8-bit Emulator Super Test

Welcome to the second part in my series dedicated to emulating the Atari. Last month I introduced the concept of emulating the Atari 8-bit. This month I will be reviewing several pieces of software that will enable you to enjoy a little nostalgia as well as play a few good games.

All of the emulators reviewed here are freely available from the internet and relatively easy to set up. They emulate the Atari with varying degrees of success, however some are more processor intensive than others, so I would suggest that you decide what your requirements are and maybe try them all out until you find one that suits your needs.

Some of the emulators need a few extra files to run correctly. For example, some need the main Atari ROM files including BASIC or they will not work at all. However, nearly all the web sites hosting the emulator software do not hold the ROMs directly for copyright reasons but often include links to other sites that the ROMs can be downloaded from. A few years ago, I was lucky to buy a commercial CD containing several Atari and other 8-bit machine ROMs and virtual machines. Again I must stress that although I probably own more 8-bits than is probably necessary, I do not own the ROMs inside them, they still belong to Atari (or whoever owns them now!). What you decide to do is your business and I will leave it at that.

To help you, I have given each piece of software a basic score out of five in a similar style to other software reviews. There are more Atari emulators/virtual machines available on the web, but I decided to concentrate on these few as they are the most useful and both complement a real Atari as well as replace it. Support for most of them is getting less now and for some it has stopped altogether, but as long as there are enthusiasts out there, support will always be available one way or another.

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Atari800
Let's take a look at Atari800. This is a relatively small program, only 195 KB in size. Set-up is quite easy if you are familiar with DOS based software and involves adapting a small text file to configure the software. Its main use is to run games and software that is not too taxing on the processor of your machine, however, it is not a full emulation and will crash if you try to run the more elaborate demos and games. Atari800 has, as the name suggests, been written to emulate the Atari 800 series including basic XL functions. This is the earliest version of the open source virtual machine that finally became "Atari 800Win" and needs ROM files and a BASIC ROM to work at all.

I have found this piece of software to be flawed in places and it does not run a great variety of software very well. But bear in mind that it can run under DOS including the DOS shell in Windows 98/XP, so give it a try. I occasionally use it on an old laptop so I can have a portable Atari, however, I am saving my pennies for a PocketPC device so I can use more powerful software.

What does it look like? Well... an Atari!

Documentation is provided to help you use the emulator. You will need to refer to it because there are no pull-down menus, just a blue Atari screen (as shown above).
 

PC Xformer Classic
This is a tiny little program, only 84 KB in size. Designed from the ground up as a direct replacement for the 8-bit, it has several unique features, one of which is using a simple cable to connect real Atari peripherals the PC. I have to say although I have attempted (on several occasions) to build the said cable using the quite extensive instructions, I am yet to succeed. I have heard that not all Atari floppy drives work, so maybe I have just been unlucky? On the plus side, PC Xformer Classic does allow you to have up to eight virtual floppy drives but you cannot format them directly as you need a disk image to begin with (don't worry, I will explain about these in a later article).

I have had some success running software on this emulator. It is by no means complete and the sound routines could do with an overhaul, but apart from that it is pretty stable.

Best of all it will run on a 386 PC processor upwards, in fact I use an old 386 laptop and have a portable Atari! Like Atari800, PC Xformer Classic is designed to work in DOS so you have to be familiar with that environment. I have had some amusing results trying to run it in a DOS shell in Windows 98 on my extremely fast AthlonXP machine. The attract mode should take some 10 minutes before it starts, however on my AthlonXP, it takes around 5 seconds! I therefore estimate that the emulation must be running some 120 times the speed of a real Atari. Now that's what I call over-clocking!

No help files are provided with PC Xformer Classic, however full instructions can be found at http://www.emulators.com.
 

Xformer 2000
This looks at first glance to be just a GUI version of PCXformer. But it is not. The software has been completely updated and given a total overhaul. The interface is both friendly and functional, there is nothing to install as it runs as a stand-alone program. The best feature is you do not need to look for any Atari ROMs as they are built-in. This alone makes it a good place to start if you have never used an emulator before.

I was impressed with the update from Xformer Classic as everything runs at the correct speed and it is totally configurable from the menu system. Three versions of the 8-bit are here, 400/800, 800XL and finally 130XE. Having the choice is good, as some software will only work on the older machines and removes the need to run translator software on the emulator.

One feature I like is a right-click on the mouse brings up the start screen (shown above) from which you can change various options using a pull-down menu.

No help files are provided with Xformer 2000, however full instructions can be found via the Help menu or at http://www.emulators.com.
 

XL-it!
For such an old piece of software it runs quite well. It was the first true attempt at creating a GUI environment in DOS without the need for Windows. As well as the usual eight floppy disk drives available, you also have the option to use your hard drive as a large Atari floppy! Does 30 gigabytes sound enough for your big floppy?

I have a soft spot for this emulator as I used to run it regularly on an old 486 laptop before it died and had my first truly portable Atari 8-bit. The sound routines work okay if you only want to use BASIC and the same goes for the joystick routines. As with most of the other DOS based emulators, they don't cope well with rip-roaring demos, but if you like the idea of dabbling in BASIC like the good old days, then give it a try.

XL-it! is available in several versions, they all run in DOS so I have not reviewed them separately. Unfortunately I have found the later versions to be more unstable than the first on my home set-up (it's a case of try it and see). Please note that you will need the Atari ROMs for this emulator to work. Finally, XL-it! takes up around 230 KB so it's not the leanest around, but with a nice DOS interface it is quite easy to use.

Rainbow
Breaking away from the norm, Rainbow has versions available for the Apple Macintosh as well as PC. The reason is that it was originally to be commercially available on both platforms, and as such, operates almost the same on both PC and Mac. I have reviewed the Mac version here to provide a bit of variety and to prove you don't need a PC to run an emulator.

Rainbow is quite a neat piece of kit. Even in its demo form, it outperforms most of the DOS offerings available. I have found it to be quite stable and it will run most demos and games you throw at it. Yes, the demo version is limited, but it is free and you can't get any cheaper than that can you?

Differing from the PC version, Rainbow on the Apple uses the main bar at the top of the screen for the options and such like - in fact I prefer to run this version on my Mac emulator as it is slightly easier to use having everything to hand at the click of a mouse.
 

Documentation provided is brief but functional (once again you will need access to Atari ROMs as well as disk images).
 

Conclusion
Other emulators I have not reviewed here included, A.C.E., Amiga ACE, EmuXL, MESS, Pokey and Wacke. MESS stands for Multiple Emulator Super System and uses the same base code as MAME (as such it is a bit dodgy to review it because of both its stability and for copyright reasons, plus I was not able to get it to run properly).

I haven't got and properly will never want an Amiga because I only like Atari computers. I would like to see EmuXL up and running as it is UNIX based. So once I have ironed out the teething troubles with my own LINUX based machine, I will let you know how well it works in the real world.

I have also seen Atari800 running on a PocketPC based PDA (personal digital assistant) and would like one as a pressie maybe one Christmas or birthday!? I want them on watches and mobile phones (Atari beat me to it!), just so I can have an Atari in my shirt pocket!

Next time I will explain how to set-up and run an emulator from scratch, where to get the emulators and how to get the ROMs from your Atari into your emulator. Meanwhile, if you use an emulator and have further advice on using one (maybe you have had some luck with the Xformer cable), please contact me at dr.wh0@tesco.net.
 

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MyAtari magazine - Review #1, March 2002