pixelmischief

@dmsc When I run a program in FastBASIC, how do I BREAK out of it? The BREAK key in Altirra doesn't do anything? Is there a key to force-end execution and return to the editor?

I am! But more than that, thanks to you, I can MAKE fun!

@dmsc Yeah. That will work just fine.

@dmsc You might want to merge the PRINT #ioch and plain old PRINT sections of your manual. Or duplicate this particular tidbit in both places. Having found the first PRINT statement reference, I didn't look for the second. Found it by accident.

How do I do POS and PRINT #6 in graphics 1+16? It isn't working in FastBASIC. EDIT: Found it. Comma instead of semi-colon. GR. 1+16: PRINT #6,"HELLO"

Thanks, pal! I bought my first home in March and got a HUGE, beautifully-finished man-cave basement to boot. Finally able to set up all my goodies just the way I have always wanted to. That's a Super Pong on the right speaker, a 27" Sony Trinitron, a Pioneer CLV LaserDisc player playing Lion King, and an Onkyo AVR pushing two of their consumer-grade 12" 3-way towers. Really looks and sounds wonderful... ...until my wife starts doing laundry in the next room. 😃

So...bear with me. I mean not to challenge, but to either inform or be informed. MSDOS runs as an OS on (Motorola 68K) Atari because the (Intel x86) hardware that MSDOS was compiled for is also emulated. MAC OS also runs as an OS on Atari by loading the OS ROM images into memory and running them on much a "thinner" emulation layer, since it and the Atari have the same CPU. The OS in ROM on the Atari can be replaced in memory with an OS read from disk, as in the case of MiNT. OS patches also do this; just not replacing the whole kernel, but some certain driver. If CP/M were to be PORTED to the ST, then it could simply run like MiNT. Otherwise, the hardware platform that the CP/M software was compiled for would also need be emulated to run it. Is this your understanding as well?

Isn't CP/M an operating system? It isn't emulated as much as simply executed, right? Not trying to be pedantic, just really want to clarify it. Not sure myself.

CRT for the win!

@drac030 Yo! Thanks!

Please add me for 1...err, 1 for me. I want 1. For me. Ugh.

Dude. When I realized this - and by "realized" I mean was told by FJC - I immediately UNARCed all of the tools and MaxFlashed a new Sparta image onto MyIDE-II. It completely changed the game. It just makes the OS feel so much more complete. Now if I can just get an 80-column setup working from the Sophia. Haven't tried yet. Don't know where to start.

Has anyone done multi-disk game patches? For example, a game like Ultima IV in a single ATR that can also be written back to a 720K 3.5" floppy? I know on that other system which shall not be named, someone combined Ultima IV into a single image for use with their (cursed) 1581 drive.

Hater-Missiles armed and ready to deploy.

I have a plain old Imation USB floppy drive on my PC that will read from and write to 720K floppies IF they are first formatted on the Atari. I haven't been able to get it to format 720K, though.

@Pekka Koivunoro You got bit by a zombie.

@Mr Oni I own, and have gotten operational, just about every modern storage device made for the Atari 8-Bit. For my money, the Atarimax MyIDE-II gives me the best overall experience. It took some serious brain and a lot of help from the community to get where I wanted to go, but it's definitely my current "go-to". Here's why I love it: 1. Highly customizable using Maxflash Flash Studio 2. Attractive, functional boot menu 3. FAT32 partition with easy load from PC 4. Boot CAR, ATR, and XEX 5. SpartaDOS setup with tools in CAR: I will agree, though, that if you want quick and easy, SIO2SD or S-Drive MAX will be the way to go. And a quick plug from my man Lotharek. He does excellent work, his prices are fair, and he ships quick. He's my one-stop; not to impugn any others, of course.

I fell in love with the Atari 800XL and 1050 disk drive in 1984. It was all my school had in 1984 and all my parents could later afford for me in 1988. Still, that system was so good, and my awareness of the 16-bit Atari and Commodore systems so non-existent, that the 8-bit lasted me well into 1992. I knew Atari had a 16-bit machine, but was still unaware that the Amiga even existed! As my career started gaining momentum and I had some income to blow on an upgrade, I went for a 486 with a CDROM drive. Then, in 1995, a friend of my uncle told him he had an Amiga to give away and did he know anyone who was interested in it. My uncle told him that I would probably enjoy playing with it and the guy gave it to me. It was an Amiga 1000 with a memory side-car. It came to me with a 1084 and a box of floppies. When I looked at the specs, I was...underwhelmed. I mean, it certainly crushed an 8-bit, but was nothing compared to a PC. Right? Ready to be unimpressed, I popped Dragon's Lair in the drive. Holy. S%&t. The color and sound were explosive. The animation was fast and fluid. I couldn't believe what I was looking at. No PC could do this! Needless to say, I have been a fan and patron ever since.

@Daedalus2097 I think I can deal with those limitations; especially in a Vampire that gives my 1200 huge new speed and 1024x768 RTG at the desktop with seamless AGA integration. We'll see. Thanks for the additional information.

@Daedalus2097 Thanks for the detailed analysis. You make some...inescapable points. I think the crux of my dilemma is that I want it all. I want a powerful, elegant "daily driver" desktop experience in the same machine on which I want a seamless, classic gaming experience. I want these things with modern luxuries, like high-resolution RTG graphics; without compromising on vintage appointments, like floppy disks. I want to never be reminded I'm not on a modern PC while also never being reminded that I am not on a classic Amiga. I mean, really. Is that too damned much to ask for? 😃 @Gemintronic's comment leads me to the most attractive option I have seen yet. Indeed, the Vampire 1200 v2 with a Mediator PCI board could get me all the way there; except for the seemingly endless waiting list. The stand-alone Vampire v4 would actually be the better choice for having RTG and USB built in; except that it has no floppy drive header or external floppy drive port. C'est la vie. The endless, but still quite enjoyable pursuit continues.

What would you all say is the most immersive modern implementation of the Amiga. I'm talking about everything from boot to desktop to games. I've looked at some of the common stuff; Aros, AmigaOS 4.X and MorphOS on Mac Mini, etc. They all seems to break down on the gaming experience. In particular, they all require configuration and execution of an emulation package that is not nearly transparent enough to preserve immersion. They run windowed, or they require multiple configurations, or they run from ADFs, etc. I am currently running Workbench 3.1 on an A1200/030/50 with CF2IDE, wireless networking, and external SCSI CDROM on Squirrel SCSI. It's beautiful, to be sure, but nothing like a modern multi-GHZ machine with Picasso support would be. I haven't tried any of the FPGA implementations or the enormously expensive AmigaONE. I guess I would, if I could be sure it was going to be that "seamless" experience I am looking for. I suppose recasing the 1200, adding something like a Mediator, and waiting for the "Holy Grail" PPC accelerator to pop up is an option. Tell me, fellow Amiga lovers, where will I find my best Amiga.

Really? I think the inclusion of a working floppy drive, that will read Amiga formatted disks, raises it to something above "sham". No?

I went with a "constant". dim UTL_EXP_2(9) UTL_EXP_2(0) = 1 UTL_EXP_2(1) = 2 UTL_EXP_2(2) = 4 UTL_EXP_2(3) = 8 UTL_EXP_2(4) = 16 UTL_EXP_2(5) = 32 UTL_EXP_2(6) = 64 UTL_EXP_2(7) = 128 UTL_EXP_2(8) = 256

Before I start looking for other solutions, I just want to confirm that FastBASIC does not have an exponent operator; something like 2^3 meaning 2 to the third? I've looked at the docs and tried the prototype I gave as an example. If not, is a bit shift in assembler the best way to go? NEVERMIND: The floating-point interpreter supports it.

Sleep well. Looking forward to your help tomorrow!