/vr/ - Retro Games

nice

i have recently got a 286 that is nos but it was not packaged properly and i think it got static damaged should i contact that seller? for another one but this time properly packaged??

>>2234071

>i think it got static damaged

Did the seller precised if it was a working article or not? If not, he might have been selling an already dead CPU on purpose or without knowing it, and I wouldn't trust him a second time personally.

>>2234078
yes

>>2234081

Might as well tell him what happened to your CPU then.

>>2234085
i meant 286 based mother board

>>2234103

Oh ok.
Well, I think what I said still applies though.

>>2234137

ok...

High resolution images of someone's Amiga 1000:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/blakespot/sets/72157621596272210/

>>2234619

Noice! Thanks for the link anon.

>>2234619

There's one thing that upsets me in these pics, it's the fact that he put all his floppies next to his monitor, making them suffer in a long agony, before complaining about how floppies are unreliable pieces of crap when he'll discover they're all kill.
Anyway, aside from that, the photos are nice..

>>2234996
Any recommendation how far floppies should be kept away from CRTs and unshielded speakers.

Also my question about what happens if you write on a 5.25" floppy which can't be written on the other side remained unanswered in the previous thread.
Can the other side get corrupted?
Or is this "flippy disk" trick safe to attempt?

>>2234619
And on a related note, the rest of his computers:
http://www.bytecellar.com/photo_pano.html

>>2235052

I'd recommend to put them at least 40 cm away from any monitor/unshielded speaker. Don't worry about then if they're inside a floppy drive though, the shielding and metallic structure of the drive will protect them.

>>2235082

It's a nice collection he have there.

Tons of C64 cracks and demos to download at http://csdb.dk/

The C64 anon from the previous thread here.
My dad said that the company where he works has a shitload of 5.25 floppies (new it seems) and also other old stuff (and sadly a lot of that gets thrashed, or i don't know).
He brought home these ones (for now) and the box is a little damaged, the backside says Made in England.

Also i almost finished the 1541 for now, the fan i put in there started to get a little too noisy for my taste and i will replace it later. Before that i tested a lot of spare chips i had (5x 6502, 12x 6522 and >100 2kbyte SRAM), what failed was a 6502 from Rockwell and 2x SRAM chips from Hitachi made in W. Germany (that was very unexpected).
Today i will test the spare C64 chips by using certain SIDs and test programs and patterns.
Then i will start replacing the video and audio output drivers with opamps after i recorded some references for comparsion.

>>2237028

>"Reliable and durable" written on the box

Man I'd love to still be able to find floppies like this. Now even the "100% tested error free" might not be true.

Anyway, having non-working West german chips is weird, most of the time, you guys make rock-solid stuff (my best 00s floppies are Fugifilm ones made in Germany, and I never had any problems with them).

>>2237060
>Now even the "100% tested error free" might not be true.
I tested one. Works perfect.

>having non-working West german chips is weird
Yes, quite disheartening.
Trust me, i even applied some solder on the pins to give them a better connection to the socket. As i had to reseat many SRAM chips multiple times to get them working (used an old precision dil socket). Each chip was tested one at the time, and i read the directory of my copied test disk to verify that the chip works for a few minutes. I spent 5 hours testing all chips that fit in there, but now i know what works and what doesn't.

Also using some diagnostic programs.
This one:
http://csdb.dk/release/?id=75835
Gives me the same errors as you can see in the screenshot (it's animated), should i worry about this?

>>2237097
>I tested one. Works perfect.

Great! Have fun with them.

>I spent 5 hours testing all chips that fit in there, but now i know what works and what doesn't.

Well, I guess sometimes it happens. Too bad though.

>Gives me the same errors as you can see in the screenshot (it's animated), should i worry about this?

Well, now that's weird, you've been using floppies perfectly until now, but then it says the serial bus is bad. I don't know what to think about it, really. Why not try it again?

>>2237028
>after i recorded some references for comparsion.
So i tested the 2 spare VIC-II i found recently.
The one that came with my C64 is 6569R3 2084 (left), the 2 i found are R3 1585 (middle) and R5 0989 (right).
The capture device i used is STK1160 with modified drivers for better quality (only mine), what you see are the raw screenshots from S-Video in the BT.601 ratio.
I made a shot of the good old BASIC screen, a few patterns from TESTBILD V2.1 and the diagnostic program i mentioned here:>>2237097.

>>2237447
While BASIC doesn't seem to look that different, but this one sure does.

On the previous thread i mentioned my theory why modern TVs show the C64 S-Video with some sort of checkerboard pattern.
It's all about the odd habit that modern video equipment has. They demodulate the chroma they get and remodulate again and substract that perfect sinewave against their source (which is not always a sinewave, especially with /vr/) and take that result and subtract it from luma for what reason ever. On S-Video it makes everything more worse, on composite it may produces a good picture or one with a lot of "jail bars".
On my KV-C2521D which has S-Video support on SCART 2 i see only faint "jail bars" which are still more visible than my NES.
I'm sure this is all because a single transistor does not make a good video amplifier in my experience, a high frequency OpAmp intended for video signals with a very very small phase shift makes an insanely good video amplifier.

I made a really REALLY shitty C shell for DOS

wwww

who wants to see it?

Some music nice computer music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrcG7D4dvyE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSBP2QsZTzw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufOZ-_1DZQ0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7R25sVncQA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stX6xlpyBh8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAmagL8T8Tg

>>2237465
Now i tested the spare SIDs i found.
6581R2 is dead, it makes the typical burp at power up and that's it. It also gets hot very quick.
The 8580R5 works and this is the setup.
Extra 9V supply attached to pin 28 and ground, 2 10nF capacitors attached parallel to the original 470pF ones.
Audio is very noisy because of the long wires.

>>2238987
I loaded SIDPLAY64.
I'm quite impressed how good this one sounds on non digisound SIDs.
Much better than the 8580 from SOASC and jsidplay.
Could it be the difference between 22nF and 10+10+0,47=20,47nF?

>>2239003
>Much better than the 8580 from SOASC and jsidplay.

Is it possible to have an audio comparison?

>>2239760
Sorry, already stored that one away.
I like to call that setup: "The accident that waits for it's chance."
Doing dangerous (mostly for the equipment) experiments without fucking it up is something i start getting good at.
If the 9V clip slipped off and made contact with anything else than ground then my C64 would be toast but that didn't happened, i just tested that SID for about 15 minutes only and doing anything beyond testing wasn't part of my plan.

Maybe later i will put that chip either in some sort of HW SID player or install it in my C64 and make switchable between 6581 and 8580.

>>2239814
>install it in my C64 and make switchable between 6581 and 8580.

The switchable SIDs is a good idea.

>>2234019
Here's my little story.

I remember when I was 12 or so the first computer or gaming system of any sort we got was this thing my mother called an IBM clone. No clue at all what it actually was, but some friend of the family gave us a bunch of disks with games on them. I thought most were garbage, even back then but there was Jumpman and this weird thing that was like PacMan but in super simple first person perspective.

Then there was this other game, this weird little dungeon explorer that I thought was the coolest thing in the world. Even compared to Jumpman it looked really simple, just ascii characters and letters. But every time you went in, the whole dungeon and all the items were different and it was hard and scary as fuck. I would find a scroll, read it and just hear maniacal laughter in the distance. Then inevitably an Ibis or a Kestral or something would find me and slaughter me. I felt accomplished in any run where I could even make it to the second floor. But ohh how I loved it and I would play for hours at a time.

The game of course, was Rogue and very famous. But I had no idea back then and for many years I just thought it was some weird random game like the others that was largely unknown and forgotten by anyone. It was only in the mid 00's that I discovered it not only wasn't forgotten but had spawned an incredible genre all on it's own.

>>2241646
>this weird thing that was like PacMan but in super simple first person perspective.

MIDI War/Maze War/somethine like that?

Anyway, nice story anon. Do you still play roguelikes nowadays?

>>2242743
I couldn't remember at all so I went digging and found it! The game was called 3Demon. This was it, not a great game but back then I thought it was super impressive.

I do play roguelikes now, I haven't gotten very into any of the really big complex ones like ADoM or IVAN though mostly because of a lack of time. It took me almost two years to really get good at POWDER which is one of my favorites because it's a straight dungeon crawl like Rogue was but with some really interesting systems.

I also really, really like Shiren the Wanderer. It was great after playing the DS port to go back and play the Super Famicom version and have even nastier surprises.

>>2243213
Ha, I used to play that!

>>2243231
I'm glad someone else out there has!

>>2243213

Wow, this game look neat! I didn't knew about it. Thanks anon, I'll give it a try

>>2243213

Have you tried (Net)Hack and Castle of the Winds?

>>2234019
Atari ST needs to get support for MESS Emulator. same for the BBC Micro, Electron, and CPC Amstrad.

>>2245853
>Atari ST needs to get support for MESS Emulator. same for the BBC Micro, Electron, and CPC Amstrad.

There are some nice emulators for the ST and CPC out there, like, these two machines are far from being unknown (the ST was the most popular 16bit computer in Europe). I don't understand why MESS wouldn't support them.

>>2248212
mess primarily emulates hardware that have some sort of similarity to arcade hardware, since the architecture is so close

>>2248226
that is, first they tried emulating the arcade versions of nes and genesis games and someone thought, why not expand that to the actual consoles. And then mess was born.

>>2248226
>>2248235

Both the ST and the CPC use a CPU that was used in countless arcade games (MC68k for the former, Z80 for the later), the same soundchip (AY-3-8910), and both received countless arcade ports too, so it's still surprising to find out that MESS don't support them correctly (according to the other anon).

>>2245853
>>2248212
>>2248226
>>2248235
>>2249739
are you stupid or trolling. just wondering

>>2245825
Nethack is one of the ones I've delved into a little bit more than the others. Castle of the Winds I've never even tried but keep meaning to.

>>2237659
show me

>>2252128
http://iichan.hk/b/src/1424693361872.jpg
http://iichan.hk/b/src/1424693091559.png

It works in both DOS and UNIX

it is very minimalistic and stuff
and not really ready yet it is a huge WiP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zic9t81Lkyo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFpKVEqWKG4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3zkOkBPrkw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng8_7d0fRf4
I like the PC version of this one, though some of the sprite animations seems to be missing.

>>2241646
You were lucky. All I had was a card-maker program to play with in DOS, along with Win 3.11 games.

This page reference a bunch of French Amstrad CPC fanzines from the 80s and early 90s, many of them also include vidya tests (in French though), cheat codes and BASIC listings:
http://amstrad.eu/modules/xplorer/index.php?action=list&dir=Mags%2FFanzines&order=name&srt=yes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_XNdQDJi0o

I just love how Game Arts implemented speech synthesis with an FM synth chip. Too bad this routine wasn't used on the PC version. at least it has some great MT-32 versions of the various tunes.

Man, FireHawk sure look like shit in MCGA 256 color mode compared to the EGA 16 color mode.

I have a buddy with a IBM AT that I fixed for him. It had a seized hard drive head it even has that awesome mechanical keyboard with the removable cable

>>2241451
Yes, but it will be hard to have these switchable and heatsinked.
I'm also not interested to apply solder to them, and i'm not sure how construct this at all.

My attempt to improve the sound of the SID was quite a success, it doesn't sound radically different but the high frequencies (about >5khz) are little louder than before and overall it does sounds better if i play older recording on one channel and the newer on the other channel. The newer recording will always have more 'depth' compared to the older one.
I used a LF356 as voltage follower and 100 ohms as output resistance.
Changing the audio input circuit to that what the earlier C64 used (100nF to ground, 1µF AC coupling) has reduced background noise a little.

If someone wants these 18 recordings, tell me where to upload and which format (stored them in WAV, i have too much free HDD space).


Now i went through the effort to replace the video amplifiers with 2 quite expensive AD810 video opamps.
It was worth it.

>>2260176
Now this is the same 6569R5 as in >>2237447

The vertical lines are worse in composite but i have idea for that:
http://oms.wmhost.com/misc/VIC-II_internal_interference.gif

There's that trick to invert the source signal of the interference and add it to the video signal to cancel it out. It will be tricky to do that on my opamps as the inverting input is very sensitive.

I also forgot to turn off the chroma shift setting in these (need that for my other capture device), also the Automatic Gain Control (AGC) in my capture device was on and might influenced the real difference.

The reason why this is brighter is because i paid attention to the AGC of my capture and kept turning it on and off to see how well the video levels are set, an oscilloscope would saved me that trouble.

>>2260193
I observed that my SID warms up to around 40°C while the rest stays about 30°C.
So, i went full /g/ and added a tiny ass fan next to the SID. It's very quiet because it runs of 5V.
The only thing i don't like is that i have to use a pullup resistance of 193ohms to get the luma signal right (470ohms and 330ohms in parallel), the preliminary datasheet mentions 390ohms and what's often used is 470ohms.
I have a not so great feeling about this.

The first dumb thing i did about the video amp was to use the unregulated 9V like the original modulator, this was beyond retarded as it has a strong 100hz ripple. So i added 4700µF parallel to the original 2200µF one because... i don't know.

>>2260214
those caps look like they're ready to pop.

hey /vr/

I know this is pretty firmly out of the scope of this thread but since it isn't a smartphone or gaming PC build, /g/ doesn't know how to help me with this and I've got nowhere else to ask

I can't install graphics drivers on NT4 on this 770X, the video features diskette said they installed correctly but when I rebooted, it was still using the generic VGA driver. I tried reinstalling them and now it throws an IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL bluescreen unless I run it in safemode (which still doesn't work)

Anyone else here running NT4 on a 7 series Thinkpad that might know what's going on with this thing? I really don't want to waste this hardware on 9x.

>>2261141

Google it you fucker.

Make sure more than one device isn't tired to the same interrupt register address [IRQ]

>>2261193
You could have just answered the question you big, dumb jerk.

>>2261193

I did, there's not really a lot of documentation on this problem, I've certainly never seen it on other NT installations.

Just figured someone here might know.

>>2261141

Just start over by un-installing all video card drivers that aren't the generic VGA one. Reinstall the laptop's driver, after rebooting and all the stuff, go in the resolution properties, go in the advanced menu, check the graphic card tab, if it's still Generic VGA, go in the modify menu, and select the one you're actually using.

>>2261216

I didn't think of that, but how exactly would it work? It doesn't show the controller in the modify menu currently either after installation.

I'll still try it out tomorrow, thanks m8

>>2261202

You googled IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL?

>>2261415

Yes. It's easily one of the most common errors you will experience on NT-based operating systems.

did it again anyway though and I'm starting to wonder if the video features diskette stored on the PC BBS mirror is just shitty, even though that doesnt make any sense

>>2261869

alright what the fuck, decided to try a different, newer issue of the video driver and it didn't work either, it gives me the expected "invalid display settings" message on startup when you install a new driver but I'm still stuck in 640x480x16

It's like it's refusing to recognize I installed the driver at all, even though it's all there.

doesn't throw an IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL if you try to reinstall outside of safe mode though, so that's cool, the other one must have also been shitty.

at this point I probably should just install 98, fuck

>>2260176
>If someone wants these 18 recordings, tell me where to upload and which format (stored them in WAV, i have too much free HDD space).

Thanks anon.
Is it possible to upload them in FLAC?

>>2260214
My original plan to feed the interfering signals to the inverting input was quite a failure, it was prone to catch electromagnetic fields from my CRT and i encountered a problem that didn't made any sense: A bare 470kohm resistor didn't seemed to pass the signal while the same resistor in my resistor dial did and i measured in both the correct value, the same weirdness happened with 330kohm.

Time for plan B: Invert these signals with an 74HC14 and couple them via a 2,2Kohm trimmer to the point between the diode that goes to Luma pin of the VIC-II and the pullup resistor. At least this method worked for some people.

>>2263879
Yes, i can convert them.
These are not cut at all, they have a pause varying from 2-30 seconds at the beginning and may repeat a few times.

savage,2.wav
savage,3.wav
alternative fuel.wav
lemmings 2 themes.wav
robocop2,10.wav
robocop2,8.wav
shades.wav
to be on top,1.wav
to be on top,12.wav
to be on top,4.wav
to be on top,7.wav
great gianna sisters,3.wav
turrican2,1.wav
turrican2,2.wav
turrican2,3.wav
shadow warriors.wav
sidtest.wav (the test program)
poke54296,15.wav (testing background noise)

Now tell me where i should upload these.

>>2264292
>Now tell me where i should upload these.

Why not on some mediafire?

I've been trying to make a PC-88 emulator work for hours and I've been unsuccesful. Windows 7, using M88. Already got the pseudo BIOS, and generated kanji1 and 2 roms, and put all of them in the emulator. This is the screen I get, I can't type anything, and trying to load a game doesn't work. Could anyone give me some help? There's a japanese website that said with just this stuff I should be able to emulate succesfully, but that's not the case. Also, when I try to execute in compatibility mode, it gives me weird errors.

>>2265019

Check in the Configure menu, Dip-SW tab if the emulator is in terminal or BASIC mode, and if the FDD boot is in auto instead of disabled.
If it still doesn't work, then ROM files do you have? You should have at least a "How many Files (0-15)? " prompt when starting up.
You might as well try PC88win if nothing seems to work.

>>2265147
I tried putting the files of an unnoficial M88 build in the emulator folder and it worked, but thanks anyway.

How do you guys play older games without old hardware? I've run into issues from having a cpu that's clocked too fast making the games run fast. I tried using a vm and throttling the core assigned to it but that didn't work.

>>2264292
Plan B worked, good enough for now but i'm close to finish the C64.

Fully removing vertical lines in the luma output of the VIC-II is impossible, so converting it (back) to a digital signal in weird way as in taking advantage that the VIC can only output a few distinct luma voltage levels (6 or 10 depending on revision) and then converting this perfect number back to analogue voltage separate from the VIC.
I could design such a ADC based on many comparators that must be adjusted, but i need 9 of them fast enough (>8mhz) and the rest is logic that involves the pixel clock and a (most likely weird) DAC that outputs the right voltage. Maybe a linear 6-8bit DAC driven by some sort of fast ROM.
Maybe i do this in the future.

>>2264989
I just wanted to give you a choice.
See pic.

This board's antispam system is quite effective at pissing me off.

>>2266102

There's DOSBox that is an emulator of a PC-XT/AT DOS machine. The CPU speed is adjustable and the most important soundcards are emulated too.

>>2266294

Thanks, downloading now.

>>2266294
Finally done, now i have to redraw the circuit plan with that i build.

See the color bands?
This is how it could look on a crappy modern TV.
The capture card driver doesn't enable the anti-alias filter by default and i have to do this manually.

>>2267530
And this is how it looks with the filter enabled.
There's some very high frequency (about >8mhz) noise in the chroma signal which i tried to filter as much as possible without sacrificing picture quality.
This is also how it looks on my huge Trinitron with S-Video support, only the vertical lines are even less noticeable.

Compare this to:>>2260193

>>2267534
Here are the colors.
I also shifted the chroma signal in this shot.

>>2267543
Composite on KV-M1420D.
There are slight thin vertical lines here which aren't in the S-Video signal (and they don't match up with RAS or CAS signals), i highly assume these come from the chroma output of the VIC-II.

>>2267563
S-Video on KV-C2521D.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpA0IMcRoBA

Has the C64 OPLL add-on ever seen any practical use on the C64 music scene? Seeing what both chips are capable ton it could be nice to hear some SID + OPL song coming from this computer.

>go to industrial surplus store
>generally meh shit
>see some 128Ds on a printer cart
>fucking finally (been looking for one forever)
>"how much for one of these?"
>"uhhh.... $30?"
>"I'll sleep on it"
>"w-wait, I'll sell you all that commodore shit for $60, all of it"
>"how about $50?"
>"yeah fuck it just take them, please"

I-I just came in for some manuals and now I have six C64s and two 128Ds, and god knows how many 1541s.

Neither of the 128s came with keyboards, though, are there any good resellers of Commodore peripherals that don't cost an arm and a fucking leg to buy from?

>>2270706

Even without keyboards, it's a really nice find. As for C128D keyboards, sorry but nobody seems to have it. Your best chance to find one is to lurk on ebay and well known biding websites for one of em.

>>2271082

Ayy lmao

I found you can buy an adapter that allows you to use a PS/2 keyboard, but it burns my autism.

this lot had like every fucking peripheral you could order out of the back of a magazine for these shitboxes (joysticks, touchpad, modems, a CMD RAMLink module that apparently is some pretty good shit, thank god they didn't look it up) yet no keyboards, I wonder if they had them but forgot to give them to me.

>>2271262
>I found you can buy an adapter that allows you to use a PS/2 keyboard, but it burns my autism.

Not only that, there's also some keys that aren't present on PC keyboards (though they can be replaced by other PC keyboard keys, unlike other kinds of keyboards like the Sharp X1 and X68000 one), or some of the present keys won't give the right characters.

http://retropc.net/x68000/

This is a nice source of sharp x68000 softs and drivers.

dunno if /vr/ cares, but here's one (or I guess two) of the C64s I got in the lot

At least it's somewhat comforting to know that I will never, EVER run out of 1541s in my lifetime if I don't want to.

>>2271306

yeah, I guess I'm going to have to stick it out or go beg on VC forums or something. ;_;

>tfw I'll never find a CMD-20 or other authentic hard disk system for it either

>>2273162

>>tfw I'll never find a CMD-20 or other authentic hard disk system for it either

Even back then no one ever saw one of these, the best thing you might to is use a 3 FDD setup for each machine.

>>2274353

I wonder how difficult it would be to just mount an old 40/80 MB IDE hard disk in one of these things if I ever find a keyboard for it. I guess it would be authentic enough since these things were still selling while IDE was gaining popularity in PCs.

>>2275208

Old C=64 Harddrives were SASI drives (an ancestor of SCSI) coupled with a floppy to SASI interface and a ROM with the routines to handle both.

Today, the best thing you can do is check how to use old MFM HDDs on a C64 (I know that the 1580 drives are MFM, so I think replacing a failing 5"1/4 drive by pic related in one of these might do the thing), or just check IDE64 on this link :
http://www.ide64.org/

>>2275815

The link you gave me was what I was thinking of. if I could somehow implement it inside of the system, but I guess I could always just build my own external hard disk enclosure to match it. I found this http://members.optusnet.com.au/spacetaxi64/PC-HARDWARE/CIA-IDE-HD/CIA-IDE-HD.html but it apparently only works with GEOS, which I guess is okay, I was planning on running GEOS on it anyway.

>so I think replacing a failing 5"1/4 drive by pic related in one of these might do the thing

I don't think it would, at least it definitely wouldn't work with PC compatibles where MFM disks require a dedicated controller.

That would definitely please the fuck out of my autism if I could fit an ST-225 in one of these, though.

>>2276437

Yeah, having an IDE case à la SCSI tower could be a nice little project.
Anyway, what o you plan to get before finding a C=128 keyboard? getting a Commodore 1701 monitor or the like?

>>2276728

>getting a Commodore 1701 monitor or the like?

definitely, something like a 1902 would probably be the best, or at least some kind of professional-looking RCA composite monitor. I think I'm gonna try and go full autism on this one.

speaking of autism, I got bored and decided to try doing a mockup of an IDE enclosure based on a 1571, I definitely like this idea better than just mounting one in the case.

now if only I could find a busted 1571, a clean workspace and some motivation

>>2276812

It look noice, good luck with this project.

Anyway, some retro computer music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RuDUvmvzdk
Is there any dutch folk lurking this thread? I know that the MSX was pretty popular in your country and that Philips made some pretty good models and peripherals, but how expensive are these? It's possible to find cheap MSX computers in japan, importing hardware there is asking to be raped in the ass with a drill by the customs.

Does anyone here have experience dual booting two old OSs such as these? Say I wanted to put a C64 OS alongside amigaDOS - Should I just use Gparted to make the partitions? Any advice is much appreciated
C64 OSs: http://www.lyonlabs.org/commodore/onrequest/collections.html

>>2278490
>Say I wanted to put a C64 OS alongside amigaDOS

M8, the Amiga and the Commodore 64 are two different architectures. You can't run any of these two on the same machine, let alone both on a PC..

>>2278501
ok now I'm going to go learn how emulators work, because they can run C64 on a PC. very interesting, thanks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up863eQKGUI

Did hear you right? Did I hear you sayin' that you gonna make a copy of a game without payin' ?

>>2234019
My first computer.

Best games, Number Muncher, Oregon Trail, Cross Country Canada.

>>2280471

Noice, is it in a working condition?

Can someone tell me about the limitations of PC graphics circa 1990? I played lots of DOS games as a kid and I want to make an RPG with a similar aesthetic and presentation to Ultima 4-7, but more intuitive controls (and my own plot/mechanics). What were the color and screen resolution limitations?

>>2282096
Many of those games had an option in the config for EGA/CGA/VGA graphics, depending on what your hardware looked like. If you aren't familiar with what those mean, look them up.

Also, 320x240 graphics. But I'm not so sure you'd want to actually make something in that resolution, given that modern monitors won't display it.

>>2282115
>320x240
I'll just make it 640x480 with all the sprites made at half-size then scaled up. Then if someone plays fullscreen it will keep the same aspect ratio and leave black bars on the sides if necessary. Should be able to do it in a way that leaves the sprites looking blocky rather than smearing the lines together.

Now I just need to look into EGA/CGA/VGA. Thanks.

>>2282096
>>2282120

If I were you I'd be trying to imitate the 16 colors @ 640*200 EGA mode, or maybe the 16 color 640*480 VGA one, it would allow you to fit more informations on screen than a simple 320*240 screen.

Bought an Atari ST that powers on but no monitor, where can I get a cheap CGA monitor?

>>2282391
>Bought an Atari ST that powers on but no monitor, where can I get a cheap CGA monitor?

The ST don't output Digital RGB, but analog RGB. Where do you live? If you're in yurop, your best bet is to find an ST to RGB SCART cable so you could hook it up to a TV. On the other hand, if you're in NA, you'd better find an Atari SC1224 monitor or you'll have to find some kind of RF modulator if you want colors.

>>2283168
Might just get the SC1224 if I can find it at a decent price

What's the newest computer that can run games from the mid-80s without emulating? ~1985 is the earliest I care about but I also like some games from the early to mid 1990s. Basically I want a single machine that, without dosbox or anything, can run every game made for DOS or one of the windows versions built on DOS, on the best settings that were available in the games themselves. Is that doable?

>>2283486

Between 1985 and 1995 there's a huge power gap, but I think a 286-based machine should be enough for most games up to 1991~2.

>>2283653
You really want at least a 386 machine, for compatibility with 32-bit games.

>>2283686

Wont many games run too fast on a 386 though? The other anon asked for a computer that could run DOS games from the mid 80s to the early/mid 90s.

>>2283857
Moslo is an easy app to reduce speed if needed

No reason not to have p200 or whatever you can get as long as you still have isa slots, Intel is backwards compatible forever, just dial up the moslo and get your Isa graphics/sound card.

>>2283871
>Intel is backwards compatible forever.
So I could get a modern computer with an Intel processor and dual-boot into FreeDOS and be able to play all my vidya through to today with no problem?

>>2283871

>moslo

It does slowdown games, but don't solve all problems caused by the excessive CPU speed though.

>>2283903
>be able to play all my vidya through to today with no problem?

Even with slowdown programs it's not possible. Also, most of the hardware will remain unrecognized by all the games

>>2283486

From athlon XP\pentium 4 and below you are ok for the CPU, you can use cpugrab to make it as slow as you want.

An invidia 5700 or ati 9700pro for the GPU and 512mb of ram.

>>2283936

CPUgrab slowdown every aspect of the cpu, with that you can actually play anything you want.

>>2284127
>>2284134

Still no soundcard support though, unless you have a PCI Soundblaster Live! or Ensoniq PCI, but those still have some incompatibilities with various DOS games and poor Adlib support.

>>2234019
Who still likes this guy?

>>2284178

I both had a motherboard with AC'97 and nforce 2 midi driver in the past.
Never had a problem with those, now i use an old motherboard with nforce 2 and everything works under general midi and soundblaster.

>>2284281
I fucking love king graham he's jacked. Not gay but totally mirin hahah.

>>2270706
D-do you want to sell one of those spare c64's?
I love my CoCo 3, but its got no games.

>>2285016
>D-do
I eagerly await the day when people stop doing this.

>>2285016
>I love my CoCo 3, but its got no games.

It can run OS9 though, and OS9 must have a bunch of games, at least some ports of other terminal-based unix games.

>>2285190
What, the capital letter, or the fake stutter?
If its the capital letter, then it was an accident from my phone.
if its the stutter, then 性交あなた

>>2285863
>WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! SOMEONE DOESN'T LIKE MY SHITTY MEME!

Fuck off, you fucking /v/irgin scum.

>>2285915
ok, I'll get right on that.

>>2284281
I kinda do. He's very 'vanilla' in personnality.
There's not many lead characters like that anymore, they're all badass or too cool.

Also I'm not into many series, so please prove me wrong.

>>2285863
1. having a trash 80
2. calling a trash 80 a coco
3. fake stutter
4. pointless fake stutter
5. cap in fake stutter
In that order

>>2267534

First rate job, poster.

>>2286214
>fake stutter and pointless fake stutter 2 separate things

What scenarios can you envision where a fake stutter would have a point?

http://m.ebay.com/itm/251844365399?nav=SEARCH

Is this a decent price? Being a huge fan of soviet computers and DEC, this has been on my list for a long time. How common are they? I might buy it regardless.

>>2286214

Thought the fake stutter is annoying, I don't get what 's wrong with having a TRS-80 CoCo. TRS-80 computers are freaking sexy

>>2286761
I had a CoCo as a kid. Shit was so cash.

>>2284967
Tiny shoulders

>>2267569
I just received my Action Replay cartridge.
It has a 27C256 EPROM (i peeled the sticker a little off) which i dumped and has a custom logic chip which isn't that what i really wanted. Oh well at least i don't have to wait very long for my floppy disks now, and i may save or pause whenever i want it.
The dump matches with "Action_Replay_V4.2_4.0_1988_PAL_v2" from rr.c64.org , they mention that all ROMs have certain software bugs.
I would like to know them and if there's any kind of fix/patch/hack for these.

I also improved the transformer in my 1541, if it was supposed to buzz loudly when it got hot after few hours of operation.
My first attempt with covering both primary and secondary windings with hotglue worked very good just when it was liquid but as soon it dried the transformer just buzzed half as loud.
Putting little cardbox strips between iron core and the frame eliminated the buzzing completely.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MZcjCxTFvA

>>2280423
>one program for one computer

reminds me, I had a friend who bought like 4 copies of a piece of software because he had 4 computers, and would buy new ones for every computer he bought. He had like 6 copies of a game and refused to give them out to people because he thought it was illegal. He also thought resellers were illegal.

>>2286987
I like how 30 years ago, F1 teams had little rom programmers like that for programming the super early onboard computers for racing cars. All of which was horribly expensive. Now people keep them around for coding video game stuff.

>>2273162
>Running retro computers on a LCD
>>Or even worse, a modern LCD TV

Disgusting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry01BJMTNyg

hey guys not sure if theres a "whats this game" thread?

i used to play this game when i was a kid where you were driving a train and shooting stuff at the same time, it was sci fi set in the future and you had to take the right turns using keyboard while shooting stuff down with the joystick, it was windows 95 days and the game had heaps of CD's and shot cutscenes?

I like how amazon treats some retro things as if they were brand new products. Also bought Ultima V this way.

>>2291950

Yeah, thing is definitely nice when the items are sold at a decent price.

>>2291950
Hope those were stored well, not a bad price if they're in perfect condition

>>2280526
I fires up but does not display. Somebody just suggested a fix for it the other day but I can't remember what they said to replace. I was just going to replace the output card. I had a second one somewhere, maybe at my dads house.

>>2292515

I see. Good luck with that one.
I think it could be a good idea to keep the failing card just in case, and maybe try to repair it on of these days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gZ0vvJUj2M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLSa6aKIdIs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adOr76TzHL0

This is my kaypro 2. It took me months to build one from 4 non working kaypros. I even installed a fan from a kaypro 4, so the z80s wouldn't overheat.

I have over 80 discs with software for it, and about 8 games.

>>2293703

Man, these CP/M boxes sure are sexy. Do you have any more photo of the beast?

>>2293709

>>2293758

Thanks goy the photos anon!
Is he stuff next to the kaypro a bunch of video tapes and floppies? I'd advise not to leave it too close from the monitor.

>>2294021

>goy

OY VEY! IT'S ANODDAH SHOAH!!!

>>2294021
They are just blanks. I keep my program discs underneath.

>>2294178

Oh I see. Anyway, have fun with it, it looks like a nice little machine to own.

Is there anything worse than inflated eBay prices? What the fuck are people thinking pricing shit 286/386 boxes at like 100 dollars? No one will ever buy that unless they're so hideously uninformed it'd be immoral to take their money. I bet we'll start to see "vintage" P4 boxes pop up for like 100-200 dollars each. Honestly its more fun and less expensive to find computers out in the wild, unless they're foreign things, but even then a trip to that country could even be justified for the amount you'd save not going through eBay

>>2295234
>I bet we'll start to see "vintage" P4 boxes pop up for like 100-200 dollars each.
It wouldn't surprise me either, as they're already considered to be "retro" by some people.

Anyway, some more nice CP/M box:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-xoC5zRjjE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxVbRz6udmI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbxODtT8hMk

Some nice Amiga OCS demo made this year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwkvHeRObmo

Man, 5'1/4 floppy drives sure are sexy.

>>2285016

There's Silpheed on Coco m8.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5J0Ep6lEM6E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N7rT7BMMEk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcT0GVL4VpY

>>2302815

>>2303891

Keep going guise. There are some picture-frame goodness in this thread

If I wanted to talk about the Elite fanport on the GBA, would this be an okay place to do it? Or should I make a new thread for it?
The conversation in question would be geared more towards how to play this damn game, because now that Dangerous is out, that's the only thing Google will give me when I look for information.

>>2305898
Hi Anon, could you tell me how I could play this damn game on my DMG?

>>2305924
No, but there is this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFEtHJYs3mo

>>2305924
The only way to play the DEMO as far as I know is to download the rom and then play it via a flash cartridge.

>>2305898

Well, if it's mainly focused on the game itself and not the way you get to make it work, why not? It was release on so many computers after all.

>>2291950
Same guy, this came and they were bloody 3.5 floppies. MASSIVELY disappointed to say the least. I'm not sure if I can get a refund but seriously clearly says 5.25 and shows 5.25

>>2307187
>some guy requests a refund because he wanted software on 5 and a quarter inch floppies not 3 and a half inch floppies in 2015

Might make the guy who processes your request's day

>>2307187

I think that you can get a refund, as you didn't have the version that was described by the product's title.

Best way to play rogue-likes.

>>2310040
What's the recessed bit to the left of the keyboard?

>>2310076
Dip switches to set serial port parameters etc.

>>2310076

They're Dipswitches used for the terminal configuration, like older PCs used them for BIOS parameters.

>>2234019
Looking to get into retro computer games.
If I want a balance of price, hardware, and many games, where should I start?

>>2295234
>see single generic 286 box for sale on ebay for 75+56 shipping
>the very next day I'm hunting around in a new town for surplus stores and people getting rid of old computers
>someone offers me an entire pallet of the exact same computer for 50 dollars if I can transport it
>40 of them
>Ask how much he wants for 5 because I don't want 40 fucking computers, not even for parts
>He just gives them to me

We're in a golden age right where people still have these old 286/386/486 machines and want to get rid of them. In a few years P4 boxes will take their place, a few years after that the computers of today.

>>2310040
I don't know, I played Rogue and Hack on my friends VT420 connected to an Alpha box and it was probably the comfiest thing I've ever experienced. Convinced me to buy one as soon as I buy the HOTAS I've been saving up for.

Someone on facebook has just offered to sell me two Sun SPARCstation 5 servers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPARCstation_5
I have literally no idea what I could possibly use them for. So I figured I'd ask here to see if any of you know. Or, if anyone is interested in buying it, I'll pick them up and ship it to you.

>>2311317

Wasn't talking about this terminal model specifically (though this keyboard is perfect for many Unix games, the keys used for direction in these and VI have arrows printed on them), I own a VT-420 too (got it for free, industry decommission), and think it's a really nice way to play this kind of games

hey guys, I found something you might be interested in.
Team Amiga's The Death Bed Vigil Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5QKnGTEiJo
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSsutXRyjLQ

>>2311505
Those are actually workstations, not servers. They were used mostly for scientific research and 3D animation, and just so you know, aren't useful for gaming at all. Could be interesting to play around with if he just wants to get rid of it and isn't asking top dollar. Though I'm not sure if I would want to pay the high shipping costs.

>>2291950
Off topic, but why do you have a Dortmund crest on the statusbar?

>>2299220
>5'1/4 floppy drives
>5 foot, 3 inch floppies

>>2311312
>few years after that the computers of today

Unfortunatelly - no. There will be next to none working "computers of today" around 2020-25. The quality of manufacturing of todays computer parts is complete shit when compared with 80s. Then, the were made to last and be relatively easy repaired.
Today, thay are made to fail and are impossible to repair. All this of course to force user to buy a new shit for bigger price.

>>2311773
that looks more like pantshenge

>>2311773

Close enough

>>2311689
>>2311505
also, now that I think about it, do you know if the thing actually works or not? I've read that they were prone to over heating and frying themselves out.

>>2311774
god, what a boatload of ignorance. The computers of today are just as easy to upgrade and repair than older computers, it's just that most people that use them aren't technologically inclined so they do not know how, and that is what manufactures rely on.

>>2311776
that's nothing compared to early hard drives

>>2311774

>The quality of manufacturing of todays computer parts is complete shit when compared with 80s

Not really, it's just that most taiwanese piece of shit made in the 80s are dead, so only the good ones are still available.

When did you guys last play Shufflepuck Cafe?

>>2312294

Never I've read somewhere that the game have been released on Amiga, and it happens that i own one, it this game worth downloading?

>>2312307
Heh, I actually had it for Amiga, and it was a really good version. It's worth playing, but you know, it's shufflepuck. But it has a nice cast of opponents all with different behaviour, and you can tinker with paddle sizes and obstacles a bit.

It has charm, for sure.

>>2312342

I see. I guess I'll give it a try someday.

>>2311810

Everything that was computer-related was huge back then though, maybe these PDP-1 vector monitor excepted.

Yuropean demo groups made some really nice music disks on MSX:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk64iGUWFBY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-AESYZQEH4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egtcht90Fyw

>>2316629

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z27a9tXlnz4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxUCW1Aosxo

>>2285016

>19 days ago

uh, oh well

I'm actually planning on clearing a bunch of shit this summer (pic and filename related) but

>selling/paypalling shit on an anonymous imageboard

sounds 3sketchy, do people sell gear a lot on here? how does it usually work out?

>>2285190
>>2285915
>>2286214

are you that same autist from the old /g/ retro threads that would whine at memeposting and computers he didn't like?

>>2288659

I'm trying to source a shitty woodgrain TV for a maximum poorfag experience but thrift stores don't have them now that I actually want one, I was just testing it to see if it works.

I wonder if my destitute Amiga composite monitor still turns on

>>2293703

thanks for reminding me about my dead one you nigger, I have too many projects

I think the floppy drive is broken or at least dirty. Mine came with a shitload of software too.

that's some seriously nice shit though, jealous tbh

>>2319808

That's a nice machine collection, too bad this filename make it look like a funeral scene.

>sounds 3sketchy, do people sell gear a lot on here? how does it usually work out?

I personally never bough/sold stuff from someone here, but there was this time I sent workbench floppies to a fellow Amiga owner in need -- he basically gave me an email address and we continued the discussion privately. I think it would be the same when it comes to selling stuff.
Anyway, if you do it, don't forget to hide the fact that your email address is an email address, or just use a garbage address if you're afraid of what will happen to it if the wrong kind of anon (or a bot) happens to be here at the wrong time.

Anyone else remember the BRE software catalog? They were a little company based in Fresno I think, and they printed out this booklet on cheap newspaper-quality paper, and it was just filled with a list of hundreds and hundreds of disks you could order, mostly random indie games and partial programming projects and other obscure software pieces. You'd find like, all kinds of random college kids' rogue/nethack variants and some guy's new paint program and patched versions of GEM/TOS and weird half-finished unreleased games that are so rare they don't even exist on the internet. It was just a treasure trove of weird shit.

>>2321756

Yeah, many article of the times talked about that kind of catalogs, like mail-order Public Domain catalogs for example.

>>2323383
Everytime I see this particular ad.

These girls are pure win.

Then I realize this is 2015 and I was born when that picture was taken.

:-(

>>2321041
>tfw you will never have glorious MSX because you are poor and live in the US

based captain comic.
Dad had some coworkers who put this on a floppy.

>>2323383

>>2323390
Your mom looked just like that until you ruined her body.

>>2323434

I'd get that jacket.

>>2325113

>>2324309
A Mindscape Members Only jacket? Hell yeah!

>>2326041

Thta's the kind of stuff you'd wear while playing Uninvited on an Amiga 2000 or Machintosh 512k.

>>2278382
*lurk* *lurk*
The community over at msx.org should be able to give a more accurate estimate. I suspect you can get a decent set for a few dozen euro, for the more popular models.

Personally I'd recommend something MSX2 or up, like the NMS8245 or the NMS8250/8255/8280 models, though the drives of the former ones tend to fail.

>>2278382
See pictures
>>2316629
>>2318893

Also not posting MSX MUZAX series? I need to correct that:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZMaCof0MFk

>>2327774
>>2327784

Thanks for the advices. I'll go check there.
Anyway, more MSX demo & music disk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=busiDuS94qY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKIafTakXwM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNyfkCnyQXg

Can I post here if I decided to learn z80 assembly? /agdg/ and programming general on /g/ suck.

>>2328838

No problem, as long as you post stuff about Z80-based computers too. Do you have any idea on which machine you'd like to exploit with what you're learning?

>>2328861
I'm sticking to gameboy version of z80 until I get decent understanding of assembly, memory management and OAM. After that I can move to gbc; it has the same cpu, but with few more tricks like attributes for background palette. Hopefully I'll be able to create a shittier version of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyvBNhzshKQ

>>2323383
glad this isn't a `you love you loose' thread because that red head just melts me.

>>2328908

I see. Well then good luck anon. I'd suggest you to check the MSX, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC scene, they could teach you some nice stuff about how to use the z80 :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdw8YewoV8A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9POK5iazmyM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJosZfm560Q
Also, have fun learning z80 assembly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh3oltCDNKU

Why did all these old PC joysticks only have one button? I mean did the companies have zero foresight in making these things?

Does Nordic own the rights to Turrican? I ask b/c they bought out THQ and last I heard THQ were the rightholders but idk.

>>2329458
U should try gittin gud you n00b

>>2329474
Manfeld trenz or rainbow arts

>>2329458

Because they use the Atari dB9 joystick interface standard, which originally only uses one button. Also, why would you want a whole bunch of buttons on the controller while there was like 90 of them on the keyboard? Game devs use those if they wanted to have more buttons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBr25IAz7mM

Some fine Atari ST demo, not because of it's outstanding effects (it has none that are that great) but because of it's enjoyable 20 minute-long song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zDFPMvrISs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVq7FHNvrJA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDz8AWqHoiE - I actually saw this one on a local biding website last year, for like 75 bucks, complete with box, documentation and 2 5"1/4 floppies.

Someone in my area is selling a TI-99/4A with a couple of games for $30. I don't know anything about them, is this worth the pick up?

>>2331238

For 30$? It's worth getting if you know stuff about them though. It's the kind of computers that nowadays, if you don't know anything about them, you'll use it maybe 2 or 3 times, then you'll just let it there collect the dust.

>>2332016
That's what I figured. I bought an Atari 800 some time ago and while all of the games it came with look cool, I don't have the patience for them. I've only used it once when I got it.

>>2234619
The 1000 was a gorgeous piece of hardware with the keyboard tray and all.

>>2286761
>>2286763
All I had was a Welsh CoCo near-clone.
Byte compatible, but worse graphics.

>>2332362

I never owned a 6809-based machine, only z80, 68k or x86 ones. How are these kinds of machines compared to, let's say, an Amstrad CPC?

>>2330105
Well didn't the Genesis also use dB9 but used four pins for directions instead of eight and used the remaining three for the other buttons and a spare?

>>2333247
Wait I just checked and the regular dB9 also only used four pins for directions. Well then how did Sega do it?

>>2332996
I never owned a CPC, but a friend of mine did, his was slower by far.
"Professional" programmers claim 6809 is far superior to the z80.

>>2333252

Check this website :
http://wiki.icomp.de/wiki/DB9-Joystick
At first, yeah, it used only one button (the Atari VCS pinout being the original), but then major manufacturers modified the pinout slightly so they could make their own controllers for it.

>>2333536

I see. Maybe I should give a try to these 6809-based thomson computers one day then.

>>2333804
The 6809 came towards the end of the 8 bit era and fixed mistakes from 8088/z80 style design. It incorporated ideas that came to full fruition with the 68000.

So I want to get a keyboard that sounds like a C64 keyboard, would a mechanical keyboard with brown switches do that?

>>2333959
Eh, C64 was a spring plunger touching a conductive pad. I guess any switch without click would emulate that well enough.

>>2333965

>>2333965
>>2333967
I remember it being fairly noisy, more than the average keyboard these days with nice feedback. Not M2 IBM loud though. That is why I was thinking brown over blue.

>>2333968
Anything without a click, it's slightly more resistant than rubber domes, but not by much.
If anything, it's a precursor to rubber domes.

>>2333972
Damn perhaps I don't remember it well its been so long. Tried to find the sound online but all run into is ASRM videos of people pawing over it.

There was just something fun about typing in at a prompt and feeling anticipation.

>>2333979
It is noisier than rubber domes, but that's more down to cheap plastic in both the caps and the chassis than the mechanics of the keys.

>>2333972

Rubber dome existed back then though, but it was mostly in console controllers and the likes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9OEbR0N_QI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWDFYt-D_NI

ST devs should have supported MIDI devices more. I mean, those MIDI IN and OUT ports were THE killer features of the ST, not the 16 color graphics that you could already find on older computer systems.
I know that Sierra and a few other devs allowed ST owners to use an MT-32 or other external MIDI expanders for the game's musics, but the amount of games that supported this kind of enhancement was pretty low compared to the amount of IBM-PC & clones or x68000 ones, which is too bad as these don't even come with integrated MIDI ports (though Geograph Seal do support the use of MIDI expanders directly hooked to the RS-232 port)
And it's not like MIDI sequencer and patch editors lacked, the ST was the platform that made both Cubase and Notator popular, and utilities like pic related (yeah, this version was released in 2014, but the original was made in 1991) allowed musicians to edit FM patches the easiest way possible. There was this Sound Canvas utility available too.

>>2336159
3 voice synthesis sound chip + garbage graphics chips vs. Amiga's 4 channel sample based sound + superior graphics chips is what killed the ST for mainstream.

For musicians, it was a godsend.

>>2336325

Naah, what killed the ST for the mainstream was the lack of killer feature/soft for the this domain. Look at what happened to the Amiga in the US -- it got beaten by a machine that could only handle 4 colors at the same time and make a buzz, because the latter could run Lotus 1-2-3 and Word perfect. If the ST had exclusives and/or if devs advertised this MIDI stuff, the platform would have stayed a bit longer.
Also, don't forget that until 1990, the Atari ST sold more than the Amiga.

>>2336369
In Norway, you could find 50+ Amigas for every ST.

And that's a gentle estimate.

>>2336383

In France it's just about as easy to find an Atari ST as an Amiga, sometime easier (depend on what time of the year it is).

Anyway, the Amiga didn't really sold that well until the arrival of the Amiga 500 and 2000 models in 1987. It's true that I shouldn't have said 1990, as 1987 would have been a better answer, but anyway, the ST didn't sold that bad (maybe in Northern Europe excepted), it's just that it's too bad those features that made this machine special weren't used that much in vidya games.

Ouch, my Amstrad CPC Monitor's fly-back transformer just fried, it seems that there was a short circuit inside.
Now I guess I'll have to replace this thing (the transformer) sooner or later, I don't want to throw away the monitor.

>>2337519
Good news is it's old enough to actually be repairable and you just got a new diy project.

Fuck new gear and their put everything in a block of epoxy shit.

>>2337523

You mean the transformer itself can be repaired without replacing it? I see, I'll check info on how to repair it. Thanks for making me save monies.

>>2337523
>>2337538

Late Schneider-made GT-65 (after 1988) have already been infested with "lets fucking bury everything in fucking epoxy!" disease.
Fuck you you fucking germans for this. FUCK. YOU.

>>2337538
In most cases you can easily fix a transformer, or build a new one. Transformers are one of the first things you learn how to make in first year of electrics.

>>2337574
You can always use an old PC psu and hook the fucker up to a TV with scart.

http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/TV_SCART_cable

>>2333967
I have a key on my C64 that broke. Part of the plunger is stuck in the keyboard while the other half is stuck in the keycap. I can't take it out with tweezers to fix it. ;-;

>>2337841
Drill a tiny hole to get something inside to pull it out. Fill with whatever plastic filler you use to repair with.

It's not brain surgery.

>>2337728

Okay, I'll see what I can do then.
There might also be a bad capacitor or something else too. But anyway, I'll take a better look at it when I'll have more time.

>>2337794

Yeah I know, but when you already have the dedicated monitor and that there's only one part in it that failed, it's both cheaper and easier just to replace that one.

Remember the anon with the TRS-80 model 100 in the last thread?

I finished the repairs last week.

The big problems were:
>preowners removed 10 function keys and did some other shit, also rebranded it
>4 badly leaked capacitors in the power supply
>leaked NiCad battery

I recently gotten a Olivetti M10 with QWERTZ layout, the same preowners didn't attempt to 'rebrand' it like they did to the model 100. Unfortunately the keyboard was damaged because it wasn't in a protective case, the spacebar is mechanically broken and '.' keytop is gone and the switch for it is damaged.
So i decided to swap all function keys, NiCad battery (didn't leaked, still works), 8kbyte RAM module over to my model 100. I also replaced the leaked capacitors on both computers which didn't seem to effect the operation besides that the corrosion could get worse.

The standard ROM of the modemless M100 is different from the american ones with the modem, it also had a standard 27C256 pinout. I realized this after making a adapter by measuring the pinout against the option ROM, i was quite confused why it didn't started with the adapter.
So i made a personalized version of the american ROM (for better compatibility) with:
>Y2K fixed
>reduced key repeat delay
>customized keyboard matrix

About the absent emblem and backsticker, i didn't liked the idea of making a copy which can be mistook for the original. So i made my own out of printed paper and some transparent plastic from some snapped CD slimcase. The backsticker is just a reworked copy of the original but it's just black on white paper instead of black on shiny silver surface.

Now i'm thinking of reprinting the quick reference (mainly for BASIC), i did not decided yet how to mark this one as 'not original'. Maybe i add "UNOFFICIAL REPRINT:" with the date on the title page.

>>2339878
>>preowners removed 10 function keys and did some other shit, also rebranded it

Ah yeah, I remember that one.

So, are you planning to do with it now? Look like a nice little machine to start experimenting stuff in BASIC and/or Assembly language.

>>2339878
I was very impressed that the NiCad battery in the M10 didn't leaked and held it's charge fine over days (4.10V when freshly charged, dropped down to 3.78V in 2 days).
Another thing about the M10 i don't understand is how it detects what keyboard matrix to use, the ROM is the same as the VirtualT one and i found out that does have data for multiple keyboard layouts. I even programmed BASIC+ML tool that shows me which key is pressed on matrix directly and after looking into it i realized that the PCB is the same as the QWERTY KB (of the schematic) but how it decides which one to use is beyond me.

I hope i get another M10 so i can fix it.

I also tested my spare chips in the M100, 51 of 52 8085 CPUs were working as well 3x 8155 and the spare ceramic 6402 (UART) i had. It's cool that both computers are thick enough to allow sockets on pretty much all chips. I somehow expected that obscure 80C85 i had to fail, it's made by a company called CALMOS.

>>2339907
Well, it's bitmap like display and the little amount of memory doesn't allow astounding games. But there are some for it.
But yes, i might do some more BASIC stuff. You can see that i wrote something that plots a sinewave on the screen by using the LINE command and wraps around the screen endlessly.
Also the keyboard is very good, i don't know how it compares the legendary IBM Model M but typing on that one is fun compared to every modern keyboard i used.

>>2339929
>I was very impressed that the NiCad battery in the M10 didn't leaked and held it's charge fine over days

It happens sometime, like, one day I acquired a 1989 laptop, and the battery was still functional and all.

>>2339929

>40*8 character console

Enough to play some basic (as not the language) text-based adventure games.

Picked up at TRS-80 today for $15 in box. Where do I find games for it and what's good? I know next to nothing about it.

>>2341786

For starter, which TRS-80 model? Some of them are Z-80 base, some other are 6809-based (the Coco ones), and some other are pocket computers.

>>2341793

Looks like Radioshack TRS-80 Color Computer 2 if that helps any.

>>2341837

Okay, so if you have a Coco, you can run OS9, a Unix-like operating system designed to run on most 6809-based computers, and this OS has a handful of games, like it's own Rogue port, as well as text-based adventure games. I think it can even run games that were made on the Thomson MOx/TOx and the Fujitsu FM7/77/77AV computers.

>>2341881

Sweet, time to get learning, thanks for the help.

>>2341881
>>2341954

>I think it can even run games that were made on the Thomson MOx/TOx and the Fujitsu FM7/77/77AV computers.

The one made on OS9 of course.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vacqn3jzfu8

>>2342294

>>2311768
>Dortmund crest

Jesus, it's fussball app

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.bvb.android&hl=en

>>2343248

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qcHov2pGaU

>>2339838
>Microm puter

>>2345801

Microcom sound like some 80s modem manufacturers.

>"Here come the new Microcom Fastdial FD2400e external modem with both an RS-232c and an IEEE-488 interface, as well as the FD2400i internal modem for Apple //! Communicating has never been this easy as this modem can deliver data at a blazing-fast rate of 2400 baud. Comes with it's own ANSI terminal software for maximum performance."

you know, I have been going through CRPGs from this time period and haven't been able to find any in which you even have the option to play as a female, even when you can create your own character.. are there ANY at all where you could play as a female or did that just not cross anyone's mind back then for some reason..

>>2344026
>>2343248
>>2342294
I want an MSX so bad... but I live in the US and have a limited budget so that is probably never every happening.

>>2345816
Thought to myself "it had to be some sort of company's name in the 80s, there no way it couldn't be" and then found out that you were actually right and didn't know it, lol.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcom

>>2346801
Be sure to pick up the MSX2, since that's the one that can actually play the Metal Gear games.

>>2346798

Well if you don't actually see your character's face or whatsoever, just give it a female name and assume it's a female character. And they did have female characters in RPGs back then, mostly nip ones though.

>>2346805

M8, I though this name totally sounded like this kind of company's name, but I never expected that company to actually exist.

>>2346816
well I knew that it had to be an 80s technology company of some sort, lol, but I was expecting more like a general hardware or microchip manufacture, or a 3D animation studio, I didn't even think that you had hit the nail on the head, lol

whats your favourite sound chip guys?

This guy right here for me.

>>2348474
This reminds me, has anyone made a card for IBM Clones, maybe like an ISA or PCI card that has a variety of the older sound chips used in the 8-bit and early 16-bit micros? The AY, the SID, and so on all had distinctive sounds which I think to this day emulation fails to properly recreate.

http://www.filfre.net/about-me/sitemap/

I recently found this site. It's by the author of The Future Was Here, a book about the Amiga. It has a lot of long, detailed posts on the history of computers and computer games.

>>2348474
The AY-3 certainly has an absolutely beautiful sound to it.

I think I'd have to choose the OPL2. As a musician, I can't believe I'm not choosing something more uniquely "musical", but culturally speaking the OPL2 might be the most important sound chip in the history of video games, and it's hard to knock that.

>>2348632
you might be interested in this documentary I posted in this thread a while back as well anon.
>>2311759

>>2348474
love that Atari POKEY square wave sound

>>2349059
ewww

>>2348474

I think it would be the YM2151, though I do love AY-3 and SiD music too.

>>2349037
>the OPL2 might be the most important sound chip in the history of video games,

You spelled AY-3-8910 wrong m8.

>>2348474
only toys have "sound chips" REAL computers produce music through the electromagnetic waves produced by the CPU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akvSE5Z474c

>>2349746
god it's my goal to own a minicomputer rack like that one day, or this guys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1MDYYvw0cY

>>2349049
I've seen that, and in fact posted it in some previous thread myself.

>>2349746
>produced by the CPU

More like the unterminated bus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcnFtLL3JLA

>dem Amiga R-Type music at the beginning of the video

>>2351638

And I forgot the other parts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6WtWYmz3iA - part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ASdyfOgNWg - part 3

The one in the previous post was part 2.

>>2352672

>>2352676

Too bad these models are a hassle to find in France too -- as they said in the article, it was sold as a professional machine, thus many ended up in the dumpster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN1LC2s4P-w

This game's title tune sound a bit like Codename : Iceman on PC:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw6VUiFZypk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6559WeWM6o

Dem Sony kx-14cp1 monitor.

>>2354452

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PisZ5YzLkUs

>>2354452
>le
GO BACK TO REDDIT U FAGGORT
this post is a joke

>>2354452
fuck, I didn't know that there was actually a home system that used a light pen, I thought that never left 60s/70s experiments.

>>2358820

Actually, those were everywhere in French schools until the late 90s, as they bought thomson MOx/TOx computers en masse for educational purposes.
Also, many computers of the time also had an optional/third-party light pen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxQgoeyoWaA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfOnUg5cjBU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoeIhqjs-hQ

my first... grafics destroyed my neighbors 2600 but it didn't have nearly the amount of games.

>>2358874

Is it true that it also destroyed the cassette tapes inside it's player when powered on?

>>2358881
i never had that happen and i played the Buck Rogers cassette that came with it quite a bit, luckily it also played Colecovision cartriges.

>>2358910

I see. Anyway, this computer looks pretty noice with it's 2 tape drive. Just put an early 80s 14" sony TV on it and it'll be a gorgeous setup.

So I pulled this A500 out of the basement today. Had it 10+ years never once used it. Gonna scrub its board down with some lemon juice and put a floppy emulator in it if it boots.

What should I play? I have a C128 down there too with the same story. Is there enough traffic on /vr/ anymore to bother starting a Commodore thread?

>>2234996
I did that when I was young.

Oh the great games that I lost and had to download again.

With a 2400 baud modem.

>>2270706
I could almost hate you.

But all I can feel is envy.

>>2361328

At least you didn't have a 300 baud one.

What do you guys think about Catacomb 3D?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09-cTU85uW8

I find this game pretty enjoyable, and it runs really great on my 486 PC.

>>2360323

Noice! Ss it a pre-Revision 6 Amiga 500 (with the red access LED)? Good luck cleaning this machine.

http://ebay.com/itm/231477915161

Time to take out a second mortgage

>>2363775

Shit, is that a switch & LED front panel under the vector monitor?
This machine look like a 70s computing dream.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG6Qb231bU0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IDjbAFZVQw
I really like the second OST, though the first one has some nice music too.

>>2362345
No joy so far despite the board looking spic n span. Shane I can't see what color its screen of death is with it hooked up monochrome. Now I have to decide between blindly reseating chips or fabricating an RGB cable

>>2349746
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT0JOIPxyE8

Step it up, senpai.

>>2363814
Yeah, it's an entire PDP-11 in desktop form

>>2349764
http://www.ebay.com/itm/331537471267?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

you got 5 days I'm really tempted to buy, but I'd have to put it in a storage unit for the foreseeable future because I don't think I could get it to my 17th floor apartment

>>2363775
>Netherlands pick up only
>Honestly inflated price
>Can't stop talking it up in the description

he obviously doesn't want to sell it

but were I to buy it, are there any dutchmen lurking who would ship it to me?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/One-of-a-Kind-Rare-Steve-Jobs-NeXT-Apple-Computer-Paraphenalia-Collection/231537271014?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D30002%26meid%3D4556471afd5e4862a84f7e24637c443a%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D10%26sd%3D131490027334

>put steve jobs name on something
>charge double for it

Makes me sick

for anyone wanting reasonably priced NeXT hardware, check out here http://www.blackholeinc.com/specials/blackhardware.shtml

>>2364710

Ouch, no good man. I think reseating the chips onr after another wil be the easiest way to find out what's going on, but yeah, getting an RGB cable will be necessary. Also, in these kinds of situation, be aware that you might have to change the capacitors.
At least, now I have the answer to my question after seeing the board -- a Rev-06 motherbord with Fat Agnes (the ECS verson of the chip) instead of Agnes (OCS version).

>>2365602
All the electrolytic capacitors look good and there are SO many ceramic discs. Soooooo many. Souks it be worth throwing together an RGB cable first to get the error color from the crash screen?

>>2365816

I'd say yes because you'll have a better idea of why it's not working.

I see we've gone ~250 posts of obscure fighting games without mention of Tobal (not THAT obscure but definitely not mainstream) Elfmania (definitely obscure) or the Batllestar Galactica tournament fighter (Never heard anyone mention it) so I'll just drop those out there.

>>2282096
One of the most common resolutions was 320x200 pixels, at a 4:3 aspect ratio (non-square pixels). The colors could be anything from 4 (CGA) over 16 (EGA, VGA) to 256 (MCGA, VGA). CGA and EGA had a fixed set of colors. With MCGA the palette was 256 colors out of a potential couple thousand (15bit colors)
For the specific palettes I suggest wikipedia, as they give you the exact values and reasoning behind these values.
VGA itself could go up to 640x480 at 16 colors, but that was not used too often, because it looked kind of crappy and performance wasn't useful either.
There were also a ton of less common video modes, so you could get away with a lot, but should look up the technical details of these modes. If I were you, I'd go with 320x200 (or 320x240) with 16 colors (EGA), or 256 colors (MCGA), as these were vastly more common than the rest.

Anyone know what this is?

>>2366326

It look a bit like those Tektronix and IMLAC vector terminals.

Anyway, that's a big keyboard.

>>2366353
probably just a small screen

>>2366326
It doesn't just have a sticker on the back with a model number?

Could be something cool then. Custom hardware from the expensive old days.

anyone know where you can buy vintage cases for IBM compatible builds?

I have 5 generations different vintage IBM-PC clones spanning nearly 20 years of architectures entirely assembled and refurbished with top of the line hardware but no cases for them

AM386 30386? Just got an AM386 SM-40 board for 10$, verified working, am I missing anything?

>>2366482
*AM386 vs 30386

>using a boombox as a cassette player to load a timex-sinclair 1000
the only way to get one of these pieces of shit running is if you've got your Macgyver hat on

>>2366520

It's fun to see that with most micro computers you could use pic related as a storage device, as the most widespread tape port was the same as the one usually found on these.

>looking at the same exact item on eBay (TRASH-80)
>One is a reasonable 50 dollars, fully functional
>The other 750 dollars

what the fuck is wrong with people on eBay?

>>2366525
if someone will buy the 750 dollar thing, the seller made a killing. It's a simple gamble, that the seller can't lose. Worst thing happens is that nobody bids/buys, and they just repeat later.

>>2366525
my favorite thing about ebay is people who have no clue about vintage computers trying to describe whats wrong with a broken one

>screen has lines

I got my hands on a 390E Thinkpad running Win98, and since I can pull off native DOS and the like on a Celeron, I was wondering if I could possibly emulate or boot an Amiga OS on there too. Any ideas?

>>2366810
You might be able to run an Amiga emulator like AmigaXL. Amithlon, or Amiga Forever, but AmigaOS itself is built for PowerPC architecture, not x86. You'll want something like an old PowerPC-based Mac to run it.

>>2366825
>x86

I might just be tired and missing something, but it's a Windows 98, not a modern OS. This was pre-2000 stuff.

>>2366828
Yes, x86 architecture, i.e. 286, 386, 486, 586 (read: Pentium), etc. Intel and AMD processors.

And actually I was wrong, I was thinking MorphOS (Amiga-like and somewhat compatible with Amiga programs) which you can run on a PowerPC Mac. The Macmini can run one non-offical version of AmigaOS with some hacking and limited functionality, but that's about it. You need very specific hardware for AmigaOS; Amigas, AmigaOnes, Sam460s, etc.

You're not going to run it on a PC-compatible without an emulator.

>>2366849
I see, my mistake.

It was a bit of a long shot, but thanks for your help.

currently shifted my collection focus to IBM PC's, I'm trying to get a different custom built clone for every generation of intel processors that indicated a large technological advance in hardware and software, up until 2000 or so.

Right now I've got in various stages of completeness, a 286 box, a 386 box, a 486 box, a P4 and an early (see: the first) Celeron box. I don't plan on going any later generationally, since there are no games that are too advanced to run on the Celeron box that don't run natively on modern systems. I'd like to make or purchase a system that uses the 8086, but I'm not entirely sure if there even were PC compatibles made using that architecture. Also in general I'd like to know if I'm leaving anything and I'd appreciate any hardware suggestions, I'm looking for top of the line hardware in each generation.

>>2366868
Sorry not P4, P1

Force of habit, P4 is a bit too late for me

>>2366531
>screen has lines

bad capacitors probably, capacitors are the source of a lot of problems in hardware, it's amazing what kind of "broken" things you can get for next to nothing, replace the capacitors and then they work like new

>>2366523
it's frightening
god help you if you leave the TV unmuted when you run the LOAD on it, you'll go deaf before you can fix it

>>2366825
>PowerPC

More like 68k.

Is it possible to dual boot FreeDOS and MINIX on a 286 machine?

>>2367562
Get a dual floppy drive

>>2367562
given that Minix currently requires 386 or higher, I'd say no.

>>2366992

Naah, most of the time the computer itself don't reproduce the sound (at least it's the case with the Amstrad CPC) so you don't get to hear it. Also, this kind of sound isn't that atrocious.

>>2367570
Which version are you talking about? MINIX 1.5 runs on 286

>>2367589
>Which version are you talking about?

>>2367570
>Minix currently

So that would be 3.3.0

>>2367592
Right, but why would he assume that I meant the latest version? If I said I wanted to run Windows on it, would he assume I meant Windows 8.1?

>>2367601
without a qualifier "latest" tends to be a reasonable assumption

>>2367581
this one does for sure
screams in the ears
then again, it's a TV hookup PC

>>2368361

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fYFsBRVC8Y

I don't find it that bad, though I can understand that some people find it irritating.

>tfw no teletype

I feel like there's this giant hole in my collection, I don't want to use a graphical terminal to interface with my early-mid 70's computers. Where on earth could I even find an ASR-33 or something like that these days?

>>2369196

You might try to check at your nearest post office if they have any old Telexes or the kind, teletypes are still used nowadays in some post offices.

>>2369196
You could always make one. I made an RS-232 teletype using an old receipt printer a keyboard and some spair parts when I was in college. I would assume that you could just scale it up by using a roll printer or something

>>2370009
>I would assume that you could just scale it up by using a roll printer or something

... or maybe modifying an electric typewriter to do the same. The hardest part would be the tape punch though.

>>2286987
The AR cart worked quite flaky (failed to start sometimes, freeze button crashed the C64) as well as many demos. I also upgraded the AR to 5.1a.
So I figured that the EPROM based PLA was causing that.
Some weeks later the realPLA became "available", the shop owner who sells these had serious health problems since the last year.
I fucking waited more than a month for this.

Mathematica was the last demo I tried with the EPROM PLA, unsuccessfully as it crashed after minutes. With the realPLA it ran till the end.

The freeze button still doesn't work and the fastloader often fails to start either (?OVERFLOW ERROR IN 0) which wasn't really the case with the EPROM PLA.
I guess some little capacitor which had been installed depending on the used PLA chip causes that, I will remove it and see if it works.

>>2288648
You guessed the age of that EPROM burner precisely.
It says 1985 on the PCB and most datecodes of the chips are from mid 1986.

>>2370058

So it's not really an EPROM burner but some kind of custom chip arranger? (if I understood correctly what PLA chips are)
Sound nice to me, do you have any project for when you'll be able to use it entirely?

>>2370058
>The freeze button still doesn't work
The problem is that the CPU crashes somewhere between from "switching from Ultimax mode to 8kb cartridge mode" to "start to backup memory for restoring", even if the freezer menu appears it's not possible to view the SCREEN (F7) correctly or to RESTART (F3) where it has been freezed.
Diagnosing this will be fun, could be either the I/O1 and I/O2 or the EXROM and GAME signals.
>fastloader often fails to start either (?OVERFLOW ERROR IN 0)
ROML and ROMH seemed to change to quickly, 100pF to ground fixes that.
I will solder this tomorrow, I just held both capacitors with one hand while typing and pushing switches with the other.
>I guess some little capacitor which had been installed depending on the used PLA chip causes that, I will remove it and see if it works.
Well, close inspection revealed that there aren't such things.
But I wonder if some MOS77xx ICs could cause that, they seem work fine because they're are responsible for other parts of the system.

>>2370549
No, it's just a old EPROM burner that supports up to 64Kbyte ROMs and it's obscure as hell but works fine for me.

>>2370638
>No, it's just a old EPROM burner that supports up to 64Kbyte ROMs and it's obscure as hell but works fine for me.

Oh, your previous post confued when you were talking about PLA chips.

Hey guys! Newfriend here
I have a Commodore 64 (no screen) and a "portable" Amstrad PPC 512 all from my dad
What games can I expect to run on this? I'm scared to turn the Amstrad on.. Should I check anything before trying?

>>2373398

>C= 64

Check the OP and Lemon 64 if you want to know what runs on this computer. Also, it has an RF video out, so you don't need a dedicated monitor, a TV is enough.

>Amstrad PPC 512

An IBM PC-XT clone, it'll run what normally run on these, though I think there might be some incompatibilities.
Before running it, just check if the battery has any problems, and if the contrasts on the monitor aren't at the lowest.