History Platform / AtariST

* [[UsefulNotes/CentralProcessingUnit CPU]]: Motorola 68000, 8 [=MHz=]
* [[UsefulNotes/GraphicsProcessingUnit GPU]]: Atari "Shifter", 32KB onboard memory.

Jack wanted a new computer, and fast. A lot of his friends from Commodore had left to follow him, so a combination of Atari and ex-Commodore engineers started working frantically to get something ready for the Winter Consumer Electronics Show coming up in January '85. The Motorola 68000 was chosen to be the [[UsefulNotes/CentralProcessingUnit CPU]]. [[UsefulNotes/RandomAccessMemory RAM]] started at 128K, but was 512K by the time the computer was done. A custom [[UsefulNotes/GraphicsProcessingUnit GPU]] called Shifter allowed three screen modes. Sound would be the General Instrument AY-3-8912. The operating system was to be a port of Digital Research's CP/M, but it proved too primitive and was replaced by a new OS that DR was developing, called GEMDOS. A graphical user interface on top of GEMDOS completed the OS, called TOS ("Total Operating System", or "Tramiel Operating System", but usually just "The Operating System"). Since Jack's computer had similar features to the AppleMacintosh but sold at a far lower price, it was nicknamed the "Jackintosh" by the press.

* ''[[VideoGame/ThePunisherPC The Punisher]]''

* [[UsefulNotes/GamingAudio Sound]]: Yamaha [=YM2149=] (clone of the General Instrument AY-3-8912) PSG audio chip, also used to control the floppy disk drive and serial and parallel ports. a DMA-driven stereo DSP was added on [=STe=] machines. [[note]]Don't let the fact that it's a PSG Chip fool you tho- when paired with the Motorola 68000, this chip was actually almost as capable as the Amiga's ''Paula'' DSP- Gods, as well as several tracker programs, could use it to handle multi-channel wavetable playback at the expense of a higher-than-usual CPU load and some compromises (in Gods' case, removal of some of the more taxing the animations in the title screen).[[/note]]

* [[UsefulNotes/GamingAudio Sound]]: Yamaha [=YM2149=] (clone of the General Instrument AY-3-8912) PSG audio chip, also used to control the floppy disk drive and serial and parallel ports. a DMA-driven stereo DSP was added on STe machines. [[note]]Don't let the fact that it's a PSG Chip fool you tho- when paired with the Motorola 68000, this chip was actually almost as capable as the Amiga's ''Paula'' DSP- Gods, as well as several tracker programs, could use it to handle multi-channel wavetable playback at the expense of a higher-than-usual CPU load and some compromises (in Gods' case, removal of some of the more taxing the animations in the title screen).[[/note]]

* 3 channels square waveforms plus one channel for noise. While this was actually technically inferior to the POKEY chip used by Atari's prior 8-bit line, in practice it was a non-issue, as the AY-3-8912 and its derivatives were far more widespread (thus making it easier to port games to the platform), and anyone who really cared about audio could just use the MIDI ports to hook in vastly more capable devices. Several clever games could also use the PSG to play back multichannel PCM.

* [[UsefulNotes/GamingAudio Sound]]: Yamaha [=YM2149=] (clone of the General Instrument AY-3-8912) PSG audio chip, also used to control the floppy disk drive and serial and parallel ports. a DMA-driven stereo DSP was added on STe machines. [[note]]Don't let the fact that it's a PSG Chip fool you tho- when paired with the Motorola 68000, this chip was actually almost as capable as the Amiga's ''Paula'' DSP- Gods, as well as several tracker programs, could use it to handle wavetable playback at the expense of a higher-than-usual CPU load and some compromises (in Gods' case, removal of some of the more taxing the animations in the title screen).[[/note]]

* [[UsefulNotes/GamingAudio Sound]]: Yamaha [=YM2149=] (clone of the General Instrument AY-3-8912) PSG audio chip, also used to control the floppy disk drive and serial and parallel ports. a DMA-driven stereo DSP was added on STe machines. [[note]]Don't let the thought that it's a PSG Chip fool you tho- when paired with the Motorola 68000, this chip was actually almost as capable as the Amiga's ''Paula'' DSP.

* [[UsefulNotes/GamingAudio Sound]]: Yamaha [=YM2149=] (clone of the General Instrument AY-3-8912) PSG audio chip, also used to control the floppy disk drive and serial and parallel ports. a DMA-driven stereo DSP was added on STe machines.

* Sound: Yamaha [=YM2149=] (clone of the General Instrument AY-3-8912) PSG audio chip, also used to control the floppy disk drive and serial and parallel ports. a DMA-driven stereo DSP was added on STe machines.

* Sound: Yamaha [=YM2149=] (clone of the General Instrument AY-3-8912) PSG audio chip, also used to control the floppy disk drive and serial and parallel ports.

* The [=STe=] models add a stereo PCM sound codec (called a DSP by Atari marketing materials) for improved speech and sound effects.

* 3 channels square waveforms plus one channel for noise. While this was actually technically inferior to the POKEY chip used by Atari's prior 8-bit line, in practice it was a non-issue, as the AY-3-8912 and its derivatives were far more widespread (thus making it easier to port games to the platform), and anyone who really cared about audio could just use the MIDI ports to hook in vastly more capable devices.
* The [=STe=] models add a stereo PCM sound codec for improved speech and sound effects.

On January 13, 1984, for reasons known only to him, Commodore founder and president Jack Tramiel resigned. He took a short break, then got back into the computer business. Meanwhile, Creator/{{Atari}} was losing a million dollars a day in the wake of TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983, and parent company Warner Communications wanted to sell it. Tramiel bought the hardware division of Atari in July, creating Atari Corporation (the games division stayed with Warner, as Atari Games).

* 3 channels square waveforms plus one channel for noise.

* ''RailroadTycoon''

The Atari 520ST went on sale in July 1985. It was very successful, [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff especially in Europe]] despite facing stiff competition with the UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}} which launched around the same time. Its strongest points were its low cost and built-in {{MIDI}} ports. It was embraced by musicians, and continues to be used by them today. In America, it faced stiff competition from the same Amiga it had to compete with in Europe, but also the UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh and even the inferior PC, which was being given rudimentary music capabilities in the form of an [=AdLib=] [=OPL2=] add-on card and the slightly better EGA graphics. FandomRivalry ensued between the ST and Amiga communities, while the Mac managed to stay above the fray. Game developers saw the ST and Amiga as very similar, so many games were released for both simultaneously. The most famous original ST game is ''VideoGame/DungeonMaster''.

* ''ZakMcKrackenAndTheAlienMindbenders''

* ''[[NineteenFortyTwo 1943: The Battle of Midway]]''

* ''SpaceQuest'' I-III

* ''StarRaiders''

Jack wanted a new computer, and fast. A lot of his friends from Commodore had left to follow him, so a combination of Atari and ex-Commodore engineers started working frantically to get something ready for the Winter Consumer Electronics Show coming up in January '85. The Motorola 68000 was chosen to be the [[UsefulNotes/CentralProcessingUnit CPU]]. [[UsefulNotes/RandomAccessMemory RAM]] started at 128K, but was 512K by the time the computer was done. A custom {{GPU}} called Shifter allowed three screen modes. Sound would be the General Instrument AY-3-8912. The operating system was to be a port of Digital Research's CP/M, but it proved too primitive and was replaced by a new OS that DR was developing, called GEMDOS. A graphical user interface on top of GEMDOS completed the OS, called TOS ("Total Operating System", or "Tramiel Operating System", but usually just "The Operating System"). Since Jack's computer had similar features to the AppleMacintosh but sold at a far lower price, it was nicknamed the "Jackintosh" by the press.

* {{GPU}}: Atari "Shifter", 32KB onboard memory.

The ST was upgraded in 1986 with one megabyte of RAM, and apart from that the only upgrades were TOS updates and an internal floppy drive. The big update came in 1989 with the STE, which had a 4096-color palette, a [[GraphicsProcessingUnit blitter]], and DMA sound. But with so many older [=STs=] out there, game developers couldn't use the new features. The ST was further developed into two 68030-based computers: The TT, a Mac-like workstation, and the Falcon, a successor to the ST. The latter lasted only one year before Atari left the computer business to focus on the [[UsefulNotes/AtariJaguar Jaguar]].

The Atari 520ST went on sale in July 1985. It was very successful, [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff especially in Europe]] despite facing stiff competition with the UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}}. Its strongest points were its low cost and built-in {{MIDI}} ports. It was embraced by musicians, and continues to be used by them today. In America, it faced stiff competition from the same Amiga it had to compete with in Europe, but also the UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh and even the inferior PC, which was being given rudimentary music capabilities in the form of an [=AdLib=] [=OPL2=] add-on card and the slightly better EGA graphics. FandomRivalry ensued between the ST and Amiga communities, while the Mac managed to stay above the fray. Game developers saw the ST and Amiga as very similar, so many games were released for both simultaneously. The most famous original ST game is ''VideoGame/DungeonMaster''.

The Atari 520ST went on sale in July 1985. It was very successful, [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff especially in Europe]] despite facing stiff competition with the UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}}. Its strongest points were its low cost and built-in {{MIDI}} ports. It was embraced by musicians, and continues to be used by them today. In America, it faced stiff competition from the UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh and even the inferior PC, which was being given rudimentary music capabilities in the form of an [=AdLib=] [=OPL2=] add-on card and the slightly better EGA graphics. FandomRivalry ensued between the ST and Amiga communities, while the Mac managed to stay above the fray. Game developers saw the ST and Amiga as very similar, so many games were released for both simultaneously. The most famous original ST game is ''VideoGame/DungeonMaster''.

The Atari 520ST went on sale in July 1985. It was very successful, [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff especially in Europe]] despite facing stiff competition with the UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}}. Its strongest points were its low cost and built-in {{MIDI}} ports. It was embraced by musicians, and continues to be used by them today. In America, it faced stiff competition from the UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh and even the inferior PC, which was being given rudimentary music capabilities in the form of an [=AdLib=] OPL2 add-on card and the slightly better EGA graphics. FandomRivalry ensued between the ST and Amiga communities, while the Mac managed to stay above the fray. Game developers saw the ST and Amiga as very similar, so many games were released for both simultaneously. The most famous original ST game is ''VideoGame/DungeonMaster''.

The Atari 520ST went on sale in July 1985. It was very successful, [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff especially in Europe]]. Its strongest points were its low cost and built-in {{MIDI}} ports. It was embraced by musicians, and continues to be used by them today. In America, it faced stiff competition from the UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh and UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}}. FandomRivalry ensued between the ST and Amiga communities, while the Mac managed to stay above the fray. Game developers saw the ST and Amiga as very similar, so many games were released for both simultaneously. The most famous original ST game is ''VideoGame/DungeonMaster''.

Jack wanted a new computer, and fast. A lot of his friends from Commodore had left to follow him, so a combination of Atari and ex-Commodore engineers started working frantically to get something ready for the Winter Consumer Electronics Show coming up in January '85. The Motorola 68000 was chosen to be the [[UsefulNotes/CentralProcessingUnit CPU]]. [[RandomAccessMemory RAM]] started at 128K, but was 512K by the time the computer was done. A custom {{GPU}} called Shifter allowed three screen modes. Sound would be the General Instrument AY-3-8912. The operating system was to be a port of Digital Research's CP/M, but it proved too primitive and was replaced by a new OS that DR was developing, called GEMDOS. A graphical user interface on top of GEMDOS completed the OS, called TOS ("Total Operating System", or "Tramiel Operating System", but usually just "The Operating System"). Since Jack's computer had similar features to the AppleMacintosh but sold at a far lower price, it was nicknamed the "Jackintosh" by the press.