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  1. Atari Systems

    1. Atari General

      A general discussion for Atari-related topics that aren't covered by a specific Atari console or computer forum.

      20.3k
      posts

    2. Atari 2600

      The Atari 2600 is the system that started it all for Atari, and is by far the most popular classic gaming console. This forum covers all 2600 systems produced by Atari, as well as 2600-compatible consoles produced by third-parties.

      706.1k
      posts

    3. Atari 5200

      The Atari 5200 was Atari's second cartridge-based game console. Based on the Atari 8-bit computer line and labeled the "SuperSystem", the 5200 was Atari's answer to growing competition in a market they were losing control over.

      91.4k
      posts

    4. Atari 7800

      The Atari 7800 ProSystem is a contemporary of the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Sega Master System. Based on extensive feedback from Atari customers, the 7800 features a streamlined design, backward compatibility with the 2600, a powerful graphics processor, and simplified controllers.

      171k
      posts

    5. Atari Lynx

      Lynx was Atari's first portable game system, and world's first color handheld. It was designed by Epyx and the engineers who created the Amiga. Ahead of its time, the Lynx sported a backlit color screen, stereo sound (in model 2) and an impressive range of games. Check out our rarity guide or explore many games listed on Atari Gamer.

       

      73.1k
      posts

    6. Atari Jaguar

      Atari's last game console, the Atari Jaguar represented a huge leap in technology from previous offerings. Featuring a 64-bit architecture, the Jaguar had great potential, but its power was difficult to tap. Even then, many great games were released and the Jaguar has an avid fan base today.

      218.3k
      posts

    7. Atari VCS

      Discussion forum for the new Atari VCS console.

      18.8k
      posts

    8. Dedicated Systems

      Before Atari produced the famous 2600, they created many standalone consoles such as Pong, Speedway, and Stunt Cycle. Recently, Atari has been creating new dedicated consoles, such as the Atari Flashback.

      35.8k
      posts

    9. Atari 8-Bit Computers

      Atari's original 8-bit computer line, featuring the Atari 400, 800, XL, and XE series of computers. Powerful and well-engineered, the Atari 8-bit computers are still popular with fans today!

      683.7k
      posts

    10. Atari ST/TT/Falcon Computers

      Atari's next generation computer line, the Atari ST computers were based on the Motorola 68000 series chips, the same as the Macintosh at the time. The ST would also be followed by the TT and Falcon.

      65.8k
      posts

    11. Atari Portfolio

      The Atari Portfolio is a palmtop, IBM PC-compatible portable computer released by Atari in 1989, the world's first palmtop computer!

      554
      posts

  2. Classic Consoles

    1. Classic Console Discussion

      Discussion of classic gaming consoles outside the Atari realm.

      424.6k
      posts

    2. ColecoVision / Adam

      Coleco launched the ColecoVision in 1982, with the console quickly becoming popular due to its library of arcade ports. The ColecoVision has a large homebrew following today.

      132.2k
      posts

    3. Intellivision / Aquarius

      This forum is for discussion of the Mattel Intellivision, Atari's primary competitor against the 2600, as well as the Mattel Aquarius computer. Intellivision systems include the original Intellivision, Intellivision II, INTV III, and the Sears Super Video Arcade.

      279.6k
      posts

    4. Bally Arcade/Astrocade

      Discussion forum for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade console.

      3.7k
      posts

    5. Odyssey 2 / Videopac

      Discussion revolving around the Odyssey 2 / Videopac G7000/G7400

      7.7k
      posts

    6. Vectrex

      Discuss the world's only vector-based video game console here!

      12.2k
      posts

    7. Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) / Famicom

      Discuss Nintendo's first cartridge-based system, the NES, here!

      12k
      posts

    8. Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) / Super Famicom

      Discuss Nintendo's second cartridge based system here!

      6.5k
      posts

    9. Sega Genesis

      Sega's popular fourth-generation 16-bit system, would ultimately compete head-to-head with the Super Nintendo.

      14.7k
      posts

    10. 3DO Interactive Multiplayer

      Discussion forum for the 3DO console and the unreleased Panasonic M2

      3.6k
      posts

    11. Dreamcast

      Discussion for the SEGA Dreamcast console.

      1.2k
      posts

    12. SMS High Score Club

      Join the Sega Master System High Score Club today!

      2.4k
      posts

    13. TG-16/PC Engine High Score Club

      Compete for high scores on the TurboGrafx-16 and PC Engine!

      1.4k
      posts

  3. Classic Computing

    1. Classic Computing Discussion

      Use this forum to discuss the plethora of classic computers outside of Atari 8-bit offerings. These include the Apple II, Commodore 64/128, Amiga, TI 99/4a, MSX, TRS-80 and others.

      41.2k
      posts

    2. Apple II Computers

      Discussion for Apple's 8-bit computer line.

      14k
      posts

    3. TI-99/4A Computers

      Discussion for TI-99/4A Computers

      238.2k
      posts

    4. Commodore 8-bit Computers

      Discussion for Commodore PET, Vic-20, Commodore 64, Commodore 128, and other 8-bit Commodore systems.

      17.4k
      posts

    5. Commodore Amiga

      Discussion for Amiga Computers, CDTV, and CD32

      7.8k
      posts

    6. Tandy Computers

      Discussion for Tandy computers, including the TRS-80 Models I, II, III, and 4, Color Computers, and Model 100.

      7.9k
      posts

  4. Modern Consoles

    1. Modern Gaming Discussion

      This forum is for discussion of all modern game systems, including gaming on consoles and computers.

      232.4k
      posts

    2. Sony Playstation 5

      Discuss Sony's Playstation 5 console here!

      851
      posts

    3. Xbox Series S/X

      Discuss Microsoft's latest Xbox Series S and X consoles here!

      724
      posts

    4. Atari VCS (Redirect)   (8,616 visits to this link)

      Discussion forum for the new Atari VCS console.

    5. Nintendo Switch

      Discussion about Nintendo's latest game console and games.

      10.2k
      posts

    6. Microsoft Xbox One

      Discussion forum for the Xbox One.

      3.3k
      posts

    7. Sony PlayStation 4

      Talk about the Sony Playstation 4 here.

      3.4k
      posts

    8. Microsoft Xbox 360

      Discussion about the Microsoft Xbox 360 (not including the original Xbox).

      22.4k
      posts

    9. Sony Playstation 3

      Please discuss the Sony Playstation 3 and games here.

      13.4k
      posts

    10. Nintendo Wii / Wii U

      Discussion forum for the Nintendo Wii and Wii U consoles and games.

      27.5k
      posts

  5. Gaming General

    1. Gaming General Discussion

      Gaming discussion not covered by other specific gaming forums.

      3k
      posts

    2. Arcade and Pinball

      Many of us grew up pumping quarters into arcade games, and here's where you can discuss all your favorites. From Pong to Pinball to the latest arcade games, if it has a coin slot, then you're at the right place!

      45.9k
      posts

    3. Emulation

      Emulators allow you to experience classic games on modern PCs (and other devices!) Discuss the latest emulator developments and ask questions about emulation here!

      31.7k
      posts

    4. Hardware

      This forum is for discussion of hardware at a more technical level than you'll find in the other forums. If you have a hardware question you'd like to ask or have some interesting knowledge you'd like to share with others, post it here!

      33.3k
      posts

    5. Prototypes

      Ever wondered about all those games that were announced but never released? Or games that have been discovered over the years that no one even knew existed? Or have you discovered a new prototype that no one's seen yet? Here's the place to talk about prototype games, led by Tempest of AtariProtos.com.

      16.5k
      posts

    6. Gaming Publications and Websites

      This forum is for discussion of gaming related magazines, books, websites, and other publications.

      19.9k
      posts

    7. International

      Internacional - Internazionale - Internationaal - Internasjonal - This forum is for discussion of classic and modern gaming in languages other than English.

      4.6k
      posts

  6. Marketplace

    1. Buy, Sell, and Trade

      Please use this forum as a tool to buy, sell, and trade games and hardware.

      241.1k
      posts

    2. Auction Central

      Use this forum to discuss auctions on eBay. Have something up for auction you'd like to share? Post it here! You can also highlight amusing, off-the-wall, or interesting auctions that others may want to hear about!

      170.5k
      posts

    3. Wanted

      Use this forum to post a list of the gaming hardware and software you're looking for!

      51k
      posts

    4. Free Games and More

      Spreading the Love with Free Games and other items.

      2.5k
      posts

    5. User Feedback Forum

      Please use this forum to leave feedback about other users on AtariAge that you've had good and/or bad experiences with. Please read the sticky at the top of this forum before posting!

      14.4k
      posts

  7. Community

    1. Events

      Use this forum to discuss gaming events of all types, including expos revolving around classic gaming, events catering to modern systems, arcade expos, and local gatherings of collectors getting together or a day of gaming.

      23.5k
      posts

    2. Show Us Your Collection!

      If you're a repeat visitor to AtariAge, it's likely you also collect classic games and systems. Here's your chance to show off to the rest of the community your collection!

      16.4k
      posts

    3. Member Blogs

      As members update their Blogs, messages will be posted in this forum so you can more easily keep tabs on who's writing what!

      11.9k
      posts

    4. High Score Clubs

      Participate in high score contests for your favorite systems!

      2.4k
      posts

    5. Poll Forum

      6.7k
      posts

    6. Contests

      These forums are for discussing and participating in contests started by AtariAge, contests run by forum members, and of course, the weekly High Score Contests!

      15.3k
      posts

    7. User Groups

      This forum and its subforums are for classic gaming and computing user groups. Find people in your area who share your love of this hobby!

      2.7k
      posts

    8. AtariAge News Discussion

      Discuss news posted on the front page of AtariAge!

      • No posts here yet

    9. User Submitted News

      Please submit classic gaming news here!

      124
      posts

  8. Game Programming

    1. Homebrew Discussion

      Here you can talk about homebrew games that don't have their own forums allocated (which will be most of them). Have an idea for a game that you'd like to see someone program? Are you programming a game and want some feedback? Discuss it here!

      53.7k
      posts

    2. Programming

      The programming forums are technical discussions of programming various classic gaming consoles. The more popular consoles have their own dedicated programing forums, so please only use this forum for topics that fall outside of those forums.

      7k
      posts

    3. Hacks

      A hack is an existing game that has somehow been modifed in terms of graphics, colors, sounds, and/or gameplay. If you've modified a game and would like to share it with others, or have an idea for a modification you'd like to see done to an existing game, you can discuss it here.

      23.8k
      posts

  9. Site

    1. Announcements

      Important site or forum-related announcements will be posted here. If you see a new announcement, please stop by to read it!

      6.5k
      posts

    2. Forum Questions and Answers

      Have a question about how to use the forum?  Ask here and others can answer (including admins and mods!)  

      683
      posts

    3. AtariAge Store Discussion

      We'll post announcements about the AtariAge Store here, and you can also post your questions and comments about the store in this forum as well.

      331
      posts

    4. Site and Forum Feedback

      Do you have suggestions for how AtariAge can be improved? Please post them here, as well as criticisms, and kudos about the web site!

      17.5k
      posts

    5. Rarity Guide

      The AtariAge Rarity Guide is a living, breathing document! If you have feedback regarding rarity guide values and the database in general, please discuss it here!

      8.2k
      posts

    6. Archived Forums

      Resting place for forums that have have run their course and are archived here for reference.

      547
      posts

  • Recent Status Updates

  • Recent Posts

    • Thelen
      New Game! Missile Command Arcade (VBXE)

      By Thelen · Posted

      Very impressive port! Very nice to see the VBXE used to get Arcade perfect ports! How much time did it take to convert?
    • ivop
      Differentiating data from code on Assembler

      By ivop · Posted

      What I really find annoying to disassemble is code like this:   jsr PRINT .byte "Hello World!", $9b jsr PRINT .byte "Press any key", 0 rts PRINT: ; get PC from stack ; print string from PC+1 up to $9b or 0 ; put adjusted PC back on stack rts   I understand it's convenient for the programmer, especially with a macro generating the jsr and .byte sequence, but having to manually flag tens of regions of memory as data gets tedious very quickly.
    • Foot
      Update on The Sparkdrummer

      By Foot · Posted

      Thanks everyone for your kind words and memories, it means the world.
    • Asmusr
      F18A Karts demo

      By Asmusr · Posted

      In January 2024 there was a bit of discussion about games similar to Mario Kart: https://forums.atariage.com/topic/359151-another-youtube-video/?do=findComment&comment=5382710 That made me wonder what we could do on the TI.   @TheMole linked to a demo on the MSX1 using the TMS9918A VDP, but I soon came to the conclusion that in order to produce something playable on the TI we needed help from the F18A.   The F18A supports two types of bitmap layers that would be suitable for something like this: a 4 color bitmap with up to 256 horizontal pixels and a 16 color bitmap with up to 128 'fat' pixels. I decided on the latter in order to get a more colorful display.     3D view Mario Kart uses the ability of the SNES hardware to scale and rotate a 2D image to make it look like 3D (aka. Mode 7). The source images could be as big as 1024x1024 pixels. I thought the F18A GPU would be fast enough to do something similar, but where would we store the source image? The F18A only has 18K RAM, and a 1024x1024 bitmap would take 512K! And it takes 12K just to display a bitmap that covers the whole screen on the F18A, so after displaying the bitmap there would only be 6K left for the source image and everything else, like sprites and the GPU program.   My first approach was to build the source image from 8x8 meta-tiles, which again consisted of standard 8x8 pixel characters/tiles (64 x 64 pixels in total). The meta-tile map for a 1024x1024 image would then only take 256 bytes, plus 1024 bytes to store 16 meta-tiles, plus the space to store the tiles they consisted of. However, my attempts to use this approach turned out to be way too slow for the GPU  (drawing an image took several seconds).   For my next approach I looked at Mario Kart, which has a 3D image at the top and an overview image at the bottom (also 3D but seen more from above). Maybe I could have a 2D overview image at the bottom of the screen and use that as the source image for the 3D image at the top of the screen? The source image would have a much smaller resolution than 1024x1024 (actually 128x128 fat pixels) so the 3D result would also be much more pixelated. But the transformation from one bitmap to another could be done much faster than the attempt to use meta-tiles.     And it turned out to work even faster than I would have thought, actually more than 60 FPS when generating a 128x64 pixels 3D image. It took a lot of time to figure out how to make a proper 3D perspective transformation without any distortion such as fish-eye effects, but I'm not going into details about that here. The resultions wasn't too bad either, although nowhere nearly as good as Mario Kart. At this point I had used 12K VDP RAM, plus some more for GPU code in the upper 2K RAM.   Background I also wanted a horizontally scrolling background (trees, mountains) at the top of the 3D screen like in Mario Kart. I decided to do that using the normal tile mode and the hardware scrolling of the F18A rather than the bitmap layer in order to speed things up and perhaps save some VDP RAM. I had already used 192 vertical lines (64 lines for the 3D image and 128 lines for the source/overview image), but here the F18A ROW30 mode, which expands the vertical resolution to 240 pixels, came to my rescue, so the top 48 lines could be used for the background and to display other information like time and position.   First I added a single layer with mountains, which took little VDP RAM since I only needed 16 characters/tiles plus 6 rows of the name table to implement this. Then I tried adding another layer using F18A TL2 with trees that scrolls at another speed, and I liked it so much I couldn't bring myself to remove it again. Unfortunately that took up much more VDP RAM since TL2 cannot be displayed below the bitmap layer, so I needed space for an additional, full name table. All that used about 1.6K VDP RAM, so now I only had about 2.4K left. Still better than using the bitmap layer for background, which would have required about 2 times the RAM.   Sprites The last part of the graphics was to look at how to do the sprites for the player's karts, other karts, and other objects on the track. At first, I thought I could use hardware sprites for everything, but a single sprite pattern in 32x16 pixels 4 colors takes 128 bytes, and for any kind of reasonable 3D scaling effect I would need something like 16 patterns per angle per sprite. Already one sprite would take up the VDP RAM I had left, so I decided only to use hardware sprites for the player's kart, which consists of two magnified 16x16 sprites in 4 colors. The other sprites would have to be scaled and drawn on the 3D bitmap by the GPU.   I could foresee two problems with that: firstly the GPU might not be fast enough to also draw the sprites, and secondly, since there was no VDP RAM left for double buffering, would the sprites flicker horrible when the 3D image and the sprites were repeatedly drawn on top of each other? Back in the days scanline renderers, where everything was drawn one scanline at a time, were sometimes used, but I didn't want to go into that kind of trouble yet. And again, it turned out not to be a bad as I feared. Even though you see some flickering, it's not, for instance, hiding important details to the player. But how I wish I had some more VDP RAM to do some proper double buffering...   The hardware sprites for the player's kart took 256 bytes for the patterns plus 128 bytes for sprite attributes, now there was only about 2K VDP RAM left. The current demo only includes 6 different software sprite patterns: 4 patterns for the other karts seen from different angles, one for the green oil drum, and one for the stack of tires. Together they take up about 1K, so there is still a bit of VDP RAM left to expand the demo, but not enough, for instance, to make different patterns for each kart.   I also used hardware sprites for the top display of time, position, and laps, and for the small karts at the bottom of the screen. Interestingly, the F18A allows you to choose whether each sprite is 8x8 or 16x16 pixels, but the magnification setting is the same for all sprites, so the bottom sprites are magnified 8x8 sprites with very few pixels.   What the TMS9900 is doing   The F18A is not doing all the work, there is plenty left for the TMS9900:   Reading the joystick Moving the player on the track Updating attributes for hardware sprites Checking that you stay on track Moving the other karts "Uploading" other kart data to the VDP  Playing sound and music Speech   For the player's kart movement I asked in the forum (https://forums.atariage.com/topic/362756-physics-model-for-car/#comment-5425008) and @sometimes99er suggested this  approach https://github.com/pakastin/car, which I adopted. All numbers are stored as 8.8 fixed point numbers, where the most significant byte contains the integer part.   To move the other karts, I created a low resolution version of the map, where each byte value determines the direction at that position and whether it's inside the track. In addition to that, each other kart has a base speed and a setting for how much it drifts. This is enough to move the karts around the track for the demo, but hardly enough to make them interesting opponents. So a lot more work would be required to change this from a graphics demo into an exciting game.   And here is a video of the current demo, which looks much better on real hardware. You can also find the demo in https://js99er.net under Software/F18A specific.     The source code is available from https://github.com/Rasmus-M/f18a-karts, and the cartridge binary is attached here.     karts8.bin
    • Stephen
      Images generated by RastaConverter

      By Stephen · Posted

      Wow - that's pretty hardcore!  I shudder to think of the heat this machine would produce if running a conversion for a solid 4 months.  450 to 500 watts continuous for 2,880 hours - I will have to respectfully pass on this one.
    • CmdrFanBer
      Anyone used the Atari 2600+ controllers on other platforms?

      By CmdrFanBer · Posted

      I used it with an Arduino Leonardo, then with a Sparkfun ProMicro (official knock-off of Arduino's ProMicro) and it works great, flashing the firmware with M. Heironimus' excellent Arduino Joystick Library. It works great on windows (right out of the box) and with TheC64Mini and TheA500Mini after some prep work involving Spannernick's excellent PCUAE usb bootloaders. So, in a nutshell, yes, the CX40+ is the real thing, no bull.
    • ZeroPage Homebrew
      Atari 2600 Homebrew Games Released/Completed/WIP in 2024

      By ZeroPage Homebrew · Posted

      Updated WIP: Paddlefield (4K) by Thomas Jentzsch @Thomas Jentzsch | WIP Binary (20240426) | NOTE: Previously called Pong Wars / Inspired by "Screensaver" Pong Wars | Listing Updated: Apr 26, 2024
    • ivop
      VS64 for Atari 8-bit?

      By ivop · Posted

      Nice! I briefly looked into this, and I noticed you introduced a Windows-only dependency for the colored text output. Perhaps you could just send ANSI escape codes instead so it keeps working on Linux, MacOS, etc.? Also, please only print fully formed escape sequences in one go, preferably even full "sentences" that end with the terminal in the original state, as currently it screws up the terminal during parallel builds (i.e. running multiple mads instances with make -j8).  
    • jeremiahjt
      Alien Abduction, a new 2600 game from John Van Ryzin - (in VCS Store)

      By jeremiahjt · Posted

      Garry Kitchen said Audacity Games may have an announcement to make at CORGSCON on June 1st. I think this announcement could be about a cartridge release for Alien Abduction.   Or you could always buy a VCS 800.
    • baktra
      Turgen System 8.8.x Adventures

      By baktra · Posted

      I've released 9.2.19. It has some refinements for TSFX and one bug in the tape image extractor is fixed. Coming next is TSFX and the standard tape records. The ambition is to have ability to create TSFX for everything that can be converted by the Standard plugin. The Standard Plus plugin is not in scope of this effort.   I have some difficulties, but I am already getting help.    

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