A few Atari ST questions

[zanthranfox]

Hi,

I'm new here, just curious about the Atari ST.

So.. I have a 520STm computer system with a 3rd party ram card, I have a few questions about the unit.

1.) I noticed the serial ports on the side. I know that one of them is for the mouse, the other is for a joystick. What kind of joystick am I limited to?
For example, would I be able to plug in a sega genesis controller and have it work? If there were games programmed to use more of the buttons on a controller, could
something like a sega 6 button work in that joystick port. (with all buttons working and addressable?)

2.) Is there a way to increase the amount of onscreen colors? I saw a 3d videocard created for the ST on youtube.. Is there anything like that out there where I can get a higher amount of colors on screen?

3.) Are there any processor upgrades for the 520STm?

4.) What is the best C compiler for the 520ST series? Any good books to be looking for? I noticed that most of the compilers in the programming section were for the 8bit series of consoles.

Thanks!

[marakatti]

Hi,

I'm new here, just curious about the Atari ST.

hi and welcome

1.) I noticed the serial ports on the side. I know that one of them is for the mouse, the other is for a joystick. What kind of joystick am I limited to?
For example, would I be able to plug in a sega genesis controller and have it work? If there were games programmed to use more of the buttons on a controller, could
something like a sega 6 button work in that joystick port. (with all buttons working and addressable?)

At least Sega Master System pad works, but most of ST games are designed for joystick. Pad isn't ideal for games where you need to push up for jumping for example. So the best you can get is the classic joystick. If you ever upgrade to STe then there are some games that take advantage of Atari Jaguar Powerpad.
http://www.atarimania.com/list_games_at ... 8_S_G.html

2.) Is there a way to increase the amount of onscreen colors? I saw a 3d videocard created for the ST on youtube.. Is there anything like that out there where I can get a higher amount of colors on screen?

Nothing practical. There has been some upgrades in the past for some ST models but they did cost more than the computer itself back in the day and there was virtually no software for them.

3.) Are there any processor upgrades for the 520STm?

See above. If you want faster ST the cheapest option today is to get Atari Mega STe. Or Atari TT or Falcon030 but they are not cheap. Falcon is the most colourful while TT is the fastest. Mega STe has the best compatibility, is a bit faster that normal ST but has no extra colours.

Many have chosen to use STeem emulator with acceleration and USB-joystick like Competition Pro ->
http://www.speedlink.com/?p=2&cat=414&p ... 5192e5d180

Please register to atari-forum.com as there are some hardware gurus who know virtually everything about Internal ST upgrades.

And enjoy your ST