Lance Ewing
lance-ewing.bsky.social
Lance Ewing
@lance-ewing.bsky.social
Retro computing & gaming enthusiast. Sierra On-Line AGI graphic adventure games, computer chip reverse engineering, 8-bit computer emulation, Oric, Commodore VIC 20, Teletext, BBC micro, digital electronics, js13kgames.
They are a thing of beauty. Can't wait to give them some personality 😎
April 4, 2025 at 4:30 PM
That's a great point. I got addicted to buying the Oric Atmos because of its looks 😆. Probably why I have three of them. I think the Oric Atmos is my favourite case of the 8-bit machines of that era.
March 13, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Found the URL on Sean's site:

www.seanriddle.com/6845/
February 28, 2025 at 5:28 PM
I started reverse engineering this chip a few years ago. I didn't finish & moved on to other things but feel free to use the SVG from my repo:

github.com/lanceewing/h...

If memory serves me right, I think I got Sean Riddle to decap my chip. The images are on his website somewhere.
February 28, 2025 at 5:18 PM
I'm tempted to try this RP2350 approach for the VIC chip myself. It has at least been added to my growing list of possible retro projects, so maybe one day.
February 19, 2025 at 12:02 PM
@tynemouthsw.bsky.social, I thought you might be interested in this approach with regards to your Mini VIC project. It's an alternative to using FPGA. The software emulation would obviously need to be spot on, but if this ends up working for the Oric ULA, then why not the VIC 6560/1?
February 19, 2025 at 10:09 AM
This is awesome, and OCULA is the perfect name. I love the play on words. I will be keeping a close eye on progress.
February 18, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Oh yes, in fact it was literally within arms reach of where I was sitting when I read your post just now! The sample AGI source code is what fascinated me when I bought this 35 years ago. That and the screenshots of the SCI picture and view editors.
January 28, 2025 at 1:33 PM
I enjoyed it back in the day. I played the sequel first though and prefer it. I purchased the San Francisco game not long after it was released. My knowledge of San Francisco landmarks is thanks to that second game! They're certainly quite different from other Sierra AGI games.
January 7, 2025 at 3:15 PM
We had that Scramble game growing up. I spent a lot of time playing it.

We also had the Grandstand Firefox F-7 game, which I preferred, but I did enjoy the Scramble one. I seem to recall the Scramble one being more difficult though.

I now have the music from these games stuck in my head 😂
January 3, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Thanks. Yeah, I assumed that this was possible from something I read but hadn't yet tried it. I'll give it a go.
December 30, 2024 at 2:53 PM
The external connection back in is a "feature". The first device has svideo & composite video output, with the short cable to feed it back in for HDMI output, if required, which for me will probably always be the case. I thought I'd keep the connection external though, just in case they're needed.
December 28, 2024 at 6:29 PM
I probably could have tidied up the Cumulus cable a bit, but with the LOCI, it is so compact, self contained and easy to use out of the box.

I'm sure I'll be tempted to get the Oric out a lot more now.

#Oric
#LOCI
#RetroGaming

(Cumulus on the left, LOCI on the right)
December 28, 2024 at 5:35 PM
Ah, I'm not quite up to date then. Thanks for the tip. I'll have to keep a regular eye on it. I realise this is quite new, so will be changing a bit over coming months.
December 28, 2024 at 5:13 PM
With the firmware now up to date, it is time to try loading tape files again. This time it is working, e.g. the Stormlord tape loads, as shown below. The Hobbit also loaded.

#Oric
#LOCI
#RetroGaming
December 28, 2024 at 3:19 PM
My first few attempts at loading a tape file didn't work, so I thought it was time to upgrade the firmware. The update process was trivial and appears to have worked without issue. The versions have indeed changed in the LOCI UI from what was shown in my earlier photo.

#Oric
#LOCI
#RetroGaming
December 28, 2024 at 3:12 PM
Loading from disk appears to work fine, with the few demos that I have tried so far.

#Oric
#LOCI
December 28, 2024 at 2:21 PM
"The Solitude" house is supposedly haunted, and it is this aspect that the game's storyline picks up on. The player controls a resident ghost that has amnesia. The aim is help the ghost remember how they died.
December 27, 2024 at 10:53 AM
During development of the game, I drew the rooms out in a notebook. The floor plan is actually based on a real building called "The Solitude", built by John Penn in the 1780s, now part of the Philadelphia Zoo.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sol...
December 27, 2024 at 10:44 AM