April 2016
April 2016 Newsletter FOREWORD By Captain Irata: "Your mission: to support your SPACE Club! So, BUY THOSE DOMs! Hoo-rah!"
Last weekend my increasingly-unreliable home DSL Internet service finally quit altogether. I spent several late nights pouring over all the administrative settings of the modem, the router, and the PC, all to no avail. The modem would not acknowledge my PC, the router, or any hard-wired connection.. except for my OLD laptop PC that I pulled out of the closet. No sense whatsoever. Then the next morning I called up the phone company, and without doing Table ofContents
President's Corner: 1 Treasurer's Report: 1 Secretary's Report: 2 8-bit DOM Review: 3 Atari News: 3 Call for Articles 3 Final Thoughts 3
anything things started working again. What gives? Well, about 5 minutes after I got off the phone with support the modem gave out again. Call them back, this time we go ahead and get me new hardware, a new modem/router. So far so good! I'm hopeful that maybe my apparent DNS lookup issues over many months were actually my modem slowly failing, so that now I might have the solid Internet service I should have. That would be nice.
In Atari land, I've recently obtained some additional, rare variations of the standard Atari 400/800 C014319 power supply units, so my collection has grown some more. Do you know that the earliest 400/800 power supplies were quite a bit smaller that the rest? I had no idea! Even when I purchased one online, from a picture, I was still surprised when it arrives because it looks quite similar, it's just smaller in all dimensions. This unit would
have been made in 1979 or 1980. I also now have a weird unit from mid-1982 that looks like a C014319, but has the C017945 part number on it. No wonder it's been such a project to sort everything out! I'll bring some of these to the next SPACE meeting I'm able to attend, you'll see what I mean. Thanks, keep using that Atari, and come to your next SPACE meeting, Friday April 8, 2016.
Three members made it to the March 2016 SPACE meeting and that was two more than the attendance at the February meeting. I had mailed the keys to Glen in early February after I found out my granddaughter was going to state for dance. After seeing an email from Steve Peck that he was under the weather for the February
meeting, I had a bad feeling only seven paid up members that Glen might be the only in March we really need to get member that would be there. past due members back in the current column. That would That was exactly what also help with our DOM sales. happened, and after opening up for the meeting, he waited One of the topics discussed at until 8:00 PM for someone to the March meeting was one of come but he finally gave up our out-of-state members and left. I felt really bad for taking on the production of Glen, but really thankful that our ST DOMs. Glen and I he stepped up to help me out. have questions we need to Now, I hope everything will discuss about the feasibility of settle down and we can all get the cost to the Club about doing this. back to regular meetings. Glen, Steve Peck, and myself had a short meeting in March, and both Steve and myself were able to catch up on our purchase of both ST and 8-bit DOMs. So, March turned out okay as the Club took in a total of $36.00 due to the sale of six DOMs for both formats. Nolan still hasn't made it to a SPACE meeting since last August, so we haven't paid anything out for the web-site. I haven't had any contact with Nolan since, and with him being a second signer on our bank account, we need to consider what our needs going forward are going to be.
under control and he will donate time, money, and resources for that. Also, we do have help with producing the ST DOMs, so that is not a problem either. I will let Lance answer any further questions the Club has about this topic. The DOM Review is next right after the Secretary's Report. Thanks for reading the article. In the words of my favorite comic book artist…
Please try to make the April meeting and let's get back to making our SPACE meetings something to look forward to attending. See you in April.
BySteven Peck
HELLO WORLD!
Hello, again! Welcome to another edition of the DOM Review. This time, since I was absent last month, there will be two DOMs reviewed. So, let's get started.
Welcome to the April edition of the Newsletter and the Secretary's Report!
This time, I was at the Meeting, and only three of us were there: Glen, Greg, and me. We demoed the latest SD drive and it was stellar, to say We started out with a bank the least. balance of $201.54 in March and ended with a balance of It loads quite fast and can $237.54. If and when we hear store thousands of programs from Nolan we may need to and games. The membership reimburse him $80.00 for the count is seven paid up at the web-site expenses for the last moment. eight months. We can get new ST DOMs So, let's put the last couple of soon, since our supply is months behind us and get exhausted of them and we going on the rest of 2016. With need more. Lance has got it
EXCELSIOR!
8-bitDOM Review
February 2016 DOM: Side One The first program on Side One of the February DOM is the Glucholazy 2K15 Intro Demo. It shows an animated tape drive rendered so it looks like it is running Atari software on the screen. There are various characters around the rendering of the tape drive from famous Atari games, plus there is a ticker in Polish. This was an invite to a party on August 24-26, 2015. Of course, the party is over. But, it is still fun to look at. Some of the music on the demo includes the "Pitfall II: Lost
9 Caverns" soundtrack, and it Sound: sounds like it is from the Sega Gameplay: 9 arcade version of the game. It 27/40 is a hoot! Great demo, but TOTAL: here is my take on it. "Joystick Mastah" is the third The graphics are excellent, but title listed on Side One. All I think that they could have you do is time the joystick been better, with less choppy button so you can press it at animation when the tape reels the right time. It suffers in all are turning. What really stood categories, although I sort of out to me is the sound. The understand the gist of the music blew me away. It was game. Here is my take on it. digitized and sounded great. Very pristine audio. But the It is so simplistically theme is great, too. Nostalgia programmed (although in many ways, that is still a good works for me! thing however) that I think it Anyway, here is my score for lacks intrinsic beauty in its looks and animation. this demo. However, it is a logical game. So, it does not need fancySCORE: schmancy graphics. I am trying to be constructively Graphics: 6 critical of it. Animation: 5 Sound: 9 Great premise, but needs more "oomph." TOTAL: 20/30 The next program, called "3Plex", is a game like "Tetris", or the Lynx puzzle game "Blockout". The object of the game is to match the colors with the blocks on the screen. This game is fun. I liked the gameplay on it, as well as the music. It has a great looking title screen, too. It suffers a little bit in the animation, but that is not a big deal. Overall, it is a great puzzler. Here is my score on this game. SCORE: Graphics: 7 Animation: 2
SCORE: Graphics: Animation: Gameplay: Sound:
1 1 3 5
TOTAL:
10/40
picture called "Biased Decisions". This picture shows a woman's face and there are two places depicted in her hair on opposite sides of her face: Heaven or Hell. I guess the picture is asking where you might like to spend eternity. Interesting. SCORE:
9/10 Side Two:
On the next side of this DOM, we have the "Derengeracj" (which, I believe, is the Polish word for "Degeneration") demo. It is another party invite. It has a great looking English text ticker, too. It sort of "rolls" out to you like it is popping out from the screen. The only thing I do not like about it is that the ticker is hard to read. Overall, this is great. I was enthralled by the presentation of the demo, and I am waiting for other, even better demos from Eastern Europe in the near future. SCORE:
Graphics: 9 The fourth program on this Animation: 10 side of the February DOM is a Sound: 10 music track called "A Sky Full of Fanta". This music lives up TOTAL: 29/30 to its name. I liked it and it definitely has pizzazz and The next program is a puzzle flair. Nothing much else to game called "Jim Slide". It is, say about it. in a sense like the game "Deflektor". You have to slide SCORE: 8/10 the character, Jim, to the goal, deflecting off of objects to get Side One's last entry is a to your objective. If you hit
certain deadly obstacles, you will need to start the level over again. It is a fun game that presents a real challenge. SCORE: Graphics: Animation: Gameplay: Sound:
8 8 10 9
TOTAL:
35/40
"Nordlicht Greeto" is another demo, done in real time with blocky text and a checkerboard background. This is, in my opinion, the best program in the February DOM. The animation and graphics are totally stellar and they do not miss a beat. SCORE: Graphics: 10 Animation: 10 Sound: 10 TOTAL:
30/30
"PasIntro", the next demo on this side of the disk, is written in TurboPascal. It is done well. It has fitting music and smooth animation.
The next program is Now , we go on the the March "Quarrion", a strategy game. It 2016 DOM. Here are the was demoed in a previous programs in that disk: DOM. In the game, you slide colored cubes around until Side One: they match. "Rescue" is a 3D wireframe Then, if they do match, they animated demo showing a disappear. I think that the spaceship under attack and object is to not let the screen being destroyed by another get too full of mismatched ship. The guy that escapes the cubes. I thought it was destroyed ship is then rescued somewhat easy, but I do by friendly forces in space. admit that I did not play it all Then, it repeats. the way to the game over screen. Surely, the 8-bit does have its graphics limitations. But, I still It is a really great game think the demo could have otherwise, however. It has needed some more polish to cool music, good graphics, but it. Especially the sound. Great has a PAL issue on US Atari demo, though. Needs more, in computers. This is no person's my opinion. fault and I will not count that issue as a detrimental scoreSCORE: changer, really. Graphics: 5 SCORE: Animation: 8 Sound: 7 Graphics: 7 Animation: 6 TOTAL: 20/30 Gameplay: 7 Sound: 8 "Space Panda Disco" is a dance track that is fast, has a TOTAL: 28/40 nice beat, and sounds pretty good. I thought it was very "Angry" is a NSFW (not interesting and liked it. suitable for women) picture file on the DOM that shows a SCORE: partially nude cyborg brandishing weapons. Sound: 8/10
I am wanting more and gave this excellent demo high marks. Here are the results: I gave this picture high marks because I liked the graphics. SCORE: But, because of the nudity, some people might take Graphics: 9 offense. Good pic besides. Animation: 9 Sound: 10 SCORE: TOTAL: 28/30 Graphics: 8/10
"Don't Play With Fire" is another picture drawn on the screen. It shows a soldier with a dog brandishing a gigantic firearm. It is set in the future and seems to be in the European wilderness around winter.
This pic is really good. I can see it looking like the title screen to an 8-bit game. It looks that great. I tip my hat to the designer. Kudos! SCORE: Graphics:
9/10
graphics and a cool text ticker really make the grade in this file. I overlook the PAL problems, but I do wish that the European programmers would also make SECAM and NTSC versions of their software for compatibility worldwide.
"Bomber" is a game that is SCORE: really the classic game "KABOOM!" with enhanced Graphics: 10 graphics. It shows well, too. Animation: 10 Sound: 10 However, "Bomber" is not as fast as its ActiVision TOTAL: 30/30 predecessor. It can also benefit from a joystick and paddle "Odin" is a picture showing an controller scheme. metalllic android looking at a giant tactical thermonuclear That would make the game explosion destroying a city. better, but it is still pretty cool. It is good artwork, but I think SCORE: that it could look somewhat better. I really do like it, Graphics: 8 though, anyway. Animation: 9 Gameplay: 7 SCORE: Sound: 7 Graphics: 7/10 TOTAL: 31/40 "Beyond the Stars" a music "Toy Swap" is a puzzle game track, has a nice drum beat. reminiscent of games like But, also it seems somewhat "Candy Crush Saga", for mundane at the same time. So, example. Move toys around it could be more. on the screen and match toys to each other to clear them off SCORE: of the screen. Sound: 6/10 It is not bad. At least it beats "Candy Crush Saga". "Does Not Compute" is another music track that is Side Two: upbeat, and that is a good thing. It still can be better. "Reloaded" is an animated demo set to real-time SCORE: animation. It has high marks on everything. Excellent Sound: 8/10
"The Great Escape" is based on the classic movie from the 1960s about one of the greatest war camp escapes ever devised during WWII. However, it lacks instructions and is hard to play. Great graphics, animation, and sound, though. SCORE: Graphics: Gameplay: Sound: Animation:
9 5 7 7
TOTAL:
28/40
"Chicken Dance" is a cute little experiment based on the classic polka dance by Werner Thomas. It uses very little code to do what it needs to do. So, it takes up less memory. But, it lacks in graphics as a result. I am going to give this an honorable mention for ingenuity. Because it really is smart programming. I will still score it. SCORE: Graphics: 5 Animation: 5 Sound: 5 TOTAL:
15/30
"The Authoritative Star Raiders II" is a looked over program that was originally from Atari. It was programmed under the radar by veteran Atari Games
programmer Aric Wilmunder. in the Final Thoughts at the Vault, visit the Steam page: If he would have had his way, end of this Newsletter. Thanks this would have been "SR2" for reading! ^_^ http://bit.ly/ instead of what was originally AtariVaultSteam "The Last Starfighter", which Atari News later became the classic game With the release of Atari that we know. SentbyMichaelCurrent Vault, gamers of all ages can relive – or experience for the It is a prototype that Atari® Bundles 100 Iconic first time – the titles that functions, but it is not fully Games with Release of Atari® comprise the foundation of complete. But, it is playable Vault, Available Now on the modern gaming industry. and has a lot of elements in it. Steam for PC Featuring games like Asteroids®, Centipede®, It looks more like the original Atari Vault Incorporates Missile Command®, "Star Raiders", but has some Contemporary Functionality, Tempest®, Warlords®, and graphical enhancements in it. Including Steam Global many more, Atari Vault Unfortunately, it was shelved Leaderboards, Multiplayer combines the nostalgia of before it came out. Capabilities and Full arcades and the Atari 2600 Controller Support with modern gaming Plus, the final program on this capabilities, including: disk is written by Glen, our NEW YORK – March 24, 2016 DOM Librarian, called Updated UI: A sleek selection "DocList". It is a document – Atari®, one of the world’s menu allows players to easily viewer that has the text on most recognized publishers search through the full how to play this version of the and producers of interactive collection of games, while "Star Raiders" sequel. entertainment, today preserving the retro feeling of announced the launch of individual titles. Thanks, Glen, for the effort in Atari® Vault, now available creating this viewer and the for download on Steam for Global Leaderboards: See how DOMs for the Club. You are a PC. The new title includes a scores stack up against players good egg, and I do like eggs! :) complete collection featuring from around the world, in real 100 of the iconic publisher’s time! Hold top scores across a SCORE: most popular arcade and multitude of Atari classics to Atari 2600 games. For the first become the master of a whole Graphics: 8 time, players can experience generation of video games. Gameplay: 8 these renowned games with Animation: 7 the benefit of current Multiplayer Capabilities: For Sound: 7 technology, including global the first time, square off leaderboards, multiplayer against other players from TOTAL: 16/40 modes, and full controller across the globe for the support. ultimate test of head-to-head Plus, special kudos to Glen skill in online and local Kirschenmann for his time in For a glimpse of what players multiplayer. writing the "DocList" can expect in Atari Vault, program. I think he needs to check out the launch trailer: Full Controller Support: pat himself on the back for Experience a new level of that one. :D http://bit.ly/ control playing with your AtariVaultVideo favorite controller. The touchWell, this concludes the DOM sensitive trackpad of the Review. I will catch you later To download and play Atari Steam Controller mimics the
original trackball, providing a new level of control for titles like Centipede® and Tempest®. Archive: View interactive galleries that show original, detailed packaging, arcade machines in 3D with 360degree views, and a wealth of historical press and advertising materials. “Atari Vault grants convenient access to some of the most memorable titles in gaming history, and in delivering these games in their original state, it is introducing a new generation of gamers to some of the very first video games,” said Fred Chesnais, Chief Executive Officer, Atari. “It is our hope that the same excitement people experienced in the arcades and in their homes when these titles were first introduced can now be embraced again, and that newcomers can discover what made these titles so iconic.” Developed by Code Mystics, Atari Vault is discounted 15 percent to $16.99 USD for a limited time on Steam. For more information on Atari Vault, visit AtariVault.com. Join the conversation on Twitter at @Atari or “Like” the Atari Vault Facebook page at:
The next SPACE meeting is on Friday, April 8, 2016, starting at 7:30 PM. We hope to see you there!
Final Thoughts in Closing BySteven Peck
Well, what a month in March. It sure went fast. But, next month, I am going to start something new in the SPACE Newsletter. We are going to have a comics page. I said that I was thinking about it. So, I will do it. I am going to think of some things to illustrate about in the comics that I will write. Also, I will write reviews on the Atari game plaforms. It is time to innovate the Newsletter some more and bring it up to snuff. I think that this will jazz it up.
https://www.facebook.com/ AtariVault. So, thanks for reading the Newsletter, and thank God for rapid-fire controllers. See you on April 8th!