Oids is a shooter set deep in outer space and has us rescuing metallic men from captivity. Like Dungeon Master, every ST guy has played this at some point in their life. It's a classic and nothing similar comes close. I've probably spent hundreds of hours on it over the decades so check out our review from last year.
However, I must admit that I was shocked to discover that it only runs at 10/12fps (PAL/NTSC). I'm sure today's kids will probably laugh at such a low framerate! Oddly, it doesn't feel that low, but that didn't stop Peter Putnik from developing an upgraded version running at 25/30fps and he improved the controls too.
This is a fascinating upgrade that enhances the original - without spoiling it. Check out the upgrade for yourself as it's added a whole new dimension to our iconic thruster. And I love it to bits!!
I'd bet money that this was the last thing you expected to see here on an Atari website? Well, I've had a C64 emulator on my drive for a while and figured it was about time to do something about it. So I started my day by trawling through Old Games Finder looking for games I remembered seeing in C&VG magazine in the early/mid-80s. I wanted to play Pitfall, Manic Miner and Staff Of Karnath but sadly, I had zero success.
However, some worked (with a caveat of displaying text instead of pixels) and some crashed the emulator. Yes, I should have read the docs first - lol. Basically, almost all games aren't supported if they use fancy scrolling, sprites, joystick control, etc. What work are applications, educational titles, etc. Including magazine Type-Ins and many text adventures (impressive, but hardly worth my hassle over the last few hours?)
BTW AtariCrypt has a section dedicated to emulation which you can access by clicking here. Anyhow, would you like to see a screenshot of my programming skills taking advantage of the virtual hardware?
I thought so! Check this out and it's a good idea to make some notes to learn from me...
B.A.S.I.C.
This is the extent of my programming knowledge. Perhaps it's best to leave that be and check out some commands instead? I'm no Commie 64 expert but these commands might help play their version of Jetpac...
LOAD "$",10 (this loads the disk's directory into Ram) LIST (this lists that directory to screen) LOAD "filename.prg",10 (you've guessed it, this loads a program) RUN (go on, take a stab at what this might do!)
Please note:
- The "10" is the device ID for my Atari ST's hard drive.
- If you are running the emulator from floppy disk then you should instead use "8".
- Copy the Commodore ".PRG" programs into the same directory as the Atari file: "C64.TOS".
- C64 emulation was tested on my 8MHz Atari STe and Hatari (same spec) for the animation.
The CryptO'pinion?
I'm not sure who to credit for this emulator but he/she did a great job and the docs indicate many practical intentions. This has been fun and the Commodore 64 is a decent machine (shush don't tell anyone). However, there is no real support for anything more than tinkering. Playing games was never gonna happen. Having said that, this has been a bunch of fun to play with the C64 operating system and some programs.
Sadly, I'm not sure how much longer I can stand the pain of having C64 software stored on my Atari ST's hard drive!! So, I think I should delete this evil software and get back to using the ST properly ;)
If you fancy a dollop of Commodore fun, the best download (that I've found) is on disk LAN-0066 via Floppyshop and it includes the documentation. Additionally, Old Games Finder can link to zillions of C64 stuff in the .PRG format. What a shame I never got to play more games...
Go on, give this a playtest and let me know how you get on in the comments below.
It's time for another hardcopy trip down memory lane and I remember lifting this off the shop's shelves. At first, it was only to admire the gorgeous artwork with medieval imagery that is so captivating. I love those lush colours which are in stark contrast to the brutal warriors about to slaughter their enemy. I think this is great artwork and quite scary too, so it perfectly illustrates the savage gameplay ahead. So, if you feel brave enough, shall we open the box?
Onslaught was programmed by Chris Hinsley, he of Custodian fame, and is a horizontally-scrolling hack and club 'em to death battle. This exciting platformer has us killing everything in sight with massive explosions that beautifully light up the colourful backdrops and grungy medieval scenery. The music is perfectly suited for the theme and is accompanied by meaty sound samples for all the grunts, booms, and metallic weapon clangs. Gorgeous aesthetics!
This is a tough platformer that requires lots of practice so stick with it. Onslaught is superb with tons of colours, loud effects, and gameplay stuffed with brutal carnage!! This is one of my favourite Atari ST games albeit with a trainer! Here are a few screenshots to drool over before getting to the all-too-necessary download links...
Monster Business is a fun-themed platformer released in 1991 by Eclipse and produced by incredibly talented people you may recognise from the ST scene. As storylines go, this one is a Christmas cracker!!
Crazed "mad meanies" have been loosed from their forest habitat and are pinching items from Bob's construction site. You are Leroy The Beast Buster who must help Bob blow up these cheeky invaders. This might sound like diarrhoea, but we should still help Bob - we are the only beast buster in Tin Town. Yep.
Fancy looking at the first screenshot? Here ya' go then...
Each level is big and uses smooth vertical scrolling to hunt down the freaky monsters!
Olde gameplay and it works!
Each level follows a familiar Bounty Bob design of platforms, slippy slopes, and chasing monsters. Be careful; they kill with one touch so I'm grateful that we carry an air pump weapon to inflate them for a bloated and cruel death. This is nothing short of hilarious; once they begin floating away, you can nudge them into oblivion, leaving behind their goodies. If you're lucky, they might drag along others for multiple killings.
The joystick controls are spritely and I like how there are two jump heights - this depends on how long you push upwards. Repeatably pressing the fire button activates the weapon to bloat the monsters - so I appreciated my autofire function. Two players are supported but not for co-op, which would have been superb.
Okay, let's view the next screenshot and this one has a fat chicken...
Blown the sucker up for a cruel, yet hilarious end to his life!
A pleasure for your eyes and ears!
Throughout, the graphics and backgrounds are nice using good colours and great decor. The scrolling is ultra-smooth, but it's the sprites that shine the most: I dare anybody not to laugh when seeing a ginormous duck waddle across the screen. I loved their expressions & bloated deaths. This is hilarious pixel art.
The audio is immensely impressive with a superlative range of lovely chiptunes by Laurens Tummers, aka Lotus! The sound effects are also great but even so, are completely overshadowed by the music!!
Yeah, it's gorgeous alright so let's see the final screenshot...
Taken from behind, check out his expression. This game is brilliant!!!
The CryptO'pinion?
Bloating animals is shockingly entertaining and I guarantee you will enjoy hunting your prey. However, it's repetitive which might reduce long-term enjoyment. I also thought the time limit was harsh. Monster Business is best with friends and I promise that everyone will be giggling like school kids. A superb game!!
I love this Menu Disk! It was released by Pure Energy early in 1993 and has a gorgeous plasma whilst playing excellent chip music by Crawdaddy. The text might have a simplistic feel but did you notice anything a little different? Look closer... Do you see now?? Oh yea, pretty awesome, right? Anyhow, the disk features Centipede which is an excellent game.
I thought it was about time for another interview on AtariCrypt and who better than my mate Sebastien Larnac! He's better known as ST Survivor (STS), a name you will have seen credited in many wonderful Atari ST demos. Also, he's created other screens - such as images for programs like gwEm's STj and MaxYMiser.
Compared to many, he became an ST nutter late in the day. But it wasn't long before he was testing the waters of the demoscene with doodles and writing for diskmags. He's a modest dude, yet his hiSTory is more impressive than he realises!!
So, I had a bright idea to interview the dude behind those funky glasses to see what makes him tick. Some details I found quite surprising but overall this is an extremely talented young gent, even if he is French (what?). Seriously folks, take a gander at Demozoo to see his outstanding 16-colour art collection.
ST Survivor - The Interview
What’s your STory?
I received my Atari STe as a Christmas gift in 1990 and spent a couple of years copying games. Until one day one of my floppies was filled with something called a “demo”. What the heck was that? I instantly loved the idea behind it and got in touch with the creators (I phoned one of them!). I already doodled on paper, so why not on a computer? I joined NLC at a time when some people were leaving the demoscene (damn me, for being late!).
I worked on a GFA megademo (Back In France) with my friend Thyrex, who ran the French diskmag ToXic. I had the opportunity to make more pictures for various demo crews and took the position of the main editor of UnderCover Magascene. I also founded aLiVe! with CiH/Maggie Team and that’s it. I left the Atari Scene around 2003 because I was pi**ed off with life and finally got back to my second family somewhere around 2013.
Your favourite work?
It may sound silly but definitely, my best memory and true pride remain for our GFA megademo with Thyrex/NLC. It was started in 1994 as a multi-crew project, then, of course, everyone left and the two of us remained, wondering what we would do. Oddly it did not kill our motivation! Sure it took us another four years, and the final result was far from perfect, yet it is a demo made with a lot of passion and friendship.
Moving onto more recent artwork, I am very proud of the work we did on POOZ along with Cooper, Exocet and DmaSc. I personally think the game looks and plays like a true commercial game!
From scary to funky, Sebastien's style is always amazing.
Inspirations?
I am not inspired, graphics-wise, by anyone but me and this must be the reason why I know/feel that most people don’t like my art. Well, sorry folks, art is a matter of taste :) I truly admire people like Evil/DHS who have brought us so many great demos. I don’t admire but have a lot of respect for the friends I have worked with because -most of the time- it was a great opportunity to share ideas and artistic passion. I am still impressed by people like Niko, Mic, Prowler or Slayer, you know the kind of dark-inspired graphics ;)
For a very long time, I have been a fan of Niko with his tortured and highly detailed style. Now I see that most of his pictures were mostly copies of existing paintings, not that it takes away any of his pixel art qualities. Yet today I would rather admire people like Mic/Dune and Exocet who not only have a very specific style but can also work either with very limited palettes or with wider ones. Exocet is also very well known for painting on a lot of platforms, thumbs up! They are true artists who manage to bring art whatever the challenge they need to face.
Favourite demo?
I've had my Atari STe since 1990 so I have never been either fond of or familiar with what the early years produced. Sorry guys, but I’m not in love with demos from the 1980s. In the nineties, demos started showing technique AND style and I have some favourites from this era, as well as some others from more recent years.
If I had to choose only one it would be… Wait, only one you say? Tough choice but I think I would go for Froggies Over The Fence. Not because of some national pride but because it’s a huge megademo showing different styles - “classic” demo parts, an animated story, a Tetris-like game featuring the Jess tunes (I’m a huge fan!), an awesome high colour slideshow and a very long end scroller. Of course, there are tons of other demos I love.
As a guy without any artistic skills, I cannot imagine how you would create images like these!
Favourite demo group?
To me, a good group is formed by a bunch of friends who enjoy working together. Dead Hackers Society prove this with their many impressive demos and I am always amazed to see new effects from them, things we thought could not be done. Yet it is not my favourite demo crew, I don’t think I have one, to be honest.
I like the guys of Cream though, they seem to embody the true essence of a crew: each individual does something important, none is ahead, it’s a thing that could not be done without every member. It may sound silly, but this is how I feel this group works (and their latest demo Stresstest proves this perfectly).
Any funny demoparty tales?
Yeah, sure! The very first demoparty I attended was Place To Be again in 1994. I had no driver's licence so my father offered to drive me (+900kms) to the place! I was thrilled, like a kid on Christmas morning, being amongst the last of the great French demosceners. Guys like Dune, Holocaust, Niko/OXG, EXA…
I spent three sleepless days running all around the hall room and then went to get some rest on the compo night… only to eventually wake up the following morning! Yes, I had completely missed the compo! In the end, it was a mixture of joy and disappointment but undoubtedly a great memory :)
What personality and mindset must someone require to create such fascinating art!
Pick your favourite Atari ST year!
Again, I would choose 1994 because it was –in my humble opinion- a turning point in the Atari ST history: famous ST crews left for PC or even fewer for the Falcon, while I was only just starting my “scene” life. The ST demoscene died in 1994 and was reborn, even stronger, a few years later. The death of a generation and the birth of another one!
Are you STill doodling?
These days it’s a bit tricky to find time and motivation to work on things and I don’t even doodle that much on paper anymore. I have never been too fond of Art Studies so I missed the basics... I went back to pixelling in 2013 but I haven’t really been too productive and the few things I did, well, I don’t think anyone will remember them? I don’t own an Atari ST anymore (gosh, it tore my guts out to give it away!) yet even though I’m using Peecee, it’s only to run Steem and CrackArt. The only way I know is: 16 colours, STf palette, nothing more, nothing less.
From a tripped out colour-scheme to something that is bold and striking. Love 'em!!
Will you remaster any artwork?
I have never thought about reworking my Atari pics on the peecee. Firstly, because I like to paint on such limited retro hardware and within the STf limitations (I don't need STe palette). Secondly, because peecee is no fun, I don't ever want to mix Atari with peecee. Thirdly, I don't have the knowledge nor the will to do so. Basically, the answer is "no Steve" :-)
The future of the Atari ST?
Over the last 3 decades, I have claimed the demoscene to be dead more than once! Obviously, we probably cannot expect fresh blood from the younger generation and we are all growing older and have busy lives. However, there is still room for newcomers and I hope that people find some motivation to do something over the years. Big Atari events, be it Sillyventure or STNICCC (2032?) or God knows what else is needed. We are quiet but we are still here and for a long time!
Spellfire is a scrolling platformer developed by Dave Semmens for Code Masters and released in 1992. It is set in a time long ago: a time of myth and legend when knights patrolled the woodlands and magicians were the cool guys. We're a wizard called Willy (stop it!!) and our beef is with an emperor who is holding captive (wait for it) Fifi The Fairy. She's trapped in his tower so our valiant quest is to rescue her.
Fifi can only be rescued from the dark fortress by collecting ten magic eyes scattered across the levels. It's the usual quest through lands filled with monsters and demonic guardians. Will you help Wizard Willy?
Come on, I know you will so let's check out the first screenshot from the game...
The graphics are great but sometimes it feels cluttered with umm too much going on?
It all sounds incredibly original, right?
He begins his journey in a forest that leads to the castle where she is imprisoned. This is a great start which introduces us nicely to the gameplay mechanics: our hero can walk, leap, climb trees, shoot fire bolts and even mash up magic spells using a rather large cauldron. Health status is displayed at the top of the screen and will decrease if you happen to touch enemies or a dangerous object. Gold coins can be collected (after a kill) and these are used as currency inside a cauldron that can mix magical power-ups, ammo, or health.
Collecting the magic eyes allows us to battle the first guarding boss - a wasp-like critter who isn't exactly intelligent and therefore an easy kill. This grants us access to the castle via the creepy dungeons but the guardian is a bit of a bonehead (you will see why). This castle takes us deeper into our quest but continues with the same theme, with lots more tricks and traps to fool you. I really am enjoying this journey!
This ain't no rushed port, the quest is massive so let's celebrate with another screenshot...
The first boss is a giant wasp who is a bit dumb and quite easy to kill. I like bosses like that!
Aesthetics
Spellfire has stunning visuals and I love the contrast between lush nature and medieval environments. Sadly, it can feel "busy" and I dreamt of a background without so much clutter. However, the game is colourful using a gradient sky. I liked the erupting volcanos and awesome skeletons when raised from the dead. Everything you see is complemented by smooth scrolling that never lags and keeps up with the pace.
The audio is impressive and can be set to chip music or effects. Whatever you decide, you will love it.
Isn't it great when something looks & sounds as good as it plays! Screenshot time...
Watch out for tricks that will catch you out which makes for great replay value.
The CryptO'pinion?
I've enjoyed Spellfire The Sorcerer, it reminded me of a cross between Stormlord and Chronicles of Omega. It's easy to get into, so instantly entertaining with good levels, excellent monsters and power-ups that work nicely. However, I did feel that the screens were a little too (visually) cluttered albeit very, very pretty.
I'm grateful this isn't a lazy Amiga port and plays every bit as good as it looks. Code Masters released what I can only describe as a hidden gem. Challenging but stick with it and you have a fantastic platformer!
