OldCat wrote:Hey Jo, thanks for your comments. Sorry, I couldn't reply earlier.
No problem, same here. 😀
OldCat wrote:
I have a very similar Logitech mouse (and a holder!), but it hasn't yellowed at all and therefore doesn't fit this computer aesthetically (didn't think I'd ever use this phrase). If I see Genius GM-6 mouse, I will buy it, though, it's so retro.
Ah, I see. That Logitech mouse is fine, too. It's just that I have little knowledge about vintage mice.
For some reason, the Genius GM models do pop up more often on fleamarkets and my country's eBay. 😕
Jo22 wrote:
GameBlaster and Tandy 3-voice would be a welcome addition, but they are unfortunately quite rare and very expensive. I've paid around 50EUR for the machine, about 20EUR for the keyboard and maybe 20EUR for the parts (cables, CF card, adapter, custom battery), so no more than 100USD altogether. I'm afraid PC Speaker will have to do for now, but on a positive side - it's very 80s as well.
This makes senes. 8-Bit cards themselves are rare now (in comparison). Gratefully, most 16-Bit cards do work, as well.
By the way, I once had a GameBlaster.. Naive as I was, I sold it on eBay. Because it seemed broken to me (no Win98 drivers). 😊
To my defence, I had no internet access and no idea what a GameBlaster was. I thought it was some sort of SoundBlaster clone.
If you like to enhance sound on your 286, you can install a Covox plug (or clone). Some of the classic games from the late 80s/early 90s
do support it. SimAnt, for example. The higher processing power of a 286 CPU is really helpful here.
If you wish, you can even combine the covox plug with some 80s audio systems (vintage stereo, ghettoblaster, etc.).
DSS / Covox Speech Thing exclusive games
OldCat wrote:
Jo22 wrote:I abolutely loved that game, btw. Along with Wario Land 1 it was one of my favorites.
Same here: second Mario Land and first Wario Land were totally the best games on the original Game Boy, transcending hardware limitations. I also really liked Contra: Alien Wars and Legend of Zelda. Last year discovered joys of using flash carts, so when I have some more time, I will check some hidden gems.
That's cool. I missed Zelda at the time, but had the joy to played it later on in my teens.
GB games I also liked when I was little were Space Invaders, Kirby's Dreamland, Paper Boy (at a friends house),
Tiny Toons. For some reason, I muissed the whole Pokémon stuff everyone was crazy about.
I finally got into the series because of my little sister, when she found a Pokémon Emerald cartrige at the schoolyard..
That was the time when I took heart and got us a bunch of the classic GB carts of Red/Blue/Yellow
(all second-hand, I replaced some batteries, too. I had to buy a Tri-Wing screwdriver for that).
That beeing said, we didn't became fanatics of the series. Just the ordinary fans. ^^
Anyway, back to the GB games - back in the 90s, I played many of them on my Super Gameboy adapter on SNES.
The Space Invaders cartridge (or "cassette" as we used to call such a thing) had both a GB ROM and the SNES ROM inside of it.
And when played on the SNES, the GB ROM also took advantage of the SNES audio chip (SPC700) or second controller.
In a similar fashon, Kirby's Dreamland 2 also took advantage of the SNES audio (to play sound effects like wind and thunder).
OldCat wrote:
Jo22 wrote:By the way, you can also play C64 IF games on your Amber 286..
Wow, I didn't know that, but it's amazing. I will definitely give it a try.
Might need to check if any other 8-bit computers would not be available as well. Thanks for the heads up.
You're welcome. While I had a C64 in my later childhood, I didn't exactly grew up with it.
Among my frist computers was a Sharp MZ-700, an 8-Bit machine with Z80 CPU and text mode/glyph based graphics.
What I like about the C64 is less the graphics, but the SID sound and the many interactive fiction games.
By the way, using that ancient C64 emulator is less difficult than it seems (many failed on it):
* Copy your D64 image to VC1541.000
* Run C64 executable
* Display the directory (type LOAD"$",8 (enter) then LIST (enter))
* Run the first program LOAD "*",8 (enter) then RUN (enter)
* Or run the program you got displayed earlier (LOAD"PROGRAMNAME",8 (enter) then RUN (enter))
Edit: Some typos fixed.
"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel
//My video channel//