Demos and Half-baked Ideas

[SlidellMan]

Hmm...that version of BASIC isn't bad, and I'd say that it must have been inspired by the cancelled BASIC cart for the 7800.

[+Karl G]

19 minutes ago, SlidellMan said:

Hmm...that version of BASIC isn't bad, and I'd say that it must have been inspired by the cancelled BASIC cart for the 7800.

There was a planned BASIC cart for the 7800? It was really only inspired by the idea of BASIC Programming for the 2600, and me wondering what a 7800 version might have looked like.

[RevEng]

An excerpt from atarimuseum.com (courtesy of the wayback machine)...

Quote

The 7800 keyboard package would also include two software titles.    Most likely those two titles would have been Atari 7800 PRO System BASIC and Atari 7800 PRO System VideoWriter.

And another one from Curt, from the forums here...

Quote

Steve [Golson] and I fired up a lot of equipment and even got the original prototype computer enhancement running, I got OSS/Atari 7800 Basic running, VideoWriter and some Atarilab modules running,

 

[+Karl G]

Ahh... super cool!

[+sramirez2008]

9 hours ago, Karl G said:

Oregon Trail. 

This please.

[+Karl G]

So, I will hopefully be releasing an early demo of what I've done with my BASIC interpreter in order to gauge interest and get feedback on the interface. Before I do that, I want to see if I can get ideas on a working name for the project. I'm not necessarily best known in this community for my clever project names. Some of the ideas I have considered are:

• SE BASIC: The SE was supposed to stand for Seventy Eight. But apparently there is already a SE BASIC.
• KG BASIC: A vanity name, but I'd only do it if I could think of a plausible (if retrofitted) meaning for the K and G, and I've got nothing.
• P.S. BASIC: PS standing for ProSystem. This one I think is kind of cute, but I realized it might sound too much like it was a BASIC for the PlayStation.

Any thoughts on the above, or other clever ideas, perchance? 

[Synthpopalooza]

MariaBASIC

[Synthpopalooza]

I think some Graphics commands like Atari BASIC wouldn't be amiss.  Same with TIA and POKEY.  Possibly even put in a 4 line text window, called using GRAPHICS 0  through 6 (for all the native modes) and add a +8 to turn off the text window.  0 being of course the default 320A.  other bit flags can be used to toggle double wide mode maybe.

[RevEng]

KG BASIC could be...

• Keyboard Game BASIC
• Keyboard Graphical BASIC
• Keyboard Generated BASIC
• KGBASIC Game BASIC (recursive)

Just a note that KG BASIC would no doubt be shortened by some users as "KGB". That could be funny or unfortunate, depending on your disposition.

 

Some other ideas...

• BASIC78
• 780 BASIC
• 78 Console BASIC
• GOTO 7800

[+Karl G]

9 hours ago, Synthpopalooza said:

I think some Graphics commands like Atari BASIC wouldn't be amiss.  Same with TIA and POKEY.  Possibly even put in a 4 line text window, called using GRAPHICS 0  through 6 (for all the native modes) and add a +8 to turn off the text window.  0 being of course the default 320A.  other bit flags can be used to toggle double wide mode maybe.

Probably most of those ideas are beyond the scope of what I'm likely to create, honestly. Right now I have a sound command that uses a 16-bit channel (distortion 10), and that should be suitable for the kinds of BASIC programs I'm picturing. I also have text foreground and background colors. If I add in any kind of graphics mode, it will be much later, and be something that would be relatively low on video RAM usage (since I only have ~16K to work with).

[+Karl G]

1 hour ago, RevEng said:

Keyboard Generated BASIC

Thanks! I'm leaning towards this one now. It's amusing since it really won't be, though (unless I find a way to produce my minikeyboard concept). The idea that it could be shortened to KGB only adds to my amusement.  🙂 

[+Muddyfunster]

1 hour ago, RevEng said:

 

Just a note that KG BASIC would no doubt be shortened by some users as "KGB". That could be funny or unfortunate, depending on your disposition.

 

 

"What are you up to today?"

 

"Oh I'm just having some fun with the KGB" 

 

😮

 

(love that suggestion).

 

[RevEng]

The jokes... they write themselves.

 

"Hmmm, there seems to be a concealed microphone and transmitter inside of my KGB cart!"

 

"Oh... that's just a bug"

 

[+x=usr(1536)]

1 hour ago, RevEng said:

The jokes... they write themselves.

 

"Hmmm, there seems to be a concealed microphone and transmitter inside of my KGB cart!"

 

"Oh... that's just a bug"

 

 

"Yeah, he used the cartridge a couple of times and then just disappeared.  Black Volgas are still parked out front of his house.  We don't talk about it."

[Synthpopalooza]

Nyet ... is not bug.  Is feature!