Happy Commodore Day!!

Wait, come back...

I bet you didn't expect to see that logo here? lol. Well, I have decided to create a light-hearted Amiga presentation to celebrate a great 16-bit computer. No, I'm not trying to be sarcastic! So, why the sudden burst of Amiga appreciation? Well, ever since I posted about STDOOM and DOOM8088ST, I have received a flood of childish and downright nasty comments on both this site and my YouTube channel. Rather than rise to their bait and retaliate, I figured I would record a silly yet respectful video to say thanks for the fantastic banter over the years, not to mention the zillions of Tracker tunes (as a chiptune guy, I hated typing that).

I've hunted down some cool Amiga-themed demos, images, and music. Nothing bitter, just a playful tribute with a few cheeky extras thrown in for a laugh. Surprisingly, there’s actually a fair bit of Amiga-themed content for the ST/STe, which is kinda cool. So I picked out a few that I liked, but Demozoo has loads more.

The productions I’ve picked are shown briefly in my video, so I’ve included all the links below to enjoy each one properly. I loved the AN Cool demo - just wish it was longer, especially as a ZZ Top fan! Commando is actually a VT-52 text file, and I recorded it in full, as it scrolls a bit too fast, so it’s probably easier to watch on YouTube. If, like me, an animated text file fascinates you, check out Josh Renaud's excellent website.

Okay, as for the minority of keyboard warriors, leaving nasty comments - seriously, why are you here? I mean, we don’t spend our time lurking on Amiga websites just to troll. We're too busy enjoying our ST to be looking over our shoulders. To the rest, the normies, let the banter continue for many more decades!!

Regardless of your allegiance, I hope that you enjoy watching my video recording. STay Atari :x

• All credit to these cool dudes for the productions used in my recording...
• The Amiga Demo by The Exceptions https://demozoo.org/productions/76582/
• Amiga Joke Demo by AN Cool https://www.atarimania.com/amiga-joke-demo.html
• The Amiga Sound Demo by The Slayer https://demozoo.org/productions/94010/
• Amiga Music Disk 3 by The Disaster Crew https://demozoo.org/productions/76279/
• Amiga 1200 Demo by Tranceaction https://www.atarimania.com/amiga-1200-demo.html
• Amiga Modules #5 by Mug U.K https://demozoo.org/productions/134809/
• Amiga Demo 2 by Oxygene https://www.atarimania.com/amiga-demo-ii.html
• Golden Dawn's Mod Disk #14 https://demozoo.org/productions/120194/
• Commando Raid by Tim https://www.atarimania.com/commando-raid.html
• Say Amiga One More Time Bitch by Samurai https://demozoo.org/graphics/180900/

System IV - Mister Tenqus Adventure

Bizarre finds...

Sometimes I stumble upon a game that is just weird, and System 4 is exactly that. It looks like QBert and plays more like Painter: we control a robot that hops around the screen, changing tiles so they all match in colour. Unfortunately, there are a bunch of bizarre enemies constantly getting in your way - Robot Hunter, Mad Devil, Paint Fool, and even one called Girl Friend (yes, really!). These scurry about, messing up your tiles, and it's best not to bump into them too much. They try their best to undo your hard work, so be quick.

Interestingly, this was designed and programmed in 1991 by Hugues De Jonghe [aka Lord Blitter] and R. Puchner. Which got me thinking... Sure enough, System 4 uses the Blitter for its sprites and screen draws. This was enough to warrant this quick gameplay video to add System IV to our Enhanced Games page!

Please note that the game appears to be corrupt when loading on the Atari STe; simply wait and press F1 to begin. System IV also runs on the STf, but is slower unless equipped with a Blitter Chip (which is odd, given how undemanding the game is). Best of all is hitting F2/3 on the main menu to access an extra player with the option for multiplayer, which is superb! Though be warned, it does make the screen even busier with so much going on.

This is a good game and worth booting up to see how far you can get, especially with a friend. You know, I love unexpected finds like this, and System IV has you running around like a headless chicken, but it's also kind of amusing. I've no idea why, but I really enjoyed playing it a bunch. No, honestly, I did!!

Before you download (Automation #505), here are some cool screenshots. Can you beat me?