A blog about tabletop hobby and or strategy games, with a side order of electronic turn based goodness here and there. Now with tons of retro gaming content both electronic and tabletop. Also with 20% more self loathing douchebaggery!

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Atari 8 Bit Computer Collection Update/Gripe Session Part 3: Books, Books, I Love Books

  Well some extra purchases kept this post from being done exactly when I wanted but it makes things easier on me to keep my collection more updated as my idiot ass does buy more stuff and doing blog bits makes me fired up to GET MORE THINGS I DON'T NEED BUT WANT ANYHOW.

  So let us show off my books for the Atari 8 bits and some collection updates.  As usual click images for larger if you want.


 My "Core" manuals plus some handy print outs and other cheat sheet like things from Atarimania or Atari Age.   The Internet is great for when you buy an old thing without a manual you can almost be assured somebody has scanned that sumbitch!  And the Atari 8 bit community is practically obsessed with scanning and archiving every little thing no matter how miniscule.  Bless their autistic little hearts!

 I think I got this little programming quick guide online with some other books.  Its kind of useful and handy.  I have a few more of such guides I have printed out but it is nice to have a legit copy from time to time.  Like most of the time, money and luck permitting!

 Our DOS manuals teach you how to.. use DOS.  Atari DOS not MS.  Being an 8 bit computer of the 80s computer code is all but expected of the user to some degree.

 Atari had really great full color guides to get you moving.  

 As mentioned I was looking for that Gateway to Apshai manual.  I found it somehow mixed in with all these books and that Atari magazine.

 The four Compute! Magazine Atari books I have full of reprinted articles from Compute! before it slowly morphed into a MSDOS PC magazine like most surviving computer mags did back in the day.

 A mixture of tutorials and programs to type in.  These pages give you an idea what to expect.

 And what the books look like within.  I love the spiral binding type books.  So easy to open up and refer to.

 Some of my other Atari books.  The FORTH book is mostly known because the cover is hilarious.  The two Micro Adventure books are kid oriented stories where you have to put in a program on your computer at various points to like solve a thing in the story and you learn a little about programming.  There are a bunch of these but I want to see what they are like and what the programs actually DO before dropping 20 bucks or so to get a bunch more.  The Consumer's Guide is a general purpose book about the Atari and what was available at that time, Atari Experience is a book of programs, and the Beginning Beginner is a nice super start book to get into both using the computer and learning some BASIC.

 More books of self learning!

 And the 101 book is mostly another book of programs.  That really won't even TELL YOU WHAT YOU ARE TYPING IN.  For reasons I guess?

 The Graphics book is pretty nice and friendly.  Makes self teaching easy and fun!  Lots of good stuff does this.  For you hex and chit wargamers go look at the original Squad Leader versus the Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kit series.  Squad Leader was great at teaching you and considered you at least somewhat of a novice but not a complete moron.  The ASLSKs are practically GIBBERISH like most ASL books are.

Then I had another goal now that I had photographed all my stuff.  ORGANIZE IT.  My collection had basically exploded past the small plastic storage tub.  And my multiple disk holders.  I dropped 18 bucks for a festive multi tub from Walmart and now we can see it all looks almost organized!

 Bottom shelf is mostly boxed Atari carts, lots of my books, and my SSI games with some other wargames in tow.

 Most of my EA styled album games here, a few more books, and the rest of my disk games.

 All of my other cartridge titles on the top shelf.  Sadly lots of carts make it a right bastard to know what is on them but in another post hopefully to be out before 2018 will show how I won't really need or care what game is what...

 The original tub now gets the Compute! books, and all my big box games.  So SSI and Avalon Hill now have a place of honor.  Until I need another bin for them.

 Heading up top is where my four disk caddies go, plus most of my controllers so things are a bit tidier and I have less issue wondering where the hell certain controllers are.  (Some of my Nintendo peripherals seem to be in the Warp of Warhammer 40K fame right now.)

 The cases need to have the funk of 40,000 years removed off them.  I have since done some of this.  

 Some of the disks I have gotten are just ill gained copies and will become blank disks as I am a man of honor.  Others may be legit titles I need to poke around and see what I can see.

 Now my legit stuff is more organized in the various cases, and my loose C64 disks are hanging in the back waiting for me to actually get a C64C or 128D.  I'll get one again someday yes?

 And my new acquisitions!  The little black box will get most of a blogpost as I inform yall what it does and how it can save things like my HALF A PHANTASIE 1 GAME.  (Research that you are getting a complete game before buying kids!  On the upside I have the manual and it was cheap enough.  Again, that magic black box will cure what ails me.)

And more general retro computing pickups I got cheap like the above Perfect General 2.  LUNK APPROVED.   I do love me some 80s EA game cluebooks.  Though I expect to never get the Deathlord cluebook in spite of wanting it badly.

  I am now way more organized in my Atari computing!  But there is always new stuff to buy and that mysterious black box will bring magic and POWER to me that needs a post all it's own.  Plus the 8 bit's brotha from anotha motha, the 5200.

  Should time permit we will see that all next time!

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