Atari XE/XL Release List ? Difference?

[GameFreakNL]

Can someone help me answer these questions?

 

- Where on the net can i find a release list of carts for Atari XE/XL ?

 

- What is the difference between XE & XL ?

 

Thanx in advance. GameFreakNL

[cx2k]

Can someone help me answer these questions?

 

- Where on the net can i find a release list of carts for Atari XE/XL ?

 

- What is the difference between XE & XL ?    

 

Thanx in advance. GameFreakNL

 

Andrew Krieg maintains the best list out there for 8-bit carts. You can find the list on his web-site at:

 

http://www.execpc.com/~krieg/links/8bit.carts

 

John

[atari70s]

i got a list that i think is the most exact out there it has everything let me know if you want it ill email it to you email and let me know

[Thelen]

the xe was the new line of computers, replacing the xl line.the xe computers are the same as the xl's, except the 130xe which has double as much ram:128Kb. there are a few xe titles that only can be played on the 130xe.

 

Thelen

[geosteve]

The XLs and XEs are basically identical, aside from case design.

The XLs were released in 1983 while Atari was owned by Warner and the XEs are from Tramiel time, 1985, but few changes were made and uses the same carts and peripherals, the un-used 'expansion' port is different though.

 

The XEs have a modified BASIC which includes a fix to a rare but troublesome bug in the XLs version. (a tiny patch fixes the XL BASIC)

 

The notable difference is the 130XE model, it has a modifed RAM board which gives 5 switchable banks of 16K, or, a RAMdisk feature. There are very few programs that really take advantage of the extra RAM.

[Atari Smeghead]

.... there are a few xe titles that only can be played on the 130xe.

 

Really? I had never heard that. Do you happen to know which titles can only be played on a 130XE? I knew that a few games came out sporting 64K requirements, and that a couple of word processors could use the extra memory, but I had no idea about any with 128k requirements.

[geosteve]

I'm pretty sure these games will only work on the 130XE

 

The Eidolon and Koronis Rift, both from Epyx

 

I own both of these, but will need to dig them out to verify.

[Sheddy]

Eidolon, Koronis Rift - Lucasfilm Games - superb games - played them lots on my 800XL - definitely work on 64k Ataris (all XL, XE) - think they will work on 48k ones too.

[Gunstar]

If I remember correctly, The Disk versions of these games will not work on an 800 or any Atari with less than 64k, this is true of cartridge games larger than 48k too I think, but I don't believe any carts were made larger than that until after the XE line was released anyway. As far as I know, XE cartridges are the same; regardless of the cartridge size, 64k+, 128k, 256k, etc., only 64k is loaded into the 8-bits ram at a time.

 

Some games, like Alternate Reality: Dungeon, will work on a 48, 64, 128k+ computers and set up use of ram and disk loading/swapping as per computer memory. Total memory of the game is something around 320k or more I think (all files on the disks). The XEGS console is only a 64k computer anyway, and the XE carts had to be compatible with it. Therefore all Atari 8-bits that have and can access 64k of memory at a time are compatible. A few early 4, 8 or 16k 800 carts will not work on the newer machines, but overall, all carts will pretty much work on any Atari with 64k.

 

Now if you download a rom image of one of these XE carts, you will have to have enough onboard ram in the 8-bit to load the entire rom size onto the computer. For example, Airball and Into the Eagle's Nest roms need at least 192k. The initial 64k of ram, and an additional 128 to take the place of the cartridge rom. With carts that are 64k or less, all the cart memory is transfered into ram already, so rom images of them do not need a computer with over 64k.

 

There are a few european titles, post 1990, that require a 130XE or better (modified 8-bit), but I believe they are all disk based.

[Jetboot Jack]

Owning both Lucas titles in original packaging I checked the system requirements - the Eidolon required 64K to run, Koronis rift will work on 48K systems...

 

sTeVE

[Gunstar]

There were quite a few disk based games that required 64k. I have a few Datasoft originals including; Tomahawk (64k) and 221 Baker st. (64k). But most of my other originals are 48k games, or, like Alternate Reality, used what was available, but states 48k on the box as minimum requirements.

[Callipygous]

Essentially all the stuff from the classic era will work in 64K. A 130XE isn't required for almost any program. The extra 64k XE is used by alot of programs, however, to avoid disk-swapping, allow a bigger spreadsheet etc. So it is nice to have. There are a few demos and lesser known 130XE only progs. Not anything to worry about at all.

 

The main thing to worry about is incompatibility between 400/800 and XL/XE. Ask anyone who has bought, say, Demon Attacks or Gorf and been disappointed when trying it on an XL. There are two problems: 1) memory - a 64k game won't run on the 800 even if you 256K of Axlon memory. 2) OS changes - the game was programmed for the 800, but not to Atari specs. When the OS changed in the XL, it makes illegal calls.

 

Seems we have covered the ground before,