6 ms·

This is the coolest thing I've seen posted on HN in years, very cool work. I've been playing with Atari 2600 programming on and off for the past few years and

by kgwxd 8y ago

This is the coolest thing I've seen posted on HN in years, very cool work. I've been playing with Atari 2600 programming on and off for the past few years and it is so fun programming directly against the specific hardware. I can't help but occasionally wonder if I could piece together a similar system, but I have 0 experience with electronics. I can only imagine how satisfying it must be to actually pull it off.

pkiller 8y ago
Thanks a lot :) It really is super satisfying to get this far, I still turn it on sometimes just to check if it really works. And I also had zero experience with electronics (and I still don't know as much as I should...), so yeah I think you could piece together something like this. :)
- ArtWomb 8y ago
  I was a tad skeptical when I saw the title. But it looks like you really pulled it off. It took Atari engineers like 4 years ;) Is it fast enough for multi-input / multi-player?
  - pkiller 8y ago
    Thanks :) The only multi-input game I have right now is Tetris for 2 players. My girlfriend doesn't complaint while playing it (except when I win :P), so I'd say it's pretty responsive, even with the somewhat convoluted way the CPU communicates with the PPU and the double-buffering. I think it will work for other types of games as well. With all the hardware, firmware for the 3 microcontrollers, bootloader software, compiler toolchain and tools, I still haven't gotten around to actually make a lot of games for it.
    - Eek 8y ago
      This is crazy dude! You're an inspiration! Awesome job!
    - yonz 8y ago
      I would totally pay (~$300) to jump on a pre-packaged MOOC like course that has a batch of students working together and the course fee would include the hardware needed and access to a TA like resource (when the batch of students can't solve a problem together). I can even imagine a part II with modern components after learning this level of basics.
- mysterydip 8y ago
  Wow! Thanks for making such an interesting and detailed writeup! And using my favorite CPU too :) Definitely bookmarked to read through more times.
  - pkiller 8y ago
    Z80 rules! Thanks :)
    - apple4ever 8y ago
      I love that there is a group of people who still love the Z80! Such a beautifully designed chip.
      - saagarjha 8y ago
        I was doing a little bit of Z80 work a while back, but I didn't particularly seem to appreciate its design (compared to say MIPS). Why do you think it's beautifully designed?
        Marazan 8y ago
        You can hand clock a Z80. There is a certain magic to that.
        saagarjha 8y ago
        I'm sorry, but what does "hand clocking" a Z80 mean?
        dangerbird2 8y ago
        I think GP's use of "hand-clocking" to refer to the factthat the z80 can run on a very low clock rate, to the extent that you can have a hand switch that sends individual clock pulses to the processor. This can be useful for testing purposes as well as for low power operation in embedded applications. http://www.thomasloven.com/blog/2013/01/Z80-Tester/ http://www.thomasloven.com/blog/2013/01/Z80-Tester/
- dustindiamond 8y ago
  Awesome work, dude!
- fxfan 8y ago
  > I still turn it on sometimes just to check if it really works. I know that feeling ;)
- kgwxd 8y ago
  Just ordered Make: Electronics and a cheap electronics starter kit with a breadboard and some basic components. Thanks for the inspiration.
  - larrywright 8y ago
    You should check out Adafruit and Sparkfun as well. They have a lot of solid tutorials to get you started, and a bunch of inexpensive microcontrollers that are easy to get going with, as well as all sorts of lights and sensers and switches to connect to them.
- matthall15 8y ago
  > I still turn it on sometimes just to check if it really works. I feel this on a personal level, albeit on my much smaller, less complicated projects. Thanks for the amazing write-up, you are an inspiration to us all.
bredren 8y ago
Agreed, this is dank. The successful wiring alone is noteworthy.
pushpop 8y ago
There is something weirdly satisfying about doing something purely for the sake of doing it. So many people start projects hoping they can turn it into a business or gain stars in Github - you see less and less people hacking stuff together just for personal enjoyment. I think we need more of that too. Everyone seems to be on a quest for perfection: perfect code, 3D printed casing, everything intellectualised to the nth degree. There's a lot to be said for the "rough and ready" approach of experimentation. However to do that you really need to be on a pursuit for personal gratification because the internet is a harsh bitch for pointing out ones mistakes.
- drfuchs 8y ago
  “One’s mistakes.”

by kgwxd 8y ago

pkiller 8y ago

Thanks a lot :) It really is super satisfying to get this far, I still turn it on sometimes just to check if it really works. And I also had zero experience with electronics (and I still don't know as much as I should...), so yeah I think you could piece together something like this. :)

ArtWomb 8y ago
I was a tad skeptical when I saw the title. But it looks like you really pulled it off. It took Atari engineers like 4 years ;) Is it fast enough for multi-input / multi-player?
- pkiller 8y ago
  Thanks :) The only multi-input game I have right now is Tetris for 2 players. My girlfriend doesn't complaint while playing it (except when I win :P), so I'd say it's pretty responsive, even with the somewhat convoluted way the CPU communicates with the PPU and the double-buffering. I think it will work for other types of games as well. With all the hardware, firmware for the 3 microcontrollers, bootloader software, compiler toolchain and tools, I still haven't gotten around to actually make a lot of games for it.
  - Eek 8y ago
    This is crazy dude! You're an inspiration! Awesome job!
  - yonz 8y ago
    I would totally pay (~$300) to jump on a pre-packaged MOOC like course that has a batch of students working together and the course fee would include the hardware needed and access to a TA like resource (when the batch of students can't solve a problem together). I can even imagine a part II with modern components after learning this level of basics.
mysterydip 8y ago
Wow! Thanks for making such an interesting and detailed writeup! And using my favorite CPU too :) Definitely bookmarked to read through more times.
- pkiller 8y ago
  Z80 rules! Thanks :)
  - apple4ever 8y ago
    I love that there is a group of people who still love the Z80! Such a beautifully designed chip.
    - saagarjha 8y ago
      I was doing a little bit of Z80 work a while back, but I didn't particularly seem to appreciate its design (compared to say MIPS). Why do you think it's beautifully designed?
      - Marazan 8y ago
        You can hand clock a Z80. There is a certain magic to that.
        saagarjha 8y ago
        I'm sorry, but what does "hand clocking" a Z80 mean?
        dangerbird2 8y ago
        I think GP's use of "hand-clocking" to refer to the factthat the z80 can run on a very low clock rate, to the extent that you can have a hand switch that sends individual clock pulses to the processor. This can be useful for testing purposes as well as for low power operation in embedded applications. http://www.thomasloven.com/blog/2013/01/Z80-Tester/ http://www.thomasloven.com/blog/2013/01/Z80-Tester/
dustindiamond 8y ago
Awesome work, dude!
fxfan 8y ago
> I still turn it on sometimes just to check if it really works. I know that feeling ;)
kgwxd 8y ago
Just ordered Make: Electronics and a cheap electronics starter kit with a breadboard and some basic components. Thanks for the inspiration.
- larrywright 8y ago
  You should check out Adafruit and Sparkfun as well. They have a lot of solid tutorials to get you started, and a bunch of inexpensive microcontrollers that are easy to get going with, as well as all sorts of lights and sensers and switches to connect to them.
matthall15 8y ago
> I still turn it on sometimes just to check if it really works. I feel this on a personal level, albeit on my much smaller, less complicated projects. Thanks for the amazing write-up, you are an inspiration to us all.

bredren 8y ago

Agreed, this is dank. The successful wiring alone is noteworthy.

pushpop 8y ago

There is something weirdly satisfying about doing something purely for the sake of doing it. So many people start projects hoping they can turn it into a business or gain stars in Github - you see less and less people hacking stuff together just for personal enjoyment. I think we need more of that too. Everyone seems to be on a quest for perfection: perfect code, 3D printed casing, everything intellectualised to the nth degree. There's a lot to be said for the "rough and ready" approach of experimentation. However to do that you really need to be on a pursuit for personal gratification because the internet is a harsh bitch for pointing out ones mistakes.

drfuchs 8y ago
“One’s mistakes.”