Lord Thag

Finally got all my gear unpacked from the move and I'm attempting to get Platoterm to work to explore PLATO, which is something I've always wanted to do. I can get the software to connect to IRATA.ONLINE on port 8005, no problems, but it's a mess once I do. Corrupted graphics, missing text, weird lines drawing everywhere. It's unusable. Now, it's been ages since I've messed around with telnet, modems, BBS etc, so it's probably something I am doing. But I've tried it every way I can, and I get the same issue. There are not many options to tweak on the APE side. I've tried this on my main U1mb 800xl, a stock 1200xl, and a 130xe... all have the same issue. Here is the setup I am using: Atarimax SIO2PC cable w/ latest registered APE using the built in APE R: internet modem .ATR booting under APE autoloading the R: handler (I've tried every R Handler on the ICE-T disk) Platoterm cart image running on an Ultimate cart at 9600 baud. Have also tried the .xex version as well -same result. No matter what I do, I get corrupted graphics and missing text. I've also tried running the cart without a disk at all, as the APE software says it automatically loads an R: handler, but Platoterm does not detect this and exits. Any ideas? I've tried every speed/setting I can tweak with no luck.

Temple of Apshai is a classic as are the other games using the same engine: Rescue at Rigel, Star Warrior and (especially) Crush Crumble and Chomp. Several of the Avalon Hill titles are pretty fun, I always liked Nukewar.

Nice to finally see this happening! I just submitted my old pre order with an updated address (I'm in a whole other state now lol). Can't wait to finally get my hands on this.

Nice to see another long lost forum member return to the fold! I enjoyed the hell out of your reviews years ago, you're the one that got me into the 7800 again back in the day.

I'm impressed. This actually looks like a really good vertical scrolling shooter (something the A8 has in short supply). Reminds me heavily of Fire Shark and Zanac.

You've got it sort of right, sort of wrong. If you've flashed or are running the latest firmware (3.10), I can tell you what to expect. The thing to remember is that running Spartados X is mainly for productivity, while the loader is used for loading .xex and .atr games and disk images. Also, you rarely need to power cycle the Atari as hitting [Help]+[Reset] takes your from anywhere to the U1mb firmware menus where you can easily reboot with 'B' There are four built in config presets (hit 'P' when in the [Help]+[Reset] config menu to switch between them) which you can tweak to your desire and then save ('S') and then flip between on the fly. Watch the vids on Flashcatjazz's page to see what all this stuff does, but basically you'll usually want to have the system ram set to 1088k Rambo. Two of these on mine are set to use the internal loader software (which reads the CSide2 compact flash card's FAT partition), one running OS-B the other running An XL/Altirra OS, and generally one set up to run anything (atr + xex) files while the other just runs off the cart loader for xex. The first I use for complex disk games with disk swapping, the second I use when I just want a quick round of donkey kong or something. The other two configs are set to use Spartados X, one running it off Side2, and one running it off the internal U1mg Spartados. I use Side2 mainly due to the built in realtime cart and some other things, while the latter gets used when I want to enable the OSS programming images on Side2 (latest firmware) for development. On Spartados, I generally have a couple of disk slots open for external drives (say D3: and D4:), or some other SD card or file device like SDrive Max, SIO2PC or SIO2SD to make it easy to transfer files. D1: and a couple of other D*: are set up as 16mb hard disks with installed software like Last Word, development stuff, productivity, the U1mb/side2 toolkits, demos etc. These allow the Atari to get used like a full PC with file system. Some games will run on Sparta, so I usually have 30 or so of my faves on there too. So basically, you use the loader to run games/disk images you have sorted into directories on the PC-readable FAT portion of the card, and you use FDISk to set up 16mb hard drive images for Spartados X partitions to do writing, editing, programming and productivity work etc.

Yeah CC&C is a classic. Movie monster games have been done quite a few times but never really in a strategy sim way like this does. The number of Default monsters /cities plus the ability to make your own really give it replay-ability. Shame we never got a proper sequel on the Atari. I do have Star warrior (and it’s prequel Rescue at Rigel) as well as the Apshai games. All of these games I learned later are spinoffs of the same engine as Temple of Apshai. All of the Apshai titles are great. I drooled over them after I read an in depth review as a kid but never saw one locally. I actually just played through the first trilogy for the first time a year ago, so it isn’t a nostalgia thing so much as they are still just fun.

I've been catching up on what I've missed over the last few months due to work, and as part of that, I flashed the latest updates to my U1mb and Side2 cart. The 3.10 firmware image contains Altirra basic as a replacement option for Rev. C. by default, which is something I'd never really messed previously (I play on real hardware usually). So I thought cool, always love testing new stuff out right? Well, after reading up on it a bit and fooling around with it, I decided to check out how it affected some of the older games that were written entirely or partly in Basic. I'm a fan of some of the older Epyx & Avalon Hill titles, particularly the Dunjonquest games, Invasion Orion and Crush Crumble and Chomp. They are definitely artifacts of the time though, and while I appreciate them, I have to be in patient mood to play them as they are painfully slow to play through these days. Well, they were anyway. Altirra basic completely changes that. The speed increase really makes these games like a whole new deal I am finding. Hell, Crush Crumble and Chomp plays so fast now I find myself missing turns on SLOW. All of these games become positively zippy on Altirra, it's kind of great. I'm finding that Orion or CCC are now fast enough to fit in one of those '20 minutes before dinner' time slots we all have now as adults. Hellfire warrior plays as fast as Apshai Trilogy. If you haven't messed around with this before, and you like any of these old games, and have the hardware to flash Altirra Basic onto a real Atari or cart, this really makes a huge difference in play-ablity for some of these old classics we rarely revisit these days.

I for one would love to see version that would run on a non-VBXE atari. If you ever dive in again and want some help with it, I'd be happy to help, so feel free to PM me if that ever happens.

I've been away for a couple of months, and I've been diving back in to all the stuff I missed... this being the absolute top of my list (finally!). It's outstanding, by the way. Even better than the 5200 version which I played the hell out of. There have been a lot of homebrew follow-ups to classic Atari games over the years, but this one just nails the spirit of the original while evolving it in a natural way. I've played the demo on an 800xl and a 1200xl, have won it a few times. No screen rolling so far on my end, it's been rock solid, but I'll keep an eye out if I see that and let you know. Love all the little graphical tweaks and new difficulty levels. Finding one of the 'dots' with it's associated xxxxxxx was pretty cool too, I must say. Nice work man. I'll be buying a copy the second this hits the AA store.

Yeah the 'boss' ship was featured prominently on the box itself, in the Intellivision Imagic catalog, and if memory serves, in a magazine ad or two. So I imagine it would be easy to 'notice' without remembering. Intellivision marketing LOVED showing anything that system did over Atari. Still, it was cool to see it in your game!

So it wasn't intentional? That's wild! It's a dead on clone of the Intellivision one for sure. I would have bet $100 without thinking it was a direct homage to that game. Weird how stuff like that happens huh? It's like the Berenstain bears thing. I *know* it was spelled & pronounced 'Berenstein' bears when I was a kid... yet it isn't, it's BerenSTAIN. Memory is a funny thing.

Catching up on what I’ve missed. This is a great game! Kinda reminds me a bit of a mash up of the best bits of Gorf, Threshold, Phoenix and the boss from they Intellivision Demon Attack. This is going to be a perennial favorite I think. Thanks!

Just flashed both updates to U1mb and Side2 yesterday. I have to say, this setup is just fantastic. It’s so much easier, faster and more powerful than similar systems on other classic PCs I use. Thanks for the years of work on this flashcatjazz, it shows.

Real life has taken me away from the Atari scene for a few months, but I just wanted to chime in and say how cool this project is. I really want to get my 800xl connecting online somehow and play around with IRATA.ONLINE soon.

Kamfpgruppe or one of the other big SSI strategy games - I'd finally have the time to play one through Gemstone Warrior: procedural action RPG - it's always a new game Donkey Kong - Still playing it weekly since 198x Star Raiders (& Wilmunder's #2) - because it's still the best game on the system The Apshai series: Love these, still fun once you get used to the controls, and TONS of content. Bosconian - Best home port of a favorite arcade game The Last Word - so I can write and be creative or leave a diary behind MAC/65 or Action! - so I can write new games

Had some time to finally check out the Moon Patrol demo and Breakout. I've been really looking forward to this system since listening to the launch event at PRGE. Breakout looks great. This is exactly the type of remake I'm looking for: true to the original, 2d, and updated with extra features. Do more games like this. Give me a Nightstalker or Thunder Castle done like this ANY day. The Moon Patrol demo you get via the app however, I was NOT a fan of. The 3d/2d perspective looks poor, and it plays like any number of iOS/Android app store retro 'remakes'. I'd advise against using 3d modeling to recreate older 2d games. It rarely goes over well with fans, and it looks like something you'd get with ads on your phone. Not saying 3d games don't have their place (they do, and I love 'em), but remaking classic 2d games isn't one of them, in my opinion. Just some constructive criticism. Dig the QR code like app functionality though. That could be super fun in the future. Can't wait to see where this console goes!

I don't think it's ever waned for me. I started trading bad NES carts for backpacks full of 2600 carts in school, and never looked back. What has changed is my focus. Originally, it was the 8-bit Ataris and the 2600 only. Got older, got connected, started running retro game cons and started collecting everything. Had everything from APM-M1000s and Astrocades to Hyperscans R-Zones. Sold most of that, kept the stuff I actually enjoy playing. My focus these days are in two basic blocks: 8-bit era: Atari 8-bits, 2600, 7800 and to a lesser extent, the Intellivision Colecovision and the c64. 16-bit era: TG-16/PCE, Neo Geo and Genesis. That's pretty much it, outside some Lynx and GBA/GB games and, for some reason, the Arcadia 2001 (it's objectively terrible, but I like it).

All of these consoles are old or hard to obtain though. If you want something that's cheap, modern, available and plays MAME look at the chinese LDKGame or Retrogame 300. You can get them on amazon. $40-$60 generally. They're pretty good with stock firmware, and great with the custom firmware. Plays Neo Geo, CPS1/2, and the rest. Anything 16bit or less plays like a charm, and the custom image (super easy to set up, just flash a common micro SD card) gives all kinds of emulators: NES, SnES, Genesis, Turbografx, all the handhelds (best way to play Lynx I've found), and obscure stuff like Wonderswan, Vectrex, MSX etc. Save states, and it will also run tons of linux games (comes preinstalled with Quake, Hexen, Heretic, Wolf3d, Doom etc). I use mine daily on lunch breaks. The stock card comes with about 3000 roms too.

Neat project, can't wait to see where this goes.

There were a lot of poor companies cranking out bad to middling games back then. Half the Coleco library sucks, Mythicon, Apollo, Dataage etc. Then you had the clone/pirate people like Froggo. The worst game is probably Sssnake. I agree on the worst company as a whole probably being Mythicon. None of their games are fun or even playable. All the other bad companies like Apollo, Panda etc all have at least one playable title in their lineup.

I didn't so much start collecting as I never stopped. Once the NES came out, my brother stopped caring about Atari, so I just grabbed our shoebox of carts and had it hooked up alongside my NES. We had this local movie store called First Run Video that sold NES used games for $10, so I'd buy one once a month with my allowance. A lot of the time they were selling them because they stunk, so I'd use them as trade bait. Pretty quickly, I discovered I could trade one average NES game for 20+ Atari carts. By the end of high school, I had three boxes of them. I thought I had the biggest collection in the world at the time 😛 Then a friend started doing it, and I found an Intellivision, then a 5200. Pretty soon, I met my good friend John while out thrifting and we both got the other to get interested in systems we didn't collect at the time. A few years later, he moved up north and I started visiting and we eventually started running conventions (NWCGE that became PRGE). Once the conventions got big, the prices (at the time) we super cheap, so my collection exploded into many, many systems until a few years later it got too much to manage and I sold everything I wasn't playing. These days, I primarily play/ collect Atari 2600/7800/8-bit (particularly the latter) for the older stuff, and Genesis, TG-16 and Neo Geo for the 16 bit era. I rarely buy stuff these days, a I have everything I want that isn't really expensive.

Thanks for mentioning that. I'd forgotten all about that one and have neglected to download the ROM file to try it out... something I plan to do this evening.

Yeah, the modded trak ball games are awesome with an actual track ball. Unlike the old CX-40 joysticks, they are built like tanks. Very easy to restore too.

Everyone has days they need to have a cup of coffee on before they post anything. Props for owning it and apologizing though. 👍