2600jones

Go Atarian7! I remember playing the Atari 2600 endlessly when it came out. I was in grade school. Talk about showing my age. Two months back then was probably normal. Like online game players now. Your quest brings back memories of my misspent youth. Go man go! Defeat that Kaboom!

2600 Programming for Newbies: The best way to get started is to go to http://bataribasic.com/ Click on "tutorial" and read it. The site is easy to follow and well done. Important: After clicking on "download" and getting the batari basic package notice that it comes with DASM. What I Did: Because I use an Apple computer to get online at libraries, I have found some difficulties; therefore, I opted to download the files I need for 2600 programming to a flash drive and then load them onto a Sony PC that is not connected to the Internet. For an operating system on the Sony PC I have Windows XP. The batari basic package works perfectly with Windows XP. First Step: I downloaded the Stella emulator and the batari basic package to my flash drive. For the batari basic package click on "download" on the bataribasic.com homepage and then on "version 1.0 for Windows/DOS". The package will be downloaded to the library computer and you should see a zip window with all the files needed. You can use "move" from the zip widow menu and type in a folder/directory name (batari recommends naming the folder/directory "Atari 2600") after the slash in the provided field to copy the files to your flashdrive or you can create a folder/directory on your flashdrive and then highlight all the files and copy them to the folder/directory. Second Step: At the bataribasic.com homepage click on "toutorial" then "session 3" and print the online page which will be printed in multiple hardcopy pages. Third Step: At home, plug the flashdrive into your PC and move or copy the Atari2600 file to your C drive. Fourth Step: Do exactly what it says on the printout from the bataribasic session 3 page that you printed out. This should give you the files you need to get started. I haven't messed around with batari or DASM yet. This is as far as I have gotten. Keep posted, I may find some time to actually do something creative with this stuff.

I have been having some difficulty getting started with programming for the 2600. I have been able to download the emulator for games, but because I use library computers to get online and have an Apple computer, I have not been able to get the DASM assembler to work. Two questions I have are: How do I get the DASM to work with an Apple online? Is it possible to get DASM on a PC computer that is not connected to the internet? Also, for the folks at Atariage, under -- Atari 2600 Programming -- Tools & Utilities -- DASM (assembler) ; Clicking on the link brings up a "page not found" screen. I had some difficulty finding a version of DASM for my Apple and once I was able to get it, I was unable to get it to work. Any help would be appreciated. I love the site.