Leaving and Returning to the Atari 8-Bits

[MrFish]

Sort of a follow-up to the "When did you move on from your 8-bit and why?" thread... When did you leave the Ataris behind, what machine replaced your Atari, and what year did you return to using them? In this case using emulation counts for returning, as we're just talking about returning to the platform as a hobby.

 

Post some info about these events if you like.

 

I left off using Ataris in late 1991 when I left home in preparation for attending college and didn't have room to bring my Atari stuff along. This was when I began using Macs and PC's heavily.

 

In the interim, somewhere in the mid 90's, I played around with the Atari emulator Rainbow a little. But because it was a somewhat simple program and because the full version cost $$, I only played around with it a couple of times before losing interest.

 

But, in early 2005 I found Atari800Win PLus, was very impressed, and realized that emulation had made some great steps forward since the 90's. I also found a lot of great archive sites, and in the process of searching for ROMs stumbled upon AtariAge. At the same time I decided to start working on some of the projects I was doing in 1991. First, a card game, that ended up turning into the Black Jack game I am currently working on. From there work on the Ataris has continued until now. I've also picked up on other projects I left behind in 1991, such as Monopoly.

Edited January 19, 2015 by MrFish

[kenjennings]

It's a kind of mushy, grey thing. I didn't really abandon my Jay Miner 8-bit for the Jay Miner 32-bit in 1989. The original Atari 800 I had was sold in 1987 mostly for space reasons, since I also had a 800XL with Ramrod OS and 256K RAM.. Everything just moved into boxes. Nothing else was sold after that point.

 

From time to time through the 90s I'd pop the Atari boxes open to show people the cool stuff that was (and then spend a day wondering if I could find space somewhere to set it up and start working/playing with it again.) The Atari hardware boxes were permanently re-opened about 2005, so I could hook a 400 up to the TV. Due to a home improvement exercise last year half the hardware went back to living in boxes, and most of the non-cartridge software is boxed. When the Christmas things are finally put away (today's mission) I should have time to re-organize my home office space for more Atari-ness.

 

The Christmas unpacking in November gave me an opportunity to organize storage, and I found I have a few more 8-bits than I thought:

A 400, two 800 (one 16K, one 48K), two 800XLs (one stock, one with 256K/Ramrod OS), one AtariMax 1200XL with all the bells and whistles.

and three 2600s -- one of them a heavy sixer.

[Fletch]

Bought a 520ST in 1985. My brother took my 800xl to university with him in 1986. Sometime in 1987 I bought a 65XE to fill the void of my missing 800XL. When he finished school I got the 800XL back.

 

I guess I went about a year without an 8-bit set up. I did have my 400 during that period, it was not set up.

 

Off and on the 8-bits have been stored away for short periods, but are always in easy reach.

[flashjazzcat]

Crikey... so far, it seems not many people stuck with the 8-bit as their main computer for as long as I did (2001).

 

Anyway: Win 3.1 286 PC arrived in the house c. 2000, and the Atari eventually went into storage. It was a gradual changeover, since Word for Windows was capable of typography streets ahead of what the A8 could do.

 

Shortly after I got married in 2008, a fateful discussion with a friend about 6502 and my then unpublished word processor led me to retrieve the 65XE and XF551 from storage. To say that opened the floodgates is putting it quite mildly, and my wife deserves a medal.

Edited January 19, 2015 by flashjazzcat

[MrFish]

It's a kind of mushy, grey thing. I didn't really abandon my Jay Miner 8-bit for the Jay Miner 32-bit in 1989. The original Atari 800 I had was sold in 1987 mostly for space reasons, since I also had a 800XL with Ramrod OS and 256K RAM.. Everything just moved into boxes. Nothing else was sold after that point.

 

From time to time through the 90s I'd pop the Atari boxes open to show people the cool stuff that was (and then spend a day wondering if I could find space somewhere to set it up and start working/playing with it again.) The Atari hardware boxes were permanently re-opened about 2005, so I could hook a 400 up to the TV. Due to a home improvement exercise last year half the hardware went back to living in boxes, and most of the software that is not a game cartridge is boxed. When the Christmas things are finally put away (today's mission) I should have time to re-organize my home office space for more Atari-ness.

 

The Christmas unpacking in November gave me an opportunity to organize storage, and I found I have a few more 8-bits than I thought:

A 400, two 800 (one 16K, one 48K), two 800XLs (one stock, one with 256K/Ramrod OS), one AtariMax 1200XL with all the bells and whistles.

and three 2600s -- one of them a heavy sixer.

 

I honestly wish my story was more like yours. The stuff I left behind at my parents ended up getting lost in a rented storage room that payments weren't met on. I'd really love to have all that old stuff, especially the programming related stuff and some of the rare cartridges. It's not espensive to reacquire the hardware, but the other stuff is just gone. Hopefully somebody put it to good use after that, and it didn't go to the dump or similar.

Edited January 19, 2015 by MrFish

[low.blow]

It's funny, I had completely forgotten about my Atari until I moved and happened to run across the only piece of my Atari that I had left - a grey sio cable. Once I saw it, the memories came flooding back. I have been re- hooked since. Bought a 400, added ram and a video upgrade. Floppy drive, sio2pc, 850/830 etc...

[+CharlieChaplin]

Well,

 

my parents, my brothers and me lived in a small (west-german) village with approx. 400-500 inhabitants. Soon after I got my Atari 800XL at XMAS 1984, we were 12 Atarians there. Approx. one year later, ten former Atarians had moved to the C64 and only me and a friend were left with the A8. Think I was actively using the A8 with a 1010 data-recorder until the end of 1987 or beginning of 1988, then I stopped and the A8 went down to the cellar...

 

In 1992 I was called to german military service, but most of the the time we had nothing to do and it was very boring. Thus most guys played with Sega and Nintendo, except one guy who had a tv and an Atari 800XL. We talked a lot and I played the well-known old games again and it did not take long and I had the Atari virus again. My own Atari was revived in 1993 and I bought a floppy drive for it and was more active in the A8 scene as before.

 

The question remains, when will we stop using the A8 - when we are 70, 80, 90, 100 years old ? Or no sooner than the day we die ? Will our children still use the old A8, will it be thrown away or given to a computer-museum ?

[Bunsen]

I got my 800 XL 1985. My parents just divorced and I moved with my brother, my mother and her new boyfriend to another town. Well, I was 14 and the divorce hit me hard. I asked my mother to buy me a micro. And I think she bought it out of pity. I only knew just a handful other Atari users, but this was enough to get some games and get into some basic programming. For some reason I were never interested to get a C64.

 

With beginning to study 1993 I needed a better computer. And I bought an Atari ST. That time it was outdated, but I remained faithful to Atari and didn't buy an MS-DOS computer. The 800 XL wandered into the closet.

 

2002 I met some guys from ABBUC and the Atari virus hit me again. Wow, that was 13 years ago. And since then I've used my Atari almost every day.

[MrFish]

I noticed, after the poll was already up, that I mistakenly put Atari Amiga. "Freudian slip"? I decided to just leave it though...

Edited January 19, 2015 by MrFish

[kenjennings]

For those who understand the guts of the machines, that's an accurate description.

[TMR]

Left 1985 for the C64 (there was no software locally and i couldn't even get pirated stuff since i didn't have a disk drive) and "returned" around 2005 i think? i've still got my original 800XL, but it's got a fault that'll get sorted out at some point so using one of two i picked up fairly recently.

[gilsaluki]

Again, never left the trusty 8-bit arena. Used it today to jot a letter to my son. For those young-ums, a LETTER is correspondence which is either handwritten (I know, the horror, the horror) or typed and subsequently printed and then signed by a human hand. It predates texting. We used actual words, in actual sentences. Dinosaur stuff, I know. Ask you mom or grandma about letters.

[Sikor]

I never stop using 8-bit Atari, so - you lost answer on poll. I use it from 1987

And Yes, simulately I use(d):

Atari 1040 STE (4MB RAM)

few Atari TT030

And PCs...

And still use my Atari 65XE

[kiwilove]

A rough guess is perhaps 1991 or perhaps a little later. While I did go onto the Atari ST (certainly an early adoptee of the 1040ST), and later converted to Amiga - I never really got into computer videogames development as much on these machines - though I did try.

Then onto the PCs - starting with a 40MHz machine - which was upgraded to around 200MHz - if I got my tech specs right? But for videogames I got stuck into playing these consoles - like with the Super Famicom -SFC (Japanese version of SNES) - because Super MarioWorld is the king of the platform games - you really have to play this game to see why the SNES was the No.1 of the home consoles for it's time - and what professionalism in videogame development can produce (also other such titles for the SNES too). Then onto the Playstation - because Ridge Racer outclassed anything else at this time, along with Tekken.

I was never into commercial development projects - but only with hobbyist/enthusiast ones - which covered A8 bit, Atari ST, PC and SNES - and only doing graphic designs - with some or a lot of input into the game design. I only worked with 2 programmers - while I had contact with other programmers - none of these other possible projects took off. Many simply died before developing into anything...

 

I was into emulation straight away - when they first appeared - the early Mame - etc etc.

 

It was around 2013? that I got back into working on A8 graphics designs again... when GTIABlast! started up. Somehow all the elements came together for this project - and initially it was suppose to be a fairly straightforward kind of project - and not the kind of mammoth project it has developed into.

Probably the prime reason for me working on it again - is to recognise it as a legitimate art form - just as valid as any other media out there. And it is important to archive it's recent history and it's various developments, etc. That when enthusiasts engage in it - not for any commercial reasons - but just for the sheer fun and hell of it - all kinds of things are then possible - especially when you don't impose a firm deadline for it, and work on it when it suits you to.

I also think it's important to acknowledge the various games that set a genre of their own or showed ingenuity, etc.

 

Harvey

Edited January 20, 2015 by kiwilove

[+bf2k+]

C.R.S.

Edited January 20, 2015 by bf2k+

[ClausB]

Since 1985 I had the latest PC at work so never replaced my Ataris at home - until 1997, when the company folded and I got a left-over '486 for home and Sesame Street software for the kiddies. Then in 2007 I got a big TV and wanted to fulfil a long-time dream of playing Star Raiders on a large screen so out came the old Atari. The next year I found AtariAge and all you like-minded folk.

[Drummerboy]

I am back to the "real Atari thing" (on 8bit), on 2011. But i emulated Atari 8Bit since 90s.

[+SoulBuster]

There is no option - Never Left.

 

I have been using one since 1984 when I bought a 400. I have always had it set up for at the very least, playing games.

[ryanmercer]

Not enough options. I never used an 8-bit Atari until last summer.

[flashjazzcat]

I'm not sure I get the remarks about missing options in the poll. Surely the topic is specifically aimed at those who left the 8-bits at some point and then later returned. We'd need a separate poll which encompasses the entire scope of user experience and chronology in order to reflect all possible circumstances.

[MrFish]

I'm not sure I get the remarks about missing options in the poll. Surely the topic is specifically aimed at those who left the 8-bits at some point and then later returned. We'd need a separate poll which encompasses the entire scope of user experience and chronology in order to reflect all possible circumstances.

 

Yeah, that's just about it. I wasn't interested in shoehorning in options for those who've never left, or who've just recently been introduced, and thus never left as well. I'm more interested in the specific data for those who've left and returned, as the title indicates.

[flashjazzcat]

Looks like I was still last man standing in this demographic.

[MrFish]

Looks like I was still last man standing in this demographic.

 

So far, but only 50 people have voted.

[flashjazzcat]

Indeed - neither fact eludes me.

[+Ripdubski]

My story lies in the pilot episode of Inverse ATASCII. http://inverseatascii.info, or iTunes, or Stitcher.

Edited January 22, 2015 by Ripdubski