Mr SQL Posted March 5, 2021 Report Posted March 5, 2021 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. MaximumRD, DegasElite and Justin 1 2 Quote ATARI FLASHBACK BASIC! Make games for the AFP with awesome graphics, animation and a built in tracker/sequencer! Compatible with all Atari consoles! The IDE is already installed on your PC! Atari Flashback BASIC is cross compatible with the SuperCharger too! AFB games can be recompiled with no changes using the SuperCharger BASIC compiler, available at Relationalframework.com/vwBASIC
DegasElite Posted March 6, 2021 Report Posted March 6, 2021 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? Quote
DegasElite Posted March 6, 2021 Report Posted March 6, 2021 If it does need a SuperCharger, I do have one. But, I am curious about this. Quote
Mr SQL Posted March 6, 2021 Author Report Posted March 6, 2021 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 1 Quote ATARI FLASHBACK BASIC! Make games for the AFP with awesome graphics, animation and a built in tracker/sequencer! Compatible with all Atari consoles! The IDE is already installed on your PC! Atari Flashback BASIC is cross compatible with the SuperCharger too! AFB games can be recompiled with no changes using the SuperCharger BASIC compiler, available at Relationalframework.com/vwBASIC
DegasElite Posted March 6, 2021 Report Posted March 6, 2021 Interesting. Something to look into. Thanks. :O) Quote
DegasElite Posted March 7, 2021 Report Posted March 7, 2021 (edited) 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 Quote
Mr SQL Posted March 7, 2021 Author Report Posted March 7, 2021 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 1 Quote ATARI FLASHBACK BASIC! Make games for the AFP with awesome graphics, animation and a built in tracker/sequencer! Compatible with all Atari consoles! The IDE is already installed on your PC! Atari Flashback BASIC is cross compatible with the SuperCharger too! AFB games can be recompiled with no changes using the SuperCharger BASIC compiler, available at Relationalframework.com/vwBASIC
DegasElite Posted March 8, 2021 Report Posted March 8, 2021 Thanks for the information. Interesting stuff. :O) Quote
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