UPDATE: A few have mentioned there appears to be a fix for the issue with the CX Stick on AtariAge and Jon at GenXGrownup also demonstrates this. Check out Jon's video here: ua-cam.com/video/7OoeCWnRcLE/v-deo.html This will require opening the stick, adding a rubber piece and closing it back up. Here's more information on that on the AtariAge forums: forums.atariage.com/topic/364310-thecxstick-ultimate-fix .
I remember these. That membrane keyboard turned a lot of people off and many actually preferred its more upscale stablemate the Atari 800 with a real keyboard.
Thank you for watching and commenting Papa Brad! The ATARI VCS was my first-ever game console, I'm right there with you on the nostalgia factor. I didn't own the 400 mini, my first computer came several years later, the TI-99/4A. Have a great day sir!
There's a community fix for the CXSTICK control issues that can be found on the AtariAge 400 Mini form that involves putting a small rubber pad on the stick's PCB board that offsets movement pressure. Also, hitting the top ring buttons by mistake can reset a game. I remapped the Top, Left, Right, Bottom, and Shoulder buttons to the Shift keyboard key for games where accidentally hitting the ring is an issue.
Thank you, I'll check it out! I guess that might confirm, it's a hardware and not a software issue. Interesting the issue wasn't caught before mass-production. It was a pretty obvious issue when I started playing the built in games. Same here, I had a few games get reset by accidentally hitting the ring button.
I believe the directional issues with the stick are a physical design issue and would not be fixed by firmware updates. There is already a physical hack to improve directional response for those who play more heavy-handed, but it involves opening up the stick and sticking something directly in the middle of the movement area under the bottom of the stick to slightly increase distance between the pressure sensors and trigger points on the round plate under the stick.
Thank you, yes someone mentioned it a little earlier. Looks like this may be the solution to the CX Stick issue: forums.atariage.com/topic/364310-thecxstick-ultimate-fix . Unfortunately, it does involve opening up the stick. Not a big deal for me to try it out tonight, but others may be less interested in modding a new device.
Receied mine through a pre-order on Amazon since I have the rest of the mini consoles. Love the console, hate the controller. I even did the suggested mod to address accidental angle presses. While it helps, the stick is still super stiff and the ring buttons constantly get pressed. Also it seems the controller lags/ is unresponsive at times; especially playing Lee. Kind of sad that they have a tendency to fumble on the controllers like this. I plan to try my c64 and amiga mini controllers soon to see if they work any better. I wasn't that impressed with the C64 one either though when I used it on my C64 mini.
Thank you for your feedback and sharing your experience. It is unfortunate that the controller issues weren't identified/resolved prior to mass production.
I passed on it but I wanted it, esp since I had an Atari 400 as a kid. Hopefully they will address the issues, seems to be better than the c64 and amiga 500 mini from the same company. Sideloading makes it a nice pick up for sure, thanks for showing it off Jon.
A childhood buddy owned one, we didn't have the $ for much when I was a kid. I do have fond memories of the machine and those early days of computing. Thank you for watching CarlO!
How is it better than the C64 & Amiga which emulate much better games?? I do think it is a lot cooler looking hardware than those other minis but as far as the games, the C64 & Amiga 500 seem to have much better built in libraries. The Amiga 500 also includes a mouse and game pad.
@@EgGu-l9y The Amiga was next generation, so that’s an unfair comparison, although I prefer the 8 bit systems myself. The C64 has more games, but the Atari 8-bits often have better and the original versions of many games. The Atari 800XL / 130XE (which the 400 mini lets you use) had a faster CPU, more colours, and more vibrant, four channels of POKEY sound etc). Compare games such as Rescue on Fractulas, Elektra Glide, Alternate Reality, and it’s clear that the Atari has the better versions due to its capabilities with games that pushed both the C64 and Atari to their limits. As Archer Maclean, programmer of Dropzone and IK+ said, “The Atari, being the Porsche of home computers, is capable of running Dropzone 2.5 times faster than the 64 and can handle any amount of blobs on screen, even when you release a Strata Bomb. It is visually, sonically etc., identical and about 12K shorter. However, the 64 is still a respectable BMW 316.[7]”
I bought my 400 Mini with a 2nd spare CX-stick - and I've had zero issues with false diagonals. Maybe I don't use a lot of force on the joystick when I'm playing, but I just don't have a problem with it at all. The Ring buttons, though - I press the Left Ring button all the time, so I have it permanently blanked out in the joystick configuration. How the stick got released as is I don't understand: I'd have thought these issues would have been caught in testing, long before release.
Thank you for your feedback! Yeah, definitely had issues here but more obvious with the isometric style games. Would be interesting if you connected it to a PC and tried your controller(s) to see if you see the issue with them or not.
I never owned the Atari 400 either. My closest programming console was the Texas Instrument TI-99/4a. I learned Basic on that bad boy. The games seem so just ok but not great. Missile Command is probably the best game. Great review Jon!
We started out on the same machine, I owned the Ti-99/4A and loved it! I followed a similar path with basic/extended basic. The game list is just ok on the mini, agree! Want to see something pretty amazing on the TI, check out Dragon's Lair here: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing/#Dragons_Lair_for_the_TI-994A_Home_Computer-_NEW_in_2019_FULL_Play-through_in_practice_mode . In the early days of this channel, there was a lot of TI stuff out (TIPI, FinalGrom99 and DL). DL on the TI totally blew my mind, in the description is a link to a document from the developer of how he pulled it off. Interesting read (imo).
Great machine! Brings back memories to when i started programing in my first programing language Visual BASIC (on a PC). Thanks for the flashback :) I also appreciate the brief hands on to the installed games 👍🏻 i wish i had this device in the past, maybe i‘d also be a heart surgeon today 😂
LOL, it's funny when I was a kid that's what I thought I wanted to do (surgeon). Then realized it's easier to put computers back together rather than people and it changed my career direction. Then again, maybe it was the Atari 400/800 that was lacking in my life. Who knows 😀 Thank you for watching MashTec, it was definitely fun seeing more of what I missed out on back then.
I returned mine. Too many hoops to jump through to play Atari 8bit games. How people aren't more disgusted with the fact that after paying 120 for this unit only to have to tear apart the joystick to modify it. Totally unacceptable.
I don't blame you. It's unfortunate that it's shipping to customers with a rather serious flaw in the CX Stick. If I review a product, I don't return it. I may mod the stick on this one.
I have the Atari Game station released last year and it works, but I prefer plugging in the multi arts and such into my actual Atari computers. However, this is a great unit when without an original unit. I will pick one up, but not right now.
@@walterg74 I have not grabbed one yet, for I have so many Atari 8 bit computers, including an original 400, which still work great. However, I'll pick up one of these units probably this fall.
UPDATE: A few have mentioned there appears to be a fix for the issue with the CX Stick on AtariAge and Jon at GenXGrownup also demonstrates this. Check out Jon's video here: ua-cam.com/video/7OoeCWnRcLE/v-deo.html
This will require opening the stick, adding a rubber piece and closing it back up. Here's more information on that on the AtariAge forums: forums.atariage.com/topic/364310-thecxstick-ultimate-fix .
😊
I remember these. That membrane keyboard turned a lot of people off and many actually preferred its more upscale stablemate the Atari 800 with a real keyboard.
ATARI is my jam! Great video! Loved it!
Thank you for watching and commenting Papa Brad! The ATARI VCS was my first-ever game console, I'm right there with you on the nostalgia factor. I didn't own the 400 mini, my first computer came several years later, the TI-99/4A. Have a great day sir!
There's a community fix for the CXSTICK control issues that can be found on the AtariAge 400 Mini form that involves putting a small rubber pad on the stick's PCB board that offsets movement pressure.
Also, hitting the top ring buttons by mistake can reset a game. I remapped the Top, Left, Right, Bottom, and Shoulder buttons to the Shift keyboard key for games where accidentally hitting the ring is an issue.
Thank you, I'll check it out! I guess that might confirm, it's a hardware and not a software issue. Interesting the issue wasn't caught before mass-production. It was a pretty obvious issue when I started playing the built in games. Same here, I had a few games get reset by accidentally hitting the ring button.
I believe the directional issues with the stick are a physical design issue and would not be fixed by firmware updates. There is already a physical hack to improve directional response for those who play more heavy-handed, but it involves opening up the stick and sticking something directly in the middle of the movement area under the bottom of the stick to slightly increase distance between the pressure sensors and trigger points on the round plate under the stick.
Thank you, yes someone mentioned it a little earlier. Looks like this may be the solution to the CX Stick issue: forums.atariage.com/topic/364310-thecxstick-ultimate-fix . Unfortunately, it does involve opening up the stick. Not a big deal for me to try it out tonight, but others may be less interested in modding a new device.
Receied mine through a pre-order on Amazon since I have the rest of the mini consoles. Love the console, hate the controller. I even did the suggested mod to address accidental angle presses. While it helps, the stick is still super stiff and the ring buttons constantly get pressed. Also it seems the controller lags/ is unresponsive at times; especially playing Lee. Kind of sad that they have a tendency to fumble on the controllers like this.
I plan to try my c64 and amiga mini controllers soon to see if they work any better. I wasn't that impressed with the C64 one either though when I used it on my C64 mini.
Thank you for your feedback and sharing your experience. It is unfortunate that the controller issues weren't identified/resolved prior to mass production.
I passed on it but I wanted it, esp since I had an Atari 400 as a kid. Hopefully they will address the issues, seems to be better than the c64 and amiga 500 mini from the same company. Sideloading makes it a nice pick up for sure, thanks for showing it off Jon.
A childhood buddy owned one, we didn't have the $ for much when I was a kid. I do have fond memories of the machine and those early days of computing. Thank you for watching CarlO!
How is it better than the C64 & Amiga which emulate much better games??
I do think it is a lot cooler looking hardware than those other minis but as far as the games, the C64 & Amiga 500 seem to have much better built in libraries. The Amiga 500 also includes a mouse and game pad.
@@EgGu-l9y The Amiga was next generation, so that’s an unfair comparison, although I prefer the 8 bit systems myself. The C64 has more games, but the Atari 8-bits often have better and the original versions of many games. The Atari 800XL / 130XE (which the 400 mini lets you use) had a faster CPU, more colours, and more vibrant, four channels of POKEY sound etc). Compare games such as Rescue on Fractulas, Elektra Glide, Alternate Reality, and it’s clear that the Atari has the better versions due to its capabilities with games that pushed both the C64 and Atari to their limits. As Archer Maclean, programmer of Dropzone and IK+ said, “The Atari, being the Porsche of home computers, is capable of running Dropzone 2.5 times faster than the 64 and can handle any amount of blobs on screen, even when you release a Strata Bomb. It is visually, sonically etc., identical and about 12K shorter. However, the 64 is still a respectable BMW 316.[7]”
I bought my 400 Mini with a 2nd spare CX-stick - and I've had zero issues with false diagonals.
Maybe I don't use a lot of force on the joystick when I'm playing, but I just don't have a problem with it at all.
The Ring buttons, though - I press the Left Ring button all the time, so I have it permanently blanked out in the joystick configuration.
How the stick got released as is I don't understand: I'd have thought these issues would have been caught in testing, long before release.
Thank you for your feedback! Yeah, definitely had issues here but more obvious with the isometric style games. Would be interesting if you connected it to a PC and tried your controller(s) to see if you see the issue with them or not.
I never owned the Atari 400 either. My closest programming console was the Texas Instrument TI-99/4a. I learned Basic on that bad boy. The games seem so just ok but not great. Missile Command is probably the best game. Great review Jon!
We started out on the same machine, I owned the Ti-99/4A and loved it! I followed a similar path with basic/extended basic. The game list is just ok on the mini, agree! Want to see something pretty amazing on the TI, check out Dragon's Lair here: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing/#Dragons_Lair_for_the_TI-994A_Home_Computer-_NEW_in_2019_FULL_Play-through_in_practice_mode . In the early days of this channel, there was a lot of TI stuff out (TIPI, FinalGrom99 and DL). DL on the TI totally blew my mind, in the description is a link to a document from the developer of how he pulled it off. Interesting read (imo).
Console... FFS...
Great machine! Brings back memories to when i started programing in my first programing language Visual BASIC (on a PC). Thanks for the flashback :)
I also appreciate the brief hands on to the installed games 👍🏻 i wish i had this device in the past, maybe i‘d also be a heart surgeon today 😂
LOL, it's funny when I was a kid that's what I thought I wanted to do (surgeon). Then realized it's easier to put computers back together rather than people and it changed my career direction. Then again, maybe it was the Atari 400/800 that was lacking in my life. Who knows 😀 Thank you for watching MashTec, it was definitely fun seeing more of what I missed out on back then.
This looks fun, thank you for the review!
Thank you for watching!
Use a PS4 controller. And turn your TV onto game mode, if possible. Then it’s perfect.
Did you ask UA-cam to limit your number of subscribers? I can't figure out otherwise why you don't have a million.
Very kind of you to say, thank you and have an awesome day!
I returned mine. Too many hoops to jump through to play Atari 8bit games. How people aren't more disgusted with the fact that after paying 120 for this unit only to have to tear apart the joystick to modify it. Totally unacceptable.
I don't blame you. It's unfortunate that it's shipping to customers with a rather serious flaw in the CX Stick. If I review a product, I don't return it. I may mod the stick on this one.
I have the Atari Game station released last year and it works, but I prefer plugging in the multi arts and such into my actual Atari computers. However, this is a great unit when without an original unit. I will pick one up, but not right now.
"Too many hoops to jump through"..? This could not be simpler... Guess we found tje reason why shampoos have instructions...
@@walterg74 I have not grabbed one yet, for I have so many Atari 8 bit computers, including an original 400, which still work great. However, I'll pick up one of these units probably this fall.