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What about an Atari xegs+?


JOD-I

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There are way more cartridges for the XEGS than the 5200 and since the XEGS is pretty much an atari 800xl perhaps an XEGS+ would be a cool next system.  What does anyone think about this?  It would be different than the 400 mini since it would require the actual cartridges just like the 2600+

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9 minutes ago, pseudografx said:

One downside is that on the 8-bit line many games weren't available in cartridge format and cannot be easily converted from disk/tape version. But I'd still love to see the XEGS+ or something like that. 🙂

How hard is it to convert a disk games to cartridge? Sorry I'm not that knowledgeable in programing. I know 5200 carts have been converted to 8-bit carts and vise versa (and I was told that's not exactly easy either). Is it harder than that. Just curious. I thought a couple of XEGS games were converted from disk to cart back in the day and saw release.

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So kinda like there was the c64 mini and then they came out with the c64 maxi they could do the same thing with a fully functional keyboard.  They wouldnt need any special controllers since it uses standard atari controllers.  They could maybe convert games that were only on disk into cartridges and sell them if thats possible.  They could make sure that it can run 128k games. I honestly dont know if any of this is possible or what the cost might be but if it is possible I would definitely buy one. 

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43 minutes ago, pboland said:

How hard is it to convert a disk games to cartridge? Sorry I'm not that knowledgeable in programing. I know 5200 carts have been converted to 8-bit carts and vise versa (and I was told that's not exactly easy either). Is it harder than that. Just curious. I thought a couple of XEGS games were converted from disk to cart back in the day and saw release.

It depends. It can be be anything from trivial to nightmarish. There are also some workarounds, with compromises. For example, a game that requires extra RAM would still require extra RAM. If it was written in cartridge format, it could most likely work on 64K or 48K systems. Requiring more RAM would be no issue for an emulation device such as the potential XEGS+, but on original systems with no expanded memory, the cartridge would not work.

Edited by pseudografx
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but those 128k games would work on original systems with enough memory like the 130xe or anyone that has expanded their systems to have more memory.  Most games were well under 64k so even for those who did not have any expanded memory could use most games.

 

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2 hours ago, pseudografx said:

It depends. It can be be anything from trivial to nightmarish. There are also some workarounds, with compromises. For example, a game that requires extra RAM would still require extra RAM. If it was written in cartridge format, it could most likely work on 64K or 48K systems. Requiring more RAM would be no issue for an emulation device such as the potential XEGS+, but on original systems with no expanded memory, the cartridge would not work.

Not completely true ;-) It depends on how the programmer decided how to do the memory allocation. Similar to the 2600 the Atari 8-bit computer series can use bankswitching for larger software in cartridges. These days programmers do it the "easy" way because a lot of A8 users have expanded the memory in their computers. These kind of games are loading the complete game in 1 go.

 

When using bankswitching correctly only parts of the game are loaded. For example Atariblast on cartridge, an 1mb game!, runs perfectly on an Atari 600XL which only has 16K of memory.

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18 minutes ago, Fred_M said:

Not completely true ;-) It depends on how the programmer decided how to do the memory allocation. Similar to the 2600 the Atari 8-bit computer series can use bankswitching for larger software in cartridges. These days programmers do it the "easy" way because a lot of A8 users have expanded the memory in their computers. These kind of games are loading the complete game in 1 go.

 

When using bankswitching correctly only parts of the game are loaded. For example Atariblast on cartridge, an 1mb game!, runs perfectly on an Atari 600XL which only has 16K of memory.

Yes, because AtariBlast was written as a cartridge game from the get go. Our OnEscape game also runs on 48k systems despite being a 1MB ROM image. On the other hand, Bunny Hop was written as an atari executable that would require 128K RAM. It would be a pretty elaborate job to rewrite it for ROM bank switching.

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13 minutes ago, pseudografx said:

Yes, because AtariBlast was written as a cartridge game from the get go. Our OnEscape game also runs on 48k systems despite being a 1MB ROM image. On the other hand, Bunny Hop was written as an atari executable that would require 128K RAM. It would be a pretty elaborate job to rewrite it for ROM bank switching.

Exactly 😃👍 That is why converting existing disk/tape software to cartridge is not an easy and simple job 😉

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10 minutes ago, Flyindrew said:

Why would Atari produce an XEGS + when they just revisited the 8 bit line with the 400 mini ?

Mainly the cartridge slot, and the production of new cartridges. Why did Atari release the 2600+ when there was already the 2600 Flashback?

Edited by Defender_2600
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If they made a nearly full sized one with a functioning keyboard that used real cartridges instead of roms it would be very much like the 2600+/7800+.  The gamestation pro can play many systems but I dont see anyone rushing out to get one. The actual physical cartridges and controllers seem to be what people want.

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1 hour ago, Defender_2600 said:

Here you can see the list of Atari 8-bit cartridges. There are many more than you might think (477 cartridges, but some results are redundant).

 

https://www.atarimania.com/list_games_atari-400-800-xl-xe-p_total-page-step-cartridge_477-1-25-1_8_G.html

 

Plus that list does not include a lot of homebrew cartridge releases.

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Well then.  Let's just go balls deep.  Atari should release a brand new 5.25" floppy drive, with USB & SIO ports.  I'd be game.

 

How about a USB/SIO cassette deck while we're dreaming?  Don't laugh, if it had some pretty VU meters, a stereo head, etc    a real pro-audio device ... The only cassette decks worth a shjt these days are 20-40 years old reqiring lots of maintenance, or new Chinese garbage.  It's an untapped market.  Atari could make a real name in quality vintage electronics of the types nobody is producing.  It'd sell like hot cakes to audio enthusiasts; compensating for Atari 8-bit smaller market.

 

Lol.  We need to keep dreaming but be happy for what we have.  

 

 

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1 hour ago, suspicious_milk said:

Well then.  Let's just go balls deep.  Atari should release a brand new 5.25" floppy drive, with USB & SIO ports.  I'd be game.

 

How about a USB/SIO cassette deck while we're dreaming?  Don't laugh, if it had some pretty VU meters, a stereo head, etc    a real pro-audio device ... The only cassette decks worth a shjt these days are 20-40 years old reqiring lots of maintenance, or new Chinese garbage.  It's an untapped market.  Atari could make a real name in quality vintage electronics of the types nobody is producing.  It'd sell like hot cakes to audio enthusiasts; compensating for Atari 8-bit smaller market.

 

Lol.  We need to keep dreaming but be happy for what we have.  

 

 

Bring back:

  • Ataritel (Minitel in France)
  • Touch Me
  • AtariPC

LOL

 

Actually, High end audio with an Atari branding isn't a bad idea...

  • Turntable
  • Tube Amp
  • Cassette deck
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On 9/4/2024 at 3:08 AM, JOD-I said:

There are way more cartridges for the XEGS than the 5200 and since the XEGS is pretty much an atari 800xl perhaps an XEGS+ would be a cool next system.  What does anyone think about this?  It would be different than the 400 mini since it would require the actual cartridges just like the 2600+


Honestly i'd rather see something like a 800XL+ and then some kind of higher end XEGS with hardware or FPGA stuff thats compatible like far down the line.

However even with a lot of the cartridge games theres a fair amount of disk games that are unfortunately going to be missing, and the XEGS had a partial focus on the XG-1 light gun, so unless a XG-1 + Sinden type LCD+CRT compatible light gun comes out alongside it, we might be missing too much from it. However there are some still unreleased XEGS gems like Commando and Ikari Warriors, but those would need to be licensed again. and honestly at that point they should just go all out for it.

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On 9/4/2024 at 5:21 PM, Zonie said:

Bring back:

  • Ataritel (Minitel in France)
  • Touch Me
  • AtariPC

LOL

 

Actually, High end audio with an Atari branding isn't a bad idea...

  • Turntable
  • Tube Amp
  • Cassette deck

TUBE AMP EH????

They should also release a bitcrusher + fuzz pedal or something like that.

Plus a tape deck, even if its going to be the standard modern tape mechanism i imagine theres a few tweaks that could be done + a way to make it work with the home computers as a tape drive, now for the turntable, outside of the obvious standard Hi-Fi affair, ya know what would be really cool? An Atari branded Numark PT-01 Scratch record player!

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Since people want a 5200+, an xegs+ or 800xl/xe+ or a 400+ Maxi would have all the games the 5200 had plus a whole lot more is all that I am saying.  As long as it had a functioning keyboard then no weird 5200 controllers would be required just standard joysticks instead.  If Atari wanted to make it like the mini so that disk and/or tape images could be used that would be awesome but have it have a real functioning cartridge port so that people who have cartridges can use them and If atari wanted to release new games on cartridges that would be awesome too.

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What about an Atari 800 maxi that would be the elite of all remakes. That's actually a pretty powerful gaming PC inside and can either boot to the Atari 800 mode or PC mode by say switching the old tv channel select. When its switched to Atari 800 mode it acts seamlessly like 8 bit hardware with all the bells and whistles, 1mb, VBE ect (using Altirra?). In windows PC mode it can be a vessel for any new modern Atari games as well as acting like a pretty cool PC case. Room enough for expansion card or two? Maybe sell it with a numeric keypad with the angle it's for lefties too. Would like full size but can maybe downsize it just a little like the 2600 plus.

Know I'm dreaming but it would be cool.

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18 hours ago, JOD-I said:

Since people want a 5200+, an xegs+ or 800xl/xe+ or a 400+ Maxi would have all the games the 5200 had plus a whole lot more is all that I am saying.  As long as it had a functioning keyboard then no weird 5200 controllers would be required just standard joysticks instead.  If Atari wanted to make it like the mini so that disk and/or tape images could be used that would be awesome but have it have a real functioning cartridge port so that people who have cartridges can use them and If atari wanted to release new games on cartridges that would be awesome too.

^^^This right there ^^^ would be the perfect compromise for all of the 8-bit computer/5200 platforms.

 

What it would look like could be debated for ever (I prefer XE, XEGS or XL style), but at the end of the day we just need two controller inputs, keyboard, 8-bit cartridge slot, and an HDMI output.

 

I think adding an SIO or PBI is a waste of time/money for a device like this as long as disk and tape images files are supported (SD card slot maybe or just via a USB port?).

 

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