More Retro-Computing
Eric Schwartz
AmiTech-Dayton Gazette, March 2005
There hasn't exactly been a ton of news on the Amiga front. The most interesting stuff I've heard about lately is that both the Pegasos computer and MorphOS operating system are broadening their markets, or at least trying to. Genesi is working with Freescale (aka the former Motorola CPU works) and the Gentoo Linux people to bring the "Open Desktop Workstation" (I'm still trying to figure out what difference there is between this and a standard Pegasos 2, if any) to a wider audience, and bigger markets. Photos have surfaced of MorphOS running on Freescale's Mobile GT platform, which I've learned is a portable system intended for use in cars and other vehicles, for things such as information, maps, navigation, music, or video playback, (basically anything you might want a display screen for in your car or truck). If Morph becomes a standard OS for these devices, it could certainly improve its standing in several markets, though I worry a bit there might be no worthwhile applications in the future except those meant for vehicle kiosks.
I've talked a lot about my interests in "retro" video gaming, either through emulation, cheap TV-game toys, or simply using the original game systems. My latest exploits in this field have been "hacking" the old Atari 2600 games, changing elements such as graphics, colors, sounds, and even the game mechanics itself. At the meeting I'll be showing off a little of what can be done to Atari 2600 games using Amiga software. One can change games with a file hex editor, such as FileX, and an Atari 2600 emulator such as Stella to test the results. The more information you have about the game you are modifying, the more you can potentially change. It's possible to find source code for several 2600 games on the internet, often with comments explaining what goes where. This is the extent of the type of game hacking that I'll be showing, as I am not a programmer. For those more skilled or more ambitious, you can modify or even write new 2600 games using assembly language. The ROM binary files can be decompiled into assembly source code using a program like Distella, and the new or changed code can be recompiled with a compiler like DASM. All of the programs I've mentioned can be found on Aminet, and I can verify that FileX and Stella both work fine with Amiga or MorphOS. (A PowerPC CPU is recommended for emulation though.) It's also possible to play your changed games on the original 2600 system, but it requires a means to put the ROM image file onto a real ROM or EPROM, or one of the few custom flash-memory cartridges that run on the Atari. In any case, it's a curious and interesting thing to play with, and a fun use of time if one has the inclination.