Minefield

- You sunk my battleship!! -

Everyone loves the Battleships board game, so here is Minefield by Donald Campbell, which is a PD game based on the idea. Only this time we're driving tanks across a minefield made from 64 square tiles. Our opponent is your beloved Atari ST, who is trying to do the same and the one with the most through wins!

There are three difficulty levels, with the first being "Dead Easy", which makes your ST appear rather dumb, and it fails to learn from its mistakes. The second level is "Quite Easy" and marginally better. Then "Intelligent", which is the most fun and even uses its cannon to locate mines. Sounds like fun, right?

It sure does! So, let's take a gander at a screenshot before we carry on reading...

As you can see, I shot the square ahead to reveal a mine. Wow, that was a close call. Phew :)

- Play The Game -

We begin each game by placing five mines secretly on your opponent's board (the ST will do the same). Each player takes turns to safely guide a tank from one edge of their board to the other. We play by selecting a square from along the bottom row. Our tank can only move upwards or diagonally upwards. Once a square tile is used, it’s removed from play. Of course, this is obvious and will also restrict your options later on.

To help locate enemy mines, use your cannon and fire at any tile. The explosion will either result in a face or a skull: a smiley face means the tile is clean and free to use. However, if you see a skull, then stay clear, otherwise it's instant death - and for the duration of the game. Both players repeatedly take turns until no tanks remain, and the one who safely returns home is the winner. Gameplay is simple and easy-peasy to learn!

Clever people are still here, as they don't care about flashy graphics! Let's see a screenshot...

Sometimes the computer shoots itself in the foot thanks to its earlier decisions.

- Graphics & Sounds -

Visually, this game will blow your socks off!! I'm talking 200+ colours, 50fps scrolling and all in overscan. Okay, okay, there's nothing like that, but a game like this needs nothing more than to be functional. The board is basic but clear, the faces are cute, and the skulls look cheap, but I don't care. Nor should you.

I wasn't expecting much in the audio dept and that's exactly what I got. The old YM chip struggles, as I fear Donald wasn't much of a musician. There are a few basic effects, but it's pretty lame, and the tanks sound like a wasp is trapped in a spider's web. Not good. However, just like amateur graphics, it doesn't matter.

Fancy aesthetics are nice but never necessary, so let's take a look at a screenshot...

...but, as you can see, we humans aren't too clever either. Sigh!

- The CryptO'pinion -

This game is superb fun, but it's not perfect, and I have a couple of quibbles. For example, it's a massive shame that there's no support for two players. Also, I'm not convinced about its three difficulty levels, especially when watching the computer make some terrible mistakes. Also, the 8x8 grid layout is restricting and can leave both players with zero options towards the end, even though a couple of tanks might remain.

It's time I stopped being an idiot and remembered this isn't a commercial release. Technically rubbish, yet here I am about to explain why you should play Minefield. It's all about gameplay, and I’ve played dozens of battles and loved every moment!! Minefield is one of the most enjoyable "PD" games I have ever played.

- FLOPPY DISK DOWNLOAD -

Shadowlands

Brace yourself for an epic adventure!

I've just downloaded an iPhone app that claims to scan photos/boxes and will fix the alignment angles and other funky stuff. Why am I telling you this? Well, everything you see within our Box Art section was taken using my phone's camera, which means trying my best to get the angles just right! In fact, that's almost impossible with these shaky hands of mine, so I would often take 500 snaps just to get that one decent photo...

Well, no more because I have finally caught up with the rest of the world and started to use Google's Photoscan. This appears to do everything I need and very quickly too, so I thought I'd begin with Shadowlands, which I purchased a couple of years ago (btw, you really should click that link and read all about the game). In fact, this RPG is astounding and one of the best games I have ever featured. I'm delighted to own it!

What do ya' think about the box above? I believe it's actually very good, and it took mere seconds without any shaky hands getting in the way to ruin it. Anyhow, check out what else we have inside the box...

The back of the box is superb and would have tempted the gamer to empty his wallet to buy it!

Should I post this? I wonder what would happen if I did or would the postman just bin it lol

The manual is nothing short of superb and stuffed with helpful information. Read it!!

And finally, here are the floppies which complete what a 90s gamer would have got for this cash.

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Wakey Wakey!!

I woke up early today - in the mood for demos and chipmusic. No idea why, but I started watching a few whilst suppin' my coffee. It's a weird way to spend the early hours when the family is sleeping, but... I am weird. There are so many great demos for the Atari ST and even a few for the STe, too. (I never understood how the STe had all that extra graphical hardware, yet its demos pale considerably compared to the STFM)

I ended up watching a few more - Punish Your Machine never fails to impress my old eyes and ears! Brace, by Diamond Design, is simply jaw-dropping. These got me in the mood - for another coffee!! Then I grabbed the headphones and enjoyed a few fave tunes by Scavenger, Nemo, and TAO. A golden trio there!!

Sadly, time was running out, and this "noise" woke my girls, who halted the fun!!! But what a great start to the day, and everything mentioned is within the above two [ST/e] playlists I've linked above.

I'll end my silly post with the groovy Sexgames by Christian Källström (Crazy Q), which is exceptional.

Line of Fire

We're going to war, bring a mouse!

Line of Fire was converted from the arcades in 1990 by Creative Materials for US Gold and is basically a "crosshair" shooter. It begins behind enemy lines as we're trying to escape never-ending hordes of angry bad guys. They're annoyed because we've sneaked in and pinched their brand-new toy - a Rapier Gun. Of course, we have no intentions of returning it, so we must now escape in a blaze of glory. A-Team style!

The gameplay is simple: move the mouse over the enemy soldiers and hit fire to send 'em to hell. Kill anything nasty, including the hardware that they use: a truck, plane, boat, or even their incoming missile attacks. Well, that's about as technical as this shooter gets - lots of frantic killing and explosions. Great stuff!

Oh yeah, so let's start by taking a look at the first screenshot...

The map shows our escape route through the base, jungle, rocky canyon, town, etc.

And bring a friend too!

One or two players are supported for a single or a (much-needed) co-op onslaught of pure adrenaline. Solo is controlled using the mouse, which is precise, but I feel the crosshair should have been bigger because it sometimes got lost among the explosions. Try it - hit the SHIFT key to spark a nuclear explosion (aka grenade), but be thrifty because these are best left for the end-of-level bosses. Trust me, you'll need 'em all.

We begin trapped inside the enemy compound with baddies lining up the corridors, ready to kill us! The display shows our health and the number of grenades - both of which can be topped up by shooting the corresponding supply boxes lying on the ground. There's a boss waiting at the end of every stage, be it two ugly brutes firing missiles, a plane stuffed with a cargo of airmen, or a ghost train and its endless supply of soldiers.

Okay, shall we take a stroll through the many levels of this crazy game? Yes, a good idea...

- Eight Stages To Freedom -

Level 1 - The Enemy Camp

This is where we broke into the enemy camp, kicked in their sandcastle and made the bad guys cry. However, tons of smurf-looking soldiers were alerted (very odd), and they're mean and sneaky - some even hide inside the floor panels and ceiling vents. Once you reach the end, it's time to battle two enormous bad guys who are just asking to eat those grenades.

Overall, I really enjoyed this opening stage, albeit very short. Should have been much longer!

Level one kicks in with an assault of Smurf soldiers!

Level 2 - Destroy The Enemy Jungle Base

Those smurfs failed to stop us, and we made it outside to jump into our jeep and head for the jungle. Lots of enemies are lurking in these muddy waters, along with choppers and planes dropping bombs of mass destruction! The action feels unbalanced for solo gamers, but the helicopter boss is pretty cool and a good fight without being too complicated.

This stage proves the developers used ST Basic (and had no beta testers!). Let's take a look...

Be quick and get blasting everything you see on the screen. Gun love time!

Level 3 - Exit By Speed Boat

Pretty much more of the same as the previous level - but this time we're riding through the soggier parts of the massive jungle. Watch out for the soldiers hiding on the river banks, and you might even see the odd Rambo impersonator. The two bosses are back, but this time they've brought some help for what is quite a fatiguing battle.

This level is more of the same, which isn't great unless you have a faster computer.

The two guys have brought in some help. It's very tough, so expect to lose lives.

Level 4 - Fighting In The Canyon

Like the jungle, this time the graphics have changed to an odd-looking rocky canyon. Hmm, those walls don't look right, especially when you see soldiers hovering in mid-air! Anyhow, this level is another which is stuffed full of gun love, and there's even an aeroplane boss that launches rockets at your face.

It's probably better than the jungle stages, but just as crazy, with too many enemies eating away at your credits.

Enemies everywhere! Shoot - quicker - shoot some more. No, be quicker!

Level 5 - Do Or Die Battle In The Desert

Landscape graphics are gone, and the display is reduced to objects and sprites. It's now that I noticed the odd blue background - it really stands out because there's nothing else. Looks very strange. However, the benefit of this sudden change is a decent framerate, which means it plays better than all the other levels. The boss stage is a train, which is something solo players should fear!

Overall, a great level, and I wish the others were as fast and responsive as this one. I enjoyed it :o

It looks... odd... but fear not, there's a bunch of fun to be had here!

Level 6 - Foes Await In The City's Ruins

Finally, we've made it into a rough shantytown for a terrifying urban siege. Terrifying because that horrendous framerate has returned with a vengeance - I think this stage is the most sluggish of all? To be honest, it's a bit boring and also far too tough in solo. Where's the boss stage?

Overall, it's okay, but also a bit... meh because of the dreadful framerate.

The idea behind this stage is actually very good, but poorly implemented.

Level 7 - Evade the Enemy's Aircraft

We're on the runway and zoom off into the skies for aeronautical hell. However, this stage is tacky with a lame submarine boss, which is rubbish. Overall, this feels like a stocking filler and is the worst level so far.

Wow, I said that after playing the previous stage? Dang!

I've really had enough...

Level 8 - Fly To Your Base By Helicopter

Glad I didn't throw in the towel because Howling Mad Murdock would have loved this stage! The enemy chucks everything at you for one final attempt to get their fancy gun back! Don't get defeated because the end is very near. Sadly, I did, because it's insanely difficult! Which means I failed to save the Western World from the dreaded Terrorists.

Ah well, at least I tried...

That blue background might look daft, but imagine it black...

Graphics and Sounds

Visually, Line of Fire is an oxymoron as it impresses and shocks in equal measure. Overscan is utilised with top and bottom borders removed to provide tons more pixels. I loved the comically bold palette, the sprites are huge, and those explosions are ginormous! Sadly, the sprites look like I've drawn them, and the framerate is shocking. It's possibly the worst performance I've seen from an Atari ST, which is a sad thing to type.

To me, this comes across as a lazy Amiga port, showing no real optimisation whatsoever for the Atari ST or STe hardware. While it is admittedly commendable that overscan was implemented, that choice likely robbed the game of even more precious speed. Perhaps dropping the overscan would have been the wiser option if proper optimisation for our machine wasn’t going to be done. As it stands, a half-hearted port combined with overscan effectively killed any real potential the game might have had. Bit of a shame really...

The audio failed to impress. It begins with a nice title screen chiptune with a humorous intro, but it's all downhill afterwards. The sound effects are your gun and grenades. So it's your gunfire that you're constantly hearing, which sounds like a room full of dancers shuffling their feet. Ugh, turn down the volume.

A mixed bag of goodies, alright, but the Blitter would have helped a lot... sigh...

Gotta take my hat off to the developers for using overscan, albeit at the expense of framerate? :/

CryptO'pinion

I must admit, I'm not a huge fan of crosshair shooters, but Line Of Fire shocked me. There's no 2D landscape with pop-up cardboard soldiers; instead, we have a first-person perspective similar to something like Narco Police, but in overscan. Which is kinda cool for a machine with only 512k RAM.

However, this conversion is screwy and appears to do everything to make the Atari ST perform like a Vic-20 (cough, cough, lame Amiga port). I don't understand what Creative Materials was thinking. Then again, aren't these the guys that gave us Street Fighter 2 and Days of Thunder?

I enjoyed Line of Fire because it's different from what I usually play. It's best with a friend as it's not balanced for solo play, but at least it provides a few continues to keep you interested. I'm glad I didn't buy this terrible game, but I still enjoyed rampaging through the levels. Worth playing, but only in coop with someone.

- DOWNLOADS -

Floppy - Bad Brew Crew #33 (Stonish)

Hard Disk - 8BitChip (w/ extra credits)

Silly Dabbles Demo

Oh no, I've been creating again...

I love finding Atari ST programs that do something silly or unexpectedly cool. There are lots already within our Software section, like Full Screen Construction Kit, MandelST, and I even got to play in overscan. Yep, I love to dabble in hiSTory so I was pleasantly shocked to find an intro maker I had not heard of before.

It's by Deviant Designers, called Letter And Intro Maker (L.A.I.M.), and is simple to use. Just select the various fragments of what actually makes an intro: a picture, fonts, chip music, and a text file used for the scroller. There are already lots of fonts on the disk and dozens of chiptunes to choose from - the hardest part is writing the text (read the docs) and finding a decent image to use - unless you're talented in NeoChrome?

Once you're happy, save your production to disk and then quit into GEM to load it up. Yep, you've created your first demo screen in mere seconds! This is what I've done and named it "Silly Dabbles". It features an image from Beastlord and music by An Cool. Try this program - I'd love to see what you guys create.

I've recorded a video, and the disk image can be downloaded. It's good using an emulator, but best when run on a real Atari ST. I hope you like my Silly Dabbles Demo and enjoy using the program.

Credits and Download Links:

Deviant Designers for Letters And Intro Maker (LAIM)
https://demozoo.org/groups/38004/

Picture was taken from Beastlord by WJS Design/Grandslam
http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-st-beastlord_8696.html

Music by An Cool used in The Death Demo for 2-Life Crew
http://sndhrecord.atari.org/mp3/AN_Cool/

- Screenshots from L.A.I.M -

Nothing flashy here, but it works great and never crashed on me once!!

Oodles of fonts to choose from, and a preview is shown before you decide.

Dozens of awesome chiptunes to choose from, but sadly no preview. Can't have it all...