http://www.tradera.com/auction/AMIGA___ ... d_21537449
New VIC dreams
PRG Starter - a VICE helper / Vic Software (Boray Gammon, SD2IEC music player, Vic Disk Menu, Tribbles, Mega Omega, How Many 8K etc.)
Btw, I also had a vic dream a couple of weeks ago. It was about a vic-20 cartridge game that was awesome. The smooth graphics was very nice. It looked like vic-20 graphics, but with a lot more complex calculations behind it, like a modern PC game but with vic-20 graphics. It was about knights flying around. When thinking of it, maybe it would be possible to make a cartridge like that. Maybe you could make a vic-20 cartridge containing a powerful graphics processor, it's own memory of a couple of megabytes and then just a routine to copy every generated frame into the vic-20s internal memory. So that some parts of the program runs on the vic's internal processor and some parts on the cartridges processor simultaneously. That could maybe work.
/Anders
/Anders
PRG Starter - a VICE helper / Vic Software (Boray Gammon, SD2IEC music player, Vic Disk Menu, Tribbles, Mega Omega, How Many 8K etc.)
What the heck is THAT??Boray wrote:And here is an illustration from your dream:
http://www.tradera.com/auction/AMIGA___ ... d_21537449
It is a C64C which was fitted with a breadbox C64 keyboard, but a few of the original white keycaps were replaced. I've seen it earlier on Tradera, and the VICs in my dream didn't quite look like that. At least all the keys were black, but some were much more narrow, higher (in the middle of a row, so really odd) and some were square instead of rounded corners.
I think it is enough to fit VIC with a more powerful CPU and possibly rewire or solder in some more memory so the VIC-I chip easily can read both video matrix and user defined characters. If a faster CPU is able to write to RAM repeatedly, the VIC chip should pick up what is in memory and display it as it goes along. Someone else more technically minded could probably fill me out. If I remember correctly, Ruud has made some experiments with a 65816 based CPU replacement on VIC-20?
I think it is enough to fit VIC with a more powerful CPU and possibly rewire or solder in some more memory so the VIC-I chip easily can read both video matrix and user defined characters. If a faster CPU is able to write to RAM repeatedly, the VIC chip should pick up what is in memory and display it as it goes along. Someone else more technically minded could probably fill me out. If I remember correctly, Ruud has made some experiments with a 65816 based CPU replacement on VIC-20?
Anders Carlsson
But my point was that it could be possible to make a cartridge like that without any changes to the vic-20 itself.
PRG Starter - a VICE helper / Vic Software (Boray Gammon, SD2IEC music player, Vic Disk Menu, Tribbles, Mega Omega, How Many 8K etc.)
-
Schema
- factor
- Posts: 1439
- Joined: Tue Mar 23, 2004 7:07 am
- Website: http://www.jammingsignal.com
- Location: Toronto, Ontario
I had considered this thread to be a little bit odd...but now it's happened to me! I blame having a new baby and not getting more than 2 hours of sleep at a time 
Some pretty crazy dreams have resulted.
First, you need to know that I'm a big fan of urban exploration. I don't do it much myself because it's illegal, but the idea of exploring old abandoned buildings fascinates me. I also used to work in a salt mine in Germany so dusty, dark places pop in my dreams now and then.
So, in this dream myself and my urban exploration team set out to explore an abandoned factory. Not only was it rumored to be a cool building to explore, but it had belonged to an unnamed company that exclusively used Commodore equipment for all its automation and control functions. It had been abandoned in the late 80's and most of the computer equipment had been left behind because it was now obsolete.
The building was large and round - sort of like the large fuel tanks you see in oil refineries. All concrete walls on the inside. We went around, stirring up lots of dust. It was very quiet, and dark, just our footsteps and flashlights.
Finally, we reached the factory floor and control center. There were dozens of Commodore-branded machines, all custom designed for the factory by Commodore for specific purposes.
In one corner was a huge mainframe with a color-scheme and detailing reminiscent of the 64C. It was controlled by a custom console that looked like three C128 keyboards stuck into one. A four-foot Commodore monitor was there, covered in dust. I couldn't read the part#. And then in another corner was what looked like a collection of 64s for people's workstations, and some of the power LEDs were still on! Unfortunately there was a fence between us and that area so I couldn't reach it.
But I made sure to snap lots of digital photos, thinking "wow, nobody will believe this!"
Enough rambling, back to sleep now
Some pretty crazy dreams have resulted.First, you need to know that I'm a big fan of urban exploration. I don't do it much myself because it's illegal, but the idea of exploring old abandoned buildings fascinates me. I also used to work in a salt mine in Germany so dusty, dark places pop in my dreams now and then.
So, in this dream myself and my urban exploration team set out to explore an abandoned factory. Not only was it rumored to be a cool building to explore, but it had belonged to an unnamed company that exclusively used Commodore equipment for all its automation and control functions. It had been abandoned in the late 80's and most of the computer equipment had been left behind because it was now obsolete.
The building was large and round - sort of like the large fuel tanks you see in oil refineries. All concrete walls on the inside. We went around, stirring up lots of dust. It was very quiet, and dark, just our footsteps and flashlights.
Finally, we reached the factory floor and control center. There were dozens of Commodore-branded machines, all custom designed for the factory by Commodore for specific purposes.
In one corner was a huge mainframe with a color-scheme and detailing reminiscent of the 64C. It was controlled by a custom console that looked like three C128 keyboards stuck into one. A four-foot Commodore monitor was there, covered in dust. I couldn't read the part#. And then in another corner was what looked like a collection of 64s for people's workstations, and some of the power LEDs were still on! Unfortunately there was a fence between us and that area so I couldn't reach it.
But I made sure to snap lots of digital photos, thinking "wow, nobody will believe this!"
Enough rambling, back to sleep now
If these dreams are caused by lack of sleep and having babies, I'd better go look where I have stored away my little toddler. Since I haven't heard from it ever, I better hope it has never existed.
I've had some other odd dreams, but no more VIC dreams recently. Tomorrow it is three weeks since last time. Maybe finding the PET basement in awoken state killed off any Commodore dreams for a while?
I've had some other odd dreams, but no more VIC dreams recently. Tomorrow it is three weeks since last time. Maybe finding the PET basement in awoken state killed off any Commodore dreams for a while?
Anders Carlsson
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Centallica
- Pinballer
- Posts: 1090
- Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 11:26 am
Leif,Schema wrote:First, you need to know that I'm a big fan of urban exploration. I don't do it much myself because it's illegal, but the idea of exploring old abandoned buildings fascinates me. I also used to work in a salt mine in Germany so dusty, dark places pop in my dreams now and then.
Have you seen this Toronto Urban Exploration Group before?
http://www.tueam.com/
Seems like fun!
Brian
The night to yesterday, I dreamed I was attacked by two large German shepards while their owner stand by watching. I woke up in the middle of night in fear, and it took a while to get back to sleeping. The next dream that night was about raiding two toy stores next to each other, of which both had a random selection of VIC-20 items. That was a much nicer dream. In the dream, I even wrote down the titles, but alas I didn't have the notepad once I woke up.
Anders Carlsson
Oh man, I had such a cool dream last night, I thought for sure it was real.
In the dream I went to a computer store that I had never been to before to pick up some sales items I saw in a advertisement. Anyways I start lookin around and I notice they have a used/classic section and I spot some c64 carts in a cabinet with a glass front.As im glancing over them I notice alot of strange titles.
Most of the C64 carts are multi carts that looked to have at least 20 games per cart, listed on the labels, I have never seen before but look similar to ocean brand carts. I start to nonchalantly
round them up and I handed 4 of them to the clerk and asked how much they were. He fumbles them around and says $2 for all. Instantly I thought, ALL RIGHT!! and started to gather them all up as I knew whatever the outcome of grabbing all these carts would be, that I could afford it and I was buying them all.
As im going through the titles of all these carts I cant believe im not seeing ANY cartridges that ive ever seen before. Right then that should have tipped me off that I was dreaming but at that point I actually remember thinking that I cant possibly be dreaming as I came to the shop with my dad and my bro in law and I had been planning this trip for awhile,etc.
So, as im reaching for carts I notice 2 carts that could be vic-20 carts but didnt have the full size of most vic carts. I grabbed them and sure enough, they were 2 Vic carts I'd never heard of before. One was solid black. The blackest black, paper labeless but embossed in the plastic at the end of the cart, opposite of the pcb connector, was the words "MASTER BEAST" . I went giddy with excitement at this discovery.
Then I grabed the other vic cart and it was beige colour. Similar to commodore brand carts but the label wasnt anything I had seen before. I was sooo stoked!! I grabbed them all and started to put them in a box that just happened to show up near my feet. Next thing I know, I wake up and hear the radio goin off and then come to the sick realization that It was a god damned dream AGAIN!
Man this one sure felt like the real deal. Even though I was quite dissapointed when I realized it was all a dream, it sure was fun and exciting.
Leo
In the dream I went to a computer store that I had never been to before to pick up some sales items I saw in a advertisement. Anyways I start lookin around and I notice they have a used/classic section and I spot some c64 carts in a cabinet with a glass front.As im glancing over them I notice alot of strange titles.
Most of the C64 carts are multi carts that looked to have at least 20 games per cart, listed on the labels, I have never seen before but look similar to ocean brand carts. I start to nonchalantly
round them up and I handed 4 of them to the clerk and asked how much they were. He fumbles them around and says $2 for all. Instantly I thought, ALL RIGHT!! and started to gather them all up as I knew whatever the outcome of grabbing all these carts would be, that I could afford it and I was buying them all.As im going through the titles of all these carts I cant believe im not seeing ANY cartridges that ive ever seen before. Right then that should have tipped me off that I was dreaming but at that point I actually remember thinking that I cant possibly be dreaming as I came to the shop with my dad and my bro in law and I had been planning this trip for awhile,etc.
So, as im reaching for carts I notice 2 carts that could be vic-20 carts but didnt have the full size of most vic carts. I grabbed them and sure enough, they were 2 Vic carts I'd never heard of before. One was solid black. The blackest black, paper labeless but embossed in the plastic at the end of the cart, opposite of the pcb connector, was the words "MASTER BEAST" . I went giddy with excitement at this discovery.
Then I grabed the other vic cart and it was beige colour. Similar to commodore brand carts but the label wasnt anything I had seen before. I was sooo stoked!! I grabbed them all and started to put them in a box that just happened to show up near my feet. Next thing I know, I wake up and hear the radio goin off and then come to the sick realization that It was a god damned dream AGAIN!
Man this one sure felt like the real deal. Even though I was quite dissapointed when I realized it was all a dream, it sure was fun and exciting.
Leo
The night to yesterday, I dreamed that I was riding the car past a big outdoor storage, a huge yard packed with VIC-20 cartridges. When I say packed, I mean pallets worth of them, most both shrinkwrapped and wrapped together in bundles of 10-20 cartridges. I doubt even Commodore at one time had a warehouse that large. In the dream, I made a note that I should return to that place later and investigate exactly what there was. It sure beats my previous dreams going into shops and finding a handful old cartridges.
The night to today, I had another kind of dreams, something that woke me up early in the morning but I can't remember now, and then one more about how I had the magic ability to convert classrooms in school (and maybe rooms elsewhere) into toilets! I downloaded one-time codes from Internet which I used with the magic to make the change take place. The toilets were all new and shiny. Although I felt sorry for those whose classroom disappeared, an addition of another 6-8 toilets should compensate (in particular if you got to go, which I had to in the dream).
The night to today, I had another kind of dreams, something that woke me up early in the morning but I can't remember now, and then one more about how I had the magic ability to convert classrooms in school (and maybe rooms elsewhere) into toilets! I downloaded one-time codes from Internet which I used with the magic to make the change take place. The toilets were all new and shiny. Although I felt sorry for those whose classroom disappeared, an addition of another 6-8 toilets should compensate (in particular if you got to go, which I had to in the dream).
Anders Carlsson
-
saundby
- Vic 20 Enthusiast
- Posts: 166
- Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2006 11:55 pm
- Website: http://saundby.com/
- Location: Gold Country, CA
I had a dream from a few years ago that involved a Vic. But first, some background. Some years ago I tested one of the LOGO turtle robots when the company that made it was porting it from TRS-80 to Commodore, and I remember thinking at the time that it would be more interesting if they'd make it so that the computer itself would move around according to the program. Too bad it would never work in RL because of all the cables, I thought. I embarked on a project to make a mobile VIC then. I got as far as hooking up a VIC to a sealed lead acid battery, a 5 inch battery-powered television, and a tape drive. I ended up using the lash-up I made in a Halloween costume for work one year at a company where we made components for night vision systems and head up displays. I called it an INVS "Infantry Night Vision System", I had the TV mounted in a chest pack and the Vic, battery, and tape drive were in a rucksack on my back. I was wearing an army jumpsuit and a flight helmet with it. The Vic was running a program that simulated a head up style display, displaying targets and information and giving warning noises for perceived threats.
That's as far as things went in RL, now for the dream...
I dreamt that I decided to finish making the mobile VIC into a self-mobile system. I went into the garage and found the rucksack with all the parts still in it from when I used it as a costume accessory. I pulled it out and set it up so that I could start using it to design some legs that it could use to push itself around while using a skateboard as a little trolley. While I set it to doing some computations on the legs (where I got mechanical design software for the Vic is an unexplained mystery) I realized I could lighten up the system a lot by getting rid of the TV. So I pulled an LCD display out of a knackered HP 200LX and built an interface for the Vic.
About that time the Vic was done drawing out the leg design, so I took it into the garage and hooked it up to an NC mill, loaded up a sheet of aluminum, and let it start cutting out the parts. I looked at the battery and realized I could probably come up with something better than the one I had hooked to it 20 years ago. So while it was cutting I came into the house and started rifling through my collection of batteries. I decided I could use a battery pack built out of some old Polaroid film pack batteries. So I wired them up, and went into the garage where the Vic was finishing up cutting the leg parts. I assembled six legs with some motors to work the joints, mounted them on the Vic's case, and wired them up to the User port, soldering right onto the fingers. Then I put the new battery pack inside the Vic's case between the keyboard and the PCB.
I went inside, burned a ROM, and stuck it into a cartridge then plugged it into the Vic, set the Vic on a skateboard in the hallway and switched it on. After a few minutes, I had the Vic skooting itself around on the floor of the house on the skateboard, scaring the cats and generally being a source of amusement for the family.
After a while I thought that maybe the legs would be strong enough for the Vic to carry itself, so I took it off the skateboard and stood it on its own legs. It worked! The Vic could walk around, barely. I thought "Hey, it could make it's own legs now. A few more will let it get around easily." So I punched some commands in on the keyboard, opened the door to the garage, and the whole family watched as it trotted in to the NC mill and started turning out more legs for itself. We all went off and had dinner, and then came back to see how it was doing.
When we came back it had about twelve legs on each side, and was just finishing soldering the last one's wiring to its user port. Then it set the tools down, and came scrabbling into the house like a caterpiller. After that I decided I could use it to run around the house and fetch things for me. I was even able to get it to go to the refrigerator to get me a soda.
It was about the time I realized I could have it start adding legs to other Vics, and maybe even 64s, that I woke up.
-Mark G.
That's as far as things went in RL, now for the dream...
I dreamt that I decided to finish making the mobile VIC into a self-mobile system. I went into the garage and found the rucksack with all the parts still in it from when I used it as a costume accessory. I pulled it out and set it up so that I could start using it to design some legs that it could use to push itself around while using a skateboard as a little trolley. While I set it to doing some computations on the legs (where I got mechanical design software for the Vic is an unexplained mystery) I realized I could lighten up the system a lot by getting rid of the TV. So I pulled an LCD display out of a knackered HP 200LX and built an interface for the Vic.
About that time the Vic was done drawing out the leg design, so I took it into the garage and hooked it up to an NC mill, loaded up a sheet of aluminum, and let it start cutting out the parts. I looked at the battery and realized I could probably come up with something better than the one I had hooked to it 20 years ago. So while it was cutting I came into the house and started rifling through my collection of batteries. I decided I could use a battery pack built out of some old Polaroid film pack batteries. So I wired them up, and went into the garage where the Vic was finishing up cutting the leg parts. I assembled six legs with some motors to work the joints, mounted them on the Vic's case, and wired them up to the User port, soldering right onto the fingers. Then I put the new battery pack inside the Vic's case between the keyboard and the PCB.
I went inside, burned a ROM, and stuck it into a cartridge then plugged it into the Vic, set the Vic on a skateboard in the hallway and switched it on. After a few minutes, I had the Vic skooting itself around on the floor of the house on the skateboard, scaring the cats and generally being a source of amusement for the family.
After a while I thought that maybe the legs would be strong enough for the Vic to carry itself, so I took it off the skateboard and stood it on its own legs. It worked! The Vic could walk around, barely. I thought "Hey, it could make it's own legs now. A few more will let it get around easily." So I punched some commands in on the keyboard, opened the door to the garage, and the whole family watched as it trotted in to the NC mill and started turning out more legs for itself. We all went off and had dinner, and then came back to see how it was doing.
When we came back it had about twelve legs on each side, and was just finishing soldering the last one's wiring to its user port. Then it set the tools down, and came scrabbling into the house like a caterpiller. After that I decided I could use it to run around the house and fetch things for me. I was even able to get it to go to the refrigerator to get me a soda.
It was about the time I realized I could have it start adding legs to other Vics, and maybe even 64s, that I woke up.
-Mark G.