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doctorclu

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Posts posted by doctorclu

  2. Posted

    Due to a couple of things, but mainly the fact that I like a chat room that my Atari 800 can reach with simple telnet and IceT... We have opted to move the Thursday and Sunday morning chats to atarinews.org... Details below.. Hope to see you there tomorrow..

     

    Doctor Clu

    @}>--'--,----------------------

     

    Thursday 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm CST

    Sunday 10:00 AM-12:00 PM CST

     

    This event repeats every week.

    Event Location: telnet:://www.atarinews.org

    Notes:

    Thursday night chat at the Atarinews.org chat room:

     

    In order to be in the chat for Atarinews.org you have to telnet into it, Use "bbs" for both the login and password.,If you haven't done it already, type "new" at the userid prompt and pick yourself out a spiffy userid

    and password.Please note that you'll still need to login as bbs even though you've now got a userid.

    Once you've picked out a userid and password, you can use it to enter into the bbs system. Once you're "in", hit < Return >.

    From the main BBS menu simply type the letter "T" and then the letter "C".

  3. Posted

    Good to see all the input on this thread.

     

    Will the 8-bits ever be needed again? Well, in a form, yes.

     

    Granted, for the typical workstation, the computer that can become whatever is kinda nice. I have seem glorified terminals used, but they went back to full fledged computers once again. Right now they have given me to use a 3 ghz computer. Real nice.

     

    But I see two trends happening. One, computers are cheap.. cheap cheap... you can build a computer built for you for like $300.

     

    But, then some have issues with like energy and parts to replace for certain tasks, or just a quest for simplicity. That is why we have seen E-mail stations, Blackberries, cell phones, etc. These things are fairly simple-esque devices.

     

    The trend I am taking is going for more portablility, which with today's technology does not neccesarily mean less storage space. I use PDA's, and my closest thing to a desktop (modern) is a laptop computer. My modern gaming (Gameboy) tends to be portable.

     

    I think as time goes on, portablility and streamlining will be the trend. Computers as we know it will vanish into walls and appliances. Soon, we will all but forget about the "computer". It will just be there.

     

    My Atari 800 sits in a "computer room"... a room where all my junk is stored basically. I go in there for maybe an hour a day. I check the BBS's I'm on, check some E-mail, maybe play a game.

     

    My favorite desktop has got to be the Atari 800. :) Fun to tinker on.

     

    Do I think that the 8-bit as a desktop will return? No.. not at all.

     

    But I do believe that some appliance will need a simple controller (see the "basic Stamp" as a good example). Simple turning on lights and X-10 stuff is a good task for a 8-bit computer. Interactive voice commands and all will require more complex computers. But it would not surprise me to find as companies slim down products that more 8-bit hardware (or whatever works) is put to dedicated functions.

  4. Posted

    "If you want to compare a machine to the Atari 800, compare the Amiga. The Amiga has MUCH more in common with it than the C64:

     

    - Exact the same chipset layout (ANTIC,GTIA,POKEY vs AGNUS, DENISE, PAULA)

    - like the Atari, sprite DMA can be switched off and gfx data can be fed to the sprite registers in software

    - same pixel clock in lores mode (7.15Mhz)

    - The Amiga copper is a more flexible enhancement of ANTIC

     

    No wonder, since they were designed by the same chip designer."

     

    Whoo hoo!! Someone brought up the point I wanted to be brought up, but I thought would be out of place here. Yeh, the Atari 800 is my favorite computer hands down. I still use one mainly since I drooled over one as a teeneager but could never afford it. Love the look, the keyboard, all the slots and all and all, it is just a fun machine. That only machine that ever came close to it's fun and adaptiveness was the Atari TT-030.

     

    But having messed with an Atari 800, a C=64, Atari ST's, and Amigas, it is very true. The Amiga feels like a 800. Of course I've said all this before. But the new part to mention is, in the future I will widdle down my collection to the 800 / Amiga thread. Not that I worship the chip designer, Jay Miner, but I like the concept of the Atari 800 and that style of computer. Perhaps I wonder if the Amiga One continues that thread with the G3 and G4 processor? Hmmm...

     

    Jay mentioned that he liked the Atari 800, but always wanted a more mature version of it, and said the Amiga was that computer.

     

    Am I much into Amigas? Well, not really, well yet. They are the most stubborn computers I've yet to work with (and I've worked with at least eight or so unique platforms, not including game systems.) I have had three hard drive failures, mainly due to old SCSI drives, so a little daunting.

     

    However, there is a Amiga group here in Dallas I like to join and sit with for dinner... perhaps the closest to a Atari 800... or at least Jay Miner, fan club that exists. Close enough. :D

     

    I tinkered with an Amiga 3000 and later a 2000... got ethernet and DSL working with system 3.9 and crude MP3's and other thinkering before it crashed on me. I think I know enough to know what they are talking about, and glad to see what a 16/32 bit Atari 800 would have been like.

     

    But I will sit amoungst them with my "Mini-Amiga" (the 800) from now on. They are happy for the company and the membership, so it works out. And I get to talk techese to some fun people. It works. :D

  8. Posted

    And I'm right there with you with Bubsy. :D (Of course... who wouldn't like the whimsical bobcat?)

     

    When I'm not playing Bubsy, I pop in Tempest 2000, Pitfall 3D, Doom, and Battlesphere Gold. Oh and Raiden.

     

    Those get the most play time. Usually since I like to only game for a few minutes at a time, and looking for a fun mindless escape with some velocity, Bubsy get's the most playtime above all.

  9. Posted

    Well, it came up in the Atari Hangout chat on Sunday... someone tried to hook a camera to the Lynx to view it on a TV.

     

    Now this had me interested, and I have a Lynx, just to complete the collection, and for this I got my Lynx Mark I out (the best as far as I'm concerned), plugged in Chip's Challenge, got a A/V camera going, and next thing I knew, I was playing the Lynx on a big screen... crudely.

     

    The problem is, you play the Lynx this way, you shake the Lynx when hitting the buttons to play, thus messing up the image on the screen.

     

    So you can either set up a real stable mounting system for the camera to the Lynx... or rig an external controller.

     

    OR... for those that have a working Lynx (extra) but not a working screen, how about setting up a video out port?

     

    The Lynx already has the Audio out with the headphone jack, so say you didn't want to have the little screen working... what would it take to wire up a video out jack?

     

    Has anyone tried this? Does anyone have the schematic for what the cable from the motherboard to the screen does?

     

    Or has anyone tried wiring up an external controller?

     

    I remember Wiztronics was going to do a connector to display on the screen. How did that work?

     

    So many fun questions...

  11. Posted

    You know, it would probably take next to nothing to get a Z interpreter going for the Jaguar and pack on some game images onto a disc. I know that every platform from the Atari 800 to current PC's has one. Even Palm Pilots and Newtons.

     

    Return to Zork for the Jaguar? Sure! I would have picked it up. At one time there was a store in New York that claimed to sell Return to Zork for the Jaguar. When I called them they said it was sold. Probably a typo.

  12. Posted

    Just wanted to say, picked up the Flashback from Target for $35 and find it to be really cute. And loved watching how some kids really got into it at a party, along with the parents. I think many will find it a lot of fun.

     

    The Flashback is TINY! It has listed on the back "Mini 7800". The controllers are comparitive "mini" size.

     

    The controllers do not work on the Atari 800 at the moment. Have to see if we can make an adapter. :)

     

    But my thoughts, cute, fun, simple. Something a lot of parents will have fun walking down memory lane... loved the two player Centipede! And the kids liked it to.

     

    Doctor Clu

  17. Posted

    Well Carl, a belated congrats on getting this game this is the first that I've heard of this game. So did the source ever become available? How many levels have you played on this?

     

    And exactly how many other cool games have you gotten ahold of that we can know are in safe hands? Let's see, I know of at least the Atari 2600 emulator and Livewire now... :)

     

    (Guess I'm curious what other games are out there and how far the development went on them.)

  19. Posted

    Ok, I wanted to know if the source code for Bubsy exists... thinking maybe Bubsy 1 & 2 could be made as well...

     

    .... but here is a more general question along with that... what source code exists out there? (I know IS2, Fight for Life, Doom, ect...)

     

    Thanks!

  22. Posted

    Well, should the Flashback come out, I will pick up that. I bought a used GameCube the other day (For playing GameBoy games) and have a continuing quest to get the other two Bubsy titles for the SNES. (Jag Bubsy naturally got me hooked). I am playing the GameBoy version of Bubsy ][ right now.

     

    Played Syndicate eh? With the jungle warfare I am surprised you were not playing Cannon Fodder. :)

     

    A dance game... now that would be awesome! DDR for the Jag!! Heheh!

     

    Well... if I don't see you before then, Merry Christmas y'all! :)

  25. Posted

    "I just received one of jonathans ebay rotary's yesterday and it is quite good indeed! It's very precise, but i still have to get used to it (esp when trying to get to the opposite end of the screen quickly)."

     

    Got one of those controllers last weekend. Been loving it!

     

    Best I have found to get the guy from one end of the layout to the other is not to spin the rotary controller real quick... that seems to overload the game. You have to follow through with the rotary, turning it at a consistant rate.

     

    So the difference is... turning consistantly... click .. click..click..click...

     

    Spinning it... click... ZIP! click...

     

    The game reads four movements on the consistant ones, and seems to only read two in the spinning. Even worse, it seems to temporarily daze the game, sending it the opposite direction a click or two.

     

    So this is what I've noticed.

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