Playing my 3 cassette games

[Gunstar]

Yep, I have 3 cassette games to feed my 1010, on 2 tapes! One is an English Atari release, The Lone Raider and the other has Starfire on one side and Fire One on the other. I like to load them up and play them, especially Starfire, mostly for the nostalgia of using a cassette player, but hey, they are cool games too. I need to get some more cassette tapes. I used to have Bruce Lee on tape, and Temple of Aphsia(?), and many more. But I've been spoiled by disk drives and now the SIO2PC, so I've been getting back to my computing roots.

 

Though I actually started with an Atari 130XE and an aftermarket tape deck that was made for the Atari, but some off-brand. I bought the tape deck at a Toys-R-Us back in '85. All I remember is that it's general shape and profile went well with my XE, but it's color was even darker than the 800 and I remember it had a Palm tree for a logo...it worked well though.

Edited March 30, 2007 by Gunstar

[gcude]

Yep, I have 3 cassette games to feed my 1010, on 2 tapes! One is an English Atari release, The Lone Raider and the other has Starfire on one side and Fire One on the other. I like to load them up and play them, especially Starfire, mostly for the nostalgia of using a cassette player, but hey, they are cool games too. I need to get some more cassette tapes. I used to have Bruce Lee on tape, and Temple of Aphsia(?), and many more. But I've been spoiled by disk drives and now the SIO2PC, so I've been getting back to my computing roots.

 

Though I actually started with an Atari 130XE and an aftermarket tape deck that was made for the Atari, but some off-brand. I bought the tape deck at a Toys-R-Us back in '85. All I remember is that it's general shape and profile went well with my XE, but it's color was even darker than the 800 and I remember it had a Palm tree for a logo...it worked well though.

 

 

Wow! Someone who has WAY!!! too much time on their hands. So sad, when you load your games from cassette that you don't have time to get 'A' cup of coffee ... you have time to have the whole pot (and maybe then some). I liked hearing the bytes steam across from the tape to RAM. Yes, great memories. I've got a 1010 here beside me but not a single cassette, GRRR.

 

Now look what you've done! More things I need to pickup for my collection.

[Gunstar]

It took about 2 minutes to load Starfire up just a while ago, it's not about having too much time, it's about being patient and if it's a real long tape do something else for a few minutes, like using the facilities, or having dinner, take a shower, whatever...smoke a joint...whatever...

Edited March 30, 2007 by Gunstar

[gcude]

It took about 2 minutes to load Starfire up just a while ago, it's not about having too much time, it's about being patient and if it's a real long tape do something else for a few minutes, like using the facilities, or having dinner, take a shower, whatever...smoke a joint...whatever...

 

 

Between your whatevers, you may be dangerously flexing the space-time continuum. Just to be safe, be sure to keep a spare flux capacitor in one hand, leaving the other hand free for holding ... you know ... whatever. This way you will always be able to get back to us here in the Central Time Zone.

[+orpheuswaking]

Well isn't that interesting, my project this weekend is to catalog my cassette games and start selling them are either of you looking for anything in particular? Some are in good condition and others have torn labels... but anything I sell I will test first to make sure it works...

 

And I know what you mean by the nostalgia factor, all I had at first on my Atari was tapes and I miss the good old Atari "Whistle". Now I did have some games that took freakin AGES to load, way more than 2 minutes

[www.atarimania.com]

Gunstar, assuming both are originals, do you think you could image Fire One! and Starfire as CAS files?

 

--

Atari Frog

http://www.atarimania.com

[Ross PK]

Are tapes hard to find in the USA then? As I hear the games mainly came out on disc over there.

 

Over here disc games were and still are hard to find. Games mainly came out on cassette, and were usually £1.99 each, so as a kid I would sometimes buy one with my pocket money.

 

So, tapes do have a nostalgia factor to me, I don't mind waiting for them to load because most really don't take that long at all, especially Caverns Of Khafka, it takes about 2 minutes. All you have to do while waiting is just watch the TV, which you'd probably be doing if you werent loading a game anyway.

 

I have the XC12 (not sure if I got it right) which goes with the XE computers, I do want to get a 1010 and use that instead though, since it will go with my 800XL, it's what I used back in the day, and I just think it looks better anyway.

Edited March 30, 2007 by Ross PK

[+orpheuswaking]

Are tapes hard to find in the USA then? As I hear the games mainly came out on disc over there.

 

Over here disc games were and still are hard to find. Games mainly came out on cassette, and were usually £1.99 each, so as a kid I would sometimes buy one with my pocket money.

 

So, tapes do have a nostalgia factor to me, I don't mind waiting for them to load because most really don't take that long at all, especially Caverns Of Khafka, it takes about 2 minutes. All you have to do while waiting is just watch the TV, which you'd probably be doing if you werent loading a game anyway.

 

I have the XC12 (not sure if I got it right) which goes with the XE computers, I do want to get a 1010 and use that instead though, since it will go with my 800XL, it's what I used back in the day, and I just think it looks better anyway.

 

I have a 1010 I can sell, but I'm in the US (funny thing is it's a UK 1010 as I moved here 10 years ago and the only things I shipped over were my Atari items)

 

As for the 1.99 tapes that was closer to the end of the Atari lifespan in the UK, originally Tapes were priced 10.00 and up (disks were double and higher)... In fact a lot of the games that had originally been sold on Disk were re-released by budget houses. I have a lot of US Gold games that I bought for 2.99 or so, like Ollies Follies and NYC... Then you had the real budget houses that wrote and sold games like Mastertronic (And their offshot M.A.D). Usually not the best games but still fun. I have a box full of them I need to go through. At the end those were all you could buy.

[Ross PK]

Wish I could move to the US, it doesn't seem to be easy at all though.

[accousticguitar]

How hard is it?

[+orpheuswaking]

With the current political climate it's tough, being white and well educated helps (not that I agree with that), but you need a reason such as Marriage, Job, or Study... otherwise it's very, very difficult

[Tezz]

I spend a lot of time in the US each year, I have family in Texas and freinds in other states. I've been concidering moving there too for the past year or two. Unfortunately with the way this country is going, whereas the US is the land of opportunity, the UK is fast becoming the land of lack of opportunity very sad..

[Gunstar]

With the current political climate it's tough, being white and well educated helps (not that I agree with that), but you need a reason such as Marriage, Job, or Study... otherwise it's very, very difficult

That true the other way around too; I as an American would have to have one those same exact reasons if wanted to move to say, England or Australia or New Zealand or...anywhere! That's just the way it is when you are a citizen of one country who wants to move to another. As a matter of fact, I have a couple friends who are living in Bali Indonesia (I did spell that right...right?), they've been there for almost 2 years, in the realestate business, and they are having a near impossible time getting permanent visas. They pay a couple hundred dollars every 2 months to fly in and out of the country so they can get their tourist visas renewed. Actually one of them was married to an Indonesian woman a few months back, so I guess he's going to be a legal national there now, though he still has to jump through 101 hoops of red tape.

Edited April 1, 2007 by Gunstar

[Gunstar]

Gunstar, assuming both are originals, do you think you could image Fire One! and Starfire as CAS files?

 

--

Atari Frog

http://www.atarimania.com

Yes, they are originals, and I wouldn't have a problem imaging them, but I've never done it before. Hell, I've never even USED CAS images with A.P.E! I know of the WAV2CAS program or whatever, but I don't know what's all actually required, like do I make them using the SIO2PC and 1010? Or do I use a standard tape player plugged directly into the PC through a mic jack? Give me the step by step and if I have the tools I need, I'll be happy too. I could also just dub the tape(s) and send it to you via snail-mail. I need to make a physical backup tape for my own archives anyway, seeing as the original is 24 years old now...even if it still looks and works like new right now.

 

Here's my entire library, feel free to browse:

Edited April 1, 2007 by Gunstar

[+orpheuswaking]

 

Yes, they are originals, and I wouldn't have a problem imaging them, but I've never done it before. Hell, I've never even USED CAS images with A.P.E! I know of the WAV2CAS program or whatever, but I don't know what's all actually required, like do I make them using the SIO2PC and 1010? Or do I use a standard tape player plugged directly into the PC through a mic jack? Give me the step by step and if I have the tools I need, I'll be happy too. I could also just dub the tape(s) and send it to you via snail-mail. I need to make a physical backup tape for my own archives anyway, seeing as the original is 24 years old now...even if it still looks and works like new right now.

 

Here's my entire library, feel free to browse:

 

What he said LOL... I have that copy of Lone Raider, it came with my first 800xl and 1010...