The!Cart Studio preview released

[npturton]

want one

[Level42]

I am really very interested in getting this cartridge but, like many other products like this, the whole system appears to be very technical for the "casual" user. I mean, there are lots of people who understand how to load floppies copy them etc. on the A8 platform but this is just a few steps further.

 

Let me try to say how I think this system works, please indicate where I might go wrong,

 

1) start the studio program and add files. ATR's, CAR's etc. I believe this is relatively easy and most is handled by the program.

2) the program creates some sort of huge file.

3) this file has to be flashed into the cartridge using the Atari.

 

I asume for step 3) you need something like SIO2PC or a SIO2SD device. This seriously limits the usefulness of this cartridge, because if you already have SIO2SD device, why bother with an extra device like this cartridge ?

Also, the bulk of A8 machines still don't have a SIO2PC connection.for this reason I really believe there should be a seperate cable that can be connected between a PC or Mac and program the cartridge directly and from the studio software.

 

With all respect, the manual for the Studio software goes into lots of technical details very quickly and I loose track because of it. I actually think it's easier than what the manual describes so maybe there should be a simpler version of the manual for the beginner.

Next....when it comes to the step of actually flashing the file into the cartridge, the manual refers to the manual of the cartridge. I found a video from Hias who is doing a flashing I believe but it doesn't show where the data is coming from and how he prepared it.

 

I don't want to just criticize the product but I am trying if it would be possible to bridge the gap between the developpers,who are very technical of course, and the "average user" who wants to dust off his A8 machine and just play all the great games he knows from BITD.

Edited October 28, 2014 by Level42

[_The Doctor__]

To be honest I was worried about using the software like level 42. The great thing is... It worked so well I figured it out in a matter of minutes. No problems at all. I use this to transform between different formats and it works flawlessly for me. I always use this first and sometimes finish up with AtariMax's studio. I am no rocket scientist so If I can do it, just about anyone can. One of the great things about flash carts is you can always reflash them if you make a mistake or change your mind.

 

I give it two thumbs up and found it a valuable and much needed tool!

Edited October 28, 2014 by _The Doctor__

[+JAC!]

Hi Level42,

 

I'm always happy to help, so I'll try:

 

>I assume for step 3) you need something like SIO2PC or a SIO2SD device.

Yes. Basically there are 2 options. If you have SIO2PC or only of these very inexpensive new versions, you can use the most simple and fasted transmission using AspecQT as drive emulation.

- http://lotharek.pl/product.php?pid=98

- http://atariage.com/forums/topic/182392-sio2usb-with-a-ftdi-basic-breakout-board/

It uses a single file of 128 MB for the transfer and maximum SIO speed.

If you have SIO2SD or SIO2USB, you can use files of "only" up to 16 MB. The!Cart Studio offers the option to export as multiple 16 MB files instead of one single 128 MB file in this case.

> If you have a SIO2SD why bother with an extra device like this cartridge ?

Maybe you want to run games that only work from cartridge (Space Harrier).
Maybe you want zero loading time (for ROM based software) or unseen loading speed for ATRs which is beyond anything possible with SIO.

Maybe you already have several AtariMax modules or compilation but you prefer a single module to take with you.

Maybe you want one Google like search across all the games you have, no matter in which folder on which disk they are.

Maybe you want all that without modifying your machine physically.

And after all it's fun project for pushing the limits.

>Also, the bulk of A8 machines still don't have a SIO2PC connection

See the links above. I bought one that is capable of 120k/second for less than 20 EUR. And the ones for Lotharek are very good for 19.99 EUR.

>With all respect, the manual for the Studio software goes into lots of technical details very quickly and I loose track because of it

That's why I plan to do more videos. Even simple steps are too hard to describe & read when there are multiple devices etc. involved.
Simply I lost my USB headset after the last video and cannot find it. Silly as that... Will probably buy new one.
The written documentation is really meant as a complete reference where you can search with "Ctrl-F", because that again is something you cannot do with videos.

Of course a short description of the process (also the flashing) will be added once I find the time.

>Next....when it comes to the step of actually flashing the file into the cartridge, the manual refers to the manual of the cartridge. I found a video from Hias who is doing a flashing I believe but it doesn't show where the data is coming from and how he prepared it.

This is not described in more detail, because when I wrote it, the flasher was not yet final. That's exactly what is shown in the video starting at 7:45. in the menu ESC to leave the menu, "F" to select the flasher and RETURN to start it. Press 1 to flash, enter the drive number and confirm. That's it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQnsY9z7jQ4#t=465

Edited October 28, 2014 by JAC!

[Level42]

Excellent explanation thanks, and I totally understand and agree with the list of reasons you summed up to get one

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm very exited about this cartridge and I just wanted to play "devil's advocate" partly

 

Reason is I have some friends who still have their A8 on their attic and a "ready to play" cart like this with the excellent search function (this may be the best feature of the product) could respark their interest in the machine, in fact I've talked about it with them and they are interested in a Harmony kind of solution. I understand (and explained them) that the situation is different with the A8 as there were not just cartridge games and programs.

 

I took another look at your video and it seems simple enough for sure, maybe I can prepare the cartridges for those friends and they just play....it is at least better than their machines gathering dust.

 

Now my question is...is it now ready and available for sale ?

[Level42]

Playing around with the Studio software I managed to get this error while adding an ATR file.

 

Tried it with a couple of ATR's and all gave the same error. Other ATR's seem to work fine.

[Level42]

Playing around with the Studio software I managed to get this error while adding an ATR file.

 

Tried it with a couple of ATR's and all gave the same error. Other ATR's seem to work fine.