k1w1

I have just gone through all of the Disks that use BASIC and have found a few anomalies: - Abuse (198x)(Softsmith)(US)[bASIC].atx = requires OSb Advanced MusicSystem v1.0 (1982)(APX)(US)[!][bASIC].atx = requires OSb Floyd of the Jungle v2.0 (1983)(MicroProse Software)(US)[bASIC][OS-B].atx = Does not require BASIC is machine language Quest of the Space Beagle, The (1984)(Avalon Hill)(US)(Disk 1 of 2 Side A)[bASIC][OS-B].atx = Does not run Quest of the Space Beagle, The (1984)(Avalon Hill)(US)(Disk 2 of 2 Side A)[bASIC][OS-B].atx = Is the Quizmaster disk I will go through the non BASIC disks over the next few days.

Thanks Farb, I woke up this morning and realised that was probably the issue. Although I have been writing Atari softlists for the MESS project that has only been for cartridges and cassettes so my disk knowledge leaves a bit to be desired. It's been decades since I have used Atari disks so I need to re-learn the little tricks and traps. Would it be worthwhile labelling these files [req DOS].

Farb, As promised i will report errors as i come across them. I'm having trouble with "Lunar Lander (1981)(Adventure International)(US)[bASIC]". Both the ATR & ATX versions just cycle through the first 3 sectors producing Boot Errors. Disk explorer reads the disk ok so i'm guessing both have corrupt boot sectors.

In case you have missed it. phaeron has updated Altirra to emulate a simple dongle device. We will now be able to run the preserved copies of Leader Board and File Manager 800. File Manager 800 = set the dongle port for 1 and use 0FFFFFF70FFFFFF7 as the bit pattern. Leader Board = set the dongle port to 2 and use CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC as the bit pattern. The Paperclip dongle is a bit more complex as it has a built in chip that simulates variable joystick movement and cannot be emulated. Well done phaeron.

Thanks phaeron and thanks for the explanation on how you derived the bit code.

I have just found out that Leader Board's dongle simulated a concurrent up and down joystick selection from port 2. Would that be better to simulate with your dongle emulation?

Great work with the dongle coding. I have tried it with Farb's preserved copy of File Manager 800 and it works great. Also tried the bit code with the preserved copies of Paperclip and Leader Board but as i suspected it did not work for them. How did you work out the bit pattern required for File Manager 800 and how can we calculate it for Paperclip and Leader Board? I have found a post which seems to have the pin connection pattern for Paperclip's dongle here : - http://atariage.com/forums/topic/139990-paperclip-dongle/is that the sort of information we require?

Thanks for the clarification on your use of software titles Farb. It makes sense that you keep titles that are clearly not corrupted but won't run for unknown reasons. I am not as convinced as you an Phaeron on not labeling usage parameters on the file title. Maintaining a separate list just adds another complication or step when most people just want to drag and drop. Clearly marking the file [req OSb], [no SIO patch], [64k], [bASIC] or even [req Dongle] allows the user to setup the emulator easily without having to check against a list. But then again, I'm just happy that people like Phaeron and Farb put the time and effort to make our hobby so enjoyable.

I am using Altirra 2.80 -19. Zaxxon (1983)(Datasoft)(US) seems to run fine with me but only in OSb. Mercenary - The Second City (1985)(Datasoft)(US) and FileManager 800 (1981)(Synapse Software)(US) wont run but are labeled as a bad dumps. There are a number of titles in this set that are labeled as bad dumps. I am wondering why you would put a bad dump in this collection of preserved software? If they don't run, are they indeed true copies of the original? I have come across a number of titles in this set that only seem to run in OSb but are not labeled that way and some that won't run at all no matter what settings i use in Altirra. Some will only run with the SIO patch disengaged. These are not labeled either. Unfortunately i have not kept a track of the problem software but will in future and post here. This collection is a fantastic idea but would be hard for FARB to manage without proper feedback from it's users and supporters with regard problem copies.

Thanks Baktra.

I have been looking at quite a few cassette programs recently with a view to compiling an XML for MESS. MESS does not have a cassette interface yet but I am preparing for when it does. Anyway, I have noticed that a few cassette files display an exclamation mark (!) in the lower right of the screen when loading. Is this similar to the "k file" for disk based files. I know the "k" indicates that the disk is not original and is using a loader developed by Ken. Is this the same for the cassette files with the "!" displayed. k1w1

Thanks Geezer. Does the ROM require some form of hardware to access the 80 columns. I have tried to run this with Altirra with no luck. k1w1

Thanks AtariGeezer. The roms don't seem to run on Altira or Atari800Win Plus. k1w1

Kr0tki, Thanks for that. Based on what you have said, I will replace these roms on the MESS Softwae List with the smaller versions. K1w1

Kr0tki, Thanks for updating your spreadsheet and making a valued effort to maintain this database. I noticed in your latest spreadsheet that you had reduced some of the 8kb files to 2kb & 4kb. Did these cartridges in fact have 2kb & 4kb roms in them? I was sort of under the impression that these cartridges only contained 1 or 2, 8kb roms. I ask for the sake of me maintaining accurate rom size information in the MESS software list. k1w1

Kr0tki, Thanks for your good work in compiling the authoritive list of Atari cartridges. I use it as the basis now for my MESS softlist for the a800. A was looking at your latest version and it appears you may have missed VisiCopy3 bosted here on the link below. http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/114001-megacd-cd-interface-for-the-atari/page__p__1378188__hl__visicopy__fromsearch__1?do=findComment&comment=1378188 k1w1

The modified version of WinSTon is mentioned here on the SPS site: - http://www.softpres.org/wip:2004-11-28 k1w1

I believe there is a version of the WinSTon emulator that supports the IPF disk format from the Software Preservation Society. I have googled and can't find this version. Can anyone point me in the right direction. Thanks in advance k1w1

Here is the latest MESS softlist xml's for a800 & xegs cartridges. It includes all of the good work undertaken by kr0tki and nominates all of the verified dumps as well as other cartridge specific information. I have also included the Action 3.6 (034m) cartridge uncovered in another thread today. k1w1 MESS xml\'s.zip

Thanks Ijor & Kr0tki, I think i won't include the XL Toolkit. It was sold as a seperate item to the cartridge. k1w1

Kr0tki, Thanks again i have added all the new information except for the XL Toolkit because it does not look like an extension to the software or integral to the use of the cartridge. Thanks again k1w1

Thanks Kr0tki, I have found and added the BASIC XE v4.1 extension disk to the list. k1w1

I have been further refining the MESS Atari 8bit Cartridge list by adding support disks & cassettes for cartridges. For example: - * Microsoft Basic II cartridge had an extension disk that added 10 more commands not able to fit on the cartridge. * Diamond GOS had 3 support disks, Diamond Write, Diamond Paint & Diamond utilities. Are there any more that i have missed? I have attached the latest a800.xml cartridge list to show how this information is integrated onto the list. The idea is that when you select the cartridge from the MESS menu it will load the cartridge and the support disk or cassete as well. Thanks in advance k1w1 a800.zip

Thanks for your help guy's. I have added these files to the MESS cartridge softlist and named FULS version as an alternate to the AtariMania version. Although it would have been nice to add version numbers. Thanks agian k1w1

I don't now what was used to dump these cartridges. Does it make any difference? The difference in the title & menu screens would not be dependent on how they were dumped. A hex dump of both shows hugely different structure and not just the odd difference in bytes. k1w1