Leaderboard

If you've tried downloading game binaries recently in forum threads (such as .bin files for Atari 2600 games), you may have seen a warning from your web browser that the file is dangerous and contains malware. These warnings are FALSE, and the attachments you're receiving warnings about are not dangerous. Unfortunately, it seems that Firefox and Chrome (and perhaps other browsers) have decided to flag all files with certain file extensions, such as .bin, as being dangerous. Here's an example of this warning in Chrome: And in Firefox: For Chrome and Firefox, you can follow the following instructions to avoid these warnings. IN CHROME: Go to Settings (three dots in top right) then Privacy and Security, then Security, then change your 'Safe Browsing' setting to a lower protection until you can download. IN FIREFOX: Go to Settings (three lines in top right) then Privacy and Security, then scroll down to Security, then uncheck 'Block dangerous downloads'. You can also allow files one by one if you're not comfortable turning that off by clicking on the download icon in the top right (down arrow into bin) and then allowing the file. If you don't want to do this, you can generally override the warning and force the download to complete. Thanks to James at ZeroPage Homebrew for writing up the above instructions. If you have any questions, please comment below. Thank you, ..Al

I'm churning on them, and working on another large batch Last Chance orders now. It is taking a long time, yes, and everyone will get everything they ordered. It's tough, as there are other things I have to continue working on in parallel as well, but the Last Chance orders are one of my highest priorities by far. I am going to send another update to everyone this week who still has outstanding orders. While the Last Chance orders are a somewhat unique experience (one I hope to never repeat!), I am actively working on several things that will make processing and shipping of orders much faster by the beginning of next year. My goal is to have 95% of orders placed in the store shipped within one week. I leave the 5% for orders that have unique conditions where they cannot be fulfilled that quickly (for instance, if someone purchases an Edladdin controller, those are built by hand and generally take a month or so to get out). Anyone who has any questions about their order (or orders) can feel free to email or PM me, but keep in mind that I'm not always immediately responsive, and I tend to respond to order emails in batches to be more efficient with that. ..Al

Inspired by a recent ZeropageHomebrew stream, today we release "Jumping at Shadows: Moth-Line" for the Atari Jaguar. This will be immediately available for download to patrons on the top tier level. I will publically release it a few weeks down the line. Enjoy!

Some images from the factory of the retail stock freshly manufactured from a dispatch inspection last week.

I've probably been living under a rock as I'd not really noticed the little 2d Pac Man (Puku Puku) games that had been popping up. I saw @ZeroPage Homebrew's lovely 2600 version (Fantastic presentation and playability) and then I saw @CyranoJ Jag version and was equally impressed. Fun little games, switch your brain off and enjoy. I also found a lovely version for the PICO8 byt I thought I'd knock up a quick 7800 version using assets that I already have sitting around (some will be very recognisable). I started this Sunday night and finished it this evening, so probably about 5 or 6 hours spent on it. It's rough around the edges and there are a few glitches. That said, I present "Lola Lines" Help Lola (Bernie's lovely niece) deal with the terrible tank that she's trapped with. Controls Fire to start / restart on gameover. Left and Right to move. If you go off the screen, you appear on the other side. How to Play Collect dots to score. Collect Power Potions for limited ability to kill tanks Avoid Tanks when not powered up Once you have collected 1/2 of the dots a fruit or goodie will appear and move in a random direction. Collect fruit and other goodies for bonus points Scoring For each dot you collect you score = to the current level (so lvl 1 = 1 pt, level 10 = 10 pts etc). If you kill a tank, you get 10x the current level as points If you pick up a fruit / goodie, you get 20x the current level as points. Compatibility Lola-Lines is a 16k ROM, no pokey or anything special. Works on GameDrive7800 (Disable Break to avoid slowdowns). Should work on Dragonfly & Concerto + all the usual emulator options. To-Do Refinements to timing, right now you can be stuck in an unfair position with no way out so timers needs a tweak or 2 10 levels then it goes back to cherries, maybe ill add more and the appropriate bonuses. Let me know if folks have any suggestions. speed ups as you climb the levels Credits SFX from the 7800Basic example library (thanks Mike!) Lola_Lines_Build_16.a78 Lola_lines_build_20.a78

I'm going to receive the pokeymax v4 boards tomorrow and, all being well, get them running over the next week or so. Since the project is now more open than before I'm going to post some details of what needs doing for this here along with progress. Feel free to chime in with comments. Status: i) Boards ordered from PCBWay. http://www.64kib.com/atarixlfpga_svn/trunk/atari_800xl/atari_chips/hardware/pokeymaxv4/2layer030drill/ ii) Parts ordered from Digikey - arrived. https://www.digikey.ch/en/mylists/list/MZC8NOSXG1. I grabbed 5 copies (it's cheaper in volume) and removed four of the FPGAs. I'm planning to transfer and reball some of the FPGAs from my other boards. Also I already have a spare new 10M08 floating around. TODO: a) svn checkout the HDL from http://www.64kib.com/atarixlfpga_svn/trunk/atari_800xl/ b) Modify atari_chips/pokeyv2/ to add the v4 board: Copy the qsf file and correct/add the pin assignments from the schematic. Set up the paddle pins as LVDS. Add a feature to pokeymax.vhd to directly use the fpga io for the keyboard instead of using the io expander chip over i2c. Add a feature to pokeymax.vhd to directly reset the paddle pins Copy the ADC input feature from the sidmax.vhd to pokeymax.vhd, add it to the pokey mixer. Update build.sh adding a v4 board and enabling these features Synthesise the logic by sourcing the quartus settings file then running build.sh with the new configuration. c) Assemble a board bit by bit checking functionality Visual inspection Check for shorts on the power nets Solder on the regulator, its support parts (caps, inductors) and ferrite bead for 3.3v analog. Power the board and check power rail voltages. Solder on the FPGA, FPGA core support parts (Pull ups etc), FPGA jtag support parts. Connect the JTAG, can I see the FPGA? Modify my JTAG boundary scan script to check for any shorts under the FPGA. Solder on the rest of the SMD parts: 5V/3.3v level converter chips, paddle level potential divider, adc coupling cap and dc bias, output op amp and feedback parts, output audio coupling caps Solder on the pin header strips, the audio output header and the io header. Put it into the Atari! Power it on, flash the new core, power off/on and pray! Debug, goto 11.

Wrapping up the maps, added beautiful background art by Szadi. Work on boxart started, soon there will be the first Test ROM of the complete game!

Hi. It's the very first time I code a game on Atari 8-bit computer. I have my 800 xl 40 years ago and it's time to work on it. I begun 2 weeks ago reading book and testing the hardware. I played MazezaM on supernes and thought it'll be a good game for testing. I found hirudov web site and don't saw any atari version. I just saw an already done version here on atariage by XXL. So I apologize for this second version. But As I have finish it, I post it. The main purpose of this development was to understand the hardware and watch how many data I can put in the original atari 400 8ko Ram version. Before making a more comlex game. I still have free memory on the Player/Missile ram. Nearly $475 octets. The game have simple sound fx when you move a crate. 42 levels with name. 100% asm. Press START to begin and "r" in game to restart level. mazezam_atari8bit.zip

I have prepared Work In Progress Demo 2 of Time Wizard Deluxe. The list of changes: Added disappearing ladders and test level with them. Ladders can be activated by pressing buttons or automatically by passing of time. Ladders can be time resist or not. Added French translation prepared by @StaxX28. Added German translation prepared by @pps. Added Italian translation prepared by @Philsan. Added Spanish translation prepared by @Yautja. Redesign of the font in terms of diacritic characters for different languages. Adjustments in language selection screen. Added Mq Workshop logo on splash screen, because the physical release will be done by Mq Workshop. If your language is not included in the game and you whish to have it, please let me know.

Hillside Colors: 68 Plus src Atari8man_NTSC_Hillside.xex Atari8man_Pal_Hillside.xex

We already had this discussion - laboriously and over several years - with the likes of Atari8Warez, whose assertion that the hardware wasn't up to the talk was already comprehensively debunked several times over by the time he got himself banned for harassing me off-site. Multitasking has worked smoothly since 2013 or so, with performance better than anyone expected. The impediments - if I have to list then again for the umpteenth time - are basically lack of time, lack of motivation, and fatigue over the need to constantly defend and justify the system's viability and functionality to people with no real grasp of how it works or why it's perfectly reasonable to run such an OS on an 8-bit machine (if you're happy to code everything in raw assembler, at least).

The current Night Knight version in source. https://github.com/the-atari-team/tat.night-knight.git To install, follow the README.md file.

Saw one of these yesterday afternoon. 100% solar eclipse, and all I had to do was step outside my door to view it. Awesome phenomenon! mrfish - eclipse.xex

An update is coming soon. A patch list is being written up at the moment.

Thanks to the generosity of Ianoid, we have a few new Starpath prototypes to share. The first is a new build of Sweat!. This prototype contains a running event that cannot be won (at least I don't think it can) but has the larger graphic for the character. This is similar to the Hurdles version that was found in the possession of Bob Brown back in 2004, although that prototype has not been released to the public as far as I can tell. The second prototype is a late beta for Sword of Saros. The game plays similarly to the final (although I found it harder to avoid the wizard) but the end game is completely different. Instead of opening random doors on level 7 you must instead find the sword in a treasure room and then confront the wizard. Unfortunately there's no winning screen programmed in yet so the game simply resets. Also included is a prototype for Survival Island. This appears to be the same as the first load on the released version, but the tape was oddly missing the other two loads. Perhaps it was some sort of demo? Ianoid also found a copy of Going-Up?? but it turned out to be the same as the previously released demo. In honor of Ianoid releasing all these Starpath games I finally got around to making pages for all the Starpath games (except Party Mix which no prototype has been found for yet). Enjoy! http://www.atariprotos.com/ Going Up.bin Survival Island (8-5-83).bin Sweat! (Beta 4).bin Sword of Saros (8-5-83).bin

Egyptian Pyramid Colors: 41 plus src Atari8man_NTSC_Egyptian Pyramid.xex Atari8man_PAL_Egyptian Pyramid.xex

Medusa 4 Colors: 89 plus src Atari8man_NTSC_Medusa_4.xex Atari8man_Pal_Medusa_4.xex

Guarantied to help against headache: but Asperin might have less side effects. Sometimes the cure is worse than the problem.

Spiderman Colors: 50 Atari8man_NTSC_SpiderMan.xex Atari8man_Pal_SpiderMan.xex

Tonight marks the Geneve interpreter's first successful load of an unmodified (native) z3 game file. The disassembly & rework have given me an idea or two for overcoming the /4a challenges. @mizapf's MAME debug tips have been most helpful in helping me to find two 35+ year-old bugs. Edit: added screenshot of extended ZSCII using the character set created by @wierd_w.

On the contrary, more work is being done on 2600+ related stuff then ever. It all just takes too long.

It's alive! I just finished an extensive round of finalizing the programmable logic chips while testing at every possible step. A few logic problems were found and fixed. The 64k of SRAM can be banked into the $4000-$7FFF banking region on the Atari, and the Z-80 chip can be controlled by the Atari. Running some very basic assembly, on the Z-80, shows that the Z-80 is working and can communicate back to the Atari. Unfortunately, I discovered that I forgot to add a single trace. So, these aren't the final boards. Since the original 1090 Z-80 board schematic showed the Atari could generate an interrupt on the Z-80, I figured I'd add the Z-80 /M1 line to one of the PLDs so that should be possible on the next run of boards. (The /M1 line is needed to ensure that an /IRQ doesn't accidentally result in I/O.) Realistically, the Atari probably doesn't need to generate an IRQ on the Z-80, but since the capability appeared to have been planned, why not add it as a feature? This board is greatly improved over the last board. Improvements are: 1. 64k of SRAM, with banking logic, is built onto the board. This reduces the cost and now the Z-80 board only requires a single 1090 card slot. 2. Four programmable logic chips were used to speed development and reduce chip count. At the low end, each programmable chip replaced at least 3 other chips. 3. The Z-80 is now running at almost 7.4 Mhz. Here's a couple pics.....

Medieva Knight Colors: 41 plus src Atari8man_NTSC_Medieva_Knigh.xex Atari8man_PAL_Medieva_Knight.xex

Oh, YEAH!!! This is awesome. The high score on Doggone It! is 62,149, and that was by yours truly, lol, earning me a quote on the back of the box, and a long-time friendship with the author/creator. Really personally vested in this game, tho I had nothing to do with it's creation or anything- Was playing in the HSC, tbh didn't care for homebrew at all(Booo!), but had to play them, and this game just stood out. Then I learned a bit more about the story and all, and really, really clicked with the game, I'm not sure anyone will beat my score(tho I'd cheer for them if they did!), it's actually a listed high score at the Atari Compendium, so that's a bonus, if someone beats me! Just, JUST heard about this being played(I've got friends in low places, haha!), so gotta think on it, but I'll surely try to do something nice for someone, if they do manage to beat my score, but I'll have to think on what it could be. Luck/RNG plays a factor, in getting the best power ups(I'm gonna have to refresh myself on the game, tbh...), but learning when to use them properly, even sometimes waiting for Culvert Kitty to come out and exchanging them at the last moment(again, I have to refresh myself), is important. Around my score, it's almost killscreen speed, the game gets faster and faster, so there surely IS a limit in what a human can do, it's not an "endless game", so I do remember that it's important to score high early. Play the first few levels, figure out your potential, and make sure to do at least that, every time, or reset. Ah. Sorry for butting in, writing a novel. I'm just really, really tickled that this game is being played again, once you get to the point of understanding it, it's a GREAT game, I promise. Have Fun, Ya'll, I'll check in to see how it's going! Good Luck!!!

Name: Kart-Tag! Description: Race to catch the tags as quickly as possible, for each of the six courses. Watch out for obstacles. Instructions: Press 1 to play the standard courses. For random courses, press 2 at the start screen. Controls during gameplay: press a main fire button or up on the disc to accelerate; press an alternate fire button or down on the disc to decelerate; press left or right on the disc to turn left or right. Each course starts when you first accelerate. Race to collect the required number of tags as quickly as possible. When the required number of tags has been reached, the level is complete. Missing a tag means you'll have to wait for the next tag to "drop". Hitting obstacles on the road will slow you down significantly. Making turns will also slow you down, although to less of a degree. There are six courses in a game, with increasing Go Kart power. After completing all six courses, your course times and overall time will be shown. Play again to try to beat your records. The best times for standard play are kept separate from those for random play. Easter egg #1: Press 9 at the start screen, then press 7 and 8 to select a starting "seed" number. This will change the course sequence accordingly. Only the sequence of the numbers changes, so some values will provide similar courses. When set, press 2 to start the game. Easter egg #2: Press 6 at the start screen, then press 4 and 5 to select how soon the tag starts to drop. 2 is standard, 1 is sooner, and 0 is soonest. Press 3 when set, then press 1 or 2 to start the game. kart.rom Cheers! Harvey

Name: Max-It! Description: Challenge a friend or the computer in this classic board game. Capture a number and corner your opponent. Use your strategy to make him lose points. Risk everything by capturing wildcard value. For 1 or 2 players. Brief Manual: The game features a 10x10 board with a number filled in each cell (between -15 and 15). Player 1 moves only horizontally and player 2 only moves vertically. Each player, in turn, must choose an available number and press the button to capture it. The value will be added or subtracted from your score (values with a gray background are positive and values with a red background are negative). The last number captured will be shown next to the scoreboard. The "wildcard" cells have a hidden number and their value will only be revealed after the player captures it. During the game, a random scan of the board may occur and one cell will be hidden with a white card. Just like the wildcard, this cell has a hidden number, but its value will be doubled when captured. The game ends when all numbers have been captured or when a player is unable to play. The player with the highest score will be the winner. Select the number of players from the menu. Use the 0 key to turn the sound on or off during the game. Have fun! Sergio Vares Maxit.rom

Phoenix 2001 Diskodex v1.01 Source Code Release from the O.P.A. 1989 Archive Here is another great release, this program was first written by me and Cecil Chin back in 1989 with the manual written by my dad, and was one of my first commercially sold programs, under the "Phoenix 2001" label, which at the time meant that the useful of the software would at least last until year 2001, and in part was a nod to my love for the Space Odyssey, and my brand-new projects I am working on now in the year 2024 will soon be released under the "Phoenix 2061" label, keeping with the trend and usefulness of being valid to use on your TI-99/4a or emulators or future hardware until the year 2061 and for my love of classic Sci-Fi. Enjoy! 🥳 -=(GaryOPA)=- (The above description of Diskodex 2001 was quoted from my website: https://garyopa.com/diskodex/ ) (The large v1.01 release ZIP contains everything, screenshot, manual, disk image, source tree in PC & TIFIlLES formats and the ready to run assembled TI99 E/A #5 binaries) Also available on my GitHub as well: https://github.com/gary99opa/Diskodex2001 * PHOENIX 2001 DISKODEX v1.01 by O.P.A. * * 1989 Source Code Release * By Oasis Pensive Abacutors * Via Gary Bowser (GARYOPA) * Released April 14th, 2024 * Uploaded to ti99.atariage.com * CATLOG-S -> DiskodeX Main Source Assemble File CATLOG-M12 -> DX Catalog/Delete/Update/Disklist! CATLOG-M3A -> DX Setup of Print/Search Catalog CATLOG-M3B -> DX Sorter for Print/Search Catalog CATLOG-M45 -> DX Display Status and System Setup CATLOG-SB1 -> DX Sub-Programs BL,BLWP's (1 of 2) CATLOG-SB2 -> DX Sub-Programs BL,BLWP's (2 of 2) CATLOG-DB1 -> DX Data Blocks (Keep them at End) CATLOG-LOW -> Phoenix 2001 Logo,Chars,Title Data RDSKU-S -> XB Utilities To Display DSK-U v4.1 DISKODEX.pdf Diskodex2001-Source-Files-Only.zip DISKODEX.dsk Diskodex2001_1_01_GARYOPA_04_14_2024.zip

The updated Geneve Infocom interpreter seems to be working properly with the fixes and updates, so I'm releasing v1.2 into the wild. I've named it INF3 to distinguish between the older INF and its 2-gamefile format. This program runs from the Geneve OS's command line. The game file must be a single, "raw" z3 file in DF128 format. For example, if you wish to play one of the newer PunyInform games, download the raw z3 file then convert it from a "PC" file to a TIFILES format file. TI99Dir does this quickly and easily. Notable items: Game file is the single, raw z3 file. Removed game1/game2 support. (Edit: more accurately, I disabled the 2-file support in case there is a need for it later). Disassembled the interpreter program. Validated the z-machine instructions: they match the V1.3 /4a interpreter. The game size limitations have been removed with the change in file format, i.e., larger "Supercart" games now load and run. During startup and restore operations, the entire game file is loaded into memory from the device. The interpreter no longer locks up at the exit dialogue when it encounters a "bad" file or bad internal opcode. The video mode and screen window are set -after- the game is loaded. The default character set is the Geneve OS pattern table. However... The new character set with extended ZSCII characters is available. Press F5 at an input prompt to toggle between default and new sets. The input buffer size is now limited to 75 characters. This fixes problems with games that allow excessive input buffers. The input buffer length was incorrectly being set to one more than the maximum memory space. The input routine now detects NULL characters in the input buffer and replaces them with the SPACE character. NULL buffer initialization was most noticeable in some of the newer releases. The TAB key has been fixed. Pressing it during data entry will reveal the last command/file name. Right-arrow will also reveal the same, one character at a time. Possible, future updates: Visible status bar/line. Some people like it, others don't. The status line uses an MDOS window command so for now, I left it alone. Disk catalog option during save/restore. Who here doesn't dislike needing to exit the game when you forget the restore file's name? Some games do not calculate the $verify bytes; others were modified without recalculating the verification, e.g. a few of The Master's releases. Allow the user to disable the game integrity check I've learned a bit more about the /4a and Geneve interpreters and resolved a few old, outstanding issues. I hope to spend some time with the /4a code later this year. INF3

Andrzej Bogacz's Happy Pacman pallette: Altirra.pal Andrzej_Bogacz_Happy_Pacman.xex

44 colours Stephen_Snake2.xex

I sometimes feel that way if I post something about one of my projects before its conclusion, because it adds sometimes unwanted pressure to get it done. But on the other hand it does feel good to share, and as you pointed out, get inspiration that drives the project forward in an even better way.

A good friend of mine was visiting family in Texas and brought me these nuggets back to Germany. (The Genesis cart was an accidental buy and only 6$.)

That doesn't come across as a killjoy comment at all. I already remarked on the open-source multitasking kernels that had been ported to the A8 long before I started the UI, let alone the multitasking kernel, and I've yet to see anyone drape a GUI on top of them, and probably for good reason (it may ultimately be a solution looking for a problem). When it comes to priorities, back in 2014, the clear need for better U1MB/SIDE/Incognito firmware far outweighed the GOS in terms of importance (and remember the primary motivation for rewriting the U1MB firmware was initially to provide the GOS with a means of booting from ROM), and as it happens, doing that eventually contributed to my turning my hobby into my self-employed occupation (I wasn't working at all for much of the time when I was working intensely on the GOS, and when I did get a full-time job in IT support - itself partily because of some firmware I had produced - I recall being too tired after work to do any large-scale coding). And - as mentioned previously - work on the SIDE2 and later the SIDE3 loaders took care of FAT drivers on the A8 (R/W in the case of SIDE3, as recently as two years ago, with long filename support, etc), filesystem drivers being one of the more intimidating obstacles to turning the GOS 'demo' into a full operating system. Shortly after I finished the R/W FAT drivers, we sold my parents' house (both of them having died in 2021/22), bought this place, and I expect to have the place fully fixed up by the end of 2024. Coding priorities include the SIDE3 Loader, Ext U1MB/Incognito Lite/Incognito 3 firmware, etc, etc. Will I start dabbling with the GOS project again? More than likely, since I have ready-written filesystem driver code now which didn't exist ten years ago. Regarding the SDX FAT drivers: I completely appreciate and support developers who wish to 'do it themselves', and I heard some gossip that the R/W version of the SDX FATFS.SYS 'exists somewhere', but who knows. I reached out to Trub about a year ago, nevertheless, offering to help add write support if it wasn't already done, but I received no response whatsoever to that offer. I would write a R/W driver myself, but unfortunately - while the SDX developer documentation is absolutely excellent - the chapter on writing filesystem drivers is still missing, so we're at a bit of an impasse there at the moment. Someone from the Americas offered me some kind of financial support scheme back in 2013 or so, but I didn't pursue it since it seemed to me at the time like making a pact with the Devil. Once you accept money (regardless of all the failed Kickstarter projects which exist), you've committed yourself to providing a product of some kind, and that's a considered responsibility, IMO. The amount of time required to complete the GOS - unless invested piecemeal over a couple of years - would be significant enough to affect my day-to-day occupation (whose backlog of work I am still struggling to manage), and if that's neglected for a year while I work full-time on the GOS, I'd risk having no job at all at the end of it. I haven't forgotten the donations I received a decade or more ago in terms of support for the GUI/GOS project, but sending tips to egg someone on to push the project further and formalising a funding scheme in order to ensure a completed project are two entirely different propositions. Couldn't really have put it better myself. It's a valid concern, and definitely something that's in the back of my mind when I wonder whether - for instance - to improve a game loader for which I get paid and which is used by hundreds of SIDE3 owners, or a graphical OS which people would probably tinker with for five minutes (imagine any recent GEOS demo on YouTube, for example), adjusting the font size in the word processor and dragging windows around the screen. And if - as it appears to some - the whole project is just about 'can it be done?', then we already know it can be done, since the GOS 'demo' works, has a ROM file system, and runs multiple processes at the same time on a 128K system, and uses a graphical front-end with proportional fonts. LOL. Reverse psychology sometimes works, I suppose, to inspire people to finish something out of spite or a sense of indignation, but this thread (which I actually have hidden because it's become such a time-drain in its own right; I'm only here because I was quoted) has been such a source of motivation and demotivation in almost equal measure, they pretty much cancel one another out now, and thus become irrelevant. Part of me wishes I had written nothing at all on the forum until the system was complete, but on the other hand, without public discussion, we wouldn't have the cool mouse pointer, nice visuals, efficient window manager, or the multitasking kernel (all of which are - directly or indirectly - a result of community discussion and participation).

In case anyone is interested, I successfully got Prince of Persia running on the 400 mini. I just completed a play-through of the game and I did not experience any comparability issues.

Minnie soundchip core it's almost done. I tried playing few Pokey RMT music directly on the Minnie I used only square waveform and noise. Still have some problem with volume (because of this -> sample_data = S x (1 + 1/2 x vol2+ 1/4 x vol1 + 1/8 x vol0) x 2^(4 x vol5 + 2 x vol4 + 1 x vol3) ) Also Minnie don't have Zero volume. To make the channel not produce any sound, you need to use Waveform 4. I hope one day someone will make tracker for Minnie. More details about this chip: https://7800.8bitdev.org/index.php/The_7800_Minnie_sound_chip Below song BeniFriends by @VinsCool (sorry ) 2024-04-11 14-03-08.mp4

Pac-10Liner was just released:

The game Boo Fruit is a simple game inspired by the characters from the Pac Man game, but with a different storyline. It's a simple 1D game, meaning that the gameplay occurs on a single y-axis position on the screen. Link for downloading the game with labels, manual, NTSC and PAL versions. https://prijedor-x.com/boofruit.html BooFruit2600.bin

So as the developer of ColecoDS, I decided to support all 'cousin' systems to the Colecovision in the one emulation package due to how similar it all is. The differences come down mainly to memory/IO maps, the amount of memory, the SN vs AY sound chips and possibly the use of a CTC chip for more sophisticated handling of timing/interrupts (vs the CV just tying VDP to the non-maskable interrupt... some developers curse this) ColecoDS currently supports these very similar systems: Colecovision with 1K of mirrored RAM and optional Super Game Module for an additional 32K of memory (similar to the lower-half of the ADAM memory map) and the AY sound chip for easier MSX ports. The upper 32K is used for carts and bigger carts can use various banking techniques to page in more ROM as needed (the venerable MegaCart being the most popular which allows for a 16K fixed bank and a 16K variable bank... the more sophisticated Super Game Cart allows for 8K banking that makes it a bit easier to port MSX1 games that use an 8K mapper). Coleco ADAM with 64K base memory (and no RAM mirrors) and up to 16MB of Expanded Memory (though I think above about 1 or possibly 2MB it kinda gets pointless). Things are generally memory mapped in 32K chunks (upper and lower memory). Can run in Colecovision mode with the standard CV bios (though the RAM is not mirrored and that will cause compatibility issues with a very small number of games). Super games in DDP (tape) could be up to 256K in size and standard disks were 160K (though most hobbyists would modify or upgrade to a 320K disk or larger) - with the clever AdamNet handling allowing for DMA transfers of data without a heavy load on the Z80 so new stages for games could load while you play. Sega SG-1000 and SC-3000 are hugely similar to the CV with just some changes to the IO and memory map. The SC-3000 adds more memory and a keyboard to provide some entry level computer support. Some 3rd party expanders map RAM in various places for bootleg MSX ports to the SG-1000. Many of the early homebrews for the CV came from the SG-1000 game pool. Sord M5 is likewise similar to our CV but adds a CTC (counter-timer-chip) used for cassette and sound timing. Most software was supplied on carts. Apploon and Up Up Balloon are both great original games that would be right at home on the Colecovision but most developers don't look to the Sord for inspiration (and maybe the CTC handling is not easy to untangle for the Colecovision which lacks it). MSX1 is more versatile than the CV with memory mapping in 16K chunks (vs 32K of the CV/ADAM) and even that can be further chunked into 8K segments by various MSX cart mappers. Of all the cousin systems, this one is the most widely supported by the hobby community with tons of new homebrews coming every year... many of the new CV games are ports of MSX classics. Uses the AY sound chip which is very similar to the venerable SN chip with wider dynamic range and uses simple waveform envelopes to produce some great effects - this AY chip is provided on the CV by the Super Game Module. Some of the best MSX1 games utilize an off-board sound processor known as the Konami SCC which is hard to replicate exactly (though Opcode comes close) on the CV even with the Super Game Module. Most games come on carts but there is also tons of cassette and disk based software for the MSX1. Standard disks are 720K. Spectravideo SVI is very close to MSX1 (vs the Colecovision) and was the basis for the MSX1 standard - but retains the 32K memory map of the CV. Cassette based loader (only a half-dozen or so carts are known to exist). Sadly most everything on the SVI was either a back-port from MSX or the games got released on MSX compatible systems so this system just doesn't have the exclusives to make it stand out. Casio PV-2000 is very similar to the Colecovision but uses memory mapped VDP access vs IO Mapping and also has interrupt driven keyboard handling. Hanimex Pencil II is mostly a gaming console with a chicklet keyboard tacked-on for various flavors of BASIC carts. Only a few carts are dumped though a few dozen others are known to exist. Tatung Einstein has a faster (4MHz) processor and ample use of CTC timer handling. Disk based system and uses the same SN chip as the Colecovision. This was the system of choice for many Z80 developers back in the mid-80s to write and test games as it was really well built and came with 64K standard memory and a reliable 3" disk drive (200K formatted) and had virtually the entire CPU bus accessible on the back (via something they called the "Tatung Pipe"). Memotech MTX also uses the CTC timer and is a cassette based system. Uses the same SN chip as the Colecovision. Creativision uses the same VDP and sound chip but is built around the 6502 CPU vs the Z80 in all the systems above. It's like the Atari and Colecovision had an illegitimate child that neither wants to claim on their taxes. It's got a unique set of controllers that remind me of the Intellivision and when you hook them up side-by-side, it makes for a makeshift A-Z keyboard.

Giant Skull II Colors: 64 plus src Atari8man_NTSC_Giant_Skull_2.xex Atari8man_Pal_Giant_Skull_2.xex

No, I've just been working on some stuff that just isn't ready to release yet.

Here is a quick mockup which shows how a multiple players PacLine game might look like. PacLine x 8 Demo.bin

New version of level editor v1.7 is available: https://gitlab.com/amarok8bit/time-wizard-level-editor The main changes include: - added horizontal portals, - added disappearing ladders, - added long horizontal wall, - added 2 sample levels containing new items mentioned above, - changed folder for storing settings, now it is OS dependent user data folder, - added executable in dmg format for MacOS. Please enjoy and create your great levels... and send them to me if you whish to see them and your nickname in Time Wizard Deluxe

Ok, I now have USB transfers of 4MB ROM's working reliably. I *think* it's resource contention on the microcontroller, I had an inkling it might be this as this was actually one of the problems with WTR. As there's lots of DMA activity going on between the memory card and Jaguar, somehow some of the clocks were being missed from the memory card causing data loss. In this case I think similar weirdness is happening between the USB and Jag DMA channels, although you have no control over the USB DMA priority, so I've just opted to make sure the USB and Jag DMA channels aren't active at the same time. The actual data coming in from the USB was always correct as I CRC'd and displayed it on every read (USB actually has CRC checking as part of it), so the data going to the Jag was somehow being dropped or corrupted due to contention. The result -- it's now working solidly with 4MB ROM's, where it really just would not work at all for me.

Not an Atari, but still proud about it, and for 5 euros... First time typing in a computer, it was in one just like this little Sinclair (minus de RAM expansion).

It is time for HomeBrews! We have some great choices the next 3 weeks. Why 3 weeks for the HomeBrews? These are some great games and they deserve your time to dig deep into all of them. I just retired.... and will be traveling off and on over the next 3 weeks. So you have until May 5th! Enjoy!!!

Mars Rover Colors: 72 plus src Atari8man_NTSC_Mars_Rover.xex Atari8man_Pal_Mars_Rover.xex

Another update. I added the flash powerup (for shooting) and some basic sound effects. Btw, is there a way for me to edit my original post? then I could always pin the latest video on top.

UPDATED VERSION POSTED! Download the latest version in the top message! So many bugs have been squashed and things added since the last WIP version, below is the list! Enjoy the new version! 🙂 - James Updates Since Last Version: ✓ If player touched Ghost and Power Up at Same Time, Ghost is Scared instead of Game Over (20240408) ✓ Changed Power Up to the First and Last 5 Dots (20240408) ✓ Updated Various Game Colours (20240408) ✓ Changed score font to match title font (20240408) ✓ Added ZeroPage Homebrew Logo at Bottom (20240408) ✓ Cycle through ghost enemies (Blinky, Pinky, Inky, Clyde) every 8 levels (20240408) ✓ Implement software collision for power pellet which fixes bug directly below (20240408) ✓ [Bug Fixed] If power pellet left last, you automatically advance to the next level (20240408) ✓ [Bug Fixed] Repeated frame of Pac-Man in animation (20240408) ✓ [Bug Fixed] Pac-Man Glides for a few frames when starting off (20240408) ✓ [Bug Fixed] Pac-Man and Ghost face right on Game Over (20240408) ✓ [Bug Fixed] Score currently only goes to 9999 (20240406) ✓ [Bug Fixed] If left most dot is left last, you automatically advance to next level (20240406) ✓ Reorganize Code (20240406) ✓ [Bug Fixed] Eaten ghost sometimes travels the wrong direction, needs to travel to furthest end of the maze (20240403) ✓ Updated Ghost Eye Graphics (20240329) <- Thanks @vitoco

v1.0 boards came in. Some teaser shots I'm still working on fully documenting the build procedure. Once that's done, I'll make all the details public.

Woo hoo! Today I got my first AA Homebrew! It arrived a lot sooner than I expected. Thanks @Albert! I knew it would look great, but I’m really impressed by the professional packaging, manual and overall quality. For anyone who’s been on the fence, it’s well worth picking some up. I’ll definitely be getting more. 👍🏼 The game plays great on my plus. Running 1.1r2