Grimakis

As promised, I’ve just released version 2.3 here, and the files are now hosted on GitHub. To anyone who may try it out, enjoy!

Hi @hackerb9 I’m glad to see some renewed interest. I’m currently in the process of rewriting a bit of the game to add some new features. I am also using a private Github repo to maintain the project myself, but I may decide to flip that public at some point. I’ll update here and the mailing list when I’m ready to put out the next version.

My vote is for the kit. As cool as original hardware is, a PSU that is reliable is a #1 for me. Even back in the day it was easy to put enough expansions into an Apple II to the point that the PSU just couldn't drive them all. That's why AE developed a higher output PSU of their own. A modern replacement that fits into the original housing? Sounds good to me. I went with the kit from Reactive Micro and didn't look back.

More specifically it is a Viewmaster 80 by AE: https://apple2online.com/web_documents/ae_viewmaster_80_user__s_manual_v4.4.pdf Manual linked above.

Apple II is the only retro computer that has sustained my interest. I think the good quality keyboard, 80-col display, and internal slots, just provide a good experience. Having my setup out doesn't take up much space, it's easy to use, etc. I don't use it every day, but when I am bored I like to fire it up and pop from BBS to BBS.

Not sure about the Commodore printers, but ribbons for the Apple ImageWriter family are still made and are quite cheap. A lot of collectors still like printers over in Apple II land, they can be fun to use.

The thing about C64s is that if they are untested, you may as well assume they are broken. Bad PSUs are common enough that unless you have a known good one, you may end up killing a good system. This is an early one FWIW though.

Hi all, I'm not sure you guys are familiar with DOS.Master, but it is a program by Glen E. Bradon that allows DOS3.3 sectors to exist on a ProDos formatted Disk. This allows you to launch DOS 3.3 from ProDos, with it the ability to run DOS 3.3 software. I've always wanted to be able to run IntBasic from ProDos, so this seemed like a reasonable middle ground. Have this DOS3.3 partition on my ProDos drive. Enter from ProDos, load IntBasic, use it, return to ProDos when done. The PDF of the manual makes reference to a program known as LOAD INT. This supposedly loads Integer Basic into the language card. Clearly this program was designed to work with Integer Basic. However, none of the disk images online have this program, so I'm not sure how it worked. When I bring over the LOADER.OBJ0 from DOS 3.3, it doesn't quite work. It will load IntBasic, when when I enter it, I end up getting memory related errors. Does anyone have a copy of the original DOS.MASTER disk? Give it's unique structure(DOS 3.3 & PRODOS), it may be a good time to AppleSauce it because the images available online today aren't quite right. I'd really like to take a look at LOAD INT. If you can't find this original program, an idea for an alternative would be appreciated. Best, Grimakis

I am making two assumptions. 1. You are using VGA out. 2. Your resolution is 640x480. If so, you probably can get the Framemeister to work. You'd need a sync combiner as well, as it doesn't support RGBHV. Then if you want pixel perfect scaling, you have to run it in the x2 scaling mode, which is going to leave you with a 1280x960 image in the middle of the screen with 60 black pixels on the top and bottom, and fairly large letterboxing/ Honestly, it's not the greatest solution. Be prepared for a lot of black borders.

INKEY will return the value of whatever is being currently pressed. The way to use it is shown above in post #5. What version of BASIC are you using. I have a pretty good implementation in Tandy Model 100 BASIC. Say you have a static last of keypresses that are allowed. Define them as a single string variable S$="Q"+CHR$(28)+CHR$(29)+CHR$(31)+CHR$(30)+CHR$(70)+CHR$(102)+CHR$(32)+CHR$(13) Then on this next line, all the magic happens. ON INSTR(1,S$,INKEY$) GOTO 3200,3500,3520,3540,3560,3600,3600,4000,4000 The ON function basically allows a GOTO where it will branch to a line number from a list based on what value is passed in. In my example, CHR$(28) is the second character in the string. If you press down that key, it will find it in S$ as the second char, and branch to the second line in the GOTO list, 3500.

I think it depends what gives you enjoyment from. If you just want to play games and get enjoyment out of the games, then fine do emulation. But if you are excited about holding and using an "artifact" that has survived against time, then you really need the originals. With every year that passes, hardware fails, so finding a working example of something becomes harder and therefore more impressive. Conversely, every year, modern hardware advances, and emulation becomes easier and easier. Therefore, as time goes on, using original hardware becomes more and more impressive to me, whereas emulation becomes less and less impressive.

ProDos complilations are pretty good. One that stands out is the Broderbund compilation. Prince of Persia if you run 140k .DSKs, you need a Boot Disk and the actual two games disks. However there are .POs that not only contain PoP withot any need to change disks, but every other Broderbund title as well. Is the CFFA3000 reaching its maximum potential on a IIGS? Yes. Its still much more useful on a IIe than the EMU in my opinion. The EMU I view as more of an accessory for the //c or the Mac 128k/512k

It would seem that way, but I've got a hard disk image of: AppleWorks 5.1 ProTerm 3.1 Copy II+ ShrinkIt Apple II Disk Utils MouseDesk and a number of other programs my computer boots up to the Super Selector, and I can launch any of those programs with Closed Apple + <letter> And all of this on a IIe. Or you can shuffle around disk images on the FloppyEMU. If all you want to do is play Oregon Trail or Choplifter, then I agree yes you can get by just emulating 5.25" drive. If you want to really customize your setup, like someone with a hard disk might have, then I think it's worth it.

CFFA 3000 offers a large benefit over the EMU. For Floppy EMU, it can emulate the Smartport device, but you would need a disk controller card capable of that. These are expensive. Otherwise you are relegated to 140k images only. CFFA can emulate SmartPort and Disk ][ at the same time. A VGA add-on board from http://www.a2heaven.com/webshop/index.php?rt=product/product&product_id=152 It attaches to a card you don't have, the RamWorks II/III. They are worth getting though, as they can add 1MB of RAM to the system, and replace the 80-col card already in your system. Also an HDMI card was announced at Kfest, but it won't hit production till the fall. Additionally, you have sound cards like the Mockingboard, and Z80 coprocessor cards for running CP/M like the Softcard.

In terms of the computers that are commonly found, I'd say the C64 has held the worst. In terms of graphics and sounds are fine, but the physical chips, yeesh. The C64 has a few things going on that are bad. 1. The power supplies are garbage. They fail short and over-volt the 5v line. This will kill any number of chips and definitely the RAM. Probably the leading cause of C64 deaths in the wild. 2. Joystick ports directly tied to CIA and SID. A little ESD touching that port can kill your SID chip or the CIAs. 3. No cooling, no airflow - A surefire way to shorten the life of your ICs. Failed PLA's are fairly common as well. #4 and #5 are more subjective 4. The keyboard is terrible. 5. Expansion ports are iffy, Unlike the Apple II line(and all modern PC's), a lack of internal expansion slots means that expanding a C64 fully involved a bunch of daisy changed expansions boxes hanging off your C64. It's not the ideal way for me.