Conflicting versions of TI history

[Retrospect]

When I read the "Toucan's Trivia" on the MBX GameVision Demonstration Cartridge, I found a version of TI99 history that for me, doesn't seem to add up when you read some other articles about the what-happened-and-why scenario.

 

Here, it states the MB1 was in development (which became the 99/4) and it was to have the 9900 CPU from the get-go ?

 

Scroll to the bottom to read the Trivia.

 

http://videogamehouse.net/gamemain/cartsfh/gamevisiondemo/

[Toucan]

I think Tony on this one was a little mistaken. From what I have dug up, MB was involved with a gaming version of the TI-99/4 starting at least back in 1977. So I think Tony thought MB was making it first, but really they were making the game system version of the 99/4. Bill Gaskill put together a compilation of info that I dug up through the years and put it into a nice article in PDF format. You can read it here. It's a great read! Those pics of the display stands are from 1977 mockup drawings that Mike Langieri did at MB. On the bigger images that I got from Mike you can read the words, "Compatible with Milton Bradley or Texas Instruments Computer Systems". After talking with numerous people, I have the feeling that MB was to make a game version or entry level computer version of the 99/4 (most likely called the Gamevision), while TI was going to make the full fledged computer. It would have been interesting if it had worked out this way, since there would have been a lot of interesting games put out at the start of the 99/4 life and would have provided an entry point for those that wanted to play games on a TV, who could then graduate and get a 99/4 which would have been fully compatible with the MB game unit. Would have possibly helped boost sale and provided better software, since MB did put out some of the top titles on the 99/4A and came up with unique hardware accessories like the MBX (which was supposed to be a separate system called the Gemini until the Colecovision came out in 1982 and then those games (programmed in 6802 Assembly) were converted to TMS9900 assembly)).

Edited January 30, 2016 by Toucan

[Toucan]

When I read the "Toucan's Trivia" on the MBX GameVision Demonstration Cartridge, I found a version of TI99 history that for me, doesn't seem to add up when you read some other articles about the what-happened-and-why scenario.

 

Here, it states the MB1 was in development (which became the 99/4) and it was to have the 9900 CPU from the get-go ?

 

Scroll to the bottom to read the Trivia.

 

http://videogamehouse.net/gamemain/cartsfh/gamevisiondemo/

I think I talked with Tony and he said it has a 9985 on his wood-mounted prototype and he mentioned something like it's probably one of the only 9985's left in existence or the like.Here's another e-mail from him (2003):

 

"

Hi Bryan,

Boy does this email bring back some old memories (again)!

The alien game I have (Like the MB-1 prototype) is a prototype cartridge

with an EEPROM on it.

Its not soldered to the cartridge, so we could burn EEPROM's with 9900

games. These were not yet into production. The Alien game is a ONE OF A

KIND!. I don't think anybody in the free world has a copy of what I have.

As you know the game was later released as "The Attack" for the TI 99/4. It

has a different title screen. I don't remember ever playing "The Attack",

so I don't know if it was improved or anything more. Keep in mind, the only

thing that probably exists is a concept wall painting of the MB-1 (probably

now in the hands of MB's advanced research dept head, Paul Arons, if he's

still alive) and my prototype and games all on EEPROM's with ONE prototype

cartridge. The rest all got canned after TI moved into the market. I

managed to salvage and keep the legacy. The prototype cart. doesn't fit in

a vintage TI 99 so I'm not sure how I could let you see the game. The MB-1

prototype doesn't have a case. Its mounted on a piece of plywood.

Hope this helps,

Tony

 

 

At 06:57 PM 11/19/2003 -0800, you wrote:

>Dear Anthony,

> Is there any chance of seeing that Alien game

>you have? Is it exactly the same as the one released

>in 1980 or so? Or does it have a different title

>screen?

>

 

>--- Anthony Cote <vze23dqk@verizon.net> wrote:

> > Hi Byron,

> > It may be hard to belive but the MB-1 "was" the Ti

> > 99/4. We were going to design a home computer that

> > would put 16 bit processing against the current 8

> > bitter's of the day. Mostly the Atari 400 then the

> > 800. I don't remember exact dates (late 70's)

> > We had full assistance from TI on supplying all the

> > chips, the 9900 processor. We actually created the

> > 9918 graphics chip in house and TI manufactured the

> > die for us. TI decided that most of all the hardware

> > was theirs, they decided to take over the product

> > and refused to supply MB with any hardware or help.

> > There was a legal battle that TI won, so we just put

> > our tail under our legs and made games for the "NEW"

> > TI home computer. The only thing I personally have

> > is one of the two prototypes (mounted on plywood)

> > that proceeded the actual production version of the

> > 99/4. I think I am going to donate this to the

> > computer museum in Boston. This part of computer

> > history is not very well known. It should be known

> > that the TI 99/4A should have been the MB1 (this was

> > just an in house code name. no name was ever

> > mentioned after we lost the rights) I like to think

> > of it as the MBi9000. If you flip the 3 letters

> > around, subtract 1 from each letter . . . . ..

> > Hope this helps,

> > Tony

> >

> > BTW: I even have the protoype caridge board with two

> > eproms burned with the never released ALIEN movie

> > game on it. It was postponed because we never got

> > copyrights from the movie company to use the name

> > "Alien" TM! We played it a lot at MB. It was

> > renamed "THE ATTACK" later when it went into

> > production for a very short time for the 99/4.

> >

> > see ya

> >

> > At 09:56 PM 09/09/2001 -0700, you wrote:

> > >

> > >To member: saturn5tony

> > >From member: auction99er

> > >

> > >--------------------

> > >

> > >

> > >HI!

> > > I saw someone from a Newsgroup say that you

> > might be Anthony Cote who

> > >was on the design team of the Milton Bradley-1

> > Computer. What was the MB-1,

> > >and when was it made? Was it a TI-99/4 clone? I

> > have some Gamevision

> > >cartridges for the TI-99/4 made in 1979, were these

> > apart of this computer

> > >system you were developing? One last question, do

> > you still have any items

> > >from this computer? Thanks for any help you can

> > provide me with!

> > >

> > >Sincerely,

> > >

> > >Bryan Roppolo

> > >

> > >--------------------

> > >This email was sent by an eBay member via eBay's

> > email forwarding system.

> > >If you reply to the email, your response will go

> > directly to the member and

> > >not through eBay.

> > >

> > >eBay does not tolerate spam (i.e., unsolicited

> > commercial email) and is

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> > addition, solicitations

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> > >please do not participate. Enter the following link

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> > >learn more. Link:

> > http://pages.ebay.com/help/email_info.html

> > >

> >

>

 

>

 

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[Retrospect]

Hi Toucan, thanks for a very detailed response ... wow I love those MB articles ..... That 99/4 system along with the MB should have wiped the floor with the competition. What they had there, with the MB thing , was very akin to what we have now, with Xbox's and the add-ons, etc ... I note it stated that Milton Bradley actually made the 9918 graphics chip ... thats cool.

 

I've seen a few different concept machines in pictures, a 99/4 with Infra-Red capability was one of them (wander why they took that out at the last minute?) .... but the main thing that got me was the article stating the MB1 was to have the 9900 ... maybe as you say this was a mistake because the prototype had the 9985. Which is what TI were tussling with trying to get to work before going with the 9900. Very interesting reading, thankyou!

[intvnut]

I note it stated that Milton Bradley actually made the 9918 graphics chip ... thats cool.

 

I'm sure that'd be news to the guy who hired me into Texas Instruments, Karl Guttag. He was on the TMS9918 design team... Lots of VDP docs from Karl here, including the VDP patent (which, notably, doesn't list any Milton Bradley engineers, but does list Karl).

 

(Sorry for the "drive-by"; stumbled into here while looking for something else.)

 

Karl's docs provide some interesting Home Computer history also.

[+Lee Stewart]

I'm sure that'd be news to the guy who hired me into Texas Instruments, Karl Guttag. He was on the TMS9918 design team... Lots of VDP docs from Karl here, including the VDP patent (which, notably, doesn't list any Milton Bradley engineers, but does list Karl).

 

(Sorry for the "drive-by"; stumbled into here while looking for something else.)

 

Karl's docs provide some interesting Home Computer history also.

 

Some of these are email exchanges between Karl Guttag and our own Matthew Hagerty (@matthew180) when (I presume) he was designing the F18A.

 

...lee

Edited August 25, 2016 by Lee Stewart

[intvnut]

These are email exchanges between Karl Guttag and our own Matthew Hagerty (@matthew180) when (I presume) he was designing the F18A.

 

Some of them are, in that DOC file on the website. Others are scans directly from Karl's personal archives, of old timing diagrams, etc. The "Email #1/2/3/4" designations on that webpage refer to emails Karl sent to me, although the first email mostly quotes an email that I believe went to Matthew. (I'm the Joe Zbiciak that Karl mentions, and Spatula-City is my webserver.)

 

Karl hired me into TI straight out of college about 20 years ago. He and I still keep in touch every few years, and was kind enough to send that document dump my way. And yes, I believe some of that overlapped the F18A development timeline.

Edited August 25, 2016 by intvnut

[+Lee Stewart]

 

Some of them are, in that DOC file on the website. Others are scans directly from Karl's personal archives, of old timing diagrams, etc. The "Email #1/2/3/4" designations on that webpage refer to emails Karl sent to me, although the first email mostly quotes an email that I believe went to Matthew. (I'm the Joe Zbiciak that Karl mentions, and Spatula-City is my webserver.)

 

Karl hired me into TI straight out of college about 20 years ago. He and I still keep in touch every few years, and was kind enough to send that document dump my way. And yes, I believe some of that overlapped the F18A development timeline.

 

Oops! I read the DOC file first and made an obviously erroneous assumption. Sorry about that. And, thanks for your contribution!

 

...lee

[intvnut]

 

Oops! I read the DOC file first and made an obviously erroneous assumption. Sorry about that. And, thanks for your contribution!

 

No worries, all's cool. I realize I'm a "drop-in" over here, not a regular, and my handle doesn't really spell out my name.

 

While I spend most of my time in the Intellivision forums these days (hence the handle "intvnut"), the TI-99/4A was my first computer. First machine I learned assembly language on too. I even studied the schematics on that thing while I was still in middle-school. Ah, the memories.

 

I'm 99.4% certain that Karl hired me at TI in large part because I actually spoke TMS9900 and TMS9918A, and he wasn't expecting that from someone my age.

Edited August 25, 2016 by intvnut

[Asmusr]

I have never seen the correspondence between Matthew and Karl Guttag before. This is *very* interesting to me.

[Asmusr]

I would like to ask Karl Guttag if he remembers what's causing the sprite duplication bug in masked bitmap mode.

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/242568-half-bitmap-mode/page-3?do=findComment&comment=3342091

[+OLD CS1]

 

No worries, all's cool. I realize I'm a "drop-in" over here, not a regular, and my handle doesn't really spell out my name.

 

I thought you were declaring vnut as an integer...

[Retrospect]

 

I thought you were declaring vnut as an integer...

Please tell me I'm not the only one who laughed out loud at this?

[+OLD CS1]

I have never seen the correspondence between Matthew and Karl Guttag before. This is *very* interesting to me.

 

It reads more like an interview than a Q&A. Well done on both sides; BIG thanks to Karl for being so open and responsive.

 

EDIT: Of course, once I got to the original email exchange, an interview is exactly what it was intended to be. Again, well done.