Hooked on 8-bit carts

[Kr0tki]

I'm not able to open this. Can you save it as an XLS file or PDF?

 

Mitch

If you insist on using a non-open file format :] here you go.

 

Extract the ods file from the zip and rename it with .zip instead of .ods ...

The ZIP's contents aren't really human-readable.

Edited April 2, 2011 by Kr0tki

[+Mitch]

Not open but by far the most commonly used.

 

Thanks, I'll check it out.

 

Mitch

[k1w1]

kr0tki,

 

Brilliant, thanks for the analysis and work you have undertaken here.

 

As i have mentioned earlier, the MESS project is all about correctly documenting the hardware and software of various computers & consuls. What you have helped doing is to correctly document A800/XL/XE cartridge software which will in turn create more stable and correct emulation within MESS that is true to the hardware.

 

I will keep on hunting to find dumped cartridges as they are released and will post the updates here.

 

With a view to correctly documenting original A800/XL software, I have been looking at compiling a MESS Software list of VAPI (atx) and unprotected original dumped disks as opposed to all of the cracked atr's out there. All i have to do is convince the MESS developers to insert the VAPI code into MESS.

 

Thanks again for your analysis kr0tki,

 

k1w1

Edited April 3, 2011 by k1w1

[Kr0tki]

k1w1, I wonder why most of images from your collection have zeroes in unmapped areas. Take for example 3D Tic Tac Toe - while other images contain $FF in the first 4KB, your has $00s there. Have you modified your ROM images on purpose?

 

All i have to do is convince the MESS developers to insert the VAPI code into MESS.

Beware - currently only Altirra handles VAPI 100% correctly.

[k1w1]

kr0tki,

 

I zeroed out those Rom' quite a while ago, before i really new what i was doing. It was my attempt to standardise all the uneeded data on a cartridge.

 

That was a mistake and now i am replacing them with the Ful's & Mitch's dumps.

 

I have compared the program portion of many of these and found they are the same and have labeled them as verified.

 

I have also replaced the cracked dumps with copy protected dumps.

 

k1w1

Edited April 3, 2011 by k1w1

[FULS]

Hi,

 

I have 3 more dumps to add;

 

Star Maze.bin

Ducks Ahoy!.bin

Carnival Massacre.bin

 

Kr0tki,

I would love to read your "Atari 8-bit ROM analysis" report,

but for the life of me, can't get the .ods or .xls files to format

into a readable form. Would you post a .txt file of it for me.

Thanks for all your time.

3 New Atari Carts.zip

Atari Carts (A-I).zip

Atari Carts (J-Z).zip

[Kr0tki]

Since FULS has removed the Xenophobe dump from his collection, I'd like to suggest to the others, please consider not redistributing the Xenophobe image any further - at least until @_Fandal_ allows.

 

I have 3 more dumps to add;

 

Star Maze.bin

Ducks Ahoy!.bin

Carnival Massacre.bin

I've updated my report.

 

Kr0tki,

I would love to read your "Atari 8-bit ROM analysis" report,

but for the life of me, can't get the .ods or .xls files to format

into a readable form.

Huh? Does MS Excel or OpenOffice at least open the file? OK, I've also attached a CSV version.

Edited April 6, 2011 by Kr0tki

[k1w1]

Ful's

 

Thanks for those. I was able to verify all three as good dumps with kr0tki's analysis.

 

I will post the updated MESS software list in a couple of days.

 

k1w1

[k1w1]

Fuls,

 

I am trying to determine the difference between the versions of LogicMaster & MicroMaestro i have.

 

The versions i have from Atarimania got to a title screen but won't run unless you have the PowerPad tablet device attached. Your versions wont run at all, not even the title screen.

 

kr0tski say's the Atarimania versions have been hacked. I guess that is why the go to a title screen.

 

What happens when you plug thosecartridges into a real Atari 800 without the tablet device?

 

k1w1

[k1w1]

I have updated the a800 & xegs MESS Software List using Kr0tki's analysis of all available cartridges.

 

The lists now contain verified dumps i.e. same crc from at least 2 independant dumpers. There is also a lot of information about carts in general and specific programs.

 

I hope you find this useful.

 

I am fairly sure i now have all currently available cartridge dumps, but if you find i havn't, please let me know.

 

k1w1

Atari MESS Software Lists.zip

[+Mitch]

Very nice.

 

Mitch

[Kr0tki]

Thanks, k1w1. I've updated my analysis.

 

I've noticed a few issues:

- In the comments you don't list the yet-undumped "Magic Dump II" cart, of which the photos were posted in this thread.

- You've mixed up info for the Astro Chase images. It's the PB version that's OSB-only.

- The final version of Castle Crisis is in FULS' collection, but it's missing from your list.

- There's a spelling mistake in the name of Decathlon.

- "awritera" is listed as clone of "awriterc" (isn't it the other way around?) while "awriterb" isn't.

- Your list still contains the "zeroed" ROMs for which there exists one (not two) dump with $FFs in the unmapped areas: Alien Ambush, Fast Eddie.

Edited April 30, 2011 by Kr0tki

[k1w1]

Thanks Kr0tki,

 

I have updated as you suggested.

 

Within MESS & MAME the most recent ROM is used as the root. Earlier ROM's are marked as clones. It's a bit counter intuative, but thats how they doi it. Anyway, i have made "awriterb" a clone as well.

 

Thanks again for your help.

 

k1w1

[Kr0tki]

Update: I've reviewed the OSS ROM images from FULS' collection and disovered that half of them are either bad bumps (Action (OSS Type A).bin, Basic XL (OSS Type B).bin, Mac 65 (OSS Type A).bin), or contain data in an incorrect order (Basic XL (OSS Type A).bin). FULS, could you give some light on the issue? Tell us how your OSS cartridges were dumped?

Edited June 16, 2011 by Kr0tki

[+Mitch]

I believe he uses the Atarimax dumper. It could be that the cart contacts are dirty as that will cause bad data in the dumps.

 

Mitch

[Kr0tki]

No, that's not the issue. The data in the bad dumps suggests they were dumped using the wrong mapping - eg. Action (OSS Type A).bin appears to be an OSS one-chip ("M091") cartridge dumped as a two-chip ("034M") cart. I'm suspecting FULS owns only one unit of each OSS product and just dumped them twice using both settings (034M and M091). Anyway I'm waiting for confirmation.

Edited June 16, 2011 by Kr0tki

[FULS]

Update: I've reviewed the OSS ROM images from FULS' collection and disovered that half of them are either bad bumps (Action (OSS Type A).bin, Basic XL (OSS Type B).bin, Mac 65 (OSS Type A).bin), or contain data in an incorrect order (Basic XL (OSS Type A).bin). FULS, could you give some light on the issue? Tell us how your OSS cartridges were dumped?

All my cartridges were dumped using Atarimax USB Programmer.

 

 

Using these options on the menu, each OSS cartridge was dumped twice, using Type A and Type B method.

I did this because I wasn't sure which method was correct to save the Rom.

Please give your thoughts on what would be the correct Type, and then I will update my Roms.

 

Thanks Kr0tki,

Doug Fuls

[Kr0tki]

Thanks for the answer. The bad dumps are:

Action (OSS Type A).bin

Basic XL (OSS Type B).bin

Mac 65 (OSS Type A).bin

These should be deleted.

 

The good dumps are:

Action (OSS Type B).bin (Action! 3.6)

Basic XL (OSS Type A).bin (BASIC XL 1.02)

Basic XE (OSS Type B).bin (BASIC XE 4.1)

Mac 65 (OSS Type B).bin (MAC/65 1.01)

 

Both of your "The Writer's Tool" images are actually overdumps - they're 16KB while the real cartridge is an 8KB EPROM (the 8KB image can be downloaded here). However, at this moment the 8KB image is not supported by any Atari emulator (and neither by the Atarimax programmer), so keeping one of your images in your collection might be OK as for now (keep only one of the - I'm recommending "The Writers Tool (OSS Type B).bin").

 

On a related note: FULS, your two dumps of the Educational System Master Cartridge (both Atari and Dorsett releases) are identical. They both show the "1979 Atari" copyright. That's somewhat surprising, considering that the Dorsett's version that's listed at Atarimania shows the 1983 Dorsett copyright. Are you sure that it's not some mistake on your part?

Edited June 19, 2011 by Kr0tki

[www.atarimania.com]

I wish I could remember how LogicMaster and MicroMaestro were dumped. These titles had never been imaged before and I know the files are from a reliable source but, now that you mention it, the binaries may have been tampered with to work on emulators...

 

We'll have to replace the dumps... as well the Defender file.

 

--

Atari Frog

http://www.atarimania.com

[Kr0tki]

As well as 19 other dumps. 20 of your cartridge images are definitely cracks:

The Activision Decathlon

Atlantis

Baseball

Cloudburst

Defender

Dig Dug (1982)

Donkey Kong

Droids

Firebird

Fortune Hunter

K-Razy Antiks

K-Razy Kritters (CBS)

K-Star Patrol

Learning with Leeper

Miner 2049er

Night Strike!

Space Journey

Typo

Whiz Kid

Zone Ranger

 

 

I'll post more detailed write-up later on the Atarimania forum.

[www.atarimania.com]

At least, things are sorted now. Not all files were dumped by our team so I assume most files were bad from the start. Should've compared the images more closely, though, I only checked the number of bytes between two binaries and assumed everything was OK.

 

Two questions...

 

1. How different are the two versions of Popeye?

 

2. Aren't there two releases of Miner 2049er?

 

--

Atari Frog

http://www.atarimania.com

[Kr0tki]

1. How different are the two versions of Popeye?

The ROM contents differ significantly, but so far I've found only one visible (well, audible) difference. Start the game and then press Reset - on Type 2, the "title fanfare" will play once, and that's it. On Type 1, after the "title fanfare" the first-level music will start playing. Seems like it's a glitch in Type 1, and Type 2 is a later revision.

 

 

2. Aren't there two releases of Miner 2049er?

Apparently. The Big Five Software website states that the initial release contained a bug on level 8, unfortunately it doesn't explain the details of the bug. So far I haven't encountered any bug on that level in either yours nor in the FULS' version. But, whatever the version it is based on, the Atarimania dump is still a crack - it certainly contains NOPs in place of copy-protection code that's in place in the FULS' dump.

[www.atarimania.com]

Could the presence of NOPs mean that the cartridge was just dumped incorrectly? I seem to remember that some of the titles were imaged using a monitor, is it possible the files were tampered with and stripped of code instead of zeroes?

 

Wouldn't the bug in Miner 2049er involve a platform section being too short for the hero to jump? Also, I could've sworn I saw the game with two different intros but that could just be my imagination...

 

I need to check the cartridges I have. I can't access the list right now but do we have a dump of MicroCalc already?

 

BTW, good idea introducing a list for disk originals, there's just too much crap and so-called versions out there. Definitely a step in the right direction.

 

--

Atari Frog

http://www.atarimania.com

[FULS]

Thanks for the answer. The bad dumps are:

Action (OSS Type A).bin

Basic XL (OSS Type B).bin

Mac 65 (OSS Type A).bin

These should be deleted.

 

The good dumps are:

Action (OSS Type B).bin (Action! 3.6)

Basic XL (OSS Type A).bin (BASIC XL 1.02)

Basic XE (OSS Type B).bin (BASIC XE 4.1)

Mac 65 (OSS Type B).bin (MAC/65 1.01)

 

Both of your "The Writer's Tool" images are actually overdumps - they're 16KB while the real cartridge is an 8KB EPROM (the 8KB image can be downloaded here). However, at this moment the 8KB image is not supported by any Atari emulator (and neither by the Atarimax programmer), so keeping one of your images in your collection might be OK as for now (keep only one of the - I'm recommending "The Writers Tool (OSS Type B).bin").

 

On a related note: FULS, your two dumps of the Educational System Master Cartridge (both Atari and Dorsett releases) are identical. They both show the "1979 Atari" copyright. That's somewhat surprising, considering that the Dorsett's version that's listed at Atarimania shows the 1983 Dorsett copyright. Are you sure that it's not some mistake on your part?

Kr0tki,

 

These 4 bad dump roms have now been deleted:

 

Action (OSS Type A).bin

Basic XL (OSS Type B).bin

Mac 65 (OSS Type A).bin

The Writers Tool (OSS Type A).bin

 

I have added 2 new Carts I've recently purchased:

 

Choplifter! (Atari).bin

Des Chiffres ET Des Lettres.bin

 

 

I would add Bounty Bob Strikes Back, but AtariMax Programmer does not support it.

 

Now on the subject of the Atari and Dorsett Educational System Master Cartridge.

I redumped my Dorsett rom with the same results, identical to the Atari version.

Did Dorsett have there own cartridge case? Mine is an Atari case with a Dorsett label.

Here are some pictures of the 2 Carts.

 

 

____________Dorsett_____________________________Atari

 

If anyone has a Dorsett Cart, does it look like mine?

 

My 2 Popeye carts look identical with a 1983 copyright, but the roms are different.

 

Here are the updated Roms.

 

Atari Carts (A-I).zip

 

Atari Carts (J-Z).zip

 

Thanks Kr0tki for catching my errors,

Doug

[+Mitch]

I have added 2 new Carts I've recently purchased:

 

Choplifter! (Atari).bin

Des Chiffres ET Des Lettres.bin

 

 

I would add Bounty Bob Strikes Back, but AtariMax Programmer does not support it.

 

Thanks Kr0tki for catching my errors,

Doug

 

Try emailing Steve (AtariMax) about Bounty Bob. I'm pretty sure he said it worked but he forgot to add the entry in the menu.

 

Mitch