lord_mike

How did you test on real hardware? Did you burn yourself a cartridge rom with a superchip? Thanks, Mike

Very cool, Michael! Thank you!... this is exactly what I need for my latest project! I wonder if the data could also be put in the extra 2k space for the supercharger (assuming you have a 4K game)... hmmm... How hard is it to get a superchip cartridge made, I wonder?... that question is for a different forum, I guess... Thank you again! Mike

I never even heard of spider man before today.... played it, and it was really fun! I don't know what your problem with this game is.... I totally agree with the others... I don't understand the fascination with Kaboom... it's a lame paddle game.... Star wars is OK, but not really much fun... River Raid is pretty cool, though.... I used to play the 8-bit version a lot on my 1200Xl... Here's another one for ya... Quadrun: totally unplayable... everyone is obsessed with it, though... Apparently, many people think that Barnstorming is great... why? So, that's my $.02 Thanks, Mike

There is a problem with the standard kernel playfield editor... while the code generated with pfpixel commands is correct, the code generated for the playfield command is all messed up... It's not just me, if you look at the pictures of the editor on the website, you'll see that the code is messed up there, too... Otherwise, I really like it! It has a few rough edges... but, otherwise, a very nice developmental tool! Thanks, Mike

Never mind... I saw that you answered that question in another thread! Thanks, Mike

So... since you brought it up... what needs to be change to make your example work with both pfcolors and pfheights? I've been looking at the assembly, and I've tried altering the variable with no luck.... the BBasic compiler doesn't seem to want to write the extra pfcolor data into memory, making it impossible to move the pointer to a new location... I think Any thoughts how to make it work? Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks, Mike

Thank you for replying, Batari! I actually got that combo straight from the manual: Ah, yes.. now it works with the pfcolors keyword! I see... it doesn't look too bad in Stella, though.. the effect is pretty stunning, actually.... now, I have to figure out a hack to make it change colors dynamically... Curtis addressed something similar in another thread... we'll see if it's doable! Thanks, Batari for such a great product! I've noticed that you haven't updated your blog recently. Have you stopped working on BBasic? Thanks, Mike

I'm trying to figure out how to use the background kernel option... supposedly, this option works like pfcolors, only it changes the background color for each playfield line... the problem is, this kernel option is mentioned in the manual, but it completely undocumented... There is some reference to backgroundchange in the source code, but that is all I can figure out this late at night... I'm trying to bypass the pfheights with pfcolors "one time only" define restriction by using this kernel option instead to create a dynamic multicolored background... I tried the following with no success: set kernel_options player1colors pfheights background pfheights: 8 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 13 15 end playfield: ................................ ............X..X................ ...........X....X............... ..........X......X.............. .........X........X............. ........X..........X............ .......X............X........... ......X..............X.......... .....X................X......... ....X..................X........ ...X....................X....... end COLUPF=203 background: 144 146 148 152 154 156 158 160 162 164 166 end gameloop drawscreen goto gameloop end It says that the background keyword does not exist.... I haven't seen this issue brought up before, so I don't know where to turn for answers... Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Mike

Underpowered... for VCS emulation? Naah... There was a 2600 emulator for the old PalmOs's... but, it was commercial, and it limited you to the games it came with... can't remember the name... it was hacked, I believe, to allow any rom you wanted... if you do search, you should be able to find it.... Emulators for the Sinclair Spectrum, the Apple II, and a few other 8-bit machines also exist. Thanks, Mike

If only he'd bring back the original 2600 cuttle cart... I don't understand why it is so difficult to get a multicart for the 2600... Thanks, Mike

You're a fellow Clevelander, Albert???? Sweeeet! I certainly would like to be there! I don't have much to trade... but do need more stuff to acquire! (shhh... don't tell my wife!) Thanks, Mike

Ohhhhh... this sounds really sweet!!! I can't wait!!! Thanks, Mike

I wouldn't pay too much for a flashback portable... I already have PocketVCS for my smartphone... That works well enough for me. Thanks, Mike

This is understandable... too bad the team decided not to put in the numberous Atari sports titles... Basketball, Football, and HomeRun were lousy sports simulations, but they were really fun games to play with a friend. Considering the lack of two player head-to-head titles on the flashback, adding sports titled would have really been great! Thanks, Mike

I'm going to look at a different aspect.... BASIC programing on the C64 (sorry.. this originally said atari.. good thing I came back and read it again!) was darn near impossible... anything and everything had to be done by POKE's in decimal... ugh! Atari BASIC was slow, but powerful... you had a rich set of commands that allowed you to do most anything... except (ironically enough) PM graphics... The Atari would have been a better choice for a kid--he would have the tools necessary to write great programs... The C64 was really only useful as a game machine... Thanks, Mike

Forget Wizar of Wor.... MAJOR HAVOC??!?!?!??!?! OMG! I'd give my left arm for that game!!!! I thought I was the only person in the world that ever played it! No one I know has ever even heard of it! Thanks, Mike

Never played it.... my grade school had lots of Apples, and I used the religiously (Bank Street Writer! Print Shop!), but I graduated 8th grade in 1984, and my high school had mostly PC's... The apple games I remember were decathalon, apple panic, lode runner, and (of course) the wolfenstein series (the best of the bunch)... No shared experience here... Thanks, Mike

I'm getting in late... The idea that Jack Tramiel killed the home computer is partially right, but partially wrong as well... his price war made home computers not only affordable, but ubiquitous. It is because of him that the home computer idea boomed... but, it did come at a cost... the lack of respect that cheap "home computers" garnished made the Amiga and the ST dead on arrival when they came out... affordable all but disappeared for 15 years... why? Enter the real villains... IBM and Apple IBM "Standardized" the market with computers that cost $3,000 not $300... Apples had always been overpriced, but the new Mac raised the bar at $2500. These computers took the world by storm, and there was no longer a place for a $300 computer in the world of "personal computing". Development on "home systems" took a dive, sales continued for awhile, but they would never be taken seriously again... for more than a decade, a "real" computer was one that cost a fortune... anything else was considered a joke... And so it was... I can never forgive IBM for destroying the home computer industry... their product was quite crappy for the outrageous price, and it took almost a decade for the PC to catch up to the graphics and sound of even my old Atari 8-bit. Thanks, Mike

Thanks, Batari!!!

Thanks, Batari for the info! But, I have one question.... is there an easy way do it in BBasic? According the manual, the only bankswitching schemes are 8K and above... is there an undocumented compiler directive that can be used for supercharger, or is the method too complicated to describe in a forum post? From what I understand, the supercharger uses 3, 2k banks... Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I know it may seem silly to try and target the supercharger, but that is what I have readily available, and it's much easier and less expensive than having someone burn 8K (or above) untested carts for games that I'd like to program for my wife (as cute little gifts for birthdays and such). True, 6K isn't much, but it is more than 4K, and every byte helps! Thanks, Mike

A few weeks ago, I talked about buying a replacement 1050 drive to fix my malfunctioning one, and hooking up my old 1200XL to it... well, the drive works, and the computer works... I had bend running old games just great... but today, I decided to work on BASIC programs and... well.... half the keys don't work... I resurrected a few of them by typing repeatedly (probably decrustifying some of them... the machine was pretty dusty when I pulled it out of storage), but about half still don't function at all, including space and return... In despair, I turned to this site and found some hope... I read several posts from people who were able to resurrect their malfunctioning keyboards using an unspecified "1200XL keyboard repair guide," that is buried somewhere on this site. I guess my problem is pretty common... which is great, but, I have a new problem... I'll be darned if I can actually find this keyboard repair guide here or anywhere else on the 'net!... If anyone can post a link, instructions, or any advice, to help me resurrect my old Atari 8-bit keyboard, I'd greatly appreciate it! Thanks, Mike

Yes, that's true; I'm resistant to work on supporting any schemes in which boards are not readily available for a reasonable price. But I do encourage others to add support themselves. Since we are talking about bankswitching schemes... has anyone tried implementing the Arcadia/Starpath Supercharger 6K bankswitching model into BBasic? Thanks, Mike

Wow!!!! I mean... wow!!! how did you get so many playfield rows in the standard kernel... would love to see the source code, someday! Thanks, Mike

Mine, too! We aren't married to the same woman, are we? She was amazed at how much it cost back then... I never had one myself... had no interest in anything that was "educational", but I played a lot of friends' speak and spells... Thanks, Mike

YES! Only, I got in late in the game.... my first experience with freenet was a recipient of email from my friend's freenet account to my college email account... I was amazed that someone outside the system could email me! Later, I got my own account, but it was really hard to log in... eventually, I had to telnet into freenet, which defeats the whole purpose! Thanks, Mike