/vr/'s Official Micro-Computer Gaming Thread

[OP No.972290]

I haven't seen one in a week, so, here it is!

Let's talk about computers like the IBM PC, Commodore 64, Atari 800XL, Apple II, Amiga, Atari ST/TT/Falcon, Machintosh, PC-8801, PC-9801, x68000, FM Towns, MSX, Amstrad CPC, Zx 81/Spectrum, TO7/8, or whatever you play, used to play, or would like to play on.
You want to talk about your favorite game on one of these platforms?
You have trouble setting up your machine to make these vidya run?
You have a cool collection of retro computers/games on these platforms?
Then this thread is made for you!

Let's start with some computer game music:
Rusty - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M14yFhVR8NM
Flame Zapper Kotsujin - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9oHZAOtPwc
Target Renegade - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITWXylEkwPc
Cybernoid 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv5_LsRaPrY

[Anonymous No.972312]

I have a question regarding the MSX.

I know a lot of MSX2 games require that you are playing on an MSX2+, but how do you know if the MSX2 that you are looking at is an MSX2+? Is it just that all MSXs produced in 1988 are 2+? Also, What is an MSX TurboR, and is it worth getting?

[Anonymous No.972330]

I have a performa 575 sitting on my desk in my parents house. How do I get marathon on it?

[Anonymous No.972338]

>>972312

The MSX2+ have a slider and/or a speed LED for speed adjustment. Also, there is no European MSX2+ models, so it must be an MSX from Sony, Sanyo or Panasonic.

For the TurboR, it's what remain of the MSX 3 project. It doesn't have many softwares available, but have a more powerful video chip allowing resolutions of 768*240 and expanding the color palette to 32768 colors.

For more informations, check the MSX wiki here:
http://www.msx.org/wiki/Main_Page

[Anonymous No.972343]

>>972330

Well, you can try to make your own floppies and/or burn a CD with the game on it? I never used a machintosh to be fair, how are the 68k models (they're the only models with the PPC ones that interest me)?
What are it's specs?

[Anonymous No.972351]

>>972312
TurboR refers to the two models Panasonic made, the FS-A1ST and FS-A1GT. Only a couple games utilize its special features, and Illusion City can still be played on an MSX2.

Not worth it for the price, IMO.

[Anonymous No.972349]

>>972338
Thanks man. Also, Do you know what accounts for the odd - I'm not sure what to call them - "air bubbles" that form on the plastic on the front of MSX game cases? I don't think that's actually what they are, but they are just ugly and really harm the cosmetic value of the case. I just see so many old games with really messed up plastic. Do you know any ways to prevent this?

[Anonymous No.972362]

>>972343

Introduced: February 1, 1994
Terminated: April 1, 1996

Logic Board
Processor: 68LC040
Processor Speed: 33 MHz

Note:
This model is sometimes designated as having a 66 MHz processor, since the clock input runs at 66 MHz; however, the processor itself runs at 33 MHz.
PMMU: Integrated
FPU: none
Bus Speed: 33 MHz
Data Path: 32-bit
ROM Size: 1 MB
Level 1 Cache: 8K
Level 2 Cache: none
Expansion Slots: 1 LC PDS, comm. slot
Battery: 4.5V Alkaline
Memory
RAM Type: 72-pin SIMM
RAM Slots: 1
Min - Max RAM: 5 MB - 36 MB
Minimum RAM Speed: 80 ns
Install in groups of: 1
RAM Sizes: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 MB
Onboard RAM: 4 MB

Ports
ADB: 1
USB: none
FireWire: none
Video: none
Floppy: none
SCSI: DB-25
Geoports: none
Ethernet: none
Mic Type: PlainTalk
Other ports: Printer, modem, speaker, headphone

Video
Standard VRAM: 512K (2 x 256K)
Maximum VRAM: 1 MB (2 x 512K)

Display Resolution:
640 x 480, 8-bit (2 x 256K), 16-bit (2 x 512K)
Note:
Built-in monitor is a 14 inch Sony Trinitron RGB display.

Storage
Standard CD-ROM: 2x
Internal Hard Drive: SCSI (250 MB)
Floppy Disk Drive: 1.44 MB manual

Operating System
Addressing Modes: 24-bit or 32-bit
Original OS: 7.1P6
Original Enabler: System Enabler 364
AppleTalk Version: 57.0.4

Compatible MacOS:
7.1P6
7.5
7.5.1
7.5.3
7.5.5
7.6
7.6.1
8.0

For additional information on operating systems:
See this article

Miscellaneous
Macintosh Counterpart: Macintosh LC 575
Form Factor: LC 520
Dimensions (Inches): 17.9 H x 13.5 W x 16.5 D
Average Weight (lbs): 40.5
Gestalt ID: 92
Original Price: $2500 US

[Anonymous No.972371]

>>972351

What would be the price tag for an MSX machine? I mean, which prices would be too much for which model? I saw a Sanyo MSX w/ 2 cartridges ports for 99 buks last time on a thrift store. I'm wondering if this is too much.

>>972362

Noice! Too bad it only run at 33MHz. It look close to an Amiga 4000 w/ CPU board and/or an Atari Falcon 040.

[Anonymous No.972378]

>>972371
Is that an MSX 1?
$100 is pretty good, you usually see them for around that, maybe even a little more.

MSX2s are often at least $200.

[Anonymous No.972380]

>>972371
>>972362
So what can I do with it? It has tetris and sim city on it. Along with a great game called Diamonds.

[Anonymous No.972391]

>>972371
Hunt down a copy of SPLAT'ERS and tell me how it is.

[Anonymous No.972395]

>>972378

Yep, that's an MSX1.

>>972380

Well, Sim City is pretty cool, you can play Shadowrun, shufflepuck/shufflepuck Cafe, Maze War.

[Anonymous No.972434]

>>972395
no marathon? I forgot I have shuffle puck on it already, been doing some reading online about maze war

[Anonymous No.972774]

>>972434

I never played marathon. The games I cited are the one I played but on their Amiga version (I'm primarily an Amiga-/vr/eak, even if I appreciate 68k machines in general).

[Anonymous No.972867]

>>972395

By Shadowrun I meant Shadowgate. Yes, you can stone me...

[Anonymous No.972952]

Say hello to my Amiga 500! Most of the time, I play R-Type, Dungeon Master, Hybris and The Pawn (a text-based adventure game) on it. That's a pretty cool machine as it's easy to use, have a fuckload of developing tools and a huge color palette (for a 1985 computer) to play with.

[Anonymous No.972959]

>>972330
http://trilogyrelease.bungie.org/

Hopefully it'll run ok. Only 68k machine I tried it on was an LC2, which meets minimum requirements, but was painful to play even with all the settings turned down. Though the 575 is a 68040 (LC040?)

[Anonymous No.974624]

>>972959

The LC040 is a low cost version, so it wont be as powerful as the original 68040.

[Anonymous No.975315]

Bumping the thread.

[Anonymous No.975775]

>>974624
Regardless, the 575 was a far better machine than the LC2 which was intentionally crippled to not take sales from other, more expensive Macs. The 575 motherboard also works as an easy upgrade to the Color Classic..

[Anonymous No.977083]

>>975775

So, what are the best models of 68k Machintosh out there? I'm a total noob when it comes to Macs.

[Anonymous No.978261]

>>977083
Silly/obvious as it sounds, the bigger the model number, the better it generally is. If there's extremely close numbers (ie. LC 475 LC476 LC477,) they're probably all the same, the number just indicates what vendor sold it, so tech support knows its configuration and software package. Here's a list of all the models. If you see identical numbers with different model names (Performa 630, LC630, Quadra630) the Quadra is the "full powered" one, Performa/LC is the cheaper version (in this example Quad has a 68040, the others 68LC040)
http://lowendmac.com/early-macs.html

This is a list of Macs considered to be compromised, not that they're necessarily awful. I had the Classic II, LC and LCII, and they're fun little computers if you keep them on System 6.
http://lowendmac.com/roadapples/index.shtml

You're dealing with 20 year old machines, so unless your neighborhood has a 68k Mac store, your choices will be limited, what you will find will be limited by today's standards, and it'll probably be cheap enough that your only real loss will be time maintaining it and space to store it.

[Anonymous No.979930]

>>978261

Okay, thanks for the info.

For the space and the limitation by today's standards, don't worry, I love to get old computers.

[Anonymous No.979931]

>>979930

*collect and use, not simply "get".

[Anonymous No.980491]

Bumping.

Any Amiga /vr/eaks here? Still rocking on R-Type today.

[Anonymous No.981284]

Turrican's ending on the c64 version is pretty cool:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb_nKn3JUOU

[Anonymous No.983071]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8saW9rKpUw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BBpJzLeiWI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM5o6zdcrqs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOFf79OhAIw

Some music from 80's and 90's computer games.

[Anonymous No.984536]

>>972290
i've got that exact monitor sitting right here. the 64's on the shelf above it

[Anonymous No.984541]

>>984536
i've also got a early 90's Tandy 2500 sx/25 but the mouse and keyboard ports don't want to work. anybody know how to fix that?

[Anonymous No.985463]

>>984541

For the mouse and keyboard ports, I have to admit that I have no idea of how and why they could stop to work. Are they PS/2 ports or the Keyboard one is an AT port? For the mouse, you can still check for a Serial mouse I think?

Sorry, I don't have the knowledge to help you.

[Anonymous No.986454]

I have an old 486 w/ 8MB of RAM, but I need to change the CMOS battery, and it's hard (it's the same component as the RTC...).

[Anonymous No.988316]

Bumping.

No one ever had a problem like I mentioned here >>986454 when it comes to old computers? Can't boot-up on a Hard drive anymore.

[Anonymous No.988629]

>>988316
I had a hard drive on my Amiga that suffered from sticktion. About every third cold-boot I'd have to open the Amiga, pull out the drive, and turn the axle with my finger. I'm told it's fairly common with Seagate MFM/RLL drives.

[Anonymous No.988895]

>>988629

Eww that sucks.

While we're talking about Amiga, I need to get an SCSI controller for mine (an A500), as I have a whole bunch of SCSI HDDs and CD-ROM drives sitting around.

Are there any Amiga games playable from a Hard Drive? I've seen some like Dungeon Master, Shadowgate or F/A-18 Interceptor (maybe? i've read that it's possible to copy it to an HDD), and I'm trying to make sure the one I'm developing will, but I don't know when it comes to other games.

[Anonymous No.991695]

>>988895
If you have Workbench installed on HDD then you can use WHDLoad for most games. Although with 1.x KS you will be limited a bit.

[Anonymous No.991698]

>>988895

Some MSX demo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=busiDuS94qY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om_rl7iA6cw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2S_GQUNitU

http://www.youtube.co/watch?v=0VV1LUvqsUY

[Anonymous No.991743]

>>991695

I was thinking about game running without the help of WHDLoad, but i think I should try this one day. Does it run with adf files?

[BluX !c7ejyr/RUk No.991830]

>>991743
You can install games from ADF images with WHDLoad, yes.

[Anonymous No.994171]

Bump'

Are there any Atari-friends on /vr/?

[Anonymous No.994186]

had the C64 as a kid, but we just had it plugged into a TV like a regular console

[Anonymous No.994198]

>>994186

What kind of game did you play on it?

[Anonymous No.994210]

>>994198
mostly platformers; it had great platformers like NZ Story, Creatures, Shinobi, TMNT, Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands, Paperboy, Bart Vs The Space Mutants

many others I can't think of right now

[Anonymous No.994216]

>>994186
That was pretty much every 8bit computer in the 80s. Yes, we started programming on them, but it was otherwise a "super-atari-2600."

[Anonymous No.994234]

>>994216

The C64 was more like a NES than an Atari 2600. But yeah, most of the time it was used as a console.

>>994210

Man I love Creature so much! Flimbo's Quest is pretty cool too.

[Anonymous No.994242]

>>994234
I say super-atari because most people graduated from the 2600 to the 8bit computers. NES didn't get on our radars for another few years.

[Anonymous No.994269]

>>994234
yeah Flimbo's Quest was the shit!! and it came on that 4-game cart so no loading. Terminator 2 was another brilliant one that came on a cart

>>994216
I was aware that you could program on them, but I was only really interested in the gaming side. looking back it would have been sweet to have been able to program my own mini-games or whatever

[Anonymous No.995493]

Some Amiga Cracktros:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whowU3doxfU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eofshtmMVMQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJjQM982S6s

The last one is present on my copy of Starglider ]['s floppy. And no, the cracked version, unlike the original one, won't boot on both Atari ST and Amiga...

[Anonymous No.997753]

Do you guys know if there are some "indy" games that came out recently (during the last 10 years) on a retro computer?

[Anonymous No.999352]

What's the best way to play Macintosh games without a Mac?
I've been fiddling around with PearPC and Sheepshaver but haven't managed to get a working Mac OS 8/9 ROM.
Is Basilisk II and System 7 a better option for starters?

[Anonymous No.999394]

>>999352

For Mac 68k games, you can emulate one on Atari Falcon and Amiga 1200/2000/3000/4000.

[Anonymous No.1002169]

No one to help that poor anon in his way to emulate a PPC Machintosh?

[Anonymous No.1002190]

>>1002169
Last I checked, I couldn't find any working PPC Mac emulators. Not a lot of demand, I guess.

>got an old Blue+White G3 in the corner
>it's running Debian

[Anonymous No.1002239]

>>1002190
It's also a powerful machine.
How many Windows 9x emulators are there?

[Anonymous No.1002251]

>>997753
Amiga, C64, Spectrum and Atari (both 8bit and 16bit) have a lively scene that churns out variety of indie games every year. Old Macs and less popular computers have little going for them aside from demos (except for MSX). There were even some commercial releases for C64 and Spectrum in last years.
Those obscure old commie computers and Sinclair clones are a world of their own with tons of shit being made all the time but good luck finding any info that isn't in Russian or some other slavspeak.

[Anonymous No.1002283]

>>1002239
I always use kQEMU for my Windows needs.

[Anonymous No.1003046]

Progress is slow, but some guys have been working on a very La Mulana/Maze of Galious-inspired game for the MSX over the past few years.
http://www.msx.org/forum/development/msx-development/project-moam-moon-over-arba-minch

[Anonymous No.1003062]

>>1003046
How relevant was the MSX outside of Japan?

[Anonymous No.1003064]

>>1003046
I'm glad someone appreciates the MSX aesthetic of La-Mulana, since even Nigoro seem to be ashamed of their masterpiece.

[Anonymous No.1003068]

>>1003046

That look pretty impressive for an MSX game imo!
I'll check it one day or another (either if it's on an emulator or the real machine)

[Anonymous No.1003086]

>>1003062

It had a good base on Europe with it's own adepts, as one of the main European electronic goods manufacturer, Phillips, made their own models. It was also used in Arabs and Communist countries as an education tool. For a long time, it was the only computer available in Cuba.
The only problem with Yuro-programmers using the machine is that most of the games we had were crappy Spectrum ports so:
- It only displayed the same colors as the spectrum version, ignoring completely the MSX capabilities.
- The action was slower as the Graphic Chipset is slower than the Spectrum's one.
Still, we had some good stuff like the MSX2 and an FM synth unit, that Japan had, but not the Commies nor the Arabs.

[Anonymous No.1003102]

I've been very curious about someday acquiring a Commodore 64 with disc drive and a Commodore CDTV.

Where should I look, and what would be a fair asking price for these systems?

[Anonymous No.1003720]

>>1003062
In addition to what >>1003086 said, it's home to arguably the first English fan translations. Dutch MSX fans in the late 80s and early 90s imported and copied various Japanese MSX games and created translation guides to help people play through them. A few of them got together and founded a group, Oasis, to do translation hacking. Really ahead of their time, we're talking early 90s here.
http://www.project-melancholia.org/oasis_interview.html

>>1003046
Found a promo vid while digging through that thread. Features some art, a few short demos of the engine, and 15 minutes of music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mo1EVHN0ao

[Anonymous No.1004205]

>>1003102

I can only speak if you live in Yuroland, but you can try to check Amibay, their prices are decent as most of the time the sellers and buyers know their shit. I don't know if Amibay can help you if you're in the US.

[Anonymous No.1004230]

>>1003086
Since the MSX was pretty big in Japan, I wouldn't say the games for MSX were bad, the Konami catalog alone is already better than most systems entire gaminglibrary. I've spent weeks of my childhood playing F1-Spirit. (The music was amazing, the cars could break if you crashed or bumped to much, like the tires, or the engine, or brakes, and it would affect handling. It had a cool 'customize your car' feature, which actually made a difference. You could go to the pits, see your pitbros fix your car if it was broken, and it had quite a lot of tracks and racing modes.)
If you have Japan working on your systems vidya, you probably won't have that many bad games ;)

[Anonymous No.1004281]

>>1004230

Well when I was talking about bad games, I meant the one made by Yuro game devs, I never played any Japanese MSX game.

[Anonymous No.1004339]

>>1004281
I just remember to have had lots of fun back in the day, you can't go saying it had bad games, you'll ruin my nostalgia!

[Anonymous No.1004974]

>>1004339

I'm not saying they were all bad, but most of the ports were inferior to their spectrum counterparts, and being inferior to a speccy is pretty bad imo.

[Anonymous No.1004981]

>>1004974
Almost every yurogame had to be multiplat since market was split neatly between half a dozen of computer makers. Needless to say those multiplat titles had many corners cut to save on development cost. It's almost ironic that it was usually games made in commie block were the ones that used the full extent of hardware since almost every computer owner in commieland upgraded their 8bit to hell and back again. Sinclair clones with stereo sound, dual 3.5" drives and 2MB of RAM were not uncommon there.

[Anonymous No.1007642]

>>1004981

While talking about Commies and Computers, have someone got a hand on the Robotron East German computer? Someone on /vr/ talked about this machine a few month ago,.

[Anonymous No.1007752]

>>1004981
Wasn't the Japanese market also split with the PC-98 dragging the quality for the other 16 bit systems down?

[Anonymous No.1008967]

>>1007752
There was 2 generation in the 80's~90's I think: The first with 8 bit Micro computers like the PC-8801, MSX1, Sharp-M1 and other stuff, then there was the second generation with the PC-9801, Sharp x68000, FM-Towns, and the other MSX models (2, 2+, Turbo-R), before NEC gave up and only made fully IBM-PC compatibles in the mid 90's.
I think yes, mostly for the second generation, as the x68000 was some beasts even compared to our Macs and Amigas graphic-wise (it's cool to be the first micro-computer world wide to be able to display 16M).

[Anonymous No.1009062]

>>1007642
Ask on /g/. I believe this guy >>991830 has collection of comecon computers.

[Anonymous No.1009067]

>>1009062

I'll ask on /g/, even if I fear that my thread will be shitteed on by the wallpaper and battlestation fags that populate the board...

[BluX !c7ejyr/RUk No.1009072]

>>1009067
No need, I'm monitoring this thread. I only have Robotron W1715, mid-range CP/M workstation so that's all I can help with.

[Anonymous No.1009085]

>>1009072

Was it a widespread computer? I'm trying to figure out how hard it could be for a Yurofriend to get a hand one one of these.

[BluX !c7ejyr/RUk No.1009089]

>>1009085
It was rather common office computer. Finding one isn't hard, German eBay will have dozens of them, but it's a solid chunk of metal and you need the monitor and keyboard as well (non-standard connectors) which are ALSO solid chunks of metal. Shipping will be bloody. I estimate that total weight of whole 1715 is about 30 kilos.

[BluX !c7ejyr/RUk No.1009097]

>>1009089
Also note that it's very standard CP/M machine, dual 5.25" floppy drives and character-only display (there was a ROM chip that allowed simple vector graphics to be displayed but only handful of applications support that) so unless you want it as collection piece or have need for dedicated CP/M machine it will probably be only collecting dust. It has good range of external drives (3.5", 8", 5.25" and even tape and hard drives) so it's pretty good for converting and archiving old floppies.

[Anonymous No.1009123]

>>1009097

Well, I love to use these kind of machines, and I never owned a CP/M machine, and I don't think I will leave it alone (I never leave a machine alone, even if i don't have any "real" use for it).
For the vector graphic ROM, is it hard to find or there's a dump of it on the Internet so it's possible to burn it on an EPROM/Flash ROM chip? That's a cool feature imo and it coold be great if I try to make so basic 3D-Games for it (like a Maze War clone something like this).

[Anonymous No.1009131]

my Commodore 64 plugged directly into my TV so it was pretty much like playing a regular console (except for the loading)

its a pain trying to connect it to my current LCD TV, and the sound doesn't work on my CRT so I just emulate with WinVice on my 32" TV these days

[Anonymous No.1009186]

>>1009131

Our Nippon friends had loadings on their famicom when they used the disk system, and the C64 have some cartridge games, so yeah, you can have it as a fully functional console.

For the monitor, why don't you try to fing a C= 1702 monitor? You'll have an S-Video quality picture (as it use the same input signals) and you'll have the sound with it. The problem with the LCD screens is that the picture will look like shit, especially in graphical modes (160*120).

[BluX !c7ejyr/RUk No.1009390]

>>1009123
I'm not sure if the ROM was ever dumped and even if it was I never saw any kind of documentation for it. It was only used for one spreadsheet application ever so it's quite rare. Maybe you could try mailing or calling Robotron directly (they still exist) and ask. Your other best bet is robotrontechnik.de, which is the conclusive resource for all kinds of Robotron-branded computers and stuff.

[Anonymous No.1009426]

>>1009390

I'll gather some informations about it. At least, we know it's possible to upgrade the machine with an additional ROM set, and that's pretty cool if you know how to develop stuff for the machine.
Also, are there some good CP/M games?

[BluX !c7ejyr/RUk No.1009476]

>>1009426
There's Frogger, text adventures and Ladder which is quite cool iteration of Lode Runner. There are some other but you have to realise that most CP/M workstation had character-only display so that limits the possibilities here. I'm not sure if there was ever any graphical game for CP/M, almost everything is ASCII.

[Anonymous No.1009553]

>>1009476

I already assumed that a CP/M games wouldn't have graphics different from ANSI (ASCII?) characters. I'll check the text adventure games on this system, thanks for the informations.

[Anonymous No.1010073]

Are there any New Old Amiga stocks remaining? 2 years ago Amigakit still had some boxed Amiga 1200, but they don't seems to have nowaday and I don't know if there's another place where I can buy one.

[BluX !c7ejyr/RUk No.1011863]

>>1010073
Some MagicBox 1200s are still available from some sellers, ask around on Amiga sites. Note that it's basically Elbox 1200s with the cheap diskette drives that do not terminate properly after boot. Easy software fix but annoying nevertheless. If you plan on towering it or at least installing HDD/CF then it doesn't really matter.

[Anonymous No.1012908]

I just downloaded an Apple II emulator, to test some of the well known games it has. I'll try one day to get one, even if the machine wasn't really popular where I live...

[Anonymous No.1015309]

Bumping!

Are there any Atari /vr/iends?

[Anonymous No.1017038]

I love Rusty's and other PC-9801's games musics:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M14yFhVR8NM

FM synthesis the best thing ever made in computer music history after the SID, thank you Yamaha!

[Anonymous No.1020245]

Some interesting links for Moon-computer games enthusiasts:

http://98ds.free.fr/
http://www.pc98.org/main.html
http://mercenaryforce.web.fc2.com/pc9801/pc9801.html
http://mercenaryforce.web.fc2.com/x68k/x68000.html
http://www.msx.org/

And for Those who want to know good Amiga games, check the following links:
http://hol.abime.net/
http://www.lemonamiga.com/

C64 users have this website too:
http://www.lemon64.com/

[Anonymous No.1021750]

The PC-88/98 and X68000 could have been just as popular as the Mega Drive and SNES if they had been released outside of Japan.

Pic related, game's great. Adorable graphics, pretty good soundtrack, decent action RPG. Shit like this is one of the main reasons I need to learn Japanese.

[Anonymous No.1021814]

>>1021750

They weren't released outside of Japan because:

1- They wouldn't have succeeded in the US as everybody was full IBM PC/clones or Machintosh (superior architectures like the Amiga and the Atari ST/TT weren't popular and the C64 became less popular by the end of the 80's).

2- Europe didn't adopt the MSX en masse like the other architectures, and the Amiga and Atari ST were very strong competitors that could do everything the PC-98 could do, and better (not really the x68000 when it comes to colors on screen and numbers of sprites, it was like an Amiga on dopamine), so i think they were a bit afraid of launching these machines.

Fun-fact: we had a few X68000 in France, in Universities like the ones in Paris and Lille, in order to teach MC68000 assembly.

[Anonymous No.1022768]

>>1021814
What about the FM Towns? It was a IBM compatible on dopamine with mandatory CD drive.
The Japanese computers had an edge in resolution stemming from the necessity of displaying Chinese characters.

[Anonymous No.1022874]

>>1021814
>superior architectures like the Amiga and the Atari ST/TT weren't popular
Because they were horribly, horribly, horribly marketed here in the U.S. Nobody in mainstream markets outside of media creation wanted anything to do with Commodore or Atari for serious work. They were seen as toy computer companies by the general public (not everyone, of course).

NEC and Sharp were seen as mostly consumer electronics companies, and unfamiliarity would have likely prevented them from making any inroads against domestic alternatives (unlike Nintendo and Sega, which were able to capitalize on a market basically open abandoned). In fact, the PC-88 was released here, and made absolutely no impact.

>>1022768
Fujitsu would have had to partner with someone with a very large footprint in the American computer market to have any success, and all of the likely suitors already had vested interests in one of the domestic horses already in the race. Fujitsu was unknown in the West.

[Anonymous No.1023070]

>>1022874

For the PC-88, I think it came at the wrong time in the US, like the MSX, when anything that wasn't Commodore, IBM or Apple was blown away.

[Anonymous No.1024072]

My Amiga gear: an Amiga 500 rev. 8 w/ 1MB of ChipRAM + a C=1085S monitor + 2 external floppy drive. The mouse is an A1200 mouse, not an A500 tank one. The joystick is... I can't remember the model, and I don't know where I can find it.
The cable on the Amiga is a Null-modem serial cable: I use it to transfer files between the Amiga and another computer, or to Telnet/FTP directly from the Amiga to a remote server when I need to download some stuff. I was able to connect to Blux's BBS and Aminet, I might try to find some Amiga-only BBSes or MUDs.

[Anonymous No.1026153]

I need some help with the Amiga (emulation). I'm playing Ambermoon but the aspect ratio seems fucked. The intro and main screen take the full screen but the game leaves the bottom part blank. Other games I tried didn't have this problem.
Is this a problem with the emulation, an intrinsic problem of the Amiga or intentional?

Setup is:
68030 with JIT and 68881
AGA with A4000 extra chip
Kickstart 3.1
Workbench 3.1
1MB chip RAM
Zorro III
WinUAE 2.6.1

[Anonymous No.1026170]

>>1026153

Some Amiga games don't use the whole screen but only what the developers though was necessary (to save some raster time I think).
On your pic, the pixels are square, so I don't see any problem.

[Anonymous No.1026443]

While talking about Amiga games, I checked on eBay some amiga games, and they're pretty cheap compared to other stuff! most of them where between 5 and 25 bucks, and with boxes and all, in a pretty good shape! It seems that' we're fellow Amiga /vr/eaks.

[BluX !c7ejyr/RUk No.1026669]

>>1026153
On Commodore monitor you can stretch the image with knobs easily. If the border bothers you so much you can tamper with overscan settings but I'm not sure if Ambermoon respects WB monitor settings and if it's supported in UAE at all.

[Anonymous No.1026836]

>>1026443

we're lucky*

Forgot the word that gave all the sense to the sentence...

[Anonymous No.1027015]

>>1026669
Seems like a general feature on CRT monitors but usually not something you want to change constantly.
UAE allows to change the picture size with filters.

[Anonymous No.1028625]

Seems like using one of the filter presets did the trick.

[Anonymous No.1028668]

>>1028625

Your pixels are rectangular now. It's normal in High resolution modes, not in the low ones.

[Anonymous No.1028682]

>>1028668
That was obvious. It's the same for DOS games with a resolution of 320x200.

[Anonymous No.1031486]

Is it me or the Amiga and the C64 have the best Cracktros?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVXqP5-YUmU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxlKqsgQxAo

[Anonymous No.1032559]

>>972959
I had a 575 back in the day and it ran all three Marathon games just fine.

[Anonymous No.1032565]

>>994171
I had an 800 and a 1040ST. Lots of fun was had.

[Anonymous No.1032569]

>>999352
vMac is really good for emulating a Mac Plus. I've had issues with Basilisk, but did fairly well with Sheepshaver.

[Anonymous No.1032576]

>>1002190
Sheepshaver will emulate a 601/603/604 PPC, but not a G3 or better.

[Anonymous No.1032953]

>>1032565

What were the best games on Atari 8bit computers and ST family? I'd like to get one of these machine, and I haven't found many Atari /vr/iends to that could grant me their knowledge.

[Anonymous No.1032976]

>>1032953
The Atari 8 bits were one of the key platform for the development computer gaming in the early 80s. Various games were designed on it and then ported to other computers and consoles.
The ST was a poor man's Amiga.

For most games you will find a better or equal port on other platforms like the Amiga.

[Anonymous No.1032983]

>>1032976

What about ST's exclusives? Are there well known Atari exclusives?

[Anonymous No.1033925]

>>1032983
Exclusive computer games were typically low profile stuff that nobody was interested in porting.

[Anonymous No.1035571]

>>1033925

Okay, so you're telling me that there's nothing special on Atari ST? What about the Falcon?

[Anonymous No.1035631]

>>1035571
Falcon was dead on arrival.

[Anonymous No.1036704]

>>1035631

So only the 8-bit atari line is interesting when it comes to vidya? I'm now aware that other motivations than gaymen are needed if you want to get an ST/Falcon (like having your own cheap MIDI studio: even if a PC can do it too, it's still cheaper to get an ST/Falcon+cubase, and you don't have any lag due to the use of an USB→MIDI adapter).

[Anonymous No.1036895]

>>1036704
ST probably has some hidden gems. It's not like it was a horrible machine, just somewhat outclassed and overshadowed by its competition.

[Anonymous No.1037653]

You know, I kind of have to ask: why is Amiga still a thing?

It seems emulation of it is not so bad for games, as a desktop it's behind things like Windows, OSX and Linux.

So, why is it, of all the old PCs and Consoles still got such a following?

[Anonymous No.1038483]

>>1037653

First of all, emulation is far from being perfect. A good example of why emulation can't be up to the original system is the Commodore 64: emulated C64 SID tunes are cool, but they aren't as good as the one played on the original system. The same goes for the Megadrive and the SFC sound systems: most of the emulators have timing problems, and the few emulators with little timing issues need billions of Gigahurtz to run (yes, for me it's an issue as I didn't updated/changed my computer since 2004). With all these problems, the best is to get the real thing
Then, you're asking why peoples are still using the Amiga as a desktop. Well, some are pretty much obliged (TV stations on the US and in Europe using professional TV Hardware+Software suite only available on Amiga. Yes, even today only Amiga makes it possible), some do it by choice as AmigaOS isn't as bad as you're saying (versions 3.1 and 3.9 aren't that far behind Windows, OSX and Linux). It's pretty good system to use and it was pretty advanced compared to almost every OS of it's time and after it's time (Windows didn't really went ahead of it before 2000/XP, and imo they're the best desktop Windows version, I hate this Vista/7/8 craps). Yes, there's Linux on Amiga, but why would you choose a cheap Unix clone when you have a true AT&T UNIX System V distribution available on the same platform? I could say the same about mTOS on Falcon, it's a good OS, made by Digital Research (the guys that made CP/M and the first CD-ROM software).
Then you could also use these computers because it's a hobby of yours, and emulation is not enough to satisfy your passion for these machines. There's not only logic reasons why some of us love to use these machines.

[Anonymous No.1038571]

>>1038483
>Well, some are pretty much obliged (TV stations on the US and in Europe using professional TV Hardware+Software suite only available on Amiga. Yes, even today only Amiga makes it possible)
As far as the US is concerned, I think was true up until maybe 10 years ago but not any more. Still a long time.

[Anonymous No.1038790]

The best Amiga emulator?

[Anonymous No.1038851]

>>1038790

It's just a preconfgured WinUAE installation+ legal roms.

[Anonymous No.1041503]

>>1036895

Well, it seems that there is MIDI Maze, a multiplayer oriented FPS that use the MIDI interface to create a network between ST computers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hSoy1S43dw

[Anonymous No.1042839]

What are the best Apple // models? I mean, the one with the best specs compared to their price and with the least number of incompatibilities. I'm a total Apple noob and I would like to their pre-Machintosh machines. I'm trying to get some info on the Apple // line, as both it's utilities and games look pretty cool.

[Anonymous No.1043107]

>>1042839
Apple //gs with hard drive, RAM card, accelerator card, etc. will run everything and take all peripherals. It has the slots from the IIe and the ports from the IIc. It is faster with more graphics modes and a better sound chip, and can run 16-bit //gs programs as well as old 8-bit Apple II programs at normal or fast speed. Plus its Mac-compatible ADB keyboard is excellent.

You can skip a hard drive if you're just going to run programs off floppies. You can skip an accelerator card too. Just be sure to get more RAM than the launch model's stock 256 KB, and look for something with an updated ROM as well (ROM01 or ROM03 IIRC).

[Anonymous No.1044270]

>>1043107

Okay, thanks for the info! So there are no real incompatibilities between the models?

[Anonymous No.1044335]

>>1044270
I'm going from memory, but I think there were three "tiers" of Apple II compatibility.

1. Apple II, II+ ("Apple II compatible")
2. Apple IIe, IIc ("Apple IIe compatible")
3. Apple //gs ("Apple //gs only")

The newer systems could all run the previous systems' software as well, and the leap to the //gs was huge whereas the previous step was small.

All I remember is that I could run pretty much everything without problems, but sometimes I'd have to switch down to 1 MHz operation in the Control Panel to make older programs run at proper speed (like the Turbo button on early '90s PCs). There were some exceptions of course, but I believe those were pretty rare. A //gs should prove ideal for running almost the entire Apple II library.

In case you're curious, I had an Apple-brand analog joystick, Bard's Tale I, Might & Magic I, Might & Magic II, Wings of Fury, PHM Pegasus, Karateka, Accolade's Comics, and a bunch of smaller games either purchased or typed in from magazine code printouts (all made for older Apple IIs) up and running perfectly on my stock Woz //gs with 256 KB running in the slower mode. After I upgraded it to ROM01 and installed more RAM to 1 MB, I was able to play a more //gs games that I borrowed from people, along with some that came on Softdisk gs. Note that almost all //gs programs and games require more RAM (512 KB, 768 KB, 1 MB) than came with the original //gs (256 KB).

Finally, make sure you get System disks as well (DOS 3.2 for ancient things, DOS 3.3 for most Apple IIe-era stuff, ProDOS 8 and 16 to play with, GS/OS if you get a hard drive) and at least one working 3.5" and one 5.25" floppy drive (you can daisy-chain more).

[Anonymous No.1044390]

>>1044335

Okay, I see. I just checked and it seems that there's no Apple //gs available where I live for the moment (maybe one day someone will sell his), so I'll go for the IIc~IIe, as they're common (But Oh God, so expensive for what it is, like they cost 150~200 bucks while a Power Machintosh cost like 20 bucks! They must be jocking, right? Right?). Thanks again for all the info!

[Anonymous No.1044538]

>>1044390
Bummer, but you'll still have great fun with one of the other machines. Some nice models to look for that I remember:

- platinum IIe with numpad (best model)
- IIc+ with 3.5" drive (but get a 5.25" drive too)
- Laser 128 and its follow-ups (excellent IIc clones with supposedly improved speed and features; they regularly advertised in all the Apple magazines)

Good luck!

[Anonymous No.1044591]

>>1044538
What about CD drives?

[Anonymous No.1044595]

>>1044591

There are CD drives for Apple II?

[Anonymous No.1044654]

>>1044591
Me again, I have no ideas about those. Probably SCSI, but I have never used or seen a CD-ROM for any Apple II. I looked up Softdisk for old time's sake after mentioning it above, and their site said something about their disk image archive CD working on //gs with CD-ROM, so I guess it was really a thing.

[Anonymous No.1044675]

>>1044595
The family lived on until the mid 90s. CD support isn't that unusual.

[Anonymous No.1044759]

>>1044675

Well, if it lived up to the mid 90's, it could be possible so. But this kind of drives wont be a priority when I'll get a hand on an Apple ][: first I'll try to get a few floppy drives (don't want to deal with cassette tapes...). I heard they follow the Shugart norm like the Amiga, so do you think it's possible to recreate Apple ][ floppies with an Amiga?

[BluX !c7ejyr/RUk No.1044941]

>>1044759
Amiga with external 5.25" drive can read Apple II floppies with some extra software (look on Aminet) but not write them unless you get one of those specialised floppy controllers (probably costs more than Apple II).

[Anonymous No.1045204]

>>1044941

Oh? Why would it be unable to write it (aside from the file system)?

[Anonymous No.1045748]

>>1045204
Controller. Like Amiga itself it uses some non-standard controller.

[Anonymous No.1047586]

>>1045748

Okay, I see. Well, there must be some other way to recreate Apple II disks, I'll try to find one of them.

[Anonymous No.1048720]

Have anyone here played Blassty? This game look pretty interesting as it is a pre-Final Fantasy game by Square, it has awesome 80's /m/echs, and it was coproduced by Sunrise during their Golden Age. I just need to grab a working PC-8801 MkII (emulator or no -- not emulated is better).

[Anonymous No.1048729]

>>1048720
dem mechs is valkyrie as fawk

[Anonymous No.1049668]

>>1048729

The overall design remind me of the garland a bit more.

So, anyone have played pre-FF Squaresoft games? Pic is Alpha, on PC-8801 too.

[Anonymous No.1051114]

>>1049668
Does the MSX version of Dragon Slayer count? I know that it is a Falcom game, but Square did the MSX port.

[Anonymous No.1053627]

>>1051114

Well, maybe.

By the way, I really like old Falcom RPGs on PC-88/98 & MSX micro-computers. Too bad there are many people out there saying that they age badly ("excuse bidon!", I alway preferred the old art styles to the new mudern animu style).
Sorcerian complete OST here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gm6D4iFzo8

[Anonymous No.1053641]

>>1053627
The art style that involved copying the Ultima 3 manual?

[Anonymous No.1053648]

>>1053641

No, more like pic related.

[Anonymous No.1055987]

[Anonymous No.1056497]

>>1055987

I love generated computer music, tracker music, all that kind of stuff:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BBpJzLeiWI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pyQFnDP_NU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whowU3doxfU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=h7OOEmvAUns&feature=endscreen
MIDI music is pretty cool too, when you have the equipment required to have a good sound:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3dB0qEcG20
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLdO9mZ-RpY

[Anonymous No.1056498]

>>1056497

Wasn't meant to respond to >>1055987

[Anonymous No.1057146]

Is going to moonland the only way to get a hand on a Nippon computer/computer standard other than the MSX? No, I don't like to stick too much time with emulators, I love to have the real hardware working and breathing in front of me.

[Anonymous No.1057229]

>>1057146
You can always check internet auctions and mail order.

[Anonymous No.1059407]

>>1057229

Okay. Is eBay enough or some other places have a better offer?

[Anonymous No.1061193]

>>1059407
Yahoo Japan auctions will have better prices but buying, shipping and communicating will be a bitch. For common stuff like MSX and X68000 eBay will be more convenient and probably cheaper in the long run. Rare or not-so-sought-after shit like FM Towns or PC-98 is always overpriced on eBay.

[Anonymous No.1061197]

>>1061193
Why is the PC-98 rarer than the X68k?

[Anonymous No.1061261]

>>1061197
Not rarer but rarely seen on international auctions. Dunno why, maybe because it's seen as "normal desktop computer" so people are less likely to sell it as collector item and more likely to sell it as "old computer, not tested, found in attic, starting at 1000 yen" junk, local pickup only.

[Anonymous No.1061419]

>>1061193

Okay, thanks for the info. For the MSX, no need to ask online, the local retro market in Yuroland have a bunch of them, so it's an easy way to get into Jap computers.

[Anonymous No.1061506]

>>1061419
There are even brick and mortar shops in Netherlands that still sell parts and upgrades for MSX. If you're in Yurope then getting your hands on MSX2 and bunch of expansions should be easy.

[Anonymous No.1061890]

>>1061506

>Shops in yuro that are still selling MSX stuff

THAT'S what I call awesome! I just need to invest in some vehicle and a driving license to get all of this. Thanks Phillips.

[Anonymous No.1061916]

>>1061890
I'm not sure if they're still in business but Sunrise used to make relatively cheap CF/IDE and ethernet adapters for MSX. They either come as cartridge or an easy solder-onto-mobo expansions. Those are about the only things that you really need for MSX. And RAM expansion but that's relatively easy (either solder few chips on or get RAM cartridge). Try msx.org, they'll probably have links and stuff.

[Anonymous No.1061940]

>>1061916
What do you do with ethernet on a MSX? Were there any network multiplayer games or is there an active internet service?

[Anonymous No.1061949]

>>1061916

I think I'll look to these FM synthesizer add-on for MSX, made by Phillips too. Let's just listen to it's wonderful sound:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHQ_Y2EcMQY
Wire the sound output of the MSX to your amp and use a DSP to add some reverb, and it will sound wonderfull!

>>1061940

You check BBSes and FTP to download files directly on your Floppies/Hard drive, you get your mails, you read newsgroups, you chat on IRC. That's what you can do with an MSX on internet.

[Anonymous No.1061964]

>>1061940
There's some basic FTP and IRC client. Some guy on /g/ was porting Lynx or some shit to MSX so maybe there's even web browser.

[Anonymous No.1062032]

>>1061949
Wouldn't it be faster to play directly from the server instead of bottlenecking it on a floppy?

[Anonymous No.1062039]

>>1062032

There's no online game on MSX (or i don't know any), just utilities permitting you to retreive files from a server and save them on the floppy, that's what I said.

[Anonymous No.1062168]

>>1062039
That's the only reason you have an ethernet adapter: to avoid the use of a modem on the serial port if the user already have a DSL connection.

[Anonymous No.1062390]

Impossible Mission for C64

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2AEuLjwBrg

[Anonymous No.1062436]

Is there an overview over the various monitor connectors and adapters? Which computers work with a common VGA monitor?

[Anonymous No.1062707]

>>1062436
Atari Falcon, X68k (different pinout on computer but it's standard VGA), PC-98 and FM Towns. Atari ST and Amiga with multiscan monitors or adapter. 8bit computers usually support some sort of RGB connection. Macs have their own connector but monitors are pretty common.

[Anonymous No.1063870]

>>1062707

Mac monitors are really close to PC monitors, so you can couple them easily with the help of an adapter.

[Anonymous No.1063872]

>>1063870
All Macs or just PowerPC ones or similar?
Of course a lot of Macs have the monitor build in.

[Anonymous No.1063875]

>>1063872

The PPC ones. I don't know for the 68k ones However.

[Anonymous No.1064080]

>>1063872
>>1063875
IIRC every Apple monitor that uses DA-15 is compatible across all Macs with that connector; 68K or PPC doesn't matter.

[Anonymous No.1064532]

>>1064080

Ok, and PC monitors does work with Macs with an adapter?

[Anonymous No.1065204]

>>1064532
Yeah, multisync PC monitors will work with Macs using a passive adapter. I remember Sony marketed monitors for the Mac this way.

[Anonymous No.1067281]

>>1065204

As I might be buying a 68k or PPC machintosh one day (as I love to get new machines) and as I have quite a few PC monitors, I was wondering if I could use them with a mac. If I'm following what you're saying, yes it will work if they have multisync capabilities.
Thanks for the info anon0

[Anonymous No.1069531]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24085742

[Anonymous No.1069532]

>>1069531

[Anonymous No.1069539]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24085742

[Anonymous No.1069552]

>>1069539

I read it multiple times, and being related to computer-users aside, I still don't know why they used a picture of an Amiga. Does Greek institutions still use them?