October 2016
October 2016 Edition fun to imagine that so many of the most important Atari products had their genesis right there, near where I stood for a moment!
and from Steve Peck at the meeting, that the ST DOM will start again at the October meeting, or so we all hope!
Thanks, keep using that Atari, and come to your next SPACE meeting, Friday, October 14, 2016.
As for our treasury, we started the month of September with a bank balance of $405.54. We had no expenses paid out and our receipts brought in $15.00 due to three 8bit and two ST DOMs sold. The ST DOMs were old ones from last year. With the additional $15.00 for September we now stand with a bank balance of $414.54.
Message from Captain Irata: “Choose life… Get them power-ups to survive! HOO-RAH!”
Ah, yes, the venerable Atari Games logo. It’s an epic-looking logo for epic classic video arcade games. Oh, the joyous memories…
I was recently in northern California for a couple days. Did I find a way to find a former Atari building? Of course I did! But I wasn’t in the Sunnyvale, Los Gatos, or Milpitas area, I was up in Grass Valley. Does the name of that town ring a bell? This was the location of Atari’s original research & development unit, Cyan Engineering. And I found it! It’s called the Litton Building, after Litton Engineering Laboratories which acquired the building in the 1950s when it was an abandoned facility intended but never used by the Grass Valley Memorial Hospital. It doesn’t look like much, but it is
I know that we have at least Steve Peck and my membership renewals due next month, so we should be around $450.00 after the October meeting. Let’s hope that we get more than three members next month. I know Glen can’t make it, but not to worry. I have the disks and cash box to bring to the October meeting. See you all there.
Table of Contents
Another dreadful showing for the September SPACE meeting, as the same three attended as the August meeting.
President’s Corner: Treasurer’s Report: Trivia Time: Secretary’s Report: Since it was to be another very short 8-bit DOM Review: meeting, we spent extra time going Final Thoughts: through the whole 8-bit DOM. We actually started the meeting around 7:45 and it only lasted about fifteen minutes. We are down to nine paid up members but we figure the tenth member will be renewing soon. I hear from last month’s newsletter,
1 1 1 2 2 3
TRIVIA TIME: The main processors on the Atari Jaguar were named “TOM” and “JERRY,” after the famous cartoon duo from the movies.
HELLO WORLD! As Greg, our illustrious Treasurer had said, only three members showed up for last month’s SPACE Club Meeting. It’s too bad that no on else showed up. Anyway, the meeting commenced at 7:45 PM, on Friday, September 9, 2016 and adjourned fifteen minutes later, at 8:00 PM. The new DOM was the main focus of the meeting. There was talk of the new ST DOMs coming in October. We are still planning for the DOM release on Friday, October 7, 2016. You know, folks, I have been thinking. I have a proposal for the Club. I am wondering how we can get more members to sign up for memberships and join SPACE. Surely, we will always have our loyalists, mainly the ten to eleven members that are currently on the membership roster now. I say that we have an outreach campaign. If we play our cards right, we can advertise with flyers, graphics, maybe special videos for public access community television channels on cable or satellite. Folks, I believe we can expand.
old Atari days of yore?
my score:
They were pretty good times, too. Well, at least for me anyway.
Graphics: Gameplay: Animation: Sound:
5 7 6 5
TOTAL:
23/40
Anyway, that concludes the Report. I think that we should figure out a plan to reach out to other Atarians in Minnesota and the rest of the country. Maybe, some will join us. So, I close, with Stan Lee’s famous closing salutation… EXCELSIOR!
Atari 8-bit DOM Review By Steven Peck Welcome again to yet another DOM Review for the Atari 8-bit computer line. There are some really talented programmers, mostly from Europe, that have contributed a lot of time and effort to bring the music, games, and demos in this DOM to fruition. It shows some great programming prowess. So, with all that said, I will just cut to the chase and get started with my Review of the September 2016 SPACE Disk of the Month. Thanks! SIDE A:
I don’t know. Maybe, I am worrying too much. But, just like you, I believe in SPACE. I want SPACE to thrive for a while longer.
The first program on the DOM is a game called Actris, which is a Tetris clone. The play field on the screen is an Atari Fuji logo, which I thought was interesting.
After all, where else in Minnesota can you find such a congenial group of Atarians willing to congregate and wax poetic of the good
But, that is as far as it goes. Other than that, it is just another Tetris. The game is good, however. Here is
In another puzzle game, Dots 5, there is a playfield with a bunch of dots. You have to find a way to trace five dots in a line. It’s really difficult to do, and the game is timed! The gameplay and sound are outstanding, but the graphics are over average and there’s little animation. Plus, no instructions are in this game. At least, no English language one anyway. I liike the game, but it would be more understandable with instructions. That is my only concern. Graphics: Gameplay: Animation: Sound:
6 8 2 9
TOTAL:
25/40
The next file on the DOM is a music track called “Golden Chrysanthemums,” and it is very well produced music. The music is uplifting, airy, and peppy. I liked it. Here’s my score: TOTAL:
9/10
Clone Stars is a graphics demo with music and a text ticker in real-time. I like the production and the effort put into it to create it. So, I will give it high marks. Graphics: Sound: Animation:
9 10 9
TOTAL:
28/30
The next file on the DOM is a reproduction of the classic Milton Bradley game from the 1970s, Simon. Gameplay is self-explanatory: follow what Simon does exactly as it does it. You know the rest. The graphics and sound suffer, but the gameplay is challenging. It’s all memory, of course. If you liked the original Simon, you will like this version of the game. Graphics: Sound: Gameplay:
3 5 9
TOTAL:
17/30
Warsaw City+ ‘16 is a shooting practice game, and it reminds me of Nintendo’s “Hogan’s Alley” with more action. The rules are simple: shoot the bad guys and avoid the victims. Sometimes, there are bonuses you can shoot for extra points, like money bags for example. If you like to play goood action games, then this is a good action game for you.
TOTAL:
29/30
The next file is called “Pokey Horror Bleepcore Show,” which is a music track. It is oustanding music for an 8-bit music track and i was duly impressed with it, so I gave it a perfect score. TOTAL:
10/10 (perfect score)
The final file on Side A of the DOM is the 8-bit version of the hit song from the heavy metal band, AC/ DC: “Highway to Hell.” It sounds like the classic song, but it suffers. It is just the fact that it is generated by the computer and the POKEY chip. It would take take too much memory to digitize it, of course, and I would not think that the 8-bit could handle that. It’s better than average, but that is all the 8-bit could do. Here’s my score for the file: TOTAL:
7/10 SIDE B:
Graphics: Sound: Animation: Gameplay:
8 7 8 9
All of Side B is one file: a game called Much Blastesez. The title screen is good-looking, showing a fly next to bullet holes on the splash screen.
TOTAL:
32/40
But, it suffers later. Once you start playing it, the graphics are mediocre. You shoot at flies on a black screen in a side-scrolling game. It is challenging, but it can be more.
Decree is a demo and the next file on Side A. The graphics are almost perfect, in my opinion. But, I also high marks for the animation and music. track. It is an amazing demo that shows the true capabilities of the Atari 8bit computer and pushes the envelope of what it can do as well. Graphics: Animation: Sound:
9 10 10
Well, this concludes the DOM Review for the month. I will be back next month with yet another Review. Carpe diem, guys!
Final Thoughts I have to apologize. This newsletter was meant to be longer. But, I was pressed for time and had to condense it. I know that the comics have not been on here for a while I apologize for that. I also apologize for not have the other game reviews for the platforms done in time. I have no excuse. I also apologize for the lateness of this newsletter. Again, no excuses. I will work harder on this thing. I know I have said this before. It will get done. So, I close with this. You will see a bigger newsletter in November for the Election. That willl be a given. Thanks for your patience. This is getting worked out as we speak.
However, I still gave it high marks. I liked the game. It is really not tooo shabby. So, here is my score: Graphics: Gameplay: Animation: Sound:
6 8 9 8
TOTAL:
31/40
The next meeting is on Friday, October 14, 2016, at 7:30 PM. We hope to see you there!