Showing posts with label Software. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Software. Show all posts

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Steve!



It's all in the name!

I love trolling through the Atari ST archives looking for anything that might entertain this old man I have become. Not only games but anything - just look at sections of my website like Software or Other STuff Out There.

Well, I've found a program called (wait for it) Steve and, being the owner of such a cool name, I thought it was funny. The name is an acronym for ST EVent Editor which is a multi-function program. It does just about everything we dreamt about back then - Text, Graphics, Database, Desktop Publishing and Computer Aided Instruction.

ST Event Editor was developed in 1989 by Primož Jakopin, a Yugoslavian (wow, that takes me back) whom I had to contact. He still has an active website, which shocked me, but not as much as finding out that the manual is available to download. Wanna know a little more without clicking any of the links down below? Here ya go, mister lazy pants...

"STeve - ST EVent Editor - is a general-purpose software tool that can handle text, pictures, data records, full pages (in DTP mode) and computer-aided-instruction units. It has been designed to get the most out of the ATARI ST range of computers - to be as fast as possible, to save as much space as is feasible and last, but not least, to be easy on the eyes. Processing of Mega-byte files, containing hundreds of pages with text and graphics, makes sense with STEVE. The program comes from Slovenia, a small country in the northwest of Yugoslavia, situated between the Adriatic Sea, the Alps, the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula."

STeve seems to be all things to all men but it's surreal to see something like this today. Using the program is complex so take a gander at the online manual - especially because of the keyboard commands. The potential is massive and I can only imagine how this program was utilised back in the day - read "The usage of STEVE" in the interview below.

Let me know if you boot up STeve and what you think of it in the comments below. My greetings to Primož for his time over the months since summer. I certainly enjoyed hearing all about his fascinating stories, ST program and history.

Are you interested to know more about Primož and the ST EVent Editor? Then check out these links:
• AtariCrypt interview with Primoz: https://www.jakopin.net/papers/memoirs/On_STEVE_en.php
• His website: https://www.jakopin.net/primoz/
• Other Atari ST software featured here: https://ataricrypt.blogspot.com/search/label/Software

Thursday, March 31, 2022

Title-Designer


Let's play...

By sheer chance, I found another demo/intro maker the other day and it's 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 first demo screen is a cinch because this is a remarkably easy program to use. Your intro can feature scrollers, colourful rasters, music and more. It's up to you to decide what and how to make your screen appear. Those with the skills to draw their own images or sample music will get even more from Title Designer.

( Sadly, there are some 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 along with samples utilizing the STe DMA hardware. Having said that, this is a belting program stuffed with loads of features and I love it.

So, come on ST folk, get this program downloaded as I would love to hear what you make of it - let me know in the comments below. Don't forget there are many more gems for your Atari ST right here on AtariCrypt.

I've uploaded my own creation to YouTube so brace yourself for a thrilling rocky rollercoaster ride (hey, whilst you're there, why not check out our channel?). I'll also upload it 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)

Friday, March 05, 2021

Yet Another Atari RAM Test


Have you got a spare couple of hours?

It's been yonks since I posted anything in our Software section so here is a Ram utility that I think is the bee's knees. Yet Another Atari RAM Test, by Christian Zietz, rolls through a number of intense tests that execute in-depth algorithms to help diagnose potential problems with our beloved Atari computers. Let's hope it finds nothing!

I won't pretend to understand the technical wizardry but I love finding utilities like this. I want my ST healthy so, I've had it running for what feels like a lifetime and it's still not (yet) found any errors. This is excellent news but, I'm thinking that this program could be helpful to anyone experiencing weird anomalies or peculiar crashes?

Yes, I enjoy finding nifty programs like this lurking in the ST archives and I hope YAART proves helpful if you're suffering from any hardware problems? The download comes ready to support the ST/STe/TT/Falcon but take a moment to read the text file and also try to boot cleanly with as much spare Ram as possible (read YAART.TXT)

I hope you guys have healthy Atari computers? Let me know in the comments below. Good luck!!

Sunday, October 18, 2020

GEM Desktop Music


Music while you work!

Over the decades, I've seen many neat programs that would play a piece of chip music, in GEM, as a background task. I always thought this was so cool and wondered why there wasn't more. Well, it turns out that 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?)

Anyhow, 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 this floppy disk is of some interest to you ST Nutters? Like it? Let me know in the comments below!
(my download is updated to v1.1 -thanks to Tronic of Effect for his superb new addition!!) :-)

Monday, August 17, 2020

Gameboy



Taking a break from the norm

Handheld console fans rejoice, for the "Gameboy" has arrived on the Atari ST thanks to a piece of cool public domain software by Ingo Linkweiler. Well, umm, no it hasn't really but, instead we have a program that features three games: Tetris, Pacman and Snake. It runs in GEM - any resolution - and can be installed as an ACC (which I preferred).

Open the ACC and hit any key to begin. The cursor keys can be used to control all three games: in Tetris, Left/Right moves the falling blocks, Up turns them around while Down drops 'em to the floor. Pacman uses these keys to make haste around his maze of weird 'ghosts'. Whereas Snake is quite the discrepancy but, I oddly enjoyed it. A lot!

The Atari ST has hundreds of nifty ACCs and many of which are games. That's kinda cool when you think about it and I love finding little nuggets of ST history like this. Gameboy is a fantastic ACC and I think Ingo created something of a good idea here, especially with Tetris. Sadly, Pacman's controls are quite tanky and Snake is certainly an (ahem) challenge! But, what did you expect in 20Kb? Exactly. So this program is worth checking out because I loved it and my opinion rules. Ahem.

Click here if you're dying to make GEM cool again. Let me know what you think!


Gameboy Emulator


Wait, don't go!! The fun doesn't need to stop if you're willing to reboot your Atari ST and quit its little green desktop for something different? If so, then The Untouchables have something rather neat for you. It's called the "Gameboy Emulator" and it looks the part with a version of Space Invaders and Tetris which includes a sampled background tune.

Okay, their Space Invaders is harsh and hardly complete but it's smooth and very likeable, at least for the one game. Yes, I said one game (hit ESC afterwards). Tetris is excellent and very impressive. It reminds me of what I saw on a friend's Gameboy back in the day. Yup, definitely a nice albeit fake emulator and I liked a lot.

Clickety-Click to see more and download the Nuntundu Uboy.


Nesulator


Hang on? Were you just about to leave this amazing Atari ST website? Shame on you... Okay, for those brave enough to stay, you may be interested in an emulator by Ed Cleveland? To be honest, it's very power-hungry and requires a lot of processing power - a lot more than the stock 8MHz ST can deliver. Also, it's beta and wasn't ever finished so there's a lot to be desired. However, it's fun and my Mega STe performed well but I am wondering how a Falcon or TT would be... sigh!

Take a look at NESulator and remember to check out the "Emulation" section on this cool website :)

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

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 with overscan. Yep, I love to dabble in hiSTory so I was pleasantly shocked to find an intro maker which 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, of course, 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 here and called it "Silly Dabbles" which 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 too. It's jerky under emulation (for me) but smooth as silk on a real Atari ST. Anyhow, I hope you like my Silly Dabbles Demo and enjoy using the program too?

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...

Friday, August 30, 2019

Fuji Boink ASCII



Always read the documentation!

I really enjoy digging through the ST's deep archives to see what forgotten goodies I can find and here is one of the best I've ever seen. It's called Fuji Boink ASCII and deceivingly appears to be nothing but a humble text file. Sadly, I've no idea who to credit for this piece of GFA Basic wizardry, but what I do know is that it's absolutely brilliant and definitely not what I expected to "read" after double-clicking the icon... I love finding stuff like this!!

Sunday, December 09, 2018

MANDELST



Let's mess about!

MandelST is a fractal generator developed in GFA Basic by Manos Kantzos (thanks to GeoAnas for the heads-up). I love messing about with funky fractals and this program is a cinch to use - which is a good thing for me!

Mandelbrot/Julia productions can be generated within moments but faster computers will benefit from their extra grunt. Of course, emulators are an excellent idea, unless you prefer leaving your ST on for long periods? Images can be exported as Degas PI1 or TIFF - which is superb. Also, basic animations are possible and these take us deep into an infinite mathematical world like nothing I've seen before. A stunning idea with great potential.

I've enjoyed creating many peculiar and wonderful images and animations - which I'm quite proud of. Also, it's fantastic to see something new being developed for the Atari ST so I'm hoping Manos continues on and improves his work in the future. This is a great program, so have yourself some geeky fun zooming in on infinite!!


My Funky Creations


Friday, May 25, 2018

BoinkSave



What, an Atari ST screensaver?

I've been digging through the archives again and found an interesting piece of software on Atari ST User's cover disk from August 1992. It's a screensaver by Damien M. Jones and works brilliantly to save your old CRT from burning an image of the GEM desktop. This can also be fully configured to use other graphics along with altering the timeout.

I love finding programs like this and we all adore a good Boink so I thought this was excellent. If you don't have the cover disk lying about, like geeky old me, then it can be grabbed off the Zogging Hell website.

Of course, something like this is pointless but come on, it's utterly utterly fantastic and I love it :-)

Monday, May 14, 2018

ST Globe



By 1999 we will be living on the moon!

In a time long ago, when there were no search engines, we had to read something called a "book". If we wanted to chat with someone then that would mean leaving the house to meet up for a real conversation. Crazy times, right? Well, I've found something cool that takes us back to this early disconnected age that we loved.

ST Globe and was developed by Jean Pierre Cazes which you will find on the Page 6 website. I thought it was rather amusing but interesting and it definitely puts Encyclopædia Britannica to shame [ahem]. However, my daughter was having none of it and prefers to use Siri and Google. Sheesh, what's up with kids these days, uh?

Grab yourself ST Globe and pretend the Internet isn't real.

Sunday, March 18, 2018

Fullscreen Construction Kit



I've always had a thing for overscan!

The Atari ST/e might not officially support overscan but that hasn't stopped many games, demos, programs and more from making use of it. There's a lot out there with many already featured here on AtariCrypt not to mention the ability to activate overscan within GEM. Yep, the Atari ST is a versatile machine and often underrated.

Anyhow, Fullscreen Construction Kit is a cool utility program developed by FMC Connexion to display high-resolution pictures using this same overscan technique. It works by piecing together four Degas images which ultimately join up to generate the finishing picture. This image can be viewed on your ST using the program provided.

The process is simple but I had difficulties with the palettes because I'm not gifted when it comes to art!! Hence the reason Milla is in greyscale and the dog is red instead of brown. Also, it's worth noting that I found it easier to create the blocks using my Mac and there are online tools available to split images.

Six test images are already on the floppy plus you also have the ability to create your own. This set of image blocks [by Killer D] should give you an understanding of what's expected from budding artists? But even those without any skills (me!!) should be fine, so why not give this program a playtest to see what overscan goodies you can create?

This is a belting program and I've enjoyed dabbling! Let me know what you think of it in the comments below.





Sunday, February 18, 2018

Fractal Landscape Generator




It's time to be creative!

Fractal Landscape Generator was developed by David Billington who gave us an opportunity to develop mountainous worlds. Now, it's worth stopping to read the doc file on the disk before you do anything else - because there is an excellent mini-guide included. I know, I know, nobody reads the manual... but you should this time!

Making a brand new rugged landscape is extremely easy thanks to the fantastic user interface. Not only that, but results can be produced and viewed very quickly, even on an 8MHz computer. Thankfully, the program made great use of my 16MHz Mega STe which is superb and the versatile speeds of Hatari will be a huge bonus!

The 3D part was initially difficult to grasp but don't give up - keep on tinkering and you'll grasp it. Once you're happy, you can then add light-shading, alter various colour parameters, and increase the detail level. Heck, you can even animate a fly-by through your newly created world.

Dabbling in 16-Bit creation was fun and it's impressive to see what wonders I could knock out and to think I found it by chance: Floppyshop ART-3647. It's a nice feeling to find something "new" and this is a great program to get started in fractal landscaping. Give it a go and let me know what you think in the comments below! Enjoy...


- My Own MEGA STE Creations -



Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Gribnif Software



Today is a great day!!

Dan Wilga has kindly released NeoDesk and Geneva as freeware which you can download directly from the Gribnif website. I have quickly run through a test installation (within Hatari) and it worked without a hitch. My next project is to install this onto my Mega STe and get this amazing operating system & funky desktop running from an SD Card.

What a fantastic opportunity this is but please don't forget to donate whatever you can. I would love to see your NeoDesk screenshots! Let me know what you guys think of this freebie Geneva/NeoDesk in the comments below...

Sunday, January 14, 2018

Breakout



It's time for more nostalgia

Breakout is an excellent GEM desktop accessory that lets us play the game of brick-busting at any time. I had this installed on my boot drive back in the day and remember marvelling at the multitasking capabilities of my lovely Atari ST computer!! It seemed like black magic, even if ACCs faked that illusion in TOS/GEM!
Of course, it works best in a multitasking OS - just use MagiC, MiNT or Geneva!
The game itself is basic, but great fun and works in all resolutions too. However, I doubt anyone will choose this over the magnificent Bolo which is the best version on the Atari ST. Still, finding this little ACC has made my day once again 30 years later. So, thank you to whoever developed this - please, get in touch and say hello.

Okay, it's time to hit that download button... Erm, link I meant to say. Enjoy this piece of hiSTory!!

Sunday, November 12, 2017

Deskpic


I was bored and converted a picture I found on the net to 16-colours using Imagecopy 4. I figured it would make a great background so booted up Deskpic - which is on ST Format cover disk #60. Awesome sauce!

That's my rock and roll lifestyle, baby. Yep. Anyhow, STay Atari.

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Floppy Image Runner (IMGRF2X)



Wait, don't damage the ST's case!!

Most Atari ST games are available on a floppy disk which has been converted into a disk image and downloadable off the Internet, be they legit or not. Nothing beats the sound & feel of using a real ST with its floppy disk chugging away. What an authentic way to spend an evening and there are thousands of games to choose from.

IMGRF2X is a program, developed by Peter Putnik and provides a great way to use these images - without the hassle of finding a real floppy disk. It's basically software CosmosEx/Gotek and works with most files: .ST and .MSA. Obviously, the requirements are raised beyond the stock 520ST because you need >2MB Ram. Also, a hard drive or UltraSatan is beneficial to store all your virtual floppies. Which is only obvious, right?

I don't think there are many Atari ST users these days struggling with only 512K RAM. Exactly, so read on...


But how is this possible?

It is very simple: firstly, assign either ST or MSA file types in GEM. Dead easy - just watch my video recording. Now you can double-click on any image from your collection to load Image Runner - this copies it into Ram and reboots. The ST will start up as if it has that disk physically inside its drive - powered by black magic!!

Sadly, GEM cannot assign more than one file type to any single program. To get around this limitation, just make a second copy of "IMGRF2X.PRG" and rename it to something similar. Now you can assign both types of disk images to each of these two programs for instant access to your collection of downloaded floppy images!

Or manually edit the Desktop.Inf file using a text editor like Everest or similar. Easy peasy!


The CryptO'pinion?

I must say Image Runner worked rather well and I enjoyed a good success rate on the whole. This program is a Godsend for us without a Gotek or CosmosEx and has certainly allowed me to enjoy Menu disks again! However, please remember that this is software so YMMV. Nobody can deny that this is genius so enjoy!!

I think you will all appreciate this program as the results are often positive. I love it and hope Peter continues working on this. Okay, there are two downloads on his website for IMGRF2X (which includes an easy-to-use option). Watch the video!!

Let me know in the comments below what you think and what worked. Above all, enjoy yourself :)

Sunday, July 30, 2017

The Fractal Engine

 


It's time to get psychedelic

ST Format #42 featured The Fractal Engine by Daniel Grace and Mike Harris. I love programs like this and, after a couple of hours of tinkering, I began creating some rather funky images. What a superb program it is and so capable to create impressive images using tripped-out colourful effects - if you have the spare time?

Features of The Fractal Engine v3.0

17 different fractal types, including 11 Mandelbrot/Julia pairs and Lindemayer Systems
Divide and conquer algorithms, with fixed-point arithmetic
Zoom animation and Julia Set morph batch processing
3-Dimensional Mandelbrot and Julia landscapes
480, 16 colour palettes
Simple but effective image compression

The Fractal Engine delivers superb results and is easy to use and what's more fun than creating trippy images? Oh no, does this mean I'm turning into a groovy hippie? I hope not!! Anyhow, I hope you like my images which were all calculated using my own Atari STe. (Thanks to Michael Keenleyside for this link to the latest version)


Brace yourself for images of 8MHz power!
Check out my creative weirdness :-)


Wednesday, July 05, 2017

Bootblock



First impressions

There are so many different boot sector programs that add cool fx onto a floppy. This helps to prevent virus infections but we all love the dazzling effects and some are technically amazing! Bootblock by The Fingerbobs is one of my favourites programs that writes a number of boot sectors and the one above is Bladerunners. Which is ace!!

Credits: Bootblock was coded by Oberje of Fingerbobs with music by Jochen Hippel.

There are lots of great boot sectors to choose from and I love finding awesome programs like this. There are more lurking out there somewhere in ST Land. Let me know in the comments below what programs you've found...

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

GEM Desktop



When wallpapers weren't a standard...

DeskFX is a GEM utility that I thought was pretty cool and entertaining, if annoyingly flawed. It replaces three parts of our beautiful GEM desktop - the default font, a choice of wallpaper, and an animated mouse pointer. As you can see, above, the wallpaper feature only updates every 2/3 seconds which is a little lame compared to DeskPic. However, the new fonts are superb and (like a big kid) I just loved playing with various animated pointers!

It appears the author had an STFM and DeskFX worked fine on my computer in both resolutions. Sadly, I couldn't get it to work on my Atari STe in LOW resolution - only in medium which is probably better anyhow? Not in the sense of available colours but in terms of functionality, who uses low to work? Who still works on their ST? ;-)

I thought this was a nice utility to share and you'll find it on disk UTL-4410 over at Floppyshop.

 --> Wanna read about more cool warez? Then check out our "Software" group :)

Saturday, December 17, 2016

MonoPack



The most exciting screenshot ever!

MonoPack was released by Shrimp of NewCore and allows the Atari ST (w/ colour display) to run in the high-resolution mode without the need for the correct monitor. Yes, there are already programs that do this but I think this is better because it saves itself onto the boot sector of a floppy disk. This means a fast way to activate. Plus it supports the Blitter coprocessor for faster rendering. Yup, this is an excellent utility!

Clickety-Click to download MonoPack and let me know what you think in the comments below.