1040 STe on the way, WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW?

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

Long story short, I have an 1040 STf and an 520ST neither of which I can use because one is broken and the other no way to display. OK, so it was I that grabbed the 1040STe lot from 99'er Forever (Thanks again) and I went researching as best I could about some info regarding this particular machine, maybe I should of done that first but hey whatever. ANYWAY, I look forward to getting it but I worry about some things I have read or not too clear on. FIRST THING I heard something about the joystick ports being "enhanced" meaning the are Jaguar pad compatible but no games or very few games actually use this? Are they EXTRA ports or the ONLY ports? My limited understanding is an adapter or modification is required to use regular joysticks? Secondly, appearing these "enhancements" caused compatibility issues with ST software? What are these issues, can they be overcome and if so how? I am originally an Commodore fanboy just getting into ATARI computers with very limited knowledge.

 

I guess really what I want is opinions and comments regarding the 1040STe, suggestions and what I should expect as well as what are my options? Let me say, I am not into the music or sound aspect, at least from the creation side of it, I want to play ST Games and DEMOS mostly. Thanks as always all those who contribute info and help me out!

Edited December 2, 2010 by OldSchoolRetroGamer

[Zogging Hell]

FIRST THING I heard something about the joystick ports being "enhanced" meaning the are Jaguar pad compatible but no games or very few games actually use this? Are they EXTRA ports or the ONLY ports? My limited understanding is an adapter or modification is required to use regular joysticks? Secondly, appearing these "enhancements" caused compatibility issues with ST software? What are these issues, can they be overcome and if so how? I am originally an Commodore fanboy just getting into ATARI computers with very limited knowledge.

 

I guess really what I want is opinions and comments regarding the 1040STe, suggestions and what I should expect as well as what are my options? Let me say, I am not into the music or sound aspect, at least from the creation side of it, I want to play ST Games and DEMOS mostly. Thanks as always all those who contribute info and help me out!

 

The extra ports are located on the side of the STe, the normal ones are still there under the keyboard like on the STFM, so don't worry about that. Most games released after 1989 should run, others before that are a bit of a lottery, but the compatibility isn't that bad. Just check when you get it that it isn't one of the ones with the pre TOS 1.62 release on ROM, which is buggy and doesn't like booting in medium resolution. You also might want to open it up and check the DMA chip isn't the dodgy one that doesn't work well with hard drives (google the part number, I can't remember off hand). If you just want to play games though these shouldn't be a huge problem.

[Shredder11]

The DMA chip number to have is mentioned here:

 

DMA chip info from Notator FAQ

 

A program called sysinfo will tell you what hardware is inside your STE, such as TOS version etc. I have uploaded it here as a attachment.

SYSINFO.PRG-8.34.zip

[mimo]

STe is easy to do a RAM upgrade on, not that much software needs extra RAM

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

Thanks so much for info so far! Though my ATARI computer experience has not been the greatest thus far I keep an open mind. Thanks for the help. IF I expand the memory as suggested does that cause any more compatibility issues?

[mimo]

I believe that it depends on the configuration, 2.25 meg has some problems iirc/

Mine are both upgraded to 4 meg and I have had no problems, although I don't use them a lot. Rather use my 800xl or Amiga 1200 tbh

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

Ah right OK keep it coming folks. I admittedly am biased to begin with as a BIG AMIGA fan BUT this is not to be an argument over platforms, just want to know what software/hardware recommended to make the most out of this particular machine!

[+DarkLord]

Ah right OK keep it coming folks. I admittedly am biased to begin with as a BIG AMIGA fan BUT this is not to be an argument over platforms, just want to know what software/hardware recommended to make the most out of this particular machine!

 

Stardust, Obsession, Zool STe, etc, games like that will show some of the

power of the STe.

 

Its a great and fun little machine. Grab some of the "Euro" style demos

for it, fun as all get out, as far as eye candy goes - but you're used

to that from the Amiga, I'm sure.

[+wood_jl]

Lucky man! I didn't see the STe sale until too late; I was snoozing instead of checking the Marketplace! I wish you'd have asked fellow Amiga enthusiast save2600 whether or not you should have bought that thing; then I might have had a chance!

 

You should look for an Atari SC1224 monitor. The last couple of times I was in Toronto (I'm assuming you're there??) I saw them cheap on Craigslist! The TV won't be very crisp. I don't think the special joystick ports ever got any use on the STe.

 

Congrats on the STe, though. I'm thinking you'll use it a little and go back to your Amiga. Should be easy to sell <raising hand>.

[Tenorman]

I saw that on the marketplace too and wished that I would have waited and snatched that up instead of getting that 1040STF on eBay that I have been having issues with. At least it came with some good stuff like an SC1224 and all the original boxes and instruction manuals.

[99'er Forever]

I have a SC1224 monitor too, but I can't imagine anyone wanting to pay to ship the thing.

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

Lucky man! I didn't see the STe sale until too late; I was snoozing instead of checking the Marketplace! I wish you'd have asked fellow Amiga enthusiast save2600 whether or not you should have bought that thing; then I might have had a chance!

 

You should look for an Atari SC1224 monitor. The last couple of times I was in Toronto (I'm assuming you're there??) I saw them cheap on Craigslist! The TV won't be very crisp. I don't think the special joystick ports ever got any use on the STe.

 

Congrats on the STe, though. I'm thinking you'll use it a little and go back to your Amiga. Should be easy to sell <raising hand>.

 

Heh well thanks. Actually I am in Kelowna B.C. and never find anything locally and going to the closest major cities just for deals like Vancouver is not an option. No I will keep regardless, trust me I am not expecting to like any Atari over Amiga but it is not about that for me, I am a collector of all classic consoles and computers, I rarely use any of them they are more just for the collection and having available for my Youtube channel videos. These days I am picking up the machines I never experienced or had much interest in originally.

[mimo]

stop talking about SC monitors, I want one badly, but they are hard to find and expensive in the UK:roll:

[svenski]

I'm sure you'll love the 1040STE. I'm loving mine, the standard RF TV output is pretty good.

 

Not having an Amiga anymore helps but I'm enjoying playing some classic games I had on the Amiga again , on an Atari second time round.

[Shredder11]

The STE is a great home micro and I have three very upgraded models. I had my first one since 1994 and only added 4MB and an extra MIDI out on the modem port. Fast forward another 14 years and I went upgrade crazy and bought another two STE of course. Even though I have two Falcon 030, I still love and use my STE machines and always will for as long as they continute to work.

[wongck]

stop talking about SC monitors, I want one badly, but they are hard to find and expensive in the UK:roll:

 

I have a SC1224 colour monitor that I kept in the cupboard for past decade or so, so am willing to sell.

But I guess it will be too expensive to ship all the way round half the world.

[wongck]

The STE is a great home micro and I have three very upgraded models. I had my first one since 1994 and only added 4MB and an extra MIDI out on the modem port.

 

Hah... I sold my mega STE nearly 2 decade ago... 4MB, 16MHz, scsi HDD... WOW... it was fast for that time.

[Shredder11]

It still is fast, I mean it is still 1990 yes?

[Major Havoc 2049]

Ah right OK keep it coming folks. I admittedly am biased to begin with as a BIG AMIGA fan BUT this is not to be an argument over platforms, just want to know what software/hardware recommended to make the most out of this particular machine!

 

 

You should also check out some games for the ST that didn't receive Amiga ports. Most of them are earlier games from '85/'86. In the case of the below games, the ST version is usually the best version of that game. Amiga users got boned by getting Phantasie I & III, but not II. For the complete Phantasie Trilogy, the ST is the way to go.

 

F15 Strike Eagle - Microprose

GATO - Spectrum Holobyte

Rings of Zilfin - SSI

10th Frame - Access

Phantasie II - SSI

Warship - SSI

Karateka - Broderbund

 

There are probably more, but that is all I can think of off the top of my head. I put up a video of the ST version of Karateka on youtube.

Edited December 21, 2010 by Major Havoc 2049

[mimo]

stop talking about SC monitors, I want one badly, but they are hard to find and expensive in the UK:roll:

 

I have a SC1224 colour monitor that I kept in the cupboard for past decade or so, so am willing to sell.

But I guess it will be too expensive to ship all the way round half the world.

 

thanks, but the shipping would be crazy, and in my experience these things are getting pretty fragile to be shipping them