Atari STe anyone?

[MacDeath]

I plugged my STe recently...


do you have cool links?


=nice hardware sites :
I wish I get a ROM box to put on the cartridge port, perhaps also a sweet hard-disk drive adapter or a USB mouse converter...
I recently got myself a TV tuner for my old Amstrad monitor too...
Perhaps a nice solution to get all those things on my 5/4 "square" flat VGA monitor will be searched when I will have secured my job and got a few salaries.
I also only have 1024K on my STe.
I also have a second one with 512K only.
Would be nice if I could get enough RAM bars to get 4megs on each...  


=nice download sites.
Demos and games, also tips for decent graphical apps or ways to easily port from my modern PC to my STe... (yeay, I have many 720K floppies too and managed to fill them from my PC's HD 3"1/2 Floppy drive...


As I told in the shoutbox, the links at Pouet are all screwed.
I also heard many demos were actually protected against copy...WTF ? you need to crack demos now?

I would also like to test good old network : the dreaded MIDInet. So I could get a few games or apps in multiplayer.
Are there some nice solution to plug an Amstrad to an Atari?
Perhaps a MIDI card for the CPC/PLUS ?


Would you imagine some game using both machines at the same time for one player? gotta use 2 screens...
perhaps even some co-operation 2 player games too?


=RPG : the character-player management is done on the CPC, the world and fights display is on the Atari.


=Tank/battleship simulation : radar, tactical map, machine damages, extra player IR gunner(?) are on the CPC, 3D world and main display on the ST.


=super bloodwych/MMORPG : compatible in multiplayer with both machines? (could need an extra one as "server"...)



Seriously, I like the machine, but this border is somewhat anoying. I use my old CRT TV as colour monitor, so I can't redimension the display in order to reduce/remove the Border...


I really appreciate the Amstrad for that.
Ok most gamers actually play inside a stamp, speccy style, but the few "overscan" things available are then even more impressive.
(yeay, I'm also talking about "the drive belt repair exorcism"...)

I wish Atari STe and Amstrad PLUS got more love from the various scenes.


So those Amiga500 and C64 fags could shut it up at last.

[TFM]

Have you heart about the Atari TFM ?

[Marq]

Lotharek sells some gear for STs, too.

[Ynot.zer0]

I've got a couple of original Atari's in the attic..... think I even have the 4Mb RAM upgrades in a box someplace.


I use the emulator on my OpenPandora and have downloaded quite a few disks from here: http://www.theoldcomputer.com/roms/index.php?folder=Atari/ST/Games/o

[MacDeath]

Danke für die Linken... oops, thx for the links and infos.


We all see the ST as some sort of Amstrad CPC brother...
=Software based system.
=comparable video modes.
=Same sound.
=Same sort of jew personnalities (tramiel and sugar) we both love and hate at the same time.
=Same sound (oops already said).
=720K 3"1/2 disks...
=CPC6128 & Atari 520STF... all in a combo.
=PRO before game, but quite playable finally... just not good at pure arcade like arcade games (side scrollers with shitons of masked psrites... ok...)...
=both great on adventure french games.

=both got bitched by Commodorks, be them 8 or 16 bit.
=were both the cheaper on the market, yet still a nice package for its time.
=Many french games were graphically "Atari ST ports" (while others were porting ZX sprectumshits...)
=Both got quite a nice success despite having no game aimed Co-CPU.

Talking about Co-CPU...
=PLUS and STe can kick C64/128 or A500/1000 asses easily !!! really... but got none of the love they deserved.


Still, the Atari scene seems quite dead at the moment... really.
what were the last Atari ST games?
Good point, we can borrow them a few AY/YM musicians... but still...

[db6128]

Have you heart about the Atari TFM ?

No one else has asked yet? Is everyone sleepwalking? Tell us more!

[Bryce]

No one else has asked yet? Is everyone sleepwalking? Tell us more!

I think he's referring to the Atari ST user who is also called TFM and has written some pretty good Demos in the past.

Bryce.

[db6128]

Ah, haha. I assumed he was talking about a pimped-out Atari that he had. 

[TFM]

Well, no, sorry, I only have Z80 computers - and a Laptop with some Intel cpu which replaces me small heating too.

[Gryzor]

* Gryzor loves his 4096 STFM

[TFM]

A nice machine indeed!

[MacDeath]

Well, no, sorry, I only have Z80 computers

you should dig for a SEGA MegaDrive/Genesis and turn it into a computer...
After all it does feature a Z80 which serves as sound-coprocessor, but was also used by the SegaMasterSystem add-on MitM cartridge/dongle... to faithfully emulate the Master System (basically a proto MSX...).


I really think the Sega MD could make a very good Homecomputer...
Especially with the CD extension which add good amount of RAM and extra colours (and a CD-ROM drive).
Get a floppy disk drive, mouse and keyboard and Amiga is shit.




But hey, a good old STe is really an excellent computer, just too bad it doesn't have a few extra video modes (a 160x200x256 supermode0 could have been very fun...) nor a proper "overscan mode as the CPC.


Still I feel the classical ST (STF/STFM) is not as good a 16bit as what a CPC6128 is in the 8bit world.
I also feel the PLUS could have used a bit more inspiration from the STe...




=extra RAM slots on the board and 128K as minimum config.
=some real RAM management system, so the Sprites could have streamed datas in extra RAM, perhaps a PCW compatibility mode with choice between the 2 systems (CPC and PCW), or CPU no more on pause if video/sound/sprites and CPU set at different RAMbanks.
=DMA beeper/sampler for extra soundchannel could have been great (and be helpfull to emulate PCW or even speccy ports)
=did I mentioned a blitter?


In fact a second ASIC was clearly needed, it could even have saved a few extra components.
Think about it when you design the next "CPC" successor.


oops, derailed thread... anyway, Atari.org is no more down... I will see magnificent STe stuffs then when I'll have the time.