RastaConverter by Jakub ‘Ilmenit’ Debski is a command line tools for M$ Windows/Linux to convert and optimize images for use with the Atari 8 Bit computers.
Download:
source: github.com/ilmenit/RastaConverter atariage.com/forums atariage.com/forums
This is the official demo party results from the Arok Party 2012 (Top 3 Entries only). See also the Arok Party homepage for more informations.
C64 Graphics:
- 1 – Stay for a while… by Chorus, Resource, Singular.
- 3 – And somebody looked in the window by Avatar.
- 5 – Spy by Mr. Booa.
C64 Music:
- 2 – Smile in the Crowd by Resource.
- 3 – Asvanyviz by Padua.
- 4 – Dream to Love by Hokuto Force.
C64 Demo:
- 1 – Pimp My Commodore by Chorus, Resource, Singular.
C64 Outside Party:
- 4 Emelet Preview (Game Preview)
- SID-Wizard 1.0 RC (Tool)
Download: Arok 2012 full Party stuff (901)
source: noname.c64.org/csdb arok.intro.hu
It was released a new OS Update for the Everdrive MD Flash Cartridge (Megadrive/Genesis) by Krikzz. The upgrade instructions can be found here.
Changelog:
- Fixed underscan problem for old TV-sets.
Download: Everdrive MD - OS Update v34 (828)
source: krikzz.com
It was released a new firmware for the SD2Snes Flash Cartridge (Super Nintendo/Famicom) by Ikari. The upgrade instructions can be found here.
Changelog:
- SPC Player (contributed by necronomfive/blargg)
- System Information screen now shows CPU/PPU revision (contributed by necronomfive)
- Satellaview: basic data transmission packet support (makes some more games boot, thanks to LuigiBlood for assistance and sample data packets)
- Number of supported files increased to 50000 per card / 16380 per directory.
- Slight speedup of menu text rendering.
- Reduce load time of menu.
- Adjust Cx4 timing to be more faithful (Mega Man now defeats the boss in attract mode in Mega Man X2)
- adapt ROM mirroring size to file size if header information is invalid (fixes Super Noah’s Ark 3D, possibly others)
- MSU1 interface changes suggested by byuu:
- Data offset 0 and audio track 0 are automatically requested on reset. This causes the busy flags to become 0 shortly after reset/startup.
- $2000 bit 3 is now “audio error”, becomes valid after “audio busy” -> 0 set when an error occurred while preparing playback of the requested audio track write LED stays on when SRAM content changes constantly.
- Fixes:
- fix empty save files on FAT16 / incorrect free cluster count on FAT32.
- correct directory sorting (force parent directory at top of list)
- fix text corruption when entering a directory with a scrollable name.
- fix files/dirs count in system information.
- make ‘sd2snes’ directory hiding case-insensitive.
- improve DAC I²S timing.
- fix occasional palette corruption in menu.
- fix SD clock glitch on ROM loading (occasional glitches/crashes)
- fix memory write timing on ROM loading (occasional glitches/crashes)
- fix SPI timing (ROMs not loading; System Information not working)
- properly synchronize SNES control signals (occasional glitches/crashes)
- fix floating IRQ output (occasional glitches/slowdowns)
Download: SD2Snes Firmware v0.1.4 (1093)
source: sd2snes.de
CBM prg Studio Version 2.4.0 is released. There are a lot of new features in this version. I’d really appreciate it if you report any bugs you find or have any suggestions/comments.
CBM prg Studio allows you to type a BASIC or Machine Code program in using a nice Windows environment and convert it to a ‘.prg’ file which you can run on an emulator, or even a real C64 or VIC20 if you’re feeling brave and have the right kit.
CBM prg Studio is the result of merging C64PrgGen and VIC20PrgGen. Adding new features and fixing bugs in two apps which were 95% similar was a bit of a nightmare so merging them made sense.
It was also a good opportunity for a face lift and to add some new features, such as:
- Programs are project based, meaning all related source files, sprite files etc. are kept in one place and multiple source files can be linked more easily.
- Tabbed MDI.
- Syntax highlighting.
What CBM prg Studio isn’t is a front-end for tok64, cbmcnvrt, bastext or any other tokeniser / detokeniser / assembler. It’s all been written completely from scratch.
New Features in v2.4.0:
- Screen designer and character editor extended to use the C16 and Plus/4′s larger colour palette.
- Build can now be cancelled.
- Some speed improvements.
- Improved invalid label detection.
- Relaxed restriction on mono-spaced only fonts (use with care!)
- Auto-completion added (labels, variables and macros) for assembly programs.
- Column selection in code editor.
Major bugs fixed:
- Assembly code reformatting tool.
- Loading char/screen/sprite files from the project explorer when the file has been moved/deleted.
- Start page crash for missing/moved projects/files.
- Screen Code Builder:cbm+numerics only works with mouse on virtual keyboard.
- Project open/save crash if project explorer window closed.
- Project tick in view menu occasionally missing.
- Occasional crash when opening sprite file in new project.
- PI symbol/keyword incorrect.
- Detect macro definition with no macro name. Previously would just report ‘preprocessor error’
- Selected memory in viewer should fill in start end address in save.
- End address of selected memory in viewer was sometimes wrong.
- Removed start address from basic programs generated to memory.
- Certain instructions not being optimised (zero page) properly.
- Tidied up the label dump after a build. Long labels were being bunched up.
Download: CBM prg Studio v2.4.0 (852)
source: ajordison.co.uk
Some new games (Cracked / Trained or Unrealeased) for Commodore 64 have been released from your favorites groups: Laxity, Crypt, Nostalgia and Genesis Project.
Download:
source: csdb.dk
Javatari is a multiplayer Atari 2600 emulator written in pure Java with no external libs.
Features:
- Unique Client-Server multiplayer mode. Runs great in low-latency networks such as LANs.
- Cheat and turn off Collisions. Finally discover the ending of River Raid!
- Complete Save State/Load State functions.
- Scanlines and TV screen emulation modes.
- Real Atari console user interface.
Changelog;
- Multiplayer mode controls in UI.
- Start Client/Server sessions directly in Settings window.
- Applet multiplayer mode support.
Download: Javatari JAR v2.01 (Needs Java 6) (970)
source: javatari.org
This is the official Atari ST/STe demo party results from Sommarhack 2012 (Top 3 Entries only). See also the Sommarhack 2012 homepage for more informations.
Graphics:
- 01 Study In Yellow.
- 01 Madhatte.
- 03 erkryp.
Music:
- 01 Jordgubbar Memories.
- 02 Compofiller 3000.
- 03 Exercise Whell.
Demo:
- 01 Drone.
- 02 Blackbird.
- 03 JAPAN beauties and troubles.
Download: Sommarhack 2012 full Party stuff (879)
source: dhs.nu/sommarhack/2012/
This is the official demo party results from Silesia Party 6 (Top 3 Entries only). See also the Silesia Party homepage for more informations.
C64 Demo:
- 1 – aFall
- 2 – Undead by Emulamer
C64 4K Intro:
C64 Music:
- 1 – Odbyt Teściowej by Surgeon.
- 2 – Funky Nun Dance by Conrad.
- 3 – John, Paul, Ringo & Mushroom by Randall.
C64 Graphics:
- 1 – LSBHires by Bimber.
- ?? – Ty Baranie! by Wacek.
- ?? – Frankenstein by JSL.
C64 Sample Music:
- 1 – Don’t Fuck With Me by V-12.
C64 2SID:
- 1 – Electrozombie Generation (stereo) by Onslaught, Samar Productions, Viruz.
- 2 – Melanoma Mood (stereo) by Randall.
- 3 – Yet Bigger Beat (stereo) by EXclusive ON, MultiStyle Labs, Samar Productions.
Download: Silesia Party 6 full Party stuff (965)
source: noname.c64.org/csdb silesiaparty.pl
Sorry, this entry is only available in Italian.
Autopsy:
from Wikipedia:
Apricot Computers is a British manufacturer of business personal computers, originally founded in 1965 as “Applied Computer Techniques” (ACT), changing its name to Apricot Computers, Ltd. in the 1980s. It was a wholly owned UK company until it was acquired in the early 1990s by the Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, which hoped that Apricot would help them compete against Japanese PC manufacturers, in particular NEC which commanded over 50% of the Japanese market at the time. Mitsubishi eventually shut down the Apricot brand; a management buyout resulted in new company Network Si UK Ltd being formed. In 2008 a new, independent Apricot company was launched in the UK.
Apricot was a remarkably innovative computer hardware company. The Birmingham R&D center could build every aspect of a personal computer except for the integrated circuits (chips) themselves, from custom BIOS and system-level programming to the silk-screen of motherboards and metal-bending for internal chassis all the way to radio-frequency testing of a finished system. This coupled with a smart and aggressive engineering team allowed Apricot to be the first company in the world with several technical innovations including the first commercial shipment of an all-in-one system with a 3.5-inch floppy drive (ahead of Apple), while in the early 90s they manufactured one of the world’s most secure x86-based PCs, sold exclusively to the UK government.
In 1985 ACT was renamed “Apricot Computers”. By this time, the F1 had become one model in the F Series; other machines in the series were the F1e (a cheaper F1 with less RAM standing at 256KB); the F2 (with two floppy drives) and the F10 (with a 10MB Rodime hard drive, 512KB RAM and a more conventional-looking infra-red keyboard). The Activity GUI was replaced by GEM. The F1e contained a 360KB single sided floppy drive, and the F10 contained a 720KB double sided drive. Some F1e computers shipped with an expansion card that could also be used in the F10, that would modulate the RGB video signal to RF enabling the computer to be used with a domestic television set. This card also contained a composite video output. The machine was unusual in that it contained the same 36-way Centronics parallel port that appeared on many contemporary printers (and continued to do so until virtually replaced with USB and ethernet). This means that a standard 36-way centronics male to centronics male cable needs to be used to connect a printer – and these were hard to find since IBM had introduced the DB25F connector.
source: wikipedia
Quick overview of some Flash Cartridges (backup device) for Super Nintendo (Famicom/Snes), Megadrive (Genesis), Nintendo 64, Atari 2600.
Flash cartridges (backup device) used in this video:
- Everdrive-MD flash cartridge for Sega Megadrive (Genesis) with SD/MMC interface.
- EverDrive 64 backup device for Nintendo 64 with SD interface.
- SD2Snes backup device for Super Nintendo (Snes/Famicom) with SD interface.
- Harmony flash cartridge for Atari 2600 with SD interface.
Autopsy:
The SD2Snes cartridge is a SD Card Cartridge for the Super Nintendo / Famicom / Snes.
This cartridge, unlike previous products such as the NeoFlash SNES Myth Cart, has more space inside the Xilinx Spartan FPGA to store code so in the future it is possible to support any special chip as long as it has been firmware updated with the latest code provided that support has been developed and implemented.
Xilinx Spartan FPGA Firmware updates can be done without any special hardware, again, unlike the NeoFlash product. You can put the firmware on an SD card and it will automatically find the file and allow you to flash it right in place.
This cartridge already supports the Capcom CX4 microchip which is used in both the Megaman/Rockman X2 and Megaman/Rockman X3 cartridges. NTSC/U/J and PAL/E ROMs will run without a hitch as well as the Megaman X3 Zero Mission ROM (with the latest firmware update which readdresses some of the memory mapping in code).
It also works with ALL DSP chips including third party vendors (DSP1A/B, DSP2, DSP3, and DSP4). SD Gundam GX and TopGear 3000 run as well as Dungeon Master and Pilotwings. All of these titles load in a fraction of a second and are fully playable. There is no difference between the gameplay of these ROMs using sd2snes than playing them on original cartridge hardware.
Features:
- SD/SDHC/SDXC support (tested up to 64GB; no exFAT support so SDXC cards must be reformatted using FAT32)
- High quality push-push memory card slot.
- Fast ROM loading (~9MB/s)
- Fast menu navigation.
- Directories are sorted automatically, no need for FAT sorting tools.
- High resolution menu (512×224) for adequate display of long file names.
- Real Time Clock.
- Supports ROM size up to 128MBit (96Mbit actually implemented)
- Automatic near-time SRAM saving to SD Card (while the game runs). Some limitations apply:
- near-time saving is switched to periodic saving when a game is found to use the SRAM as work RAM.
- Automatic saving is disabled when MSU1 is used. SRAM is saved on reset.
- Enhancement chip support (see below for implementation status)
- BS-X memory map / Satellaview base unit registers (clock)
- DSP1 / 1b
- DSP2
- DSP3
- DSP4
- ST-010
- Cx4
- MSU1 (Each supported enhancement chip can be used in conjunction with MSU1.)
- S-RTC
- SuperCIC key (SNES CIC clone):
- enables operation on unmodified consoles of all regions.
- supports software 50/60Hz switching on SuperCIC enhanced consoles only (to be performed by sd2snes firmware, not yet implemented there)
- Auto region patching: eliminates “This Game Pak is not designed…” messages regardless of 50/60Hz setting.
A few things that may be added via Firmware updates in the future:
- GSU-1/2 (SuperFX)
- Action Replay/Game Genie code support
- SPC7110
- and more…
SD2Snes Video Review:
Download: SD2Snes Cartridge Label (1682)
source: sd2snes.de tototek.com
A new VIC-20 game by Ghislain is Released.
Short Description: Puzzle action game.
Requirements: Unexpanded VIC-20 + Disk Drive.
Download: Break-Fast II (1119)
source: sleepingelephant.com
Turbo Chameleon 64 is an extremely user-friendly cartridge that can be used without opening the computer. It is just plugged to the expansion port of the C64.
The Turbo Chameleon 64 cartridge can also be operated as a stand-alone unit (since it’s basically an FPGA computer like the C-One or the Minimig in a C64 cartridge case), replacing the computer, the floppy drive and the heavy power supply.
When used as a stand-alone unit, a USB power adapter or active USB hub can be used as a power source.
Changelog:
- fixed REU, transfer length register is 1 after a transfer completes.
- fixed REU 512K wrap around.
- fixed cache controller preventing corruption when accessing 0x1FFFF0000 – 0x1FFFFFFFF
- faster SDRAM controller. More memory bandwidth for turbo.
- added slowdown modes to the Turbo settings. Offering CPU speeds of 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%.
- added native updater program (see manual) to update the fpga core without an usb connection.
- make menu item active when pressing a hotkey, so it is selected when going back to the respective menu.
- correctly mute/unmute second sid in menu freezer.
- clockport- and rr-net- items in options menu are correctly disabled if either is not available.
- if found, load and run update.prg from sd card (chameleon updater)
- if “boot from sd card” is enabled, load boot.prg from sd card (regular c64 boot program)
- improved navigation in one panel mode, cursor right enters subdir/image and cursor left goes one level up.
- improved quickfind, just type a filename quickly to jump to it.
- mount menu is skipped if there would only be one active item.
- when returning to the menu from the sid player by pressing left/menu button it will go directly to the filebrowser.
- added gfx viewer for various multi-color and hires formats.(see manual)
- added wav player (see manual)
- added filecopy (F5 in two panel mode, see manual)
- set $030c-$030e to 0 before starting prgs, increases compatibility with certain packers.
- .sid files which actually contain a basic program can now be run correctly.
- re-read destination panel after copying image.
Download: Chameleon Beta-7b release (1599)
source: beta.icomp.de
RastaConverter by Jakub ‘Ilmenit’ Debski is a command line tools for M$ Windows/Linux to convert and optimize images for use with the Atari 8 Bit computers.
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