+cmart604 Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 Ladies and gentlemen, I proudly present ... the Aquaricart logo and cartridge label! Very nice Jay! Congrats! Looking forward to getting mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvdsteenoven Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 Ladies and gentlemen, I proudly present ... the Aquaricart logo and cartridge label! Speechless! Eagerly awaiting for its release. Regs Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck D. Head Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 Ladies and gentlemen, I proudly present ... the Aquaricart logo and cartridge label! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattelAquarius Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 Label me excited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K6dude Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 That looks so cool, thanks for all you efforts and labours Jay. It is going to be very much appreciated. Regards Mike (From England) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennybingo Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I just ordered my Aquarius this week. Please put me down for a copy when you start a pre-order! Very nice work. Congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Thanks, everybody! The Aquaricart software is very close to being finished. I discovered while I was working on my "print screen" routine (to print individual pages from the on-screen instruction manuals) that my Aquarius thermal printer was dead, so the-topdog generously agreed to loan me one so I could finish testing that feature. I should (finally!) be completely done with the programming shortly after the printer arrives. Remaining tasks include finishing the Aquaricart instruction manual and having it professionally printed, and while I'm waiting on that, adding a low-pass filter to the cartridge board to fix some stability issues I've noticed with certain models of Aquarius computers. I'm not expecting either of these to take very long. In the meantime, let me give you a "sneak peek" at some of the bonus features I've added, and the slightly revised user interface: The first bonus feature, the "1541 OS ROM", is one that I think I've mentioned already; it's essentially a modified Extended BASIC which adds an integrated monitor and some new commands for quickly filling the screen with color, using the Mini Expander's sound chip and hand controllers, and other useful features. The "Demo Cassette" is a collection of simple games that was included on cassette tape with certain models of Aquarius computers. These originally had to be loaded through BASIC from the tape, but I wrote a menu program which loads them--almost instantaneously--from the cartridge instead. None of these games require expanded RAM, so you won't even need a RAM cartridge to use them: "BurgerTime Plus" is a modified version of BurgerTime which fixes two things I've never liked about the original: it gets rid of the junk characters in the screen border, and it increases the maximum number of peppers and extra lives from 9 to 99. I'm currently working on a new routine for displaying the counters for the peppers and lives, since the original code only displays ASCII symbols from ten and above. A big thanks to EVERYONE for your patience. I won't keep you waiting too much longer! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Gemintronic Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I don't know what you projected your first batch to be, but you should anticipate one more order in me I found an Aquarius just for this cartridge (which is kinda backwards when you think about it!). So much functionality.. I really, really didn't want to think about running a tape drive on a real Aquarius Thanks for your efforts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Wow, all unexpected bonuses. True TLC is being put into this, making this one of the best multi-carts ever, for any platform. Very much looking forward to mine... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I don't know what you projected your first batch to be, but you should anticipate one more order in me I found an Aquarius just for this cartridge (which is kinda backwards when you think about it!). Thank you, it's much appreciated. I've actually heard similar stories from several people who picked up an Aquarius specifically for this cartridge. I'm a little surprised by this, but of course I'm also delighted, since it means that there will be even more Aquarius owners to (hopefully) enjoy some of the other homebrew projects I have in mind. So much functionality.. I really, really didn't want to think about running a tape drive on a real Aquarius Thanks for your efforts! The idea of doing cartridge-based conversions of cassette games is one that I've changed my mind about several times. It was one of the things I wanted to include in the project early on, but I decided against it because so many of those cassette games required 16K of expanded RAM, which most Aquarius owners don't have. When I picked up an Aquarius computer which included the demo games, I decided that those would be the ones I'd convert to cartridge: they don't require extra memory, and since the tape was a pack-in, they should really be included for completeness anyway. So I found a way to make that idea work after all, although it was a very late addition. Theoretically, it should be possible to convert any cassette-based software to load from the cartridge. The ones that required expanded RAM will still need it, since the cartridge is only acting as a "fast loader" for the data (in much the same way that Atari converted several of their disk-based games to cartridge format for the XEGS), but doing the conversion is only a matter of capturing a complete RAM image in an emulator and writing a small program to reconstruct it. Now you know where the games in an "Aquaricart Volume 2" might come from. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Getting all the tape games on cart (a volume 2), would be HUGE. I would suspect most Aquarius users could get a hold of a 16K cart if they don't have one already. It might only have 40% of the sales of this first multi-cart, but it still would be a very big deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Getting all the tape games on cart (a volume 2), would be HUGE. I would suspect most Aquarius users could get a hold of a 16K cart if they don't have one already. It might only have 40% of the sales of this first multi-cart, but it still would be a very big deal. One of my next projects will be to find an alternative to the original 4K and 16K RAM modules, which are both getting expensive and hard to come by. I've successfully built a few 32K RAM modules already using my SuperCart boards, and designing a new dedicated board for that purpose should be a very simple project if I decide to go that route. I've toyed with the idea of skipping a dedicated RAM cartridge in favor of integrating that functionality into a more elaborate design (which would include flash-based storage and other features), but I'm not going to finish that anytime soon, so a simple 32K RAM module at a ~$20 price point might be a good stop-gap solution. I'll have to see what the level of demand is once I've got the Aquaricart finished. Once I solve the RAM problem, putting together a "Volume 2" shouldn't be very difficult to do, since I can easily re-use many of the assets that I developed for Volume 1. Again, it all depends on the demand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck D. Head Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 (edited) Jay, I just don't know what to say any more. Just wow! I am in for any cassette game collection that may come about, for suresies. I am excited to see the addition of the demo cassette; I love that Stalactite game! Burgertme plus sounds great, even though I don't think I could save up more than nine of anything in that game. I pretty much blow my peppers as soon as I get them and the lives don't last much longer. I pretty much blow at Burgertime :D Edited June 9, 2011 by Chuck D. Head Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Hey! Here is a boxed 16K up on Ebay in case someone doesnt have one. Great work Jay! eBay Auction -- Item Number: 310323811744 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coyo5050 Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I think with every update Jay puts up I say awesome, so of course... awesome, cant wait! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirage Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Yes, I was one who purchased an Aquarius (actually 2, ahem) for this cart. And I know it's not even an official interest notification request yet, but I would definitely be interested in an inexpensive 32k module. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-topdog Posted June 10, 2011 Author Share Posted June 10, 2011 I would definitely be interested in an inexpensive 32k module. His 32k memory cartridges are works of art too http://www.geekvintage.com/mattel-aquarius-cartridge-32k-memory-eval-proto.php 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 His 32k memory cartridges are works of art too http://www.geekvintage.com/mattel-aquarius-cartridge-32k-memory-eval-proto.php Wow, thanks for the great write-up! Is that a new label for the cartridge? I don't recall seeing it before. I'll definitely have to look into making more 32K modules. It would be convenient for my own future projects to have more RAM readily available, and it would also benefit those people who want to experience the 16K cassette titles on the original hardware. To do it right, I'd need to have a new board made specifically for these modules, but as I said before, that shouldn't be too difficult to do. According to my rough calculations, I'd need about 20 confirmed buyers to make the project feasible at $20 per module, so I'll try to gauge the community's interest in a more formal way when I'm ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattelAquarius Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 To be honest, as an Aquarius purist, I must point out that Jay's project would be more faithful to true Aquarius history, if it simply died with a "Coming soon" moniker tied to it (See any Aquarius catalog). In that way, his whole saga of the cart's development, which would end in tragic cancellation, would be a magnificently beautiful piece of performance art dedicated to that tiny dog of a computer which I hold in such high nostalgic regard. Now that's a real tribute worth raving about. I would respect him for his artistic bravery, his poetic gall, if he simply cancelled the project right out. However, if he goes ahead and breaks from Aquarius tradition and actually releases the Aquaricart, then I for one choose to forgive him for straying from Aquarius canon. But just this once. Further releases of additional Aquarius products will be treated with the same disgust and disdain I would show toward yet another High School Musical movie. Unfortunately, it wouldn't matter how well designed the future Aquarius releases would be; his artistic purity would be compromised. That would be a pity for such a promising new artist on the classic computer impressionist scene, man. Don't go out like that, man. Be true to the art-form, dog. And I'm not talking about Top Dog, here, either. Let's leave him out of this truth bomb I'm dropping on 'yall. I meant "dog" like in coolspeak. E.g. "What up dog?" Are we clear? Crystal! Boycott Jay's affront to art stuff and truth. (but after the Aquaricart release, with possible future waivers, as well.) Sarcasm disclaimer: I don't have a single doubt that Jay will come through with a quality product. Of course I support Jay's project(s). I'm not an idiot. Sometimes, I just write that way. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-topdog Posted June 10, 2011 Author Share Posted June 10, 2011 Wow, thanks for the great write-up! Is that a new label for the cartridge? I don't recall seeing it before. It looked all naked just sitting there without a label... so I had the label elves create one for it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 To be honest, as an Aquarius purist, I must point out that Jay's project would be more faithful to true Aquarius history, if it simply died with a "Coming soon" moniker tied to it (See any Aquarius catalog). I just hope you haven't jinxed the project now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 It looked all naked just sitting there without a label... so I had the label elves create one for it I know, I'm really bad about building cartridges without bothering with a proper label. I've got a stack of 2600 cartridges here with nothing but small handwritten end labels. That's why I went out of my way to make a nice label for the Aquaricart, and I'd certainly make one for the 32K module if I produce it. I probably won't be able to provide shells, though, since there are so few of them to go around. Now that's a problem I'd really love to solve; it's the last missing piece needed for completely open-ended Aquarius cartridge production. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattelAquarius Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 To be honest, as an Aquarius purist, I must point out that Jay's project would be more faithful to true Aquarius history, if it simply died with a "Coming soon" moniker tied to it (See any Aquarius catalog). I just hope you haven't jinxed the project now! No, no! I take it back! I take it all back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PsychedelicShaman Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 I'm in for an aquaricart and a 32k module if you decide to make it. Thanks for putting so much effort into this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 I'm in for an aquaricart and a 32k module if you decide to make it. Thanks for putting so much effort into this! Thank you! Once the software and the manuals are finished, I'll build and ship a number of "pre-release" cartridges for those who contributed to the project, and then I'll open it up for general orders. I'll start a new thread devoted to the finished product as soon as I'm ready. As for the 32K RAM Module, I've started a poll where Aquarius owners can register their interest (or non-interest) in owning one. If there is sufficient demand, that will be my next Aquarius project! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.