Xebec Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 Greetings, I’m finally getting free time to install Frank Lucas’s VME to ISA adapter and an ET4000 card that should work on my MegaSTE. I’d like to use a terminal program that can display 16 color ANSI graphics at a full 80 columns, which the ST typically couldn’t do before. What terminal programs are out there that can do this? (Take advantage of the 16+ color Tseng 4000 output at 640x400/480 for example). Also, when searching on forums or sources like atariuptodate.com - what am I looking for that flags for software that runs well at non standard resolution and colors? Thanks all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zogging Hell Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 Can't help on the first one, apologies, but on the second atariuptodate question, there is no hard and fast way of knowing that a program will work with non-standard resolutions. The best bet though is to stick to strictly compliant GEM programs (i.e. that just use GEM for everything, rather than doing anything clever and bypassing it. I think things that just print text to screen should also be fine. The other thing to aim for is post Falcon/TT software (at least 1991 onwards), as a lot of the early ST programs assume the ST's resolutions and they got caught out when the TT and Falcon came out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesWD Posted September 30, 2023 Share Posted September 30, 2023 Connect95/97 fully GEM and works in all fancy resolutions (graphics cards etc.) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted September 30, 2023 Share Posted September 30, 2023 I never could get CoNnect 95 to display ANSI graphics like I wanted but ANSITerm most certainly will. The OP should definitely try ANSITerm out. It's interface is a bit awkward to get used to at first, IMHO, but the results look identical to me compared to software that I use under Win10 and Linux. Example, SyncTerm. I'm attaching a picture from VCF Midwest 2023, it shows Tillek's Mega ST running ANSITerm while logged in to the DarkForce! BBS. It's sitting at the main menu. You can see the glorious colors! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tillek Posted October 1, 2023 Share Posted October 1, 2023 It should be noted that ANSITerm will show those colors on a stock ST. It won't take advantage of any modes. I might suggest TAZ... only because I seem to remember it not doing the annoying flicker thing on the TT (It doesn't run on the Falcon and gives you an error message telling you that, so it might be detecting the machine type more than the resolution and so it might not work on a modified ST). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted October 2, 2023 Share Posted October 2, 2023 On 9/30/2023 at 7:07 AM, JamesWD said: Connect95/97 fully GEM and works in all fancy resolutions (graphics cards etc.) Actually, after thinking this over for a bit (I'm old and slow ) since the OP is talking about a video card with beyond standard ST resolutions, then ConNect might be the best choice. Maybe take a look at STalker as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tillek Posted October 2, 2023 Share Posted October 2, 2023 1 hour ago, DarkLord said: Actually, after thinking this over for a bit (I'm old and slow ) since the OP is talking about a video card with beyond standard ST resolutions, then ConNect might be the best choice. Maybe take a look at STalker as well? But the question being, does it handle ANSI in all 16 colors. I seem to remember trying it in ARAnyM and that wasn't the case... though it also didn't work all that well to begin with, so it could be environment related. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 Well, that's why I first said, "I never could get ConNect 95 to display ANSI graphics like I wanted". But...I wasn't running in extended/higher resolutions either, so... <shrugs> Maybe some industrious soul out there with an Atari with a video card or extended video ranges can experiment on this and report back? PS I think I need to go back and dedicate some time to ConNect to see if I can get ANSI support working like I want in standard ST rez's... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tillek Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 6 hours ago, DarkLord said: Maybe some industrious soul out there with an Atari with a video card or extended video ranges can experiment on this and report back? Like the guy asking the question in the first place? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xebec Posted October 3, 2023 Author Share Posted October 3, 2023 (edited) haha I will mess around when I get back home (on travel this week). I need to get the VME card installed and working first but will certainly try all of these suggestions :). I also need to see if there is some way to ‘save’ the 3rd serial port while installing the VME card but I’m assuming no real way to do that on a Mega STE.. I *think* 2 of the ports can handle higher speeds (38400-57600) while 1 of the ports is limited to the stock ST 19200 bps. I only really need one ‘fast’ port… Edited October 3, 2023 by Xebec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tillek Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 30 minutes ago, Xebec said: haha I will mess around when I get back home (on travel this week). I need to get the VME card installed and working first but will certainly try all of these suggestions :). I also need to see if there is some way to ‘save’ the 3rd serial port while installing the VME card but I’m assuming no real way to do that on a Mega STE.. I *think* 2 of the ports can handle higher speeds (38400-57600) while 1 of the ports is limited to the stock ST 19200 bps. I only really need one ‘fast’ port… So the kicker there is... you're right... the other ports can support higher speeds... but.... does the terminal software you want to use allow you to set the port you want to use? That's where the problem is. Most don't. I had this issue when the BBS was on the Mega STE (It's currently on a Mega 4 ST). I could run almost all the BBS stuff on the other port, but one game, Space Empire Elite actually checked port 1 to see if the user was online... so you'd start the game, and there wouldn't be carrier detect on port 1 because the modem was on another port.... the game kicks you out thinking you dropped carrier. So even while it was on the MSTE, I was stuck with port 1 and 19.2k When I was running the BBS on the Falcon, no problems... 56k all the way! But after that caused me to lose a Falcon during a thunderstorm, I won't be sacrificing another Falcon to the BBS gods. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xebec Posted October 7, 2023 Author Share Posted October 7, 2023 Update - of course it turns out the card I was planning to use was a Trident 8900C and not a TSENG ET4000 like I thought I had. Being human stinks sometimes - so now I'm working to source another ET4000. Will try the applications above / report back on results.. after I find a card and get it working :). Thanks all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted October 7, 2023 Share Posted October 7, 2023 Please do keep us updated on your results. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xebec Posted December 6, 2023 Author Share Posted December 6, 2023 An update - I have a sort of working ET4000/Mega STE setup. I may have a bad card but that's a longer thread. I can get the machine to work though in 16 color mode at 640x480, but unfortunately I can not get Connect to load without crashing. I've tried a few downloads, and it just loads and then eventually right as it draws the terminal window, bombs out and crashes to desktop. I installed NVDI in case it was looking for GDOS stuff but that made no difference. My copy of Connect also crashes on the ST monitor in Medium or Low resolution too so I'm not sure what it's missing. I looked through atariuptodate and can't seem to find anything else that fits the bill. TAZ would certainly require an Atari display since it's doing color cycling or timing tricks to get the 16 colors (it looks great btw). Now I'm on the fence of buying another ET4000 card to see if that fixes the issues I'm seeing or just calling it and boxing up the NOVA Adapter and ebaying my 2 ISA VGA cards :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted December 6, 2023 Share Posted December 6, 2023 If you can get your hands on a copy of STalker, try it and see how it acts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xebec Posted December 7, 2023 Author Share Posted December 7, 2023 (edited) 5 hours ago, DarkLord said: If you can get your hands on a copy of STalker, try it and see how it acts... OK I ran Stalker 3.03 and I'm getting colors, but ANSI graphics do not seem to be using the right character set. VT-52 also has some issues. See attached. DarkForce BBS in ANSI and VT52 and another BBS with what the ANSI should look like, and how it renders in Stalker This is in 640x480x16 color mode. and Bonus pic - my favorite cat of all time was named "Stalker". She passed in 2019. Edited December 7, 2023 by Xebec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xebec Posted December 7, 2023 Author Share Posted December 7, 2023 OK Round 2 - went to 640x480x256 color instead of 16 color, and the desktop is a bit faster on this card ironically. STalker behaved the same. (STalker is a LOT slower than Connect btw, at least on the NOVA monitor). Connect v2 had rendering issues, but Connect 95 renders ANSI nicely! It's really cool seeing 16 color ANSI in an 80x24 terminal on the ST! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted December 7, 2023 Share Posted December 7, 2023 Awesome, congratulations! Have to point out though, that screen for DarkForce! is not quite "there" yet. It really should look like this (not nitpicking - just observing) : 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xebec Posted December 8, 2023 Author Share Posted December 8, 2023 (edited) On 12/6/2023 at 11:20 PM, DarkLord said: Awesome, congratulations! Have to point out though, that screen for DarkForce! is not quite "there" yet. It really should look like this (not nitpicking - just observing) : Thanks! I was wondering if that was being cut off or if that was the source. Minor correction - Connect 97 is what produced the best results above; Connect 95 was significantly worse for ANSI Once I fix NVDI (crashes with NOVA on my setup - I have ideas on how to fix) I’ll try some more apps and modes to see if I can get it a bit better. Now that it’s working (without NVDI) I’m really liking the NOVA+ET4000 set up on the Mega STE! Edited December 8, 2023 by Xebec 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted December 9, 2023 Share Posted December 9, 2023 On 12/8/2023 at 2:34 PM, Xebec said: I’m really liking the NOVA+ET4000 set up on the Mega STE! I bet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirkman Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 (edited) On 12/6/2023 at 10:20 PM, DarkLord said: Awesome, congratulations! Have to point out though, that screen for DarkForce! is not quite "there" yet. It really should look like this (not nitpicking - just observing) : Looking closely at Xebec's screenshot, it appears Connect may be displaying ANSI "low" (or "dim") colors as "high"/"bright". Maybe there's a preference/option that needs to be un-checked? Edited December 13, 2023 by Kirkman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tillek Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 1 hour ago, Kirkman said: Looking closely at Xebec's screenshot, it appears Connect may be displaying ANSI "low" (or "dim") colors as "high"/"bright". Maybe there's a preference/option that needs to be un-checked? ... and here I thought it was "dim" because the ANSI screens were from DarkForce and not STar Fleet HQ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 36 minutes ago, Tillek said: ... and here I thought it was "dim" because the ANSI screens were from DarkForce and not STar Fleet HQ. <beep-beep sound of communicator activating> DarkForce! Come in! Beam me up, there's no intelligent life at Star Fleet HQ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tillek Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 52 minutes ago, DarkLord said: <beep-beep sound of communicator activating> DarkForce! Come in! Beam me up, there's no intelligent life at Star Fleet HQ! ... and yet... your ANSI screens are still inferior (which was the topic, not just random attempts at insults). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 13 hours ago, Tillek said: ... and yet... your ANSI screens are still inferior (which was the topic, not just random attempts at insults). Hmm, you do have a handful of nice ANSI screens - the ones that follow the Star Trek theme. How many of those are there though? DarkForce! has colorful ANSI screens for almost every occasion. PS My previous post was a joke...your tricorder apparently failed to recognize it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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