Arcadenut

It contains several bug fixes. 04/07/2002 Version 2.0.1.7 - Fixed a bug with Drag and Drop operation of the Media/Hardware Roots. It would only open the last list under those when dragged. - Fixed a bug that would not allow "Close All" if only one media list and one hardware lists were open. - Fixed a bug in the Collection Explorer that some times didn't populate properly on Windows ME and lower. - Fixed a bug in the Field Order dialog that caused the check marks to become out of sync when moving an item down. - Fixed a Spelling Error on the Compress List Confirmation dialog. - Fixed a bug where pasting items in would not update the appearance of the Tab to show it was modified. - Fixed a bug that would not sort data if the data in the sort column was updated. - Fixed a bug that was reintroduced with 2.0 that didn't sort the alphabetic fields correctly (Upper/Lower Case issue). - Fixed a bug that would not enable the Save Button if you changed the List Properties. - Changed the Add Item From List Dialog to use a status bar at the bottom in order to fix a problem with Windows XP and Themes. - Added a Master List for the Sega Saturn, thanks to Ben Turner! Download from here: Cart Commander

Ok, I've fixed 6 minor bugs in Cart Commander 2.0 and I am looking for any others so I can fix them before tomorrow night. If I can't find any more or no one reports any by tomorrow night, I will release the version I have. So if you have run into any bugs, tell me now so I can fix them. Here is what has been fixed so far: - Fixed a bug with Drag and Drop operation of the Media/Hardware Roots. It would only open the last list under those when dragged. - Fixed a bug that would not allow "Close All" if only one media list and one hardware lists were open. - Fixed a bug in the Collection Explorer that some times didn't populate properly on Windows ME and lower. - Fixed a bug in the Field Order dialog that caused the check marks to become out of sync when moving an item down. - Fixed Spelling Error on the Compress List Confirmation dialog. - Changed the Add Item From List Dialog to use a panel at the bottom in order to fix an problem with Windows XP. Thanks,

Ok, I got the file. I had to pay $15 to get it, but I got it.

Born August, 1968 in Anchorage, AK. First Game ever played: Hunt the Wumpas on a PICK Mini. First Game Console: Atari Pong First Computer: TRS-80 Model II (Dads) First Computer I bought: Vic-20 (Saved my Paper route money). $299.

quote: Originally posted by -^Cro§Bow^-: Brien, Okay...here is the snapshot of my desktop with the "Appearance" tab selected. As you can see my fonts are set to normal. Even though you didn't ask about it...I also checked in the Advanced area of Settings to make sure the Fonts were at the default there of 96dpi and not 120dpi as I usually use on larger monitors. I can tell you that if I change my res to 800x600 which is the lowest that XP will allow me to set my active desktop to...that I can just barely see the top edge of the scroll bar and a button to the left of it on the add media window then. Appearance Tab setting in desktop properties.. As I stated before this is happening on 3 different PCs. They are totally Different...I have an IBM 300gl with some S3 video chipset onboard, then it happens also on my Dell Optiplex GX1 with an ATI Rage Pro 4meg in it...and finally it happens on my clone Celeron 300A at the house with an old GeForce 256 SDR in it. The only reason I mention the video cards...is because in the past when I have seen this happen it was usually a video driver issue in regards to how it was handling the video calls to the GUI...but since this same exact problem occurs on three different machine types with different Vid Cards and drivers...that can't be it. The Fonts are set to default or normal on all three machines. The only similarity between them is they are all running Win XP. Besides this doesn't answer why the version you released two builds back works fine on all three of these systems currently? What I have been doing is simply copying the master files from the newer build into that older one. But now you have features that I would really like to use but this bug with the scroll bar and no add or cancel buttons is a real pain to work with. Any idea why the old code on the old version is fine vs. your newer builds? Because somewhere in there you have the program building the windows differently somehow and that difference is making the bug show up here. If I knew more about programming perhaps I could assist more. But with only my limited skillz in Beta testing software for Sierra On-Line am I able to get to where I am now on this issue. Thanks. Can you tell me what the version is that it works? I keep ALL versions of the code so I can do a comparision and try to find what the difference is. I will fix this problem, its just going to take some time since I do not have XP. Thanks,

quote: Originally posted by -^Cro§Bow^-: Brien...I tried to email these shots and info to you...but it got bounced back so I will post this info here. I have had a major bug in the past released version and in this new 2.0 version. The bug is on the add screens when adding hardware or games. What happens is that when I get any master lists displayed to check what I want to add...my Scroll bar and add and cancel buttons never appear! To see what I mean...I have taken two screen shots...one has the program in a small window against the main Cart Commander screen...the other is when I select to go full screen. In either case neither gives me the proper options. Because of this...I have been forced to use your old release two versions back for use! Here are the shots...They are 1200x1024 so be patient... Minimized add window with no add, cancel or scroll options. Here is the shot full screen... Same bug but with the add window maximized on screen. Still no options. Any Ideas? I am running WinXP build 2600 with all the latest updates. I have seen this bug on both this version and the last version when the software was configured on 3 different class of PCs. A Celeron300a, A P2-400 and a P3-500. All have the same problem so it isn't video related. The only thing that is the same is the fact that all these machines are running XP as the primary OS. Can you post a screen shot of your "Appearance Tab" (Right Click Desktop and do Properties). Thanks,

quote: Originally posted by -^Cro§Bow^-: Brien...I tried to email these shots and info to you...but it got bounced back so I will post this info here. I have had a major bug in the past released version and in this new 2.0 version. The bug is on the add screens when adding hardware or games. What happens is that when I get any master lists displayed to check what I want to add...my Scroll bar and add and cancel buttons never appear! To see what I mean...I have taken two screen shots...one has the program in a small window against the main Cart Commander screen...the other is when I select to go full screen. In either case neither gives me the proper options. Because of this...I have been forced to use your old release two versions back for use! Here are the shots...They are 1200x1024 so be patient... Minimized add window with no add, cancel or scroll options. Here is the shot full screen... Same bug but with the add window maximized on screen. Still no options. Any Ideas? I am running WinXP build 2600 with all the latest updates. I have seen this bug on both this version and the last version when the software was configured on 3 different class of PCs. A Celeron300a, A P2-400 and a P3-500. All have the same problem so it isn't video related. The only thing that is the same is the fact that all these machines are running XP as the primary OS. Did you change your System FONT size from the default? I know a couple people using CC on XP and they don't have this problem so it is unique to your configuration. So now all we have to do is figure out what is unique about your configuration.

quote: Originally posted by Adrian M: I'm using the new version, and aside from a little sluggishness when switching between lists, it works well and is pretty stable. What kind of machine are you running it on? There may be a slight pause when switching lists if you have adjusted the column widths since it is saving that information out. I need to change the way that information is saved in order to speed that up.

quote: Originally posted by Arcadenut: Ok, since you guys came through last time, I thought I would give it another shot! This ones a tough one though. Its called Sprite Studio by Cory Chapman and the filename is SPRITE15.ARC if I remember correctly. I found 1 reference to it on the net (http://www.atariarchives.org/cfn/06/08/0038.php) , but no file. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Ok, I'm still looking for this file. Goochman couldn't find it, so if anyone knows where I can find this, it would be greatly appreciated! I also found another reference to it with the filename STUSPR.LZH. I don't know if its the same one or not, but its worth a shot Thanks, [ 04-02-2002: Message edited by: Arcadenut ]

quote: Originally posted by Hubie The Cube Master: At first, I thought this machine was terrible, but then I was very impressed by 2 games of its games: Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, Super Smash Bros Meelee. Pikmin was ok. Whould I get a GameCube?!?!?! Yes

quote: Originally posted by bangles66: The newest system I own is a Sega DC. I've decided to ask my wife to get me a new system for Christmas. Ok I know it's 9 months away but no harm in planning early. I could easily go out and buy one now but I just can't seem to convince myself to spend the money. My question is i'm looking for opinions both good and bad toward the three current systems PS2 Game Cube Xbox I'm leaning toward ps2 because it can play ps1 games which gives it a larger libary. your thoughts please. Well, you can look at it from an Economic point of view. If you buy the GameCube, you save $100 which can then be used to buy two games for it or a game and an extra controller. All the systems are very similar these days. Really, there is no point on comparing them from a hardware spec perspective because we all know its all about game play. No one cares how good a game looks if it doesn't play worth a shit. If I want to look at something rather than play it, I'll watch a DVD. You have to take a look at what games are available for the different platforms. Then what games are going to come out for that platform. You should decide based on that, and not how many pollygons per second it can render, etc... I bought the GameCube because it was cheaper and I know that Nintendo has very high standards when it comes to game quality. It is very rare that you would buy a game for a Nintendo system that didn't have excellent game play. Just my $.25

Ok, Everyone has had a day or two to play with the new version. So tell me what you think. 1) Do you like it? 2) Are you having problems? I found a couple of problems that I will be addressing in the next couple of weeks, if you run into a problem, post it here or email me. Please be as specific as you can. Thanks,

I have one. Love it. Favorite games.. Crazy Taxi Crazy Taxi 2 Mr. Driller Bust-a-Move 4 Ready To Rumble Sega Swirl I'm up to 41 titles now, most are sealed and will probably stay that way. If a game looks interesting, I'll try to find a dupe of it or a used copy to play.

Forgot one last thing... - Removed the Inventory dialog. All the functions of that dialog are easier to do in the main window.

Ok, here is the offical list of things that have changed. I have a few things I want to clean up with the Help file, then its ready and it will be released on the 31st. Enjoy! - Made HUGE changes to the framework of the code. This will facilitate many cool new features and make it easier to make changes. - Added Code for Hardware Tracking. - Added Collection Explorer. - Added Collection Groups. - Added Media Type to the Cart Class. - Added Media Status to the Cart Class. - Added Acquired From to the Cart Class. - Added Date Acquired to the Cart Class. - Added Year Released to the Cart Class. - Added Copyright Year to the Cart Class. - Added Video Format to the Cart Class. - Added Serial Number to the Cart Class. - Added Default Owner to the Options Dialog. - Added Save tab, for options dealing with Saving Lists. - Added the "List Type" option to the Save Tab. - Added "List Type" to the List Properties Dialog (Also shows up when you create a new list). - Added the Directory for the Configuration files. This is a housekeeping thing. - Added Code to Migrate the Configuration to the new version of 2.0. - Added Customizable Property Dialog. - Added "New..." option for just adding a new Cart/Disk/Whatever... - Added "New..." to Right Click Menu. - Added "Show Collection Explorer" to the general tab in the options dialog. - Added Collection Explorer to the View Menus. - Added Grid Lines to the View Menus. - Added Toolbar button for "New...". - Added List Type to the BIN Report. - Added List Type to the Generic Reports. - Added List Type to the Cart Compare Report. - Added Accelerator for Charts. - Added Accelerator for Web. - Added "Lists" menu option on the Right Click menu for the Tabs. This will take you to which ever list you have open without having to scroll. - Added "Save" button to the Mfg Options tab. - Added "Collection Report" that shows each list and a summary of them (total rows, total qty). - Added Check Boxes to the list view in the Inventory Dialog. - Added a Cancel Button on the Inventory dialog. - Added the Min, Max, Close buttons to the Inventory dialog. - Added Auto Check option to to the Inventory dialog to allow you to have the items automatically checked as you click "Next". - Added Link to Digital Press's web site on the Web Menu. - Added Email link for reporting a bug on the Help Menu. - Added Email link for requesting a feature on the Help Menu. - Added Email link for asking a question on the Help Menu. - Added Link to the Cart Commander Home Page on the Help Menu. - Added the ability to edit an item by hitting RETURN. - Added Close to the Right Click Menu for List of Items. - Changed the way the View is generated. This way is more efficient and fixes several drawing problems. - Changed Range of Rarity and Condition to include 0 so that 0 can represent "Unrated". - Changed "Remove Catridge" to "Remove" on the Right Click Menu. - Changed the Platform list from a drop down list to a list box in the "Manufacturers" tab in Options. - Changed "General Options" on the tab to "General". - Changed "Atari Age Setup" to "Atari Age". - Changed the way Paths are maintained to allow for an unlimited number of path options in the future with a lot less maint. - Changed the File Version to 1.2 so it can support List Type. - Changed Tabs at the bottom of the main window so that they are now color coded. Red=Hardware, Blue=Media. - Changed Tabs at the bottom of the main window so that they indicate a list changed by bolding the text and putting an "*" in front of the text. - Changed the View Customization so that you can now customize the view based on type (Hardware/Media) and Platform. - Changed Status bar to display the Qty and Type of List its displaying insted of Qty and "Carts". - Changed the Platform and Manufacturer tabs to put the text from the list box into the edit box and remove it from the list box when you double click the list box. - Changed the "Carts" menu to "Media" on main menu. - Changed "Add..." to "Add from List..." on main menu. - Changed "Add..." to "Add from List..." on Right Click Menu. - Changed the Hints on the tool bar buttons so that they are more generic. i.e. "Remove Item" instead of "Remove Cartridge". - Changed the Accelerator on the HELP menu from H to P so when the menu changes based on the list type, H will be used for Hardware. - Changed the Add Dialog so that it no longer has the "New..." button on it. - Changed the "Change" menu to be completly Dynamic. You can now change ANY field from here. - Changed the Background color from Gray to White to help reduce "Flicker" when switching lists. - Changed the pictures on the Toolbar buttons. - Changed the behaviour of Compress List. Now it only compresses the items if they are 100% the same. This means the only field that can be different is QTY. - Changed the Export to have a default filename. - Changed the Load Last File to Load Last Files. It now opens all the files that were open when you closed last time. - Changed the Cart Compare Dialog so that you can customize each view independently. Now you configure via a Right Click. - Changed the Cart Compare Dialog so that if there are only two lists open, it automatically selects them both. - Changed the Cart Compare Dialog so that it persists its information. - Changed the Layout of the Cart Compare Dialog since it no longer has a configure button. - Changed the Inventory Report so that it how has Main Qty, Dupe Qty and Total Qty. - Changed the extensions of the reports from .HTML to .html for better compatibility amoung OS's. - Changed High Score to a String instead of an Integer. This allows for adding anything like time, level, etc... - Changed the Chart window so it has a Minimum size of 640x480 - Moved the "Save As..." options from the General tab to the Save Tab. - Moved the "Create Backups" option from the General tab to the Save Tab. - Improved the Performance of changing from one list to another. - Improved the Performance when closing Cart Commander with Lists open. - Updated the License.txt file. - Updated the Help Files (Thanks Ron!) - Fixed a bug that caused data coruption in the lists. Carriage returns, Line Feeds, " and % characters are now converted to %xx values. - Fixed a bug in the BIN report that was causing the output to be off by 1 cart on the first bin. - Fixed a bug in the BIN report that was causing the BIN number to start at 0 instead of 1. - Fixed a bug in the BIN report that was causing the first row to have the wrong color. - Fixed a bug when you do a SAVE AS... it allowed a list to be opened twice. - Fixed the sorting of lists so that its case insenstive. - Fixed Column Order problem with Reports. - Fixed a problem with the "Load" button on the Mfg Options tab. - Fixed a problem with Charts that allowed Paning and Zooming. Disabled that stuff - Fixed Tab order on the Chart Dialog - Fixed Chart Dialog so ESC exits the dialog. - Fixed a Bug in Delphi's COMCTRLS.PAS file that caused an Access Violation under Windows XP. [ 03-23-2002: Message edited by: Arcadenut ]

Cart Commander 2.0 will be Released on March 31st, 2002. I'll post the section of the Revisions.txt file tonight so you can see what has changed.

quote: Originally posted by Albert: Depending on the type of game you plan on writing, you could get away with using Visual Basic, although I wouldn't recommend it for anything more complex than a card game. Since you mentioned you're going to try writing an RPG, I would highly suggest using a good object-oriented language like C++ or Delphi (Pascal). You might want to start with a simpler programming project first, as an RPG is probably one of the most complex types of games out there. Do you have any programming experience at all? Your best bet might be to get some book recommendations and pick up a programming book or two, preferrably one that has a lot of hands-on excercises. I would also suggest using a search engine like Google to see if there are any good programming websites that cater to beginners. Certainly there must be a few websites of this nature. I'll spend some time later today to see if I can track down a website or two that might be of interest.. ..Al Just to follow up on Ale..er, Albert's comments. You should really give Delphi a try. I've been using it since the day it came out in 1995 and I haven't looked back. Borland offers Delphi 6 Personal for FREE, so it won't cost you anything. There is TONs of information and the people who use Delphi are generally a lot more helpful than those of say... C++. Unlike Albert, though, I have made money with Delphi. My main job though is in doing C++

quote: Originally posted by Goochman: Hey Brien, I do have this somewhere, but I know its buried in my mound of 8bit, 2600, Inty, Coleovision, PC and ST stuff..... If no one else has it I will dig around but that wont happen for a few weeks. Gooch, hows the digging going?

quote: Originally posted by Robert Hazelby: Morning all, I am currently experiencing a slight niggle with my Missile Command cocktail. Over the past couple of months my P1 and P2 start buttons have become less and less responsive, up to the present date where they no longer respond at all. Initially the buttons would become responsive after the machine had been on for 5 or so minutes, but now even that doesn't seem to make them work. The connections from the buttons to the PCB seem fine. Is this a documented problem? If so, can anyone suggest a location or locations on the board I should start to investigate? Many thanks, Robert Hazelby First thing you should do is determine if its the Buttons, the wiring or the board. If its the buttons or wiring its easy to fix. If its the board, you'll have more work to do. To check the buttons, take a wire and short the two sides of the button. If you look at the bottom of the button you should see two wires going to it. 1 wire is ground, the other wire is the credit trigger. If you short these two together, you should get a credit. If you can do that reliably and the button itself doesn't then you need to do 1 of 2 things. 1) Clean the button. If its a leaf switch then use Rubbing Alcohol and a Q-tip and clean the two little metal dics at the ends of the leafs. If the switches are Micro-Switches, then you wont be able to clean those and you'll want to choose option #2 2) Get new buttons. If those don't work, then you can check the wiring and the edge connector to make sure they are good. Look for nicks in the wires, bad connections on any Molex Connectors (White blocks that connect runs of wires), or the Edge connector may need adjustment. If all of that is good and it still is acting up, then you have a board problem and you need to get that fixed.

quote: Originally posted by BurgertimeBoy: Is an Upright just bigger than a Cabaret? Yes. Take a look here... http://www.klov.com/M/Ms._Pac-Man.html

quote: Originally posted by Mark Riley: There should, if there isn't already, be some place where we can submit high scores of games using the emulator. I say the emulator because there's probably some way to send a snapshot or something to prove that the score is legit. It can be just for fun but prizes do rule. I'm sure someone else could go further than what I'm saying but this is like a start. I want somethnig to aim for, especially without any more of those Activision patches available for winning http://www.twingalaxies.com

quote: Originally posted by Cassidy: Hi all, I really need a Missile Command board. Have a great machine, but cannot get my board working. I have pulled the eproms, run them on MAME, and know they work; but I cannot get the board going. If you have one you would sell, or trade for some stuff, let me know. Thanks in advance, Cassidy Check with Al Gross (602) 254-4376 he might have one.

quote: Originally posted by Albert: I was thinking about spending a few hours this weekend running around town seeing what kinds of deals I can get on new Dreamcast games. Sega has a Dreamcast Checklist that contains a "Complete List of all U.S. Dreamcast Games", although I've been told that it is missing at least one title and maybe others. However, that list has 250 games, which is quite a few!! So, I was just curious if anyone else has started nabbing DC games now that the prices are coming down and how many you might have. And of course, where you've been buying them. I think the DC will be one of the great "classic" systems a few years down the road, so it wouldn't hurt to start collecting for it now. ..Al I don't know if you've ever been to AtariAge or not, but they have a message thread on just that subject! http://www.atariage.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb...c&f=21&t=000067

Ok, since you guys came through last time, I thought I would give it another shot! This ones a tough one though. Its called Sprite Studio by Cory Chapman and the filename is SPRITE15.ARC if I remember correctly. I found 1 reference to it on the net (http://www.atariarchives.org/cfn/06/08/0038.php) , but no file. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks,

quote: Originally posted by Atari Master: The Dreamcast post below showed me that it's about time to start buying Dreamcast games and Consoules.I'm goind to start looking now and buying all I can find.It sounds alittle harsh but listen to a story from Tips & Tricks magazine. Story is from Joe Santulli. In 1984, Kay-Bee was closing out it's Atari 2600 stock and had thrown all of it's games into several giant bins.My friend Kevin and I went back and forth to Kay-Bee quite a few times to pick out the stuff that seemed to be constantly replenished.I ended up grabbing easyily 30 or 40 titles, witch included a few Tigervision games that I haven't seen boxed since (Miner 2049'er II and Marauder come to mind).But one game I passed up was Springer.I remember thinking, "Kevin already has Springer, and it sucks...let me pick up an extra Keystone Kapers instead."We were already collecting at the time, but were unaware of what might be considerd valuable many years down the road.It wasent untill this years Classic Gaming Expo that I was finally able to obtain that game at a reasonable price.But when I think that I once walked away from two or three of them-brand new in the box!- it kills me.For the past 10 years or so, I have not "walked away" from anything that was too good to be true if it was within my means. So I should hit a few titles and get a sealed Dreamcast and possibly a "Sports Version".I don't want to have to feel like he did. Anyone know of any titles that would be worth picking up? Well, I have 13 games so far, and plan on picking up many many more. I went to Sega's site and their "Official" list says there are 250 games, however, I know for a fact there are more. I have the "Midway's Greatest Arcade Hits, Volume 2", which is NOT on their list. I wonder how many more they missed.