a real wallpaper!

Look at what came in the post today from Chris Swinson (aka Exxos). Designed by Darren Doyle for the release of AtariCrypt Magazine and today it's in print and on my bedroom wall like I'm 15 again! There are some ace ST folk in our community - thank you so much, Chris. I'm wondering how long the wife will allow this to remain...

Regardless, I LOVE IT!!! :-)

Collaboration One

   

A new group is on the scene!

The Atari ST/e demoscene has entertained us with incredible productions over the decades. Predictably, these are often by the talented people who made our jaws drop from the late 80s onwards. Well, today we have something different and by a brand new group called STatariART who have released their first slideshow!

It's called Collaboration One and features pixel art created by people from all walks. Along with the images, there is chip music and a lamer's scroll to read. Let's hope this is the start of something great!

Credits

---

Big Boss Man - Code

Cornervizion - Music

D-Force - Graphics

FedePede04 - Graphics

Forgotten Grove - Graphics, Text, Other (Conception)

Greyfox - Graphics

JOSE.ANT - Other (Group theme-tune on Site)

Lachoneus - Graphics

Loggins - Graphics

Pandafox - Graphics

Scarlettkitten - Graphics

spiny - Graphics ((and coding advice))

I hope you guys enjoy this and to tempt you further here is our theme tune by Cornervizion...

Zool

Whoosh, it's Zool!!

Zool was released in 1993 by one of the most acclaimed gaming companies, Gremlin Graphics. Late in the ST's life, yet they went that extra mile to support both models of Atari ST computer. Respect. At first, it appears to be a Sonic clone and does indeed have many similarities but, Sonic it ain't. That fact disappointed many, back in the day (like me). I guess we wanted our Sonic? Well, I figured enough time had passed? Should I give this zippy insect another second chance?

Our little protagonist is a rather odd critter. He's a badly-disguised ninja ant (well, I think it is!) who is from the "Nth Dimension". He can run, climb, leap and even perform a silly airborne pirouette. Sounds very Sonic'ish!! Anyhow, his mission is to travel six worlds and prove himself worthy of earning the black belt accolade he so richly desires. Each world is split into three segments of progressive difficulty and is littered with traps and countless baddies to contend with.

Sonically cool this game! Ugh, sorry... Anyhow, let's see the first screenshot of this ninja roadster...

The first level is excellent and has a little iddy biddy Sonic vibe to it...

Run and leap like crazy!

There are several levels, the first is "Sweet World" which could be a child's favourite dream: an entire planet made of candy. But these are killer sweets: like wobbly jelly and a cute rapidly-firing dolly mixture! The second is musically themed and features angry instruments like bongo drums and even some nice ones that play helpful musical notes.

Sadly, that is as far as I've managed to get. Very disappointing but, that's me and my skilful gaming reactions. Well, I'm extremely grateful for a handy cheat mode that I found. This allows me to play on the later levels - and the Meccano style in Tool World is excellent. Just carry on reading for more information about that handy cheat!

Zool is a simple game at heart, it's all about collecting the items and, in Sweet World, that is candy. Look at the bottom/left of your screen which displays how many are required with an arrow pointing you in the right direction to find more. Thankfully, losing a life isn't a game buster as there are checkpoints from which to continue your adventure.

That is no easy task because all levels have a cruel layout that is littered with traps - hidden traps! Plus there is a huge number of baddies, of course. However, this isn't only a game that requires lightning-fast reactions but you must replay, replay, replay. Learning the levels is the only way to boost your progression otherwise you're hit by something unexpected. Zool's replay value is massive by default because of this. Whether that's right or wrong, I'm not so sure.

It's screenshot time and this one was (sorry) taken with my phone when using real hardware...

Watch where you're walking! So many dangerous places in this world of weird.

Input & Output

The joystick controls are absolutely superb - intuitive and very responsive - which they had to be. Plus there is an option to use inertia, which I leave disabled. Keep banging on that fire button for rapid firepower and if you tap it again (during a jump) then a pirouette manoeuvre is actioned to kill even more of the colourful nasties in this crazy world.

Power-ups are also frequently available to ease your hectic adventure like Two Zool - your very own doppelganger. Like all ninjas, Zool has an energy shield that can be replenished during play but it can survive only three hits before you're as dead as a dodo. I would have like more to balance it against the number of nasties.

Visually, Zool rocks and I'm sure they've used every colour they could for a weirdly gaudy display! The sprites are stunning and I love the purple dolly mixture. I'm shocked that a game like this is playable on the ST and movements are good considering it has no hardware scrolling, etc. It's miles better than other similar games like Doodlebug.

Of course, it's best when running on the Atari STe. Gremlin have made good use of the hardware with 50fps scrolling. It's a thrill to play and crushes the experience you had when using the standard ST. Not only that but there are more colours too. Weirdly, there is a slowdown in some places which is a shame and doesn't make sense.

The audio is superb with sound effects and optional chiptunes. It would have been nice to hear DMA effects, especially noticeable in World Two - with its oddly silent musical instruments. A missed opportunity, I thought.

Right, who fancies a lollipop? No? Oh, don't look at this next screenshot then...

Right, hands up who wants a lollipop now? What... Just me? Darn it!!

The CryptO'pinion?

Zool is a great platformer and tons of speedy fun. But it's far from perfect mostly thanks to frustrating mechanics that can ultimately spoil what would have been a cracking game. For example, don't expect to whizz great distances like that spiky hedgehog because Zool's levels are designed to contradict his spritely Ninja abilities. There are far too many deadly objects, many off-screen, and the enemies are constantly respawning which is annoying. Arghh, less is more!!

However, ignoring the negatives, I admit to enjoying Zool. It's fast, crazy and it is stuffed with an insane personality. This is a great platformer - especially when played using the Atari STe. Now, gimme some Chupa Chups!!

8BitChip has the download for those with a hard drive/Ultrasatan.

For those stuck with floppy disks, then Atarilegend will ease your pain!

AtariMania features Zool in their ST database plus the manual & code wheel.

To cheat type in PANDA on the menu and you will see a flicker. During a game press:

          -> Spacebar 1 - will make you invincible.

          -> Spacebar 2 - to skip forward onto the next stage.

          -> Spacebar 3 - to skip forward onto the next world.

!cube

I have been browsing through some of the amazing works to come out of Silly Venture and found a superb chiptune by !cube (aka Toni Lönnberg). Hyper Ocean Ride came second in the competition and is also making use of the Atari STe's DMA hardware for those cool drums. I love this tune so had to share it - press the GREEN arrow below!

Okay, Mr cube has a great website and is also listed on Demozoo and SoundCloud. I have recorded a video of his "Meet !cube" musicdisk which you can download here and I must say that Bullet Sequence is another of my fave tracks (from Silly Venture 2014). Delicious!

Crash Time Plumber

New game alert!

Crash Time Plumber is a conversion of the Gamopat original released at Silly Venture demo party. The Atari game was developed by none other than Sebastien Lucas of Cerebral Vortex and it will work on any Atari computer with a Blitter Chip: check the Options screen in GEM but all late models of STfm, Mega ST, Atari STe, and Falcon should be a-ok. Many STfm computers have an empty socket just waiting to be used:

* Many newer STFMs have an empty Blitter Chip socket so head over to the EXXOS webSTore.

At first, I wasn't sure how this was gonna go as we've been burnt by so-called 8-bit conversions before. However, this booted up great with a neat intro and looks the business! Based on Donkey Kong with a dollop of Popeye, it's set in 1983 as the gaming industry crashed (which I was completely unaware of being a Spectrum kid then!)

Anyhow, an Italian plumber has teamed up with an angry-looking monkey and kidnapped ten gaming heroes: Pac-Man, Pitfall Harry, Q-Bert, Frogger, and others. They are all preparing for a hideous death at the hands of these criminals from the East so go and rescue them all to foil Mario's plan and stop this invasion.

Sounds cool, right? It is and so is the intro too which begins in Alamogordo (I've been here!)...

The intro is sweet and tells a good story. Also, I've been to Alamogordo, NM. #tidbit

Hang on, this looks familiar?

Taking place on the Donkey Kong construction site, we run along girders collecting love hearts by a damsel in distress. She floats by in her hot air balloon and, when enough are collected, we begin a steroid-jumping rescue to the top of the screen and save a trapped hero. Once free, we can move on to the next level.

This isn't easy because, not only is Mario rolling barrels downhill, but King Kong is hanging about throwing deadly killer bananas at us with annoying accuracy! Some levels have weather conditions affecting your movement and there's even a harsh 120-second time limit. This makes things quite difficult after a few levels!

The game ends once each and every gaming hero has been rescued. Easier said than done...

Watch out for angry monkeys throwing their killer bananas or you're DEAD!!

One smooth looker!

The graphics are fantastic using an 80s retro theme with cute sprites. The Blitter delivers a smooth 50fps display. Heck, the Atari STe even adds enhanced colour fading. Falcon owners get to witness a huge Zeppelin flying by - which I cannot help but wonder why that's missing on the STe? Ignoring that moan, this game is ace!!

The audio is superb with lovely sound effects and a simple chiptune totally suited to the ye olde style. A lot of effort has gone into both the visuals and sounds and I dare that jingle not to stay in your head all day!

Everything is just dandy and perfect in with a retro and comical design...

Beautiful girl blowing kisses? Come back, my love!

The CryptO'pinion?

Don't be fooled by the 8-bit appearance. From the start, you're tricked into thinking this will be easy but the combination of fantastic controls and tough mechanics will catch you out. I'm sick of being smacked in the face by a killer banana... but I keep on being dragged back for more of this torment... Am I insane, no this game is!!

Crash Time Plumber is extremely hard but it manages to drag you back for more - kicking & screaming.

Download for FLOPPY / HARD DISK

Online ST Picture Viewer

Often I need to quickly view an Atari ST piccy on my Mac, and there are plenty of options, but here is a fascinating web-tool by Cyprian. It allows you to instantly view those old images within a web browser. It supports classic formats like Degas, Neochrome, Spectrum 512, and works with drag and drop.

This is an outstanding web tool.

Blasteroids

Boring old asteroids again?

Yep, once again, the galaxy is overrun with rocks that need smashing to smithereens. Well, it is Asteroids! Rocks everywhere of all shapes and sizes plus some rather strange ones too: Popcorn rocks which bloat before eventually freezing. Red rocks that leave behind crystals to conveniently recharge your shield. So are you ready for more rock blasting?

I hope so because this game is frantic and we're not alone! Along with rocks, aliens frequently rear their ugly heads! These should be killed quickly to reveal a range of nifty power-ups - such as a double shot or the impressive Ripstar.

Okay, let's end the pointless chitter-chatter with some screenshots...

Who ya gonna be? Quite the selection for different gamers.

But how tough are ya? Come on, be brave and don't wimp out on me now!!

It's all rocks and aliens!

Blasteroids is split into segments with those split into smaller sectors. These must be completed before reaching a gruesome End Of Level Boss - the monstrous Mukor!! Your ship is equipped with upgradeable weapons, a powerful shield, and the ability to transform itself. Once all the rocks are pounded into dust, a transporter appears to whisk you off to the next sector. Come on, don't be disappointed - how else could they glam up Asteroids without bloating and ruining it?

Once all sectors are cleared you will finally get to lock horns with Mukor, a festering evil entity who fires miniature spaceships using his tentacles - so shoot each of these suckers first. That's my big tip and then you can watch him scarper like the fatty bloated coward he is. I actually enjoyed our battles which are fun without being impossibly tough!

This game is superb fun and features cool graphics with a style I admire. Wanna see some screenshots...

Attacks from all angles and tremendous BAM BAM BAM fun!!

Asteroids, but with flashy backgrounds and colourful pixels? You are a cynic!!

Joyslick action?

Controls are excellent and responsive: rotate the ship using left or right, push up to thrust, and keep slamming on that fire button to shoot anything rocky. Predictable stuff but gravity and momentum play their parts to affect performance. Don't worry, your shield will help compensate for your poor piloting skills!! Not that I have any...ahem...

Pulling back on the joystick will transform your ship between three different models: the Speeder is agile, Fighter has great weaponry, and Warrior is a burly beast. Friends can jump in on the action - at any time - with impressive cooperative two-player support. Just like in the arcades - a superb feature you shouldn't overlook (I cannot stress that enough!!)

Fantastic stuff, right? Well, it's time to stop reading and view some rather cool screenshots...

The gravitational effect between sectors is superb...

...and then it's more rock-blasting again!

Aesthetics

Graphics are gorgeous - for what used to be a visually stark experience. I love the nicely animated rocks rolling through space. The enemy ships are superb and all other sprites are large, detailed and well-animated. Oddly, the backgrounds are 4-colours but you would never notice that due to their apt design and gorgeous artistic flair, which I admire.

Sadly, the audio disappoints with lame bleep-bleep sound effects instead of samples, which the ST would have easily handled for a game like this. Music is also a touchy subject as it soon becomes extremely repetitive. Thankfully, that can be switched off, but that only highlights those inadequate sound effects... catch-22. So, yes, I am disappointed.

Looks fantastic yet sounds poor. Can't have it all, eh? Let's view some more screenshots...

Shoot!! Kill!! Destroy everything!! <insert evil laugh>

BAM!! BAM!! BAM!! BAM!! BAM!! So-much-fun!!

The CryptO'pinion?

This is a great conversion albeit with a few niggles that spoil an otherwise great rock-smashing experience. Asteroid purists probably won't like it with all the extra changes and improvements but, keep an open mind, because this game is tons of fun. Ignoring the sound effects, they have improved the genre as best they could, without adding bloatware to ruin it.

If someone put a gun to my head and made me choose between this and Stardust, I fear the latter would win. However, it wouldn't win by much, because Blasteroids is exceptional and utterly addictive. Make the time - play this!!

Download for hard drive or floppy disk

Oh yeah, baby!!! I own this beauty :-)