ppera

Maybe in my town is some other Atari people too. Even if post is with same IP adr. it means nothing. Providers give dynamic IP address in moment of connection to their users. In most of cases. Having fixed IP adr. costs extra money. So, at every connection I may have different IP address, or someone else may have IP what I used yesterday... And yes, I know who wrote there/here, since he contacted me complaining that is unable to post here. All this just shows how Western people has prejudices toward Eastern. 2 Atari users from same town in Hungary ? No, it is not possible... This forum just sucks, because admin and 'moderators' are lazy and incompetent. Now go, and continue your 'falconizing'... Maybe you really can not to do anything other useful in your life

Maybe will be interesting for someone: What I changed/patched/adapted in games to make them compatible: 20000 Leagues: Executable modded to run from any DIR - 3 pointers changed 2 bytes up. Advantage Tennis: Cleaned up, Falcon launcher. AGE: Cleaned INTRO.PRG. For Falcon hard disk driver in high RAM is required. Altair: Dropped out some crap. Needs Hole on TOS 2.06 and above (Falc). Aquanaut: Use Hole on Falc. Archipelagos: Levels to Ramdisk - 1M required (~1991). B17 Flying Fortress: Floppies to Ramdisk - 2.5 M required. (~1991) Battle Command: Floppy sides to Ramdisk - 2 M needed. (2008) PMMU moving for Falcon. Bombuzal: Too fast on Falcon, so launcher which sets CPU to 8MHz + caches off. Buggy Boy: Works on everything. On Falcon too fast, so launch on 8MHz, caches off. Captain Blood: Only "Double sided" French ver. from 1987 works under TOS 2.06, Falcon. At least I didn't find English which works. Carrier Command: From original - 2 protections removed. (~1990) . Chuckie Egg 2: Use with HOLE. Commando: Fixed bug in loader. Damocles: Compressed. Deep Space: Compressed, loader. Defender of Crown: Removed backslashes, so works not only from ROOT. Game locked when start raid on STE with TOS 2.06 and Falcon. Problem was that some pics had palette with some colors with 4 bit values instead 3. On ST and older TOS versions it's beeing stripped to 3 bits by XBIOS function - not on Falcon and STE. Darkening rutine in game never gets 0-s with 4 bit palette entries, so it locks Problem is corrected by changing palette entries in 10 picture files (NQO). (2008) Launcher for Falcon due to speed. Still not works on TOS 1.62 (on 1.06 works). Eliminator: Changed loader, so works on higher TOS versions too. Falcon starter with slowdown. Elite: Problems because of using very low RAM and TOS functions. Further devel. of Gemdos filesystem call routing to RAMdisk. Permanent pos. save is solved with machine state restore after finishing game, combined with pos save. Eye of Horus: Fixed loader, so works on TOS versions above 1.00 . Falcon launcher. Formula 1 Grand Prix: Protections removed. 3 floppy to Ramdisk, so no need to change them during play. 2.5 M required. (1992) . Sept. 2008 : made special version for work with hard disk gamecache. It can run on 512KB only machines too. Supports IDE and ACSI drives. Of course only for properly partitioned hard disks. F16 Combat Pilot: Deprotection changes from launcher file placed into main exe file - Pexec with load, patch and then start worked not on Falcon. On Falc. sometimes complains about floppy, but it looks that works fine. (Stack ?) F16 Falcon: Runs from low RAM, so Hole is required for TOS 2.xx, 4.xx . But there is other problem too on mentioned TOS versions: Timer C incompability. Solution with restarting Timer C when some TOS Trap is called. PMMU moving for Falcon. F19 Microprose: Special Ramdisk setting. (~1991). Falcon patch, new launcher (2008). Flight of the Intruder: From same house as F16 Falcon, made little later. Already hard disk compatible, but there is same Timer C problem, so launcher for TOS 2.xx, 4.xx with Timer C restarts. Cache off for Falc due graphic bugs. Flight Simulator II: Works fine on everything - except when low memory is occupied. On Falcon and TOS 2.06 may need to start from AUTO, or with hard disk driver placed in high Ram. Gunship: Filed (~1991). Instead removing vehicle recognition at start of game, suplied pictures of them with names (PNG file, 2008) . Hard Drivin' Made Falcon launcher. Impossible Mission II: Cracked version had problems on Falcon with Pexec. It is changed, and XBIOS patch against protection too - on 68030 there is 8 byte instead 6 at stack bottom. Infestation: Loader from ramdisk. 2MB required. On Falcon stucks when 3D should start. Also stucks by planet landing intro. Jet: Same as with FS II . Jimmy White Whirlwind Snooker: Made universal loader for all machines ST, STE, Falc. For Falc. need to set bigger stack space... Karate Kid II: Worked fine on everything. Only compressed. Light Corridor: Falcon Launcher Locomotion: Fixed loader Magic Fly: Made to run from hard disk. Unfortunately on Falcon freezes when reach tunnel. Major Motion: Made Falcon launcher (stebuemu+slowdown). Mercenary 1-2 : Loaders for Falcon to prevent screen disalign. Millennium 2.2: Bad coding and protection prevents it to work on higher TOS versions. Original floppy A even can not be opened under TOS 2.06, 4.x ... . Game must be started from desktop as uses some VDI functions (AUTO is no good). After failing with system used by Elite - Ramdisk and GEMdos filesystem call bypass, I thinkered solution against low RAM conflict. As modifying game code made for fixed RAM location (in this case at $11E00) is too much work, I moved AES, VDI up - over 512KB. It is possible simple, but must be done before AES init, so from AUTO folder, or in case of hard disk usage - from bootable floppy. Later may sound stupid, but currently is only solution - RAM hole must be created before booting from hard disk. With special hard disk driver will be possible simpler, or with some TOS patch... It was very effective - unmodified game works fine from hard disk, even on Falcon. No problems with large hard disk caches. In archive is 2 hole creating prg. with sources. Minigolf: Patched for Falcon - removed direct write in video base reg. Monthy Python Flying Cyrcus: Use HOLE on Falcon, higher TOS if crashes. Nebulus: Packed, Falcon launcher. No Second Prize: It was already RAMdisked (for 2MB min.), so made only Falcon launcher. Operation Wolf: RAMdisked. Works not on Falcon - I'm sure that your precious Falcon deserves something better to feed with ... Predator: Removed absolute paths in exec. Saw couple best games ... :-). Prince of Persia: Game was pretty poor coded - result: works not under TOS 2.06 or higher ones. There is some ROM dependent code for keyboard reading. There is a lot of move.b ... instead move.w ... commands before ..(An,Dn.w) commands. From some reason it worked well under TOS 1.0x . But not under higher ones - result of such coding was: not finding game files, damaging own code, bad room drawing by play... and who knows what other more... So, I disassembled it (was lot of work), and now can modify troublesome parts. Result so far is good work under TOS 2.06. On Falcon works, but freezes if go too fast under rising door.. But there is still lot of bad code, so will be better when catch some time to clean up it further... Purple Saturn Day: RAMDisked. Made special GAC (game cache on hard disk) version. ACSI and IDE support. Resolution 101: Made ramdisked version - floppy image=ramdisk content . Sapiens: Loader, adapted soundplay for Falcon. Lot of problems with position Save/Load because of low RAM placement of executable and usage of GEMDOS functions. Solved via Trap #1 intercept and saving/loading pos to/from RAM. For permanent save is small proggy suplied. Sentinel: Made special loader to avoid possible conflicts with hard disk drivers, Falcon too high load problems.. Simulcra: Ramdisked. On Falcon bombs - code is very nasty, lot of traps, stack depending code. On MSTE at 16MHz glides. Skychase: Game uses Ram area at $3000 - it crashes on TOS 2.06. Don't see simple solution against... Space Harrier: Timer C problem - made launcher for TOS 2.06, Falcon... Star Trek: Patched for TOS 2.06 and Falcon. Small mod of sample player allowed to load it in high RAM. Instead jump in ROM - Vblqueue. Star Wars: Changed DIR name to SSHAPES, together with replacing backslashes to letters S in exe - so works not only from ROOT. Falcon launcher due to speed. Sundog: For the first time using image file of floppy in R/W mode, as game saves progress on it's floppy. Direct work with image file, so no extra RAM for RAMdisk needed, works with 512K too. Original launcher is disassembled, and changes added - for Falcon was necessary to replace game's Vblank rutine with more compatible one, using Vblqueue.. Tau Ceti: On Falcon from AUTO or with hard disk driver in high RAM. TNT: Falcon starter with slowdown. Tower of Babel: Filed, compressed. Virus: Filed (~1988), SFX compressed. 1M version by changing stack and screen pos. in executable, so will work on Falcon and others where low Ram is more occupied. (2008) Voyager: Removed protection, filed (~1991). Errors on Falcon... Vroom: Loader and launcher, ramdisked instead direct floppy read. Warhead: Packed, loaders. Xenon 2: Ramdisk for levels (~1991). Sample player fixed for Falcon. PP

Point is in that, that I think that there is somewhere a limit, above which is better to abandon whole idea of making it compatible, whether with Falcon, whether with TOS 2.06 for instance. I abandoned some titles because saw that it will be too time consuming. Why spending 2 weeks on some crappy game when can do 5 good games in that time... So, what I want to say is that whole idea of adapting everything (of some category) is stupid, and after all, it will be never done 100% . So, only 3-5 people does adaptations... Better than nothing Even pretty good. Atariforce wrote: "Interresting paradox, considering you release, on a regular basis, games that you patched in order to be Falcon-compatible." It is actually not paradox. I never spent more than few hours per title for 'falconizing'. There is about 5 game in my list what work not on Falcon. It is so low count because in 90% cases whole Falcon adaptation consists of 1-3 writes in HW registers, disabling some caches, and moving PMMU table. CyranoJ wrote: "Registered any more new accounts while you were there? Or were the 10+ you already did enough for you?" Huh. So, I'm responsible that you are lazy to set some better user registration... Or just afraid that will be 2 instead 4 posts per month on your 'forum' (in fact self praising tabloid). Why should I do multiple registrations there? I can write what want with 1. But can is not same as want. Talking to wall has more sense than explaining something to D-Bug click.

I just visited D-Bug forums... Better will not comment what all saw there, related to my person, WEBsite, SW etc. Let their writings speak for self. Who has little brain will see what is going on... Back to topic: 'Falconizing games' ? Is it really worth to play some pitty, vertical scroller, slow, boring etc. game from 1986 on Falcon? What is benefit? It is easy to get some ST, STE for decent price and playing on it. Higher speed of Falcon may be good for some games, especially 3D ones, but... It is still often slow and low framerate, if work at all. Using expensive Falcon to play regularry ST games seems as bad idea. If nothing else, for price of Falcon can buy some new PC together with monitor and play 3D games with emulated 68000 CPU at clock up to 128MHz (Steem). It is good if game works on Falcon. But spending lot of time to adapt some game - months, tenths-hunderts of hours is just waste of time. More time spent on adapting than total time what all users together will play the game? Seems as pretty bad investment... I know, that many will not agree with me, or will say that I write this because myself can not adapt... Well, everything can be learned, practicised, experimented. Life just lasts not forever. I will rather play something in res 1600x1200 and really 'true color' . Or just start MAME

Problem with originals is often that they work not on higher TOS versions, Mega STE, Falcon. For instance Millennium 2.2 original even can not open floppy 1 under TOS 2.06. So, many times only way to play game is to get some crack, adaptation. Then, there is a problem of 'manual protection' - why I should every time seek some words, pictures in manual when want to start game? Illegal ? Ahhh... tell me about what is really legal in this messy times. Every SW, book, music etc. what is not possible to legally buy, or is very old intellectual property should be available for free on Internet. What we have from that? There is a Guttenberg project where can DL for free thousands of old, classic books in electronic form. Nice thing. Then, we have some retro computer communities which took care about getting permissions to host old SW for free DL. For instance for Sinclair (Spectrum) machines. As opposite I would consider profit hunters which want to make money with old titles, selling them at ridiculous prices, and poisoning forums, usenet with their constant advertising, what costs them practically nothing. For me, they are just spammers. I have lot of originals. Most of them I did not buy, but got with Atari machines, what I bought in last couple years. Total price of STE in nice condition with some 60 games was less than 75 Euros

Again some claims from D-Buggers, without grounds. Just because some people has not English as native language... Registering at D-Big 3 times? I 'registered' once, and they even did not check my E-mail. But what to expects from smartheads who claim that: Floppy imaging program wipes whole partitions without chance to recover datas. That Mega STE has special floppy spin-down timers That soldering in Atari machine will kill it... That 'whole 3 patch' is actually 3 patch unrealised (from more than 50 patches), etc.... So, I should not announce things on my site... I should not invent new things because people will need to repartition drives... Even new ones... Yes ! Let all use only Hddriver. Let all use only D-Bug patches. Do not mod anything in Ataris. Do not write any supporting SW, since it will destroy datas. Do not think ! Just DL superb D-Big patches and you will be happy until die ! Of course I'm sure that here is still lot of people with brain and spirit.

http://www.ppest.org/atari/fromhd.php Statistic: total 82 titles for DL. 21 was just checked and ZIPPED, 24 easy adaptation and 37 hard adaptation - for running from hard disk, TOS 2.06 , STE and Falcon compatibility, as is in table. Launchers for many games are redone for easier usage, with some anim. and HW detection. Will be so for almost all. On page are some demo videos taken from diverse Atari machines with diverse hard disks/cards. + some supporting utils. Future plans: playing multi-floppy games from hard disk even on machines with not much RAM (512KB, 1MB). It means that no RAMDISK will be used for storing floppy contents but special game cache area on hard disks/cards. It is now part of hard disk driver and partitioner under development. Done 3 titles for GAC: F1 GP (only 512KB is enough), Purple Saturn Day and Battle Command. Soon: Dragon's Lair (7 floppies). It will work with ACSI attached (Satandisk, SCSI drives via adapters - both tested) and IDE (tested too) interfaces. Titles for gamecache will be available for DL as soon as driver will be finished. And of corse, more adaptation will coming...

Pin #2 on 13-pin Atari video out connector is the composite signal. Pin #13 is GND. It is all what you need to connect for video . For audio is best to use stereo outputs. Or pin #1 from video out con. but it is of course only mono. But if you have RGB (on Scart con on TV) will have better pic. Then need to connect +12V to pin 16 of Scart too (to switch it in RGB mode). See here: http://pinouts.ru/Video/AtariStMonitor_pinout.shtml

Well, it would be true for classic viruses, troyans. However, I intentianally mentioned only Spyware and spam. Spyware usually works via WEB browsers, applets, active X and similar. It is true that ROM based machine will be less sensitive, but not enough. Sad reality is that TOS is too far from beeing able to run some decent WEB browser under it. As we know, Atari people uses mostly Mint for Internet OS. And Mint is not ROM based. Anyway, it will be less harmable. However, most of WEB sites is today far too complex for some slow CPU, little RAM and low graphic resolution. 90MHz 68060 is not capable to run Java and other things enough fast, not to mention video playback (with some modern, high effective codec). So, only possible conclusion is: Atari architecture, TOS is a way outdated. It is far behind today's demands. We can not do anything about. And I even did not talk about what amount of SW we missing. Who will write Java support for TOS? Sun? MS ? Come-on... Or we should dismiss Java? Me not for sure...

But I'm convinced. After reading 20 times in row word 'blah' I'm totally convinced OK. I will do once more attempt to sort out this mess... What you need is to read what I really wrote, not just assuming some things... So, when I say that 'many times' it means not 'most times'. When I say that someone is not in right in something it means not that he knows nothing. When I posted couple times for instance about some small bugs in Steem, or mentioned that they does not reply on E-mails. it means not that I don't respect them or their work. And all this crap started somewhere about such things. Then, as some thread on another forum and post erasing was mentioned. They erased me because I'm moderator there, for sure Then, only insult in erased post was that I said that Johnny is ridiculous. In fact, all his later posts (may look them, they are still there) prove just that I was in right. He has no clue, and even admitted that mixed my program with another. But wrote that 'it is totally useless when write disks'. So, who insulted who? What is insult really? Is insult in worlds self, or in meaning of message, sentence? Or worse, is insult in whole approach toward some person? So, instead convincing me, better read posts more carefully. Be positive. Don't provoke. Life can be simple and beautiful.

You need more than 512KB of RAM to may load TOS in RAM. For gaming TOS in RAM is not good idea, may work, but not in all problematic cases. Btw. TOS 1.0 is best for gaming (among with 1.02) . So, you will have more problems with later versions as 1.04, and especially with 2.06. Yes, 2.06 is far the best, but for gaming not. This is it. You can not have everything at once... Except of course if make TOS switcher. http://www.ppest.org/atari/flashest.php

This is how I see future of making new, Atari ST compatible HW: Some FPGA project(s) will be made after long time. They will be expensive, slower than emulation, and not exactly 100% compatible. Falcon clone will be never made. There is not much valuable SW for it, btw. I mean special for Falcon. Even if with some miracle we will get new, up-to time Atari clones (but with what CPU? 90MHz... come on... ), big problem will be SW, drivers. There are some half-dead projects for Ataris, as NetUsBee - production stopped. No USB drivers. And it is very nice design. Future is in emulation. With new, multi-core CPUs is possible to do very fast and accurate emulation.

Into PC processor slot ? It is very bad idea from couple reasons: PC processor slot is very specific, and designed for low voltage, very fast CPUs, consuming some 50A current at 1.2-3 Volts. Frequencies are too high for any available custom/programmable chips. Other problem is that we have diverse CPU sockets, and every couple years new sockets appear. If want to use in PC only reasonable solution is SW emulator. It will be even faster than fastest available 68K CPU. Some more problems: designing Falcon clone is something what seems as too hard task. Even designing of usable ST clone goes very slow (as mentinoed, there are some ongoing FPGA projects). Why some Atari clone as Internet computer? Will then be less spam and spyware? What is wrong with existing mainstream computers?

There is several method to determine TOS version. Probably best is to using program Sysinfo. According to pic you have TOS 1.00 . MMU is socketed square chip near to middle. Shiftr is right, under shield, 40 pins, always socketed. (At least I did not see otherwise ever). Good luck in finding suitable board .

As I know, Friedrichshafen is by lake Boden (Bodensee) . And I was there many times. Constance is English name of, or what ? (there is a town with name Konstanz on other side of lake).

Yes sir! I'm up and ready that you send me the goods . I will keep them very carefully, promise.

Not all games are patched. And it will likely never happen. Sometimes patching is too hard, and game is too bad, so not worth. Here is a fresh list site, what expects that people add his experiences: (already mentined here) http://www.ppest.org/atari/atricl.php

Right. I was on topic when wrote about how floppy spindown and Falcon bus works. Facts are easy to check... Maybe that others try similar...

Expecting from some human to be fine after all nonsense what CJ and his supporters write in diverse forums is just lack of sense for reality. Now go, and DL some game and play, play...

Yet another incorrect statement from CJ. No, I'm not moderator in other Atari forum. Inviting to discussion? I thought that in public forums anyone can join some discussion in any time... Not to mention that CJ came here with his off topic bashing of my site, projects. I recommend that CJ open new thread about me and then write everything what hurts his too sensitive heart 'Nice' arguments to deny what I wrote - blah, ..... Too bad that Inquisition is over, CJ . And everyone knows that Earth is not flat. Instead some another reply in same manner better study some Atari schematics.

Some technical details to not let this thread staying with incorrect statements: There is no floppy spindown timer in Atari machines. So no in Mega STE. Spindown (better said time while motor is on after last operation) goes so, that FDC chip waits 10 index pulses, and then turns off motor. So, spindown time depends from floppy drive rotation speed. Not from some MSTE specific HW. Falcon bus. Falcon standard HW uses 24 bit address bus, same as ST machines. COMBEL chip has connected A23 line as max address line. And it controls RAM and all peripherals. So, if highest byte of address bus has some value different from 0 nothing will change, it will work. And it is proven in practice. How it is by some expansion boards as CT60 is other thing, not relevant for old games. Not technical: "slag off Automation" . Not at all. They did many good cracks, menu disks. But nobody is perfect. In any case, they just pulled my tongue with constant messages a lá "We are the best" . So, criteria is very high

I can help you in fixing items. I'm in neighbor ... continent, Europe , Hungary .

Yeah. It will work. Psycho, who is banned from main Atari forum calls moderators to sort out things. Sort out your own yard first asshole. Or it can be wiped

Again yeah. As expected our hard working CJ twistes and incorrect quotes - just to prove that he is perfect and me is dumb. evil etc. Quote 1: "In many cases not HW, but TOS version is reason" - by CJ many is most. And he is Englishman as I know... 2: "There's also the 32-bitness of the CPU registers (compared to 24 bit on the STs)" - yea, CPU registers are HW. Even poor 68008 in QL has 32 bit registers. Next time be more precise what writing. And don't mix Falcon with TT. Using Automation pic on my site? Yes. Do you have copyright? Do you respect copyright? Automation is not only CJ. I'm sure that there was decent people too. "claim about your software being able to run with their cracks." - haha ... I think that it is opposite. SW cracked by Automation is able to run with my SW. But for CJ SW is not SW of their authors, programmers. It is exclusively 'their crack'. 100% Automation merit. I will use everything what will make SW usage easier. Don't care if there writes CJ if it is done good. That's the difference. Will not make pitty adapt. as that for No Second Prize when it is solved long time ago with game Save/Load working. Will use as many general tool to run games instead hard fixing them. Already found some 8 games working With Hole in couple weeks. And no any modification was necessary in games, not even in short loaders. But everyone is free to do things as he considers as best. Just leave others too to do so. We could continue this crappy discussion forever... Or, we could start to respect others work and not using every opportunity to shit around. Or at least shut up if can not do anything useful. CJ could add his opinions about incompatibility reasons in this thread. But he would never write here if I did not. Because his care about Atari people is overshadoved with his pathologic hate. We could learn each from other, working in different areas, instead doing same many times. Respect the different. But we are were we are. Atari 'community' is full of shit. Enjoy dinner what you cooked

Yeah... reading carefully posts is not common here... Yeah... I do hard disk adaptations and mention here them to play from floppies later... Just for record: It was talk about why some games work not on Falcon. Nobody said that it is easier to run with Backward. But ggn enlightened us with it's discovery - double click in any folder I expecting further D-bug compliants...