SuperCharger Disk BASIC - 2 MB Atari Games

[Mr SQL]

BIG DATA for the Atari 2600 via classic hardware and magnetic Tape

SuperCharger Disk BASIC can be used to create Atari programs up to 2 MB in size in a single ROM or on a standard audio cassette with the SuperCharger.

This allows for modular program design with BASIC variables shared between the program modules.

This is made possible by a security subsystem and ISAM mechanism in the SuperCharger that was ahead of it's time much like the ADAM Home Computers high speed indexed tape drive, allowing a directory structure on high speed magnetic tape to function similarly to a Disk drive in principle.

How it works:

Programs load other programs from the directory using standard MS-DOS style commands added to BASIC just like the Microsoft Disk Extended BASIC for the TRS-80 and Dragon computers.

[DegasElite]

So, can these be played on a stock A2600 or does it need a SuperCharger? Do you need special cartridges to play games as a ROM image?

[DegasElite]

If it does need a SuperCharger, I do have one. But, I am curious about this.

[Mr SQL]

3 hours ago, DegasElite said:

So, can these be played on a stock A2600 or does it need a SuperCharger? Do you need special cartridges to play games as a ROM image?

You need a flashcart like the Harmony, Encore, Uno or PlusCart to play the large ROM images, the SuperCharger and CuttleCart can play the big games from Cassette.

[DegasElite]

Interesting. Something to look into. Thanks. :O)

[DegasElite]

One other question: how many megabytes can an audio cassette hold? I am not sure how much a 90-minute audio cassette can hold on each side. It's a cool idea, though. I would be interested in working with cassettes because the specialized cartridges are too cost-prohibitive. But, the games could be ported to a CD like Stella Gets a New Brain, I would gather. I am guessing they could be if they were encoded a certain way on the compact disc. Could that work, too?

Edited March 7, 2021 by DegasElite

[Mr SQL]

8 hours ago, DegasElite said:

One other question: how many megabytes can an audio cassette hold? I am not sure how much a 90-minute audio cassette can hold on each side. It's a cool idea, though. I would be interested in working with cassettes because the specialized cartridges are too cost-prohibitive. But, the games could be ported to a CD like Stella Gets a New Brain, I would gather. I am guessing they could be if they were encoded a certain way on the compact disc. Could that work, too?

Yes you can create either one large audio file or a playlist of the audio files to loop on your iPod or CD player and the seek mechanism will find the correct file.

A looping cassette fully emulates disk drive functionality because the tape has to loop, an auto reversing deck will also do this and doubles the capacity for using both sides.

A C-15 on an auto reversing deck will accommodate 2 MB at the fastest baud rate setting which is probably a good idea for a program that large on tape - pushing the technology to that limit will also cause the variable wait time between loads to be up to 1/2 hour.

A a 3 minute continuous looping tape will hold 180K like a floppy disk and the variable load time will feel slightly faster than a Commodore 1541 Disk Drive. 

 But it also depends on the program architecture - those are the average random access times, if you are not using the Tape Drive like a Disk Drive, and always loading the large game modules sequentially, then wait time would only be seconds.

[DegasElite]

Thanks for the information. Interesting stuff. :O)