Jetboot Jack

My old faithful 1200Xl plays all the games I throw at - well so I thought... In a quiet moment I decided to shoot things - so pulled out 4 carts - Bug Hunt, Barnyard Blaster, Crime Buster and Crossbow... Bug Hunt and Barnyard Blaster worked just fine and dandy, then I tried Crime Buster - really garbled graphics on the title screen - lots of cleaning later (just in case) - I still get garbled graphics, sometimes I can shoot the screen and get a game to start, even though its all messed up - it locks after about 5 seconds of scrolling down the road. Crossbow - the title screen appears correctly once every 20 reboots - and then the Score Screen pops up and the system hangs... Are these games not 1200 compatible Airball and other late XEGS games seem to work fine (Tower Toppler, Thunderfox, Eagles Nest etc) Is my 1200 dying :( The games did work on my XEGS a few weeks ago... sTeVE

All, Trace and Single Step are exactly what I'm looking for !!! I'd love a version with Trace working Mark Any plans to get single step in there too :) Thanks for the replies!!! sTeVE - who would be programming, but just bought Warcraft III

I'm used to MAC65 on my 8bit system as a dev environement, or MADMAC on the ST, but now I've started to use a PC cross assembler (XASM) and Atari800win - which is a super sweet system, and works REALLY well... But what monitor program to use - under emulation DDT springs to mind... Ideally I'd like a non memory resident one (works thru the emulator) - but the one in Atari800win is not really that useful - what are other people using ??? sTeVE

Oh I dunno Tempest - MAC65 on a 130XE with a couple of DD is a perfectly useable system for creating little projects. It seemed to work well for most commercial products back in the 80's (at least in Europe!) sTeVE

Cassidy... Dan's got you on the right track - forget a real disc or tape drive go APE and you'll never regret it!!!! Try these sources for really awesome how to's to get something up and running in Atari Basic on the real metal via APE or on an Emulator: This Book is great - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/020...5843735-0209525 And this one too: http://www.atariarchives.org/c1bag/ And this is more advanced but totally great resource: http://www.atariarchives.org/agagd/ The first text is a "real" book, the others online at Atari Archives - which also includes the essential beginners book: http://www.atariarchives.org/basic/ sTeVE

Easy choice - get a GAME CUBE! Great system, great controllers, great games, plenty of pick up and play titles! Eternal Darkenss is swallowing my free time right now - great game! sTeVE

The biggest sound difference on the 8bit to the C64 was, IMHO, that it was very easy with the MUCH faster 6502 in the 800 to emulate 8 or more voices on the 8bit - using a savage kernal and still be able to have a game playing!!! BUT - less of the C64 vs 800 tosh - we all know which was better anyway What about graphical powers of the 8bit - to produce NES like games??? Are there amazign demos out there showing what the 8bit can do? The NES couldn't do Fractalus or Ballblazer, Eidolon or Kornonis Rift (neither could any pre Amiga machine IMHO - don't talk to me about the CRAPPY ports to other 8bit machines)... Just look at Space HArrier that SHeddy is workign on - listen to that music - look at the speed what other 8bit system could do that????? My OLD XE Pac-land screens still look good IMHO!!!! What about the 8bit being able to do the Konami MSX titles (albeit with smoothscrolling???)... Anyone tried anything????

Varan - you don't code (certainly not for a living) do you? Whilst thematically similar titles maybe percived as rip off titles by some player's or consumers - I would certainly say that just because Nintendo revitalized cart racing that does not make other cart games invalid (there were racing titles before Mario Kart).... CTR may be quite close to Mario Cart on a thematic level - cute guys in small carts - anyone who has played it can tell you it is a long way away from Mario Cart in gameplay, level design, graphical performance (its real polygonal for start) etc.... Most 2600 hacks add nothing, they are a waste of binary space - the ones we do see that are good are generally GRAPHICAL overhauls. I loved the Return of Mario Brothers and the NEW Galaxian hacks - the ones that show what a couple of extra weeks of effort or some artistic input whould have yeilded if Atari (or whoever) had invested time and resources. Lets face it no one has produced a beter than original hack on an Activision title like Rhindle has on Mario Brothers (even Robot Tank TC)! Activison games were very well made, to high standards in all areas - gameplay and grafix! sTeVE

8bit Gauntlet loads every level from disc - its a 2 disc (or a flippy) game... sTeVE

I love SID - for music... For SFX its lags behind POKEY IMHO, it lacks the octave range of Pokey (pair voices for effects) and the simple, but effective poly counter "noise" that gave the 8bit line such powerful SFX. In reality if you compare WELL programmed music on the 8bit (Warhawk, Plastron etc) it is of comparable quality to SID stuff albeit not the same as SID music... And although I got my 800 in 1979, its not the kid in me talking - I had to use 8bit machines of both flavours (C64 and 800) to make money in the mid/late 80's. And ALWAYS prefered to work on the 8bit line as a tool and a system to make games for - its just so flexible and had such great dev software... sTeVE

It would be really interesting to look at NES games and produce demos or mockups on the 8bit to compare... Obviously most NES games were designed around the hardware (just like the best 8bit ones) so maybe some "artistic licence" would be required. I've gotten some pretty fancy displays working right now on the real 8bit metal recently - sheddy inspired me to pick up my tools again! But not decided what game to start on - so maybe I'll do some prototyping and then make soem choices when I've gotten a good conversion in the frame... sTeVE

cybpunks - a lot of companies may well "turn a blind eye" to the releasing of old games by people who find them.... But if you STILL work in the industry (like many of us do) - then you don't mess around with copyright material you worked upon without the copyright holder's approval... Many employers are wary of such issues since lots of developement contracts are very tightly worded about code and idea ownership... sTeVE

Just read the new HI-SCORE BOOK (McGraw Hill) - not a bad book - very Apple/PC centric - but a great look at many COOL companies!!!! Really interesting quote from Joe Decuir - basically he says the 800 hardware was the best videogame hardware in the market until the NES came along... As an 800 fan I've always rated the 8bit architecture above all Atari 8bit hardware (yes including the 7800) - glad to hear others thought the same sTeVE

From a press release... Treasure's arcade shooter, Ikaruga, makes its way to the Dreamcast this fall in Japan. According to online reports from Japan, Treasure's arcade shooter, Ikaruga, has been confirmed for release on the Dreamcast. Released in 2001, the top-down scroller shooting lets players switch between white and black modes on their craft, and while in that color, players can absorb enemy attacks of the same color. The game is scheduled for release on September 5 in Japan, with a price tag of 6,800 yen ($56).

Atari 7800 - since your original post did not say you'd spoke to any employees and I quote: "It seems as all of the atari retrogamers I have spoken with (including myself) simply despise Jack Tramiel and his sons" I assumed you hadn't spoken to anyone who had worked for Atari Inc, since I would not expect RETROGAMERS or RETROGAMER employees to like Jack - he brought a new ethos to the bloated corpse of Atari... I'm sure people laid off in his restructuring, the demolition of internal sofware developement etc are gonna be less than complimentary. But many who did business for him, especially in markets other than the US will have different stories. I myself found Atari UK, under Jack no different a client for my software than any other publisher in the business at the time - slightly disorganised, prone to late payments etc... BUT Atari took my products, paid my invoices and were always very straightforward and honest (More than can be said for Commodore in the UK at that time!!)... sTeVE

I guess you've clearly identified your problem, to do a bio on an individual you've got to go a bit deeper than talking to a few customers... Have you spoken to anyone who worked with Jack and his sons (at Atari, or Commodore)? I worked for Atari, as did MANY of my fellow industry counterparts - and most have interesting and balanced views of his business. Most won't go to print on the matter though... If you are looking to do a proper article I would suggest throwing the net a bit wider than "retrogamers"... He was a businessman, trying to make money, try to remember when Jack took over Atari it was dying... Try soliciting former employees, dig up the financials that show the rollercoaster fortunes of Atari and Jack's role in them... Look at some of the successes of his reign - the ST, the profit turnaround, the expansion into Eastern European markets. Maybe talk to Lynx and Jaguar developers (Jeff Minter maybe)... sTeVE

On one level I agree with you KAZ - it’s all too easy to criticize without being constructive - avoid being subjectively critical - suggest a solution or alternate methodology with your criticism is ALWAYS the best way... But like many things we can all be objectively critical without being able to do the thing we criticize, I can taste a bad wine, or poorly prepared food... I am trained to analyze and deconstruct films, to be critical of them, yet I cannot make a Minority Report. Criticism does not only belong to the closed circle of exponents of a skill, but to the consumers of their product too - if it fails to meet expectations or fulfill the potential it set out to. Take 2600 Pac man - its awful, on every level - despite the fact it was rushed to market I can say it’s a VERY poor product. If the programmer had been granted access to the arcade data, a more reasonable ROM size maybe and the time to do his work properly then it would have been (I am sure) a very much better port. So whilst I am critical of it I understand why it is the way it is, but it does not change my opinion of the finished work... sTeVE

4 ports are best because - one wire to the TV and PSU - its such a NEAT solution!!!!!!! And they are the original machines - the original design... sTeVE

After reading this thread thru it stikes me its going nowhere - its just a mess of Atari Basic answers to 2600 coding questions!!! Kaz - your posts reflect you've not gotten a grip on the basics of either programming in general and specifically 6502 machine code... If you're real about learning to code the 2600 then get hold of ANY 6502 programming book and get going... Don't worry which hardware you target - just try any 8bit 6502 based system via an emulator (8bit Atari, C64 etc) - try somthing that was accessible to a consumer (and therefore supported) rather than trying to get into the 2600 straight away. The 2600 is hard to code for and not supported like a computer system for the user (since all coders for teh 2600 were pros). You'll find tons of 6502 tutortials and help for both C64 and XL machines on the web - once you've gotten the basics of 6502 under your belt and you can produce working code then maybe you should look up the 2600 and smash your head against its architecture... I learnt to code on my trusty 800 - first in 6502 then some Action - I then did stuff for several 6502 based systems - just 'cos I knew the basics of 6502 - any machine was pretty easy to adapt my knowledge for... I then moved on to 8086 (God I hated that) and now I prefer C++ sTeVE

4 port units are so much better than 2 port units - well done on the find! If ya controllers are bad I'd recommend Best Electronics as a souce for replacement units or just parts to fix the ones you have... sTeVE

As a developer I gotta say the DC was a good little system to develop for, simple architecture and 2 different libraries (CE and Katana)... Shame it fizzled out - whatever you blame... In reality software sales were always really soft compared to other platforms from day one - it just couldn't hit the numbers most publishers and developers needed to make a good return... On the hardware front - and please no one shout at me - the DC was a lot less powerful than the PS2 - we can do so much more on the PS2, its fast, flexible, it can chuck loads of goodlooking, well lit polys around - it just needs good programmers to get the most out of it - in fact in some areas it outshines the Xbox... And no I'm not guessing, or going on some hearsay or website hype, I'm basing my evaluation on day in day out working with ALL these systems... sTeVE

Owning both Lucas titles in original packaging I checked the system requirements - the Eidolon required 64K to run, Koronis rift will work on 48K systems... sTeVE

Ziggy, I'm surprised NONE of the stuff mentioned help - since the 5200 and 800 share almost identical architecture - all the techniques work both ways (RAM permitting). All the applications I mentioned will run under emulation on Atari800win - so you can use them to create 5200 data just fine - I and others already do - I think you'll find 800 emulation and associated tools running on a PC is often an important part of 5200 development... Useful bitmapped modes: Antic F - 320X192 - 2 color Antic E - 160X192 - 4 color (Gremlins) Antic D - 160X96 - 4 color (Missile Command) Useful Character modes Antic 2 - 40X24 - 2 color Antic 4 - 40X24 - 5 color (multicolor characters) Antic 5 - 40X12 - 5 color (multicolor characters) Antic 6 - 20X24 - 5 color Antic 7 - 20X12 - 5 color I don't know if 5200's do GTIA modes if so then these are 80X192 in 16 shades (1 color), 16 colors (1 shade) and 9 colors... sTeVE

Kaz, You're way off base! Just because a company does or not does not choose to release a product, the work of its engineers and creative staff, but the property of that organization is totally that company's decision. There are 100's of unreleased games - thousands of demo's that never get signed off into production made every day around the world on every platform since the dawn of video games... Its not the fan's right to see those games, interesting though they may be (believe me I've seen stuff you would DIE for!!!)... Many of those unreleased games are based on properties a company has the rights to exploit on several platforms, only one of which may see the light of day. But now 20 years later those properties are still owned (by Infogrammes right now) and they MAY wish to explot those properties on other platforms (look at the Midway PS2 remakes, the Nokia phone games, the Palm products) and if those properties were made freeware, albeit on OLD platforms, the ownership may be called into dispute at some point, so keeping copyright ownership is VERY important. If your paycheck depends upon making this stuff, you would be protective. I've seen my and my collegues hard work ripped off so many times I cannot keep count! sTeVE

Ziggystar, The 5200 (like the 800 and XL lines) is MUCH easier to produce bitmapped art on than the C64... The system has lots of graphic modes from 320X192 to the 16 color GTIA modes bitmapped modes, all are super easy to make great art for! On the 8bit side - check out all the art programs at: http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/atari/utils.html LOADS of great art utilities that will let you sue all the graphic modes and also get upto 128 colors on screen (Fun with Art, Graphics Art Department etc).. Checkout: http://www.atari8bit-software.de/index_e.htm For loads of demos that get lots of colors and great resolution!!! Most of this stuff is do-able to some degree on the 5200 too! sTeVE