Hi everyone — the January 2023 title update for Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is here! We've received a lot of helpful player feedback and we've tried to incorporate as many improvements as we could into this patch. Thanks for your patience and support!
REIMAGINED
- Yars' Revenge Enhanced players using keyboard controls can now toggle between enhanced and classic graphics with the Tab key.
- Eliminated rare VCTR-SCTR glitch and added minor improvements.
- Added various minor improvements to Haunted Houses.
On PC, Reimagined games can now be launched directly with a command line using the "--game [game_id]" argument. This is aimed at hobbyists who wish to run individual Atari 50 games in custom arcade cabinets, for example.
Game IDs are as follows:
- vctr_sctr
- haunted_houses
- neo_breakout
- airworld
- quadratank
- yars_revenge_enhanced
- touch_me
For example, to launch VCTR-SCTR directly, the following can be entered on the command line:
atari50.exe --game vctr_sctr
ARCADE
- DIP switches can now be accessed for most arcade games at the Game Options menu. These will vary based on the game's original options, but may include settings such as game difficulty, number of initial lives, bonus score thresholds, and screen orientation. (One exception is Akka Arrh, which did not use DIP switches.)
- Some arcade games have been enhanced with new options in their DIP Switch settings. For instance, Pong and Fire Truck offer color modes that were not available in the original arcade versions. Fire Truck can also be set to single-player mode, which more closely represents Atari's Smokey Joe arcade machine.
- Fixed an error that caused the zoom function in I, Robot to function abnormally.
- Lunar Lander controls have been tweaked & standardized. Thrust is now mapped to the right analog stick (any direction) as well as the Nintendo Switch touch screen.
- Lunar Lander no longer automatically inserts an additional coin when the start button is pressed.
- Quantum no longer starts a two-player game by default on the Nintendo Switch.
- Food Fight controls have been fixed so Charlie retains his direction when the analog stick is released.
ATARI 2600
- Adventure game variation #3 correctly generates random item positions.
- A gameplay exploit has been removed from Warlords.
- Solaris' Galactic Scanner can now be activated from Player 1's controller.
- Restored missing pages of Swordquest: EarthWorld comic book.
- Minor improvements to the 2600 game variation selection system.
ATARI JAGUAR
- Tempest 2000 now supports analog controller input. This feature was hidden in the original game and intended to support an official rotary controller that was never released. This feature has now been surfaced and improved to function with modern controllers. Take it for a spin!
- Tempest 2000 now offers an “Enhanced & Overclock” mode that boosts the video to 60 FPS for a smoother experience on modern hardware.
- Cybermorph players can now use Access Codes at the level select screen.
- Club Drive players can now visit the secret level, Planet Todd.
ATARI LYNX
- Option 1 and Option 2 buttons now function as they should.
- Malibu Bikini Volleyball matches now end correctly.
MISCELLANEOUS
- On PC, the“--display 1080p” and “--display 720p” command-line arguments can be used to lower the internal resolution from the native 4K. This is useful for improving performance or running on lower resolution devices.
- Fixed a bug where timelines would sometimes improperly calculate completion percentage.
- Video segment durations are now listed on the timeline.
- 3D-modeled cartridge boxes now display correctly on ultrawide monitors.
- Improved OpenGL video performance.
- Implemented various other minor bug fixes and small refinements.
- Updated credits to thank even more people for their incredible help!