POWER UP +

Gentlemen start your engines

Power Up + is an overhead scrolling racer by Marek Cichon of Empty Head. This isn't a game I've heard of before but we all love Super Sprint and the Super Cars games so I was basically expecting more of the same, to be honest.

Sadly, my first impressions weren't good because it felt like a cheap Super Cars ripoff. Well, I never go off first impressions because I'm usually wrong! So, I took the time to configure the many options this game offers before playtesting it again - through rigorous racing sessions. It wasn't long before I was ripping around the tracks, wearing a cheesy smile!

Let's show you the first screenshot which is dead interesting. No, honestly it is. I swear...

Lots of options so take time to configure Power Up to suit your particular computer.

What a power drive!

There are a lot of tracks with various conditions to endure like the type of road and weather - I really enjoyed the wet tracks for sliding around the bends. Okay, it's hardly Ridge Racer but it's still fantastic fun. Weapons are supported and each car has the ability to fire the world's slowest "rocket" which somehow always manages to hit me! Also, watch out for oil spills left behind by the other drivers that will have you slipping and sliding like a crazy fool.

Controls work very well: acceleration is automatic through reverse and two forward gears. Top gear that allows you to hammer past the other vehicles so you better practise your cornering! Strangely, weapons are activated using the keyboard which may be awkward for joystick players? Successful racers will be rewarded with glory and a massive golden cup - before strangely being sucked down into the ground. You heard me - I don't get it but it's ludicrously funny!!

Wouldn't it be nice to design your own track rather than what is provided? I know, it'll never happen...

There's even a track editor for the creative so why not make your own race course?

Aesthetics?

Overall, the graphics are pretty much homebrew but the spites are well-detailed and I cannot deny the amount of work that's gone into the scenery and more. Those STs with Blitter Chips are supported for better framerates but it's now that you should take a look at the configuration to get the best performance possible otherwise you will only regret it.

Sadly, the stock ST computers can struggle, especially if you start playing around with the settings. You'll only find yourself glaring in envy at anyone owning a faster computer. Yep, Power Up needs that Blitter and loves faster computers with extra clock cycles. Which is good and bad depending on your setup!

Sound effects can be either chip or DMA and I personally prefer the latter when screeching around the race tracks. The music is in stereo on the Atari STe and supports playback frequencies up to 50Khz - astonishing. I love the audio so much!

Okay, sod it!! Here's a cool screenshot of the gameplay. Happy now? Take a look at this...

I love the humungous variety of different tracks and they all look pretty darn cool.

The CryptO'pinion?

Power Up has more than its fair share of quirks and needs the player to tweak the settings for the best performance. Even then, you're left wondering what it would be like on a Mega STe or Falcon as it can be sluggish if the settings are set excessively high by a moron. In my opinion, ST owners shouldn't bother as the Atari STe is the base model due to having a Blitter and DMA audio. However, even then, I'd suggest lowering the audio frequency for better performance.

For all its faults, this is a great racer and one that I have genuinely enjoyed playing on both my Atari STe and Mega STe (16mhz). There's a lot here to enjoy with many tracks that are a scream to race on. Spend time to master the controls in a few practice games and it won't be long before you're tearing around like Dale Earnhardt!! Super-duper fun.

Grab the download from my Dropbox fully compiled and check out Marek's website too.

Gotta love the pile-ups! But then one car will drop some oil which is so cunning!

- Marek Cichon interview -

I decided to contact the developer, Marek Cichon. His website had been online for many years so I expected to hear nothing but, within a few minutes, I had a reply! We chatted and I asked a few questions along the way...

Why did you create Power Up and what inspired you?
 - I liked frantic racing games - Rally Speedway on Atari 800 plus track editor.

What did you get from the TOS platform during this time?
 - 6 years of fun and development overnight!

Did Power Up live up to all your expectations?
 - Unfortunately not. It is the homebrew game with a look developed mainly by two friends from the small city Chomutov. We would be successful to release the game till 1992.

Anything planned for the future?
 - We have released another game with the similar graphics for PC called Pixoria (see pixoria.eu)

What Atari computers do you own?
 - American NTSC version of Atari ST from 1985 year (my father bought in in Houston, Tx). I have developed most of my programs, including Power Up, on this computer but using on PAL TV. This meant black and white, unstable display (TV 50Hz, Atari 60Hz). Also a European Atari STE with 2 MegaBytes extended memory!

Easy question, what are Marek's favourite Atari ST games?
 - Vroom, Super Cars 2, Lotus Esprit Turbo challenge, Karateka, Test Drive, F15 Strike Eagle 2. Oh I see that racing wins!

Are you planning any Power Up updates in the future?
 - No. There were two releases Power Up and Power Up Plus with better graphics, shooting and oil slicks to finalise the game.

What retro games are you playing in todays crazy world?
 - I prefer the older Atari 800 games like The Great American Cross-Country Road Race, Rescue on Fractalus, Electra glide.

Are you listed on Demozoo?
 - No, it is Karel Rous (Empty Head), my distributor. I have never met him :-)

What makes Marek tick?
 - When people contact me from Australia, Mexico or UK. Those who play Power Up with my compliments. Thank you Steven.

Relix

A fantastic music disk with an autoplay feature!!

Atari ST chiptunes are superb and prove to be timeless, unlike tracker/MOD files much of the time. Anyhow, we have numerous music disks in our library and here is Relix by DHS/Paradox. This features some of the most awesome examples of what 505 (aka Nils Feske) has created. It's quite something to hear such a massive selection of quality chip music pumping out of your ST's speakers so crank up the volume!

Anyhow, this disk has a cool feature that should be standard on all musicdisks - an AUTO Play function. Yep, you can leave the music disk alone and it will automatically work its way through each tune for you. I love Relix and it's one of my favourite musicdisks ever made which is saying something for a machine like the Atari ST.

Relix by Dead Hackers Society and Paradox [demozoo download]

Credits:

505 - Music

Dan - Graphics

Evil - Code, Graphics

Paranoid - Code

Zweckform - Graphics

double DD

Backing up your files can be a pain in the .. neck .. but you would be gutted if you lost any precious data! So here is a simple method to duplicate your Ultrasatan's SD card which is not only effective but takes very little effort. The requirements are a Mac with an SD slot and a basic knowledge of the Terminal program.

 - IDENTIFICATION -

Firstly, eject your SD card from the Ultrasatan and slide its "lock" switch to write-protect it. Insert it into your Mac (if a warning appears then click on the "ignore" button). Load up Terminal.app (within Utilities folder) and type in this command:

diskutil list

This will display information to help identify the SD card - look for the capacity of your card. Mine is 8GB as you can see in the clipping, below. Thus my card is "/dev/disk1"

/dev/disk1 (internal, physical):
 #:     TYPE     NAME     SIZE     IDENTIFIER
 0:     *                 8.0 GB   disk1

If you would like to verify this information, type in this command :

diskutil info /dev/disk1

Within the output, you will see a line confirming that this is indeed our SD Card :

Device / Media Name:      SD Card Reader

 - BACK IT UP -

Type this command to backup the SD card (enter your password when prompted)

sudo dd if=/dev/disk1 of=~/Desktop/st-backup.img

Leave it to complete and after a few minutes you should have a file on your desktop called "st-backup". Now eject the card from the Apple Mac and reinsert it into your Ultrasatan - not forgetting to slide off the lock switch! I recommend zipping your newly created backup file and then storing it somewhere safe, like iCloud or Dropbox.

 - RESTORES -

Perhaps you have a spare SD card idly doing nothing? So long as it's the same capacity as the first, we can easily restore our backup file onto this using the command :

sudo dd if=~/Desktop/st-backup.img of=/dev/disk1

 - AND FINALLY -

Of course, there are numerous different methods to secure your data and here is just one. It's the backup method I personally prefer because the dd command is simple and powerful. I hope this is of some use to Mac & Linux users, sorry but I wouldn't know about Windows. Any questions then just gimme a shout and I'll be happy to help.

Atari STM

I've always had a secret longing for the sleek Atari STM computer before it became bloated with an internal PSU and floppy disk drive (STFM). I've just bought one off eBay for a meagre £14 and it's in superb condition too. Needless to say, I now require an external floppy drive and PSU so I cannot wait to get this beast working :-)

UPDATE: https://ataricrypt.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/atari-stm-continued.html

Double Dragon 3 - Rosetta Stone

Yie Ar Kung-Fu!

Today I wanted to feature an Atari ST game to help celebrate St George's Day so I figured something dragon-related would be great? Anyhow, I tried a few games but I wasn't in the mood for those and sadly, nothing else really caught my attention. Then I remembered Double Dragon 3 ... ahem ... come on, it has "dragon" in the title!

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 For all those wondering what England's St. George's Day is about 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Okay, Double Dragon 3 takes us on a trip around the world and begins on the streets of America. From the first stage, we're thrown into the thick of it as these streets are filled with many thugs - all intent on giving you a good hiding!! There are lots of kicks and punches which can be acted out using cool animation and look pretty nice.

Controls are smooth & responsive I found with each type of kick or punch was easily performed. In fact, DD3 is actually very easy to pick up and play so feels like that arcade feeling I hoped for. We need no learning curve. I must say that, immediately, even a beat 'em up noob like myself gets a thrill from this arcade-styled kicker!

You don't mess with guys that look like these two!!

But I gotta laugh at the fun artwork throughout. It's great, but a little creepy!!

Kick him when he's down!

Immediately, it's obvious this game was designed with fake Hollywood-style action over any pseudo-realism which is fine by me! The baddies are awesome and can attack in groups making for a frantic, full-of-laughs, joystick-bashing time. At times, I got a Golden Axe vibe and, throughout, I enjoyed the barrage of silly fighting.

The gameplay is well-balanced, without being too easy or overbearing. I soon discovered a jumping/flying kick which is very effective. However, repeating the same move soon bored me, so out came my joystick-waggling skills to uncover other hidden moves and before long I found a spinning vertical kick! Now I wonder what else there is...

The enemies are a traditional lot with predictable AI but they all move slowly so the overall pace is reduced. Occasionally, shops are available to offer you cool power-ups like weapons, etc/etc. This adds a little more depth and longevity to your entertainment and proves that beating people up will always be incredibly good fun!

Come on, get up and take some more smackin'!! Yeah, I can take on anybody GRR!!

Ah, he's big. Well, they say that the bigger they are... (I hope that's true!!)

The CryptO'pinion?

Double Dragon 3 is a bucket load of fun with great graphics to boot. I loved the initial location set in the grungy streets of America and later levels vary nicely. The sound effects are neat but it's a shame there's no in-game chip music. However, I am genuinely shocked by just how much I enjoyed this beat 'em-up and I cannot recommend it enough.

Double Dragon 3 offers great, kick-ass action so scores top marks from me. I really enjoyed this game a bunch!!

Kick & punch your way using either
floppy disk or your hard drive

Buggy Boy

A 16-MHz Buggy!

Buggy Boy is great and the ST received a fantastic conversion with gorgeous aesthetics that suit its style perfectly. This is a no-frills arcade racer that doesn't take itself seriously - it's simple, extremely addictive and I love it. However, there are a zillion videos scattered throughout YouTube land so I thought I'd make something a little different... My video emulates the game running on my 16Mhz Mega STe which is ludicrously fast and rather insane.

I don't know why I made this video but I hope you enjoy what is nothing but a silly recording!! :o)

Stardust

Meh, another Asteroids?

Stardust was released late in the ST's life by Bloodhouse in 1994 and it's not only one of the last commercial games ever released but is actually an STe-only product. Developed by several famous names from our great demoscene (and thank you Aggression) these guys managed to deliver a wicked twist on the original Asteroids genre.

The game not only plays similarly to that old arcade favourite but also features modern content for extra zest. Such as ludicrously awesome aesthetics which are quite stunning complementing the fantastic gameplay action.

Wanna see the war plan? It translates to "kill everything and don't die!". Check this out...

Bam! Bam! Bam! Blast the rocks!

There are a total of five levels with each containing six missions. All are host to a variety of rocks along with the expected dangerous baddies. After each level is completed, you must travel through a wormhole-like tunnel onto the next part of the galaxy like something from Buck Rogers or Starwars!! These tunnels are filled to the brim with oncoming rocks for you to dodge or destroy - which is definitely no easy task. But it's a thrilling moment I never expected to enjoy!

Bonus levels pop up regularly and feel similar to a particular Thrust clone... Now, these are optional but you will be daft to ignore the fun. So don't be daft!! Of course, it wouldn't be right without End-Of-Level Bosses and each mission has them. Beware, these guys are tough! Much perseverance will be required during these enjoyable romps.

Okay, it's time to see some more pixels so let's take a peep at another screenshot...

Enhanced gaming!!

Stardust is something else. It's on another level with gritty, fast-paced gameplay. However, the basic mechanics are pretty much what you would expect so it also feels more-or-less as you would expect. This is actually very awesome because you can jump straight in and begin playing without much of a learning curve. Heck, it's all about dodging and shooting.

The controls are also familiar: left and right will manoeuvre your spacecraft around. Pushing upwards will thrust you forward into hell. Don't worry, we have a shield that can aid you during those sticky moments. Finally, our ship's main weapon is more than capable - perfect for gratifying rock-blasting!! Nothing wrong here, folks. This is all super-spacey-gun-fun!

This next screenshot does itself no justice. Seriously cool stage with mind-blowing fx...

Enhanced Aesthetics

Graphically, Stardust is utterly glorious. Everything is bold and colourful with stunningly smooth animations. The rocks are also something else with jaw-dropping 3D renditions that look beautiful. I've not finished yet - everything is running in overscan!! Yep, not only does it look HOT but it's in overscan which means lots of extra pixels to blast.

Equally impressive is the audio with beautiful examples of thumping stereo tunes, accompanied by BAM!! BAM!! BAM!! DMA sound effects. This is one game that's gonna blow your socks off. If I can offer one piece of advice: crank up the volume!! I guarantee you will love everything Stardust delivers so turn it up high. No, even higher! :-)

Oh yeah, this is one of the best-looking/sounding Atari STe games ever released...

The CryptO'pinion?

This is a spectacular showcase of what the Atari STe is capable of when in the hands of people with talent and commitment. These guys didn't simply rehash an old idea or produce a weak Amiga port. No, they unleashed a product that feels fresh and exciting. The effort that went into the gameplay, visuals and audio is commendable.

Stardust is a joyride of rock-blasting thrills and a perfect shoot 'em-up. One of the best games I have played.

Download for floppy or your hard drive.

uIP-tool

Easy-peasy transfers

As you may have read in my previous article, I've bought the NetUSBee which is a gorgeous slab of hardware available from Lotharek. Its ethernet socket offers the potential to connect to the outside work or even your own Mac/PC and Mariusz Buras has developed a program to do just that - it's called uIP Tool.

This will transform your Atari ST into a file server without any configuration. Just load it up and it will automatically assign itself an IP - which you use in Google Chrome on your Mac/PC. Now you can access the Atari ST and begin transferring files. NetUSBee with uIP-tool makes transferring files to/from your Atari ST a cinch.

In fact... you don't need to use a web browser at all. Load up uIP-Tool and then copy a file over to your Atari ST using the command line. It's geeky but it works very well so is lots of fun! Here is the example command to copy 'myfile.zip' over to the D-Drive on my Atari ST...

curl -0T myfile.zip 192.168.2.2/d/myfile.zip

uIP-Tool makes the entire process of getting files onto your Atari ST a whole lot easier and better. It's simple to use thanks to the user interface and it gets the job done without any hassle. Yep, NetUSBee is fantastic and uIP-Tool enhances the joy of owning such a great piece of kit. A heavenly marriage of hardware and software!

Help for those using WiFi
If your router is in a different room to your Atari ST then you might think uIP-tool isn't compatible with your setup unless you have a mega-long ethernet cable? Not so. My router is located downstairs so I bought myself a very short ethernet cable to physically connect the Mac to my Atari STe.

To provide uIP-Tool with a working IP address - just enable the Mac's Internet Sharing. Sorry, I don't own Windows or Linux, but I expect a similar function exists? Just follow this:

 1) load up System Preference (via the Apple menu)
 2) click on Internet Sharing (view me)
 3) choose WiFi in the dropdown menu & tick the ethernet box (view me)
 4) lastly, tick the box left of "Internet Sharing" to activate this service.
 5) now quit System Preferences.
 6) load up uIP-Tool on the Atari ST and note the IP it displays for you.
 7) enter that IP into Google Chrome so you can now access your Atari ST. Job done!

Mouse Trap

Not the board game!

Billed as "old in style but brilliant in design" is Micro-Value's 1987 platformer, Mouse Trap (based on the original Acorn Electron game). I love platformers but not the Mario/Sonic kind but the ZX Spectrum kind I grew up with: Chuckie Egg II, Manic Miner, JSW, Monty Mole, Saboteur II, etc. As you can imagine, I was eager to give Mouse Trap a go!

We are Marvin The Mouse who desperately wants to win back the heart of his ex-girlfriend that left him for another. She must be quite the materialistic female when you think about the plan he's come up with to win her back? Scrounge dozens of lethal rooms looking for precious items that are gonna impress her. Yep, that'll work. Hmm, women...

Anyhow, this is a cruel and unforgiving platformer: make one mistake and it's often impossible to go back and try again - which usually means a life lost as you replay. Each screen needs every item collected before you can progress to the next. Finishing each is a matter of working out the best route rather than what appears the quickest.

There is a time limit, so hit the 'F' key to pause - now study the layout to figure out the best route.

No, he's not floating but simply in mid-fall. And that aspect took me a while to fully master...


Wow! Those colours... This game is incredibly different from the norm and I love that.


Some levels are pretty simple. Not only to look at but complete very quickly. Like this one!

Input & Outputs

The controls are excellent. However, I admit that I initially found them a little fiddly and quite perplexing. For example, if you're facing left and then tap "right" (to turn around) Marvin will not only do this BUT he also walks a couple of steps in that direction. I'm used to Manic Miner, so this frustrating mechanic took me some time to master. And I did.

Visually, Mouse Trap looks like an 8-bit platformer but with the ST's extra pixels and colours. It's kinda weird and features the oddest sprites: check out the old man with the big nose who appears on level two!! A weird-looking game with sprites that are either excellent or just plain crud: like the floating skulls which use an awful design. Yet somehow it works.

Music is eerily enjoyable but will get annoying, so press M to turn it off when your ears begin to bleed.

This baffled me at first but it's actually a lot easier than you realise. Love the sinking ledges!


Some of the levels are far simpler than you first think. Just take your time...

There is the odd dodgy screen but then it redeems itself with this blue beauty!

The CryptO'pinion?

Mouse Trap is a charming platformer with an incredible variety of different screens - all as difficult as they are quirky and you will always be drawn back for that one-more-go! The only negative aspect is the lacking a save-game feature. That absolutely baffles me because there are so many levels to plunder (ie, you are forced to replay).

Having said that, I have enjoyed Mouse Trap because it's a blimmin' excellent platformer. (Nearly) top marks from me!!

Download for hard disk or floppy.

Can you beat my current Hi-Score without cheating? No, I didn't think so!! :p

Floppy Shop

Disks through the post?

For those of us old enough to remember Floppyshop, you will be pleased to hear that Chris Swinson has brought back to life their entire catalogue. That's right, it's all here and, unlike the old days, everything is completely free of charge!! All that is required is nothing more than a click of the mouse to relive those PD days.

Each disk is split into the original 16 categories and I'm currently hitting the games... How predictable of me!

Art & Graphics / Astrology / Clip Art / Communication / Demos

Disk Mag / Educational / Fonts / Games / Programming / Midi

Music / Product Demos / Sound / Utils / Word Processing

Anyhow, everything you once saw advertised in the latest issue of ST Format is now available to download. Kudos to Chris for supplying this service. I've already downloaded tons of disks and I hope you guys do too :-)

NetUS-Bee

Lotharek has done it again!

I've just received my latest gadget from Lotharek, the NetUSBee. This awesome piece of hardware slots into the ST's expansion port to provide the option for fast ethernet networking and two modern USB ports.

I've connected a USB mouse (worked a treat) but sadly, at the moment, there are no more USB devices to use. I hope this changes soon because the potential is huge. Using a modern mouse is nice but I'm really looking forward to getting the ST connected to my home network. I've already been able to access my FTP file server. Later, I shall attempt to configure STinG and get my Atari ST on the internet using CAB - so wish me luck!

I look forward to future drivers getting more out of this. NetUSBee is a fantastic product and built like a tank.

Vaxine

It is time for another example of awesome box art from my own collection with US Gold's fantastic voyage into the human body. It's actually a familiar 3D shooter set within a unique environment and The Assembly Line always developed great games but with Vaxine they even made some use of the enhanced hardware lurking inside Atari STe: glorious [STE] technicolour visuals along with DMA samples, which are a substantial improvement over the ST. I've always enjoyed playing this game because it feels like a weird dream. Very different and a great adventure.

Floppy disks can be found using Old Games Finder and 8BitChip has a version for your hard drive!

Highway Encounter

1985 has come knocking!!

Here we have one of my all-time favourite 8-bit games from the brilliant mind of Costa Panayi, Vortex Software. It's an understatement to say I was flabbergasted when I read an old post on Atari-Forum concerning the unreleased ST game; developed in 1990 by the late Mark Haigh-Hutchinson. Sadly, Vortex was unable to find a publisher, so that was that and the game was left to gather dust for years, which is terrible when you think about it!

I always had a soft spot for Vortex and fondly remember playing Android, Cyclone and Revolution but Highway Encounter was definitely my favourite. The game takes place on a stretch of highway populated by crazy baddies, tricky puzzles and many other obstacles to get in your way. Aliens have invaded and our robot convoy has the task of merrily pushing a bomb down the highway in order to destroy their mothership, which is at the other end of this insane road.

Funny tidbit, I remember making a VERY basic map of this game back in the day. Very crude but I was pleased with the progress. Well, until I saw a beautiful screen-captured version in one of the magazines. Typical... Anyhow, there's a link to the Atari ST map right at the bottom of the page for all interested.

Guide our little friends the best you can, they have very dangerous cargo!

Road rage!

Highway Encounter hasn't been changed with bloatware so remains pretty much the same. The obvious improvements are with the graphics; gone are the monochrome visuals for a world of technicolour. The highway and your objective remain the same with lots of whacky aliens roaming freely. Our droid colleagues are still daft and will get stuck on objects but this can actually be good: leave them behind - in safety - so you're free to clear the highway ahead of the dreaded aliens.

Joystick controls are great and, if you love isometric games, you'll be right at home - left and right rotates, forward to accelerate and pulling back slows/stops movement. Weaponry is an ultra-cool energy bolt that can also be improved upon - thanks to power-ups lying along your road trip journey. Can you make it to the end of this motorway?

There is also an editor to create your own highway. This is something I've yet to play with but I'd be interested if any of you guys have used it. Let me know in the comments below!

Some wobbly things are approaching! Let's kill 'em!!

Speccy aesthetics?

Visually, this is a joy with old-fashioned graphical values that takes me back. In fact, I'm transported to 1985 with its authentic style which has been updated yet preserved using a gorgeous palette that isn't over the top. In the 80s, isometric games were the in-thing and this was one of the most beautiful examples of that genre. The sprites are as crazy as ever, making you appreciate the finer details of what was achieved. Better still, the ST has taken the original idea and bettered it.

As for the audio, in-game music would have completely spoilt the atmosphere and been something I would have muted. Highway Encounter is all about careful planning and strategy so it has to be sound effects. Thankfully, they are made from samples and perfectly futuristic for all the zapping that is needed. It sounds great and I love it!

Those guys are almost too cute to kill. But let's kill 'em anyhow. Do you see a theme here?

The CryptO'pinion?

Let's take a moment to think about this: we have an Atari ST version of Costa Panayi's excellent shoot 'em up. What's more, the original game has been bettered with marvellous and faithful gameplay plus improved aesthetics. What more could you ever desire? Unlike many, this is how all 16-Bit remakes should have been done. Well done Mark I say.

Highway Encounter will always be a Crash Smash and the Atari ST has gained an exquisite remake. I Love it!!

Download floppy / hard drive (ultrasatan)

AtariMania has an awesome map!

History of Vortex Software

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone!!

Okay, I needed an egg-related game for Easter which usually means Dizzy or perhaps even Chuckie Egg 2 (Nah, I'll never play that terrible game again!). So, here is Heartland released in 1996 by Tony Greenwood of Stosser Software and later improved for the Atari STe by TOS-Crew with 50fps STe-scrolling. Fantastic stuff!!

That's right, the original was good but they supersized it for the Atari STe. Something I always love to hear...

Hey, what's Dizzy doing here in the land of whizzy scrolling!

Eggcellent!

This is a cracking (sorry) platformer but I admit that I struggled to fully grasp it due to the sheer size of its map. This is a big game and something you either play properly or not at all - unless you enjoy running around for a few minutes just to enjoy the smooth 50fps scrolling whilst listening to the DMA sounds burping out through the speakers?

This is a great upgrade and I enjoyed the graphics whizzing across my screen like silk that completes the experience. However, I wasn't so sure about the music as I prefer chip. Okay, let's take a look at the keys:

Move using the cursor key's: left & right

space: jump (or use the joystick or JagPad)

m: map

r: show processor time left rasters

s: toggle sample (STE, Falcon), sound chip, effects and no-sound

Esc: quit the game

c: to toggle between sizzy and sazzy

h: toggle 50/60 Hz (ST, STE only), on 8 MHz machines

Woo, this map is confusing at first. And boy, is this game big. Perhaps too big?

Play it

Okay, it's the same game we all enjoy and aesthetics never matter much to the actual gameplay but, I must admit, they sure are nice to have. TOS-Crew has taken a good game and made it even better with proper scrolling that slides across the monitor like never before. I think this will help you to enjoy Heartland more than ever.

This sure proves the power of the Atari STe which the commercial gaming world chose to ignore. What a wonderful upgrade. In fact, I wish there were more Atari STe upgraded games - congrats @TOS-Crew for going that extra mile!! Grab the floppies or a hard disk installable version and I hope you all have a great Easter †

Operation: Zero-5

To boldly go...

I recently met Andrew Gisby, the creator of a uniquely distinctive shoot 'em up for the Atari STe (and Falcon) that takes place in the darkness of space. It's called Zero 5, released in 1995 by Caspian Software and is certainly a rare gem! So it wasn't long before I came up with the notion of an interview. (which you can read if you carry on scrolling).

Set in the year 2044 with a silly fictional storyline of aliens who are about to invade Earth. Unsurprisingly, we are the only hope to save mankind so jump inside your spaceship and head out into the heavens because humanity is depending on you. Being a gamer, I kinda get tired of saving the day but, sigh, I went on ahead anyhow. What a hero I am!

The first thing that struck me about Zero-5 was its style and this screenshot does the animation no justice...

Come on, that warping effect is so stunning. Love it!!

There are always aliens. Kill them!

Zero 5 is a first-person 3D shoot 'em up which feels like an artful mix of Star Wars, Starglider and some elements of Frontier. Taking place amongst the countless stars, with many missions played out in space or upon the surface of remote planets. Our spaceship is a cool slab of old skool 3D called Perseus which must be piloted through these missions. That might involve attacking an alien strike force, defending allied ships, and lots more exciting stuff.

Control is performed with the mouse (or a JagPad if you have one) and is precise, responsive and feels very natural. The realistic effect of momentum provides a necessary learning curve but you'll soon get the hang of it very quickly. What's probably the hardest to learn, is the GUI with the instruments that provide a wealth of mind-boggling information.

At its heart, yes, this is simply a shoot 'em-up taking place in space, or on the surface of unknown remote planets - which is so amazing. Each location is very different along with the task at hand and no mission is too easy to make this game a pushover. Take your time, learn the controls and always complete the task for a great gaming reward. If you can!

Hey, wanna see another screenshot that does no justice to how this great game looks and moves...

This game has some impressive 3D polygons which will take advantage of faster computers.

Aesthetics

Graphically, Zero 5 is a gorgeous 16-bit bombshell you will adore. The number of on-screen colours has been increased whilst also making use of the Blitter co-processor - which helps produce those cool 3D visuals. Faster computers are supported, so anyone lucky enough to own a Mega STe or Falcon will enjoy smoother frame rates.

Audio is outstanding, for both music and effects, all of which use the DMA hardware ticking over at a sweet 25KHz. The effects during warp and other scenes are Frontier-beating. This is one of those games I wish would have come on CD as I wonder how limited Andrew was by floppy disks. Folks, this is one sexy-sounding Atari STe shooter.

Sigh, the Atari STe was 5 years old in 1994. Just imagine if more software houses had Caspian's commitment...

Oh no, incoming enemies are identified and locked. Only one thing left to do - kill 'em!!!

The CryptO'pinion?

It's a tough cookie but I have always enjoyed playing this space shooter because it's fast and thrilling with such a varied and wide range of interesting missions. Its style and presentation using cool menus are unique and I enjoy the range of missions which is the best part of all. Love the graphics and the booming sound effects are fantastic.

Overall, a slick shoot 'em up incorporating many astonishing technical achievements to put most game developers to shame. It's great on the Atari STe and even better on faster computers like the Mega STe and Falcon. Love it.

Zero 5 is scattered all over the internet but I think Atari Legend has the best floppies thanks to Supremacy disks #61 and #62. Installing to hard drive/Ultrasatan is better and 8BitChip has a funky download that I recommend.

THE INTERVIEW - ZERO 5 CREATOR - ANDREW GISBY

Zero 5 has a wonderful next-gen feel yet is often unknown to many people returning to the scene. Tell us about your game and what it means to you.

I had been trying to get published in one way shape or form for several years. Back in the day, I lived the life of the Indie / hobby / night owl developer. Holding down a job during the waking hours and coming home to hack away on my much loved (at the time) Atari’s.

I remember buying my Atari 512STFm in the late 80’s. I spent hours teaching myself to program in 68K Assembler. Bulletin boards, books, magazines & chance discussions at shows to pick up game dev knowledge. I’m no mathematician, but a series of articles in (I think) ST World on transformations and 3D math gave me so much. I could finally make the leap into 3D.

Everything had to be done in assembler to keep up the speed and finally reading something that explained techniques to turn formulas into assembler was a revelation. To this day, I still keep a pocket “Signetics S68000 User’s Guide” - It was my Bible for machine code programming. An awful lot was learnt the hard way through trial and error (no instant online answers).

I used to look at the latest effects in games (and film) and try to do something similar. So I think Zero-5 marked a highpoint for me. The peak of understanding of what I could personally do with (by then) the STe to make a game. I had built up a large library of routines & techniques to achieve some of the visual and audio effects.

So, in summary, Zero-5 was the realisation of a couple of dreams:

• I really wanted to see a game I had written myself published.
• My fascination of 3D sim & bring to life things you can only dream about.

Was Zero 5 inspired by anything else from your gaming history?

Everything I had developed was an inspiration for the game. A cheap answer, but my whole gaming exploits (to this day) are a sequence of inspirations. However, if I was to list a few things that inspired the game.

• Elite (who wasn’t). But for me, I learnt programming on an Acorn Electron and playing Elite planted the seed for wanting to understand game writing and 3D.
• Carrier Command (an amazing game with a level of automation and sophistication that I was just in awe of)
• Captain Blood (The art, galactic expanse and imagination was just brilliant)

Sci-fi films and TV programs had a lot of influence. I’m a bit of a science fiction addict. But to list a few that helped inspire ideas in the game:

• The Last Starfighter (I recall a sequence when the hero ship flies through a swarm of enemy ships ... That was the start of Zero-5).
• Forbidden Planet (big influence for me, generally)
• U.F.O. (Fundamentally, I used the same threat mechanic in the game)

What was your background prior to working for Caspian?

See above ... Self taught hobby game dev trying to get published!

Most commercial companies had left the Atari ST by 1994 so what inspired you to carry on during those dark days?

At the time, I thought the Atari Falcon030 and Jaguar was going to save the day. I only knew how to make games on the Atari’s and thought that if Zero-5 was a success, I’d move on to these platforms properly. The Falcon030 enhancements in Zero-5 were done in the last few months. I didn’t really do it justice (but the extra CPU speed helped push the content level up).

Zero-5 really was a labour of love and I was under my first proper gamedev contract - Inspiration enough right !?!

Did Zero 5 live up to your expectations?

Technical Stretch: Yes (I used every chip/trick I knew in the STE!)

Creative Achievement: Yes

Critical Acclaim: Yes (at the time)

Commercial Success: No

I put so much effort and creativity into the game. The landfall sequences were a personal triumph. Turning a bitmap (height map) into a 3D landscape on an STe ... yes!) - One of those 3D simulation dreams realised.

The lack of commercial success was tough to take - We had lot of trouble with piracy (it was rife by then). I spoke to a lot of people that had played the game and loved it. As you say though, the sun was setting on Atari home computers - a shame for me at the time. Thinking back, I think the sheer effort involved did burn me out a bit.

Looking back, would you do anything different?

Launch the game 2-3 years earlier?

What happened after Zero 5 and how come you didn't continue on after Caspian's demise? (freelance, etc)

Newly married, we started a family soon after Zero-5. I couldn’t commit to working on the Jaguar version of the game (my daytime job in IT paid the bills). Creatively, the console wasn’t a copy of the original other than souped-up manic fighting sequences (arguably something I was trying to do when I first started developing the STe version). I was involved on a consultation basis but the Jag was new and it was a steep learning curve for the guys at Caspian. It was pretty exciting to be working with Atari though.

How long did it take you to code this game, what tools did you use, and was it on an actual Atari?

1 - 2 years to develop. I pulled in a lot of previously developed libraries and routines. Interesting memory about this. I used one of the first routines I’d ever dev’ed in assembler to simulate a 3d starfield. Development of the game went to the wire. I had this intermittent bug where the machine was (every so often) crashing! What felt like a few hours (day or so I think) before the game went to press, I found the cause ... That starfield routine (Randomly, I was managing to plot the odd star just outside memory reserved for the screen - d’oh!).

I used a 1Mb STe and laterly Falcon030 to develop the game. I got an HDD sometime through the project that saved doing the floppy / ram disk shuffle (speeded up game dev no end).

I recall using the blitter chip and new audio chip enhancements to great effect. Certainly without them, there was no way I could have thrown so many things around on screen and in your ears. Although it makes me chuckle at what we thought was a reasonable frame rate back then! Recalling the game audio engine I developed as part of Zero-5 - It give me multiple stereo Left / Right channels and a scripted approach to sound effect generation. The upshot was I could chain, stretch, compress and generally mess around with samples without eating too much precious CPU. 8bit samples of course, so sound pretty harsh nowadays.   

Main tools I used:

• Devpac (I think that was it’s name) for Assembler dev
• TCB Tracker (although I didn’t do the music in the end)   
• Degas Elite (Graphics)
• A sound sample editing programme (can’t recall name)

Were you active in the ST scene elsewhere or was it just Caspian / Zero 5?

No, not really, I had a brief flirtation with demoscene but game dev was always my interest.

After our chats on Twitter, I'm aware you now see an Atari ST scene which is still very much alive and kicking. What do you think about this and will rejoin in some capacity or have you left forever?

Never say never. Honestly though - I’m well into Unity 3D and what spare time I have goes into that.

Do you still own an Atari computer? What is it and how often are you using it / what for?

I still have an Atari STe and Falcon030 tucked away alongside a massive trunk of floppy disks (Oh and a back catalogue of ST World). I haven’t really used them since the 90’s. I had a gamedev break late 90s till the 00’s really.

Tell us about your future plans and what you're working on today?

I’d like to bring something made with Unity to the masses. My current project is a game called “Konjitto”. With my family more or less grown up, I’m now steadily been drawn back to game dev more and more. A dream would be to give up the day job and spend my days writing games! I get a kick out of doing the coding, graphics, sound and music (although this is my weakest area).  

Anyone can keep an eye on my game dev twitter feed or youtube channel to see what is on the boil.

https://twitter.com/duckocide

https://www.youtube.com/user/duckocide

Thanks for getting in touch, it has been fun reminiscing. Seeing people still appreciate those efforts back in the day is wonderful. Certainly made me and the family smile! Keep up the good work on the site.

Answering the questions has been pleasure!

Thanks

Andy

Master CAD

A day in the life

I have far too many boxes of serious programs gathering dust on my ST-shelf... I figured I should make an effort to learn 'em or bin 'em!! First up is Master CAD, by MichTron. After brushing away a thick layer of dust I opened it up and lifted out a weighty manual. "Time for a good read", I thought. However, I almost fell into a coma because it's so dull and very confusing! Perhaps I should stop reading and just boot the thing up...

Installation was my first stumbling block: it insists on being stored onto Drive C, which is doable but it's cluttering up my boot partition. Not something I am happy about. The next problem was a lack of examples to work from (and yes, that does mean steal). My journey into the serious side of the ST wasn't exactly off to a great start...

With little guidance, I continued on the best I could. However, it was instantly clear MichTron wrote this for the established designer rather than somebody like me - and being thrown in at the deep end wasn't going to work. Later on, I tried my best to map a crude plan of Doom's E1M1 which soon look like a cluttered mess.

It was long before I gave up! Click here to see a photo of how Master CAD affected me!!