Hi-Res Astrocade Screenshot Description
August 28, 2017
By Adam Trionfo


Michael Matte has been working on some projects with his Astrocade that he 
upgraded from the Bally's standard low-resolution (160x102) to High-Resolution 
(320x204).  Last week, he took a screenshot of a hi-res demo that he wrote to 
test the unit.  He describes the picture in detail.  Here are Michael's 
slightly-edited comments on the picture:

"I was running my hi-res demo and thought I'd take a crack at a screen shot. I 
think I just lucked out with this shot. It was a hand held shot. Thought I'd 
send it to you right away since I think it turned out pretty good. Note the 
wagon on the right side moves much faster than the moving critter on the left 
side of the fish tank.

"Out of curiosity, I took 2 shots of the Astrocade insides. These 2 shots 
didn't turn out very good. Plan later to rig a tripod set up, an attempt to 
keep my camera still for close ups.

"Haven't really done much on my hi-res Astrocade tour project except for 
mounting an air-flow vent. Oh, I forgot to tell you I plan to buy a higher 
quality camera, perhaps the Canon Rebel series this December."

After I asked Michael if it was okay if I shared the picture with the group, he 
responded:

"Sure. Post away. As a reminder, the wagon on the right moves up and down, the 
7 fish move at random and the critter left of the tank bounces around. Fifteen 
static graphics are written in 15 magic combinations. The elapsed time counter 
below the tank displays even in hours. The counter to the right counts up every 
time the wagon hits an upper or lower limit. The critter also has a limits 
counter below it. The wagon moves much faster than the critter who is in no 
hurry to go anywhere.

"This demo was written back in the 80's to test the high-res screen map on my 
modified Bally/Astrocade. The lucky handheld screen shot was taken on a 20" 
Toshiba TV. The video display is composite not RF modulated. You've seen these 
graphics before but not in high-res. This is the first time anyone has seen a 
screen shot on my high-res Astrocade. I am honored to present this posting to 
you."

Thanks Michael for sharing the picture!