ATonce
14 messages in this thread
I am wondering, does anyone here use the ATonce emulator for your Amiga
2000? I would like to know how good is it? Can you use any software (games
etc) for IBM that are not made directly for the Amiga with it? If anyone
can shed some light on this it would be a great help.
Thank you Michael
Michael:
I have the Atonce on my A500. The Atonce will run a good majority of the
software available for PC compatables. An exception would be any software
requiring a 386 or higher machine since Atonce emulates a 286.
Unfortunately it is limited to CGA graphics in color which is KAK. It does
emulate VGA monochrome (4 shades of blue) but that is useful only for
programs that require VGA. I have had problems with some programs
requiring VGA. The application will boot but the display is garbled. CGA
16 color text setting is useful for programs such as Wordperfect, Quatro
Pro etc. They look just like when they are running on a clone.
Unfortunately, they use 4 bitplanes to get the 16 colors, and the speed
degrades proportionally. I definitely wouldn't consider the Atonce if games
were your main consideration. I think you'd be disappointed. I'd rather
play Nintendo. All in all though, I think the Atonce delivers exactly what
they promise and if you have a need for running MS-DOS on your Amiga, I'd
heartily recommend it. <In response to msg:12966> Yes, you can run IBM
software when you install ATonce. MS-DOS is not included so you will have
to buy that separately. You will probably need the DOS manual to get
started anyway. If you use the Amiga CLI or shell, you shouldn't have any
problem for rudimentary commands. They are similar to Amiga commands.
George
Hi George;
Thank you very much for the great discription. Do you think or have you
heard if the ATonce works the same or any differently on an A2000?
Best Wishes Michael
Michael:
I've heard but haven't seen personally that the ATonce works fine with an
A2000. It does require an adapter that costs in the neighborhood of
$75.00. A lot of people have problems getting ATonce setup but most are
able to do so without too much trouble. Understanding MS-DOS and getting
the memory parameters right are the two biggest hassles. BTW, if you have
a Xetec harddrive or GVP memory board, it takes a little extra tweaking,
but it is simple. I'd go for it.
George
Hi George;
Thank you for the help! 🙂
Best Wishes Michael
I've been hearing reports that ATonce won't work under 2.04 ROM. Has anyone
here tried it?
…Denny Atkin
Denny:
I haven't heard whether the ATonce works with 2.04 or not. Probably won't
hear much until more people with A500's install the upgrade. Wouldn't
surprise me if me if it didn't work, as the ATonce was released long before
2.04. It might be something that Vortex will rectify via a software
update; that is if they are still supporting the ATonce in this country.
That is one of the problems with the ATonce. The only support is through
users helping users. Just try calling a vendor and ask them a technical
question. They'll probably give you a German telephone number. All in all
though, I still think the product is worth the $250 or so dollars that it
costs.
George
If you want to play games, why buy the Atonce, or the Nintendo? You've
already got the Amiga!
– via Whap!
I agree. If you have an an Amiga, then why buy an ATonce for games. There
are some people who might want to try some of the IBM only games and the
ATonce just isn't up to graphics of any kind IMHO.
I also have a clone at home, and some of the IBM games are spectacular,
although you need a Sound Blaster or equal to get any sound out of them. A
couple of examples are Links and Wing Commander. Wing Commander II is out
and supposed to be fabulous. Can you say 21 megs of storage for WCII.
Those IBM programmers need to learn how to tighten up their code I guess.
I'm still amazed by the number of files in any given application compared
to the Amiga applications.
George
IBM programs (such as games) running under MS-DOS, susally have more files,
because they are limited to 640K, for most purposes. They wind up having
overlay files to swap in and out to allow the full range of functions
within the 640K limit. Even with windows, all you get is a bunch of
programs designed to run in a 640K environment. After you load Dos, you
are down to about 530K, (unless you are running 5.0 on a 80286 or better
machine, or some other Dos enhancer on a higher end unit.) With the Amiga,
they just tell you to go out and buy another meg or 2 of memory. First
time I showed a Dos user a program that required 2 meg. He looked at the
docs, and about choked. Many times got folks at users groups excited over
the amount of available memory at the top of work bench. (You got 5 megs
in there! And you can access all of it!)
Because some of the "great" games are not (and may not be) ported to the
Amiga!
via Whap! Al Benglen
74615,500
The last thing I'd want to do is use one of the emulators avialable for the
Amiga, to play games. Unless you go the Bridgeboard route, to enable the
IBM slots, you are stuck with basic beeps/sqwaks at best. (You could put
sound cards in, the IBM slots.) Still, you are limited in your display
resolution, (can't use all those neat 256 color VGA games), and screen
update is to slow for gaming.
BTW I'v'e looked at the VGA games on a PC, and the animation still isn't up
to Amiga smoothness. I can sympathisze with your desire to see certain
titles ported over though. I think, before I'd buy an ATOnce, or BB for
gaming, I'd buy a super nintendo. <g>
(Free association here…. Wonder whatever happened to the announced IBM
with a Sega Genisis inside?)
– Well Whap! Me Silly….
Actually I don't use my computer to play games. Not that there is anything
wrong with playing games on a computer–I just get bored quickly and loose
interest after awhile. [An exception uld be a good flight simulator if we
had an equally good analog joy stick to use with it. I do not care for the
operation of digital joy sticks–they do not have the same feel of airplane
controls.]
Maybe nintendo is THE way to go–that way I could run the sound through my
HiFi sound system with full range speakers. Would make for great booms!!
:^)
via Whap! Al Benglen
74615,500
Actually, I've heard that flight simulator will support Analog Joy sticks
on the Amiga. There is a letter in the current issue of .info that reports
that Flight Simulator II, F19 Stealth Fighter, MIG – 29 Fulcrum, Pro
Flight, F15 Strike Eagle II, and Flight of the Intruder, all support analog
joy sticks. Not being an Avid Gamer, I don't posess any of the above
software. (Heck I'm probably the only Amiga user who hasn't even seen
Lemmings, let alone played it.) So I can't verify that the above is true.
Hopefully, .info verified the "info" before they printed it.
– Well Whap! Me Silly….