SPACE Newsletter

NEWSLETTER for January 2015

President’s Corner by Michael Current

Welcome to the New Year! Did Santa bring you new Atari stuff for Christmas? I checked out my recent purchase, the brand-new commercial game, Dungeon Hunt, by James, Daniel & Fiona Wilkinson. Disk works with 48K Atari 400/800/XL/XE. From the back of the box: "Battle your way through 12 unique mazes knee-deep in peril. Fight 14 different monsters, unlock doors, avoid traps, and collect resources and equipment to assist you in your journey. Amass a fortune in gold and try not to fail in your quest!” Neat game! I'll try to remember to bring it to a SPACE meeting soon. Thanks, keep using that Atari, and come to your next SPACE meeting, Friday January 9, 2015.

Treasurer's Report

Secretary's Report

by Greg Leitner

by Steve Peck

Wow! Another year over and we ended 2014 in style with another SPACE Christmas Party. The food was great and the only unfortunate thing was that not all members were able to attend. There was certainly more than enough food for a few additional members and guests. As it was, we had six members and two spouses in attendance and with the wonderful Christmas music supplied by Brian it was really a great evening. The only downside was after the party we all had to fight the fog going home so I hope everyone made it safely.

It was Christmas Time 2014 at SPACE on December 12th, and here is another Secretary’s Report to cover that for you. The actual meeting didn’t last very long, starting at 7:35 PM and ending at 7:49 PM, but we had a great little party afterwards. I was blown away by V61’s new Atari ST component adapter demonstrated at the club. The picture was sharp and the sound was VERY clear. I enjoyed the DOMs for the ST and 8-bit computer platforms and they were quite astounding. Our membership count is now at eleven people after the two new members that we added joined in November. I also express kudos to Nolan for the fine newsletters that he has been producing. Great job and keep up the great work! :)

Not much going on as is normal whenever we have a party. Lance introduced a component hookup for all ST computers including the STe and Mega. The proto-type worked and looked awesome and apparently will work with any TV with component inputs. Lance said it should be ready for retail in about a couple of months. We started December off with a nice bank balance of $365.48 and ended the year with a bank balance of $463.49, which was about $26.00 higher than last year at this time. I think this spells very good news for SPACE. We have the room rental covered for 2014 and have a good start for 2015. We only had to pay out $10.00 for the December 2014 web-site charges but we took in $36.00 thanks to a membership renewal from Rich Mier, four 8-bit DOMs and three ST DOMs as follows: Membership renewal 8-bit DOMs ST DOMs Total receipts

$15.00 $12.00 $9.00 ______ $36.00

Well that's all for this month as Christmas is right around the corner and Jackie and I have tons to get ready. I want to wish all our members and their families a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. In addition, I want to wish our President of SPACE a full recovery from his illness and hope to see him at a meeting very soon. Until next year.

Well, as stated before, we had a fun time at the 2014 SPACE Christmas Party with the food (yes, tacos again, as you have obviously guessed) and the music. I enjoy the camaraderie we have at the parties that we throw during the year at the SPACE and I hope that we have many more for years to come. I hope that we have a great time observing the 33rd year of the Club’s existence next year. Thanks for everything, everybody. With that, I will close. I will see you again on Friday, January 9, 2015. Happy Holidays and a word from the great Comic Book Maestro… EXCELSIOR!

8-Bit DOM Review by Steve Peck for August & December 2014 Greetings, fellow Atarians! Hey, I apologize for the delay in getting the DOM Review. It’s been a few months, but here it is. In fact, I will also review the August DOM in this edition and will review two a month until the DOMs are all caught up and reviewed. But, we will start off with the December DOM. We’ll just end the year with a bang, shall we?

Catch the Skull: I played this at the club and understand the premise of the game. Look at a bunch of spooky pics and when you see the skull, hit the SPACE bar. It isn’t as easy as that, folks. But, I am sure that you were thinking that. If you miss the skull three times, it is game over. Basically, this game tests reaction time well. NOTE: Press OPTION while starting this game to get it to work correctly. Graphics: 6 Gameplay: 8 Animation: 3 Sound: 4 Total: 20/40

Fortification 2K15: This is an invite to an Atari gathering next year in Europe. This demo is striking. The programmers went all out making it. Sweet animation with sound and scrolling effects make this demo a visual delight.

December 2014 DOM, Side A: Nyan Cat: This goofy demo shows a cat that looks like a Pop-Tart flying on the screen with a rainbow behind it and twinkly lights around it. Add some annoying music, and you have Nyan Cat! Glen pointed out to me that it may have a PAL problem because it plays fast and it looks garbled on the left side of the screen. Nevertheless, it works. If you want something completely irritating, play this for ten minutes to your family. Yes, it’s that bad. It’s quite colorful, though. Graphics: 7 Animation: 4 Sound: 4 Total 15/30

Perplexity: This is a game with promise. As a PacMan character, you have to go through a 3D maze and figure out how to get through it. One problem is trying to get a key to a door to open it. It’s harder than it looks. Call it Pac-Mania meets a brainteaser. Graphics: 7 Gameplay: 7 Animation: 6 Sound: 6 Total: 26/40

Graphics: 10 Animation: 10 Sound: 10 Total: 30/30 (perfect demo)

December 2014 DOM, Side B:

Mary Poppins: This game was in a previous DOM. But, it’s still fun and challenging. Guide Mary Poppins to the top of the screen without hitting the planes. Simple to explain, but is it simple to play? It gets more difficult as the game progresses. Graphics: 7 Gameplay: 9 Animation: 7 Sound: 7 Total: 30/40

Now, that blast from the past that I talked to you about. Let’s review the August 2014 DOM:

August 2014 DOM, Side A:

Rolltris: It’s Tetris with a twist, that’s for sure. You don’t control where the pieces fall this time. You can’t rotate them in mid-air. But, once they fall into place, you can decide which rows to move. Pretty innovate new way to play Tetris, in my opinion. Graphics: 9 Gameplay: 9 Animation: 9 Sound: 9 Total: 36/40

The Hunt: This game is inspired by the movie “Predator”. It is like a board game only more interactive. Kill the soldiers and try to survive in the jungle. Graphics: 5 Gameplay: 9 Animation: 5 Sound: 8 Total 27/40

August 2014 DOM, Side B:

The games on this side of the disk are only ten lines of BASIC code each. We’ll examine all of them.

Boxing: This is the one of the more entertaining games on here, but all you do is punch to the head of your opponent. That’s all there is to it. Get enough punches in and you score a KO. Graphics: 4 Gameplay: 3 Animation: 1 Sound: 2 Total: 10/40

Deathrace without Jason Statham: In this game, you drive your car on the road. But, as your car keeps driving, the road quickly narrows until you can’t possibly maneuver the car anymore. Graphics: 1 Gameplay: 8 Animation: 1 Sound: 2 Total: 12/40

Heisser Draht: This game is in German. I don’t speak German! Enough said.

Moonlander: Well, just as the name implies, you try to land on the moon. It’s actually fun. Graphics: 5 Gameplay: 7 Animation: 6 Sound: 3 Total: 21/40

Perfect Pitch: Try to get the same musical note as the computer to win. Graphics: 0 Gameplay: 2 Animation: 0 Sound: 2 Total 4/40

Catch the X: In this game, you are an O and you need to catch a wayward X. Graphics: 0 Gameplay: 1 Animation: 1 Sound: 1 Total: 3/40

So there you have it, folks! That concludes the December 2014 8-bit DOM Review. Again, I will see you on January 9, 2015. Have a Happy, folks! ^_^

Atari News by Michael Current

Atari Announces Atari Fit™, A Gamification Fitness App to Motivate Players with 150 Exercise Routines that Unlock Classic Atari Games

Integrates with Marquee Fitness Apps including FitBit and RunKeeper; Unites Fitness and Gaming as Players Exercise to Unlock Atari Games, and Earns Participants Walgreens Balance Rewards Points NEW YORK – December 17, 2014 – Atari®, one of the world's most recognized publishers and producers of interactive entertainment, today announced Atari Fit™, a gamified fitness app coming to mobile devices in Early 2015. To develop impactful fitness routines, Atari teamed up with Michael Porter, certified personal trainer and performance enhancement specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), to provide more than 150 exercises – including full-body circuit workouts, running programs and custom routines. Atari Fit motivates users to exercise individually or in collaboration with friends, while earning points to unlock classic Atari® games, including Pong®, Centipede®, Super Breakout® and more. Atari also announced its integration of the Walgreens Balance® Rewards application program interface, which allows users to earn Balance Rewards loyalty program points for participating in challenges that log steps taken. Points can be redeemed at Walgreens and Walgreens.com. “We look forward to welcoming Atari into our Balance Rewards for healthy choices program,” said Adam Pellegrini, Vice President of Digital Health, Walgreens. “Atari’s knowledge of gamification will bring a new dimension to our program.” “By certifying all exercise and workout routines included in the app, Atari Fit is ensuring that the programs are safe and effective,” said Porter. “The variety of programs and features incorporated were designed for users at every level, making exercising fun for the newest of fitness followers to the most experienced athletes.”

Atari Fit will be packed with numerous social features, and compatible with the industry’s most popular wearable health and fitness devices, including Fitbit and RunKeeper. Atari Fit will also aggregate data from other world-renowned fitness apps, such as Google Fit, allowing users to track all of their fitness activity statistics in one mobile application. Atari Fit will include a robust set of tracking capabilities to capture the user’s distance, speed, pace, time and calories burned. “Atari Fit is the first fitness app to motivate and reward players with gameplay for being active in between gaming sessions,” said Fred Chesnais, Chief Executive Officer, Atari. “It’s a gamified fitness experience with an Atari twist. Players are motivated to work toward their fitness goals, while offering a fun, competitive experience where they earn coins and can unlock their favorite classic Atari games. The team and leaderboard components are especially unique to the Atari Fit experience, as players around the globe can exercise, play and get healthy together.” Additional Atari Fit features include: 

Gamified Workouts: Users are motivated by daily tips, and a multitude of exercise routines or custom programs that offer various levels of workouts that track distance, speed, pace and calories burned. Whether users work out alone or with a team, they can rise to the “top of the world” leaderboards and be the “fittest player on Earth.”

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Multiplayer: Players can exercise individually or with friends located all over the world at any time. Users can join a team, workout or race against each other, and track activity statistics for group encouragement to become the fittest team of gamers worldwide.

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Online Leaderboards for Atari Classic Games: For the first time ever, Atari games included in the app will highlight leaderboards where users can rank their skills against other players from around the globe.

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Social Sharing: Participants can post updates to Twitter and Facebook at the end of every workout, sharing player achievements and personal workout bests with friends.

Development partners for Atari Fit include 8BitFit, a company focused on the gamification of fitness, and Gametheory, an award-winning production studio.

To learn more and sign up for updates, visit www.AtariFit.com. And be part of the conversation by liking Atari Fit on Facebook, http://on.fb.me/137yE09 and following on Atari Fit Twitter @AtariFit.

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About Atari Atari (www.atari.com) is an interactive entertainment production company. As an iconic brand that transcends generations and audiences, the company is globally recognized for its multi-platform, interactive entertainment and licensed products. Atari owns and/or manages a portfolio of more than 200 games and franchises, including world-renowned brands like Asteroids®, Centipede®, Missile Command®, Pong®, Test Drive®, and RollerCoaster Tycoon®. Atari has offices in New York and Paris. © 2014 Atari Interactive, Inc. All rights reserved. Atari word mark and logo are trademarks owned by Atari Interactive, Inc. About 8BitFit 8BitFit helps people reach their fitness goals with smartphone-based games that make exercise less boring and more fun. For more information, visit www.8bitfit.com. About Gametheory Gametheory is a development and ideas studio focused on bringing fun into the world. We produce games, apps, and gamification strategies. Gametheory believes the best future is one focused on natural engagementtransforming tedious and dull to satisfying and exciting. We believe in a karmic user connection: the more you give users to enjoy, the more time, data, and loyalty you get in return. For more information, visit http://www.gametheoryco.com/.

CLUB OFFICIALS

Michael Current

President: (608) 787-8548 michael@mcurrent.name

Vice President / Webmaster / Newsletter Editor (763) 689-3737 Nolan Friedland ilmarinen1976@hotmail.com

Steve Peck

Secretary: (651) 408-1096 artisan213574@gmail.com

DOM Librarian / Membership Chairman: (763) 786-4790 Glen Kirschenmann kirsch@netzero.net

Greg Leitner

Treasurer: (651) 455-6550 greglites@hotmail.com

Saint Paul Atari Computer Enthusiasts (SPACE) meets on the second Friday of each month at 7:30 PM in the Falcon Heights Community Center at 2077 West Larpenteur Ave. Doors open at 7:00 PM.

S.P.A.C.E. c/o Gregory Leitner 3407 78th St E Inver Grove Heights, MN 55076-3037

DISCLAIMER Published by the Saint Paul Atari Computer Enthusiasts (SPACE), an independent organization with no business affiliation with ATARI, Inc. Permission is granted to any similar organization with which SPACE exchanges newsletters to reprint material from this newsletter. We do however ask that credit be given to the authors and to SPACE. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of SPACE, the club officers, club members or ATARI, Inc.

Visit our website at: http://spaceweb.us/ The SPACE BBS is currently offline. We apologize for this inconvenience and hope to have it back online in the near future.

Articles for Publication must be received by the Newsletter Editor two weeks prior to the Club’s next Scheduled meeting.