jon-paul

The 800XL is the best all rounder and the true basic model that can handle almost everything you will throw it it game wise. It has 64k, a good keyboard (though the original 800 is considered the best keyboard ever!) and the Monitor output is a regular audio din configuration (so Scart/peritel/S-Video cables can be made for it for the best video output, I use an audio din to RCA cable on my C= 1084 monitor). It certainly has a solid feel. The XE range was OK, but the cart slot was moved to the back (awkward to use), there are keyboard complaints, and build quality feels cheep in comparison. That said, a 65XE is equivelent to an 800XL, and the 130XE has 128k of Ram (may be useful for some limited applications). The negatives are build quality (it just feels cheep!), mushy keyboards, no expansion slots on most 65XEs The XEGS. moved the cart slot back to the top of the machine, the keyboard is extendable (though most wags say its simply expendable! ) and the monitor output is simple RCA jacks so you dont have to even wire up a special cable. It also has the magic 64K plus missile command built in (don't plug the keyboard in, and just switch it on!). Negatives:- no curcuit board expansion slot, mushy keyboard, feels cheep. If its games your after, and 800XL + a tape deck + 2 1050 disk drives should cover all your needs (I know of at least one game that need 2 drives). If you get an SIO2PC connector and APE on your PC, you have all the disk images on the internet at your disposal. Handy if you buy a game and find the disk has degraded (copys are all well and good, but nothing beats owning a well packaged original ) Machines to avoid, the 400 (not enough ram and horrid keyboard) and the 600XL (not enough ram) though the 800 has its advantages, it has only 48k so won't play some of the XE carts.

I would recommend a wonder over to http://www.icemark.com/ I know of spectrum, C=64 and have heard of Amstrad versions, no Atari though. maybe it was considered, but dropped, leaving only some manual notes as evidence. The chap who runs icemark is active in the midnight yahoo group dedicated to remakes of the game, i understand there are PC, GBA and other versions being worked on by fans, and mutterings of a full 'semi commercial' version for PCs which may or maynot have a WIMP interface (certainly the engine is being worked on).

certainly in the UK the Atari had an up-hill struggle priced about the same as the BBC micro (endorsed by the British Broadcastion Corperation, and supplied cheep to every school, parents stung by VHS/Betamax at least understood compatability issues and if they could afford it, bought it!), seriously undercut by the Sinclair Spectrum, the C=64 taking the price inbetween the Atari and Spectrum, its amazing it survived at all in that crowded market place. The push came about 85ish when JT *spits* slashed the price. Atari did do stunningly well with the ST here, but by 1990 atari was fading quickly in the face of the revised amiga and the PC/Mac onslaught. But atari, even in teh 800 days, did have the reputaion of being the machine for very serious games enthusiasts.

In my opinion the 130XE has only one serious advantage, and that memory related, You can use a 1 sweep disk copier for when your backing up disks. Otherwise its 800XL all the way.

A work mate just came up to me and said 'I saw this and thought of you' and dropped a copy of a new magazine 'Retro* Gamer' on my desk Nowt much on the Atari bar the 10 best 2600 and 10 best ST games, Big articles on the Sinclair Spectrum and Mastertronic but it has a cd on the cover with lots of emulators and games. Anyone else seen it? comments? Bets on its survivability?

AMAUROTE! looks loverly, near impossible to play! Thank heavens for howfen dos tape to disk

I have very vauge memories of shoot-em-up and platform game construction kits appearling in the late 80's on machines like the commodore 64, did any appear on the Atari?

Space, and cost are my two main concerns, another is availability of some machines I have a 2600, 7800 (bought as a back-up for the 2600), Commodore CD-32 (two plus 1 SX-1 expander), Playstation and Computer wise i have atari 8-bits (800XL, 130XE, XEGS) with floppy drives etc, Spectums, Amiga 600 and a hot Amiga 1200 (030/50mhz, co-pro chip, 16 meg, Hard disk, cdrom drive). Apart from the Playstation its getting more difficult to find stuff. I may be tempted for a Commodore 64 or a nes because of the availability of games for them but would rather not take up more space! The speccies hardly come out any more (tape loading! Atari 8-bit multi boots floppies and howfen dos tape to disk utility is spoiling me!) I suppose the plan should be to focus on my Atari 8-bit machines (i have still yet to replace many of the games from my childhood collection even if my original 800XL has come home via a round-about route). One thing worth baring in mind, when a machine goes pop! as they do from time to time, you don't want to be sitting on a selection of un-playable games. So if you have a 2600, a 7800 is a good back-up as it will play most 2600 games as well as the 7800 ones.

I do have a copy of it myself Matsertronic (a bugdet software label) released it as a cassette only game We in the UK had been going 'WOW' to the Ultimate spectrum games like 'Knight Lore' and 'Alien 8' for some time and it was in very much the same vein, an isometric platform puzzler, IE a concept copy. http://www.mastertronic.net/ gives some info under another machine, It was a port from the Spectrum version.

I have made that comparason before about my Amiga gear in a bar discussion with friends when i tried to explain why i collect this stuff. Amiga/Atari users were the computing equivelent of old car nuts, MGB sports car drivers, or in America, a guy who drives a 50's fins and chrome creation. Macs we thought may be more the modern smart car or Mini, PCs were the current run-of the mill Fords and GM cars. However i have refrained from painting any of my machines in British Racing Green, Yet! The the Brown and Cream of my 800XL and the wood effect of my 2600 may be a bit of a 'period' feel enough not to help my cause Classic for me however refers to specific games or systems that are a cut above the rest, or moved gaming on a step, elsehow i refer to it as retro. Another term i have heard is 'Digital Archeologist'!

hmm found these in my favorites as well. Not tried them so can't comment further. http://www.highstreetmicro.co.uk/Atari%208bit.htm http://www.retrogames.co.uk/stock/html/ata...tari_xl_xe.html

http://www.dgs.clara.net/ About the only comercial source i know for floppies (public domain software) Other sources, E-bay is your best bet unless you know other Atari-8 bit users and can form a swap ring (like i have done with a fella i work with)

*scratches head* The ST is the atari machine i most associate with music, It having a reasonable Yamaha chip and midi interface built in, and Cube base (?)manipulation software. certainly you can communicate between the two machines in numerous ways, the easiest is of course that STs use an IBM compatable 720k floppy disk format. But i'm sure midi to midi couldbe a possibility as well. Yes 8-bits had capabilities in sound as well but usualy only via rare/expensive now 3rd party add ons. And communicating with PCs you are looking at whats called an SIO2PC cabel.

http://www.crestviewfl.com/~richard/atari-docs.htm seems gone now :( Pity, good site! Anyone know if its moved to pastures new?