With Asterix in the Dungeons of Doom

Crawling with Asterix

Following the success of RogueCrypt (yes, that’s what I named it and I shall be forever sorry), Mug UK asked me to create a similar image for the Asterix-themed Rogue hack. This version is essentially the same game with graphical modifications. Asterix in the Dungeons of Doom allows us to take on the role of Asterix instead of the Rogue character while keeping most other aspects unchanged. I’m tempted to call this disk AsterixCrypt. Have I hit an all-time low? Yeah, maybe I’m taking this naming convention a bit too far.

Regardless, here are all the links you need for the file download and more...

• Download the (.ST) disk image of AsterixCrypt = https://www.dropbox.com/DownloadTheGame...
• In case you missed it, RogueCrypt = https://ataricrypt.blogspot.com/2024/12/roguecrypt.html
• Atari Legend = https://www.atarilegend.com/games/asterix-the-adventure-game
• Rogue for Atari STe (uses STe DMA) = https://ataricrypt.blogspot.com/2017/08/rogue.html
• Mug UK = https://demozoo.org/sceners/2542/
• JayMSA to convert to a real disk = http://jaysoft.atariportal.cz/stapps.htm#msa
• Other ST stuff made by me: https://ataricrypt.blogspot.com/MadeByMe

To tempt you to play, I'll end with screenshots of the Gaulish warrior's adventure...

Asterix isn't used to a dungeon so let's help him beat the monsters and grab the loot!

Shush, the bat is asleep. Quietly get that potion, treasure, and scroll...

Kestral's are mean beasts and this one wasn't alone.

I spent time searching for a hidden door but the exit was hiding under a sleeping bat!

I wanna run and escape but a slime beast is in my way.

Avoiding the Leprechaun as best I can in a darkened room.

Phantoms are strong, a zap from my wand helped a bunch!

I guess the dungeons proved too much for our little warrior?

RogueCrypt

ROGUE!!

I've been considering doing this for quite a while. Why it's taken me so long is anyone's guess, but I can imagine most of you already use Peter's excellent hard drive version? Nonetheless, I have created my own bootable floppy image, which I have named RogueCrypt. Yes, I know the name is awful.

My disk is built on Peter's excellent hack, but I've added a few optional extras to make the Rogue's quest even more interesting. QuickST is used for a slightly faster display (hopefully) and XControl automatically disables the key clicks. You also have the option to switch between 50/60Hz which I love to use. I've tested with Atari ST/STe running TOS 1.02(1MB) and TOS 1.62(4MB). Oh, there might be a couple of extra surprises too!

I hope someone finds this interesting enough to download. Rogue is such a fantastic game and the perfect reason to take a break from your PC or Xbox. Download my disk and enjoy the dungeons of Rogue.

• RogueCrypt (.ST) disk image: https://www.dropbox.com/.../RogueCrypt...
• Peter's original hacks: https://atari.8bitchip.info/ASTGA/R/rogue.php
• JayMSA to convert to a real disk: http://jaysoft.atariportal.cz
• Rogue, but with a twist: https://ataricrypt.blogspot...rogue.html
• Game maps can be sourced here: https://ataricrypt.blogspot.com/game-maps
• Other ST stuff made by me: https://ataricrypt.blogspot.com/MadeByMe

After creating the disk image, I decided to test my luck and take a stroll through the dungeons...

Rogue is quite possibly one of the best Atari ST games. What say you?

Oh no, I've hit a dead end? Use the search, dummy!

In the dark and set upon by a zombie and a rattlesnake. Life's not fair.

Exploring another corridor, and something from a children's TV show appears!

My adventure ended soon after. I need a cheat (joke!)

GEM wallpaper

Beware the volatile!

As many of you know, I rarely play modern games. The closest would be Tales of Maj'Eyal, Serious Sam Fusion, and Diablo 3. However, Steam had a £2 deal so I succumbed and bought Dying Light which has been on my wishlist for years. It's ace and I love its open-world aspect - I can do whatever, whenever I like.

But why am I boring you with such pointless information? Well, I made a wallpaper background for my Atari ST and figured it was rude not to share. Simple as that really. Also, I hope it appeals to fans of the game? And inspires you to develop your own background. Hey, don't forget to share it with me :)

My file download is a bootable ready-to-go disk image (.ST format). Go... Create... Enjoy!!

Credits & Other STuff

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DeskPic - Norbert Marschalleck
Imagecopy - Jeremy Hughes
Degas Elite - Tom Hudson
Dying Light - ©Techland

For those interested, this image conversion was easy to do. After reducing the screenshot to ST-happy resolutions, I converted the JPG to PI1 (Degas Elite). This was done using the fantastic Imagecopy. I then configured Deskpic to improve our glorious GEM desktop with its new backgroud - it even looks good in medium res!

You can find more of my (ahem) talented creations right here. I also have a scene page on the wonderful Demozoo (something that never ceases to amaze me).

Okay, let's see some 16-colour images of my ST running Dying Light... ;-)

I'm just out of the Tower and ready to take a running jump...

Zombie attacks and regrets it. I lopped off its head, of course!

The next zombie gets hit and electrified like an old cartoon nasty.

This one could have been better but it shows a zombie that's about to eat lead.

I'm on a roof and a zombie was stupid enough to attack me and my modified blade.

The grappling hook is a tremendous way to zoom about town!

The final gameplay image is in two parts. Check out this zombie guy...

...what a fool. He was no match for me and my trusty fire blade. <insert evil laugh>

And finally, we have the GEM desktop running in medium resolution. Pretty cool imho.

Are any of you ST Nutters also playing Dying Light?

Title-Designer

I made a demo screen!

By sheer chance, I found a demo/intro maker the other day, which is also something I've never actually seen before. It was released in 1987/89 for the Atari ST by Hans-Conrad Stamm. That's right, The Blade Runners! Just when you think you know your ST stuff, something appears out of the blue. Well, new to me!

Creating your demo screen is a cinch because this is a remarkably easy program to use. The intro can feature scrollers, colourful rasters, music, etc. It's up to you to decide what and how to make your screen appear. Those with the skills to make their own images/sampled music will get the most from Title Designer.

( Note, there are minor visual issues on anything other than the original Atari ST )

Over the last few days, I have made several intros and what's immediately impressive is how effortlessly I could make screens bursting with colour - I only wish it supported traditional YM tunes with samples utilizing the STe DMA hardware. Regardless, this is a belting program stuffed with loads of features and I love it.

Come on ST folk, get the program downloaded as I would love to see your creations - let me know in the comments below. I'll upload my demo screen to Demozoo for those wanting to download it!

Okay, here are a few cool Title-Designer screenshots to check out...

Remember reading those menu disk scrollers? Well, now you can write your own!

Chose their colours. Yes, that is colours rather than one single colour.

Why not add a couple of visual effects to your drawings?

I thought this was a powerful feature to have before loading another program or ST desktop.

And here's the result after mere minutes. Yes, minutes! (credit to unknown for the superb image)

I personally think this is a great piece of software. Try it!!

SuPer eXcellent graphics demo

I made a thing

I've been enjoying another doodle on my Atari ST, if you wanna see more of my work click here. Okay, this time I've been experimenting with SPX, a technology created by Electronic Images in the early 90s. This magically stitches several Spectrum 512 pics into one ginormous image displayed in scrollable overscan.

I've always loved the idea of the SPX format and remember buying several PD disks. Most pictures were titillating girls or something of a fantasy theme (no complaints from me). The potential of huge Spectrum 512 images, in overscan, was quite mind-blowing at the time. (ignore my capture, the scrolling is silky smooth).

SuPer eXcellent Graphics Demo can be downloaded from my Dropbox. Be warned, it's big. Too big for a real floppy (I got carried away and made lots of SPX images). So installation is intended for a hard drive or Ultrasatan. However, I have made a huge ".ST" image that should work as an alternative for emulation.

Perhaps you feel inspired to make your own SPX images? I would love to see whatever you guys create - let me know in the comments. Scroll down for more information and I hope you enjoy my graphics demo.

Go, create!

Now, reading these instructions might appear longwinded? Far too much hassle if you're as lazy as me? Well, don't worry because it's actually easy to make your own SPX images. Dead easy, so have a bash:

• Those without any artistic skills, ahem, should download images off the internet!! Look for something large, possibly with a clean background and try to select something that uses a portrait ratio. There's loads out there, google is your friend.
• Crop that large image into 320x199 segments. (a line is lost due to a limitation of Spectrum 512). This cropping can be done on the ST or a PC/Mac (I used 'Preview' on my Mac).
• Once you have your image split into several segments, it's best to convert them into GIFs. Again, this can be done on the ST but is probably much quicker on the Mac/PC if I'm honest. Yowzers!
• Now copy all your new GIF files over to the Atari ST.
• Each GIF will need converting into Spectrum 512 format (.SPC) and the best program for that is 'GIF to Atari Spectrum 512 Picture Converter' by Steve Belczyk. A brilliant program!
• Each SPC file can now easily be imported into SPX Creator for both previewing and creating. All your SPX pictures can be displayed using the dedicated viewer, 'SPX_V18D.PRG'

An example...

Check out this portrait image of Jason Voorhees that I split into three segments on my Mac (above!). As you can see, I carved it into the relevant sections, which are converted to GIFs and imported into SPX Creator.

A standard ST might take a few minutes to save this fantastic image but it's well worth it.

Credits

Idea and creation were mine - Steve, Crypt Keeper, Strider, AtariCrypt, whatever you call me ;o)  

The real credits

Spectrum 512 - Boris Tsikanovsky.
SPX Creator/Viewer - Electronic Images (Gizmo + The Phantom).
Original images - Everything was freely sourced off the internet with appropriate credit.
AtariMania & Demozoo - two super Atari resources that I used for my dabble. 

Programs used

Preview - a freebie Mac program to resize and clip each image into 320x199 segments.
GIF2SPC - a wonderful Atari ST program by Steve Belczyk.
SPX Creator - the program that stitches together each of the GIF pictures into SPX images. 

Links

SuPer eXcellent Graphics Demo is the latest AtariCrypt production. Yes, there's more O_o
Electronic Images released loads of disks so check 'em out on Demozoo.
There are many SPX Slideshows although I remember more? I should research...

Merry Christmas

Ho Ho Ho, I've made a festive pic

It's been a peculiar year, hasn't it? Sadly, it doesn't look likely to get better any time soon but I hope everyone remains in good health. I wanted to thank each and every one of you guys for visiting my humble website throughout another year. Not only that but I appreciate your comments and kind messages.

I would like to thank each of our patrons for their immense support, which is something I cannot express enough. I do hope you guys are still enjoying your Patreon gifts from earlier in the year? I'm drinking my coffee using the mug right now!! That was an exciting project and I would love to try again sometime.

STay safe everyone and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas †

GEM Desktop Music

Music while you work!

Over the decades, I've seen many neat programs that play a piece of chip music in GEM as a background task. I always thought this was cool and wondered why there wasn't more. Well, it turns out there are a lot on several Budgie UK disks. (I don't think I ever saw these types of programs on any other floppy disks?)

I've spent some time going through my disks to gather a quick, no-frills compilation. Some of these tracks were made by Goth but I'm not sure who else to credit for the rest - possibly Budgie UK? There's also an intro included which is a scroller text by me using a utility coded by Dogue de Mauve of Overlanders.

I hope my floppy disk is of some interest to you ST Nutters? Like it? Let me know in the comments!

(my download is updated to v1.1 -thanks to Tronic of Effect for his new addition!!) :-)

Silly Dabbles Demo

Oh no, I've been creating again...

I love finding Atari ST programs that do something silly or unexpectedly cool. There are lots already within our Software section, like Full Screen Construction Kit, MandelST and I even got to play in overscan. Yep, I love to dabble in hiSTory so I was pleasantly shocked to find an intro maker I had not heard of before.

It's by Deviant Designers, called Letter And Intro Maker (L.A.I.M.) and is simple to use. Just select the various fragments of what actually makes an intro - a picture, fonts, chip music and a text file used for the scroller. There are already lots of fonts on the disk and dozens of chiptunes to choose from - the hardest part is writing the text (read the docs) and finding a decent image to use - unless you're talented in NeoChrome?

Once you're happy, save your production to disk and then quit into GEM to load it up. Yep, you've created your first demo screen in mere seconds! This is what I've done and named it "Silly Dabbles". It features an image from Beastlord and music by An Cool. Try this program - I'd love to see what you guys create.

I've recorded a video and the disk image can be downloaded. It's good using an emulator but best when run on a real Atari ST. I hope you like my Silly Dabbles Demo and enjoy using the program?

Credits and Download Links:

Deviant Designers for Letters And Intro Maker (LAIM)
https://demozoo.org/groups/38004/

Picture was taken from Beastlord by WJS Design/Grandslam
http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-st-beastlord_8696.html

Music by An Cool used in The Death Demo for 2-Life Crew
http://sndhrecord.atari.org/mp3/AN_Cool/

- Screenshots from L.A.I.M -

Nothing flashy here but it works great and never crashed on me once!!

Oodles of fonts to choose from and a preview is shown before you decide, which is nice.

Dozens of awesome chiptunes to choose from but sadly no preview. Can't have it all...

Half-Life II Slideshow

Half-Life 2 for Atari ST!

Well, no but this is the next best thing. Well, no it isn't lol. Regardless, you guys might like this if you appreciate slideshows of digitised pixel art? After last year's mega-hit, ZombieCrypt [yes, sarcasm!], I have made another slideshow. Of course, this time for the incredible Half-Life II games using the engine created by my friend, Peter Jørgensen.

I've added a superb chiptune by TAO called Line of Fire, which suits the theme perfectly with a fast upbeat feel. Each picture is actually a screenshot from my gameplay - I then converted each to Degas format using Imagecopy 4. The entire process took me about six months to compile. I hope you enjoy my lame release? [download]

If you wanna see more of my Atari ST creations then there's a link on the right and also back there  👈

- A Few Sample Images -

Sadly, a couple didn't make the cut as I ran out of floppy disk space... Doh!

ZombieCrypt

I've made a horror slideshow!

A few months ago I came up with the notion of a slideshow based on a zombie/horror theme. I love George A. Romero and movies like Evil Dead and Resident Evil. Not to mention Milla Jovovich!!

I used Imagecopy 4 to convert several JPGs from various movies but that's where my artistic skills ended! So I asked a few friends if they'd like to donate some gruesome pics of their own. My thanks to the boys listed below for their images and Peter Jørgensen for his awesome slideshow. This program removes the lower border for a cool scroller, plays fantastic YMT music and can be launched from a floppy or hard drive.

I've enjoyed working on this project and I hope all of you ST nutters download it. Let me know :)

- The Credits -

Production ideas and childishly drawn images are by Meeeee!! :D

Artistic skills: Stuart Johns / Peter Jørgensen / Karim Mezaouri / Aurélien Vaillant

Also, credit to the "unknown" for the images I nabbed off the web!

Slideshow programmed by Peter Jørgensen.

Addams Family theme tune by Vic Wizzy (converted Peter)

- Sample Slideshow Pics -

Collaboration Two

Oh no, not another disk?

Following on from last year's success, Collaboration #2 has been released. The STatariART gang have been busy and created more funky pixel art - by many different people who kindly submitted their Degas dabbles. You will even see a few images from yours truly. Brace yourself for that horror; don't get your hopes up :o)

A lot of hard work went into this production and it's always fantastic to see so many people coming together like this. People, like us, aren't often associated with the "scene" so let's hope we see many more disks. Any ideas? Contributions? Get in touch. Until then, Clickety-Click and download Collaboration #2 via Demozoo.

Credits

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AtariSTaffroom - Graphics

Atarian1982 - Graphics

Bionic Nerd - Code, Graphics

Dj Sergant - Music (We hope you don't mind ;))

Forgotten Grove - Graphics, Other (Started the whole idea)

Loggins - Graphics

Scarlettkitten - Graphics

Stefan Lindberg - Graphics

karim - Graphics

I hope you enjoy this show? Let me know what you guys think in the comments below...

- SAMPLE IMAGES -