.png.dd48eefc0e02e9fc8a4a55a48c391d59.png)
MrFish
-
Posts
9,612 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
17
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Blogs
Gallery
Events
Store
Posts posted by MrFish
-
-
17 hours ago, atarixle said:
What I mainly ment was that the limitations in hardware have to be implemented in software (use relocatable code only, instead of an MMU in hardware; ...). Those occupy memory, and main memory is limited. Multitasking might run well but how much memory is left for applications?
17 hours ago, atarixle said:The framework for the Window-Management and GUI widgets is eating up memory too
Apparently you haven't paid very close attention to what's going on in this ancient video that @flashjazzcat posted on Youtube (and links to on his website's section about the GUI), from back when the last demo was released.
If you watch the "RAM (KB) - Used" (down in the lower-right of any "Profiler" he's opened), you'll see that number go far beyond 64KB: he reaches 118KB, and then 121KB after opening the "Jotter" (text) window towards the end. If you look at the number of "Total - Apps" currently open (on the lower-left of any Profiler window), you'll see it reach 9, and then 10 when he opens the Jotter; 7 of those 10 apps are Profilers, totalling about 42KB (~6KB each), all running simultaneous, and having their window contents updated in real time.
In fact, he could have as many as 12 apps total open (I think it's the current hard limit for the demo; 2 apps of which are always the Keeper -- desktop/file manager -- and clock); with 10 of those apps being Profilers, it would be 126KB total RAM used, of which active, multitasking Profiler apps would occupy 60KB.
-
2
-
-
Another benefit of an SIO2PC device is the cost. It provides immediate access to the bulk of the Atari 8-bit library for a small investment. If you build one yourself -- which is pretty easy -- you can save even more.
I'd like to see the SIO2PC concept extended to include the cart port some day; then cartridges could be added to complete the list of media available. I'd also like to see a PBI/ECI port to PC device; then something like a virtual 1090 application could be run from the PC, giving the capability to provide all devices/cards in software (possibly leveraging some source code from Altirra?) instead of needing to create all this expensive hardware.
-
3
-
-
11 minutes ago, TJ76 said:
Thanks for the spot. You are correct, I am referring to the SIO2PC-USB device.
It's a common mistake. The original device was just called SIO2PC and provided a standard serial port DE-9 interface for connecting to your PC. So, the device you're referring to is just that with a USB interface instead of a standard serial interface (well, USB is serial too... but...).
Here's the device that's properly referred to as an SIO2USB.
-
1
-
-
On 4/16/2024 at 6:52 PM, TJ76 said:
In that scenario, perhaps connecting to a TV that isn't near a PC, thus multicart / S Drive Max and Fujinet would have portability as a plus.
It's not a problem for me, since I have my PC and Atari set up near enough each other.
For a wireless solution, there is SIO2BT. I haven't used it myself, but there is a thread about it here on the forums.
-
1
-
-
14 minutes ago, Sheddy said:
Oh, yes... you're on Windows 7 aren't you. Probably something to do with newer Windows versions then 🫣
Yeah, Windows 7 64-bit, and I'm running RasterConverter 64-bit version.
-
1
-
-
21 minutes ago, Sheddy said:
Not Ilmenit's problem but RCGUI may behave weirdly with beta9? Will fiddle to see what works nicely or not (apart from renaming executable to RastaConverter.exe)
I've been using it with the GUI. I haven't experienced any problems or differences yet.
-
1
-
1
-
-
1 hour ago, ilmenit said:
@MrFish - I have tried also setting 1280 x 960 but it does not work well on my screen. I use high-resolution one and the SDL2 window is automatically scaled for me, so the 1280x960 leads to a huge out-of-screen window. In the current version of RC you can resize the window and make it full-screen. Can it solve the small window size problem for you?
Oyyy... I completely missed the inclusion of that feature; in fact, I still don't see it on the list of features you've provided (although it's late here, so maybe I'm not squinting enough). Anyway, the window resizing works great. The only problem I see (aside from the problem I posted about where the source and destination images disappeared) is that when I scale the window, the source image gets flipped upside down; the other two images stay properly oriented.
-
1
-
-
3 hours ago, ilmenit said:
...I look forward to hearing your feedback.
On Windows 7 64-bit, using the 64-bit version of RastaConverter, the original and destination images have disappeared and won't reappear when I hit "s" (save). Only the output image is displayed (and all process-status text is still there). I don't recall if the window was just covered by another window or if it was covered sometimes and minimized sometimes. I just know I was shifting around various windows on my desktop; and I am running two monitor; and the RastaConverter window was moved from one screen to the other one or more times.
-
If there's any interest and it's not too much trouble, I have a request for making the preview screen a little larger.
Something like this could be done:
- All the images would be 2x magnified
- Window area needed for the images and text would be 1280 x 960 (most moderns screens can easily accommodate this)
- Space for an even larger font and/or more information/data (for instance the current input-parameters list) would be available.
-
1
-
1
-
-
1 hour ago, ilmenit said:
Thank you for your continued support of Rasta Converter. I hope you enjoy these new features and improvements, and I look forward to hearing your feedback.
- Appreciate the larger process-status font
- Missing the parameters list in the title bar
-
1 hour ago, ilmenit said:
Dear friends and users of Rasta Converter,
After almost 11 years I am thrilled to announce a new official release or Rasta Converter - Beta 9, available now on GitHub.
Yeah, wow!... and thanks! (to you and all the contributors)
-
2 hours ago, LS650 said:
Thanks for posting these - I have not seen these before.
Is there a post somewhere about how these came to be?
Actually, there are basically threads for each game as it was released; but, most of the games were done either by @phaeron (the author of the emulator Altirra) or @glurk (hence the name "GlurkVision" in his 2600 games, where you'd normally see ActiVision). Miniature Golf was done by @playsoft (coder for AtariBlast, Scramble, and some other notable 8-bit games). Enduro was ported by @Vin_the_2600_Man.
The original 2600 games were either disassembled, or the 2600 source code was available, and they were used as the basis for the 8-bit versions -- which is why they play so much like the originals. You can search for any of the specific games on the main 8-bit computer forum to find out more details about how they went about porting the 2600 code over. In the case of @phaeron's ports, he's provided his commented source code for the finished ports in each thread. Source code may have been posted for some of the other ports too (I don't recall for sure right now).
Ports done by @phaeron are:
Adventure
Combat
Cosmic Ark
Midnight Magic
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Seaquest
Stampede
Ports done by @glurk are:
Barnstorming
Fast Food
Fishing Derby
Freeway
Frostbite
Tennis
-
1
-
3
-
-
34 minutes ago, billy58 said:
O.K, thanks for the zip.
Yeah, no problem. Check them out. They're made to play just like the original 2600 games, with no enhancements to the graphics or sounds (except a few minor graphics tweaks on a few of them).
-
2 hours ago, billy58 said:
Yeah I just assumed the mini ran everything from 2600 up to the 130- yeah, I don't know now why I thought that either (hey! stop that laughing at the back😄). Pity, as I preferred the 2600 version of Battlezone. Still thanks a lot for the cartridge info.
Actually, you're not the first person who's thought that. This only emulates the Atari 8-bit computers and the Atari 5200. The reason the Atari 5200 is included is because it's easy for an emulator to add 5200 support because both of these systems have very similar internal hardware. Therefore 5200 support is included with most (if not all) Atari 8-bit computer emulators.
A nice bunch of 2600 games have been ported to the 8-bit computers. Here's a zip of all those games.
2600 for 8-bit Computers - Games List
Adventure
Barnstorming
Combat
Cosmic Ark
Enduro
Fast Food
Fishing Derby
Freeway
Frostbite
Midnight Magic
Miniature Golf
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Seaquest
Stampede
Tennis
-
1
-
-
11 minutes ago, christo930 said:
While it certainly wouldn't be as big a bother in a real hardware situation, I can tell you how much I hate these things playing on a portable device with a virtual keyboard.
Actually, I don't like them either, even on real hardware or emulation on a PC. That's why I said that clean versions of nearly all games exist that don't have either trainers or demo-scene titles. So, it's literally not an issue. My entire collection of sorted, tested games is clean from these annoyances. If I have a trained copy of a game (for the sake of cheating occasionally), I also have a non-trained copy.
-
40 minutes ago, billy58 said:
I have four 2600 cartridges with the .bin extension.
"2600 cartridges"?? Are you speaking of 2600 games that have been ported to run on the 8-bit computers (or 5200), or are you talking about actual ROM files that run on an Atari 2600 or 2600 emulator (like Stella). If it's the latter, these are never going to work from The400 Mini, because it doesn't have the capability to emulate an Atari 2600 and run any of the game ROM's from that system.
40 minutes ago, billy58 said:The manual says this "...extension of .c##, where ## gives the correct cartridge type number. For example .c02". But where do we find these numbers, like the .c29 extension you posted.
Cartridge-type numbers for 8-bit computer and 5200 ROM files can be found in the document I'm attaching here. The document I have is from 11/22/2021, which should be current. I forget where I downloaded it from exactly; probably in a thread on the 8-bit computer forum here. I'll search to see if I can locate where the updated docs are being deposited.
In the first column of the table in this document, labelled "Id", are the two numbers needed for the ".c##" extension. I'd imagine single digit ID numbers need a leading "0" (zero); but I'm not 100% sure on that, as I don't own a 400 Mini to test it on.
CAR File Format (11-22-2021).txt
-
1
-
-
1 minute ago, flashjazzcat said:
You can do this with SIDE3 as well since it not only reads and writes FAT, but provides a DOS that reads and writes FAT (something else not mentioned in the video).
Yeah, I thought SIDE3 might have that capability, but I wasn't sure. I'm not sure if any of the other cartridges (FujiNet, AVG, etc.) provide the same capability; I'm guessing not.
6 minutes ago, flashjazzcat said:Totally agree regarding the convenience of RespeQt and virtual folders used by SIO2PC and Altirra, though. The ideal situation is to have both (SIO2PC and multi-cart).
Yeah, SIO2PC can't do everything a multi-cart can -- particularly loading ROM cartridge files. SIO2PC has it's own niche of useful features, though.
-
22 minutes ago, Ricky Spanish said:
No different than taking a floppy out of, or putting one into a 1050 IMO.
Well, it is, actually. You have to remove the SD from the device (SIDE3, AVG, etc.), connect it to a reader on the PC, copy the file(s) from your PC's drive to the SD, and then remove the SD card from the reader (which includes making sure the SD is properly ejected from the PC) and then insert it back into the device (SIDE3, AVG, etc.).
-
17 hours ago, christo930 said:
I mean games available as a cartridge ROM which you could load onto an SD cartridge which both the 5200 and 8bit line have. Sorry if I didn't explain that well. I would not be including games that can be run from a virtual disk image emulated in some way in modern hardware. Disk images are not as convenient as cartridge images. You still have to screw around with the keyboard. They often have trainers you have to step through. Often have a demo-scene type thing that runs before the game.
I would agree that ROM images (or even real ROM cartridges) are nice for instant loading. Although most ATR's aren't what I'd consider slow loading from an SD card. Executable files (XEX) are even quicker loading from an SD; so, the difference with them becomes less relevant.
The issue of having to bypass trainers or demo-scene title screens is rather nitpicking here; but, for the vast majority of available games on the 8-bit computers, there exists clean versions that don't have trainers or demo-scene title screens to deal with. So, the issue is easily eliminated.
17 hours ago, christo930 said:I asked if you were sure because I wasn't sure how many carts were available for the 8bit series. But if it is 475 and most of them are games, I would assume the 5200 probably cannot keep up, though I am not sure the total numbers of 8bit games ported to 5200 cartridge format.
I would imagine there are probably no more than 100 8-bit to 5200 conversions available. So, if you add those to commercial releases and homebrews, you're going to end up with around 200 games or so for the 5200.
For the 8-bits, you take 450 and add homebrews, and take disk and XEX games that were converted to cartridge format at some point. I currently have 532 ROM file games in my main, sorted collection folder. A few of these are duplicate titles that use different cartridge banking schemes. So, I'd estimate a little over 520 unique titles. I still have a fair number of unsorted ROM files that haven't been added to my main collection folder; but we can just let those go, as it's apparent there's no real contest for overall number of games available, even if we just restrict things to ROM files.
I still think most executables files (XEX) are quite close in load times compared with ROM files, when we're talking about loading from SD carts. Counting XEX files is a little difficult. For sure there are thousands available. Many of these are rather simple games, or bad ones; so, I'd hardly consider counting everything; more relevant here are the solid games in the library. I'd estimate the total solid games to be somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000. What I've gone through and sorted isn't enough to prove quite that many. I currently have 1,185 sorted, tested, games that I consider to be solid, or at least interesting enough to spend time playing around with; but since playing games isn't my only objective for using the 8-bit computers, I haven't spent as much time doing that as some others out there have. Fandal's Atari 8-bit computer games site lists 4,964 games. I estimate that maybe half of those are at least decent games; but I leave it to someone else to determine exactly how many would qualify here.
-
2
-
-
Some comments on the SIO2PC device and RespeQt. There's quite a bit more to it than what was presented; although, I guess your main focus was just on how each device could be used to load games. However, even in that regard, one notable point is that if one tends to keep the most complete version of their game collection on the PC, then those files are always readily available with SIO2PC, without having to connect an SD to the PC, copy files, and then move the SD back to whatever device (SDrive Max, Side3, etc.) is being used. Also, if you download some file from the internet, it's immediately available for loading over SIO2PC without any extra steps.
Admittedly, moving files onto an SD isn't difficult, but it's another step in the process before running software. However, these extra steps can quickly become more important when doing something like cross-platform development. With an SIO2PC, the files you're working with are instantly available for testing on your Atari, which makes the cycle of coding, testing, debugging, coding, etc., easier. Also, the SIO2PC's ability to treat any folder on your PC as a disk drive (something not mentioned in the video) can be invaluable here for development that doesn't always involve running an executable file alone (TBXL, BASIC, or use of data files, etc., for development). Instead of needing to put development files on an ATR first, they can just be saved to a folder for access. In my case, this folder is the same one I use for the "H:" device in Altirra. So, I can easily test development files in Altirra or real hardware without any additional effort/steps. In most cases, development involves testing in Altirra most often; but when real hardware is needed, the files are accessible as easily as they are in Altirra using the method I'm describing.
-
3
-
-
2 hours ago, scitari said:
backing up Atari cartridges to floppy disk
Ah, yeah, "backing up". It's best to keep as many backups with as many friends as possible.
-
3
-
1
-
-
3 minutes ago, christo930 said:
I saw a video some time ago that said he was working on getting them (I think it was both, but I know for sure Defender) released as official Atari releases. Had he been able to do that, he probably wouldn't have changed them up.
Yes, these are demos that he was attempting to get Atari's attention with so that he could create the games for them. Apparently Atari already had Defender in the works at that time; and subsequently turned down his offer.
BTW, I'm not sure if this Atari 8-bit proto for Defender had a 5200 counterpart. This is a version that was apparently done before Atari's release version; but it's quite different from the release version (different graphics mode, etc.). I forget if it was the same author of the final Atari Defender of not. It's actually pretty cool, and has a few things I like better than the final Defender Atari released.
-
1
-
-
1 hour ago, christo930 said:
Funny because the graphics is what I don't like about Dropzone. That big man makes it easier for the aliens to hit you
I'm not really trying to compare spacemen to spaceships here. What I'm talking about is the graphic detail (graphic artwork) and smooth movement of the graphics (scrolling, sprite movement, explosions) in Drop Zone. Atari's Defender is quite jerky in movement and rather plain in graphic details by comparison.
Granted, Atari's Defender on the 8-bits and 5200 are just trying to emulate the arcade, which is designed in a particular style as the author intended; but Maclean's animation-smoothness certainly replicates the arcade much better in all aspects. If you want an idea of how Maclean would have done Defender and Stargate, boot up these two prototypes to help bridge the gap between Drop Zone and how well his Defender and Startgate games would have turned out.
[Note: For StarGate, the <START> key needs to be pressed after the Stargage logo is fully loaded.]
-
1
-
-
1 hour ago, christo930 said:
You sure about that? I know there have been a lot of conversions from the 8bit line to the 5200. So if you have an SD cartridge, there are a lot of games to play. Of course, there are SD cartridges for the 8bit line too.
I was answering your initial comment about "if you like cartridges and not disks, the 5200 would be the way to go". But, in any case, if you wanna talk about cart releases only from back in the day, or cart games total available now (which would count 8-bit to 5200 conversions on the 5200 side, and 8-bit disk and executable to cart conversions for the 8-bit side), or total games that could be played from an SD (which would mean the entire 8-bit computer library), the 8-bit computers have many, many more games, no matter how you want to slice it. It's no contest.
Some people might not be familiar with just how large the 8-bit cartridge library was from back in the day. So, as a starting point, Atarimania's database of cartridges in its games category currently totals 475, of which they probably have a couple hand fulls of modern cart releases and some protos that wouldn't really be considered playable games. So, it's pretty safe to say there's 450 total in their database that would actually count; and, as I say, those are just from back in the day of the machine's production and sales.
-
2
-
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
New GUI for the Atari 8-bit
in Atari 8-Bit Computers
Posted
Ah, ok, it's tasks that are the limiting factor not apps. I probably knew that 10 years ago. I did remember the limit you set was arbitrary, though, and not because it wasn't possible to go higher.
Well, I'm still amazed when I start examining what's going on again. It's quite a feat for the humble 6502.