ave1 Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Just a little background on this- I'm a T.I. 99-4/a owner/collector (along with many videogame consoles) who never really was all that interested in collecting games/programs for the Atari 8 bit line of computers. Well, about 6 to 8 years ago I came upon an Atari 800XL computer with rf hookups cable and power supply for around $5 at a thrift store which I promptly bought. After checking it and realizing the thing didn't seem to work at all, I chose to not get rid of it. Well, I've been lately getting the Atari 5200 itch to play some games. I've played a lot of Centipede as well as The Last Starfighter (prototype reproduction that isn't the complete game from Good Deal games). Thanks to Centipede, I've also got the itch to play Millipede on a system that looks better than the Atari 2600 with an Atari-made trakball. The reproduction 5200 proto is not a cheap game to get, so I picked up an Atari computer Millipede cart quite cheaply and began looking into making a diagnosis of what's wrong with the 800XL that I own. I figured that if I can fix it I may also grab an 8 bit computer version of the Last Starfighter game (which is the finished version). I called Best Electronics and spoke to a very helpful guy who told me that it might be a component on the motherboard which went bad or just the power supply brick. Since the motherboard was $50, I decided to look into a power supply replacement since I determined that mine was the dreaded ingot. My Ebay power supply replacement which has proper power filtration for the 800XL made by gdoinventor came in the mail yesterday (check out comments regarding gdoinventor at the 22 minute mark on this Antic podcast: http://podbay.fm/show/663593797/e/1380855540?autostart=1 Long story short- I'm now happily playing my 8 bit Millipede on a working system. It's good when things work out, right?! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Nice job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RodLightning Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Great story and I can't think of a single reason not to own a 800XL. They're even more fun when they work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ave1 Posted July 31, 2015 Author Share Posted July 31, 2015 Another thing worth mentioning- I ended up connecting a 10 db signal amplifier and it worked wonders to eliminate rf interference. Who needs s-video or composite when it looks this sharp?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Westphal Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Play Millipede with a trackball. IT KICKS ASS! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ave1 Posted August 1, 2015 Author Share Posted August 1, 2015 I definitely agree about playing with the trakball I am thinking about trying out Gyruss next... and Star Raiders II (which is the version of the Last Starfighter that is completed). Unfortunately it's a disk game and not a cartridge game... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 I definitely agree about playing with the trakball I am thinking about trying out Gyruss next... and Star Raiders II (which is the version of the Last Starfighter that is completed). Unfortunately it's a disk game and not a cartridge game... Get yourself an SIO2USB or SIO2SD type device and the world of .ATR disk images opens wide before you ... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ave1 Posted August 22, 2015 Author Share Posted August 22, 2015 (edited) Well, now I've come upon this- http://m.ebay.com/itm/Last-Starfighter-Cart-800-XL-XE-Atari-New-/140951863831?nav=SEARCH Looks like there is a cartridge version of The Last Starfighter for the Atari 8 bit computers... but what I truly would like to know is this: Will it be any different than the Atari 5200 LS prototype reproduction cart (which is already part of my 5200 collection)? By the way, I am definitely thinking about getting an SIO2SD device, DrVenkman, so I can play Star Raiders 2 (supposedly the complete version of The Last Starfighter). Is the prototype of the Last Starfighter for the 8 bit computers an unfinished game like the 5200 one is? Edited August 22, 2015 by ave1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 You can find out about the Last Starfighter proto here: Last Starfighter - Proto Here's a comparison of the Last Starfigher and Star Raiders II: Side-By-Side Comparison: Star Raiders II Vs. The Last Starfighter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle22 Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 Here is the Starfighter game from the movie (runs on Windows). http://www.roguesynapse.com/games/last_starfighter.php Direct link: http://www.roguesynapse.com/games/last_starfighter/Starfighter.zip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ave1 Posted August 23, 2015 Author Share Posted August 23, 2015 Thanks MrFish and Kyle22! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 I have the last starfighter disk /file version.... that cart is the same thing just put in cartridge form last I knew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ave1 Posted August 27, 2015 Author Share Posted August 27, 2015 Well, I've decided that the 5200 version of LS that I have is very likely to be no different than this A8 computer version... so I'm holding off on getting it. Eventually I'll work out a way to enjoy Star Raiders II, but I'm really in no hurry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 (edited) last starfighter http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-last-starfighter_2927.html Star Raiders II http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-star-raiders-ii_4994.html http://a8.fandal.cz/detail.php?files_id=3063 I bought this game on disk but only see cart versions on the usual sites converted... anyone know or think there might be differences? I hope to be able to sort thru stuff before I run out of time Edited August 28, 2015 by _The Doctor__ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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