Looking over the edge and deciding to jump.

[Malathion5]

What is the slowest processor I can get away with for emulating. I am looking into a 486 laptop, something cheap.

 

I want to figure out if my (very) limited experience in programming can open the doors for programming the 65xx processors and I was planning on doing this at work during the lots of free time I have. Hence the laptop. I don't know if it's for me just yet, hence the cheap. I don't want to dump a lot of money into something I won't be able to do, and I don't know what I don't know just yet.

 

I figure I need to dabble before I can decide acurately.

[eric_ruck]

To emulate a Lynx you'll need a lot more machine than that. P3-500 min, I would say. I imagine emulating a 2600 would take less power.

 

Why a laptop? You can get a perfectly good PC and monitor adequate for emulation for less than $500.

 

Eric

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Atari 2600:

The lower limit is ~100 Mhz, but for more complicated games (e.g. Starpath Frogger) you will need ~200 Mhz even when using z26, which is AFAIK the fastest 2600 emulator.

[Nukey Shay]

Yup...the type of processor as well. While playable on a 100mhz pentium1, Z26 is completely unplayable on my 133mhz AMD (it takes a full minute to cross a unblocked room in Adventure!). A26 works, but it's picky on what it runs

[Malathion5]

The laptop is for the portability. I plan on working on this while at work.

 

I guess I asked the wrong question. What I want to do is start learning the machine language for the 6502 processor, so what I thought would be a logical step would be to become familiar with BASIC then the machine language itself. Then start goofing around in some game code to see what it does.

 

I'm not really interested in playing games on it, I want to get into the code and poke around, then be able to see the effect it has on the game.

 

I have 68000 experience, so I think I'll be able to eventually figure it out (it works that way in my mind anyway).

 

So, I need to know if an emulator like Z26 is what I need to get. That's my question. What program/emulator do I need to access the game code, and can it be done on an Intel 486?

[Malathion5]

The laptop is for the portability. I plan on working on this while at work.

 

I guess I asked the wrong question. What I want to do is start learning the machine language for the 6502 processor, so what I thought would be a logical step would be to become familiar with BASIC then the machine language itself. Then start goofing around in some game code to see what it does.

 

I'm not really interested in playing games on it, I want to get into the code and poke around, then be able to see the effect it has on the game.

 

I have 68000 experience, so I think I'll be able to eventually figure it out (it works that way in my mind anyway).

 

So, I need to know if an emulator like Z26 is what I need to get. That's my question. What program/emulator do I need to access the game code, and can it be done on an Intel 486?

[Nukey Shay]

The 2600 sucks as a learning platform...but Ccs64 has some early versions that run on a 486 (Commodore64 emulator). Dunno about Atari800Win.

 

Anyway, the emulator PCAE allows you to view the game's code as the Rom is running...and some full disassemblies of Roms can be found at The Dig, heavily commented - so you can see what lines do. Check the links page for the 2600.

[+Allan]

Why not try 6502 on the 5200/8-bit Atari computers. There is tons of info on them and they are lot easier to program for. If you have 68000 assebly experience it shouldn't be hard at all to pick it up. You can start with:

www.atarimagazines.com and

www.atariarchives.org

 

On the second site is the book Machine Language for Beginners by Compute. A good starter book.

 

You can program for these machines on any PC using a cross compiler like Dasm or Tasm.

 

Allan

[Nukey Shay]

That's the question...does an Atari800 emulator even exist that runs on a 486? (since that's the system that he wants to use). I know that C64 does...which is also 6502-based. With Ccs64 for example, he would have full access to the commercial programs in it's monitor mode. And it's almost essential that he learns with both books and computer.

[Nukey Shay]

Hm...Xformer and Xformer Classic both claim to run on a 486. Not familiar with either of them, tho.

http://www.zophar.net/a5200.html

[Malathion5]

(OK, lets see if I can do this without double-posting again)

 

Thanks for the help. I'll 'just do it' as it were and let you guys know if a 486 can handle it.

 

Nukey, double thanks. I've been reading your instructions on how to download and open the .exe for an emulator in another post in the emulating forum. I downloaded z26 to my machine at home and had trouble opening it, but I think I know what the problem is.