My first computer was a Radio Shack Color Computer with a whopping 16K and tape drive, it was handy because our computer lab in high school used Tandy Model IIIs and 4s so other than making a few changes for the display size I could test all my homework at home and even print stuff out on my 4 or 5 inch thermal printer.
Before too long I upgraded to an Atari 600XL (16K) and from there to an 800XL (64K but only about 36K was actually usable.) I still had a tape drive but I did get an Epson dot-matrix printer. Then I got a 5.25” floppy drive for it, back then they held 90K (single density) or 180K (dual density), except for Atari. They used an “enhanced density” format that was about 125K IIRC.
After I went in the army my parents gave my computer away, so I ended up with a C64 & disk drive that I bought cheap from a friend of my brother. That’s the one I gamed the most with, the games I remember most are F19 Stealth Fighter, F16 Combat Pilot, Strike Aces, and Tomcat. The 800XL was a more advanced computer but there was a lot more available for the C64. I got rid of that before being sent to Germany in Dec 92, and while there I bought an AST 486SX25. Which is a subject for another thread LOL
Phil
“The biggest problem people have is they don’t think they’re supposed to have problems.” - Hayes Barnard
Used the sound shaper audio input on my C64 with my guitar and eventually got a Z80 module for it but there was a problem in that the particular model of C64 I had could not use the Z80 pack and I wanted to run CP/M programs so the 64 was sent off to Commodore but came back like they had tried to stuff the Commodore Elephant under the keyboard, the shop let me trade the C64 in for a BBC B and with that I used a Z80 add on to run CP/M.
Chlanna nan con thigibh a so's gheibh sibh feoil Sons of the hound come here and get flesh Clan Cameron
F-15 Strike Eagle was my first real sim, although I admittedly didn't really think much of the primitive flight sims of that time.
The first sim that I actually enjoyed playing was Steel Thunder, a lite tank sim released in 1988. I think of it as sort of a spiritual predecessor to Steel Beasts.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
F-15 Strike Eagle was my first real sim, although I admittedly didn't really think much of the primitive flight sims of that time.
The first sim that I actually enjoyed playing was Steel Thunder, a lite tank sim released in 1988. I think of it as sort of a spiritual predecessor to Steel Beasts.
I remember Steel Thunder! Loved that game. I recall staying up late one night as a kid mowing down lines of infantry and my parents were not happy but I did not care. Awesome.
But my first sim was the original Gunship, and earning the congressional medal of honor was a huge deal. I guess I can't count Star Raiders as a sim, although even though it was an Atari 2600 game, it utilized the keypad peripheral for extra features.
That would be my first as well. In about 1990. Also got "Chuck Yeagers Air Combat" around that time. Played on a Radio Shack 286.
"In the vast library of socialist books, there’s not a single volume on how to create wealth, only how to take and “redistribute” it.” - David Horowitz
I remember Steel Thunder! Loved that game. I recall staying up late one night as a kid mowing down lines of infantry and my parents were not happy but I did not care. Awesome.
But my first sim was the original Gunship, and earning the congressional medal of honor was a huge deal. I guess I can't count Star Raiders as a sim, although even though it was an Atari 2600 game, it utilized the keypad peripheral for extra features.
Here are some popular "cracktros:"
We had them on the PC scene, too.
Bonus: see 49:30 for some C64 Airwolf theme!
Wow, what a find!
I'm afraid I don't recognize a single one however, I wonder if the crackers of that day were largely regional?
"...Yar's Revenge,...Star Raiders, Warlords, Defender, Centipede - the list goes on with almost any game you care to name. The idea was always that the landfill contained just E.T. cartridges. Now we can see it was, in reality, Atari's grave too."
The rusty wire that holds the cork that keeps the anger in Gives way and suddenly it’s day again The sun is in the east Even though the day is done Two suns in the sunset, hmph Could be the human race is run
#4502980 - 01/07/2007:34 PMRe: The 75 Best Commodore 64 Games Ever
[Re: MarkG]
Joined: Apr 2001 Posts: 121,383PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
King Crimson - SimHQ's Top Poster
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,383
Miami, FL USA
Originally Posted by MarkG
"...Yar's Revenge,...Star Raiders, Warlords, Defender, Centipede - the list goes on with almost any game you care to name. The idea was always that the landfill contained just E.T. cartridges. Now we can see it was, in reality, Atari's grave too."
Apparently the ET game was rushed into development and it was coded in something like 5 weeks in order for it to be released soon after the release of the film. Crazy! It really was the single gamble that broke Atari's back.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”