Marius

@peteym5 and @video61atarisales Obviously you guys are reading this message, and then start odd actions on FaceBook, by posting my personal credentials (full name, profile picture) and write completely nonsense: " As of October 21, 2020. Marius *** is blocked from Atari 6502 Game Development. He is charged with bullying, and defamation of character, myself Peter J. Meyer and Lance Ringquist (Video61). His comments are posted on the AtariAge forums that would be damaging to myself, and the business of ATARISALES. He is known to associate with people that had been working to damage and sabotage our business and was on this group to possibly spy on what I am doing. Marius, you block is in effect and no longer be welcome to my group." Since you block me there, let me respond here, so other people can decide who is the bad guy here. First of all I have been a supporter of any atari 8bit developer for a very long time. When people browse AtariAge posts where stuff is offered you'll notice that I purchase many developed hardware and software. I love atari 8bit, I love the creators of good software and hardware, and I want to support them. When there is something freeware, from time to time I make a financial donation to support them. I do not mention this to advertise for myself as being a good person, but to explain how I am involved in the Atari 8bit scene. I love the computer, I love the nostalgia, and I really appreciate people who invest their time and money in creating new stuff so the little atari keeps humming. Just as expected I also bought Tempest Xtreem (I bought it twice!) and Venture. On Tempest Xtreem I found a few bugs. The second cart even had a non working bonus game (yes, seriously, that part of the game did NOT work!) ... Venture crashed from time to time, and had some serious sound issues. There was a long ongoing discussion about the fact that V61 only sells cartridges. I am not going to do the discussion over, but I preferred another way of buying games from V61. As you can read in this thread (not this post) I am still positive about the games, and the talent of Peteym5. But I experienced problems with the software on real hardware. Later they claimed that it was fully tested on real hardware, but meanwhile they blamed Altirra (emulator) for not being accurate. It was definitely not tested on real PAL hardware, otherwise some problems that occur as soon as you switch on the atari were seen by the developer(s). Peter admitted later the software was tested on Emulator only. So it turned out that on real hardware there were problems. That was for me the MAIN reason I have issues with the "Cart Only" policy, since it is not so easy to fix a cart. When you provide a file version of your game, it is simply a matter of fixing the file, and offering the updated file. But let's not start this discussion, V61 = cart only... I hate that for reasons, but they can decide how they want to do their business. In stead of fixing the reported bugs though, Peteym5 started to advertise the games as being GOOD, by using FAKE accounts on AtariAge. Of course this was too obvious, so after several warnings and being banned/unbanned in a short period of time, he got a permanent Ban on Atariage. @Albert as owner of AtariAge could confirm this. The best advertisement would have been fix the game, and let the people enjoy the game. But no.... Peteym5 made the choice to use several fake accounts, that started telling here HOW HAPPY THEY (the non existing fake persons) ARE WITH THEIR PURCHASED GAME. Peteym5 did the same on FaceBook. Using several sock puppet accounts to advertise his own products as being excellent, and to bypass the bans FaceBook gave him. So both AtariAge AND FaceBook decided several times to BAN Peteym5. Now... suddenly there was a customer here on AtariAge who purchased Venture, and reported that there was a bug with the sound. Yes, that message hit me. My jaw fell on the floor. I simply couldn't believe that @video61atarisales was still selling the same game with the already reported bugs. It made me angry, yes... so an emotional response from me followed here on AtariAge. I reported and discussed the Venture bug with Peteym5 in the past (2 years ago or longer). In that conversation he blamed the RMT player (which he uses for free!) and not his own absence of any testing. I was under the impression he used his time to FIX Venture, and that V61 would sell from that moment a FIXED version of Venture. But unfortunately NO, they appear continuing selling buggy software. Perhaps I shouldn't have typed all that. Yes my post was not a pleasure to read; I admit that at once. And indeed, you could consider my post as a warning to future buyers. But nothing in my post is a lie though. It is just how it is. I am not the person who sells a buggy game. That is what @video61atarisales did (and obviously do). The best way to prevent shitty reviews, is doing your business better, and be HONEST to customers. The story with Peteym5 is endless, and full of trouble. I offered him several time my help to test his stuff, and to discuss how things could be better. Yes, I have been annoyingly critical about the "cart-only" subject. That is something I shouldn't have done in the past, but for the rest I can say I have always been honest, and never done any harm to anyone. The second half of Peteym5's post on FaceBook does not make any sense either. This refers (I guess) to his ongoing argument with Sal "KJMANN" Esquivel, who was also one of my friends on FaceBook. Peteym5 seems to conclude that there is some conspiracy going on against them. No Peteym5, that is not the case. Sal is a brilliant atari 8bit musician, and as you can see my FB friends list is for 95% loaded with musicians. That what happens here on AtariAge is not a conspiracy against you, but a consequence of your own actions. It is as simple as that. It sucks that in the Atari community this kind of crap is going on. I apology to everyone else about this. Sorry that my actions cause any negativity, or throw a shadow on the hobby. Video61 and Peteym5 treat customers like sh*t though, they call them pirates, they sell buggy software, and when someone (in this case me) says something about it, they start posting funny and dangerous messages on FaceBook. I hope anyone can make a wise decision for him/herself, who is the bad guy here. Indeed it is not possible (due to your ban Peteym5) to respond to this. But your friend Lance could respond, which he didn't. In stead of making a conversation, you block me on your group, and then you write that post?

Usually this kind of trouble is 'tackled' in a phase of beta-testing. I have all kind of SD cards here, from completely obsolete sizes like 32mb and probably even smaller, and brandnew ones. I also have SD cards from totally obscure brands, and high quality stuff. Next to that I have many Atari 8bit computers in all flavors and setups. And if that is not enough, I have this completely insane and 'troubled' way of testing stuff. Probably because of some mental disorder on my side, but for some reason I always do the unexpected with my stuff, so that brings up all kind of unexpected behavior (in the atari, or in the add-on... or in me haha). But unfortunately I am not in the beta-test team, so it seems someway that the users who purchased the SIDE3 are now inevitable and automatic buyer AND beta-tester at the same time. I wished I was in that beta-test team though. I could have prevented this problem. I think no one needs to worry though. This problem will be addressed. I know the hardware developers will, it might take some more time. I hope the hardware developers take the issue serious though. It might be another issue by the way. If that 'less' cards work, isn't there a chance that you have some stability issues in the atari itself?

Ohhhh THANK YOU!!!! Let the competition begin

The XEGS is awesome, but for me more as a cute and slightly more rare a8 computer, than as a successor / replacement for a more common a8 computer. I have quite some XEGS's, and I love them. Good standard video quality output, and the case is nice too. But my heart is more with the other a8's. But that is completely personal I guess.

Hi! No the Atari ST stuff ( I had really a lot ) is donated to a friend. There was quite some cool stuff with it. I also had many Portfolio's and stuff. Also donated. I stick with a8 only, since that is where my heart is. Although, I have to admit, I wished I kept one or two ST's.... making musical arrangements on Cubase was always an amazing adventure on its own. So pity that I do not have any ST left, but hey... the atari 8bit is the best! I currently do not have the space for more than one setup. Actually, I should not have an atari 8bit setup at all, since it occupies my only desk space in the house. Haha but life is all about priorities, so that means there is an a8 setup. I will try to connect the BB soon, and experience how things go. If it is exclusively nostalgia, but not practical... I'll move back to IDE+ or Side or MyIDE or whatever. Totally unexpected, this turned out to be a great thread.

Same story here. There was no trust at all. Pity, since I really think Peteym5 had some pretty cool a8 games going on. With some help or cooperation with the a8 scene, we could have amazing stuff. But unfortunately it wasn't meant to be.

I remember I had issues with printing to Atari 850 at first too when HiSpeedSio was enabled in IDE+, but @drac030 fixed that. I print also a lot (using Syncalc and The Last Word) using Epson LQ400 and IDE+ as my main HD interface. Is there a chance this is a bug with APE? In stead of IDE+?

Lol... But this stil does not justify bad behavior. If other people or companies do bad things, this doesn't mean everybody should do it. But true though.

Told this a million times to Peteym5. This is exact the reason, as long as they do cart only, that I will never buy a single game from V61 ever again. Their games are * NOT betatested on REAL hardware * NOT betatested by skilled people who try to find real existing problems * proven FULL OF BUGS * Unfixable since on a fixed medium (a cart!) It's a pity that you found out after you bought the game. It is even more a pity that @video61atarisales does not do ANYTHING to prevent this crappy experience in the future. They should stop with their outdated 'cart only' policy, since games (and any other software) is ALWAYS buggy, and ALWAYS needs to be fixed. Even with a decent test phase things might go wrong in the future. With a disk or file, or even a FLASH CART (and then sending a flasher for updates of course!) all these trouble could be prevented. It is unbelievable that reported bugs (like this sound issue you describe) are NOT fixed, even though these bugs are reported OVER and OVER again. The bug is not new, at least 2 years ago I already mentioned at Peteym5 (author of game). Total disrespect to customers. My advice: never buy anything from V61, unless they change their attitude towards customers. They simply sell you a game with bugs, while they KNOW it is buggy. Sounds almost like a crime to me.

You are right. This has probably something to do with stuff people have at their home yet, which they do no longer use in 'regular' equipment. I have a bunch of that stuff too. But it is good to know that modern SD cards are fully supported. If I might get into Side3 one day, I'll use a new SD card. Interesting what you say about 2GB cards. I have a bunch of those... why are especially 2GB cards asking for special handling?

@MrFish You say true things. For me the blackbox is part of my own personal Atari 8bit history. I obtained my first BlackBox in 1995 when I also started with my BBS "BBS The Atari Inside" ... I was atari enthusiastic from 1985-1990 ... when I sold my atari stuff in 1990 (and went to Atari ST) I almost immediately realized that was not my best move. But back then I was 14 years old, and I was also happy with my Atari ST (lol one of the first things I used was the Atari Xformer 8bit emulator haha) ... so in 1994 a Dutch local toy store started to sell Atari 8bit computers as packages (10 games + 65XE / 800XE + joystick + paddles) for almost no money. So I decided to buy some (well quite a lot) of these computers. So that was my Atari 8bit renaissance. And in 1995 the blackbox found its way to my home. And that was when my real atari 8bit hobby started. I learned to code in 6502, I started making music, I did the BBS, I connected to many Atari 8bit BBS's (like Becotel and Thunderdome, and the Stack BBS from Bo & Ernest Schreurs). Everything with the atari of course (with Bobterm, and also with Ice-T). I can't describe HOW MUCH FUN this era was. I was 19 years old, had quite some atari 8bit computers, a blackbox... it was all day long atari 8bit, and I enjoyed it every single minute (it was slightly an addiction / obsession perhaps?) I have to be honest. I miss this time. Today everything is perhaps TOO perfect. The modern storage solutions are better than the blackbox. Faster, more versatile (with the ATR mounting, and the APT partition system, the built in SDX etc). and I am pretty convinced the newer solutions are more reliable too (I can not remember I had a corrupted partition the last 15 years... something I had from time to time on my blackbox). But still, the blackbox has a place in my hearth. In some way MyIDE (and 2) has this too, since I have been following the MyIDE project intensively when it was developed. Haha the main reason for my interest in MyIDE was simply because back then I was convinced that my fabulous BlackBox would die one day, and then I wouldn't have a good alternative. But just like a8 equipment, the blackbox is still in a working condition. An update of the blackbox would be awesome. At 'least' it should support ATR mounting, APT partition table and FAT32 read (write?) ... those are three things that I miss the most on the blackbox. On the other side, it definitely should keep it's momentary-IRQ-freeze button. Just like what I wrote to @drac030 ... it is one of the strengths of the blackbox. The whole BlackBox eco-system is nice, with all the built in tools (with the enhancer, which is nothing more than a bigger eprom and a few wires), the Hardware Flow control R: interface, the P: interface, and the amazing menu where you can mount/unmount partitions, set Hi-speed I/O on/off, the easy swapping. So yes... what is my choice here. Do I keep using the modern and fabulous solutions? They serve me so well. And indeed, IDE+ is such an amazing HD interface. It does almost everything I wish from a HD interface on a Stock Atari. Or do I move (permanently?) back to the blackbox... it would definitely make me happy because of the nostalgia (although the fun days will not come back in exact that way).... and I still think the way of operation with the blackbox is really that fits the way I am (deep inside) used to work with a8. A real big downside is the physical size of the blackbox. I love atari 8bit that does not take much space (I love the 600XL) and the IDE+, MyIDE, SIDE solutions are so much smaller. I love that. Both the looks and the flexibility on the desk. Arg... choices choices choices. Anyone here who can give me a good advice?

Oh I keep my fingers crossed for millipede. It is by far the ONLY game I really "master" on atari 8bit. I would love to play millipede to see whether I still could progress. Millipede is by far, and for years, no decades, my #1 game on atari 8bit. I was SO happy that someone years ago fixed that PAL issue in the 'swarming insects' ... So please let us unite and do Millipede

Have been playing this game so many times with my dad back in 1989 or so. We played it mostly on the 2600 (that version is comparable, although it is different). Although I personally can not decide which version I prefer (a8 or 2600) I think the 2600 version is slightly smoother / quicker. One thing is (for me) a fact: Missile Command on atari is AWESOME. The game is old, and compared to other classics the game concept is not even that 'interesting', but the game itself is SO challenging. It happens many times that when all my cities are lost, I want to play it one more time... and one more time... okay this is the last time.... and one more time haha. I saw the game in the HSC and I thought: yeah let me play!

@drac030 for me personally the killer feature of the blackbox (next to some hardware stuff like P: and R: ports) is that amazing button that let you drop into the blackbox menu during the operation of a program, and return to that program. Just like The Freezer it 'breaks in' into a program and then it shows the blackbox menu. I know you and I talked about this a few time, but IMHO the IDE+ definitely should have this feature as well. Especially for people who are not mainly using SDX the ability of mounting/unmounting ATR's or APT partitions during the operation of a program is for me really a feature I use a lot with The BlackBox. Since I am a huge fan of Stock a8 equipment, I think IDE+ is still one of the best harddisk interfaces for a8. Of course I also like the MyIDE 2 and SIDE2 ... but on stock a8, IDE+ wins the competition (IMHO). Is there still a chance IDE+ will get that 'button' in the future? And is there a chance the IDE+ menu system will make mounting/unmounting ATR's a little more easy (and more versatile)? Thanks anyway, I still love it!

98010 First city lost around 56000 points. And then it all started to fail soon after.

77120!

Great answers so far! Thank you SO MUCH all. I have been using my BlackBox for a pretty long time, but then I moved on to MyIDE2 and later SIDE2 and all kind of other peripherals. My Atari 850 is in use for years to do the R: and P: controls. Meanwhile I was thinking of re-starting to use the blackBox. It is not compatible with the APT, so when I use my harddisk (or CF card) on the BlackBox I can not simply use it in SIDE2 or MyIDE2... But it was so much fun using the BlackBox back in the day... And... it has the amazing IRQ button that breaks in (almost) any runnning program so you could switch partitions or do some peeking (and pokeing) in the memory. Hmmm... difficult choice.

Hi all! Since it is, with its initial release date somewhere in 1989 already a retro add on in itself.... but I was wondering... who is still using the Black Box as I/O device (for storage or as printer/rs232 port). I haven't used my Black Box for quite some time, but now with all these new and modern storage solutions I was like: hey that old black box gave me more the nostalgia satisfaction. Please let me know!

Not sure. It has been a long time since I did this. But I think that is what you mentioned.

Oh I love this one. Might join when back from vacation. A real and cool classic on a8!

My experience with sio2ide is that from time to time the Atmega needs to be reprogrammed. The fuse settings had been wrong initially so there is a chance that it does not operate flawlessly anymore. Not sure if that is the case in your situation. I have sio2ide 3.3a in a cigar box. And although it is terribly obsolete these days, I still love it.

Of course we don't know exactly what happens behind the scene, but there is one thing that we all know and that there is hardly anyone in this scene who takes atari 8bit software development more serious than @flashjazzcat. His products are always from an outstanding quality and we may call ourselves lucky that we have him around. Take the amazing side2 loader or even cooler the U1MB firmware upgrade. Both excellent examples of where we absolutely need somebody like Jon. He knows what the demanding a8 user needs and he knows how to code. I have been testing The Last word, Side2 loader and U1mb firmware for him for months if not years and all those time I haven't had a single argument or problem with this guy. He is extremely dedicated to whatever he feels is his responsibility and I think some people could learn from that. We already have way too much half baken products in the world that were rushed on the market. Meanwhile I have learned two things. 1. If Jon tells me there is a technical problem with this or that, it is worth the time checking it out. He is most of the time completely right. 2. The guy invests all of his spare time to do the job right. It is a good thing to appreciate that. I do not want to put myself in the spotlights, but I really could have done good beta testing for Side3 those last 10 months you are speaking about. If people want to gets things done, I am always willing to help. So please let us stay focused on the development of great a8 stuff. Big thanks to @flashjazzcat and all his hard work for the a8 community.

Perhaps I used the wrong word. I mean this: thanks to FJC we can turn U1MB + SIDE2 (and 3 soon I hope) into real PBI harddrives. That would be great if possible with an external solution in stead of U1MB.

Before people start inventing something from scratch. I would advice take the Turbo Freezer 2011 as a starting point. Add PBI (like U1MB has) and External OS slots (like syscheck II has) and then start adding possible other stuff. Turbo Freezer is already an amazing external device, and it would be a pity if not all those features would be brought to a new-to-design add-on. I have been thinking of an EXTERNAL U1MB for quite some time, and as far as I can see it, it must be possible. I would prefer external over internal anyway. If Turbo Freezer had OS slots, and it had PBI it would be ultimate already. Perhaps external Stereo... yes amazing. I am not sure though whether that is possible.

What you describe sounds familiar with a certain keyboard type of the 800xl. I have to say, and I might be an exception, that those are my favorite 800XL keyboards. Yes the keys are more heavy than on other types, but you'll get used to it when you type a lot on it. When your fingers get stronger, it is not longer a problem. I actually love the feel of these keyboards. And, they give me the impression that even an elephant could stand on the keys, without breaking anything