Plenty of new Apple II cassettes archived!

[Antoine Vignau]

Dear All,

You can find new cassettes @ http://www.brutaldeluxe.fr/projects/cassettes/ :

- Creative computing software: Voodoo castle adventure
- Innovative computer programs (by Ron Graff): The patient professor
- Instant software: Oil tycoon
- Mad hatter software: Diet planning package
- MUSE: Maze game, Tank war, U-draw
- Program design: Preschool IQ builder (Same and different, Letter builder)
- Programma: Depth charge, Football predictions, Kaleidoscope, Tarot cards (Ancien tarot)
- Rainbow computing: Apartment building cost analysis
- subLogic: 3D graphics & demo
- Wise owl workshop: Road race game & Space war

Will come soon:
- Apple: Hangman & Color math (the glu has to dry)
Thank you, Paul!

Antoine

[SuperNewbie]

Very cool, thanks for uploading! Anyone else having trouble getting
these converted to work with Virtual II on the Mac? I will try a few
more but could not get the first couple to load. I did convert them to
uncompressed AIFF as this is the only format Virtual II supports.




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[Nicola]

In article <mh4mrj$11pl$1...@adenine.netfront.net>,

SuperNewbie <Super...@nomail.com> wrote:

> Very cool, thanks for uploading! Anyone else having trouble getting
> these converted to work with Virtual II on the Mac?

Same here. I've tried a few, but loading always results in ERR. It may
be a matter of correctly set up the machine, though. Have you tried
loading from Integer Basic, too?

Nicola

[Antoine Vignau]

I provide WAV files for Ciderpress. If you want to use the programs, get them from the disk images archive,
av

[Jean-Michel Paris]

Le mardi 21 avril 2015 13:35:52 UTC+2, Antoine Vignau a écrit :
> I provide WAV files for Ciderpress. If you want to use the programs, get them from the disk images archive,
> av

Thanks Antoine for uploading all thoses cassettes.

I never had the chance(?) to load a program from a cassette reader during the Apple II era. Back then, I got lucky enough to have a floppy drice from the very beginning.

So, now, I can play with the "import from WAV" function from Ciderpress 4 and give it a try

Thanks for your efforts

[Antoine Vignau]

Thank you for your message.

On the main cassette page, there is a link to either the ciderpress (w/ file info kept) or the disk images archives, that will save you time.

Antoine

[SuperNewbie]

I have tried fiddling with the volume, but either nothing happens
(volume too low) or the ERR message as you describe. I can also try
integer basic, have not tried that.

[SuperNewbie]

On 2015-04-21 11:35:51 +0000, Antoine Vignau <antoine...@laposte.net> said:

> If you want to use the programs, get them from the disk images archive,
> av

What's the fun in that?

[Antoine Vignau]

The fun of using an emulator to load cassette data? Hum, probably none.

If you want real fun, get a cassette player, a cassette, cables and a real machine, and play with that configuration.

I may be wrong, but I consider that programs from a disk image and ciderpress files are easier to use for 90% of users than an AIF file for 10% of users, and I own a Mac.

Antoine

[Nicola]

In article <mh678p$2tvi$1...@adenine.netfront.net>,

I have made some progress. I have decided to try only cassettes for
which there are manuals or instructions, otherwise there are too many
free variables (hardware compatibility, type of BASIC, loading
method...). I have been able to load most of the files I have tried. The
following files work with an Apple ][ 48k with the cassette recorder's
volume set to the default (84):

k7_adventureinternational_adventure0.wav (Adventure 0)
japan_3dstarfire.aif (3D Star Fire)
japan_othello.aif (Othello)
k7_microsoft_typingtutor.wav (Typing Tutor)
k7_apple_002000501_checkbook.wav (Apple Checkbook)

Interestingly, I cannot load k7_apple_checkbook.wav in either an Apple
][ or a ][+.

When necessary, I have used ffmpeg to convert WAV to AIFF. For the
record, this is the command I have used:

ffmpeg -i filename.wav -f aiff -acodec pcm_s8 -ar 16000 filename.cass

Using 16 bits or a different sample rate doesn't make a difference.

Unfortunately, Virtual ][ does not have an option to reproduce the
cassette's audio, so it is not clear to me whether the cassette is
playing uninterruptedly since the instant it is inserted. Possibly, the
timing between cassette insertion and command execution matters, as in
the real world.

[mwillegal]

Virtual II doesn't start "playing" the file until the read command is issued. You can always "play" the files with iTunes or Audacity to see how long before the header starts and length of the header. Dumping the beginning of the memory read area for assembly programs will reveal whether the "computer" was starting to read the file or not.

regards,
Mike Willegal

[Nicola]

In article <23aa0bed-a9e5-46d4...@googlegroups.com>,
Antoine Vignau <antoine...@laposte.net> wrote:

First of all, thanks for all the nice stuff you're making available!

> The fun of using an emulator to load cassette data? Hum, probably none.

It surely is a good way to sharply drop your productivity, though!

> I may be wrong, but I consider that programs from a disk image and ciderpress
> files are easier to use for 90% of users than an AIF file for 10% of users,
> and I own a Mac.

Those 10% (which includes me) can easily accommodate themselves by
converting WAV to AIF with one of the many existing tools (including
iTunes).

Nicola

[SuperNewbie]

>
> I may be wrong, but I consider that programs from a disk image and
> ciderpress files are easier to use for 90% of users than an AIF file
> for 10% of users, and I own a Mac.

That 90% might be 9 people. ;-)

Converting from Wav to Aiff is not a problem, I mentioned in my earlier
post that I had done this. I don't have ciderpress on the Mac, I'll
look into it with some sort of Wine package. One of the disk images on
the site (I believe it was the disk image from Apple for graphics
demos,t is the first program mentioned in the Wozpak book I was
following ). It would not load the integer basic file, about half the
file was loaded , the rest was garbage. If the disk image was corrupt
or Ciderpress had not transferred it properly , and it was not
something I was doing wrong or a bug in Virtual II, it would make the
using the audio file 100% more useful for folks like me.

[SuperNewbie]

>
> When necessary, I have used ffmpeg to convert WAV to AIFF. For the
> record, this is the command I have used:
>
> ffmpeg -i filename.wav -f aiff -acodec pcm_s8 -ar 16000 filename.cass
>
> Using 16 bits or a different sample rate doesn't make a difference.
>

Thanks! That's very helpful!

[Antoine Vignau]

Thanks, I'll test some files
av

[Antoine Vignau]

Just added today: Rocket pilot and Star war by Bob Bishop, published by Powersoft.
av

[Nicola]

In article <3dd2bd20-59fd-4fcd...@googlegroups.com>,

Antoine Vignau <antoine...@laposte.net> wrote:

> Just added today: Rocket pilot and Star war by Bob Bishop, published by
> Powersoft.

You're unstoppable!
For those who want to convert those to AIFF to use in Virtual ][, note
that Rocket pilot is stereo, so you need to convert it to mono. I've got
the best results by splitting the two streams. Using ffmpeg:

ffmpeg -i k7_powersoft_rocketpilot.wav -map_channel 0.0.0 left.wav
-map_channel 0.0.1 right.wav

Then, convert one of the .wav files.

Besides, I've noticed only now (ehm...) that for some cassettes, the
requirements (e.g., Integer Basic) and the loading instructions are in
the pictures that accompany the audio file. In this case, they are the
same for both games: boot you Apple ][, then:

4A.FFR800.1FFFR
Ctrl-C
RUN

For the record, I've been able to play Rocket Pilot but Star War gives
me ERR.

Nicola

[Antoine Vignau]

On Wednesday, April 22, 2015 at 9:26:12 PM UTC+2, Nicola wrote:

> Antoine Vignau <> wrote:
>
> > Just added today: Rocket pilot and Star war by Bob Bishop, published by
> > Powersoft.
>
> You're unstoppable!

Getting new cassettes is becoming difficult unless there is an infinite number of sales due to the bad news, the passing away of Bob Bishop.

> For those who want to convert those to AIFF to use in Virtual ][, note
> that Rocket pilot is stereo, so you need to convert it to mono. I've got
> the best results by splitting the two streams. Using ffmpeg:

Stereo? I never provide stereo files, I mix or separate channels, export to WAV and test with Ciderpress, I did something wrong here, sorry.

>
> ffmpeg -i k7_powersoft_rocketpilot.wav -map_channel 0.0.0 left.wav
> -map_channel 0.0.1 right.wav
>
> Then, convert one of the .wav files.
>
> Besides, I've noticed only now (ehm...) that for some cassettes, the
> requirements (e.g., Integer Basic) and the loading instructions are in
> the pictures that accompany the audio file. In this case, they are the
> same for both games: boot you Apple ][, then:
>
> 4A.FFR800.1FFFR
> Ctrl-C
> RUN

Right, I do not provide the information when it is written on the label of the cassette, I now add details on the description of the program, but not always.

>
> For the record, I've been able to play Rocket Pilot but Star War gives
> me ERR.

I have two copies of Star war, I've uploaded a new (mono) WAV file of it, it loaded well into Ciderpress, the cassettes.zip archive (on cassette7.po) contains the two files.

>
> Nicola
>
Thank you for what you do,
Antoine

[Nicola]

In article <8f189c27-28cd-45ce...@googlegroups.com>,

mwillegal <mi...@willegal.net> wrote:

> Virtual II doesn't start "playing" the file until the read command is issued.

Thanks, that's useful!

> You can always "play" the files with iTunes or Audacity to see how long
> before the header starts and length of the header.

Does that make a difference for Virtual ][? Is there any way to
synchronize the audio and the command? For example, some manuals ask to
play a cassette until a high pitch is heard, then stop the recorder,
issue the command and press the play button. Is this automatic in
Virtual ][?

Nicola

PS: all this cassette playing reminds of my childhood, when I used to go
to a friend's to play with his MSX or Commodore (I don't remember). I
was poking fun at how slow the tape was, and laughing a lot when he
(often) couldn't load a game. But then, I was a bit jealous of how nice
H.E.R.O. looked (I didn't have the Apple II version).

[Nicola]

In article <54b2ddb3-9a8c-4286...@googlegroups.com>,

Antoine Vignau <antoine...@laposte.net> wrote:

> I have two copies of Star war, I've uploaded a new (mono) WAV file of it

Thanks, I could load this at once (well, in about one minute...)! Nice
game, btw, I had never seen this version. The game with the same name by
LucasFilm seems clearly inspired by it.