Bally Alley - The Newsletter for Astrocade Users



	What's New (Archive: 2011 - 2000) This "What's New" archive goos back to October 22, 2000. Bally Alley is actually older than this, but only by a few months. 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. 1) "Space Checkers" by L&M Software 2) 300-Baud to 2000-Baud Conversion Information 3) A brief review of the game by Paul Thacker 4) Original 300-Baud Instructions and Type-In Program 5) 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 July 17, 2009 I) Testing upload area of new website. April 24, 2009 I) Created a section for BalCheck (aka Bally Check) Documentation BalCheck is test hardware that plugs into the 50-pin connector on the back of an Astrocade. All BalCheck documents that were previously in the miscellaneous section have been moved here. BalCheck Documentation Area II) Added "BalCheck Support Circuitry" document supplied by Richard Degler. This isn't a schematic of a BalCheck unit, but with this information someone with some technical knowledge could probably build a BalCheck unit. This documentation is available in both pdf and GIF format. BalCheck Support Circuitry (pdf) BalCheck Support Circuitry (GIF) III) Added Schematic for AstroBASIC Audio Tape Interface Schematic for AstroBASIC Audio Tape Interface. Supplied by Richard Degler. This documentation is available in both pdf and GIF format. Schematic for AstroBASIC Audio Tape Interface (pdf) Schematic for AstroBASIC Audio Tape Interface (GIF) VI) Added ZIF Socket Cartridge Pictures to Misc. Hardware Area These pictures (the front and back of the cartridge) were supplied by Richard Degler. Miscellaneous Hardware Area V) Updated the Bally Alley Interview Area Some renaming was done. HTML interviews were converted to text. Bally Alley Interview Area VI) Added an Interview with Dick Ainsworth Paul Thacker compiled the interview with Dick Ainsworth, a former Bally employee. This is a follow-up to the comments that Dick made to the Bally Alley discussion group about seven years ago. His original comments have been gathered together and are included in the Interview area (there is a link to the comments in this interview). Dick Ainsworth Interview VII) Added BallyBin for Windows This is the Windows version of Ballybin by Bob Colbert. The executable is called wBallyBin. It displays program information, but this version has the same sort of reliability problems as the command line version. BallyBin for Windows VIII) Added a list of cartridge manuals that still need to be scanned Paul Thacker created this list on January 19, 2008. Astrocade Cartridge Manual Scans Needed IX) Added a link to the "Kansas City Standard" Ronaldo Goulart, a programmer working on a 300-BAUD digital archiving tool for Bally BASIC, points to this transcription of the original article from Byte, describing the Kansas City Standard. The list of eighteen participants of the symposium includes a known name, "Bill Gates, MITS." There is an interesting thing in it: the "official" length of the lead-in is specified as "a minimum of five seconds of marks". Link to the "Kansas City Standard" X) Added homebrew demo by Lance Squire called Christmas Special. The demo is a house surrounded by trees with Santa on his sleigh that is pulled through the air by three reindeer. Four versions of the demo are included in this master archive. Christmas Special Archive XI) Added Screenshots for Christmas Special. Three screenshots added for Lance Squire's Christmas Special. Christmas Special Screenshots XII) Added video for Christmas Special. This video is about one minute long. Christmas Special Video April 23, 2009 I) Added Using the AstroBASIC 2000-BAUD Interface with Vipersoft BASIC By Lance Squire This documentation discusses swapping AstroBASIC with Vipersoft BASIC loaded into RAM, either from a multicart, a cartridge created from an EPROM or from (probably the most common method) loading Vipersoft BASIC from a tape. This cartridge swap is done so that the AstroBASIC tape interface can be used to save or load to tape at the faster 2000-BAUD instead of requiring the much slower (and rarer!) 300-BAUD external interface. Using the AstroBASIC 2000-BAUD Interface with Vipersoft BASIC April 22, 2009 I) Fixed Vipersoft BASIC Instructions Transcribed (Part 1) It was unclear how Verify worked. Lance cleared this up by checking the 300-baud version of the on-screen instructions. Vipersoft BASIC Instructions Transcribed (Part 1) II) Added update of "Fun with Vectors" by Richard Degler This archive now has four different versions of "Fun with Vectors." Fun with Vectors (1985-2008) III) Removed "Fun with Vectors" binary image from cartridge image area. As per Richard Degler's request, this image is now only availble in the Homebrew area (see above). IV) Added a Color BASIC Type-In Program Area Color BASIC Type-In Program Area V) Added "Color BASIC - A First Program" by Lance Squire Color BASIC - A First Program VI) Added updated version of "Vector Animation Tutorial" by Lance Squire A step-by-step tutorial (with source code). This is version 1.03. This tutorial is quite good; read it. Included in this archive are Word, pdf and odt versions of the document. Bally Vector Tutorial Archive VII) Added picture of Mike White with Friends (July 4'th weekend, 1985) The people in order of appearance, from left to right, are: Leroy G. Flamm, Mike White, Don Gladden, and Tim White. A more detailed account of this picture can be read here. Picture of Mike White with Friends Picture of Mike White with Friends (Close-Up) VIII) Updated the Miscellaneous Picture Section Miscellaneous Picture Section April 18, 2009 I) Added Instructions on Loading and Saving in Vipersoft BASIC Lance Squire explains how to load and save at both 300-baud and 2000-baud... something that was completely left out of the Viper 1 and Extended BASIC Manual! Loading and Saving in Vipersoft BASIC II) Vipersoft BASIC Instructions Transcribed (Part 1) Lance Squire transcribed Part 1 of the ViperBASIC new system level commands. He does not have part 2... do you? Vipersoft BASIC Instructions Transcribed (Part 1) April 17, 2009 I) Added a short article by Ken Lill to the FAQ area about how to possibly fix some intermittent problems with Bally Astrocade consoles. Astrocade Intermittent Problem Fixes II) Added Bin2BML by Lance Squire. Bin2BML converts .bin files to .BML files to load on an Astrocade with a RAM expansion. An example called Sample.wav is included. Using this program the user will finally get to see software run on actual HARDWARE! Bin2BML III) Added Replacement Character Font for use with Blue Ram Basic 1.1 by Richard Degler Here's a font that is almost identical to Pac-Man's font. Please be sure to read the instructions included with the archive! Replacement Character Font for use with Blue Ram Basic 1.1 IV) Added Color BASIC WAV In May of 2008 Lance Squire created this WAV version of the Color BASIC prototype for use on Astrocade consoles with RAM expansion. Color BASIC WAV V) Added Vipersoft BASIC and Instructions (2000-BAUD Version) This is for RAM expansion owners without a Multicart. These files have been processed with both Ballybin 1.4 and 2.0 (see which gives you better results). Note: In order to use these files, previous experience loading WAV files with an expanded Astrocade is presumed. Vipersoft BASIC and Instructions (2000-BAUD) VI) Fixed Richard Degler's Music Decomposer BASIC Type-In Program I included the fix for Music Decomposer that Ken Lil pointed out on March 20, 2008: Line 69 should be: 69 IF D....;CX=CX+24;... I added a legend (as Richard recommended). It says: When typing this program into BASIC, remember this legend: a = -> (Right Arrow) b = Multiply Sign c = Divide Sign I also added some additional comments by Richard. Music Decomposer (Type-In Program) VII) Added Stweek (Sound Tweeker) disassembly (and other related material): Never officially released. Word has it that Scot Norris used this for programming sound for the DNA (BALLY) carts. This is a very commented disassembly by Richard Degler. This zip includes: 1) STWEEK Manual - Written by Richard Degler 2) STWEEK.asm - A complete disassembly of Stweek 3) Stweek_Discussion.txt - Posting compilation between Richard and Adam Trionfo. 4) Two songs that can be loaded in MESS. Stweek (Sound Tweeker) Disassembly (and more) VIII) Added Rainbow (Ver. 2).asm disassembly by Richard Degler Here is Richard Degler's dis-assembly of the file "Rainbow - Ver 2 (198x)(Hanson)[From Proto EPROM].asm" for your perusal. It took Richard six hours to do, but that's including the time to figure out why part of the code is disabled. Rainbow (Ver. 2).asm IX) Added Two Bally Check ROMs I dumped these two ROMs on July 15, 2008 from my two different BallyCheck units; the ROMs are identical. They match perfectly with the BallyCheck source code when set for old ROM. The ROMs, for completeness, have been named: 1) BallyCheck_(Black_Version)(20002FFF)[For Bally Old ROM].bin 2) BallyCheck_(Yellow_Version)(200027FF).bin Two BallyCheck ROMs X) Added Rainbow - Version 3 By Richard C. Degler Based on Version 2 by Hanson Now 256 colors! Rainbow Version 3 April 13, 2009 I) Added preliminary version of Treasure Cove Source Code This source was supplied by Brett Bilbrey, the programmer of the cartridge. This is not the final version, as that version of the source does not seem to be available (but could be created using the cartridge ROM image and this source code). Treasure Cove Source Code (Preliminary Version) April 9, 2009 I) Added ICBM Attack Programming Notes Twelve pages of handwritten programming notes by Brett Bilbrey about ICBM Attack. In the notes, the game is called "Missile Command." ICBM Attack Programming Notes II) Added ICBM Attack Concept Art Added three pieces of ICBM Attack concept art and notes from the back of one page. ICBM Attack Concept Art April 8, 2009 I) Added ICBM Attack Cassette Description by Brett Bilbrey June 22, 1982 This is the concept of ICBM Attack as originally envisioned by Brett. This game was eventually released on cartridge. ICBM Attack Cassette Description April 7, 2009 I) Added concept art for the game Treasure Cove by Spectre Systems. Treasure Cove Concept Art April 6, 2009 I) Added Computer Ear Manual 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 The Computer Ear Manual March 22, 2009 I) Reorganized the ZGRASS Documentation Area All documentation now has a lengthy description describing the contents. Also the area is now in alphabetical order. ZGRASS Documentation Page II) Added Language Control for Easy Electronic Visualization By Tom Defanti This article is from the November 1980 issue of Byte. Language Control for Easy Electronic Visualization III) Added two datasheets for the Western Digital WD1770 Floppy Controller These are datasheets for the Western Digital WD1770 Floppy Controller used in the Viper [ZGRASS] unit. The one-page version of the datasheet is from a datasheet that was included with a book compiled by the ZGRASS Information Group for Bob Fabris. The much more complete second datasheet, for the same controller, is from a Commodore website. It seems that one (or more) of the Commodore 8-bit disk drives used the same floppy controller. ZGRASS Documentation Area March 21, 2009 I) Added GRASS Picture Creation Document (18 Pages) This program is designed to help you learn about the graphics symbiosis system (GRASS). The intention is to provide you with the fundamental knowledge and skills necessary to allow you to use the system. It is not intended to provide you with a complete description of all the possible ways in which the system could be used. That would be impossible because the uses of the system are limited only by your own imagination. There are three parts to this program. Depending on your present knowledge of the system, you may wish to go through all, or only some, of these. The first part will teach the commands, and allow practice in the skills necessary, to create pictures. The second part will do the same for picture manipulation. The third part will be on "macro" writing. Each part will assume knowledge of the proceeding parts. The eighteen pages are broken into six sections: 1.0 - Using the System 1.1 - Picture Creation Commands 1.2 - Variables, Expressions, Operators and Loops 1.3 - GRASS Storage 1.4 - Macros 1.5 - Editing This document has been been bookmarked in Acrobat for ease of reading. GRASS Picture Creation II) Added ZGRASS Paint Program Users Guide (94 Pages) March 12, 1982 (Preliminary Version) You are about to experience an interactive painting system that will enable you to immensely expand your creative drawing and image development capabilities. With the help of this guide, you'll find the system simple to use and rich in capabilities. The Zgrass PAINT PROGRAM USER'S GUIDE has been designed to guide you through an interactive experience with all modules of the Paint Program in a sequence which will prepare you to use each module as you encounter it. If you take the time now to experiment with the Paint Program system as instructed in this guide, you'll minimize the amount of time you spend learning how to use the system to maximum capacity. If you are a neophyte in the world of computers, you'll find this a pleasant and relatively painless introduction to working with computers. In general, this guide is set up to be followed in a step-by-step manner, explaining what's happening as you engage in new activities in each module. As you become more comfortable with the controls and various means of interacting with the system, you may find repetitive instructions tedious or boring. On the other hand, if you're shaking in your boots because it's the first time you've dealt with a computer, you'll probably find the repetition comforting. To minimize the amount of repetition, those concepts or activities which come into play frequently or require special explanation have been presented in the GENERAL REFERENCE SECTION of this guide and are referred to accordingly within the body of the guide. Sections of this document include: 1 - Getting Started 2 - General Reference Section 3 - Group - 1) Basic Drawing Brushes 4 - Group - 2) Colormap Selection & Storage 5 - Group - 3) Making & Using Snaps 6 - Group - 4) Line & Snap Animation 7 - Group - 5) Utility Modules This document has been been bookmarked in Acrobat for ease of reading. ZGRASS Paint Program User's Guide III) Added ZGRASS Lessons Manual (52 Pages) October 27, 1981 Zgrass is a graphics programming language. It is probably closer to BASIC than any other language, yet it is much more flexible and general than BASIC. The presumption in these lessons is that you already know how to program BASIC (at least BALLY BASIC) and are familiar with loops, IF's, GOTO's, variables, and so on, and are ready to learn what makes Zgrass tick. The essential differences between Zgrass and BASIC are: 1. Zgrass allows any number of programs and subroutines, each named, and they can run in series or parallel. BASIC has one unnamed program and a lot of GOSUB's. 2. Zgrass has an interactive full-screen editor. BASIC edits with line numbers. 3. Zgrass has good ways of passing arguments to subroutines; BASIC has none. 4. Zgrass can construct programs and run them with string manipulation features; BASIC cannot. 5. Zgrass has excellent debugging aids: single step, run-time listing, and error trapping; BASIC doesn't. 6. Zgrass has fast, advanced graphics commands; most BASICs use peek and poke. 7. BASIC has FOR/NEXT. Zgrass does without. In order to learn Zgrass, you will have to explore it. Fortunately, this is not hard and is very rewarding. These lessons are to help you start exploring. They don't teach you how to program or write games, they just present the tools to you and encourage you to build your own. The first six lessons concentrate on defining the playing field. Pay close attention! If you find a word being used that you do not understand, consult the Glossary. Once you get through the lessons, read the Glossary in detail. You'll find yourself understanding some of the esoterica. Some of the advanced features you may never use or understand and it may take awhile for you to see why some of the diversions from BASIC were necessary. Before long, however, you will find going back to BASIC unbearable. Just to get you started, there's a test program called NB in the system. Press the red RST on the UV-1 front panel and answer Y. Then type the two letters NB and press the RETURN key. An image will appear. Type NB and press RETURN again. The image will undo itself. For more action, type NB.B and press RETURN. You can stop this by pressing the CTRL (called CONTROL on some keyboards) key, holding it down and simultaneously pressing the C key. Have fun! All Lessons: 0 - Read Me First 1 - Getting Started 2 - Writing Macros 3 - Editing 4 - More on Macros 5 - Storing Macros on Tape and Disk 6 - Debugging 7 - Device Variables and Ports 8 - Arrays 9 - More on Graphics 10 - Swap Modules 11 - Advanced Concepts ZGRASS Lessons Manual IV) Added ZGRASS Glossary Manual (96 Pages) February 12, 1982 ZGRASS Glossary of: 1) Buzzwords - Common computer terms 2) Commands 3) Escoterica - Advanced features for experienced programmers 4) Functions - Must be gotten from disk or tape 5) Idiosyncrasies - Concepts and features peculiar to or specifically modified for ZGRASS 6) Swap Commands - Must be gotten from disk or tape 7) Swap Functions - Must be gotten from disk or tape 8) Switches - Modify commands ZGRASS Glossary Manual March 20, 2009 I) Added ZGRASS Help Document (43 pages) This document was probably originally a dump to the printer by someone typing HELP for each of the commands. The forty-three page ZGRASS Help has been broken into six major sections. 1) Device Conventions in GRASS2 2) Writing Macros in GRASS 3) Creating Pictures in GRASS 4) Arithmetic Programming (Fortran-Style Syntax) 5) Commands (All 92 of them!) 6) Error Messages ZGRASS Help Document II) Added ZGrass Owner's Manual (84 Pages) This manual instructs you on the set-up and testing of the computer and connection of peripheral devices. In addition, it provides you with important information about operating the system... such as, the hardware features and specifications; basic disk and audio tape management techniques; graphic considerations; etc. The included chapters are: 1 - Introduction 2 - Hardware Features 3 - Initial Set Up 4 - System Power-Up 5 - UV-1 ZGRASS System Configuration 6 - Peripheral Device Configuration 7 - Troubleshooting 8 - Index of System Tests This document has been been bookmarked in Acrobat for ease of reading. Z-GRASS Owner's Manual January 9, 2009 I) Added extensive documentation on how to upgrade an Astrocade for hi-res mode. Upgrading an Astrocade for Hi-Res Mode December 23, 2008 I) Added seven pictures of the Computer Ear "Speech Recognition System for the Computer Hobbyist." Computer Ear II) Added three pictures of the Lil' White Ram 32K expansion unit. Lil' White Ram III) Added five pictures of the Blue Ram Keyboard for the Blue Ram expansion unit. Blue Ram Keyboard IV) Added two pictures of an ASCII Keyboard. These were often hacked with the 300-BAUD interface to create a keyboard that could be used with Bally BASIC. ASCII Keyboard V) Added Jameco JE 610 ASCII Keyboard Kit Datasheet. Jameco JE 610 ASCII Keyboard Kit Datasheet December 19, 2008 I) Added five screenshots for the AstroBASIC game "Super Slope" by Esoterica. 'S' Screenshot Area November 21, 2008 I) Added "Pepsi TV Game" by Steve Walters. Steve Walters Program Area II) Added two screenshots for "Pepsi TV Game" by Steve Walters: Pepsi TV Game - 'P' Screenshot Area III) Added three games by New Image:. 1) Guess Five 2) Quickshot (alternate version) 3) Skunk (alternate version) New Image Program Area IV) Added seven screenshots for three games by New Image:. 1) Guess Five - 2 Pics 2) Quickshot - 3 Pics 3) Skunk - 2 Pics Guess Five - 'G' Screenshot Area Quickshot - 'Q' Screenshot Area Skunk - 'S' Screenshot Area V) Added the source code by Bob Colbert for Astrowav and Ballybin 2. Astrowav and Ballybin 2 Sourcecode November 18, 2008 I) Fixed "Qaudron" typo on "What's New" page. It was missing the 'r.' II) When I added "Quadron" and "Star Siege" to The Tiny Arcade area yesterday, I forgot to put the names of the programs (I only put the screenshots). Fixed. November 17, 2008 I) Added Six AstroBASIC programs by Fred Rodney: 1) Astro Analyst 2) Morse Code Trainer 3) Morse Code II 4) Project Cyclops Radar Base 5) Rhythm Box in 3/4 Time 6) Rhythm Box in 4/4 Time Fred Rodney Program Area II) Added twenty-three screenshots for six AstroBASIC Programs by Fred Rodney: 1) Astro Analyst - 7 Pics 2) Morse Code Trainer - 6 Pics 3) Morse Code II - 2 Pics 4) Project Cyclops Radar Base - 4 Pics 5) Rhythm Box in 3/4 Time - 2 Pics 6) Rhythm Box in 4/4 Time - Pics Astro Analyst - 'A' Screenshot Area Morse Code - 'M' Screenshot Area Project Cyclops Radar Base - 'P' Screenshot Area Rhythm Box - 'R' Screenshot Area III) Added two programs by John Collins: 1) Checkers (III) 2) Treasures of Cathy John Collins Area IV) Added six screenshots for two AstroBASIC Programs by John Collins: 1) Checkers (III) - 2 Pics 2) Treasures of Cathy - 4 Pics Checkers (III) - 'C' Screenshot Area Treasures of Cathy - 'T' Screenshot Area V) Added two alternate versions of programs by The Tiny Arcade: 1) Quadron 2) Star Siege (Revised) Tiny Arcade Program Download Area VI) Added five screenshots for two games by The Tiny Arcade: 1) Quadon - 1 Pic 2) Star Siege (Revised) - 4 Pics Quadron - 'Q' Screenshot Area Star Siege (Revised) - 'S' Screenshot Area November 13, 2008 I) Added a link to an article called Bally Home Library Computer - Early E-Commerce. This June 13, 2006 article covers an Bally Astrocade ad in the September 1977 Scientific American. The author's comments are rather amusing and interesting. Bally Alley Links Section II) Added the Keyboard Driver by Perkins Engineering. This version loads at 300-BAUD. 300-Baud Keyboard Driver III) An "interview" by Paul Thacker with a tech named Paul Garber that fixed Bally Astrocades for a company named North Iowa Electronics located in Garner, Iowa. (December, 2006) Paul Garber Interview IV) Added two different versions of Astrowav and Ballybin (dated Feb 27, 2004 and Dec. 31, 2005). Tape Archive Program Area November 11, 2008 I) Updated the description of Color BASIC with a link to the instructions rather than the question about how to use it. Color BASIC Description Modification II) Added cartridges image for Maze Man and additional images for DNA Final Test Cartridge Picture Area November 9, 2008 I) Added screenshots to binary image download page: Binary Image Download Page II) Added Fun with Vectors - Ziggy binary image by Richard Degler. Fun with Vectors - Ziggy binary image III) Added Fun with Vectors - Ziggy source code by Richard Degler. Fun with Vectors - Ziggy source code IV) Added Fun with Vectors - Ziggy screenshot. Fun with Vectors - Ziggy Screenshot V) Added ten screenshots for songs by The Beatles: 1) A Hard Day's Night 2) Can't Buy Me Love 3) Eight Days A Week 4) I Feel Fine 5) I Feel Fine (2008 Update) 6) Let It Be 7) Paperback Writer 8) She Loves You 9) Yesterday 10) Yesterday (2008 Update) Screenshots of Beatles Songs November 8, 2008 I) Added eight songs by The Beatles. This music was originally released on tape format by George Moses. In the mid-eighties Richard Degler converted it to cartridge format and made notes play along to the music on a musical staff. The eight original songs are: 1) A Hard Day's Night 2) Can't Buy Me Love 3) Eight Days a Week 4) I Feel Fine 5) Let It Be 6) Paperback Writer 7) She Loves You 8) Yesterday There are also two additional versions of Yesterday and one additional version of I Feel Fine. This is a pretty complicated release, so there is a file included that goes into detail about the songs. Music by The Beatles July 19, 2008 I) Added seventeen pictures of the elusive Bally Check hardware. There are two versions of Bally Check represented here: a black version and a yellow version. This test hardware plugs into the 50-pin connector on the back of an Astrocade and checks the motherboard for problems. Bally Check Pictures July 18, 2008 I) Added Lil' White Ram Instructions and Warranty information. Eight pages of instructions (including pictures and installation procedure) along with warranty information for the Lil' White 32K RAM expansion. Lil' White Ram Instructions and Warranty II) Added five pictures of the 300-Baud Bally BASIC Interface Adapter for the Astrocade Blue Ram 300-BAUD Adapter June 17, 2008 I) Added four Astrocade documents from early eighties magazines. Thanks to Richard Degler for typing these in. 1) "Astrocade's The Incredible Wizard for Astrocade" By Danny Goodman, Radio Electronics, April 1983 Video game review of The Incredible Wizard. The review score is 9/10 (excellent), which is great in itself and is only better when compared to the review of the Atari 2600 version in the July 1983, which scored 5/10 (fair) 2) "For Bally Arcade Users" ["Letters to Editor" column] By Hank Scott, Science & Electronics, May/June 1981 A letter, with answer, from the Input/Output Dept. ("Letters to the Editor" column). 3) "Latest Micros Offer Power and Graphics" By Carl Warren, Popular Electronics, May 1982 From article: "The AstroArcade [sic] is a Z-80 based add on system starting at $299 for the basic game unit with a $599 keyboard unit that houses a disc controller. It also has serial ports, cassette tape controller and voice synthesizer, and is totally oriented toward color." 4) "Rolling Your Own" By Danny Goodman, Radio Electronics, September 1983 Details how "the open access to the Astrocade has caused a closely knit and loyal following of Astrocade enthusiasts to band together in users groups and in open exchange of information." Magazine Article Section June 16, 2008 I) Added Screenshots for four prototype ROMs 1) ADS System Monitor 2) Color BASIC 3) Fawn Dungeon 4) Rainbow Cartridge Screenshot Section II) Added a keypad overlay for the ADS System Monitor prototype ROM. I also made an overlay so that the program can be used under MESS, presuming that you use the default keyboard setup. Keypad Overlay Section III) Added ROM images of three prototype progams: 1) ADS System Monitor Author Unknown 2K (Actual program size: 1,533 bytes) A machine language monitor program that uses an overlay. It is unknown if this program is complete. No previous mention of this program was known until the EPROM was found. No documentation exists for this program. This program could have really have grown to have more options, had the author desired. 2) Fawn Dungeon Barry McCleave 2K (Actual program size: About 1,856 bytes) An incomplete machine language game written by someone that corresponded with Bob Fabris (the editor and publisher of the Arcadian newsletter). The player in this D&D-type game can wander around a randomly created 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. No previous mention of this program was known until the EPROM was found. As Barry McCleave mentions in a letter that he wrote to Bob Fabris, there is plenty of room for this program to grow, about six more kilobytes-- so an 8K cart would only be about 1/4 full. 3) Rainbow - Version 2 Hanson 2K (Actual program size: 389 bytes) A program that puts a nice 256-color display on the screen. Note that the EPROM was noted with a sticker as "Ver. 2." No earlier version of this program have been found. This is just a short example program, and it's pretty neat that it fits snugly in about four-hundred bytes. There was a VHS videotape that had this program running before a demo of Color BASIC, so it was presumed that the program was written in Color BASIC-- it was a surprise to discover that it was a machine language program written to run as a cartridge. ROM Image Section IV) Added notes and a letter for two of the recently uploaded programs: 1) ADS System Monitor - Very brief notes on how to use this program. 2) Fawn Dungeon - A letter from the programmer, Barry McCleave, about the progress of this program. Scanned letter and retyped text format. Cartridge Manual Section V) Added early (non-working) Fawn Dungeon disassembly. Fawn Dungeon Disassembly June 13, 2008 I) Created a new section called "Astrocade, Inc. Marketing Materials." Added fourteen documents to this area: 1) Astrocade, Inc. File Folder File folder that Astrocade, Inc. used to distribute varying documentation. 2) Astrocade, Inc. Price Listing (Direct) A 1982 direct price listing. Mentions Zgrass-100 Computer with Keyboard ($419, $599 Retail). 3) Astrocade, Inc. Price Listing (Distributor) A 1982 distributor price listing. Mentions Zgrass-100 Computer with Keyboard ($340, $599 Retail). 4) Astrocade: The Professional Arcade" 1982 Consumer Ad Campaign Magazine and TV "blitz" ad campaign. Quite an impressive line-up. This says that commercials would be placed during forty-eight different TV shows and print ads in sixteen different magazines. Check out where Astrocade, Inc. planned to put ads in 1982. 5) Astrocade: The Professional Arcade, Expandable Computer System Small promotional flyer advertising the games for the Astrocade. There are many color screenshots as well as pictures of ten upcoming releases (four of which never came out). There is quite a bit of information packed into these few pages. 6) Astrocade (TM) Video Game by Astrocade, Inc. Promotional high-quality grayscale photo titled "Astrocade (TM) Video Game by Astrocade, Inc." This photo features the Astrocade with five games (Football, Grand Prix / Demolition Derby, Space Fortress, Astro Battle and Galactic Invasion). 7) Bally Professional Arcade Plus - First Version This is a generic ad for dealers to use. There are no screenshots of built-in games, but the ad does have eight other screenshots. The 2000-BAUD version of BASIC included with this package is called "Bally BASIC." This ad mentions the soon-to-come Zgrass-32 expansion keyboard. Price is 299.55. 8) Bally Professional Arcade Plus - Second Version This is a generic ad for dealers to use. There are screenshots of the three built-in games (and the calculator) and eight other screenshots. The 2000-BAUD version of BASIC included with this package is called "Bally BASIC." This ad does NOT mention the Zgrass-32 expansion keyboard. Price is 299.55. 9) Bally Professional Arcade Plus - Third Version This is a generic ad for dealers to use. There are screenshots of the three built-in games (and the calculator). The 2000-BAUD version of BASIC included with this package is called "Astrocade BASIC." This ad does NOT mention the Zgrass-32 expansion keyboard. Price is not specified. 10) Cooperative Advertising Program Manual This manual covers: General Policy, Method of Fund Accrual, Claiming Submittal, Method of Payment, Eligible Advertising Media, Displays and Other POP Material. 11) "Here's What They Say..." Quotes from 1982 about the Astrocade from ten different magazines. 12) Order Form (Triplicate) Astrocade, Inc. order form. Includes cartridges that were never released (i.e. Conan and Music Maker) as well as the Zgrass expansion. 13) Sales Meeting (1981) The agenda for the Astrovision, Inc. one-and-a-half day Chicago sales meeting from March 20-21 1981. 14) Sales Meeting (1982) The agenda for the Astrocade, Inc. half-day sales meeting on June 5 1982. Astrocade, Inc. Marketing Materials Area June 12, 2008 I) The wording of my description of Ward Shrake's multicart permission has been changed to, "electrically but not visually identical to his own." Ward Shrake Multicart Hardware Picture Area June 1, 2008 I) Updated the picture section for the Ward Shrake multicart. Only pictures are in this section now-- all documentation has been moved to a new section. Ward Shrake Multicart Hardware Picture Area II) Added a section for the Ward Shrake multicart. These documents have been either moved or added here: 1) Multicart 7432 Truth Table (Original) Notes from September 27, 2001. 2) Multicart 7432 Truth Table (Simplified) Notes from September 27, 2001. 3) Multicart 7432 Visualization Aide Notes on how the 7432 (Quad 2-Input OR Gate) works with the dipswitches on the multicart. Notes from September 27, 2001. 4) Multicart Board Revision Notes Multicart revision notes from December 18, 2001. 5) Multicart DipSwitch Setting DIP Switch Settings for the "Bally Astrocade" Multicart version 1.3a (that's the last version of the ROM). These documents should be considered the instructions for the cartridge. This zipped download includes two Word Documents, two PDF documents and a text document; use the pdf documents, not the Word documents (which are included in case any changes need to be made). Two documents are the same information sorted into two different ways: alphabetically and alphabetically sorted by extra RAM needed or not. The last document shows which dipswitch settings are still available. 6) Multicart FAQ This text answers people's questions about the Astrocade and Arcadia multicarts that Ward Shrake created. Document date is January 25, 2002. 7) Multicart FAQ - Update This FAQ covers Ward Shrakes "Bally Astrocade" and "Emerson Arcadia 2001" multicarts. Ward reaffirms that no more Astrocade multicarts will be sold to the public. Document date is April 16, 2008. 8) Multicart Jumper Assembly Steps and Tips Multicart jumper assembly steps and tips. Including wire color and length, as well as much more detailed final jumper wire routing. Notes from December 13, 2002. 9) Multicart Jumper-Wire Template An index card with short notes on how to set-up the jumper wires. This was written in December 2002. 10) Astrocade Multicart - Photo Mask (Part 1) 11) Astrocade Multicart - Photo Mask (Part 2) 12) Ward Shrake's Release Letter Ward Shrake gave permission on January 3, 2008 to use his documentation to create another multicart-- one that could be identical to his own. This letter is written to Adam Trionfo, the man who has assembled the Ballyalley.com website. Ward Shrake Multicart documentation Area May 31, 2008 I) Added and/or replaced High-resolution (300dpi) tape scans for six games by Esoterica Ltd. The tapes are: 1. Home Budget Keeper (Added Hi-Res)(Removed Lo-Res) 2. Big City Slick / Great American Jigsaw (Added Hi-Res as Alt Version) 3. Bomb Squad / Wildcatter (Added Hi-Res)(Removed Low-Res) 4. Fox and Hounds / Treasure Island (Added Hi-Res)(Removed Low-Res) 5. Garberville / Ten Pins (Added Hi-Res)(Removed Low-Res) 6. Mini Golf and Starship Command (Added Hi-Res)(Removed Low-Res) Esoterica Ltd. Tape Picture Section II) Added tapes images of two tapes by George Moses. The two tapes are: 1. Bally Arcade Ragtime (Alternate Hi-Res Version-- Side 2 is handwritten) 2. Beatles Music (Added Hi-Res) George Moses Tape Picture Section III) Added pictures of WaveMakers Tape #2 (Clue and Flying Ace). Also changed the list order from alphabetical to ordered by tape number. WaveMakers Tape Picture Section IV) Added tapes images of two tapes by Perkins Engineering. The two tapes are: 1. Artillery Duel 2. Blue Ram Utility 2 Perkins Engineering Tape Picture Section V) Added tapes images of Mike White's Quadra: 1. Quadra - Marathon (Side 1) 2. Quadra - Practice Programs (Side 2) Miscellaneous Tape Picture Section VI) Added box (actually the cassette tape case) for The Tiny Arcade's Beep! and Star Siege. The Tiny Arcade Box Section VII) Added tape cassette picture for The Tiny Arcade's Beep! and Star Siege. The Tiny Arcade Tape Picture Section VIII) Added instructions for The Tiny Arcade's Beep! and Star Siege. The Tiny Arcade Tape Instructions Section IX) Added Wavemakers covers from tape cases to the box section. 1 - Tape 3 - Maze Race (Hi-Res, 300dpi) 2 - Tape 7 - Guitar Course (Hi-Res, 300dpi) 3 - Tape 14 - Collision Course (Low-Res, 72 dpi) WaveMakers Boxes Section X) Added two cassette tape cases to the miscellaneous box section: 1 - Artillery Duel Tape Case 2 - Niagara Bugs Tape Case Miscellaneous Box Section XI) Added entry form for L&M's 1983 Candyman high score contest. L&M Candyman Contest Entry May 30, 2008 I) Added instructions for the tape game Treasure Island and Fox & Hounds by Esoterica Ltd. Treasure Island and Fox & Hounds Instructions II) Added Bally's 1978 tape cover for Audio Program Tape 1, Software No. 1 (APC-7001). Software on this tape includes: Side A Side B 1. Electric Doily 1. Lunar Lander 2. Line Graph 2. Gravity Game 3. Monthly Records 3. Newtona '500' 4. Electronic Music 5. Number Match Audio Program Tape 1, Software No. 1 (APC-7001) May 28, 2008 I) Added video of the Bally BASIC version of The Bit Fiddler's Goldfish Demo. Goldfish Demo Video II) Added screenshots for the BASIC versions and the MLM version of The Bit Fiddler's Goldfish Demo. 'G' Area of Tape Screenshot Section III) Added the Bally BASIC version of The Bit Fiddler's Goldfish Demo. Bally BASIC Goldfish Demo IV) Added the Machine Language Manager version of The Bit Fiddler's Goldfish Demo. Machine Language Manager Goldfish Demo V) Added The Bit Fiddler's Goldfish Demo instructions. Goldfish Demo Instructions VI) Added a print-out of Richard C. Degler's Music Decomposer for Blue Ram BASIC 1.1. Music Decomposer By Richard C. Degler May 27, 2008 I) Added two early 1970's Scientific American articles on the mathematical game Life. 1) Life - Scientific American Article (Oct 1970) 2) Life - Scientific American Follow-Up Article (Feb 1971) II) Added the source-code for Lance F. Squire's cartridge conversion of The Bit Fiddler's Goldfish Demo. Goldfish Demo Cartridge Conversion (Source Code) III) Added the ROM image file for Lance F. Squire's cartridge conversion of The Bit Fiddler's Goldfish Demo. This can be played in the MESS Astrocade emulator. Goldfish Demo Cartridge Conversion (ROM Image) IV) Added screenshots for Lance F. Squire's cartridge conversion of The Bit Fiddler's Goldfish Demo. 'G' Screenshots V) Added two game listing (with dip-switch settings) to the RetroKidz Multicart section. RetroKidz Multicart Section May 24, 2008 I) Added two links to the Astrocade web links section. These two links are: 1) Dick Ainsworth - He wrote the Bally BASIC book and the companion cassette, designed the Easy-Entry Keypad that made the original Arcade programmable and wrote the program for the Bally Demo Cartridge. 2) Mike Peace - He wrote all of the BASIC games released by WaveMakers. These games are considered to be the best BASIC games for the Astrocade. This website is about Mike's music. Astrocade Web Links May 23, 2008 I) Added updated Video Storybook instructions that Richard Degler created by disassembling the game's ROM. Yes, these are different than yesterday's upload. Video Storybook instructions II) Added added a Video Storybook disassembly that Richard Degler created from scratch by disassembling the game's ROM. Video Storybook Disassembly III) Did major surgery to the Misc. Documents section. This includes alphabetizing, categorizing, moving directory structures, and more. Misc. Documents Section IV) Separated the Viper documents from the misc. documents and created a new section Viper RAM Expansion Section May 22, 2008 I) I have redone the "S-Video Upgrade" section. I have split it into two sections: 1) Pictures by Mike Mallory 2) Pictures by Mike Di Salvo S-Video Modification Section II) I have added the Fawn Dungeon EPROM repair pictures that Ward Shrake took these back in February. Fawn Dungeon EPROM Repairs III) I have added pictures of the inside of Ward Shrake's multicart, including photomasks. Here is what has been added: 1) Astrocade Multicart - Front (Inside PCB) - 150dpi jpg and 300dpi jpg versions 2) Astrocade Multicart - Back (Inside PCB) - 150dpi jpg and 300dpi jpg versions 3) Astrocade Multicart - Photo Mask (Part 1) - 150dpi GIF, 300dpi GIF and 600dpi BMP versions 4) Astrocade Multicart - Photo Mask (Part 2) - 150dpi GIF, 300dpi GIF and 600dpi BMP versions. Multicart Pictures IV) I have added the Video Storybook instructions that Richard Degler created by disassembling the game's ROM. Video Storybook instructions May 21, 2008 I) Added reviews for three unreleased cartridges: 1) Munchie 2) Music Maker 3) Quest for the Orb Cartridge Reviews Section II) Added source-code for three versions of BASIC. All versions of the source code have been updated or created by Richard Degler. 1) AstroBASIC - Updated Source-code 2) Bally BASIC - From Scratch Disassembly 3) Color BASIC - From Scratch Disassembly Astrocade Machine Language Source Code Section III) Changed the thumbnail for the "Bally Professional Arcade" manual cover. It is now a jpg that is smooth and easy to read. Manual Covers Section IV) Added sales flyer called "Astrocade The Professional Arcade." Sales Flyer (150DPI) May 20, 2008 I) Removed two dead links: DZ80 Disassembler and Gamerland: Links Section II) Removed Bally DIP Settings from "Misc. Documentation" Section: "Misc. Documentation" Section III) Archived the year 2007 of the "What's New" Section: What's New Archives (2000-2007) Section IV) Added The Bally Arcade! A Great Video Game Becomes A Great Computer! by George Moses. This is probably marketing material. The Bally Arcade! A Great Video Game Becomes A Great Computer! V) Added Videocades and Accessories leaflet A B&W leaflet that lists the available "videocades" (cartridges) available from Astrocade, Inc. This includes such unreleased goodies as Conan and the ZGRASS keyboard. Videocades and Accessories leaflet May 19, 2008 I) Added thumbnails of documents to the Bally and Astrovision Ads and Catalogs section. Bally and Astrovision Ads and Catalogs Section II) Added thumbnails of documents to the JS&A Ads from Catalogs section. JS&A Ads from Catalogs Section III) Added thumbnails of documents to the Postcards section. Postcards Section IV) Added thumbnails of documents to the Sourcebooks section. Sourcebooks Section V) Added thumbnails of documents to the Ads and Catalogs section. Ads and Catalogs Section VI) Put buttons on index page into alphabetical order: index.html May 17, 2008 I) Added two pictures of the front and back of the 300-BAUD interface PCB: 300-BAUD Interface Pictures II) Added three pictures of the homebrew DVD-style Astrocade cartridge box. Homebrew DVD-Style Box III) Added review for the unreleased cartridge Coloring Book. Coloring Book Review IV) Added an April 16, 2008 update to Ward Shrake's multicart FAQ. Ward Shrake's Multicart FAQ Update V) Added Richard Degler's completed Dogpatch Disassembly: Completed Dogpatch Disassembly VI) Added picture of the Demo Cartridge in the box: Demo Cartridge in Box May 16, 2008 I) Removed separate entries for Letter Match / Spell 'n Score / Crosswords and Spell 'N Score / Crosswords / Lettermatch manuals. The B&W scan of the manual has now been removed since there is an updated color version. Cartridge Manuals II) Combined entries for the Speed Math / Bingo Math manuals. Cartridge Manuals III) Added note that Astrocade cartridge manuals are also available in PDF format. Misc. Documentation IV) Added author names to programs in the Type-In Program Section: 1) Bowling - By John Collins 2) Robot War - By Scott Waldinger 3) Video Instructions for EB - By Alternative Engineering Misc. Type-In Programs V) Added new section on Sebree's Computing (Timothy Hays) with these programs: 1) Down the Trench 2) Hit the Pedestrian 3) Munch 4) Submarine Minefield 5) Star Fire 6) UFO Battle Misc. Documentation VI) Added instructions, written by Richard Degler, for the cartridge prototype game Coloring Book. Coloring Book Instructions VII) Added instructions, written by Richard Degler, for the cartridge prototype Color BASIC. COLOR BASIC Instructions May 15, 2008 I) Added pictures of the Multi-Cart Demo Unit by Bally Mfg. Corp. Allows input of eight game cartridges and offers the option to switch and play any of them or automatically cycle through them. Used by dealers for demo purposes. Pictures of Multi-Cart Demo Unit II) Added a pictures of the inside of the CPUWiz Multicart. Inside view of the CPUWiz Multicart III) Added fourteen pictures of the Sea Wolf II arcade mainboard. Sea Wolf II Arcade mainboard IV) Updated the Bally/Astrocade FAQ to version 3.3. Included is a new section called "Restoring the Astrocade's Gold Trimming" by Marty Goldberg. Bally Astrocade FAQ February 22, 2008 I) Added alternate version of instructions for John Conway's Game of Life by Richard C. Degler. John Conway's Game of Life Instructions February 10, 2008 I) Added eighteen press releases from Astrocade, Inc. 1) Ad Campaign - Astrocade kicks off $12 million ad campaign, Baseball game promos. 2) Artillery Duel - Astrocade introduces "Artillery Duel" video game at CES. 3) Astrocade, Inc. Backgrounder - Brief and general background history about Astrocade, Inc. 4) Bowling - Astrocade unveils Bowling video game cartridge at CES. 5) Comiskey Park - Giant video games to invade Comiskey Park Tuesday. 6) Conan - Astrocade introduces Conan video game cartridge at CES. 7) Cosmic Raiders - Cosmic Raiders announcement. 8) Creative Crayon: Technical Description - Technical description of the Creative Crayon cartridge. 9) Creative Crayon - Creative Crayon announcement. 10) Incredible Wizard Contest - Astrocade's "Incredible Wizard" contest running at CES. 11) Incredible Wizard - The Incredible Wizard announcement. 12) Music Maker - Music Maker announcement. 13) Patent Infringement - Astrocade sues Atari and Commodore for patent infringements. 14) Pirate's Chase - Pirate's Chase announcement. 15) Soccer - Astrocade unveils Soccer/Dribbling video game cartridge at CES. 16) Solar Conqueror - Solar Conqueror announcement. 17) ZGRASS-100: Technical Description - Technical description about the ZGRASS-100 Add-Under. 18) ZGRASS-100 - Astrocade unveils ZGRASS-100 Personal Computer Add-Under at CES. Press Releases II) Added Color BASIC ROM An updated BASIC featuring 32 colors. This cartridge was never released. This ROM is from a prototype. No documentation is available for this program; we are not even sure how to access more colors. Here are some hints for those that want to try. Use the original BASIC overlay. Now Word + ERASE gives you the COLOR keyword and Word + SPACE gives you the CLINE keyword. Can you figure how to get some color out of this version of BASIC? Color BASIC January 19, 2008 I) Updated the Magazine and Newspaper Article Area This area was in disarray. Nothing was in alphabetical order, no authors were mentioned, and there was no summary of the articles. I've fixed that. Magazine and Newspaper Article Area II) Added a Magazine Article called Astrocade: One More Time By Mark Borwnstein from Video Games, June 1983. This is not a review of the Astrocade console; it's an overview of the system. It covers both the history and the current situation. In 1983 this would have been very helpful to Astrocade owners that were in the dark. It even mentions rare (released) hardware items like the Blue Ram expansion (which I've never seen mentioned in mainstream press elsewhere). Astrocade: One More Time By Mark Borwnstein (Color Version, 1.35MB) Astrocade: One More Time By Mark Borwnstein (B&W Version, 612K) III) Added a Magazine Article called Game Workout - Astrocade By Michael Blanchet From Electronic Fun with Computers & Games, January 1983 This is a review of the Astrocade console. Included are some screenshots of unreleased games. Game Workout - Astrocade By Michael Blanchet (Color Version, 3.9MB) Game Workout - Astrocade By Michael Blanchet (B&W Version, 847K) IV) Added a Magazine Article called Test Lab: Astro Professional Arcade By Henry B. Cohen From Electronic Games, June 1982 An Astrocade console review that contains a screenshot of an unreleased game (Coloring Book). Test Lab: Astro Professional Arcade By Henry B. Cohen (Color Version, 3.2MB) Test Lab: Astro Professional Arcade By Henry B. Cohen (B&W Version, 244K) January 18, 2008 I) Added ten Astrocade-style cartridge manuals. 1) 280 ZZZap / Dodgem (#2001) 2) Artillery Duel (#5005) 3) Bally Pin (#3005) 4) Biorhythm (#4004) 5) Brickyard / Clowns (#2004) 6) Dog Patch (#2010) 7) Grand Prix / Demolition Derby (#2014) 8) Pirate's Chase (#2015) 9) Solar Conqueror (#2018) 10) Tornado Baseball / Tennis / Handball / Hockey (#3001) Astrocade-Stle Cartridge Manuals II) Added alternate version of the AstroBASIC manual. This is the second version of the manual. I'm not sure what the differences are, but there are a few. It fixes some mistakes in the first manual, but introduces a few of its own. AstroBASIC manual (Alternative version) III) Updated the AstroBASIC Manual that was already online. This is the first version of the manual. The first scan, from 2000, had low-resolution scans of the color pictures, plus the inside pictures that were color were scanned in B&W; this has been fixed. AstroBASIC manual (Updated Version) IV) Added Life and Nuke the @&#%$* manual for the tape games by Jay Fenton. Life and Nuke the @&#%$* Manual January 7, 2008 I) Added Color Picker by Michael Garber. A helpful tool/demo. Choose a background color using the knob and get its corresponding hex number for the Astrocade. This program runs as a cartridge. Color Picker Assembler Source-Code II) Added Winter/Spring 1984 issue of The Sourcebook A great Astrocade catalog that attempted to contain everything that existed for the Astrocade. 114 Pages (15.5MB) Winter/Spring 1984 issue of The Sourcebook III) Added prototype version of Solar Conqueror cartridge by Astrocade Inc. An early version of Solor Conqueror. This game is 8K. Solor Conqueror [Prototype] IV) Added the Astrocade version of the Goldfish Demo (1982) by The Bit Fiddlers. Seven goldfish swim around a fishtank, a clock runs, and a cat meows every minute. An example of a smooth machine language program. Goldfish Demo December 28, 2007 I) Added Hi-Res Package 1 - Schematics and layouts. (4.2MB) Schematics and layouts II) Added Zipped PNG files of only schematics and layouts from Hi-Res Package 1. These are included in the pdf version, but these four files have not been compressed by Acrobat-- so they may be easier to read or print. (5.3 MB) Schematics and layouts III) Added Hi-Res Package 2 - Low/High Resolution Modification Procedure. (1MB) Describes what and how to modify the Astrocade motherboard plus wire the RAM board, which contains video and user RAM. Low/High Resolution Modification Procedure IV) Added Parts Catalog and Schematics for Seawolf II Seawolf II is, basically, a hi-res Astrocade. These are the schematics and the parts catalog (which also contains schematics). Sea Wolf II Schematics Sea Wolf II Parts Catalog (with schematics) December 27, 2007 I) Added Astrocade Bankruptcy Paperwork This is the bankruptcy paperwork that Astrocade, Inc. filed in February 1984. It's sixty-three pages. Astrocade Bankruptcy Paperwork II) Added General History of Astrocade, Inc. Article This general history of Astrocade, Inc. is an excerpt from the Astrocade, Inc. bankruptcy plans filed on February 10, 1984 in Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division. The case number is 2-82-04677. (Added December 27, 2007) General History of Astrocade, Inc. December 26, 2007 I) Added Low/High Res Package (Cover Letter) A cover letter that discusses the five packages created by Michael C. Matte in 1986 to convert an astrocade to use high-res mode. This letter gives an overall view of the packages (which have not been scanned yet). Low/High Res Package (Cover Letter) December 17, 2007 I) Added "Accurately Dumping an Astrocade ROM" This article descibes how to dump the Astrocade ROM using only an Astrocade and software (no EPROM/ROM reader needed). This technique can be used to archive versions of the Astrocade ROM that have not been dumped or for dumping the ROM for use with an Astrocade emulator (such as MESS). Accurately Dumping an Astrocade ROM Article December 16, 2007 I) Added the heavily commented Z-80 source-code for the 300 to 2000 BAUD Loader utility program by Jay Fenton. This version is in text format- it can be assembled using the Zmac Z-80 cross-assembler. 300 to 2000 BAUD Loader utility program (Text Version) December 14, 2007 I) Added the heavily commented Z-80 source-code for the 300 to 2000 BAUD Loader utility program by Jay Fenton. This is the program that appears in the AstroBASIC manual on pages 104-107. This program isn't exactly the same as the one listed in the BASIC manual, but it is obviously the same program, but probably an earlier version. 300 to 2000 BAUD Loader utility program (PDF Version) December 11, 2007 I) Added Goldfish Demo source-code by Andy Guevara. This source-code is available in both pdf and text format. The program is ready to assemble. Goldfish Demo won't run unless it is loaded from tape into the Machine Language Manager cartridge. The program is meant to reside at memory location $4B40. This is not a cartridge. Goldfish Demo December 7, 2007 I) Added five Esoterica boxes: 1) Garberville 2) Great American Jigsaw (Old Style) 3) Star Trek (Old Style) 4) Treasure Island! (Old Style) 5) Wildcatter (Old Style) Esoterica Box Pictures November 5, 2007 I) Added a link to the Videogame Museum's Astrocade Screenshot Area: Astrocade Screenshot Area of www.vgmuseum.com November 3, 2007 I) Added twelve manuals to the WaveMakers' tape documentation area. All manuals have a B&W version, most have a color scan, and some also have an alternate version. The docs added are: 1) Castle of Horror 2) Character Analysis 3) Clue and Flying Ace 4) Collision Course 5) Dungeons of Dracula 6) Gate Escape, The 7) Guitar Course 8) L.T. (Little Terrestrial) 9) Monkey Jump 10) Pack-Rat 11) Slot Machine and Perversion 12) WaveMakers Loading Instructions WaveMakers Tape Manual area II) Added three manuals by L&M Software: 1) Candy Man & River City Gambler 2) Exitor's Revenge & The Mummy's Treasure 3) Secret of Pellucitar I and II L&M Software Tape Manual area III) Added high-resolution (300-DPI) pictures of two Spectrecade boxes (front and back). Each picture is about 2MB. Much smaller, 150-DPI, versions of these same pictures are already available on this page. 1) Blast Droids 2) Treasure Cove Spectrecade Boxes IV) Added several different pictures of the Life cartridge, including some rare labels. Cartridge Area (Including Life) V) Updated one cartridge in the cartridge area: 1) Astro BASIC (now standard 150 DPI, with optional 300 DPI) Cartridge Area VI) Added two cartridges to the cartridge area: 1) Machine Language Manager (150 DPI and 300 DPI) 2) Quadra (150 DPI and 300 DPI) Cartridge Area VII) Updated four keypad overlays with 150DPI and 300 DPI versions. Also, added an alternate overlay for Scribbing. 1) Bally BASIC 2) Machine Language Manager 3) Music Maker 4) Scribbling 5) Scribbling (Alternate Overlay) Keypad Overlay Area VIII) Added three cassette tape scans to the Miscellaneous Tape Picture Area. There are 150DPI and 300 DPI versions. 1) Michigan Astro Bugs Tape 2) Niagara Bugs Club Tape (Side 1) 3) Niagara Bugs Club Tape (Side 2) Cassette Tapes IX) Revamped the screenshot area in preparation for additional screenshots. This area has not been updated in a LONG time-- there are hardly ANY screenshots available. That will eventually change. Screenshot Area November 2, 2007 I) Revamped the Astrocade Cassette Tape Manual area in preparation for adding additional manuals. All documents now have a thumbnail of the cover of the manual. Also, the area has been broken into catagories: 1) Dave Ibach 2) Esoterica Ltd. 3) Mike White 4) Miscellaneous 5) WaveMakers Cassette Tape Manual area II) Added three tape manuals by Esoterica Ltd. These three manuals cover the following six games: 1) Mini Golf and Star Trek 2) Ten Pins and Garbersville 3) Wildcatter and Bomb Squad Esoterica Tape Manual area October 26, 2007 I) Added four pictures of third-party cartridge boxes by Spectrecade: 1) Blast Droids (Front) 2) Blast Droids (Back) 3) Treasure Cove (Front) 4) Treasure Cove (Back) Spectrecade Box Pictures October 25, 2007 I) Updated the Astrocade Game Catalog on Ballyalley.com. The checklist had some print cut-off at the top of the page; Both the 150 DPI and the 300 DPI version are now fixed. Astrocade Game Catalog II) Added the two-page instruction sheet for the Bally BASIC 300-BAUD audio cassette interface. This document is in color. Bally BASIC 300-BAUD Audio Cassette Interface III) Added four ads: 1) Candy Man - L&M Software 2) Home Arcade Catalog 2 3) Sea Devil - Bit Fiddlers (Distributed by L&M Software). 4) Secret of Pellucitar - L&M Software Four Advertisements IV) Added nine original color Bally (not Astrovision) cartridge instructions. Also added four third-party instructions. Bally Instructions (NOT the later Astrocade instructions): 1) 280 Zzap / Dodgem (#2001) [Alternate, high quality version] 2) Astro Battle (#2009) 3) Bally Pin (#3005) 4) Football and Football (Blue Team Playbook) (#3002) 5) Letter Match / Spell 'n Score / Crosswords (#4002) 6) Sea Wolf / Missile (#2002) 7) Space Invaders (#2008) 8) Speed Math / Bingo Math (#4001) 9) Star Battle (#2005) Third-Party Instructions: 1) Blastdroids 2) Ms. Candyman 3) Music Maker (Draft Instructions) 4) Treasure Cove Thirteen instructions for cartridges October 23, 2007 I) Added updated "Arcadian Mailing Lists FAQ" by Paul Thacker. This is from September 3, 2006. Arcadian Mailing Lists FAQ II) Added an alternate version of the first edition of the Bally BASIC Manual. Bally BASIC Manual (Alternate Version) III) Combined parts one and two of the AstroBASIC manual into one pdf file. AstroBASIC Manual IV) Added thumbnails of the covers for the Bally BASIC and AstroBASIC manuals to the BASIC download area: BASIC Download Area October 22, 2007 I) Added an updated version of Connect Four (Enlarged) by Harry L Hanson. Programs have been renamed according to which versions are the alternate versions. Now the only two-player version (the one from Mike White) is the regular (non-alternate) version. Connect Four (Enlarged)(Harry L Hanson) II) The "What's New" file was getting too big, so I archived all of 2006: What's New Archives (2000-2006) III) Added two pictures to the WaveMakers' cassette section: 1) Music Composer 2) WaveMakers (Label Close-Up) WaveMakers Pics IV) Added a picture of the tape for Hot Rod BASIC by R&L Enterprises: Hot Rod BASIC V) Added eight pictures of tapes in Dave Ibach's collection: 1) Amazin Maze 2) Avalanche! and Hang Up 3) Bug Puzzle #2 4) Contest Entry 5) Frog Leap 0 (and others) 6) General Video Assembler (for Manufacture) 7) Halloween Graphics 8) Honey Bear Dave Ibach's tape collection VI) Added two pictures of tapes by Esoterica Ltd.: 1) Frogger (Released as Road Toad) 2) Super Skier (Released as Super Slope) Esoterica Ltd. Tapes VII) Added four pictures of cartridges: 1) Hot Rod BASIC 2) Muncher (Alternate Version of the "Programme Label") 3) Sneaky Snake (Alternate Version) 4) Songs (Prototype) Astrocade Cartridge Pictures VIII) Added a news item from Video Games magazine from October, 1982. The item is called Atari Vs. Astrocade. It gives the reason why Munchie (aka Pacman) was never released. Atari Vs. Astrocade IX) Fixed a bad link on the Astrobugs newsletter page. The March 1983 issue was pointing to the August issue. Michigan Astrobugs Newsletter (March 1983) X) Paul Thacker rewrote the entry for Munchie for the "Bally-Astrocade Game Cartridge and Hardware FAQ" It is now at version 1.6: Bally-Astrocade Game Cartridge and Hardware FAQ October 14, 2007 I) Added three ads by George Moses: 1) George Moses Software - Programs A-E - Lists five programs: A) Analog Non-Digital Clock B) Astro-Zap C) Timecard Calculator D) Home Budget Keeper E) Screen RAM Word Processor In addition one more program, Life, by Jay Fenton is listed. 2) Geroge Moses Software - Lists tapes 1-5: 1) Bach's 15 Two-Part Inventions 2) 27 Arcade Christmas Songs 3) Bally Arcade Ragtime 4) 3 Voice Screen RAM Music Assembler 5) Sinfonia to Cantata 29 by J.S. Bach 3) George Moses Software - Lists the four music tapes: 1) Bach's 15 Two-Part Inventions 2) 27 Arcade Christmas Songs 3) Bally Arcade Ragtime 4) Sinfonia to Cantata 29 by J.S. Bach George Moses Ads II) Added two ads from Astrocade Inc: 1) Astrocade Hand Controls Sale 2) Astrocade Sale Astrocade Sale Astrocade Inc. Moses Ads III) Added an ad for the Life, the game by Jay Fenton. According to this ad, the game came with a 10-page manual. Life Ad IV) Added as Astrocade Support list ad. As stated in the ad, "Here's a list of [19] professionals who support your computer with programs, hardware and information to help you enjoy your Astrocade to the maximum!" Astrocade Support list Ad V) Added order form for the RMH Sourcebook: Order Form for RMH Sourcebook VI) Added alternate versions for five different programs: 1) 256 Color Display 2) Artillery Duel 3) Connect Four (Enlarged) 4) Halloween Ghost 5) Puzzle VII) Added six early Bally cartridge manual scans to Ballyalley.com: 1) Amazing Maze / Tic-Tac-Toe (#5001) 2) Baseball / Handball / Tennis / Hockey (#3001) 3) Baseball / Handball / Tennis / Hockey (#3001) [Alternate Cover] 4) Blackjack / Acey Deucy / Poker (#5002) 5) Brickyard / Clowns (#2004) 6) Red Baron / Panzer Attack (#2003) Six Early Cartridge Manuals VIII) Added Bally Videocade Cassettes Catalog (Alternate Version). A color catalog of the cartridges available for the Bally Professional Arcade. 1) Bally Videocade Cassettes Catalog (150 DPI) 2) Bally Videocade Cassettes Catalog (300 DPI) I added a two-page advertisement for the Blue Ram and accessories to Ballyalley.com. This ad was already available in B&W, but Paul Thacker scanned the pages in high-quality color. Each file is available in 150DPI or DPI versions: IX) Added two-page advertisement, in color, for the Blue Ram and accessories: 1) Blue Ram Advertisement (150 DPI, Blue Ram OS Available) - 447K 2) Blue Ram Advertisement (300 DPI, Blue Ram OS Available) - 1.26MB 3) Blue Ram Advertisement (150 DPI, Blue Ram OS Sold Out) - 447KB 4) Blue Ram Advertisement (300 DPI, Blue Ram OS Sold Out) - 1.26MB Color Perkins Engineering Ad X) Added three games from the early Bally Boxes: 1) Amazing Maze / Tic-Tac-Toe 2) Baseball / Tennis / Hockey / Handball 3) Red Baron / Panzer Attack Early Bally Boxes XI) Added Richard Degler's Michigan AstroBUGS membership card. Michigan AstroBUGS Membership Card October 5, 2007 I) Added pictures of the multicart developed by CPUWIZ. Also added DIP switch settings. This can all be found in a new hardware section. Here what was added: 1) A picture of the CPUWIZ multicart. 2) Another picture of the CPUWIZ multicart. 3) Another listing of the DIP switch settings for one version of the CPUWIZ Multicart. (pdf) 4) A listing of the DIP switch settings for one version of the CPUWIZ Multicart. (text) Multicart by CPUWIZ Section II) Added two pictures of the multicart made by Mike White in 2007 called Beatles Music from Richard Degler. Beatles Music from Richard Degler Section III) Added a two page Montgomery Ward Catalog. Cartridge listings for the classic early 1980's game systems (including, of course, the Astrocade). Montgomery Ward Catalog IV) Added pictures of cassettes to the WaveMakers section: 1) Lookout for the Bull (Side 1 and 2) 2) Pack-Rat (Side 1 and 2, Master Tapes) WaveMakers Cassette Pictures V) Added picture of the Solor Conqueror (prototype): Solor Conqueror (prototype) VI) Added Cursor business card: Cursor Business Card VII) Added three postcards: These are postcards sent to (or to be sent by) Astrocade's owners trying to get their business or offering warranties: 1) Arcadian - Order the Arcadian newsletter for just fifteen dollars... in 1982. 2) Montgomery Ward - Return this postcard to the Montgomery Ward Cartridge Club for periodic mailing offering discounts for new cartridges. 3) Spectre - Cartridge Warranty Card. Astrocade Postcards September 29, 2007 I) Added four screenshots of the Solar Conqueror Prototype. Solar Conqueror Prototype Pictures II) Added a screenshot for the Blue Ram BASIC game Wack-A-Mole by WaveMakers. Wack-A-Mole (Blue Ram BASIC) by WaveMakers III) Added a screenshot for the Blue Ram BASIC game Collision Course by WaveMakers. There are also a few pictures of the AstroBASIC version of Collision Course. Compare them and see the difference that some extra RAM and added colors makes! The BRB version looks, as the newsletters used to say, "cartridge quality." Collision Course (Blue Ram BASIC) by WaveMakers September 28, 2007 I) Added eleven high resolution internal pictures of the rare Blue Ram expansion unit. These pictures are quite large; they average about 500K each. Plus, each picture is probably larger than your screen resolution, so your browser will likely automatically reduce them when each picture is done downloading. A special thanks to Al Skaggs for these high-res pictures of the inside of the Blue Ram unit. The pictures are: 1) Top view. 2) Bottom view. 3) Front view. 4) Top view of the data port. 5) Top view of the ZIF socket. This is the socket that you would plug in a keyboard, modem, printer or EPROM burner 6) Bottom view of the data port. 7) Bottom view of the RAM capacitors. 8) Bottom view of the wired RAM. 9) Bottom view of the two switches. 10) 50-Pin Card Edge Connector. This is the end that connects to the Astrocade. 11) 50-Pin SCSI-Type Connector. This is the end that connects to the Blue Ram. Blue Ram Expansion pictures II) Added pictures, links and PDFs of the multicart developed by RetroKidz into a new hardware picture section. This RetroKidz multicart is/was available on the 8-Bit Domain website. Here what was added: 1) A picture of the RetroKidz multicart. 2) Another picture of the RetroKidz multicart. 3) A PDF of an ebay auction for one of the multicarts before they were available for sale. This auction was held in May 2006. The "Buy It Now" price was $74.50 (plus $7.50 shipping). 4) A PDF of the 8-Bit Domain webpage that sells the mulicart. This is dated September 28, 2007. There is a link to the main page of 8-Bit Domain. Multicart by RetroKidz Section III) Added a new section for the S-Video modification upgrade by 8-Bit Domain. The annoucement for this product was made on Tuesday Nov 28, 2006 at 9:17 pm on the Bally Alley Yahoo Message board by the user multicart4me. Here is what was added: 1) A picture of the S-Video modification. 2) Another picture of the S-Video modification. 3) A close-up picture of the S-Video modification's main board. 4) A picture of the S-Video modification installed in the Astrocade. 5) A picture of the S-Video modification with a close-up of the resistor connection. 6) A picture of the S-Video modification with a close-up of the ground connection. 7) A PDF of the 8-Bit Domain webpage that sells the S-Video Upgrade. S-Video Modification Section IV) Added a new section for 8-Bit Domain's Classic Console Development Platform On May 19, 2007 Mike from 8-Bit Domain posted a PDF schematic of his proposed Classic Console Development Platform. A lively discussion ensued. You can read the compiled discussion and view the pdf. Classic Console Development Platform September 21, 2007 I) Added seven machine language utilties for AstroBASIC. Each of these utilities is from the Arcadian. None of these have been archived from tape; I typed each utility into AstroBASIC back in May 2007. Each one comes with extensive documentation and some comes with example program runs. I've also modified a few to make them easier to use (these are listed separately in each zip archive). The utilities are: 1) Base Conversion by Ron McCoy ARCADIAN, 2, no. 10 (September 1980): 88-89. This program converts from one number system to another. Input is in either binary, decimal, hexadecimal or octal format and then is converted into the three other number systems. 2) Convert Hex to Decimal by Ernie Sams ARCADIAN, 1, no. 5 (March 1979): 36. This program accepts a two-byte hex number such as $D5FF and converts it to a decimal number that can be input into BASIC. 3) 'Game Over' Routine by Tom Wood ARCADIAN, 1, no. 4 (February 1979): 25. This very short AstroBASIC machine language routine has been modified from its original Bally BASIC form to displays the words "GAME OVER" from the Bally ROM. 4) Hex Poker by Al Rathmell ARCADIAN, 3, no. 7 (May 1981): 78. This program inputs hexadecimal numbers into memory. There is no need to swap hexadecimal pairs because the program does it for you. 5) Memory Contents - Binary by Max Manowski ARCADIAN, 1, no. 6 (May 1979): 43. This program takes a decical number as memory location for input, then prints out the input number, followed by the contents of the memory location in AstroBASIC decical format, then the program prints out the contents of the memory location in binary format (also in AstroBASIC format). Since AstroBASIC PEEKs at locations two bytes at a time, the binary output will be 16 bits. Finally, the output will be in hex pair, reverse order (i.e. $FF00 = $00FF). 6) Memory Contents - Hex by Gary Moser ARCADIAN, 1, no. 6 (May 1979): 44. This program takes a decimal beginning memory address and an decimal ending memory address and then prints out the hex pairs. The output is NOT in AstroBASIC format- the hex pairs are in the correct order. 7) Memory Display by Chuck Thomka ARCADIAN, 1, no. 8 (July 1979): 67. This program displays input memory locations in both Hexadecimal format (with hex pairs in reverse order) and Bally BASIC decimal format. II) Changed the online versions of L&M Software's Alien Invasion, Candy Man, and Claim Jumpers. Also changed WaveMaker's Memory Lane and Music Keyboard. These small changes were made back in April-- I can't honestly remember what was changed in the text files, but the names were also brought into line with the current naming convention. September 16, 2007 I) Added a section to the 300-Baud area with four audio test programs for the 300-Baud Interface. 1) 10 PRINT 'HELLO' - By Ronaldo Goulart Very short test program: 10 PRINT "HELLO" 2) Astrocade Character Code Table - A-Z - By Mike White This is a 300-BAUD audio file of the Astrocade Character Code Table, A-Z. The table can be found on page 98 of the AstroBASIC manual. This is the progam that generated the file: 10 :PRINT ;FOR A=65TO 90;TV=A;NEXT A;:RETURN 3) Astrocade Character Code Table - Complete (0-127) - By Mike White This is a 300-BAUD audio file of the complete Astrocade Character Code Table, 0-127. 10 :PRINT ;FOR A=0TO 127;TV=A;NEXT A;:RETURN 4) Astrocade Character Code Table - Partial - By Adam Trionfo This is a 300-BAUD audio file of the partial Astrocade Character Code Table. Brief program explaination: Line 20 prints 0-9 to tape, 30 prints A-Z to tape, 40 prints the "Words" to tape and 50 lists the BASIC program to tape: 10:PRINT 20 FOR I=48TO57;TV=I;NEXT I 30 FOR I=65TO 90;TV=I;NEXT I 40 FOR I=104TO118;TV=I;NEXT I 50 LIST 60 :RETURN Four Audio Test Programs for the 300-Baud Interface. September 16, 2007 I) Added three songs by various authors in MP3 format: 1) Carnival Rapture - An original composition by Tim White. 2) Happy Days - By Peggy Gladden. 3) Rockin' Robin - By Peggy Gladden. Songs by Various Authors II) Added sound effects in MP3 format from two L&M Software games: 1) Candy Man - Sound effects, including: 1) Jumping 'Candy Man' Intro 2) Background Music 3) Background Music with Dot Eating Sound 4) 'Candy Man' Death 5) New 'Candy Man' 2) Exitor's Revenge - Sound effects, including: 1) Ship Moving and Firing Intro Screen 2) Character Intro Screen Sound Effects for L&M Software Games III) Added (in MP3 format) twenty-one songs and sound effects from the Songs cartridge by New Image: 1) Mountain King - Song 2) William Tell - Song 3) Star Wars Lasers - Sound Effect 4) National Anthem - Song 5) Doz Wer Da Days - Song 6) Crowd Chant - Sound Effect 7) Spinning Wheels - Song 8) Bike Built For Two - Song 9) Bozo's Boo Boos - Sound Effect 10) Revelie - Sound Effect 11) Taunt - Sound Effect 12) The Sting - Song 13) Wolf Whistle - Sound Effect 14) Aw Too Bad - Sound Effect 15) Explosion - Sound Effect 16) Clementine - Song 17) Three Tags - Song 18) Meadowlands - Song 19) Anchors Aweigh - Song 20) Lida Rose - Song 21) The End - Sound Effect Songs cartridge by New Image IV) Added updated source code for Balcheck. This is version 1.1 (January 21, 2006), with thouroughly commented memory test section by David Turner. It is twenty-seven pages and is 44k. Ballycheck 1.1 Source Code V) Added "Official Astrocade Scoreboard" to the article section. This is the last high-score table that the Arcadian newsletter published. ("Official Astrocade Scoreboard," ARCADIAN, 6, no. 11/12 (Oct. 31 1984): 111.) Not all of the titles are cartridges (some are tape games). This is meant to be a start toward a list of that games could be played against each other using the Yahoogroups Bally Alley message board. (September 16, 2007) Official Astrocade Scoreboard 1.0 VI) Added "Spectre Controller Docs" in text format (the PDF file was already online: Spectre Controller Docs (in text format) VII) Added an updated version of Astro Zap 2000 by George Moses. This version has MUCH better descriptions of each of the alternate programs. Paul Thacker investigated the six different versions of Astro Zap 2000 and discovered these differences: These programs are noticeably different, though sometimes in buggy ways. Four of these alternate versions are from Brett Bilbrey, who was in a Bally user group with George Moses. It's possible these are beta versions of the program from George himself. 1) Regular (non-alternate) Version - Probably the official version. It's the only version with that uses the knob to select the number of players, and isn't missing any features that other versions have. The title screen dates it 9-28-82. 2) (a1) - From Brett, and plays like the standard version (from Mike White), but it has a simpler player select screen. 3) (a2) - Nearly the same as alternate 1, but the player select screen is blue instead of black. 4) (a3) - Alternate 3 is about like alternate 2, but some of the gameplay graphics are drawn on the title screen. Also, the ships that fly in circles around your base seem to appear more often. This one was dated 7-25-81 by Adam back when he recorded it. I assume this was on the tape or something. 5) (a4) - This version has a different title screen and different sound effects. I don't think there are any circle-flying ships in this version. 6) (a5) - This version is unstable, crashing with an error in line 100 after playing for a little while. Astro Zap 2000 VIII) Fixed a typo that Paul Thacker noticed in message 2922. It said "isting" instead of "listing" in the Arcadian Program Download area (A-H) section. IX) Added CD compilation from May 2007 with one-hundred-eighty-four programs for the Astrocade that load with AstroBASIC! These can be loaded from the computer as WAV files, or made into three convenient CDs for use with a portable CD player. This isn't everything for the Astrocade, not even close, but it is a great sampler by some of the best companies: CD 1 - Music by George Moses CD 2 - WaveMakers and Mike Peace CD 3 - Esoterica Ltd., George Moses (non-music), L&M Software, New Image and The Tiny Arcade. For a list of all of the programs read this Download Size: 3.28 MB. 184 Astrocade Program Compilation September 14, 2007 I) Added the Beatles Greatest Hits tape by George Moses in MP3 format: 1 - She Loves You 2 - A Hard Day's Night 3 - Let It Be 4 - Yesterday 5 - Can't Buy Me Love 6 - I Feel Fine 7 - Paperback Writer 8 - Eight Days A Week Beatles Greatest Hits (MP3 Format) II) Added screen captures of each of the songs from the Beatles Greatest Hits tape by George Moses. These show the "garbage" on the screen which is actually the notes for the song. In addition to the screen shots of the eight songs, there is one more which is of the last message that appears on the screen after the tape ends. The captured screens are: 1 - She Loves You 2 - A Hard Day's Night 3 - Let It Be 4 - Yesterday 5 - Can't Buy Me Love 6 - I Feel Fine 7 - Paperback Writer 8 - Eight Days A Week 9 - Last Song, Rewind Tape Beatles Greatest Hits (Screenshots) III) Added the Beatles Greatest Hits tape by George Moses to the 2000-Baud program download area. This one file plays eight songs in a row; each song loads right after the other automatically. The last song, Eight Days A Week, repeats endlessly. The songs included are: 1 - She Loves You 2 - A Hard Day's Night 3 - Let It Be 4 - Yesterday 5 - Can't Buy Me Love 6 - I Feel Fine 7 - Paperback Writer 8 - Eight Days A Week Beatles Greatest Hits (2000-Baud Program File). IV) Added She Loves You by George Moses to the 2000-Baud program download area. This song is included in the Beatles Greatest Hits, but this version is from Astro-Bugs Club Tape #4. There is also a slight difference; unlike the version included with the Beatles Greatest Hits, this version lets you replay the song at the end. She Loves You V) Removed "She Loves You" and "Yesterday" from the George Moses Miscellaneous MP3 area. These are redundant now that the complete Beatles Greatest Hits is available. VI) Added music from two diffent Astrocade cartridges: 1) Music from the Bally Professional Arcade Demo cartridge. 2) Music from the Bally BASIC Demo cartridge. Music from Astrocade Cartridges September 13, 2007 I) Added a sound effect from MazeMaker II by Mike Peace. This is a ten second recording of a sound loop. It is from page 91 of the AstroBASIC manual. Doesn't this sound like the theme music from the movie Blade Runner? MazeMaker II Sound Effect September 12, 2007 I) Added three songs and one set of eight sound effects by WaveMakers: 1) Chopsticks - From Music Keyboard. 2) Man on the Flying Trapeze, The - From Music Composer. 3) Oh Susanna - From Music Composer. 4) Sound Effects - From Sound Effects. Eight different sounds: Cop Car, Gun, Machine Gun, Go to Light Speed, Boings, Chimes, Westminster Chimes, and Explosion. WaveMakers Songs and Sound Effects II) Added eight songs from the Bally BASIC manual: 1) Bagpipes 2) Golden Slippers 3) I've Been Working on the Railroad 4) March 5) Marine's Hymn 6) Melody 7) Music Medley 8) Stars and Stripes Forever Music from Bally BASIC Manual September 11, 2007 I) Fixed comments about "She Love You" on the George Moses Misc. music page. The version online is not from 2003- the comments are from 2003. September 10, 2007 I) Added George Moses' Tape #1: "Bach's 15 Two-Part Inventions" in MP3 format: 1) Two-Part Invention #01 2) Two-Part Invention #02 3) Two-Part Invention #03 4) Two-Part Invention #04 5) Two-Part Invention #05 6) Two-Part Invention #06 7) Two-Part Invention #07 8) Two-Part Invention #08 9) Two-Part Invention #09 10) Two-Part Invention #10 11) Two-Part Invention #11 12) Two-Part Invention #12 13) Two-Part Invention #13 14) Two-Part Invention #14 15) Two-Part Invention #15 Bach's 15 Two-Part Inventions II) Added George Moses' Tape #2: "27 Christmas Carols" in MP3 format: 1 - Oh Christmas Tree (Oh Tannenbaum) 2 - Silent Night, Holy Night 3 - Deck the Hall 4 - Away in a Manger 5 - Here We Come A-Wassailing 6 - Jolly Old Saint Nicholas 7 - Up on the Rooftop 8 - Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring 9 - We Three Kings of Orient Are 10 - O Come, All Ye Faithful 11 - Lullaby, Thou Little Tiny Child 12 - Joy to the World 13 - What Child is This (Greensleeves) 14 - The First Noel 15 - Hark the Harald Angels Sing 16 - Angels We Have Heard On High 17 - O Come, O Come Immanuel 18 - Good King Wenceslas 19 - March of the Toys 20 - It Came Upon A Midnight Clear 21 - Toyland 22 - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.mp3 23 - Jingle Bells 24 - O Little Town of Bethlehem 25 - We Wish You a Merry Christmas 26 - Prepare Thyself, Zion 27 - Auld Lang Syne 27 Christmas Carols III) Added George Moses' Tape #3: "Scott Joplin Ragtime Classics" in MP3 format: 1 - The Easy Winners 2 - Crush Collision 3 - The Entertainer 4 - Maple Leaf Rag 5 - Solace 6 - The Chrysanthemum 7 - Antoinette 8 - The Cascades 9 - Sensations.mp3 10 - The Sycamore 11 - A Breeze from Alabama 12 - Elite Syncopations 13 - Peachtree Rag 14 - The Strenuous Life Scott Joplin Ragtime Classics IV) Added George Moses' Tape #5: "Sinfonia to Cantata 29" by Bach in MP3 format: Note that this tape only has one song. Also, this digitized version includes parts one and two of Sinfonia to Cantata 29 as one file. The two separate parts have been seamlessly joined (digitally); the silence between the songs (as when played on the Astrocade) has been completely eliminated. 1 - Sinfonia to Cantata 29 Sinfonia to Cantata 29 by Bach V) Added miscellaneous music by George Moses in MP3 format. The six songs added are: Allemande (Part 1) - Bach Allemande (Part 2) - Bach Over the Rainbow - [No longer a WAV file] Remember When You Were a Kid? [No longer a WAV file. Previously named "Red Pop Music"] She Loves You - The Beatles Yesterday - The Beatles George Moses - Miscellaneous Music by Bach September 3, 2007 I) Added the demo of the game Nautilus (1982) by L&M Software. I've included it with the Nautilus game (which was already online): Nautilus (with Demo) II) Added The Collatz Conjecture (Aug. 1984) by Jim Dunson. This program is a mathmatical demonstration. From the game loading screen: "About 30 years ago [1937] a professor named Collatz created this thought provoker. Start with any whole number. If it is odd, triple it +1. If it is even, take half. Repeat. The final result will always be one. Why is that? After all, the odd number is tripled + 1. This more than compensates for the halves???" The Collatz Conjecture III) Added Quadra - Marathon Tape (June 1983) by Mike White. This is the full 2000-Baud version of Mike White's epic. One side is the marathon where you try to beat all of thegames. The other side has practice programs. Includes the following progams: Marathon Selector Quadrant 1 (Smash-Up) Quadrant 2 (Laser & Slide) Quadrant 3 (U.F.O. Attack) Quadrant 4 (Safe Cracker) Practice programs: Ping Smashup Laser Blaster Landslide! Safe Cracker U.F.O. Attack Quadra - Marathon Tape IV) Added Michigan Astro-bugs Tape II. This is the complete tape working as intended; you choose a game from the menu and it will load automatically. This version preserves the original distribution process of the tape, but it is slow to load a game. For convenience it is recommended to load each program serarately (the programs can be found elsewhere). The eight programs that are included are: Side 1: ------- Starbase I - By Creg Miejski Wack-A-Mole - Wavemakers Happy Days (Music) - Norman Gimbel & Charles Fox (Peggy Gladden) Rockin' Robin (Music) - Bobby Day (Peggy Gladden) Side 2 ------ Snare A Bear - Stanley Kendall W&W Racetrack - W&W Software Sales Memory Lane - Wavemakers Color Patterns - Stanley Kendall Michigan Astro-bugs Tape II V) Updated Alien 2000 (1984). This game is a program from the Arcadian newsletter programmed by Henry Sopko. Two versions were online, and were byte-for-byte identical. One was attributed to L&M Software (who never made any such progam). I removed the old version and updated the naming convention of the correct version. Alien 2000 VI) Added Aldo's Trilogy (1987-1991) by Dave and Benjamin Ibach. This game is for the PC running DOS. These games do not run on the Astrocade. These games will run well under Windows when using a program called DOSBox (an emulator, of sorts). The games included are: Aldo's Adventure, Aldo Again, and Aldo's Assault. While these games won't run on the Astrocade, they do give a continued history of what Dave Ibach did (with his son) after he moved on from the Astrocade. The main character in this series of one-screen platform games looks suspiciously like someone named...Mario. Give these games a try-- you'll like 'em. Aldo Trilogy for the PC with DOS VII) Added RAM Test pdf. This source code is from Z80 Assembly Language Subroutines by Lance A. Leventhal and Winthrop Saville. Since I've had a few requests for this, I thought that it would be a good idea to post it for convenience. RAM Test (PDF) VIII) Added What-Zit (1981) by L&M Software. This game is very-much like the board game Mastermind-- except you don't need a second player, and the entire game can be played with the hand controller. What-Zit IX) Added Darts (1981) by Bill Mead. This program allows up to four players to play a very simple game of darts. Each player uses a different hand controller. This game has simple graphics and sound. They get the job done; nothing more. When I say get the job done, that's exactly what I mean. For, who has ever heard of a SQUARE dart board? Darts by Bill Mead X) Added Darts (1982) by Al Roginsky. This game is graphically impressive for an AstroBASIC game that doesn't even use machine language graphics. It's amazing how much like a dart these characters look like: "-=<" Nice effects and worth a look for a simple game. This game runs circles around the other AstroBASIC game also called "Darts" by Bill Mead. Darts by Al Roginsky XI) Added Stategic Air Command (1981) by Bob Weber and George Moses. This game is sort of like a SUPER simple Missile Command. Press the trigger to fire the missiles while holding left/right to steer them. Read the included text file for quite a few additional comments about this game lifted from the Yahoo message group. Stategic Air Command September 2, 2007 I) Added MPEG videos of the four programs that are in the Astrocade's internal ROM: 1. Calculator - 49 seconds, 12.1MB 2. Checkmate - 26 seconds, 6.56MB 3. Gunfight - 57 seconds, 14.1MB 4. Scribbling - 29 seconds, 7.18MB These videos are so large that if you just click the picture to watch the video it may not work properly. It is highly recommended that you click the picture and then save the video to your hard drive. (In Internet Explorer: Right Click on the picture and then choose 'Save Target As') Four Videos II) After reviewing the 300-BAUD area of the website, I have noticed that several programs are online, but are not reachable from any web pages. Also, some of the larger collections of 300-BAUD programs have been broken up into smaller, more usable programs (i.e. rather than downloading a whole "tape," with several programs on it, you can now download just the files that you want). For this reason I have deleted the following program collections that were online (but not reachable from any web pages): 1. Mike's Tape 2 300 Baud (zip) - 43MB 2. L&M 300 Baud Collection (zip) - 108MB I have been very careful not to delete programs that are not online someplace else (I did a byte-for-byte comparison). In all, I shaved off about 150MB of online storage. If you didn't know this already... 300-BAUD programs take up a HUGE portion of the website. III) Added the 300-BAUD Bally BASIC Sampler by Bally (1978) to the miscellaneous 300- Baud program area. It contains the following programs on a two-sided tape: Side 1: 1. Electric Doily (Graphics) 2. Line Graph 3. Monthly Records (Not Usable) 4. Electronic Music 5. Number Match (Guessing Game) Side 2: 1. Lunar Lander 2. Gravity Game 3. Newtonia '500' (Strange Doodling Program) The original tape has markers for 'Monthly Records' to save its records at/into. As this is useless when piping tape audio from the computer, they were removed from the recordings to reduce size. This makes 'Monthly Recordings' potentially unusable even if restored to a cassette tape. (9MB Uncompressed, 6MB compressed). Note: This collection was already online, but it seems that it has not been reachable for quite some time from any web pages. This has been fixed. Also, the program names have been brought into line with the current naming convention on Ballyalley.com. 300-BAUD Bally BASIC Sampler IV) Added "Mike's 300-Baud Demo Tape." This collection was put together by Michael White in 2004 to show some of the ways that programs can be loaded automatically with 300-BAUD BASIC using the much more flexable 300-BAUD tape interface. Includes extensive comments by Michael White. The programs on this tape include (in alphabetical order, but NOT in order of appearance): 1) Bingo Caller 2) Bowling 3) Fireworks 4) Hangman 5) Landslide 6) Laser Blaster 7) Ping 8) Put-Put Golf 9) Quadra Practice Programs 10) Safe Cracker 11) Smash Up 12) Space Mission (Part I) 13) Space Mission (Part II) 14) The Tin Pants Gang 15) U.F.O. Attack Like the 300-Baud BASIC Sampler, this collection was already online, but it seems that it has not been reachable for quite some time from any web pages. This has been fixed. Also, the program names have been brought into line with the current naming convention on Ballyalley.com. Mike's 300-Baud Demo Tape May 3, 2007 I) Updated the Bally/Astrocade FAQ to version 3.24. The only change in this update is a fix to the Z80 clock speed: 3.579 MHz to the proper speed of 1.789 MHz. For more information about how this fix came about (and was realized), see the Astrocade Message board thread titled "Z80 clock speed." More specifically, read Frank Palazzolo's reply in message number 3912 and Tony Miller's reply in message number 3913. II) Added Horserace, by Paul Slezak, to the Arcadian section of the 2000 Baud area. Horserace has a strange history on Ballyalley.com. The program was originally thought to be by L&M Software and was named "Arlingdung Park." Paul Thacker pointed out on the Bally Alley message board (thread "Arlingdung Park", number 3792) that this game was misnamed. I loaded the game onto an Astrocade, compared the listing in the Arcadian and found it to be Horserace (with a few unnoticeable programming differences). Since this program was written for Bally BASIC, perhaps these small differences in the code are fixes so that the game plays properly in AstroBASIC. I saved the game with a new title screen that lists the program's name and the author. Horserace by Paul Slezak April 6, 2007 I) Added a listing of the original playing order for the tape, 27 Christmas Carols. '27 Christmas Carols' by George Moses Co. II) Added some corrections to the WaveMakers 300-BAUD page: 1. Flying Ace - "Doesn't work correctly. Unplayable in current condition." 2. WaveMakers Fortune Teller - "Doesn't work correctly. Will give one fortune before crashing." 3. Removed some comments at the top of the page that said that no Master Tapes are available. WaveMakers 300-baud Download Area III) Changed the miscellaneous Astrocade audio section so that now there is a WaveMakers and a George Moses section. Miscellaneous Astrocade Audio IV) Replaced a WaveMakers flyer/catalog with one of higher quality. The file that Paul gave to me to work with was originally 45MB. I got the file down to 3.5MB-- which replaces the file that was already online (and was about 9.5MB). WaveMakers Catalog V) Added cassette pictures of "Secrets of Pellucitor I and II." You can view them on this page: L&M's Cassettes VI) Added an additional four versions of Astro Zap 2000 (from Brett Bilbrey's collection). Also combined the different versions of "Buggin' B.C." and renamed the files to the TOSEC standard. George Moses Game Area April 5, 2007 I) Created a new section to hold miscellaneous Astrocade audio (non-progam) files. Two files were added today: 1. Gate Excape, The [Intro] - A spoken introduction by Mike Peace to the WaveMakers game. WAV format. 214K. 2. Invasion Force [Intro] - Three spoken introductions by Mike Peace to the WaveMakers game. WAV format. 1MB. Miscellaneous Astrocade Audio II) Added fourteen songs to the George Moses Co. "27 Christmas Carols" area. This area is now complete; all twenty-seven Christmas songs are available for download! 1. Angels We Have Heard On High 2. Auld Lang Syne 3. First Noel, The 4. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 5. Good King Wenceslas 6. Hark the Herald Angels Sing 7. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear 8. Jingle Bells 9. March of the Toys 10. O Come, O Come Immanuel 11. O Little Town of Bethlehem 12. Prepare Thyself Zion 13. Toyland 14. We Wish You a Merry Christmas '27 Christmas Carols' by George Moses Co. March 22, 2007 I) The WaveMakers, 300-BAUD, download area has been created (there were no previous WaveMaker 300-BAUD programs online). Paul Thacker was able to contact Mike Peace (the programmer behind WaveMakers). Mike sent Paul the master tapes that he used to create all of the WaveMakers tapes. From these tapes, Paul was able to remaster most of the Wavemakers titles. Paul used the TOSEC naming convention to name all of the newly archived files. See the Wavemakers, 300-baud download area for more informtion. The files that have been uploaded are: 1. Backgammon 2. Clue 3. Flying Ace 4. Guitar Course 5. Horse Race 6. Invasion Force 7. Lookout For the Bull! I & II 8. Max (Robot From Space) 9. Maze Race, Obstacle Course 10. Mazemaker I & II 11. Mouse In The Hat 12. Music Composer 13. Obstacle Course Tournament 14. Pack-Rat I & II 15. Perversion 16. Sideswipe 17. Slot Machine 18. Space Chase 19. Speed Math, Note Match 20. WaveMakers Fortune Teller 21. Whiz Quiz- Common Knowledge 22. Yahtzee WaveMakers 300-baud Download Area March 21, 2007 I) Made numerous small fixes to the WaveMakers page as noted by Paul Thacker. For a complete run down of these fixes, you can read message #3709 on the Bally Alley message board: Bally Alley Message Board II) I've updated the Z80 documentation area. Two documents have been updated with newer versions, plus I've added nine other documents (some of these are complete books!). I didn't scan any of this myself; I found it all on the Internet at one place or another over the last few weeks. I am finally putting it all into one place as I think most or all of it would be useful to anyone trying to understand the Astrocade. Notice that one of the books is the complete "Programming the Z-80, 3rd Edition" by Rodnay Zaks. This book has come up quite a few times on the Bally Alley Message Boards as probably the best book on learning how to program the Z80. The Two Pieces of Documention That Has Been Updated Are: 1) "Undocumented Z80 Documented," The by Sean Young. Documents all of the undocumented Z80 commands. Written by an emulator author. 51 Pages, 265K, PDF. 2) "ZINT Z80 Interpreter Assembler Handbook" by James Moxham. Introduction to the Z80 Instruction Set based on ZINT (the Z80 Interpreter). This has Z80 opcodes with detailed usage. 41 Pages, 78K, Text. The Nine Pieces of Documention and Books that Have Been Added Are: 3) "ASM83 Guru - TI-83 ASM Tutorials" by James Matthews. ASMGuru is your one-stop file to learning 83 ASM! This help file should be just about all you need to learn ASM proficiently (and time, of course), as I've written over 50 tutorials, and included a large reference section for you to look at. Unknown number of pages, 226K, Windows Help File (Zipped). 4) "Introduction to Z80 Assembler" by James Hollidge. This document will give an introduction to all aspects of the Z80 assuming no knowledge of programming. 11 Pages, 30K, Text. 5) "Learn TI-83 Plus Assembly In 28 Days v2.0" by Sean McLaughlin. This guide is intended so people who have little or no experience in assembly can learn how to make calculator programs. While this is obviously intended for TI-83 calculator users, other Z80 users will probably get some use out of it as well. HTML and Windows Help File. Unknown Number of Pages, 295K (Help File) and 400K (HTML), 6) "Programming the Z-80, 3rd Edition" by Rodnay Zaks. This is the complete, highly acclaimed, book. Many programmers say that this was the book that they learned to program the Z80. If you're going to read ANYTHING on this page, then read this book. 630 Pages, 13.3MB, PDF 7) "Z80 Assembly Language Programming" by Lance A Leventhal. This is just one chapter on the book. It is chapter 3 - The Z80 Assembly Language Instruction Set. Worth a look; pick up the entire book if you can get your hands on it. 171 Pages, 4.95MB, PDF. 8) "Z80 Assembly Language Subroutines" by Lance A Leventhal. This is the complete book. 512 Pages, 25.3MB, PDF. 9) "Z80 Assembly Optimization Tricks" by Adam Ziemba and Leif Astrand. In hopes of getting Z80 Assembly programmers to write more efficient programs, this list of optimization tricks has been comprised. It is suggested that you memorize these tricks so that you can become quick and adept at writing efficient assembly programs. 15 Pages, 40K, HTML (Zipped). 10) "Z80 Microcomputer System" by Zilog. Databook for the Z80 and Z80A. This is very hardware oriented. There are many diagrams and timing diagrams. This book was printed by SGS, but I'm pretty sure this is actually by Zilog. 86 Pages, 8.28MB, PDF. 11) "Zilog Z80 Assembly Code Optimization" by Unknown TI-Calculators Coder. Programs can be made to run substantially faster by optimizing their code. This document gives some pointers on how to do that. 3 Pages, 8K, Text. You can find all of this documentation here: Z80 Machine Language Documentation March 20, 2007 I) The WaveMakers, 2000-BAUD, download area has been reworked. Paul Thacker was able to contact Mike Peace (the programmer behind WaveMakers). Mike sent Paul the master tapes that he used to create all of the WaveMakers tapes. From these tapes, Paul was able to remaster most of the Wavemakers titles. Paul used the TOSEC naming convention to name all of the newly archived files (I went back and renamed the previously archived files). All of the previously released programs have been combined with the newly archived material. See the Wavemakers, 2000-baud download area for more informtion. The files that have been uploaded are (these replaced all of the older archived material): 1. Backgammon 2. Brick 'n the Wall 3. Castle of Horror 4. Character Analysis 5. Chicago Loop 6. Clue 7. Collision Course 8. Dungeons of Dracula 9. Flying Ace 10. Four Famous Freebies 11. Game Selector I 12. Game Selector I - Space Chase 13. Game Selector II 14. Gate Escape, The 15. Gong the Kong 16. Guitar Course 17. Horse Race I and II 18. Invasion Force 19. L.T. (Little Terrestrial) 20. Lookout for the Bull! I & II 21. Max (Robot From Space) 22. Maze Race, Obstacle Course 23. Mazemaker I & II 24. Memory Lane 25. Monkey Jump 26. Mouse in the Hat 27. Music Composer 28. Music Keyboard 29. Obstacle Course Tournament 30. Outpost 19 31. Pack-Rat I & II 32. Perspectives 33. Perversion 34. QB-2B 35. Sideswipe 36. Slot Machine I & II 37. Sound Effects 38. Sound Port Study 39. Space Chase 40. Speed Math, Note Match 41. Tomb Pirates 42. Wack-A-Mole 43. Wavemakers Fortune Teller 44. Whiz Quiz 45. Yahtzee WaveMakers 2000-baud Download Area II) Paul Thacker wrote an excellent article on how the Wavemakers update came about. Read the article here: "How the Wavemakers "Masters" Update Come About" by Paul Thacker February 10, 2007 I) Updated the Astrocade Manual (Cartridge Area) with suggestions that Paul Thacker suggested: 1. Seawolf/Missile, Space Invaders, Spell 'N Score/Crosswords/ Lettermatch and Speed Math/Bingo Math each has a note next to it that says, "Poor quality, B&W, early 1980-era photocopy used for source." 2. Fixed the bad link for Space Fortress. 3. Rotated the second page of the non-alternate version of Tornado Baseball/Tennis/Handball/Hockey so that it is readable without tilting your head sideways. 4. Made a note next to the Quadra manual that says, "This is the documentation for the tape version of the software-- it is not BASICart specific. This documentation doesn't talk at all about the toggle-switches located on the cartridge." 5. Made a note next to the top of the page that says, ""I will post your manuals here if you send them to me. I prefer scans of original manuals at 300-DPI (color front and back with the inside pages scanned in B&W-- unless the inside pages have color on them too). If you can't scan the manual yourself, then I can scan it for you and then send it back to you. Finally, if you can't scan the manual in and you prefer not to send it to me, then sending me a text file of the manual is fine too." 6. I indented the start of the manuals links after each cartridge title to make the page a little easier to read. 7. Changed yesterday's entry to be 2007, not 2006. Astrocade Manuals (Cartridge Area) II) Added three pictures of Astrocade cartridges (thanks to Paul Thacker): These pictures are 300-DPI rather than 100-DPI, so they take longer to downloaded, but the quality is much better. 1. Bally BASIC Demo (with Chain) 2. Bally Demo 3. DNA Final Test (Bench) Cartridge Picture Area III) Added four manuals to the Astrocade Manual Cartridge Area: Thanks to Paul Thacker for sending these manuals to me. 1) 280 ZZZap / Dodgem - Manual by Bally. 2) Blackjack - Manual by Astrovision. 3) Football - Manual by Astrovision. 4) Football - Yellow Team Offense Playbook Astrocade Manuals (Cartridge Area) February 9, 2007 I) Astrocade Manual (Cartridge Area) Revision: I've revised the entire Astrocade Manual (Cartridge Area). It has been broken into three different parts: Released Cartridges, BASICarts and Prototypes / Unreleased Cartridges/ No Official Release. You can check out the updated section here: Astrocade Manuals (Cartridge Area) II) Added eight manuals to the Astrocade Manual (Cartridge Area): 1) Amazing Maze / Tic-Tac-Toe - Prototype Manual by Astrovision. (Blank pages inside) 2) Astrobattle - Manual by Astrovision. 3) Galactic Invasion - Manual by Astrovision. 4) Incredible Wizard, The - Manual by Astrocade. 5) Music Maker I - Prototype Manual by Astrovision. (Blank pages inside) 6) Seawolf / Missile - Manual by Astrovision. 7) Star Battle - Manual by Astrovision. 8) Tornado Baseball / Tennis / Handball / Hockey - Manual by Bally (Alternate Scan). III) "Inside the Box" Area Revision: I've revised the entire "Inside the Box" area. The table now has only one column. It makes reading a little easier, and it also cuts down on repetition of data. "Inside the Box" Area IV) Added the Astrovision version of the Bally Professional Arcade Owner's Manual: Bally Professional Arcade Owner's Manual - Astrovision Version V) Added Blue Ram 32K Add-On Schematic: This one page schematic was designed by Ken Lill in October 2006. This is a highly readable PDF that Ken uploaded to the Bally Alley Discussion Group on January 24, 2007. A few notes directly from Ken: "This is all on one page, except the different configurations for different SRAM chips. The page already posted shows memory configurations, but it doesn't show hoe the ~CE connection is connected when multiole chips are commected (E.I.) 8K x8, 16K x 1, etc." Thanks Ken! Blue Ram 32K Add-On Schematic - By Ken Lill VI) Added an alternative version of "Mass Impact of Videogame Technology" This book is by Thomas A. Defanti. I found this version online someplace; it might be a little easier to read than the version that is currently online already: Mass Impact of Videogame Technology - Alternate Version VII) Added Viper board schematics: These schematics were created by Lance F. Squire's father. Lance uploaded these to the Bally Alley Discussion group on January 28, 2007. There are five JPG images: Viper Board Schematics December 26, 2006 I) The 300dpi version of the Astrocade Game Catalog that I added yesterday was actually twice as long as it needed to be; it was sixty-eight pages instead of thirty-four pages. After fixing the file, the size of the pdf still remains the same: 8MB. If you downloaded the file yesterday, then download this fixed version: Astrocade Game Catalog (300dpi) - 8MB December 25, 2006 I) Added an Astrocade Game Catalog. This is a color catalog of the cartridges available for the Bally Astrocade. Check out the ads for the unreleased cartridges: Bowling, Creative Crayon, Conan the Barbarian, Music Maker, and Soccer! This catalog is available in two versions: 300dpi (8MB) and 150dpi(3.2MB). The twenty-eight games included in the catalog are: Amazing Maze / Tic-Tac-Toe Artillery Duel Astro Battle Astrocade Pinball Biorhythm Blackjack / Poker / Acey-Deucey Bowling *(Unreleased)* Brickyard / Clowns Conan the Barbarian(Unreleased) Cosmic Raiders Creative Crayon *(Unreleased)* Dog Patch Football Galactic Invasion Grand Prix / Demolition Derby Incredible Wizard, The Letter Match / Spell 'N Score / Crosswords Music Maker *(Unreleased)* Pirate's Chase Red Baron / Panzer Attack Seawolf / Missile Soccer *(Unreleased)* Solar Conqueror Space Fortress Speed Match / Bingo Match Star Battle Tornado Baseball / Tennis / Handball / Hockey ZZZap / Dodgem Astrocade Game Catalog (150dpi) - 3.2MB Astrocade Game Catalog (300dpi) - 8MB October 17, 2006 I) Added Bally Hi-Res Schematics. These are the schematics created by John Perkins to make his hi-res version of the Astrocade. I have been told that these are not 100% complete. Note: Unlike most files here on Ballyalley.com, this document is not a pdf file; it is a 310K grayscale TIFF file. Bally Hi-Res Schematics II) Arranged the Perkins area so that it is more readable and functional. Also, this area has been alphabetized (finally!). Perkins Engineering Area September 23, 2006 I) Added "Google Search of Bally Alley" button to the bottom of the index page. Try it out; it works pretty good. Don't expect it to find everything that you're looking for, but it sure beats going through page after page when you know that you've seen something before. Also, just because you didn't find it in the search doesn't mean that what you're looking for isn't on the website... index.html August 20, 2006 I) Updated the "Bally-Astrocade Game Cartridge and Hardware FAQ" with information that Paul Thacker noted. The FAQ is now at version 1.56. 1. Removed some smart quotes from the FAQ and replaced them with regular quotation marks. 2. Added some additional comments to "I.C.B.M. Attack" that Paul Thacker noted after he reviewed version 1.54 of the FAQ. 3. Added that "Color BASIC" does exist and that it is/was owned by Larry Anderson. 4. Added to "Desert Fox/Drag Race" that Brett Bilbrey saw a prototype of the game. 5. Added "Munchie" to the Prototype section. I was going to add it under "Pac-Man," but there is enough information here to give the game its own section. Bally-Astrocade Game Cartridge and Hardware FAQ II) Updated the Box Picture Area. All of the pictures of boxes had been lumped into one place, now they are separated into categories: 1. Esoterica Ltd. 2. L&M Software - One New Picture: 1) Candy Man 3. Misc. Boxes 4. Spectrecade 5. WaveMakers - Two New Pictures: 1) Lookout For the Bull (Box and Tape) 2) Seven WaveMakers Boxes Astrocade Box Picture Area III) Added additional cassette pictures: 1. Esoterica Ltd. Cassettes: 1) Mini Golf 2) Star Trek 2. Misc. Cassettes: 1) Bally Basic Program Sampler - Side A 2) Bally Basic Program Sampler - Side B August 19, 2006 I) Updated the "Bally-Astrocade Game Cartridge and Hardware FAQ" with information that Lance Squire noted. The FAQ is now at version 1.55. The update that was made is: 1. Added the game "Grand Prix / Demolition Derby" to the Released Cartridges. Bally-Astrocade Game Cartridge and Hardware FAQ II) Added Astro Battle picture to the cartridge picture page (thanks Lance!). Astro Battle cartridge picture III) Fixed the links page: 1. Added Link: Digibarn Computer Museum - BPA Pics 2. Fixed Links: Bally FAQ, Patent 4301503, Patent 4475172, and TI-ASM Help File 3. Removed Links: Astrocade Joysticks for $10, Frank's Site, Screenshots and Virtual Arcade. Astrocade Links August 18, 2006 I) Updated the "Bally-Astrocade Game Cartridge and Hardware FAQ" with information that Paul Thacker brought up in April 2006 on the Astrocade Discussion group. The FAQ is now at version 1.54. The updates that were made are: 1. Added "Sea Wolf/Bombardier" and "Seawolf/Missile" to the release cartridge section. I don't know how this was overlooked in the first place. 2. Added additional information about the rumored game "Escape." 3. Added additional information about the rumored game "Space Race." 4. Added "Home bookkeeping, Menu Planning, Business, and the Arts" to the rumored section. 5. Added additional information about the rumored game "Astrology." 6. Added additional information about the rumored game "Backgammon." 7. Added additional information about the rumored game "Desert Fox / Drag Race ." 8. Added "Word Hunt / Letter Match / Scramble" to the rumored section. 9. Added "Maneuvers" to the rumored section. 10. Added additional information about the rumored game "Robby Roto." 11. Added additional information about the game "I.C.B.M. Attack." Bally-Astrocade Game Cartridge and Hardware FAQ August 13, 2006 I) Added comments and short instructions by Lance Squire to Esoterica Ltd.'s Mini Golf. I put the comments on the download page with all of the other Esoterica games, plus I added them to the game download. Mini Golf August 12, 2006 I) Added Hangman and Home Budget Keeper by Esoterica Ltd. (and George Moses). The archive of all Esoterica material is now totally complete! Thanks to Paul Thacker for spotting this item on Ebay, purchasing it and then archiving it. 1. Hangman Game 2. Home Budget Keeper 3. Instructions 4. Cassette picture 5. Box Picture August 1, 2006 I) It was pointed out that the WAV that I uploaded yesterday isn't just called "Red." It is called "Red Pop Music." Fixed. Frank Palazzolo had some additional comments to make, which I added to the webpage and to the text file included with the zip. "Red Pop Music" WAV file II) When I uploaded Flying Witch Demo yesterday I stated that it runs under Bally BASIC. That is incorrect; it is written for AstroBASIC. You can check it out in the Machine Language, Homebrew Area: Machine Language, Homebrew Area III) Added a FAQ called "Arcadian Mailing Lists" by Paul Thacker. It is a short FAQ with two spreadsheet files with cumulative statistics about Arcadian subscribers. It's more interesting than you think. Arcadian Mailing Lists FAQ July 31, 2006 I) Added two WAV recordings of songs that George Moses transcribed: 1) Red - Lance's comments: This is called "Red" in the tape menu and displayed on the screen while it played, "Remember when you were a kid." I was impressed with the quality of this song, almost no bent notes. Recorded March 18, 2003. 2) She Loves You - Lance's comments: I was concerned that this file was bad as garbage started showing up on the screen partly through the load. Only it was consistent and there was clear centered text below it. I wondered... was that a block of ML code in the center of the screen? Then to my amazement the classic Beatles song She Loves You (Ya Ya Ya) started playing... with perfect 1/16 notes! Recorded March 18, 2003. You can download both of the programs here: George Moses WAV Recording Area II) Reworded a few descriptions on the BASIC page: BASIC Program Area III) Added a very short description to the Peek & Poke manuals on the Machine Language page: Machine Language, Documents Area IV) Deleted the online Multicart dipswitch settings (they were outdated). I replaced them with the ones that were on the Bally Alley Discussion Group. This zipped download includes two Word Documents and two PDF documents; use the pdf documents, not the Word documents (which are included in case any changes need to be made). Each document is the same information sorted into two different ways: alphabetically and alphabetically sorted by extra RAM needed or not. Multicart Area V) Uploaded three screenshots of the cartridge "Conan the Barbarian" Conan the Barbarian, Screenshots VI) Uploaded screenshot of the BASIC program "American Flag" by By Barry Ellerson (Arcadian Vol.6 PG.96). Simplified by Mike White. American Flag, Screenshot VII) "Flying Witch-- not THE Demo" Changed the "Critter" pattern in Lance Squire's "ProgramTests.asm" into the "Flying Witch" pattern (taken from the General Video Assembler Sample Program 2.) No actual code was changed; just the graphic of the "Critter." Like most programs in this section, this will run as a cartridge under an emulator. (Feb 17, 2006). Machine Language, Homebrew Page VIII) "Flying Witch Demo" By General Video From the General Video Assembler Documentation; (Appendix G). This is General Video Assembler Sample Program 2, sometimes referred to as the Flying Witch Demo. This program does NOT run as a cartridge, isn't mean't to; it runs under AstroBASIC (with a RAM expansion). This program can be assembled fine using ZMac, but there is no way to run it unless you assemble it under the General Video Assembler. It is here for learning purposes only. Written in 1982. Machine Language, Homebrew Page IX) Moved all current miscellaneous pictures from the screenshots/cartridge/misc area to a new truly miscellaneous picture area. Most of the pictures that were there had grown beyond screenshots, so a new area was created to hold them. Miscellaneous Picture Area X) Moved the Smurf Mockup by Kurt Woloch and the cleaned-up Smurf title screen by Lance Squire to the new miscellaneous picture area. The Smurf Mockup is a zipped file with a text document that includes part of the discussion that went on at Yahoogroups after Kurt uploaded the picture back in February 2006. Miscellaneous Picture Area July 30, 2006 I) Slightly changed and recreated the pdf for Bally Vector Tutotial by Lance Squire: Bally Vector Tutotial II) Added moved four FAQs from the Bally Alley Discussion group file archive to Ballyalley.com: 1. Arcadian Subscriber Statistics 10-29-82 - By Paul Thacker This is a spreadsheet file with cumulative statistics about Arcadian subscribers, from October 29, 1982. 2. Astrocade BIOS Comparision FAQ - By Adam Trionfo This is a comparison of the two Astrocade BIOS that have been dumped so far. These two ROM BIOS have nicknames: 3159 ROM and White ROM. There are forty-one bytes that are different between the two. They are listed here with brief comments followed by excerpts from the 3159 ROM Listing to give greater detail. 3. Bally Technical Info (Cartridge Port) - By Ward Shrake, with Jay Tilton This text is a collection of technical info that may be useful to people either dumping ROM carts or trying to make a Bally Astrocade software emulation system. It only discusses cartridge port pinouts and the like; it does not attempt to go any deeper into the Bally hardware than that. 4. List of Astrocade and Arcadia 2001 Multicart Owners - By Ward Shrake This is the final listing of the original owners of the hand-made multicarts which Ward Shrake once sold, for two 1980's video game systems: the Bally Astrocade and the Emerson Arcadia. Neither "production run" went over 50 total assembled cartridges. What is out there now, is all that will ever be made by Ward. (August 17, 2005) The four FAQs can be downloaded here: Astrocade FAQ Area III) Rearranged the Astrocade FAQ area by adding descriptions to every FAQ that was already online. I also made the area a little easier to read and navigate: Astrocade FAQ Area IV) Made some small typographical fixes to the descriptions in the cartridge image area: Cartridge Image Area July 29, 2006 I) Changed the descriptive text for "Astrocade Screen Operations - pdf" in the Bally Alley, Articles section: Bally Alley, Articles section II) Changed the descriptive text for "Cartridge Conversion (AKA BASIC Cartridge Swapping)" in the BASIC section: BASIC section III) Added the version number (.561) to the MESS Debugger in the Machine Language, Tools section: Machine Language, Tools section IV) Made changes to the description of the Bally ROM Source code (text and pdf file), Balckeck and AstroBASIC: Machine Language, Source Code section: V) Also added the source code for the cartridge versions of Checkmate and Scribbling to the Machine Language, Source Code section: Machine Language, Source Code section: VI) Added the source code for three homebrew programs to the Machine Language, Homebrew section: 1. Scrolltests - By Lance Squire. A menu with several test programs, one of which is the first version of the game that Lance is working on called BalZerk. 2. ScrolltestA - By Lance Squire. A menu with several test programs, one of which is the second version of the game that Lance is working on called BalZerk. 3. Smurf Title Screen - By Kurt Woloch. A title screen, with music, for the proposed game Smurf. There are now screen shots of both the Smurf title screen and BalZerk in the Homebrew section, so check them out! Machine Language, Homebrew section: July 23, 2006 I) Removed the broken links to the Z-GRASS manuals from the misc_docs page. These manuals were moved long ago to the Z-GRASS area: Z-GRASS documentation area II) I've uploaded ten 300-BAUD programs by Esoterica Ltd. to Ballyalley.com. The programs are: 1) Big City Slick 2) Bomb Squad 3) Fox & Hounds 4) Garbersville 5) Great American Jigsaw, The 6) Mini Golf 7) Star Trek 8) Ten Pins 9) Treasure Island 10) Wildcatter 300-BAUD Esoterica Download Area July 22, 2006 I) I've uploaded fourteen Esoterica Ltd. pictures of cassettes (seven different cassettes, front and back). They are: 1) Big City Slick and Great American Jigsaw 2) Bomb Squad / Wildcatter 3) Fox and Hounds / Treasure Island 4) Garbersville / Ten Pins 5) Mini-Golf / Starship Command 6) Road Toad 7) Super Slope Esoterica Ltd. Picture Area II) I've uploaded three cassette boxes by Esoterica Ltd. I never even knew that these existed until Paul made scans from Ian's loaners boxes. The boxes are: 1) Great American Jigsaw 2) Road Toad 3) Super Slope Box Picture Area III) I've uploaded two manuals for tapes by Esoterica Ltd. They are: 1) Road Toad 2) Super Slope Tape Manual Area IV) I've uploaded eight 2000-BAUD programs by Esoterica Ltd. to Ballyalley.com. The programs are: 1) Big City Slick 2) Bomb Squad 3) Fox & Hounds 4) Garbersville 5) Great American Jigsaw, The 6) Ten Pins 7) Treasure Island 8) Wildcatter 2000-BAUD Esoterica Download Area July 21, 2006 I) Began rearranging the 300-BAUD section (finally!). Programs will now be available to download one at a time instead of in HUGE batches. The avarage 300-BAUD program size is about 7MB though, so this isn't really a final solution as much as it is a stop-gap measure until there is a way to digitally archive these programs. 300-BAUD Program Area II) Separated eighteen 300-BAUD L&M programs: 1. Ayatollah Dartboard 2. Black Lagoon, The 3. Claim Jumpers 4. Color Organ, Light Show Demo 5. Coyote-Roadrunner Desert Race 6. Fox and the Hare 7. Kill the Vulcan 8. Light Show Program 2 9. Multi Program Format 10. Phantom Star Fighter 2003 11. Rescue Air Drop 12. Search and Destroy 13. Sink the U-Boat 14. Space Checkers 15. Space Quest 2001 16. Space Sleuth 17. Star Base 2000 18. Target L&M 300-BAUD Program Area III) Removed the title "Bally Alley v2.0" from the index page. It's been there since the site was redesigned by Lance in about 2002-- it's about time to remove it, I'd say! IV) Added twenty-four 300-BAUD programs by W&W Software Sales: 1) Alien (Space) Patrol 2) Biorhythms 3) Block Buster 4) Calendar 5) Checkers 6) Clock 7) Computer Art 8) Checkbook Balancer & Compound Interest 9) Flight Simulator 10) Hangman 11) Inspector Clew-So 12) Mastermind 13) Menza Test 14) (Mortgage) Amortization 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 Racetrack W&W Software Sales 300-BAUD Program Area V) Added twelve 300-BAUD programs to the miscellaneous section: 1) 4D2 - Rusty Bloomart, Dale Smith, and George Moses 2) Astro-Zap 2000 - George Moses 3) Critter - Brett Bilbrey 4) Frog - Bob Wiseman 5) Fudd - Bob Wiseman 6) Grandfather Clock - Barry Ellerson 7) Line Resequencer - Mike Peace 8) Quadra - Mike White Includes menu and four games: 1. Smash-Up 2. Laser & Slide 3. UFO Attack 4. Safe Cracker. 9) Stranded on Rigel 5 - Sean Walsh 10) Telling Time - Bob Hensel 11) Video Wallpaper - Jay Fenton 12) Z-80 Mini-Course Programs - Barry Ellerson Includes nine Programs: 1. American Flag 2. Atari Logo 3. Color Formatter 4. Color Scribble and Record 5. Color Tunnel (4 lines per interrupt) 6. Color Tunnel (77 lines per interrupt) 7. Color Tunnel (142 lines per interrupt) 8. Color Tunnel and Art 9. Machine Programming Utility. Miscellaneous 300-BAUD Program Area July 20, 2006 I) Added the Bally BASIC Manual. It is 130 pages long (2.32MB). This manual is for the first version of the Bally BASIC cartridge, the one that does not have the built-in microphone jack. Bally BASIC Manual (Version 1) II) Added the 300-BAUD Audio Interface Leaflet. It is six pages long (346K). This is the leaflet that accompanied the 300-BAUD BASIC interface. There are some BASIC programs included with it too. 300-BAUD Audio Interface Leaflet July 18, 2006 I) Added an Astrocade video: 1. Bally Color BASIC (Circa 1982) - 2:41 - 28MB Lance shortened the Color BASIC video that I uploaded yesterday down even more (he took out a middle portion that was four minutes long). Color BASIC Video (MPEG) July 17, 2006 I) Added an Astrocade video: 1. Bally Color BASIC (Circa 1982) - 6:36 - 68MB Lance shortened this video down a bit so that it's (mostly) just Color BASIC. Color BASIC Video (MPEG) July 7, 2006 I) Added three Astrocade videos: 1. Arcadian Promotional Video (1980) - 23:07 - 236MB Bob Fabris compiled these programs onto video from the Arcadian newsletter. Not edited, so it is slow, but worth it for the only known look at Color BASIC. 2. Astrocade Promotional Video (Circa 1982) - 5:22 - 55MB This is a great "commercial" made by Astrovision. 3. Hot Rod Bally BASIC Video (Circa 1982) - 16:14 - 166MB Jay Fenton narrates an insiders look at the unreleased Hot Rod Bally BASIC. There are eight short programs that he demonstrates. This is especially neat if you've ever programmed before. Astrocade Videos April 17, 2006 I) Added "Seawolf / Bombardier" cartridge scan. Here are some comments by Lance Squire: "You will notice that the 'Missile' cart is a first-run label while my 'Bombardier' is a second-run label. My Bombardier cart still says Missile on the menu though." Thanks for the scan, Lance! Seawolf / Bombardier Cartridge Picture April 16, 2006 I) Added BalCheck source code for use with the BalCheck hardware. There is conditional assembly so that is will assemble for the 3159 or the 3164 ROM. This was actually finished February 7, 2004, but because of an oversight, it was only added to the Bally Alley discussion group over at Yahoo. balcheck.asm April 15, 2006 I) This 'catalog,' from June 1978, was put together by Bally to promote the Bally Professional Arcade to salespeople. This is a full-color 'catalog' that is a large download (9MB). It is 8 1/2" x 11" and is sixteen pages long. I love the 1970's style art! Chain Store Age 'Catalog' (June 1978) II) The two original ads from the 1977 and 1978 JS&A catalogs. These are the ads that people saw that got them interested in purchasing the Bally Professional Arcade. I've setup an area where you can download these ads in high-quality, color, 300dpi pdfs (for those with fast connections), and also the same catalogs converted to B&W for those that don't have fast Internet access). JS&A 1977 and 1978 Catalog [Excerpts] III) Added a Bally and Astrovision Ads and Catalogs area. I've uploaded three new documents: 1) Bally Professional Arcade Pocket Facts: A small (originally, a booklet) 2-color handout that gives an overall explanation of the BPA, including details about the on-board ROM games and calculator. (Color and B&W versions available) 2) Bally Professional Arcade (Blue): There were several flyers by Bally that were given to dealers to help promote the machine. This one promotes the "fun and brains" of the system. 3) Bally Videocade Cassettes: A color catalog of the cartridges available for the Bally Professional Arcade. Check out the screenshots of the unreleased (and, as yet, unfound) cartridges: Backgammon, Astrology and Dragrace. Three New Bally Documents IV) Added a Nitron area with five documents. These documents show the end of the line for the company that worked with Astrovision to produce the Astrocade. 1) Everything Must Go! - No Date - This is it. Nitron loses their lease and they must liquidate everything. 2) Final Inventory Letter - 11/14/1984 - The company is so out of money that they don't have cash to send flyers to customers. It's a sad thing to see a company fall. 3) Addendum Prices - 12/06/1984 - The end was in sight! They began to cut the prices of the cartridges even more (though only by 10%). They also started to offer a package deal where if you bought a system then you would get twenty-four cartridges with it, all for $199.95 4) Final Inventory - 01/07/1984 - This sheet shows how many cartridges and Astrocades that Nitron still had in inventory right at the end. There isn't nearly as many as I expected, most cartridges are under one-thousand left (though Galactic Invasion still had 18,000). There are 857 Astrocades left; no wonder they're so rare! 5) Auction Announcement 03/13/1985 - This appeared in the San Jose Mercury News. Not only was the inventory being sold off, but the whole facility was auctioned as well! Nitron Documents V) Added nine JS&A documents. These documents give a better perspective of the problems that plagued the beginning of the Bally Professional Arcade. 1) jsa_backorders.pdf 09/01/1975 - Backorder Policies and Procedures. 2) jsa_warranty_card.pdf 1977 - JS&A National Sales Group Warranty Card. 3) jsa_oustanding_response.pdf 11/07/1977 - Outstanding response and "How so cheap?" 4) jsa-bpa_delay.pdf December 1977 - Initial production of Bally Professional Arcade delayed. 5) jsa-bpa_gift_certificate.pdf December 1977 - Gift Certificate of Bally Home Library Computer. 6) jsa_newspaper_question.pdf 04/26/1978 - Newspaper answer, "Delay Blamed on Production." 7) jsa_tiny_basic_delay.pdf 07/06/1978 - Tiny BASIC still on back order. 8) jsa_unable_to_fill_orders.pdf 11/27/1979 - Response from liquidation sale so strong that not all orders could be filled. 9) jsa-retraction_letter.pdf 1979 - Retraction letter of advertisement in Wall Street Journal. JS&A Documents VI) Added "Animating the Death Star Trench." Larry Cuba describes how he animated forty seconds of animation for Star Wars: A New Hope. From The Very Best of Fantastic Films, Feb. 1981. Six pages. Animating the Death Star Trench VII) Added an advertisement for the cursor group: Cursor Group Advertisement April 14, 2006 I) A letter written by Adam Trionfo to Bob Fabris in 1994. Bob was the editor on the Arcadian newsletter from 1978 - 1986 and Adam started Ballyalley.com in 2001. My First Letter to Bob Fabris of the Arcadian (Circa 1994!) April 2, 2006 I) Added an article called "Bally Arcade "Retro Astro" Handheld Unit by ToyMax!" about the new handheld Bally Arcade (called "Retro Astro") by Toymax, makers of the Atari Classics 10 In 1 TV Games: Bally Arcade "Retro Astro" Handheld Unit by ToyMax! II) Added cartridge manual for Ms. Candyman by L&M software: cart_manuals/ms_candyman_manual.pdf III) Added cartridge manual for Blast Droids by Esoterica: cart_manuals/blast_droids-manual.pdf IV) Astrocade Memory Expansion Project - Inexpensive memory upgrade project proposal number two by Mike White, November 2004 (Version 1, was March 2002 and has been deleted). We need feedback on this. Anyone have the will and know-how to build this? misc_docs/astrocade_mem_expander.pdf March 21, 2006 I) I have added carriage returns to twenty-three text documents on Ballyalley.com to make them easier to read in a web browser. No longer will lines stretch off-screen seemingly forever, now there are no lines that are longer than 79-characters. These are the files that I have changed: In the Bally Alley Article Section ---------------------------------- ballyalley/articles/articles.html 1) Arcade Games Based Around Astrocade Chipset, By Adam Trionfo 2) Astrocade Homebrew Game Ideas, By Glenn Saunders and Adam Trionfo 3) Astrocade, Xonox, Atari and John Perkins, By Adam Trionfo 4) Bally Astrocade Screen Operations, By John Perkins 5) Bally/Astro BASIC differences, Adam Trionfo (With some comments by Lance Squire) 6) Bally's Blitter, Lance Squire 7) On the Bally BASIC Demo Cartridge, By Adam Trionfo 8) Overview of the Astrocade and Its Relation to the UV-1 Computer, By Adam Trionfo 9) Poor Man's Memory Expansion, By C.J. Anderson 10) Sneak Up and Bite Ya Department, By Hoover Anderson Research and Design 11) Z-80 Books - Here's a List of Four, Adam Trionfo In the Bally Alley Interview Section ------------------------------------ ballyalley/interviews/interviews.html 1) Interview with Brett Bilbrey, By Adam Trionfo 2) Interview with David Ibach, By Paul Thacker 3) Comments from Tom Meeks, By Tom Meeks In the FAQs Section ------------------- faqs/faqs.html 1) Arcadian Articles FAQ, Volumes 5-7, By Adam Trionfo 2) Astrocade "Arcadian" FAQ, By Adam Trionfo 3) Astrocade Cassette Software - Introduction, By Michael White 4) Astrocade MESS Emulation Keyboard Mapping FAQ, By Adam Trionfo 5) Astrocade Public Domain Programs FAQ, By Adam Trionfo 6) Bally Astrocade Hardware Guide, The, By Michael White 7) Bally/Astrocade FAQ, The, By Adam Trionfo and Lance F. Squire 8) Bally-Astrocade Game Cartridge and Hardware FAQ, By Mike White and Adam Trionfo In the Miscellaneous Documents Section -------------------------------------- misc_docs/misc_docs.html 1) Astrocade Reviews, By Michael Prosise II) Added four games to the "Arcade Games Based Around Astrocade Chipset" article: ballyalley/articles/astrocade_arcade_games.txt III) Added a Yahoo Groups "join" box at the bottom of the Ballyalley.com home page to help promote the discussion group: index.html March 20, 2006 I) Subtitled both versions of New Image's "RND Art II" to "RND Art II: The Stairs to the Temple:" program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/new_image/new_image.html II) Corrected the spelling of "Candy Man" on the L&M Software web page (it was spelled "Candyman"). program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/l&m_software/l&m_software.html III) Corrected The spelling of "Candy Man" in the desciptor file. Also corrected some misspellings in the review that is included with "Candy Man:" program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/l&m_software/candy_man_[l&m_software].zip IV) Made some minor spelling corrections to the "Candy Man" section of 'Game Player' Tape Reviews. It is now at version 1.21. misc_docs/astrocade_reviews.zip V) Added "What's New - Archives (2000-2005)" - These archives go back to October 22, 2000; Bally Alley is actually older than that, but not by much-- the site made its appearance in 2000. Most of the links won't work anymore (the site has been rearranged), but the archives do make an interesting time capsule. whats_new_archives_(2000-2005).html VI) Added three programs by Steve Walters: 1. Avalanche! 2. Halloween Graphics 3. Hang Up! program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/misc/steve_walters/steve_walters.html VII) Added Dave Ibach section with six new programs plus four additional alternate versions of "Frog Leap." Some of the programs in this new section are also in other areas (for instance, "Buggin' BC" is also in the George Moses section because they both wrote this game). Here are the programs in this section (unless otherwise marked, then the programs are new to Ballyalley.com). 1. Buggin' BC (Copied to this section) 2. Buggin' Me 3. Contest Entry 4. Converter 5. Frog Leap (Copied to this section, plus new alternate versions) 6. Machine Coder 7. Tree 8. BUG Puzzle #2 Solution program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/dave_ibach/dave_ibach.html VIII) I have rearranged the "Astrocade Cassette Pictures" area of Ballyalley.com. This area is found here: pics/cassette_pics/cassette_pictures.html The pictures of the cassettes have been separated from one large miscellaneous category and broken into different groups. They are: 1. Esoterica Limited 2. George Moses 3. H.A.R.D. 4. L&M Software 5. Miscellaneous 6. W&W Software Sales 7. WaveMakers There are nineteen new pictures by L&M Software (here): pics/cassette_pics/l&m_software/l&m_software.html The L&M Software Cassettes are: ------------------------------- 1. Ayatollah Dart Board 2. Black Lagoon, The 3. Claim Jumpers 4. Color Organ-Light Show Demo 5. Coyote-Roadrunner Desert Race 6. Fox and the Hare 7. Kill the Vulcan 8. Light Show Demo 9. Light Show Program #2 10. Multi. Program Format (Alternate Tape) 11. Multi. Program Format 12. Phantom Star Fighters 2003 13. Rescue Air Drop 14. Search and Destroy 15. Sink the U-Boat 16. Space Checkers 17. Space Quest 2001 18. Star Base 2000 19. Target There are five new pictures by W&W Software Sales (here): pics/cassette_pics/w&w_software_sales/w&w_software_sales.html The W&W Software Sales Cassettes are: ------------------------------------- 1. W&W Tape 1 2. W&W Tape 3 3. W&W Tape 4 4. W&W Tape 5 5. W&W Tape 9 March 19, 2006 I) Noted the author of the New Image "RND Art" series as Chris Williams. program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/new_image/new_image.html II) Changed the spelling of "Wave Makers" or "Wavemakers" to WaveMakers on the button and on several pages. This will be ongoing, as "WaveMakers" is now the accepted standard. III) Added two different versions of previously archived programs: "Memory Lane (v2)" and "Music Keyboard (v2)." program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/wave_makers/wave_makers.html March 17, 2006 I) Added "Secret of Pellucitar" by L&M Software: program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/l&m_software/secret_of_pellucitar_[l&m_software].zip March 16, 2006 I) Added three programs by L&M Software: 1. Alien Invasion (A rather graphically detailed BASIC game): program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/l&m_software/alien_invasion_[l&m_software].zip 2. Candy Man (The prequel to the cartridge): program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/l&m_software/candy_man_[l&m_software].zip 3. Claim Jumpers (Very simple concept, yet one of my favorite games in Astro BASIC): program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/l&m_software/claim_jumpers_[l&m_software].zip March 15, 2006 I) Mentioned the source of two archived programs (Astro Zap 2000 (v1) and Buggin' B.C. (v1)): program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/george_moses/games/games.html II) Renamed 'Golden Slippers' so that it is clear that it is for the Player Piano. golden_slippers-for_player_piano_[basic_manual].zip III) "Sicko-Therapy 1" renamed to "Sicko-Therapy." (and deleted the bin file that was included in archive):Also some added information was added to the text file" "A computer psychoanalyst (ELIZA on TRS-80). ELIZA is probably a bit more serious than the New Image one. From the Sourcebook entry (Summer 1982 G-24), it looks like the title is just "Sicko-Therapy" (Not "Sicko-Therapy 1"). The sequel is called "Sicko-Therapy Session II". program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/new_image/sicko-therapy_[new_image].zip IV) Corrected spelling errors in "Quickdraw" text file (and deleted the bin file that was included in archive): program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/new_image/quickdraw_[new_image].zip V) Renamed the "RND Art" series of programs to have roman numbers instead of standard numbers: program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/new_image/new_image.html VI) Moved the "RAM Expansion Required" program section from under the 2000-Baud area and gave it its own section: program_downloads/ram_expansion_required/ram_expansion_required.html VII) Deleted the bin file from "Gamma Wars:" program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/tiny_arcade/gamma_wars_[the_tiny_arcade].zip March 3, 2006 I) Added the datasheet for: INS8154 N-Channel 128x8 Bit RAM I/O (This is the I/O chip that the Blue Ram uses). perkins/perkins.html II) Added an interview with David Ibach, the programmer of the third-party cartridge "Sneaky Snake." He also was part of General Video, the company that released "The General Video Assembler," a two-pass assembler for the Astrocade. He devised a method, referred to as The Ibach Cartridge Conversion, for swapping cartridges while the Astrocade was still on (thus allowing Bally and Astro versions of BASIC to be swapped without losing the program in memory). He also wrote a few BASIC games and programs that were published in the Arcadian newsletter. ballyalley/interviews/interview_with_david_ibach.txt March 1, 2006 I) Added sixty-two programs to the BASIC Manual Program Download Area: program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/basic_manuals/basic_manuals.html II) I am now finished uploading programs to the 2000-Baud Program Download area: program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/2000_baud_programs.html There have been three-hundred-fifty-five programs uploaded altogether over the past few weeks. It breaks down like this: Arcadian - 101 Basic Manuals - 62 Cursor/BASIC-Express - 4 Esoterica Ltd. - 4 George Moses - 38 H.A.R.D. - 5 Jay Fenton - 2 L&M Software - 19 Mike White - 27 Misc. - 23 New Image - 20 RAM Expansion Required - 1 Tiny Arcade, The - 5 W&W Software Sales - 5 Wave Makers - 39 --- 355 February 26, 2006 I) Added one-hundred-one programs to the Arcadian newsletter Area: program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/arcadian/arcadian.html February 24, 2006 I) Added thirty-eight programs to the George Moses Area: program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/george_moses/george_moses.html February 22, 2006 I) Added twenty programs to the New Image Area: program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/new_image/new_image.html II) Added Nineteen programs to the L&M Software Area: program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/l&m_software/l&m_software.html II) Added twenty-seven programs to the Mike White Area: program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/mike_white/mike_white.html II) Added twenty-three programs to the Miscellaneous Area: program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/misc/misc.html February 18, 2006 I) Added four programs to the Cursor/BASIC Expess Area: program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/cursor_basic-express/cursor_basic-express.html II) Added four programs to the Esoterica Ltd. Area: program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/esoterica_ltd/esoterica_ltd.html III) Added five programs to the H.A.R.D. Area: program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/hard/hard.html IV) Added two programs to the Jay Fenton Area: program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/jay_fenton/jay_fenton.html V) Added five programs to the Tiny Arcade Area: program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/tiny_arcade/tiny_arcade.html VI) Added one program to the RAM Expansion Required Area: program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/ram_expansion_required/ram_expansion_required.html VII) Added five programs to the W&W Software Sales Area: program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/w&w_software_sales/w&w_software_sales.html February 17, 2006 I) Rearranged and removed all files from the 2000-baud program download area. I will be adding to this area over the coming days and weeks. program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/2000_baud_programs.html II) Added thirty-nine Wave Makers programs: program_downloads/2000_baud_programs/wave_makers/wave_makers.html February 15, 2006 I) General Video Assembler (Sample Programs) [Handwritten from screen] added: tape_manuals/general_video_assembler_(sample_programs).pdf January 28, 2006 I) Fixed bad picture loads on 'Heat Warning' and 'Introduction' pages due to case sensitivity. January 27, 2006 I) Fixed January 26 links on the 'What's New' Page II) 'Program Downloads - Utilities' section program_downloads/utilities/utilities.html 1. Reformatted the whole section to give a little more detail about a program and to make the section more readable. III) 'Program Downloads - Basic Manual Programs' section program_downloads/basic_manual_progs/basic_manual_progs.html 1. Added 'Music [Compiled] (Lesson Version)' by Dick Ainsworth (from Astrocade Manual, 40-43) January 26, 2006 I) 'Program Downloads - Demo' section program_downloads/demos/demos.html 1. Reformatted the whole section to give a little more detail about a program and to make the section more readable. 2. Renamed 'New Ghost' to 'Halloween Ghost' (the actual name of the program). 3. Added 'American Flag' by Barry Ellerson (Simplified by Mike White) II) 'Program Downloads - Games' section program_downloads/games/games.html 1. Reformatted the whole section to give a little more detail about a program and to make the section more readable in preperation for adding more games... many more! January 25, 2006 I) Four Astrocade Underground newsletters reduced from 37.45MB to 3.59MB in newsletter section. newsletters/Underground/Underground.html II) Replaced text link with Astrocade Underground button. III) Added an Arcadian Type-In Program section for programs (and corrections) that have beeen cut and paste from the newsletter. Added fourteen type-in programs to volume one and one program to volume six. They are: Volume 1 -------- 1) Amazed in Space - Aquila and Richard Houser [Arc. Vol. 1, Pgs. 58, 60 and 61] 2) Arcadian 2x Size - Glenn Pogue [Arc. Vol. 1, Pg. 45] 3) Bangman - Ernie Sams [Arc. Vol. 1, Pg. 47-49] 4) Checkers - John Collins [Arc. Vol. 1, Pgs. 41, 42, 47, 77, and 90] 5) Clock - J. Cousins [Arc. Vol. 1, Pg. 36] 6) Convert Hex to Decimal - Ernie Sams [Arc. Vol. 1, Pg. 36] 7) Division with Decimals - Paul Law [Arc. Vol. 1, Pg. 24] 8) 'Game Over' Phrase - Tom Wood [Arc. Vol. 1, Pg. 25] 9) Memory Contents (Binary) - Max Manowski [Arc. Vol. 1, Pg. 43] 10) Memory Contents - Gary Moser [Arc. Vol. 1, Pg. 44) 11) Random Art - Ernie Sams [Arc. Vol. 1, Pgs. 44 and 49] 12) Reverse - Brett Bilbrey and Mike Toth [Arc. Vol. 1, Pg. 38 and 46] 13) Simon - Brett Bilbrey [Arc. Vol. 1, Pgs. 35, 38, 45, and 77] 14) Slot Machine - Ernie Sams [Arc. Vol. 1, Pg. 59, 69 and 77] Volume 6 -------- 15) Bangman - Ernie Sams [Arc. Vol. 6, Pgs. 64 and 65] Dec 19, 2005 I) 2 More WaveMakers fliers added to ads & Catalogs section ads_and_catalogs/ads_and_catalogs.html Dec 16, 2005 I) Astrocade Underground newsletters Finally online. newsletters/Underground/Underground.html May 29, 2005 I) Fixed links to 'Bach's Two-Part Inventions' caused by '#' in the url. program_downloads/music/bach_tape/bach_tape.html II) Finaly set DNS to point to new server. November 19, 2004 I) Added Descriptions to Michael White's BASIC tutorials http://www.ballyalley.com/basic/tutorials/tutorials.html November 10, 2004 I) Uploaded 19 pictures of Bally Astrocade Cassette Tapes http://www.ballyalley.com/pics/cassette_pics/cassette_pictures.html 1) 3x5 Character Set 2) 15 Two-Part Inventions 3) A.R.D Logo 4) Atom Smasher / Space Sleuth - Side 1 5) Atom Smasher / Space Sleuth - Side 2 6) Bally Arcade Ragtime - Side 1 7) Bally Arcade Ragtime - Side 2 8) Biorythm / Moon Landing 9) Early ICBM Attack 10) Life / Nuke the Bastards 11) Light Pen Sampler 12) 'Mazin 13) Pack-Rat 14) Road Toad 15) Sinfonia to Cantata 29 16) Super Sleuth / The Black Lagoon_II - Side 1 17) Super Sleuth / The Black Lagoon_II - Side 2 18) Super Slope 19) Video Rally November 5, 2004 I) Uploaded 33 pictures of BASIC games and programs http://www.ballyalley.com/pics/screenshots/screenshots.html 1) 3x5 Character Set (3 pics) 2) 4D2 (4 pics) 3) Arcade Slot Machine (2 pics) 4) A.R.D. Logo (2 pics) 5) Bangman (2 pics) 6) Battlestar Galactica (2 pics) 7) Biorhythms and Moonlanding (12 pics) 8) Black Lagoon II (3 pics) 9) Bowling (2 pics) November 4, 2004 I) Rearranged the screenshot area so that it's easier to navigate now that I'm adding more screenshots of BASIC programs. http://www.ballyalley.com/pics/screenshots/screenshots.html II) Added 26 screenshots for five BASIC games by Wavemakers http://www.ballyalley.com/pics/screenshots/screenshots.html 1) Castle of Horror (3 pics) 2) Collision Course (3 pics) 3) Dungeons of Dracula (4 pics) 4) Four Famous Freebies (14 pics) 1. Invasion Force 2. Brick in the Wall 3. Mazemaker II 4. Sideswipe 5) Gate Escape, The - (2 pics) October 30, 2004 Added eleven items: magazine articles, announcements for electronic art (using ZGrass), Astrocade Kiosk color picture, and the first ever Bally Arcade advertisement (from September 1977!). I) Three articles on the ZGrass and UV/1 http://www.ballyalley.com/misc_docs/zgrass/zgrass-uv-1_articles/zgrass-uv-1_articles.html 1) Beyond the Planet of Pac-man - AirCal Magazine, November 1982 2) The Circle Graphics Habitat - Source Unknown, 1974 3) Ask Popular: Which Computer System is Best for Use By Graphics Professionals - Popular Computing, July 1982 II) Three Miscellaneous Articles http://www.ballyalley.com/misc_docs/misc_docs.html 1) RLE Email - Two separate emails from 1996 concerning the new 64K RAM and Printer Interface. This interface never appeared. 2) Mass Impact of Videogame Technology - 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. 3) George Mose's Letter - A letter that George Moses wrote to Dick Houser on October 28, 1982 that gives brief direction on loading and saving with the Viper RAM expansion using AstroBASIC. III) ZGrass / UV-1 Announcements http://www.ballyalley.com/misc_docs/zgrass/announcements/announcements.html 1) EVL Explores Electronic Imagery - Show Date - May 23, 198? 2) From Video Games to Video Art - Show Date - Sept. 2 - Oct. 12, 1980 3) Unique Electronic Visionals Will Be Created For Show - Show Date - May 23, 198? IV) Astrocade Kiosk http://www.ballyalley.com/pics/hardware_pics/hardware_pictures.html 1) Picture of the Astrocade Kiosk (in color) V) First EVER Bally Arcade Ad http://www.ballyalley.com/ads_and_catalogs/ads_and_catalogs.html 1) JS&A National Sales Group - This is the first ad for the Bally Arcade. It was printed in the September 1977 issue of "American Scientific." Although not printed by Bally, JS&A was the only authorized vendor at the time." - Lance Squire October 29, 2004 Added eighteen magazine articles on the ZGrass and UV-1. I) ZGrass / UV-1 Magazine Articles http://www.ballyalley.com/misc_docs/zgrass/zgrass-uv-1_articles/zgrass-uv-1_articles.html 1. The Convention Explosion - Business Screen, Oct. 23, 1981 2. Let's Get Animated - Videography, February 1983 3. The Datamax UV-1R Zgrass Graphics System Ad - Videography, February 1983 4. Color My World - Afterimage, October 1982 5. Art Facts: Drawing with Computers - Unknown Magazine, Unknown Date 6. Look Homeward, Computer - AudioVideo International, May 1982 7. In the Mind of Tom Defanti... Inventor of ZGrass - Business Screen, June/July 1982 8. Pictures by Funny Numbers - Creative Computing, June 1981 9. C.E.S. - Creative Computing, May 1982 10. Language Control for Easy Electronic Visualization - Byte Publications, 1980 11. ZGrass Upgrade Turns Game Into Business Graphics - Mini-Micro Systems, February 1982 12. Real Time Animation Techniques with Microcomputers - Pixel Creations, Unknown Date 13. Computer Art Breakthrough: Painting by Number - Rolling Stone, March 18, 1982 14. Chicago Computer Artist Accelerates to Warp Speed - Softalk, February 1983 15. The Engineering of Art - U of I Chicagoen, December 1982 16. The Inventors: Tom Defanti, Creating Graphics with a Special computer Language, Video Systems, November 1983 17. ZDNet - An Interprocess Computer Network for Naive to Expert Graphics Users, Unknown source and date 18. Making Waves: An Interactive Art/Science Exhibition, Unknown Source and date October 28, 2004 - Part 1 Added four magazine articles on the ZGrass and UV-1. I) Four ZGrass and UV-1 Articles http://www.ballyalley.com/misc_docs/zgrass/zgrass-uv-1_articles/zgrass-uv-1_articles.html 1) Video Art: A Very Creative Channel for Computers, Chicago Tribune, Sept. 23, 1980 2) Computer Art as a Way of Life, Unknown Magazine, Fall, 1983 3) Digital Paint Systems, Computer Graphics World, April, 1982 4) Report on Siggraph '82, Robotics Age, Sept/Oct, 1982 October 28, 2004 - Part 1 Added twelve files (mostly magazine articles) and made some revisions (one revision is significant). I) Added a link to Mike White's 13'th tutorial http://www.ballyalley.com/basic/tutorials/tutorials.html 1) I accidentally didn't put a link to the 13'th tutorial that I uploaded. Mike noticed this and asked me if I was superstitious (I'm not, but around this time of year, with a full lunar eclipse tonight, and Halloween around the corner, one never knows!) II) Rearranged the Zgrass/UV-1 area http://www.ballyalley.com/misc_docs/zgrass/zgrass.html 1) In preparation for adding more files, I rearranged the Zgrass/UV-1 area so that it's a little easier to navigate. III) Video Instructions for Extended BASIC http://www.ballyalley.com/type-in_programs/basic/basic.html 1) Video Instructions for XB - A program that gives "video instructions" on the new functions of Extended BASIC. IV) Advertisements http://www.ballyalley.com/ads_and_catalogs/ads_and_catalogs.html 1) W&W Software Sales Ad - Descriptions of five games: Othello, Van Gam, Flight Simulator, Sub Search, and Hangman. 2) George Collins Program List - Three programs listed: Invasion, Bug!, and Deepspace 2050. V) BASICart Code Key http://www.ballyalley.com/basic/basic.html 1) BASICart Code Key - When creating a BASICart, use this very useful code key. IV) Magazine and Newspaper Articles http://www.ballyalley.com/magazine_articles/magazine_articles.html 1) Hardware - Review of the re-released BPA from Astrocade. From Radio-Electronics, April 1982. 2) Astrocade - Another review of the re-released BPA from Astrocade. (Two reviews of the same unit in four months?!?) From Radio-Electronics, July 1982. 3) Video Games - An article that chooses the Astrocade as the best game machine choice of 1982 (versus the Atari 2600, Intellivision, and Odyssey 2). From Consumer's Reports, Nov. 1982. 4) Astrocade Sues Commodore and Atari - The suit claims that Atari and Commodore are using patents licensed exclusively to Astrocade that deal with bit-mapped graphics for video display. From Infoworld, June 1982. 5) Astrocade Enters Video Space Wars - From Leisure Time Electronics, Feb. 1982. 6) A Broker's Bubbly Ballyhoo for Bally - From Daily News, April 29, 1982. 7) Video Game Death Could Put Supplier on Ice - From Chicago Tribune, Oct. 14, 1982. October 27, 2004 Added seven files (pics, mostly) and made some revisions (one revision is significant). I) 24-Key Keypad http://www.ballyalley.com/pics/keypad_overlays/keypad_overlays.html 1) 24-key Keypad picture 2) Revision of Keypad Overlay page (everything at the top is new) II) Bally Professional Arcade http://www.ballyalley.com/pics/hardware_pics/hardware_pictures.html 1) BPA picture. This is from the inside cover of the "BPA Owner's Manual." III) Bally BASIC Ad http://www.ballyalley.com/pics/ad_pics/ad_pics.html 1) Bally BASIC ad from page 18 of the "BPA Owner's Manual." 2) Bally/Midway Games "Games of Fame" - "Video Games," October 1982, back cover. 3) "The Professional Arcade Gives You More!" - From "Electronic Games," August 1982, page 7. IV) Wavemakers Tape #9, Pack Rat http://www.ballyalley.com/type-in_programs/wavemakers/wavemakers.html 1) Pack Rat, Type-in program from Wavemakers V) Astrocade Programming Sheets http://www.ballyalley.com/misc_docs/misc_docs.html 1) Astrocade Programming Sheets - Added another sheet to this compilation as page six. October 26, 2004 Twenty-seven files added to Bally Alley: I) Fourteen files for the "Houser Book." http://www.ballyalley.com/type-in_programs/houser_book/houser_book.html 1) Amazed In Space - Aquila 2) Artillery Duel - John Perkins 3) BatNum (Battle of Numbers) - Ron Schwenk 4) Battlestar Galactica - Unknown 5) Biorythm - M.R. Anglis 6) Black Box - Unknown 7) King Hamurabi - Richard Houser 8) Mastermind - Ron Schwenk 9) Math Routines - T. Hays 10) Numbermind - Ron Schwenk 11) OneCheck - Ron Schwenk 12) Othello - W&W 13) Sub-Search - Webers 14) Super Wumpus - T Hays II) Two Bally Arcade Patents http://www.ballyalley.com/misc_docs/misc_docs.html 1) Bally Professional Arcade Patent - 4301503 - Home Computer and Game Apparatus (Filed May 30, 1978). - (10.7MB) 2) Bally Professional Arcade Patent - 4475172 - Home Computer and Game Apparatus (Filed June 18, 1981) - (6.79MB) III) Four Tape Manuals http://www.ballyalley.com/tape_manuals/tape_manuals.html I made significant changes to how this section is handed. Instead of listing a tape compilation name, I broke it down to the programs that are on it (I should have done this to begin with). I also added a few manuals. 1) Big City Slick/Great American Jigsaw, The - Esoterica Limited 2) Fantasy Game Aids Package #1 - Guy W. McLimore Jr. 3) L.T. (Little Terrestrial) - Wavemakers 4) Resequencing - Ron Schweitzer IV) Five Cartridge Manuals (for BASICarts) http://www.ballyalley.com/cart_manuals/cart_manuals.html This has needed some TLC for awhile, so I fixed this page up and added these five manuals. 1) BASIC Checkers - BASICart 2) BASIC Checkers [Modified] - BASICart 3) Old Bent Nose - BASICart 4) Songs - BASICart 5) Video Story Book - BASICart V) Bally Owner's Manual http://www.ballyalley.com/misc_docs/inside_the_box/inside_the_box.html 1) Bally Owner's Manual - This was already on the site, but this manual doesn't have writing in it, plus I made it about 1/4 of the size (down from 10MB to 2.5MB). VI) Bally BASIC 300-Baud Audio Interface http://www.ballyalley.com/pics/hardware_pics/audio_interface/audio_interface.html 1) Bally BASIC 300-Baud Audio Interface - This looks slightly different than the released version. October 25, 2004 I) Five cartridge manuals added: http://www.ballyalley.com/cart_manuals/cart_manuals.html 1) Baseball/Handball/Tennis/Hockey 2) Sea Wolf/Missile 3) Space Invaders 4) Speedmath/Bingo Math 5) Spell 'n Score/Crosswords/Lettermatch II) I have also added eight documents to the Perkins Engineering section: http://www.ballyalley.com/perkins/perkins.html 1) Blue Ram Detailed Memory Allocation - 1 page. Detailed memory allocation listing. 2) Perkins Letter - 1 page. Announcing the Blue Ram Utility program 3) Three Perkins Letters - 3 pages. Three different letters from Perkins Engineering 4) Blue Ram Utility - 2 pages. Using the Blue Ram Utility. Seems like the first version of this document, as it's very sparse. 5) Blue Ram Snap&Show - 1 page. Blue Ram Snap&Show memory map 6) 32k Blue Ram - 1 page. 32k Blue Ram Expansion System owners leaflet. 7) Blue Ram Operations-4K Unit - 6 pages. How to use the 4K Blue Ram. 8) New Blue Ram BASIC Commands - 11 pages. Eleven pages of BR BASIC commands. Some of this is handwritten-- I don't know where this came from. III) Added list of Wavemaker games: http://www.ballyalley.com/misc_docs/misc_docs.html 1) Wavemaker Tape Listing - Lists the twenty Bally and AstroBASIC tapes that Wavemakers released. IV) Added compilation of ten programs from the Arcadian: http://www.ballyalley.com/newsletters/arcadian/arcadian_misc.html Compilation of ten programs that appeared formally in the Arcadian. They are (in order of appearance): 1. Bagels - Carl Morimoto 2. Connect Four - Larry Camnitz 3. Bingo - Ernie Sams 4. Horserace - Paul Slezak 5. Fifteen - Bob Wiseman 6. Logo - Guy McLimore 7. Microtrek - Bill Andrus 8. Nichomachus - Hank Chiuppi 9. Reverse - Brett Bilbrey and Mike Toth 10. Spirals II - Matt Giwer V) Added BASIC Programming Notes: http://www.ballyalley.com/basic/basic.html BASIC Programming Notes - These notes are provided to introduce the new Arcade owner to techniques and effects that can be generated by the Tiny BASIC cartridge. (These two pages have been lifted from the Arcadian compilation of ten programs.) - 2 pages VI) Two programs written (or modified) by Michael White http://www.ballyalley.com/type-in_programs/michael_white/michael_white.html 1) Putt-Putt Golf 2) Simon [Modified] (Original version by Brett Bilbrey) VII) Uploaded five magazine articles from video game magazines (a rarity!): http://www.ballyalley.com/magazine_articles/magazine_articles.html 1) Space Fortress Review - From Video Games, October, 1982. Includes the back and front covers (in color) of this magazine. Notice that the back cover lists the arcade versions of Gorf and The Adventures of Robbie Roto! 2) Test Lab: Astro Professional Arcade - From Electronic Games, June, 1982. The Astrocade get a run through. Includes the front cover (in color) of this magazine. 3) Professional Arcade Upgrades To A Computer - From Electronic Games, Winter, 1981. Astrovision plans revival. Includes the front cover (in color) of this magazine. 4) The Professional Arcade Gives You More! - From Electronic Games, August, 1982. Full page color advertisement for the BPA. 5) Hard Sell: The $300 Question: Astrocade or Intellivision? - From Video Games, October, 1982. Four pages dedicated to help a consumer decide which system to purchase. VIII) Twenty-Two Tutorials by Michael White http://www.ballyalley.com/basic/tutorials/tutorials.html 1) There are now twenty-two tutorials (mostly on BASIC) by Michael White. Remember, he's still writing these. The last few are how to deal with ML and BASIC (and, he'll make you a cart of the ML program that's in there if you're too lazy to type it in yourself... ;-) ). IX) Six Sourcebooks http://www.ballyalley.com/ads_and_catalogs/sourcebooks/sourcebooks.html 1) 1980, Fall -- 56 Pages 2) 1981, Fall -- 78 Pages 3) 1981, Summer -- 88 Pages 4) 1982, Summer -- 98 Pages 5) 1982, Winter -- 110 Pages 6) 1983, Spring -- 118 Pages The type of information each Sourcebook contains is: New Owner Information System Summary Index to all Sources Arcadian Newsletter program descriptions Astrocade Inc. Products Software and Hardware Sources Mail Order Dealers Repairs and Service User group Information A compilation of sources of software and hardware products for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade Glance through these-- it is --highly-- recommended! X) Thirteen Programs by Mark S. Keller http://www.ballyalley.com/type-in_programs/mark_s_keller/mark_s_keller.html These programs were originally available on tape, and these listing came with the tape). These programs were originally written for 300-BAUD BASIC, I'm not sure how they work with 2000-BAUD BASIC. 1) Biorythms 3.0 2) Blackjack II 3) Bombardment II 4) Bullseye II - 2.0 5) Chase III 6) File Create - 1.0 7) Life - 3.0 8) Space Battle - 9.0 9) Star Trek III - 11.2 10) Tape Input/Output 11) Text Editor 2 and Table of Contents of tape 12) Text Editor 5 13) Wumpus II - 3.1 September, 2004 The Bally Alley website is moved to a diffent (and better!) server. June 9, 2003 Over the last couple of days more documents were added; again, too numerious to mention. This time there were about sixty of them... Fixed-up the introduction page and added an excellent Bally Alley border created by Lance Squire. Did he do a great job or what!?! June 6, 2003 Added and/or revised documents; too numerious (and tedious) to mention. Added ten Astrocade-related FAQS. June 5, 2003 Added four screenshots: Astrobasic, Bally BASIC, Blue Ram Basic, and Vipersoft Basic June 4, 2003 Added eight Bally Alley articles newsletter area. Added eight L&M Software programs to the type-in program area. Added nine Scott Waldinger programs to the type-in program area. Added three different pages to the Perkins Engineering page. Added two issues to the Cursor Newsletter page. Added two items to the Arcadian misc page. Rearranged the table on the Arcadian misc page so that it is more in tune with the other Arcadian pages. Added fourteen items to the RMH Program Compilation page. Wow! That's 46 different items added today... the most in a very long time. All those long hours (days!) of scanning and manipulating documents over the last year and a half now is showing fruitation. May 28, 2003 Added Machine Language Manager source-code. May 20, 2003 Shortened wording of index.html so that you don't have to scroll down to get to buttons. Created pdf documents of many already scanned items (will add soon). Added Grand Prix / Demolition Derby manual cover. May 19, 2003 Added W&W Software Q&A. Added Peek & Poke Manual (in RTF). Added one issue of Leaves of ZGrass newsletter. Added Screenshot section (some neat stuff there!). Added Bally Multicart Instructions. May 18, 2003 Moved website to local directory and changed html for Astrocade CD Beta 3. Organized website a bit (nothing was deleted- just moved around to make more sense). Added Cartridge Conversion, thirty-five pages of Astrocade Tape Reviews, File Search II, New and Improved BALLY BASIC , and RGB Convert, to page the misc. documents page. Added Wavemakers Advertisement for tapes 1-18.. Added 'The Bit Fiddler's Corner' Astrocade machine language tutorial by Andy Guevara. Added Backgammon and Tournament Obstacle Course by Wavemakers. Added HVGLIB.H, Zmac13_win32.zip, and zmac-linux.zip. Added cartridge pictures (finally!). Added 300 Baud Interface and Balcheck to hardware pictures. May 4, 2003 Updated Astrocade related links page. April 6, 2002 Added Mike White's inexpensive Astrocade memory upgrade project proposal from March 2002. April 4, 2002 Added Datamax UV-1 manual (10MB pdf in three parts) April 3, 2002 Added four manual covers (thanks Rick!): Artillery Duel Cosmic Raiders Pirate's Chase Solar Conqueror Added Added two miscellaneous documents: File Search in AstroBASIC Bally BASIC Demo Printout Added Added four cartridge manuals: Artillery Duel Cosmic Raiders Pirate's Chase Solar Conqueror Added issue six to volume four of the Arcadian. March 28, 2002 Added Added to Machine Language docs: Astrocade Z-80 Mini-course Peek 'n Poke Manual Nutting Manual - Searchable pdf version Machine Language Manager docs for Astrocade cartridge Added issues 4 and 5 to volume 4 of the Arcadian. March 25, 2002 Added Astrocade color palette table. Thanks Frank! Updated Blue Ram schematics. March 17, 2002 Added Machine language section with source for: Table of Contents Assembly header (equates and macros) Onboard System ROM Scribbling Calculator Checkmate Gunfight March 16, 2002 Added scans of six manual covers -- Thanks Steven! March 15, 2002 Added keypad overlay for Music Maker. Added issues 1-3 to volume 4 of the Arcadian. Added six more Astrobugs newsletters. Added three volumes (a complete set?) of Niagara B.U.G. Bulletins. Will be using unordered lists for the 'What's New' page-- it looks neater. August 20, 2001 Many, many changes. Will list them all very soon. For now, look around. June 16, 2001 Added three more issues to volume 5 of the Arcadian. June 15, 2001 Added the first seven issues of the Arcadian volume five. That's another one-hundred-twenty pages, including BASIC and Machine Language articles/tutorials. I've also scanned in the remaining five issues of volume five; these will be arriving on this site in about a week. Other newsletters have been scanned in, but they need some serious cleanup work before I post them here. I have been getting asked questions that are answered in the pre-release of the Astrocade FAQ-- so I am going to be releasing that soon (version 2.8x). I worked with Rob Mitchell on this updated text-only version of the well known HTML Astrocade FAQ by Lance Squire. May 14, 2001 Added an article on the PD release of two Astrocade cartridges to the Bally Alley section. May 13, 2001 Added Arcadian, Volume 6, Issues 7-12 to the Astrocade page. May 4, 2001 Added three cartridge manuals Biorythm, Conan the Barbarian, and Soccer/Shoot Out. Three pieces of documentation Astrocade Product Description, R&L 64K RAM board , and Blue Ram Schematics have also been added. April 6, 2001 Added Arcadian, Volume 6, Issues 1-6 and Volume 7, Issue 4 to the Astrocade page. March 5, 2001 Added one ad, 2 Arcadian* misc. articles, four misc. docs, three magazine articles. Also did some more reorganization behind the scenes. March 4, 2001* Added scans of eleven manual covers and four keypad overlays. Organized the Arcadian section and added three issues to volume 7 February 26, 2001 Some visitors to Bally Alley have had questions regarding the PDF format. Well, one can view PDF files with Adobe Acrobat Reader. Others want to know why I chose the PDF format. Finally, some problems downloading PDF files does exist on this site. Read about the problem (and work-around) here. February 24, 2001 Added Cursor vol. 3 issues 2 and 3. That taps out my resources for Cursor and The BASIC Express. Do you have additional issues not posted here? Please contact me if you do. February 23, 2001 Added Cursor vol. 2 issues 1-6 and vol. 3 issue 1.. February 22, 2001 Added Cursor vol. 1 issues 4, 5, and 6. Also added docs for Blue Ram OS 1.O and Blue Ram Diagnostic to the Perkins Engineering page. February 21, 2001 Lots of changes and additions today. Added a new section with Astrocade advertisements and catalogs (ten items already added). Rearranged the picture page (making space for cartridge and cassette pictures). Added two pieces of documentation to the Perkins Engineering page. Added two buttons to the Bally Alley main page ( type-in programs and Astrocade advertisements and catalogs ). Added a Cursor newsletter page (four issues posted today). February 18, 2001 Added Arcadian, Volume 1, Issue 2 to the Astrocade page. February 16, 2001 Added Arcadian, Volume 1, Issue 1 to the Astrocade page. February 15, 2001 I have been granted permission from Robert Fabris to post issues of the Arcadian, so I have added an Arcadian button to the miscellaneous page. I posted five pages that were sent out before the first issue. February 11, 2001 Added Blue Ram Assembly Instructions Manual. Added two Astrocade links to the Links page. February 10, 2001 Added Blue Ram Keyboard Manual and Spectre Controller Documentation. Added the cartridge manuals that Rob Mitchell sent to me (thanks Rob!). Added seven Astrocade links to the Links page. February 7, 2001 Added article on the Bally cassette format. Added link for Astrocade Discussion Group at Yahoo Groups. Added "Classic Gaming" ads to the top of all pages as required by host. November 10, 2000 Added three more Astrocade manuals to the Miscellaneous page (See Bally On-Board ROM Subroutines, Home Video Burn-in Test (with source) and Bally Service Manual). Also added overheating warning to the title page (to alleviate poor Rob Mitchell's conscience). November 5, 2000 Added two more Astrocade manuals and a Z80 programmers sheet to the Miscellaneous page (See Nutting Manual (thanks to Frank Palazzo for scanning this in and Rob Mitchell for pointing it out), Z80 Programmer's Sheet, and Cursor's Bally System Description). October 27, 2000 Added more Astrocade related links (mostly related to Z80 assembly programming) to the Links page. October 26, 2000 Added some Astrocade links (patents and Virtual Astrocade) to the Links page. Also added the Peek n Poke Manual. October 25, 2000 Fixed some html errors that didn't allow Netscape users to view the files. Thanks to Lee Seitz for pointing the problem (and the fix) out to me. October 22, 2000 Completely revamped site. Site can now be reached at www.ballyalley.com as well. Added many new pieces of documentation. A Picture of the 16K Blue Ram and various pictures of the 16K Viper 1 are now online.