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RichF

05:11

@mods I don't have access to RC's meta area (if it has one), so I'll ask here. Could someone create a tag for [exidy-sorcerer] . I would have included it in a post, but it didn't exist and I cannot make it.

Annoying Robot

Q: What computers had redifinable character sets?

My first computer was an Exidy Sorcerer, bought in the late '70s. It featured a full keyboard including lower case, on screen text of 64 B&W characters by 30 rows, 2 MHz z-80 processor, up to 48 kbytes of RAM, 8 kbyte ROMpacs (an msBASIC pac came standard), ROM-based diagnostic monitor program, ...

4 hours later…

Stephen Kitt

08:51

@RichF done (you just type the name of the new tag).

4 hours later…

RichF

12:51

@StephenKitt Thank you. I have insufficient reputation to create a tag. I tried, but the question would not post until the new tag was removed. I'll get there though; I'm just new to this particular SE board.

Stephen Kitt

@RichF Ah yes, I had forgotten that you need a certain reputation to create tags — 150 here, so you'll get there soon enough ;-).

Gorchestopher H

So, what qualifies as Retro for this site?

Stephen Kitt

@GorchestopherH This is still a beta site, so the definition is up for discussion; but see

Chenmunka

meta.retrocomputing.stackexchange.com/q/2/276 is the Meta discussion on what is retro.

Stephen Kitt

Ah yes

Q: What constitutes "retro"?

Every community has it's own opinion on what constitutes "retro" - more than x generations ago, more than x years old etc. Whilst it's very subjective, and the subject of much debate, will there (and should there be) any restrictions on the cut-off for "retro" here? Or is it enough that the men...

discussion scope

I knew there was exactly that question

Chenmunka

12:55

Feel free to add your contribution to that discussion.

Gorchestopher H

I'm particularly interested in software bundles that were pre-loaded onto PCs of the early 90s. Since I'm sure my question is a poor fit to the site, and likely unanswerable anywhere, is anyone interested in a short "story"?

Chenmunka

There is nothing wrong with asking questions that you think cannot be answered. After all, someone may surprise you!

Stories which aren't questions may be better put here in chat or on the blog.

or possibly on the meta site.

Gorchestopher H

Back in the mid 90's a relative of mine got an "old" computer (yes, considered old for the time), windows 3.1 with a CD Rom and Floppy drive. It came with one of those keyboards that have a ton of Word or Corel "hotkey" commands listed on them.

it came pre-loaded with a pile of interesting software

For example: archive.org/details/msdos_Mickeys_ABC_-_A_Day_at_the_Fair_1992

And: Bricks (1984) myabandonware.com/game/bricks-1qf

And: Commander Keen 1 (1991): archive.org/details/…

The PC had a turbo button, of course.
The most interesting thing was that it also had a game called "Haunt", I believe it was just two files floating on the C drive. Haunt.bat and Haunt.com

While this sounds like the beginning of a cheesy creepypasta, it's not. It's just a game I've been looking for, for the past 20 years. I've already posted everywhere. No one knows what it is/was. The best guess is a game that disappeared eons ago, one that was supposedly only available through Compuserve (which does not fit the method I used to run the game, although does fit the time frame).

Stephen Kitt

13:17

@GorchestopherH I'd say it's worth posting a question on the site, you never know who might come across it...

Gorchestopher H

I'm kicking myself for not copying that game to a floppy disk, but alas, I was a kid, and this was the silver age, and all I had was 1 or 2 floppy disks, which I needed for my traveling copy of Scorched Earth and a few QBasic creations.

Chenmunka

13:29

Yes, that could be a question for the main site.

Q: Do we want questions asking for software or other resources?

A common problem with historical computers is a lack of accessible documentation or software. Other sites, like Stack Overflow have a strict policy on prohibiting questions asking for pointers to off-site resources (like this one). However, I believe that questions asking for resources, documenta...

discussion scope

There is a discussion on meta as to how to word such questions.

Gorchestopher H

13:51

I've posted my question, we'll see how poorly it gets received...

Annoying Robot

Q: Where and what was Haunt.bat? A game pre-loaded on a c1992 PC

This doesn't belong on the gaming SE, so I'm trying my luck here. I'm looking for any info I can get on an old game that I simply known as "Haunt.bat". Here is the back-story: In the mid 90's a relative of mine purchased a PC. I don't recall the exact year, it sat around doing nothing for a good...

ms-dos identify-this-game

Annoying Robot

14:33

Q: What early computers had excellent BASIC (or other language) at bootup?

What early computers had an excellent programming language? I know for many of them, the interpreted language was used as much or more for an operating system as language. Definition of terms early computer: prior to dominance of IBM pc and Mac, but including late alternatives such as Commodor...

basic

2 hours later…

Retrocomputing Meta

16:50

Q: What is this "Can you help?" message above the answer box?

I was looking at a new question on main (Where and what was Haunt.bat? A game pre-loaded on a c1992 PC) and saw this message above the answer box: What is this message? Was it added by a mod? I don't see it on any other question.

discussion answers

2 hours later…

Annoying Robot

18:23

Q: How does the NES PlayChoice arcade's security EPROM work?

I've read that the PlayChoice 10's security system includes a 64-bit EPROM that gets compared against the first 64 bits of code, and that it's possible to swap the ROMs between compatible cartridges (that use the same mapper) to play different games. What's not clear is exactly which program code...

nes

2 hours later…

Annoying Robot

19:56

Q: Was there an Apple IIc clone other than the one from V-Tech?

When I was a kid, my aunt had an "official" Laser 128 that was made, IIRC, by V-Tech. Later in life, I bought a "Laser 128" off eBay but I don't know if it was really from V-Tech or not. Even though it actually does say "Laser 128" on the case. But it's not embossed or appears to be high quali...

apple-ii

3 hours later…

Annoying Robot

23:20

Q: Remote Debugging on the Atari ST

Were there ever any remote debugging tools for the Atari ST line of machines? When developing games in full screen modes, switching away to a debugger seems quite cumbersome if you need to remember what was on screen. Are there any remote debuggers that can either show the disassembled binary or...

atari atari-falcon atari-st debugging

Retrocomputing Meta

23:31

Q: What topics can I ask around here?

We've closed quite a few questions as "off-topic". This close reason references the Help Center's on-topic page. This page is currently near-empty, and provides no information as to what is on-topic and what is not. We have many questions on meta concerning the scope of the site, but these aren't...