Zany Golf was developed by Will Harvey of The Immortal and is one of those games I spent much of my college years playing - instead of studying! What a simple yet addictive game, which is obviously based on crazy golf. It's excellent solo and better with friends, but best of all, you don't need to go outside!
Play through several wacky courses to get that ball into the hole, and yes, that's my technical explanation! Controls are actioned with the mouse and feel similar to a snooker/pool game: click/hold on the golf ball for a directional line to appear. Use this to guide the speed/direction of your shot. Interestingly, a level of interaction is added - that might be controlling fans, playing pinball, making a burger jump, etc.
It's quirky, it's silly, and it's a little lame... but... Zany Golf is freakingly fantastic, so play it!!
I remember when I first heard tracker music, it was around 1989, and a pretty cool experience, albeit not on the ST. To be honest, it was something that I never expected to hear from such a small file - I am comparing it to a sound sample that eats the entire space on any floppy disk (and then the Ram).
When I upgraded to an Atari STe, finding a MOD player was one of the first things I attempted. I wanted to ditch chip music for this tantalising new style of computer music. It's weird, but back then, I felt disappointed in my Atari ST and its chip music, but I don't feel that way now. In fact, I find many of those MODs I find poor and often quite irritating, excluding classics like R-Type, Menace, and a few others.
Today, I'm a chip guy. That doesn't mean I'm completely against MODs. I just prefer chip. I see videos on YouTube and read people's comments about how they wish a particular ST game sounded more like the Amiga. I get that, but imagine IF our computer did sound the same. Would that be a good thing? I don't think so. The ST is its own entity with the ability to sound its own way using gorgeous chip music. If the ST had the same music capabilities as the Amiga (in games), then why not just buy the Amiga and be done with it?
No other computer out there has to justify itself like the Atari ST, and that ... annoys me! Think about that, and it's why I started AtariCrypt. I want the ST to be an ST and not pretend to be something else. The YM is part of what makes the ST an ST, and that's a good thing and shouldn't be thought of negatively.
With that off my chest, here is a selection of excellent MOD players for the Atari STe...
Atari STe MOD / Tracker Players
BackTrack - I wasn't too sure about this at first, but I cannot deny its quality, and the selectable frequencies are a brilliant idea that will be useful on every model of Atari. The audio playback sounds great, especially at 50KHz - but you might need a Mega STe for that!! (v4.04 - released 1993 - by Wizzcat)
CD Player STE - This is like a CD player from the 90s. Just copy the MOD files into the same folder as the program and boot it up. Obviously not a GEM program, but something that works well, is very effective, and has a fantastic interface. Cracking program - leave it running while you work! (released 1990 - by Light)
DBE Player - Another GEM program to punch out your favourite MODS. The quality is excellent and has a decent playlist feature. However, I thought that it's pretty demanding of the basic model STe compared to the others (v2.0 - released 1999 - by Sector One)
The MusicPlayer - Ignoring its quirky GEM interface (which is odd), I thought this program produced good sound quality and even supports 50KHz / 8 channels! (v1.0 - released 1994 - by Christian Dahl)
Sirius Player - This is another that refuses to use GEM and replaces it with its own beautiful UI. The sound quality is Grade A with support for 50KHz, thus proving GEM can be a beast. Also, 8-channel MODS can be played using features like presets /etc/etc. Don't forget to press the HELP key for all of the options. This is my favourite program; its playback quality is mind-boggling!! (v2.0 - released 2001 - by TSCC 2001)
Paula - A great program that makes you wish you'd have bought a Mega STe for that extra grunt! This is yet another example of the sound quality an Atari STe can produce - and in GEM too. Great programs. My thanks to Pavel Puchala for alerting me to the freeware release! (v2.6 - released 1999 - by Pascal Fellerich)
JAM - A true jack of all trades that works either in GEM or using its own frontend GUI. It features a neat plugin architecture, so lots of different file types are supported - not just MODs but various chiptunes. This is absolutely fascinating, and JAM always produces excellent sounds! (v1.0 - released 2000 - by Cream)
The CryptO'pinion?
This page proves nothing. Well, except that the Atari STe can easily handle Amiga MODs with quality playback, no matter what program you decide to use. They're all great. It just depends on your own needs: if you need a GEM player, then any of the above is a good choice to install onto your hard drive/ultrasatan.
Yes, they are all great in their own way, but I loved how the CD Player can be stacked and left to play while you're doing something else. JAM is great and can handle a variety of different formats, too. Ultimately, I think Sirius is best (for me) with its astounding 50Khz playback, so I tend to prefer this above all others.
What says you? Let me know in the comments below...
Xenon 2 is pretty much Marmite - it's a love/hate thing. Well, I love it. It's one of my favourite shooters with fantastic power-ups and freaky baddies. Plus, it's a technical masterpiece with outstanding aesthetics that proves the power of the Atari ST - when in the hands of developers with talent and commitment in equal measure. We need no custom chips nor those horrendously lame Amiga ports from the 90s!!
Okay, rant over. Here is a new Xenon II upgrade for 1MB+ Atari STe computers with an UltraSatan or decent hard drive. This new version streams 25KHz music, during gameplay, thanks to the DMA Audio hardware. There is no CPU hit whatsoever, so it's as good as ever, but with your choice of music :-)
Convert any song into: 8-bit @25033Hz using a program like Audacity. I've a massive selection of rock/metal songs stored and ZZ Top is playing in my game!!
Xenon II just got even better, and I hope Peter converts many more games to make use of the DMA co-processor. The possibilities are endless... Hmm, perhaps I should send him a wishlist? LOL he'll block me!!
I asked Peter Putnik, from over on 8BitChip, if there was a program that allowed the Mega STe to flip between 8 and 16MHz - but without having XControl preloaded. He basically said yes, no reason why not. And a couple of days later, he had created it!! What a great Atari community we have - my sincere gratitude to Peter.
The download link is available via the AtariAge forums.
Well, today is your lucky day because we are a fierce-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.
The wife went out shopping and gracefully left me 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! )
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... :^)
Asteroids is a true arcade classic that has been converted for every home computer. Not to be left out, Megamax released Megaroids in 1985 for the Atari ST. That's right, 1985, when the ST was a baby. Interestingly, they developed it using their own (brand new) C programming tool. Now that's fearless for the time!
The gameplay is, obviously, Asteroids and faithful to the original. Shoot the rocks for points, but don't forget to blast the alien ships - for lots more points! Joystick controls are dead easy with Z and X rotates your craft and SHIFT to fire. Thrust uses ? key and SpaceBar activates a hyperspace when you're in trouble.
Graphically, it's different from 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 resolution. But this is interlaced to produce 640x400, but with colour. That's right, essentially 640x400 in colour on your TV!!
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 I admire. The gameplay feels perfect, and I'm shocked that something this good was released the same year as the ST. I'm impressed by the silky-smooth framerate and flicker-free interlace support for colour systems. This is a wonderful conversion with bucket loads of rock blasting!!
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 on the move, Alfred needs our assistance as he munches everything in his path. However, every time he eats, he grows 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 tail.
Two types of bonus levels appear at frequent intervals, featuring two-player gaming, DMA audio, and support for multiple resolutions. Simple stuff for dexterous players, but soon becomes incredibly fast on later levels against the clock!! NoBI Racing is old school, and that means it's extremely addictive and a bucket load of fun!!
After yesterday's superb (but mind-blowing!) technical flight sim, I needed something less taxing on my old brain cells. So I'm taking an easier route with a Pac-Man clone called Mac-Pan. Weird name and there are already many PacMan games, but this one is more vanilla, so let's get pill-popping & 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 temporarily increase the yellow guy's speed. Hang on, he's not yellow anymore! Anyhow, the game's speed can be tinkered with in the preferences. The graphics and sounds are pretty good, plus there is support for simultaneous 2-player.
It's not the best PacMan 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.
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 remember labouring over ProFlight back in the day so wondered how my older (and wiser?) brain would cope with this 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.
Isn't Diamond Edge a brilliant program? One of its features is 'Test Disk', which scans for potential problems. 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 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 defrag the drives on a monthly basis. Don't 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.
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 is a useful utility that can display a whole raft of details about your Atari ST (it recently helped me diagnose a problem with my Mega STe's audio!). It can diagnose everything from TOS/GEM details to the more technical aspects like the Cookie Jar, VBL, traps & other mind-boggling jargon.
Incredibly helpful and also perfect for geeks! You can download SysInfo from Atarimania.
After FAR too long, Maggie/25th Anniversary issue was released this weekend!! Yes, a lot of time has passed since the previous issue, but the latest edition is now available to enjoy. I'm about to download myself a copy and spend the evening reliving my ST days by reading this ace diskmag - 90s style! Yes, it's been far too long, but I'm incredibly excited and hope to see more ST disk mags. My congrats to everyone involved!!
Grab the floppy disk, but you can read it online. Here are the links...
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! Check this out...
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 a bit odd, and things get strange when trying to play everything simultaneously. However, my tiny brain couldn’t handle it all, and I found I could only play two games at once, not three! Visually, it works well, but if you’re struggling to see clearly, adjust each game’s appearance using the numeric pad. There’s also an option to invert colours, which makes everything a bit ugly, but it’s much better for your 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.
This is a maddening nightmare that will drive you insane. And you will love it!!
The excellent Universal Item Selector by Application & Design Software was released in the UK by ST Club. The Atari ST is blessed with a small but great selection of replacement file selectors, and this is the best. Only on the weekend, I trudge through a folder containing over 100 tracker mods, deciding which ones to keep or delete. So I installed UIS, which made the job 100x easier because of its integrated tools.
This is a game with few friends: Navy Seals is deceiving, and my first impression is of an arcade-style platformer. However, this Ocean gem is anything but a typical run-and-gun 'em. It's more ruthless and requires stealth, strategy, and tactics. Extreme 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 it will not appeal to a casual gamer, who will run away crying!
After wiping away your tears, take a moment to steady yourself. Some games, like The Immortal, are designed to be played through the process of trial and error. Navy Seals is exactly the same. Play a game, progress as far as you can, and make notes. Review those notes and play again. You’ll advance further and create new notes. Repeat this process, and you’ll beat this challenging game in no time. Honest.
Let's take a look at the first screenshot with gorgeous details against its grungy colour palette...
I love the layout of the first level. This is an absolutely fantastic design!
Aesthetics
Navy Seals is a babe with gorgeous visuals that oozes a style I admire. I love the beautiful character animation as you run, leap, climb, and sneak about. Each level complements the environment and feels like something from a cheesy 80s B-movie! Heck, even the screen showing me dead is great. Yep, I said that.
Sound effects do their job well, and the music is an excellent chiptune to bop along to. Like 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...
The CryptO'pinion?
This is such a difficult game, but I found myself enjoying the challenge. Each level requires the player to learn all aspects thoroughly, so don't expect a cakewalk. There are two drawbacks to Navy Seals: the time limit, which is harsh. And I 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 much playtime with strategic planning to figure out an efficient route through, before the dreaded timer expires. Can you do it? I hope so because Navy Seals is a rewarding game, albeit brutal. In fact, brutal might be too namby-pamby a description for this?
Gamers were tougher in the 80s and 90s. Navy Seals prove that fact.
Hard drive installable versions are available from both D-Bug and 8bitchip.
Wanted was released by Infogrames in 1988 and is a Gunsmoke rip-off with hints 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 as the action comes thick and fast. Whack on the fire button and shoot your way through Dodge City, but watch for the enemy and their bullets! These are the slowest bullets on the planet, but are extremely precise - 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. Be warned, it's difficult (and there are better games on the Atari ST), but there is something curiously likable about it. I enjoyed it, so download the hard disk version from 8BitChip with floppies available via Atari Legend.
Fwiw, I've been to places like Tombstone, Deadwood, and Dodge City, so I'm all... Yeehaw!!!!
Cannon Fodder 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.
Storage requirements are too much for a floppy! So an Ultrasatan or other hard drive device is needed to store the music - this can be anything - instructions are included on how to use convert something from your library. It's dead easy to do using Audacity. Click on my teaser video, above...
What an incredible upgrade! It's something else to experience the game with real music blasting out from your speakers. However, I'm gutted that our lame-ass Cannon Fodder is a pile of rubbish with flick-screen scrolling. Sensible Software should be ashamed of themselves for releasing such a terrible port.
I hope Peter uses this technology again for other Atari ST games. The possibilities are endless!!
U P D A T E
After all these years, we now have a decent version. Yes, with scrolling!!
