Big in America: An overview of domestic computers in the USA during the 1970s and 1980s

A I've stated before, I get bored easily. And I also wrote several guides on older computers in my native tongue, so I think I'm going to post about American computers of the 1970s and 1980s here. I'll start by covering the best known of them, like the Apple II or the Tandy TRS-80, and if time and space allow it I'll also mention the Atari 8-bit family, the TI 99/4 and other lesser known ones.

Wy American machines? Well, I'm European and I didn't know of many of these, or how to get them emulated until I consulted several sources. I also think they may be less known in Russia than other European computers of the era.

I won't be talking about the Macintosh. I've emulated them and I have nothing against the platform, but if you want to emulate those I think you're better off following the E-Maculation guides or getting the emulation packages from the main site.

I also won't be covering the early Commodore machines (the PET, the VIC-20 or the Plus/4). But that's because I already talked abouth them in the C64 thread.

 

I apologize for my poor language skills - I'm using a translator. I am very interested in Apple II emulation, specifically in mounting .wav files

 

I'll start by talking about the Apple II , launched in 1977. It's arguably the computer that started it all, that turned computers and programming into something popular and affordable for the masses.



Apple II... so, whatever happened to the Apple I ? Well, that one happened to be created by Steve Wokzniak a year before, and each of their 50 units was finished by hand. So only a hadful of them exist, and they are very sought after because of their historical value. The Apple II was also designed by Wozniak. It consists of a typewriter-style case with a MOS 6502 CPU clocked at 1 Mhz, 4 Kb. RAM size and 12 Kb. ROM, which includes BASIC. Originally, software was loaded from tapes, but ultimately 5 & 1/4 disks with up to 140 Kb. in capacity became the standard media. The machines came with several empty expansion slots, and expansions of every kind soon became available: RAM upgrades, co-processors, disk interfaces, soundcards...

The Apple II's massive success was the result of many factors. It was the right machine at the right moment, both affordable and easily expandable. Apple also took great care in distributing literature documenting the machine and its programming languages' capabilities, giving computer enthusiasts the ideal tools to perfect their knowledge and start programming themselves. The Apple II alone kickstarted the videogame, productivity and educational software industries as we know them today. Until its replacement 1986 it sold between 5 and 6 million units, had over 180 known clones (!) and incited the creation of computers such as the IBM PC and the Commodore 64 .

The best way I know of emulating the Apple II is the AppleWin emulator.



We'll also need a few games, which usually come in the form of NIB, BIN, DSK or 2MG formats.

Emulation itself is pretty simple. The main window shows video output, and we access the disk units and other options with the buttons on the right. We start emulation with the apple button, which also doubles as the reset button:



This means we're emulating the most advanced Apple II model, the IIe. If we encounter any compatibility issues, we can choose earlier models with the joystick button.

Now let's try to load some games. We'll start with Zork: The Great Underground Empire , a text adventure in a single disk. We insert the image, reset the computer and voilà:



Something harder? What about Prince of Persia ? In this case, upon loading the first disk a message appears saying we need to insert disks 1 and 3 in the first two drives:



So this is what we do.



AppleWin emulates the Apple II joystick with the numeric keyboard, 0 being the fire button.

You may also want to enable Mockingboard emulation. The Mockingboard was a soundcard for the Apple II, consisting of a AY-3-8913 sound chip and, optionally, SC-01 or SSI-26 chips used for voice sythesis. Many games support it, and Ultima V even supports two of them at the same time! You can enable Mockinboard emulation from the emulator sound options:



As you can see, most Apple II games will boot automatically and won't give us any headache. For those that don't, you can find advanced instructions here. You don't need to bother with tapes, because most tape software was eventually converted into disk.

Next: The Apple IIGS.

--- добавлено 18 июл 2023, предыдущее сообщение размещено: 18 июл 2023 ---

I've never done that, and I don't think you can do it with AppleWin. However, you can mount cassette images under MAME/MESS:

--- добавлено 18 июл 2023 ---

From a chronological standpoint, now it would be the time to speak of the TRS-80 , or maybe the Exidy Sorcerer . But since it is related to the Apple II anyway, I think it's better to continue with the Apple IIGS .



The Apple IIGS is the fifth of the Apple II computers, but also an independent 16-bit computer on its own. It was released in 1986 as both a successor to the 8-bit Apple II and as a brand new computer. Confused? This was the result of several trends going on at the time. First, there was the transition from 8-bit to 16-bit computers, many of them built around the Motorola 68000 CPU, such as the Commodore Amiga and the Atari ST , which were released the year before. Things were moving fast and Apple couldn't stand behind.

Then there was a rift inside Apple itself, between Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Jobs thought the future was a brand new computer with a mouse driven interface. This philosophy produced the Apple Lisa in 1980 and the first monochrome Apple Macintosh in 1984. Wozniak on the other hand wante to move forward but without leaving the Apple II users entirely behind. This is why the Apple IIGS, despite being a 16-bit computer, is also Apple II compatible.

The Apple IIGS employs a Western Design Center 65C816 CPU running at 2.8 Mhz. RAM size was originally from 256 Kb. to 1 Mb. On top of the Apple II graphic modes, it can output graphics at 320x200 and 640x200, with up to 256 or 16 colors from a palette of 4096. Another neat feature was its Ensoniq sound chip, capable of 16 stereo voices. The computer initially used ProDOS 16 as its OS, but in the end it was replaced by GS/OS , a graphical interface not too different to theone used in the Macintosh. Software was loaded through 5 and 1/4 and 3'5 disk units using Apple proprietary formats. Harddisks were also supported through a built-in disk interface.


Apple GS/OS

Initially the Apple IIGS sold more units than the Macintosh, but soon it became obvious that Apple had already decided on its future, and that it involved the Macintosh and not the GS. Marketing and advertising were scarce, and while magazines praised the computer, they also noted that it was less powerful than the Atari ST and the Amiga, was more expensive and that its software library was smaller. The GS was finally discontinued in 1992.

Although a number of emulators for the GS exist, in this guide we will use GSport for Windows . We will also need the computer BIOS (ROMs 01 and 03) and some game disk images. The game library consists only of around 100 titles, but many of them are classics from the 16-bit computer era, such as Silpheed , Test Drive II or several graphic adventures by Sierra.

This is what we'll see once we start the emulator:



If we don't, we need to press F4 for the emulator GUI and set up our ROM file. Version 01 is perfectly fine.

We also insert the first of our floppy disk images on unit 5, reset and type pr#5 In our case, that will load the game Arkanoid .



If you want to try more advanced stuff, I suggest you create a harddisk image containing GS/OS. This guide will tell you all the necessary steps , but it also includes a link to a full GS/OS image, in case you prefer the easiest route. Note that harddisk images need to be mounted as unit s7d1 .

 

The next chapter in the series will be dedicated to the Tandy TRS-80 and, if time allows for it, the Tandy Color Computer .



The Tandy TRS-80 was the first computer by Tandy, and was released in 1977. In those times Tandy owned a chain of stores called Radio Shack . They originally sold amateur radio equipment, but by the 1970s they mostly sold electronic components for hobbyists. Tandy wanted to enter the computer market and to compete with the Commodore PET and the Apple II , but were hesitant because a computer would cost much more than their usual merchandise. They finally settled for a short production of only 5,000 units, and rumour is that if the sales had failed Tandy would have used these computer to manage their own stores.

Instead, the cheap computer -it sold for only $599- was very successful, and Tandy remained in the computer business for many years. Apart from the TRS-80 their best known products were the Tandy Color Computer and the Tandy 1000 , a series of PC-compatibles with extra graphics and sound.

There are three TRS-80 models relevant to us, the Model I , the Model III and the Model 4 . The Model II also exists, but it was a business computer of no interest for us. They were all built around a Zilog Z80 CPU and had between 4 and 128 Kb. ram. They also had monochrome graphics, a BASIC developed by Tandy themselves and could load software from external tape or disk units.

Model I (pictured above) was the first computer in the series and was released in 1977. It came with a Z80 CPU at 1.77 Mhz., 4 Kb. RAM and BASIC Level 1 , but could be upgraded to 16-48 Kb. and Basic Level II . Floppy disk units were optional and by default used TRS DOS, but because of its bugs it was often replaced by third party alternatives such as NEW DOS or LS-DOS. Harddrives of 5-10-15 Mb. were also available.



Model III was introduced in 1981. Now keyboard, disk units and monitor formed part of the same unit. The CPU was the same Z80, but now running at 2.03 Mhz. RAM was bumped up to 16 Kb. and could be expanded to 48 Kb. They employed BASIC Level II by default and some ROM changes mean that these computers are not 100% compatible with Model I software, that sometimes needs to be patched in order to work.

The Model 4 units arrived in 1984. They continue to include most elements inside the same case. CPU speed was changed to 4 Mhz. and shipped with 64 Kb. RAM that could be upgraded to 128 Kb.

All TRS-80 have 32x16 and 64x16 text modes plus a 128x48 graphic mode. Model 4 computers have an extra text mode of 80 columns x 24 lines. They don't have any sound hardware, although they could produce square wave tones by outputting date through the cassette port (!).

Many games, therefore, are only text-only, like simulations or text-adventures. Others use the poor graphic capacities of the computer to produce crude graphics. However, the popularity of these machines means we have a game library of over 1,300 games available.


Defense Command


Dunjonquest: Temple of Asphai

So, how do we emulate tjhe TRS-80? My personal choice are the emulators SDLTRS or trs80gp . You may prefer the later because it doesn't need external ROMs.

TRS-80 programs are loaded through tape or disk. You may also encounter zipped files instead of a tape or disk image. We'll deal with those later.

Tapes are extremely easy to use. They usually appear as files with CAS extension. We use the commands CLOAD and RUN to load the program into memory and run it.




Taipan

Oher tapes contain programs in machine code and are a bit more complicated, but they usually come with their own instructions.

Disks normally use the DSK or DMK extensions and boot automatically.


Zork III

The only difficulty with disk games that boot on their own is that sometimes we will need to switch to a Model III or a Model 4 or they won't work. It must be because of the RAM size.

And now comes the hardest part, those games that consist of a bunch of files and none of them are tape / disk images. For those we'll need a disk with an OS. These are the best ones:

For Model I software, TRSDOS 2.3.
For Model III software, TRDOS 1.3.
For Model 4 software, TRSDOS 6-2.

There are many more OS for these systems. We use these ones for convenience.

Now we copy those files to the disk image through the TRSTools software , using the Edit and Add options.



In our case, we've copied the game Donkey Kong for Model I . Now we can save the disk image and start the computer with it.



At the BASIC prompt, firstly we type DIR 0 to see the contents of the disk.

Files with CMD extension are written in machine code and can be started by entering the name of the file.
On the other hand, files with BAS extension are BASIC files and they are started by typing BASIC run"filename/bas

In this case, we needed to run DONKONG/CMD , so we just entered DONKONG .


Donkey Kong for the Model I

 

Before I face the Tandy Color Computer I'm going to mention the Exidy Sorcerer , which came two years earlier.



It was released in 1978 and is the first domestic computer to employ ROM cartridges.

The Sorcerer was created by California businessman Paul Terrell, who owned the chain of electric equipment Byte Shop , and manufactured by Exidy . Their goal was to compete against the Commodore PET , the Apple II and the Tandy TRS-80 by exploiting some of their shortcomings. Unlike the PET and the TRS-80, the Sorcerer could be connected to most TV and monitors in the market. Their character set was available from the BASIC for programmers to use, and they also used the Zilog Z80 CPU, which was more powerful than the MOS 6502 .

The 16 Kb. ROM cartridges were another of their advantages. They were created so users could use the computer inmediately. Exidy provided the first three with Microsoft 8K BASIC, a word processor and assembly programmign language.

From the very beginning Exidy licensed the computer to other manufacturers for export. The main reason behind it was purely economic: licensed computers were paid in full inmediately, making for instant benefit for Exidy. Among the foregin distributors of the Sorcerer were CompuData (in Europe) and Dick Smith Electronics (in Australia and New Zealand).

The Sorcerer sold well for a while, but soon became crushed by its strong competitors. It was discontinued in 1982, although CompuData kept selling it in the Netherlands for a while after.

As for the technical especifications, the Sorcerer used a Zilog Z80 CPU at 2.106 MHz. RAM was 4 Kb. by default, but could be expanded to 48 Kb. They had no sound hardware to speak of, but could display monochrome graphics at a 512×240 resolution.

The only emulator for the Sorcerer I know of is MAME . We'll need the BIOS files sorcerer.zip , sorcerer2.zip , sorcerera.zip , sorcererb.zip and sorcererd.zip to make it work.

The games are a bit hard to find. The TOSEC set contains memory snapshots and several ROM images, but the best source of software is the MAME software list for the computer.

If we start the computer without any of the language ROMS we'll face a very basic system monitor:



However, it is enough to run disk and tape programs. We load tapes with the instruction LOG (in capital letters). If the load fails we try again typing SET=1 , also in capital letters. This will tell the computer the program was recorded using a different speed.

Fom the Microsoft BASIC prompt, we load tapes with the CLOAD instruction. Here we can also specify SET=1 if the process fails. Disks in CP/M format load with the instruction GO BC00 .

The game library is small, but in it we can find versions of current hits such as Space Invaders and Pac-Man .


Sorcerer Invaders


Chomp

 

It's time to talk about the Tandy Color Computer series, which were sold between 1980 and 1991.



Before we left Tandy / Radio Shack in a sweet moment, enjoying the success of the Tandy TRS-80 monochrome. However, things in the world of domestic computers were moving fast, and towards 1980 Tandy was in the need to introduce a more advanced computer to compete with the Commodore VIC-20 . Their answer was the Tandy TRS-80 Color Computer , also known as CoCo .

Despite carrying the name TRS-80, it's an entirely new computer not compatible with the TSR-80 monochrome. It used the Motorola 6809E CPU at 0.895 Mhz (or 1.7 Mhz. when the software asked for it), 4 Kb. RAM (that could be expanded to 16 or 32 Kb.) and a BASIC licensed by Microsoft. In the models with 16-32 Kb. RAM said BASIC could be upgraded to Extended Color BASIC .

Graphically, the CoCo carried an MC6847 VDG chip capable of displaying graphics up to 256x192 with 2 colors. Most games, however, employ a graphic mode of 128x192 pixels and 4 colors. The new sound hardware could play 6 bit sounds.

Software was loaded through cartridges, tapes and disks.

This hardware ended up in some unexpected places. Dragon 32/64 computers, build in Wales and later in Spain, also employ it. However, they are not exactly compatible with the CoCo.



The CoCo2 was released in 1983 and is not far removed from the original. It was primarily introduced because it was cheaper to produce, but it did have some improvements. It came with 16 Kb. RAM and a new Disk BASIC 1.1 , capable of running Microware OS9 disks.

The CoCo game library was small but interesting, with titles such as Arkanoid , Flight Simulator I and II , Pitfall II or Zaxxon . Educational software was also present, with games such as Donald's Duck Playground , Mickey's Space Adventure or Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego . A total of around 250 titles were released for these computers.


Flight Simulator II and Donald's Duck Playground

The most popular emulator for the CoCo / CoCo2 computers is Xroar . It also emulates the similar Dragon32/64 computers, for the above-mentioned reasons. The necessary BIOSes can be found on this website .

Most games come in the form of disk images and they are loaded using these commands:

DIR 0 will give us a list of the contents of the disk. We'll be looking for BAS or BIN files.



We load BAS files with the command RUN "0:FILENAME.BAS" .

And BIN files with LOADM "0:FILENAME.BIN" : EXEC

Cartridge games are loaded with the menu option File --> Run .

And finally, tapes are loaded with either the CLOAD or CLOADM commands, although we can also use the File --> Run option.

The Color Computer 3 (or CoCo3 ) was the final CoCo model and was introduced in 1986. On the exterior it looks like the previous model, but this time inside there are some important changes.



This picture above shows a typical CoCo3 setup, with a Multi-Pak addon and external disk drives. The Multi-Pak added four extra cartridge slots and provided enough power for external disk drives.

Te CoCo3 is compatible with earlier CoCo software, but is quite different internally. The CPU is still a Motorola 6809E, but now it runs only at 1.79 MHz. RAM is now 128 Kb. by default, but it can be upgraded to 512 Kb. or beyond using third party addons. The new GIME video chip finally allows for RGB monitors and introduces several new graphic modes, such as 320x192x4, 320x192x16, 640x192x2, and 640x192x4 from a 64 color palette.

And finally, BASIC was upgraded again. It's still the old Microsoft BASIC, but now it adds a few proprietary extensions from Microware and it's known as OS-9 Level 2 .

The CoCo3 was produced until 1990, when Tandy announced his retirement. It's difficult to evaluate the impact of this decision, because Tandy never provided official sales figures. It seems that the CoCo had an important userbase, but maintaining an 8-bit computer by this time was probably not profitable for Tandy anymore.

The main interest in emulating the CoCo3 are the few games that support its modifications. Games such as the RoboCop cartridge or the Sierra AGI ports.


RoboCop and King's Quest III

Athough Xroar is starting to emulate the CoCo3, I prefer to use the emulator VCC to run CoCo3 games. Before we run anything, we need to take a couple of steps, though:

First we need to set up a Multi-Pak unit. We do that through the menu option Cartridge --> Cartridge --> Load Cart and we choose the MPI.DLL file from the emulator folder.

Now we also need to set up a floppy drive. We do it through the Cartridge --> MPI Slot 4 --> FD502.DLL option.

Now let's load the game Leisure Suit Larry I got from the TSR-80 Color Computer Archive website. The games there come in a variety of disk formats. Original , Floppy 360K or Floppy 720K are supported by this emulator.

We enter the first disk image from the menu option Cartridge --> FD-502 Drive 0 and, since it is a OS-9 disk, we load it with the DOS command.



Now don't panic! This is the standard Sierra welcome screen. We first enter the time and date using the given format or similar. And then we enter SIERRA to load the game itself.





And there we go again!

 

Today... the Atari 8-bit computer family.



In the Europe of the 1980s, Atari was best known for their 8-bit consoles, the 2600, the 5200 and the 7800. However, at the same time Atari had been selling a series of 8-bit computers in the USA with remarkable success. They were created to compete against the Apple II and later the Commodore 64. They were never as popular as those other two computers, but they managed to sell around 2 million units from 1979 and 1992. I think they were also exported to Europe and, after 1989, the eastern block.

The main obstacle on their way to success was Commodore's aggressive policy of constantly lowering the price of the Commodore 64. This was intended to eliminate the TI 99/4, but it also affected the Atari computers. Also, after 1985 Atari had a new owner, Jack Tramiel from Commodore, and his priority was to compete against the 16-bit Commodore Amiga with his own 16-bit computer, the Atari ST.

The Atari 8-bit computers employed the MOS Technology 6502 CPU running at 1,79 Mhz. It was a popular CPU at the time, also used by the Apple II, the Commodore 64 and, later, the consoles NES / Famicom and Atari Lynx. However, the Atari computers used it together with a set of proprietary chips, known as ANTIC (for video), CTIA/GTIA (TV interface) and POKEY (keyboard, sound). This hardware was designed by Jay Miner, who would later participate in the creation of the Amiga. As a result, the Atari 8-bit computers could display graphics at 320x192 and 160x96 resolutions, in monochrome or 128 colors respectively. As for the sound, their hardware could play four simultaneous voices.

The same hardware was used in the Atari 5200 console, although programs need modifications in order to work in both machines.

The first Atari 8-bit models were the 400/800 series. The picture above is of a 400 computer, with 8 or 16 Kb. RAM. The 800 model is identical but with a "proper" keyboard.

The 1200 XL arrived in 1982, with 64 Kb. RAM and several incompatibilities with the previous models.

The 600 / 800 XL models were sold between 1982 and 1985. Apart from a new case and RAM sizes (16 Kb. that could be upgraded to 64 or 128), the system ROM became part of the computer and no longer came in the form of a cartridge. They also offer several new video modes.



The Atari 65 / 130 XE were introduced in 1985 and their new case resembles the new Atari ST design. They now carry 64 or 128 Kb. RAM.



And finally, there's the XE Game System / XEGS videoconsole, which was released in 1987. It can run all the software for these machines, as long as it is in cartridge format.



The Atari 8-bit computer family has plenty of games. Right now the website MobyGames has categorised around 2.000 of them. They first came in the form of cartridges (in the 400/800 series, the cartridge slot is under the plastic "hood" above the keyboard), but later used external 5 and 1/4 disks and tape units as well.

If I had to describe the game library of these machines in a few words, those would be PC Booter. It's not only that many game titles and companies (such as Sierra or Lucasfilm) appear in both platforms. I also think the graphics resemble those of the CGA Composite. I mean, look:


Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai, by Adventure International


Donkey Kong, by Atari US


The Dark Crystal, by Sierra On-Line


World Karate Championship, by Epyx

Regarding emulation, the best emulator for this platform is likely Altirra. Some games require BIOS, which are not easy to find, but both cartridges (files with ROM, BIN, A52 and CAR extensions) and disks (ATL, ATX extensions) usually boot up automatically, which is very helpful. Tapes (WAV, CAS extensions) however need a few extra steps to load:

- Insert a BASIC cartridge (except for 600 / 800 XL machines or newer, I imagine).
- Insert the tape image.
- Type one of the following instructions. They depend on how the program was saved: CLOAD, LOAD "C:", ENTER "C:" or RUN "C:"
- Press PLAY on tape and RETURN on the keyboard.
- Unless you used the command RUN "C:", you may need to enter RUN once the program has loaded.

Oh, and some games will expect you to use the START, SELECT and OPTION keys. In Altirra those are mapped to F2, F3 and F4.

Finally, there's one game you absolutely MUST play on this system. Is the 2021 port of Prince of Persia, which requires 128 Kb. RAM. It's available here on disk or cartridge formats. I wholeheartedly recommend you get the cartridge version, because it loads much faster.

It has become my favorite game for the system.

 

Today it's the time to talk about the TI 99/4.



The TI 99/4 is the only computer by Texas Instruments and was released in 1981. TI was, and still is, best known for their calculators and components for other computers. They probably decided to enter in the computer market following the example of Commodore.

The TI 99/4 was quite impressive for its day. For starters, despite being designed to compete against all the above mentioned computers, it's a 16-bit computer, based on the TMS9900 CPU running at 3'3 Mhz. It also contained dedicated video (TMS9918A) and sound chips (TMS9919 or SN94624), which would see later use in machines such such as the ColecoVision, the Sega SG-1000 or the MSX. The Achiles heel of the hardware was RAM size. Models came with 16 Kb., but only 256 bytes were accesible by the CPU, the rest being reserved for the video chip. Despite this, the computer could display graphics at a 256x192 resolution with either 15 colors or 32 single color sprites, and play 3-voice sounds.

Software could be loaded through cartridges or external cassette or 5 and 1/4 disk units. Other extras available were a Extended Basic cartridge, a RS-232 interface, a printer, a voice synthetizer and extra RAM.

So, did it fare well in the market? Nope. You can blame Commodore for it, at least in part. Commodore was headed at the time by Jack Tramiel, a name that appears frecuently when we talk about computers in this period. He was infamous for his ruthlessness, and the TI 99/4 affair is one of the reasons. Texas Instruments and Commodore had been rivals in the calculator market during the years before, and Commodore didn't want to repeat the situation. Following the release of the TI 99/4 Commodore started lowering the price of their VIC-20 and C64 computers until Texas Instruments was selling the TI 99/4 for under its manufactoring cost. Yes, literally TI lost money with every computer they sold, and in the end it ammounted to hundreds of millions in dollars.

But TI also made their own mistakes regarding the computer. It was more expensive than the competition, probably because of its custom 16-bit CPU, and its software catalog was smaller, because TI didn't -or couldn't- get game manufacturers to support its machine. All the software for the machine is therefore either produced by TI or homebrew created after the demise of the platform.

Under this conditions, TI sold the 99/4 until 1984, when it ceased production. The sales were good, with around three million units sold in three years, but the machine had proved a costly move for the company. TI would stay off the computer market from then on.

So, what TI 99/4 games are available? More than you'd expect. We have some text adventures by Scott Adams, such as Adventure and plenty of educational software. But probably its best titles are Atari conversions like Centipede, Defender, Pac-Man or Pole Position. And we also have some conversions from other developers, like Donkey Kong, and a pretty good Space Invaders clone called TI Invaders.


Burger Time


Donkey Kong

The best emulator for the system seems to be Classic99 by Mike Brent. It comes with the necessary BIOS files and a pretty good game selection.

Running any of the included games is as easy as selecting it from the menus:



The computer then will reset, and the program will be listed in the starting menu:





By default the joystick is mapped to cursors and the TAB key.

To load games from our collection we use either the Cartridge --> User --> Open or the Disk --> DSK0 options from the menus. As usual, cartridges will run inmediately after a reset, whereas disks will give us more work. It seems the commands to load a program from disk differ depending on the BASIC version we're using.

With either TI Basic, we type OLD "DSK1.NAME-OF-THE-GAME" and then RUN.

With Extended Basic, just OLD "DSK1.NAME-OF-THE-GAME".

With the Editor/Assembler cartridge, we first choose the Load and run option and then we type DSK1.NAME-OF-THE-GAME.

If this fails, we try with START, MAIN or NAME-OF-THE-GAME.

With Editor/Assembler, we first choose the Run program file option, and then type DSK1.NAME-OF-THE-GAME.

Personally, I find this very cumbersome, so I recommend you to stick to game cartridges.

 

Is Old-Games.ru ready for the Mattel Aquarius? I don't know, I don't know...



So yes, it's what you're thinking. An 8-bit computer by the makers of Ken and Barbie. It's not that Mattel was a newbie when it came to videogames, because between 1979 and 1983 they had been selling the Mattel Intellivision videoconsole. This videoconsole was created as competition for the Atari 2600 and sold very well, around three million units. However, the videogame market was only a secondary concern for Mattel, and when the 1983 videogame crisis started showing, they quickly sold the Intellivision to another company.

By 1983 the videogame market came to a screeching halt. There were just too many systems, the quality standards had dropped and people were abandoning videoconsoles in favor of the new 8-bit domestic computers. It was an unprecedented situation, and some experts even believed it was the end of the videogame era. Mattel quickly assesed the situation and decided it was the moment to abandon the Intellivision and develop an 8-bit computer. Actually, they didn't develop anything. The Mattel Aquarius was created by Hong Kong manufacturer Radofin, who had also designed the Intellivision. However, the finished product only lasted a few months in the stores.

It wasn't only because of the turbulent time of its release. The Aquarius was an underpowered, outdated computer even by 1983 standards. It used the omnipresent Zilog Z80 CPU running at 3'5 Mhz., but shipped with only 4 Kb. RAM. Once the Microsoft BASIC was loaded, only 1'7 Kb. remained available for the user! Mattel offered RAM expansions, but since the computer only had one cartridge slot things could become messy very quickly.

The graphics and sound were equally poor. The Aquarius could display graphics at a 320x192 resolution with 16 colors, but the graphics themselves consisted of a set of 128 semi-graphic characters included in the ROM. And the sound could only use one channel, unless users spend extra money in an add-on with the General Instrument AY-3-8910 sound chip.

So, while the Aquarius was significantly cheaper than most home computers of its day, its shortcomings were evident. Event the staff at Mattel jokingly defined as "a system for the 1970s". It was available for a short period in toy stores and then it vanished as quickly as it had arrived. After just three months, Mattel sold the rights of the computer back to Radofin.

There aren't many amulators for the Aquarius. AquaLite has the advantage of including most of the games for the platform, but I don't like the way it handles tapes, so I prefer to use MAME instead.

Wikipedia lists 75 games for the system, but saying 30 would be more accurate. And many of them are just Intellivision ports. Anyway, said games were available either in cartridge or tape form. Cartridge images use the BIN extension and work afer a warm reset.




Advanced Dungeons and Dragons

Tape images use the CAQ extension and are loaded through the Microsoft BASIC. They usually come in two separate tapes, and the first loads with the command CLOAD and the second with RUN.




Breakout

Here you can notice the graphic limitations of the Aquarius... instead of a proper ball we get the closest equivalent from the semi-graphic set.

And this is pretty much what I can tell you about the system. I wonder if it has a cameo in the new Barbie movie.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, the Spectravideo SVI-318 and SVI-328.



These two 1983 computers are mostly known for being the inspiration for the first generation of MSX computers. It's unclear to me wether Microsoft and ASCII based their MSX hardware on them, or if they were part of the MSX initiative but were released too soon.

Let's start with their manufacturer, Spectravideo. They were an American company best known for their peripherals such as the Quickshot joysticks:



But they also developed software for the Atari 2600 and the Commodore VIC-20. Spectravideo would later attempt to enter the computer market, and these two computers, the SVI-318 and the SVI-328 would be their first attempt. The above picture shows a SVI-318. The SVI-328 is identical except for a full stroke keyboard and having some extra RAM.



Both computers share the hardware with what would become the first generation of the MSX standard. As such, they have a Zilog Z80 CPU running at 3.58 Mhz., 16 Kb. RAM (64 in the case of the SVI-328) plus another 16 Kb. Video RAM, a TMS9918 graphic chip and a AY-3-8910 sound chip. They ran Microsoft Extended BASIC and could load software from cartridge, cassette or disks, the later two requiring external units. As it was usual at the time, connecting a disk drive to the computer also allowed access to the CP/M software library.

Although the hardware for these computers was very close to the first MSX generation, they were incompatible. This is because the BASIC, memory management and expansion ports were different. This hardware is not only similar to the MSX. It's also remarkably close to the ColecoVision and the Sega SG-1000 and SC-3000 videoconsoles.

Spectravideo was fast to correct the main problem with this computer, the lack of MSX compatibility and thus a reduced game library, through the use of add-ons. The so-called SV-603 ColecoVision Video Game Adapter allowed access to the ColecoVision cartridges, and there are rumors of addons, both from Spectravideo and third parties, that provide MSX compatibility. Spectravideo would later release a "proper" MSX machine, the SVI-738, and even an IBM PC - MSX2 hybrid, the SVI-838:



The game library of the Spectravideo SVI-318 and SVI-328 consists of around 200 titles. Quite a few of them seem hacked MSX and ColecoVision games, though.

Emulators? I used to think MAME was the only emulator that bothered to emulate these, but lately I've found out that both ZEsarUX, blueMSX and openMSX also support them. In this guide we'll use openMSX. Games are loaded as usual, through the command line or with the Catapult frontend:




We choose the SVI-328 model because of the extra RAM. Otherwise some games will refuse to load with only 16 Kb. RAM. All the games in my set are tape images, although there should be some cartridge images floating around as well. Games load with the CLOAD and RUN commands, wich openMSX enters automatically.





Yie Ar Kung-Fu seems like an MSX hack and plays exactly like its MSX counterpart. But there are other genuine Spectravideo videogames out there.

EDIT: I found some cartridge images for this system. There are only a few of them -like 6- and were developed by Spectravideo themselves. Here's Frantic Freddy:

 

The final entry on this thread will be about the Atari ST family. No that they are obscure or hard to emulate, but... I might continue talking about obscure computers in other threads, I don't know yet. There are plenty of interesting systems that are mostly unknown outside the UK or France, and I'm open about talking about them, but I just haven't planned anything yet.



The Atari ST are a family of 16/32-bit computers released between 1985 and 1993, when Atari turned their efforts towards the Atari Jaguar videoconsole and abondoned the home computer market.

The Atari ST history is very related to the story of the Commmodore Amiga. So much in fact that I can't speak of it without explaining the origins of the Amiga as well. Trying to keep things simple, Hi-Toro (later Amiga Corp.) was founded in 1982 by former Atari employees and started working on a 16-bit machine, first a videoconsole and later a computer. Hi-Toro was independent from both Atari and Commodore, but at one point accepted money from Atari in exchange for the rights of the computer for a short period.

Then the continents drifted. Jack Tramiel, the head of Commodore, left the company in 1984 after a bitter feud with his partner Irving Gould. Tramiel wanted to develop a 16/32-bit computer in order to compete against the Macintosh, but Gould wouldn't have it. In a bold move Tramiel left Commodore, bought Atari's assets and found out about the Amiga project. Meanwhile, the people at Amiga Corp. grew concerned. Tramiel had a bad reputation in the business. Worried that their project would end up under his control, they started courting Commodore, and eventually Amiga Corp. became a subsidiary of Commodore in the fall of 1984.

Tramiel reacted to this inmediately. Using the old ties betwen Amiga Corp. and Atari, he sued Commodore to prevent them from selling the Amiga while he developed his own 16-bit computer, the Atari ST. It's unclear to me if Tramiel really believed he had rights over the Amiga technology or he was just delaying his rival while he developed the ST. Whichever was the case, his plan worked, because he managed to start selling the ST a few months earlier than the arrival of the Amiga. These lawsuits were later settled out of court.

The Atari ST never managed to outsell the Amiga. While the Amiga was an incredibly powerful machine for its time, the Atari ST was produced to be cheap and affordable. For example, instead of the sofisticated Paula sound chip, the ST had a variant of the General Instrument AY-3-8910, which had seen service on many 8-bit computers. On the other hand, it also included a MIDI port and could be connected to pretty much every TV of the era. Until Commodore released the Amiga A500 in 1987, users could obtain an Atari ST for less than half of the cost of an Amiga.

Despite being much less powerful than the Amiga, the ST became very popular, especially in Europe, and sold around 6 million units. It was much appreciated because of its versatility and low cost.

Hardware-wise, the ST is remarkably similar to the Amiga. They both have a case containing the keyboard, motherboard and a 3'5 disk drive accesible from the side. Both also employ the Motorola 68000 CPU running at 7-8 Mhz. and shipped with either 512 Kb. or 1 Mb. RAM. Although their video hardware was less powerful than the Amiga's, they could display graphics at 300x200x16, 640x200x4 (from a 512 color palette) and 640x400 in monochrome.

Their operating system was known as TOS, and was based on a CP/M variant for 68k CPUs. On top of it sat GEM, a graphic interface that had seen some use on the early days of the PC. Together they gave the ST a distinctive green desktop with big icons:



Said TOS / GEM combo usually loaded from ROM, but in the first models it could come in the form of a bootdisk. Today there are modern replacements for this operating system, such as EmuTOS or FreeMiNT, but they usually require more RAM or a harddrive.

Several different models followed the initial Atari STs. These are the most relevant:

The Mega ST arrived in 1987. The use a "pizza box" computer case and have between 1 and 4 Mb. RAM. TOS v1.02 or 1.04.

The STe models arrived in late 1989 and are notable for having an extended 4096 color palette. However, only a bunch of games / demos use it. They also use TOS 2.05 or 2.06.

The TT030 arrived in 1990. It saw use as a UNIX server and as a graphic workstation, but it is notable for using a Motorola 68030 CPU and being the first 32-bit ST. TOS v4.04.

The Atari Falcon was the last member of the ST family and was realeased in 1992. It's also a 32-bit machine, using a 68030 CPU at 16 Mhz. and 4 Mb. RAM. TOS v4.04.



The Atari ST had a fantastic game library of around 2.500 games. Many of these are also available for the Amiga with slightly better graphics and sound, but ST emulation is considerably simpler, so there's that.

The best ST emulators available right now are Steem Engine SSE and Hatari. In both cases, emulation is really simple. First we choose a TOS image (the UK versions of 1.0 or 1.02 are the most compatible), then a floppy disk image and we boot up the computer. There's not much else to do, really, unless the game can use the STe extended palette. Then we'll have to choose an STe model and a 2.X TOS.

In the worst case scenario, the disk will lead us to the ST green dektop. In such cases, we explore the disk unit, look for files with the PRG or TOS extension and double click on them.

But normally we'll be dealing with compilation disks created by the crews of the time (Pompey Pirates, Automation), and all we have to do is follow the menus.




Test Drive

Graphic and control preferences are accesible through the wrench button (in Steem SSE) or pressing F12 (in Hatari).

 

There's a new Apple II / IIGS emulator in town, and it's called Crossrunner . Compared to what I've seen before, it's rather peculiar.

First things first, it seems to have good compatibility and the best GUI I've seen for Windows IIGS emulators:



My main issue with it is that it doesn't seem to recognize all games in my TOSEC set. But do not despair, because you can download Apple II and IIGS games from within the emulator, and yes, these work fine:





Now they only need to refine the game downloader (it has some obvious mistakes and games missing) and let me use the keyboard as a joystick.