Well 'Ard

Wanna be a thug?

Well, today is your lucky day because we are a fiercely-looking dude who loves to jump on all kinds of nasties. This violent act kills and splatters the baddies and they fall off the screen dead. Sound familiar?

Released in 1994 by Cybernation Software, it was developed by Simon Scott and is a platformer created using GFA Basic. Well Ard is a cracking game and to think it was developed in GFA Basic is incredible. Earlier levels are easy but it certainly becomes challenging later on - some of those jumps are insanely tricky!

The scrolling is smooth, with fast action and large sprites - I love the snowman. Controls are accurate and responsive with many tight jumps on interesting levels. Strangely, there are no optional methods to kill enemies - no weapons. Instead, reap violence by leaping and using our red booties. It's weird but who cares?

This is one of the most enjoyable platformers I've played in a long time. Addictive gameplay that has you coming back for more so put on your red boots and play it. Downloads can be found for floppy or hard disk.

Here are some more screenshots to whet your appetite...

Look at those teeth. This guy is a beast so don't mess with him!!

Jump up and down until they're all dead - not violent at all. Honest.

Well 'Ard features some odd critters but don't waste time looking - squash them.

Atari ST chiptunes

The wife has gone out shopping and gracefully left me to do the housework! There is no way I can do these boring chores in silence so let's power on the ST and play a few toons from the SNDH Archive / SNDH Record

Here is just a selection of my favourite chiptunes at this moment... What are yours??

Nowhere by 505 ( listen / or click the GREEN arrow below! )

Best Part of Creation by Big Alec ( listen )

Sausage 3D by Xyce ( listen )

Little sexy square by Crazy Q ( listen )

Sweety by Lotek Style ( listen )

Ugly medium resolution?

Tippy Typey

Like anything in this life, nothing is perfect. Shockingly, this applies to our Atari ST which has one characteristic I never cared for: its obscure, ugly, stretched medium resolution. Well, since my colour monitor decided to blow up, I have been happily zipping along in monochrome which would explain the recent run of high-resolution articles. All were written using the classic, 1st Word Plus. (Go on, you can call me a geek!)

It's hardly a modern word processor bursting with features but it does the job well. Sure, I can't wait to get my new colour monitor bought as I'm missing games in glorious 16-bit technicolour. However, I have definitely fallen in love with this crisp black and white display which has met each and every requirement lately.

Who needs an expensive modern computer? Obviously not me!! Yes, I am mad... :^)

Megaroids

Get ready for one of the oldest ST games...

Asteroids is a true arcade classic that has been converted for every home computer. Not to be left out, Megamax released Megaroids in 1985 which was developed using their own C programming tool. Now that's fearless!

The gameplay is, obviously, Asteroids and very faithful to the original version. Get shooting the rocks for points but don't forget to blast the alien ships when you see them - for lots more points! Joystick controls are dead easy with Z and X rotating your craft and SHIFT to fire. Thrust uses ? key and SpaceBar activates a hyperspace when you're in trouble.

Graphically, it's different to the original, gone are the vectors in favour of bitmaps. The ST's high resolution looks stunning and Megaroids' framerate is superb. The rocks sweep across the screen like butter off a hot knife. Thankfully, colour systems aren't forgotten as it's compatible with medium res. But this is interlace to produce 640x400 but with colour.

Sounds are nothing more than you would expect for asteroids. They're nice and work very well. Especially when you remember this is a 1985 game for a 1985 computer. I'm really impressed all things considered.

Megaroids has an authenticity which I admire. The gameplay feels perfect and I'm shocked that something this good was released the same year as the ST itself. I'm impressed by the silky-smooth framerate and flicker-free interlace support for colour systems. Well done Megamax, this is such a wonderful conversion with bucket loads of rock blasting!!

AtariMania and Atarilegend have

the floppy disks to download.

N.o.B.I. - Racing

Knob Racing??

N.o.B.I Racing was released by Joytrick (1994) and is a 'snake' clone where we guide 'Alfred' through a series of mazes. Always hungry, and always on the move, Alfred needs our assistance as he munches everything in his path. However, every time he eats, he grows a little longer and this can become quite embarrassing, especially if he bites into himself. So our task is to help Alfred through the mazes without bumping into his own tale.

Two types of bonus levels appear at frequent intervals, feature two-player gaming, DMA audio, and it even supports multiple resolutions. Simple stuff for dexterous players but soon becomes incredibly fast on later levels - and against the clock too!! NoBI Racing is very old school and that means it's extremely addictive and a bucket load of fun!!

- Download from AtariMania -

Mac Pan

Mac Pac, err, Pac-Man? What?

After yesterday's awesome (but mind-blowing!) technical flight sim I needed something a little less taxing on my old brain cells. So, I'm taking an easier route today and playing a Pac-Man clone called Mac Pan. Weird name and there are already lots of PacMan games but this one is more vanilla, so let's get pill-popping and ghost munching!

Mac Pan was released in 1987 by Richard Beith and works in ST High resolution. There are a few integrated features that I really liked: hold down the fire button and you can temporally increase the yellow guy's speed. Hang on, he's not yellow anymore! Anyhow, the game's speed can be tinkered with in the preference. The graphics and sounds are pretty good plus there is support for simultaneous 2-players.

It's not the best PacMan game I've played but I still enjoyed it and being able to choose the game's speed is a superb idea. It's easy to imagine German office workers in the 80s playing Mac Pan during their lunch break. Monochrome users should jump up & down with excitement because this is an excellent clone of the classic.

Downloads are available using Old Games Finder.

ProFlight

Flight for the pros?

This morning I played ProFlight by Nick Brown of HiSoft - I jumped inside my Panavia Tornado to take it for a spin Maverick style. It runs fine on any Atari ST but will certainly benefit from faster computers: my Mega STE delivered an astounding framerate boost. As you can see from the animation, it's compatible with both display modes (mono shown).

Now, I do remember labouring over ProFlight back in the day so wondered how my older (and wiser?) brain would cope with this monster flight simulator. The main emphasis is on simulated realism so you're out of luck if you thought this was an arcade-style combat shooter. However, that doesn't mean it's all work and no play because, once you've got over the hefty learning curve, there is an enjoyable and rewarding experience to be had. However, that curve is indeed hefty!

Man, this is such a professional product and one that comes in a large box with a thick and weighty manual - it's like something you would expect from a real flight school! Yes, this is an incredible flight sim for techie gurus to drool over and certainly one of the most rewarding sims I have ever played. Please be careful and don't crash it O_o

However, I fear this game might be too big and too complex for the casual game to bother with? The sheer amount of hours that are needed to fully devote yourself to the game are huge thanks to its immensely complex design. However, players without kids and tons of spare time will be rewarded with a fantastic flight sim experience. Tell me if I'm wrong.

HiSoft is trusting you with their precious plane that can be enjoyed using either a floppy disk or hard drive.

Diamond Edge

I loved Hi-Soft!!

Isn't Diamond Edge a brilliant program? One of its features is 'Test Disk' which scans for various types of potential problems and, only the other day, this saved my bacon because Drive C (a 32MB partition) suddenly reported itself as 22MB. Why I do not know, but Diamond Edge came to the rescue and fixed several serious errors!!

I have also found it particularly useful to optimise (defrag) the partitions in order to better stream audio for (storage) demanding games (Cannon Fodder / Xenon II) or other programs like ST Video Player. I try and defrag the drives on a monthly basis. Don't even get me started with Undelete, another superb part of the Diamond Edge suit.

Diamond Edge is one of the most fundamental utilities for all Atari computers equipped with a hard drive. Anodyne has Diamond Edge freely available to download along with the manual too. Which is simply excellent.

Bolo

Brick Blast in STyle!

Tons of Atari ST games run in high resolution and one of the best is Bolo, a Breakout clone. It takes the familiar concept and improves upon it tremendously with lots of extra features, like the ability to move the bat almost anywhere. There are also gravitational effects that are cunningly effective, different brick types, and the ability to change the physics of the ball's speed/direction. Bolo is an awesome brick-blaster. It's brilliant!!

Grab it from Atari Legend who has many menu disks to choose from.

SysInfo

Needing tech support?

SysInfo is an incredibly useful utility that can display a whole raft of details about your Atari ST. It has recently helped me diagnose a problem with my Mega STe's audio but it can diagnose everything from TOS/GEM details to the more technical aspects like the Cookie Jar, VBL, traps & other mind-boggling jargon. Really helpful and perfect for geeks!

Download SysInfo from "Atari ST Essential software (The List)" which is a great website.

Maggie

Can you believe this... No, wait for it... Maggie 25th Anniversary issue was released this weekend!!!

It's been far too many years since the previous issues and it is now available to download or view off/online. I'm going to download myself a copy and spend some serious time reliving my ST days by reading this ace diskmag. Yes, it's been far too long and I'm incredibly excited!! My congrats to everyone involved - thank you!!

Download Maggie #25 for your Atari computer (I personally prefer this). Or download an HTML version to browse anytime. Also, you can find everything over on their website and the Maggie Team are featured on Demozoo.

Video Games 1

A game for Spock!

Andrei Ellman of Wacko Software created a game made from three classic genres: Pong, Space Invaders, and Pac-Man. This release is different because all three games are playable at the same time. Yep, you heard correctly!

Pong is controlled by holding the fire button and moving up/down.
Pac Man is initially quite confusing so read the docs within the download!
Space Invaders is easy, left/right moves and pushing up/down fires the gun.

The controls are odd and things get very weird when trying to play everything at once! However, there's only so much my tiny brain could cope with and I found that I could play two games at once. But not three, I had no chance!! Visually, it works well but, if you're struggling to see things properly, then you can alter each game's appearance using the numeric pad. Also, there's an option to invert colours which makes everything look ugly but it's much better on the eyes.

I think Andrei was one crazy, mixed-up kid who had a good laugh when coding this. Don't take it too seriously and practice with the controls because Video Games 1 is ridiculously entertaining. You will love this maddening nightmare!!

- Downloads are right here -

Universal Item Selector

Let's patch a bland part of GEM...

The excellent Universal Item Selector by Application & Design Software, released here in the UK by ST Club. The Atari ST has always been blessed with a small, but great, selection of replacement file selectors but UIS is the best of all. Only this weekend, I trudge through a folder containing over 100 tracker mods, deciding which ones to keep or delete. It was mad so I installed UIS which made the job 100x easier because of its integrated tools.

Click here to download this great program with its PDF manual available via Atari Document Archive.

United States Navy SEALs

Grab your big-boy pants for this game!

Here is a game with very few friends: Navy Seals is deceiving and, first impressions, are of an arcade-style platformer. However, this Ocean gem is anything but a typical run and gun 'em all. It's far more ruthless and requires stealth, strategy, and tactics. Extreme personal perseverance is the order of the day because this game requires a committed player willing to spend many hours mastering the levels. No spare time? Then don't bother!

Taking down scumbag terrorists is all part of the job when you're a member of the US Navy SEALS. The mission requires us to sneak into the lion's den, kill everyone, and plant explosives to destroy their stockpile of missiles.

Each map is a layout of platforms within a maze of trigger-happy bad guys. Use covert tactics - so play slowly and carefully to learn the enemy's location. Many practice games will be required to plan the best route from start to end, this is vital and the only way to successfully complete the mission. This is not easy so will not appeal to a casual gamer.

Okay, let's take a look at the first screenshot with gorgeous details and colour palette...

I love the layout of the first level. This is an absolutely fantastic retro gaming design!

Aesthetics

Visually, Navy Seals is a babe with gorgeous graphics that ooze a retro style I admire. I love the beautiful character animation as you run, leap, climb and sneak about. Each level compliments the environment and feels like something from a movie, a cheesy 80s B-movie! Heck, even the screen showing me dead is great. Yep, I said that.

Sound effects do their job very well and the music is an excellent chiptune to bop along to. Liking it a lot!!

Hey, it's time for a screenshot. How about one you will see a lot? Here you go...

Don't expect to beat this game on your first attempt. Or second. Or third. It's rather hard!

The CryptO'pinion?

This is such a difficult game but I also find myself enjoying the challenge. Each level requires the player to learn all aspects thoroughly, so don't expect a cakewalk. There are two drawbacks with Navy Seals: the time limit which I think is far too harsh but I also don't understand why Ocean didn't include a way to unlock each level with passwords?

Navy Seals won't appeal to the casual gamer as it requires strategic thought to figure out an efficient route through all levels - before the timer expires. Can you do it? I hope so because Navy Seals is such a rewarding game albeit incredibly brutal. In fact, brutal might be too namby-pamby a description for this? Gamers were tougher in the 90s...

Hard drive installable versions are available from both D-Bug and 8bitchip.

Floppy disk games can be found using Old Games Finder.

Cheating time:

             > Type in WOZZIE into the high score table to activate the cheat mode.

             > Begin a new game. Press W for weapons or RETURN to advance onto the next level.

Some tips:

             > Dawdle when learning the maps - slow and steady wins the race.

             > Play draft games and make notes of the most efficient route. Exhilarating is the word!!!

             > Practice! Practice! Practice! Practice! :-)

WANTED

Wanted was released by Infogrames in 1988 and is basically a Gunsmoke rip-off which also feels inspired by the likes of Commando or Ikari Warriors. Ignoring the start, and its dreadful music, we begin as a budding John Wayne wannabe, strolling through the dusty Wild West. The town is inhabited by outlaws and we have a gun. Every guy's dream!

Unlike Ikari Warriors, the screen will automatically scroll with the action coming thick and fast. Whack on the fire button and shoot your way through Dodge City but watch out for the enemy and their bullets! These may very well be the slowest bullets on the planet but they are also extremely precise and I somehow always managed to walk into them... Arghh!! Thankfully, power-ups are available after shooting barrels where you'll find weapons, shields, etc.

Wanted is a good vertically scrolling shoot 'em up and fans of Gunsmoke will love it. But, be warned, this is darn difficult (and there are better games on the Atari ST) but there is something curiously likeable about it. I enjoyed it a lot, so download the hard disk version from 8BitChip with floppies available via Old Games Finder. Yeehaw!!

Cannon Fodder [Atari STe update]

Ugh, another lame Amiga port...

Yep, Cannon Fodder could have (and should have) been far better for the Atari ST. Alas, it was a rushed lame-ass port. However, cry no more tears for Peter Putnik has upgraded the game to support audio playback of 25KHz digital music - yes, during gameplay. This is making use of the DMA audio hardware lurking inside the Atari STe and (because it's a coprocessor) there is no CPU usage. Thus zero impact on the game's performance whatsoever.

Of course, storage requirements are too much for a floppy! An Ultrasatan or other hard drive device will be needed to store your chosen music - this can be anything and instructions are included in the zip file on how to use convert something from your music library. It's dead easy to do using Audacity. Click on my video, above...

Well, what an incredible upgrade! This is something else having real music blasting out from your Atari STe speakers. I'm only gutted it is the lame-ass Cannon Fodder getting this amazing upgrade. Why? Because it's a pile of rubbish with flick-screen horizontal scrolling. This not only gets you killed but also kills any enjoyment you might have had...

I hope Peter uses this technology again - for other Atari ST games - the possibilities are endless!!!

Tomtar

Tomtar is a freeware shoot 'em up released in 1993 for the Atari STe by UTEN (NewCore, XiA, Toxic Twins & Unit 17). A "tomtar" is basically a gnome and they breed like bacteria so will eventually take over the world unless something is done! We asked the Grim Reaper for help but there are too many for him to handle so we needed divine intervention - in the form of a machine gun!! Yep, we all know where this is going so let's lock and load to help the mythical Reaper destroy all the Tomtars in what I can only describe as the craziest 5 minutes of your life.

In the right corner of the screen is an Orch - kill him to advance to the next level. Use the mouse to shoot but beware because this isn't going to be easy because these little critters can walk, run, bounce and fly their way across the screen. Controls work well with the mouse but I would have preferred the right button to perform another function like throwing a grenade, this would have been superb... The gameplay becomes frantic and more chaotic the further you progress but I must admit that it's a shame the spooky backdrop doesn't change.

A stupid game that offers nothing more than a mad few minutes blasting Tomtars and that, I loved. So if you fancy killing these little blighters yourself then grab it from Demozoo (who also have a cutdown STFM version).

My high scores are:

78,250 (under emulation)

94,740 (using my own Atari STe).

What are yours? Can you beat me?? Didn't think so...

SNDH Players

  

  

I love listening to SNDH chiptunes on my Atari STe but it recently occurred to me that many didn't realise which player to use. So, here are four fantastic Atari ST/e GEM programs to play your favourite toons...

JAM - Quite possibly the most well-known of all the players and deservedly so because it's brilliant with a modular design to handle a wide variety of file formats. It always sounds great but looks rather a plain jane. Thankfully, there is also a version which doesn't use GEM and is far nicer! (download)

SND Player - It might look ugly in the 4-colour medium resolution but I really like this program and it sounds just dandy. I found this to be a reliable player and it looks very nice in Low/High resolutions. (download)

GEMPlay - is a "Lite" version of YesCREW's Falcon player. Some features are removed because the ST/e has no DSP Processor but it plays SNDH tunes just dandy. Again, I recommend Low/High resolution! (download)

KrapSNDH - Such simplicity. It's perfect to be set up as an Application for the .snd file format within GEM so you can double-click any sound file for instant play. No fancy interface but it's a great player! (download)

Flip-O-Demo

I'm starting my weekend with the exquisite Flip-O-Demo by Oxygene/Diamond Design because it's just been updated to support hard drive installation. Originally, it was released in 1993 and contains some of the best artwork and visual fx you could imagine - all whilst playing lovely audio by one of my favourite musicians. A fabulous demo!

Flip-O-Demo is certainly one of the best examples of Atari ST creativity. Grab it from Demozoo right now.

Credits
Jess - Music
Leonard - Code
MoN - Graphics
Niko - Graphics
Oxbab - Code
Scavenger - Music
Spiral - Graphics
Wilfried - Graphics

Goldrunner

Fuzzy speech, be gone!

I've always loved Gold Runner which is a technical masterpiece by legend, Steve Bak. He proved when in the hands of a talented programmer, the Atari ST is more than capable of producing wondrous results. Other (lame) programmers would whine and complain, but Mr Bak simply got the job done. Perfectly each and every time I might add.

Okay, honest time, I'm actually terrible at this ultra fast-paced shoot 'em up (shock!!). Plus, I was never too fond of that dreaded fuzzy speech. It was fine back in the day and is humorously entertaining but it soon wears thin and distracts me during gameplay... Perhaps I'm just old and grumpy but I've never really liked it. Sorry!

Good news - Peter Putnik has updated Goldrunner for hard drive installation and an option to disable the speech!! All you gotta do is press the F3 key so clickety-click and download this sweet update to the ST classic.