PeBo
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Posts posted by PeBo
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anytime my Flashrom has crashed it was one of two things:
1 (most common): it was my nanoPEB that had to be reseated (so if you use a sidecar memory, check that. Bet that your problem is a sidecar memory one not a cartridge one)
2. The cartridge itself was not inserted effectively (the TI cartridge port is not the most reliable - especially if it is heavily used (lots of swapping carts). Ofcourse this is a good reason to HAVE a FR99.
(or FGR99 - I say with great antici...
...pation)
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Only problem is....I can rarely get past the 3rd level of ANY game, so I get as far as expected with Super Demon Attack, and always just assumed it was the fact that I suck, not the program that was at fault.
So although the video WAS funny, the game remains one of my favorites....even more so now that I know the 3rd boss level IS indeed unbeatable!
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So uhhh where is the back space...?
This should help...if you look around these forums, you'll find all the function key overlays avaliable (since they are application specific)
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Well, I'm going to brag... I own one
OK, I admit it, I suffer from brag envy (for the reason Opry99er stated as well as being able to use the dial (or whatever the rotating thingy at the top of the stick is called) for Superfly)
AND in case MBX Tennis and Football ever make a surprise appearance (don't laugh, none of us ever expected to be playing Tutankham or Robotron 2048 on real iron until recently, now they're a staple in nearly everyone's collection)
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How long has it been since you were a kid with that anticipatory feeling of excitement knowing that you would be opening Christmas presents soon? Ahh... the future is just around the corner...
Massive storage capacity, HD like tree structure, able to run dang near anything in existence.
512K of banked memory... I'm wondering what this will do for the next generation of TI Games?
... I'm getting excited.
Question - Other than collectors, will anyone ever need more than one cartridge?
Like my DVD and CD cabinets, the TI-cartridge cabinet continues to serve a very very important decorative purpose.
(c'mon man I'm running out of excuses to give her for not boxing-up all the carts and putting them in storage - she already won with the vinyl, don't give her ammunition to replace more of my stuff with more of her chachka!)
Gotta admit though, one of these new puppies will make a stand-alone 4A a mighty complete retro system! Add a nanopeb and an F18, could have the console and everything ever written for it in a small backpack, ready to be plugged into any modern TV/monitor.
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The Macbook can only dream!!
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I had an MBX back in the day, and all the games too. It's all gone now though. I never programmed for it, but I did use it quite a bit. I seem to remember the analog joystick working for normal TI games. Am I right?
Darryl
While I guess anything is possible in 2017 (maybe the file attached earlier to this thread will help), but no, the MBX joystick will only work with MBX games.
It was one of my chief disappointments with the device when I bought one back in the day. I only had two MBX cartridges at the time (Terry Turtle came with the unit (for some reason Baseball wasn't included in the one I got) and I picked-up Sewermania) and I remember being annoyed that I couldn't use the joystick on anything else.
If there were more units out there, I'm sure one of the AtariAge TI-wizards would have a whole slew of compatible programs for us, but alas, the MBX doesn't show up often, and when it does, it is usually "collector" priced (and IMHO $150-$200 US is just too much for a gadget that only supports 10 cartridges - 4 of which are pre-school games, and all but 2 of which work perfectly well without the unit...)
If Starship Pegasus (aka Space Zap), Mail Drop, Green Muck, Football and Tennis had been released as planned, there might be a bit more value in an MBX, but the way I see it, the only reason to buy one nowadays is the bragging rights of owning one.
Sure would love to play Baseball though!
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As for E.T. I have 3 sightings on that as well. It seems to be a Canadian thing. One comes from Tyler Van Tighem when he was the librarian for one of the UG in Canada. He was dumping carts to disk for the group and didn't realize E.T. was an unknown title until I mentioned it to him in an e-mail. Another comes from a Canadian user that said he has it in his collection and will send me pics of it. The other comes from a truck driver in NH who was a TI user and would stop at various UG meets on his travels. He was a friend of Mike Wright and swears he saw the physical cart. Note that all of these are in/near Canada. Did some make it out in Canada? Who knows, but they all seem to be up there.
Don't know about E.T., but I do know that the (Super) Demon Attack that I bought up here back-in-the-day had the British voice over, and it wasn't until I got back into the TI a few years ago that I realized that it was sold without speech stateside.
But OMG if someone could pull a Tutankham/Robotron/SuperStorm with Joust, I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say how absolutely cool that would be. Joust on the TI! Yes!
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This probably should be subject for another poll but do y'all actually use TI word processors and spreadsheets anymore? When I look upon the TI software library I see the game category standing the test of time above all. The 99/4A keyboard is better than the 99/4 Calculator-Overlay Chicklet nightmare but it still clearly sucks. Commodore did the keyboard right back in the day, and TI dropped the ball BIG TIME -- TWICE!
Ya, you're right, probably not the best example to use, but I was trying to define "storage device" as I see it in my own mind, and used Word processors and spreadsheets since they both use storage devices for data. I should have simply stuck to Tunnels of Doom and/or Scott Adams/Infocom as more acceptable examples. Any software that uses disks and or tape for storage of data, whether it be high scores, or game progress still needs a separate storage device to the FR99.
Sorry, I thought people would pick up on what I was trying to say rather than the ill-chosen samples I used to make my point.
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This, or educational stuff, is maybe something that made TI stand out, but also, on a larger scale, gaming was much more important to sales (to TI and other "home computers"). Yes, parents may have been convinced, but the kids then and now is going for something else, and the educational developers know it. Educate while having fun. And that boils down to games - as in having fun. Both luckily recognized by TI then, but also generally to this very day.
These days, as I'm more of a TI developer than a TI gamer, I think the audience for educational games (for the TI) is a fraction or much less than that of games. Sorry.
Invention is the mother of necessity.
Unlike today where a digital device of some kind has become ubiquitous, back in the late 70's/early 80's, computer manufacturers had to come up with reasons why you NEEDED to make a large ticket purchase of a computer. It would seem that TI decided that educational titles would fill that role (along with the fact that the educational software developers seemed to have bought into the TI's licencing model more readily than the big name game developers of the time.)
The point is, the 4A has a very full catalog of educational software and, if one of the purposes of devices like the FR99 is to assist in the archiving and maintaining of a vintage computer's software library, then that catalog should be proportionately represented. I didn't suggest more FR99 compatible BINS of educational software because these titles would be as popular or more popular than regular games, but because a cartridge emulator should have as diverse a library as possible of every type of software.The poll question was "Are there any games you would like to see that have not been converted yet" and I simply stated a genre for which I personally would like to see more titles converted
While you are 100% correct that Parsec and Robotron 2048 have a much wider audience appeal than Meteor Multiplication or Word Invasion, they are still an important part of the 4A story. (and don't be too quick to discount the current attraction of the latter...there's a lot to be said for software that allows kids to learn and be entertained without the distraction of the internet or intuitive operating system interfaces. There are actualy a couple AtariAge members who use the TI and educational software to supplement the home schooling of their kids)
And no need for "Sorry" for having a differing opinion. Good thing too, or I'd spend my whole life apologizing.
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It has potentiale to be more, or so much more than that. And I'm confident in ralphb being determined to, both be backward compatible (cartridge emulator), but also be visionary about allowing thoughts out of that box (cartridge emulator).
If you read my follow up post, you'll see that I agree completely and have already chided myself for using "nothing more"
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And once everyone has had their Festival fun, they can all head over to the Infinite Energy Arena and catch the NLL's Georgia Swarm host (and slaughter) the Rochester Knighthawks in the final regular season Lacrosse game of the 2017!!!
Hockey would be better
...if it was Lacrosse!
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I follow your train of thought on this, and while technically I agree with you, to me it 'feels' like a storage device simply because I can download new stuff from the Internet and have it on Real Iron within seconds.
Not going to argue, since this is a question of perception and not a right or wrong thing, but I have to say for ME to consider something a storage medium for the TI, you should be able to load and save ON THE TI.
While all the other methods I mentioned can do that, the FlashROM99 has to be loaded on a PC.
But I do want to revisit one of my lines...
"In my mind, it's a cartridge emulator, nothing more."
That doesn't give justice to just what an amazing piece of modern hardware the FR99 is. The very fact that we HAVE a cartridge emulator makes it far more important than a "nothing more".
Until the FinalGrom gets released of course.
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Looking for the following:
BlackHole
Breakthrough
Burger Builder
Escape
Intercept
Mancala
Spy's Demise
Some of these show up a few times a year (BlackHole/Burger Builder) while others are rarely seen (Escape/Mancala). I'm under no illusion that the carts I'm looking for will be bargain priced and am willing to pay a (sane) premium.
I never haggle, so I'll either accept your price and fire you off the cash, or simply say no thank you. There will be no endless back and forths.
So make a bit of extra room on your shelves for other collections (or to appease the little Mrs) , AND put a chunk of change in your pocket at the same time!
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Oh, and since it was one of the poll questions...
More educational carts!!
Educational software is nearly half of everything TI released (and supplemented by the likes of Scott Foresman), yet we only have 20 or so BIN's. Of course nothing is stopping ME from converting a few, so really this isn't bitching, but just an observation.
When the kids come over with friends and siblings, I usually unplug the FR99 and go back to using individual carts. (although I will admit, the fact that I have still not put the flashROM in a case has a lot to do with not wanting it used by little people.)
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Although it does use an sd card to store cart images, I don't consider a flashrom99 to be a storage device since it cannot save/load miscellaneous data.
In my mind, it's a cartridge emulator, nothing more.
Thanks to the the E/A II bin, flashrom99 really shines when used in conjunction with what I would consider to be a storage device, like a CF, HxC, HDX, or a good old fashion disk drive.
I will admit that an FR99 combined with 32k memory expansion opens up a world of possibilities to a stand alone 4A, any program that saves to an external device (word processors, spreadsheets - or heck, Tunnels of Doom or Space Station Pheta) is still not usable without a tape or disk drive.
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Perhaps there's something I have misunderstood, but if you are willing to pay max $100 for an item and you set this as your max bid, why would you get upset that someone snipes it for $101 when you were not willing to pay that much?
My issue is that for days there was no activity (on one of the items I remained the only bid for a full week), then I sat watching the auction for the last 10 minutes...with a new bid ready to go in case someone tried sniping...at the 5 second mark there it was, I clicked increase bid immediately, but by the time it registered with eBay, it was too late.
Yes, I could have started with a higher maximum bid, but after a week long auction, where no one else bid but me right up until the 5-10 second mark, should it not be fair to assume no one else was interested in the item, so that a higher maximum bid was not necessary?
And if my maximum bid is $100, one can be sure I would happily have gone to $101 (or $102 or even $120).
Bottom line is that sniping is against the eBay rules, and they do nothing about it. They call themselves an online auction house, but auctions end while there is still active bidding.
Both of these truths earn my ire! And to those who say "this is the way to use ebay" sorry, no, I won't play such a sleazy game, and will simply stick to other online markets. If I miss out on things I want, so be it. I shouldn;t have to jump through hoop to buy something, and I have no problem competing with others for an item, as long as there is an actual competition.
I simply think we'd all be better off with an alternative to eBay.
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Rant start...
6 auctions in 5 days!
3 lost when someone beat my bid within the normal course of the auction...no problem there, it's how things should work. I had a maximum I was willing to pay, if someone is willing to pay more - and is willing to compete for it - more power to ya!
But the last 3 were won (by $1) in the last 5-10 seconds (twice by folks who had not taken part in the bidding until those last seconds) on auctions that had had no activity in days. That is a sleazy chicken-sh*t way to win an auction. If you want something, risk raising the price by participating but paying $1 more in the last 5 seconds on a $100+ auction is simply ripping someone off (in 2 cases, I was sitting with my finger ready to click my new bid just in case, but didn't have enough time for it to register.
Now some may accuse me of whining, or being a sore loser (and yes, I could have had a higher max bid), but a REAL auction ends when bidding ends, not at a specific time...and ebay could easily implement this by adding an extra minute to the auction for the most recent bid in the last minute. That would at least ensure that no one loses an auction as a result of a less than ideal bandwidth speed (which is what happened to me twice). And since an additional minute would be added for every last bid, it would operate more like an actual auction (going once, going twice...).
Now it would be nice if community members would use the Marketplace sig in these forums to try to sell their wares before going the ebay route, but for some reason TI folks are less likely to do so (I often wish my hobby was an Atari 2600 - those peeps make so much use of Marketplace it makes me cry). But regardless, c'mon folks, if you want something being auctioned on ebay grow some balls and participate in the auction instead of sneaking in in the final seconds!
Two of the losses broke my heart when someone got em for $1 more than my max bid, after nearly a week of no activity by people who had no previous bids on the item.
Anyway I'm done...if it doesn't have a "Buy Now" or "Make an Offer" I'm not even looking anymore.We desperately need an alternative to eBay for international buy and sell!
Rant over.
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It is on gamecart 3, selection "N".
Still my favorite TI arcade game.
any time Mr Hull and DSAPSC have a new release it becomes my favorite.
I actually like Mad Marvin's Great Escape more than Never-Lander (although I know I'm in the minority there) and Tex Turbo replaced Tris as my favorite falling blocks game, and remains unchallenged as my favorite current-era TI arcade game.
- Seriously, thank you Marc. Three of your creations are in my TI top-10-games (and let's not forget SID Master - which makes my PEB rock!).
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Excellent find there! I sure never find treasures like that on Craigslist (of course maybe I should stop looking in the "casual encounters" sections - never find any deals there either!)
I would suggest that you leave the keys in QWERTY order this time around.
And like so many people on this board, you do make me feel mighty old (when my first brand-spanking-new TI entered my home, I was already in my late 20's). But welcome back to the fold anyway!!
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...restored the back up from my main card to one and it worked first try
Bite me! <Evil Grin>
Ya I'll probably grab one of those off you next week because I'm really getting sick of fiddling with these...
...really wish I could find working smaller capacity cards though...with the flashrom99 (and FinalGrom soon I hope) all those disk based E/A3 & E/A5 rips are no longer needed since we can now load those programs directly from a cart, As a result 4GB is a bit of overkil (not complaining though - a working card is a working card). My original 256MB card is still not full (as I said I just wanted to get a 512MB card working for Plato). PLUS I won;t be able to use my fancy-pants label!
Wanted to grab Tutankham (don't sell the last one before next week PULEEEZE!!!) and Megademo off you anyway, so may as well add a CF to the pile.
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I often was able to solve "problems" by reinserting the CF-card, formatting it with Windows (FAT or FAT16 I think ?)
and then using the "initialize"-function from ti99dir. Afterwards, read/write was OK again.
I'm going to try that again, I just hate to repeatedly format a card - especially from FAT to a custom format over and over (I've killed more than a few cards that way). Hopefully I can find a solution that will help the next person that encounters this problem.
As of this moment though, I would simply tell folks to steer clear of Lexar 256MB and 512MB cards for this purpose.
At least I know that Greg has the 2GB cards if I finally give up on getting these to work.
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Have you tried to put an empty image in the first slot and then move your BOOT-F18A into slot two, just to see if that one also goes unformatted/crazy on you? It may just be a problem with the position on the card. . .not likely, but still worth a shot from a testing standpoint.
No matter what is mounted in Vol 1, it becomes an unformatted after being inserted on the TI side. Of course this is no surprise since the the format drops back to FAT. I figure the write error <5> is preventing the DSR header from being be written to the card. That would explain why the nanoPEB doesn't recognize the file structure, while the volumes seem to remain intact in TI99dir (aside from vol 1 - which I would think sits at sector 1) I just don't understand why I keep getting the write error in the first place.
Just another unsolved mystery.
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agree with LASooner about the slik stik and OLD CS1 about the Epyx (except I found that the index finger fire button on the Epyx made my hand cramp if a game required rapid fire.
For original era games, few joysticks provide the excellent tactile response of an Atari Heavy Sixer. I was lucky enough to get 3 of them in a bulk joystick purchase, and was able to swap springs/boards to build a single near-perfect one from them. The button is a joy with it's extended travel, and the audible "clicks" of the stick leaves nothing to doubt. Second generation Atari joystick may look the same, but they are not even in the same class. It really is the penultimate single button right-hand joystick (I've never mastered left hand pads and sticks with right hand buttons, and so I suck at nintendo games and any that came after).
My favorite though is a kick-a$$ atari knock-off made by Recoton, that has been my go-to joystick for the TI and emulators for many years now. More than any other atari-style joystick, it was built to last (I have the play hours to prove it). A longer throw than the heavy sixer, it finds a sweet spot between stiff and mushy that I really like. And that giant button...what can I say????
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Posted
I've always had a soft spot for Moonbean Software cassettes. They were often fun little XB games that made it easy to forget you were playing an XB game.
I still play Garbage Belly quite often (I especially like the platformer level - simple, but when coupled with the bomb's way level and the main screen, it makes for surprisingly diverse game play). I've never quite understood the point of the garbage cans though...it would have been a better game if you couldn't just move through them. I've always assumed that that was the original intent, and that the collision detection was removed for speed considerations.
Still a fun little time waster that is a couple notches above magazine type-in games.