Showing posts with label Demos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Demos. Show all posts

Saturday, November 07, 2020

Sine Scrollers?



Wibbly-Wobbly-Scrolling

I've always had a thing for sinus scrollers! I mean, just look at it. Gorgeous!! This screen is called The Two-Screens-Together Demo by Black Byte/Bytechangers and weighs in at only 3.5Kb - less than JetPac!! But why so tiny? Well, it was programmed for the first-ever STNICCC in their "VIC Times Revisited" competition. I guess, the rules were obvious with a Ram limit based on the Commodore machine. Impressive results, to say the least.

Sadly, there's no music but I guess there wasn't enough space left over, which is completely understandable. However, I'd still love to see this screen updated with music and freed from the shackles of that old competition because it's too good to remain as is. I'm sure something beautiful could be done with this piece of code?

I'm always on the lookout for screens with similar scrollers but only found a limited number over the years. Sadly, I fail to remember which disks I saw back then, so it's been a painful process hunting them down. Of course, similar effects are used in many demos for waves, circle scrollers, distorting images, etc... but I'm specifically referring to a sine wave used for a horizontal text scroller - like the one displayed above in all its wavey sexiness.

There must be a ton of cracktros and demo screens that I've forgotten about!! So, if you know of any using this sine scrolling technique, then please let me know in the comments below. Until then, here is a selection of text scrollers using the sinus effects which are all utterly amazing and definitely worth downloading...



Possibly the best-known ST sine scroller I'd say? Okay, there's no sound but the visual effect is great and incredibly well coded. I wish more would have been done but there's no denying how cool this is.

Circle Dots by MJJ Prod

This is such a smooth screen and with gorgeous music by Dma-Sc. The scroller is sine-tastic and works well with the stark palette style which really appeals to me. Oh, and there are some dots too which ain't too bad!

Sinfull Sinuses by Chronicle

What a great demo this is with a bunch of cool visual fx and great music. The sinus parts are very good throughout but this is all about the sinus text so I loved their big blue sine scroller, which is just lovely.


Another fine sine example and taken from one of the best megademos there is - Just Buggin'

Disk #0052 by BITS

A slap-bang, in-your-face, no-frills sinus scroller and it's pretty darn excellent too!!

Flexiscroll by The Resistance

An awesome screen from the Decade Demo but it spends (most) of its time doing everything other than what I wanted to see! However, as a demo, it's pretty cool with some lovely fx and wonderful chipmusic.

Genesys by Aenigmatica

Yes, it's quite mild but the sine scrolling is there and I like it. This is a pretty great demo too.

Menu #3 by Electronic

I don't remember this group from back in the day but here's an intro with a nice sine-scroller. Sadly, there appear to be many of their disks that still need to be found and preserved. Can you help?


An intro for a cool MOD disk that includes (possibly) the best player available for the Atari STe? Well, I was blown away by it! Anyhow, this intro has a dodgy image, cool music, and a neat sinewave to enjoy.

Arsch Screen by FOXX

This was released as part of Phaleon's GigaDemo and boy what a screen from an outstanding megademo. Nothing short of mind-blowing. Yes, both the sine scroller and the megademo. What a point in time this was!!

Alvin Puzzles Cracktro by Elite & STAX

This cracktro was used many times because it's fast, classy, and superb. I only wish the sine scroller has a splash (ahem) more colour! One of my favourite intros for the ST. Erm, cracktro I meant to say.

Mr Heli Cracktro by The Replicants

The Replicants released what seemed like a zillion hacks and I've found a fantastic sine-scroller disk!!


The Anomaly Megademo is an absolute cracker and this screen is simply divine. Outstanding. [link]

Phototro by Hemoroids

This is a superb demo with a great plasma screen but the sine scroller is also pretty darn cool.

Saturday, October 31, 2020

Go Ahead Make My Bed


Happy Halloween!

I figured I needed to make a silly video for Halloween and what better than Chainsaw Massacre by The Lost Boys? It's a short and nostalgically entertaining demo but, also a fantastic example of the banter between ST groups back then. I love this a lot and ended my video recording with a beautifully scary image taken from Halloween, by The Black Twins.

Those of you who are too much of a wimp to watch a Swedish Carebear getting mutilated might be better off playing a game or two instead? The Atari ST has many ghoulishly 'scary' games to choose from and many I have yet to feature here on AtariCrypt. But here are some nerve-racking ideas which are highly recommended by yours truly...


Horror Zombies From The Crypt is the obvious choice - because it's fiendishly superb. Ooze was recently reviewed and, while it's a little quirky, there are lots of things going bump in the night to entertain. Following on in a similar vein is The Curse of Rabenstein, a brand new slice of horror which is jaw-droppingly awesome. Frankenstein takes us all on a humerous B-Movie adventure. But now, I feel I need to inject some violence into the world of horror and I personally feel nothing beats Death Chase for immense blood and gore! Finally, there is Nightbreed if you dare to try your luck within the disturbed mind of Clive Barker?


I'm now in the mood for something new (for me) to play: Brides Of Dracula, Munsters or Night Hunter. Has anyone played 'em?? Let me know what you think in the comments below. Oh, and don't forget about ZombieCrypt which is spine-chillingly cool. By that, I mean it's that lame slideshow I made a while back. Watch it and let me know what you think!

Happy Halloween folks and remember, it'll soon be Christmas!! ;^)



Evil Ash, from Evil Dead II and then featured in ZombieCrypt on the Atari ST. How cool is that!

Monday, February 24, 2020

Van Eijk Collection


I love finding Atari ST/e demos which I've not seen in years (or had forgotten about) and here is one which I enjoyed many moons ago... but somehow forgotten about!! It's called Van Eijk Collection and was developed by Van Eijk back in 1994 - a time when most of us had powered off the ST to play the mighty Doom. Sigh...

Anyhow, this is a collection of screens featuring dots, colour cycling, and a familiar tune you will simply adore. I think much of the demo was developed in GFA Basic but I'm only going off the scroller text - so I might be wrong? Presentation is a little sluggish and a few screens are dated, but there is also many which I did enjoy - that morphing is superb. All text is in Polish so don't expect to read anything - unless you're Polish of course!

This and many other Atari ST videos are on my YouTube Channel.
Credits & download links can be found on Demozoo or AtariMania. Crank up the volume! 🎧

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Merry Christmas


Catnap is a wonderful animation by Gary Johnson of Atari USA that makes the perfect Christmassy post! Apparently, the cat & dog are the pets of Ralph F. Mariano, publisher of online diskmag ST Report. Personally, I've never read an issue but it lived long into the 90s. Yep, this is something I must research over the holidays...

I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank our dear Patreons for their support over the year: Mind-Blowing support from our ST community!! Also, there are lots of cool friends in my little ST world who help in so many different: Tom, Dale, PeterJ, Marko, PP, Paul, Karim, Michael, Maarten, Seb, and my sincere apologies if I have forgotten anyone! Finally, my greetings to everyone who regularly visits this little ol' website to get their fix of Atari STuff :-)


Merry Christmas to all ST Nutters and I wish y'all the very beST †



Silent Night Atari ST chiptune by Chris French

Monday, July 29, 2019

Atari ST demos [part two]


Following on from my previous post, here is part two of my personal homage to some earlier demos which I remember admiring so much. Keep watching, because I continue with two of the best megademos the world has ever seen before ending with Virtual Escape, possibly the best half-meg Atari ST demo ever released?

Once again, I hope you all enjoy what is nothing more than a silly fan-made video of a few demos that I remember enjoying from around 1988 onwards. Each production can be downloaded from either AtariMania or Demozoo. Finally, I've added an excellent background chiptune called Harmless, by Nemo aka Jan Daldrup. It's ace!!

* Grusel by Eckhard Kruse: I've always loved this and so does my daughter 30yrs later!!
* Death Of The Left Border by TNT: Finally, the left border had gone - an incredible moment.
* Singing Raisins by John Blakely & Mark Booth: An early animation which is so funny.
* The Junk Demo by TCB: From start to end these guys never failed to impress.
* Dark Side Of The Spoon by ULM: from the moment I first heard "U..L..M". Superb!!
* European Demos by OVR: What a jaw-dropping megademo with some incredible screens.
* Virtual Escape by Equinox: This runs on an 8Mhz computer with half a meg Ram. Outstanding!!

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Atari ST demos [part one]


I decided to make a video showcasing a limited selection of the earlier Atari ST demos which personally hold a special place in my heart. You know, those productions which made our brains, eyes and ears exploded with shock and excitement when we saw our machine doing things it was never supposed to be able to do!!

I hope you all enjoy this video and I've also added one of my favourite chiptunes as a cool backing track, Best Part Of The Creation by Big Alec. A mesmerising tune from "Punish Your Machine" which is also one of few medium-resolution screens too!! Every demo is available on AtariMania and Demozoo and here is what I decided to pick:

* README.PRG by The Exceptions: Come on, nobody expected this when double-clicking that icon!
* Little Color Demo by The Exceptions: This is something I really love to listen to over and over.
* Full Screen Demo by Level 16: Both my TV and I were blown away by this stunning feat!
* The Union Demo by The Union: I still remember ordering this!! What a moment in time.
* The Cuddly Demos by The Carebears: To me, this felt like a Union Demo II. Ace STuff.
* Overdrive Demo by Phalanx: Oh, that menu. Wow, incredible!! How did they do it?
* Mindbomb by The Lost Boys: Possibly the best demo team? Ohhh what have I just started? lol

Update: I've made a follow-up video. Clickety Click! :)

Friday, March 22, 2019

Time Slices by Defence Force



It's time to dig out your SM125

I often receive requests for game reviews or demos to record, usually from someone and today, I was asked by STS to make a video of Time Slices by Defence Force for his awesome demoscene blog. Check that out!

Anyhow, this is a monochrome demo for the Atari STe that was released at STNICCC 2015. However, emulation (and my old Mac) play a good part in destroying the quality so I apologise for that. Thankfully, after a few minor adjustments, the sound improved and the darn thing stopped flickering long enough to give you guys an idea of how cool this demo actually is. Especially for something Commodore themed!! ;-)

Time Slices by Defence Force
Credit: Dbug for all coding and design
https://demozoo.org/productions/151603/

Wednesday, September 05, 2018

Rainbow!!



I've just been laughing my ST socks off at one of my oldest video recordings on YouTube. Rainbow might not mean much to many 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 really miss Zippy lol. Enjoy what is an amazing demo that pushes the Atari STe to its limits. Erm, honest...

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for lots of great Atari ST videos!!

Monday, July 16, 2018

Scanners


I was going through old video recordings and found this which is an absolute classic!!
Download available on Demozoo - just make sure you turn up the volume

Credits: "Alan, Bill and Dave"
(I wonder who these people were because there's little information out there!)

Monday, May 28, 2018

DBA Magazine #06


Synergy's famous DBA Magazine intro helped to create one of those moments in time when everything changed. I've probably watched it several hundred times over the years and it never gets dull. It's magnificent with beautiful visuals and groundbreaking SIDtastic audio by Joris Maarten de Man. One of my favourite intros ever made.

This jaw-dropping experience can be yours by downloading from Demozoo but... come on, use a real Atari ST!

Credits:
BAT - Code, Other (FX Design)
Rapido - Code
Scavenger - Music, Other (FX Design)
Zanac - Graphics

Monday, May 07, 2018

Automation


Forget Elvira and Maria Whittaker because this is the sexiest screen your Atari ST will display!! :@)

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Grusel


Thanks to the insanity of Eckhard Kruse, I've been hooked on graveyards, weird skeletons and ghosts for over 30 years. Yes, it sure looks silly, but this is an ST classic and something I just had to share. Grusel can be download from Eckhard's own website but don't forget Ballerburg, an outstanding turn-based strategic shooter!

This little demo is nothing less than a timeless classic.

Sunday, October 29, 2017

The Golden Dawn Mod Disk #14



MCIBTYC!!

The Golden Dawn released many PD and Mod Disks for the Atari ST during their time. However, this disk is something quite different featuring a humorous hack of Cannon Fodder. Click play to watch little ST soldiers graffiti the Amiga HQ which obviously escalates into war. Of course, this can only end in bloodshed :-)

What a superb idea and one which nicely represents the tensions between ST and Amiga users back in the day. Well, mainly Amiga users because we ST guys were too busy enjoying our machine! After the intro, this disk is stuffed with cool tunes and supports various playback options, including the stereo playback on the Atari STe.

Thanks to STompy for this piece of gold and get it downloaded right now!

Thursday, October 12, 2017

STrange roboTS


Strange Robots was released in 2013 for Silly Venture by BlaBLa and Mandarin. It's one of those demos I've had on my Ultrasatan since the very beginning and is a personal favourite of mine. I love the presentation styles that also display an incredible range of colours with a funky 505 tune enjoyed throughout. What's not to love?

Demozoo has the download which will require an Atari STe with a jaw-dropping 4MB Ram. If you like this, then I suggest you take a look at Circus back²STage, JAPAN beauties and troubles and STreet Art - all excellent demos!!

    

Monday, August 28, 2017

Phantom



Fancy a jaw-dropping Atari ST demo?

The Phantom Demo was released by Amiga/PC crew, Arkham who (for me) seemed to appear out of nowhere, only to disappear once again. This demo is actually two different party releases from 1993/4 bundled together. They feature super-duper visual effects and fantastic chiptunes by Kane Wood. I enjoyed this a bunch!!

The two videos you see are incomplete but still give a good idea of how fantastic this demo is. Of course, it's best to download and play on a real Atari ST computer. If you can, please do so!! The download is available over on AtariMania with more of Kane's music on Demozoo. Enjoy what is nothing short of blumming excellent :)

Hang on, don't go just yet! Check these out...


   

Saturday, August 05, 2017

ElefantaSTic


I love ElefantaSTic!! This was released at Silly Venture 2013 by Genesis Project and is an amazing demo. I feel it breaks away from the norm with unique and stunning styles. Plus the artwork is superb and there are beautiful effects with a perfectly apt chiptune. One of my personal favourites and downloadable from Demozoo.

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Things Not To Do


Electronic Images released one of the most hilarious Atari ST demos I have ever seen. I did try and record a video but my emulator missed some graphics and also the sine scroller (which is beautiful) was jerking like it had a nervous twitch. So I burned the image to a floppy disk and it was perfect - because nothing beats the real hardware!!

Download this utterly stupid demo from AtariMania then turn up the volume and enjoy the show.

Friday, July 14, 2017

Reanimators #6


Reanimators #6 features a few simple effects with a superb chiptune (hmm, it sounds familiar). You know me, I love sine scrollers and this one is a belter and displayed using the full range of lovely rainbow colours. On the disk is Thunderstrike is an incredible 3D shoot 'em up with outstanding graphics - it feels like an early Cybermorph ;-)

Sunday, July 09, 2017

Atari ST demos



Today I fancied some ST GLAM!!

I've just been going through the latest uploads on Demozoo and there have been many incredible releases of demos, artwork and music from both the Outline and Sommarhack parties. I'm constantly blown away by what the DHS boys can produce: the video above is of Midnight Sun for the Atari STe which runs in complete overscan!!

Check out these screenshots for an idea of what the Atari ST #demoscne is cable of knocking out. Remember, YouTube is good, but nothing beats the experience of using a real Atari ST/e computer. #JustSaying :p

Monday, June 26, 2017

Criminals In Disguise #22


I love anything with swirling dots and especially sine scrollers so this intro by Criminals In Disguise is right up my street. The fx are very nice with a beautiful hum-tastic chipmusic that I can leave playing all day. My video recording is fine but (you know what I'm going to say) it's best experienced using a real Atari computer for perfection and better sound. Especially on the Atari STe, so connect it up to your speakers and crank up the volume!!

This disk contains Jetpac, which is an awesome conversion of the Speccy original.