Dragon's Lair Fans - Arcade Lifestyle

General Chat => All the rest => Topic started by: snakeimp on December 09, 2011, 09:43:06 AM

Title: Hello from Budapest (first post)!
Post by: snakeimp on December 09, 2011, 09:43:06 AM
Hi all,
 
I'm Attila (snakeimp) from Budapest, Hungary. I've been following this forum for a long time and now I have just decided to say hello to everyone. Here you can view some of my arcade machines: http://s1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff422/snakeimp/
And here is my not so frequently updated blog (in Hungarian of course :) ): http://www.gamer365.hu/profile.php?user_id=85
 
Currently I own a couple of custom-made cabs (two home-made tabletops and a really nice Neo-Geo cab converted from a Challenger, btw it has a 4-in-1 JAMMA setup), an aussie-style cocktail table with a 3-in-1 JAMMA selector built-in and also a few dedicated cabinets, like Mortal Kombat 2, 3, 4, Killer Instinct (1) (all of them - except MK4 - are completely reconditioned with new artworks etc.), oh and I almost forgot... an After Burner upright and my favorite one: a fully renewed Nintendo PlayChoice Super De-Luxe cabinet with 10 game carts and a 2-in-1 JAMMA switch installed. :)
 
I have a fairly small apartment, so I haven't got too much space to store any more cabs, despite this I always plan to get some new ones: a Dracula and a Tales of the Arabian Nights pinball machine and a Naomi universal cab, the latter one will go to my kitchen at my gf's biggest pleasure. :))
 
I also have an Atari ST with the Dragon's Lair laserdisc setup (fueled by the rather rare Atari ST control floppy disk), an Amiga 500 with another Dragon's Lair LD rig, a Software Corner PAL Space Ace laserdisc and own almost 100 (original, no bootlegs) arcade PCBs, a lot of Neo-Geo MVS, AES carts along with some Japanese superguns (Boardmaster Blast City, Sigma Raijin). I'm a beginner but I'm starting to feel (after having read back my little introduction) my collection is growing and it's becoming quite insane (to me at least :)), mainly here, in Hungary. However I've deciced (again :)) to sort out and cut down the size of my collection a bit (or move to a big house I'll fill with a lot of machines) as I really don't play, "just" chiefly posess these beauties.
 
My recently acquired pinball machine is a fully restored, beautiful Revenge from Mars. I've got two another pinballs: Swords of Fury (uniquely restored) and a Freddy: Nightmare on Elm street machine. I like dark themed pinballs mostly.
I have a nice LaserActive system with almost all the LDs released for this great console. Also a bunch of other retro gaming stuffs and accessories, so now I just stop this list, it'd be too long.
 
Cheers,
snakeimp
http://myworld.ebay.com/snak3imp
http://www.facebook.com/snakeimp
Title: Re: Hello from Budapest (first post)!
Post by: Etienne MacGyver on December 09, 2011, 10:20:29 AM
Welcome !
Title: Re: Hello from Budapest (first post)!
Post by: Belike on December 09, 2011, 11:31:32 AM
Hi Ati and welcome aboard! ;)
Title: Re: Hello from Budapest (first post)!
Post by: gyruss on December 09, 2011, 11:44:33 AM
Welcome here! Love your Nintendo cab.
Title: Re: Hello from Budapest (first post)!
Post by: Q*ris on December 09, 2011, 12:55:00 PM
Welcome snakeimp!
Love that cocktail table of yours!
...oh and by the way: do stay in your "little" apartment because as you already know: more space = more cabs!  ;)
Title: Re: Hello from Budapest (first post)!
Post by: italiandoh on December 09, 2011, 07:57:20 PM
Hi and welcome here!
I see you're a LD game fan, good :)
Any chances you could share images of your copies of the LDG control programs for Atari ST and Amiga?
See you around,

Matteo
Title: Re: Hello from Budapest (first post)!
Post by: snakeimp on December 11, 2011, 03:45:25 AM
Thanks for the warm welcome, guys. : ) Yes, for now I must stay in my little cosy arcade-flat, but soon I'm going to need some new cabs, that's why I have to buy a house. : )

Yes, I'd gladly dump the Atari ST Dragon's Lair control program disk's content to an image file. The problem is I don't really know how it works with the ST (on the Amiga it's easy, I've done that a few times). Btw, I have a 1040STFM.
Title: Re: Hello from Budapest (first post)!
Post by: DarthNuno on December 11, 2011, 07:02:15 AM
Welcome to DFL/ALS'  :)

...I also have an Atari ST with the Dragon's Lair laserdisc setup (fueled by the rather rare Atari ST control floppy disk),

Wow, like Matteo said... I wanna see that! I didn't know it was possible to use an Atari ST for that.
Another LD fan, yes!  ;) Enjoy the place  :-*

Any chances you could share images of your copies of the LDG control programs for Atari ST and Amiga?
The Amiga file is available somewhere here (https://www.dragonslairfans.com/emulatethelair/emulate.htm).  ;)
Title: Re: Hello from Budapest (first post)!
Post by: italiandoh on December 11, 2011, 12:47:53 PM
Any chances you could share images of your copies of the LDG control programs for Atari ST and Amiga?
The Amiga file is available somewhere here (https://www.dragonslairfans.com/emulatethelair/emulate.htm).  ;)

Yes, but I always ask for a dump if possible. You never know, a different and/or unknown version may pop up.

Matteo
Title: Re: Hello from Budapest (first post)!
Post by: level42 on December 11, 2011, 11:12:31 PM

Yes, I'd gladly dump the Atari ST Dragon's Lair control program disk's content to an image file. The problem is I don't really know how it works with the ST (on the Amiga it's easy, I've done that a few times). Btw, I have a 1040STFM.

That's very easy because the Atari TOS floppy format was almost 100% compatible with MS-Dos (or PC if you like) format. So you should be able to do it on a regular PC as long as you have a floppy disk drive on it...

If it is not a bootable floppy you should even be able to simply copy the files. At least....that's all in theory of course, but worth a try (remember to write protect the floppy though ;))

Oh and welcome of course ! :)

[Edit] Some googling actually produced a program to do imaging of Atari ST floppies on a PC:
http://atari.8bitchip.info/floimgd.php
Title: Re: Hello from Budapest (first post)!
Post by: Gerry on December 12, 2011, 08:24:11 AM
Hi Attila,

nice to meet another Atari ST-User  :).

I'd be interested in your rare Atari ST control floppy disk,too.

Creating an image of your Atari ST disk is quite easy. Here's how I would do it:

1. Format two disks on your Atari ST using a format/copy-utility which is able to create a MSDOS-compatible disk (I suggest FCopy 3.0 or FCopy Pro)
2. Insert your newly formated disk in your PC floppy drive
3. Download the Magic Shadow Archiver (MSA) here (http://sites.google.com/site/stessential/disks-tools/msa) and extract the zip file to your newly formated disk

(http://sites.google.com/site/stessential/_/rsrc/1295258715939/High_MSA_01.jpg?width=600)

4. Insert the disk in your Atari ST and launch the Magic Shadow Archiver (this is a programm which is able to create an image file containing selected (or all) tracks of a disk)
5. Eject the disk and insert the other newly formated disk.
6. Click on the field where the headline reads "Filename, click to change". I always used the program with multiple drives (floppy disk drive / hard disk), but in case you only use one floppy disk drive, I would suggest, according to the Atari ST manual, to enter B: (for a simulated second disk drive) in the file selector. Enter a name for the disk image, you'd like to create (for example DLCONTRL.MSA) and confirm your choice by clicking on the "OK" button in the fileselector.
7. Eject the disk and insert your Atari ST DL control floppy disk.
8. Make sure, drive A is selected
9. Make sure, the left button in the middle row states "DISK->FILE" (not "DISK<-FILE")
10. Click on the "ANALYZE" button and write down the disk geometry, which is now displayed
11. Enter the disk geometry (sides, sectors, tracks) in the appropriate fields and make sure, that the field "TRACKS" begins at track 00 and ends at the last track of your disk (watch the informations about the disk geometry, which you'll get after clicking on "ANALYZE"). Entering wrong values here could result in a partial disk image which wouldn't run.
12. Now click on "Do it!" - the program should now start to read your Atari ST DL control floppy disk track by track. Depending of how much RAM your Atari ST has built-in, you'll be requested for a different number of times to exchange the Atari ST DL control floppy disk for your previously newly formated disk.
13. If everything worked fine, you should now have a disk image of your Atari ST DL control floppy disk on your previously formated disk called DLCONTRL.MSA (or whatever name you've chosen).
14. Insert the disk containing the disk image DLCONTRL.MSA in your PC floppy disk drive and upload it to the forum  :).

I made this step-by-step guide from memory and I hope, I remembered correctly. It reads difficult, but it's quite simple to do. Follow my guide on your on risk. Always leave your Atari ST DL control floppy disk write-protected.

In case you are running into problems, just PM me and I'll try to assist you. I would also offer to do the creation of the disk image for you, if you'd agree to send the Atari ST DL control floppy disk to me (by registered mail).

Your Atari ST DL control floppy disk really is a rarity and is worth to be preserved.

Do you have a control disk for your Software Corner PAL Space Ace laserdisc, too?



Title: Re: Hello from Budapest (first post)!
Post by: snakeimp on December 17, 2011, 10:38:59 AM
Hello guys,

I've just got back from a refreshing one-week-long trip (to reality : ) ), and am really glad to see the pretty thorough method written here how to dump my Atari ST DL control disk. I'm going to try it. Thank you very much for the help! (If I can't work it out myself, I'll send the disc to Gerry.)

Oh, and I'm sorry but I don't have a control disk for the Software Corner Space Ace LD. : ( I'm also looking for that one desperately. : ) Anyone here maybe has got it, who knows. ; )
Title: Re: Hello from Budapest (first post)!
Post by: level42 on December 17, 2011, 11:25:57 AM
Wow excellent walk through. Hah, Fcopy was my favorite tool on the ST ;)

About the original disk, I would actually totally _remove_ the write tab (if any is in fact installed, some factory disks didn't have them). That way you can NEVER accidentally overwrite it....

And remember, if you can see through the hole, it is safe :)
Title: Re: Hello from Budapest (first post)!
Post by: Gerry on January 06, 2012, 12:42:26 PM
Any update on the conversion of the Atari ST DL control disk?
Title: Re: Hello from Budapest (first post)!
Post by: snakeimp on February 11, 2015, 04:00:41 AM
Any update on the conversion of the Atari ST DL control disk?

Better than never. ;) I've finally managed to prepare a functioning copy, although it's not in .msa format, I've put it into .st format. I've given it a try running the image under an Atari ST emulator (Hatari), and it works, so the conversion process must have gone fine, I guess.

So here comes attached the Thayer's Quest control floppy disc (for Atari ST). Thanks for your patience, mate. :)
Title: Re: Hello from Budapest (first post)!
Post by: level42 on February 11, 2015, 09:34:00 AM
Excellent that it's at least backed up.....I'm sure Atarimania and the guys at Atariage may be interested in this too !

I'd love to see some pics of the hardware set up needed to run DL on the ST :)
Title: Re: Hello from Budapest (first post)!
Post by: Tyrem on February 11, 2015, 09:49:57 AM
Welcome to the place to be! :)
Title: Re: Hello from Budapest (first post)!
Post by: Gerry on February 11, 2015, 09:28:52 PM
So here comes attached the Thayer's Quest control floppy disc (for Atari ST). Thanks for your patience, mate. :)

Thayer's Quest? I already uploaded the control disk to the net in 2014 ("Thayer's Quest" laserdisc control disk (http://www.atari-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=26876)). What happened to the DL control disk?
Title: Re: Hello from Budapest (first post)!
Post by: snakeimp on February 12, 2015, 12:30:46 AM
Oh, in the meantime I've discovered it on another forum (uploaded last summer by AtariFan, who turns out to be youuu, Gerry, as I see now). :) After a brief and basic comparison I must tell the disc image herein is seemingly of the same program version as yours, I think.
But please check yourself.

My DL one seems to be dead. Actually two control disks came with my eBay purchase back then. None of the floppy discs seemed original (I mean the stickers, they were cheap homemade like ones). The blue one which had the Dragon's Lair writing on it is for Thayer's Quest, the other one (as I can recall it was pink (!) does not work / can't be read, it's total garbage (also has Dragon's Lair written on its physical label, that's why I always thought I had DL only). On the other hand I was really happy to have found the Thayer's Quest floppy disk in my collection, as the DL control disc is available for the Amiga for a long time.

Maybe Igorstellar (I watched his video you linked) has a working one for the ST, don't you happen to know?

And still no Space Ace control disk been found for now (for any system). :(
Title: Re: Hello from Budapest (first post)!
Post by: snakeimp on February 12, 2015, 03:17:52 AM
I've just been searching through an essential part of my LD collection now (I had to breathe in some quality dust, of course :)), and have found a two-page manual from LDG for the Software Corner version of Space Ace (it was slipped into the white case of Space Ace). Maybe it's not new to you, but I've never realized I have this stuff, weird. So I was a bit surprised. :)

I took a pic.
Title: Re: Hello from Budapest (first post)!
Post by: snakeimp on February 12, 2015, 03:27:53 AM
Before packing all these thingies back to a place I really rarely have access to :) I took a photo of the 2nd page as well.
Title: Re: Hello from Budapest (first post)!
Post by: Gerry on February 12, 2015, 07:35:25 PM
Nice  :). I didn't know the Space Ace stuff.
Title: Re: Hello from Budapest (first post)!
Post by: snakeimp on July 27, 2015, 06:58:17 AM
Nice  :). I didn't know the Space Ace stuff.

I moved a part of my arcade collection to my other flat (the rest is here), and it seems in the meantime I have come across another 2 Atari control floppies for Dragon's Lair and the Amiga remote disk for Thayer's Quest. My Atari and Amiga puters are in my another apartment, so it'll take some time to dump them, but at least they've been found, let's hope they'll work as well! :) Especially these Atari disks (one of them should, I really hope).
Title: Re: Hello from Budapest (first post)!
Post by: DarthNuno on July 27, 2015, 07:55:17 AM
Great stuff! Thanks for sharing it with us  :)
Title: Re: Hello from Budapest (first post)!
Post by: xadhoom on July 30, 2015, 12:27:39 AM
Welcome and what a big news the Atari st software that I was looking for 14 years!
How you can share the dump for the ST.
Good news !