Any info on the Starpath Supercharger?

[Nukey Shay]

Now I have one doubt too!

I've heard the Supercharger by canal 3 (Brazilian clone) doesn't need any mod to play all kinds of roms...

Is it true?

Yes, but I don't believe that it's compatable with Starpath's bankswitching scheme. It's always featuring F8-schemed games in it's adverts.

[Eckhard Stolberg]

IIRC, this is actually an issue with certain consoles; some work fine, and others exhibit the graphical glitch. Stella was eventually 'fixed', in that it emulates those consoles that show the score correctly. A somewhat similar case can be seen in the 'Kool Aid Man' ROM, which Stella currently doesn't emulate correctly, but some consoles do (and others don't). I hope to get this one 'fixed' in Stella too.

No, IIRC, the problem with the Starpath games was in a much older version of Stella from the time when Brad was still the maintainer. The problem in Mindmaster is that the evaluation screen at the end relies on the player positions to be set by the SC BIOS during the loading routine. This is why the fake SC BIOS in Stella sets the player positions before each new load. I suppose the SC handler in the Harmony could also add this to fix the problem.

[+stephena]

No, IIRC, the problem with the Starpath games was in a much older version of Stella from the time when Brad was still the maintainer. The problem in Mindmaster is that the evaluation screen at the end relies on the player positions to be set by the SC BIOS during the loading routine. This is why the fake SC BIOS in Stella sets the player positions before each new load. I suppose the SC handler in the Harmony could also add this to fix the problem.

 

Thanks for the update; my memory definitely isn't what it used to be (I confused it with the KoolAidMan error, which is a separate thing). I defer to your recollection, as you wrote the thing

 

EDIT: Now I remember what I was thinking. The passcode in Survival Island used to exhibit a similar problem as the KoolAidMan ROM. I was thinking it was the score in Mindmaster.

[overgrouth]

I got 2 superchargers and I have an actual phaser patrol tape. Both superchargers load phaser patrol just fine. When I try to load one of your provided games after converting to wav with make wav I watch it load but then I get a black screen or a screen full of bars. Anyone know the reason this might be?

[Mitkraft]

Maybe a new thread for your question? I'm not sure there was any sense in reviving a 5 year old thread.

[alex_79]

If you're trying to load standard 2k and 4k games, ensure you're using the "-ts" flag, else makewav will create an audio file compatible with the "Cuttle Cart" instead of the Supercharger.

You might also try to change the volume settings on your PC (or the device you're using to play the wav files).

Finally, try the lower speed ("-f0" flag)

[overgrouth]

If you're trying to load standard 2k and 4k games, ensure you're using the "-ts" flag, else makewav will create an audio file compatible with the "Cuttle Cart" instead of the Supercharger.

You might also try to change the volume settings on your PC (or the device you're using to play the wav files).

Finally, try the lower speed ("-f0" flag)

I read this stuff in the read me but I have no idea how to setup the "-ts" flag. If I load the program by its self it closes as soon as it opens. I can not type any command line at all to set anything up. What I learned on my own was to drag a file in and BAM it makes it for me and tosses the wav file on my desktop. I'm guessing this is my problem and the file is a cuttle cart file rather then a supercharger?

[alex_79]

To run a command line program, you have to open the command prompt first, then change directory into the one containing the executable and run it from there. Search the internet to find out how to do that on your operating system. To simplify things, put the executable and the roms you want to convert in the same directory (aka "folder").

If you don't need to generate the wav files, but only want to load the games directly from your pc, you can use the "Playbin" utility. That one has a graphical user interface, so it's more user-friendly.

(see here: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/247849-supercharger-and-wplaybin/?do=findComment&comment=3414680 )

Keep in mind that some 2k and 4k games will crash on the supercharger. Nukey Shay hacked a lot of those games to make them supercharger compatible. You'll find them in the "hacks" subforum.

[overgrouth]

Thanks for the help. Got things working. This is absolutely AWESOME!

[overgrouth]

I tried brik and brik 180 on the super charger which are great games but I was wondering if these games can be made to go 2 or 3 x the speed and use paddle controllers?

[profholt82]

These are so cool, I just recently found out about them. I knew that there was a cassette add-on of some type on the VCS, but I didn't know anything about it. When I came across the game 'Communist Mutants from Space' I knew that I needed to track this thing down. They seem to be pretty rare, but they're on my radar now.

[Keatah]

..then there would be two threads on the same thing. Then someone would complain about not searching for existing threads on the topic.

[Mayhem]

These are so cool, I just recently found out about them. I knew that there was a cassette add-on of some type on the VCS, but I didn't know anything about it. When I came across the game 'Communist Mutants from Space' I knew that I needed to track this thing down. They seem to be pretty rare, but they're on my radar now.

 

Well I'm selling a complete NTSC set of all 12 games currently, if you're interested