The Official ACORN Thread - All Acorn - everything...all talk

[CAPCOM]

[CMcK]

The Acorn Electron was my first home computer. I think the salesman had persuaded my folks it was all educational and things but I mainly played games on it and experimented with a bit of basic. My local chemist sold budget games for the system so I would patiently save up and look forward to what, probably crap, game was next. I really enjoyed the bundled dodgems game and a budget football sim called Soccer Boss. Mind you once I discovered how to break into the code on Soccer Boss and give the Bairns loads of money it got a bit too easy.
I didn’t have the proper Electron setup with the floppy drives just a tape deck. An utterly enormous tape deck in matching beige colour. It was bigger than the computer itself.
Used the Archimedes systems at school but mainly for controlling CNC lathes and milling machines. You had to write code to control these things in pure machine code. It was amazing when you perfected it though and watched the machine rattle off your desired piece.
Did sneak in the odd game on those school computers though. The E-Type game was impressive as was Zarch.
I did take the notion to pick up a A3020 last year but the price is putting me off.

[Brad]

[MENTION=8265]CMcK[/MENTION] machine code to control CNC machines? Surely you were using G-Code? e.g.

G01 X1 Y1 F20 T01 M03 S500

[CMcK]

Doesn’t look familiar. The systems I used were all in hexadecimal. There’s was lots of scribbling notes on paper before inputting the desired values in. It was usually an instruction like move on y-axis which corresponded to a hex pair say AA for example followed by a numeric value for the required distance. IIRC correctly it was in tenth of a millimeter steps. It was a lengthy process but once you had it going it was great. I always enjoyed turning stuff by hand but CNC was perfect every time and you could see how things could be mass produced that way. I suppose you still need a fleshy biped to change the cutting tool and insert blanks then removed the finished items.

[CAPCOM]

In sixth form we got to play this after work was complete...

[CAPCOM]

The Acorn was just better....hence ARM...

[Brad]

Doesn’t look familiar. The systems I used were all in hexadecimal. There’s was lots of scribbling notes on paper before inputting the desired values in. It was usually an instruction like move on y-axis which corresponded to a hex pair say AA for example followed by a numeric value for the required distance. IIRC correctly it was in tenth of a millimeter steps. It was a lengthy process but once you had it going it was great. I always enjoyed turning stuff by hand but CNC was perfect every time and you could see how things could be mass produced that way. I suppose you still need a fleshy biped to change the cutting tool and insert blanks then removed the finished items.

I could be wrong I guess but that sounds very much like G code mate!
For actual machine code AA wouldn't mean move somewhere, it'd just be a CPU instruction.

G01 means move in a straight line for example and then the X1 and Y1 are the axis to move along.

I used to generate G Code from CAD drawings to program CNC machine tools like punches and plasma cutters etc. It looks like gibberish until you know what the codes all mean.

[Cepp]

I desperately want a keyboard in the same style as the A3010 with those lovely green F-Keys

[CMcK]

Brad you could be right but it’s 30 years ago so I might not be remembering it too clearly.

Back to the Archie though. It’s amazing that there’s no dedicated graphics hardware like the Amiga and yet the ARM chip can handle sometimes superior ports of Amiga games. Audio was surprisingly good on the Archie too. I’m not sure but I think it used a kind of synth setup like x86 PCs.

[buzz909]

BBC Micro Compact was our first family computer so I love all things BBC. I tried to make my own games but totally failed because I just couldn't find a book to tell me how to do it in assembly code and I wasn't smart enough to figure it out by myself. It was such a great machine to use. I later bought a Spectrum which I like too but was very clunky to use compared to the BBC

My favourite games are Elite, Exile, Citadel, Revs +, Repton 2, Palace of Magic, Qix, Missile Command, Planetoid! (how good was this??)

Back to the Archie though. It’s amazing that there’s no dedicated graphics hardware like the Amiga and yet the ARM chip can handle sometimes superior ports of Amiga games. Audio was surprisingly good on the Archie too. I’m not sure but I think it used a kind of synth setup like x86 PCs.

Yes it's impressive. I've always see a lot of Arch fans on the net compare it with the Amiga but it's a false comparison. The first Arch machines were over £1000 when the Amiga was at a mass market price. The Arch was firmed aimed at the education or business market and wasn't really designed for games. The Sharp X68000 *was* designed for games and cost a similar amount of money to the Arch but blows it out of the water with the quality of games on it. Basically arcade perfect FInal Fight, Ghouls n Ghosts etc

I remember a letter to Acorn or Micro User back in the day and this guy was saying how the Arch was sitting next to an Amiga with Shadow of The Beast running while they had some lame looking game on the Arch. So if anyone wonders why the Amiga was so popular in comparison, right there! Acorn just wasn't promoting it as a games machine and it cost a fortune.

[Baseley09]

Shouldve snagged an Archimedies years ago, seem near 500 notes for a 3000 now, craze. Super fond memories of using them at school and a fee of the rich boys having them indoors. All the games I played were Amiga levels, never ever saw one on a shop shelf but now and again someone at school would appear with a new game to wow us - virus, fervor, Twin World and e-type amongst them.

[importaku]

A long time ago i used to have an Electron i loved that little thing although it was a used one that my middle school friend originally had. I bought it off him years later it didn't last for long after i got it as the power input was a bit janky and it became loose and i think it fried the machine one day. But i used to love playing the Repton games along with spycat and my absolute fave which was elixir where you played a tiny chemist hopping around collecting pills in a giant pharmacy solving object puzzles like the Dizzy games had.

Nowadays i use emulation but on PC there's not much out there that isn't janky for emulating electron it seems nobody really kept up with it unlike the eternal support speccy seems to get but electremm is just about useable.

[BearBoy]

My family’s first computer was a BBC Micro model B. Have really fond memories of that thing (now relived through BeebEm).

Highlights for me were Elite, Citadel, Palace of Magic, Exile, Repton 3, Thrust and the old Acornsoft arcade “ports”.

I think the original computer might still be at my mother‘s house but I’ve got a horrible feeling she may have taken it to the tip at some point. Must ask next time I speak to her. I’ve got the games with me but none of the hardware.

[CAPCOM]

Can someone explain in tech terms how these new monitors are connected to these older Acorn ELECTRON AND A3010



Found these...�� SCART Leads

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Acorn-Electron-computer-video-lead-cable-6-pin-DIN-to-SCART-TV-Monitor/123790911221?hash=item1cd28366f5:g:gykAAOSwoF5ckmzf

Want this setup for Christmas...

That is a LG Monitor what leads will I need to hook it up like this? Thanks in advance much appreciated.

[BearBoy]

For anyone interested in BBC Micro/Acorn Electron games, there's a book due out next month that might be of interest:

Acorn - A World in Pixels

Celebrate the visual games history of the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron with this case bound book, contained within a beautiful slip case.

Spread over 476 pages, with a foreword by Richard Hanson (Superior Software) and Life of an Acorn Gamer by TV's Iain Lee, it features over 150 classic games, with exclusive interviews with key figures in the industry at the time - from the likes of David Braben and Ian Bell (Elite); Geoff Crammond (Revs/Aviator); Peter Irvin (Exile); Tim Tyler (Repton); Nick Pelling (Frak!); Peter Scott (Sim City/The Last Ninja); Gary Partis (Psycastria/Dr Who); Chris Roberts (Stryker's Run); Steve Furber (Acorn); Steve Botterill (Superior Software / 4th Dimension); Alan Butcher (Micro Power) and many, many more – and features on subjects such as key publishers, cover art and classic magazines.

The book showcases the computers’ inimitable graphic style and is packed full with memories and anecdotes from programmers, artists, publishers, reviewers and enthusiasts. Remember Elite, Chuckie Egg, Repton, Exile, Starship Command, Thrust, Citadel, Revs, Imogen, Codename: Droid, Firetrack, Arcadians, Mr Ee!, Zalaga, Castle Quest, Galaforce, Snapper and many more.

Read about the history of the iconic publishers including Superior Software, Micro Power, Acornsoft, Tynesoft, 4th Dimension, Alligata, Ultimate Play the Game and more. Learn about the magazine publishers of the time, how the games industry evolved and the many 'lost and found' games of the era. And much, much more.

New artwork from Ste Pickford (of the Pickford Brothers) and Les Ives (original cover artist for Micro Power and Superior Software).

An unmissable publication for anyone who grew up with an Acorn 8-bit machine.

LINK