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Everything posted by atarifanboi
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Taking the plunge-Buying an Xbox One
atarifanboi replied to Unbeliever's topic in Modern Gaming Discussion
Had some decent games this way, but there is some dross as well. Last one was Sunset Overdrive which I know is old, but for free its a good game! -
Taking the plunge-Buying an Xbox One
atarifanboi replied to Unbeliever's topic in Modern Gaming Discussion
Look I'm not going to argue the toss anymore, I've simply been pointing out my own personal experiences having been both a PC and Console gamer, starting off with 8086 PCs. People can make up their own minds. And I can tell you, I do research before I post anything, and the new Xbox One, and the Scorpio which will follow are out of step with normal console development, as is the PSP4.5. I smell somebody trying to make more money here. Good luck whichever platform you're on, both are excellent, and suit different peoples needs. Enjoy your platforms -
Games that push hardware to the limits
atarifanboi replied to davidcalgary29's topic in Classic Console Discussion
Thinking back, what about the Alternate Reality series on the Atari 8 Bits? -
If you look at the example of Exxos, he spends time developing boards, getting components including PCBs, and lots of time and money putting together various upgrades and updates. If there wasn't some sort of margin to allow for further development, these projects would stop. These guys aren't in it to make money, but they do need to make some in order to carry on. The market for these sort of things is quite limited, and nobody is going to become a millionaire selling these bits of kit. Low volume=higher prices, so you'll need to expect prices to be a bit higher. I could probably buy all of the components for some of the upgrades I have for pennies, but to put them altogether ins something that works, takes talent. I couldn't do it, so I'm happy to pay somebody a little extra if they can, and produce something worthwhile.
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Taking the plunge-Buying an Xbox One
atarifanboi replied to Unbeliever's topic in Modern Gaming Discussion
So first off you're readily admitting to reducing your resolution for the sake of framerate? Second, in terms of investment, my Xbox One cost me £250. The cheapest GTX 750ti I could find was £88.50, and the cheapest i5 4400 was £166.68. Already you have just about hit the cost of the Xbox without a case, RAM, HDD, display, keyboard and mouse. Given that PC hardware moves on very fast, and developers like to push hardware hard, it is likely you will find there are games you want to run, which will need you to upgrade your hardware in probably 3 years. This means another investment whilst the consoles are still pretty capable and consistent, plus during the life of a console, games available at the end of it's life, are vastly superior to those at the beginning, but still use the same hardware. Look, I'm not trolling or flaming here, just sharing my experience. I used to be a PC owner and I spent a lot of money over the years just to have hardware to run the games I wanted to play. But if you look at the total cost of ownership over the lifetime of the PC or console, even if you include games and other accessories, such as controllers, which both will need, the PC will most likely come out more expensive, since the average lifespan of a PC is probably no more than 3-4 years before you need to upgrade, whereas consoles are 7-8 years these days, and the initial investment is much smaller with a console. HOWEVER if you already have a PC, and you can spare the cash to regularly upgrade, stick with the PC. I followed the PC path for a long time, but in the end I couldn't afford the regular upgrades at the time, so moving to a console, the original Xbox, made sense, especially since I was able to move away from a side room and take my gaming into the living room on a much larger screen. I've stuck with Xbox now, and have all 3 models, and I don't regret it at all. I can spend whatever spare cash I do have on getting games I know will run consistently on the console, without a need to upgrade something or other. Just my opinion folks. -
Games that push hardware to the limits
atarifanboi replied to davidcalgary29's topic in Classic Console Discussion
I'd probably go with Koronis Rift and Rescue on Fractalus for the Atari 8 bits. -
Taking the plunge-Buying an Xbox One
atarifanboi replied to Unbeliever's topic in Modern Gaming Discussion
I've been a long term XBox owner, and still have my original, an 360 and now the One. Personally the main thing that has kept me in the Microsoft camp, was that I just didn't get on with the Sony controller, which might seem trivial to some, but when it's an item you'll spend an awful lot of time holding, it's worthwhile making sure you get on with it. I've had my XBox One 2 years this christmas, and I can say without a doubt that what it is now is very different to what it was at the start, it has definitely matured over that time. Probably what has been the best aspect for me, is the backward compatibility mode, which has allowed me to keep playing some of my XBox 360 library, and is ever expanding with a lot of titles. That feature, plus the ability to download up to 2 titles a month for free with XBox live Gold has allowed me to get my game library up to 27 games all told. Plus adding an extra 2TB of drive space was really easy, I simply plugged in a USB 3.0 external drive and formatted it. I've been gaming a long time, and went from 8 to 16 bit computers, to 16 bit consoles, to PC, and have swung right back to consoles. For me PCs just cost too much to keep up with, every new game that arrived and demanded extra horsepower, meaning a new hard drive, memory, CPU, graphics card or display. So if you want to play games, and want the total cost of ownership to not escalate i.e. you're like most normal folks and have budgetary constraints, then a console is a great way to go, as it allows tight control over hardware costs over the lifetime of the console, and if you don't have to have each new blockbuster title on release day, and can wait for used or discounted games, it's even cheaper. Gameswise, the Tomb Raider titles are brilliant, Destiny, Masterchief Collection, Alien Isolation, Fallout 4 (Comes with a free download for Fallout 3 XBox 360, runs on XBox One) all float my boat, and visually they are way ahead of the 360. I guess I sound a bit like a Microsoft rep, but I think they've done a great job over the years, and OK, even if the PS4 does have a little more horsepower, the One is a very good console from my perspective. Slighty off topic, but the nVidia Shield console looks to have real potential in a very small package if you don't wish to clutter up your living room -
STE BOOSTER 32MHz project & pre-odering
atarifanboi replied to exxosuk's topic in Atari ST/TT/Falcon Computers
Chris, is the 68K in a PLCC socket on the Booster? Or is it soldered in? -
STE BOOSTER 32MHz project & pre-odering
atarifanboi replied to exxosuk's topic in Atari ST/TT/Falcon Computers
Wow, and I thought desoldering the Ajax FDC was scary!! -
STE BOOSTER 32MHz project & pre-odering
atarifanboi replied to exxosuk's topic in Atari ST/TT/Falcon Computers
Exxos, i have just ordered the fast rom kit to go with my booster, turns out I wasn't able to wait -
How did a PC 5.25 High Density Floppy Differentiate Disks?
atarifanboi replied to Larry's topic in Atari 8-Bit Computers
If I recall correctly (And I may not, my brain is a bit worn out ), the 5 1/4 disks did require you to choose when you formatted the disk, there was no media sense, only a small hole to determine actual spin speed, and a write protect notch, which you enabled/disable with a small piece of tape or a sticker. However, I think it was also the case that in order for you to be able to format to the 1.2Mb capacity, the coating of the disk was different, hence why if you formatted to 1.2Mb on disks not rated for it, you ran the risk of corruption. I believe the same was the case for 1.44Mb disks in terms of the coating being different, but the media sense made our lives easier. I believe the reason for the different coatings was down to magnetic coercivity and the need to have tighter, cleaner tracks on the higher capacity disks. -
STE BOOSTER 32MHz project & pre-odering
atarifanboi replied to exxosuk's topic in Atari ST/TT/Falcon Computers
I agree, I recapped using a kit from Exxos recently, it's just a question of making sure polarities are right, especially with the rectifier. -
STE BOOSTER 32MHz project & pre-odering
atarifanboi replied to exxosuk's topic in Atari ST/TT/Falcon Computers
Mine is ordered, it's part of a trail of upgrades for my STE this year. CosmoEx to be ordered in September, then everything gets fitted!! -
Got to say I'm quite happy with my collection, I tend to expand it as things come available, rather than searching. It's taken a good many years to get this lot together. Computers: Atari 800XL + 1050 FDD and 1010 cassette player and APE + SIO2PC Atari 65XE Atari 1040STF Atari 4060STE upgraded to 1.44 FDD and Dual IDE Amiga 1200 upgraded with HDD and 68020 accelerator Sinclair Spectrum Plus Sinclair Spectrum Plus 2 Sinclair ZX81 Sinclair QL x2 plus memory and ROM expanders ICL One Per Desk Mac Classic Epson HX20 Consoles: Xbox SNES boxed and complete Dreamcast boxed and complete Atari 2600jr Atari 7800 Handheld: Atari Lynx 2 Sony PSP GP 32 GP2x Original DS GBA With the exception of the Spectrum Plus and the ZX81, all are fully functional. I have and Xbox 360 and Xbox One, but I don't count those as collectable, same as the DSi XL I have. I will usually add to the collection when something grabs my interest, and all of the above that run, get used.
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Not sure that this makes sense for a beginner, but CosmoEx uses an RPi to expand the ST. Would be interesting to see something else, and possibly something for the 8Bits, like having an APE like adaptor that plugs straight into the SIO port.
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What could my next STE hardware project be?
atarifanboi replied to atarifanboi's topic in Atari ST/TT/Falcon Computers
STE booster ordered , next will be the fast TOS upgrade at the end of the month, followed by Cosmo Ex in September. It's been a busy year Atari wise!!. -
Stupid Things You Hear Collectors Say
atarifanboi replied to MotoRacer's topic in Classic Console Discussion
I don't even recall being aware of the NES growing up in the UK. I had a ZX81, followed by a Spectrum, after which I went down the Atari 8 bit path, and then the 16 bit Atari/Amiga route. I can honestly say that the first console I was really aware of was the Sega Megadrive, which I sold all of my computers to fund the purchase of. Well, nearly all, I somehow hung on to an Atari 65XE, which I still have to this day. In fact, the first Nintendo I was aware of was the SNES, which a friend owned, but I never did until much more recently. So NES never really showed up in my childhood. Makes me laugh that I can emulate all of the above on my tablet these days. -
Does anyone have Doom impressions?
atarifanboi replied to Gabsters89's topic in Modern Gaming Discussion
I used to be a big online player myself, but for a long while now I've been very much a single player campaign only, so I totally get the feeling that there are just too many multiplayer games around, so it's great Doom kicks that idea to the kerb and provides a campaign mode. My problem at the moment is that I have too many games to play, so I'm not playing any!! I've had a lot of free stuff via my Gold account, plus a bunch of Xbox 360 games that I've been able to download onto the Xbox One via the backwards compatibility mode, and with a 2TB external drive as well, things are just backing up. I have some time off soon, so perhaps I can get back into gaming, the shame is that I lack time during the week due to my long commute to work and back, so I don't get time to catch up then, and then I'm busy at the weekend. -
What could my next STE hardware project be?
atarifanboi replied to atarifanboi's topic in Atari ST/TT/Falcon Computers
Damn, each weekend I try to get some movement on my projects, it fails, maybe this weekend will be the one..... -
Does anyone have Doom impressions?
atarifanboi replied to Gabsters89's topic in Modern Gaming Discussion
Damn, the original Doom in game music has just started playing in my head....