Seymour Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 A long long time ago a friend of mine gave me a box of Arcadia Supercharger items that were found I think in a vacated office here in Dallas. Just recently I was going through things for a move (argh!) and came across the box once again. In addition to a number of audio tape games there are three Supercharger cartridges that appear to be original prototypes. The cartridges are in flat enlongated molded cases and have a wire with a phono plug coming out of the back. There is a printed label that reads "Supercharger by Arcadia", "Company Confidental" (sp), "Prototype". I did a little searching on AtariAge and on the Web and can find no mention of Supercharger prototype hardware. Does anyone know if there are more of these hardware prototypes out there? I attached a photo to this post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickeycolumbus Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Thats really cool, I've never seen anything like it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwan-iwanowitsch-goratschin Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 WOW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 (edited) PM Sent, I'd like to buy one of these if your willing. Edited April 2, 2009 by Shawn Sr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickeycolumbus Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 PM Sent, I'd like to buy one of these if your willing. I beat you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Do any of the tapes look like prototypes? Can you post some scans or names? Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seymour Posted April 2, 2009 Author Share Posted April 2, 2009 I have attached a couple more photos. One of the carts just came apart so I took a picture. You may not be able to tell but the interior plastic parts are machined rather than molded. On the tapes, the labels are all white and are like the ones shown. There are 2 or 3 each of the usual titles so maybe this was three sets of cartridge plus tapes. Notice in the upper right corner of the label for the Phaser Patrol tape the word "Complete" is written by hand. I've got to hit the road right now but I'll check back later. Thanks for the replies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 (edited) Yikes! Cover up that eeprom window before you accidentally erase its contents :-) Edited April 2, 2009 by save2600 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 On the tapes, the labels are all white and are like the ones shown. There are 2 or 3 each of the usual titles so maybe this was three sets of cartridge plus tapes. Notice in the upper right corner of the label for the Phaser Patrol tape the word "Complete" is written by hand. Those are prototypes. Labyrinth is the WIP name for Escape from the Mind Master and may be different than the version that was dumped a few years back. Please let someone have a look at those tapes! Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Wonder007 Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 PM SENT!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayhem Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Those are prototypes. Labyrinth is the WIP name for Escape from the Mind Master and may be different than the version that was dumped a few years back. I feel that is still a bit of a mystery; Dennis Caswell wrote Escape From The Mind Master and had no recollection of it ever being called Labyrinth at any point when I spoke to him. Maybe the company were originally touting it with that name without him knowing? Seeing this tape certainly makes for interesting analysis... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ovalbugmann Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 (edited) Oh man! That is sweet! Arcadia developed them before they changed their name to Starpath - looks like some in house only stuff! I love the Supercharger, if you decide to sell and have any left for any reason, just let me know. Edited April 3, 2009 by ovalbugmann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Those are prototypes. Labyrinth is the WIP name for Escape from the Mind Master and may be different than the version that was dumped a few years back. I feel that is still a bit of a mystery; Dennis Caswell wrote Escape From The Mind Master and had no recollection of it ever being called Labyrinth at any point when I spoke to him. Maybe the company were originally touting it with that name without him knowing? Seeing this tape certainly makes for interesting analysis... It could have just been the name they slapped on it for to keep it secret. Sort of how Gremlins was called Gargoyle at one point. When I talked to Scott Smith (2600 Gremlins programmer) he had no recolection of it being called Gargoyle since it was the higher ups that changed the name on him. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
else Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 (edited) Yikes! Cover up that eeprom window before you accidentally erase its contents :-) Yea, it kills me when people take a picture of a uncovered EEPROM with their camera's flash on. The very act of taking the picture could erase it. I mean, I know in theory it probably shouldn't, but with old one-of-a-kind pieces of hardware you hate to take any chances.... Edited April 3, 2009 by else Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hhwolfman Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 PM SENT!!! Ru Ro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 PM SENT!!! Ru Ro I sent a PM the minute the guy posted the original post, pointless, he doesn't respond. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickeycolumbus Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 PM SENT!!! Ru Ro I sent a PM the minute the guy posted the original post, pointless, he doesn't respond. So did I. Hope he responds, I have been wanting some protos for a long time, but Wonder always bids higher than me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwan-iwanowitsch-goratschin Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 PM SENT!!! Ru Ro I sent a PM the minute the guy posted the original post, pointless, he doesn't respond. So did I. Hope he responds, I have been wanting some protos for a long time, but Wonder always bids higher than me Have you played Vulture Attack today??? (runs and hides) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Psionic Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Yikes! Cover up that eeprom window before you accidentally erase its contents :-) Yea, it kills me when people take a picture of a uncovered EEPROM with their camera's flash on. The very act of taking the picture could erase it. I mean, I know in theory it probably shouldn't, but with old one-of-a-kind pieces of hardware you hate to take any chances.... It's not a bad idea to cover it up, but you need a substantial amount of UV light of a particular wavelength to erase it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 It's not a bad idea to cover it up, but you need a substantial amount of UV light of a particular wavelength to erase it. You'd grow old before erasing an EPROM with a camera flash. LOL Sunlight for a loooong period of time would do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Helmet Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Man, I hope he replies back to you guys. This kind of stuff is amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dino Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Have you played Vulture Attack today??? (runs and hides) This is why this man's our 2009 Hall of Famer!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seymour Posted April 3, 2009 Author Share Posted April 3, 2009 For those awaiting reply to numerous PMs received: I haven't gone anywhere just really busy erasing EPROMs with my flash camera. For now I am trying to find out how to get the EPROMs and tapes archived in case these are different than production versions. I have contacted tempest@atariprotos.com for suggestions and am awaiting reply. Some items could be available for sale at a later date. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickeycolumbus Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 For those awaiting reply to numerous PMs received: I haven't gone anywhere just really busy erasing EPROMs with my flash camera. For now I am trying to find out how to get the EPROMs and tapes archived in case these are different than production versions. I have contacted tempest@atariprotos.com for suggestions and am awaiting reply. Some items could be available for sale at a later date. Thanks Thank you very much for the update! I am very glad to know that you are interested in archiving them Please let us know when you decide to sell them (if that is in fact what you want to do)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Wonder007 Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Yes, please let us know if/when they will be going on sale.....I DEFINITELY need these.....don't have any Starpath protos currently... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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