What games take advantage of memory and/or stereo upgrades?

[Gunstar]

I know a few myself, for extended memory, like Alternate Reality the Dungeon will use upto 128K, and Bop n' wrestle and 221 Baker St. will use 130XE memory (or other memory upgrades) for digitized voice, and Quest Probe graphic adventures use 128K for animations.

For Stereo I know of Draconus and Zybex stereo versions, and Yoomp!

 

That's about it for me, as far as I can remember. What else is there, that uses extra memory, stereo or both?

Edited October 27, 2011 by Gunstar

[MrFish]

Here's a selection of games that use 128k and above: Games 128k+.zip

[Gunstar]

Thanks! I'll check them out!

[AtariGuru]

games that use stereo are space harrier, tempest extreme and yoomp

thats all im aware of

[+orpheuswaking]

Take a look at sections 8.11, 8.12 and 8.14 of the Atari 8-Bit Computers: Frequently Asked Questions.

 

http://faqs.cs.uu.nl/na-dir/atari-8-bit/faq.html

[+CharlieChaplin]

Ahem,

 

someone should update section 8.14, since I wrote it when I did not have a stereo Atari ! Instead I mostly wrote down what I read (in games, demos or tools/apps) or other A8 fellows told me... And afaik, there are lots of errors and false programs in section 8.14 (many of the mentioned programs are not stereo at all). Last not least the newer game, demo and music titles are missing, since I became too lazy to update all these A8FAQ lists which almost no-one is reading...

 

-Andreas Koch.

[+orpheuswaking]

I read them ALL the time

 

but I get your point, I only linked that as a starting point.

 

Personally my favorite Stereo games are the patched versions of Draconus and Zybex.

[+CharlieChaplin]

I read them ALL the time

 

but I get your point, I only linked that as a starting point.

 

Personally my favorite Stereo games are the patched versions of Draconus and Zybex.

 

Well,

 

there was a good article-series in Mega-Magazine about stereo/2x pokey/Gumby and adding various switches for compatibility. Think in part 2 it also noted some more games that could easily be patched for stereo, e.g. "draconus, zybex, panther, bmx simulator etc. (all musix from the BIG demo music menu and probably a few more)." Attached the article series here...

 

-Andreas Koch.

stereo_articles.zip

[Gunstar]

I tried 128K Space Harrier and it does not have stereo sound, but there are larger memory and cart versions of this that probably do have stereo right?

The IK+ I have also does not have stereo, but maybe there is also another stereo version of it? How about OutRun? Isn't it in stereo? And also, is it only in cartridge form?

[Sheddy]

I tried 128K Space Harrier and it does not have stereo sound, but there are larger memory and cart versions of this that probably do have stereo right?

 

Yep, the 128k thing you have will be the rough stage 1 demo, which doesn't have stereo. The finished atarimax cart only game does though.

Edited October 28, 2011 by Sheddy

[Gunstar]

Now is that the finished game that works with the Atarimax writable cartridges or is there also a specific Space Harrier cartridge available from Atarimax?

 

And isn't someone selling this and Outrun and lots of other games on cartridge? I remember looking through them recently but can't find the website now...I know Video61 does some new cart software too...

 

Never mind, I found the Atlantis game group site again and where they sell the games: http://atari-sales.com/store/frames.html

I guess Video61 sells them too.

Edited October 28, 2011 by Gunstar

[Sheddy]

Now is that the finished game that works with the Atarimax writable cartridges or is there also a specific Space Harrier cartridge available from Atarimax

Just to clarify, yes it is for the writeable carts which you can do (for free) yourself. Some people are just offering them pre-done for convenience.

[Gunstar]

Hey, just a heads-up to all who take extended memory cartridge and/or multi-load disk based games and turn them into extended memory one-time loads, or, vice-versa, take extended load disk based games and combine them into extended memory cartridges, I have a GREAT game that needs this type of treatment.

 

Often over looked, becuase of it's extremely limited mail-order release through an ad in Antic Magazine, Pondering About Max's (P.A.M) is a fantastic 3 part game, the first two are platform games called 'Dream' and the other 'P.A.M.' the last part is on a second disk called 'Bar-room Brawl' which is basically a multi-bar, bar fight, similiar to Bop n' Wrestle, but with bottles and chairs and punching and kicking.

 

 

Great graphics for the 8-bit all around. Nothing overly colorful, just the standard 4-5 colors without DLI's, but the graphics are clean, crisp, clear, and the animation is top-notch. It even has unique game play like bouncing off the sides of the screen to reach a higher level...( took me a while to figure that one out)

 

Quality stuff, but currently you must choose between one of the three game parts to load from disk.

 

Pondering About Max's: http://atari.fandal....p?files_id=3858

Edited October 29, 2011 by Gunstar

[Rybags]

Some of the games mentioned are Fandal's conversions from large size banked cart, so strictly aren't really taking advantage of extra RAM since they originally ran fine on 64K, 48K or 16K machines.

 

With AR: Dungeon you can override the memory detect routine which runs part way through the load by holding Select or Option to force the game to assume you have a smaller memory machine than you actually have.

[Gunstar]

Some of the games mentioned are Fandal's conversions from large size banked cart, so strictly aren't really taking advantage of extra RAM since they originally ran fine on 64K, 48K or 16K machines.

 

With AR: Dungeon you can override the memory detect routine which runs part way through the load by holding Select or Option to force the game to assume you have a smaller memory machine than you actually have.

 

I think having it all load into extended ram, whether it's done by direct ram access or a ram disk, it's taking advantage of the extra ram. I know the only difference whether hacked for extended ram, or put onto cartridges like Atlantis game group, is a lack of disk swaps, or getting all the loading done in the beginning instead of periodically throughout a game, but I figure using extended ram in any way is better than letting it sit there untouched 90% of the time.

 

Of course multi-load and multi-disk based games are also being put onto cartridge, so there are no longer any more disk swaps or long load times.

 

When you get right down to it, whether a rom cartridge, extended ram, tape or disk, it's all extra memory, a place to store more data than main ram, it's just a matter of speed and technique. Even a game designed for extra memory is basically swapping chunks of memory from extended ram, or changing memory locations, no program that I know of (on the 8-bit Atari's) can use more than 64K at a time on the actual execution of code.

Edited October 29, 2011 by Gunstar