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As the title says, my 2600+ arrived broken. No damage to the shipping box, any of the games that I ordered, or the console's box. It's obvious that the person packaging everything dropped it on the corner and then packaged it up. I received it last Monday (12/11) and immediately contacted customer service. I received an automated email with a support ticket number, a link to a customer support log in, and a promise that I would be contacted by a customer support agent within 1-2 business days. It has now been over a week without hearing from anyone. The customer support log in link they sent in the email is broken and forwards me to the main Atari website. I've received a response from whoever monitors their social media replying to my Facebook messenger plea but they only say the customer service is "busier than usual". This was supposed to be a Christmas gift for me and my family. This is my first Atari purchase. I love the games, I love the console, but this experience is wearing on me. Any help or direction is greatly appreciated.

Hi All, I made a post on Reddit but was directed here. I was given a 2600, but an unable to connect it to my moden TV - which as I understand it has the correct connections. Could sombody point me in the right direction of where I'm going wrong? I'm in the UK if that makes a difference to the console I have. The external cable looks like this at the end, and plugs directly into the read of my Sony XR-55A80J When I switch the TV source to where I think that should be (with the console on and a game inserted), I don't see anything. The people on Reddit advised I got a “Phono RCA Female to F Type Male RF Connector Coaxial Adapter for Atari 2600” which I did (here) - however it doesn't attach to my console's cable. This seemed baffled the people on Reddit. Can anyone help me - I just want to play Space Invaders again like I did in the seventies?

Hello there, TL;DR any help on Intellivision flashback controller to Intellivision I pinouts? 1) successfully made an Intellivision flashback to Intellivision ii adapter via posts like this: 2) Tried to make it to a similar pinout but with a DuPont connector header via this mapping: https://arcarc.xmission.com/Web Archives/Deathskull (May-2006)/games/tech/intvcont.html 3) no luck, I get a bunch of buttons and some trigger side buttons but no wheel. 4) anyone have guidance? I have duponts on the cable so I am correct the mapping if I am missing something. if anyone has an existing Intellivision I to Intellivision flashback adapter and could take a multimeter to them and tell me the pinout that would be sooo cool of you. tried to buy one but the OP of these hasn’t replied. No worries though figured I’d try my hand at trying to get better with soldering/learning electronics. any help you could provide would be sooooo appreciated, thanks !

Hi guys, i am new at programming the 6502 processor ( i would like to develop on atari 2600),so im trying to practice up by writing some random stuff. The question for you,expert programmers is the following one: i have written a code,and i tried to add a player on the screen, also i used some variables for setting the y pos and the lines where the sprite can appear. but,anyway,the sprite doesn't work,so i wonder if there is any mistake in the source code and in the opcodes usage. ( i use z26 as emulator) here is the code i made processor 6502 include "vcs.h" include "macro.h" SEG ORG $F000 pline = $81 ypos = $80 ; initializing, cleaning ram and tia registers ldx #$FF lda #0 clea sta $00,x dex bne clea ; setting color for player lda #$18 sta COLUP0 ; setting y pos for player 0 lda #80 sta ypos Reset StartOfFrame ; vsync lda #2 sta VSYNC sta VBLANK sta WSYNC sta WSYNC sta WSYNC lda #0 sta VSYNC ; 37 lines of vetical blank lda #43 sta TIM64T vb sta WSYNC lda INTIM bne vb lda #0 sta VBLANK ; 192 lines of picture ldy #3 lda #$70 sta COLUBK lda #$1E sta COLUPF lda #%11000000 light sta PF0 nop nop lda #%00111000 sta PF1 sta PF2 sta WSYNC dey bne light ; void ldy #15 lda #0 sta PF1 sta PF0 sta PF2 void sta WSYNC dey bne void ; palace ldy #174 lda #$08 sta COLUPF pic sta WSYNC lda #%11111111 sta PF1 sta PF0 sta PF2 checkpl cpy ypos bne skip lda #7 sta pline skip draw ldx pline beq final lda Frame0,X sta GRP0 dec pline final dey bne pic ; over scan ldx #0 lda #2 over sta VBLANK sta WSYNC inx cpx #30 bne over jmp StartOfFrame Frame0 .byte #%10000001 .byte #%11000011 .byte #%01111110 .byte #%00111100 .byte #%00111100 .byte #%11111111 .byte #%10111101 .byte #%00111100 ;finishing org $FFFC InterruptVectors word. Reset word. Reset END

Does anyone know of a good tutorial on making title screens? I am making a home brew right now for a university project and I would like to add a title screen. I took a course on udemy on how to get started but he doesn't go over things like Procedural Generation and title screens and I'm not sure where to start. Also a good tutorial on animation would be helpful. In the course I learned how to make the character move around the screen but and implement an animation for than but not a cycling animation for every frame. I'll also include my code below if anyone is interested in looking at it. Thanks in adavanced! ?? labyrinth.asm

Hello, I'm trying to get started writing some 2600 homebrew code, and I've written a very simple program to just set up a framework and get a good handle on the TIA timing. I'm using the current version of Stella to test my code. Right now, I just have it doing a simple loop where it counts down the 192 lines in the display region and stores the current value of the loop counter in PF1. When I run it in Stella, most of the time I get the predicted results, but sometimes I get the image scrunched in half. It looks like I'm inadvertently going into interlace mode, and that the resolution is cut in half, but I'm not certain that's the case or if so, why it's happening. Any insight you might offer would be greatly appreciated! Here's the code. I'm also attaching Stella screenshots of the expected and unexpected results. The unexpected results happen randomly, maybe 1 in 5 times. Thanks in advance! John init: lda #$00 ; Initialize some key registers. sta ENABL sta ENAM0 sta ENAM1 sta GRP0 sta GRP1 sta COLUBK sta PF0 sta PF1 sta PF2 sta COLUPF sta CTRLPF jmp main main: lda #$0 sta CTRLPF ; Zero out the PF control bits. lda #$2 sta VBLANK ; Turn vertical blanking on. sta WSYNC sta VSYNC ; Start VSYNC. ; The start of our main loop. .vsync: sta WSYNC sta WSYNC sta WSYNC ; There's our 3 scanlines of VSYNC. lda #$0 sta VSYNC ; Turn off VSYNC. lda #37 ; 37 scanlines in VBLANK for the upper border. clc .vblLoop: sta WSYNC sbc #1 bne .vblLoop .frame: lda #$0 sta VBLANK ; Stop vertical blanking. tya sta COLUPF ; Set a cycling Playfield color. dey lda #192 ; 192 scanlines in the visible region. clc .loop1: sta PF1 ; Store the current value of the loop counter in the PF1, to give us a pattern. sbc #1 sta WSYNC bne .loop1 lda #$2 sta VBLANK ; Start vertical blanking. lda #29 ; 29 lines of overscan (we'll do 30th line below, right before VSYNC.) clc .loop2: sta WSYNC sbc #1 bne .loop2 lda #2 sta WSYNC ; This is the 30th line of overscan. sta VSYNC ; Turn vsync on. jmp .vsync

I know of existence of some techiniques like chronocolour, player cloning, strech, pseudo player, etc. But i dint know how to progam batari basic, could someone recommend me any tip or person to help me?

Hi I have been reading some tutorials on 2600 programming and I am trying to make a simple tag game. Right now I'm trying to get it so the player can move vertically by implementing skip draw. Sometimes when I start the ROM there is no sprite on the screen but other times there is one that I can control but it doesn't look like the sprite I want. Here is what my scan loop looks like: This is my sprite data: This is how I'm making the pointer: Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

I had a 1040ST in the late 80's early 90's. I purchased a very good 1040STfm and SC1224 (color monitor) on eBay, all seems to be working great. So I have a couple basic questions as I get to know the ST again :-) Thanks in advance. Please see the attached picture: 0) Where can I find good FAQ details about the ST line? 1) What version of TOS do I have? How do you tell? 2) Are these two socketed chips my TOS? 3) I see the Gotek drive replacement option. Is there an option that does not require any case cutting? 4) Is there an external (2nd drive) option for Gotek? 5) See image of my current floppy. Can you upgrade to a 1.44MB drive? If so, what version of TOS would support this? 6) Is there a TOS that can handle Y2K (dates with years like 2019)? 7) Is there a real-time clock (RTC) add-on? 8 - Best source for new TOS?

Hey there everyone, I just started learning to program the Atari 2600 in Assembly recently and I think that I have learned a great deal. However, I seem to have hit a road block. Initially, when I first started programming playfields and backgrounds, I plugged the values in line by line like this: .fctbNone{ color:#e0e0e0; }.fctbStyle0{ color:#adff2f;font-style:oblique; }.fctbStyle3{ color:#ffd700; }.fctbStyle5{ color:#ee82ee; }.fctbStyle4{ color:#00bfff; }.fctbStyle2{ color:#ffa500; }.fctbStyle1{ color:#00ffff;font-weight:bold; }.fctbStyle1Style3{ color:#00ffff;font-weight:bold; }.fctbStyle2Style3{ color:#ffa500; }.fctbStyle6{ color:#ff6347; }.fctbStyle0Style6{ color:#adff2f;font-style:oblique; }; < GAME TITLE >; < AUTOR > processor 6502 include "vcs.h" include "macro.h" ;---------- LABELS ----------;---------------------------- SEG ORG $F000Reset; Initialize TIA/RAM; ------------------ LDX #0 LDA #0 Clear STA 0,X INX BNE Clear ; Initialize Labels; ----------------- COMPILE_VERSION = NTSC NTSC =#1 LDA #%00000001 STA $82 LDA #$BC STA COLUPF LDA $82 STA CTRLPF ; Start Game; ----------StartOfFrame LDA #0 STA VBLANK LDA #2 STA VSYNC ; VSYNC Signal STA WSYNC STA WSYNC STA WSYNC LDA #0 STA VSYNC ; Vertical Blank LDX #0 VerticalBlank STA WSYNC INX CPX #37 BNE VerticalBlank ; Scanlines LDX #0IDIOT INX LDA #$C4 STA COLUBK STA WSYNC CPX #40 BNE IDIOT LDA #$C4 STA COLUPF LDA #$0 STA COLUBK LDA #%11111111 STA PF0 STA PF1 LDA #%10111111 STA PF2 MORAL INX LDA #$CA STA COLUBK STA WSYNC CPX #42 BNE MORAL LDA #%11100000 STA PF0 LDA #%11001111 STA PF1 LDA #%00011111 STA PF2CORAL INX LDA #$CA STA COLUBK STA WSYNC CPX #44 BNE CORAL LDA #%11000000 STA PF0 LDA #%10000111 STA PF1 LDA #%00001111 STA PF2NORAL INX LDA #$CA STA COLUBK STA WSYNC CPX #46 BNE NORAL LDA #%10000000 STA PF0 LDA #%00000011 STA PF1 LDA #%00000111 STA PF2STEVE INX LDA #$CA STA COLUBK STA WSYNC CPX #48 BNE STEVE LDA #%00000000 STA PF0 LDA #%00000001 STA PF1 LDA #%00000011 STA PF2PTEVE INX LDA #$CA STA COLUBK STA WSYNC CPX #50 BNE PTEVE LDA #0 STA PF0 STA PF1 STA PF2BIGB INX LDA #$CA STA COLUBK STA WSYNC CPX #110 BNE BIGB BIGBB INX LDA #$2E STA COLUBK STA WSYNC CPX #130 BNE BIGBB BIGBBB INX LDA #$2C STA COLUBK STA WSYNC CPX #150 BNE BIGBBB FED INX LDA #$0 STA COLUBK STA WSYNC CPX #192 BNE FED EndScreen LDA #%01000010 STA VBLANK ; Overscan LDX #0Overscan STA WSYNC INX CPX #30 BNE Overscan ; Next Frame ; ---------- JMP StartOfFrame ORG $FFFA .word Reset .word Reset .word Reset END Thanks all! But while I was continuing in the tutorials, I found that my original methodology isnt really going to work (or will it? please let me know!) especially working with a great deal of sprites and backgrounds. So, I have found that most people tend to do play fields more like this: .fctbNone{ color:#e0e0e0; }.fctbStyle0{ color:#adff2f;font-style:oblique; }.fctbStyle3{ color:#ffd700; }.fctbStyle5{ color:#ee82ee; }.fctbStyle4{ color:#00bfff; }.fctbStyle2{ color:#ffa500; }.fctbStyle1{ color:#00ffff;font-weight:bold; }.fctbStyle1Style3{ color:#00ffff;font-weight:bold; }.fctbStyle2Style3{ color:#ffa500; }.fctbStyle6{ color:#ff6347; }.fctbStyle0Style6{ color:#adff2f;font-style:oblique; }; < GAME TITLE >; < AUTOR > processor 6502 include "vcs.h" include "macro.h" ;---------- LABELS ----------;---------------------------- SEG ORG $F000Reset; Initialize TIA/RAM; ------------------ LDX #0 LDA #0 Clear STA 0,X INX BNE Clear ; Initialize Labels; ----------------- COMPILE_VERSION = NTSC NTSC =#1 LDA #%00000001 STA $82 LDA #$BC STA COLUPF LDA $82 STA CTRLPF PFG0 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010PFG1 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010PFG2 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010 .byte %10101010; Start Game; ----------StartOfFrame LDA #0 STA VBLANK LDA #2 STA VSYNC ; VSYNC Signal STA WSYNC STA WSYNC STA WSYNC LDA #0 STA VSYNC ; Vertical Blank LDX #0 VerticalBlank STA WSYNC INX CPX #37 BNE VerticalBlank ; Scanlines LDX #0 ;THIS AREA IS ENCLOSED FOR THE PASTEINGLDY #0Woah LDA PFG0,X STA PF0 LDA PFG1,X STA PF1 LDA PFG2,X STA PF2 INX STA WSYNC cpx #190 bne Woah;FINISH AREA LDA %00000000 STA PF0 STA PF1 STA PF2FED INX LDA #$0 STA COLUBK STA WSYNC CPX #192 BNE FED EndScreen LDA #%01000010 STA VBLANK ; Overscan LDX #0Overscan STA WSYNC INX CPX #30 BNE Overscan ; Next Frame ; ---------- JMP StartOfFrame ORG $FFFA .word Reset .word Reset .word Reset END So once I tested this I found that I only got some of the playfield filled, the other parts are random. why is this? Can it be fixed?

Hello everyone, Now that I have my system functional again, I have been like a child searching through the toy catalogs trying to make a list for Christmas! There is so much information to sift through, and not being a seasoned 99’er, I am confused as how best to equip my system. I have searched through similar posts which are quite helpful, however, development of new and upgraded products (which is great) and my ignorance of how they work, are hindering me from deciding what to do. My System Hardware: Black and Chrome Console w/Speech Synth (w/power jumper mod), Jedimatt42 32K Sidecar, Program Recorder and TI Joysticks (non-working (mylar contact sheets need conductive paint repair) System Upgrade Goals: To share programs from a central location that I am working on (mainly ex basic) between my console and using an emulator on my Win10 PC. To utilize the software available on this site (cartridge roms/groms, dsk’s, tapes, etc) on my console. To get my console online to connect to BBS’s, chat, email, and online games (such as TIPI chess). What I am sure I need: Your help! What I am thinking I need: TIPI Setup F18A MK2 Extended Basic 2.7 Suite Cartridge 4A DOS Cartridge (Automate the TIPI startup) What I am unsure about but thinking I may need: FinalGROM99 (Does this supersede the FlashROM 99?, Do you need both?, Do I need this if I have a TIPI?) Stuart’s TI-99/4A – Internet Web Browser Cartridge V9.2 (Do I need this if I have a TIPI?) Which Extended Basic Cartridge? (Extended Basic 2.7 Suite, Extended Basic 3 in 1 – Contains Ti XB, XB2.7 and RXB2015, Extended Basic Fun – Contains XB2.7, XB256, and XB w/The missing link, Cortex Basic) 512K Utilities multi-cart cartridge (This is included in the Extended Basic 2.7 Suite Cartridge but not in the other versions of the XB2.7 cartridges?) I appreciate that there are so many options to configure your system based upon each person’s interests, wants, needs and goals. There is not a one size fits all configuration. For me, I know that I am very excited to get a TIPI and need help so that I do not overlook options and/or add redundant upgrades. Thank you in advance for your time and feedback. TWoodland

Good afternoon, I just wanted to introduce myself and to thank everyone for being a part of this wonderful active community of TI-99/4A users and developers. My name is Tim and I just dug out my console after it having been in storage for over 35 years. It was my first home computer. My older brother bought it as a present for me. I had been wanting a computer for several years since seeing the TRS-80 in Radio Shack catalogs and was elated to receive it for Christmas in 1982. It was a great addition to my TI collection (Spirit of 76 calc, Little Professor, and Speak & Spell). I spent many joyful nights playing games, hand jamming programs and writing programs of my own. In 1986, I got a job as a CAD/CAM systems engineer and soon the TI was neglected. It always followed me whenever I moved but never made it out of storage till last week when I stumbled upon Omega's TIPI YouTube video. After watching that I was hooked and inspired to clean the cobwebs off my console and get it setup and running. After un-boxing it, cleaning it, and checking it out a bit (power adapter and supply voltages, re-seating socketed chips, new arctic silver thermal compound) , I decided to plug everything in and power it up. Doh! the console powered on but gave me the dreaded black screen, continuous tone error! I am now waiting on my shipment of TMS4116-15NL RAM IC's, 16 Pin Dip IC Sockets and a TMS9918ANL VDP. Hopefully this will breathe some life into it and allow me relive part of my youth again! Again I would like to thank this community for not just keeping the TI-99 alive and well, but for all of the new developments, modifications and upgrades! I hope to join you soon in communicating, learning, using, and contributing to this group. Warm regards, Tim

As the title says, I got a TRS-80 CoCo. It comes with a Pak game. (Chess), and it's been modded to use RCA Video/In out style jacks. (I believe this is called a composite mod? I am basically returning to the collectors scene of retro games after a VERY long hiatus.) for what I think is a good price of 35 dollars off ebay. NOW, besides the cassette interface cable, do I need a super special cassette player to load tapes? Or can I just use any old cassette player after fiddling with volume settings? As far as I can tell the only benefit of a 'super special TRS-80 specific' cassette is the ability for the computer to control it directly? (Or heck, can I even play an audio file of the cassette off my computer or smart phone?) Just making sure I know what to get and look out for~

Hi there! Let me introduce myself. My name is Daniel. I'm a brazilian graphic designer, digital artist and web and mobile designer. I have some basic experience with C/C++ and Java, and used to play a lot with Basic when I was a kid with my good ol' MSX I got for christmas. That said, please forgive my bad english skills (everything I know I got from reading books and watching movies). So, this is my first Atari 2600 project. I'm a 2600 enthusiast, and found AA when I was collecting info on 2600 games for my collection a few months ago. At the forums I found out this homebrewing community and since then realized I really needed to create my own 2600 game. My initial plan is to make a runner kinda like Bit.Trip Runner, respecting the 2600's limitations of course (and perhaps bending a little bit those limits ) I have no clue if it is possible to do, for I started to mess around with bB only a few days ago. The player for this game will look like a skeleton, as you'll see on the first screenshot. The level design should use a lot of white, black and gray tones for an eerie feeling, with occasional colors to make impact (I really like Frank Miller's Sin City comics, just so you know what I'm talking about). This is my first take at the player. I'm using Atarius Maximus's samples as reference for the coding. Atarius's playfield example is still there since I'm messing around with those snippets and only implemented player's movement and sprite animation. You can check the first .bin at the end of the post. I know that there's almost nothing to see here, but it means a lot to me. Hopefully I'll update this post regularly. If you're an old timer on bB, I'll appreciate your comments. If you're a newbie like me, feel free to ask me how I did this or that. We'll learn together! Keep on rockin'! char.bas.bin

Greetings from Canada, Ottawa to be more precise. Believe it or not, today was the first time I have seen an Atari computer in person and I can certainly explain why. Even though I am Canadian and have been in Ottawa for close to two decades, I actually grew up in South America (Brazil). So back in the 80s, due to the Brazilian import ban on computers (the idea was to protect the local industry - fail IMHO) everything you could get your hands on were Apple/TRS-80/Sinclair clones. Mid 80s brought us MSX clones and of course down the road, PCs (well there was actually one company that made the first and only Apple Mac clone, based on the 128/512 - I did my internship there but that is the subject for another post). What that created was a generation/market that had no exposure to anything like the Commodore/Amiga/Atari computers (video games, different story - there were licensed copies of the Sega Genesis/Atari 2600/etc). As I do love retro things, especially the ones I played with when young, years ago I started collecting video games. The old Woody Ataris, Jaguar, Saturn, NeoGeo, etc. Even Pinball/Arcade machines. But I felt there was something missing. That is when I started to take a look at all the great stuff that I missed due to being in South America. Dang. That brings us to yesterday. I see a post on the local For Sale board for an Atari computer. After further inspection, it was a mint (the thing looks new) Atari 520STfm with its matching color monitor (SC1224 - also in excellent condition, with a perfect, colorful and bright picture), mouse, joysticks, etc. Everything was there. Boxes, manuals and a cardboard box with 300 floppies, that according to the seller, are indeed working. Add to that many games in the original box with all the artwork etc. Having no clue how much these things go for, I offered him $150 and he accepted. Now the plan is to do what I am doing with a Commodore 64 I bought two weeks ago. LOL. - Figure out if it is possible to have some peripheral that works like a hard drive but is SD based or even an IDE interface I can put a hard drive on it. Not sure what would be the maximum size. From what I am reading it seems like depending on the OS version it can see up to 24 partitions but not all will be assigned a 'drive letter' limiting the whole thing to around 8GB. - Find a way to copy all the floppies to this 'SD' based thing. - Add somehow a Network Card so I can access BBSs and IRC. Ideally if heaven allows, in 53 or 80 columns for IRC. - Understand what sort of OS this thing runs, if it can be booted off the SD card and how to upgrade the OS to the latest one available/possible. - If I manage to get all the above going, well then spend some time trying to understand how to program the damn thing. Of course all this assumes I will have time in my hands, what almost certainly will not be the case due to the job-related traveling, the eight cars in my garage and the five year old that I managed to get at age 40. Cheers and regards from Canada. CR

Hi, I'm new to Atari 8 bit computers having grown up with C64 and Spectrums. I recently bought a bargain 800XL from eBay (yes, miracles do sometimes happen). I don't have any software yet but I was able to get the machine into self test mode (what a cool feature!) and it passes just fine. There seems to be some after-market mod on the system, can anyone tell me what it's for? Here's a picture of it:- IMG_0922 by videogameperfection, on Flickr There's three switches at the back. I tried flipping them but all that seems to happen is the machine boots to a blank screen. Does anyone have any idea what this might be? My intention with the machine is to RGB mod it using Lotharek's VBXE board and probably add a flash cart of some description too. Hopefully whatever this is won't interfere with that! Thanks in advance for any help

So I am at the point now where i've familiarized myself just enough with the Tandy Color Computer 2 interface and history and whatnot that I can load some DSK images from the CocoSDC and I even managed to sort of customize an old type-in christmas program from a 1982 issue of The Rainbow magazine. From what i've been able to tell, there isn't currently a menu system for the CodoSDC for loading images. What i'm wondering is would it be possible to write a very "basic" Basic menu that has a list of the games in a given directory and uses the cursor keys or the joystick to move through the list and select a game. From there, the program could issue the Drive 0,"game" and LoadM"game.bin" commands for me. I don't have a particularly good understanding of Extended Color Basic yet so i'm not sure how to approach this and where i'd look for useful references, but it does sound like it would be useful at least as far as static game lists are concerned.

Howdy. Long time lurker, first time poster. Please go easy on me :-) Anyway, as a person who enjoys older computers and electronics I decided to take the plunge and start collecting carts for the 2600. I already have a about a dozen 2600 carts, a wood grain 4 switch VCS, and a 7800 so I'm off to a good start. I'm also pleasantly surprised that there seems to be lots of great old VCS games that are very inexpensive, including most or all of the ones I remember from my childhood. My plan is to slowly acquire the games I most want - maybe a few carts per week - and eventually acquire the fun and reasonably priced games made by Atari, Activision, and Imagic plus a few select others (Turmoil and Empire Strikes Back come to mind as good games not made by the big three). Rare games like Quadrun and shovelware are off of my menu (and for what it's worth Pac-Man and ET will be part of my collection). Two questions for the experts here: 1) Is Ebay and Amazon Marketplace plus Thrift Stores and Yard Sales the usual way to acquire cartridges? I don't see Atari games at Goodwill very often, and even then the common ones are priced comparable to Ebay. I go to yard sales weekly but can't remember the last time I saw anything Atari unless it was for the Playstation 2. 2) Are there any other companies besides Atari, Activision, and Imagic that produced consistently good games and have libraries worth collecting? I remember Parker Brothers and M Network put at least a few good games out. I know Turmoil was made by 20th Century fox but I've never played any of their other games. Thanks much for the intel!!!

Edit: Nevermind. The problem was with the = 1 that somehow got after the joy0fire statement on the second-last line. How did it get there? I don't know. Does anyone have any idea where I messed up? This program used to compile and run, but ever since I tried to make the reset switch work it stopped compiling, even after I removed the offending code... The alleged syntax error is in a different place every time I try to compile the program. Usually it's either at the start of the first line, or the end of the last line. Here is the code attached: predator.bas Here it is in code tags: rem batari Basic Program rem created 8/06/2014 1:59:51 PM by Visual bB Version 1.0.0.554 set kernel_options pfcolors no_blank_lines set romsize 8kSC pfcolors: $AE $AC $AA $A8 $A6 $A4 $A2 $A0 $2A $28 $24 end playfield: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX............XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX............XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX............XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX end AtariLogo player0: %00100001 %01010010 %10001010 %10001010 %10001001 %00000000 %11100001 %00010001 %00001001 %00001001 %00000101 %00000101 %00000101 %00000101 %00000101 %00000101 end player1: %11000110 %00000001 %00000110 %00001000 %11000110 %00000000 %00001110 %00010000 %00100000 %00100000 %01000000 %01000000 %01000000 %01000000 %01000000 %01000000 end COLUBK = $00 var0 = 0 var1 = 0 var3 = 0 draw_loop if var3 = 1 then gosub changesprites1 if var3 = 3 then gosub changesprites2 if var0 = 0 then gosub logos if var0 = 1 then gosub titlehold drawscreen goto draw_loop logos if var1 < 12 then var2 = var1 if var3 = 0 then if var1 = 12 then AUDV0 = 4 if var3 = 0 then if var1 = 12 then AUDC0 = 4 if var3 = 0 then if var1 = 12 then AUDF0 = 7 if var3 = 0 then if var1 = 12 then AUDV1 = 4 if var3 = 0 then if var1 = 12 then AUDC1 = 2 if var3 = 0 then if var1 = 12 then AUDF1 = 5 if var3 = 0 then if var1 = 14 then AUDV0 = 0 if var3 = 0 then if var1 = 14 then AUDC0 = 0 if var3 = 0 then if var1 = 14 then AUDF0 = 0 if var3 = 0 then if var1 = 14 then AUDV1 = 0 if var3 = 0 then if var1 = 14 then AUDC1 = 0 if var3 = 0 then if var1 = 14 then AUDF1 = 0 if var1 = 87 then if var3 = 4 then var2 = 0 if var1 = 87 then if var3 = 4 then var0 = 1 if var1 = 87 then if var3 = 4 then return if var1 = 87 then var2 = 11 if var1 = 88 then var2 = 10 if var1 = 89 then var2 = 9 if var1 = 90 then var2 = 8 if var1 = 91 then var2 = 7 if var1 = 92 then var2 = 6 if var1 = 93 then var2 = 5 if var1 = 94 then var2 = 4 if var1 = 95 then var2 = 3 if var1 = 96 then var2 = 2 if var1 = 97 then var2 = 1 if var1 = 98 then var2 = 0 if var1 = 99 then var3 = var3 + 1 if var1 = 99 then var1 = 0 if var1 = 99 then var2 = 0 player0x = 75 player0y = 35 player1x = 83 player1y = 35 COLUP0 = var2 COLUP1 = var2 var1 = var1 + 1 return changesprites1 player0: %11101110 %10001010 %11101110 %00101000 %11100110 %00000000 %11100111 %10010101 %10010101 %11100000 %00000000 %01001010 %01001010 %01001110 %01001000 %11101000 end player1: %01100100 %10101010 %10101010 %10101010 %01100100 %00000011 %01110100 %01010111 %01110101 %00010010 %00000000 %11010100 %10100100 %11101110 %00000100 %00000000 end var3 = 2 return changesprites2 player0: %10001000 %10001000 %10001110 %11100000 %10100000 %11100000 %00000000 %11111011 %10101010 %10101011 %10101000 %00000000 %11101010 %10101010 %10101110 %10100000 end player1: %01100111 %10000101 %11100111 %10010001 %01100001 %00000000 %00000000 %10100100 %10100100 %01110111 %00100000 %00000000 %11101000 %10101000 %11101110 %00100000 end var3 = 4 return titlehold player0x = 75 player0y = 35 player1x = 83 player1y = 35 COLUP0 = $0A COLUP1 = $0A if joy0fire = 1 then var0 = 2 return Thanks

Underwater Predator By ThatDude (Declan Hoare) EDIT: All updates will be posted with their own post to this topic. If you want the latest version, go to the last post in this topic by me. I would appreciate it if you didn't take my name out of this game's credits or sell the game without my permission. Technically, the latter is legal, but I would obviously prefer that you didn't. This is the first version of my first ever working Atari 2600 game, distributed under the GPL version 3. Please let me know what you think and give suggestions for improvements! You are a shark (in the loosest sense of the word ) flying around in SPAAAACE! underwater, surprisingly. You have to eat the "gold"fish (although because of the 2600's limited pallette, they're really light yellow) while avoiding black fish, which are rotten but somehow still alive and swimming (SHHH, don't question these things). Every 20 points, the speed of the fish increases, and although the first speed is downright boring, it quickly gets more interesting. You use the stick to move and the button to eat. Source code (warning: extremely messy): predator.bas NTSC ROM: Underwater_Predator_V1.bin I haven't made a PAL ROM at the time of this posting, but I definitely will at some point - I live in a PAL region, after all. z26 and Stella both run this game fine, although I don't have a Harmony cart (or, for that matter, a 2600) so I can't be sure if it works on real hardware. Enjoy!

Hi guys, New to the site but, a longtime vcs fanatic. I also play OSU! on my spare time as i love elite beat agents. I was wondering how difficult it would be to create a simple port of Osu!. Here is a small video of it in action. I have been reading andrews assembly language tutorials and know some assembly language. I also own a an Atari 2600 and Harmonary cart. From read the technical specs, it looks like i will have to simplify it quite a bit. Can someone please tell me the feasibility of this? Any assistance in this matter would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Vcsu!

I've finally got Visual batariBasic to compile, but it compiles to nothing! I went to check the files, and I found out that when it compiles to the .asm files there's no information in it. So, when it compiles to .bin, there's, yet again, nothing there. Does anybody know why it's doing that and how to stop that? Thanks in advance. I'm using Windows 8 with Stella if that means anything.

1st up hi from the UK guys !! Absolute newb so be gentle,hopefully Ill be able to pic the correct spots to post but let me know if there's somewhere more appropriate. Anyhoo...........Im an old geezer from back in the day,old enough to remember waiting excitedly for new releases for the Intv heh heh -NOT that I ever had the money to buy them but in common with most others now Im older I can behave like a spoilt brat and buy back my youth and the games we all dreamed of. Hopefully Ill be able to chip in now + again but my knowledge pales next to the Yodas that inhabit these forums.Being UK based Im a little limited for sourcing rarities but stuff does pop up now and again.Ive amassed a decent collection I think with most of the rarities barring the new homebrews I read jealously about !!! I will get round to getting some pics on soon but just wanted to tap the amassed knowledge here if I could. - To that end - I just bought a whole collection (to get a couple of rarities and more truthfully to stop it going to eBay!!!!) and amid my (wife calls it my ADHD) excited flicking round testing games I popped in a Defender cart and up pops Pac-Man . Not sure if its a Doh! or Woohoo! moment as I remember people back in the day scamming the likes of Blockbuster etc by swapping game boards round in rentals before attempting to get a mate who worked there to book 'em back in!!!! I asked the chap I bought them from and he was very apologetic.He apparently worked for Mattel in the UK in the 70's and 80's (and is retiring for some Island life hence getting shot of the loft contents) He said he'd taken it home for his kids back then as it was returned as faulty,having the wrong game board. He sounded legit and even offered a refund for the error.Having had a good buy I politely thanked him for the info and no need for the refund but Im at a loss as to the legitimacy of the item. Previous history tells me opening carts without damaging them is pretty iffy-Im not even going into my experiences,thankfully it was only cheapies !!! Anyway,the cart's pretty much without a mark on the plastic,no stresses or screwdriver marks so Im just wondering if this is something anyone's heard of? Is it something I should keep or just a shame for the old Defender cart? Just the 1st time Ive come across this so thought Id ask!

Hey all. First post, first game, first question. I'd like to make a simple two-player fighting game. I have 2 player sprites controllable on screen, a background, and now I just need to define some things such as the edges of the screen where the players bump into, bumping into eachother, and add a missile-based punch function, and collision between those missiles and the two players. attached is my (likely rough) code, everything working up to the point where I need to add the things described. As far as work flow goes, I've gotten to the point where I need to figure out and add collision detection, and I haven't yet begun exploring the missile system, but help with both would be very valuable to me. So far I've seen lots of complicated examples of collision detection, where the playing field wasn't a solid block that the players appear in front of (like my game), and included X and Y axis movement. I only require X axis movement, so I only require X axis collision detection, and between a total of 4 (or 6, including the edges of the screen) objects. I feel as though I understand what needs to be coded, but I'm not sure how to do it without making things far more complicated than I perceive that they need to be. in psuedo code: if collision(player0, player1) then player0 can't move right and player1 can't move left if collision(player0, left edge of screen) then player0 can't move left if collision(player1, right edge of screen) then player1 can't move right I think I read under random terrain's tutorial stuff that only standard objects like player1, missile0, etc are valid arguments in the collision/!collision statements. how do I work around this? I'd be really stoked to find out that the required work is easy, but if it required defining several constants or dimensions and includes checks and calls in the main loop.. can someone help spell it out for me? I really appreciate any help on this one. Lincoln Fight.bas

Hi everyone, New to the forum and the Atari 800XL. I recently (yesterday) managed to get my hands on this machine with disk drive and a bunch of games (both cartridge and disks), and the touch tablet from Freecycle. Not bad really but alas my joyful evening of playing Space Invaders has been ruined by a lack of power. Not in the house, thankfully, but with the machine. Now I have an issue. Is it likely to be the power supply that came with it or the 800XL itself. How am I to tell? Is there an easy way to tell? Does anyone live near me with a working power supply that is happy to let me come check my machine - or does someone have a spare supply that they don't need?! I don't really want to go and buy a replacement PSU if the machine is a brick anyway understandably. My current PSU is the CO61763 if that helps any. I flick the switch and nothing happens. Changed the fuse and nothing. Don't know what to do now. Hoping to get other systems along the way (Would love a Lynx, Jaguar and 2600) so this is my first foray into Atari systems - though I used to play a 2600 quite a lot as a kid So is there anyone in the Kent, Sussex, Surrey, London (UK BTW) area that could help me out? Cheers R