Jump to content
Have You Played Atari Today?
2600|5200|7800|Lynx|Jaguar|Forums|Store  

blakespot

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content Count

    204

  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by blakespot

  1. Posted

    8 hours ago, prog99 said:

    I was behind centipede. I apologise for that (and the other bugs..theres an absolute whopper I didn't hear about until years later).

    Its mostly a fast sprite routine with a game fudged into it extremely badly.

    Theres loads of cpu time left to really improve it but the code is an absolute mess, I just looked at it to reacquaint myself with the collision detection and its embarrassing. I might have written it nearly 30 years ago but thats no excuse.

    I did get it building again with vasm on my mac with the intention of reworking some of it but enthusiasm waned rapidly.

    Wow. I was not trying to call you out! The game is lovely and FAR better than the '92 "Centipede" Millipede clone from the PD group in my view, but having gotten a superb Apple IIgs port of Centipede ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcmpkEUQznM ) where the mouse control is perfect, I had to ask. Good work on the port and I imagine powers that be found a mouse not a "gaming device" surely! 

     

    I love the port, would love it more with mouse support, but thank you for that awesome game on the ST!

     

    (I am __NOW__ agnostic (I was in the Amiga ST wars...) and love Amiga, ST, Apple IIgs and all the rest now -- and have them all in my basement.)

     

     

    bp

  3. Posted

    14 hours ago, bfollowell said:

    Even more odd since there was a Millipede release.

     

    I’ve been wanting an ST Centipede release lately what with a dead on 60fps perfect Centipede release that just landed on the Apple IIgs. What’s odd to me - I got Millipede last night - is that it seems it’s stick-only. No mouse control! It’s a trackball game ffs! So it’s not very playable. It’s better than that PD Millipede clone from 1992 that’s called “Centipede,” but I can’t believe there’s no mouse control option.

     

    bp

  4. Posted

    I have two of these SD Card Drive Paks made by R. Taylor and I'm trying to get new files installed on the SD. On the FB group I was told the SD card is std FAT32 and can be mounted to Windows and .BIN, etc. just copied over. I can't get Windows or macOS to recognize either of the Paks' SD cards. 

     

    What is the process of getting a new .BIN installed on a "volume" on the SD card? I am trying to run Twilight Terminal, which is not on the bundled software (that I can see). Many thanks.

  7. Posted

    I spotted an all-in-one sort of system stand / enclosure for the Atari ST and thought I'd share it because this kind of thing is RARE. I spent years in search of one before finally finding it (due to posts I'd made long before in search of it). The one I had back in 1987 (ordered out of a STart magazine) and then sought out later is the Micro Way A520 STation. It's a nice looking unit that just houses the floppy drive and power bricks. The unit for sale here is rather more kludgy looking, in my opinion, but seems to have an integrated power strip. At any rate, someone out there might be interested, I felt. The ST in this package looks a little rough, though. 

     

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/ATARI-520-ST-SM-124-Zubehor-Floppy-Mouse-u-s-w-funktionstuchtig/392430657917?hash=item5b5eb0a17d:g:zTAAAOSw6ypc2tWO

     

    s-l500.jpg

     

    My A520 STation can be seen in this tweet I just made. 

    • Like 1

  8. Posted

    I did not come from an A8 background, but I have been enjoying my “recently” acquired 130XE and PAL 800XL of late (well, second set of those as well, as an “ingot” killed my first two in the space of 5 minutes). I purchased a SIO2SD from Lotharek on eBay because his eBay offerings, unlike the web store, came with a 4GB SD card full of games and demos. Great for me, not having favorites already on the platform. 
     

    Sadly the SD card failed, and I now have nothing to run on the units. 
     

    I assume someone else must have purchased the same, here, and I’m asking if such a person might image that SD card and give me access to it so I can get back to enjoying the A8s again. I’d be in your debt if you can do this for me. 
     

    Thanks.

     

     

     

    bp

  10. Posted · Edited by blakespot

    I have the vaguest recollection of this game on my TI-99/4A from back in 1983/4. It was one of the last games I purchased for it, and I believe it was one of only two or so that I mail ordered, the other being Moonbeam Express from Moonbeam Software. Both of these games were Extended BASIC games, which would explain why I recall Aztec Challenge being so amazingly slow. I didn't enjoy the game, I recall. 

     

    I sold the TI (not due to Aztec Challenge) and moved to an Apple //c a short time later. 

     

    I have reacquired a TI system, more recently. Just FYI. 

     

     

     

    bp

    • Like 3

  11. Posted

    You have to adjust the gain and voltage per cd mech theres a ton of guides online for the various revisions of playstation

     

    Most of them are general and generic and may work best practices is to use an oscope

     

    Ps check your old drive most spin issues are from the hub cracking and not gripping the disc those can be pulled off and replaced for a couple bucks

     

     

    Oh? So it wouldn't work right off. I have no scope. I have a voltmeter. Am I lost then?

     

     

    bp

  12. Posted

    I still have the orig Playstation I purchased in 1996. It's worked quite well over the years. I modded it long ago. A year or so ago the occasional CD would not load or load slowly. I assumed drive was about to give up the ghost. Then the machine wouldn't spin at all and the display would flicker repeatedly. I assumed a PSU failure had taken place -- replace it with an eBay unit (with a blue LED) and that problem went away. But the CD-ROM drive problem got worse.

     

    Finally I couldn't load anything. It sounded like a spin issue. So, I bought a replacement new mechanism on eBay and installed it. I hear spinning and seeking, but the spinning doesn't last as long as it should and the seeking sounds stuttered -- as if it's having trouble focusing - not normal. So I looked and there was no other seller of such parts so I rolled the dice and purchased ANOTHER mechanism from the same guy and it's the same thing. Spinning that slows down -- I can hear like 5 spins per second before it stops, and it won't load anything. The seek sound sounds labored also.

     

    This is the unit and vendor I twice purchased for my SCPH-1001:

     

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-OPTICAL-LASER-LENS-MECHANISM-for-SONY-Playstation-SCPH-1001/360534474878

     

    Does anyone have any advice here? For whatever reason I'd like to keep this unit working rather than buying a used, modded PS1. Thanks.

     

     

    bp

  13. Posted

    Hmm. I purchased Thrust from John Dondzilla at classicgamecreations.com back in 2007. I thought it came with an insert for the screen, and so I spent an hour looking all over the room for it last night (I want to picture it in a game competition over at r/Retrobattlestations) and couldn't find it. I then dug around in email and see that Jonh indicated it doesn't come with an insert and that he was unaware of any being available. I guess it didn't come with one, for me anyway. But I've seen a few photos of an insert in place and it sounds like some of you have one. Is that true?

     

    Does anyone know where I can purchase this insert today?

     

    Also -- how is the mini game activated? It's hidden I suppose. Thanks.

     

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/blakespot/2380594010/in/photolist-9CCmS6-5HtBhz-4NTdCS-4CnaEj-4BgFzZ-4BfNv1-4ChSYg-4CnaGC-4CnaHW-4ChSUz-6i9aJV-51sc4F

     

     

     

     

    bp

  15. Posted

    I have an Atari 800XL PAL unit with Supervideo XL mod that I paid a good bit for from Germany. The keyboard in it had a stuck key. I confirmed it was mechanical. Air did not help so I took the membrane loose. Apparently a mistake. Replacing after cleaning, only the function keys work. Reseated cable repeatedly.

     

    I was going to buy another unit on eBay and take the keyboard, but they are too expensive, so I will not be watching scene demos on this but shelving it, it seems. I can't afford a new one. (Someone is currently selling a PIECE OF FOAM from the box of a 600XL for $32....)

     

    Before I close the door on my A8 experience for probably a decade, I wanted to see if anyone had a spare keyboard for the unit that I could buy for a fairly low price. Probably not, but I wanted to take one more chance before I put this broken system away.

     

    Thanks. :-/

     

     

     

    bp

  16. Posted

     

    I'm sorry for my 8-bit aversion, but this reaches back for decades, when the C64/Spectrum etc guys tried to make themselves feel better, by persistently claiming that the TI is "not a real 16-bit" computer, has "only one half of the data bus attached" or "only 8 data lines, thus an 8-bitter" and other nonsense. I think at least the TI community should fight those alternative facts.

     

    I know that there is more than the ALU width. The width was never a good indication of computer capabilities. It was about devices, graphics, and much more. People associate specific capabilities with the 8-bit computers, the 16-bit computers, the 16/32-bitters etc. Admittedly, the TI clearly lived in what we may call the 8-bit era, even though it was a 16-bitter.

     

     

    Hah. I've thought about such things. There is the Atari Falcon with an '030 on a 16-bit RAM bus and the Mac LC/LC II with an 020 (and 030 respectively) on 16-bit busses.

     

    I wrote this letter 12 years ago to the editor to RetroGamer magazine (which got published in issue 11, actually) in response to a piece they'd written. Take it as you will.

     

    - - - - -

    "I wanted to report a bit of an error in the Apple IIgs article that

    ran in issue 9.

     

    The author refers to the IIgs as a "16-bit" machine, akin to the Amiga

    and Atari ST. That comparison is inaccurate. The Motorola 68000 in

    the Amiga and Atari ST is a "16/32" bit processor in that it has an

    internal 32-bit architecture (32-bit registers, etc.) but sits on a

    16-bit data bus. It does not communicate externally at 32-bits. The

    WDC 65C816 in the Apple IIgs is a "8/16" bit processor in that it has

    an internal 16-bit architecture, but communicates with the rest of the

    world in 8-bits. (Likewise the Sinclair QL uses a Motorola 68008 CPU which is

    basically a 68000 that, while sporting a 32-bit internal architecture,

    communicates with the rest of the system by way of an 8-bit data bus.)

    So if the Amiga/Atari ST is considered 16-bit, thenthe IIgs would

    have to be called 8-bit. If you call the Amiga/Atari ST 32-bit

    machines - which would not be an entirely wrong description, then the

    IIgs becomes a 16-bit machine. This is quite an important distinction

    that was not made clear in the article."

    - - - - -

     

    It's interesting that both the Sega Genesis/MegaDrive and the Super Nintendo were "16-bit" game machines of the same generation, but the former used a MC68000 and the latter used a 65C816. They can't both be "16-bit" machines.

     

     

     

    bp

    • Like 2

  22. Posted

    I had an Apple IIe and in the summer of 1986 I was able to get a Prometheus ProModem 1200A internal modem for it for my birthday. I later used that modem in a Laser 128 and then an Apple IIgs. My next modem was an Avatex 1200 on an Atari 520ST. The Supra 2400 was the first faster-than-1200-baud modem I got, and that was on my Amiga 2000 in ~1989. Fastest modem I ever had before switching to cable was the Cardinal 144e on my DOS PC. Switched to cable forever in 1997.

     

     

     

    bp

    • Like 1

  23. Posted

    I've done another roundup of interesting vintage holiday home computer demos I've found out there online (videos). Sixth or seventh year now, wow.

     

    Have a look, if you like the sounds of square-wave jingling bells.

     

    (I must inform: this year I found no new Atari demos, but there are quite a few in the (linked) collections of years' past.)

     

    http://www.bytecellar.com/2018/12/13/have-a-helping-of-8-bit-holiday-cheer-2018-edition/

     

    Ho ho ho.

     

     

     

    bp

  24. Posted

    Reminding of my contribution to Christmas music, as I already posted three weeks ago:

     

    http://atariage.com/forums/topic/218452-99389958-discussion-forum/?p=2877365

     

    This disk image contains my XMAS program for Geneve OS.

    I don't suppose a video of that Christmas demo on Geneve exists on the web does it? I'd love to add it to:

     

    http://www.bytecellar.com/2018/12/13/have-a-helping-of-8-bit-holiday-cheer-2018-edition/

     

     

    bp

  25. Posted

    Thanks. And I do have a FlashROM99, not the mighty FinalGROM, but it's better than no such device.

     

    Tell me, is this line from the docs accurate: "Disk images are not directly supportted, however you can upload most .DSK image files via the web-ui or file share, and they will be automatically extracted into a directory matching the volume name."

     

    Because I'm not seeing this happen. Is there a trick beyond just using the web uploader?

     

    Where can I find the CATALOG BASIC program? Thanks.

     

     

     

    bp

    --

    ByteCellar :: http://bytecellar.com

AtariAge
Forums
Store
General
Follow AtariAge

Copyright ©1998-2021 AtariAge

×
×
  • Create New...