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RevEng pointed me to some issues related to using DASM on 64-bit machines. So I took the chance and updated the archive containing all compilers and the zero installation distributions. They now include
- DASM (2.20.11-20140304/2015-04-04)
- KICKASS (V3.39/2015-03-26)
- XASM (3.1.0) for Mac OS X Intel provided by 0xF
For the exact versions, dates, and platforms, see the section Installing Compilers. I've also automated my build for the compilers process on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X so that I can provide future updates, hopefully with less effort. I also contacted Mark Schmelzenbach, so hopefully, I can update ATASM to version 1.08 soon.
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Randy Kindig, Kay Savetz, and Brad Arnold host an entertaining ANTIC podcast on Atari 8-bit computers. In December of last year, I had the pleasure of giving Randy an interview via Skype that has now been released. The download as MP3 is available at https://ataripodcast.libsyn.com. Enjoy 50 minutes of stories and funny explanations of why nerdy people do nerdy things.
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On 2015-29-01, I've given a presentation during the event night at the Digital Retropark in Offenbach/Germany. The event was recorded and is now available as a video with German audio. I've created this tutorial page for the Atari 2600 Video Computer System (VCS) to host the related information. The purpose of the tutorial is to show interested people the history of the Atari 2600, explain the hardware design decisions, and how they impacted the way of programming - making programming the Atari 2600 a unique experience and challenge. And I describe examples illustrating how programmers adopted the machine's limitations and strengths to create better graphics over 30 years. The following material is available for you:
- Slides & Source Code used for the presentation.
- English video, recorded at the "plugIn - Geek out" event at SAP in January 2014. This video is 35 minutes long and consists of two parts. The first part gives a short overview of the history and inner workings. In the second part, I show how to code for the Atari 2600 using WUDSN IDE. Changing a single line of code and seeing immediately what happens brings you as close as possible to the machine.
- German video, recorded during the event night at the Digital Retropark in January 2015. This video is 1:15 hours long and entirely focuses on explaining the inner workings and how better code makes better graphics possible. This video does not contain any coding parts.
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The purpose of the "Atari ROM Maker" is to convert plain ROM files (".bin", ".rom") into cartridge files (".car") within command line scripts. The resulting files will have the correct header and checksum. As a result, emulators will recognize them correctly, and you will not be prompted to choose the cartridge type every time. Unlike the interactive conversion options offered in most emulators, the command line tool can be incorporated into your build process. This allows for a single build process that creates multiple target formats. For example, you can create ".car" files for Atarimax Maxflash, SIC!, MegaCart, and others with the same script. It is open source, written in pure Java, and runs fine on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. The download is available here. The source code is available here.
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Silly Venture 2k14 - the most significant international Atari party in history - is over, and it's been a blast. Here are some of my impressions. You can click on the images to enlarge them. My travel featured a slightly delayed flight from Frankfurt to Gdansk... that ended unplanned in Posznan due to the bad weather conditions in Gdansk. And after "only" 5 hours of bus ride, we arrived at Gdansk airport at 1:00 am.
From there, I went by taxi to Hostel Bursztynek, where I had planned to share a room with Slator, who unfortunately could not attend the party.
The party place was the elementary school close by, and the banners outside clearly indicated that this was where the fun was.
Inside, you could find what we have all been dealing with since 1986: Pretty girls on disks.
Again, I intentionally did not bring any computer. Instead, I used the available time to talk to friends and get to know new people, like Till Harbaum, the creator of the Atari MIST.
Every visitor also received a "Have you played Atari today - we have" car plate holder, which is appropriately mounted on my car.
You can find tons of additional pictures on ftp.pigwa.net. After the party, we tried hard to collect 250 reasons for Silly Venture 2k15. And it looked for a while that there would even be a summer party edition.
Yet, ultimately, Grey decided that he would not organize another edition in the future.
I am genuinely thankful for all he did and the damn best demo parties I've ever attended. The days I spent in Gdansk in 2013 and 2014 are some of the most memorable moments in my life. He deserves tremendous respect for all the work and passion he put into making Silly Venture the most fantastic Atari party in history. He received the lifetime Atari award at Silly Venture 2k14 for an excellent reason: He fucking deserves it! To ensure all the Atari 8-bit people properly celebrate the party at home, I will release a Silly Pack 2k14. But this will take some time due to the number and nature of the releases requiring heavy patching. Stay tuned, stay Atari!