Superhcarger games on cart

[Lord Helmet]

This may be a dumb question, but can the supercharger games be put on cart?

[Keir]

This may be a dumb question, but can the supercharger games be put on cart?

894953[/snapback]

Interestingly enough, I was just reading an old thread about this subject this morning. Here it is:

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9794

[SteveW]

Like it was said in that thread, Rabbit Transit did make it into a prototype cartridge. I read about it in a magazine article years ago, that went inside Atari (circa 1995-6). They talked about the 2600 emulator for the Jaguar, and mentioned that Rabbit Transit had been found on a proto cart in storage. It seemed that Atari was wondering if it was possible to get a Supercharger game to work on cart. Probably got nixed because the Tramiels didn't want to pay for an extra 6k of memory in the carts.

 

Imagine how awesome an Escape From The Mindmaster cart would be? Especially with some added mazes?

[128bytes]

This may be a dumb question, but can the supercharger games be put on cart?

894953[/snapback]

 

Supercharger games do run perfectly on the Cuttle Cart 2, for what it's worth.

[Lord Helmet]

This may be a dumb question, but can the supercharger games be put on cart?

894953[/snapback]

 

Supercharger games do run perfectly on the Cuttle Cart 2, for what it's worth.

895098[/snapback]

 

Yea, but that would cost me a couple of hundered dollars just to get The Official Frogger on a cart...

[Foxsolo2000]

I bought the Atari version of Rabbit Transit on cartridge from Atari2600.com. I would guess that some of the smaller titles could make the transition from tape to cart easily.

[+batari]

I bought the Atari version of Rabbit Transit on cartridge from Atari2600.com.  I would guess that some of the smaller titles could make the transition from tape to cart easily.

895194[/snapback]

In the near future, it may be possible without needing $200 worth of hardware via Supercat's planned boards. They will be inexpensive enough for individual games to be put on the carts. Though he probably won't support SC games directly, it's possible that the single load SC games can be converted to run on his boards.

[supercat]

In the near future, it may be possible without needing $200 worth of hardware via Supercat's planned boards.  They will be inexpensive enough for individual games to be put on the carts.  Though he probably won't support SC games directly, it's possible that the single load SC games can be converted to run on his boards.

895383[/snapback]

 

Basically correct. The board I am designing will use a "complex" programmable logic device (CPLD) to control bank switching and RAM access. I intend to design the board with the cheapest CPLD that will perform the required functions, a 95C36XL at a cost of about $1.30. If a 95C72XL were installed instead of the 95C36XL, the board would probably be able to handle Supercharger games, but I see no reason to spend the extra $5 or so for the fancier chip. To be sure, I don't really know or care what Superchargers cost these days, since I got mine years ago, but more importantly my goal is not to let people run pirate games but rather to let people produce homebrew games that require extra RAM. Hopefully enough people will take up such programming to make my efforts worthwhile.

[supercat]

I bought the Atari version of Rabbit Transit on cartridge from Atari2600.com.  I would guess that some of the smaller titles could make the transition from tape to cart easily.

895194[/snapback]

 

If a Supercharger game doesn't need to write any of the memory in the Supercharger during program execution, converting it to cartridge form is apt to be pretty simple. If it does need to write memory, converting it to (RAM-less) cartridge form may be basically impossible. The 1K minigame contest entry I'm working on falls into the latter category. It's a "small title" [only 1K of code] but it would be absolutely impossible to get the graphics I do without using 2K of RAM for data storage. If I used more RAM, I could probably make the game even better except that doing so would require bank switching which would use up precious code.

[mos6507]

The Rabbit Transit proto is not exactly the same as the Supercharger one. It's a little simplified.

 

It's true, if the Supercharger game in question doesn't use any of the extra features then it can be converted to a cart without any modifications. But I don't think any games fall under that category. At the time the Supercharger came out, 8K games were already routine. So given that the SC only gives you 6K per load, I'm sure that all the games must at least bleed into the last 2K bank.

[Kroko]

This may be a dumb question, but can the supercharger games be put on cart?

894953[/snapback]

Even though it seems to be possible .... would it be legal to sell Supercharger games on cart ? I don't think somebody would design such a cart, if selling it is not allowed. I guess it is too much effort just for one private cart. You can easily buy a supercharger for the prototyping costs.

[+batari]

This may be a dumb question, but can the supercharger games be put on cart?

894953[/snapback]

Even though it seems to be possible .... would it be legal to sell Supercharger games on cart ? I don't think somebody would design such a cart, if selling it is not allowed. I guess it is too much effort just for one private cart. You can easily buy a supercharger for the prototyping costs.

896479[/snapback]

If not for sale, maybe for personal use. A couple of months ago, I mapped out the locations in Frogger that modify RAM, and I think it could be converted to 3E bankswitching with a little elbow grease, and playable on a KC or burned to Supercat's low-cost board.

 

But at the moment, I'm busy with something else...

[Zach]

I think it could be converted to 3E bankswitching with a little elbow grease, and playable on a KC or burned to Supercat's low-cost board.

 

I was wondering about that. I figured if anyone knew, you would, Batari.

[Crimefighter]

I could've sworn I've see CD players used with the Superchargers.

[Nukey Shay]

I could've sworn I've see CD players used with the Superchargers.

896855[/snapback]

 

You could probably use an 8-track player with a Supercharger

Now that's retro.

[mos6507]

This may be a dumb question, but can the supercharger games be put on cart?

894953[/snapback]

Even though it seems to be possible .... would it be legal to sell Supercharger games on cart ? I don't think somebody would design such a cart, if selling it is not allowed. I guess it is too much effort just for one private cart. You can easily buy a supercharger for the prototyping costs.

896479[/snapback]

 

That hasn't stopped many releases in the past.

[potatohead]

I could've sworn I've see CD players used with the Superchargers.

896855[/snapback]

 

 

Yep. I've got one of the original Stella CD's. #96! When it arrived, I used a portable CD player to check out all the games. 2600 CD! (Who would have thought.)

 

One of the best configurations was a hi-fi VCR. If you have one of the models that handles indexes correctly, you can record the audio off the CD for use on the VCR. You put an index at the start of each track, and leave 10 seconds or so between tracks.

 

Pop in the tape, power everything up, enter game number and enter! A few moments later, you are playing your game.