gollumer

According to the man himself, he did use them (and learned BASIC!) https://twitter.com/alanalda/status/1049328121261019138?s=20

On a somewhat related topic, has anyone used Inform 7 to create some interactive fiction? I wrote a short adventure a few years ago. It's pretty easy to use, and super powerful. It compiles into z-code, which is what Infocom games are. http://inform7.com/

Yep...

Good catch. Yes, it's Temple of Apshai. And M.U.L.E. is my favorite game (hence my username and avatar...) Back in the very early days of the interwebs (we're talking geocities days) I had an Atari fan site called "Planet Irata", another nod to M.U.L.E. Good times, really bad web design (by today's standards...I was pretty proud of it then!)

My boxed copy of Suspended (one of only 2 that I actually finished). I don't have the box for Hitchhiker's Guide, but I still have the pack-ins. Not sure what ever happened to the box. Leather Goddesses is for PC, not A8.

Completed: * Deadline * Suspended

On a related note: I saw today that filming has begun on this: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2906216/ Great cast!

Ok, back to the actual topic. I never saw your program, but sounds awesome. I wrote a D&D character generator in basic back in the day (on my 800XL). I've looked for it, but think maybe it was on one of the floppies that didn't survive. It was pretty basic (sic)...it output directly to a printer. Lol

It's both! Or either, I guess. I converted a TV into a tabletop screen for in-person use, but since COVID started my regular groups (one weekly, one monthly) have been fully online. We use Discord for voice and Roll20 (for now... planning to migrate to Foundry once the current campaigns end) for the maps and whatnot. We also use DnDBeyond for character sheets and dice rolling. (There's a browser plugin that links Beyond with whatever VTT you're using...) And yeah, VR would be cool.

Pre-covid I was the area coordinator for D&D Adventurer's League where I live. I overlooked 4 stores that each hosted D&D two nights a week. Anywhere from 10 to 30+ people per night, depending on the store. A good half of them were in their 20's, and on the weekends we'd get some even younger. At the conventions there's a good mix of old farts (like myself) and younger kids. This was all in-person, at the table D&D...just like the old days.

It's enjoying quite the renaissance. 5th edition has sold more than 3rd and 4th editions combined, and sold more in the time it's been around than the early editions did in the same time period. There are quite a few very popular live streams, and game stores have (well, had, pre-covid) weekly D&D nights. The great thing about 5e is they greatly simplified (*not* dumbed down) things like to-hit and whatnot. If your number (to-hit roll + any modifiers) is equal to or higher than their number (AC), then you hit. Simple. It's been very popular with a lot of old grognards (like myself...I started with the first Basic Set - the blue box by Holmes - then moved on to AD&D when it came out). If you're looking to get your group into online play, take a look at Foundry VTT. I've used Roll20 since the beginning (I was a Kickstarter backer), but they've stagnated. Foundry is better, IMO. https://foundryvtt.com/

I guess some 1200XL owners saw that recent sale and decided to (try to) get in on the action. There are currently three separate listings for 1200XL's: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=atari+1200xl&_sacat=0

Yep. And Nintendo had strict licensing requirements for 3rd party games. If a game was total crap, they wouldn't give it the gold star seal of approval and it wouldn't get released. Not all games were great, or even good, but the dumpster fire games (like were released for the 2600) were nowhere to be found on the platform.

I don't think it was that the NES software was aimed at a younger audience, it was that it had new and original games. Atari was stuck in the rut of trying to bring arcade titles into the home, and with each new game system (5200, 7800, XEGS), they mostly touted yet-another-remake of arcade titles like Asteroids, Missile Command, and Centipede. People were tired of seeing a slightly different version of the same old software. Nintendo had Super Mario Bros., an original platformer that was not a home version of an arcade game (it was a home *sequel* to an arcade game), and Atari had nothing like it. I was working in retail when the Atari 7800 was on the shelves next to the NES. Nobody cared about the 7800. Over and over and over I'd hear some version of "but mom, I'm sick of playing missile command...I want something NEW! I want Super Mario Bros!" It really was their killer app.

A couple/few not mentioned yet here on this site: http://www.starringthecomputer.com/computer.html?c=113

As DrVenkman said, the shipping insurance is likely due to the current state of things in the U.S. I can 100% vouch for TBA, having dealt both via the website and in-person. Stand-up guy. I had an "issue" with the U1MB I purchased from him, so brought the 1200XL in (I live pretty close to his little shop). Turns out it was a brain-freeze on my part (I was one row of pins off when re-connecting a ribbon cable). He found the issue, buttoned it back up, and didn't charge me a penny for his trouble.

You mentioned in the video you are planning to add new disk and copy disk functionality into the web interface. That's what I was referring to...

Fantastic! Looking forward to this (and the upcoming disk copy!)

Can confirm this chip order works on a 520ST motherboard C070243 Rev B (which, interestingly, isn't listed on this page: https://temlib.org/AtariForumWiki/index.php/Atari_ST_motherboard_revisions).

Mine arrived yesterday. That first review, though...lol. Whoooboy.

Gold standard in the sense that now, many years later, they're fairly readily available, and they have the right connections for UAV equipped Atari 8-bits. A LOT of folks, who don't want to use more modern flat-screen monitors, use the Commodore monitors with their Atari's. That's what I meant by gold standard.

The Commodore monitors are pretty much the gold standard. Something like a 1702 or 1802, although other models would work, too. Beige styling is a somewhat close match, but a bit darker. But they're really good monitors.

I did the UAV mod in my 1200XL, and it works great. I used composite temporarily until my new (old) monitor arrived with an s-video input, which I'm now using. I put together a little annotated write-up here:

External. The internal drive isn't working. This is the only device connected. Works fine on the 520ST, but not the STe.

No, it's a Mega STe. (Same case as the TT030)