What have I done?

Grizzly or Cuddly?

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a big fan of Dungeon Master (who isn't?). In fact, I always choose the Daroou avatar for myself on everything from Twitter/X to forums. Heck, even my Mac thinks I am Daroou! I love this champion the most because he's a great all-rounder with clobbering skills that complement his spellcaster skills. And he looks like a grizzly beast you wouldn't want to bump into on a dark night!

As I am unable to draw, I often turn to AI (don't hate me) to assist with creating a logo whenever I'm unable to find something suitable. One day, I thought it would be "funny" to ask for a 3D representation of Daroou rather than only seeing the top half. And this is the result. I couldn’t stop laughing at what was produced.

I hope you enjoyed this silly post!

Dementia

Crazy pixels

I booted up Corporation the other day. This is an FPS/RPG 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 an action take on 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. 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 :-)

I have crappy speakers but 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

FTL!

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. This line hit home with me about Dark Mode, "The ST had that in 1985". Today's companies would rave about a feature like that. As if it was brand new.

Absolutely superb STuff!! Get this book, it's brilliant!!

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)

Violent disks

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. Subtle wording. But I've been giggling to myself over it today: "Visit interesting places, meet new people... and then kill them!". So funny!!

Doubt they'd get away with it today; which sums up today's woke world. Sadly.

Games I Hate!!

My ST love died

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I decided it might be amusing to revisit a handful of games I’ve always hated. Good idea, right? Well, as it turns out, there are far more games I absolutely loathe than I expected, which shocked me somewhat. Perhaps I’m just a miserable bloke (there’s a surprise). Still, let’s do this anyway; it might actually be fun.

So, here is a handful of dreadful #AtariST games...

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

2) Next is a conversion of the arcade hit, Hard Drivin'. This looks the part with its polygons and wacky stunts enticing you to try your luck. However, it never goes to plan as I cannot steer the car in anything that resembles a straight line. In fact, I 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) Chuckie Egg II is the worst platformer for the Atari ST. I'm disgusted this game was released. Why? Perhaps it's because it's such a dredful conversion, but more likely because they ruined what is one of my favourite ZX Spectrum games. Yep, I was hoping they'd remain faithful (like with Jet Set Willy), or perhaps enhance it (like with Highway Encounter), but no. They destroyed it!!

5) Yolanda is a platformer that I've always thought looked curiously interesting and something very different. 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, and no joking here, this is my actual experience:

Start the game... Wonder what to do. Die. 

Start again... Run left. Die. 

Start the game again... Run right. Die. 

Start for yet another go... Panic. Die. 

Reboot my Atari ST, and wonder what I'm doing with my life.

The CryptO'pinion?

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In case you're wondering, this article was just for a bit of fun. Except for the part about Lemmings, as it's another lame Amiga port by Psygnosis (explain its intro if you can). Okay, ignoring the odd game like Blood Money & Anarchy, they sucked with their rushed ports. My apologies to their fans worldwide.

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 usual game. All over the road and driving like a drunk!

The controls... those controls...!! What have they done to this game? :(

A typical game, but seriously, 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. Hmm, probably not lol.

My greetings Peter/Tom - nothing is better than suppin' coffee from my 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

ES - Graphics

Jas - Code

Mad Butcher - Graphics (Calvin & Hobbes graphic)

Mad Max - Music

Ming - Graphics (Font)

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 shelf for ages. I nabbed it off eBay but have never booted it up. Hmm, I should rectify that to 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. Well, no, it wasn't anything close to good. Yep, 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 the best I could. Don't laugh, but I had foolish plans to 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 soon got 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! This program tortured me every step of the way. It wasn't fun and I had nothing to show for the time wasted. Another day of my life gone and I wondered why I did this. Madness!

Do you want to see how badly Master CAD affected me?

You should scroll down then...

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App appreciation day

A time to celebrate!

Some programs don't get the credit or respect that they deserve. The ones that we use regularly 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 as a thank you. How cruel we are. Do you know a downtrodden PRG? Then shame on you!

Sadly, I am guilty of this sin. For me, it's called FastCopy (Pro) by Martin Backchat. 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'd bet good money that every ST owner has a copy on their computer. Rightly so.

But why? Well, because it has several distinct features that I admire...

• A brilliant backup tool.
• Essential formatting options.
• Actually, very smart formatting. Woo!!
• Nifty virus prevention.
• Can run either as a PRG or an ACC.

I format all my disks using Fastcopy Pro. It never lets me down (touches 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 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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