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CharlieChaplin

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Posts posted by CharlieChaplin

  1. Posted

    Afaik,

    even more Mastertronic games did have (and still do have) a bug:

     

    Rockford: level 9 is not solvable, you have to collect more diamonds than there are available...

     

    One man and his droid (not sure about that game): if I remember correctly, this game (or another one) had 25 levels, each with a password; the last or pre-last level could not be solved... (have to read my tipster texts again to check it out)...

     

    Amaurote: great gfx and sfx, but in my eyes awful to play and impossible to finish. I once played it with infinite lives (no collision detection) and still needed 15-30 minutes to end one level. alas, the game has 25 levels, no passwords, no save options. Thus you have to play the whole game in one go - and with the standard number of lives (3) this is absolutely impossible... besides, the "jumping" bombs make it almost impossible to target and kill the insects... I have asked often, if anyone ever finished this game, no-one did and I doubt anyone ever will (especially with the standard number of lives)...

     

    Novagen:

    - Second City (sequel to Mercenary): There is a room which contains a triangle key, it is the only room which does. Alas, the only door leading to this room is locked and to unlock it, one requires the triangle key, which is simply impossible...

    (or maybe a Lucasfilm gag)... anyways, the game has to be patched, so the door can be opened with any other key and the triangle key can be taken...

     

    - Andreas.

  2. Posted

    Well,

    afaik the bug in Colony only appears if you 1) order new items and 2) switch on the beacon. You can avoid the bug by not ordering any new items (which would be stupid) and of course by NOT SWITCHIN ON the beacon. When the items arrive then, there is one dis-advantage: you will not find the items at the landing space, instead they are "thrown" all around the colony (some are even out of reach, meaning beyond the colony borders).

     

    But as said before, there is no graphic bug then. You have to search around the colony for the items (and some are out of reach), but they can be taken then without any graphic bug to appear... or maybe the gr. bug appears only with some items (items I did not order or items I have not found or items that were out of reach)... ok, this tip does not solve the mentioned bug, but it informs you how to avoid it somehow... until you find a better solution of course... -Andreas.

  3. Posted

    Well,

    I downloaded and unpacked everything. Two questions:

    1) Why are all programs available twice (as pure files and as ATR images) ?!? You can load *.EXE (or *.XEX) files directly into the emulator, but you cannot load *.TUR (Turbo-Basic-XL) or *.CTB (compiled TB XL) directly... So most of the pure files (except the EXEs maybe) are redundant aren`t they... ?!?

     

    2) Amongst the images, it looks like one image (5B.ATR, if I remember correctly) is missing. At least all other images do have b-sides...?!?

     

    Ok, this post is not meant to be a complaint, just some stupid questions... -Andreas.

  4. Posted

    Well,

    ahem, as said before when it comes to filenames, my PC is as stupid as an Atari, using only 8.3 filenames (because it is an 486 PC running under MS-DOS 6.22). Thus, I never get to see the full path of any updated files... nor their full filenames...

     

    The packed version is indeed only 3.5 MB, but it is packed. Under MS-DOS and 8.3 filename limitation it is very difficult to unpack only the updated SAP files and when I unpack the whole package, I get the mentioned 10MB and +1800 files again... -Andreas Magenheimer.

     

    P.S.: My friends use to say, that my PC (1994) is damn f*cked old. Well, my Ataris are much older...

  5. Posted

    Afaik,

    the Axlon upgrades provide eXtra RAM, but no RAM under the OS, like the XL/XE computers. But (again afaik) Mosaic also sold various Atari 800 upgrades. One of these Mosaic upgrades made your 800 compatible to XL/XE computers, meaning it gave RAM under the OS to the 800. Alas, most if not all Mosaic upgrades are very rare...

     

    And of course not every Mosaic upgrade made your 800 compatible to XL/XE computers. Some Mosaic upgrades did only add eXtra RAM, but not compatible to Axlon or XE extra RAM... For those who are interested, a Mosaic 64k xxx (insert name here) upgrade did provide 48k RAM plus 16k XRAM. The XRAM did use memory location C000-CFFF, thus it was doing bankswitching in 4k blocks.

     

    (So one 64k Mosaic upgrade gave an 800 Atari 48k RAM plus 16k or 4 banks of 4k XRAM; a number of programs do support the Mosaic upgrade, but most programs do not bankswitch, they only use one bank = 48k RAM + 4k XRAM = 52k RAM.

     

    The Axlon and XE upgrades on the other hand use both 16k banks, they both use memory location 4000-7FFF for bankswitching. The difference between the upgrades is that the XE ones use port B for bankswitching [that`s why the joystick ports 3 and 4 have gone in the XL/XE series] and as a result of that any *certain* bank can be used/reached, whereas the Axlon upgrades do not use port B, so bankswitching can only be done in one direction, starting at bank zero, then bank one, then bank two, etc. Or to say it in "easy words": the Axlon upgrades behave like a tape player => one way street, whereas the XE upgrades behave more like a disk drive => any direction, any certain bank/sector.)

     

    However, there were several other Mosaic upgrades advertised and as said before, one of them should give an 800 owner full XL/XE compatibility... at least thats what the adverts said... Andreas Magenheimer.

  6. Posted

    Well,

    is it possible to get *only* the new songs ?!? I have downloaded the +1800 songs some months ago to my PC, then downloaded, renamed and tested/played them on my A8. This was a lot of work, since both my PC and A8 use only 8.3 filenames. Next, the SAP player for the Atari XE could not play all .SAP sounds, so I had to play & test them (and erase those songs, which could not be played).

     

    Now many months later I am almost done with this. So I would like to get only the new songs - and not the whole (approx. 10 Megabytes) package again. -Andreas.

  7. Posted

    Hello Fandal,

    there are several packers which can theoretically do this:

     

    - magnus Cruncher 4.x and 5.x: does not like Init adresses however; probably requires 128k RAM; does not pack programs with a startadress 0700...

     

    - code cruncher: requires 128k RAM, does not pack programs with a start adress 0700...

     

    - APC packer: requires 320k RAM, does not pack programs with a start adress 0700... have not found out yet, how to reboot after packing and load the linker program (Reset does not work)...

     

    - fast packer: requires 64k RAM (does not work at all on XEGS and XE`s with XE OS made in China); a very fast but not so good packer; therefore it can split any program segments into a max. of 32kbytes; it uses page 4 (0400-04xx) for depacking; the packed file can be packed again with another packer (like DJ56 packer, superpacker, etc.)...

     

    alas, most gamedos and gameloader programs will also not load programs with a start adress of $0700... (tried: nanodos, microdos, picodos, mypicodos, micro-spartados, etc.)... e-mail me, if you are interested in these packer programs. -Andreas.

  8. Posted

    Well,

    thats the reason why I splitted the list in the A8FAQ subject 8.7, the first (long) part counts games that should work with both devices, but where Paddles are much better than koala Pad. the second part (only one program "micro-illustrator") should count the programs which could also be used with both controllers, but where a koala-pad would be the better device... Andreas Magenheimer.

  9. Posted

    Well,

    the "Smutek" picture looks like an enhancement of an old Gr. 15 pic. If this is the case, then the author has surely done this enhancement in less than 24 hours. but, err, I am not sure if the rules of the 24h compo do allow using others work and enhance it... (nor am I sure if the work is merely an enhancement or if the author did it himself / alone)... -Andreas.

  10. Posted

    yeah,

    I also hate those EXE to ATR conversions. They always create "shortened" ATR images (shorter than 90kbytes or any other standard density). The problem is a) to convert them back into real Atari 5,25" disks and b) the creation of dozens of different images and image-sizes of probably one and the same game... -Andreas.

  12. Posted

    Well,

    simply read the A8FAQ by michael current, subjects 8.11 and 8.12. they contain hundreds of programs that a) support a Ramdisk / XRAM (subject 8.11) or even b) require a Ramdisk / XRAM (subject 8.12). This extremly long list was collected by me (with little help by other Atarians) and it is far from complete of course. If you cannot find the text anywhere, just e-mail me and I will send it to you... -Andreas Magenheimer.

  13. Posted

    Heya,

    since I have hundreds (if not thousands) of source codes - what sources do you want ?!? Only Assembler (*.SRC, *.M65, *.ASM, etc.) - or also other languages, like C, Forth, Pascal, Action, Quick, Pilot, Logo, Lisp, ... ???

     

    Most of these sources were taken from magazines, like Antic, Analog, Compute!, Atari magazin, etc. And err, most of these sources are not commented in any way... -Andreas Magenheimer.

  14. Posted

    Well,

    originally the XANTH demos were written for the CES 1985. They were *one* big 130XE demo which included a) the Robot b) the Fuji boink c) the Swan d) the Spaceship and e) some scroller (in one file!) - all running on a 130XE (using its 64k extra RAM). I have that demo in my collection, one big file with more than 500 sectors.

     

    Looks like someone cracked this demo and made separate demo parts for 48k and 64k machines available, meaning a) robot+spaceship, b) fuji boink and c) the swan. The amiga boink however, was also done by XANTH, but it was not a part of this demo series (the CES 1985 demos), think it is even older than these demos... -Andreas Magenheimer.

  15. Posted

    Nope,

    the game features 500 levels !! The extra level disk "Gauntlet deeper dungeons" features 500 more levels, ouch... Boot Gauntlet without Basic, however if you happen to have the level disk and want to play the new levels, then boot Deeper Dungeons first with Basic and then boot Gauntlet (no more need to disable basic then)... -andreas.

  16. Posted

    Well,

    if you merely want the program with fewer segments (or only 1 segment + RUN adress), try to remove the RUN adress and then save a copy. Next load the program without the RUN adress into RAM, then goto DOS and binary save it, using the first segment as start adress and the last segment as end adress. Then add the RUN adress again...

     

    Ok, most likely the program overwrites DOS, then try using a) a shorter DOS (with a lower memlo, like sparta, XL-DOS, etc.) or b) any kind of monitor to do so... Since I am not familiar with using monitors, I cannot help you here... but QMEG-OS and its freezer + monitor will help you to do so... -Andreas.

  17. Posted

    Well,

    how about the 1) tight flashpacker ?!? It packs unlimited segments into one packed segment + init adress. alas, this packer also has its limitations, meaning a max. size of 30kbytes for the program, the program must not use init adresses and finally the packed version has to be stored as a copy in RAM (there must be enough free space for the packed program, e.g. if a program uses adresses 2000-6000, one can use adresses 6001-BFFF or better 6100-BBFF for the packed copy; the copy must not use part of the original memory of the unpacked program)...

     

    2) Magnus Cruncher 5.x (or older versions) also allows almost unlimited number of segments; alas, the packer does not allow init adresses and has up to 7 different packing processes (meaning if packing step 1 fails or the packed program does not run afterwards, try step 2, etc.)

     

    3) Code 3 Cruncher 2.x or 3.x: unlimited number of segments, some kind of update to the Magnus Cruncher, now partially allows init adresses (if they work as final RUN adress it is ok, otherwise these inits will be removed or not be executed)...

     

    the above three packers pack the whole program, thus one can "save" some segments. There are also segment-packers, they pack every single segment and thus add more segments to the program:

     

    4) Fast Packer by SRU: packs extremely fast (faster and better/shorter than T.Karwoth packers) but is not very efficient, compared to other packers (the same counts for the T.K. packers). Uses page 4 for depacking, so the original program must not use page 4. The packer can load very long programs, since it packs segmently, it can also split segments (that are longer than 32kbytes) and still depack & run them (good as a pre-packer for Superpacker and Dj-Packer, if the files or segments are longer than 30kbytes)...

     

    5) DJ-Packer: exists in two versions, one uses PAges 1+4 for depacking, the other one uses Pages 5+6; the packing efficiency is equal for both packers (only the depacking buffers differ). The DJ packer packs segmently and thus adds more segments to any packed program. It crashes if a segment is longer than 32-37kbytes (have not found the exact length yet), therefore use the Fast-PAcker as a kind of pre-packer;

    example: Speedmatter, a Tron clone from the ABBUC PD library, unpacked 279 sectors, one segment + RUN adress; too long for Superpacker and Flashpacker; crashes when trying to pack with DJ-Packer; solution: load the Fastpacker and pack it down to 165 sectors, next load the DJ-Packer (version which uses page 5+6) and pack this shorter version into 120 sectors. The final version is now packed twice, more than 50% shorter and still unpacks + runs fine...

     

    All these newer packers are collected on one ATR image (older packers, shrinkers, compressors, etc. are collected on 3 ATR images), e-mail me if you are interested and/or need some short manuals (since the usage of some of these packers is not so easy) to help you get along... -Andreas Magenheimer.

  18. Posted

    Well,

    simply e-mail me and I will return a zipped ATR image with the Repair Station, as well as other Basic listing deprotectors...

     

    Besides, I have found some other kind of Basic listing protection: Normally a Basic screen has space for 38-40 chars. Some of my Basic programs appear to have only 20 chars (or less) per line. You can list them without any problem (though some of the lines are empty and there are more than 3 lines quite often). BUT, you cannot edit these programs in any way, meaning you cannot change them. I tried a Poke 82,x and Poke 83,x but this did not help, the program still listed with 20 (or less) chars per line. whenever I tried to edit (change) a certain line an Error occured. So, whats that kind of protection ?!? How can one remove it ?!?

     

    None of the Basic listing deprotectors I have could remove or alterr this kind of protection... -Andreas.

  19. Posted

    Well,

    I do also own most of the mentioned UK based menus. Besides I do own some DOS 2 compatible gamedos versions (menuloaders), like Nanodos, micro-DOs, Picodos, MypicoDOS, US Init., and many others. if interested e-mail me and I will return some zipped ATR images to you... Andreas Magenheimer.

     

    P.S.: ABBUC also has a disk in their PD library full of ML and/or Basic menu loaders. visit www.abbuc.de (als, I cannot remember the Pd number)...

  21. Posted

    Hello Chris,

    below is an example of a DOS with internal ultraspeed drivers. I also added MyDOS with external ultraspeed (and XF highspeed) driver. These external drivers can be used under any slow DOS as well (DOS 2.0, 2.5, etc.) but: they require RAM under the OS and they do not like Ramdisk drivers or software that manipulates $d301 in some way... -Andreas.

  22. Posted

    Well,

    as already written on atari-area site the ABBUC demos you mention require only 320k RAM. They work ok on an original Atari with 320k RAM and Compyshop (or compatible) RAM upgrade. alas, these demos seem not to work correct on the emulator, when set to 320k RAM, but thats a bug of the emulator, not of the demos... -Andreas.

  23. Posted

    Well,

    I would limit the program to playback only 8bit waves (one can convert the 16 bit waves on the PC a little faster) on the A8 with 6bit quality.

     

    Concerning DOS 2 ultraspeed, well there are several DOS 2 versions out there, that have already US built-in. Next there is a file called "ultraspeed.com" or so by Bob Woolley which installs US for any DOS 2 derivative. Alas, this little tool uses RAM under the OS and will only work on XL/XE computers and programs that do not use the rAM under the OS... -Andreas.

  24. Posted

    Well,

    I guess this also depends on the game and if it uses full screen gfx or only part of the screen. I do remember "Wall Tetris" which uses Gr. 15 RGB mode. The game flickers, but since it only uses part of the screen (and the tetris tiles/icons are relatively small) the flickering is not so heavy and in my eyes acceptable. I guess such a flicker mode could also (have been) done to Jelly Beans, since it also uses only part of the screen... On the other hand, graphic adventures with full screen gfx and flickering would hurt the eyes... just my two (euro-) cents... -andreas.

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