ballyalley

Don't let me off that easy, Jess. The fact that I've been messing about with the Astrocade for about 30 years and have had the BallyAlley website for about two decades just means that I have more of a chance to get my so-called facts jumbled up. I wouldn't include the BASIC games on the Astrocade in its total game count either. There are many hardcore Astrocade fans who have never loaded any BASIC programs on real hardware or even under emulation from "tape." Some of these BASIC games can be loaded from the various Astrocade multicarts now, but even the absolutely best AstroBASIC programs can't be fairly compared against any Astrocade game released on a cartridge. Adam

I also used to think that the Bally Astrocade name was incorrect and didn't ever go together, but that isn't true. At least, I have seen it on some documentation from Astrovision, Inc. in the early 1980s. I checked BallyAlley.com for it now and, of course, I can't find any verification for this statement. Ah, well. Maybe I'm remembering the name from what I read in the "Arcadian" newsletters, which means I'm just muddying the waters here. I still prefer to call the system the Bally Arcade/Astrocade, but I go with Astrocade for shorthand. Or, how about calling it that short-lived, consoley-computer-thing that hardly anyone knows about anymore? Let's go with that name. Bally didn't sell their Bally Arcade hardware to Astrovision, Inc. The game system was licensed to them to manufacture and sell. This is made clear in most of the documents and ads from the early 1980s. I think Astrovision, Inc. could use the name Bally for one year. Again, I can't find proof of this, but maybe Michael Di Salvo can back me up? I guess Bally owns the rights to the console now. I expect that any day now we'll see a miniature Bally Arcade console. Come on, Bally, are you listening? In any case, the Bally Astrocade, Bally Arcade, Bally Professional Arcade, whatever we call that 24-key kinda computer/kinda console/ever-so-cool game system, I dig its weird history and its small library of cartridges and its hundreds of programs that can be used with the various BASIC languages available for it. Adam

Eventually you could play "Pac-Man" on the Bally Arcade, as "Muncher" or "Munchie," as it was released through some newsletters in about 1983/1984. I have heard many people loved "Football" on the Astrocade. I'm not a sports fan, so it isn't my kind of game. I would like to see two Astrocade fans play "Football" and make a video about it. The Atari 5200 version of "Pac-Man" is great, but playing it with the Atari 5200 joystick is frustrating. I hope you had an adapter for the Atari 2600 joystick back then. Congratulations of find "The Incredible Wizard." It's a fun version of WOW. Did you ever use "AstroBASIC?" Adam

I did figure out recently that the FujiNet is an on-going, probably never-ending project. This is okay. I just didn't understand this fact from the beginning. The Bally Arcade/Astrocade community is small and there is no equivalent to this open-ended hardware project. There is some hardware activity in the Astrocade world, but it isn't open-source, which seems to make a huge difference. I'm also a huge fan of the Timex/Sinclair 2068, which doesn't have a FujiNet (but I think that there is one for the ZX Spectrum). I just watched my first video about the FujiNet for the Atari. It looks like it will take me a long time to figure out on my own. I have a local friend who I placed a phone call to a short while ago. He is an Atari 8-bit hardware guy and he will be calling me back in an hour or so. I wanna discuss my options with him. He and some others will be here tomorrow evening and we will be calling some BBSs. He told me just now that he got a 1200-Baud modem working with his Atari using a VoIP line, so that's great for us. It's no FujiNet speed, but it's better than the slug-like performance of my XM301 modem Adam

Yeah, I've been eyeing the FujiNet for a long time now. I've been waiting for it to settle into a final version, but I suppose it will always be a WIP. If there is an Astrocade one being proposed, then it's time for me to jump in and get one for a computer that I use on a regular basis: my Atari 600XL and 130XE. I know that documentation is lacking for the FujiNet, but I'm probably just gonna order one and see how it goes. My local Atari buddies can help me figure it out. Adam

Oh, okay, Brewing Academy seems to have version 1.3 in stock. Plus, SO much more. I could drop millions of dollars there-- if I had those funds. Yes, I believe that all the signals are on the 50-pin expansion connector. Pose this question to the Astrocade discussion group (for which I just approved you, Thomas). Ken Lill can answer you there so that you'll know for certain. He co-designed the 32K Lil' White RAM Expansion. Adam

The Astrocade only has 4K of RAM when used with a cartridge and it's all screen RAM. The programmer is left with just a couple of hundred bytes, at most, at the bottom of the screen that are truly useable. Of course, there are RAM expansions for the Astrocade, but the original ones from the 1980s are basically not obtainable and the current ones (such as the 'Lil White Ram) are hard to find. Plus, these RAM expansions could not be used at the same time with the Astrocade and FujiNet, unless a pass-through was made for the Fujinet. The downside (and upside!) is that the cartridge port on the Astrocade only has enough signals to have a cartridge. Luckily, in 1978, the Bally Arcade console was meant to be upgraded to a computer and all of the signals are accessible on (as Thom already noted) a 50-pin connector on the back of the console. The simple solution will be to add 48K of RAM to the FujiNet. There are many knowledgeable folks who can help with common hardware/software questions on the Astrocade discussion group on grousp.io, here: https://groups.io/g/ballyalley A couple of my friends got online with my 600XL using BobTerm last week and my buddy created a video segment for it that premiere just a couple of hours ago. The BBS segment begins here: (That's me on the right, looking perplexed, or maybe confused.) It's neat that this FujiNet subject is coming up now, as on March 3, 2024, I started a thread called, "Help Calling a BBS with my Astrocade," here: https://groups.io/g/ballyalley/topic/help_calling_a_bbs_with_my/104716549 Now I need to get a FujiNet for my Atari 8-bit computers so that I can see how that FujiNet works with software. Where is the best place to buy one? Adam

I don't know what the RP2040 or the ESP32 are for FujiNet, but, yeah, FujuNet on the Astrocade would be cool. I don't even have FujuiNet on my Atari 8-bit yet. Which is why tomorrow for Baud Day (3/12/24) I'm using a 300-baud modem to access Atari and BBSs. Sad, Adam, sad. But fun! Adam

Thanks for sharing your Astrocade joystick adapter update with us. I notice also that you're the first person in the world to enjoy using the Atari 7800 joystick. I can only presume that you fell and bumped your head. I hope that you get better soon. It's always great to see and read when people are not only playing on real hardware, but also using their classic game consoles and computers to actually, you know, play and use them at all. Adam

I have the Astro-dapter, but I've never tried later controllers than the Atari 2600. I wonder if this one has similar issues to the "Sad Girl" adapter; this one: https://sadgirlsrecords.com/products/atari-2600-to-bally-astrocade-controller-adapter Why not just email the creator of these "Sad Girl" adapters, who will forward you the schematic so you can make your own. Or you can just ask why this happens. Contact info is simply: sadgirlsrecords@kittymail.com Good luck! Adam

Yeah, a 512k game could be amazing. Here is a link to the memory map of the 512K unit: ballyalley.com/documentation/bally128k-com/maxflash/Astrocade_Maxflash_512K_Memory_Map.txt You get 128K 4K banks. Here is video made for the earlier, 256K version of the board: Here is an example of full-screen scrolling with the board: Neat, right? Adam

Yes, the MaxFlash cartridge did exist, but, sadly, it was never made available because of the high cost of creating it. Luckily, Michael (128Kgames) did make a cart available to me for a while and I did write some code for it, which is on my site, here: Bally/Astrocade Maxflash Files (ballyalley.com) I can't believe this project happened 13 years ago now. Maybe this project can be revived? Adam

It looks like you need to pick up an Astrocade now. It's never too late to join the Astrocade party. Most of the time we chat over on groups.io, here: ballyalley@groups.io | Home I'm a big Astrocade fan, but I didn't get mine until the early 1990s. It seemed old then, and it was only about fifteen years old back then. If it was old then, then how old is it now? Adam

First off, please tell your wife that she is awesome! Sorry about your hardware trouble with the Astrocade. I can't remember reading about this specific problem, but there are at least a few hardware gurus on the Astrocade group on groups.io. Try re-posting your question here: https://groups.io/g/ballyalley Good luck! Adam

I made a video about Conan - Adam

I used to think that this came inside every Astrocade box, but now I'm not so sure. It's also neat to hear that someone in this thread saw the Astrocade being displayed at the mall. I wish I had a video of that now. Adam

This is an unusual one. Since some cartridge work, I suspect that RAM at the "bottom" of the screen that holds some data may be going bad. Just a guess...? Adam

Hey, Chris, I'm glad you had fun playing with your Astrocade again. Yes, it's a great system with too few games. You may get more information and faster feedback on the Astrocade discussion group on groups.io, here: ballyalley@groups.io | Home You may even want to repost your message there (in which case, I'll re-post my reply there too). The 8K cartridge ROM size is certainly limiting now, but it was rather large for 1978. The 50-pin edge-connector on the back of the unit was meant to be used for future expansion, but that was never used for any first-party products. It was used for third-party expansions, both in the 1980s (like the Blue Ram) and in modern homebrew products (for example, the Lil' White Ram). There was a bank-switched cartridge made in 2011 called the "MaxFlash," but it never went into final production. It had banks of 512K. You can read more about it here: Bally/Astrocade Maxflash Files (ballyalley.com) I don't know how many colors can be fit on a line. MAME Astrocade emulation isn't accurate enough to figure this out, so you'd have to check on real hardware. You might also be able to get a pseudo hi-res mode if you use the custom chips and program them like the Atari 2600 and "race the beam," but then that might defeat the point of programming for the Bally Arcade. I wrote an article that may help you get going with setting up an IDE for the Astrocade, here: Bally Alley - PS Pad and Zmac Assembler Set-Up One fact to keep in mind is that you can, of course, use any Z80 assembler that you want to program the Astrocade, but the "Home Video-Game Library" equates for use with the Bally Arcade console's built-in subroutines were re-written for using with the ZMac assembler going on 20 years ago. This makes using ZMac a snap to program the Astrocade. Good luck and I hope that you program the next great Astrocade game, utility or whatever program suits your tastes. Adam

The link to the picture doesn't work for me. I can't really help you out, but I did ask Michael Matte to reply here. He said the following: "If TVisitor doesn't mind posting his issue on the BallyAlley group postings, that would be my preference. I browse that site almost every day. Wouldn't there also be a better chance for feedback on that site as compared to the AtariAge site? "Since the issue is related to the application of my Power Xfmr Substitution scheme, that might be another good reason to post the issue on the BA group site. Sorry, I only spend a small amount of time browsing on the internet." Michael is referring to posting your question here: https://groups.io/g/ballyalley I hope that the Astrocade can be revived. Sometimes it is possible to shove the magic smoke back into the bottle. Adam

Thanks for the comments. I talk about Geb's Spirit in this post earlier in the thread: https://forums.atariage.com/topic/183584-temple-of-apshai-trilogy-maps/?do=findComment&comment=3056734 I even wrote my own description for Geb's Spirit: Geb's Spirit (Rooms 16, 19) - For no reason at all you've killed a peaceful monk in a chamber of Geb's monastery. Geb is not pleased by this and he gives you a brief visit... which lasts for the rest of your very short life. I hope that someone has archived all of the material in this thread. Looking back, it's hard to imagine how much effort I put into documenting and mapping this game and posting it into this thread and to other threads when I talk with other fans of the DunjonQuest games. Adam

Thanks for the picture, Larry. I'll respond to this post when I have a bit more time, as I'm catching up from being out of town, otherwise I would have responded sooner. In the meantime, anyone can watch Larry's "Calculated Movements" film on YouTube, here: There is a bit more about Larry, here: https://people.well.com/user/cuba/ If you search my Bally Alley website, then you'll find plenty of other information about Larry and others involved with ZGRASS, here: https://www.google.com/search?q="larry+cuba"&btnG=Google+Search+of+Bally+Alley&domains=ballyalley.com&sitesearch=ballyalley.com I have some questions for you Larry and I'll post them over the next few days. Adam

I have never seen reproduction keypad overlays for the Astrocade, but if anyone makes one, then these would be handy. The BallyBASIC/AstroBASIC and the Scribbling overlays are common, but all of the other ones are very rare. I'm curious about the overlay that you printed. Did you cut out the 24 individual holes or make six, wide cutouts of the whole row of four buttons? I've also made overlays for myself and I'm not even sure that the holes for the keys need to be available, as you can press the keys right through the paper. I presume you downloaded the picture of the overlay from my website here: https://ballyalley.com/pics/keypad_overlays/keypad_overlays.html These pictures were added to the site probably two decades ago. It's funny that I have 150dpi and 300dpi versions of the overlays on the site to make downloading them easier for people will slow Internet connections. One day, I should probably add a 600DPI version of the Bally BASIC overlay in PNG format so that it looks better when it is printed. Adam

I wasn't sure if this post was legitimate, neither was AtariAge, as the post had to be approved. The Astrocade adapter is listed on the site. It sells for $11.11 (an odd price), here: https://sadgirlsrecords.com/products/atari-2600-to-bally-astrocade-controller-adapter Does anyone know who makes these adapter? I mean, who is Sad Girl Records? Adam

Michael Matte posted more updates about his Hi-Res Astrocade project. Report 8 was posted on May 30, 2023 to the Astrocade discussion group, here: https://groups.io/g/ballyalley/topic/mcm_design_hi_res_news/99236076 His progress continues… ---------------------------------------- From: Michael Matte Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2023 9:57 PM To: ballyalley@groups.io Subject: [ballyalley] MCM Design Hi-Res News - Report 8 THE RE-DESIGNED "ORIGINAL" MODIFIED FOR HI-RES ASTROCADE This report includes the final part 2 relating to MCMs recent desire to simplify and re-design the original hi-res Astrocade. Part 1 was posted in the March 2023 Report 7, message 19999. A wire wrap (WW) User SRAM/EEPROM board is now mounted onto the Screen SRAM add-under board (see attached photo). Here are the User SRAM/EEPROM board features: Software select able graphic mode (low or hi-res) scheme using the standard custom Address/Data chips output port 08H The select line is routed to the Screen SRAM board. This feature allows a Machine Language (ML) program to mix both graphic modes automatically within the ML program. 28 pin 32KB User SRAM socket IC10 has 2 address decoders 8000 - FFFFH (hi-res) 5000 - CFFFH (low-res) Jumper socket selects decoder Usable with pin compatible 32KB EEPROM 28 pin 32KB User SRAM socket IC9 Four 8KB banks select able using 2 DIP switches Address decoding at 6000 - 7FFFH (low-res) or 2000 - 3FFFH (low or hi-res) using mini–toggle switch Usable with pin compatible 32KB EEPROM Write protect mini-toggle switch for sockets IC9 and IC10 28 pin 32KB User EEPROM socket IC11 Address decoded 0000 - 1FFFH DIP switch simultaneously enables EEPROM and disables Astrocade ROM Two 8KB banks select able using 1 DIP switch Usable with pin compatible 8KB, 16KB or 32KB EEPROM Second 50 pin expansion header connects to a compatible remote hardware board via ribbon cable Intended for use with MCM Design's 32KB diagnostics/demos BalcheckHR board No further upgrades will be made to this original hi-res Astrocade. The full size 54 key matrix keyboard interface, Z80 Dart and RS-232C schemes were eliminated because they were never used. There is still a connector for a remote tabletop Astrocade 24 button keypad. There are 10 schematics that detail the Astrocade motherboard modification, Screen SRAM and User SRAM/EEPROM boards. This re-designed hi-res Astrocade runs awesome. I'm very pleased with its performance. See the attached photos. MCMs FINAL HI-RES ASTROCADE A new hi-res graphics board was bread boarded and tested. This is not the pattern transfer board announced some time ago. Watch for a demonstration of this graphics board in an upcoming MCMs Astrocades video. The new generation hi-res graphics have never been seen executing on an Astrocade outside of MCM Design's hobby room. It looks like the final hi-res Astrocade will utilize 4 add-under boards with a provision for a 5th board. The building of the multi-purpose Board 2 has been postponed to create software support. MCMs SOFTWARE SUPPORT FOR THE FINAL HI-RES ASTROCADE Work that will really be fun creating, will now begin on several graphic software projects, relating to the final hi-res Astrocade. Each software project will be announced via a Discussion Group posting after the project is completed and may possibly be demonstrated on a MCMs Astrocades video. [...] I thought someone might be interested in seeing the attached photo of the original modification within the audio/video area of the Astrocade motherboard. The final hi-res Astrocade will see improvements relating to this area of the Astrocade End of Report 8 MCM Design June 2023 MCM Design 5/31/2023 ---------------------------------------- These pictures, as always, are great! Keep it up, Michael! Adam

I've never had just one cartridge fail on me like you're describing. Perhaps you can ask about this over on the Bally Alley discussion group on groups.io. Adam