Atari 800 Series (1979)
Adding a keyboard to a console.
The Atari 800 series is often overlooked in retro computing, but this machine genuinely put the wind up companies such as Apple and Commodore, establishing an architecture that sold millions of units with a long production run.
On its release, the 800 was ahead of its time and one of the most powerful computers around, bringing innovations such as specialised coprocessors to ease CPU load.
Being an Atari machine, the 800 family features the classic Atari arcade library, but is also an essential experience for fans of ’80s micros.
So, let’s take a brief history lesson before exploring how you can emulate the 800 line yourself at home. –John Knight
Development and launch
The 800 series was born when Atari realised its console hardware could be expanded upon with a keyboard, and other kinds of I/O, to make a television-based micro. The Atari 800 would be the foundation upon which other models could follow, using the same basic chipsets and architecture.
Launching in November 1979, Atari’s initial lineup consisted of two models: the fully featured 800, and the stripped-down budget model 400. The 800 had two cartridge ports, four expansion slots, and a proper keyboard; the 400 had one cartridge port, two expansion slots, and an inexpensive childproof membrane keyboard.
Both machines ran a highly clocked MOS 6502 @ 1.79MHz, with 8KB of RAM. The 400 could be expanded to 16KB, while the 800 could take up to 48KB. The 400 would later sell with 16KB and the 800 would sell with its maximum 48KB. The 400 sold twice as many units as its big brother.
Colour handling is the Atari’s showpiece. Often referred to as 128 colours, the Atari featured “16 colours each with 8 intensities”.
After several years of Atari leading the market, the aggressively priced Commodore 64 forced Atari to adapt the 800 series with lines like the XL series. These could use more RAM, thanks to new variants of the 6502 CPU, and cut features rarely used on the 800.
Atari had a false start with its poorly received 1200XL, which was too expensive and not entirely backward compatible. However, the company found new success with the 800XL, a smaller, cost-reduced, simplified version of the 800, with 64KB of RAM. It was paired with its 600XL little brother, which shipped with 16KB of RAM, expandable to 64KB.
Gaming
The 800’s gaming scene generally sits in two categories: earlier games, which were largely ports from Atari arcades, and later games from the ’80s microcomputer scene.
The 800’s arcade ports are usually better than on the 2600 console, with more detailed graphics and additional gameplay elements. As for 8-bit micro gaming, the Atari probably sits somewhere between an Amstrad CPC and a Commodore 64.
Unlike many rivals, the Atari has proper hardware scrolling. While the Atari’s POKEY sound chip isn’t as good as Commodore’s SID chip, it is respectable nonetheless. And among the main 8-bit micros, the Atari probably has the fastest CPU. But when it comes to colours, the Atari destroys the competition, with abilities more like a 16-bit
machine. On the downside, the Atari has weak sprite handling and a low resolution, with blockiness like an Amstrad on a bad day. And because of developers supporting machines with less RAM, Atari ports often cut features available on rivals.
Nevertheless, numerous Atari ports were superior to rival machines and there are plenty of exclusive titles worth trying. To pick some gaming highlights, Star Raiders (1979) provided early 3D space flight and was the Atari’s “killer app.” Rescue on Fractalus! (1984) is an early experiment in first-person fractal-generated landscapes. Alley Cat (1984) is much better than its PC equivalent, and Ballblazer (1984) is better than on all other machines, 8 or 16-bit.
Legacy
As the 1980s dragged on, software support was becoming increasingly scarce. Despite this, Atari kept the 800 series going with refreshes, such as the XE series, which was styled to look like a 16-bit Atari ST and could take 128KB of RAM, and the XE Game System console, which came with a lightgun.
Atari finally ended support for the 800 series in 1992, having sold between 4.5 and 5 million units.
Emulation
Of the numerous emulators available, we like Altirra and Atari800. Altirra is much more user-friendly, while Atari800 has a retro-style interface that veterans may love. Atari800 has versions for Windows and Linux, but Altirra only has a Windows version, though it works well through Wine.
While both emulators now have open-source replacement system ROMs, proper system ROMs will give the best compatibility. Luckily, legally available ROMs are available through another emulator, XFormer. We wouldn’t recommend XFormer to casual users, but we can at least use its binaries. The Atari800 download
YOU’LL NEED
For more casual users:
(2007) is a modern classic from the Atari 800 community, which is still making games and demos for it.
page has a link to an older version – just unzip the package and we will point to it in a moment.
A final tip: If you get stuck at a game’s title screen, try pressing F2, which is the standard Atari key for “Start,” while F3 is “Select.”
ALTIRRA: BEGINNERS
The Altirra homepage (www. virtualdub.org/altirra.html) provides a ZIP file with Windows binaries. Download and extract the file, and in the Altirra program folder will be two executables: Altirra.exe for 32-bit systems and Altirra64.exe for 64-bit systems.
Once opened, Altirra runs a First Time Setup wizard. Click “Next” and in the “Setup firmware” section is a “Scan folder for firmware images” button. Skip this if you want to try the replacement ROMs; otherwise click it and choose the folder where XFormer is extracted, then proceed to the next section.
In the “Select system” section, keep the default choice of “XL/XE Home Computer” and click “Next.” The following screen has a choice of NTSC or PAL. This can be changed later on, but for now choose NTSC if you plan on mostly playing US games, or PAL if you’re more likely to play European titles. Keep clicking “Next” until you reach the “Finish” button.
To get started running software, from the main menu click “File > Boot Image,” and choose your file.
Unfortunately, no joystick devices are enabled by default – not even keyboard-based joystick emulation.
Enable a joystick by clicking “Input > Port 1,” and then selecting a device from the given list. The first choice, “Arrow Keys > Joystick (port1),” uses the arrow
keys for movement and Left Ctrl for fire.
Atari800: advanced
Make sure you use the newest version of Atari800, which has cleaner code and a open source replacement ROM. If you’re stuck using an older version, externally sourced system ROMs are needed to play anything at all.
At the website’s download page (https://atari800.github.io/ download.html), follow the Atari800 GitHub link, which has downloads for Windows, .deb packages for Linux, plus source code.
For the Windows version, download the win32 ZIP file and extract the contents into a new folder. Inside this folder is the atari800.exe executable.
For Linux users, if you can’t install the .deb packages, a Snap is available with an older version. Once installed, Atari800 should be in your system menu, or can be run with this command:
$ atari800
Once inside the emulator, press F1 to access the system menu. Atari800 will be running in a tiny window, so first open “Display Settings > Video mode settings” to increase the resolution or enable full-screen.
If you want to use the XFormer system binaries, from the main menu choose “Emulator Configuration > System ROM settings > Find ROM images in a directory.” Now, from the file browser that appears, navigate to the extracted XFormer folder, and once inside, press Space.
By default, Atari800 has joystick 1 set to the number pad, with Right Ctrl as fire.