+DarkLord Posted April 2, 2022 Author Share Posted April 2, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted September 1, 2022 Author Share Posted September 1, 2022 New prize for September 2022! https://tinyurl.com/2p9389ed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted October 1, 2022 Author Share Posted October 1, 2022 We have a winner! https://tinyurl.com/2p9389ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 Just letting everyone know that, after a lot of work, 40 column support has been enabled at The DarkForce! BBS. We're in the very early stages (pre-pre-pre alpha?) so expect any number of things to go wrong, but for better or worse, we're there. If any anomalies, bugs, errors, or glitches are encountered, please let me know via e-mail, PM or here. Screenshots would help, if possible. I'll look any reports over as they come in and try to fix things ASAP. Also, any advice, comments, complaints, criticisms, suggestions, or random thoughts will be gratefully received. Thanks for supporting us for all these years everyone, appreciated. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted January 31 Author Share Posted January 31 Can someone (anyone) please post some screenshots of of when they are logged in with an actual 8bit machine in 40 column mode? I don't currently have any real 8bit machines setup here so I'd love to see what it really looks like Thanks all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickster Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 21 minutes ago, DarkLord said: Can someone (anyone) please post some screenshots of of when they are logged in with an actual 8bit machine in 40 column mode? I don't currently have any real 8bit machines setup here so I'd love to see what it really looks like Thanks all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted January 31 Author Share Posted January 31 (edited) Thanks for the pictures, appreciated. Looks like there's still work to be done there. The upper left picture is the main menu. It looks like it's scrolling off the top of the screen. Can't 20-22 rows fit on an 8bit screen? That bottom left screen - I have no idea what's going on there. Thanks... [EDIT] Okay, after looking those pictures over some more it looks like some of them were 80 column pictures. This suggests that it wasn't fully switched over to 40 column mode. Please tell us what happens the *next* time you logon in 40 column mode (and hadn't logged back in in 80 column mode in between). Thanks! Edited February 2 by DarkLord Additional information... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted February 1 Author Share Posted February 1 I was told that a few of the 8bit comms packages support ANSI. Has anyone tried the 40 column support in ANSI mode? Thanks... PS ATM, we support ASCII, VT52, and ANSI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tillek Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 9 hours ago, DarkLord said: I was told that a few of the 8bit comms packages support ANSI. Has anyone tried the 40 column support in ANSI mode? Thanks... PS ATM, we support ASCII, VT52, and ANSI. Not sure that any of the ANSI supporting terms actually support 40 col too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted February 2 Author Share Posted February 2 6 hours ago, Tillek said: Not sure that any of the ANSI supporting terms actually support 40 col too. Ah, that's interesting. So...potentially...the hours and hours I spent making 40 column ANSI screens was absolutely and totally useless... Great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 (edited) Would a 40 column ANSI terminal be more viable on the Atari 8 bit because it would help more naturally limit the number of colors on a given line? Would a color VT52 terminal be even better since that's already closer to the native 8 bit display ability? Can't say having the choice is bad at all, it could be a helpful format. Serial baud rate limits give an advantage to 80 column processing for a complex emulation. There is a trade off involved. 'Screen at a time ANSI' works nicely on the 8 bit, but currently scrolling ANSI really seems to tax things. Screen scrolling frequency increases with less columns and really make the process labor but might be refactored to make that more efficient in that format but I still think there is a tight trade off here. With the advent of faster devices with network connection becoming more popular and viable on the 8 bit, it's probably time to revisit such terminals. Not so convinced that a real time stream preprocessing conversion to something the Atari can digest in a more light weight fashion couldn't be done either. Edited February 2 by _The Doctor__ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted February 3 Author Share Posted February 3 Well, I'm already offering VT52 in 40 columns for the 8bit crowd as well. It was also my understanding that some 8bit comms packages support VT52 also. I fully agree with the increased capabilities of modern era 8bits - seems like new things are being added all the time. I feel the same about my ST's. It's just a really good time to be a retro fan. Here's ANSI and VT52 screenshots in 40 columns from DarkForce!...Be a real shame if some 8bit comms software couldn't show them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickster Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 very cool!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted June 3 Author Share Posted June 3 This month, June 2023, the DarkForce! BBS is giving away: A WiModem232! "The WiModem232 is an internet modem for any computer with a RS-232 interface port that emulates a standard Hayes compatible modem. Just plug the WiModem232 into the "serial" port and connect to BBS's all over the world or run a BBS of your own!" More details here: https://tinyurl.com/4abxpuva It's a wonderful device. Good luck to all, and thanks for calling! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bf2k+ Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 (edited) On 1/31/2023 at 1:52 PM, DarkLord said: The upper left picture is the main menu. It looks like it's scrolling off the top of the screen. Can't 20-22 rows fit on an 8bit screen? The Atari 8 normally does 24 rows (25 with some 'hocus pocus'). I count 25 on your upper left screen. (23 usable for display since the term program is consuming the two top lines.) Edited June 3 by bf2k+ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bf2k+ Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 On 2/2/2023 at 10:23 AM, DarkLord said: Ah, that's interesting. So...potentially...the hours and hours I spent making 40 column ANSI screens was absolutely and totally useless... Great. I think that was mentioned in one of the meetings... but I could be wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted June 3 Author Share Posted June 3 11 hours ago, bf2k+ said: The Atari 8 normally does 24 rows (25 with some 'hocus pocus'). I count 25 on your upper left screen. (23 usable for display since the term program is consuming the two top lines.) Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted June 3 Author Share Posted June 3 11 hours ago, bf2k+ said: I think that was mentioned in one of the meetings... but I could be wrong. Yep... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted July 1 Author Share Posted July 1 Here is the lucky winner for June 2023 at The DarkForce! BBS: June 2023 1. Questor wins a WiModem232! ------------------------------------------------------------- Congratulations to our winner, and thanks to all our callers! PS Questor, I need your actual physical address. 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.