NTSC games?

[cbmeeks]

I have about 10 games that I found online (yes, I'm a bad boy).

 

Anyway, I want to play games on my 800XL. Some of the games I have found (Lemmings, etc) seem to load but the screen is all messed up when I play.

 

In the Commodore world, I am used to this because most games are PAL and I am NTSC.

 

Is there a similar problem that I am facing with the Atari games?

 

Hell, I will buy original copies of games if I can find them. I just want to play! lol

 

And without starting a ROM flame war, I personally enjoy playing games I find to see if I like them. It's not like I can go to Blockbuster and rent them.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thanks!

 

cbmeeks

[mimo]

You wont get any ROM flame wars here, this is the 8bit forum not the Jaguar Forum.

Apart from a handful of games you will have no problem with PAL / NTSC differences.

Maybe you have bad images?

Try http://www.atarimania.com/

http://atari.fandal.cz/

for a start.

[MEtalGuy66]

Yeah most of the commercial games for the ATARI have had their copyrights released long ago, and the ones that didn't, no one cares.

 

This site has probably about 80% of the commercial games ever released for the ATARI, as well as the system ROMs..

vjetnam ATARI games archive

[cbmeeks]

Thanks guys!

 

IMHO, abandonware is up for grabs...lol

[+poobah]

Yeah most of the commercial games for the ATARI have had their copyrights released long ago, and the ones that didn't, no one cares.

 

Actually, not.

 

For works in the United States:

Anything that was published with notice after 1964 is under copyright until at least 2059. (pub date + 95 years)

Anything that was published with notice after 1977 is under copyright until at least 2058. (death of author +70 years, 95 years from pub if a corporation)

 

For items published prior to 1989, If there was no notice or renewal (unlikely, but possible) they *may* be in the public domain.

 

Works outside the US may vary, but most will be as above, since we seem hell bent on coercing other nations to follow our insane copyright rules.

 

bummer, eh?

 

for more info, see http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/training/...blic_Domain.htm

[www.atarimania.com]

Anyway, I want to play games on my 800XL. Some of the games I have found (Lemmings, etc) seem to load but the screen is all messed up when I play. In the Commodore world, I am used to this because most games are PAL and I am NTSC. Is there a similar problem that I am facing with the Atari games?

I believe you'll have issues with something like half of the newer European games released after 1990. Some of the UK budget offerings from the eighties may also be PAL only but you should be fine with most of these.

 

--

Atari Frog

http://www.atarimania.com

[MEtalGuy66]

Intellectual property is an obsolete concept.

 

They can no longer enforce it, and it gets more painfully obvious every day to those who try to.

 

Technological evolution of society has/is causing this. Just like the horse drawn wagon was made obsolete by the automobile.

 

People who choose to live in the past are gonna LOOSE BIGTIME.. Look at the record companies if you want a good example. Their marketing strategies are DRASTICALLY changing because they are finally relaizing that they can not depend on laws to protect their traditional market.

 

Bottom line is this.. This is the information age. If it's information... and one person has it.. everyone has the ability to have it..

[+poobah]

Intellectual property is an obsolete concept.

 

They can no longer enforce it, and it gets more painfully obvious every day to those who try to.

 

Technological evolution of society has/is causing this. Just like the horse drawn wagon was made obsolete by the automobile.

 

People who choose to live in the past are gonna LOOSE BIGTIME.. Look at the record companies if you want a good example. Their marketing strategies are DRASTICALLY changing because they are finally relaizing that they can not depend on laws to protect their traditional market.

 

Bottom line is this.. This is the information age. If it's information... and one person has it.. everyone has the ability to have it..

 

Amen.

 

Doesn't change the current status tho. Most of the Atari stuff is still copyrighted, and you can run into legal issues if you act otherwise.

[cbmeeks]

Thanks for the comments guys.

 

Alas, I am still having trouble. A lot of the games I try simply don't work. I usually get a brown screen with a "k" and that is it.

 

Some games do work like the Mario 2007 and M.U.L.E.

 

Plus I have some REAL cart games that work. So I believe my machine is OK. So I don't know what the deal is.

 

:-(

[www.atarimania.com]

Try holding down OPTION while booting (this disables BASIC).

 

--

Atari Frog

http://www.atarimania.com

[cbmeeks]

Tried that. Did it both ways.

[www.atarimania.com]

Then either they're PAL-only titles, they need a memory expansion or they're OS-A or OS-B programs (so you'll have to load a Translator disk or something equivalent first).

 

What are the games that don't work?

 

Are the "K" games ATR images? If so, you should get rid of this crap and use normal files, either executables or "real" disk images (90K or 130K in size, very rarely 180K).

 

--

Atari Frog

http://www.atarimania.com

[cbmeeks]

One of the games was Pole Position.

 

To recap, I have the following:

 

800XL (130XE will be here soon which will become my main Atari)

I use AtrUtil.exe to convert xex, etc files to ATR. This has worked for a few.

 

Lemmings (2005) doesn't work. It looks like the screen is definitely PAL because it fills the entire screen top to bottom when other games have more border.

 

Mr Do! is one that doesn't work. I downloaded from your site. It was an ATX file and I don't know how to use those. So, I used the AtrUtil to convert to ATR. I chose several different formats and boot disk.

 

Mr Do! is a "K" game.

 

 

If so, you should get rid of this crap and use normal files, either executables or "real" disk images

 

I would LOVE to. But where? I don't have a real Atari disk drive but I have a real 800XL. I have even thought about buying a real drive and trying to find some real games from eBay. I just want to play but I can't.

 

I grew up C64 but I want to enjoy the Atari games too. I just can't figure it out. lol

 

Thanks everyone!

[Ross PK]

I don't know why some people get so fired up about ROMS, I mean technically it's wrong, but come on, someone downloading a load of ROMS when they probably wouldn't have bought the games otherwise isn't exactly THAT bad is it? It's like copying your mates CD, it's hardly like mugging someone.

 

But you should see how a lot of people react about it on Gfaqs.

 

It's quite surprising to see that no one is bothered about it on here.

Edited October 25, 2007 by Ross PK

[cbmeeks]

I don't know why some people get so fired up about ROMS, I mean technically it's wrong, but come on, someone downloading a load of ROMS when they probably wouldn't have bought the games otherwise isn't exactly THAT bad is it? It's like copying your mates CD, it's hardly like mugging someone.

 

But you should see how a lot of people react about it on Gfaqs.

 

It's quite surprising to see that no one is bothered about it on here.

 

 

Exactly. Does anyone really get hurt because I am downloading Pole Position for the Atari 800?

 

The law is the law but some laws are stupid. Like the one in Arizona that says it's illegal for fish for wales!!!

 

cbmeeks

[www.atarimania.com]

One of the games was Pole Position.

There might be some sort of memory conflict or maybe it's just a bad crack...

 

I use AtrUtil.exe to convert xex, etc files to ATR. This has worked for a few.

Are you using APE? If so, you can load Atari executables directly without having to convert anything or transfer the files to a disk image.

 

Lemmings (2005) doesn't work. It looks like the screen is definitely PAL because it fills the entire screen top to bottom when other games have more border.

This one's definitely PAL.

 

Mr Do! is one that doesn't work. I downloaded from your site. It was an ATX file and I don't know how to use those.

Basically, these files are original, unmodified disk images with copy protection. You can read about the format here: http://www.atarimania.com/vapi.php?MENU=8&RUB=VAPI

 

So, I used the AtrUtil to convert to ATR. I chose several different formats and boot disk. Mr Do! is a "K" game.

Again, try a cracked file version in XEX or COM format (which are the same).

 

I would LOVE to. But where? I don't have a real Atari disk drive but I have a real 800XL. I have even thought about buying a real drive and trying to find some real games from eBay. I just want to play but I can't.

Misunderstanding but it's my fault... What I meant is that you should stick to standard Atari executables (XEX or COM format) or ATR disk images of either 90K / 130K / 180K size. It would be a bit too long and technical to tell you why you shouldn't use ATR games that aren't 90K / 130K / 180K so just avoid'em

 

--

Atari Frog

http://www.atarimania.com

[cbmeeks]

Are you using APE? If so, you can load Atari executables directly without having to convert anything or transfer the files to a disk image.

 

How? I looked but it only appears to support ATR and PRO images??

 

Misunderstanding but it's my fault... What I meant is that you should stick to standard Atari executables (XEX or COM format) or ATR disk images of either 90K / 130K / 180K size. It would be a bit too long and technical to tell you why you shouldn't use ATR games that aren't 90K / 130K / 180K so just avoid'em

 

hmm...well, I will see if I can just find those type of files. And feel free to explain in detail. I'm a programmer by day and amateur electrical engineer by night so I can take it. lol

[mimo]

Are you using APE? If so, you can load Atari executables directly without having to convert anything or transfer the files to a disk image.

 

How? I looked but it only appears to support ATR and PRO images??

 

Misunderstanding but it's my fault... What I meant is that you should stick to standard Atari executables (XEX or COM format) or ATR disk images of either 90K / 130K / 180K size. It would be a bit too long and technical to tell you why you shouldn't use ATR games that aren't 90K / 130K / 180K so just avoid'em

 

hmm...well, I will see if I can just find those type of files. And feel free to explain in detail. I'm a programmer by day and amateur electrical engineer by night so I can take it. lol

Set up the drive as a PC mirror chose path to set target to where XEX/COM files are located on your PC, Boot up the Atari, select XEX file to load. (think thats it from memory)