Dementia

Crazy pixels

I booted up Corporation the other day. This is an FPS/RPG developed by Dementia in 1990 for Core and one of the most disappointing Atari ST games I've played. The concept was superb, it sounded like it could be a next-gen Dungeon Master. However, it was badly executed with terrible controls that failed miserably. Who beta-tested this?

Anyhow, you're probably wondering why I'm bothering to type this? Well, I will say one thing about Dementia... Erm, what was it now? Sigh... I've forgotten... Ah, I've remembered... (sorry, it must be my memory)......... That's right Corporation boots up with this fantastic Dementia logo and I think this is a tremendous example of 16-bit artwork.

So I went ahead and booted it up. After all these years, I only lasted a few measly minutes before restarting my Atari ST. Maybe you will enjoy it? The hard drive download is best but you can also grab the floppies.

My ST shelves!

A peep into the inner Crypt

A long time ago, I had an ST shelf. I was happy man. I proudly displayed my gorgeous ST gear to, well, myself. However, along came a woman who wanted to redecorate and the idea of having an old games shelf in our bedroom didn't fit with her plans. Not having a backbone, I obliged and endured a shelf-less life.

Those dark days have finally ended!! How or why I've no idea but, I've been granted an opportunity to display my prize positions again. I admit, my corner of the bedroom is hardly a man cave, but it will suffice. I love my shelves but I've been ordered to keep 'em dust-free! But I'm a bloke which means I don't do housework!!

I'm wondering how long to wait before putting up posters. I'm talking Vixen, Game Over, and Barbarian! Yeah, I'm only joking but isn't it funny that something like an ST shelf can make a grown man happy?

Anyhow, wanna see photos...

Three classic books and some lovely games. Especially, the Elvira box. Work-of-art that one!

The same shelf, different angel - I'm getting creative. Here you can see two fantastic new products.

My little box of working floppies - that I use over and over to playtest my Crypt games :-)

Oi, stop drooling over your keyboard. Yes, this is a fine selection! Boy, I love the ST :-)

These last four images are of a different cabinet donated by my beautiful wife!!

Yep, I'm now surrounded by my collection of Atari ST games and they all work.

Dark Mode

Finally, Amazon delivered a new ST book - Faster Than Light. It's a cracking read and I couldn't help but giggle when reading about ST Writer's dark mode. Today's companies would rave about a feature like that as if it was... well... new.

This line hit home with me about Dark Mode, "The ST had that in 1985". Absolutely superb STuff!!

Rainbow!!

I've just been laughing my ST socks off at my oldest video recording on YouTube. Rainbow might not mean much to those around the globe but, here in dear old Blighty, it was one of the most popular children's TV shows for about 25 years. I miss Zippy! Enjoy this amazing demo that pushes the Atari STe to its limits.

Erm, honest... Anyhow, it's still great to watch. Insane, more like!! :D

Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more Atari ST videos!!

The One (magazine)

I've got quite a collection of Atari ST magazines and coverdisks but this disk has to be the best of the bunch. The text is something that I didn't really take any notice of at first but I've been giggling to myself over it:

"Visit interesting places, meet new people... and then kill them!". So funny!! Doubt they'd get away with it today...

Games I hate!!

My ST love is DEAD!!

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I decided it might be 'fun' to play a handful of games I have always hated. Good idea, right? As it turns out, there are many games I absolutely loathe! Perhaps I'm just being a miserable guy but here is a handful of dreadful games...

1) Lemmings is a game everybody went crazy for but I couldn't find any joy in herding those docile and idiotic critters. A few screens in, I would soon discover that I had no tolerance for their stupidity and thus, found it irritating. Instead, I would deliberately watch them plummet to their death or explode. Now, that was fun!!

2) Next is a conversion of the monster arcade hit, Hard Drivin'. This sure looks the part with its fancy polygons and whacky stunts enticing you to try your luck. However, it never goes to plan for me as I cannot steer the car in anything that resembles a straight line. In fact, I drive and corner worse than a drunk Stevie Wonder.

3) Next is Strider, a game I saw in ST Format and it looked amazing. They gave it a glowing review so I went out and spent all my pennies. Well, I certainly won't be giving it a glowing review because I cannot stand this platformer for more than a few minutes - without throwing down the joystick!! A terrible Tiertex port. (UPDATE) < < < < <

4) Yolanda is a platformer that I've always thought was curiously interesting. The sprites are superb and it has a funny title screen so I've often wondered if it played as well as it looked? Well, this is my experience:

Start the game... Wonder what to do. Die. Start again... Run left. Die. Start the game once again... Run right. Die. Start for yet another go... Panic. Die. Reboot the Atari ST as that's about all there is to it!!

The CryptO'pinion?

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In case you're wondering, this article was for a bit of fun. Well, except for the part about Lemmings as it's another lame Amiga port by Psygnosis (explain its intro if you can). Okay okay, ignoring the odd game like Blood Money and Anarchy, they sucked with their rushed ports. My apologies to their fans throughout the world. Sorry, not sorry. :p

Are there any Atari ST games you hate? Let me know in the comments below...

This is a recording of my typical game. All over the road and driving like a drunk!

A typical game. Seriously though, I need to play this again to see what it's all about.

Atari ST friends

My new Atari ST merch!

I received my latest "Atari Games" mug by Peter Jørgensen (Enduro Racer / YMT). No, they're not all the same, just scroll down for the reverse side. These cups are superb and it's so kind of Peter to send them. The mouse mat was a gift from my mate Tom, another ST nutter. Both Peter and Tom made the ZombieCrypt mug - probably because they were blown away by that slideshow I released last year. An awesome moment for them I expect? Hmm, probably not lol.

Greetings Peter/Tom - there's now't better than suppin' coffee from an Atari ST mug!!

Cuddly Demos by The Carebears

I remember the first time I saw that kid sticking out his tongue in disgust!!

Such an iconic demo so grab yourself a copy of the Cuddly Demos at Demozoo.

Credits

A.D. - Graphics

An Cool - Code

Ayoros - Code (HTML5 CODEF Remake)

Dyno - Code (HTML5 CODEF Remake)

ES - Graphics

Frutbunn - Code (HTML5 CODEF Remake)

Jas - Code

Mad Butcher - Graphics (Calvin and Hobbes boot graphics)

Mad Max - Music

Mellow Man - Code (HTML5 CODEF Remake)

Ming - Graphics (Font)

New Core - Code (HTML5 CODEF Remake)

Nick - Code

Nigel Brownjohn - Graphics (Main Menu Sprite)

Tanis - Graphics

Transformer - Graphics (Tristar Charset)

Master CAD

A Day in the Life

Master CAD is a program by MichTron that I've had gathering dust on my ST shelf for ages. I nabbed it off eBay but have never booted it up. I figured I should rectify that and see what professional software was like in 1987.

After brushing away a thick layer of dust, I opened the box and lifted out a weighty manual. "Time for a good read", I thought. It wasn't long until I almost fell into a coma! Wow, such dull reading and confusing - so I decided to stop and power on the ST. Installation was a stumbling block: it insists on being stored on Drive C, which is doable but means cluttering up my boot partition. The next problem was a lack of examples to work from (and yes, that means stealing).

With little guidance, I continued on the best I could. Don't laugh, but I had foolish plans to make some kind of map of Doom's E1M1. I've no idea why, I just did. However, it was clear that MichTron wrote this manual for the established designer. Not somebody like me. I was now getting to that stage where I wanted to pull out all my hair!!

After many hours, my map looked nothing more than a cluttered mess. In fact, it looked like something a child would have done, embarrassing to say the least. This program tortured me every step of the way. It wasn't fun and I had nothing to show for all the time wasted. Another day of my life gone and I'm wondering what made me do this. Madness!

Wanna see just how badly Master CAD affected me? Scroll down...

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App appreciation day

A time to celebrate!

There are some programs that don't get the credit or respect that they deserve. The ones that we use regularly, that never let us down, and get the job done perfectly. Yet, once their task is complete, they are TOSsed to one side without so much of a thank you. How cruel we are. Do you know a downtrodden app? Then shame on you!

Sadly, I am guilty of this sin. For me, it's called FastCopy (Pro) by Martin Backchat. This is an iconic copier/formatter for the Atari ST. In fact, you will be hard-pressed to find anyone who didn't/doesn't use this funky program? I think every ST owner has a copy of this on their computer? Rightly so, because it has several distinct features that I like:

   1) A brilliant backup tool.
   2) Essential formatting options.
   3) Actually, very smart formatting. Woo!!
   4) Nifty virus prevention.
   5) Can run either as a PRG or an ACC.

I personally format all my disks using Fastcopy Pro. It never lets me down (touches his wooden head). and I've used it since the 80s. How cool is that! So, dear FastCopy, I promise to start being nice to you appreciating your commitment to my ST floppies. Greetings to Mr Backschat for making such an awesome Atari ST program.

I hope this silly post made you smile :)

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