OldSchoolRetroGamer Posted September 6, 2013 Share Posted September 6, 2013 Not meant as a "VS" type of thread but simply as I am desperately attempting to slim down the collection. I have a white Tandy 64k Color Computer as well as TWO Ti994/a's, one with the white casing and one with the silver, I believe each one has one bad key lol, the Tandy is fine overall I think. I have some carts for the Ti and the voice module and no games for the Tandy, but I have a joystick for the Tandy and not for the Ti. I know, pretty crazy, so I want to know what you guys think is the way to go? What would you keep and what would you look to expand upon? Thanks for responses and Help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxpressed Posted September 6, 2013 Share Posted September 6, 2013 I've never owned the CoCo and don't know much about it, but the TI has the nanoPEB that allows you to store and run tons of disk images on a CF card. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariLeaf Posted September 6, 2013 Share Posted September 6, 2013 definitely keep the ti and sell the coco to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+FujiSkunk Posted September 6, 2013 Share Posted September 6, 2013 I'd say keep the TI as well. The CoCo was a neat little system from what little I remember about it, but the TI seemed to have greater software support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Gemintronic Posted September 6, 2013 Share Posted September 6, 2013 I want a Tandy CoCo 3 so I can play Super Pitfall. After that I'm really not sure what else I'd do. I suppose I could find all the possible expansions and run the decent UNIX clone that's out there. Sounds like the TI crowd is much more active in comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted September 6, 2013 Share Posted September 6, 2013 Keep the TI! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariLeaf Posted September 6, 2013 Share Posted September 6, 2013 I want a Tandy CoCo 3 so I can play Super Pitfall. After that I'm really not sure what else I'd do. I suppose I could find all the possible expansions and run the decent UNIX clone that's out there. Sounds like the TI crowd is much more active in comparison. They're active. Just not very vocal about it I suppose. Cloud9tech is always coming up with new hardware and there are people working on FPGA coco projects. There are a few homebrew games that are made but again, they're generally just mentioned within the coco community itself. You have to follow the coco mailing list to really be up to date. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesD Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 The TI has features that restricted 3rd party support where over 90% of CoCo games were 3rd party. But the TI has more cart games than the CoCo. The TI also had memory limitations that the CoCo didn't have for BASIC so that limits the BASIC game library a bit as well. But then the TI has user definable character graphics which make developing some games in BASIC easier. The CoCo was around much longer to develop a software library. Both have CF interfaces though the CoCo one is always available and you have to catch the TI ones on ebay when the guy makes a new batch. The TI keyboard is too small. A lot of recent CoCo support is for the CoCo 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassGuitari Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 I think the Color Computer (1 + 2) is a little more interesting. The TI is arguably "better," at least from an audio/video standpoint, and it has more licensed games, but the Trash-Color is a fun system to mess with. There are tons of third-party games for it, and even the first-party cartridge games are interesting spins on contemporary arcade games. Most of them are pretty good, too, although that quirky little free-floating analog joystick may take some getting used to (unless you have a Deluxe Joystick).That said, if I had to pick one over the other, I don't know if I could. I love 'em both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamemoose Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 It's like picking which child is your favorite. I grew up with both, having gamed and programmed on them. TI has a lot of great carts but I never dug the BASIC programs I typed in. Seemed very slow in execution, though I've never run anything that with the "advanced" BASIC cart except speech programs. When it comes down to it for me, the Tandy wins. A good chunk of the love comes from nostalgia as I don't mind the "nuke green" screen or limited palette. For me it was the third party software and the programs I tapped in from magazines until late at night. People can spout commercial games on the TI with ease like "Parsec" or "Alpiner" while I rattle off games I played from Rainbow Magazine and Hot CoCo like Cheez Bombs, Lurkley Manor, Submarine Simulation, Rainbow Roach or tape/disk games like The Interbank Incident, Pyramid 2000 or Shock Trooper. Of course can't forget Dungeons of Daggorath. Gah...makes me wanna fire up my CoCo 3. I gotta get its RAM upgraded to 512K so I can play arcade perfect Donkey Kong. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_ Posted September 8, 2013 Share Posted September 8, 2013 I'd keep the coco. Youre going to need a disk system and a way to make disks though. DriveWire works OK for most LOADM type games, but it is not as compatible as say SIO2PC with the Atari. Games: http://www.lcurtisboyle.com/nitros9/coco_game_list.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
channelmaniac Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Need a keyboard for that CoCo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck D. Head Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 (edited) I want a Tandy CoCo 3 so I can play Super Pitfall. After that I'm really not sure what else I'd do. I suppose I could find all the possible expansions and run the decent UNIX clone that's out there. Sounds like the TI crowd is much more active in comparison. There are a lot of great games for the coco, but Super Pitfall is not one of them. I was sooo disappointed in it. On the flip side, the Super Pitfall cartridge is one that you need to make an HBD-DOS cartridge to go with the simple drivewire cable and you can use your mac or PC as a drive and load any game you want. Glad the subject came up; I have most the stuff to do this, but haven't pulled the trigger yet. Edited October 15, 2013 by Chuck D. Head Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesD Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 It's like picking which child is your favorite. I grew up with both, having gamed and programmed on them. TI has a lot of great carts but I never dug the BASIC programs I typed in. Seemed very slow in execution, though I've never run anything that with the "advanced" BASIC cart except speech programs. When it comes down to it for me, the Tandy wins. A good chunk of the love comes from nostalgia as I don't mind the "nuke green" screen or limited palette. For me it was the third party software and the programs I tapped in from magazines until late at night. People can spout commercial games on the TI with ease like "Parsec" or "Alpiner" while I rattle off games I played from Rainbow Magazine and Hot CoCo like Cheez Bombs, Lurkley Manor, Submarine Simulation, Rainbow Roach or tape/disk games like The Interbank Incident, Pyramid 2000 or Shock Trooper. Of course can't forget Dungeons of Daggorath. Gah...makes me wanna fire up my CoCo 3. I gotta get its RAM upgraded to 512K so I can play arcade perfect Donkey Kong. Rainbow Roach brings back memories. I believe the same guy wrote Snail's Revenge! as part of a column. I can't remember the guy's name but he ran IMB (Illustrated Memory Banks) software. I had a great missile command type game and a space war game from IMB, both in BASIC. I seem to remember IMB also sold a game called Preppies Revenge or something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 There are a lot of great games for the coco, but Super Pitfall is not one of them. I was sooo disappointed in it. On the flip side, the Super Pitfall cartridge is one that you need to make an HBD-DOS cartridge to go with the simple drivewire cable and you can use your mac or PC as a drive and load any game you want. Glad the subject came up; I have most the stuff to do this, but haven't pulled the trigger yet. Chuck: Let me know if you'd be interested in selling an HBD-DOS cart for CoCo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr SQL Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Need a keyboard for that CoCo? ChannelManiac, the OP had a key out on the TI keyboards but I need a CoCo keyboard! I broke my original CoCo3 keyboard and got an IBM keyboard hooked up with a plug-in board from cloud-9 but I much prefer the CoCo keyboard OldSchoolRetroGamer, definitely keep the CoCo and both TI's You can load games directly into the CoCo from tape or your ipod via the casette port (easy to make a cable if you don't have one) and the baud rate is fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck D. Head Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Chuck: Let me know if you'd be interested in selling an HBD-DOS cart for CoCo. Ha Ha! Well, assuming mine turns out ok, I would have no problem putting together a few more for the cost of supplies and shipping. I will start another thread or blog to document as I go to help shame me into keeping the project going. Just want to point out that, while this looks like an easy project, I would not even have the info without the help of Official Ninja, who took the time to help me with it. Thanks Bro! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_ Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Ha Ha! Well, assuming mine turns out ok, I would have no problem putting together a few more for the cost of supplies and shipping. I will start another thread or blog to document as I go to help shame me into keeping the project going. Just want to point out that, while this looks like an easy project, I would not even have the info without the help of Official Ninja, who took the time to help me with it. Thanks Bro! Always my pleasure. Did you read the other thread about cutting the trace to keep the coco3 from going to ram mode? When you make the cart don't hesitate to ask any questions. I made a cart and cable for RangerG and mailing it out today. Hopefully it all works well and he'll have good things to say about it. BTW- Seems like you can use any of the coco3 carts for this. Shanghai, Thexder, Football II, Super Pitfall... although, I can't see wrecking a Thexder or Shanghai. Football II..... no troubles... clip that chip right off there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck D. Head Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Always my pleasure. Did you read the other thread about cutting the trace to keep the coco3 from going to ram mode? When you make the cart don't hesitate to ask any questions. I made a cart and cable for RangerG and mailing it out today. No I didn't, thanks. That is why I was going make a post to document everything, cause I have not found anything yet that really captures all the info you need. I will link to it here once started. Funny, I have been thinking about trying Football 2 to see how it played, only because of how shockingly well Color Baseball plays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
channelmaniac Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 ChannelManiac, the OP had a key out on the TI keyboards but I need a CoCo keyboard! I broke my original CoCo3 keyboard and got an IBM keyboard hooked up with a plug-in board from cloud-9 but I much prefer the CoCo keyboard OldSchoolRetroGamer, definitely keep the CoCo and both TI's You can load games directly into the CoCo from tape or your ipod via the casette port (easy to make a cable if you don't have one) and the baud rate is fast. Bummer... The keyboard I have sitting here is a melty CoCo 2 version, not the 3. Would be a good upgrade for a CoCo 1 tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 If you have a CoCo 3, I'd say keep that and ditch the TI 99/4A. The earlier Color Computers are less impressive, though. The games remind me of software on the Astrocade or Apple II, thanks to their limited color palette and resolution. TI 99/4A games, by contrast, look a lot sharper but are a lot stiffer. Some of the games are just really contrived, too, like Chisholm Trail, which is a bewildering shooter set in the futuristic west. Thirty years after its release, I STILL can't make sense of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 Some of the games are just really contrived, too, like Chisholm Trail, which is a bewildering shooter set in the futuristic west. Thirty years after its release, I STILL can't make sense of it! Nothing too strange here gameplay wise. Just think of it as something of a Targ clone. More fun than Targ IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Months ago.... Not meant as a "VS" type of thread but simply as I am desperately attempting to slim down the collection. I have a white Tandy 64k Color Computer as well as TWO Ti994/a's, one with the white casing and one with the silver, I believe each one has one bad key lol, the Tandy is fine overall I think. I have some carts for the Ti and the voice module and no games for the Tandy, but I have a joystick for the Tandy and not for the Ti. I know, pretty crazy, so I want to know what you guys think is the way to go? What would you keep and what would you look to expand upon? Thanks for responses and Help. So, did you keep the TI? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSchoolRetroGamer Posted January 8, 2014 Author Share Posted January 8, 2014 Months ago.... So, did you keep the TI? I still have both and have been caught up with other things to give it any thought, I attempted to obtain something to fix up both my Ti's but it feel through so eventually I will likely get rid of it........I just have other priorities to worry about these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariLeaf Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Well if you don't want the Coco Rob. . . . . . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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