youxia

Hi mate, thanks a million for looking into this. The timing is actually quite a wild coincidence, since I also had an impulse to finally try to sort out the .wavs a couple weeks ago. Wish I knew about your work, it'd save me a lot of time I also managed to convert most of the BASIC software, as you can see in the update, but I suppose your stuff is better than my hacky attempts. Antoine from Brutal Deluxe also had some advice for the BINARY files - which went well over my head, since I know zilch about AII coding - but also got a few games converted (like 3-D Star Fire). I'd love to look at your update files if you could upload them somewhere? Also, here's the list of BINARY games which still needed converting at teh time of the 1.0 release (I can see you already did some - most? - of them though, awesome!). ack-ack (1978)(programm international, inc.) Advanced Dragon Maze - module1 (1978)(softape) adventure 0 special sampler (1978)(adventure international) Awari - module 5 (1978)(softape) Blackjack - module 6 (1978)(softape) Bomber Attack (microcomputer/Avalon) canter downs (1979)(programma international, inc.) Clean Sweep - module8 (1978)(softape) Computer Baseball Strategy don't fall (1978)(magnemedia) don't fall (1980)(innerglo) Draw poker (Arcade pak #2)(Microcomputer Games) football predictions (1979)(programma international, inc.) Hex Pawn - module 5 (1978)(softape) hires boxing (1979)(programma international, inc.) k7_columbiacomputersystems_jagdstaffel k7_creativecomputingsoftware_braingames1 k7_creativecomputingsoftware_spacegames1 k7_discoverygames_migsandmesserschmitts k7_programma_jumpout_s1_jumpout k7_programma_laserturret k7_programma_matchwits k7_romca_superchess.wav laserblast (1979)(programma international, inc.).wav lords of karma (1980)(microcomputer games).wav Lunar Lander - module 8 (1978)(softape).wav lunar lander (1979)(programma international, inc.).wav magic squares (1979)(programma international, inc.).wav Mastermind - module 3 (1978)(softape).wav microtrivia (1978)(speakeasy software, ltd.).wav missile command v1.2 (1981)(urban e. soft).wav Othello - module 3 (1978)(softape).wav othello for apple v2.1 (1982)(hiroshi ohnishi).wav peg jump (1979)(programma international, inc.).wav phasor zap (1978)(programma international, inc.).wav patient professor 24k (1980)(innerglo) - integer basic ERROR pinball (1978)(apple computer).wav pirates (1978)(programma international, inc.).wav Project UFO - module 8 (1978)(softape).wav retreat (1978)(programma international, inc.).wav revive (1979)(hayden book company).wav rocket pilot (1978)(powersoft, inc.).wav saucer invasion (1978)(powersoft, inc.).wav Saucer War module 1 (1978)(softape) Sevens - module 3 (1978)(softape) space maze (1978)(powersoft, inc.) speedway (1979)(programma international, inc.) Star War (1978)(powersoft, inc.).wav Star Wars - module8 (1978)(softape).wav super starwars (1978)(programma international, inc.).wav tape measure (1979)(apple computer).wav Towers Of Hanoi - module5 (1978)(softape) voyager i (1982)(microcomputer games) warlords (1978)(speakeasy software, ltd.) - integer basic ERROR

Long overdue... It's mostly housekeeping, seeing as this is a low-priority project for me, and the to-do tasks are either beyond my skills or too big in scale. Even so, the collection should be much more usable now (also, a little bird tells me that eXo of eXoDOS fame is working on one for Apple II, so it should be rather interesting). Big thanks to @Newsdee for helping out with .wav file transfer, thus making some truly ancient software available for the first time as .dsk files.

I'm preparing a long overdue update to this collection, but it will be a mainly cosmetic one - just rearranging the structure and cleaning up stuff a bit. I'm sure there have been some new games discovered since the last release but I don't have time atm to do a proper search and comparison. One thing I'd really like to sort out though would be turning the .wav-only software present in the collection into disk versions so more people can access it easily. This is what we have been discussing here previously in 2022. Thanks again to @Newsdeeand other folks for help with getting me started but frankly my Apple II skills are just too low to handle this stuff and I was also too busy with other, higher priority projects, to have made any real progress bar converting a handful of programs. No I'd like to try again and I wonder: -can anybody advise how to turn Binary programs into working ones? When I use CiderPress with methods described above ITT they just fail to boot. -I've been in touch with Antoine from Brutal Deluxe (host to all these wonderful cassette files) asking about this and he said that "BASIC programs load at $801. Binary files are loaded in the range set by the R command: 200.2000R will load from $20 to $2000 800.8FFFR will load from $800 to $8FFF" I don't know how to put it in use though. -he shared a collection with some of these wavs already converted to .po disk format. I don;t know how to run them though in an emulator (AppleWin shows something about Prodos missing) and not sure how to extract them via CiderPress into individual bootable disks -are there any volunteers willing to help converting BASIC programs? This can be done according to the template made by @Newsdeeabove and is pretty straightforward, but rather time consuming. (also, am not sure what to do about programs with multiple files - some seem to convert and work fine but maybe later on crash?)

That would be indeed interesting to see, but I suspect it contains not only singular titles but many with multiple disks/sides (and also possible duplicates on compilations). Most Apple collections are like that, and I went through all the well-known ones (ie 4am and entire Asimov).

So I eventually did build this collection: While it's not been "finished" (mission impossible), I think the core target of collecting most available Apple II games under one roof, in a 1G1R format, has been accomplished. The resulting number of singular games is 2461. I think it includes most of the commercial ones (though also all other sorts of games like PD or type-ins), and you can add god-knows-what number of missing PD games on top of that (some of which might not be actually missing but hiding on the zillion of as-yet-unsorted compilation disks) I kept educational software separate. The number of single archives here is 2891 - though I didn't sort them as well as the games proper, so there are some duplicates (mostly MECC) and also a lot of separate disks which belong to one edu package but have different subjects.

Seriously? Do you really believe that a corporate sponsorship - or shall we say ownership - makes no difference in such situations? Do you really think that a harsh critique of Atari products, such as the Taco Thread, would be even remotely possible? Tbh this is just an extreme example, off top of my head, because I'm a little bit shocked - I only learned about it right now, as I don't frequent this site as often as before, and when I saw a thread about it yesterday I really thought it's a joke. So I didn't really have time to think about thoroughly, but I'm pretty sure there will be plenty of other downsides (haven't there already been roms/creators withdrawn?) I'm sorry, I did read Albert's statement on the matter and while it is full of reassurances - and its author is a respectable and believable person - I've been around for too long to not know that in the long run this will not turn out well. It's a pity, because AA is (was?) the biggest and best still existing independent forum dedicated to old computers and consoles. This is why I ended up being a poster here, not because I'm a nostalgic Atari fan. I simply cannot fathom how it being taken over by a corporate operator, especially one of such terrible pedigree, doesn't ring more alarm bells in people.

It's Q3 2023. People still talk about Amico?

Note to buyer: it's 70$, not 700 - so just eat it up: sell it on as is, buy new one elsewhere. Buying old machines is a bit of a lottery, and you did not lose much here, in fact it's really cheap. Damn, you even got 30$ back! Note to seller: it's 70$, not 700 - so (next time) just eat it up: take it back and save yourself a lot of grief. Though judging by this buyer's attitude he'd probably ask you to pay shipping too 😁

🥰 As for your problem, try to manually update your mister.ini. Copy/paste the one from this page: https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Main_MiSTer/blob/master/MiSTer.ini (back up your old one first of course) Just make sure you don't get HTML code or some other funny stuff in there. I don't know about HDMI but some stuff has changed regarding analogue VGA output (vga_mode=) and update_all doesn't touch the mister.ini, so maybe you're a bit behind.

It doesn't, it turned out to be a wild goose chase. The game in question has been removed from the Nerdly Pleasures doc. And thanks to the input of the author of that list, I was able to whittle down my "problem games" to just 4 entries: Transylvania - Tandy version (executable NOVELT1K.EXE) hangs in emulators, even though it's been reported to work ok, so probably user (me) error World Tour Golf - can get CGA only. Manual says to start the game with "GOLF /T" for 16 colours, or "GOLF /T4" for 4 colours but even when trying that it still is CGA Charlie Brown's ABC's and Peanuts Picture Puzzlers - "PCjr. only, require Cartridge BASIC to be inserted, are intended to be booted off floppy (DOS program) and system memory should be strictly limited to 128KiB." Have to try this yet myself (not sure how to limit RAM to 128 kb in Dosbox?) A few games (eg Ghostbusters or Bruce Lee) still cause problems, but I was able to get them running properly on at least one emu in either PCjr or Tandy mode so that'll have to do for now. I've released v1.0 of my Tandy / PCjr exclusive pack. Its content should be ~97% compatible with at least one emu out there, so that's not too bad I think. Alas, this thread is always open for input: new ideas on how to run some of these games, or if anybody knows where to find titles from my MIA list (these need to be specific Tandy/PCjr versions, and are to my best knowledge currently unavailabe in the most well known sources). : Big Bird's Special Delivery Bouncy Bee Learns Words Digger Ernie's Magic Shapes Football (subLogic) GATO Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing! (v1.31T) Solitaire/Poker (Deskmate) Trivia 102 Ultima II: Revenge of the Enchantress (PCjr) US History: Western Settlement to Modern Day

I've released a new update for the Tandy / PCjr collection (search archive.org for "tandy play it by year"). It's been re-tested and reorganised and while still far from perfect, it's probably best I can do with this rather complicated subject. Thanks to @Great Hierophant for hints on how to run some of the more troublesome games. Please note that while I started it with MiSTer in mind, the final result is probably best experienced in Dosbox-x, because of its largest compatibility. It'd be interesting to hear what other people's success rate in running these games on different emus/platforms is.

I had another go at it, but still no joy. Tandy Basic seems difficult to locate, and when using the copy I found (images on archive.org) the program hangs as well. This really is above my pay grade. Would appreciate if somebody could confirm/deny that this game actually works. Thank you, but I've already been using Dosbox-x for its composite output (mentioned it in the initial list). Whether I'm using it the right or wrong way is another matter, but that's why I'd like others to try these games out.

Not exactly sure this is the way to read it here, seeing as most - if not all - other games from the list (that I recall) which have the "E" also have some sort of >CGA gfx (and/or additional comments). In any case, I still can't hear any special sounds which the "Y" delineates.

The list entry for Abrams has "E" in gfx, meaning (I think) it should display EGA when ran on Tandy, and also "Y(es)" for sfx, meaning it has some unique music or sounds. I couldn't detect any of that trying to run my copy on various Tandy emus (with 640Kb RAM), it just boots into CGA. I also installed it from floppies but the result is the same. What I meant more was the sort of in-between games - neither "normal" PC games nor the Tandy/PCjr exclusive-content ones. There's a huge number of games which have some sort of Tandy/PCjr designation but don't count into either of these groups. Eg if you search Moby by attribute Tandy, the sfx group has nearly 900 entries (as for Moby itself I've used it for years in my assorted other projects, comparing it vs other sources, and I must say it's fairly reliable, at least when it comes to large scale queries). To be honest I'm not 100% sure what it actually means though. Eg, Cruise For The Corpse is not in the Nerdly Pleasures' exclusive list, and it has Tandy tag on Moby. The gfx look EGA-like.

Sure, but all the games in question have been already thoroughly researched by the aforementioned @Great Hierophant in a series of articles on his Nerdly Pleasures blog. It's really a recommended reading (you can also search for "pcjr" or "tandy" keywords there). So it's already been established that these games have specific exclusive features. I'm merely trying to get them to run, and the purpose of this thread is to compare notes with others, seeing as my DOS-emu skills are pretty basic. So, in short, if anybody has a moment to spare, please try to run some of the games from my list, and see if they work at all. And if yes, then if the extra features are present. Which is not always the case, because they might not be the specific version or some other steps have to be taken in order to activate the special fx.

No, it was just some random basica file. Thanks for the suggestion. I've just tried it in PC-BASIC emulator, with pcjr preset, and the game starts (can see credits screen) and then hangs. I have little experience with these systems so not sure, maybe I'm doing something wrong? You're welcome, just bear in mind this list regards only games with exclusive fx features. The number of games which can actually run on Tandy is much bigger (you can check Moby for that). The game pack I'm working on is trying to collect the working versions for these games. Its next release will also include standalone files, at the moment it's just a vhd (though you can still mount it in Windows and transfer files to your Tandy, assuming you're using some SD card solution. There are also floppy image files).

I'm trying to research Tandy and PCjr games with exclusive fx for one of my archival projects. I've tried to run every game from the excellent list compiled by @Great Hierophant and some of them cause problems. I'd appreciate if you could your their experiences running these games and help me out straighten them out whenever possible. I have mainly used PCem & DosBox, and sometimes PCXT core (Tandy mode) on MiSTer for testing. All the games come from either the latest Total DOS Collection or Gruby's Floppy Images pack. Abrams Battle Tank - can't get EGA on Tandy, displays only CGA Arcticfox - gfx glitches in PCem, works in DosBox Bruce Lee - floppy glitches on all emulators. DC works in Dosbox Pcjr Ghostbusters - problem with every combination on floppy and hdd (from crashes to small glitches) Lode Runner - can't locate Tandy version, not sure if existing are any different from CGA Peanuts Picture Puzzlers - The game needs Cartridge Basic, I've tried with a BASICA but I can't get it to work. Pinball Construction Set - DC only shows CGA in Tandy, Pcjr crashes, booter ditto Sea Hunt - DC, Pcjr composite works in Dosbox but not sure if it's correct (no vertical lines) Sea Speller - DC, Pcjr composite works in Dosbox but not sure if it's correct - colours different than Moby's scr$ (using Dosbox-x) Styx - DC is CGA version? sounds the same Stuart Smith's Adventure Construction Set - not sure if Tandy version Trains - hdd version: sound is Tandy but looks like CGA Transylvania - hdd versions shows only CGA gfx World Tour Golf 1986 TDC hdd version in Dosbox looks to be Tandy 4 colour one

V1.0 of Amiga's Play It By Year collection is now up on archive. org (search for "amiga"+"akeley" or "play it by year").

I've been making "digging in the retro-crates" style software (but not only) collections for quite a few years now, and thought that despite being pretty niche, they might be of interest to some folks here. I'm also looking for feedback, bug reports, and contributions. Most of these are still WIP, since working on them is quite time consuming and can be quite repetitive, so I usually switch between them after releasing different versions to avoid topical burnout. All of them are hosted on archive.org. I link to the first two because they are copyright hassle-free, the others maybe not so much. You can find them rather easily there though (either click on my nickname in the ArchiveRL, or search by keywords) ArchiveRL - my first collection, it's basically a huge roguelike archive, aiming to collect every single classic RL from the dawn of time to AD 2019 (when the roguelite craze took over and it become impossible to differentiate these two styles). It's pretty much finished and "complete", though I'd still like to release additional "Versions" directory in the future. But, the search is always on for MIA games. CRT SCR$ Project v0.1 - this one collects photos of CRT TVs and monitors in action. These contraptions are a dying and disappearing breed, so I'd like to preserve at least some footprint - even though it's extremely difficult, perhaps even impossible, to capture the "CRT look" 100%, due to some tricksy photography-related factors. It's been at v0.1 for about a year now, over next two month v0.2 is coming though with a huge number of new photos from OG HW. I'm always looking for contibutions to this one, so if you have a CRT of any sort and are willing to snap some pics, give me a shout. Play It By Year series - this one is dedicated to my chrono-gaming obsession. Basically, these are exhaustive game collections (containing hdd & fdd images), organised by-year and researched for accuracy according to respectable sources. Mostly aiming for 1G1R (one-game-one-rom) format and containing absolutely everything (so yes, "crap" games included, though these are often the a lot of fun). Despite their chrono-roots they can be also easily turned into comprehensive A-Z collections. I mostly use them on MiSTer FPGA myself, but they have also been tested on emulators, and hopefully should work fine on original HW, after adapting. Apple II - possibly the best and most accurate AII collection out there (citation needed), even if I say so myself, and despite being only at v0.1 atm. Amazingly, despite Apple being so hugely influential, its software preservetion efforts are rather decentralized and lacking a dedicated website/database (at least comparable to meticulously researched soursecs available for other platforms). This collection is an attempt to somewhat unify and organise the available material. Version 0.2 should be coming by Summer 2023. Amiga - perhaps my most beloved micro. I've just released v0.9, which covers years 1985-1995 and is basically a mirror of the Hall Of Light database. To consider it as "v1.0" I still have to add the "no year" games from HoL, which will take a bit of time, hopefully not too long though. In some future date I might add years 1996 and up, but for now it' s all about the Golden Era. MS-DOS - this is a project inspired by the release of the excellent PC/XT core for the MiSTer FPGA. It contains all available games for years 1981-1989 (based on the Total Dos Collection). At the moment at version 0.3, which is actually more like "0.9" - nearly done. Tandy & PCjr - and offshot of the MS-DOS thing, it tries to contain all the games with exclusive features for these platforms, as mentioned by @Great Hierophant in his excellent articles on the subject and the featured game list. Due to difficulties with establishing which version is which and what works and what doesn't, I consider the current release (v0.3) as "experimental". More updates coming up soon, bug and mistake reports + comments for this one would be most appreciated (the file tandyprobl.txt included there mentions most of my current headaches).

Ok, so on the MiSTer side, the main dev made an updated xtide rom with this change enabled, and I can confirm the games work fine when using it. More details here.

Ok, so I've tried to run PCem XT instance with just floppy drives, no XTIDE. I got a PC-DOS 3.3 360kb disk form winworldpc.com and then transfered couple of the games onto blank 360kb images. The games now work, with DOS in a: and game image in b:. When I apply XTIDE back on the same setup , using the same floppies (and no hdd image attached), I get disk errors again - so similar to what The Usotsuki says is happening on real hardware. I also read on XTIDE's site that it's possible to enable: This sounds like confirmation of the problem being related to XTIDE itself I've tried to replicate this on MiSTer, but it's not easy, seeing as two of the main bios .roms have XTIDE baked in, and the 5160 dedicated one doesn't play nice with floppies. I will ask around, maybe a direct solution is possible. In any case, it's good to know that there is an answer to this problem, it's been bugging me for some time. Thanks for your replies here. Side note: when I tried to run my hdd vhds in PCem XT using alternative IDE option - MFM (I did not try SCSI) - it doesn't recognise my images which are usually >250MB, DOS 6.22 based. Is it because of the big size / OS used, or is it some completely different format?

As per the wiki, they say MiSTer's using 5160 rom: Could XTIDE be a problem here?

But MiSTer's PCXT core is supposed to be using 5160 rom, and so does PCem?

Solutions regarding usage of these programs in my collection are of secondary importance. I might try to do something about it later, like dedicated BASICA directory, but for now I just wrote about it in the readme. What bugs me more is why I can't actually run these games on a fairly accurate interpretation of the machine they were meant for. I've just tried to run BASICA.COM from a bunch of different games and it's usually the version A2.10 (which breaks the XT disk access) or GW-BASIC from 1985 (this works fine). That could indicate that perhaps pirates have swapped the files later to make the games work on non-IBM machines? I still wish somebody could actually try it out themselves, and also point me to a BASICA version which is 100% working on PCem or MiSTer. I've tried a few PC-DOS et al install disks and their BASICA.COMs just hanged on me.

Swapping for gw-basic is a solution, but I'd like to keep the original files in the collection. Also, there is a lot of these BASICA titles (~270) so it'd be quite a task. I'm now trying to use BASICA from PC DOS 2-3.0, to see if the games will work with that, but also struggling to get it going.