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falz posted:Does it answer why they have US in the name and why all of their games suck? If so, I'll register to download. Because they imported their games from the US. This should answer both your questions. Also you suck if you think Epyx were a sucky developer. The Games series, Beach Head II, Pitstop II and Impossible Mission justify the existence of US Gold by themselves.
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May 16, 2019 12:47
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This is the opposite of how I remember them, but my perspective is from a US side w/ console games actually developed by them.
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May 16, 2019 13:18
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falz posted:Does it answer why they have US in the name and why all of their games suck? If so, I'll register to download. tbh their company mission statement basically tells all you need to know then
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May 16, 2019 13:39
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What would be a good forum for me to talk Commodore 64 stuff in particular? Lemon 64 is kind of my default in that regard, but the forum software they use feels like it hasn't been updated since the C64 came out. (Okay, it's not that bad. But it is clunky.) Is there a better, more active place these days, or is Lemon the best?
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May 17, 2019 05:27
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Clearly the answer is to use your C64 to dial into a BBS and post there! ..yeah I don't really know of anywhere that's more..active or prominent than Lemon, to be honest.
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May 17, 2019 08:19
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FredMSloniker posted:What would be a good forum for me to talk Commodore 64 stuff in particular? Lemon 64 is kind of my default in that regard, but the forum software they use feels like it hasn't been updated since the C64 came out. (Okay, it's not that bad. But it is clunky.) Is there a better, more active place these days, or is Lemon the best? You're already here, bub. Alternately, the C64 was pretty huge and MIGHT be able to support its own thread but it's not like the traffic in this one is ridiculous.
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May 17, 2019 15:51
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Jedit posted:Also you suck if you think Epyx were a sucky developer. The Games series, Beach Head II, Pitstop II and Impossible Mission justify the existence of US Gold by themselves. Jumpman excuses many sins.
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May 17, 2019 16:35
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Is there a different thread to talk about emulation? This one seems to be mostly people setting up old authentic hardware. But I grew up with a C64 and loved the hardware back then but have no desire to go back to 10 minute load times to play some games and scratch my nostalgia itch. Anyway, even with emulation, the format of .d64 and .t64 is tedious and really not good for an emulation set up on the TV where I want to keep keyboards out of sight. Obviously it works fine for SNES emulation and the like, but C64 emulation works differently, obviously. Even the best config I can find still has long load screens, especially when loading tape files. My question is this: Why hasn't someone developed a system that stores a RAM dump of the C64 program along with the disk image, so that when I select "launch Impossible Mission" it just loads the RAM state and takes me straight to the main menu. That seems pretty simple and logical to me.
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May 18, 2019 12:41
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Forum Joe posted:Is there a different thread to talk about emulation? This one seems to be mostly people setting up old authentic hardware. But I grew up with a C64 and loved the hardware back then but have no desire to go back to 10 minute load times to play some games and scratch my nostalgia itch. Do the emulators not support save states? I'm not a C64 guy but that's been a pretty standard feature of emulators of all kinds as long as I've been using them. There may or may not be a way to launch directly in to the save state, but worst case scenario it wouldn't be that hard to set up a batch file that puts the state file you're looking for in the right place so you just run it and hit the load state button when the emulator launches.
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May 18, 2019 14:48
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Forum Joe posted:Is there a different thread to talk about emulation? This one seems to be mostly people setting up old authentic hardware. But I grew up with a C64 and loved the hardware back then but have no desire to go back to 10 minute load times to play some games and scratch my nostalgia itch. The problem is that the whole system does not hold up well to what you want to do. Surely you remember many of your favorite games from the day require using keyboard fairly often even though you can play most of the game with the joysticks? You can not just make an interchangeable "RAM dump" for most titles. Do you not remember the system has just 64 KB RAM? The tape games often were multiload that need you to activate the tape drive to read in another 40 KB just to finish, up to a whole 200 KB total for the largest games across 4 and 5 loads. Similar the disk titles have 170 KB per floppy disk side which is like 3 complete filling of available RAM per disk. And the big emulators all use different formats for capturing the state of the systems emulated, so if you make say a VICE savestate and include it with a disk image, CCS64 users can not load the savestate. For these reasons, it takes much work to modify tape only games to make disk versions that load faster, and even more work to make fake-cartridge format ones that can be presented to system with almost no loading. Many popular titles have been modified in these ways but you will find many less popular titles missing. And the various emulators continue to describe and save the states of the hardware they emulate differently including it not necessarily staying the same from old version of same emulator to new version. So while a tape image always makes a valid tape to use on any real C64 or emulated, and disk image always makes valid disk, no one can rely that any save state will be valid tomorrow or in 10 years. CCS64 emulator offers a "Maximum 1541 Speed" option that when enabled heavily over clocks the emulated C64 and disk drive for extremely fast loading when disks are accessed. Also if you use VICE emulator instead, you can use the alt-w "warp mode" command to temporarily speed up the C64 and disk/tape transfer very much. These are the most functional ways to have fast game startup in current emulators.
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May 18, 2019 16:08
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Thank you nepeta very interesting read
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May 18, 2019 16:12
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The first four issues of Fusion magazine are free in PDF format this weekend. Haven't read them yet, but you can't argue with the price.
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May 25, 2019 07:43
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You all probably follow MVG on youtube but incase you don't he's just released a really good episode on 90s ST/Amiga floppy disc copy protection https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VheNpiSZxf0 
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May 27, 2019 19:35
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Any X68000 owners here?
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Jun 13, 2019 13:58
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I wish.
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Jun 13, 2019 14:00
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Does it have to be working?
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Jun 21, 2019 06:00
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I would blow Dane Cook posted:Any X68000 owners here?
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Jun 21, 2019 13:29
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yOch48SScs https://retrogames.biz/the-c64
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Jun 26, 2019 00:24
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I'm not sure I'm willing to pay 120ish usd for it. I like the Mini that's down to 30 bucks at most Gamestops that have them but that is about what it's worth especially not being a C model. I do hope they update the firmware of the mini to do much of what the full size one does. I might use it a lot more then. (Disk swapping. Pal and Ntsc switch. Hopefully easy joystick port exchanging. Vic 20 emulation ideally with RAM expansion options for Realms of Quest.) As is the Mini model is more a cute novelty that's mostly less ideal than a RetroPi that was worth 30 bucks but no more. (Yes a Pi can cost a bit more with doodads and all but it's also more flexible. The mini is mostly for single load games and you need a PC to edit some files for joystick swapping.) The full size will probably be a better value than the Turbografx / PC Engine Mini for people willing to put roms or support the really active homebrew C64 scene though. Just not the titles that come prepackaged for the most part. And sorry I haven't been keeping the thread as active as I should. Outside of said 64 Mini and a little Icewind Dale 2 I really haven't been doing a lot of retro computer stuff lately. I try not to waste a post with minor 1-2 line replies.
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Jul 19, 2019 11:16
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I’ve got an MSX2+ on the way from Japan, an FS-A1WX. What should I pick up in order to have fun with my new arrival?
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Jul 20, 2019 20:03
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Luigi Thirty posted:I’ve got an MSX2+ on the way from Japan, an FS-A1WX. What should I pick up in order to have fun with my new arrival? I'd probably do the floppy drive belt: https://console5.com/store/msx-floppy-drive-belt-3-5.html
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Jul 21, 2019 05:20
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Seat Safety Switch posted:Yeah, this is the amazing Hedley Hi-Res monitor. quote:The monitor is quite unique in that it contains an internal framebuffer which is controlled via the RGBI lines of the video port, which means it probably won't work on anything but an Amiga. As there's no pixel clock, the exact sample rate must be fine tuned at the back of the monitor,
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Jul 21, 2019 06:58
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Jimmy Smuts posted:I'm a bit late to reply but holy crap, this was definitely designed by runaway engineers. What other crazy stuff did Commodore work on? They accidentally blundered into an effective LCD computer technology decades before anyone else did: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_LCD Some of the Hedley high-res excitement came out of Commodore's brief engineering-driven Unix fantasies. Prior to the Amiga, a lot of their engineers had sort of run away on the Commodore 900 project which was to be a 16-bit Unix workstation. After the Amiga, they attempted (and commercially released) a specialized Amiga-only System V Unix distribution that a few insanely dedicated engineers were able to keep maintained. The Amiga 1000 is developed by an entirely different organization of crazy people (first Hi-Toro and then Amiga), and to make a long story short, Commodore bought them in a panic when it looked like a Tramiel-led Atari might get them instead. The Amiga 1000's software team was such a nightmare that you have to load the ROM from floppy disk on the first versions before the machine will even attempt to boot software. Most of those engineers didn't integrate fully into the Commodore way of life, so after the expensive-to-build Amiga 1000 dropped, they had trouble establishing a singular vision to follow it up. Imagine you're some guy in West Chester working on a doomed Commodore 64 successor, and your boss came by your cubicle and dropped a perfect sphere of alien technology on your desk and asked how fast you can make it cost half as much. During the development of the Amigas, the West German wing of Commodore first decided they wanted to sell x86 DOS PCs to the business market instead of whatever Commodore USA was giving them. So they built a whole suite of the fuckers, which included specialized video modes. Later, they tried to modify the Amiga 1000 into an expanded desktop machine because the USA largely couldn't or wouldn't, which produced the Amiga 2000, which was later replaced by the American-made cost-reduced Amiga 2000 ("B2000-CR") vaguely based on lessons learned by the super small team of junior engineers who were too stubborn to give up trying to make the Amiga 500. They made what is probably the first actual viable CD-ROM game console in the form of the CDTV, again with runaway engineers because management had no idea when or how to position the thing. You can turn it into a full Amiga 500, because that was basically their escape chute. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_CDTV An entirely different, completely unrelated team of engineers at a place that really did not hire that many engineers to start with developed an entirely different and incompatible CD-ROM console to follow it up with, which in North America could only be released in Canada because Commodore management had failed to successfully fight (or even pay for) a completely bullshit patent for animated mouse cursors: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiga_CD32 Commodore engineering did some crazy poo poo and then never released it. They probably never released like 60-70% of the poo poo they worked on, you could go on for many more posts about it. It turns out miracles really are possible, but you can't necessarily specify which miracles you want. Seat Safety Switch fucked around with this message at 00:14 on Jul 22, 2019 |
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Jul 21, 2019 23:59
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They were also working on integrating an AT&T DSP32 into the A3000 before changing their minds, which led to Apple putting it in one of the Quadra models instead? Atari did some crazy poo poo at Cyan Engineering, as well, up to the 1983 implosion. They built what amounted to a 1979 Roomba (which was typically used to shuttle beer to cubicles), theorized VR adventure games, installed a LAN at Club Med in like 1981, tried to build Star Trek-style modular healthcare devices, built videophones (which ended up sold by Mitsubishi somehow), graphics tablets, powerline home automation devices... none of which management had any idea how to monetize or bring to market in any way. It was basically “here’s a big pile of money, invent something” and then the inventions got thrown in a pile. When the money faucet stopped flowing in 1983 it was all forgotten and Tramiel had no interest in any of it other than selling cheap computers.
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Jul 22, 2019 09:00
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A cool arrival today: Puyo Puyo Sun for the Sega Saturn! Complete with survey card, some comic poster thing, and faded stickers! https://twitter.com/LuigiThirty/status/1153428567776100352
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Jul 23, 2019 01:50
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I assume you meant that for the not-computer thread
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Jul 23, 2019 03:37
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Shadow Hog posted:I assume you meant that for the not-computer thread Doh yeah sorry. Too many retro threads. I’ll just have to import the MSX version.
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Jul 23, 2019 07:51
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My MSX2+ arrived! Unfortunately it seems to need a new keyboard membrane since a few keys don’t work. Any advice on where to pick one up? I know Panasonic MSX keyboards are standardized and I think I read someone built a PS/2 to MSX adapter?
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Jul 24, 2019 18:13
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So my girlfriend and I went to this bizarre thrift store we'd never been to before and somehow, they had an Atari 800XL and a 1050 floppy drive for a total of $20. So now I'm the proud owner of an untested 800XL with no cables. What do I need to get this up and running? What are some good games and/or are there flashcarts available? I've never owned a retro computer before
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Aug 25, 2019 21:09
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Pablo Nergigante posted:So my girlfriend and I went to this bizarre thrift store we'd never been to before and somehow, they had an Atari 800XL and a 1050 floppy drive for a total of $20. So now I'm the proud owner of an untested 800XL with no cables. What do I need to get this up and running? What are some good games and/or are there flashcarts available? I've never owned a retro computer before You’ll need a power brick for the 800 and 1050. Flash cart, you’ll want a SIDE2 which gives you a feature-packed DOS and a menu system that lets you boot games from a CF card. It also lets you use a CF card as a hard drive for running programs from DOS. A RAM expansion will help you make the most of it but requires messing with the internals. Best Electronics sells every Atari replacement part you’ll ever need if you don’t mind paying their insane prices.
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Aug 25, 2019 21:22
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I think you can also improvise a cable to run the 800 off of just 5V, so you could in theory run it from a (fairly beefy) USB charger. The 1050 will need something different though.
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Aug 25, 2019 21:30
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Luigi Thirty posted:You’ll need a power brick for the 800 and 1050. Seat Safety Switch posted:I think you can also improvise a cable to run the 800 off of just 5V, so you could in theory run it from a (fairly beefy) USB charger. Cool thanks for the info. If I get a flashcart do I really even need the 1050? I bought it just because it was there as well, but if the flashcart lets me boot stuff from DOS then I wouldn't need a floppy drive right?
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Aug 25, 2019 22:06
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I BET THAT IS MY ATARI SOMEONE STOLE FROM MY GRANDMA'S HOUSE There are lots of good games for the system, but the ones that tend to immediately impress are the Lucasfilm Games titles, as they were designed for the Atari first and thus took advantage of its rad hardware better than many titles, and obviously had the impressive pedigree behind them. Particularly Ballblazer and Rescue on Fractalus. I also felt the system did RPGs fairly well but, well, even the best 1980s RPG is fairly rough in 2019. My favorite non-Lucasfilm games were Return of Heracles, Archon, Mail Order Monsters, Seven Cities of Gold, Super Boulderdash, Summer Games, Beach-Head II, Panther, Super Cobra, Spy vs. SpyRacing Destruction Set, Temple of Apshai Trilogy, Ultima III, Bounty Bob Strikes Back, Raid Over Moscow, Necromancer, DANCE FANTASY, Blue Max, Jumpman!, Ninja, Gemstone Warrior, Star Raiders, and Hardball!, as absurd as it is to play a "realistic" sports game from 1985. Honorable mention to Journey to the Planets for being one of the overall worst-looking professionally-released games in history, but I still somehow loved it. That sounds like a lot of games but I had like 3x that many easily and I am sure there are thousands, particularly considering Poland's endless extension of the system's life.
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Aug 25, 2019 22:46
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Pablo Nergigante posted:Cool thanks for the info. If I get a flashcart do I really even need the 1050? I bought it just because it was there as well, but if the flashcart lets me boot stuff from DOS then I wouldn't need a floppy drive right? Not unless you like buying original disk software.
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Aug 26, 2019 00:02
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Luigi Thirty posted:Not unless you like buying original disk software. I would imagine a lot of those disks have failed by this point tbh. I might check it out as a curiosity. Thanks for the recs everyone! I was born in '85 so I was a little young for the microcomputer craze, I grew up playing consoles and our first computer was a poo poo-rear end Packard Bell 486DX. I'm excited to try this out
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Aug 26, 2019 00:07
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Pablo Nergigante posted:I would imagine a lot of those disks have failed by this point tbh Eh not really though. Especially the low-density disks used on systems like that, they're surprisingly durable. It is of course always a great time to read off any floppy disks you can find into other digital storage because they will someday break, and running stuff directly off the disk is usually pointless, but tons of stuff has held up better than we'd have ever expected. And it's especially important to read off stuff that looks to have been some random guy's work or something, because you just might stumble across an otherwise lost program in old disks - with a flashcart in place it should be pretty trivial to copy stuff over.
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Aug 26, 2019 00:27
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I prefer a Lotharek Sio2SD drive myself. Can simulate multiple floppy drives at once and have increased loading speeds. It might not do cart stuff but honestly unless you have a burning need to program on original hardware with many of the rarer but better programming options that were carts you will be fine. Atarimania has nearly every program and document for the A8s that has ever been found and its THE gold standard for a retro system website imo. Most cart games got pirated to disk loads anyhow and Glenn the 5200 Man ported over those few 5200 games that weren't given an A8 release but should have. https://discord.gg/k3p4Dkn I am in this goon retro discord a lot and should be able to help answer some Qs you might have/get the computer sub channel to be more than just weeb rear end Jpn computer talk. (If nothing else just to mildly irritate said x68000 and NEC bourgies who seem to have waaaaay too much spare money on hand. They should give the money to me. I got a leak in my finished basement that needs to be taken care of. I cant buy a lot of dumb poo poo in good conscience until it's taken care of!) Said leak has mostly kept my A8 collecting at a standstill for the last few seasons. I have most of the cheaper games I would want anyhow and said Lotharek covers a ton of the impossible to get needs. (One of these days my Amiga needs some work and my Mac iisi has many things on the back burners. Not to mention seeing if its reasonable to get my G5 imac working. Or this and that and such.) But enjoy most of my A8 collection : https://wargamedork.blogspot.com/2017/10/atari-8-bit-computer-collection.html https://wargamedork.blogspot.com/2017/10/atari-8-bit-computer-collection_9.html Vvv Sio slot. Vvv Captain Rufus fucked around with this message at 03:40 on Aug 26, 2019 |
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Aug 26, 2019 02:54
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The Sio2SD cart plugs into the expansion slot instead of the cartridge slot? It looks like it’s only a few dollars more than the flash carts
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Aug 26, 2019 03:24
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Pablo Nergigante posted:The Sio2SD cart plugs into the expansion slot instead of the cartridge slot? It looks like it’s only a few dollars more than the flash carts SIO is the Atari equivalent of USB. All your devices chain through it - floppies, printers, SD card interfaces. I prefer the SIDE2 to the SIO2SD but eh.
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Aug 26, 2019 05:50
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Temple of Apshai is responsible for my lifelong fear of ants and Gemstone Warrior is responsible for my lifelong fear of giant disembodied demon heads.
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Aug 26, 2019 16:13
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