Dungeon Master

I needed a picture of the Dungeon Master maps, so I created this image to help me to stop getting lost. (right-click the image to open in a new tab - the file is huge!!). Also, I have zipped up an Atari ST folder which contains lots of files plus help and information concerning spells, etc... Clickety click to download it :-)

Also, it's worth taking a peep at issue six of ST Action (I loved that magazine!!) because they featured a fantastic five-page Dungeon Master guide. This can be viewed over on AtariMania.

The Chronicles Of Omega

A game for both Atari STs

Chronicles of Omega was released by ARC/Atari in 1990 and is probably the first commercial game to support the enhanced Atari STe, by making use of the hardware scrolling and DMA Audio. But that doesn't mean the STfm has been forgotten because this displays gorgeous rasters for the sky, which aren't possible on the STe when using hardware scrolling. So each machine has something rather cool up its sleeve!

The lands of Omega were peaceful until the day came when a demon captured all of the children from the village. Play as either Alwin or Irma and battle your way through five evil-infested lands, killing everything in your wake, and defeating Demon Champions (aka bosses). Ultimately, be the hero and save the day!

Here's a handy map of Omega, which I must admit looks like a lovely place to visit...

This map plots Alwin and Irma's journey through the lands of Omega.

Shoot, Shop and Kill

This is a cute platformer with interesting levels that aren't overly large and filled with many ghouls. Walking from left to right, you'll encounter different monsters along your journey, and they're all stuffed with cash. Kill as many as you can and collect their loot, which can be used to purchase power-ups in the Good Witch's shop.

There's always someone willing to cash in on any noble crusade. Well, she pops up during each level to tempt you with her wares. Prices aren't cheap, so you should try to kill as many monsters as possible instead of running scared. Annoyingly, all purchased power-ups are lost after losing a life, which sucks! End-of-level guardians are rather lame and easily defeated, even though they can materialise right where you're standing!

First impressions? This is one of those moments when I can see the potential which wasn't taken advantage of in some respects. There are so many awesome ideas (and some ripped) but this is essentially a decent platformer. With a little fine-tuning, Arc could have had something special on their hands.

The Atari ST has more background colours and gorgeous chip music!

Aesthetics?

So let's look at the graphics and audio, which are different depending on which ST you use...

Visually, Chronicles of Omega is a treat with lovely characters and lush landscapes. Both are rich in colour, and the Atari STe gets to use its hardware scrolling for a smooth 50fps. The older ST hasn't been forgotten, and what it lacks in framerate is compensated for by extra background colours. However, the Atari STe wins by far.

For the audio, both computers take advantage of their strengths: the Atari STe uses DMA samples for the music and sound effects. The older ST uses its YM2149 for stunning chipmusic, which I must say is a million times better than what the STe pumps out. This is too easy; the older Atari ST wins the audio battle hands down.

My opinion? I'd dump the ST in a flash with its fancy rasters for the STe's ultra-smooth hardware scrolling. However, the ST wins the audio battle because Steve Barrett excelled with the quality of his chiptunes over the blurry STe sounds. We all know the Atari STe is capable of better and ARC should have given STe gamers the option to chose between chip or DMA. That would have been perfect.

The Atari STe lacks the background colours but runs at a silky-smooth 50fps.

The CryptO'pinion?

I must admit to being disappointed by this enigma. It plays the same on both models of Atari ST, but is spoiled by the magic wand's mechanics. This is due to its inability to fire more than twice at any given moment, which means walk...shoot...walk...shoot. If you forget, then you're left defenceless in tight situations.

I pushed myself through the fluffy-control pain barrier and (shockingly) found myself enjoying this quirky game. In fact, I managed to reach the final level, and I was genuinely having fun, albeit with the awkward firing. Kudos to ARC for making use of the Atari STe, which certainly makes me wonder why later platformers didn't.

Whatever you're thinking, this isn't a terrible game. Not in the slightest; definitely worth playing!! Okay, there are better platformers for the Atari ST, but give it a shot, and let me know what you think in the comments.

Downloads are available for hard drive & floppy.

Enchanted Land

Not a review, but a moan!

We are Kurgan, a magician who dresses like a weird Santa! He must retrieve the lost magic from the lands of Damiran and battle cutesy creatures in five levels to restore things to how they were. However, this is one of the hardest platformers I have ever played, and it's how the game ultimately fails, but let's continue on.

Level one is incredible, but incredibly tough. It effectively introduces you to the game’s wicked mechanics. Frankly, I struggled to complete it and only managed to see the technical delights of the second stage using a cheat. Unfortunately, each level suffers from unfair mechanics and requires repeated play. If only we had more lives! I found myself unable to play for long, which infuriated me for various reasons.

Enchanted Lands is a showcase product, developed by the legendary Carebears.  It demonstrates the capabilities of our 16-bit computer when handled by those who don’t make excuses. Essentially, it’s a demo designed specifically for the Atari ST, but unfortunately, it lacks actual gameplay (it's our Amiga SOTB).

We all relish a challenge, but this is ridiculous. The mechanics are so unforgiving, turning everything into a chore devoid of enjoyment. Just wait until you encounter those jumping critters or the spiders. Often annoyingly placed just off-screen, they suddenly appear when you get close, draining your precious energy.

Let's see an animated GIF of the lush visuals...

Well, the immense talent that went into the game's development is astounding!

Aesthetics

Visually, this platformer is a Christmas cracker, and I wish every game looked this gorgeous!! It really is like a playable demo running at 50fps with hundreds of beautiful colours. The landscapes are stunning and are complemented by equally gorgeous sprites (they’ll cause all the headaches a gamer dreads).

The audio is every bit as impressive as the graphics. Musically, it’s breathtaking with a range of outstanding chiptunes and lovely sound effects. Mad Max’s music is flawless. Magnificent tunes.

Look, this is our Shadow Of The Beast, so let's see another screenshot...

Let's hop from cloud to cloud, looking for more deadly places to die!!

The CryptO'pinion?

Enchanted Land looks & sounds perfect, but it's incredibly difficult and requires a trainer. Even then, mastering its tricky nature will take ages. I think the difficulty level could sink the Titanic, and that ruins what could have been an exceptional platformer. Technically, it’s a masterpiece, but it’s meant to be a game, not a demo.

I’d definitely consider this our Shadow Of The Beast and something to show friends: look and listen, but don’t expect to actually play it. Harsh, I know, but there are better platformers for the Atari ST.

8BitChip has a hard disk version.
The floppy is over at Atari Legend.

Okay, it's time to cheat your way through this cruel platformer:

On the title screen, type in, "TCB RULES FOREVER"
The screen will flash...

Now you can press keys 1 - 5 to pick a different level.

Also, pressing F2 - F10 for lots of different effects. Enjoy!

See that spider; beware of him. That's all I'll say.

Don't you dare fall into that well.

As you jump, that little critter jumps too, so watch out for that!

That's it, I'm done. And dead lol

Sokoban

Never judge a book...

I love hearing about new games in development for our handsome Atari ST, and today I found out about a brand new Sokoban puzzler. It's written by Peter Lane and is a GEM-based program, so it will work on every model of computer. It features 50 levels, a scale-adjustable display, and options for tons of extra levels.

I've enjoyed taxing my old brain cells with this puzzler. Highly recommended for fans!!

• Download via Atarimania https://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-st-sokoban_30652.html
• Demozoo has the credits & links https://demozoo.org/productions/158370/

Bod

It is with great sadness that I inform you of the death of Stephen Jones, aka Bod. More recently, he was the gentleman behind the Atari STe game R-Type Deluxe, an eagerly anticipated upgrade to an already ace game, and was highly regarded as the biggest STe project for years. He demonstrated to the entire retro gaming world just what this machine was capable of - when in the hands of someone with talent and commitment.

I talked with him quite a lot; he kindly supplied screenshots of his progress. I was excited to feature them on my little-known website. Kindness, I shall never forget. Also, his commitment to the Atari ST scene is fully featured on Demozoo where you can view his Fuji portfolio. It's extremely impressive, to say the least.

A great loss.

Prayers and my condolences to his family and friends at this time †

Z-Out

Enjoying a quickie

I had a free hour today so I entertained myself with Rainbow Arts' Z-Out. Essentially this is a bog-standard horizontally scrolling shooter with nice graphics and (familiar) sound effects. The controls work well but it feels like a clone of Menace or R-Type. There is a nifty two-player feature which we enjoyed!!

However, I found it extremely difficult at times, plus it didn't really bring anything new to the table compared to shooters already out. Don't get me wrong, this is a very good game but there are better shoot 'em ups. Am I right? Well, I think so but let me know what you think in the comments below. Go on, do it.

Download and cheats for those in need of seeing more of this shooter...

8BitChip has adapted this for hard drive installation w/ a level skip feature.
Floppy disks can be downloaded using Old Games Finder.
Here are some nifty cheats :
          > pressing J + K together gives infinite energy.
          > pressing J and a number between 1 - 6 (on the main keyboard) to skip levels.
          > pressing K and a number between 1 - 3 (on the keypad) to jump stages.

Substation

You'll need a 25MHz PC for this one...

I remember the days when the ST was getting on a bit and, ahem, the Falcon didn't quite cut it. Not only that, but all my mates had left behind their Atari STs and Amigas for overly expensive PCs. They were bulky and incredibly ugly, but I remember how (secretly) gutted I felt when I saw Wolfenstein and almost died of shock when I saw Doom.

Anyhow, even then, we still had our moments of glory. The Atari ST had a decent selection of first-person shooters by the mid-90s, and in 1995, a company called Unique Development Sweden decided that our old 16-bit computer wasn't dead yet. They graced us with Substation, which was about to change everything we thought possible.

The story goes that Mitushi Industries has developed a type of new energy that can be extracted from under the seas. All seemed well until communication was lost with their underwater substation base. Oh no... So, they contracted the help of a Multi-Environment Marine from the American government. In case you are wondering - yes, this is you!

That's the basic storyline, that wasn't really needed, but let's take a gander at the first screenshot...

The mission update screens are superb with tons of information.

When a 1989 computer blows you away!

Upon starting your first game, it's a good idea to ditch the knife - hit key "2" which switches to a rather sufficient pistol. Collect all the goodies you see lying on the floor and open the door; outside is access to more goodies, but there's also a couple of ghouls lurking! Will you risk a fight or run away scared down that seemingly empty corridor?

Movement is actioned with the keyboard: arrow keys are used to walk/turn around with Insert and Clr Home keys for convenient sidestepping - this works brilliantly using a real computer!! Control key fires any weapon, the Spacebar opens doors, and punching the TAB key drops a bomb. Don't forget the map, found at the bottom of the screen, which automatically tracks your movements, and the keypad can be used to examine the explored areas.

The baddies are intelligent and won't stupidly head straight for you. Nope! Expect some to use evasive tactics - they might shoot a few rounds and then run away to take cover! So use that pistol to protect yourself, remembering to sidestep oncoming attacks. Other weapons can be found, and the chain gun is absolutely amazing - Arnold Schwarzenegger would be proud. In fact, each weapon is superb - I only wish it were quicker to find them all.

Tell me you aren't excited to play this baby for yourself? Wait, come back, I've not finished...

I know what you're thinking, and no, there isn't anything wrong with the colour!

Aesthetics

Graphically, I'm both impressed and (hmm) slightly unimpressed. Firstly, let me say that Substation has a freakish amount of atmosphere - this game is scary with something nasty lurking within the murky corridors. Anxiety levels are high thanks to its superb design using amazing visual effects - like light-sourced sprites. The frame rate needed to be smooth for a game like this to be playable, and the basic 8MHz Atari STe zooms along at 25fps - which is outstanding!!

Sadly, the walls lack texture mapping because UDS opted for Gouraud shading to maintain the smooth framerate. This is understandable but disappointing because games like Destruction Imminent and Wolfenstein 3D prove the ST is actually capable. I feel UDS missed an opportunity to enable optional textures on faster computers.

The audio is spot-on perfect. And I do mean perfect. Substation utilises the enhanced hardware, so we hear distance and directional effects. This will help to identify where the baddies are creeping surprisingly well. Equally impressive are the tunes played at 25Khz - excellent quality. You're gonna love it, so crank up the volume!

Imagine if this game had been released when the STe was younger? Ah, let's see a screenshot...

LOL, I love this screenshot that I managed to take just as he exploded!!

The CryptO'pinion?

Technically speaking, this is one of the most impressive games for ye olde Atari STe. Think about it, an 8MHz computer capable of running a first-person engine that maintains a brisk 25fps. Not only that, but it features distance and directional stereo sounds, 30 on-screen colours, light source sprites, and intelligent enemy AI. Heck, you can even play against other people over a network, and those with faster Atari computers will support smoother framerates.

Substation is magnificent. A fantastic shooter with great weapons, challenging AI, and superb maps. It's not easy; each mission is as tough as it is enjoyable. However, if you're expecting Substation to be "our" Doom, then you will be disappointed - it's more like a Wolfenstein. This isn't a criticism. Just understand that fact.

Oh yeah, this is a seriously awesome first-person shooter, so pick up your guns and have yourself some fun!!

This little zappy fellow is tough to hit and annoyingly badass!

- ESSENTIAL SUBSTATION LINKS -

Download on floppy or, best of all, for your hard drive.

ST Format featured a basic preview level on cover disk #72.
They also held a competition, and the winning game is on cover disk #75.
Fancy a trainer? ST Format cover disk #76 has all the answers!
[ ST Format coverdisks can be downloaded from Exxos ]

Substation tips and maps can be found in ST Format issues #74 / #75 / #76 / #77.

We all love cheat codes, and to get all weapons, just type "PUNK"
"NIRVANA" gets you extra health, and "PFLOYD" unlocks doors.
"SKRAPAN" credits extra bombs, and "FALUKORV" allows extra time.