RAM disk s/w for STE?

[amiman99]

Hi, is there a RAM disk software for the STE? I wanted to run a game from RAM disk, because the game does not fit on floppy disk.

[ParanoidLittleMan]

Any Ramdisk for ST will work on STE.

Game fits not on floppy - then how you plan to move it to RAM disk on Atari ? From what ? Really strange request.

I have plenty of RAM disk solutions, but point here is in storage, transfer to Atari, What game is in question ?

[amiman99]

It's Wolfenstein 3D for ST and it comes in multiple files that I could copy using multiple disks to RAM disk (at least that is my idea). The game requires 2MB RAM and I have 4MB 1040STE, so... it should fit in RAM and run at the same time.

[ParanoidLittleMan]

It will work maybe, maybe not. Best would be RAM disk at top of RAM. I will look for, and post. Just did not use it over 15 years ...

In any case, you should consider some mass storage like UltraSatan ...

[ParanoidLittleMan]

 

First set size of RAM disk, then click INSTALL RRD - what means resident ram disk. It will soft reset Atari, and will have RAM disk C (at top of RAM) - what is good for SW and survives reset. With this PRG you can even save RAM disk with all it's content, but it will probably not fit on 1 800K floppy in case of Wolfenstein.

 

 

FIRDC11F.ZIP

Edited May 30, 2018 by ParanoidLittleMan

[amiman99]

Thanks, I'll work on it and see if it works.

[amiman99]

It worked!

I'm using Gotek drive to get it to work.

Created 3 floppies on Win PC with MSA Converter, copied the Wolf 3d files into 3 disks with the RAM disk program.

Created the RAM disk, reboot, copy all Wolf 3D files, Start and it works.

 

This Wolf 3D port plays very nice in full screen mode on plain STE.

http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-st-wolfenstein-3d_s20138.html?soft=20138&AWPID510833C0=C946F6F209B7AEF7E35949AB3FBAF8152B70F042

 

 

Thanks

[MrMaddog]

I was looking for this sort of RAMdisk program 10 years ago when I first came across Wolfenstein 3D, but couldn't find the right one.

 

Is there any AUTO program that can decompress packed files (ie LZH) from A:/B: floppy drive to the C: drive?

[ParanoidLittleMan]

I don't think that decompressing to C should be in AUTO folder. Usually, such things start with setting where to decompress. So, better just to use usual SW for that purpose, with dialogs.

Not to mention that when you have hard disk - and you have it when there is C: , then it will not perform AUTO run from floppy.

OK, you meant likely RAM disk - so, should not call it C: drive .

Still, I don't see it as good idea. And LZH depacking is slow. If you give me what SW is in question, I can look to do something. And will use something better than LZH - faster depacking and better compression.

Still, AUTO run is bad idea - after first floppy decompressed to C, how will start second one - with reset ? Come on ...

 

Just little history, why I made this program, with this features. It was about 1990-91, and I made HD floppy mod in my 520 ST, which was with 2.5 MB RAM then. So, could put 1.6 MB on 1 floppy. Played diverse games, multi floppy ones too. Then came idea to make it easier, and use RAMdisk .So, my motivation was not exactly this - I had space on floppy, but wanted to make usage simpler, without floppy swaps.

And to avoid need to copy files every time in RAMdisk, I added feature to save whole RAMdisk in 1 file, and with packing. Fast depacking, and it worked very well.

Here is example: ELITERCC.ZIP

Min RAM 1MB, fits on 360K floppy.

 

 

[MrMaddog]

Just little history, why I made this program, with this features. It was about 1990-91, and I made HD floppy mod in my 520 ST, which was with 2.5 MB RAM then. So, could put 1.6 MB on 1 floppy. Played diverse games, multi floppy ones too. Then came idea to make it easier, and use RAMdisk .So, my motivation was not exactly this - I had space on floppy, but wanted to make usage simpler, without floppy swaps.

And to avoid need to copy files every time in RAMdisk, I added feature to save whole RAMdisk in 1 file, and with packing. Fast depacking, and it worked very well.

Here is example: ELITERCC.ZIP

Min RAM 1MB, fits on 360K floppy.

 

 

 

Yeah, something that compresses whatever was in the RAMdisk on a disk...wish i heard about your program.

 

I did used the RAMdisk from the STOS compiler that copied whatever was in a floppy disk folder to the RAMdisk but w/o any compression. It did made games with lots of files load faster...

[leech]

I did this with Ultima VI back when I first upgraded to 4MB of RAM in my Mega STe. Created a 2MB RAM disk and ran the game out of memory. Load speeds were phenomenal, you could tell it was loading another area by seeing a pause in your movement. I'm betting if the RAM had been faster in the STe, you wouldn't have even been able to see that.

[+DarkLord]

I also did this with Ultima V as well - ugh, those big tile changes were annoying.

 

It worked really good there - most times, when the cache was hit, you didn't get

a pause at all.

[leech]

I also did this with Ultima V as well - ugh, those big tile changes were annoying.

 

It worked really good there - most times, when the cache was hit, you didn't get

a pause at all.

Great minds, and all that! I still need to beat Ultima V.

1) Beat on the Atari 8bit, later on the DOS version seemed to glitch on me and it wouldn't let me kill Mondain (or I missed something...)

2) Never really played, 8bit version we had was messed up, and later on just never got around to it.

3) Beat on Atari.

4) Hacked, fixed, tweaked on the Atari 8bit. Got so good at this that I'd learned how to map out the world with Disk Wizard II (Note, 00 is deep ocean, 01 is lighter ocean, etc. I actually used to have a full on chart on what hex equaled which kind of tile a piece of the map would be. Had to do this because part of the copy protection deleted the sectors for some towns, so when you'd try to go there, you'd only see a section that was full water (because it zeroed the sector out).

5) I tried for a very long time, even had the clue book. This was on DOS and I'm still betting to this day it was because the copy my friend and I were playing on wasn't hacked correctly!

6) Completed, though had to cheat to get past the Gargoyle statues that require you be on a quest (could never figure out how)

7) got really far, never completed though. Lost save and was somehow stuck (walk through didn't help)

It was terrible and buggy, not sure many did beat this one.

9) Completed; loved the game, even with it's flaws.

 

To be more on topic;

Essentials page has two listed:

M-Disk 6.0 - (Desktop ACCessory) - sizeable RAmdisk, FDD copy, HDD backup/restore all-in-one - http://sites.google.com/site/stessentia ... M-Disk.zip

Maxidisk - (Disks tools) - Ramdisk - http://sites.google.com/site/stessentia ... xidisk.zip

[ParanoidLittleMan]

Yes, there is plenty of RAM disks available for Atari ST. I was of course egocentric, and posted mine

But real solution here, considering that OP has Gotek HW floppy emulator would be to figure out is it able to handle larger floppy images - like 1.5 MB with ST(E) without HD mode.

Because HxC can it. I'm really sad to see that no one of numerous owners takes care to clarify it .

[amiman99]

But real solution here, considering that OP has Gotek HW floppy emulator would be to figure out is it able to handle larger floppy images - like 1.5 MB with ST(E) without HD mode.

Because HxC can it. I'm really sad to see that no one of numerous owners takes care to clarify it .

I posted in other thread that the 2.5MB DSDD floppy image works fine with Gotek, however Wolfentein did not load correctly with it. I got corrupted graphics etc.

There is no option to create 1.5MB DSDD disk in HxCfloppyEmulator software.

[ParanoidLittleMan]

I posted in other thread that the 2.5MB DSDD floppy image works fine with Gotek, however Wolfentein did not load correctly with it. I got corrupted graphics etc.

There is no option to create 1.5MB DSDD disk in HxCfloppyEmulator software.

Then it works not fine with Gotek (2.5 MB image). I don't think that I should believe to you rather than to Jeff - man who created HxC and wrote SW. Should look better it, and try Wolfenstein on 1.5 MB image, or minimum size where all files fit. Of course, it is possible that 2.5 works reliable on HxC .

[amiman99]

Minimum for Wolfenstein is about 1.7MB.

The game works fine if I copy all files from 2.5MB floppy image to the RAM disk, so the files are fine. It's just the game does not like to run from floppy, at least for me.

[ParanoidLittleMan]

Minimum for Wolfenstein is about 1.7MB.

The game works fine if I copy all files from 2.5MB floppy image to the RAM disk, so the files are fine. It's just the game does not like to run from floppy, at least for me.

Hmmm .... there may be something in it .... Now I remember that game uses very low RAM, where some system variables, disk buffers are placed. That may cause bad work with floppies and real hard disks on some TOS versions. RAM disk is not sensitive, because it's code is very simple, and using not low RAM . Yes, on Atari it is always too complicated.

It is possible to determine on exactly which TOS versions it works fine directly from floppy, and on which not. I let that job to someone other And that's easiest to perform with some emulator, where can quickly change TOS versions.

[+DarkLord]

Great minds, and all that! I still need to beat Ultima V.

1) Beat on the Atari 8bit, later on the DOS version seemed to glitch on me and it wouldn't let me kill Mondain (or I missed something...)

2) Never really played, 8bit version we had was messed up, and later on just never got around to it.

3) Beat on Atari.

4) Hacked, fixed, tweaked on the Atari 8bit. Got so good at this that I'd learned how to map out the world with Disk Wizard II (Note, 00 is deep ocean, 01 is lighter ocean, etc. I actually used to have a full on chart on what hex equaled which kind of tile a piece of the map would be. Had to do this because part of the copy protection deleted the sectors for some towns, so when you'd try to go there, you'd only see a section that was full water (because it zeroed the sector out).

5) I tried for a very long time, even had the clue book. This was on DOS and I'm still betting to this day it was because the copy my friend and I were playing on wasn't hacked correctly!

6) Completed, though had to cheat to get past the Gargoyle statues that require you be on a quest (could never figure out how)

7) got really far, never completed though. Lost save and was somehow stuck (walk through didn't help)

It was terrible and buggy, not sure many did beat this one.

9) Completed; loved the game, even with it's flaws.

 

To be more on topic;

Essentials page has two listed:

M-Disk 6.0 - (Desktop ACCessory) - sizeable RAmdisk, FDD copy, HDD backup/restore all-in-one - http://sites.google.com/site/stessentia ... M-Disk.zip

Maxidisk - (Disks tools) - Ramdisk - http://sites.google.com/site/stessentia ... xidisk.zip

 

Wow - I'm assuming all of that was on the DOS version? Other than slower play from floppy drive, I can't think of any serious bugs

that I encountered in the ST versions.

[leech]

Wow - I'm assuming all of that was on the DOS version? Other than slower play from floppy drive, I can't think of any serious bugs

that I encountered in the ST versions.

1-4 was on the Atari 8bit. I think I beat 6 on the ST? 5 was on DOS because a friend of mine had it. It was a cracked version and we could never figure out how to get one of the required items out of the underworld. 7 I had the official version, but got stuck where you have to kill a hydra (couldn't actually attack said Hydra)