oky2000 Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Hi! I have an XEGS, but are there good games for the ST? Was it popular as a gaming computer? Thanks! The XEGS has Rescue on Fractalus, which IMO is more ground breaking AND fun than any Mario or Zelda 8bit game but the ST doesn't have that game either. Still there is a superior version of Commando and Gauntlet (pick your flavour with G1 or G2 one disk hacks), Cannon Fodder is great, Sensi or Kick-off soccer games, enchanted is a nice platformer, Lotus II is a great 2.5D racing game. I like International Karate too (not IK+ which looks like a C64 game!). Ghosts n Goblins is great too, there are loads of good games for it and that's before you look at really advanced games not usually possible on 8 bits like Another World, Future Wars, Rocket Ranger, DotC etc etc. Manic Miner on it is shit though, best off playing that on an 8 bit micro of choice. The ST in the EU pioneered 16bit home computer gaming (well before Sega and Nintendo 16bit consoles came along) so it was really popular for gaming as we didn't buy PCs in the EU and the Amiga 1000 didn't even come out until 11 months later for the PAL models in the UK (Germany a little earlier than UK). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oky2000 Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 If money is not at all out game breaker, get a 1040 STe with it's enhanced capabilities. Worth getting an STE to be able to play Stardust if you are going to get an Atari machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Worth getting an STE to be able to play Stardust if you are going to get an Atari machine. And obsession Pinball, and all those wonderful (eye candy!) demos', and...and...and... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zap! Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 If money is not at all out game breaker, get a 1040 STe with it's enhanced capabilities. Well if money isn't a game breaker, then my favorite option would be the Mega STe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParanoidLittleMan Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 Glad to hear you are still working on this! I wonder if a cart of the arcade games that were ported by Atari Corp. would be possible (Missile Command, Asteroids Deluxe, Crystal Castles, Millipede, Moon Patrol, Joust, Robotron, etc.) That would make for a pretty sweet themed multicart. Already did some Atari games: http://atari.8bitchip.info/cartST.html (at bottom). Atari games are usually short, so should be no problem with fitting. Probably can place 10 shorter Atari games on 1MByte cartridge. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+xucaen Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 Were there games released on cartridge from the ST? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Android8675 Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 Were there games released on cartridge from the ST? Nope. No idea why, but I'm sure someone has a specific answer. Usually carts add functionality to the ST (Video/Audio Digitizers, MAC Hardware Emus, Dongles for software protection, etc), but if it's just a game, diskettes were the medium of choice for the system. Probably a cost issue, but could also be an interface issue of some nature. -A. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParanoidLittleMan Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 Cartridge port on ST was not intended for games - unlike it was on old consoles and partially on 8-bit Ataris. 128KB is not enough for most of games, and floppies were much cheaper. So, all interface issue is small capacity - considering game distribution. Atari self made some diagnostic cartridges, so it seems that idea was to use it in failure diagnostic mostly. I would say that lack of CPU expansion port was the reason why it was used for diverse devices like digitizers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
English Invader Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 (edited) One of the most notable pieces of cart software for the ST is the Discovery Cartridge which is used for copying copy-protected disks and is thought to be the most comprehensive solution for this task (most people used the Blitz copier which is floppy disk based) . It's an irrelevance in this day and age, but the item is still of interest to collectors and those who like to do things old school: http://www.atari-wiki.com/?title=Discovery_Cartridge There was also the Spectre cartridges which enabled the ST to emulate the Apple Macintosh on a limited basis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectre_GCR Edited August 9, 2016 by English Invader Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Android8675 Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 (edited) Keep in Mind that very few games run on a monochrome monitor. So you'll have to look for a colour monitor or at least proper cables to connect it to a TV as well. You sure about that? Seems like there are quite a few games that run in High Res. (That came across as snarky, just ment to say, "Here's a list of 287 games that run in High Res that you may of overlooked.") Edited August 9, 2016 by Android8675 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
English Invader Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 (edited) You sure about that? Seems like there are quite a few games that run in High Res. (That came across as snarky, just ment to say, "Here's a list of 287 games that run in High Res that you may of overlooked.") When you bear in mind that there are thousands of games available for the ST, 287 isn't a lot and that's exclusive of any hardware limitations. Edited August 9, 2016 by English Invader Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Android8675 Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 True, but to say there's no games for High res and high res monitors are worthless is also a bit off. Of course of those 287, I wouldn't say all those are must play games. Of course of the "thousands" of ST games, I'd say a good number of those are in the same category. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+xucaen Posted August 10, 2016 Share Posted August 10, 2016 So, how would one go about collecting games on diskette? I would expect most original diskettes are gone now; degraded over time and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted August 10, 2016 Share Posted August 10, 2016 So, how would one go about collecting games on diskette? I would expect most original diskettes are gone now; degraded over time and such. I have hundreds of systems and regardless of media, I've rarely had issues with degradation of any type. Most things still read and write just fine. It's impressive really, considering the doom and gloom that was originally predicted for a lot of this stuff after only a decade in, let alone several decades. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
English Invader Posted August 10, 2016 Share Posted August 10, 2016 True, but to say there's no games for High res and high res monitors are worthless is also a bit off. Of course of those 287, I wouldn't say all those are must play games. Of course of the "thousands" of ST games, I'd say a good number of those are in the same category. I wouldn't describe a monochrome monitor as worthless but I would describe it as a bottleneck if gaming is your main reason for buying an ST. The good news is that the most important game (Skulldiggery) is playable in monochrome and wading through all the games to find the ones that are right for you is all part of the fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
English Invader Posted August 10, 2016 Share Posted August 10, 2016 Is this something that I should get for an ST so that I can play games? https://www.ubbcentral.com/store/item/Amiga-Atari-ST-Amstrad-USB-Floppy-Disk-Emulator-GOTEK-HxC-includes-4GB-USB-key_181858904374.html That's one of the viable options but there are some other alternatives. Certainly, you will need some kind of flash device to get a decent game library - especially if you live in the US. The main thing that puts me off the Gotek is that you have to cut a hole in the side of the case to fit the drive. I prefer the more elegant UltraSatan which is an external hard drive emulator that fits very nicely on the top of your ST: http://www.lotharek.pl/product.php?pid=94 The key difference between the two is that the Gotek runs floppy disk images (ST, STX, MSA) while the hard drive emulator runs hard disk adapted files which can be downloaded from PP or Klapauzius or copied over from floppy disk if the software permits it. There is an ImageRun tool that can run a few disk images on the hard drive but it's not very reliable. You could also look into the CosmosEx which is not only a hybrid of the above devices but also has an ethernet port for your ST to go online: http://joo.kie.sk/?page_id=384 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParanoidLittleMan Posted August 10, 2016 Share Posted August 10, 2016 So, how would one go about collecting games on diskette? I would expect most original diskettes are gone now; degraded over time and such. Most of originals I have is still in good shape. Not so good with floppies what I bought as empty and saved there own stuff and copies - most likely because publishers used better floppies and better equipment for write. Other problem are drives - just too old and too many problems. Since computers self are in better condition I think that today is wise to get rid of floppies, and go on some mass storage or at least floppy emulator. It may be even cheaper for those who have no hundreds of floppies already. There is an ImageRun tool that can run a few disk images on the hard drive but it's not very reliable. That's not reliability issue. It's just that there are titles which can work that way, and those which can not. Situation is not same as with Windows/PC Virtual CD SW - because in Windows there is no direct HW access, so all SW use system calls for accessing mass storage, CDs and like. Many Atari ST SW, mostly games use direct floppy controller access, and that can not be redirected to hard disk on fly. Because there is huge variety of code, what even experienced coder/patcher may understand only after hours of examination. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conezays Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 (edited) Somewhat similarly, I've come across an Atari 520 ST and monitor locally. In terms of gaming I'm wondering if the Atari ST USB HxC is the best choice for playing a variety of games. http://www.ebay.ca/itm/172292406789?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AITAm I correct in assuming that with this that I would not additionally require an actual floppy drive to make images, etc.? I would just download games to my USB using my regular PC and then use it on the Atari? Apologises for my lack of knowledge on this subject! Thanks.Additionally, if anyone knows if the Dreamcast via VGA can be connected to the Atari SC1224 that would be much appreciated. Cheers. Edited August 28, 2016 by Conezays Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
English Invader Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 (edited) Somewhat similarly, I've come across an Atari 520 ST and monitor locally. In terms of gaming I'm wondering if the Atari ST USB HxC is the best choice for playing a variety of games. http://www.ebay.ca/itm/172292406789?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT Am I correct in assuming that with this that I would not additionally require an actual floppy drive to make images, etc.? I would just download games to my USB using my regular PC and then use it on the Atari? Apologises for my lack of knowledge on this subject! Thanks. Additionally, if anyone knows if the Dreamcast via VGA can be connected to the Atari SC1224 that would be much appreciated. Cheers. For an original model ST, a floppy emulator is probably the best option. The only drawback is that the original ST only has an external floppy drive interface so some modifications would be necessary - most people seem to fit the emulator into an SF354 case. The ST you've bought is mainly thought of as a collector's item and presents a lot of issues for hard drive use. I would say the original model ST is best suited to someone who wants to use real floppy disks - the STfm and STe models are far more suitable for digital solutions. I can't advise you on the Dreamcast issue although I am a big fan of that system . Edited August 28, 2016 by English Invader Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conezays Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 (edited) For an original model ST, a floppy emulator is probably the best option. The only drawback is that the original ST only has an external floppy drive interface so some modifications would be necessary - most people seem to fit the emulator into an SF354 case. The ST you've bought is mainly thought of as a collector's item and presents a lot of issues for hard drive use. I would say the original model ST is best suited to someone who wants to use real floppy disks - the STfm and STe models are far more suitable for digital solutions. I can't advise you on the Dreamcast issue although I am a big fan of that system . Awesome, thanks for all the info! I haven't bought it yet actually though perhaps I am better off waiting on one of the other models. (It's $115 USD for the colour monitor and 520ST, including floppy and modem). Edited August 28, 2016 by Conezays Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
English Invader Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 Awesome, thanks for all the info! I haven't bought it yet actually though perhaps I am better off waiting on one of the other models. (It's $115 USD for the colour monitor and 520ST, including floppy and modem). That's not a bad deal for the right person. The colour monitors aren't very easy to find these days and can be very expensive on their own. The floppy drives less so but still not cheap. I have an original model (technically STm because it has an RF modulator) and I love it but it's not for everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Ni Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 I had a STacy 4 with a 40 Mb HDD : the backlighted LCD screen was unusable for games with fast animation, but Ultima II (awful under the GEM interface !) or Psion Chess were OK ; even Tetris was playable. The trackball was very good (my favourite pointing device after a good mouse - I hate trackpads !). I used to connect it to a CRT via SCART ; my favourite games were Time Bandit (with a great two players option !), Carrier Command, and Dungeon Master. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conezays Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 That's not a bad deal for the right person. The colour monitors aren't very easy to find these days and can be very expensive on their own. The floppy drives less so but still not cheap. I have an original model (technically STm because it has an RF modulator) and I love it but it's not for everyone. Definitely, I've seen them go for way higher on Ebay, haha. Thanks again for the help; I'll keep my eye open on some of the later models I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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