Showing posts with label 2017. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2017. Show all posts

Saturday, January 27, 2018

KLAX



Another ST game gets updated

Jamie Hamshere (aka junosix of Droid fame) has released an upgrade of Klax for the Atari STe. This new release uses the arcade game's sampled sound effects which beats the original's chirpy chip by miles.

The game is basically a 3D Tetris which Domark released in 1990. Once again, we're stacking piles of coloured tiles but this time they are travelling towards us and need to be dropped into a bin, making sure they stack vertically, horizontally or diagonally. It sounds simple but this is a brutal game that demands lightning-fast reactions.

What a fabulous upgrade to replace the drab effects with super-duper arcade sounds using the audio coprocessor. I'm sure Tetris and brainteaser addicts will love Klax even more now that it sounds this good!! Nice one Jamie.

AtariMania hosts both the STfm original and this spanky new Atari STe update to download.
Need help? I know I did... just hit the '4' key to play to the final level. Good luck! ;-)

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Ghouls 'n Ghosts


There's an interesting thread over on Atari-Forum about a new version of Ghouls And Ghosts under development for the Atari STe by Sascha Springer. He's teased us with images and videos of lush sprites/landscapes and smooth scrolling but has just released an early beta. This was a jaw-dropping moment and proves the potential of the Atari ST - when in the hands of talent. I cannot wait to see more and wish Sascha much success!

This download is available via Atari-Forum [requires a 4MB Atari STe w/ hdd]

Friday, October 13, 2017

Enduro Racer #AtariSTe



Another Atari STe game #indev

Enduro Racer is one of my favourite Atari ST racers because it's fast, fun and an uncomplicated thrill. In fact, it's the classic arcade racer and our conversion is pretty good considering the age of this 1987 release!

As you can imagine, I was very excited to find out that Peter Jørgensen (Mr Manic Miner himself!) has begun the development of an enhanced update specifically for the Atari STe!! He's graciously given me the latest beta to play and it's already looking very impressive with lots of improvements both planned and also partially completed. It's much faster! :)

1) The Blitter is utilised to push a brisk framerate!
2) Expect many more colours on-screen at once.
3) Usage of the extended palette.
4) Remaster YMT music of the original ST scores by legend David Whittaker.
5) Arcade samples played using the DMA hardware.

From what I've seen, heard, and played, this is looking to be a tremendous project. To take one of my favourite Atari ST racers, and improve upon that using the STe hardware, is going to be mind-blowingly exciting.

Good luck Peter - I cannot wait to see more. Check out these screenshots and watch this space!!










Sunday, September 24, 2017

Pole Position



The arcade within your Atari STe

Pole Position is a classic arcade racer from a time when the world was an exciting place without social media! And pop music was something you could enjoy without it grating like fingernails on a blackboard. The Atari ST has a raft of excellent driving games but sadly, never received an official port of this olde arcade favourite. Well, until now that is.

Today that changes because Jonathan Thomas has released a brand new version which he has reverse-engineered from the arcade machine itself. He's implemented many cool features and even uses real-time sprite scaling, DMA sounds and much more. The requirements are 1MB Ram, a joystick and the appreciation of what is nothing less than a brilliant racer. Booting it up is surreal, feeling like you've got an arcade machine in your home - no need to bring any 10 pence coins!

Okay, I need to break up the text for the first screenshot. And this one I love for obvious reasons...



I'm now feeling like a kid in a Blackpool arcade spending all my pocket money!!



Yes, put your money away!

It sounds silly, but I'm impressed seeing Pole Position running on my Atari STe. What an authentic conversion of the original arcade game. It even features the same (ripped) visuals and sonix I fondly remember. Now, if you're looking at the screenshots and wondering why the display is narrow, then blame Namco because it's all down to the arcade's vertical monitor. Obviously, the Atari STe doesn't feature the same spec so it merely attempts to replica that ratio.

The gameplay is tough - very tough. Initially, I was all over the road, slipping and sliding into other cars and skidding off into the roadside objects. In fact, it felt like I was purposely trying to hit everything - and doing a great job of it too!! Ideally, I need a wheel but, stick with it and put aside half an hour to master the controls. Watch out - those corners are a killer!

I don't think we need another screenshot just yet? So how about an animation instead? Here ya go...



The actual framerate is twice as good as you can see here in my capture.



The gory details

The latest release candidate I've played has major improvements and delivers near arcade-busting gameplay:
1) 60fps framerate to bring the speed and difficulty in line with the feel of the arcade.
2) You can thank the Blitter Chip for whizzing the graphics so fast & furiously!
3) Sprite scaling utilisied for ultra-smooth results. Check out that road zooming up close!
4) Even good 'ol Mount Fuji is displayed in all its glory! Well, why not, eh?
5) The sky gradient is back along with numerous glitches fixed and it looks superb.
6) Sound effects are taken from the arcade game using the DMA coprocessor.
Gorgeous!
7) Code compiled with GCC 7.1 for a significant performance increase. Sounds good to me.
8) Many new optimisations, mainly around text rendering for authenticity.



If only those tyres would look like they're rotating (come on, Jon) :-)



The CryptO'pinion?

It's sad to think that this game wasn't originally released for the Atari ST. Yet, here we are today in 2017 with a game that's been reverse-engineered from the arcade itself. Everything looks, sounds and feels like we remember with only a couple of missing features: the animated tyres are nothing more than a bit of a colour wobble (I hope that gets fixed)

Pole Position is very addictive, a cracking arcade port that's making good use of the Atari STe hardware: I love its framerate, audio and authentic feel. Possibly one of the toughest racers but most certainly one that keeps dragging you back for more - kicking and screaming!! Pole Position is nothing less than a spectacular arcade release.

What are you waiting for? Come on and play this outstanding arcade racer!! (Download from AtariMania).








Saturday, July 29, 2017

Quartet


Only this morning did ST Survivor ask me for a video recording of Quartet, a new game based on the original, by Photonstorm. The task is to place pieces of four faces, into four slots, in four separate areas with bonuses awarded for a whole face. Watch my video recording and you will see that it's simpler than it reads - and very addictive!

Monday, July 24, 2017

Whitewater Madness




Atari = crazy

Whitewater Madness was under development in 1989 by Scott Williamson and Ed Schneider for Atari themselves. In fact, it was specifically designed for the new Atari STe and is possibly one of the first games to utilise the enhanced hardware? Sadly, the game was finished but never released which is disappointing, to say the least.

This is a shoot 'em up taking place on a river; just imagine what would happen if you took Toobin' and then slapped in a dollop of river-raid violence. Well, then you have Whitewater Madness, a vertically scrolling shooter that has us sailing down a bizarre stretch of water that takes place through space and time like Dr Who.

In Atari's wisdom, they decided not to bother with this and it was left to gather dust in the halls of the forgotten. You know, I sure love Atari for giving us the ST/STe computers but there are times when they tested our patience somewhat! Well, cheer up because I have a treat in store for you with the full and finished version of Whitewater Madness to download and play for yourself. That's right, the disks have been found and guess who has been given a copy? ;-)

Please note, for many years there has been a demo version to download. Do not bother with that. It's a lame and very old beta which plays nothing like this final release here. Okay, it's screenshot time...


The controls are superb but you can also use the rapids for additional effect.


A Toobin' River Raid?

Okay, we're sailing down a magical river in our little Pod and searching for green energy cells. Collect these to raise your Warp Energy levels to maximum capacity so we can travel further through time. If successful, we are presented with an information screen telling you just how good (or bad) we did. However, if you failed to collect the required amount then you're sent back to the start again to do it all over again. (I saw that a lot)

Our dinghy is equipped with a rapid-firing mounted gun! This is a good job because we are under a constant onslaught of hazards and weird creatures. Try and avoid the many dangers such as rocky rapids, mines, artillery and other crazy stuff like kamikaze dinosaurs who love to leap from the shores! There are lots more causing mayhem; cavemen, something that resembles a pterodactyl, a giant turtle, and centaurs. Frantic and I love it!!

The controls are dead easy to get to grips with - and superbly responsive to I might add. I really love the directional method which works for fast and efficient guidance down the insane river raid. Picking up green "L" pills will recharge the Pod and stop it from going BOOM but these are few, so collect as many as possible.

This is a fun game alright, so let's check out another screenshot from this crazy Toobin...



Those rapids are ace but you better watch out for the nasties - like kamikaze dinosaurs!


An Atari STe game that never was!

Old gamers, like me, will love the graphics which are 8-bit in style. It actually feels like something you'd expect of an ancient Atari console with a striking palette and dinky sprites that are small and with little animation, but detailed. Well, with one exception, a huge kamikaze dinosaur that loves to leap from the shores!!

Scott informed me that the Blitter co-processor was used to handle the visuals. And it shows with brisk movements that keeps up perfectly with the player and the hectic action without any trouble.

The sound effects are pretty nice with lots of shooting, explosions and more. The DMA coprocessor is used to play and is super-duper. However, I must admit to being disappointed with the title music because it sounds like it's using low-frequency samples so is quite "STFM" in quality. A bit odd considering what the STe is capable of.

It's time for another screenshot and here is that crazy dinosaur again...



Watch out for dinosaurs, mines, birds, riverside cavemen and lots more!


The CryptO'pinion?

Whitewater Madness has the hallmarks of a fantastic oldskool game and is something I'd expect to see on an Atari console. And yes, that's a compliment. I love the frantic Toobin-style action which is perfectly balanced yet challenging without ever feeling impossible. There's so much going on and I think this is an excellent action/shoot 'em up.

Why Atari didn't release this is unbelievably sad because it's a great arcade game so easily sails into the seas of gaming gold!! It's simple, it's fun and it's now freely available to download after being 'lost' for three decades. That alone makes this extra special so enjoy what would have been the very first Atari STe game. A superb and delightful arcade game!!

Download the official disk images
(with source code) kindly supplied by Scott.

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Hard 'n' Heavy



Looks familiar yet not...

Hard 'n' Heavy follows on from Giana Sisters in true sequel fashion to offer more Mario-esque levels to run and jump through. However, the official release was poor with awful flip-screen scrolling that ultimately ruined what might have been a great conversion. Sure, flip might work well with some platformers, for example, Jet Set Willy, as this game would have been horrendous with scrolling. But Hard 'n' Heavy requires scrolling!!

Thankfully, that's where the bad lesson ends and the good news begins because Peter Putnik has developed a version which features smooth-as-silk scrolling thanks to the use of the Blitter co-processor lurking inside every Atari STe. And also most other earlier models (incl later STFM models which had a Blitter or at least a hungry socket).

Hard 'n' Heavy obviously looks and feels similar to Giana Sisters, so if you didn't like that game then you may as well start looking elsewhere right now. The physics exaggerate the Giana experience to feel more like we're floating and this took me a few goes to master. It's pretty weird! Okay, there are 25 levels of shooting the baddies and destroying blocks to search for those bonuses and even access to hidden levels. Also available is a two-player feature, with various game types.

Wow, this is superb and I'm sure any Giana Sisters fan will love what is basically more of the same with a few extra bells and whistles. Peter has done well to transform that pathetic commercial conversion into something it should have been all along. Just make sure you play it on a real computer to experience the silky-smooth movement.

Overall, I do prefer Giana Sisters, but this upgrade is downright marvellous. Highly recommended!!


- Download Hard 'n' Heavy -





Sunday, July 16, 2017

Menace [upgraded]



When something isn't quite right...

Menace is one of the few Psygnosis games that I actually enjoy. Yep, I think it's a good shooter. Okay, it should have been much better with a little effort but, that's an Amiga company for you. Anyhow, it's still a decent shooter and I enjoy it a lot. But what's with the YELLOW ship compared to the other version? For years, I've hated that bland colour and wondered what they were thinking and if it was possible to change it to something better?

So, I contacted Atari ST wizard Peter Putnik about this and he came back with a neat solution that actually works very well. As you can see in both the video and screenshots, our spaceship now has a brand new paint job!! The caveat is a change to the (oddly placed) status panel which is due to the 16-colour palette design. Of course, the game itself remains exactly the same - but we can now enjoy a spanky-new WHITE ship. Which is brilliant.

You know folks, this is what makes the Atari ST scene a marvellous place. Think about it, I wasn't happy with a commercial game from 30+ years ago so I asked a guy, who I've never met in another country, for his thoughts. What does he do? He fixes it without hesitation for me. Incredible. What an amazing community we have.

My sincere thanks to Peter for being gracious with my request - this version of Menace is the only one I will now play for the Atari ST. I love it. Here's the download to the newly designed AtariCrypt White Star release of Menace (geddit?).

Please watch the video trailer above and also take a gander at these lovely screenshots...






Friday, June 09, 2017

Oids [upgraded]



It's Oids, but better!

Oids is a shooter set deep in outer space and has us rescuing little metallic men from captivity. Like Dungeon Master, every ST guy has played this at some point in their life. It's a classic, simple as that, and nothing similar comes close. I've probably spent hundreds of hours on it over the decades so check out our review from last year.

However, I must admit that I was shocked to discover that it only runs at 10/12fps (PAL/NTSC). I'm sure today's kids will probably laugh at such a low framerate! Oddly, it doesn't feel that low, but that didn't stop Peter Putnik from developing an upgraded version running at 25/30fps and he even improved the controls too.

This is a fascinating upgrade that enhances the original game - without spoiling it in any way. Check out the upgrade for yourself as it's added a whole new dimension to our iconic thruster. And I love it to bits!!

Saturday, March 04, 2017

Uridium



C64 rules!??

Do you remember the embarrassment of Uridium? Those cruel C64 gamers would laugh their socks off at our "superior" computer? Rightly so because we have a terrible port with sluggish controls and lifeless scrolling. Well, there is light at the end of the tunnel for the Atari STe because Peter Putnik has re-programmed the dodgy parts with faster controls and an option to stream music using the DMA coprocessor (hard drive or ultrasatan obviously required).

At last, a version of Uridium we can be proud of. It's totally transformed so play this shooter right now!!

Talk about a transformation - download it right now!!

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Prince Of Persia



A 16-bit classic gets updated!

Prince Of Persia is incredible but today receives an audio upgrade which uses the DMA coprocessor to play the effects better. They sound a lot cleaner and without any slowdown because the DMA is a coprocessor, working independently of the main CPU. This means that the gameplay is actually smoother than the original release. Which is pretty cool :)

Download right now. Yes, now!!

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Chaos Strikes Back



More audio clarity?

Following on from yesterday's wonderful news of the Atari STe enhanced update of Dungeon Master, Peter Putnik has now improved the audio for Chaos Strikes Back. Once again, this news is making me jump up and down with joy!!! So why not make your Atari STe just as happy and download this DMA audio upgrade right now? Enjoy!! :-)

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Dungeon Master



Crawling with audio clarity

Peter Putnik has just updated Dungeon Master to use the DMA Audio hardware lurking inside the Atari STe. This is huge news for fellow adventurers! Playback is now much clearer and this won't impact on the computer's performance. Peter informs me that Chaos Strikes Back is next in line for the STe treatment - and I cannot wait!!

Download the new upgrade from 8BitChip.

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Raiden



Grab a joystick!

It's been almost a year since I first mentioned news of Raiden under development for the Atari STe by none other than our favourite Frogger dude, Scott Clifford. Sadly, his commitments forced the project to be put on ice temporally... But, good news, he has now restarted it and is making good progress.

The initial work behind the scrolling, backgrounds, and sprites is all coming together. Also, the enemy sprite routines and placements are now being coded. Quite incredible for a one-man effort and it's a very exciting project to see in progress. I wish Scott well and cannot wait to see the next update (hurry up mate). Watch this space folks!

Okay, here is Scott's feature plan...
- Hardware scrolling is used for the entire screen - no status panel.
- DMA hardware for the playback of authentic arcade music.
- The Blitter will be utilised for the larger sprites.
- YM chip will be used for the sound effects.
- Support for the JagPad controller can be implemented.
- Please note that my video was recorded using emulation (better on my Atari STe)

Monday, January 23, 2017

Grap


Marko Latvanen, of AtariMania, kindly sent me a game developed by Tangram programmer, Mark Luthe, for the German magazine ST Magazin. Grap first appears as a Tempest clone but is actually a puzzler which I'm sure will appeal to the brainiacs? It was originally sold through the publication as a "budget" mail-order back in 1990 but hasn't been available since. I am very excited by this rare and fascinating find and I hope you enjoy playing it :-)

The only place you shall find Grap is on the excellent AtariMania website.
Computer Magazine Archive has more on ST Magazin (you'll need Google Translate)
Thinkers might wanna check out our "Puzzle" section right here on AtariCrypt :)