Virus

My computer caught a virus

When playing with fractals the other week, I recalled David Braben's Virus. A complex game I've not played since the shops stocked Atari ST games. The original is best, but that's like comparing the STFM to a Falcon! So we should stop right there because our version is a 16-bit classic running on a 16-bit computer!

Going for a test flight over its chequered landscape is an incredible experience. The mouse controls are tough to master, but soon become intuitive. Stick with it because once you've got the feel of how it handles, there's an amazing game waiting for you. Check out my animation above, I did quite well ;)

Visually, this game is a gem with an excellent style using smooth 3D that is fast. There are lots of neat touches and I've gotta say, I love the ship's exhaust as it spurts out those lovely particles of thrusting power. The audio is great with crisp sound effects that are refreshing thanks to the YM2149 doing us proud.

Virus is a fantastic 16-bit conversion of the original 32-bit masterpiece. Sure, it has a cruel learning curve (so be prepared for that), but after beating that, you've found yourself a killer game that's gonna eat away the hours. This game rocks, and I found it really enjoyable and extremely addictive. What a game!!

This infectious shooter provided me with hours of fun. Ignore the reviews. Play this game now.

- Download Virus -

Fullscreen Construction Kit

I've a thing for overscan!

The Atari ST/e might not officially support overscan but that hasn't stopped many games, demos, and programs 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. The Atari ST is a versatile machine and often underrated.

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 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 in pixel art!! Hence the reason Milla is in greyscale and the dog is red, not brown. It's worth noting that I found it easier to create the blocks using my Mac but there are online tools available to split images.

Six test images are on the floppy plus you can 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 to enjoy dabbling! Let me know what you think of it in the comments below.