Bally Alley - The Newsletter for Astrocade Users


			What's New
	January 5, 2012 I) Added a picture of one of the inventors of the Blue Ram device. This picture was sent to Bob Fabris in 1980. This is one of the two inventors of the Blue Ram. It is either Clyde or John Perkins. Clyde is John's father and he created the hardware, while John created the software. Mr. Perkins, one of the Blue Ram Inventors December 22, 2011 I) Added disassembly of "Star Battle" in text format. This source code is for the Bally cartridge "Star Battle." The cartridge has been disassembled by, possibly, Tom Woods in 1979. As it was included in the Bob Fabris collection without any notes to who actually did it, it is impossible to know for sure. The source code, including cross-reference and an opcode listing, is 30 pages. This new "Star Battle" disassembly is available in text format. It is ready to assemble and will match 100% with the cartridge ROM. The cartridge was disassembled from scratch and it was only after it was nearly finished that the PDF version of the disassembly was consulted. The text version is probably the preferred version for many people, but the PDF does have some additional comments to offer. "Star Battle" Disassembly (Ready to Assemble) December 20, 2011 I) Added a "Brickyard / Clowns" Disassembly. Cartridge disassembly begun in 2011 by Adam Trionfo. Here is more general information about the classic "Break-out" type game. Brickyard / Clowns - Videocade #2004 Programmed by Bob Ogdon, Audio by Scot Norris Bally Mfg. Corp. - Action/Skills Series Released 1978 "Brickyard / Clowns" Disassembly December 10, 2011 I) Added a picture of two people from the early 1980 Astrocade era who are still talking about the Astrocade today. This picture was taken in November 2011. Ken Lill is on the left, and Mike White is on the right. Ken Lill and Mike White with White Astrocades December 7, 2011 I) Combined two previous scanned pdf files of the Bally "Football" cartridge source code into one pdf file for easier use. "Football" (Scan of Original Source Code) II) Added "Football" source code. This source code assembles and matches byte-for-byte with the released cartridge. "Football" (Retyped, Ready for Assembly) III) Added a disassembly of the Bally/Astrocade cartridge "Seawolf/Missile" (Videocade #2002). This game was programmed by Rick Spiece and released in 1977. This partial disassembly was started by Adam Trionfo in 2011. The binary output matches byte-for-byte with original cartridge release. Although only one day was spent working with this file, a respectable amount of work was done and it seems worth sharing. "Seawolf/Missile" (Partial Disassembly) IV) Added "Fast Action Graphics" which is probably by John Perkins. This program is from an article in the "Arcadian" Vol 2, No. 10 (Sept 17. 1980) "Fast Action Graphics" using Foreground/Background Processing. This program runs on a Bally/Astrocade in the expansion RAM beginning at $6000. This program was originally meant to be entered into the Blue Ram Utility as a machine language program. Watch the Perkin's Engineering graphic (a "PE") bounce around the screen without disturbing what is there! The speed of motion is controlled by the #1 knob. Another special effect produced by this routine is a "curtain of invisibility" at the top of the screen. As the graphic moves behind the curtain, it disappears one-half pixel at a time. The size of the curtain is also controlled by the #1 knob. Notice that you can still enter programs, etc. in BASIC because the graphic movement is performed in the background mode where it does not tie up the processor. "Fast Action Graphics" (Text, Source Code) V) Updated "Critter" source code so that it runs under AstroBASIC. This Z80 source is based on what appears in the PEEK N' POKE manual. It been changed so that it runs under AstroBASIC and assembles under Zmac. The Z80 code it generates is the same as the BASIC listings that appear in the Arcadian and the Cursor newsletters except that the interrupt routine location has been changed from the Bally BASIC routine to the AstroBASIC routine. When assembled this program will NOT run as a cartridge as the program is meant to be run in AstroBASIC. The BASIC version of "Critter" can be found after the source code at the end of this file. "Critter" (Text, Source Code) VI) Added "Hello World!" by Adam Trionf. This program displays a short string, "HELLO, WORLD!" "HELLO, WORLD!" (Text, Source Code) VII) Added "Hello World ML Tutorial" by Adam Trionfo. This tutorial describes how to get a "Hello World" program running on a Bally Arcade / Astrocade. This article is aimed at those who want to get started programming the Astrocade using an assembler. For those people playing with classic systems, the words "assembler" and "assembly language" are thrown around rather often with little or no explanation of what the words mean. If you're just playing cartridges on your Bally/Astrocade, or loading a few BASIC programs, then there is no reason to understand how the game cartridges work. However, if the idea of what is going on DOES interest you, then this article will benefit you. After you finish reading, you will not only have a better understanding of an assembler, but you will also know how to use one. "'HELLO, WORLD!' ML Tutorial" November 16, 2011 I) Added a disassembly of the "Wizard of Wor" clone for the Astrocade called "The Incredible Wizard." This disassembly was begun in November 2011. There is a lot of work that needs to be done, but this is a beginning. "The Incredible Wizard" Disassembly (Text) October 31, 2011 I) Added grayscale and color scans of "Z80 CPU Microprocessor Instant Reference Card" by Micro-Logic Corp. This 8 1/2" x 11" double-side plastic Z80 reference card sums up just about all the programming information needed for the Z80 microprocessor. If you can find a used or new old-stock copy of this card then pick it up. It's a valuable tool and is very handy to have in its original durable plastic form. "Z80 CPU Microprocessor Instant Reference Card" (Grayscale PDF) "Z80 CPU Microprocessor Instant Reference Card" (Color PDF) October 28, 2011 I) Added "How to Use the Blue Ram Basic "PLAY%( ) Command" tutorial by George Moses. This article is from "Arcadian," June 1983, Page 128 and August 1983, Page 156. This tutorial has minor revisions and corrections by Richard Degler and Adam Trionfo. The PLAY command can be directly related to machine language programming and the music synthesizer. This article makes a perfect companion piece to the "Nutting Manual's" Music Processor section (pages 56-60) and Bally Arcade's audio information (103-105). "How to Use the Blue Ram Basic "PLAY%( ) Command" By George Moses October 27, 2011 I) Added text versions of the "Arcadian" volume 1 and pre-issues. Richard Degler has managed through time, effort and a labor of love to translate the text from these issues of the "Arcadian" into text format. "Arcadian" Pre-Volume 1 Issues (Text) "Arcadian" Volume I (Text) October 26, 2011 I) Added "Cartridge Tester" by Ken Lill written in June of 2011. This cartridge tester is used to test newly-created Bally/Astrocade cartridges. This cartridge requires expanded memory to run. "Cartridge Tester" by Ken Lill "Cartridge Tester" by Ken Lill (Text - Full Details) II) Added original "Color BASIC" notes (circa 198x) by Larry Hanson. These are the notes that Richard Degler used to create the "Color BASIC" manual in 2011. "Color BASIC" Notes (Circa 198x) by Larry Hanson (PDF) III) Added Lance Squire's "Christmas Special" update from February 2011 that fixes the colors on real hardware. "Christmas Special" by Lance Squire IV) Added "Maze Avenger" unoffical instructions by Paul Thacker. "Maze Avenger" Unoffical Instructions by Paul Thacker V) Added two more alternate labels for "Star Battle." "Star Battle" Alternate Label (Astrocade) "Star Battle" Alternate Label (Bally) VI) Added type-in program, "Graphic Character Maker" by Bob Weber. Published in the Arcadian newsletter as "Graphic Character Utility." This appeared in Arcadian, vol. 3, no. 12 (October 1981), pg. 128. This version is from the "Bob Fabris Collection." "Graphic Character Maker" by Bob Weber VII) Added two pictures of the "Graphic Character Maker" tape (front and back) by Bob Weber. "Graphic Character Maker" Tape Picture (Front) "Graphic Character Maker" Tape Picture (Back) VIII) If you have the initiative and would like to change an individual button of the MESS BASIC overlay "stickers," the buttons can be downloaded as an archive that contains both a TIFF and a PSD of each button. MESS BASIC Overlay "Stickers" (Individual Files) IX) Added an area with pictures of the AstroBASIC PCB. AstroBASIC PCB Picture Area October 25, 2011 I) Updated all of the areas in the Arcadian area to reflect the month of the newsletter as well as the page numbers of the issues. Arcadian Newsletter Area October 21, 2011 I) Added "Maze Avenger" by Dale Low from ARCADIAN, 6, no. 11/12 (October 31, 1984): 100. Note that the Arcadian newsletter provided no instructions on how to play this game, but plenty is provided in the archive. "Maze Avenger" is a maze game where the player's character creeps ever so slowly around the maze shooting objects that are not at all easily identifiable. When the character shoots all of the objects on the screen then the player advances to the next level. The player can be hit by-- well-- SOMETHING and it causes the player to be unable to shoot and also to be able to pass through walls. "Maze Avenger" by Dale (Zipped Archive with All Instructions) "Maze Avenger" by Dale (Detailed Background and Instructions - Text) "Maze Avenger" by Dale (BASIC and ML Save Procedure - Text) "Maze Avenger" by Dale (ML Disassembly and Commented BASIC Program) October 20, 2011 I) Added disassembled "Machine Music Demo." This program is by Brett Bilbrey. The source of this program is a hand-written Bally BASIC listing. The Machine language portion of the code was disassembled by Richard C Degler on October 16, 2011. The zipped archive contains the following programs: 1. HVGLIB.H - The header file needed to use the ZMac assembler to assemble the source file. 2. Machine Music Demo.asm - The Z80 source file disassembled by Richard Degler. 3. Machine Music Demo.bin - The binary file created by the assembly file. The file is NOT executable. 4. Machine Music Demo.lst - The assembly listing file created by ZMac. 5. Machine_Music_Demo.pdf - This is the original scan of Brett Bilbrey's Bally BASIC program. It is not easy to read, but all the information is there if you're a determined reader. Brett Bilbrey's "Machine Music Demo" disassembled by Richard Degler II) Added 300-Baud version of "Machine Music Demo." This program is by Brett Bilbrey. This machine language program loads via the 300-Baud interface into Bally BASIC. It is loaded with :RUN. Brett Bilbrey's "Machine Music Demo" (300-Baud Version) Brett Bilbrey's "Machine Music Demo" (Information) III) Added "Light Pen Sampler" By unknown (possibly H.A.R.D.) This machine language program loads via the 300-Baud interface into Bally BASIC. It is loaded with :INPUT. The machine language portion of this program has been disasembled by Richard Degler. You can download the disassembly here. "Light Pen Sampler" (300-Baud) "Light Pen Sampler" (Disassembly) IV) Added program listing for "Viper Test Pattern." This file was created by Richard Degler. "Viper Test Pattern" Archive V) Added an updated "Arcadian Title Maker" by Guy McLimore and Mike to the archive. This modified version is by Adam Trionfo. This program is useful for archiving 2000-Baud AstroBASIC programs and makes a great combination when used with "Repack" by Mike White. "Arcadian Title Maker" (Modified) VI) Added "L&M Title Screen Creation Method." Compiled by Adam Trionfo in 2011. This is a limited overview of a method (with programs) that can be used to create a new title screen for a L&M Software program. This method was used to create a title screen for "Sink the U-Boat." Previous experience archiving Bally/Astrocade programs is probably necessary to follow this overview. It would also be helpful to have used "Repacker," but you can probably get by without knowledge of that Astrocade Blue Ram BASIC Utility and learn as you go. "L&M Title Screen Creation Method" (Programs and Description) "L&M Title Screen Creation Method" (Detailed Description of Method) October 19, 2011 I) Added "Stars Example" for Color BASIC. This program is by Larry Hanson. The source of this program is some of Larry Hanson's paperwork. This "Color BASIC" program will display eight lines of asterisks in various colors. Richard Degler sorted through Larry's original paperwork and "fixed" that version. This WAV was created using Richard's save state for MESS. "Stars Example" by Larry Hanson for "Color BASIC" II) Added "Color BASIC - A First Program" by Lance Squire. This program was posted August 6, 2008 to the Bally Alley Discussion Group. This "Color BASIC" program displays eight lines of text that constantly change through random colors. "Color BASIC - A First Program" by Lance Squire for "Color BASIC" III) Added three Color BASIC examples by Larry Hanson. These three short "Color BASIC" programs each show an extremely short example of how to use "Color BASIC." Three Color BASIC examples by Larry Hanson for "Color BASIC" IV) Added "Color BASIC Demo" by Larry Hanson This "Color BASIC" program displays eight lines of rectangles that constantly change through random colors. This was Larry's longest "Color BASIC" program and was used as an example to show-off the features of "Color BASIC." "Color BASIC Demo" by Larry Hanson for "Color BASIC" V) Added Updated version of "Color BASIC" manual in both RTF and PDF format. "Color BASIC" Manual (PDF Version) "Color BASIC" Manual (RTF Version) VI) Updated the fixed version of "Color BASIC" by Jay Fenton with updates by Larry Hanson. The documentation has been updated and Larry Hanson's paperwork has been removed. "Color BASIC" (Fixed) October 18, 2011 I) Added "Roman Numerals" by Richard Degler for the fixed "Color BASIC" cartridge prototype. The "Color BASIC" program will convert decimal numbers from 1 to 32767 to Roman numerals. The 300-Baud WAV file is included as well as a Save State so that the program can be used under the MESS Emulator. "Roman Numerals" by Richard Degler for "Color BASIC" October 17, 2011 I) Added a review of the cartridge "Pirate's Chase." This review is an excerpt from an article called "Programmable Parade" that includes many reviews for various home consoles. This review calls the game "Pirate Chase," but the correct name of the game is "Pirate's Chase." "Pirates Chase" Review (PDF) "Pirates Chase" Review (Text) October 14, 2011 I) Added "Color BASIC" by Jay Fenton or perhaps by Jay Fenton with updates by Larry Hanson. This version has been fixed by Richard Degler so that it loads programs properly. "Color BASIC" is an updated BASIC featuring 32 colors. This cartridge was never released (this ROM is a fixed version of a prototype). The link to the fixed version of "Color BASIC" includes extra files, including a full disassembly of the source code among many other extras. Please note that this archive is in a state of flux at the moment and will certainly change. "Color BASIC" (Fixed) October 12, 2011 I) Added "Color BASIC" manual for the fixed version of the prototype that Ricard Degler fixed in March 2011. "Color BASIC" Manual (PDF Version) "Color BASIC" Manual (RTF Version) October 6, 2011 I) Added "The Music Synthesizer" by Chuck Thomka. "The synthesizer circuit, which is contained wholly within the 40 pin custom I/O chip, is a very versatile circuit which contains counters and amplifiers to give the programmer tremendous control of the three voice output along with a tremolo, vibrato, and even a noise generator. The output frequency range is very accurately adjustable from less than 14 hertz to ultrasonic frequencies. The upper limit may be set by the capacity of your TV sound system." This tutorial original was made up of two parts: 1. "The Music Synthesizer [Part 1]," ARCADIAN, 1, no. 8 (July 1979): 62-66. 2. "The Music Synthesizer, Part 2," ARCADIAN, 1, no. 9 (August 1979): 71-73. This text version of the tutorial is missing four parts as they appeared in the Arcadian newsletter. The missing parts are: 1. "Sound Graph" - A Bally BASIC program that allows access to the sound ports and makes a simple graph of the results. ARCADIAN, 1, no. 8 (July 1979): 65. 2. "Touch Tone Simulate" - A Bally BASIC program that can be used to dial phone numbers. ARCADIAN, 1, no. 8 (July 1979): 65. 3. "The Sound Synthesizer as Perceived by Chuck Thomka" - A visual overview of the sound ports. Brett Bilbrey has said that this has some errors, but he can't remember what they are. ARCADIAN, 1, no. 8 (July 1979): 66. 4. "Frequency Table" - A table of all the sound generating keys, their &(17) values, the resultant frequencies, and any special notes about them. ARCADIAN, 1, no. 9 (August 1979): 73. The two tutorials have been extracted from the two different issues of the Arcadian newsletter and combined into one PDF document, which is available here. "The Music Synthesizer" by Chuck Thomka (Text) "The Music Synthesizer" by Chuck Thomka (Complete PDF Version) II) Added 2000-Baud version of "Touch Tone Simulate" by Chuck Thomka. This program is from a tutorial called "The Music Synthesizer." The program is located in: 1. ARCADIAN, 1, no. 8 (July 1979): 65. 2. ARCADIAN, 2, no. 10 (Sept 1980): 90. (Modification) "Touch Tone Simulate" allows the user to type in a phone number, and then dial it by placing a phone near the TV speaker and then pressing PRINT. The Bally Arcade will automatically dial the phone number. Make sure that when you use the program that your TV's volume is set to a high enough level so that your telephone can "hear" the TV. "Touch Tone Simulate" by Chuck Thomka (2000-Baud) "Touch Tone Simulate" Instructions and In-Depth Discussion "The Music Synthesizer" Tutorial (PDF) "The Music Synthesizer" Tutorial (Text) III) Added 2000-Baud version of "Sound Graph" by Chuck Thomka. This program is from a tutorial called "The Music Synthesizer." The program is located in: 1. ARCADIAN, 1, no. 8 (July 1979): 65. "Sound Graph" is part of the "The Music Synthesizer" tutorial by Chuck Thomka. In order to understand what "Sound Graph" is doing, the user must read the tutorial or at least have previous knowledge of the sound ports. With this knowledge, then you may be able to make some noises, but you won't be able to understand why they work or really what is happening. There is a link to the tutorial below. "Sound Graph" is an early BASIC program that allows direct access to the sound ports. The user can try making different sounds by changing the ports with an interface that uses hand controller #1. For additional information, there are more documents available: "Sound Graph" by Chuck Thomka (2000-Baud) "Sound Graph" Instructions and In-Depth Discussion "The Music Synthesizer" Tutorial (PDF) "The Music Synthesizer" Tutorial (Text) III) Added "Video:Video," by Fred Rodney. "Video:Video" is a video art program from 1984 that uses four-color graphics on a split screen. When the program is finished it loops and starts again. "Video:Video" by Fred Rodney Directions and background information about "Video:Video" October 5, 2011 I) Updated the 2000-Baud Miscellaneous area. It is not much easier to read. 2000-Baud Miscellaneous Area II) Added "Color Pick 2" by Lance Squire. This AstroBASIC program is used to determine the hex value associated with the Bally/Astrocade color ports. The user inputs numbers in HEX using the controller in port 1 and by pressing left/right and up/down. The screen color changes immediately with each change of input. It is very convenient to use "Color Pick 2" as a quick way to determine what the color required in a machine language program. "Color Pick 2" by Lance Squire III) Added "Critter" by Brett Bilbrey. This is a conversion of the Bally BASIC program. This conversion will run under AstroBASIC. This program will place a Space Invader-type "critter" on the screen that will bounce around from top to bottom and side to side without disturbing anything on the screen. His speed is controlled by hand control #1. This is a machine language program that uses the Bally/ Astrocade's Vector motion routines that contained on the on-board ROM. "Critter" by Brett Bilbrey (AstroBASIC Version) IV) Added an article by Adam Trionfo explaining how Brett Bilbrey's "Critter" was converted to run in AstroBASIC. "Critter 2000!" Article By Adam Trionfo V) Added "Happy Birthday Song" by Lance Squire. This was written in August 2011 as a birthday gift for Adam Trionfo. "Happy Birthday Song" by Adam Trionfo Read the clever method used by Lance sent this gift to Adam, here VI) Added 2000-Baud conversion of "Space Checkers" by L&M Software. "Space Checkers" by L&M Software 300-Baud to 2000-Baud Conversion Information A brief review of the game by Paul Thacker Original 300-Baud Instructions and Type-In Program Text Transcription of the Original Instructions VII) Fixed 2000-Baud version of "Nuclear Math" by New Image. This is a math flashcards program for kids. This program had an error when it ended, but Paul Thacker fixed it in May of 2011. The title screen was restored using Mike White's "Repacker." "Nuclear Math" by New Image VIII) Added 2000-Baud version of "Sink the U-Boat" by L&M software. This version of "Sink the U-Boat" was archived by retyping the program from the hard-written program code available on BallyAlley.com. "Sink the U-Boat" by L& Software Notes on Loading and How the 2000-Baud Version was Created Text Transcription of the Original Instructions Original 300-Baud Instructions and Type-In Program September 30, 2011 I) Added prototype cartridge version of "ICBM Attack." Paul Thacker found a prototype version of "ICBM Attack" on tape in the Bob Fabris collection. Unlike the previous versions found that run in BASIC, this one can only be loaded as a cartridge image into a RAM expansion. In addition to the tape recording, Paul went ahead and processed this into a binary file. This version is playable on a real system, and it also works fine in MESS. The title screen on this version is a little garbled. Paul was initially afraid that it hadn't digitally processed correctly, but there is a second recording on the same tape, and it processed into exactly the same file. "ICBM Attack" Prototype (ROM Prototype) "ICBM Attack" Prototype (Tape Version, Suitable for RAM Expansion Use) II) Added a picture of the tape case for "Screen to Printer Dump." "Screen to Printer Dump" Tape Case III) Added excerpt that mentions two Bally BASIC programs from "Computer Programs in BASIC" By Paul Friedman, copyright 1982 This book is a listing of many programs written in BASIC that are available from different sources for various microcomputers. Two programs for the Bally Arcade are mentioned. They are "Guess The Number" (from "Creative Computing") and "Battlestar Galactica" (from "Kilobaud Microcomputing"). The front cover of the book and the two pages with the Bally-related information are all that have been scanned. "Computer Programs in BASIC" (Excerpt) - PDF Format "Computer Programs in BASIC" (Partial Excerpt) - Text Format IV) Added 300-Baud version of "Battlestar Galactica" by Dick Nitto. "Battlestar Galactica" by Dick Nitto (300-Baud Format) V) Added 300-Baud version of "Bowling Secretary" by New Image. This program lets you enter a bowling team and keep track of scores. It was offered both as a standard version and, for a higher price, with your team already entered. Paul Thacker found two versions on the tape, and both already have a team, so presumably these are not the standard version. "Bowling Secretary" by New Image (300-Baud) VI) Added picture of "Bowling Secretary" by New Image. "Bowling Secretary" Screenshot VII) Added "Astrocade BASIC Demo Program" by George Moses. This demo also includes "Frogway" by Mike Skala. This is a short demonstration of some of what is possible using "Astrocade BASIC." The demo ends by loading Mike Skala's "Frogway" as an example of a game that can be written in BASIC. "Astrocade BASIC Demo Program" by George Moses and Mike Skala VIII) Added "Arcadian Sampler Programs" in 2000-Baud format. The "Arcadian Sampler Programs" was a document that was created "to help [the user] enjoy [the] Arcade-Plus game unit.] This would put the release of the document at about 1981. Here are all of the programs included in the archive: 1) Bagels (Program #1) - Carl Morimoto 2) Bingo (Program #3)- Ernie Sams 3) Connect Four (Program #2) - Larry Camnitz 4) Fifteen (Program #5) - Bob Wiseman 5) Horserace (Program #4) - Paul Slezak 6) Logo (Program #6) - Guy McLimore 7) Microtrek (Program 7) - Bil Andrus 8) Nichomachus (Program #8) - Hank Chiuppi 9) Reverse (Program #9) - Brett Bilbrey and Mike Toth 10) Spirals II (Program #10) - Matt Giwer "Arcadian Sampler Programs" - 2000 Baud "Arcadian Sampler Programs" - Original Document (PDF) IX) Updated the current Astrocade ROM set to September 30, 2011. Includes 117 Bally/Astrocade cartridge ROM images and the three available On-Board ROM files. Astrocade ROM Collection (9-30-2011) Astrocade ROM Collection (9-30-2011) - What's included September 29, 2011 I) Added Jeff Frederiksen Interview: Jeff Frederiksen was the chief engineer behind designing the Bally Professional Arcade hardware. He indicated that he still wants to put some more of his thoughts down, but he has sent some "interim" answers to a couple of questions, which are actually pretty detailed, and he said it would be fine to go ahead and publish these. Jeff Frederiksen Interview II) Added pictures of "BASIC Demo Manufacturing Program" tape: "BASIC Demo Manufacturing Program" Tape (Side 1) "BASIC Demo Manufacturing Program" Tape (Side 2) "BASIC Demo Manufacturing Program" Tape (Updated Version) III) Added pictures of "Bowling Secretary" tape by New Image. "Bowling Secretary" Tape (Side 1) "Bowling Secretary" Tape (Side 2) IV) Added pictures of various tapes to the cassette tape picture area: 1) 10 Freebies (Master Version)- 10 programs distributed by the Arcadian newsletter 2) Biorhythms and Moon Landing - SeBree's Computing 3) ICBM Attack (Cartridge Prototype) - Brett Bilbrey 4) Screen to Printer Dump (and Tape Case) - Unlabeled Name 5) Star Siege / Computer Crochet - Tiny Arcade (Tom McConnell) 6) Vegas 500 / The Dragon - L.L. Camnitz Cassette Tape Picture Area September 27, 2011 I) Added many "Fawn Dungeon" documents in the Machine Language Source Code area. These include: 1) Letter from Barry McCleave to Bob Fabris (Letter 01) - PDF and Text Versions 2) Fawn Dungeon (Alpa Code) 3) Modification for 2716 EPROM 4) Letter from Bob to Al 5) Schematics (not sure if these are related to Fawn Dungeon) Machine Language Source Area II) Added instructions for "Random Maze Generator" by Tiny Arcade. "Random Maze Generator" - PDF Version "Random Maze Generator" - Text Version III) Added loading instructions for "Bangman" by Ernie Sams. This program originally appears in Arcadian, Vol. I, Pgs. 48-49. These are the loading instructions were created by Richard Houser. "Bangman" Loading Instructions IV) Added instructions for "15 Two-Part Inventions" by George Moses. "15 Two-Part Inventions" - PDF Versions "15 Two-Part Inventions" - Text Versions V) Added label for New Image's "Sneaky Snake" cartridge. "Sneaky Snake" Label VI) Added cassette tape box inserts for "PacMan / Control 30" By Dale Low. "PacMan / Control 30" (Outside) "PacMan / Control 30" (Inside) VII) Added a name tag created by Astrocade, Inc. for Bob Fabris. This was probably used when he represented the company at various computer shows. Astrocade Name Tag for Bob Fabris VIII) Added 300-DPI versions of "Bally Professional Arcade Plus" Flyer. These 300-DPI versions are over ten times larger than the versions that are already online. These are here for archival purposes, but they are available for viewing. For casual browsing, it is probably a better idea to stick with the regular versions. "Bally Professional Arcade Plus" Flyer (Front) - 300DPI "Bally Professional Arcade Plus" Flyer (Back) - 300DPI IX) Added a 1983 letter to Bob Fabris, from Gary D. Huston. A letter that includes a schematic diagram to enable the addition of 1K static RAM to the Astrocade. 1983 Letter to Bob Fabris, from Gary D. Huston X) Added a letter to Bob Fabris, from Dave Carson. This letter is VERY short. This is it, "This is what I've come up with so far. I hope it helps someone else. I would appreciate any further information that might turn up regarding the NEC printer. By the way, if you want to "slash the zeros," set switch 2-1 to the ON position." Letter to Bob Fabris, from Dave Carson XI) Added a 1983 letter to Bob Fabris, from Dale Low. A letter that accompanied a tape with two of Dale's submissions to Arcadian: "Control 30" and "PacMan." Bob did publish "Control 30" in Arcadian Vol. 5, No. 9, Pg. 136-137 (July 22, 1983). Letter to Bob Fabris, from Dale Low XII) Added a 1982 letter to Brett Bilbrey from Greg Hanson. This letter has ideas from an Astrocade fan for an idea for a game called "Donkey Kong II." The fan hopes that perhaps Brett can write the game. Letter from 1982 to Brett Bilbrey from Greg Hanson - PDF Format Letter from 1982 to Brett Bilbrey from Greg Hanson - Text Format XIII) Added a 1982 letter to Astrocade, Inc. from Mark Heikka Mark wrote to Astrocade, Inc. in the hopes of them coming out with a game of "Defender" that would use the Spectre Handle. Letter from 1982 to Astrocade, Inc. from Mark Heikka - PDF Format XIV) Added a 1982 letter to Astrocade, Inc. from Edward J Lee. In this letter Edward pitches the idea for a light pen for the Astrocade. His idea of a light pen is more of a graphic tablet. He includes a drawing of what he'd like to see. If only vague ideas like this could be made into reality. Letter from 1982 to Astrocade, Inc. from Edward J Lee - PDF Format XV) Added a 1983 letter to Al Rathmell from Dick Reinke Bob Fabris forwarded this printer interface inquiry from Dick Reinke to the interface's creator, Al Rathmell. Dick was the ONLY person that seemed interested in the idea, so Al answered him and included schematics for the intereface, but did NOT included the machine language program that is required to interface with AstroBASIC to make the interface work. Letter from 1983 to Al Rathmell from Dick Reinke - PDF Format XVI) Added a 1981 letter to Bob Fabris from Roy Dal Poqqetto Roy provides information, a schematic and help for Bob on how to use a full-size keyboard. Roy makes suggestions on what might be preventing Bob's keyboard from working properly. Letter from 1981 to Bob Fabris from Roy Dal Poqqetto - PDF Format XVII) Added a 1983 letter to Bob Fabris from Michael Pawlowski Michael explains that he hooked up a keyboard to his Bally Arcade using about $150 worth of parts. He says, "I have tried to sell it in the Michigan newsletter with no luck." Michael wants to sell it for $100 or best offer. Letter from 1983 to Bob Fabris from Michael Pawlowski - PDF Format XVIII) Added a 1983 letter to Bob Fabris from Al. I'm not sure what Al's last name is. He comments on the 1K RAM expansion and also on one of the keyboard schematics. Letter from 1983 to Bob Fabris from Al - PDF Format XIX) Added a 1982 Keyboard Schematic from an unknown source. This is a keyboard schematic from an unknown source. If you've seen this in the Arcadian newsletter, or know where this may have come from, then please identify this. 1982 Bally/Astrocade Keyboard Schematic (Unknown Source) XX) Added six Bob Fabris conversations to the audio recording area. Complete summaries these files can be found there. 1) 9-31-VIPER_1 2) Bally 3) Blue_RAM and Blue_RAM_(reverse) 4) Conv_EdL and Conv_EdL_(part_2) Bob Fabris Audio Recordings XXI) Added spoken word instructions on tape from two games by L.L. Camnitz: "The Dragon" Instructions (Spoken) "The Dragon" Instructions (Transcription) "Vegas 500" Instructions (Spoken) "Vegas 500" Instructions (Transcription) XXII) Added four L&M Software boxes: 1) Candy Man Package 2) Exitor's Revenge 3) Mummy's Treasure, The 4) River City Gambler L&M Software "Box" Area September 26, 2011 I) Added "Arcade Resurrection" by Bob Fabris. Bob Fabris submitted this 7-page article in the winter of 1981 to "Microcomputing" magazine, but it was never published. "Arcade Resurrection" by Bob Fabris (PDF Format) "Arcade Resurrection" by Bob Fabris (Text Format) II) Added "Astro Update" from "Electronic Games," July 1982, Pg. 11) This is a small 1-page piece of news listing the new games to be released for the Astrocade. Most of these games never did come out. "Astro Update" from "Electronic Games" (PDF Format) "Astro Update" from "Electronic Games" (Text Format) III) Added "Astrovision Aiming At Bigger Piece Of Game Pie" from "Comsumer Electronics Monthly" (March 1982, Page 94) Vice president of AstroVision, George Ray, gives an extremely upbeat company forecast up through 1990. There is some pretty far-out thinking going on here. Either George had NO clue about what was going on behind the scenes or he is straight-out lying. He seems sincere enough, so I think that the upcoming shake-up that moved the entire industry just wasn't foreseen by him or by ANYONE. "Astrovision Aiming At Bigger Piece Of Game Pie" (PDF Format) "Astrovision Aiming At Bigger Piece Of Game Pie" (Text Format) IV) Added "Astrovision Shoots For The Stars" from High Fidelity Trade News" (Circa 1982). The future plans of Astrovision, Inc.. (1 page) "Astrovision Shoots For The Stars" (PDF Format) "Astrovision Shoots For The Stars" (Text Format) V) Added "Joystick Jury: Joystick Jury: Readers Rate Game Controllers" from "Electronic Games" (June 1982) Reader comments regarding the joysticks of the era. The Bally/ Astrocade's controller is mentioned several times both in positve and in a negative light. "Joystick Jury: Readers Rate Game Controllers" (PDF Format) "Joystick Jury: Readers Rate Game Controllers" (Text Format) VI) Added "Cursor Solicitation Letter" and "Michigan Bally Users Group letter" (circa 1982) regarding Cursor solicitation. In 1982 The Cursor Group mailed out a letter to solicitate more members. The Michigan Bally Users Group got wind of this and replied in quite a negative manner by sending out a letter of their own to members of their group. This makes for very interesting reading, because the end of the Cursor/BASIC Express newsletter ended very badly, and this document from that period shows how it all was beginning to crumble apart for the editor of Cursor. The Cursor Letter: 1) "Cursor Solicitation Letter" (PDF Format) 2) "Cursor Solicitation Letter" (Text Format) The Michigan Bally Users Group Letter: 1) "Michigan Bally Users Group Letter" (PDF Format) 2) "Michigan Bally Users Group Letter" (Text Format) VII) Added "Programmable Parade" from the July 1982 issue of "Electronics Games." The article includes reviews for various home consoles. Included are reviews of two Atari 2600 games: "Haunted House" and "Trickshot. There are also reviews for two Bally/Astrocade games: "Galactic Invasion" and "Space Fortress." Along with the reviews, there is some original artwork that accompanies each review. I'm especially fond of the artwork for "Space Fortress." "Programmable Parade" (PDF Format) "Programmable Parade" (Text Format) September 25, 2011 I) Added an Extended BASIC type-in program, "Lunar Lander II" by Victor T. Edwards. "Lunar Lander II" by Victor T. Edwards II) Added Blue Ram Notebook by John Perkins. A 24-page handwritten notebook describing the "Blue Box" to Bob Fabris. This is certainly the earliest, most in-depth description of the Blue Ram expansion unit. There is no date, but I suspect that this notebook was written in about 1979. This grayscale pdf is about 3.7MB. Blue Ram Notebook by John Perkins III) Added an Extended BASIC type-in program, "Block Builder" by Ed Horger. This is an unpublished program that was sent to Bob Fabris for possible inclusion in the Arcadian newsletter. This program is not dated. There is no program description, but I THINK it saves a block of extended memory for use with a the SHOW command. "Block Builder" by Ed Horger IV) Arcadian Game Enhancements - By Richard Houser Enhancements by Richard M. Houser for games published in the volume 2 of the Arcadian. The games are "Mastermind" (Arc 2-53) and Subsearch (2-83). As far as I can tell, these enhancements were never published. Arcadian Game Enhancements - By Richard Houser September 23, 2011 I) Added new Bally/Astrocade ROM sets with 117 unique files. September 16, 2011 I) Added screenshot of the Blue Ram BASIC version of WaveMaker's "Outpost 19." "Outpost 19" BRB Screenshot II) This review by Dave Carson for WaveMaker's Blue Ram BASIC game, "Outpost 19," is extracted from "Extended Memory Products Review," ARCADIAN, 6, no. 11/12 (Oct. 31, 1984): 118-119 "Outpost 19" (BRB) Review August 26, 2011 I) Added "Happy Birthday" Song Source Code This cartridge plays the "Happy Birthday" song. The notes aren't quite right and the timing is wrong. How about giving me a birthday present and helping to make this sound right? The transcription used for this song has been scanned and can be found below. "Happy Birthday" Song Source Code "Happy Birthday" Transcription Used for Source August 25, 2011 I) Added Bally / Astrocade Schematic Schematic This is a new schematic of the Bally/Astrocade created by Ken Lill in August 2011 using OrCAD Schematic Capture. The main differences between this schematic and the schematic available in the the "Bally Service Manual" are "PINS" [I.E. Pin 15(26)]. All of those pins that had a (26) after them have the (26) truncated. That is the position on the edge connector of the original Printed Circuit Board, like it was shown in the manual. It is the 2 cutouts shown in the front of the unit (furthest from the joystick sockets). On the 10-pin edge-connector on the right side, the "Pins" have been renumbered to have a 100 prefix, like 101, 105, etc. Also, this schematic is actually HIGHLY readable and can be zoomed-in quite closely. Bally / Astrocade Schematic II) Added an updated version of "Treasure Cove" source code (version .13). This update by RCD. Disassembled music routines at $2C54-$2FFF, $3F20-$3FFF and $327A. "Treasure Cove" Disassembly August 23, 2011 I) Added an updated version of "Treasure Cove" source code (version .11). This update by RCD. Changes include cleaned up source code and RAM cells noted "Treasure Cove" Disassembly August 19, 2011 I) Added a version of "Treasure Cove" source code that matches 100% with the 1983 released game ROM. This is version .10, a significant step up from the last version which didn't match the released ROM at all and also didn't run. "Treasure Cove" Disassembly August 15, 2011 I) Added Preliminary Release (version .05) of "Astro Battle" game cartridge source code. Quite a few changes are included in this versio. All updates by R.C.D.: - Remaining RAM cells identified. - MANY Comments "Astro Battle" Disassembly August 11, 2011 I) Added Preliminary Release (version .04) of "Astro Battle" game cartridge source code. Quite a few changes are included in this version: - MANY Comments and explanations added by R.C.D. - Corrections to Music Score (concerning PUSHN) added by Adam Trionfo (at the recommendation of R.C.D.) "Astro Battle" Disassembly August 9, 2011 I) Added updated "Astro Battle" Game Cartridge Source Code Preliminary Release (.03) of "Astro Battle" source code. - Version .03 - Commented Music Scores (Aug. 9, 2011, AJT) - Version .02 - Vector Blocks identified and some comments added on 8/6/11 by R.C.D. Also straightened out some columns. "Astro Battle" Disassembly August 5, 2011 I) Added "Astro Battle" Game Cartridge Source Code VERY Preliminary Release (.01) of "Astro Battle" source code. This disassembly was begun Aug. 1, 2011 by Adam Trionfo. This has been released so that those who are curious can take a look at it. "Astro Battle" Disassembly, Version .01 July 11, 2011 I) Added a version of the "Bally Service Manual" that has been OCR'ed. The text is fully searchable. "Bally Service Manual" OCR Version May 5, 2011 I) Added first-ever ad for the Bally Arcade from 1977 "Scientific American" magazine. This is a three-page ad for the Bally Arcade (at the time the system was called either the "Home Library Computer" or "Library Computer"). This ad was printed by JS&A, the only authorized dealer at the time, in "Scientific American" magazine in the September 1977 issue on pages 15-17. Although the ad claims that the system would ship in four weeks, no customers are known to have received a Bally Arcade before January of 1978. This ad, in color, was also run in JS&A's first catalog. Bally Home Library Computer Ad (pdf) Bally Home Library Computer Ad (txt) May 3, 2011 I) Added three pages from the book "Programmable Calculators: How to Use Them" by Charles J. Sippl and Roger J. Sippl, copyright 1978. A book on how to use programmable calculators seems like an odd place to find references to the Bally Professional Arcade, but it doesn't seem too strange when you remember that the BPA does include a calculator. This huge 526-page book covers all ranges of calculators and explains that eventually the home computer, such as the Bally, among many others, will be taking the calculators place. "Programmable Calculators: How to Use Them" (Bally-Related Excerpts - PDF) "Programmable Calculators: How to Use Them" (Bally-Related Excerpts - Text) II) Added an early classified ad advertising the Arcadian newsletter. This ad is from "Kilobaud Computing," July 1979, Page 128. Arcadian Classified Ad (PDF) Arcadian Classified Ad (Text) III) Added the chapter called "The Videogame Design Process" from the book "Entrepreneurship Creativity & Organization: Text, Cases & Readings," by John Kao. This book was published in 1989, but the chapter is from a case study made in 1985. This seven-page case study was found via a search of Google Books because there is a brief mention of John Perkins, the programmer of Artillery Duel for the Bally/Astrocade. The case study covers the entire videogame industry. If you're a fan of the history of videogames, then you will find some great gems here. "The Videogame Design Process" (PDF) "The Videogame Design Process" (RTF) IV) Added an excerpt from the 1978 book "Peanut Butter and Jelly Guide to Computers" by Jerry Willis with Deborrah Smithy and Brian Hyndman. This beginners-type book covers several early videogame and computer systems. The Bally/Astrocade gets a short mention here as the Home Library Computer. "Peanut Butter and Jelly Guide to Computers" (PDF) "Peanut Butter and Jelly Guide to Computers" (Text) V) Added a Bally/Astrocade related excerpt from the 1978 book "Personal Computing: A Beginner's Guide" by David Bunnel. This book talks briefly about how "Some video games are beginning to look more like computers as the technology advances, while some personal computers are also beginning to look more like video games. The most glaring example of the merger of these two products is the Bally Professional Arcade." "Personal Computing: A Beginner's Guide" (PDF) "Personal Computing: A Beginner's Guide" (Text) VI) Added an excerpt from the 1983 book called "The Video Encyclopedia" by Larry Langman. This is the definition of "Astrocade" as defined in the glossary of terms. Astrocade Definition from ""The Video Encyclopedia" (PDF) Astrocade Definition from ""The Video Encyclopedia" (RTF) Astrocade Definition from ""The Video Encyclopedia" (Text) VII) Added excerpts from the 1979 book "The Personal Electronics Buyers Guide," by Charles J. Sippl and Roger J. Sippl. This book clearly views the Bally Arcade as a computer system rather than a game console. This is an EXTREMELY tightly bound book. For this reason scanning the inside margins was very difficult (some of the text and part of the pictures are missing). For an easier read (but no pictures), read the text version. ""The Personal Electronics Buyers Guide (1979)" (PDF) ""The Personal Electronics Buyers Guide (1979)" (Text) May 2, 2011 I) Added "Bally Manufacturing Corporation JS&A Group, Inc.," a court document from August 28, 1980. Here is an overview of the document: "Manufacturer of amusement devices sold to distributors and wholesale- retailers brought action seeking preliminary injunction restraining seller of same through mail orders from publishing 'false or confusing' advertisements concerning manufacturer or its products, services or warranties." "Bally Manufacturing Corporation Vs. JS&A Group, Inc." (Summary) "Bally Manufacturing Corporation Vs. JS&A Group, Inc." (Full Document) II) Added small piece of news from October 1977 Byte magazine called "Bally Introduces New Programmable Game Unit." "Bally Introduces New Programmable Game Unit" III) Added "Edge Software" acknowledgment for "Match/Bowl" from Byte's Software Recieved page: "Match/Bowl" acknowledgment from Byte's Software Recieved page: IV) Added snippet about the Bally computer from the "What's New" section of Byte magazine (July 1979, Page 240). The section is called "Home Computer From Bally." What's New: "Home Computer From Bally" April 29, 2011 I) Added an AstroBASIC program called "Memomax" by Fred Rodney. This completes the archiving of Fred's commercial programs. Memomax is a memory game along the lines of Simon, but it's harder because each sequence is completely unique. "Memomax" II) Added a two-page article from "Video Games" magazine, March 1984. The article is called "Astrocade's Extended Play" by Mark Brownstein. The first paragraph reads: "Over the last year we've reported quite a bit on Astrocade, this in spite of the fact that the firm went belly up more than a year ago. In a recent issue, we presented reviews of Astrocade games-- some of which were available before Astrocade's bankruptcy, and others which became available after the system's most recent demise." "Astrocade's Extended Play" by By Mark Brownstein III) Added AstroBASIC version of Steve Walter's "Memory Maze." This AstroBASIC game has been converted from the original Bally BASIC 300-Baud format to 2000-Baud. It now loads in about twenty seconds rather than three and a half minutes. This game took some work to get to run under Astrocade. See the notes included in the archive if you're interested in what they were. AstroBASIC runs faster than Bally BASIC. In this case the drawing of the maze has been given a speed boost. The maze now draws about twice as fast. This is a much-needed improvement because the maze is redrawn whenever the player "peeks" at it. While it isn't unusual to see performance increases with AstroBASIC, this boost seems to work particularly well. "Memory Maze" by Steve Walters (AstroBASIC Version) April 27, 2011 I) Added 2000-Baud archive of New Image's "Sicko-Therapy (Session II)." "Sicko-Therapy (Session II)" April 8, 2011 I) Added program listing of New Image's "Sicko-Therapy II." This version is for Bally BASIC. "Sicko-Therapy II" Program Listing II) Added two alternate cartridge labels: "Football" (Astrocade variation) and "Panzer Attack / Red Baron" (Bally Variation). "Football" (Astrocade variation) "Panzer Attack / Red Baron" (Bally Variation) March 23, 2011 I) Created a 300-Baud, Bally BASIC, program download area for five programs by Barry Ellerson. All of these programs are newly archived, except for "Grandfather Clock," which has been moved into this area from the "Miscellaneous Program Download Area." 1) "Alchemisymmetrical Art" 2) "Color Plotter" 3) "Grandfather Clock" 4) "Surf Sounds, Crickets" 5) "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" Barry Ellerson 300-Baud Program Download Area II) Added "Treasure Hunt" by Scott Walpole. This program is part of the Bob Fabris Collection. The program was on tape and was previusly not listed in Mike White's Astrocade Software Listing. Miscellaneous 300 Baud Program Download Area III) Added 2000 Baud version of "Circle Plotter" by Barry Ellerson. This was a 300-Baud program on tape that was converted to 2000-Baud using Jay Fenton's AstroBASIC utility "300 Baud to 2000 Baud Tape Conversion Program." This program was first printed in the Arcadian for Bally BASIC in 1981, then it was reprinted in 1984. Mike White's software list says this was a modification (presumably for Astro-BASIC), but it looks like the code printed is identical. Apparently it should have been modified, however, because line 5, the first line of code, works fine in Bally BASIC, but gives an error in Astro-BASIC. The offending error (:RETURN) was removed and then the program seemed to run fine. Miscellaneous 2000 Baud Program Download Area March 22, 2011 I) Added new disassembly version of "Songs" cartridge: This Bally / Astrocade cartridge has been attributed to Scot Norris. This cartridge has been disassembled by Richard Degler. Two versions are included in the zip archive: 1) SONGS.ASM - Version 1.1 - Note Values only 2) SONGS.z80 - Version 1.2 - Note Values changed to names found in "Music.lib" "Songs" Source Code March 21, 2011 I) Combined Jay Fenton's "Array Builder" and "Array" into one archive with the MUCH more helpful name of "300 Baud to 2000 Baud Tape Conversion Program." This program is used to load 300-Baud Bally BASIC tape recordings into AstroBASIC using AstroBASIC's built-in tape interface. This archive includes: 1) Full documentation from the AstroBASIC Manual 2) "Array Builder" - Used to input and then save the "300 Baud to 2000 Baud Tape Conversion Program" to tape. 3) "300 Baud to 2000 Baud Tape Conversion Program" To use the Conversion Program, it is not necessary to use the "Array Builder" at all. "Array Builder" is included fo rarchive purposes only. "300 Baud to 2000 Baud Tape Conversion Program" can be downloaded from the AstroBASIC Manual Program A-M Program Download Area. AstroBASIC Manual Program A-M Program Download Area. March 20, 2011 I) Added corrected archive version of "Dragon's Castle" for Vipersoft BASIC. The previous didn't load correctly. Also added special loading instructions required to load the game. RAM Expansion Program Download Area March 18, 2011 I) Added two 300-Baud Programs by W&W Software Sales: 1. "Code Breaker" - Added this alternate version. 2. "Graphic Character Utility" - Newly archived program by Bob Weber. Source: Arcadian, vol. 3, no. 12 (October 1981), pg. 128. 3. "Sampler #3" - Old archived version replaced with new version. Paul Thacker says this about this updated version: "the only recording I had of it (from Brett Bilbrey's tape collection) had some loading errors I had to fix by hand. Line 2000 sets a variable C to serve as a counter for the number of cycles, but I was unable to tell what it was initialized to. I initialized it to 0, but it turns out it should actually be set to 1. This won't have a dramatic effect on the program operation, but it will change it." W&W Software Sales 300-Baud Software II) Added thirty-one digitally archived Bally BASIC 300-Baud L&M Software programs. Twenty of these these programs were already available but the other eleven are online for the first time. 1) 3D Tic Tac Toe 2) Air Raid 3) Atom Smasher 4) Ayatollah Dart Board 5) Black Lagoon, The 6) Black Lagoon II, The 7) Bombardier 8) Claim Jumpers 9) Color Organ, Light Show Demo 10) Coyote-Roadrunner Desert Race 11) Crazy Ball 12) Fox And The Hare 13) Galactic War 2002 14) Kill The Vulcan 15) Light Show Demo 16) Light Show Program #2 17) Meteoroid 18) Mission Impossible (and alt. version) 19) Multi. Program Format 20) Mummy's Treasure, The 21) Phantom Star Fighters 2003 22) Rescue Air Drop 23) River City Gambler 24) Search And Destroy 25) Sink The U-Boat 26) Space Checkers 27) Space Quest 2001 28) Space Sleuth 29) Star Base 2000 30) Super Sleuth 31) Target (Includes Pop Up, Deck the Duck and Skeet) L&M 300-Baud Software Area III) Added a Bally BASIC, 300-Baud version, of "Star Siege" by The Tiny Arcade. The Tiny Arcade 300-Baud Software Area IV) Created a "Sebree's Computing" 300-Baud Program area. Here is how the area has been setup: 1) Newly Archived Programs: 1. Biorhythms & Moon Landing 2. Down The Trench 3. Star Fire 4. Super Wumpus 5. XY Tutorial, includes six programs: 1. 3-D Forward Simulation Above A Flat Plane 2. Cartesian Coordinates To XY Values Routine 3. Demonstration Program #2 4. Demonstration Program #2 (with Additions) 5. Demonstration Program #4 6. RND XY Value To Perspective Point 2) I moved one archived program already in the miscellaneous area to this new area: 1. Joystick Checkout 3) I tried something different with this new program area. When there was a type-in version available online, but the program wasn't available on tape, then I listed the program anyway with this explanation: "No Tape Available, NOT YET ARCHIVED." Then, in the notes area, I put a link to the type-in program. I did this for four programs: 1. Hit the Pedestrian 2. Munch 3. Submarine Minefield 4. UFO Battle Sebree's Computing 300-Baud Software Area March 17, 2011 I) Added an update of Richard Degler's disassembly of the "Songs" cartridge by Scot Norris. "Songs" Z-80 Disassembly II) Fixed "Color Pick," by Michael Garber, to work with all versions of the MESS Emulator. Changed Interrupt Mode from $18 to $08. Thanks to Richard Degler for figuring this out a short while back and providing the fix via private email exchanges. Source Code for "Color Pick" Homebrew Program III) Richard Degler updated the "300 To 2000 BAUD LOADER PROGRAM" Source Code to version 1.2. The changes and additional comments are: - Sorted the EQUates and added note to "Bit Banger Goodies". - Used only $xx for code instead of mix of 0xxH and decimal. - Wow, Adam - you translated this from TDL's 8080 mnemomics! - Assembler's "non-standard syntax" warning was for "ADD E" on old line 248 (not sure why the previous line was flagged) - Corrected two very mino[r] typos in transcribed comments. - Actually assembled this and compared it to earlier versions. More note: This program uses the entire screen (past its area) as a huge Tape Buffer (instead of having a small Ring Buffer), only saving lines that are numbered. Since 300-baud's direct commands (NLN) and .REMarks might have a few numbers in them, these should be edited from the recording if at all possible. "300 To 2000 BAUD LOADER PROGRAM" Source Code IV) Added a digitally archived version of the Bally BASIC Sampler tape in 300-Baud format. Here is what is included: Side 1: 1. Electric Doily (Graphics) 2. Line Graph 3. Monthly Records 4. Electronic Music 5. Number Match (Guessing Game) Side 2: 1. Lunar Lander 2. Gravity Game 3. Newtonia '500' Bally BASIC Sampler Tape (300-Baud) February 23, 2011 I) At the request of the programmer of "Casio Tools," I have added a link to his website. "Casio Tools" can be used to archive 300-Baud tapes for Bally BASIC. "Casio Tools" Website February 15, 2011 I) Added "Astrocade MESS Keyboard Labels/Stickers." These are MESS Astrocade keyboard labels ready to be printed onto quality paper and then applied to a keyboard. For use with Astro BASIC, Bally BASIC, Blue Ram BASIC, Vipersoft BASIC, and Expanded BASIC. Printing onto sticker- paper is suggested but that is not required (sticker-paper does make adding the labels easier though). The keypad stickers may be applied to any keys after the keyboard is mapped in MESS. Mapping the keys as a 4x6 column (just like on the Bally/Astrocade keypad) works extremely well. A sample picture of how a keyboard is set-up and mapped is included. Note: Make sure NOT to use Page Scaling when printing these stickers, otherwise the stickers will not be the correct size to fit on the keyboard's keys. For those with the ability to print a higher-quality version of just the labels (with no jpg artifacting!), then the original TIFF version is also available. Astrocade MESS Keyboard Labels/Stickers (With Keyboard Example) Astrocade MESS Keyboard, Labels Only (TIFF Format) January 25, 2011 I) Added two screenshots to the ZGRASS Section. These two pictures are from page 83 of the 1984 book called "Creative Computer Graphics" by Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton. 1. "6.8 FOUR FACES by Copper Giloth. Giloth is a leading computer artist with over eight years work in the field. She organizes the SIGGRAPGH Art Show." 2. "6.7 FROZEN SUN CONES, Joanne Culver. Ektachrome print 18 x 20 inches, PDP 11/45, Sandin Image Processor and Vector General Display. Software GRASS 1982." ZGRASS Screenshots II) Added an excerpt from the book "Creative Computer Graphics" by Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton. This book was published in 1984 and mentions the use of GRASS and ZGRASS by artists. It also includes two screenshots of work created by them. "Creative Computer Graphics," Excerpt (PDF Format) "Creative Computer Graphics," Excerpt (Text Format) III) Added an excerpt from the book "Creative Computer Graphics" by Arnie Katz with Laurie Yates. This is an overview of the Astrocade as a "nice try" programmable game console. This excerpt also ponders "what if" the Astrocade had won the console war against the Atari 2600. The information presented isn't entirely accurate in some respects, but it's interesting none-the-less. "Inside Electronic Game Design" (PDF Version) "Inside Electronic Game Design" (Text Version) January 13, 2011 I) Added version 1.81 of the "Bally/Astrocade Game Cartridge and Hardware FAQ." This version has a few fixes from yesterday's update. Bally/Astrocade Game Cartridge and Hardware FAQ January 12, 2011 I) Added version 1.8 of the "Bally/Astrocade Game Cartridge and Hardware FAQ." This version has many updates, including listing exactly what has been updated in the last few recent updates to the FAQ. Bally/Astrocade Game Cartridge and Hardware FAQ January 3, 2011 I) Added version 1.73 of the "Bally/Astrocade Game Cartridge and Hardware FAQ." This version has dozens of changes made by Paul Thacker and Richard Degler. Bally/Astrocade Game Cartridge and Hardware FAQ II) Added the WAV format version of "Christmas Special (Fixed)" by Lance Squire. This version is suitable for download into Bally/Astrocade RAM expansion units. On December 23, 2008, Lance Squire left this message on the Bally Alley discussion group, "If we've all been very good, and a little lucky, Santa may leave us something under the tree Christmas Eve. :)" On Christmas Eve, Lance then left this message, "Santa has left something in the Files area! Enjoy!" The "something" turned out to be a demo that Lance had written. The demo is a house surrounded by trees with Santa on his sleigh that is pulled through the air by three reindeer. Over the next few days Lance made some improvements to the demo. The last version of the demo, update 4, works fine on real hardware. Included in this archive are three formats of "Christmas Special:" 1) Binary Executable for the Bally/Astrocade - Suitable for loading into the Astrocade MESS emulator or burning to EPROM for use on real hardware. 2) Source Code - Suitable for assembling with the Zmac assembler. 3) WAV - Suitable for loading into a Bally/Astrocade RAM expansion as a cartridge using the usual methods. Christmas Special (Fixed) - WAV Format, By Lance Squire December 29, 2010 I) Added version 1.62 of "Bally/Astrocade Game Cartridge and Hardware FAQ." Rickey Spiece has been added as author of games written or co-written by him: 1. Blackjack/Poker/Acey Ducey 2. Football 3. Grand Prix/Demo Derby 4. Panzer Attack/Red Barron 5. SeaWolf/Missile Bally/Astrocade Game Cartridge and Hardware FAQ II) Added a link to "Rainbow - Version 3" by Richard Degler to the Cartridge ROM Image area. This is based on Rainbow, Ver. 2 by Hanson. Rainbow, Version 3 now has 256 colors!. Richard created this in July of 2008, but it was in the Homebrew section with the source. It makes sense to have a link to the file from the Cart ROM Image area as well. Cartridge ROM Images III) Updated the archive of "Rainbow, Ver. 2" by Hanson. This archive now includes "Version 2A" with improvements by Richard Degler. Version 2A now SCROLLs. This is a slight improvement that Richard made on his way to version 3 of the program. Cartridge ROM Images IV) Added "Light Pen Sampler" machine code, disassembled by Richard Degler. Light pen machine code extracted from "Light Pen Sampler" basic tape maybe written by Craig J Anderson for H.A.R.D.. Reverse-engineered by Richard C Degler on March 3, 2010. Light Pan Sampler Assembly Source Code V) Added a Bally BASIC (Graphic Line Editor Prototype) cartridge. This prototype of the original Bally BASIC was created by Richard Degler in March of 2010 using the Bally BASIC Demo cartridge. Included in this archive is the original posting explaining the differences and what he did to create this prototype. Cartridge ROM Images VI) Added a screenshot of the Bally BASIC (Graphic Line Editor Prototype) cartridge in action. Bally BASIC (Graphic Line Editor Prototype) in "B" Screenshot Area VII) Added MESS Debugger Tips that Richard Degler "ripped" from the messdlib.dll that is included with MESS. Notes from Richard Degler (March 2, 2008, Message #5387): MESS debugger's command-line errors only tell you "unknown command" or "not enough parameters for command". And the on-line help is not much better if you don't know what you need help with. It's like looking up the spelling of a word in the dictionary when you don't even know the word exists in the first place! So here's the help text ripped from MESS v.0.123(debugger)'s messdlib.dll file. Giving it the once over will let you know what it can do better than just seeing "MAME new debugger, etc" Although the next line: "Currently targeting astrocade (Bally Professional Arcade)" sort of lets you know it's doing Z-80 disssembling. MESS Debugger Tips VIII) Added eight Color BASIC screenshots, including (finally!) a color program running. Lance Squire wrote the program and Richard Degler got the program into MESS. "C" Cartridge Screenshot Area December 28, 2010 I) Added the article "Playing 'ICBM Attack' Using the MESS Astrocade Emulator," by Paul Thacker and Adam Trionfo. "ICBM Attack" by Spectre Systems is a third-party game for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade game console. This Missile Command-type game was released in 1982. It is one of the most difficult cartridges to find for the Astrocade system. It is unique because the game does not use the regular Astrocade "hand controller" that every other cartridge game uses. Each "ICBM Attack" cartridge came with an analog controller that is absolutely required to play the game. In order to play "ICBM Attack" using the MESS emulator, it is absolutely essential to setup MESS correctly. This article explains how to go about doing that. Playing "ICBM Attack" Using the MESS Astrocade Emulator II) Added a compilation by Richard Degler of eleven postings with Rickey Speice. He "worked on the original Bally Arcade back in the 70's at Dave Nutting and Associates." This is a compilation of eleven posting to the Bally Alley Discussion group made in April of 2005. Rickey Speice Discussion Group Compilation December 26, 2010 I) Added two screenshots of a winning game for "Bally Black Box." Screenshots of 'B' Cartridges II) Added the article "Have a Ball with Bally" by Richard Nitto. This article, published in the November 1979 issue of "Kilobaud Micro- computing," is a review of the Bally Arcade console. This review, unlike many reviews for this system, concentrates strongly on Bally BASIC, so much so that it nearly avoids the topic of the cartridge games altogether. There are numerous short examples of Bally BASIC syntax. This article also includes a type-in game called "Battlestar Galactica." This is also one of the few mainstream publications of this system aimed at a general audience. This scan was made from a bound copy of the magazine. It is nearly impossible to read the inner-column of the article because the binding was so tight that the inner column couldn't be scanned properly. Therefore the article, minus the table, figure and the "Battlestar Galactica" program listing, is available. "Have a Ball with Bally" by Richard Nitto (PDF Version) "Have a Ball with Bally" by Richard Nitto (Text Version) December 22, 2010 I) Added screenshots of four unfinished homebrew Astrocade games by Steve (Gorfian): 1) Astro Invasion - A Space Invader Clone 2) Gorf - A clone of the Arcade Game Gorf. 3) UFO - A Clone of the Magnavox Odyssey^2 Game 4) WarBirds - A mixture of Gorf, Phoenix and Demon Attack with a few twists Steve has no plans to finish any of his Bally / Astrocade games, nor does he plan to release the unfinished ROM images or source code. Unfinished or In-Progress Homebrew Games December 20, 2010 I) Updated the "Bally-Astrocade Game Cartridge and Hardware FAQ." Noted that Dick Ainsworth designed "Elementary Math / Bingo Math." Bally-Astrocade Game Cartridge and Hardware FAQ II) Added four programs to the newly-created 300-Baud Steve Walters Program area: 1) Bally Black Box - Find five balls hidden in the box by sending probes into the box and seeing where they come out. Like the Parker Brothers game but with full hand-control operation and screen feed-back (no notes to keep while playing). Scoring, 1 to 4 players, and sound effects. 2) Crazy Face - Create a "crazy face" using various menu selections. 3) Hidden Word Finder - This isn't actually a game. You enter words, and it shows various ways to put them into a word puzzle-- backwards, diagonally, etc. 4) Memory Maze - A rather difficult game. It displays a maze for a few seconds, then the maze disappears and you have to try to guide a block through it. You lose points by bumping into the walls, or taking another peak at the maze by pulling the trigger. Steve Walters 300-Baud BASIC Program Download Area III) Added two programs to the Miscellaneous 2000-Baud Program Area: 1) 64K Data & Op Code Converter - The aim is to convert numbers between binary, decimal, and hexadecimal. However, there is a bug on line 110 that keeps it from working. The digital archive process of this program gives no errors, so it is believed that this is a program bug rather than a glitch on the tape. 2) Budget Program - This is an unnamed budget program. It may be by Jim Dunson, as it was found on the same tape as "64K Data & Op Code Converter," which is a program by him. Miscellaneous 2000-Baud Program Area IV) Added two pictures of tapes by Steve Walters: 1) Bally Black Box (Corrected) 2) Steve Walters Compilation Tape - This tape contains four programs by Steve Walters: Bally Block box, Crazy Face, Hidden Word Finder and Memory Maze. Miscellaneous Cassette Tape Pictures V) Added "Starting ICBM Attack." When playing ICBM Attack using the Astrocade MESS emulator, the game needs to be started with a Soft Reset by pressing F3. For additional details please read the newly added document "Starting ICBM Attack." Starting ICBM Attack December 17, 2010 I) Added links, pictures and an article to the Astrocade Store Kiosk Area: 1) Added four pictures: 1. Astrocade Store Kiosk (Front-Side) 2. Astrocade Store Kiosk (Front) 3. Astrocade Store Kiosk (Bottom of Kiosk, Close-up of Cartridges) 4. Homebrew Astrocade Store Kiosk, By Kurt Vendal 2) Link to Curt Vendel's April 2002 articles about how he created three different store kiosks for three classic game systems: Astrocade, Colecovision, and Odyssey 2. 3) Added a local version of the Curt's Astrocade Kiosk article. Astrocade Store Kiosk Area II) Added "Astrocade Display Kiosk Assembly Instructions" by Santa Cruz Wire and Mfg. Co. This is the set of instructions used to build an Astrocade point-of- purchase display unit (AKA as Astrocade Store Kiosk). Also included are scanned pictures of the drawings of the Astrocade kiosk in various stages of assembly. Astrocade Display Kiosk Assembly Instructions December 16, 2010 I) Added a newly archived version of "Bally Black Box" by Steve Walters. This version was converted to run as a cartridge by Richard Degler. For those not familiar with the concept of the Black Box game itself, read the brief directions in the Arcadian (ARCADIAN, 1, no. 9 (August 18, 1979): 74). Or, better yet, there is a Wikipedia page about Black Box that covers the rules extensively. Bally Black Box (BASIC Cartridge Version) II) Added eight screenshots for Black Box. Black Box Screenshots in the 'B' Cartridge Screenshot Area III) Added "Cursor/BASIC Express Program FAQ: Volumes 1-3" by Adam Trionfo. Cursor (later renamed BASIC Express at the start of volume three) is an excellent newsletter, on par with the Arcadian newsletter. It was created in 1980 as a for-profit newsletter to focus more on hardware than the Arcadian was currently doing. The Cursor/BASIC Express was published from January 1980 - July/August 1981. Over its three-volume lifespan, the newsletter published 65 programs by 28 different programmers. This FAQ lists all of the programs published as BASIC and machine language listings. The raw data used to create this FAQ can be downloaded as an Excel spreadsheet. This data contains the 65 program names, programmer(s) and location of the program. "Cursor/BASIC Express Program FAQ: Volumes 1-3" by Adam Trionfo Excel Spreadsheet of Raw Cursor Program Data IV) Added the "Niagara B.U.G. Bulletin Program FAQ." The Niagara B.U.G. Bulletin was a newsletter devoted to the Astrocade owners of Canada. There was a B.U.G. (Bally Users Group) in America as well. The Niagara chapter published three volumes of newsletters that totaled 92 pages. The first issue of volume 1 was published on June 24, 1983. Volume 3 only had two issues. The last issue of the third volume was published on March 28, 1985. This FAQ lists all of the programs published as BASIC listings (there were no machine language programs published in this newsletter). The raw data used to create this FAQ can be downloaded as an Excel spreadsheet. This data contains the 14 program names, programmer(s) and location of the program. "Niagara B.U.G. Bulletin Program FAQ" by Adam Trionfo Excel Spreadsheet of Raw Niagara B.U.G. Bulletin Program Data V) Added a short description of the Niagara B.U.G. Bulletin in the newsletters download area. Niagara B.U.G. Bulletin Newsletter Download Area VI) Added high-quality version of ZGrass by Viper Systems picture. This is the original B&W picture that was used for unit featured in ARCADIAN 5, no. 12 (October 24, 1983): 173-174. This picture has been scanned in at both 150 and 300dpi. ZGrass Picture Area VII) Added separate, larger and easier to read, scans of the Bally Arcade / Astrocade Parts Layout and schematic. These are excerpted from the Bally PA-1 Service Manual. Bally Hardware Documentation Area December 15, 2010 I) Added "Namco Font" by Richard Degler. This includes the Z80 source code file, as well as a pre-assembled version of the binary file that can be run in MESS. A program to display the Namco font on a Bally / Astrocade. Only 24 characters can be typed from the key-pad (mostly numbers and symbols.) So first it prints ALL the letters double-sized, followed by some of the un-reachable symbols. The six (blue) letters in my name were stored in only four characters! Namco Font by Richard Degler II) Added "Namco Font" by Richard Degler to the Cartridge ROM Image Download Area. This is actually just a link to the above file in the ML Homebrew Section of the website. Cartridge ROM Image Download Area III) Added four screenshots for "Namco Font" by Richard Degler: "N" Cartridge Screenshot Area IV) Added twelve videos that feature the Datamax UV-1 Computer. These are YouTube videos that use the Datamax UV-1. The UV-1 computer (basically, a beefed-up, very expensive Astrocade) was used in the early eighties. Some of these videos try pretty hard to be "artsy," so bare with them. Also, most of the videos seem incomplete; only the first minute or minute and a half are shown. All of these videos were uploaded to YouTube by Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL). 1) Drive or Be Driven - Dana Plepys (1984) 2) Eat Meat - Dana Plepys (1984) 3) Floater Final Sequence - Jane Veeder (1983) 4) Only Eyes - Maggie Rawlings (1983) 5) Paint Piece - Mark McKernin (1983) 6) P.I. Piece - Mark McKernin (1983) 7) Ralph the Punk - Charlie Athanas and Johnie Hugh Horn (1985) 8) Real Time Design, Inc. Zgrass Demo - Tom DeFanti, Rick Frankel, John Friedman, Copper Giloth, Phil Morton, Mark Pierce, Dan Sandin and Jave Veeder (1982) 9) Return to Planet Claire - Sue Forner and Rick Frankel (1981) 10) Two Boxes at Once - Mark McKernin (1979) 11) Warpitout - Jane Veeder (1982) 12) Zgrass Paint Demo - Hosted by Tom DeFanti (1980) Datamax UV-1 Video Area V) Added color picture of the Datamax UV-1r. Datamax UV-1r Color Picture VI) Added ROM Image of Music Decomposer by Richard Degler. Music Decomposer is a utility that changes MUSIC STRINGS from cartridge format to AstroBASIC format. Important Note: This BASIC program is written for Blue Ram BASIC 1.1. The Music Decomposer binary works as a regular BASIC program, but it does NOT start as a cartridge. The program was on an EPROM so that it didn't have to be reloaded from tape. Check out the included, brief, instructions on how to use this program. Music Decomposer by Richard Degler (ROM Image) Music Decomposer by Richard Degler (Printout) VII) I have added the "Arcadian Program FAQ: Volumes 1-7." The main goal of this FAQ is to put straight all of the programs ever published in the "Arcadian" newsletter, either as BASIC or machine language programs. Programs are listed by Program Name, Author (when known) and the volume and page number where the program can be found. Arcadian Program FAQ: Volumes 1-7 December 13, 2010 I) Machine Music Demo has been scanned in grayscale (not B&W) so that it is easier to read the right-most column which was re-written in light pencil. The notes are now easier to read too, though it is doubtful that this program could be typed-in because some critical numbers are missing (this is because the paper was hold-punched for a three-ring binder). This is the best scan that is possible from the source material. Also noted that this program is by Brett Bilbrey. Machine Music Demo II) Added Bally / Astrocade FAQ Version 3.4 (December 13, 2010). The latest updates are: - Created new section, "Homebrew Cartridges." - Added "War" cart to "Homebrew Cartridges." - Added "Fawn Dungeon" by Barry McCleave to "Cartridge Prototypes." - Now that "Color BASIC" has been dumped, added author (Jay Fenton) and size of ROM (4K). - Added "Lil' White Ram" to "Computer Expansion." - Added four Multicarts to the "Astrocade Multicart" section: 1. Multicart Containing Beatles Music from Richard Degler. 2. Multicart by CPUWIZ. 3. GamBits Multicart - The official name for this is UltiMulti Cartridge. 4. RetroKidz Multicart Bally / Astrocade FAQ December 10, 2010 I) Added pictures of the prototype Hi-Res Astrocade created by Perkins Engineering in 1981. These are pictures of the prototype Astrocade that Perkins Engineering modified to go into commercial (hi-res) mode. Here are two parts of the announcement from the Arcadian newsletter that talks about the upgrade (it was supposed to be available in kit form; it has never been confirmed to have been available): 1) Announcement from: ARCADIAN, 3, no. 6 (April 15, 1981): 63. Perkins Hi-Res Board was also received just in time for the show [West Coast Computer Faire, April 3-5, 1981]. This board is the standard Bally Motherboard with a number of ICs added, most by piggy-back technique onto existing chips. Many extra connections are made to make the item "work." When powered up, the picture we normally see filling the screen was reduced to one-fourth the size, and occupied the upper left quadrant of the screen. There were a number of big eyes at the Faire when they saw the tiny type, still 5x7, but much smaller. A New Item from Perkins Engineering: We are pleased to announce another engineering breakthrough - high resolution graphics. The "Hi-Rez Add-In" from Perkins Engineering using 39 additional chips to exploit the high resolution capability of the Bally custom chips. The new chips are added to the Bally motherboard in a way which allows the regular case to go back on. A prototype modified board was demonstrated at the computer faire. Here's what you get: Resolution mode is software selectable at low normal for existing programs, medium (160x204, similar to Mattel), and high (320x204, better than Apple). The 39 chips include an EPROM for firmware support of the new modes and 12K of additional memory. The software mode selection allows the individual program to choose its own resolution for full compatibility with existing game cartridges and Bally BASIC. For Blue Ram owners, a tape will be included to provide medium resolution BASIC with four screen colors and 7K programming area. Prices will be in the range of $250 for the kit and $300 wired (you send in your Bally for modification). Availability will be announced in the next issue. 2) Announcement from: ARCADIAN, 3, no. 9 (July 9, 1981): 94. Hi Res Modification as created by Perkins Engineering - latest word is that the system is available to experimenter-types who can do their own programming. Due to other commitments are the present, Perkins is not available to develop software. So if you want to work on it yourself, and be a real originator, you can buy the kit at $250, or the built up/tested unit at $350 (using your board). Hi-Res Astrocade Picture Area II) Added pictures of the Bally "Add-Under" bare PCB. Ken Lill, the owner of this PCB, wrote: "These are photos of the Bally add-under bare PCB. This was given to me back in 1982-ish by John Perkins, when he gave me the Blue Ram rights. I also received, but have since lost, all of the EPROMS and schematics to build it (I had all of the EPROMS for that board, the schematic and most of the other parts). It doesn't have an edge connector on it like the Bally, but it does have 50 pin header positions for a cable similar to the one used in the Lil' WHITE RAM. There is a large rectangular hole in the PCB for a large Capacitor like the one on the motherboard on the Bally. It also has headers for the Floppy drive and keyboard cables." For an overview of the "Add-Under" read the article called "Michigan Bally Users' Group gets a Look at Zgrass-32 'Add-Under' for the Arcade!" by George Moses and Brett Bilbrey This was originally published in the Arcadian newsletter (ARCADIAN, 3, no. 6 (April 15, 1981): 64-64.). Zgrass-32 "Add-Under" Article Bally "Add-Under" Bare PCB Pictures III) Added pictures of the manufacturing process followed by Ken Lill to create the UltiMulti cartridge, version 1.5.1. UltiMulti Cart 1.5.1 Manufacturing Picture Area December 9, 2010 I) Added four screenshots of the tape game "Black Hole" by Ron Picardi. "B" Tape Screenshot Area II) Added sixteen screenshots of two New Image games on tape: 1) Chuck-A-Luck 2) Who Buys the Cokes? Chuck -A-Luck in "C" Tape Screenshot Area "Who Buys the Cokes?" in "W" Tape Screenshot Area II) Added screenshots for three programs by L&M Software: 1) Alien Invasion 2) Bit-Mapping Demo 3) Mission Impossible Alien Invasion in "A" Tape Screenshot Area Bit-Mapping Demo in "B" Tape Screenshot Area Mission Impossible in "M" Tape Screenshot Area III) Added screenshots for fifteen programs by W&W Software Sales: These programs and games were all released early in the Bally Arcade's lifetime (1979-1980). For this reason these screenshots don't really do justice to the graphics that came about later in BASIC games on this system. What's of note about these programs is that these are examples of the type of software that could be written using only the Bally BASIC manual for reference. W&W Software Sales wrote a LOT of programs for the Bally Arcades so it is good to see some of these screenshots finally make their way online. 1) Alien Patrol 2) Biorhythms 3) Bowling 4) Buddah's Boggler 5) Calendar 6) Concentration 7) Cylon Raiders 8) Flight Simulator 9) Jukebox 10) Mastermind 11) Mensa Test 12) Robo Chase 13) Russian Roulette 14) Space Chase 15) Temperature Quiz Tape Screenshot Area IV) Added screenshots for eighteen programs by Video Wizards: 1) Arcadian Logo 2) Charlie - The Man of 1,000 Faces 3) Crypt-O-Grams 4) Exterminator, The 5) Home Sweet Home 6) Hot Rod Customizing Center 7) Jekyl & Hyde 8) Lazer Brains 9) Lazer Brains and Slot Machine Ad 10) Multi-Graphics 11) Nude Go-Go 12) Professional Arcade Graphic 13) Puppy-Vision 14) Slot Machine 15) Space Creatures 16) Susie - The Girl of 1,000 Faces 17) Thank You for Ordering Software from Video Wizards 18) Welcome to the World of Video Wizards Tape Screenshot Area V) Added screenshots for eight miscellaneous tape programs: 1) Bally Chess Board - John Collins 2) Camel - Fred Cornett 3) Finders Keepers - Ken Lill 4) Hockey - Brian Hildebrand and Pete Murray 5) Sonic Satellite - George_Hale 6) Space Gauntlet - The Tiny Arcade 7) Stranded on Rigel 5 - Sean Walsh 8) ZZZ-UNK (Enter Numbers) - Author Unknown Tape Screenshot Area December 5, 2010 I) Added comments to the "Astrocade On-Board ROM" source code description in the Astrocade Machine Language Source Code Area. These comments include links to the "Astrocade BIOS Changes Between the On-Board ROMs" article and the "Astrocade BIOS Comparision FAQ." Astrocade Machine Language Source Code Area II) Added screenshots for three tape programs by A.R.D. (Anderson Research and Design): 1) Arcadian Sampler 2) Checkbook 3) Video Rally Cassette Tape Screenshot Area December 4, 2010 I) Added "Light Pen Plans" By Lance Squire. These are quick directions on hooking up an Atari Light Pen to a Bally / Astrocade. "Light Pen Plans" By Lance Squire II) Added comments by Ken Lill and Brett Bilbrey about an RGB Interface by Midway that could be used to connect the Bally / Astrocade to a modern TV with RGB input. Miscellaneous Document Area III) Added "Astrocade BIOS Changes Between the On-Board ROMs" by Richard Degler. This article covers what was changed between the three Bally / Astrocade System ROMS. This article complements the "Astrocade BIOS Comparision FAQ." The source code for these ROMs can be found here. "Astrocade BIOS Changes Between the On-Board ROMs" by Richard Degler December 3, 2010 I) The archive for Super Slope by Esoterica Ltd. has been updated with a note that says all the included archives are identical. Here is an excerpt from that document: It has been concluded that all the alternate versions of Super Slope are identical except for the size of their headers, footers and the gap between them. Richard Degler pointed this out on the Bally Alley discussion board on November 28 and 30, 2010. Super Slope by Esoterica Ltd. II) Added the binary image for X-Ray Maze. Richard Degler modified Amazing Maze, VideoCade #5001 (in the Strategy series) for the Bally / Astrocade. This modified version shows what the computer is thinking about instead of just the scratchpad area where it is working out the mazes. Now that you can see the maze being generated I've counted several times how many generations of a route it takes for the computer to get one that works. On the "Hard" level I've counted as high as 68 failed routes and as low as four. I did this about six times and the average seemed to be about fifty or so. So perhaps that generation of a good route after four times was a fluke. Give this program a try-- it's pretty neat to know what is going on behind-the-scenes of the maze while it is being created. Bally / Arcade Cartridge ROM Image Area III) Added screenshots for two "cartridge" games: 1) War - Riff Raff Games 2) X-Ray Maze - By Richard Degler (This is a mod of Amazing Maze) Cartridge Screenshot Area IV) Added "Casio Utilities" by Marcus von Cube used for 300-Baud Tape Archiving. This is a very useful tool for cleaning up 300-Baud recordings. So, how do you use this program for Astrocade recordings, you may ask? Two utilities are useful for Astrocade recordings--wav2wav, and wav2raw. These should work with any recordings using the Kansas City Standard. wav2wav makes a direct bit-for-bit copy of the original, just cleaned up into square waves so it should load and compress more easily. This is great for keeping exact timing intact. wav2raw is slightly more processed, recovering the data bytes. From this, you can get a .prg/.bin file which could be converted to the actual source code by Ronaldo's tools. Too much to understand? For more information one how to use these utilities, read Paul Thacker's short tutorial on how to archive 300-baud tapes using the link below. "Casio Utilities" by Marcus von Cube used for 300-Baud Tape Archiving "Casio Utilities" Documentation Paul Thacker's Tutorial, "Using Casio Utilities for 300-Baud Tape Archiving." V) Added link to YouTube "Astro Arcade" video by Astrovision. "Astro Arcade, The Professional Videogame System that gives you four-player capability, three built-in games, a calculator, and these new cartridges. Coloring Book with Light Pen; even the young can make beautiful pictures. The Wizard has a dungeon of surprises for you. And if you're still hungry for excitement, how about the Munchie game? Astro Arcade. The home entertainment sensation that's a personal computer too. [See us at Booth 940] Link to YouTube "Astro Arcade" video by Astrovision VI) Added Richard Degler's disassembly of Bally's "Bally BASIC Demo" cart. This archive contains the assembly source code for the BASIC Demo cart, information regarding the changes made to the BASIC in the cart, a listing of the BASIC program in the Demo cart and an explanation of Ken Lill's experiments getting the BASIC program to run in Blue Ram BASIC. Bally BASIC Demo Cart Assembly Listing VII) Updated "Four Color" homebrew program with an explanation from David Turner's June 14, 2010 posting to the Bally Alley discussion group answering a question in the source code as to why the color are shown "backward." "Four Color" Homebrew Program VIII) Added Source code for "Amazing Maze / Tic-Tac-Toe." This cartridge by Bally has been disassembled by Richard Degler. Besides the disassembled & fully-commented source code is this modified version that shows what the computer is thinking about instead of just the scratchpad area where it is working out the mazes. However, the source code for this modified version is NOT included-- only the binary cartridge image. "Amazing Maze / Tic-Tac-Toe" Source Code IX) Added PSPAD Code Editor Link and Support Files. 1) PSPAD Freeware Code Editor (Link) - PSPad is a great code editor. Using it in conjuction with the Zmac Z80 assembler really makes programming for the Bally Astrocade a much easier affair. Try it out and see what you think! Once you get used to it, you'll never want to go back to using just the command line and Notepad ever again! 2) PSPad Editor Tip: How to Launch MESS from within PS-Pad By Richard Degler PSPad is a great code editor. It is a wonderful way create Z80 source code for use with the ZMac Z80 assembler. The ability to launch MESS from within the editor after the source code has been assembled brings PSPad very close to being an Integrated Development Environment (IDE). 3) PSPAD: New Z-80 INI - By Richard Degler This is a Highlighter definition file with all of HVGLIB.H words included. This will make working with Z80 assembler easier to read. PSPAD Code Editor Link and Support Files in ML Tools Area X) Added "Stranded on Rigel 5" Source Code. This Bally BASIC program is from ARCADIAN, 4, no. 7 (May 7, 1982): 72-73. It has some machine language routines in it and Richard Degler disassembled these routines. The information that he gleaned from his investigation was used to create a quite extraordinary assembly file. This file will NOT assemble into the original program in any way, but it gives SO much information about how "Stranded on Rigel 5" works. "Stranded on Rigel 5" source code XI) Added Blue Ram Keyboard Driver Disassembly. Richard Degler extracted the BALLY Basic keyboard driver for using the Blue Ram Keybaord from here. This disassembly is quite extensive and, like all of Richard's disassembly work, is very well commented. Included in this archive are: KEYBOARD.PRG (the tape contents - not really a program but direct commands), KEYBOARD.TXT (the raw Basic listing with a data block in the middle), and KEYBOARD.ASM (the disassembly of the driver itself). Blue Ram Keyboard Driver Disassembly November 30, 2010 I) Added three pictures of "War" cartridges: 1) Four Stacks of "War" Carts 2) Twenty "War" Carts on Table, 1 3) Twenty "War" Carts on Table, 2 Third-Party Cartridge Picture Area II) Added twelve pictures of the "War" Box. This includes the never-before- scene original artwork from Ward Shrake, along with the original concept-art that I presented to Michael Garber, the programmer of "War," to get a feel for what he might be looking for as the box for his game. 1) War Box and Cart (Front) 2) War Box and Manual 3) War Box and Manual (Back) 4) War Box and Manual (Inside) 5) War Box (Spine) 6) War Boxes (Twenty on Shelf, 1) 7) War Boxes (Twenty on Shelf, 1) 8) War DVD Case (Concept Art, Front), February 23, 2010 9) War DVD Case (Concept Art, Back) 10) War DVD Case (Concept Art) 11) War Cartridge (Original Artwork) 12) War Cartridge (Original Concept and Artwork), February 18, 2010 Riff Raff Games Box Picture Area III) Updated the Cartridge Manual Picture Area: 1) Removed the file size and date picture was added 2) Centered all the thumbnails 3) Added pictures of the front and back of the "War" manual Cartridge Manual Picture Area IV) Added picture of the Bally Home Library Computer with Keyboard from the 1978 JS&A "Products that Think" Catalog. Bally Home Library Computer with Keyboard V) Added four newly dumped cartridges: 1) Blue RAM BASIC 1.0 2) Conan The Barbarian (Prototype) 3) Cosmic Raiders (Prototype) 4) VIPERsoft BASIC (Prototype) Bally / Astrocade Cartridge Area VI) Added "Bally and Astro BASIC Manual Differences" by Richard Degler. These differences were compiled from postings that Richard Degler made to the Bally Alley discussion group. The main points are broken into three sections: I) Bally BASIC Manual Differences (Rev. 2 Compared to Rev. 1) II) AstroBASIC Manual Differences III) Bally BASIC Programmed Instruction Course Addendum "Bally and Astro BASIC Manual Differences" By Richard Degler VII) Added two letters to the Arcadian: 1) (1978) - To Bob, From Computer Info Exchange Letter Letter from April 18, 1978. A letter to Bob Fabris exchanging ideas and advice on starting a Bally Arcade publication. 2) (1978) - To Mr. Fabris, From MARC Letter from August 1978. A letter thanking Mr. Fabris for attending an August 15, 1978 Research Discussion Group meeting. Arcadian Newsletter Letter Area VIII) Added the "Cartridge Dumping Guide" by Paul Thacker and Lance Squire. This guide will allow you to digitally archive Astrocade cartridges using VIPERsoft BASIC, a Lil' WHITE RAM expansion, and an AstroBASIC cart. "Cartridge Dumping Guide" by Paul Thacker and Lance Squire November 29, 2010 I) Added four games by Bob Wiseman, modified by Klaus Doerge: 1) Gobblers ARCADIAN, 3, no. 12 (Oct. 5, 1981): 125. (Original Version) ARCADIAN, 5, no. 4 (Feb. 18, 1983): 56,70. (Klaus Doerge revision) This 2-player game requires you to eat a bunch of squares, where each square has one to four points in it, resulting in a score of 1 to 4 for each one eaten. They are positioned in a 5 x 10 grid, and you utilize the JX and JY directions of your controller to move your man. Of course, your opponent is doing the same. The computer is keeping score. It is listed in Bally BASIC, but plays in AstroBASIC as well, just a bit faster." 2) Mastermind ARCADIAN, 3, no. 2 (Dec. 5, 1980): 19. (Original Version) In this version of Mastermind, the computer hold a four-color code that you must guess. Enter the first letter of each color guessed via the keypad. Each Black response means a correct color in the correct spot, while a White response means a correct color in the wrong spot. 3) Sub Hunter ARCADIAN, 3, no. 7 (May 8, 1981): 74-75. (Original Version) You command the destroyer in an attempt to locate and destroy the enemy submarine fleet. First, you will be asked what the winning score should be. Enter this through the keyboard. This is a one- player game against the computer. A computer sub is submerged somewhere on the grid. One each turn he will either move or fire torpedoes. If he fires, he must reveal his location. You use the joystick to control your movement, up, down, right left, or diagonal. After you tweek the top, a loud beep is heard. Now count, "One submarine, two submarines, etc" until a softer beep is heard. This represents the distance to the submarine. Sonar!! Now your crew fires depth charges into the two squares in front of you. Move again. Good luck. 4) Yahtzee ARCADIAN, 2, no. 8 (June 23, 1980) 74-75. (Original Version) ARCADIAN, 2, no. 9 (July 28, 1980) 82. (Modification for 4-players) ARCADIAN, 2, no. 10 (Sept. 17 , 1980) 88. (Fix for 4-player Modified Version) One to four players. On your turn, use the JY to position the arrow to the dice you want re-rolled. Then push JX to erase the dice (once gone they're done for good). After you have 'turned off' the dice you want rolled, pull the trigger. After three rolls, you will be shown the scores. Use JY to position the arrow to the one you want, and then pull the trigger. Scores almost like real Yahtzee. Bob Wiseman Programs in the Arcadian Newsletter 300-Baud Download Area II) Added three games by Bob Hensel, modified by Klaus Doerge: 1) Bowl-A-Rama ARCADIAN, 2, no. 6 (April 25, 1980): 51-52. ARCADIAN, 2, no. 7 (May 19, 1980): 65. (Program Fix) Bowl-A-Rama is a two-player game. The computer displays the pins and keeps score. The ball is invisible at the bottom of the screen moving between the gutters. When the player UP pulls his trigger the ball appears and starts rolling down the alley. The playercontrols the curve on the ball by moving his joystick left or right. The frame number is shown in the center box at the bottom of the screen. 2) Golf ARCADIAN, 3, no. 4 (Feb. 7, 1981): 46-47 (Program Listing) ARCADIAN, 3, no. 5 (Mar. 7, 1981): 51 (Program Fix) Golf is a game of skill for 1 to 4 players. The computer generates 9 different holes each game, randomly placing each green and hazards such as tress, water, or sand traps. Each player selects the direction the ball will travel by moving JX(1) until the rotating line points in the proper direction. The distance is dependent on the club selected using JY(1). Remember the flight of the ball is affected by the direction and velocity of the wind. 3) Pool ARCADIAN, 3, no. 9 (July 9, 1981): 94-95 Pool is a computer version of the Billiards game 8-Ball. The computer will rack the balls and break. The direction of the Cue ball is controlled by JX(1) and JY(1). The length of the shot is controlled by the Cue stick at the right of the screen. After selecting the desired angle and length, pull the trigger TR(1) to make the shot. The direction of any other balls hit by the Cue ball is controlled by KN(1). If KN(1) is at its center the other balls will continue in the same direction as the Cue ball. Turning KN(1) all the way clockwise or counter-clockwise will deflect the balls 45 degrees from the path of the Cue ball. Bob Hensel Programs in the Arcadian Newsletter 300-Baud Download Area III) Added one game by W&W Software Sales, modified by Klaus Doerge: 1) Buddha's Boggler W&W Software Sales 300-Baud Program Download Area IV) Added eight games by various authors (and modified by Klaus Doerge) that were all originally published in the Arcadian newsletter: 1) Checkers - By John Collins, modified by Klaus Doerge ARCADIAN, 1, no. 6 (May 4, 1979): 41-42 (Original Program Listing) ARCADIAN, 1, no. 7 (June 15, 1979): 47 (Program Fix) ARCADIAN, 1, no. 10 (Sept. 31, 1979): 77 (Program Modification) ARCADIAN, 1, no. 11 (Oct. 31, 1979): 90 (Program Fix) ARCADIAN, 2, no. 1 (Nov. 29, 1979): 4 (Program Fix) There is an amazing amount of activity in this game, that is comparable to the $75 "Checker Challenger." Before the machine makes a move, it goes through some steps, and numbers appear to tell you where it is. The code for the steps is: 1. The computer has found that it can jump one of your men. 2. Checking to see it you can jump it. 3. Is a corner open? 4. Is there an open move? 5 and 6. Have the computer's men moving either to get kinged or toward and player's man left 7. Any move an unkinged computer's piece can make 8. Any move To indicate a doube jump, enter the two numbers (of the square you go through and the landing square) as if it were a single jump only. 2) Computer Twixt - By Joe Pipek, modified by Klaus Doerge ARCADIAN, 3, no. 6 (April 15, 1981): 67-68. Computer Twixt is based on the 3M game. The player with the square has to generate a line from one side of the playing square to the other, while the player with the cross has to work vertically. The computer will draw a line for you if your new piece is at a certain location from an existing piece. The two- over-and-one-across requirement is illustrated (the 2:1 can be in any direction, or 1:2). [See illustration in Arcadian newsletter.] The computer will tell you if your wall extends across the playing square. Use TR(1) to start a new game. 3) Connect Four - By L.L. Camnitz, modified by Klaus Doerge ARCADIAN, 2, no. 4 (Feb. 25, 1980): 35 There are no instructions printed in the Arcadian. 4) Laser Evader - By Dave Martin, modified by Klaus Doerge ARCADIAN, 4, no. 8 (June 11, 1982): 81. Laser Evader is a cute little game of chance. The object is to move through a field of lasers without being hit. The five laser units fire at random, making it difficult to predict when to pass one. If you make it safely to the top, up to 100 points are added to your score, depending upon how quickly you made the trip. You continue traveling through the laser field, accumulating points until you are "zapped" three times, and the game is over. Use joystick to move, TRigger to restart at end of game. Remember that gravity will tend to pull you back. 5) Nim - By Robert Hilferding, modified by Klaus Doerge ARCADIAN, 3, no. 8 (June 8, 1981): 86-87. Nim is a one or two player game where the object is to force your opponent into taking the last piece. Starting with fifteen boxes, the players alternate in removing one, two or three boxes. (KN determines the number, TR removes the boxes.) In the one player mode, the computer determines how many boxes it will remove. The program permits options in who starts, and the degree of difficulty option in the one-player mode. Beginning options are entered through the keypad while play options are executed through the hand controllers. 6) Slot Machine - By Mueller, modified by Klaus Doerge ARCADIAN, 2, no. 3 (Jan. 15, 1980): 21. This version of Slot Machine has an interesting set of graphics as the "reels" rotate. I kept losing money, maybe you'll have better luck. 7) Sound Graph - By Chuck Thomka, modified by Klaus Doerge ARCADIAN, 1, no. 8 (July 20, 1979): 65. This program has an entire article that goes along with it called "The Music Synthesizer." The article explains how the synthesizer circuit contained in the 40-pin custom I/O chip functions. The circuit is very versatile. It contains counters and amplifiers to give the programmer tremendous control of the three-voice output along with tremolo, vibrato, and even a noise generator. The "Sound Graph" program allows the user to experiment with these functions of the sound circuit. 8) Zappit - By R. Swearington, modified by Klaus Doerge ARCADIAN, 2, no. 3 (January 15, 1980): 23 This is from the BRIEF in-game instructions: "This game does not keep time. The joystick steers the target, the trigger fires the laser. No hit is scored unless the screen reads 'LOCKED'." Programs by Various Authors in the Arcadian Newsletter 300-Baud Download Area V) Updated the version of "Vipersoft BASIC and Instructions" that was previously online. RAM Expansion Required Download Area VI) Made changes to "Stranded on Rigel 5." Renamed the versions of "Stranded on Rigel 5" that were recently uploaded. Since both versions are so similar, one is simply marked "[a]," which means it's an alternate version. Richard Degler took the time to figure-out the differences between the two versions of "Stranded on Rigel 5" that have been archived. He notes that each program is essentially the same. What is REALLY appealing is how much effort he took to understand what the machine language portion of the program is doing. He wrote an extended posting about it which has been added to the website and included in the archive of the program. 300-Baud Miscellaneous Download Area VII) Added the four-page manual for Riff Raff Games' 2010 homebrew game "War." This manual was created from the TIFF files used to create the actual paper manual-- at no point was this pdf manual ever not a digital file. To keep the high-quality of this manual, the PDF has been kept at 300 DPI, so the manual is about 2.2MB. Manual for Homebrew game "War" VIII) Added the cartridge label for "War" by Riff Raff Games: "War" Cartridge Label November 28, 2010 I) Added "3 Tone Music" by Brett Bilbrey. The program plays a brief tune from Star Wars. There is a link to additional information from the programmer included in the comment area of this program. "3 Tone Music" in Miscellaneous 300-Baud Program Area II) Added "Bally Chess Board" by John Collins. This first appeared in 1979. An advertisement by Collins Computer Company for the tape, then called "Chess," first appeared in ARCADIAN, 1, no. 8 (July 20, 1979): 68. The listing for this program later appeared in ARCADIAN, 6, no. 11/12 (Oct. 31, 2984): 120. "Bally Chess Board" in Miscellaneous 300-Baud Program Area III) Added "Sonic Satellite" by George Hale. This game is only ever mentioned in an ad, of sorts, just one time in ARCADIAN, 1, no. 5 (March 23, 1979): 33. "Sonic Satellite" in Miscellaneous 300-Baud Program Area IV) Added "Stranded on Rigel 5" by Sean Walsh. This is the May 1982 $100 prize winner in the Arcadian newsletter. This program is for use with Bally BASIC only; it is not compatible with AstroBASIC. "Stranded on Rigel 5" in Miscellaneous 300-Baud Program Area V) Added "ZZZ-UNK (enter numbers)" by unknown author. This program was part of the Bob Fabris tape collection. Brett Bilbrey comments: "The program just takes in characters and stores them at location 0x4000H, incrementing by one each time, then 'plays' them back on the screen... Not sure why this was interesting." "ZZZ-UNK (enter numbers)" in Miscellaneous 300-Baud Program Area November 27, 2010 I) Added three 300-Baud programs by A.R.D. (Anderson Research & Design): 1) Arcadian Sampler - Displays "arcadian" in two different fonts. 2) Checkbook - "A program designed to be used by any member of the family to balance their personal checking account. The program explains itself as it goes along. 38/54 = 70.3%" - Richard Houser, ARCADIAN, 4, No. 1 (Nov. 6, 1980): 5. 3) Video Rally - "This is the most intriguing game program that I have found for the BALLY. If you have ever done TSD (Time Speed & Distance) Rally's you should buy this and you'll spend hours trying to get the lowest score. This is a great training aid in preparing for an actual TSD Rally. The instructions for this program are excellent (8 pages). This doesn't make the playing of this gameeasy, however. 70/72 = 97.2%" - Richard Houser, ARCADIAN, 4, No. 1 (Nov. 6, 1980): 5. A.R.D. (Anderson Research & Design) 300-Baud Program Area II) Added two 300-Baud programs by L&M Software: 1) 3D Tic-Tac-Toe 2) Mission Impossible L&M Software 300-Baud Program Area III) Added seven 300-Baud programs by Ron Picardi: 1) Black Hole - The object of the game is to achieve orbit around the mystery ship with the X and Y thruster control that you have. You should be at the same speed and distance from the Black Hole as the mystery ship. 2) Lunar Lander 3) Morse Code - A somewhat advanced program over others I've received. They translated a kepad input directly into code and made immediate output. Ron, on the other hand, allows you to enter a message up to 200 characters, and then it will transmit the whole thing at a user-entered speed. This makes it ideal for training reception via tapes. And it could be used for on-the-air transmission (under control of a licenses operator, of course.) 4) Slot - Slot machines written in BASIC were common for the Bally / Astrocade. Here is another one. 5) Space Wars 3 Race 6) Space Wars Super Edition 7) Wave Study Ron Picardi 300-Baud Program Area IV) Added four 300-Baud programs by Klaus Doerge: 1) Alphabet Puzzle 2) Attack - This is somewhat like BOTS - you have to keep walls between yourself and the ever-coming attackers. Use JX and JY to manever, TR if you want to stand fast. 3) Color Selector - A utility program for the game maker. Use the Trigger and Knob controls to vary the colors and identify their "numbers." Both hand controls are used, with all functions of each. In general, the KNobs will revise the &(9) and BF/FC variables, JX and JY also vary BC and FC, and the TR are used to set values. The entire palette can be displayed and BC compared with FC, side by side. Instructions are contained within the program (lines 270-285). 4) Das Wandern Klaus Doerge 300-Baud Program Area November 24, 2010 I) Added two alternate versions of George Moses' versions of Bach's "Sinfonia to Cantata No. 29." George Moses' "Sinfonia to Cantata No. 29" Download Page II) Added an alternate version of George Moses' Allemande. This version has Allemande Parts I and II as one 2000-BAUD AstroBASIC file. George Moses' Bach Download Page III) Added alternate version of "Buggin' BC" by George Moses and Dave Ibach. This is a beta version that does not have the title screen. George Moses' Games Download Page IV) Added two early versions of I.C.B.M. Attack by Spectre Systems. These should be loaded from AstroBASIC with :RUN. They're not actually playable games at this stage. Miscellaneous 2000-Baud Download Area V) Added the Niagara Bugs Club Tape, complete with a functioning menu. This is a 2000-Baud tape with various programs. Paul Thacker says, "Yes, multi-load menu-based programs are pretty annoying, but I'm glad to have it working as originally intended." The contents of this tape are: Side 1: ------- 1) Menu 2) Crossing Signal - By Mike White 3) An Artistic Display - By Mike White 4) Bowling - By Mike White 5) Fireworks - By Mike White 6) Hangman - By Mike White 7) The Tin Pants Gang - By Mike White 8) Putt-Putt Golf - By Mike White 9) Bingo Caller - By Mike White 10) Space Mission (2 player) Part 1 - By Mike White 11) Space Mission (2 player) Part 2 - By Mike White Side 2 ------ 1) Menu - By Mike White 2) Sound Variable Study - By Mike White 3) Lizzard Lunch - By Tim White 4) Treasure Hunt - By Tim White and Mike Kinkead 5) Carnival Capture - By Tim White 6) Paraschot - By Tim White 7) Simon (mod) - By Brett Bilbrey, Modified by Mike White 8) Treasure Hunt (mod) - Tim White 9) Repack (AB + 8K) - By Mike White 10) Space Mission (4 player) Part 1 - By Mike White 11) Space Mission (4 player) Part 2 - By Mike White Miscellaneous 2000-Baud Download Area VI) Added the game "Finders Keepers" by Gambits (Ken Lill): Miscellaneous 2000-Baud Download Area VII) Added "Hockey" by Brian Hildebrand, inspired by Pete Murray. This game was printed in ARCADIAN, 6, no. 11/12 (Oct. 31, 1984): 115. Arcadian Newsletter A-H Program Area VIII) Added two alternate versions of Esoterica Ltd games: 1) Road Toad - Seems to be very early (missing some sounds, buggy, etc.). The tape is labeled Frogger, but the program still says Road Toad. As for the Frogger Road Toad--yes, it runs, but has bugs. Obviously it has some pretty serious bugs since I just played it and the program froze up after a few minutes. But really, that's a good thing, since it seems to be a genuine prototype of the game. 2) Super Slope Esoterica Ltd. 2000-Baud Program Download Area November 22, 2010 I) Added 20 programs by Super Software in 300-BAUD format. 1) Bally Football 2) Bally Slot 3) Barricade Version 4.0 4) Beatle Quiz 5) Cosmic Zap 6) Diamonds 7) Dog Races 8) Guided Missile 9) Hustle Version 3.0 10) Maze-A-Matic 11) Mystery Maze Version 4.2 12) Nuts-O 13) Reverse 14) Robot Alert! Version 4.5 15) Simon Says Version 3.0 16) Smack-Up 17) Starship Bally 18) Super Craps 19) Super Slot 20) Tic-Tac-Dough Super Software Program Download Area II) Added software by Rich Tietjens in 300-BAUD format. This includes five programs plus two versions of the Dungeons and Dragons Program pack. 1) 23 Matches 2) Biorhythms 3) Calc Input & Shift Utilities 4) Dungeons And Dragons Program Package 5) Dungeons And Dragons Game Aid Package Version 3.2 6) Monthly Loan Payment 7) Parallel Out Rich Tietjens Program Download Area III) Added two miscellaneous programs, in 300-BAUD format, from the Arcadian newsletter: 1) Day-Of-The-Week And Calendar Program By Kirk Gregg Arcadian, Vol. 3, Pg. 22-23 (December 5, 1980) 2) Keno II 2.0 By Mark Keller Arcadian, Vol 3, Issue 11, Pg. 116-117 (September 11, 1981) Miscellaneous 300-BAUD Program Area IV) Added 11 programs that require RAM expansion upgrades: 1) BRB File Searcher - By Mike White 2) BRB Repacker - By Mike White 3) Dragon's Castle - By Unknown 4) Dumping Program - By Mike White 5) General Video Assembler, with Examples - By General Video 6) Golf - By Bob Hensel and Dave Carson 7) Hot Rod Bally BASIC - By Jay Fenton 8) Moon Lander - David Carson II 9) O-Jello - Clyde Perkins 10) Video Instructions For Extended BASIC - By Alternative Engineering 11) VIPERsoft BASIC - By Alternative Engineering Program for RAM Expansions Area V) Added three programs to the 2000-Baud L&M Software Area. Also, new to this area is that each newly uploaded program has a thumbnail picture for the program screen. 1) Alien Invasion - Replaced the previous version with this version that has a title screen 2) Bit-Mapping Demo 3) Mission Impossible L&M Software 2000-Baud Program Download Area VI) Added a program by Steve Walters called Crazyface. It allows you to create a "crazy face" using various menu selections Steve Walters 2000-Baud Program Download Area VII) Added comments about WaveMakers' Fortune Teller: This buggy 300-baud version of Fortune Teller from the master tapes is actually what was released. The program instructions say to press any key to get another fortune, but actually the program gives two fortunes in rapid succession, then crashes back to the BASIC prompt when the user presses a key. This bug has been observed both on the Space Chase Master Tape, and a commercial tape. The "[b]" from the filename, which signifies a bad dump, has also been removed from the filename. WaveMakers 300-Baud Program Download Area VIII) Added two games by New Image in 2000-Baud format. These games are: 1) Chuck-A-Luck - A gambling game. 2) Who Buys the Cokes?? - The object of this unusual guessing game is to not be the one to guess the computer's number. The player who guesses it has to buy the Cokes! You may pick the high limit to the number the computer picks. New Image 2000-Baud Program Download Area November 21, 2010 I) Added eighteen, 2000-BAUD, downloadable programs by Video Wizards: 1) Arcadian Logo 2) Charlie (The Man Of 1,000 Faces) 3) Crypt-O-Grams 4) Exterminator, The 5) Home Sweet Home 6) Hot Rod Customizing Center 7) Jekyl & Hyde 8) Lazer Brains 9) Lazer Brains & Slot Machine Advertisement 10) Multi-Graphics 11) Nude Go-Go 12) Professional Arcade Graphic 13) Puppy-Vision 14) Slot Machine 15) Space Creatures 16) Susie (The Girl Of 1,000 Faces) 17) Thank You For Ordering Software From Video Wizards 18) Welcome To The World Of Video Wizards Video Wizards Program Download Area II) Added two 300-BAUD programs by The Tiny Arcade: 1) Computer Crochet 2) Space Gauntlet The Tiny Arcade 300-BAUD Program Download Area November 20, 2010 I) Added "Words of Wisdom" tape-to-cartridge conversion. Here are the original notes about this conversions from when it first occured: From: Ronaldo Goulart Received: Sat Feb 27, 2010 12:32 AM Subject: Proof of concept I just uploaded to the file area a proof of concept of what I mentioned before, I replaced the program from the Bally BASIC Demo with another one, "Words Of Wisdom by W&W", from one of the damaged recordings Adam and Paul sent me for recovery. The program is appropriate for this, as it seems to run continuously without any user input. The file is just a cartridge image inside a Zip file, so, if you wish to check it out, just load it with MESS (no special setup required). Ronaldo Goulart Cartridge ROM Image Download Area II) Added Screenshots for "Words of Wisdom" Tape-to-Cart Conversion Cartridge Screenshot Area, "W" November 19, 2010 I) Added 23 digitally archived programs by W&W Software Sales This is an ad from Arcadian, Vol 3, issue 1, page 10 (November 6, 1980) W&W Software Sales We have nine tapes with five programs each, with or without listings. Or get listings only so you can pick and choose any of the 45 available programs. Excellent variety, color, graphics, use of hand controller, and much more. Games, business programs, and teaching aides for children and adults. Send 25 cents for more information and a copy of Air Traffic Controller, or SAE for information only. 1) Air Traffic Controller 2) Ancient Sumeria 3) Bowling 4) Buddha's Boggler 5) Checkbook Balancer & Compound Interest (Arcadian Version) 6) Code Breaker 7) Concentration 8) Cylon Raiders 9) Enhanced Lunar Lander 10) Game Of Life 11) Jukebox 12) Keno 13) Laser Blazer 14) Math Quiz 15) Pocket Puzzle 16) Robo Chase 17) Russian Roulette 18) Sampler #3 19) Slot Machine 20) Space Adventure 21) Space Chase 22) Temperature Quiz 23) Words Of Wisdom W&W Software Sales 300-Baud Program Download Area II) Added five miscellaneous 300-BAUD programs: 1) 2000 AD - By Ed Larkins - A shoot-em-up between an alien invader ship and a ground station. Use the knob to aim, the trigger to fire, and the joystick to move about. After five points use TR(1) to restart. 2) Arcadian Slots (Modified) - By Mueller and Unknown - A version of Mueller's Arcadian Slot program modified by an unknown author (presumably this was submitted to the Arcadian, but never published) 3) Joystick Checkout - By Seebree's Computing - A simple program to test your joysticks. 4) Mazin - By Dave Ibach - Mazin is the most interesting program. It's mostly in machine language, and generates a maze (similar to what you'd see in Amazing Maze) for the player to get through. It keeps track of your time, and multiple players can compete for the best times. As far as I can tell, it keeps going indefinitely, generating a new maze for each round. I'm surprised that, as far as I can tell, this was never published 5) Space War - By Dave Ibach - It's a neat idea for a two player game. Each player has a ship on one side of the screen, and can move up and down and fire at any angle. However, the ships are invisible, so you can only figure out where your opponent is when they fire a shot Miscellaneous 300-BAUD Programs Download Area III) Added "Video Instructions For Extended BASIC, Part 1" by Alternative Engineering. These are for use with Vipersoft BASIC. These are in 300-BAUD format. Extended BASIC Program Download Area IV) Added 2000-BAUD version of "Random Maze Generator" by The Tiny Arcade. The Tiny Arcade 2000-BAUD Program Download Area V) Added "PacMan" by Dale Low. This tape is from the Bob Fabris Collection. "PacMan" (as the name appears on the tape) appears to be an unused Arcadian submission. Dale Low was the programmer behind Astrogames, a tape company. Astrogames published a game called Super-Pac, but this is probably not the same thing. Direct Link to "Pacman" by Dale Low VI) Added "Arcadian, Best of 1980" box. This packaging consists of a plastic bag that hold the instructions and the cassette tape. "Arcadian, Best of 1980" Packaging VII) Added pictures of three prototype cartridges: 1) Conan the Barbarian 2) Cosmic Raiders 3) Tests Cartridge Prototype Picture Area VIII) Added alternate view of "Maze Man." Direct Link to alternate view of "Maze Man." IX) Embedded links to eleven videos on YouTube: 1) Astro Battle Review - By Nice and Games 2) Astrocade Game Packaging Review - By Nice and Games 3) Astrocade Overheating! - By Nice and Games 4) Brickyard / Clowns Review - By Nice and Games 5) Galactic Invasion Review - By Nice and Games 6) Incredible Wizard, The Review - By Nice and Games 7) Muncher Review - By Nice and Games 8) Rare Bally Home Library Computer System Overview - By Gamestar81 9) Space Fortress Review - By Nice and Games 10) Treasure Cove Review - By Nice and Games 11) War Review - By Nice and Games Astrocade Videos Area X) In 2006 I posted a list to the Bally Alley Yahoo message board of my favorite Bally / Astrocade cartridge games and asked for others to reply, giving a list of their own favorite games. In 2010 I went ahead and found that list for someone that asked for a list of good games. This article is the result of those postings. I've added most of the comments and lists that other people made too, so it is a comprehensive, fun read. Top Ten Astrocade Games XI) Added the tape documentation for "Arcadian: Best of 1980." The ten programs on the tape are: 1) Artillery Duel - John Perkins 2) Bots - Ron McCoy 3) Bowl-a-Rama - Bob Hensel 4) Checkers - John Collins 5) Connect Four II - Bob Wiseman 6) Hamurabi - Dick Houser 7) O-Jello - Clyde Perkins 8) Subsearch - Ron Picardi 9) 2000AD - Ed Larkin 10) Yahtzee - Bob Wiseman "Arcadian: Best of 1980" Tape Documentation XII) Reorganized the ZGrass / UV-1 Magazine Articles Area. Also added two articles: 1) "Bally Debuts Three-Level Computer System at CES," Intelligent Machines Journal, February 7, 1979 2) "GRAFIX Accompanies Bally Computer Intro, " Intelligent Machines Journal, February 7, 1979 ZGrass / UV-1 Magazine Articles Area XIII) Added a note to the Misc. Tape Picture Area that perhaps "Larry Simioni" is not the author of the Z80 Mini-Course program, but rather that "Barry Ellerson" is the correct author. Hopefully this can be figured out at some point and the note can be removed. Misc. Tape Picture Area November 18, 2010 I) Added the red and white Bally Professional Arcade dustcover with the Montgomery Ward logo imprinted on the left side. Dustcover Picture Area II) Added six high-resolution pictures of the Viper RAM expansion: 1) Viper RAM Expansion (Front) 2) Viper RAM Expansion (Back) 3) Viper RAM Expansion (Bottom) 4) Viper RAM Expansion (Side) 5) Viper RAM Expansion (Top Cover Removed) 6) Viper RAM Expansion (Inside) Viper RAM Expansion Area III) Added four high-resolution pictures of the Viper Keyboard. This keyboard for the Viper RAM expansion is SO rare that these are the first pictures of the keyboard available! The pictures are: 1) Viper Keyboard (Top) 2) Viper Keyboard (Side) 3) Viper Keyboard (Back) 4) Viper Keyboard (Bottom) Viper Keyboard Area IV) Updated Bally / Astrocade Cartridge Area: 1) AstroBASIC (White Label) - Added Hi-Res Version 2) Letter Match / Spell 'N Score / Crosswords - Cleaned-Up Label 3) Star Battle - Cleaned-Up Label Bally / Astrocade Cartridge Area V) Added picture of "War" by Riff Raff Games to Third-Party Cartridge Area. "War," released in 2010, is the first machine language homebrew game for the Astrocade released on cartridge. Third-Party Cartridge Area VI) Added Mike White Software Cartridge Area. In the last issue of The Arcadian newsletter (Vol. 7, issue 4, Aug. 15, 1986) a full page ad by "Mike White Software" ran on page 87 that announced a new service. In part, it read: "As of January 1st 1986 a new service has begun! Any taped AB or BRB program that you would like to see in a cartridge can be done for only $9.95 a cartridge! This does not mean that the programs will be improved. It means that we've discovered a way to put BASIC into cartridge and make it run!!" Many programs were listed that were available, plus a customer could send ANY program on tape and have it turned into a cartridge. He also had permission, from Astrocade (through Dave Carson) to provide any released cartridge as well. Not only that, but Mike had access to many prototype cartridges (notably Bowling, Checkers, Conan the Barbarian, and Soccer). He created these cartridges for many, many years. It is likely that many so-called prototype cartridges are actually cartridges created by Mike White Software. Mike White Software's five-page catalog can be viewed here: White White Software Catalog (Five Pages) This section is meant to avoid confusion that surrounds these cartridges. These cartridges are NOT prototypes themselves, but they may be COPIES of prototypes that were created with permission of Astrovision. This puts them into a shaky category for collectors that I don't claim to understand. For now, three cartridges have been added to this category: 1) Hot Rod Bally BASIC 2) Tests 3) Video Story Book Mike White Software Cartridge Area VII) Added four pictures of Astrocade program tapes to the Miscellaneous Cassette-Tape Picture section: 1) Arcadian Best of 1980 - By Various Authors 2) PacMan / < Control 30 > - By Dale Low 3) Random Maze Generator - T. McConnell 4) Z80 Minicourse - By Larry Simioni Miscellaneous Cassette-Tape Picture section VIII) Removed the non-digitally archived 300-BAUD W&W Software Sales programs and replaced them with digitally archived versions. These newly archived versions are MUCH smaller (both when zipped and when unzipped). The old non-digitally-archived versions of these twenty-four programs took up 138MB when zipped and 148MB when unzipped. The new digitally-archived version take up 832K (less than one MB!) when zipped and then take up 65MB after they are decompressed. Now THAT'S some great compression! The twenty-four programs are: 1) (Mortgage) Amortization 2) Alien Patrol 3) Biorhythms 4) Block Buster 5) Calendar 6) Checkbook Balancer & Compound Interest (Tape Version) 7) Checkers 8) Clock 9) Computer Art 10) Flight Simulator 11) Hangman 12) Inspector Clew-So 13) Mastermind 14) Mensa Test 15) Othello 16) Riddle 17) Sequence 18) Solitaire 19) Space Dock 20) Sub Search 21) Tic Tac Toe 22) TV Ghost 23) Van Gam 24) W&W Race Track W&W Software Sales 300-BAUD Download Area November 17, 2010 I) Added four advertisements by WaveMakers: 1. Castle of Horror (Tape 12) 2. Lookout for the Bull (Tape 10) 3. Pack Rat (Tape 9) 4. Whiz Quiz (Tape 11) WaveMakers Advertisements II) Reorganized the WaveMakers Type-In Program area and added one game to the it: 1. Mouse in the Hat / Speed Math (Tape 6) WaveMakers' Type-in Program Area III) Added instructions for several WaveMakers games on tape. Four instructions are completely new to the area: 1) Backgammon / Obstacle Course Tournament 2) Guitar Course - Regular color version now available 3) Lookout for the Bull 4) Max Robot from Space / Horse Race Two sets of instructions now have alternate formats: 1) Castle of Horror - Alternate red version 2) Monkey Jump - Alternate red version WaveMakers' Tape Instruction Area IV) Moved the "Castle of Horror" Type-In Program from the Instruction Manual area to where it belongs: the Type-In Program area. October 29, 2010 I) Added information for the UltiMulti multicart by GaMBITS: 1. UltiMulti Cartridge 1.5.1, CD (Picture) - The Manual and Program DIP Switch Settings are contained on this CD 2. UltiMulti Cartridge 1.5.1, DIP Switch Settings - The UltiMulti cartridge 1.5.1 has 28 more programs than the previous version. 3. UltiMulti Cartridge 1.5.1, Instructions - Here is what is in the documentation: 1) Listing Instruction Manuals for Programs on Bally Alley 2) How to Use Multi-Load Games 3) Switch Settings Required for Different BASICs 4) Blue Ram Super-Extended BASIC (1.0 and 1.1) Instructions 5) Game / Program Instructions 1. Arcade Golf 1.5 - Ken Lill 2. Bumble B Cruzer - Ken Lill 3. Dragon's Castle 4. Lil' White Utility 5. Pro Golf - Henry Sopko 6. Snake Snack - By Ken Lill 7. Spring Thing Pt. 1 - By Ken Lill 8. Whatzit? - By Ken Lill 6) Additional 1.5.1 Games / Program Instructions 1. Fawn Dungeon 2. Lil' White Ram Utility 1.5 3. Menu Demo 4. PsedDoKo (Beta) UltiMulti Cartridge Documentation II) Added two pictures of the UltiMulti Cart 1.5.1 to the Cartridge Picture Area: UltiMulti Cartridge Picture Area October 4, 2010 I) Added version 3.31 of the Bally / Astrocade FAQ. All updates made by Richard Degler. Thanks! - Fixed lots of dead links: - classicgaming.com no longer carries the obsolete files from /ballyalley/ since it was removed from their front page years ago. - The FAQ isn't at Yahoo! group files anymore as it said, nor are astrocade_on_board_prog.gif and 3159_configuration.gif {separately}. - Deathskull Laboratories! has been closed - but I found an archived copy of it. - The "Keypad (with overlay):" box was fragged since it was 80 characters wide. - Six instances of "represent" were used in two paragraphs, so I changed the two of them that needed it. - Re-flowed Appendixes "Astro Basic Command Listing" and "Changes/Updates" so that indented blocks stayed indented, then took out trailing spaces. Read the newest version of the Bally / Astrocade FAQ August 3, 2010 I) Added version 3.3 of the Bally / Astrocade FAQ. The version of the Bally / Astrocade FAQ online until today was 3.22 (June 10, 2003). I opened the file locally to add some line-breaks to the file to make it easier to read online, and what do you know, the local version of the FAQ was newer. I had already added line- breaks back in 2006. I also made other changes but I never uploaded the file. I'm not sure why... Now the newest version, 3.3, IS online. Here are the updates since version 3.22: Version 3.3 (May 14, 2008) - Added Section: "Restoring the Astrocade's Gold Trimming" by Marty Goldberg Version 3.24 (May 3, 2007) - Fixed the Z80 clock speed. It was listed as 3.579 MHz. It is now set to the proper speed: 1.789 MHz. For more information about how this fix came about, see the Astrocade Message board thread titled "Z80 clock s peed." More specifically, read Frank Palazzolo's reply in message number 3912 and Tony Miller's reply in message number 3913. Version 3.23 (March 21, 2006) - Added carriage returns after 79 characters Read the newest version of the Bally / Astrocade FAQ May 21, 2010 I) Added the Owner's Manual for the Bally Home Library Computer. This is the original manual that came with the Bally Home Library Computer (the original name of the console before it was called the Astrocade or even the Bally Arcade). Bally Home Library Computer Owner's Manual April 7, 2010 I) Updated five descriptions of "Bob Fabris Audio Recordings:" 1) 12-17_Fenton 2) Larkin_1-28_(part_1) 3) Larkin_1-28_(part_2) 4) Larkin_1-28_(reverse) 5) TEL. CONVERSATIONS Copy 11-28 Updates of Bob Fabris Audio Recordings II) Added fourteen audio recordings that Bob Fabris, the publisher of the Astrocade newsletter Arcadian, had with various people in the Bally / Astrocade community. 1) 7 Call JF --------- (Time - 12:02 / Size - 13.1MB) After a date declaration of June 26 (1980), Bob Fabris calls Jeff Frederiksen. Bob has been talking to Jay Fenton about his develop- ment of an extended BASIC cartridge, and Bob's put him in touch with third parties developing RAM expansions. Bob asks if Bally will be selling the extended BASIC cartridge directly, and Jeff says the plan is to sell it as a limited edition at probably about$75. [This is mentioned in Arcadian volume 2, issue 9, page 78.] They discuss advertising for it in the Sourcebook. It will search for any contiguous RAM block above the screen RAM. They're planning on making a commercial ZGRASS system package at a cost of about $3000 (with about $700 of that for the monitor). It's not being aimed at amateurs. They're planning to demonstrate it at SIGGRAPH next month. The recording ends suddenly. 2) 7 Call JF (Reverse) Part 1 -------------------------- (Time - 2:39 / Size - 2.88MB) Bob Fabris and Jeff Frederiksen talk about the ZGRASS expansion-- possibly the same conversation as on the front side of the tape. Jeff mentions a module for voice synthesis and light pen for graphics editing. It can either stand alone or act as a slave to another computer system. He says there will be applications for it when it's released. 3) 7 Call JF (Reverse) Part 2 -------------------------- (Time - 9:32 / Size - 10.5MB) Bob Fabris talks to Jeff Frederiksen. Bob asks about cartridge parts, since some people want to manufacture their own Videocades. Jeff says they're custom made, but they'd be willing to sell EEPROM carts to people. They discuss the sound registers, and Bob compliments Brett Bilbrey's sound work. Bob mentions work on a keyboard addition, and asks about ASCII codes for commands. There are rumors about the system being taken over from Bally by another company, but Jeff doesn't have any news about it. Jeff demonstrates Vortrax speech synthesis. Jeff's found a modification to the audio interface that makes it more reliable. [This is detailed in Arcadian volume 2, issue 8, page 71.] 4) Bally Larkin Conversation ------------------------- (Time - 5:26 / Size - 6.31MB) Ed Larkin reads an advertisement for the Viper System 1 to Bob Fabris. 5) Leske Freeman 1-8 Part 1 ------------------------ (Time - 8:18 / Size - 10.0MB) Bob Fabris talks to Larry Leske, who's been working on a programm- able keyboard kit. [Arcadian volume 1, issue 8, page 55] It seems likely that Fidelity Electronics will take over the system, and they plan on possibly reviving the ZGRASS add-under in about six months. Larry has great respect for the engineering at Fidelity, and thinks it's likely they'll get out a quality product fairly quickly. Given this, Larry doesn't really want to compete with them, so the project is put on hold. [Arcadian volume 2, issue 3, page 19] 6) Leske Freeman 1-8 Part 2 ------------------------ (Time - 14:29 / Size - 15.3MB) Bob Fabris talks to Bob Freeman, who's been working on an S-100 adapter for the sysetem [Arcadian volume 2, issue 2, page 11]. With Larry Leske losing interest on programmable keyboard work, Fabris is now particularly interested in this. Freeman is also thinking about things like a modem. But he's not moving at a fast pace unless there's enough interest to make it profitable. Fabris is planning on surveying the Arcadian readers on what they want. [Arcadian volume 2, issue 3, page 19]. Freeman has also programmed a system monitor ROM (it COULD be the "ADS System Monitor," but this is only conjecture), to be used for debugging assembler programs. Freeman wonders if Fidelity Electronics would consider speeding up the system's Z80, but Fabris says they're trying to cut costs on the board instead. They might consider a retrofit kit, though. 7) Meeks 2-1-83 Part 1 ------------------- (Time - 18:43 / Size - 20.2MB) Bob Fabris talks to Tom Meeks. Tom discusses an attempt to release the Astrocade in Europe. They've gotten a sample to a company called ITT (International Telephone and Telegraph), and everyone is optimistic. Ray George is really pushing to get ZGRASS out this year. Bally itself is also pushing both these ventures, and may even provide financial backing for ZGRASS. No new consoles are being manufactured at the moment, though there is still old stock to sell. Astrocade is in some sort of dispute with Nitron. Bob says there's been a good response to the ad in Electronic Games. Arcadian subscribers are stable at about 2,000. Tom doesn't think the BASIC manual did a good job of getting people into programming. Tom's going to get Bob mailing addresses from warranty cards. Astrocade's getting ready to go do court over debts. Creditors are going after money Astrocade's gotten from Montgomery Ward--money they need to keep the company running. Tom's trying to arrange to leave Astrocade with a severance package, but wants to keep consulting with them on ZGRASS. Tom's been doing lots of ZGRASS programming, developing educational children's programs. He gives some details about ZGRASS programming, strengths, and limitations. 8) Meeks 2-1-83 Part 2 ------------------- (Time - 6:16 / Size - 7.26MB) Bob Fabris talks to Ed Larkin of Alternative Engineering. They discuss the Electronic Games "underground" article. He's manufacturing Pac-Man carts for Bob. They joke about the secrecy around it. He's developing a communication board. The company doesn't have a lot of capital to work with. 9) Meeks 2-1-83 (Reverse) Part 1 ----------------------------- (Time - 7:49 / Size - 8.24MB) Bob Fabris talks to Tom Meeks. Astrocade has entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Nitron's stock has suspended trading for two days, and Tom expects Nitron to fail. In Tom's view, this situation is partly Nitron's fault, because he believes they were trying to take control of Astrocade from the day they started building the systems. He places more blame on Astrocade, however. Tom hopes ITT (International Telephone and Telegraph) can rejuvenate the system by building it cheaper than they can. Tom thinks the bankruptcy will help them get a little sympathy and curiosity at the upcoming CES show. They haven't been able to implement anything lately, even though they're getting lots of good suggestions, particularly from Dick Houser. Astrocade has at least been getting more free publicity lately. 10) Meeks 2-1-83 (Reverse) Part 2 ----------------------------- (Time - 4:49 / Size - 5.71MB) Bob Fabris talks to Bob (Ogden?). With Astrocade in the midst of bankruptcy, Bob (Ogden?) is looking into releasing future games (International Telephone and Telegraph), though. Bob Fabris wants to put together an independent advisory panel to guide software development. One interested party is Alternative Engineering. With Astrocade not making games at the moment, Bob (Ogden?) isn't particularly interested in this for now. 11) Meeks 2-1-83 (Reverse) Part 3 ----------------------------- (Time - 18:06 / Size - 20.8MB) Bob Fabris talks to Ed Larkin about three weeks after the Astrocade bankruptcy. According to Ed, Bob Ogden expects to have a deal with ITT (International Telephone and Telegraph) within the next couple of weeks. At this point, Ed will start working for Bob Ogden to help address the lack of software for the system. Ed sees ITT as a much more professional company than Astrocade, and hopes they take over the whole business. Bob Fabris suggests he consider producing ZGRASS for them rather than for Astrocade, and gives out contact information for Nicholas Gibbs at ITT Consumer Products (UK) Limited. Ed talked to Tom Meeks just before the bankruptcy for a little help with ZGRASS, but couldn't get much support. This may have been related to the stress of the impending bankruptcy and Tom looking for a different job. ITT is hoping to make the hardware compatible with both the US and Europe, and to re-release it in the US at a lower cost. Right now, Astrocade could only bring in operating capital with new products. They haven't paid John Perkins for work on a game, so he's planning to release the game through another company. Bob talks to Ed about manufacturing Pac-Man carts, and wants to change the name to Munch Kid. They're going to make 100 carts, with Bob putting up about $1,000 upfront and $1,000 on delivery. The recording ends suddenly. 12) Nelson 2-1-80 ------------- (Time - 4:23 / Size - 4.74MB) Bob Fabris calls Ron Nelson of Fidelity Electronics. Bob asks about recent developments, and Ron says that the current situation is that Bally is pushing to quickly divest from the system, but Fidelity wants to slow down and look over the contract closely. Bob also mentions the development of a hobbyist memory addition and keyboard. It's planned to be sold as a kit, in part to avoid the need for FCC approval. 13) Sales Pitch for New BASIC Bally ARCADE + ---------------------------------------- (Time - 38:54 / Size - 49.8MB) This seems to be a presentation for the Astrocade marketing team. The first speaker is Jeff Frederiksen. He thinks there's a big demand for fantasy games, and there are no good computer fantasy games on the market. So, they're about to release Wizard of Wor. He says Astrocade is better than Bally at marketing. A next generation system, with new custom chips, is already being designed. He compares Astrocade technology to Atari. The next generation system will be able to display 16 colors out of a palette of over two million. He expects it to be way ahead of the competition. He says Bally BASIC was made to show that the system was a real computer. One reason BASIC wasn't more successful is that it required too much investment--a system, cart, and interface. So now, they've got a new BASIC with a faster, built-in interface. And the cart is going to be packed in with the system. Ray George interjects that it will now be called the Bally Arcade Plus. Jeff demonstrates loading a BASIC program. He says Bally BASIC has the advantage of simple graphics programming. The tape ends with a question and answer session. Jeff doesn't think voice synthesis is worth pursuing this generation. The recording ends when they take a coffee break. 14) Sales Pitch for New BASIC Bally ARCADE + (Reverse) -------------------------------------------------- (Time - 46:36 / Size - 62.5MB) The meeting continues with Jeff talking about the add-under. It will include a modem, parallel port, and floppy drive. He discusses the memory in the add-under. Bally is investing money in the add-under, even though it will be released by Astrovision. He talks about the size of the games industry. Next, Tom DeFanti shows a high-resolution ZGRASS demo by Jane Veeder. Tom says it's important that the add-under will put out a video signal that can be recorded and televised. Jane herself begins speaking. She shows the Montana demo. Tom starts speaking again. He wants to make the machine accessible such that, for example, an accountant could write an accountant program. Parents could even write programs instead of bed-time stories. Someone asks how he can convince someone that the machine with the add-under will bring money into their organization. Tom responds that by including a high level language, third parties will be able to create software much more easily. Jeff adds that graphic creation is very easy. Tom says that ultimately, it will be sold by showing it rather than talking about it. Initially, he expects the add-under to sell to people who want to move up from Bally BASIC. Then, as people see other people using it, and as more software becomes available, it will become more popular. Jeff and Tom prepare another demonstration. Jeff explains that Tom has been working for months to improve ZGRASS, so it will be even better than what they're demonstrating. Tom and Jeff discuss some of the advantages of ZGRASS over BASIC. Showing the color capabilities leads to a brief discussion from the audience about Color BASIC. The recording ends while they're demonstrating ZGRASS commands. New Bob Fabris Audio Recordings III) Added a four-page article from the September 1983 issue of JOYSTIK called "Astrocade's Underground" by Danny Goodman. This article is about how Astrocade users get along without support from Astrocade, Inc. In 1983, this was quite a lot of exposure for this console. The article begins: "You can't really call the group an "underground," because it operates openly, almost vocally. But, few of the millions of Atari, Mattel, Odyssey and Coleco players are aware that an entire cottage industry has grown around the highly rated, but rarely seen, Astrocade Professional Arcade system. To gain appreciation for the third-party support out there, consider that almost 400 individual programs are currently available for the Astrocade- more than for the Atari 2600 and Mattel Intellivision combined." Astrocade's Underground March 26, 2010 I) Added "Star Battle" Source Code This source code is for the Bally cartridge. This cartridge has been disassembled by, possibly, Tom Woods, in 1979. As it was included in the Bob Fabris collection without any notes to who actually did it, it is impossible to know for sure. The source code, including cross reference and opcode listings, is 30 pages. Star Battle Source Code Listing March 22, 2010 I) Added Richard Degler's source code update of "Fawn Dungeon" by Barry McCleave. The following changes have been made: 1) Replaced ORGs with Labels. 2) Added more HVGLIB.H information. 3) Replaced all RST $38s with more comments. 4) Added pattern comments for GunFighter. 5) Mixed case comments are new, a LOT of them come straight from the BIOS. 6) Changed remaining decimal to 2- or 4-digit hex for readability. "Fawn Dungeon" Source Code March 20, 2010 I) Added updated version of Richard Degler's DZ80 Dissassembler Script. DZ80 Dissassembler Script II) Added Barry McCleave's "Fawn Dungeon" source code in ready-to- assemble format. This is an incomplete machine language game. The player in this D&D-type game can wander around a maze, but there are no monsters. This is an interesting piece of what might have become something interesting. As it stands, it is little more than a programming exercise. This source code assembles EXACTLY as the finished binary version. "Fawn Dungeon" Source Code III) Added "Z80 Source Code Tips" by Richard Degler. A few tips on creating easy-to-read source code. "Z80 Source-Code Tips" March 7, 2010 I) Added two screenshots of BalCheck. BalCheck Screenshots II) Moved the "Mark S. Keller BASIC Collection" to the Mark Keller Section. Mark S. Keller BASIC Collection III) Moved Scott Waldinger's "Robot War" to the Scott Waldinger Section. Robot War March 6, 2010 I) Reorganized the "Machine Language Homebrew Software" area. There are some additional comments as well as dates. Machine Language Homebrew Software II) Added "Fun with Vectors - No Ghosts Allowed" By Richard Degler. "This is another unfinished project [from June of 2009]. This is "Fun with Vectors - Ziggy" with an overly large "No Ghosts Allowed" from Ghostbusters image instead. I wanted to write a display routine that could draw it without flickering but it might be beyond the Bally's ability." Fun with Vectors - No Ghosts Allowed III) Added "Fun with Vectors - Slimer" By Richard Degler This is the last thing that Richard did with "Fun with Vectors." This has a stationary "No Ghosts Allowed" and the updated Slimer. "I was going to see how many Slimers it could draw - think another one at most! The program still has the mangled Gaz-Giz when moving left - never did put in a FLOP like Lance's X-mas display had. Pull the trigger to slow Slimer way down (but not always stop!)." Fun with Vectors - Slimer IV) Added modified version of BalCheck. This ROM were modified by Richard Degler so that it would work in MESS without the actual BalCheck hardware device usually required. BalCheck (Modified) ROM Image BalCheck Documentation Changes and Quick How-To BalCheck Documentation March 5, 2010 I) Added an older version of the MESSD emulator for Windows. Although this version is quite outdated, it sort of supports extra memory (I understand that this was a bug). You can use the cartridges that require extra RAM (like Vipersoft BASIC and Blue Ram BASIC) with this version of the emulator. Once you have the On-Board ROM and cartridge in the correct directories, then you start it from the command line like this: MESSD ASTROCDE -CART Program MESS with Extra RAM Support II) Reorganized the "Astrocade Machine Language Tools" area. "Astrocade Machine Language Tools" area III) Added the most up-to-date version of the DZ80 disassembler (version 2.0) along with some related files that it requires. DZ80 Disassembler (Version 2.0) Lua Programming Language (for use with DZ80 2.0) IV) Added a new area on hardware emulation of the Astrocade using FPGA. The Astrocade can be emulated in hardware because of Mike J's hard work recreating the console (in low-res AND hi-res mode) for an FPGA chip in the hardware descriptor language VHDL. This version will run on a Xilinx Spartan3E starter kit board, but it may be able to be ported to other boards. This is a pretty complicated subject that most people won't be able to try because you need special hardware. However, for an overview, here is some information from Mike J's FAQ: "Very simply, VHDL is a high level language which is used to design and simulate hardware, by which I mean everything from a modern complex CPU to a digital watch. Software tools take the VHDL source code, and hope- fully convert it into real physical logic gates. This can then (at vast expense) be turned into a piece of silicon and sold to people. I should point out that only a subset of the language can actually be turned into gates, as some constructs are only useful for simulating designs." "VHDL stands for VHSIC Hardware Description Language, where VHSIC is an acronym for Very High Speed Integrated Circuit. However, the name is more frightening than the language, which resulted from a US Government sponsored effort to improve the way integrated circuit designs were exchanged between companies. The IEEE adopted VHDL as a standard in 1987 (1076-1987)." Astrocade Hardware Emulation Using FPGA March 4, 2010 I) Added the infamous undumped On-Board '3164' 8K Bally ROM. This now makes for the third different archived ROM. This ROM was dumped by Paul Thacker from his very early Bally Arcade console. He comments about his system, "The system itself definitely seems early as well. In addition to the different dust cover label, the red reset button, and the silver eject button, the casing is missing most of the explanatory text such as On/Off and 3/4 for the channel." Richard Degler took a look at this ROM and has some comments, "Differ- ences from the "3159" BIOS are the SYSTEM Routine Jump Table (since the routines are shifted), and the location of text strings and the Font (which is why to use the Dope Vector). The date starts at 3604 and is the leftover "977" of WHITE BIOS. After that the built-in games have few changes, except Gunfight plays to 9999 (like the 1978 version) and has one color changed. CHECKSUMs #1 and 2, as well as FUDGE4 are also dif- ferent, so the un-modified BAL-CHECK should work fine on this machine as it is." On-Board '3164' 8K Bally ROM II) Added an updated HVGLIB (Home Video Game Library) Header file. This was created for use the the Bally ROM, but if you're going to be creating machine language programs with the Nutting Manual, then you need this Astrocade equate file. This is version 3.0, with updates from Richard Degler. HVGLIB.H, with updates by Richard Degler III) Added Source for all THREE Versions of Bally ROM. The ROM Source Code includes the source for the 4K of System ROM, and the other 4K contain Checkmate, Calculator, Gun Fight and Scribble. This new version, created and updated by Richard Degler, is the updated assembly source code for ALL THREE versions of the Bally System BIOS. It can be used to recreate any version of the on-board ROMs. By chang- ing the EQUate 0,1s in the first block marked with "###"'s you can conditionally generate _either_ the WHITE.bin or ASTRO.bin (a.k.a BIOS3159.BIN or "GAME OVER" ROM) from the same source code. Conditional Source-Code for the Bally On-Board ROM IV) Updated the eight Beatles music ROMs with renaming from Richard Degler and fixed a couple of over-dumps. Beatles ROM Zip Archive, Updated V) Added "orphaned" document, "Differences Between Bally and AstroBASIC." This document describes the improvements and differences between the original version of Bally BASIC and AstroBasic (the version with the build-in 2000 BAUD interface). This document will be useful when converting files from one language to another- especially when reading machine language material in the Arcadian (which primarily is directed toward the older version of BASIC). It also finally answers that question: "what's different between the two BASIC carts?" Differences Between Bally and AstroBASIC VI) Added three tools "300 BAUD Tools." Thanks to Ronaldo Goulart for putting this great collection of archiving tools together! This .zip file contains 3 public domain tools for dealing with Bally Basic / ViperSoft Basic programs: 1) KCS KCS allows the user to create binary dumps from wave recordings, and to convert such dumps back to wave. It is a DOS application, pro- grammed in a custom Forth dialect, DX-Forth, but it's author kindly provided me with a version adapted for a Windows Forth interpreter, so both a DOS and a Windows version are available. The Windows executable is much bigger because of the additional runtimes embedded in the executable. For converting .prg binary dumps back to wave using KCS, a known- working, though not optimal set of command line switches is " -M -L5 -P50". Refer to KCS documentation for further details. 2) prg2txt: Prg2txt is a Windows utility for converting binary dumps of Bally Basic / ViperSoft Basic into Unicode text files. By default, it produces an output similar to the regular original listings, and through an optional command line switch, it generates the output file using an alternative syntax, intended to allow the listing to be edited through a regular plain text editor. Such listings can be converted back to binary using txt2prg. 3) txt2prg: Txt2prg generates binary files from text listings, which can after be converted to wave for loading into an original Astrocade. In case you are going to edit your own listings or the ones generated using prg2txt, be sure to use the special required syntax. For more infor- mation on this, refer to txt2prg.txt 300 BAUD Tools VII) Added a 2000-BAUD tape archiving tool called wBallyBin (V2). In May of 2009, Paul Thacker wrote: "I have a slightly newer version of Ballybin for Windows. I'm not sure when Bob Colbert will have a bigger update to the program, but we might as well offer the best version available." This slightly updated version is called "wBallyBin (V2)." wBallyBin (V2) VIII) Added a dissassembler script for DZ80. Created by Richard Degler. A Script for use with the DZ80 Disassembler, version 2.0. This makes it so that there is no more adjusting garbage code following RST $38 syssuk'ed routines! You can read Richard's full comments here. Dissassembler Script for DZ80 March 3, 2010 I) Organized the "Astrocade Machine Language Source Code" Section. Machine Language Source code for various programs, mostly cartridges are available here. Some of the material is scanned, but a good portion of it has been retyped and is ready to be assembled. Also, some of it has been disassembled and commented. If you're a machine language programmer, then there is a WEALTH of material here: 1) 300 to 2000 BAUD Loader Utility Program 2) AstroBASIC 3) Astrocade On-Board ROM 4) Balcheck 5) Bally BASIC 6) Bally Demo Cartridge 7) Color BASIC 8) Dog Patch 9) Football 10) Fawn Dungeon 12) Goldfish Demo 13) Machine Language Manager 14) RAM Test (Generic Z-80 Source Code) 15) Songs 16) Stweek (Sound Tweeker) 17) Treasure Cove 18) Video Storybook 19) Wizard of Wor (Arcade Game) Astrocade Machine Language Source Code" Section II) Added a preliminary version of source code for "Treasure Cove" that is ready to assemble. This version assembles fine using Zmac, but it does NOT run. When run under MESS .135, it "locks up." When the debugger is used, the game is getting "stuck" in the WRITP routine in the system ROM. The problem has been traced back to when the cartridge calls the WRITP routine from the cartridge area at $27DE. The game never returns from this call. Richard Degler suggests, "Sounds like the Stack area is getting clobbered by theWRITPattern - there is no bounds checking so if it draws too far down it just can't find its way back." "Treasure Cove" (Source for Preliminary Version) III) Added Source Listing updates for: 1) Text (Ready to Assemble) Updates by Richard Degler: 1. Astro BASIC 2. Bally BASIC 3. Color BASIC 2) Bally BASIC (Scanned, PDF format) Astrocade Machine Language Source Code" Section March 1, 2010 I) Added "Astrocade: Product Description." Describes the Arcade Video Game (aka Bally Astrocade), BASIC Programming Cartridge, and Z-GRASS 100 Computer Keyboard. See how the ZGRASS looks compared to released computer systems of the same period. Astrocade: Product Description II) Added two Bally / Astrocade Patents: Both patents have the same abstract: "A home computer system provides a video processor for use with a television receiver. The video processor can selectively perform a variety of modifications to pixel data under the direction of the CPU of the computer system before the pixel data is stored in random access memory to effectively increase the speed or data handling power of the system." 1) Bally Arcade Patent - 4301503 (Nov. 17 1981) Home Computer and Game Apparatus (Filed May 30, 1978). 36 Claims, 167 Drawing Figures. (237 pages, 10.7MB) 2) Bally Arcade Patent - 4475172 (Oct 2 1984) Home Computer and Game Apparatus (Filed June 18, 1981). 24 Claims, 168 Drawing Figures. (124 pages, 6.79MB) Bally Arcade Patent - 4301503 (Nov. 17 1981) Bally Arcade Patent - 4475172 (Oct 2 1984) III) Added AstroVision, Inc. Business Card. A business card from Astrovision. This card belonged to Rick Claghorn, Computer Specialist. AstroVision, Inc. Business Card IV) Moved George Hale Business Card. George Hale Business Card February 26, 2010 I) Added two pictures of the inside of the Lil' White Ram expansion unit. Lil' White Ram. PCB - Inside View Lil' White Ram. PCB - Bottom View II) Created a Bally / Astrocade Multicarts Area. Currently it holds: 1) Beatles Music from Richard Degler by Mike White. Created in 2007. 2) Multicart by CPUWIZ. Released in 2004. 3) Multicart by RetroKidz. Released in 2006. 4) Multicart by Ward Shrake. Released in 2002. Bally / Astrocade Multicarts Area III) I have added a picture of the multicart by GaMBITS. UltiMulti Cartridge by GaMBITS IV) Created a Bally / Astrocade Multicarts Documentation Area. It holds documentation for: 1) Multicart by CPUWIZ. Released in 2004. 2) Multicart by GaMBITS. Released in 2008. 3) Multicart by RetroKidz. Released in 2006. 4) Multicart by Ward Shrake. Released in 2002. Multicart Documentation Area V) Added four documents for the multicart called "UltiMulti Cartridge" 1.0 by GaMBITS. 1) CD (JPG) The Manual and Program DIP Switch Settings are contained on this CD 2) DIP Switch Settings (PDF) 3) Instructions (PDF) Here is what is in the documentation: 1. Listing of Programs 2. How to Use Multi-Load Games 3. Switch Settings Required for Different BASICs 4. Blue Ram Super-Extended BASIC (1.0 and 1.1) Instructions 5. Game / Program Instructions 1. Arcade Golf 1.5 - Ken Lill 2. Dragon's Castle 3. Lil' White Utility 4. Pro Golf - Henry Sopko 5. Snake Snack - By Ken Lill 6. Spring Thing Pt. 1 - By Ken Lill 7. Star Cruiser - Ken Lill 8. Whatzit? - By Ken Lill 4) Leaflet: "Thank You For Your Order" UltiMulti Cartridge Documentation Area VI) Added five documents for the Lil' White Ram: 1) Installation Guide CD Contains the instructions on how to use and install the Lil' White Ram hardware. 2) Instructions and Warranty Eight pages of instructions (including pictures and installation procedure) along with warranty information for the Lil' White 32K RAM expansion. 3) Leaflet "Thank You for Your Order" leaflet 4) RAM Test Program, By Ken Lill This will check all addresses from $5000 to $7FFF. 5) Schematic Complete schematic for the Lil' White Ram. Lil' White Ram Documentation Area VII) Added Astrocade Memory Expander Schematic by Mike White. This is version two of an original schematic, designed by Mike White, for an inexpensive memory upgrade project proposal by Mike White. Version two, this version, is from November 2004. Version one was from March 2002; it had errors and has been deleted. Eventually, in 2008, Ken Lill and Mike White created the Lil' White Ram based on a modified version of this schematic. Astrocade Memory Expander Schematic VIII) Added Bally Service Manual This is the official "PA-1 Bally Service Manual" that contains such useful information as System operation, Disassembly, Motherboard Parts List, Layout, Schematic and more. If your Bally Astrocade is broken and you have some electronics knowledge, then this should be just what you are looking for. Bally Service Manual IX) Added "SeaWolf II Parts Catalog with Schematics" The arcade game Seawolf II is, basically, a hi-res Astrocade. Here are the schematics and the parts catalog (which also contains schematics). These may prove useful if you try to upgrade your Astrocade to hi-res (no small task!). Also, if you want to try hi-res, then using this arcade board is supposed to be the best way to go. SeaWolf II Parts Catalog with Schematics SeaWolf II Schematics X) Added "Jameco JE 610 ASCII Keyboard Datasheet" These keyboards, from 1979, were often hacked with the 300-BAUD interface to create a keyboard that could be used with Bally BASIC. From the datasheet: "The JE610 ASCII Encoded keyboard kit can be interfaced into most any computer system. The keyboard assembly requires 5V @ 150mA and -12V @ 10mA for operation. Interface wiring can be made with either a 16-pin DIP jumper plug or an 18-pin (.156 spacing) edge connector." Jameco JE 610 ASCII Keyboard Datasheet XI) Added Lightpen Plans, by Leroy Flamm These are plans, including schematics, on how to build a light pen for the Bally / Astrocade. The documentation refers to a tape with a program for this hardware, but that program has been lost or has yet to be archived. Light Pen Plans XII) Added Four Astrocade Add-Under Blueprints by Astro-Vision. These are four Add-Under blueprints from April 1982. These GIF files are large (24" x 36"). If you have trouble viewing them, then save them locally to your hard drive and don't view them on the Internet. Blueprints in Misc. Hardware Area Blueprints in High-Res TIFF Format (Direct Link) XIII) RGB Interface - Midway I'm not exactly sure what Arcade machine this is for. This might be useful for use with the Astrocade... or maybe not. RGB Interface February 25, 2010 I) Added the printout of the Bally BASIC program that is contained in the Bally BASIC Demo cartridge. BASIC Program from Bally BASIC Demo Cartridge II) Added Astrocade, Inc. Bankruptcy Paperwork This is the bankruptcy paperwork that Astrocade, Inc. filed in February 1984. Astrocade, Inc. Bankruptcy Paperwork III) Created a new section called "Bally Hardware." It holds two items: 1. AstroBASIC Audio Tape Interface Schematic - Created by Richard Degler Schematic for AstroBASIC Audio Tape Interface. Both a PDF and GIF Version are available. 2. Bally BASIC Tape Interface - By Bally This two-page instruction sheet is for the Bally BASIC 300-BAUD audio tape interface. The main topics are: 1) Audio Cassette Playback 2) Volume Control Adjustment 3) Audio Cassette Record 4) Record / Playback Test 5) BASIC Commands Bally Hardware Section IV) Created new section called "Miscellaneous Hardware Documents." It holds three items: 1. 64K RAM Board Manual - By R&L Enterprises The documentation, including schematics, for this monster Astrocade RAM board. There is no actual Table of Contents, but here is what is included in the manual: 1) General Hardware Features 2) General Hardware Features NOT Included 3) Hardware Options 4) Addressing Ranges 5) PCB Layout 6) Power Supplies 7) Write Protect Installation 8) Routines for Accessing Upper Address Ranges With BASIC 9) Language Memory Locations 10) Useful Language Location Numbers 11) Installation 12) Precautions and Standard Operating Procedures 13) Circuit Description 14) Circuit Operation (See Schematic) 15) 50-Pin Bus Signals 16) Magic Memory 17) Intergalactic Politics (Memory Management) 18) 64K RAM Board Schematic 2. The Computer Ear Manual - By ARD (Anderson Research and Design) A sixteen-page manual that explains how to use the Computer Ear voice recognition system. An additional four pages include four BASIC type-in programs: 1) Digital Oscilloscope 2) Flash Math 3) Speech 1.8 4) Speech 4.2 3. R&L 64K RAM Board and Printer Interface - R&L Enterprises Two emails about new hardware that would have been available in the 3'rd quarter of 1996 (it never shipped). It was an Add-On Board with Configurable RAM, EPROM or EEPROM, PS/2 Keyboard Interface, Centronics Printer Interface, and two serial ports. "Miscellaneous Hardware Documents" Section February 24, 2010 I) Moved "Astrovision Arcade is Packaged and Expanded" article. This article is from the "CES Trade News Daily," January 10, 1981 issue. Astrocade has repackaged the line, added Bally BASIC and plans ten new cartridges. Astrovision Arcade is Packaged and Expanded Article II) Moved "Bally Professional Arcade from Astrovision, at CES booth 2501" Ad from a CES "Show Daily." "Arcade $299, ZGRASS-32 Keyboard $599, Complete System $898. 32K Computer. With the plug-in ZGRASS-32 keyboard, the Arcade becomes the easiest computer to use and the most powerful system available for creating graphics on the TV screen." Bally Professional Arcade from Astrovision, at CES booth 2501 III) Moved the "The Fantastic Combinations of John Conway's New Solitaire Game 'Life'" articles by Martin Gardner. These appeared in "Scientific American," October 1970 and February 1971. These are the two articles that got the computer program "Life" so popular in the early to mid-seventies. The first article is from the column "Mathematical Games." The next article is a follow-up to the first article. There are at least two versions of this "game" available for the Astrocade. One is a tape program by Jay Fenton that runs in BASIC (but is written in machine language) and the other is a cartridge by Richard Degler. The Fantastic [...] Game "Life" The Fantastic [...] Game "Life" (Follow-Up) IV) Moved "The Mass Impact of Videogame Technology" by Tom Defanti. This article is from the 1984 journal "Advances in Computers, Vol. 23." This is a fifty-page "book" from 1984 about how videogames have affected technology. It's written by Thomas A. Defanti, the man behind the ZGrass language and the UV-R computer. Here is an abbreviated "Table of Contents:" 1. Introduction 2. History of Videogames and Related Developments 3. Coin-Op Game Manufacturers 4. Types of Games 5. Market Considerations 6. Videogame Hardware 7. Videogame Hardware 8. Legal Issues 9. Future Developments 10. Conclusions 11. References An alternate version is also available. This alternate version has two pages scanned per page. If you plan to print the "book" out, then this is probably the best version to download. The Mass Impact of Videogame Technology The Mass Impact of Videogame Technology (Alternate Version) February 23, 2010 I) Moved "The Game Player" review compilation. "The Game Player" was a review column from the "Arcadian" newsletter that ran for twenty-one columns. It reviewed a total of thirty-nine games, only five of which were cartridges. The rest were all games that were sold on tape. The reviewed games are: Tape Reviews (34) ----------------- 1) Adventure Astrogames 2) Astro Analyst Educational Software Systems 3) Astro Terror The Tiny Arcade 4) Candy Man L&M Software 5) Castle of Horror Wavemakers 6) Caterpillar H.A.R.D. Software 7) Collision Course Wavemakers 8) Defense Professional Astrogames 9) Dungeons of Dracula Wavemakers 10) Exitor's Revenge L&M Software 11) Flying Ace Wavemakers 12) Galactic Hitchhiker H.A.R.D. Software 13) Gamma Wars Tiny Arcade 14) Gate Escape, The Wavemakers 15) L.T. Wavemakers 16) Lost in Space Edge Software 17) Memomax Educational Software Systems 18) Metro Attack Astrogames 19) Micro Pac H.A.R.D. Software 20) Morse Code Trainer Educational Softwear Designs 21) Music George Moses Co. 22) Nam-Cap New Image 23) Nautilus L&M Software 24) Night Bombers Astrogames 25) Omega Valley The Tiny Arcade 26) Paper Chase, The H.A.R.D. Software 27) Peter Piper Astrogames 28) Road Toad Esoterica, Ltd. 29) Secret of Pellucitar L&M Software 30) Super Pac Astrogames 31) Super Slope Esoterica, Inc. 32) Tic Tac Tollah H.A.R.D. Software 33) Vindicator The Tiny Arcade 34) Wah's Revenge Astrogames Cartridge Reviews (5) --------------------- 1) Cosmic Raiders Astrocade 2) Ms. Candyman L&M Software 3) Sea Devil Bit Fiddlers 4) Sneaky Snake New Image 5) Solar Conqueror Astrocade The Game Players" Review Compilation February 22, 2010 I) This "Miscellaneous Documentation" area is in flux. The files that were in this area will be moving to other places on the Bally Alley website that make more sense. Those files that are still miscellaneous will be moved back, but even then, the section will be broken down into different miscellaneous areas. Check here for more updates as the files are added back to the website. II) Moved the warranty card for Big City Slick and The Great American Jigsaw. Big City Slick and The Great American Jigsaw Warranty Card III) Moved the original (non-searchable) scan of the "Bally System Description." Bally System Description IV) Moved "Astrocade Programming Sheets." These are programming sheets specifically for the Bally / Astrocade. These different sheets contain: BASIC Programming Pad, Z-80 Programmer's Pad, CX Value Screen Graph Paper, and Screen and Graphic Graph Paper. Programming Sheet for Bally / Astrocade V) Moved "Cartridge Making Instructions" By Leroy Flamm. Explains how make a cartridge from a tape program. Cartridge Making Instructions VI) Moved "Bally On-Board ROM Subroutines" Useful compilation of routines. This booklet explains what the On-Board ROM routines built into the Bally / Astrocade ROM do. This manual is used as a reference for BASIC programmers so that they can save a few bytes when programming and also take advantage of the faster routines that machine language offers. A Hex dump of the Bally 8K ROM is also included. Bally On-Board ROM Subroutines Booklet VII) Moved "Crime Stopper Tips" This article enables the programmer to use Hook Vectors to protect, as best possible, any software written in AstroBASIC from being copied, disassembled, etc. Crime Stopper Tips February 19, 2010 I) Added InfoWorld article from 1982 called "Chip Set Marks Difference Between Arcade and Home Games" by John C. Dvorak. This brief article talks about how using a chipset (in particular the DNA chipset) in conjunction with a CPU makes the graphics smoother. (PDF Version) (Text Version) II) Added an ad for "The Incredible Wizard." According to an Astrocade press release from June 1982, this was the world's first video game to be projected on a giant screen (25' x 35') at a baseball game. Other than knowing that this is a White Sox game played in Chicago in the Summer of 1982, I don't know who took this picture. Thanks to Digital Press for allowing this picture to be on Bally Alley. Giant Ad for The Incredible Wizard Displayed at Baseball Game III) Added Bally Console and Programming Keyboard Close-Up. The keyboard close-up shows the switches at 50% and also the Cursor D-star below. Richard Degler, who made the close-up picture, comments: "Those reset and on/off switches are too close to the top row of the keyboard anyway! What's that circled-plus key on there with the shift- for-BREAK for? And where's the BackSpace key?? I need that more often!!" ZGRASS Keyboard Close-Up IV) Added ZGrass-32 and Add-Under Animation Created by Richard Degler. Here are Richard's comments: "[I] was struck by the similarity of the Z-Grass 32 picture [to the programming key- board]. Stretched it to the same width and added gray bars to match the height, then animated between the two add-unders. Not quite the same angle but definitely influenced by the first, as you can see in the grayscale." Added ZGrass-32 and Add-Under Animation February 16, 2010 I) Added a new section called Bally / Astrocade Consoles and Accessories. This section contains various Bally and Astrocade console versions as well as accessories (like hand controls). Bally / Astrocade Consoles and Accessories II) Added seven pictures of the "Bally Home Library Computer." This is the first version of the Bally console. Bally Home Library Computer Section III) Added seven pictures of the "Bally Professional Arcade." This is the later version of the Bally console that looks very similar to the Astrocade release of the system. Bally Professional Arcade Section IV) Added ten pictures of a Bally / Astrocade Hand Control. The controllers that come with the Bally Arcade and the Astrocade are NOT called joysticks, even though that is the name to which they are often referred. The controllers, by both Astrocade and Bally, are called "hand controls," or, less frequently, "control handles." The "button" on the "hand control" is called the "trigger," and the paddle- like device on the "hand control" is called the "knob." Hand Control Area V) Added four pictures of the Bally / Astrocade power supplies. Since the Astrocade console was manufactured over several years, there are several different power supplies available for it. Bally / Astrocade Power Supply Area February 15, 2010 I) Added four pictures of the Bally Control Handle box. These boxes contained two controllers (labeled as "3" and "4") for the Bally Arcade. Bally Box Area February 13, 2010 I) Updated the Spoken Introduction Area: 1) Changed, slightly, the Secret of Pellucitar transcribed introduction 2) Moved WaveMakers' The Gate Escape spoken introduction here 3) Moved WaveMakers' Invasion Force spoken introduction here Spoken Introduction Area Secret of Pellucitar Transcribed Introduction February 12, 2010 I) Added Nine Bob Fabris Audio Recordings. These are audio recordings (mostly telephone conversations) that Bob Fabris, the publisher of the Astrocade newsletter Arcadian, had with various people in the Bally / Astrocade community in the years during the newsletter's publication (1978-1986). Bob Fabris Audio Recordings II) Added an alternate picture of the ZGrass-32. This version is from the Digital Press CD (from 1997). I wish that I knew the original source of this picture so that I could get a high-res version of the original copy. ZGrass-32 Picture III) Added "high-res" version of the Astrocade that is on the index.html front page. This picture is from 1997... so it's high-quality from THAT time. Astrocade Picture from Bally Alley Index Page IV) Added spoken introduction from L&M Software's game "Secret of Pellucitar." The quality of the archived tape is not great; the tape stretched over the years causing the introduction to speed up and slow down. Since the introduction can be a little hard to understand, Paul Thacker transcribed the introdocution to the best of his ability. Secret of Pellucitar Spoken Introduction Secret of Pellucitar Transcribed Introduction V) Added transcription of "Secret of Pellucitar" color ad for the tape game by L&M Software. What makes this ad interesting is that it adds information that is not included in the instructions for the game. Secret of Pellucitar Ad Transcription VI) Added three more pages to the Astrocade programming sheets, bringing the total number of pages up to nine. Astrocade Programming Sheets VI) Added "Datamax, Inc. UV-1 Letter." This document describes the features and options of the UV-1 Colorgraphics Computer. From the letter, "The UV-1 and ZGRASS - The UV-1 is a system for Audio Visual application and Real Time graphics displays. It is the most advanced graphic system with a user-oriented language. Ten years in development, it is the microcomputer most suited to producing visual on a television set." Datamax UV-1 Letter VII) Added Astrovision Business Card. This card belonged to Rick Claghorn, Computer Specialist. Astrovision Business Card. February 11, 2010 I) Reorganized and moved the ZGrass / UV-1 pictures. These are no longer in the documentation area. The pictures are now in the hardware picture area (where they should always have been). ZGrass / UV-1 Pictures II) Added an animated GIF of the Bally Programming Keyboard (Color vs. B&W) created by Richard Degler. Watch it as the color picture has the extra switches above the keyboard airbrushed away. It's like magic. Bally Keyboard (Color vs. B&W) III) Added eleven game ideas by Brett Bilbrey to the Spectre Systems section: 1) Astro Warriors 2) Battlespace 3) Battle Cry 4) Beaver Dam 5) Duck Range 6) Game Ideas Letter 7) Mazeway 8) Space War 9) Star Wars 10) Tail Gunner 11) Unicorn Game Ideas by Brett Bilbrey IV) Added 8-pages of possible logos for Spectre Systems. Possible Logos for Spectre Systems V) Suggestions for Conan by Brett Bilbrey. Brett saw Astrovision's Conan cartridge at a "show" and thought that these ideas would have made for a better game. Suggestions for Conan (Scanned PDF) Suggestions for Conan (Transcribed) VI) Added "Program Ideas and Other Projects" by Spectre Systems: This is mostly a list of game ideas (even the names of the games give you an idea of what the game would be about). There is also a short list of other projects going on at the time (Peek and Poke, Esoterica, Graphic Pads, Handle, and Atari Pads) as well as a several other miscellaneous items. "Program Ideas and Other Projects" by Spectre Systems VII) Created an area to hold ads for Spectre Systems. Currently it holds two ads: 1) Graphic Design Pads 2) Spectre Custom Bally Handles Spectre Systems Ad Area February 10, 2010 I) Updated the Bally BASIC 300-Baud Tape Interface Area. Also, finally, added some quality pictures of the interface. Bally BASIC 300-Baud Tape Interface Area II) Added six pictures of the "Bally BASIC 300-Baud Tape Interface" box. Bally Box Picture Area III) Added picture of Bally Arcade TV Switchbox. Bally Arcade TV Switchbox February 9, 2010 I) Added screenshots of three Astrocade tapes: 1) ICBM Attack (Prototype) - By Brett Bilbrey [3 Pictures] 2) Niagara Bugs Club Tape [10 Pictures] 3) Road Toad - By Esoterica [4 Pictures] Astrocade Tape Screen Shots II) Added screenshots of two Astrocade cartridges: 1) Galaxian (Prototype) - By Astrovision [1 Picture] 2) Rainbow 3 - By Hanson and Richard Degler [3 Pictures] Astrocade Cartridge Screen Shots III) Added four pictures of Astrocade and Bally dust covers: 1) Bally Computer System (Montgomery Ward) 2) Bally Computer System 3) Bally Home Library Computer 4) Bally Professional Arcade Astrocade Plastic Dust Covers IV) Added two different high-res pictures of the Bally with keyboard. This color version has never-before-seen detail. White Bally Professional Arcade with Keyboard (Grayscale) White Bally Professional Arcade with Keyboard (Color) February 5, 2010 I) Added four tape covers or miscellaneous tape-cover related items to the WaveMakers Box section. 1) Backgammon / Obstacle Course Tournament (Tape Cover) 2) Collision Course / Sound Effects (Spine) 3) Slot Machine / Perversion (Tape Cover) 4) WaveMakers Label (Close-Up) WakeWakers Box Section II) Added a red L&M Software sticker that was originally on tape "boxes." L&M Software Sticker, Red III) Reorganized and added two tape covers to the Miscellaneous Box Section. 1) Nam-Cap (Tape Case - Cover Only) 2) Video Wizards (Tape case) Tape Covers in Miscellaneous Box Section C V) Added screenshots of three tapes: 1) Allemande, Part I & II - George Moses 2) Buggin' BC - Dave Ibach and George Moses 3) Crazy Face - Steve Walters Tape Screenshots Area February 4, 2010 I) Added Critter by Brett Bilbrey. The famous program that was printed in the Arcadian newsletter. By just inputting the BASIC program, the user will be able to use BASIC while at the same time a critter will move about the screen at a speed given by knob #1. The Bally BASIC program (not AstroBASIC!) and the machine language program are included. Critter by Brett Bilbrey II) Added six BASIC type-in programs by Super software (Robert Rosenhouse): 1) Barricade - Barricade is misspelled as Barracade on the program listing. 2) Cosmic Zap 3) Hustle - One version includes instructions (and a bug fix!). The other version does not include these changes. 4) Mystery Maze - One version includes instructions (and bug fixes!). The other version does not include these changes. 5) Robert Alert 6) Simon Says Super Software BASIC Type-in Program Area III) Added instructions for Finders-Keepers by Ken Lill to the tape manual area. From 2 to 4 people compete at the same time: Try to find the Secret Dot that the computer has selected in your area before your opponents find the one in their areas. Finders-Keepers Instructions IV) Added instructions for the tape game "Space Gauntlet," by The Tiny Arcade. You control a star cruiser patrolling a remote sector of the galaxy when you encounter the local inhabitants. These denizens of deep-space don't "cotton" to strangers and they arrange themselves into two columns, firing missiles and challenging you to fly between them and survive the deadly gauntlet. Space Gauntlet Instructions V) Added WaveMaker's type-in programs from tape #3: 1) Maze Race & Obstacle Course 2) Space Chase WaveMaker's Type-In Programs from Tape #3 VI) Added three pictures of the "Leather Bound" Case for Bally BASIC Manual. Bally Box Picture Area VII) Added twelve pictures of inventory stickers used for Astrocade boxes, plus two examples of where they are used on the box itself: Sides of Boxes 1) Blackjack - Poker - 5002 2) Red Baron - Panzer Attack - 2003 Inventory Stickers: 1) Amazin' Maze - Tic-Tac-Toe - 5001 2) Bally Pin - 3005 3) Blackjack - Poker - 5002 4) Brickyard - Clown - 2004 5) Cosmic Raiders - 2019 6) Galactic Invasion - 2011 7) Grand Prix - 2014 8) Incredible Wizard, The - 2017 9) Letter Match - 4002 10) Red Baron - Panzer Attack - 2003 11) Space Fortress - 2012 12) Star Battle - 2005 Inventory Stickers, in the Astrocade Box Area VIII) Updated the links page with an addition, deletion and fixed links. Bally Arcade / Astrocade Links IX) Updated the Miscellaneous Tape Picture Area: 1) Added "Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Program Package" - By R. Tietjens 2) Updated "Bally BASIC Program Sampler" with 300 DPI image Miscellaneous Tape Picture Area February 3, 2010 I) Added hi-res scans (at least 300DPI) of 27 Astrocade cartridges: 1) 280 Zzzap / Dodgem 2) Amazing Maze / Tic-Tac-Toe (Bally)(Orange Label) Amazing Maze / Tic-Tac-Toe (Bally)(Red Label) 3) Artillary Duel (Astrocade) 4) Astro Battle (Bally) 5) Astrocade Pinball (Astrocade) 6) Bally BASIC (Bally) 7) Bally Demo (Bally) 8) Bally Pin (Bally) Bally Pin (Bally)(Alt) 9) Biorhythm (Bally) 10) Blackjack / Poker / Acey/Deucy (Bally) Blackjack / Poker / Acey/Deucy (Bally)(Alt) 11) Clowns / Brickyard (Bally) Clowns / Brickyard (Bally)(Alt) 12) Cosmic Raiders (Astrocade) 13) Dog Patch (Bally) Dog Patch (Bally)(Alt) 14) Elementary Math / Bingo Math (Bally) 15) Football (Bally) Football (Alt) 16) Galactic Invasion (Astrocade) Galactic Invasion (Bally) 17) Grand Prix (Bally) 18) Incredible Wizard, The (Astrocade) 19) Letter Match / Spell 'N Score / Crosswords 20) Panzer Attack / Red Baron (Astrocade) Panzer Attack / Red Baron (Bally) 21) Pirate's Chase (Astrocade) 22) Seawolf / Missile 23) Space Fortress (Bally) 24) Space Invaders 25) Space Invaders (Bally) 26) Star Battle (Bally) 27) Tornado Baseball / Tennis / Hockey / Handball (Bally) Tornado Baseball / Tennis / Hockey / Handball (Bally)(Alt 1) Tornado Baseball / Tennis / Hockey / Handball (Bally)(Alt 2) Astrocade / Bally Cartridge Area II) Updated the Cartridge Prototype Area: 1) Updated Solar Conqueror to 300 DPI 2) Added new version of Solar Conqueror "Test Program" 3) Added Galaxian Prototype 4) Removed 150 DPI version of "Final Test" (there is now only a 300 DPI version). Cartridge Prototype Area III) Updated the third-party cartridge area: 1) Added Blue Ram BASIC 1.0 2) Deleted 150 DPI versions and replaced with 300 DPI versions of these three cartridges: Blue Ram BASIC 1.1, Machine Language Manager, Maze Man, and Quadra. Third-Party Cartridge Area February 2, 2010 I) Added new and/or high quality versions of 17 L&M Software tapes: 1) 3-D Tic-Tac-Toe / River City Gambler 2) Air Raid / The Mummy's Treasure 3) Ayatolla Dartboard / Mission Impossible 4) Black Lagoon, The / Kill the Vulcan 5) Black Lagoon II, The / Super Sleuth 6) Bombardier / Crazy Ball 7) Claim Jumpers / Light Show Program #2 8) Color Organ / Light Show Demo - Multi Program Format 9) Galactic War / Atom Smasher 10) Light Show Demo / Multi Program Format 11) Phantom Star Fighters / Space Checkers 12) Search and Destroy / Rescue Air Drop 13) Secrets of Pellucitor I / Secrets of Pellucitor II 14) Space Quest / Fox and the Hare 15) Space Sleuth / Coyote-Roadrunner Desert Race 16) Star Base 2000 17) Target / Sink the U-Boat L&M Software Picture Area II) Updated the Esoterica Tape picture area. Alphabetized the tapes and added high-quality pictures of some of the lower quality scans. Esoterica Tape Picture Area III) Replaced all of the W&W Software Sales tape pictures with high- quality versions. Also added a picture of the back of each tape: 1) Tape #1 2) Tape #3 3) Tape #4 4) Tape #5 5) Tape #9 W&W Software Sales Tape Picture Area IV) Added pictures of sixteen WaveMakers tapes-- there is nearly a complete collection now. 1) Tape 2 - Computer Clue / Flying Ace 2) Tape 3 - Maze Race - Obstacle Course / Space Chase - Also added alternate version of this tape. 3) Tape 4 - Perversion / Slot Machine - Also added alternate version of this tape. 4) Tape 5 - Music Composer - Memory Doodle (low-res version) 5) Tape 7 - Tuning - Guitar Course / Note Match - Chord Progression 6) Tape 8 - Backgammon / Obstacle Course Tournament 7) Tape 9 - Pack Rat I / Pack Rat II - Also added alternate low-res version of one side of this tape. 8) Tape 10 - Lookout for the Bull! I / Lookout for the Bull! II 9) Tape 11 - Whiz Quiz / Compilation - Compilation includes: 1. Character Analysis, 2. Castle of Horrors, 3. Mouse in the Hat, 4. Pack-Rat. 10) Tape 12 - Castle of Horror - Four Famous Freebies 11) Tape 13 - Monkey Jump - Note: This version does not have Gong the Kong on side 2... I don't think... 12) Tape 14 - Collision Course - An Alternate tape has The Gate Escape (from tape 18). 13) Tape 15 - Character Analysis 14) Tape 16 - Dungeons of Dracula - The back of this tape has The Gate Escape (from tape 18). 15) Tape 17 - L.T. (Little Terrestrial) 16) Tape 18 - The Gate Escape / Whack-a-Mole WaveMakers Picture Area V) Added four pictures of the tape album that the WaveMakers Master tapes were stored in. 1) WaveMakers Master Tape Album (Closed) 2) WaveMakers Master Tape Album (3/4 View) 3) WaveMakers Master Tape Album (Partially Closed) 4) WaveMakers Master Tape Album (Open) WaveMakers Master Tape Album January 29, 2010 I) Added a high-quality scan of the General Video Assembler keypad overlay: General Video Assembler keypad overlay II) Added four New Image games released on tape. A scan of both the front and the back are available. 1) Claustrophobia / Catch the Bomb 2) Guess Five / Chuck A Luck 3) Haunted House 4) Nam-Cap New Image Tape Area III) Revised "Miscellaneous Tape Area." Also added twenty-two pictures of miscellaneous tapes. The titles of the tapes are: 1) Checkers III / Treasures of Cathy - By John Collins 2) Finders Keepers / Two-Letter Music Maker - By Ken Lill 3) General Video Assembler - By General Video (Dave Ibach) 4) Goldfish Demo - By The Bit Fiddlers 5) Pepsi TV Game - By Steve Walters 6) Sonic Satellite / Sonic Satellite (Revised) - By George Hale 7) Space Gauntlet - By The Tiny Arcade 8) Guess Five / Quick Draw / Skunk Tape - by Spectre Systems... but programs - by New Image (Don Gladden) 9) Star Siege (Revised) - By The Tiny Arcade 10) Video Wizards Compilation Tape - By Video Wizards (with alternate version) Pictures - Miscellaneous Tape Area IV) Added Astrocade Pinball Cartridge Manual in PDF format. Astrocade Pinball Cartridge Manual V) Added twelve images of six L&M software tapes. The tapes are: 1) Alien Invasion / Claim Jumper 2) Bit-Mapping Demo / Nautilus and Exitor's Revenge 3) Bombardier / The Black Lagoon 4) Crazy Ball / Ayatollah Dart Board 5) Exitor's Revenge / The Mummy's Treasure 6) Nautilus / 3-D Tic-Tac-Toe L&M Tape Picture Area VI) Added nine images of four Michigan Astro Bugs Club tapes. The tapes are: 1) Michigan Astro Bugs Club, Tape #2 2) Rescue Force / 10,000 RND Boxes 3) Star Base 11 / Collatz Conjecture 4) Yearly Misc. Income / "She Loves You" Pictures of Michigan Astro Bugs Club Tapes January 28, 2010 I) Completely revamped the Astrocade cartridge area. The cartridges have been put into separate categories. Astrocade Cartridge Picture Area II) Added five prototype cartridges (or ROMs) to the Prototype Cartridge Area 1) ADS Monitor (ROM Only) 2) Color BASIC 3) G.I. Joe 4) Rainbow, Ver. 2 (ROM Only) 5) Vipersoft BASIC Prototype Cartridge Picture Area III) Added two cartridges to the Third-Party Cartridge Area: 1) Beatles Music from Richard Degler (Multicart) 2) Music Maker Third-Party Cartridge Picture Area IV) Added a picture of Astrocade Pinball. Astrocade Pinball Picture January 27, 2010 I) The recent Haunted House and Claustrophobia manuals should have been separated, as they two games did not come together. The two new manuals are available here: 1) Claustrophobia and Catch the Bomb 2) Haunted House New Image Tape Manual Area II) Added an introduction letter from ZIG (Zgrass Information Group). This letter states the purpose of the organization. This document was included with a letter to Bob Fabris in 1983. III) Added a low-res still picture from 'Zgrass Paint Demo' 1982 Video on YouTube. Zgrass Picture IV) Added "Astrocade Owners!" half-Page ad from Electronic Games, January 1983 The ad is a list of companies that support that Astrocade. Each of the companies listed has contact information, along with a brief summary of what they do. The companies in the end are: 1) ABC Hobbycraft 2) Arcadian Newsletter 3) The Astrobug's User's Group 4) Astrocade Sourcebook 5) Bit Fiddlers, The 6) Esoterica, Inc. 7) George Moses Co. 8) Home Arcade Electronics 9) H.A.R.D. Software 10) L&M Software 11) 1) Perkins Engineering 12) R&L Enterprises 13) SFP Video Expansion 14) Spectre Systems 15) Tiny Arcade, The 16) TV Arcade Sales 17) Viper System - Alternative Engineering "Astrocade Owners!" PDF. (In Context, with magazine and full page) "Astrocade Owners!" JPG. (Cropped, for Ad only - Higher-Quality) V) Added "Express Stop" Letter published in Electronic Games Magazine, November 1982. The letter from Alfonzo Smith, Jr. (Cleveland, Ohio) asks what happened to the BASIC Express newsletter. The editor explains that the newsletter is no longer published and that an upcoming article concerning the Astrocade will be published in the January issue. "Express Stop" Letter in Electronic Games VI) Added "Bally Computer System Specifications for Video Console and Programmer's Keyboard" Compares features against various systems of the era (Apple II, Commodore PET, Compucolor Renaissance, Exidy Sorcerer, and Radio Shack TRS-80 Level II). The features compared are CPU, Program Storage, Inputs, Outputs, Multi-Source of Attachments (i.e. RS-232 or S-100 bus) and Price. Bally Computer System Specs for Video Console and Programmer's Keyboard VI) Added "Facts and Figures about the Bally Professional Arcade and Computer Add-On" So much of this document never came to be in the unit that was finally sold. Nevermind what was never released (the computer add-on), even simple facts are wrong or misleading. For instance, the stated speed of the tape interface is 4,800-BAUD. It was released as 300-BAUD. Quite a difference. It's no wonder that the first wave of Bally Arcade owners felt like they had been lied to about what they would get. This is a must-read document. Sections include: 1) About Our New Computer 2) Software 3) Hardware 4) Hardware Comparision Chart 5) Questions and Answers Basic Unit Add-On Module Business Applications Technical Questions Facts and Figures about the Bally Professional Arcade and Computer Add-On January 26, 2010 I) Added alternate version of the Bally Professional Arcade Owner's Manual (Bally "Fun and Brain" Version) This isn't as clean or high-quality of a scan as the regular version, but this manual has a different version number on the back of the booklet (though there are no apparent differences). Bally Professional Arcade Owner's Manual (Alt. Version) II) Moved "Chain Store Age 'Catalog'" from Ads and Catalog area to the Astrocade and Bally "Markering Area," which is where it should have been all along. Chain Store Age 'Catalog' III) Added Ad, "Astrocade... the home video game that's a computer too!" Three Built-in Games, Built-in Calculator, Octave Music Synthesizer, 256 Color Variations, Four-Player Capability, and BASIC Program. From the October 1982 issue of Boy's Life. "Astrocade... the home video game that's a computer too!" Ad IV) Added a list of WaveMakers' twenty released tapes (not including expandedBASIC games) to the WaveMakers' 2000-BAUD program download page. WaveMakers, 2000-BAUD Program Download Page V) Created a new area to hold letters written to The Arcadian newsletter. When the entire Bob Fabris collection was bought, it included many letters (written in the 1970's and '80's), many, or most, of which were never printed before. The two letters that are included today are: 1) (1984) - To Bob, From Lance Brisee Includes two program submissions: Phaser Phun and Sideswipe (both of which are modified programs from the Astrocade BASIC manual). 2) 1985) - To Don, From Unknown Talks about all the different computers that he owns and some hardware and software ideas. Says that the Computer Ear, for the Astrocade, is compatible with the Commodore 64 and Atari computers without any modifications. Mentions some programs that he has submitted, but that are not included in this letter. Letters to the Arcadian Area VI) Added three L&M Software Tape Manuals (available in both B&W and color): 1) Ayatollah Dart Board & Crazy Ball 2) Black Lagoon, The 3) Bombardier L&M Software Tape Manual Area VII) Added manual for New Image's Haunted House and Claustrophobia. Haunted House and Claustrophobia Manual VIII) Added alternate color (green) manual for WaveMaker's L.T. (Little Terrestrial): L.T. (Little Terrestrial), Green Manual IX) Added a picture of Fred Cornet. This is the publisher of the Cursor newsletter (AKA BASIC Express). This picture was developed in January of 1980 and was provided by Brett Bilbrey. Picture of Fred Cornet from 1980 January 25, 2010 I) Added five videogame catalogs. The catalogs, with contents, are listed here: 1. Five Fun Cartridges for the Bally Professional Arcade This 6-page catalog contains these five cartridges: Biorhythm Galactic Invasion Grand Prix / Demolition Derby Music Maker I (Unreleased) Space Fortress 2. Expandable Computer with Today's Greatest Games Except for the first page, this 4-page catalog is identical to the "More Games. More Fun... more to Come!" catalog. That catalog features a white Bally Arcade, this catalog features a woodgrain Astrocade. This catalog features the "ZGRASS-32 Keyboard" and also contains these 20 cartridges: 280 Zzzap / Dodgem Amazin' Maze / Tic-Tac-Toe Astro Battle Bally BASIC Bally Pin Bingo Math / Speed Math Biorhythm Blackjack / Poker / Acey-Duecy Brickyard / Clowns Dog Patch Football Galactic Invasion Grand Prix / Demolition Derby Letter Match / Spell 'N Score / Crosswords Music Maker I (Unreleased) Red Baron / Panzer Attack Sea Wolf / Missile Space Fortress Star Battle Tornado Baseball / Tennis / Handball / Hockey 3. More Games. More Fun... more to Come! This 4-page catalog features the "ZGRASS-32 Keyboard" and also contains the same 20 cartridges as listed in the "Expandable Computer with Today's Greatest Games" catalog. 4. More Games. More Fun. More to Come... This twenty-four page catalog from July 1981 features 21 games. All of them, except Music Maker I, were released. 280 ZZZap / Dodgem Amazing Maze / Tic-Tac-Toe Astrobattle Bally BASIC (with built-in tape interface) Biorhythm Blackjack / Poker / Acey-Deucey Brickyard / Clowns Dog Patch Football Galactic Invasion Grand Prix / Demolition Derby Letter Match / Spell 'N Score / Crosswords Music Maker I (Unreleased) Pirate's Chase Red Baron / Panzer Attack Seawolf / Missile Space Fortress Speed Math / Bingo Math Star Battle Tornado Baseball / Tennis / Handball / Hockey 5. More Games. More Fun. More to Come... from the leader in video game technology. This 8 1/2" x 11" folded catalog contains these nine cartridges: Coloring Book with Light Pen (Unreleased) Cosmic Raiders Munchie (Unreleased) Music Maker I (Unreleased) Pirate's Chase Quest for the Orb (Unreleased) Solar Conqueror Space Fortress The Wizard (Released as The Incredible Wizard) Bally / Astrocade Catalog Area II) Created a "Flyer Area" here: Flyer Area January 24, 2010 I) Added an Astrocade Kiosk Area with an additional high-quality B&W picture. Astrocade Kiosk Area II) Added an ad from the January 1982 issue of Leisure Time Electronics. It's titled: "Bally Professional Arcade: The Fun Lives On!" Leisure Time Electronics Ad (January 1982) III) Added five flyers to the advertisement area: 1) Astro Arcade: Doesn't Just Play Games (BASIC Flyer) 2) Astrocade, The Professional Arcade: Gives You More! 3) Bally Professional Arcade: Home TV Entertainment Center 4) You Love Us in the Arcades. Just Wait Till You Get Us Home. 5) Arcade: Doesn't Just Play Games, 1982 TV Schedule, January 6-9'th Advertisement Area IV) Updated the "Inside the Box" Area: 1) Added thumbnails for all documents 2) Added Bally Professional Arcade Owner's Manual (Bally Version) 3) Deleted old version of Bally Professional Arcade Owner's Manual (Fun and Brains Version) and replaced with much better scan of the same manual. Inside the Box January 23, 2010 I) Added Speed Math / Bingo instructions. These replace the poor quality, 1980's era photocopy, Bally instructions that were already online. Speed Math / Bingo Instructions II) Updated, again, the "Cartridge Manuals Needed" document: Cartridge Manuals Needed III) Added picture of Astrocade shipping box: Astrocade Shipping Box IV) Added seven Polaroids from the Bob Fabris collection. These Polaroids seem to be from the development of the Viper expansion unit. Notice that the front of this unit is white and not brown. Viper in Deveopment V) Added three pictures of the Analog controller used with the very rare ICBM Attack cartridge by Spectre. Notice that this plugs into two controller ports. ICBM Attack Controller January 19, 2010 I) Added the year 2009 to the "What's New" archive. The archive now covers from 2000-2009. That's ten years of Ballyalley.com! whats_new_archives_(2000-2009).html II) Added nine Astrocade box pictures for comparison. Here are some comments by Paul Thacker about these box comparisons: "I bought a collection of six NIB carts in the Astrovision-style packaging-- AstroBASIC, Galactic Invasion, Star Battle, Grand Prix, Brickyard/Clowns, and The Incredible Wizard. I found it amusing all the small variations in the boxes, probably due to the limited time Astrovision had the rights to use the Bally name, and Astrovision's own name change to Astrocade. Only the BASIC cart says Astrocade on the back; the others say Astrovision. On the front and sides, some say Bally and some say Astrocade. Of the ones that say Astrocade, sometimes it's printed directly on the box, and other times it's on a sticker (presumably covering up Bally)." Here is what is being compared: 1) Astrocade Box Packaging (BASIC)(Front) 2) Astrocade Box Packaging with Overlaid Sticker (Galactic Invasion) 3) Bally Box Packaging (Star Battle)(Front) 4) Astrocade Box Packaging (Back, Astrocade version from BASIC) 5) Astrocade Box Packaging (Back, Astrovision version seen on all but BASIC) 6) Astrocade Box Packaging (Top) 7) Astrocade Box Packaging (Bottom) 8) Astrocade Box Packaging (Left Side) 9) Astrocade Box Packaging (Right Side) Astrocade Box Comparisons III) Added two high-resolution scans of two unopened Bally boxes: 1) Dog Patch 2) Red Baron / Panzer Attack Bally Boxes IV) Added eight instructions for Astrocade games: 1) Amazing Maze / Tic-Tac-Toe (Astrovision) 2) Cosmic Raiders (Astrocade) 3) Dog Patch (Bally) 4) Letter Match / Spell 'n Score / Crosswords (Astrovision) 5) Missile Attack (Text Version) 6) Red Baron / Panzer Attack (Astrovision) 7) Sneaky Snake (New Image) 8) Soccer and Shootout (Text Updated, added missing line) Cartridge Manual Area V) Updated the "Cartridge Manuals Needed" document: Cartridge Manuals Needed January 15, 2010 I) Added scanned book: 30 Customized Microprocessor Projects By Delton T. Horn Copyright 1986, by TAB BOOKS (ISBN - 0-8306-0705-6) Despite the seemingly generic name, this book covers, exclusively, Z80 hardware projects. Here is what the book contains: Table of Contents Introduction List of Projects Section I - The Basics Chapter 1 - The Basics of Circuit Design Chapter 2 - Digital Basics Chapter 3 - The CPU Chapter 4 - Semiconductor Memory Chapter 5 - Interfacing Section II - Projects Chapter 6 - CPU Breadboard Chapter 7 - EPROM Programmer Chapter 8 - Timer / Automation Systems Chapter 9 - Security Systems Chapter 10 - Test Equipment Chapter 11 - Robots Chapter 12 - Sound Synthesis Chapter 13 - Programming Appendices Appendix A - The Z80 Instruction Set Appendix B - Hexadecimal Instruction Codes for the Z80 Appendix C - Sample Computer Programs Index 30 Customized Microprocessor Projects What's New - Archives (2000-2009) I) These archives go back to October 22, 2000. Bally Alley is actually older than that, but not by much. whats_new_archives_(2000-2009).html