Mindfield Posted July 5, 2001 Share Posted July 5, 2001 Nukey Shay: Yep. That was the high point of the game for everyone I knew that played it. Waiting patiently to see if it was a genuine crewmember was pretty tense... wait for the knock ... wait ... wait ... whew, there's the second knock. Or get startled out of your socks when the alien leaped on to your windscreen. :-) Few games were ever able to do that as effectively as RoF. Gunstar: There are a few solutions. The SIO2PC will certainly work. 800XLDJ is also a piece of software you can use with an XFormer cable or SIO2PC (I think) to allow you to load ATRs off your PC right from your 8-bit as if they were real disks. Albert: There was an ending of sorts to The Eidolon. I remember sitting down one night determined to finish it. The final level features a nasty little 8-headed (or was it 6-headed? Well, one for each level anyway) dragon where you had to defeat each of the heads with a particular colour of crystal; I think the order went in the same order of the crystals you used to defeat the dragon in each of the prior levels. It's quite a tense battle, but worth the effort to defeat it. :-) I've never finished Koronis Rift, though; in fact, to this day I'm still not entirely sure how to properly play. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted July 5, 2001 Author Share Posted July 5, 2001 Hey! NUkey SHay! one more thing...when I said I lost ALL my software, I mean EVERYTHING. I don't even have a DOS disk to use anymore, so I can't even format any atari disks to start trying this option you showed me...So my next question goes out to any of you kind-hearted 8-bit owners out there...Can someone possibly mail me a copy of DOS 2 or 2.5 or spartados or mydos or superdos, anything but Dos 3? It would be appreciated more than anyone could know... My address is: Matt Baker N8521 7th court Westfield, WI 53964 I'm willing to reimberse anyone for postage and the disk&time&effort. Or even pay up front... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted July 5, 2001 Author Share Posted July 5, 2001 Well if that don't just blow! Not only did you type that program in, but I printed out this whole topic to get at it, and started to type it in, luckily, I only got about 1/3 of it typed before I decided to go back online here and ask a question; which is unimportant now, since the program won't work without DOS. Zekish-Yes, the manual tells you what the artifacts do, I lost it myself(actually a reference card), and then I couldn't ever finish Koronis Rift either: it's essential to know what the artifacts do. DOS 2.6?!?!?-Never heard of it!! I've used 2.5, Dos xe, sparta 1.x-X,Superdos, Mydos, Topdos,and even DOS3(as a formatter of bad disks, a neat little trick to do with disks that don't work right, before you throw them out, try formatting with DOS3, then reformat with another, chances are the disk will work(has something to do with DOS3 actually causing the drive to rub th disk surface and "polish" it).); But I never heard of 2.6!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted July 5, 2001 Author Share Posted July 5, 2001 Hey! thanks for the Compute! program...I'm printing it out now, but I think I might have that issue...Well, I'll give it a try... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted July 5, 2001 Share Posted July 5, 2001 He might have been referring to Dos 2.0 (Atascii zeros have slashes through them, so I suppose it could be mistaken for a six) or one of it successors 2.0s, 2.0d, or 2.0f (the last one is a single-density BBS hack that included a sector copier). Dunno about Dos 2.6 or Dos 4 either, but someone could have hacked the title in DUP.SYS with a sector editor. Never heard of a Dos actually "polishing" a disk either...since that would be a hardware issue that software would have little to do with (unless the drive is designed that way). BTW any Dos disk of any Dos version can be reformatted with a new O.S. (even ones for a different computer...I've reformatted dozens of "IBM preformatted" disks, because that's pretty much the only 5.25" disks sold these days). Atari-made 8-bit Dos versions... http://www.faqs.org/faqs/atari-8-bit/faq/s...section-36.html Incidentally, none of the Atari Dos programs use the entire disk for files. Single-density disks leave sectors 5-9 and 720 unused (due to limited space in the VTOC), and double-density disks leave sectors 5-9, 720, and 1024-1040 unused (the higher sectors are often difficult to access, unless the drive head is perfectly aligned). Many game programs took advantage of this, and often used sector 720 for a high score table (the disk version of Wizard Of Wor also did, so I imagine that there are more commercial games as well). BTW that Compute! program doesn't write a bootable file to the disk when it formats...it just creates the tracks. If you try to boot one, it will just keep repeating "...disk error" over and over, since DOS.SYS is not present (which is why I mentioned using TT to move the DOS.ATR image onto the disk). Once the image is written to the disk, it should boot. Points of interest... Did you notice the POKE 842,12 statement? That invokes the "enter line" routine in the text editor E: (just as if the computer is continually pressing "enter" on it's own. By printing program lines on the screen with a GOTO line below it, you could write a program that changes it's own lines. POKE 842,13 turns it back off. I modified the program slightly in order to print it here...the original used USR(ADR(text)) as a M/L routine. Rather that try to figure out how to display a inverse lower-case "d" on this board, I just moved the routine to zero page 203 ($CB)...which may speed it up some since it would not need to figure out the address for the text on every pass. [ 07-05-2001: Message edited by: Nukey Shay ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zekish Posted July 5, 2001 Share Posted July 5, 2001 It says DOS 2.6, always has. Dunno if it's a hack or not. Could be, since it's the only DOS I've seen that changes the background black. Can't recall any other differences, if there are any, at the moment. I'm almost out the door to go to band practice right now so this may be kinda short. Why is it that I can't recall what I did two days ago but I remember what POKE 710,0 does? Or POKE 752,1? Gunstar: I'll have to email you my address so you can send some disks to me. I don't have Eidolon, but I do have Koronis Rift, Ballblaster, and Behind Jaggi Lines. And I got other stuff, too. Some DOSes, a hacked Boulder Dash where you never die, and other kewl stuff. I'll get around to that when I ain't getting ready to go beat the hell outta my drums, though. = Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted July 5, 2001 Share Posted July 5, 2001 It's a hack, alright. Atari Dos 2.anything always used a blue background with white characters. The hack 2.0f has a gold background. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted July 5, 2001 Author Share Posted July 5, 2001 Thanks guys, for all your help, I'm typing in the program tonight, so I'll let you know how it goes later... One question I have is if it makes any difference (when using tt.exe) if my 5 1/4 inch drive is a 1.2meg instead of a 360k drive? Also, about that DOS 3 "trick," I don't even remember where I read about it or WHY it works, but believe me, IT WORKS. I've done it with many disks in the past that just wouldn't format correctly or I got format errors, etc. and after formatting with DOS 3, they formated and worked perfectly with other DOS's(I usually used 2.5, superdos, or spartados). I really, really, don't understand how or why it works either, but it does... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted July 5, 2001 Author Share Posted July 5, 2001 I was trying to find that article on the DOS 3 trick, but haven't yet, but while thinking about it, I seem to remember the author saying something about it working because for some reason DOS 3, when formatting sets the write head on the drive a bit closer to the disk than other dos's(I know it actually touches the disk with any dos, but somehow, DOS 3 "rubs" the disk even more)...well, whatever, it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted July 5, 2001 Share Posted July 5, 2001 Looks like it's finally good for something! I dunno, since I trashed mine once I got 2.5! Anyway, one of the switches for MS-DOS's FORMAT command is /1 (as in FORMAT A: /1), which will create a 180K disk regardless of the drive's capacity. There is also /4 for 360K disk format, and /8 for 320K format. I don't think you need to specify this switch when writing data to the disk, though...it should already be able to detect what format it is in from the Atari drive. [ 07-05-2001: Message edited by: Nukey Shay ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted July 6, 2001 Author Share Posted July 6, 2001 Cool. I was told by someone else that I needed a 360k drive to use this other atridsk utility, but I don't know if they were just wrong, if that particular program required it, or what, but since I'll be using tt.exe, I don't think it matters... Ok, got my first problem. I typed in the program, and then typed "goto 32755" to format a disk(so far so good), it tells me to enter "y" when ready, I do so, then it comes up with; "error- 9 at line 32755"-I don't have any manuels anymore except a 400/800 basic reference manual, so I can't look up the errors to see what 9 is, and don't know if I'd understand it to fix the error anyway. Please help... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted July 6, 2001 Share Posted July 6, 2001 Speaking of Atari DOS flavors, the best DOS I ever used was SpartaDOS X, which came in a cartridge into which you could stick another cartridge. It was quite valuable when I was running an Atari 8-bit BBS. I had SpartaDOS X, then the R-Time 8 clock cartridge, and finally a Rev. C AtariBASIC cartridge (necessary to run the BBS on 24/7 without the system crashing). I also remember using MyDOS, but I was a SpartaDOS man, so I didn't use MyDOS too often (usually only when someone else gave me disks with MyDOS on it). Still looking for R-Time 8 and AtariBASIC Rev. C carts if anyone has 'em. I'll probably _never_ find a Rev. C BASIC cart, as I think I had to order that directly from Atari.. Sigh.. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted July 6, 2001 Author Share Posted July 6, 2001 You could always just buy a 130xe and get your revision c built in. But, have you tried B&C computervisions or Best electronics? I thought they carried the revision c cartridges... I always liked using spartados myself too, I used 3.2 though...at least until I found Superdos, then I started using both and could never make up my mind. I liked Spartados because it made it easy for me when I occasionally had to use and IBM, since it is so much like MS-dos, it was an easy transfer. But I just loved Superdos's line at the top of the screen that showed all the active drives and their densities, plus I loved that auxilary menu that had so many neat enhancements and options on it. 2.5 was the only other one I ever used, before I got the other two, of course, I tried most, including Mydos and Topdos, etc., but just never cared for them. I was always intereste in trying out DOS XE, but never got around to it. I think they put that on cartridge too, eventually, at least I think I've seen it at B&C or Best, I've also seen Mydos and Spartdos on cart there too. Video61 might have some of those too...(?) I still really need help with this error 9 I'm getting guys, remember, I don't have anyway to save this program right now, so I have to leave my XE on until I can get a disk formatted... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted July 6, 2001 Share Posted July 6, 2001 Gunstar- Error -9 is printed if the program is attempting to DIM a variable again, or attempting to use a variable that has not yet been DIMed. In this program, this could happen if line #32753 does not end with the RETURN statement (causing the program to re-execute line 32755), and your Atari yells "Hey! I already DIMed A$!". Another possibility is that the GOSUB at the end of line 32755 is 32755...causing it to jump back to the same line again. Make sure it reads GOSUB 32753. All our efforts may be in vain, though...I can't get the damn thing to work with a 1.2mb drive either! Albert- SpartaDosX sure was a hot item back in the day. Never found one...but I did get a rev. "C" Basic cartridge from Atari. From what I understand, it was the exact rev. "A" Basic with the bug removed using two NOP's. You can find the address by searching a dump of rev "C" Basic for EA EA. All three dumps can be found here... http://www.student.kun.nl/f.offenga/atari.htm [ 07-05-2001: Message edited by: Nukey Shay ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted July 6, 2001 Share Posted July 6, 2001 Gunstar- My bad! It appears that all of the lines that contain CLR should have that instruction moved to the front of the line! Corrections : 32741 CLR : DIM A$(1):GRAPHICS 0:? "NoDOS/RELOADER":? "INSERT DISK IN DRIVE 1";:TRAP 32740:GOSUB 32753 32755 CLR : DIM A$(1) :? "NoDOS/FORMAT: DRIVE #1":? "ENTER 'Y' WHEN READY";:INPUT A$:GOSUB 32753 32760 CLR : DIM B$(255),A$(127) :? "NoDOS/SAVER: HIT RETURN TO START ";:INPUT A$:TRAP 40000:CLOSE #1:POKE 82,0:GOSUB 32753 The CLR instruction tells BASIC to forget all of it's variable names & dimensions, so when it gets to INPUT A$, you get an error. Also, if you type anything but Y during the format part, the program will jump right to the save part. To get rid of this, change this line... 32756 IF A$<>"Y" THEN END [ 07-05-2001: Message edited by: Nukey Shay ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted July 6, 2001 Author Share Posted July 6, 2001 Thanks! I'll give it a shot... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted July 6, 2001 Share Posted July 6, 2001 I'm still not having any luck getting the PC to recognise Atari formats...but then again, I have no idea if my old 5.25" drive even works anymore One other thing I haven't tried is using the PC itself to format down to 360k (FORMAT A: /4) in DOS, and using TT to transer DOSXL.ATR onto it (Dos XL is a "true" dual-density Dos). But I think I'm gonna call it a night. Just knew I should have bought APE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted July 6, 2001 Author Share Posted July 6, 2001 All right, here's what's up. I got the progame working(thanks Nukey Shay!), I've got some disks formated. Now, with the TT.exe program; I was reading the instructions and it seems to only be meant to transfer ASCII to ATASCII formats of text files and vice-versa. Can this program work for saving 8-bit Dos's&programs on an atari disk? Also, I have attempted to use it, but I'm not getting any response(at all) when I type in the command line(in MS-dos mode or through the command line(ms-dos) window. it just brings up the; C:/>windows prompt again like I just hit [enter]. Also, are there any sites that have Atari files that aren't .ARC or .DCM? It's kinda hard to get a DOS transfered to Atari disk(or any program for that matter) when they are in these archives, Winzip won't touch them, and I can't use superunarc until I actually have Atari Dos on disk and a copy of superunarc(that isn't archived itself) to run superunarc and extract the files...Please help!! It's been so long since I've used my Atari, i feel like a beginner again, and I haven't really used Spartados or Ms-dos for years, so I guess I am basically a "newby" all over again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted July 6, 2001 Share Posted July 6, 2001 Bugger! Well, it seems that my drive is less than perfect as it can't even read some of my old PC games...so I'm calling it quits on this one. And it looks like you are correct regarding that TT program ("...and visa-versa.", ahh spit), so it probably wouldn't have worked anyway (despite what that site said). It appears that we are not the only ones getting nowhere with this method... http://www.crowcastle.net/preston/atari/ ...but at least he got partial success under Linux. The challenge kept me out of trouble for a while though, so I sent you a floppy with 2.5 Dos & Dup, as well as a few titles being discussed here (BBS versions though, so they may be a little different). BTW the Antic archive contains actual files that are not zipped in any way...system files included. To use these files on an actual Atari computer, you would need to transer them to a disk using...well...some method we haven't hit upon yet (the 360k disk thing should work provided you have the right equipment, even without TT (/sarcasm)...but I've no way to check) -or- using a null modem/2PC/APE-type interface. Use the Hard Disk option to use them in an emu. http://www.atarimagazines.com/software/software.html [ 07-06-2001: Message edited by: Nukey Shay ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted July 8, 2001 Author Share Posted July 8, 2001 Thanks for all the help guys. I haven't had much luck with several different ways I've been told I could transfer the files, I think I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and by a "reliable" SIO2PC adapter and software(it allows you to use PC drives and memory to save and load progams for the 8-bit), I guess it only costs about 30 bucks, and in the long run it will be worth it...in the meantime, thanks for sending me anything, it will hold me over for a while...st least I got one good thing out of that program from compute!; I can now type in listings out of my old mags and have a way to save them to disk(another source of some software to hold me over). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted July 8, 2001 Share Posted July 8, 2001 No problem...I mainly use emus. for downloadable stuff these days, so I'm rather new at this myself (Although more pricy, APE appears to be the more reliable deal to me). Of course once you do have a cable, you won't even have to type the proggies in (scan the page & use text capture, and load it using Atari's ENTER command). BTW every program from every issue of Antic is downloadable from that link above (Stan Ockers rules). Here's some 800 cheats for the kiddies... Star Raiders -- B0D7> A9 00 A8D7> A9 00 AB5F> A9 00 ... Stable hyperspace AEE5> A2 00 ... No damage taken B54E> EA EA EA ... Stop timer B873> EA EA EA ... Infinite fuel [ 07-08-2001: Message edited by: Nukey Shay ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted July 10, 2001 Author Share Posted July 10, 2001 I got that disk in the mail today! Thanks for DOS and the games Nukey Shay! Ballblaster is the most different from it's official conunter-part. Unless I'm missing something, it appears that you can't choose a one player game? It doesn't have the option to select one or two or to select an A.I. droid levels 1-9 to play aganinst, or to pit two A.I. droids against each other...Also the music is just a short blub off of the whole song, and doesn't sound as good. Other than that, if I can find someone to play me, I'm in business! Rescue seems to be the same, minus the great intro (ditto with Ballblaster). StarRaiders is identical to the 5200 one I just got, Pac-man(on the 5200) is identical to the version I have for my computer. Q-bert is exeactly the same as the 5200 version. StarRaidersII is exactly as I remember it!! Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zekish Posted July 10, 2001 Share Posted July 10, 2001 quote: Originally posted by Gunstar: ...Unless I'm missing something, it appears that you can't choose a one player game? Hit the number 1 key (maybe 1 and 2, can't recall). There may be other combinations but I know that if you hit 1 key it goes to 1 player mode. If that don't work hit the 2, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted July 10, 2001 Share Posted July 10, 2001 Got that file off CompuServe a loong time ago, and I have a feeling that it was unfinished (might explain the short music). The keys are also a bit buggy (sometimes it seems a bit random), but you can move around even before you start. Just keep smacking them until you can move the desired player, but can't move the other one (this one will be under CPU control). BTW that PacMan-type game is MouseKattack...never did find a commercial release of that one (anyone know if it ever was?). Watch the pipes for "mistakes". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted July 10, 2001 Author Share Posted July 10, 2001 I thought I tried the 1&2 keys, but I'll give it a shot. I haven't been able to get Mouseattack to run, it loads up and then DOS kicks the 'select item or return' command line up again an I'm still in DOS! I remember this happening to me on other rare occasions years ago... Oh, one other thing, if you get an opportunity to get the full version of Rescue on fractalus, get it(assuming you don't have it already). The intro adds a lot to the game, when the Aliens pop up, there's a shreiking sound that just makes you JUMP, it's great and sadly missing from this version. Also, it seems to me the full version also has a smoother frame rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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