lhodapp Posted November 2 Share Posted November 2 I was 11 when my parents bought me a TI-99/4A, sometime in '84. I has always had a fascination with electronics going back to those 200 in 1 Radio Schack electronics kits and my electric trains and such. Not to mention the fantasy technology in Star Wars. But the Ti was a whole new level for me! I was so excited to get it and create some of my own games and such. I spent many hours programming in BASIC and later Extended BASIC. I felt like I understood those languages about as well as a 11-12 year old could but still wondered how the machine /really/ worked under the hood. As time passed I started getting interested in other things like music and *cough* girls. So the TI got put away and I'm not really sure what happened to it. I then went off to college and obtained and Electrical Engineering degree. Throughout my career, I've done quite a bit of embedded development for various industries, designing hardware, writing software, and such. Have always had the thought that someday I might go back to the TI to see how the machine really works. So that chance came when a buddy of mine gave me a TI that he had picked up at a yardsale for $1. He knew that was my first computer and thought I would get a kick out of it. And it just so happens I got the opportunity to teach a class on vintage computing at work, featuriing the TI. So needless to say, my interesest has been sparked and I have been pouring through any technical information I can find. I've also been writing software on the emulators and my actual hardware. This morning I was going through some example programs in the COMPUTES guide to Assembly using the Mini Memory cartridge. As I was learning how to setup the VDP tables the thought occurred to me that I'm finally untangling the magic of this machine! 🙂. 18 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/374786-untangling-the-magic/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted November 2 Share Posted November 2 47 minutes ago, lhodapp said: *cough* girls The downfall of many. Welcome back to the magic! 4 2 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/374786-untangling-the-magic/#findComment-5559185 Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhodapp Posted November 2 Author Share Posted November 2 Joystick adapter arrived today! This will be the first time ever playing any TI games with an actual controller! 6 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/374786-untangling-the-magic/#findComment-5559203 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted November 2 Share Posted November 2 3 hours ago, lhodapp said: Joystick adapter arrived today! This will be the first time ever playing any TI games with an actual controller! Oh, another TI joystick hater, I see. Well... 1 2 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/374786-untangling-the-magic/#findComment-5559339 Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonACT Posted November 2 Share Posted November 2 FYI This site has the best set of technical details of the TI-99/4A: https://www.unige.ch/medecine/nouspikel/ti99/titechpages.htm 4 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/374786-untangling-the-magic/#findComment-5559368 Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhodapp Posted November 3 Author Share Posted November 3 3 hours ago, OLD CS1 said: Oh, another TI joystick hater, I see. Well... I don't necessarily hate them because I never had one in the first place. But their reputation precedes them! I got one of them Trooper Atari style sticks and was quickly reminded how bad Atari style is in general. Ugh. 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/374786-untangling-the-magic/#findComment-5559443 Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhodapp Posted November 3 Author Share Posted November 3 2 hours ago, JasonACT said: FYI This site has the best set of technical details of the TI-99/4A: https://www.unige.ch/medecine/nouspikel/ti99/titechpages.htm Thanks! Yeah I've stumbled across this one and have spent an evening or two perusing. Lots of good info there! 2 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/374786-untangling-the-magic/#findComment-5559445 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted November 3 Share Posted November 3 3 hours ago, lhodapp said: I got one of them Trooper Atari style sticks and was quickly reminded how bad Atari style is in general. Ugh. The real Atari CX-40s are really good, as are Atari's modern productions of them. I have not had any luck with any the repros. My all-time favorite one-buttons from the era are the CX-40, Epyx XJ-500, and the Suncom Starfighter. 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/374786-untangling-the-magic/#findComment-5559513 Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhodapp Posted November 3 Author Share Posted November 3 9 hours ago, OLD CS1 said: The real Atari CX-40s are really good, as are Atari's modern productions of them. I have not had any luck with any the repros. My all-time favorite one-buttons from the era are the CX-40, Epyx XJ-500, and the Suncom Starfighter. I'm not sure if you're referring to the quality or the ergonomics. I was referring to the ergonomics. I was also a little disappointed in the play of some games using the stick. In particular Munchman. Seemed a lot harder to change directions using a joystick versus the keyboard. Other games were just fine though like Ti Invaders. 2 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/374786-untangling-the-magic/#findComment-5559679 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted November 3 Share Posted November 3 3 hours ago, lhodapp said: I'm not sure if you're referring to the quality or the ergonomics. I was referring to the ergonomics. I was thinking both, actually. I do not often hear that people do not like the CX-40 and similar style joysticks. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/374786-untangling-the-magic/#findComment-5559784 Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhodapp Posted November 10 Author Share Posted November 10 I'm thinking I'll use this thread to update the progress of my learnings and development on the TI from time to time. This past week I entered all the ASM programs listed in the Molesworth book. Basically I was just wanting to get a better feel for the work flow when using the Editor/Assembler. I've also started setting up development tools on my MAC. I'm going to be using Visual Studio Code and have created some formatting jsons for TMS9900 assembly. In addition, I have setup the XDT99 toolset from @ralphb and have built tasks in VSC integrating these tools. For emulation I'm using JS99'er. I don't know how it fairs to the other emulators but I can run it fairly easily on my MAC and everything seems to work. I've also started working my way through the Assembly on the 99/4A thread by @matthew180. Very infomative so far! Oh! And I picked up more hardware this week as well. Bought an expansion box off of eBay. Have no idea if it even works yet. Also, purchased locally another console from the original owner. He was pretty happy to see it going to someone that's actually going to use it! I'm still waiting on my TIPI from @arcadeshopper 😉 I have about a half dozen ideas for games and other apps I am anxious to create! Just need to spend a little time getting all the tools in place before I can get rolling! -Leo 10 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/374786-untangling-the-magic/#findComment-5563515 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+FarmerPotato Posted November 11 Share Posted November 11 Hi! You have a lot of enthusiasm! I use xdt99 on macOS and PC--remote git repo. On macOS I run Classic99 with Wine. One nice thing that Classic99 there has over JS99er is that the floppy stays mounted, and each "make" just updates the files. You can also mount "files in a directory" as DSK1. On the other hand, JS99er emulates the F18A graphics and I like that. 3 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/374786-untangling-the-magic/#findComment-5563591 Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhodapp Posted November 11 Author Share Posted November 11 21 hours ago, FarmerPotato said: Hi! You have a lot of enthusiasm! I use xdt99 on macOS and PC--remote git repo. On macOS I run Classic99 with Wine. One nice thing that Classic99 there has over JS99er is that the floppy stays mounted, and each "make" just updates the files. You can also mount "files in a directory" as DSK1. On the other hand, JS99er emulates the F18A graphics and I like that. One of these days I should try Wine. I think I have just developed a natural aversion to Windows over the years... 2 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/374786-untangling-the-magic/#findComment-5564086 Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted November 13 Share Posted November 13 On 11/3/2024 at 12:07 PM, OLD CS1 said: I was thinking both, actually. I do not often hear that people do not like the CX-40 and similar style joysticks. I actually don't like the style. It can't decide if it wants to be tabletop or handheld, and is kinda bad for both use patterns(but far better as a handheld). If they weren't so damn stiff, I'd love the TI sticks. They commit to being handheld, and fit well in that use pattern(though this does make twin-sticking Microsurgeon difficult without additional tools). Potential bias in that the TI and Vectrex were my first game machines, and my only game machines for many years. I grew up with the TI sticks, and this could well have shaped my usage of handheld sticks to prefer this style. But they're still too damn stiff. 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/374786-untangling-the-magic/#findComment-5564674 Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbmeeks Posted November 13 Share Posted November 13 On 11/3/2024 at 1:07 PM, OLD CS1 said: I was thinking both, actually. I do not often hear that people do not like the CX-40 and similar style joysticks. My first "joystick" was actually the ColecoVision joypad. Which is pretty awful by any modern standard but I never knew that back then. I actually got good at it's quirks. I also never really cared for the classic CS-40 Atari stick. Finally, I also had the official TI controllers. I never knew any of them were bad as a kid. I enjoy them today for nostalgia but I don't use them for very long. Once I got my NES, I realized the NES controller is the best ever made. I know I will get flack for saying that but for my style of playing games, nothing beats it. I mean, look at my avatar. lol Close second would be the SNES and finally Genesis. I've even made adapters, etc. to convert the NES controller to other machines. Anyway, I don't hate any of them these days...but I always go back to my NES controller. 🙂 3 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/374786-untangling-the-magic/#findComment-5564719 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted November 13 Share Posted November 13 If you like the Nintendo controller form-factor but need the Atari interface, the CX-78 is the two-button controller made for the 7800. It works with the TI via an Atari adapter. They are usually a little pricey if you can find them second-hand (eBay has a few now between US$20 and $75,) or you can pick them up brand-spaking-new from our very own Atari overlords: https://atari.com/products/cx78-gamepad I own two of the originals, and now two of the re-releases. I like them, and they are well-accepted at VCF. The photos do not show it, but that thumb stick part unscrews to leave just the directional pad. 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/374786-untangling-the-magic/#findComment-5564751 Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhodapp Posted November 30 Author Share Posted November 30 I decided the best way to ramp up my TI skills was to jump in and develop an actual game. Figured, why not start with the basics and went with Pong! It's been quite the learning experience so far! The code itself is kind of messy and not very efficient. But the game is coming along and quite playable! Again I've been using the XDT99 toolset and the assembly game framework from the thread in the development program. I'm also becoming fairly proficient at using the debug tools provided by JS99'er. Still need to add joystick support and some further refinements to the difficulty levels. It's getting pretty close though so I'm pretty excited about finishing my first game on the TI in ~40 years! 11 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/374786-untangling-the-magic/#findComment-5575910 Share on other sites More sharing options...
sometimes99er Posted December 1 Share Posted December 1 Yeeha ! 😀 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/374786-untangling-the-magic/#findComment-5576356 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serafini Lapo Posted Thursday at 03:21 PM Share Posted Thursday at 03:21 PM On 01/12/2024 at 00:26, lhodapp said: Ho deciso che il modo migliore per aumentare le mie competenze TI era buttarmi e sviluppare un gioco vero e proprio. Ho pensato, perché non iniziare dalle basi e ho scelto Pong! Finora è stata un'esperienza di apprendimento notevole! Il codice in sé è un po' disordinato e non molto efficiente. Ma il gioco sta prendendo forma ed è abbastanza giocabile! Di nuovo, ho utilizzato il set di strumenti XDT99 e il framework di gioco assembly dal thread nel programma di sviluppo. Sto anche diventando abbastanza competente nell'uso degli strumenti di debug forniti da JS99'er. Devo ancora aggiungere il supporto per il joystick e qualche ulteriore perfezionamento ai livelli di difficoltà. Ci stiamo avvicinando parecchio, quindi sono piuttosto emozionato di finire il mio primo gioco su TI in circa 40 anni! Handsome! We can't wait to play it!🤩 Good work👍🏻 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/374786-untangling-the-magic/#findComment-5579071 Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhodapp Posted Friday at 09:44 PM Author Share Posted Friday at 09:44 PM On 12/5/2024 at 10:21 AM, Serafini Lapo said: Handsome! We can't wait to play it!🤩 Good work👍🏻 Haha! 😂. I'll post when it's completed! 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/374786-untangling-the-magic/#findComment-5579894 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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