Lights, Camera, Action!

Update: I've long since lost these videos. Has anyone got them to share? Thx

ST Video Player is one of those programs that will drop your mouth wide open with amazement. You just won't believe that your humble 512kb 8Mhz Atari STE (with a hard drive) can produce such amazing high-colour movies.

This piece of magic was written by Cyg of BlaBla (the creators of some of the best Atari ST/e demos that I've ever seen). Movies come in the format of .CAV files so just drag & drop one onto the program and prepare to be amazed. I hope to see more videos released for the Atari STe - very soon! Download from Demozoo and Pouet.

Atari ST magazines

( my Atari Falcon w/ MiNT desktop and three PDF magazines being displayed using zView )

An era long since gone

The Atari ST had some of the best magazines the world has ever seen and I still find it helpful in referring back to old issues for their features, reviews, and other information. Thankfully, there are many websites that have scans of this golden era covering ST Action, ST Format, Atari World, ST User, etc... So enjoy the reading, and cover disks!!

Grab a magazine from the rack...

AtariMania is always a great resource and they also have a fantastic magazine section.

Here is a wonderful website dedicated to Atari ST Review, including their ace coverdisks.

Kiwis World seems has bucket loads of Atari ST magazines.

Exxos has a page for ST Format and Atari World with coverdisks.

The Zogging Hell website has a great collection of various magazine coverdisks.
Of course, there's always the newest Atari ST magazine on the block - AtariCrypt!!

Starglider

Unplug the TV!

If I had to name an Atari ST game that defined the 1980s then Starglider would be up there with the best of 'em. This is a 3D shooter that somehow appeared from out of nowhere and totally rewrote the book on how a shooter could be. A whole new generation of gamers got to witness this explosion of arcade-like aesthetics like never before.

Today, I wanted to show you a different side to Starglider as it's something that's not known to many, oddly enough. This game supports the ST's crisp Hi-Resolution mode which means a loss of colour but an increase in definition thanks to the 640x400 display. Everything else remains the same of course and that means the gameplay too.

I've always loved Starglider as it's a perfect blend of action and strategy. The mouse controls are spot-on and the combination of using both buttons to fire/move is extraordinarily efficient. The sound effects are superb and feel somewhat arcade in their style to me. However, it's the opening music that many remember the most. What can I say...

Staaaaaaaarrrrrrgliiiiiderrrrrrr from Rainnnnnnbirrrrrrd (insert echo effect)!!!

Even today this is still a jaw-dropping shooter which plays every bit as well as I remember. Everything from the smooth framerate, crisp sound effects and exciting gameplay style. This is a challenging yet constantly enjoyable shooter. In fact, it's timeless. Play it today and go and grab yourself either the floppy or hard disk versions right now.

Rainbow Islands

   

Today, I booted up Rainbow Island on my Atari ST and I fondly remembered the time I saw it in our local computer shop. I was instantly hooked by its gorgeous colours and the delightful effects, it looked so amazing! After paying lots of cash, I walked home as fast as my lanky legs could carry me! This is probably one of the most famous platformers for the Atari ST and there isn't anything new I could tell you.

Waste no more time, play Rainbow Islands. It's one of the beST!!

8BitChip has a download which can be installed onto hard drive!

Old Games Finder has all the floppy disk images.

Fancy a few cheat codes? Of course, you do so type all these on the title screen:

           -> BLRBJSBJ for fast feet.

           -> RJSBJSBR for double rainbows!

           -> SSSLLRRS for super fast rainbows.

           -> BJBJBJRS for the first hint.

           -> LJKSKBLS for the second hint.

           -> LBSJRRWL continues each round.

           -> SJBLRJSR will slow down the baddies.

           -> Infinite lives: choose three credits and hold the QWERTY keys & press fire.

Death Trap

My first ever Anco game!

Anco's Death Trap was released in 1990 and reminds me of various platformers, like Horror Zombies From The Crypt with a hint of Prince Of Persia and (maybe) Ricky Dangerous. The gruesome cover is nothing short of tremendous!

[Consider this a preview] We begin the adventure in a labyrinth of horror and encounter traps, like falling blocks, poisonous chests, spikes, and more. Each map is incredible but it's easy to lose your bearing so I doodled myself a basic route - which helped a bunch. Puzzles are simple, like flipping a switch to unlock a door but this might mean backtracking and sometimes you're even required to walk the long way around. Not easy, when you're under constant attack.

Okay, that's enough yapping. Let's view a couple of screenshots...

The graphics are absolutely superb with gorgeous tones used!

Right, stop! There's a switch... wanna risk pulling that thing?

It's all about the killing!

Yes, evil creatures inhabit this dungeon and will annoyingly appear at the most inconvenient times. They're all relentless so watch out for ghosts who materialise from out of thin air, jumping frogs, bats that swoop in and drop rocks, Egyptian wizards, and many others. I must say, I love the stripy grabbing hands before the culprit appears to chase you!!

Controls are responsive and keep up with the demands of our adventurer. However, the tighter jumps can be a difficult as you need to tiptoe right to the very end of a platform, which is difficult when constantly chased by creatures! Oddly, our direction cannot be altered during the jump, which can be awkward.

We're armed with a pathetic blade but this can be upgraded with potions - I love the fireball that grants the ability to kill something before it gets close. These potions can be used to conjure spells, recover health, etc. The trouble is exploration is vague with lots of backtracking and guesswork. If there was ever a game that needed an auto-map feature this is it.

Right, let's see another couple of sexy screenshots...

The enemies are on par with Black Lamp. Gorgeous enemies, like this stripy dude!

Those leaping frogs are insane. Very deadly too!

The CryptO'pinion?

Technically speaking, this spooky adventure impressed me with agile scrolling, beautifully animated sprites, great controls, and sampled sound effects (however, I missed a decent background chiptune). Death Trap is very tough; the maps are huge and I often get wiery of the enemy's constant onslaught which can feel annoyingly unfair.

I know that this is only a preview but I came away impressed and unimpressed. It's got the hallmarks of a great platformer. A labyrinth of interesting places, nice puzzles, and unique monsters to kill. However, it's a little OTT with a constant onslaught of baddies which got me muddled about where to go next. It never ends. I need to play it more, I guess?

I suppose a trainer might be welcome to fudge that? Surely that's not right? [Don't Call Me Shirley!!]

- DOWNLOADS -

Back when AtariCrypt was just a baby I recorded this gameplay video.

 Stonish has a great floppy disk and the hard disk version is available thanks to 8BitChip.

 If doodling ain't your thing then Hall of Light has every level mapped.

MaxYMiser

An Atari ST YM2149 chip tracker

MaxYMiser is the premier tracker on the Atari for chipmusic. I cannot pretend I know anything about being a musician but, I have it running on my Atari STe right at this moment! Once loaded, even I realised how superbly well-designed it is and it's obvious why our community loves it so. Fantastic software!!

Give it a playtest - MaxYMiser is a babe and here is a series of tutorial videos!! Check out the blurb...

"

maxYMiser is the best and most up to date chip tracker for the Atari ST, and is still under constant development. To hear the sounds this tracker is capable of visit The Phatt Demo and the maxYMiser online compo. maxYMiser is free, features a full MIDI implementation, and easy to use FastTracker II style editing. maxYMiser is a gwEm production.

Subscribe for the latest maxYMiser information. You're really encouraged to join this list. I won't spread your e-mail adress to anyone and the list is inactive. You can expect me to send an e-mail every few months or so, to let you know about the latest improvements.

Most importantly, you register an interest in the program, which strongly encourages future developments - if you don't subscribe to the list, don't wonder why new versions take a long time to arrive.

"

Credits

---

• maxYMiser was created by Atari chip music freak Gareth Morris aka gwEm.
• Co-designed by Dma-Sc.
• The beautiful logos were by ST Survivor.

Sliders

Atari STe power!!

Sliders is a "sports" game by Microids for both models of the best 16-bit computer - it's the same game on either machine but the scrolling is silky smooth on the STe (hardware scrolling? 50fps and I'm impressed by their dedication). Okay, this is a weird game and the boys at Microids sure had a silly idea about sporting events in the future. It's like ice hockey meets marble madness - but at frantic speeds.

The players aren't people instead, they are balls, not very flattering but, we play as one. The other can be a human or computer-controlled player. Like soccer, we chase a little ball to score a goal before our opponent. The gameplay is furious over a metallic pitch with lots of varied terrain like forced-directional arrows and humps to affect control. Realistic physics will affect your momentum, meaning you have a massive learning curve to master! Interestingly, you can alter various elements: thrust, friction and more.

Balls fighting (one-on-one) over another smaller ball is hardly an interesting or innovative idea. In fact, it's weird but I admit that whizzing around the field is great fun on the STe - kudos to Microids. However, it's too freakishly hard when playing against the computer - which is super and completely outclasses you(me!). Sliders is best with another useless human opponent for the most giggles. Can either of you play it properly? I doubt it!

Sliders is a good idea but badly executed due to its difficulty. Play only with a friend.

 Hard drive game by 8BitChip and floppies by Old Games Finder