snakeboy Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 I have been *this close* to getting myself an Atari 800XL, but I'm having a hard time pulling the trigger. I figured that perhaps the people around here could give me a nudge. So, why should I get one? Okay.... Go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akator Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 You know you want to. Everyone is doing it. Common, give it a try. It's not like it'll hurt you or anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shinju Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Loads of fun games and cool homebrew stuff. The SD drive floating around allows you to play floppy games and cart Games off a scan disc. loads if cool upgrade mods to be had on the 800xl too. I have 4 800xl systems, a couple for back up parts up and one I have been trying to sell local. Fun system, I just snagged me a 130xe today, been playing around with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snakeboy Posted February 26, 2013 Author Share Posted February 26, 2013 All the cool kids are doing it, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akator Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Exactly All peer pressure and "don't do drugs" after school specials aside, they're fun computers. I had to get rid of mine a few years ago and replacing it is high on my list. It's never been a better time to have one with APE and other modern storage solutions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam242 Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 (edited) 1. A fabulously active software development community. Check out recently released games like Ridiculous Reality, Marbled, Swapz and Yoomp! There are many, many other stellar new titles, those are just the few personal favorites that leap to mind. Do a Google search for 'ABBUC software contest winners' to get you started. And those are just the games! A lot of cool tools and utilities are still being written... there's even a GUI to rival the original Macintosh in the works. 2. A fabulously active hardware development community. There are a lot of very skilled people out there still creating new toys for these systems. 3. ANTIC, GTIA and POKEY. A really cool graphics and sound chipset. A lot of interesting features to play around with if you're a programmer, and the guys in reason number one above are continuously pushing their limits. Get yourself a copy of Mapping The Atari and study the hardware registers. 4. (relative) Ease of use. As others have mentioned, new devices that utilize SD cards or connect the Atari directly to your PC negate the need for a floppy drive. An 800XL even makes a fine cartridge-only console for both vintage games and new releases. 5. Durability, especially the XL series. The machines are solid, reliable tanks unlike some other vintage 8-bits I can think of. 6. Fun, fun, fun. There's a different feel to the Atari 8-bits than any other old machine that I can't quite define, but I'm sure most people here would agree. C'mon, a working 800xl will set you back what, maybe $50? Try it out! Edited February 26, 2013 by adam242 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snakeboy Posted February 26, 2013 Author Share Posted February 26, 2013 I guess I should mention that as of right now, I'm only interested in the 800XL as a cartridge-only game-playing machine. In time I may want to check out the disc games and maybe the more "computery" aspects of the machine, though honestly, I know next to nothing about this kind of stuff and have no idea what things like GUI are. But that said, please tell me more about that kind of stuff - it may be something I'll be interested in sometime in the future. So, the Atari 8-bit has an active homebrew scene? Are there a lot of carts available? I only see two in the AA store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam242 Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 (edited) So, the Atari 8-bit has an active homebrew scene? Are there a lot of carts available? I only see two in the AA store. Some new games get released directly on cartridge, the Atarimax Maxflash system will allow you to put just about any game on a custom cartridge. Edited February 26, 2013 by adam242 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillC Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 1. A fabulously active software development community. Check out recently released games like Ridiculous Reality, Marbled, Swapz and Yoomp! There are many, many other stellar new titles, those are just the few personal favorites that leap to mind. Do a Google search for 'ABBUC software contest winners' to get you started. And those are just the games! A lot of cool tools and utilities are still being written... there's even a GUI to rival the original Macintosh in the works. 2. A fabulously active hardware development community. There are a lot of very skilled people out there still creating new toys for these systems. 3. ANTIC, GTIA and POKEY. A really cool graphics and sound chipset. A lot of interesting features to play around with if you're a programmer, and the guys in reason number one above are continuously pushing their limits. Get yourself a copy of Mapping The Atari and study the hardware registers. 4. (relative) Ease of use. As others have mentioned, new devices that utilize SD cards or connect the Atari directly to your PC negate the need for a floppy drive. An 800XL even makes a fine cartridge-only console for both vintage games and new releases. 5. Durability, especially the XL series. The machines are solid, reliable tanks unlike some other vintage 8-bits I can think of. 6. Fun, fun, fun. There's a different feel to the Atari 8-bits than any other old machine that I can't quite define, but I'm sure most people here would agree. C'mon, a working 800xl will set you back what, maybe $50? Try it out! If you think the XL series are tanks what would you consider the 400/800 to be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam242 Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 If you think the XL series are tanks what would you consider the 400/800 to be? The 800 is an aircraft carrier. Didn't mean to imply the 400/800 were not as well built, I only singled out the XL because that's what the OP is interested in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akator Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 The 800 is an aircraft carrier. It definitely has the gravitational mass and density of one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potatohead Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Well, for cartridge gaming, the Atari machines are pretty good. One thing I like is the distinctive visuals and interesting game sounds. POKEY might not do the best music around, but it's effects are great! You really should reconsider not getting an SIO device. Some of the nicer ones are simple to use and there is a lot of disk gaming out there to jam on. And I could go on about features. Here is what it all comes down to: Are you just looking for old games to play quick 'n easy, or are you looking for the retro experience? Owning an Atari is a great experience. They are interesting looking machines, and I find them striking, particularly the 400 and XL series, my personal favorites. They all are interesting though. Part of the retro experience is disk! IMHO, it's best with real disks, but that's getting tough. I've got that setup on my Apple, and I like it, but I only like it for the experience, doing the rest on an adapter device that gets disk images into the machine without the real disks. Highly recommended. There are loading times, sounds, some navigation, etc... that are part of the deal. It's fun stuff, if you are about the experiences and the games. If it's games only, an Atari is still a great deal, but so are a lot of old computers and game consoles, which means it then comes down to "what games? All the old machines have distinctive looks and feels. Atari gaming has an appeal to me because Atari gaming was front and center for a lot of my gaming experiences. You really should look at some game play videos to see whether or not you might get sucked in, and I would do the same for several older systems. Many here would love to see another Atarian join the ranks, me included. It's kind of the more the merrier in retro land, and that's true for communities as well as fans. But, I would first and foremost have you see something that's worth doing and then have a lot of fun doing it! That can absolutely happen on an Atari computer. Check some stuff out. Get help with an emulator or watch some videos and see whether or not it appeals. If it does, get one. None of this stuff is too much money, and it can be a lot of fun. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sack-c0s Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 (edited) I have been *this close* to getting myself an Atari 800XL, but I'm having a hard time pulling the trigger. I figured that perhaps the people around here could give me a nudge. So, why should I get one? Okay.... Go! C64 version: Atari version: Don't get me wrong - I have a lot of love for the C64, but for some things you just need the Atari... Edited February 26, 2013 by sack-c0s 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 For the price of a couple of decent carts you could get an sio2pc or sio2sd or sdrive etc. This opens up almost the entire back and future catalog. No great experience of using the Atari required, mostly just selecting the file you want to run from an on screen display and resetting the Atari. Of course if you want to collect carts that's a different story. All are welcome here 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 If you buy today, we'll throw in a set of Ginsu knives! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carmel_andrews Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 The fact you post on an atari site means that you are 'already sold' If you don't want to buy an xl for 50 usd, just go to a flea market or garage sale/yard sale (or what we call a 'car booter' on this side of the big drink) and you might snag an xl for a lot less Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emkay Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Framerate & playablitiy on 8 bits. 4 argues pro Atari .... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbZ-chrOgGg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDoZu9f0bEs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LpcdfZsjww http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3-J2-VeoH8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 And a fifth one http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=iGHlx0ogFOs&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DiGHlx0ogFOs&gl=GB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snakeboy Posted February 26, 2013 Author Share Posted February 26, 2013 Some new games get released directly on cartridge, the Atarimax Maxflash system will allow you to put just about any game on a custom cartridge. Okay, that's pretty cool. Is it easy to use, even for someone like me who knows next to nothing about it? You really should reconsider not getting an SIO device. Some of the nicer ones are simple to use and there is a lot of disk gaming out there to jam on. What's an SIO device? (Like I said I know very little about this kind of stuff). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potatohead Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 An SIO device communicates with the Atari Serial Input / Output capability. Instead of a real disk drive, a PC or dedicated micro controller is used in the same basic way. Learning about this stuff is where a lot of the fun is and you can just ask and lots of people here can get you up and running. The basics are not hard. I find that experience fun and it helps to appreciate what the Atari can do. Damn impressive given what is under the hood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potatohead Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Oh, if you make a bad call and it is just not for you, no worries. Not a lot of money and you can unload it here easy enough. There are always people looking for the basics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snakeboy Posted February 26, 2013 Author Share Posted February 26, 2013 Thanks, potatohead, for the easy-to-understand response. I tried Google but all I could find was a lot of technical mumbo-jumbo that meant nothing to me. Really, my hesitation has nothing to do with cost or anything like that. And I'm sure I will enjoy the system quite a bit. It's just that I try to be very judicious about which gaming machines I add to my collection. I already have quite a bit and when I add anything, I want to make sure I really want it. And I realize I could unload it pretty easily if I didn't like it, but I have a feeling that once I get it, I will never want to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Think of sio as the grandpa of USB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 (edited) Actually the best device for game storage would probably be side cart 2. Format a compact flash cart in fat32, put a load of games on the card. Select game by using joystick and fire button. Side cart can be used at a more advanced level if you wish to learn more, but is a really great flash cart http://lotharek.pl/product.php?pid=68 Edited February 26, 2013 by mimo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potatohead Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 "grandfather of USB", yeah and Ataris did include device independent I/O, pretty spiffy stuff for 8 bit machines. Re: Make sure I really want it. Oh yeah, I get that. Managing this stuff is important. Well, I guess the only "sale" left is the game experience. Emkay linked a couple of recent projects that are really good, and one classic. YOOMP! and the port of Space Harrier are very good game experiences. You can jam on things like that in an emulator, but it's just not the same... I got to play the Space Harrier port at a recent retro gaming show. Had that been produced back in the day, it would have been all over the gaming and industry rags. Got a big grin playing it just because I know the person who wrote it just went to the edge, getting all he could out of that old machine. If that kind of stuff gets your blood pumping, get one! The Atari story is kind of cool. It's one of great machines, lots of distinctive games, some iconic personas, and then 30 years of tricks, labors of love and there is still more inside the box we've not yet seen. Personally, I'm not gaming much right now. I'll do a text adventure, or RPG type thing, but not much else. Just not in a place where it makes sense, but when I was and will be again, Atari games have a great feel and they often are challenging in ways you would just not expect. ARCHON is one title where you play a sort of chess like game, but when you challenge another piece, little battles happen to determine who takes what. Subtle, fun in an action and strategy way. M.U.L.E is a fun party game. Get a few friends and compete to build, collect resources, survive disasters, etc... Oh, and "Star Raiders" Honestly, that one title is worth buying just a machine, joystick, cartridge, power supply. I kept my original Atari 400 for just that game. A lot of my stuff got stolen, so I've replaced it, and that one is just iconic and despite it's age, a really fun game to play on a big screen, lights down low, sound up loud! It was the first "Home Computer" game I experienced back then, and I still play it because it was built so darn well that even today people will want to play it, and they do. Maybe some others here can list off their core titles and talk about what set the hook for them. That might help you get over the hump. Helps to have story and context behind this stuff. I've found that I like old 8 bit hardware, but not all of it. Just the hardware I can relate to, or that I know some back story or have a friend who appreciates it. One reason why I've not done much with a Spectrum, for example. Just don't know any Spectrum heads... Probably I'll do what you are doing now with some other old systems when I have more time, or space or both! Anyway, that is what does it for me. Retro is a big scene. Lots of communities, stories, machines, games, projects, whatever. I love this stuff, and it's for the reasons I just gave. Sometimes it's a new project I get excited about, or somebody will port or write a game. Other times, I just crave one of the old classics and want to play it or share it with kids, and every so often somebody figures out a new trick and we get to see new screens with extra stuff on them, and I just look back at all the time and smart brains applied to these things and grin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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