40 replies to this topic

[Primordial Ooze]

Has anyone dumped the GameLine rom, and/or disassembled it? I would love to see the assembly source for this piece of history...

Sincerely,

Primordial Ooze

[Primordial Ooze]

No one has answered my question, does this mean the GameLine rom has never been dumped?

Sincerely,

Primordial Ooze

[Mot]

I looked for a game called GameLine and then a company called GameLine I didn't find it do you have a link or something?

[Impaler_26]

Mot, on Sat Feb 21, 2009 12:53 AM, said:

I looked for a game called GameLine and then a company called GameLine I didn't find it do you have a link or something?

Here you go:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gameline

http://www.atarimani...ERSION_ID=20315

[Primordial Ooze]

I looked at the links but, both gave no downloads for the rom. My guess is the rom is unavailable because it hasn't been dumped yet, is this true?

Sincerely,

Primordial Ooze

[Glenn Jupp]

Primordial Ooze, on Fri Feb 20, 2009 7:50 PM, said:

My guess is the rom is unavailable because it hasn't been dumped yet, is this true?

Good news: The rom has been dumped.

Bad news: The site that had the dump is long gone. I remember finding it in the Internet Archive, but the rom dump wasn't captured.

A little more good news: The archived site still had some interesting information on the chips and circuitry of the GameLine. Perhaps somebody clever can use it as a jumping off point for a further exploration of the gizmo. Give me a little while to go digging about, and I'll post what links I can find.

[Primordial Ooze]

Glenn Jupp, on Sun Feb 22, 2009 3:07 PM, said:

Primordial Ooze, on Fri Feb 20, 2009 7:50 PM, said:

My guess is the rom is unavailable because it hasn't been dumped yet, is this true?

Good news: The rom has been dumped.

Bad news: The site that had the dump is long gone. I remember finding it in the Internet Archive, but the rom dump wasn't captured.

A little more good news: The archived site still had some interesting information on the chips and circuitry of the GameLine. Perhaps somebody clever can use it as a jumping off point for a further exploration of the gizmo. Give me a little while to go digging about, and I'll post what links I can find.

Thanks, any news on this?

Sincerely,

Primordial Ooze

[Godzilla]

hmmm

http://www.geocities...0/gameline.html

https://www.atari260...--PROD1542.html buy one and dump it yourself?

There is also a brazillian version called the 'telegame'

[Glenn Jupp]

Primordial Ooze, on Mon Feb 23, 2009 4:09 PM, said:

Thanks, any news on this?

Sorry it took a while. I had half forgotten where I found this stuff.

Kevin Horton used to have a page on his site (ages and ages ago) about the guts of the Gameline Master Module. The Internet Archive does have a copy of the page. The text is in light grey on a white background, so just select everything on the page so you can read it easier.

http://web.archive.o...is/gameline.htm

Unfortunately, the link to the ROM binary is a dead end.

Oh, and check out the [Stella] mailing list for some more of Kevin talking about this gizmo.

http://atari2600.org...ust/007818.html

That's the best I can do for you. If you want more, then try asking Kevin Horton. What's the worst response you could get? :)

[Godzilla]

I ordered one... we'll see if atari2600 sends it to me...

[Omegamatrix]

Here is a nice article on the Gameline:

http://www.geocities...0/gameline.html


Also it links to some picutres of the unit playing:

http://www.geocities...60/glstuff.html


Edit: I just saw Godzilla posted the same link as the first one I posted, LOL

Edited by Omegamatrix, Wed Feb 25, 2009 3:06 AM.

[CPUWIZ]

Glenn Jupp, on Tue Feb 24, 2009 6:51 PM, said:

What's the worst response you could get?

None.

[Rom Hunter]

Omegamatrix, on Wed Feb 25, 2009 10:04 AM, said:

Also it links to some pictures of the unit playing:

http://www.geocities...60/glstuff.html

Thanks!

Added:
http://atarimania.co...ERSION_ID=20315

[Impaler_26]

EDIT:

Removed bad file...

Edited by Impaler_26, Wed Feb 25, 2009 2:34 PM.

[Deteacher]

Thanks for the dump. I wonder if it will work on my Kroko Cart. Unless someone already knows the answer to this, I can't wait to get home and try it out.

[Mitch]

Impaler_26, on Wed Feb 25, 2009 11:50 AM, said:

Glenn Jupp, on Wed Feb 25, 2009 3:51 AM, said:

Unfortunately, the link to the ROM binary is a dead end.

I downloaded the ROM but it doesn't work in emulation, just as i expected. Here it is, maybe someone can get it to work??

That's not the BIN unfortunately. It seems to be some type of htm file from the internet archive.

I did have someone volunteer to bring a gameline to the next SC3 meet so I'll try dumping it then if no one does it in the mean time.

Mitch

[Impaler_26]

Mitch, on Wed Feb 25, 2009 9:29 PM, said:

That's not the BIN unfortunately. It seems to be some type of htm file from the internet archive.

Ah ok, i was already wondering why the file-size is 4,44 K instead of 4K.

[S1500]

You have to admit it is surreal to see this setup that's 20 years before Xbox Live & PSN. To joke with kids about "well they didn't have xbox live for the Atari 2600", well. yeah, they did, sorta.

[moycon]

I remembering reading about this in the video game magazines from back then. (Probably still have the mags)
The article Godzilla posted...

http://www.geocities...0/gameline.html

States that....

Quote

Unfortunately, I was not successful in videotaping a segment of the most unusual game to grace the GameLine, Steve Beck's Save The Whales. What was so different about this game other than its unfamiliar title? Well, it has never, to this day, been released in cartridge form.

I'm thinking that is no longer true. Wasn't this game released on a cart a few years ago?

Edited by moycon, Wed Feb 25, 2009 10:05 PM.

[Primordial Ooze]

Thanks for all the info. I now have some reading to do on my offtime

Godzilla could you please link to the order page, i would like to buy one myself.

Sincerely,

Primordial Ooze

[Rom Hunter]

moycon, on Thu Feb 26, 2009 5:05 AM, said:

I remembering reading about this in the video game magazines from back then. (Probably still have the mags)
The article Godzilla posted...

http://www.geocities...0/gameline.html

States that....

Quote

Unfortunately, I was not successful in videotaping a segment of the most unusual game to grace the GameLine, Steve Beck's Save The Whales. What was so different about this game other than its unfamiliar title? Well, it has never, to this day, been released in cartridge form.

I'm thinking that is no longer true. Wasn't this game released on a cart a few years ago?

Yes.

BTW: Here are the Gameline instructions of Save the Whales, containing some extra gameplay tips:
http://www.atarimani...ERSION_ID=11841

Edited by Rom Hunter, Thu Feb 26, 2009 3:09 AM.

[Glenn Jupp]

CPUWIZ, on Wed Feb 25, 2009 4:20 AM, said:

Glenn Jupp, on Tue Feb 24, 2009 6:51 PM, said:

What's the worst response you could get? :)

None.

Yah, that's what I thought at first. Thinking a little more, I realized the worst response would be some deliberate misinformation that, if followed, would make the magic smoke leak out of the Gameline, the 2600, and our fingernails.

Mitch said:

I did have someone volunteer to bring a gameline to the next SC3 meet so I'll try dumping it then if no one does it in the mean time.

Ooo, fingers crossed here. That would be some kind of great.

Yah, I know that we couldn't download the binary into a KrokoCart or Supercharger or anything and expect it to work. But if the sparks who frequent the programming sections of the forum can study the rom, just imagine the neo-retro-funness that could ensue.

[Godzilla]

I tried to order two myself, but he said I bought the last one... I'll let you know if I get it.

[Tempest]

Is this that rare? I've had one for ages, but I never did anything with it (other than curse it for being too big for my cartridge drawer). I could bring mine to MGC if someone wants to dump it.

Tempest

[Glenn Jupp]

Tempest, on Fri Feb 27, 2009 12:57 PM, said:

Is this that rare? I've had one for ages, but I never did anything with it (other than curse it for being too big for my cartridge drawer).

Well, for me it's not just the rarity of the thing. That's cyclical. Sometimes there's buckets of 'em for the having, sometimes not. What makes the Gameline stand out in my mind is the untapped potential of the gizmo.

Look at what happened with the Supercharger. It played a significant role in the homebrew scene. The Gameline could have done the same. Could have done more, with the modem sending stuff up the pipe instead of just receiving.

But you know all that. It just irks me that the Gameline hit a dead-end. I guess I have a soft spot for the also-rans.