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! ;-)

Ghouls 'n Ghosts

It was ace to begin with...

What a platformer this is but... hang on... there is a new version under development. I recently found an interesting thread on Atari-Forum about a new version of Ghouls And Ghosts for the Atari STe by Sascha Springer. He's teased us with images/videos of lush sprites & landscapes and has just released an early beta. This was a jaw-dropping moment that proved the potential of the Atari ST - when in the hands of talent.

I cannot wait to see more and wish Sascha much success!

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

Enduro Racer #AtariSTe

Yet 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 impressive with many improvements - more are planned. This version is so fast!!

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 a tremendous project. To take one of my favourite Atari ST racers, and improve upon it using the STe hardware, is going to be mind-blowing!! Good luck Peter - I cannot wait!!

Don't go just yet, check out these screenshots and... watch this space... :-)

Pole Position

The arcade is within your Atari STe

Pole Position is a classic arcade racer from a time when the computing world was youthful and fresh. I played it on the Atari 2600 at a friend's house but the ZX Spectrum version I mostly played. The Atari ST has a raft of great driving games but sadly, never received an official port of this old favourite. Well, until now.

Official might be the wrong term to use but don't get your knickers in a twist. A brand new version has been developed by Jonathan Thomas who reverse-engineered it from the arcade machine itself. He has also implemented many cool features and uses real-time sprite scaling, DMA sounds, and more.

The requirements are 1MB RAM, a joystick, and an appreciation of what is nothing less than a brilliant racer. It's quite surreal to have such an iconic arcade racer on the ST. Upon first booting up I got a giddy feeling at having a phantom arcade machine in the house. Hey, no need to have any 10-pence coins!

I should break for the first screenshot and I love it for obvious reasons...

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

Yes, put your money away!

It's not an overstatement to say this is an authentic conversion as it even features the same (ripped) visuals and sonix I fondly remember. Now, if you're looking at the screenshots and wondering why the gaming display is narrow, then blame Namco because it's all down to the arcade's vertical monitor. The Atari STe was meant for a different display and doesn't have the same spec. So it merely attempts to replicate the slim ratio.

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

I don't think we need a boring screenshot? 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 has major improvements and delivers near arcade-busting gameplay:

1) 60fps framerate to bring the speed and difficulty correctly in line with the feel of the arcade machine.
2) You can thank the Blitter Chip for whizzing the graphics so fast & furiously. If only more used this chip!
3) Sprite scaling utilisied for ultra-smooth results. Check out that road zooming up close, so impressive.
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 very nice using a good flow pattern.
6) Sound effects are taken from the arcade game using the DMA coprocessor. Doesn't get any better than that - gorgeous!
7) Code compiled with GCC 7.1 for a significant performance increase. Sounds good to me but what would I know about programming!
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 impressive to think that here we are today in 2017 with a version of Pole Position that's been reverse-engineered from the arcade machine. 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 (needs fixing)

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

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

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!

Whitewater Madness

Atari = crazy

Whitewater Madness was under development in 1989 by Scott Williamson and Ed Schneider for Atari. With great faith, it was specifically designed for the new Atari STe (possibly one of the first games to utilise the enhanced hardware). 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; imagine what would happen if you took Toobin' and then slapped in a dollop of river-raid's violence. You will have Whitewater Madness, a vertically scrolling shooter that has us sailing down a bizarre stretch of water through space and time like Dr Who.

In Atari's wisdom, they decided not to bother releasing it. It was left gathering dust in the halls of the forgotten. I love Atari for giving us the ST/STe computers but their marketing skills sure tested our patience! 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 I've been given copies!!

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?

We sail a magical river in our little Pod to search for green energy cells. Why I don't but, but collect them 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 us 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. Avoid dangers such as rocky rapids, mines, artillery and other crazy stuff like kamikaze dinosaurs - who love to leap from the shores. It's absolutely insane!! There are lots causing mayhem; cavemen, something that resembles a pterodactyl, a giant turtle, and centaurs.

The controls are dead easy to get to grips with - and superbly responsive. I love the directional method that works for fast and efficient guidance down our 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 - quickly.

Let's take a break to 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 (me!) will love the graphics that are kinda 8-bit in style. It feels like something you'd expect of a console because of its traditional palette and dinky sprites. They are small, with little animation, but nicely detailed. With one exception, a hostile 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 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 and is "STFM" in quality. A bit odd considering what the STe is capable of.

Fancy another screenshot? Of course, you do so here you go...

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

The CryptO'pinion?

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

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

Download the official disk images

(with source code) kindly supplied by Scott.

Hard 'n' Heavy

Looks familiar...

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 commercial release was very 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, which would have been horrendous with scrolling. Ugh, just imagine... 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 that 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 prefer Giana Sisters, but this Hard & Heavy upgrade is downright marvelous. Highly recommended!!

- Download Hard 'n' Heavy -

Menace [upgraded]

When something isn't quite right...

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

So I contacted Atari ST wizard Peter Putnik about my dilemma. He's always up for a challenge and open to new ideas. It wasn't long until he came back with a solution that worked well. As you can see in both the video and screenshots, our spaceship now has a new paint job!! The caveat is a change to the (badly placed) status pane due to the 16-colour palette. Of course, the game remains the same but we now pilot a white ship!

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. I asked a guy living in another country for his thoughts. What does he do? He fixes it without hesitation. 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 play on the Atari ST. Here's the download to the newly designed AtariCrypt White Star (geddit?).

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

I made this silly image. Can you tell? lol

Here it is, our brand new white ship!

Just look at it. Much better now albeit at the expense of the status bar.

Skimming along through space in my spanky new ship!!

It might not be the best shooter but the graphics are cool.

It has it's haters but this is better than most of the drivel Psygnosis produced for us.

Oids [upgraded]

It's Oids, but better!

Oids is a shooter set deep in outer space and has us rescuing metallic men from captivity. Like Dungeon Master, every ST guy has played this at some point in their life. It's a classic 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 improved the controls too.

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

Uridium

C64 rules!??

Do you remember the embarrassment of Uridium? The cruel C64 peeps laughing their socks off at our "superior" computer? Rightly so because we have a terrible port with sluggish controls and lifeless scrolling.

You shall be glad to hear that there is light at the end of the tunnel for the Atari STe. Peter Putnik has fixed the dodgy parts with faster controls and also the option to stream sampled music using the DMA coprocessor (hard drive or ultrasatan obviously required). At last, a version of Uridium we can be proud of.

Uridium is transformed, going from a bummer to an exhilarating shooter!!

Miss this at your peril - download now!!

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!!

Chaos Strikes Back

Yet more audio clarity

Following on from yesterday's wonderful news of the Atari STe enhanced update of Dungeon Master, Peter Putnik has 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 happy and download this DMA audio upgrade now? Enjoy!! :-)

Dungeon Master

Crawling with audio clarity

Peter Putnik has just updated Dungeon Master to use the Atari STe's DMA Audio hardware. This is huge news for fellow adventurers! Playback is much clearer and this won't impact 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.

Raiden

Grab your joystick!

It's been almost a year since I first mentioned news of Raiden's development for the Atari STe by none other than our favourite Frogger dude, Scott Clifford. Sadly, his commitments forced the project to be temporarily put on hold. Thankfully, he has restarted and is making good progress (I'm keeping my fingers crossed).

The initial work behind the scrolling, backgrounds, and sprites is 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 eagerly await the next update (hurry up mate - I can't wait).

Watch this space, and the plan is rolling around inside Scott's head...

- 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)

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 :)