361

Ай бұрын

BTW Steve I want to add that your podcast into the vertical blank is second to none. You really know how to paint a picture and bring us back to the good old days of gaming. Again the both of you keep up the great work.

@steveafulton

Ай бұрын

@@vaf51361 why thank you!!

Colleen for Android is a fork of Atari800 that has not seen updates in 10 years. The400 is running Linux, not Android and from the config files, looks like they reused the Colleen name but it's another fork of Atari800.

@IntoTheVerticalBlank

2 ай бұрын

Ahh. Thanks.

Tan coloured cables mean jack squat to me after owning the Atari 400 here in the UK back in the day. Power brick was black as was the hard wired rf tv lead.

@steveafulton

2 ай бұрын

Sure, they are just a nice touch, but they are not the authentic colors. It tracks as the mini seems to be more form than function.

use the evercade joypad and remap its keys then just dont use the cx stick, it also unlocks those 2 extra games.

@IntoTheVerticalBlank

2 ай бұрын

Nice! Love my Evercade and the controller rocks!

Got my 400 Mini on Thursday and like you both I also give it a 5 out of 10. The CX Stick is just awful, I keep accidentally touching various keys and resetting the games. Clearly whoever designed it was not using a CX 40 joystick back in the late 70’s/early 80’s like we were. It’s also really bad that the user needs to select which system the ROM is for. Why is this not auto-detected? And don’t even get me started on the hassle needed to change from 50 to 60hz. A factory reset is the *only* way to change this?! 🤷‍♂️ But I have noticed that any USB controller will unlock the two hidden games, so it doesn’t need to be an Atari VCS one. I successfully unlocked and played Super Breakout and the Warlords clone using a no-name, generic $10 controller.

Ah, no, they screwed up MULE and Seven Cities of Gold. I didn't expect glitchy graphics in the former, nor the cut title sequence in the latter. Not being able to create new worlds is inexcusable (I cannot recall if one can do that in Atari800Win or Altirra). This is a big disappointment for me, as these are my two favorite games for the Atari 8-bit. This is the reason why I would want to buy this thing! How could they wreck this? How could they not get this right? I suppose that we could simply add these two titles to our USB drives, but doesn't that defeat the whole point? This needs to be fixed immediately with a firmware update. Atari and Retro Games should also enable loading four discs, as many RPGs ran on four discs. And there should absolutely be an option to "save to disc." Heck, Pinball Construction Set! And I have heard far too many complaints about the stock joystick, although, to be fair, all I really want to do is plug in a modern USB joypad or get an adapter to use the classic Wico joysticks with keyboard. Fortunately, these are opening night jitters, and they can be easily fixed with a firmware update. What we need to do is contact Atari and Retro Games and share our concerns and suggestions. Honestly, if they're not going to fix MULE and Seven Cities, I'm going to seriously reconsider buying a 400 Mini. I do look forward to future videos that go into depth on this device. Thank you both for this excellent discussion. PS: I found this 2002 thread on AtariAge that discusses the ability to create new worlds in Seven Cities. Someone supplied a blank disc ("Empty_disc.atr") that can be used in the emulators. I haven't tried this myself, but perhaps you could give it a try on the PC/Mac emulators and see if it works. If successful, we should just contact Atari directly and send them the files (as well as proper file for MULE w/o glitching). Anyway, here's the link: forums.atariage.com/topic/11335-seven-cities-of-gold-help-please/

About the controls on the stick, you can map them how you like. So if it doesn’t fit your play style, just reconfigure it. Personally I like the design of the stick and because you can reconfigure it, it doesn’t seem as a design flaw.

@IntoTheVerticalBlank

27 күн бұрын

Actually currently, you cannot re-map for the included games. You need to add the rom and then re-map. But, yes, you can. The stick is still awkward for me to use though.

Wait, M.U.L.E. doesn't work in 50Hz? That's weird, it does on the original hardware, the only two games with issues on 50Hz that immediately pop up in my mind are Millipede and Up'n'Down. But the other way round it's way worse (because you can do more stuff during interrupts in 50Hz mode that will glitch/crash in 60Hz mode). This should be fixed ASAP, 50Hz or 60Hz must become assignable to each game/demo and saved to a config file.

@IntoTheVerticalBlank

2 ай бұрын

It plays but slow and the controls are laggy. There is probably a 50Hz version out there that can be loaded on to work better.

@CarpeLudumGGS

2 ай бұрын

It's not a matter of 50/60Hz actually. The graphics errors, and the crash when catching the Wampus, happen both in 50 and 60Hz. RG (device manufacturer) used a broken disk image of the game which was and obviously still is floating around on the internet. Had they used a known/vetted working disk image (or done any quality assurance / playtesting at all...) that would not have happened. Such a bad experience for first-time casual M.U.L.E. players. :(

No. The original Atari 400 keyboard is really not all that bad. It's still a LOT easier than trying to repurpose a PC keyboard to use instead. The keys on the PC keyboard are just all wrong. I've been keying in BASIC programs into my old 400 for the first time in thirty years and it's really pretty OK. For me, it's amazing that this old 400 still works just like it did when I bought it used for $20 in 1985 because I thought it looked cute. My trusty old 800 seems to still work but its keyboard doesn't work at all. This 400 keyboard is bulletproof!

@IntoTheVerticalBlank

2 ай бұрын

Of course. It was a bad joke

@lorensims4846

2 ай бұрын

It's still a LOT better than the keyboard on the 400 Mini

It's so SMALL! Good for its games, but it's no Atari 400. Color coordination is nice, but the original Atari cables were actually black. That CX joystick is too busy with too many unmarked buttons. Where's Start? Where's Select? Where's Option? Where's Back? Too many choices that are little more than guesses. Too easy to hit one by accident. If you plug on the Classic joystick from the Atari VCS you'll get two new games, Castle Crisis (Warlords) and Super Breakout because the Classic joystick can act as a paddle controller if you twist the stick.

If only the price was around $70 or $80, this would have been an impulse buy as I only wanted it for display and collecting purposes. However, I had recently got to thinking about hooking it up and actually using it to give it more value to me. I have a better idea of what I’m getting, and this video has been very informative. I will very likely buy one this month just to help support the cause and hope for more Atari mini in the future.

@steveafulton

2 ай бұрын

We are going to dive into it even more to see how to get the best out of it.

@IntoTheVerticalBlank

2 ай бұрын

Yeah, like Steve says, we're going to squeeze this puppy and see what we can force it to do

@vaf51361

Ай бұрын

By buying one you're not supporting the cause . If more people don't buy it and return it if bought they will make a way better experience because you will send a message that this is not acceptable.

@socrates0603

Ай бұрын

@@vaf51361 so in your view Steve should return his 400 Mini? It’s not a perfect product as the video pointed out and you are certainly correct that the consumer can speak with the almighty dollar and folks can easily find reasons why they wouldn’t want one. However I don’t feel that way.

I'm not particularly interested in the machine, but I enjoyed listening to your assessment of it. I think its rhe first time I've seen your channel and Iliked the honest straightforward approach. I grew up with the C64, though I didnt get one until my early teens. I have the C64 Maxi which I do like a lot, but there are areas of that one too that could have been guven more attention. The emulation itself is good, but it is nowhere near as reliable as C64 Forever on PC for actually getting a game up and running, which is disappointing for a relatively expensive dedicated emulation box. Controller support is also pretty limited and button mapping was not included, which is a massive oversight in my opinion. Still I do enjoy having at least the feel of a real C64 and there are some great new releases, none of which have any issues running. Anyway, I've gone completely off track. I subscribed here and started following your podcast on Spotify as well. Thanks.

@IntoTheVerticalBlank

Ай бұрын

Thanks for subbing and stopping by! I have the Amiga mini and the C64 mini and both are fun for me because I never had the machines. I don't get then out much though. If I has been an Amiga or C64 owner I probably would dislike those also as they would be a poor substitute for the real thing.

I'm struggling with the CX as well, i seemed fine with the 2600+ but playing bolderdash, bruce lee i seemed to be having issues with cardinality. I did try my 8bit Do in port 1 (ultimate version with dongle) but could not get it to work, is there something i'm missing? Ps excellent evaluation, cheers.

Ah, yes. You cannot serve the ball I Super Breakout using the Classic joystick. With the original game cartridge you just hit to trigger to serve, but that only flashes the score using the Classic joystick. You need the CX joystick to serve. That's just nuts.

I wonder if we can use the Competition Pro style joystick that comes with the C64 Mini/Maxi? That may solve some of the trouble with accidentally hitting the trigger button just when holding it.

@IntoTheVerticalBlank

2 ай бұрын

Will try it and put up a video

@jayme69

2 ай бұрын

I have the VIC20 Maxi micro-switched joystick and Retro Games have done a great job mapping all the functions of the CXStick onto it. Basically it's the only joystick you need for The400 Mini and it controls great. I'd steer clear of the non micro-switched C64 Mini joystick as it controls really bad.

Hold the power button down to shut it off

@IntoTheVerticalBlank

2 ай бұрын

Sometimes it works. sometimes it does not. That's the problem.

How does the emulation stack up against Altirra I wonder...

@IntoTheVerticalBlank

2 ай бұрын

Altirra is much more flexible. But most of the games play pretty well on Colleen for the 400 mini.

Power off from the menu

@IntoTheVerticalBlank

2 ай бұрын

Good tip.

@cbaxter6527

Ай бұрын

I don't have any issue doing the power off using the button. Like a PC hold the button for 5 seconds and it should start the shutdown. I was using this method until I found the hidden software power off request.