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LoTonah

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Posts posted by LoTonah

  1. Posted

    Forgive me if I'm missing the point here (and I'm just a dabbling programmer, not at the level of you guys), but it seem there are a lot of vertical scrollers on the CV, like Bosconian and Rally-X.

     

    I'm seeing a lot of talk about not being able to scroll vertically quick enough, but those two games do a decent job. I'm sure there are more. What did they do differently? Is it just a matter of having too many objects to scroll? Is it because (particularly with those two games) only 2/3rds of the screen actually move? Would a narrowed playfield help?

  2. Posted

    I don't see we're all of the hate for the Spectrum ZX version is coming from-- I've seen quite a few Speccy games and this is pretty decent. I'd rather see Commando for CV look like it than the turd that is Frontline! Sure all of the objects are monochrome but at least you can make out what they are.

  6. Posted

     

    Man - there's a name I haven't heard since the 1990s! I used to love going in there to drool about computers I couldn't afford and consoles with cartridges I couldn't afford. LOL

     

    Yeah I don't think I would have been buying much there if I hadn't been working there. The employee discount is all that made the cartridges somewhat affordable! I usually wait until things were on clearance before I bought them.

    • Like 1

  7. Posted

     

    No questions, just some comments, sir.

     

    When I first really became engrossed in emulation in the mid 90's, ColemDOS was one of the first emulators I tried, and was simply blown away. The quality and accuracy, even way back then, was super impressive. I want to thank you for well over 20 years of support of the ColecoVision platform in digitally preserving it.

     

    Equally impressive, if not more so (for those that do not know), this same developer is really the foundation of NES emulation. The NES ROM format is his creation - his baby. In conjunction with his iNES emulator, that file format and mapper system was started then. Back in '96 there was only one other NES emulator, a Japanese one called, Pasofami, and was pretty difficult to use; iNES changed that - forever. It is still so very cool and mind blowing all that has been accomplish since then, but hard to express how it pales in comparison to the time when all this was just new and ground-breaking developments.

     

    Marat, to me, you are to console emulation in the same vein that individuals like Dave Spicer and Nicola Salmoria are to Arcade emulation. You're a legend to the community, and your work and efforts are truly appreciated. This includes the work you have done, are doing, and continue to do. Thanks again and hats off to you.

     

    Hear, hear! Marat is definitely a legend in his field. Thank you for everything you've done for this hobby, Marat!!

  8. Posted

    I just had a crazy thought... instead of selling Atari, I wonder what would have happened if Warner had hired Jack to run Atari instead. Yes, this is purely hypothetical.

     

    Imagine that! Jack would have to have full autonomy, of course. Wouldn't have gotten far if a board of directors held a knife to his throat.

     

    Anyhow, I'm super tired and thinking crazy stuff and I'll just leave it up to your imaginations!

  11. Posted

     

    LOL .. Great memory and thanks for sharing! The late 80s were awesome for choice.

     

    I was on the younger side so my experience was the sadness of watching the Atari software shelves slowly shrink to nothing every time we visited the mall. But tons of good memories actually using the ST (and 8bit) with Dad!

     

    Yeah, it made me sad too. Our manager would order less and less, but it was still available to order so I had to make sure I talked to everyone who was looking at that wall. I had that list memorized! I actually ordered a lot of software for myself that I never ended up using (just because it was cheap/on clearance)... especially for the Atari 8bit. I didn't own a floppy drive at the time, so it was complete speculation. Bought a C compiler that I sold 5 years ago that was still in shrinkwrap, for instance.

    • Like 2

  12. Posted

     

    It is unfortunate the ST didn't really launch with demos or similar stuff that were already known to help sell the 8-bit computers before..

     

    I'm assuming in 1985 there was not even a MIDI sequencer software ready for the ST..

     

    Yes, a few years later (1989), I was working at a store named Compucentre in Metrotown Mall (in Vancouver). We sold everything--C64's, Macs, Apple //e, Compaq, IBM PS/2, Atari and Amiga. Even NES, Atari 7800, TurboGrafx, SMS and Genesis consoles. All of the salespeople had their niches... mine was the ST. I had the Snowman video, and that combined with promises of IBM and Mac compatibility (had the CP/M and C64 emulators, too) helped me sell a fair number of them. I wish I had a few more demos because I sure got sick of that Snowman demo. LOL

    • Like 3

  13. Posted

    A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

     

    Okay, it was nine years ago. I ordered a USB joystick conversion kit from Legacy Engineering. Curt got sick. I got a divorce and moved cities. Changed email accounts. My computer died and I did a file recovery onto a new one. Took awhile to find my electronic receipts. Blah blah blah.

     

    It didn't stop me from grumbling publicly about it (and him) a few times over the years in this forum. About a month ago, I said something snarky...not proud of it, but at least it got Curt and I talking via PM.

     

    Today I got a package in the mail...not the conversion kit (because after so long I doubt he has them anymore), but a brand new USB Atari stick. Works great! I'm a happy boy again.

     

    So, sorry I was a dick about it Curt. You came through for me, so I thank you.

     

    -Don

    • Like 10

  14. Posted

    While they did no re-brand it as their own, here in Canada, for a few years in the early-1990s, Radio Shack sold the Turbo Graphics-16 console.

     

    I doubt that it was a big seller. For many years afterwards, some local stores were still trying to clearance piles of dusty accessories -- despite the consoles having long been discontinued.

     

    I am not certain if we received the Memorex VIS; I do not recall having seen it in stores, and I owned a Tandy PC at the time.

     

    No doubt it sat there for so long--their pricing of TG16 gear was attrocious. I loved my TG16, but I refused to buy any of my stuff from RS and instead did a lot of mail-order stuff.

  15. Posted

    Here's a machine I've been curious about but have never seen often enough in the wild: the Atari ST.

     

    Unlike the Amiga, which I seriously desired as a kid (and I have two models now: a 500 and a 4000!), the Atari ST tickled my curiosity but wasn't one of those "Oooh, I've gotta have it right now!" type of desires.

    Nowadays, though, I thought it would be pretty neat to check out the actual Atari ST hardware and see what it's all about!

     

    I do have some experience using Atari TOS thanks to Hatari, and I have sampled some games and demos on the platform. It's enough to wet my beak and get me interested in wanting to maybe add one

    to my collection! :)

     

    My problem, however, is that, like other retro computers of the time, the prices for Atari STs (and even the STE) have shot through the roof to ridiculous, exonerate prices on eBay and even Amibay. To make matters worse, most auctions and sales that I see are all in Europe (and I'm in the USA), which would mean that shipping would be absolute murder, and I'd also have to then spend money on things like step-down transformers and plug adapters.

     

    So my question is this: what's a fair going price for an Atari ST? I'd prefer an STE model; it can have 1MB RAM minimum and that's fine. Hell, it doesn't even need to come with cables; since the PSU is internal on STE models and is a standard 3-prong PC lead, I can supply one. I just need a mouse and I'm good.

     

    Send some ideas my way and I'll work from there! :)

    I'll take a look to see what I have for sale when I get home. I think I have a 1040STE with box. And the US to Canadian dollar conversion will probably save you some money!

  18. Posted

    I've been looking around a bit...not finding much, either. Keep in mind you're operating at a few levels above me, I'm just hoping a second set of eyes may help.

     

    In http://theadamresource.com/articles/misc/wk970127.html, an article with a partial disassembly of Pitfall! for CV, it mentions that spinners, trackballs and steering wheels use interrupts. I believe Marcel de Kogel's Coleco Library (coleco.h) file has spinner code.

     

    I also found a bunch of source code in the "ColecoVision Coding Guide" here: www.theadamresource.com/manuals/technical/ColecoVision%20Coding%20Guide.pdf

    , specifically around pg 65. Also, there is spinner control code on page 141

    but I'm too tired to know if it is useful to you ;) Also, pg.71 talks about VDP_STATUS_BYTE, and how it shows the VDP status, providing the interrupt was enabled. So

    wouldn't this be a good check to see if an interrupt worked?

     

    Also, I'm not sure if you set 38h like this:

     

    VECTOR_38H:

    RET ;RST 38H
    DW 0

     

    I remember something about that being wrong, and that RETI should be used instead. Update: the source code for Get Booty has it as RETI, not RET as well.

    • Like 1

  19. Posted · Edited by LoTonah

    I miss the twinkling stars in the background, *BUT* I was extremely impressed at how fluid the animation is. I've got the arcade game on MAME and there is something different on the CV version--it is better! Also, the audio lacked a bit of a punch in the video but I'm sure on a good sound system it would sound more like the arcade (the arcade game actually had a pretty decent speaker setup for its time). I think the audio issue is more like the video capture equipment didn't capture it well.

     

    I guess I'll have to check it out in person ;)

    • Like 1

  20. Posted

    Isn't this the same company that made the Coleco Gemini? That's pretty ironic. No matter. New logo looks just as good and you guys should get the credit not "Coleco". I like authentic things too when collecting but these are your new products and your brand should be the one to shine. I don't see anything official coming from "Coleco" except that weird expo a few months ago. Even Sydney Hunter had to have "their" version of the game alongside CollectorVision version. It's like the feudal system where they let you get married but the feudal lord dipshit gets to lay with the bride on the first night. They should be so grateful that anyone even remembers ColecoVision at all since they've let it go defunct until they saw an opportunity to make a buck off the hobbyists and fans that have kept it alive and pure since the mid to late 80's. They should make you an honorary CEO of Coleco video game development and they should have joined forces with you and let you do your thing which would've been a win-win. But that's not how most corporations see things unfortunately. Maybe offer to help instead of threaten and stifle. Heck let's sue "Coleco"! Just joking. But it is like a father who abandons their child only to learn years later how successful that child has become and then the father shows up out of the blue to make a claim and get in on the action which is pitiful and shameful.

     

    More like the father disappeared years ago and someone bought his I.D. and is claiming to be him!

    • Like 1

  22. Posted · Edited by LoTonah

    Sure, I'll get this started. I have a SmartLOGO package that I've never used, and never will. Manual, DDP, the whole works. Pay shipping and its yours.

     

    Who knows, maybe karma will be nice to me and give me something cool, like Super Cobra or Peekaboo! on cartridge. Don't judge me, I have kids ;)

     

    EDIT: Untested. It worked the last time I tried it, but that was years ago. If I get a chance I'll try it, but it's already 3AM.

    • Like 1

  23. Posted

    I switched because of two reasons.

     

    First, I was running a 520STfm with 4Mb of memory and a 4096 color upgrade. After a while it started screwing up disks...and I could find NO ONE to repair it. I would have had to send it to California to have the board looked at...I lived in British Columbia. Yeah, I could have sent it to Ontario and had it fixed there, maybe even Edmonton, but I was pretty isolated and didn't know the right people. I knew a few people in Vancouver, but not one of the Atari stores there would look at it.

     

    Second, people were already starting to give me spare parts. I had amassed a 286 with 1Mb of RAM and a 40Gb hard drive, VGA card, mono VGA monitor, keyboard and mouse... and didn't pay a dime for it. I had to buy my own copy of MS-DOS, but that wasn't all that bad.

     

    I eventually bought another Atari (a 1040STE) and ran that as my main computer for about another year, and i bought Bill Wilkinson's hard drive from him. He didn't wipe it before sending it to me so I had all his utilities and source code, until it screwed up and I had to reformat!! Should have made a backup (sigh). But Windows 3.1 came out and that was that. I think at that point the 286 had been swapped with a free 386SX-16 board.

  24. Posted

    Wish he would've emphasized the ST's advantages a bit more.

     

    What advantages? Besides being cheap, its advantages were all *potential* advantages, with very little software to exploit it. Don't get me wrong, I lusted after it, still love the ST, but I remember going into the computer shop and looking at the software shelf (and a small one at that), and thinking "that's it?"

     

    Our dealer didn't have anything to really show it off until he got a copy of Sundog, then King's Quest. That's when he started moving units. Until then, it just sat at the TOS screen in low res-- I think he was embarrassed to boot ST BASIC for me to play with.

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