There is aother though I got when I saw a video about media achaeology which concentrates on old media and representing it. the old computers are not collected to get all of them but stored if a special interesting thing is achieved for the first or only time.
After that step there ist often another step and so on.
Often it has to do with analogue and digital kind of work together. Sound is analogue but is coded digitally e.g..
One thing that is often looked at are the new possibilities that are given.
If I look at the Atari 800 and put a new Device on it it enhances the old technique but the old technique still remains the same.
That can be classified in categories like internal / external hardware (2nd Pokey / Sio2SD) or technique possible at that age ore later (same her, but a lot other examples existing: 2nd Pokey / Sio2SD)

Some features of the VBXE were possible at that time but not all. Memory was possible, That much colors not.
Examples like Battle Zone had also a hardware extension to the 6502.

So the VBXE
- Has to be programmed on the 6502 like in the past
- Has memory like possible in the past (but for much money)
- Has advanced video capabilities and a fast blitter. Compare the 7800 console graphics or the ST shifter. But they are from 1984/85 (not 1979). It is beyond that time.
- It not much of a collectable in historic manner but in means of media archaeology. It uses the old technique to
- VBXE is a great video enhancer for TFT-Displays

I would like to have Battle Zone done with the VBXE even if it is not original Hardware.

Everybody can decide for themselve

But now: If someone uses the Internet to swap software that would not be the same as a copy party like in the 1980s where discs were copied.(Internet is not that new but only available for all since the mid 1990s)
Draw your line ...

therealbountybob, on Sun Apr 14, 2013 6:32 PM, said:

As I had some experience at the 10 Lines Code Competition at the NOMAM a few days ago I have a very short solution to clear memory at the top end of the memory (e.g. for PM in graphics 5):

9GR.8

The game is in graphics 5 and if a graphics 8 is set before that, it cleares the memory of 8KB. The GR.5 after that uses less memory and leaves enough KB with zeroes for e.g. PM.
Only in this special case 5 characters are enough for a memory clear! This doesn´t work for highres games of course ...

phaeron, on Tue Jan 22, 2013 9:43 PM, said:

I know it is not what you need, but I wanted to check for a range in zero page because of of the rmt used range.
And this method checks for any boundary, not only page boundaries, so the use is quiet different.

At the end of my zero page variables is the following code:

;safty for Raster Music Tracker zero page
RMT_ZP
.if RMT_ZP>203
RMT_Zeropage overlapping!!!
.endif

It generates an error if the zero page usage extends free space given if using rmt

Same Test for overlapping different code blocks

ProgramMemory1End
.if ProgramMemory1End>antic
Program memory overlapping with Antic program!!!
.endif

Maybe a diffent modulo statement can check for some other usefull cases too.

The concept of the tomek card is cool. I do a game for 130xe with or without VBXE. I still have no VBXE but Altirra works well emulating it. If it emulates tomek too, then a version for it is also thinkable.
I like the Idea of a tomek chip inside a cartridge. I agree to some point that original hardware is the one and only true platform. And if there are to many extensions available then nobody will be able to play a game on his hardware. Unfortunatly it is not possible to support all hardware for graphics, sound and i/o with some kind of drivers. There is not enough memory and cpu power to do that (Even no Driver API). Every piece in a game is usually optimized for the used hardware. And if drivers would exist, then the speed of the hardware would differ.
So? Tomek is OK for me, because it can be used as a separate hardware. VBXE is still a good hardware though. My problem with VBXE is mainly the poor availibility and that only one core is available which supports functionality of a (very fast) blitter. (BTW: How is a core written?)

My other idea before reading about tomek was a complete hardware for graphics, sound and i/o. Programmable core, sprites, extended memory, digitized sound and enhanced i/o (ethernet, midi, hdmi). This would be a new defined platform which takes standard hardware to a new defined level. games can support that easier. But that would end up like an Amiga with better graphics and sound but poor cpu.
I like the old games and would like to preserve the style of them. Using sio2sd is no problem for most people (atari computer stays untouched). Enhanced Memory as no problem too. Enhanced graphics is different and should not be too much. Enhanced sound is good as well, but same problem. Enhanced i/o like ethernet and hdmi ist fantastic in my opinion since this would give better multi player games in old and fun style. And playing multiplayer games is a lot of extra fun! Having hdmi solves the problem for the actual monitors to have a good picture without washed out colors, flickering, wrong aspect ratio and other effects.
As a programmer I can not make a game that needs 100 people with different tasks and tools. Atari is a good platform to do a lot of things by one person or a small team.

Not an easy task to set the Atari++ platform right. My thought is: Enhanced graphics? yes, but not to much. Simple digitized sound? yes. And the previously mentioned ethernet port and hdmi out. That all together in a cartridge would be perfect!

As far as I read here there are still a few boards available, so I want to get one.

(I am lucky that I havn´t sold it 27 years ago, it is still MY computer. I would not sell it for 500€)