[Disk magazine Flop 67]

Wow, that intro demo is a real attention-grabber! 😍

[Converting NTSC 600XL to PAL]

Nice work repairing that completely avoidable damage. Few things enrage me more than people who don't have a clue how to properly package an item for shipment.

 

What method did you use to cut the hole for the monitor DIN connector?

[Old pictures of our Atari 8-bit setups]

2 hours ago, Ecernosoft said:

Defender heavy on space bar?  

Space bar activates the smart bomb in Defender, which is usually done under moments of great duress and people end up smacking it harder than they need to.

[Question about Player/Missile graphics and International Karate]

Those backgrounds are gorgeous! Would love to see them integrated into the game.

[What machine do you have?]

2 hours ago, Gunstar said:

As far as stock OS's of the various machines from the 400/800 through the last XE computers, basically two OS's, the later computer OS's simply added stuff like a built-in self test and support for International character support, nothing that would effect your program. Now there are some differences to the OS of the 400/800 and XL/XE lines, but all that boils down to incompatibility with a very few 400/800 games on the XL/XE OS's because those programmers used "illegal" instruction shortcuts on some 400/800 games that broke them on XL/XE machines. No "illegal" instruction shortcuts means no incompatibility issues. Almost all other hacked or 3rd party OS's were compatible with the 400/800 if made in that era, or XL/XE if made in their era. And stick to the OS rules, and 99% of OS's are compatible. Some 3rd party or hacked OS's even make sure they are 100% compatible with both, even if using "illegal" instruction code.

 

2 hours ago, Ecernosoft said:

Wait, do you mean Illegal 6502 opcodes? Because I use LAX everywhere in my programs to save memory when I need to store consecutive things or reload values.

 

The illegal OS calls used in some 400/800 software that broke on with the XL series have nothing to do with "illegal" or "undocumented" 6502 opcodes. Some programs for the 800 used OS subroutines by jumping directly to them instead of using the provided vectors. When the OS was revised for the XLs, these routines were not located in the same memory space, and the programs would crash.

 

Illegal opcodes are a feature of the 6502 chip itself, and have nothing to do with the operating system.

[Which systems do you own?]

I own at least one of every 8-bit Atari. See my signature.

[Were there two 600XL versions?]

6 hours ago, hloberg said:

the NTSC board has a place for what looks like the monitor circuitry where I believe is used on the PAL boards. (see boxed area where most of the empty board area for monitor circuitry can be seen. -from my UAV mentioned above-) So i can't think saved too much but maybe a few dollars in 1980 money. The PAL didn't have the ch3-4 switch so I guess when they added that switch they just ran out of back plane real-estate to put an monitor port. 

as for why they didn't just add an external RF like AppleII or TI, they have to had a major redesign as they would had to somehow supply power to the RF box which the Atari monitor port didn't supply. 

 

Populating the blank spots on an NTSC 600XL for composite is not difficult or expensive.. the hardest part for me was cutting a clean, round hole in the case for the DIN connector!

[Question about Player/Missile graphics and International Karate]

More than one player and regular playfield gfx for the fighters. Run the game in Altirra and hit ctrl-f8 to see the layers.

 

Archer was indeed a master at maximizing the A8's resources.

[ProHiBan (Sokoban) with over 4400 levels in 24 sets - final release!]

On 12/22/2022 at 3:24 AM, zbyti said:

look at https://sokoban.info/ and "high scores" 

 

Beginners should choose set O or H.

This is very good advice. I've been happily and successfully playing through both those sets. Getting better and having fun doing it.

[Images generated by RastaConverter]

On 12/21/2022 at 6:29 PM, Stephen said:

Wow - I've looked at every Rasta image ever posted (still maintaining an archive of them) and this may be the absolute best one I've yet seen!

At first glance, I thought that was the source image, not the Rasta pic!

[Archer Maclean has passed away]

Very sad news. His 8-bit titles are among the Atari's very best. I also enjoy his Pool Paradise for the Gamecube.

[ProHiBan (Sokoban) with over 4400 levels in 24 sets - final release!]

17 hours ago, zbyti said:

My solution for SET: 1 LEVEL: 1

 

I can't even get my head around how you went from step 1 to step 2 without jamming...

[ProHiBan (Sokoban) with over 4400 levels in 24 sets - final release!]

Is it just me or are most of these levels literally impossible??

[onEscape - game]

Finished this tonight, guys.. I am blown away at the effort put into the art, music and story! This is truly an amazing achievement on the Atari 8-bit. Enjoyed it immensely.

 

Thanks and congratulations to Fandal, Poison and PG. One of the best A8 gaming experiences.

[onEscape - game]

Can someone offer a hint on the card reader/ keypad with the Greek letters? I thought the code might be someone's four-letter first name, but apparently not...

[XMAS 2022 AVGCART Giveaway]

350125

[Atari XE only B&W image and one controller port not working]

Spray some contact cleaner into the color pot and work it back n forth a few times

[Are People Crazy on Ebay???]

2 hours ago, Faicuai said:

Most of the above is peanuts compared to this...

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/125600416108?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=-lQf8-U4RRa&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

 

From the item description:

 

"I do not know anything about this game."

Well, clearly...

 

[Haunted House (VCS Port) - Playable Beta]

3 hours ago, oky2000 said:

Copyright law is Fascism.  I don't believe in ism's I just believe in me

You could be The Walrus, you'd still have to bum rides off people.

[Why extremely heavy and expensive aluminum castings for RF shielding in the 400 and 800?]

The RF modulator is precisely what makes the difference. Without one, machines like the Apple II can claim they are intended for "office use" and are exempt from the more stringent regulations applied to "home use" computers. The 400/800, having an RF modulator, are clearly designed to use the good-ol' living room TV as their display.

[Were there different keyboards fitted in the Atari 800XL i.e. did it get cost reduced?]

There were five different XL keyboards, documented very well in this thread.

[How did you get your first Atari computer?]

Sometime in 1984, I convinced my Dad to buy me a 600XL. It wasn't even my birthday or Christmas. I dove right into learning Atari BASIC, and my whole family enjoyed cartridge games like River Raid and Miner 2049er.

 

A few years later, pretty sure 1986, I had saved paper route money to upgrade to a 130XE and 1050 disk drive. Whole new world. I was 13.

 

Unfortunately, I don't have either of those machines anymore.. by 1990, I sold both of them to buy a used Amiga 1000. All my current Atari 8-bits (except for an 800 I picked up before the Amiga) were bought on eBay or craigslist years later.

[DOM stickers on 400/800]

These units were owned by Dom DeLuise during the filming of The Cannonball Run in 1981. Exceedingly rare and worth quite a bit of money.

[Binary Parasite evolution]

9 hours ago, ClausB said:

I give up. My best guess is "AV" in BCDIC.

 

8 hours ago, x=usr(1536) said:

It converts to #1141 / $0475 / 0o2165.  A score, perhaps?

 

Sorry guys, just a lame Clutch reference.

 

[Atari ads in old comic books]

While going through a box of old comic books from my childhood the other day, I discovered some Atari and Atari-related ads I though I'd share. Was particularly surprised by/ impressed with the Parker Brothers ad singling out Atari computers. Anyone interested in properly scanning and archiving these please PM me.