A little bit about my hiSTory
It was love at first sight, and eventually, I got one for Christmas 1988, thanks, Mum & Dad! Before you ask, we weren't a wealthy family, and I'll always wonder how they managed to afford an Atari ST. Yep, that was the 520 STfm Super Pack, a machine I regard as my first real computer. It wasn't just for the Dungeon Master; this was a powerful, versatile computer with a GUI and a mouse. A whole new world!
My 520 ST helped me during college; I learned skills like word processing (boring), pixel art, programming, DTP, and networking. I used it for a year before upgrading to the new Atari STe in 1990 (I was working then). I didn't have any enhanced games, but I got to hook up my stereo speakers to hear MOD tunes properly.
As I was working, I could afford to venture deeper into Atari paradise. So I bought a brand-new Mega 1 ST that (ahem) I didn't really need. However, this "office computer" came with a monochrome monitor and helped me with DTP using Easy Text Professional. Hardly Calamus, but a great application. It was also the computer I used "online" with Keith's Point BBS via dial-up. Sigh, I miss those days greatly.
By around 1993+, I was living the dream and had two Falcons and a TT (all second-hand). This was the era of fascinating stuff like Apex Media and Doom without having to join the Darkside (PC!!).
Let's crack on with a photo from my past before the Atari ST was alive...
Sadly, I have no photos from my Atari ST. Only this from my early Speccy days!
Mac era
As the mid-90s progressed, I reached the end of my Atari days. The Atari ST had already died, and the Falcon thing never happened. So, sometime around 1996, I finally gave up and bought an Apple Mac 7600/120. What a computer! A whole new world had opened up to me. It was like a Falcon but much better.
Weirdly, I still had "Atari software", which I ran using MagicMac. However, that lessened very quickly as I found better Mac versions. Soon after, the old Atari era was nothing more than a distant memory. Around 2003, Apple released the Power Mac G5, the most expensive computer I've bought (yes, it was pre-kids). This dual-processor beast brought me back to the modern world. What a brute this was, so powerful and robust.
Over the years, I played Dungeon Siege, Doom3, Quake4, Soldier of Fortune II, Call of Duty, and Medal of Honor. My favourite was Battlefield 1942 - with its many third-party maps/mods. Sure, Mac users could use some maps, but hardly ever the mods. I hated that fact because they looked cool.
So, I started the MacGamer website/KDX server, which hosted Mac versions of mods for the games listed above and more. This included documentation and AppleScript apps (as launchers). Some of the more complex code required recompiling the source, which was done in collaboration with the developers. I helped convert dozens of different mods for many PC games - as you can probably tell, I enjoyed these days a lot :-)
Sadly, this ended because of the Intel Mac. That's right, the modern world was leaving me behind, as Apple decided to change their Mac's architecture once again. Yep, PPC Macs began their steady decline, and this PPC/AppleCrypt chapter eventually came to a close. Sad times in many respects.
Impossible to explain, but yes, I really miss those days so much...
Unbelievably, I found an old image from MacGamer. Rubbish, isn't it?
Full circle
Fast-forward to around 2012, and I began to feel the pull of my old Atari addiction after discovering a program called NoSTalgia. Without realising it, I was spending more and more time playing ST games. Not only that, but I started watching demos and reading scrollers. This was weird for someone in their early 40s!!
I then discovered the joy of Hatari and was suddenly hooked on the ST again. This program was fantastic and reopened a whole world to me at a level I'd forgotten - it was the 1990s again!! Heck, I’ve even created a help page for people like me who want to return to the Atari ST and emulate it on their Mac or PC.
A couple of years later, I decided to start a YouTube channel and record my favourite STuff. This idea then led to the creation of the AtariCrypt website to promote demos and games. And... here we are - over a decade later, and AtariCrypt is crammed with hundreds of articles all about various ST stuff (games!)
Today, I use a Mac Mini M1, which isn't new or fancy, but it does everything I need. My Atari STe takes up the rest of the desk space, and I use it to play the games I feature on AtariCrypt. I transfer files between my Mac and Atari using ParCP, and I also have a Gotek drive. I also love messing about with it for just about everything else, of course. That includes connecting to a selection of cool BBS and doodling with MIDI.
Wanna see a logo blasted from the past when AtariCrypt was a baby...
The original AtariCrypt logo. I found it online... It really is rather cool!!
But why?
What is now "AtariCrypt" grew out of those humble beginnings: wanting to share the love of the Atari ST. I have always tried to make my website a fun place, but I also wanted to create a space on the internet that shows there is more to the #16bit era than just the Commodore Amiga, PeeCee, or consoles.
I enjoy running AtariCrypt and have met loads of fantastic people along the way. I hope to continue my silly articles for many years to come. I love to hear back from y'all - every page has a comments option - please use it. Your feedback makes all my "work" worthwhile, so say hello on any page... Hey, STay Atari :)
I'm outta here... Crypt Keeper.......... aka Steve............. ;-)
You might be interested to know that I was one of the Doom monsters.
There's one more thing...
I am grateful to have been involved in various projects, often working alongside some incredible ST folk. I've also released some silly STuff of my own. It's all naff, but you're welcome to check 'em out...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Follow my gaming updates on Twitter/X.
I've started an Atari ST server on Discord.
Wow, I am also listed on the mighty Demozoo!!
Fancy supporting AtariCrypt?
