Archer Maclean Pool

Fancy a game of pool & a few beers?

Jimmy White's Whirlwind Snooker is terrific and technically superb but, it wasn't long before I was falling asleep. Sorry, but that's snooker for you... but shortly afterwards I realised I had never played Archer Maclean's Pool.

Pool is different. It's an exciting, fast-paced pub game and nothing like the dullness of snoozeville snooker. American and English variations of this game are playable with the added option to play through tournaments or to set up trick shots. If you've played Whirlwind then you'll instantly take to this but I doubt any newcomers will struggle with the interface, which is instinctive and easy to grasp. In fact, some might say this is the same snooker game and a rip-off?

Wanna see a screenshot? Well, you can't!! So how about an animation instead? Good, here ya' go...

What a whiz I am at this game! Go on, watch me clear up lol

Pool is illegal without beer! #fact

Well, ignore them and play this using the mouse to alter your viewing angle but don't forget to chalk the cue before setting up the shot with the right amount of power, spin and direction. There is a wide range of computer opponents from the amateur to the godlike, so it's best to practice before taking on the pros. They. Are. Tough!

Graphics are... well... it's a table with balls on it, so there isn't much to drool over, but the framerates are very smooth and prove just what 8MHz can deliver. The 3D engine works well with fantastic first-person-like views when lining up a shot. Let's not forget the game's comical side with taunting balls, evil-eyed fans or the flies on the table!! Sound effects are nice and rather varied with clinks, plops and oddly humorous cue-chalking moments.

What I love about this game is the superb design which feels natural and realistic. After your first shot, you realise how incredibly superior the hidden mathematical calculations are that make the physics appear so believable. There are near-limitless possibilities for each shot you make, which is quite incredible.

Pool might be a serious game but that hasn't stopped the balls from taking the Micky out of you...

You know from the very start this is gonna be good. Then the balls get very rude... Ahem!!

The CryptO'pinion?

Sure, this is a game best experienced with friends in a pub with heavy double-vision but, let's be honest, we're all getting old plus the wife won't be best pleased. So, let's stick to this virtual take on the game which comes in as a close second.

I cannot imagine anyone having anything to complain about because this is superb and one of the best Atari ST games out there. It's fast, entertaining and completely faultless. Absolutely love this virtual pub game so much!!

So, to sum up this beast of a "sports game" I would say this: It's blummin' brilliant and you will love it a bunch!

Waste no more time and get this downloaded for floppy disk from Stonish.
Those with a hard drive device should consider this version by 8BitChip!!

Phobia

Busy box art!

ImageWorks released Phobia back in 1989 with a gorgeous retro-themed cover. The artwork is stunning with lots of colour, action and a cruel glare from evil eyes. I think this box perfectly reflects the gameplay! Phobia has all the hallmarks of a potentially outstanding shooter but it's impossible to get very far without a trainer because of its choppy framerate. Probably a poor port and it pales in comparison to shooters like R-Type, Alien World, or Menace.

Well, I bought Phobia for only 99 pence and it was sealed too. The box and contents are in superb condition but I wonder why nobody ever bought it? <yes, sarcasm!>. Maybe I'll be brave and record a video? Maybe... Yeah, right!

 - ST Format #1 reviews Phobia but wasn't too impressed with the difficulty - lol wimps!!

 - D-Bug has a download with a trainer and hard drive support.

 - Stonish has floppy disks and I liked Timelords #29 Menu CD (1MB).

 - Here is a fantastic video recording by Stefan Lindberg.
 - My tweet after playing Phobia for a few minutes... ARGGHHHHHH!!!

I should have known this was going to be hard with such a hideous screen.

Annnd this next screenshot is of me and my ship being blown up! Again.

Automation #496

Press 1 for...

Nope, there's none of that with Automation #496 because this intro is based on Rick Dangerous. Well, there's no actual interaction and little to do other than walk and climb ladders. But it's a cool alternative compared to the usual menus we would have seen. Just control Ricky D. with the joystick, and enter a doorway to select a game to play!!

Credits

E.G.B. - Code

Count Zero - Music

https://demozoo.org/productions/65222/

Roger

Another Atari STe game, anyone?

Spot... Erm, sorry, Roger is a fast-paced 25-level platformer released by Tobe of MJJ. It offers a frantic run through various Sonic-like levels collecting jewels for a demanding girlfriend, Georgette. This "platformer" has many jewels - without any ladders and few ledges. So how will Roger complete this task?

Bubbles, of course! All he needs to do is jump on one and, when it bursts, the force thrusts him upwards. If there's another bubble, then the cycle continues and he uses that momentum to reach each other jewels. Roger has limited health, so it's advisable to avoid the sharp spikes that burst on contact to drain valuable energy. Thankfully, power pills can be collected to compensate for that but they are few and far between.

Okay, let's take a break from the reading as I've a sexy picture to share...

This is what it's all about and Georgette is pretty much a babe with her luscious red lips!

Quick Reactions R Needed!

Use the joystick to walk left or right and the fire button helps Roger leap with joy via the bubbles. Once you begin bubble-jumping, it's a matter of altering your trajectory towards the next bubble - whilst collecting the nearby jewels, as you zoom through the air. Burst bubbles reappear after a second or two, and that aspect cunningly allows you to revisit the areas you might have previously missed during this insane journey.

Want a tip? Gotta learn the level layout as you are hopping about like a crazy fool!

Are you getting a little worried about how deranged this game sounds? It's not nearly as stupid as you think because the mechanics of bubble-hopping work brilliantly. In some ways, I got a Sonic vibe from it but, unlike that hedgehog, Roger is zooming around your screen in all directions with one primary goal.

It's a maddening thrill being Roger and you'll love it, so let's see another screenshot...

Check out that stride, gotta love those lanky legs!

What about the aesthetics?

The graphics are a mixed bag; Roger's sprite is superb with side-splitting animation - I could watch those lanky legs for hours!! The framerates are frighteningly fast with smooth scrolling thanks to the Blitter. Sadly, the in-game decor is quite a disappointment with drab backgrounds that only change every 5 levels.

Sound effects are crisp and perfectly suited to the style: I like the explosion sound for the spikes and magnificent chip music plays throughout. Well, I say magnificent but that's because I cannot think of a better word - I could listen to them all day!! This certainly proves that chip music will last forever and rightly so.

Right then, let's see one final screenshot before the gripping climax...

Finally, a different background after the first few levels and it's much nicer too.

The CryptO'pinion?

Roger is quite a unique experience and feels like an airborne Boulder Dash meets Sonic. It's weird and something I would never have expected to enjoy. It's easy to pick up and play and I guarantee you won't be able to put down your joystick. Hopping from bubble to bubble is stupidly frantic and I loved every second of it.

Roger's gameplay is legendary. Enormously addictive with an extreme adrenalin rush!! Play this.

Roger can be found on Demozoo and Pouet for floppy disk and hard drive installation.

Tobé's archive is detailed on Demozoo, although he did stray a little ;-)

BLAT

I sometimes enjoy the occasional brain teaser and Blat is a twist on the Columns genre which was released for the Atari STe by The Infamous Cabbage, aka Chris Vance. Yep, I'm sorry STF dudes but this game is only playable on an STe because of the cool samples which are played using the DMA hardware. Interestingly, this brain-blaster was released on June 17th, 1992 so is 25 years old today. So let's sing, "Happy Birthday, BLAT"

Falling columns of coloured blocks will need reordering during their descent and, if we can successfully match them up, then it's KABOOM!! This explosion earns us lots of points and helps clear the board space for the oncoming blocks, so the more we match the greater the points. Diagonal rows are the most rewarding and you will receive a smart bomb when matching five or more. It's advisable to keep these until the later (faster) levels!

There are 15 levels in all but it won't be long until you're grateful for keeping a stockpile of smart bombs because this isn't an easy game and it soon picks up the pace for an extremely harsh difficulty. Thankfully, there are other items to help, like the clocks which can slow the pace right down - two is good but three is much better. There are also sticks of dynamite, lightning bolts and even indestructible blocks. Many of these can be paired so try positioning a light fuse next to the dynamite for a massive explosion that conveniently destroys many other blocks.

This is a polished product with gorgeous sound effects and is so addictive. Actually, I'm surprised it's PD and not shareware. I've thoroughly enjoyed playing BLAT even if I couldn't get anywhere near level 15 - and it's doubtful I ever will. Highly recommended, especially for those wanting a REAL challenge!! Great game.

Stonish have Serenade #1 floppy disk (it features Teserea, another which you may like).

AtariMania has Blat listed in their database with the readme conveniently available.

Amiga!!

Hell just froze over!

Sorry guys, I'm leaving the Atari ST scene because I prefer a slower computer and have decided to switch. Okay, okay, don't sweat it as I'm joking!! The image above shows a clip from the infamous "Amiga Emulator" by Philip Nelson. This is nothing more than a bit of fun and found on the Stonish website - I recommend Quartet #30.

Right then, enough of this silliness... let's boot up the ST and enjoy a faster and better 16-bit computer!!

Whipper Snapper's Race

Hang on, this ain't Cannon Fodder!

What do you get if you merge together "Horace Goes Skiing" with Cannon Fodder? Easy, it's called Whipper Snapper's Race by Petr Sumbera of New Design. This was developed using Omikron Basic and stars Max - a dude who goes skiing through many vertically-scrolling levels through places that look (umm) very familiar...

Navigate left/right to pass each obstacle as you ski - but don't bump into anything otherwise, you fall flat on your bum! Pushing up will reduce your speed whilst pulling down will increase it and fire will perform a leap into the air. Passwords are used to access the "missions" without having to start over from the beginning. Yes!!

Graphically, I could never complain because it looks just like Cannon Fodder and has superb attention to detail. Of course, it's all ripped and unoriginal but I do not care! The music is in stereo by Tomas Kucera and sounds funky - I'm sure you will leave it playing for a long while. In-game sound effects are ace but I won't spoil that surprise for you!

Skiing in Cannon Fodder... never been so much fun... (sorry!). Thanks to the great controls, this is so easy to pick up and play but also remains very challenging too. Whipper Snapper's Race is a very silly skiing game and shockingly addictive!!

I've made a floppy disk for those stuck in 3.5" hell :^)

Download the hard drive-installable game from Demozoo!

Wow, Petr's website is still up and running after all these years!!

Virtual Escape

Jaw-Dropper

After about 6 years, Equinox eventually released Virtual Escape in 1999 and it's one of my favourite demos. The tunes are utterly sexy and there are also some of the most incredible visuals that will blow your socks off!! Those swirling dots are gobsmackingly beautiful and I love the super-duper fast 3D. It's hard to believe this is all on a stock 512KB 8MHz Atari ST. An incredible production that oozes class and is definitely one of the beST 16-Bit demos out there.

Don't emulate - experience this using a real Atari ST and crank up the volume!

Credits and Downloads

Furax - Music

Jedi - Music

Keops - Code, Graphics (design)

Mad Max - Music (endpart)

Nova - Graphics

Starlion - Code

You can download Virtual Escape right now off Demozoo.

Democyclopedia mentions each effect, along with the awesome Skyline (see above).

Jetpac

16Kb is all you will ever need

I'm sure everyone knows that Jet Pac was originally released in 1983 for the ZX Spectrum by uber-gaming legends, Ultimate Play The Game. It's one of the most iconic 8-bit games from that early era. Our remake/conversion was developed by Pete J. Whitby in 1992 for Budgie UK. Heck, he also designed all the graphics and sound effects, very impressive.

Interesting tidbit? I owned Jetpac on cassette and cartridge (ZX Spectrum). I also had a huge Speccy collection that dated back to 1981 plus others like an Interface II (such a geek). Sold the lot when we got a mortgage! :/

Right, what's the story? Well, our Jet Man is a lucky fella working as a space pilot for Acme Interstellar Transport Company. They're sending him to fifty planets to assemble (and playtest) their technological creations. Sadly, his luck ran out when he discovered each planet being bombarded by a variety of hostiles ranging from fiery comets to fluffy aliens.

I thought I'd never see Jet Pac on the ST yet here is a screenshot to make us all very happy...

There are so many different baddies to blast and many new ones too...

Planets, aliens and lasers!!

Playability is impressively legit from the start. The controls are tight and responsive plus feel instantly familiar - albeit a tad quicker than I remember. Jet Man's movements are exactly as you would expect but he oddly cannot wrap around the screen, which is strange. However, he compensates for that lost ability with a new one - shield power-ups.

That's right, the fuel pods aren't the only thing dropping in from the skies. Collect one of the bubbles and you're protected from harm. Sure, it doesn't last long but that grace period is good enough during the heat of battle.

Those space nasties and a... nasty... bunch! Plus they all use differing attack patterns that help to keep the arcade action very engaging. Many are new and some require several shots whereas others are invulnerable. Also, watch out for deadly platforms that can zap Jet Man into an early grave. Heck, there is even an end level - this is something missing from the original. If only I had better gaming skills to witness that for myself? Yeah, I know. Not gonna happen!

Let's view another screenshot and this time I've beaten the hoard and escaped in my rocket...

Jet Man is one lucky dude who gets to play with all the cool new rockets!

Aesthetics

Visually, there wasn't that much to the original game but it wasn't needed and the same applies here. The Atari ST remake follows the same format albeit with smooth-moving sprites and lots of extra colours. The only thing I didn't like was the new background, which I felt wasn't needed. I wonder if there could be a way to remove it for just stars?

The audio is good but, not great. You can play with either the sound effects or chip music by Mad Max. Personally, I would recommend you leave that excellent music playing because the sound effects are a bit boring. Actually, it's ... humorously disappointing ... to hear the Atari ST out-bleeped by the inferior ZX Spectrum.

Okay, it's time for one last screenshot and this one represents the action nicely I thought...

Zip Zap (geddit?) those aliens best you can and refuel that rocket!

The CryptO'pinion?

Jetpac is Jetpac and this game will always be magnificent. Okay, our remake wasn't going to beat the original but I feel Pete has done enough to capture the authenticity whilst also successfully implementing new ideas that work well.

What's not to love about frantically rushing about the screen, zapping a relentless alien hoard whilst gathering fuel pods? I loved playing it and enjoyed the new features. The boring sound effects aside, this is an utterly excellent game!!

Waste no more time and get this downloaded. Grab Jetpac for floppy drives and hard drive.

Play the original ZX Spectrum game on your Atari ST using an emulator:
             > Artemis is a great (albeit colourless) emulator that only works on 8MHz Atari ST/e computers.
             > Speccy is another emulator w/ support for colours and also faster Atari computers too.

Oids [upgraded]

It's Oids, but better!

Oids is a shooter set deep in outer space and has us rescuing little metallic men from captivity. Like Dungeon Master, every ST guy has played this at some point in their life. It's a classic, simple as that, and nothing similar comes close. I've probably spent hundreds of hours on it over the decades so check out our review from last year.

However, I must admit that I was shocked to discover that it only runs at 10/12fps (PAL/NTSC). I'm sure today's kids will probably laugh at such a low framerate! Oddly, it doesn't feel that low, but that didn't stop Peter Putnik from developing an upgraded version running at 25/30fps and he even improved the controls too.

This is a fascinating upgrade that enhances the original game - without spoiling it in any way. Check out the upgrade for yourself as it's added a whole new dimension to our iconic thruster. And I love it to bits!!

C64

Commodore 64?!!

Okay, I'd bet good money that this was the last thing you expected to see here on an Atari website? Well, I've had this C64 emulator on my drive for a while and figured that it was about time to do something with it. So I started my day by trawling through Old Games Finder looking for cool games that I remembered seeing in C&VG magazine in the early/mid-80s. I wanted to play Pitfall, Manic Miner and Staff Of Karnath but sadly, I had zero success.

However, others did work (with a caveat of displaying text instead of jazzy pixels) and some crashed the emulator. Yes, I should have read the docs first - lol - yeah right. Basically, almost all games aren't supported if they demand fancy scrolling, sprites or joystick control, etc. What might work are applications, educational titles and so on. Including magazine Type-Ins and many text adventures (impressive, but hardly worth my hassle over the last few hours?)

Before we carry on, AtariCrypt has a section dedicated to emulation which you can access by clicking on me right now. Anyhow, would you like to see a screenshot of my programming skills taking full advantage of the virtual hardware?

I thought so! Check this out and it's probably a good idea to make some notes to learn from me...

B.A.S.I.C.

Yes, this is the extent of my programming knowledge. Perhaps it's best to leave that be and check out some basic commands instead? Okay, I am no Commie 64 expert but these commands might help get you playing their version of Jetpac...

   LOAD "$",10               (this loads the disk's directory into Ram)
   LIST                      (this lists that directory to screen)
   LOAD "filename.prg",10    (you've guessed it, this loads a program)
   RUN                       (go on, take a stab at what this might do!)

Please note:
     - The "10" is the device ID for my Atari ST's hard drive.
     - If you are running the emulator from floppy disk then you should instead use "8".
     - Copy the Commodore ".PRG" programs into the same directory as the Atari file: "C64.TOS".
     - C64 emulation was tested on my 8MHz Atari STe and then Hatari (same spec) for the animation, above.

The CryptO'pinion?

I'm not sure who to credit for this emulator but he/she did a great job and the docs indicate many useful intentions. This has been fun and the Commodore 64 is a decent machine (shush don't tell anyone). However, there is no real support for anything more than tinkering. So seeing pixels or playing games was never gonna happen. Plus it would need a faster processor to do much more than you can see in my animation. Having said all that, as is, this is a great emulator and has been a bunch of fun to play with the C64 operating system and some programs.

Sadly, I'm not sure how much longer I can stand the pain of having C64 software stored on my Atari ST's hard drive... it hurts bad! Yes, I think I should delete this evil software and get back to playing properly with my computer ;)

If you fancy a dollop of Commodore fun, the best download (that I've found) is on disk LAN-0066 via Floppyshop and it includes the documentation. Additionally, Old Games Finder can link to zillions of C64 stuff in the .PRG format. Go on, give this a playtest and let me know how you get on in the comments below.

Onslaught

Medieval Box Art?

Okay, it's time for another hardcopy trip down memory lane and I can remember lifting this one of the shop's shelves. At first, it was only to admire the gorgeous artwork with medieval imagery that is so captivating. I love those lush colours which are in stark contrast to the brutal warriors about to slaughter their enemy. I think this is great artwork and quite scary too, so it perfectly illustrates the savage gameplay ahead. So, if you feel brave enough, shall we open the box?

Onslaught was programmed by Chris Hinsley, he of Custodian fame, and is a horizontally-scrolling hack and club 'em to death battle. This exciting platformer has us killing everything in sight with massive explosions that beautifully light up the colourful backdrops and grungy medieval scenery. The music is perfectly suited for the theme and is accompanied by meaty sound samples for all the grunts, booms, and metallic weapon clangs. Gorgeous aesthetics!

This is a tough platformer that requires lots of practice so stick with it. Onslaught is superb with tons of colours, loud effects, and gameplay stuffed with brutal carnage!! This is a fun action kill 'em all and one of my favourite Atari ST games albeit with a trainer! Here are a few screenshots to drool over before getting to the all-too-necessary download links...

Download the floppies - I liked FOF #51.

Monster Business

The demoscene does it again?

Monster Business is a fun-themed platformer released in 1991 by Eclipse and produced by incredibly talented people you may recognise from the ST scene. As storylines go, this one is a Christmas cracker!!

Crazed "mad meanies" have been loosed from their forest habitat and are pinching items from Bob's construction site. You are Leroy The Beast Buster who must help Bob blow-up these cheeky invaders. Yep, this might sound like diarrhoea, but we should still help Bob because we are the only beast buster in Tin Town. Yep... O_o

Each level is big and uses smooth vertical scrolling to hunt down the freaky monsters!

Olde gameplay and it works!

Each level follows a familiar Bounty Bob design of platforms, slippy slopes and chasing monsters. Be careful because they kill with one touch so I'm grateful that we carry an air pump weapon to inflate them for a bloated and cruel death. This is nothing short of hilarious and once they begin floating away you are able to nudge them into oblivion, leaving behind their stolen goodies. If you're lucky, they might drag along others for multiple killings.

The joystick controls are spritely and I like how there are two heights we can jump - this depends on how long you push upwards. Repeatably pressing the fire button activates the weapon to bloat the monsters - so I appreciated the autofire function. Two-players are supported but sadly not for co-op, which would have been superb...

Blown the sucker up for a cruel, yet hilarious end to his life!

A pleasure for your eyes and ears!

The graphics are nice with simple backgrounds any 8-bit owner would have drooled over back in the early 80s. The scrolling is ultra-smooth but its the sprites which shine the most: I dare anybody not to laugh when seeing a ginormous duck waddle across your screen. I loved their expressions and bloated deaths. Hilarious pixel art.

Audio is immensely impressive with a superlative range of gorgeous chiptunes by Laurens Tummers, aka Lotus! The sound effects are also great but even so, are completely overshadowed by the music. Wow!!

Taken from behind and check out his expression. This game is brilliant!!!

The CryptO'pinion?

Bloating animals is shockingly entertaining and I guarantee you will enjoy hunting down cute prey. However, it's quite repetitive and this might reduce any long-term enjoyment. I also thought the time limit was too harsh... Monster Business is best with friends and I promise that everyone will be giggling like school kids. A superb game!!

Monster Business can be downloaded for floppy & hard drive.

Pure Energy #42

I love this Menu Disk! It was released by Pure Energy early in 1993 and has a gorgeous plasma whilst playing excellent chip music by Crawdaddy. The text might have a simplistic feel but did you notice anything a little different? Look closer... Do you see now?? Oh yea, pretty awesome, right? Anyhow, the disk features Centipede which is an excellent game.

Credits

B.F.G - Text

Crawdaddy - Music

Mick - Code

Sebastien Larnac

I thought it was about time we featured another interview on AtariCrypt and who better than my mate Sebastien Larnac! He's better known as ST Survivor (STS), a name you might have seen credited in many wonderful Atari ST demos. Also, he's created many other screens - such as images for programs like gwEm's STj and MaxYMiser.

Compared to most of us, he became an ST nutter quite late in the day. But it wasn't long before he was testing the waters of the demoscene with doodles - and then writing for diskmags. He's actually a modest dude, yet his hiSTory is more impressive than he realises!!

So, I had a bright idea to interview the dude behind those funky glasses to see what makes him tick. Some details I found quite surprising but overall this is an extremely talented young gent, even if he is French (what?). Seriously folks, take a gander at Demozoo to see his outstanding 16-colour art collection.

ST Survivor - The Interview

What’s your STory?

I received my Atari STe as a Christmas gift in 1990 and spent a couple of years copying games. Until one day one of my floppies was filled with something called a “demo”. What the heck was that? I instantly loved the idea behind it and got in touch with the creators (I phoned one of them!). I already doodled on paper, so why not on a computer? I joined NLC at a time when some people were leaving the demoscene (damn me, for being late!).

I worked on a GFA megademo (Back In France) with my friend Thyrex, who ran the French diskmag ToXic. I had the opportunity to make more pictures for various demo crews and took the position of the main editor of UnderCover Magascene. I also founded aLiVe! with CiH/Maggie Team and that’s it. I left the Atari Scene around 2003 because I was pi**ed off with life and finally got back to my second family somewhere around 2013.


Your favourite work?

It may sound silly but definitely, my best memory and true pride remain for our GFA megademo with Thyrex/NLC. It was started in 1994 as a multi-crew project, then, of course, everyone left and the two of us remained, wondering what we would do. Oddly it did not kill our motivation! Sure it took us another four years, and the final result was far from perfect, yet it is a demo made with a lot of passion and friendship.

Moving onto more recent artwork, I am very proud of the work we did on POOZ along with Cooper, Exocet and DmaSc. I personally think the game looks and plays like a true commercial game!

  
From scary to funky, Sebastien's style is always amazing.

Inspirations?

I am not inspired, graphics-wise, by anyone but me and this must be the reason why I know/feel that most people don’t like my art. Well, sorry folks, art is a matter of taste :) I truly admire people like Evil/DHS who have brought us so many great demos. I don’t admire but have a lot of respect for the friends I have worked with because -most of the time- it was a great opportunity to share ideas and artistic passion. I am still impressed by people like Niko, Mic, Prowler or Slayer, you know the kind of dark-inspired graphics ;)

For a very long time, I have been a fan of Niko with his tortured and highly detailed style. Now I see that most of his pictures were mostly copies of existing paintings, not that it takes away any of his pixel art qualities. Yet today I would rather admire people like Mic/Dune and Exocet who not only have a very specific style but can also work either with very limited palettes or with wider ones. Exocet is also very well known for painting on a lot of platforms, thumbs up! They are true artists who manage to bring art whatever the challenge they need to face.


Favourite demo?

I've had my Atari STe since 1990 so I have never been either fond of or familiar with what the early years produced. Sorry guys, but I’m not in love with demos from the 1980s. In the nineties, demos started showing technique AND style and I have some favourites from this era, as well as some others from more recent years.

If I had to choose only one it would be… Wait, only one you say? Tough choice but I think I would go for Froggies Over The Fence. Not because of some national pride but because it’s a huge megademo showing different styles - “classic” demo parts, an animated story, a Tetris-like game featuring the Jess tunes (I’m a huge fan!), an awesome high colour slideshow and a very long end scroller. Of course, there are tons of other demos I love.

  
As a guy without any artistic skills, I cannot imagine how you would create images like these!

Favourite demo group?

To me, a good group is formed by a bunch of friends who enjoy working together. Dead Hackers Society prove this with their many impressive demos and I am always amazed to see new effects from them, things we thought could not be done. Yet it is not my favourite demo crew, I don’t think I have one, to be honest.

I like the guys of Cream though, they seem to embody the true essence of a crew: each individual does something important, none is ahead, it’s a thing that could not be done without every member. It may sound silly, but this is how I feel this group works (and their latest demo Stresstest proves this perfectly).


Any funny demoparty tales?

Yeah, sure! The very first demoparty I attended was Place To Be again in 1994. I had no driver's licence so my father offered to drive me (+900kms) to the place! I was thrilled, like a kid on Christmas morning, being amongst the last of the great French demosceners. Guys like Dune, Holocaust, Niko/OXG, EXA…

I spent three sleepless days running all around the hall room and then went to get some rest on the compo night… only to eventually wake up the following morning! Yes, I had completely missed the compo! In the end, it was a mixture of joy and disappointment but undoubtedly a great memory :)

  
What personality and mindset must someone require to create such fascinating art!

Pick your favourite Atari ST year!

Again, I would choose 1994 because it was –in my humble opinion- a turning point in the Atari ST history: famous ST crews left for PC or even fewer for the Falcon, while I was only just starting my “scene” life. The ST demoscene died in 1994 and was reborn, even stronger, a few years later. The death of a generation and the birth of another one!


Are you STill doodling?

These days it’s a bit tricky to find time and motivation to work on things and I don’t even doodle that much on paper anymore. I have never been too fond of Art Studies so I missed the basics... I went back to pixelling in 2013 but I haven’t really been too productive and the few things I did, well, I don’t think anyone will remember them? I don’t own an Atari ST anymore (gosh, it tore my guts out to give it away!) yet even though I’m using Peecee, it’s only to run Steem and CrackArt. The only way I know is: 16 colours, STf palette, nothing more, nothing less.

  
From a tripped out colour-scheme to something that is bold and striking. Love 'em!!

Will you remaster any artwork?

I have never thought about reworking my Atari pics on the peecee. Firstly, because I like to paint on such limited retro hardware and within the STf limitations (I don't need STe palette). Secondly, because peecee is no fun, I don't ever want to mix Atari with peecee. Thirdly, I don't have the knowledge nor the will to do so. Basically, the answer is "no Steve" :-)


The future of the Atari ST?

Over the last 3 decades, I have claimed the demoscene to be dead more than once! Obviously, we probably cannot expect fresh blood from the younger generation and we are all growing older and have busy lives. However, there is still room for newcomers and I hope that people find some motivation to do something over the years. Big Atari events, be it Sillyventure or STNICCC (2032?) or God knows what else is needed. We are quiet but we are still here and for a long time!

You are invited to visit my blog: democyclopedia.wordpress.com or visit me on Twitter @stsurvivor.

  

  

Spellfire The Sorcerer

Yeah, we're a wizard!

Spellfire is a scrolling platformer developed by Dave Semmens for Code Masters and is set in a time long ago: a time of myth and legend when knights patrolled the woodlands and magicians were the cool guys. We're a wizard called Willy and our beef is with an emperor who is holding captive (wait for it) Fifi The Fairy in his tower so our valiant quest is to rescue her.

Fifi can only be rescued from the dark fortress by collecting ten magic eyes that are scattered across the levels. Yup, it's the usual quest through lands filled with monsters and demonic guardians. Will you help Wizard Willy?

Come on, I know you will so let's check out the first screenshot from the game...

The graphics are great but sometimes it feels cluttered with umm too much going on?

It all sounds incredibly original, right?

He begins his journey in a forest that leads to the castle where she is imprisoned. This is a great start which introduces us nicely to the gameplay mechanics: our hero can walk, leap, climb trees, shoot fire bolts and even mash up magic spells using a rather large cauldron. Health status is displayed at the top of the screen and will decrease if you happen to touch enemies or a dangerous object. Gold coins can be collected (after a kill) and these are used as currency inside a cauldron that can mix magical power-ups, ammo, or health.

Collecting the magic eyes allows us to battle the first guarding boss - a wasp-like critter who isn't exactly intelligent and therefore makes for an easy kill. This grants us access to the castle via the dungeons which are creepy but the guardian is a bit of a bonehead (you will see why). This castle takes us deeper into our quest but continues with the same theme, with lots more tricks and traps to fool you. I really am enjoying this journey!

This ain't no rushed port and the quest is massive so let's celebrate with another screenshot...

The first boss is a giant wasp who is a bit dumb and quite easy to kill. I like bosses like that!

Aesthetics

Spellfire has some stunning visuals and I love the contrast between the lush nature and medieval environments. Sadly, it can feel a little cluttered and I dreamt of a background without so much going on. However, the game is very colourful using a gradient sky which is gorgeous. I also liked the erupting volcanos and awesome skeletons when raised from the dead. Everything you see is complemented by smooth scrolling that never lags and keeps up with the pace.

The audio is almost as impressive and can be set to chip music or effects. Whatever you decide, you will love it.

Isn't it great when something looks and sounds as great as it plays! Screenshot time...

Watch out for tricks that will catch you out which makes for great replay value.

The CryptO'pinion?

I have enjoyed playing Spellfire The Sorcerer which reminded me of a cross between Stormlord and Chronicles of Omega. It's very easy to get into so instantly entertaining with good levels, excellent monsters and power-ups that work nicely. However, I did feel that the screens were a little too (visually) cluttered albeit very, very pretty.

I'm grateful this isn't a lazy Amiga port and one which plays every bit as good as it looks. Code Masters released what I can only describe as a hidden gem that will appeal to fans of the genre. Not perfect but a fantastic platformer!

Grab the HDD version @ 8BitChip or disks @ Stonish.

Kult

Let's play something a little different!

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... No, wait, wrong game!! Okay, let me start again, many moons ago a good friend of mine [Greetings Tom!] surprised me with a gift sent all the way from the land of the Vikings. Inside was a beautifully preserved -sealed- copy of Kult, something I had never played before in my life. He was adamant that this was a true 16-bit classic and I even remember it receiving good reviews. Heck, Atari ST User magazine rated it a perfect ten!

You are Raven, a psionic mutant, who saw a bunch of other mutants destroy a village and now wants to fight back! That's the gist of this story for what is a most confusing adventure. It's got a tough learning curve and there are many cunning puzzles. This is a game like no other I have ever played but it's that learning curve that you need to master, especially the user interface. The graphics are creepy-cool and all sound effects are samples - I love the speech effects.

I fear this game has more to it than you first realise? You're probably wondering how my first game went...

I've been getting to grips with this game today but the hard drive version fails to work for me (I think it's my SD Card) so I went for the floppy version, linked below, by Zuul and this worked perfectly. Well, after a couple of hours, I am blown away by this incredible and captivating game. The user interface might first appear confusing and quite laboured but in fact, it's actually anything but because navigation is a breeze. I also love how the rooms are titled, which certainly helps me a bunch!

I'm currently getting to grips with the locations and examining everything I see in the rooms. Objects are often tripped-out and plain silly - I've just polished the eyeballs on a fountain to get it working, why I'm not exactly sure yet but I've done it. I have also chatted to some strange looking fellas, so I followed them and used the attack function. Won this battle but then his friends ate the corpse!

I laughably love using the brain to select various instructions, such as inspect, attack, and talk. What a strange yet oddly obvious way to make decisions!! I've also learned not to trust people, I walked into a dark room and somebody told me to follow them. Stupid that I am, I did just that and promptly fell through a trap into a water-filled pit. Here, I was eaten alive by some kind of monster! Great...

This game is different to anything I've played. I love how its storyline is deep and involving but never overwelming. I feel that I've only just scratched the surface of what will be a unique experience!

Grab this game while it's hot!

8BitChip has created a version to be installed on your hard disk which is just brilliant.

Various floppy disks feature Kult and I recommend Zuul #195 via Stonish.

Wasabim has recorded a brilliant youtube video.

Atari ST User scored Kult 10/10 - wow!! [AtariMania]