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Bally Alley Astrocast Podcast


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Episode 0 of the Bally Alley Astrocast podcast was published on June 3, 2016. In that episode, we introduced ourselves and discussed what would be covered in future episodes of the podcast. I decided to have a "soft opening:" I didn't want to announce the podcast officially until we released the premier episode. Despite me not saying a word in public, the news still found it's way into the public's eye via the increasingly misnamed "2 worthy video game podcasts" thread:

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/153291-2-worthy-video-game-podcasts/page-144?do=findComment&comment=3524435

 

We've published the first full-length, regular episode of the podcast today. Episode 1 of the Bally Alley Astrocast covers the two built-in games Gunfight and Checkmate. The first two issues of the Arcadians newsletter (from April and May 1978) are covered in detail. Also discussed are the recent additions to the BallyAlley.com website, news and much more Bally Arcade goodness!

This first episode is about an hour long and you can listen to it and read the show notes on libsyn:

http://ballyalleyastrocast.libsyn.com/rss

 

The show is also available through iTunes:

 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bally-alley-astrocast/id1120803134

 

Let us know what you think our first official podcast episode-- and please send us some feedback.

Adam

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Awesome Astrocast! :)

I'm amazed there was no Chess for the Astro, it is certainly capable.

 

Bet it might even be possible to run some of the small 2K BASIC Chess programs on the Bally just by typing them in.

 

Liked hearing about the BASIC games and the tapes - the slow breakout that played like chess sounded interesting, I guess the interleaved code with the display RAM took a lot of the speed out of the graphics.

Looking forward to more episodes!

 

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Awesome Astrocast! :)

I'm glad that you like the Astrocast episodes so far. Thanks for the comments.

 

I'm amazed there was no Chess for the Astro, it is certainly capable.

Certainly the system probably could have supported a version of chess on cartridge. There isn't even a version of Checkers on cartridge (except in prototype form), so I'm not surprised that no chess game exists. There are a couple of different versions of Checkers written in BASIC. One of them is by John Collins, who also wrote a program called Bally Chess Board. It looks like this:

 

post-4925-0-60300900-1466466638_thumb.gif

 

The screenshot does look like chess, but it's not a game. This is just a static image, created (perhaps?) to inspire others to make a chess game. Also, in the demo, the chess pieces are drawn extremely slowly-- and wouldn't be useful in a game. If you have an Astrocade and AstroBASIC, then you can try out Bally Chess Board for yourself, as it can be downloaded here:

 

http://www.ballyalley.com/program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/misc/john_collins/john_collins.html

 

Bet it might even be possible to run some of the small 2K BASIC Chess programs on the Bally just by typing them in.

Which 2K Chess programs written in BASIC are you talking about? Can you point me to one?

 

Remember that the expanded BASIC languages for the Astrocade (such as Blue Ram BASIC) supported more RAM. In theory some of the longer BASIC Chess programs could probably be made to run on the system... but who would play them? Also, I think that there was a 1K chess program written in machine language for the ZX81 computer. I wonder what the smallest chess program ever written was (that supported all common rules)?

 

Liked hearing about the BASIC games and the tapes - the slow breakout that played like chess sounded interesting, I guess the interleaved code with the display RAM took a lot of the speed out of the graphics.

Yes, the interleaved code really does slow down both the original Bally BASIC and "AstroBASIC." All of the expanded RAM BASICs do away with interleaved code, so they do run faster. It would be interesting to do a speed test that compared the original BASICs with the later versions.

 

Looking forward to more episodes!

We'll be recording the last segments for Episode 2 tomorrow evening. That episode will be out in a couple of weeks.

 

Adam

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I'm glad that you like the Astrocast episodes so far. Thanks for the comments.

 

Certainly the system probably could have supported a version of chess on cartridge. There isn't even a version of Checkers on cartridge (except in prototype form), so I'm not surprised that no chess game exists. There are a couple of different versions of Checkers written in BASIC. One of them is by John Collins, who also wrote a program called Bally Chess Board. It looks like this:

 

attachicon.gifBally_Chess_Board_(John_Collins).gif

 

The screenshot does look like chess, but it's not a game. This is just a static image, created (perhaps?) to inspire others to make a chess game. Also, in the demo, the chess pieces are drawn extremely slowly-- and wouldn't be useful in a game. If you have an Astrocade and AstroBASIC, then you can try out Bally Chess Board for yourself, as it can be downloaded here:

 

http://www.ballyalley.com/program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/misc/john_collins/john_collins.html

 

Which 2K Chess programs written in BASIC are you talking about? Can you point me to one?

 

Remember that the expanded BASIC languages for the Astrocade (such as Blue Ram BASIC) supported more RAM. In theory some of the longer BASIC Chess programs could probably be made to run on the system... but who would play them? Also, I think that there was a 1K chess program written in machine language for the ZX81 computer. I wonder what the smallest chess program ever written was (that supported all common rules)?

 

Yes, the interleaved code really does slow down both the original Bally BASIC and "AstroBASIC." All of the expanded RAM BASICs do away with interleaved code, so they do run faster. It would be interesting to do a speed test that compared the original BASICs with the later versions.

 

We'll be recording the last segments for Episode 2 tomorrow evening. That episode will be out in a couple of weeks.

 

Adam

 

Couldn't find any 2K BASIC Chess programs but I am pretty sure I have seen them, will post a link if I come accross it; I remember the 1K Chess program for the KIM-1 by Peter Jennings who later wrote Micro Chess, that had a 2K engine but they were both asm like the 1K ZX-81 Chess.

 

Good point about who would use the larger programs - I think the Z-GRASS and blue RAM expansion are really cool tech to read about but the standard BASIC is far more interesting to me because you can still do alot with 2K and there was a programming subculture around it in the early computer clubs that left a lot of interesting literature and program listings and recordings.

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I think the Z-GRASS and blue RAM expansion are really cool tech to read about

 

Agreed. I plan to do a few segments on the ZGRASS, as well as the Blue Ram expansion. As rare as the RAM expansion hardware is for the Astrocade, there is a surprisingly large amount of it archived.

 

the standard BASIC is far more interesting to me because you can still do alot with 2K and there was a programming subculture around it in the early computer clubs that left a lot of interesting literature and program listings and recordings.

 

Most people have not used any BASIC programs on their Astrocade systems, which is a shame. The biggest obstacle for many users is that in order to load BASIC programs you need real hardware, as the Astrocade emulator in MAME doesn't support tape input. The focus of much of the Astrocast will be on gaming, but I'm going to (at least once per episode) try to shed light onto the non-gaming side of the Astrocade too. The more I've used the Astrocade over the years, the more I see it as a computer system and not a game console at all-- but I'm well aware that most people probably don't see it in this light.

 

For such a third-tier (but not third-rate) system, there is an awful lot of quality information available about the Bally Arcade. This has been gathered over the past fifteen years and much of it is available on Ballyalley.com. Part of the motivation for Chris and I to start the Astrocast was to create a forum/environment where new content can be created (such as interviews). The Astrocast will also be used to explore the history of the system.

 

Adam

 

 

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Episode 2 of the Bally Alley Astrocast is available now:

 

http://www.ballyalleyastrocast.libsyn.com/2016/07

 

This episode covers the cartridge game Red Baron/Panzer Attack and the BASIC game (released on tape) Castle of Horror. Issues 3-5 (from June to October 1978) of the Arcadians newsletter are covered in detail. We also discuss: news, feedback, a few classic letters to the Arcadian from Ernie Sams (who discusses JS&A, the company that originally sold the Astrocade) and Richard Belton (who covers the Maryland User Group). Finally, there is an interview with Ward Shrake, who created multicarts for several systems, including one for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade.

 

Enjoy!

 

Adam

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Adam said:

 

> Finally, there is an interview with Ward Shrake,

> who created multicarts for several systems,

> including one for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade.

 

I just listened to that interview, tonight -- and I gotta say that, in terms of listening to myself talk: over time I'd forgotten much of what Adam had asked me, and what my answers had been, so it was kinda weird listening to that interview. It feels different -- (at least in terms of perceived speed of listening to someone and then replying; when hearing it, long after it was recorded) -- than it felt when it was just me sitting there and B.S.'ing with my good friend.

 

As for how "I" sounded, or think I sounded ... I guess if a person is gonna sound like a dork, maybe sounding like a dork on coffee makes it better!?!

 

Apologies to the hardcore Astrocade types, that so little of what I said was on-topic for that system! (Sounded more like a VIC-20 interview, almost!?)

 

As for how the interview sounded, and "flowed": I thought Chris did quite a good job on editing what he had. Kudos to him for that! Thanks, man!

 

Anyway ... ignoring how weird it feels to be listening to myself, and focusing on the other parts of the three podcasts (counting episode zero) ... yeah, it was informative. Adam's highlights from the various newsletters, for instance, gave me a much better grasp of how various users once must have felt, with all of the delays and set-backs and what not. The huge wait times between promised dates of delivery and the actual deliveries, must have really been an upsetting thing! I'm finally able to see more of the motivation for things like the efforts users put forth, to support their little community. At the same time, it was good to see signs that Bally (or whomever) did try to get things out there, such as programming information. Weird, that so few years later, other companies were so insanely good (in comparison) at releasing things like programming manuals. Guess I had taken that stuff for granted?

 

I'm used to the whole "digital archaeology" thing, from the perspective of someone investigating a system, after it's commercial death. But seeing those users having to do stuff like that, right up front, when the system's initial launch and library were still basically brand new!? Wow!! That was trippy!?

 

Cool that there's a sense of humor involved, throughout all of the episodes I've listened to. Gotta say another thanks to Chris Plus Plus, for his funny asides and so forth. (But Adam's not as dry in his commentary as he seems to think he is.)

 

Glad to see that Dominic got a shout-out (in an earlier podcast) for his opening theme music contributions. Having known him since he was like, what, negative six or so, it's been a cool thing for me to see him grow into adulthood and to always be creative; even if it's "creative" mixed with a healthy dose of intelligent parents, which not everyone is used to. That mix of "nerd" and "artist" is something Dominic's parental influences have, to be proud of.

 

Overall: You're onto something, guys. Keep it up! I'm being entertained, and I'm learning "new" stuff as I go. Looking forward to the next episode(s) ... !!

 

-- Ward Shrake --

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... ignoring how weird it feels to be listening to myself...

 

Yeah, join the club!

 

It's funny that you should even mention that, however, as I was speaking with Adam last week about how I thought you had a "great voice for podcasting." So I suppose that the lesson (for lack of a more fitting word) is that it's impossible to hear oneself objectively. Case in point: I agree that Adam's delivery isn't as dry as he thinks.

 

The comments are vastly appreciated. I'm glad that you're enjoying the podcast so far. It will get even better as we get more comfortable; tonight, we talked about the next two featured games and had the smoothest recording session so far. Having said (well, typed) that, don't hold back on any constructive criticism that might occur to you. We both trust your opinion a great deal.

 

 

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I'd forgotten much of what Adam had asked me, and what my answers had been, so it was kinda weird listening to that interview.

I felt that same way when I listened to the "interview." I'd forgotten the specifics of what we had talked about. We meandered back and forth and around quite a lot. Really, it wasn't an interview at all-- it was was just the two of us chatting with one another.

 

Apologies to the hardcore Astrocade types, that so little of what I said was on-topic for that system! (Sounded more like a VIC-20 interview, almost!?)

There was a lot of coverage of the Vic-20, that's true. However, it was all of general interest. Thanks to the July 1983 issue of Creative Computing, there is a small link between the Vic-20 and the Astrocade. In the July issue of the magazine, they printed a type-in BASIC game called Cavern Quest by Bruce Jaeger. I actually typed this program in several years ago and it's now archived on BallyAlley.com.

 

I thought Chris did quite a good job on editing what he had. Kudos to him for that!

Yes, Chris made the interview sound better and flow a bit smoother too. He's got the patience of a saint to edit the way that he does.

 

Adam's highlights from the various newsletters,

I'm glad that you enjoyed the newsletter highlights. I've really enjoyed going through the newsletters with a fine-toothed comb. I'm learning (or re-learning) so much about the early days of the Astrocade system.

 

The huge wait times between promised dates of delivery and the actual deliveries, must have really been an upsetting thing!

 

The wait times must have been excruciating for early-adopters of the Bally Home Library Computer. Can you imagine getting your Astrocade finally delivered in January of 1978 (after months of delay) and then having to wait another nine months for the BASIC cart? The BASIC cartridge seems to have been the main reason many early users bought their system. Can you blame them for being so upset at Bally/JS&A when all that users had at the time was a handful of carts, no BASIC and overheating an console?

 

Gotta say another thanks to Chris Plus Plus, for his funny asides and so forth. (But Adam's not as dry in his commentary as he seems to think he is.)

 

Chris is a funny guy. Even when he's not funny, he thinks he's funny-- so we have that much in common!

 

When we recorded part of last night's episode, we were pretty goofy, which is how we typically are when we talk with one another. Since he's editing the podcast, I bet we won't get to hear my pokes at his terrible game playing skills: that will all end up on the cutting room floor, and may even be replaced with quick smart-ass remarks edited into the show afterward by him. Or is Chris above this? I guess we'll see in a couple of weeks. (I just realized that by saying this I'm guaranteeing that Chris inserts some extra silliness).

 

Glad to see that Dominic got a shout-out (in an earlier podcast) for his opening theme music contributions.

I'm really happy with the podcast music intro that Dominic and his friend Brandon created. I enjoy electronic music, but there sure is a lot of it in many classic gaming podcasts (heck, even the Bally Alley Astrocast ends with electronic music). I like having a jazzy little intro to the show!

 

Overall: You're onto something, guys. Keep it up! I'm being entertained, and I'm learning "new" stuff as I go.

Thanks for the comments, Ward. I like how the show is moving along so far. I really want to get Paul more involved. Hopefully the three of us can all figure-out a way to record together soon.

 

Adam

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Thanks to the July 1983 issue of Creative Computing, there is a small link between the Vic-20 and the Astrocade. In the July issue of the magazine, they printed a type-in BASIC game called Cavern Quest by Bruce Jaeger.

 

"Cavern Quest" was previously archived on the Bally Alley website, but the scan of the magazine article was incomplete (it was missing the Vic-20 type-in program). I remembered seeing the complete article (torn from the original Creative Computing magazine) in the Bob Fabris collection. I used that material to create a pdf of the article, which you can read here:

 

http://www.ballyalley.com/type-in_programs/basic/basic.html#CavernQuestBASICType-In

 

This game stretches the boundaries of the Astrocade a little bit-- I like it!

 

Adam

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I'm glad that you're enjoying the podcast so far. It will get even better as we get more comfortable ...

 

 

I immediately thought of what you had said, above, when (at random) I unexpectedly ran into this quote on someone's Facebook page:

 

"The legendary cellist Pablo Casals was asked why he continued to practice at age 90. 'Because I think I'm making progress,' he replied."

 

(I just liked the quote. Figured I'd post it here, just for kicks.)

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I immediately thought of what you had said, above, when (at random) I unexpectedly ran into this quote on someone's Facebook page:

 

"The legendary cellist Pablo Casals was asked why he continued to practice at age 90. 'Because I think I'm making progress,' he replied."

 

(I just liked the quote. Figured I'd post it here, just for kicks.)

 

I dig it! Once someone stops learning, stops improving, he might as well not even get out of bed. That's the philosophy I try to adopt, anyway...it helps me keep my inflated ego in check. :D

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Episode 3 of the Bally Alley Astrocast is available now:

 

http://www.ballyalleyastrocast.libsyn.com/2016/07

 

Episode 3 of the Bally Alley Astrocast covers the cartridge game Crazy Climber and the BASIC game (released on tape) Missile Defense. Chris and I discuss what we've been up to lately. Arcadian newsletter issues 1 and 2 (November and December 1978) are covered in detail. We discuss a bit of feedback. Chris, Paul and I go discuss the very first ad for the Bally Home Library computer (from September 1977). I read from a few letters that JS&A (the mail order company that originally sold the Bally Home Library Computer) sent to customers. The show ends with a one-minute rendition of the Happy Days theme song.

 

This episode has about two hours of Bally Goodness baked right in at the peak of freshness for that added bit of flavor!

 

Enjoy!

 

Adam

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  • 3 weeks later...

Chris, Paul and I have finished Episode 4 of the Bally Alley Astrocast. You can listen to the episode and read the complete show notes here:

http://ballyalleyastrocast.libsyn.com/bally-alley-astrocast-004-sea-devil-and-the-pits

 

Astrocast #4 covers the Bally Arcade/Astrocade cartridge game Sea Devil and the BASIC type-in game (published in the Arcadian newsletter) The Pits. Chris and I discuss, as always, what we've been up to lately. Paul and I cover the Arcadian newsletter issues 3 and 4 (January and February 1979). We cover a bit of feedback too (we could always use more though-- so keep it coming to us). Paul and I discuss seven letters to the Arcadian, dating from late 1978 and early 1979. The show ends with a short tune called Golden Slippers played from a type-in program called Player Piano from the Bally BASIC manual.

Enjoy!

Adam

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  • 1 month later...

Paul and I have finished Episode 5 of the Bally Alley Astrocast. You can listen to the episode and read the complete show notes here:

 

http://ballyalleyastrocast.libsyn.com/bally-alley-astrocast-005-arcadian-newsletter-march-and-may-1979

 

Episode 5 of the Bally Alley Astrocast doesn't cover a game this episode. Chris has left as a co-host, so the review of The Incredible Wizard has been pushed to episode 6. Paul and I cover the Arcadian newsletter issues 5 and 6 (March and May 1979). We cover a bit of feedback too. Paul and I discuss eleven letters to the Arcadian, dating mostly from the Spring of 1979.
Adam
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  • 1 month later...

I have added the Bally Alley Astrocast podcast #6 today.

Episode 6 of the Bally Alley Astrocast covers The Incredible Wizard, the port of the arcade game Wizard of Wor. Paul and I are joined by our new co-host Michael Di Salvo (yeah, Michael!). Paul and I cover the Arcadian newsletter issues 7 and 8 (June and July 1979). Paul and I discuss six letters to the Arcadian, dating from the Spring and Summer of 1979. There is plenty of feedback and articles, plus Michael has a really cool segment with his son in which they review The Incredible Wizard together (this is one of my favorite parts of the episode).

The next Astrocast podcast (episode 7) will feature holiday feedback in the December episode. If you have any holiday stories to share, then please send the feedback that you'd like to see included in episode 7 by December 16'th. I can't wait to hear your tales!

You can download Astrocast #6 here:

http://www.ballyalleyastrocast.libsyn.com/rss

This episode is about three hours and fifteen minutes long. Remember that you don't have to listen to it all in one sitting (the pause button is meant to be used at your discretion, as often as you like).

Special thanks to Chris for editing this podcast. He took scattered segments, pieces, music, sound effects and made them into a complete final episode that works great as a whole. Without his expertise, this episode wouldn't be nearly as fun-- and probably wouldn't exist at all.

Enjoy the podcast!

Adam

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I've been listening to the 'cast on and off for most of the evening (I work nights) and I have to say its very entertaining and informative, if I do say so myself.

 

But enough about me: just wanted to thank Adam and company for making me a part of the Astrocast, I hope I can bring some knowledge and insight to them about this often unknown & misunderstood system, which to me is one of if not the most underrated systems of its time.

 

Of all the consoles I own, have owned or hope to own, the Astrocade is one of my two favorite systems, the other being the Neo Geo Advanced Entertainment System.

 

I see the two as kindred spirits if you will, both being advanced systems, ahead of their time, based upon or using arcade hardware (or vise versa), oh and of course (in my best Fat Bastard impression) being dead sexy!

 

Kudos to Chris not only for his work but for finding a Crazy Eddie commercial that not only mentioned pretty much every game system at that time but actually mentioned the Astrocade!

 

Edit: I'm blind: look at the sign! Astrocade in NEON! I want that sign!

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At 1 hour and 15 minutes in to the podcast, Adam reads my feedback that I submitted on THE INCREDIBLE WIZARD.

 

Thank you, Adam, for including it in its entirety! I know it is long!

I felt the game deserved that much attention!
I have had some time off before the Thanksgiving holiday, so I made an article of it in PDF format and add some graphics etc.
It is on my web site :
and Adam is going to host it on his site ballyalley.com at some point in the near future.
ENJOY!
Tim
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Adam reads my feedback that I submitted on THE INCREDIBLE WIZARD. Thank you, Adam, for including it in its entirety!

It was long, but that's okay because Tim kept right on topic. I actually didn't read every phrase that the Wizard says, as there were just too many of them. I read my top ten favorites, and then Chris edited in the Wizard actually saying those phrases. This works pretty well and makes it easier to understand the Wizard's speech.

 

I made an article of it in PDF format and add some graphics etc. Adam is going to host it on his site ballyalley.com at some point in the near future.

 

Tim's feedback article, which he called Insights and Feedback on The Incredible Wizard and Wizard of Wor (Coin-Op), can be read here:

 

http://www.ballyalley.com/documentation/reviews/reviews.html#IncredibleWizardInsightsandFeedback

 

Thanks for taking the time to create the feedback Tim, and then taking the additional time to create the article in The 2600 Connection-style newsletter format. It looks great!

 

Adam

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I've been listening to the 'cast on and off for most of the evening (I work nights) and I have to say its very entertaining and informative

 

I listened to the podcast while I was making the show notes for the episode. I was really pleased with how good it sounded (both the content and the sound quality). I laughed so hard when Michael's son casually made dibs on Michael's videogame collection. I guess Michael won't be needing those games after he is gone!

 

just wanted to thank Adam and company for making me a part of the Astrocast, I hope I can bring some knowledge and insight to them about this often unknown & misunderstood system, which to me is one of if not the most underrated systems of its time.

 

What I liked most about having Michael as another co-host is it made the show more fun to do... and to listen to as well.

 

Kudos to Chris not only for his work but for finding a Crazy Eddie commercial that not only mentioned pretty much every game system at that time but actually mentioned the Astrocade!

 

I looked for a Crazy Eddie commercial as soon as I recorded The Incredible Wizard segment with Michael and Paul. I watched a few of them before I found one with the Astrocade featured in it. Finding that commercial inspired me to look for some footage of the Cablevision Swap 'N Shop channel too (I'd never heard of that before).

 

I'm blind: look at the sign! Astrocade in NEON! I want that sign!

 

Michael acts like these neon signs didn't come packaged in the re-release box of the Astrocade in 1982. Weird. Am I the only one who has eight or nine of these Astrocade neon signs hanging on the walls of my game room?

 

Adam

 

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