moderntimes99

Är egentligen inte "Atarian" i botten, hade en gång i tiden Vic 20, C64, ZX Spectrum, Amiga... men har alltid beundrat programmerare som pressat det mesta ur begränsad hårdvara och när jag så snubblade över Thomas Jentzchs konvertering av Thrust till Atari 2600 insåg jag att både den plattformen och det spelet på ett mycket bra sätt summerade hela 8-bitarseran! Samlar lite löst på 2600-spel (brukar säga en samling enbart bra 2600-spel sällan överstiger 10-20 stycken). Har lekt lite med Paul Slocums Music Kit och även lite med 6502-programmering för 2600, men det är rätt så tidskrävande så jag har inga ambitioner att det ska komma ut så mycket av det... Mvh Moderntimes99

Sad if it wasn't finished, the last binary seemed almost 99% complete... Regards, Moderntimes99

Och här finns en till :-) /Moderntimes99

How well does Stella run on it? I see that the GP2X community recommends users to not buy the GP2X if you only intend to play games on it - is that statement valid if your only intention is to use it as a portable 2600 emulator? (Or would I be better off getting a GP32 instead of a GP2X...?) Regards, Moderntimes99

The only one of these I have have experience with is Pocket VCS 1.0 and that one will most certainly not work on a WM5/VGA machine (at least it doesn't work on my Dell Axim x50). I've been in contact with the author and he has no interest in upgrading it as it is released as freeware. The first "experimental" version of Stella for Windows Mobile is very promising, though. Regards, Moderntimes99

The Rev C is supposed to land in Europe first, and so far no PAL version of the FB2 is in sight over here... Regards, Moderntimes99

Oh, it's not even a game I'm working on it's just a small intro... firsttry.bin Regards, Moderntimes99

Help! My first programming project for the 2600 has now reached the 4K limit and I desperately need to learn bank switching basics... Are there any useful resources (tutorials, sample code etc) on how to do bank switching? Good compatibility with hardware, e.g. Pixel Past's PCBs, would be a big plus... Regards, Moderntimes99

I tend to think about the optimal 2600 games collection size as small as around 10-20 titles... After that quality falls off rather quickly. (Use an emulator to play the rest of the games, and make sure to always try games in emulated format before buying them - then you will avoid all disappointments...) Regards, Moderntimes99

I wouldn't bet on that. 1012594[/snapback] Would be *very* sad if the project is halted... Regards, Moderntimes99

Or making the rev C 100% compatible with the real thing is just taking some time??? :-) Regards, Moderntimes99

Tried the CE version on my Dell Axim x50v today and can only give it praise even though it is a very early version. Works brilliantly (after changing to the enhanced GAPI video driver). Full frame rate from what I can judge. Sound is slightly distorted but works well for sound effects. Works much better than the abandoned PocketVCS emulator (which doesn't work with newer Pocket PC:s) Shame that the keys on the Axim are so small, though, but Stella can't really be blamed for that one :-) Regards, Moderntimes99

Other possible opponents that could be tried out... - Sinclair ZX81 (Timex Sinclair 1000) 1K Chess - this was once quite famous for cramming the game of chess into 1K - Sargon Chess II for the Commodore Vic 20 (think it is an 8K cartridge...) - HPChess 1.0 for the HP48GX if you want to run the VCS against a calculator... (but HPChess is actually 45K so the comparison might not be fair...) Regards, Erik

Looks a bit like this... Regards, Moderntimes99

There have been posts about plans for a PAL version based on the 3rd revision of the NTSC version. (No release date mentioned though...) Regards, Moderntimes99

Will the PAL version possibly be based on the rev C for NTSC? Regards, Moderntimes99

Any news on when it will arrive in Europe? Any chance for more homebrew games on it in the PAL version? Best regards, Moderntimes99

Thanks! And even the ball in Real Sports Tennis is visible! Regards, Moderntimes99

Sure, I mean S-video... Regards, Moderntimes99

Hi! Anyone out there has a good mini LCD to recommend for use with the 2600? Ideally it would have both Composite and S-VHS in and support both NTSC & PAL50/60 (but S-VHS and PAL60 aren't absolute musts) without dropping any frames. Not too keen on buying something off eBay only to find that it doesn't work with the 2600...so your advice is highly appreciated... Regards, "Moderntimes99"

Thanks a lot! And not only for the file but also for the tutorial! I've printed the whole lot and have it lying on my bedside table, reading a section every night before I go to sleep... :-) Regards, "Moderntimes99"

Hi! I've been reading the (great!) "2600 Programming for Beginners"-tutorial lately and now look for an updated link to the "fsb.exe" tool mentioned in the later playfield session... anyone has a copy of it or can point me to somewhere where it can downloaded? (An attachment in a private message would do equally well). If there are other tools that do the same job that would be interesting to know as well... Regards, "Moderntimes99"

Glad to hear that you like it - I've actually decided to re-use the instrument setting from Druid in my next song project (work-in-progress, almost 30-40% finished...). The noisy rebellic sound tends to suit the 2600 relatively well - unfortunately it is not as easy to work with as the square + lead... Best regards, "Moderntimes99"

Because you don't care about the rest!? Regards, "Moderntimes99"

Nice (and brutally rough !) - this illustrates the two different approaches very well. On the one hand you can make tunes with a fairly rich sound, but then you are either limited to use just a few notes that are in tune or have to accept that some notes are out of tune, which is especially apparent when they are played together. On the other hand you can build up a fairly good scale of lead & square together, but that will sound relatively flat (not dissimilar to an early chiptune on the Atari ST). I won't take side here, I can see benefits with both approaches. The first approach can sound marvellous when a tune is carefully handcrafted. Paul Slocum's masterpiece - Thrust - springs to mind and is an excellent example of this. However, the drawback is that this approach makes it a huge effort to translate a melody. A lot of melodies might even be totally impossible to translate to the 2600 with pleasing results. The second approach, though, is much more straightforward - it's almost like translating music to the YM chip. It can easily incorporate two melody channels (time shifted) and one percussion channel. The results would, however, not represent the state of the art in the same way as the first approach. But, it could potentially lead to a lot more 2600 music being created. (Maybe even in-game music in all new homebrews could be a reality!?). Not an easy choice... Regards, "Moderntimes99"