ElB

Nothing of interest to add other than to add to the list of "awesome!" responses; I only had a quick bash at the browser-based version and I was instantly hooked so I intend to clear some space in my schedule to give this a proper go -- it'll tide me over until Reach is released...

Late to the party as usual, but I just finished it, and I figure I've probably spent 20-odd hours with it over the past couple of days. It's utterly addictive and mesmerising, and all I can say is MORE LEVELS PLEASE!

The switch-and-LED arrangement is probably a variant of this: http://www.page6.org/archive/issue_12/page_18.htm

Without waffling on for too long, after a recent conversation with a couple of guys at work about how the demoscene is kind of dull now that doing cool effects is just solved by hardware these days (blah blah, kids of today, etc.), and going on a wander down memory lane, I find myself all of a sudden wanting to get hold of the basics for having an actual 8-bit system, mine long ago having been thrown out by my mother (which serves me right for leaving it in her loft, I suppose, although I did salvage a couple of boxes of disks which may or may not be viable after nearly 20 years ). Unfortunately (and I know I said I wasn't going to waffle on for too long, but I'm on a roll now) the market for A8s in the UK seems pretty thin on the ground; scouring eBay there wasn't a lot to choose from in the way of machines, and nothing in the disk-drive area. There seem to be more available in the US, but I'm damned if I'm paying a fortune in shipping -- it's not like I want a serious collection or anything -- so is there anyone in the UK with stuff they're looking to shift, condition not important (so long as it works)? What I'm after is something like an 800XL/65XE/130XE (a RAM mod, extra POKEY, etc., would be gravy), a 1050/XF551, and a 1010/XC12. Emulation is all well and good but there's no substitute for the real thing, so if someone feels like helping me in my quest you'll make me a very happy bunny.

Knocking up a DLI requires some knowledge of ANTIC and a reasonable grasp of assembly, so there's not really an easy fix. However, if you're feeling brave then these resources should get you started: Compute's Second Book of Atari Graphics Rainbow Screen Generator (spits out some BASIC code to make multi-coloured GR0 screens) Chapter 2 and Chapter 5 of De Re Atari This is more of the same If you can figure out the assembly then this will take some of the donkey work out of incorporating it into your BASIC code, although if you've managed to create your own DLI by this point you may well be ready to abandon BASIC altogether.

You've done great so far - I registered here just to congratulate you!