March 2022
•March 2022 Edition•
The President’s Corner By Michael Current
After two months away, maybe the first time ever that’s happened, we got back together for a great meeting and auction/swap last month! Great to see everyone, and all the interesting Atari gear! I have embarked on a project to re-scan old SPACE newsletters from the era that I OCR’d and HTML’ized many years ago. Doing it that way seemed like a good idea at the time, but I’ve long since wished they were all PDFs. This will take time, but I’ve done a couple years’ worth already, and I will keep at it as time allows. The result will be much better for long-term preservation and website management. In another new project, I just found the “Ted Dabney Experience” podcast. In their own words, “We host intimate conversations with the leading lights and supporting cast from the Golden Age of coin-op Video Arcade gaming. Our guests have included Warren Davis and Jeff Lee (Q*Bert), Mike Hally (Star Wars), Ed Logg (Asteroids, Centipede), Jamie Fenton (Gorf ), Owen Rubin (Space Duel, Major Havoc), Carol Kantor (the industry’s very first market researcher), Doug Wismer (Canadian monitor manufacturer Electrohome), Kevin Hayes (former MD of Atari Ireland) and many more.” They’ve been going since mid-2020, how did I miss it until now? Thanks, keep using that Atari, and come to your next SPACE meeting: Friday, March 11, 2022.
The Secretary’s Report
The Treasurer’s Report
By Steven Peck
By Gregory Leitner
HELLO WORLD! I wanted to apologize for not making it to the last SPACE Meeting in February. Things had come up, and I couldn’t make it in time. Sorry about this. I am going to try to make it to the next Meeting, but I can’t guarantee I will be there. Anyway, Greg was saying the Auction went well. Five people showed up and, although we didn’t make a lot of money, we are close to the $1,100.00 mark in the Treasury. Way to go! It shows SPACE is financially getting stronger. I like that. I am glad because of the success of SPACE recently. More people have joined in the last couple of months. I hope the trend continues. We can use more members and it broadens our knowledge base in the Club. It also strengthens the Club. So, I wish I could have made it to the last Meeting, and I still hope I can make it to this Meeting. I am in a situation with no vehicle of my own, and I have to rely on others to get from Point A to Point B. I can see what I can do for March 11th. So, with that, I will close. I hope to be with you guys in March, and I hope it’s an enjoyable Meeting. In the words of the late, great, Stan Lee… EXCELSIOR!
Not what I expected or hoped we would make at the February SPACE auction. We had five members present and with nobody bidding on the items all went for $1.00. In all we took in $25.00. A 130XE and a 1702 Commodore monitor each went for a buck. Both items looked to be in excellent condition. Most other items did not bring much interest, but some went for a buck anyway. I did bring a couple of boxes home that included four 850 disk drives, and a 1224 ST color monitor. I tested the monitor and it worked great, but it did not sell. So, I took it home and I will bring it back for another SPACE auction in the future whenever that happens. So, a lot of great deals were had. As far as our treasury goes, we started the month of February with a bank balance of $1,039.74. We added $52.00 in February thanks to our auction sales of $25.00 and nine 8-bit DOM sales of $27.00. So we ended the month with a bank balance of $1,091.74. That’s pretty much it for now. Hope the March SPACE meeting will have better weather than the last few months. It seems Fridays have had bad luck in that regards even on non-meetings Fridays. So, we keep our fingers crossed that we will have a good turnout on March 11th. Hope to see you all there. TRIVIA TIME! The Fairchiild Channel F was the first game system to use interchangeable ROM cartridges for its games. Table of Contents: Page 1: President’s Corner/Treasurer’s Report/ Secretary’s Report Page 2: A8 DOM Review Page 6: SPACE Comics Section
Message from Captain Irata “Will the real Atari gamer please stand up? Or, you can ALL drop and give me twenty!”
Why play anything else?
HOO-RAH!
Sorry for the pic blurring the text ticker, as it does not seem to have single-frame shooting abilities. It truly is an interesting display. It’s creative with the ships as Christmas ornaments in the sky. Actually, it seems pretty cool. I think it’s kind of funny. Here’s my score for the file. Welcome back to the Atari 8-bit DOM Review. Since I do not have the February 2022 DOM, I am going to review an older DOM. I am going to review the January 2021 DOM. So, with that being said, I will get started. January 2021 DOM: Side A The first file on this DOM is called “20202021,” by programmer F#ready. The file is an animated year counter, showing the years 2020 and 2021. It looks likme a dandy little animation, and it has been shown before on another DOM. Here is a pic of it for your enjoyment.
SCORE: Graphics: Animation: Music/SFX: TOTAL SCORE:
by Snicklin. It shows a pic of a virus wearing a mask showing the year “2020,” and a hat showing the year “2021,” commemorating the years of the COVID pandemic, as it looks to me. It is a detailed pic and looks quite cartoony. I am impressed by the artwork. It’s a testament to the times. Here’s a picture of it. Take a look!
7 9 8 24/30
The next file is a TIP animation called “Neon 2021,” by Miker. This is an extremely well thought out little animation, as it shows “2021” with the message “Happy New Year.” It is very detailed and it even blinks like a real neon sign. I love it! It’s detailed and realistic-looking. It is set on a brick wall at night and the display blinks. Pretty classy! Here is a picture of the file.
Just what the doctor ordered! Yeah, right. Great pic, though. I will score it now. TOTAL SCORE:
9/10
The next file, “Timerun,” is a demo by PPs. It was made around Christmas and commemorates the next New Year. It shows Santa going across the sky over cities like, Berlin, Rome, Washington, DC, Paris, and Saint Louis, MO, to name a few.
One side of the clock goes down and the other side goes up, forever set to showing the years 2020 and 2021, and it’s set to music. Like I have said, it is a nice animation. The graphics are large and it animated in real time. Amazing work. Here is my score for this demo. SCORE: Graphics: Animation: Music/SFX:
10 10 10
TOTAL SCORE:
30/30 (perfect score)
The second file is called “Galactic Greetings.” by Yellow-man. It is a Christmas greeting set to a “Star Wars” theme. It shows TIE fighters, X-wings, the Millenium Falcon, and Luke and R2D2, with the stalwart droid projecting a tree hologram.
It also shows snow falling in the wind at every city. There are clocks on the top and bottom of the screens. One clock is upside-down and the top clock isn’t. There is also a text ticker on the bottom of the screen. Amazing stuff, I must say! Amazing job! The typography looks excellent and the colors are spot-on. This all works for me. Here’s my score for the file. SCORE: Graphics: Animation:
10 10
TOTAL SCORE:
20/20 (perfect score)
It’s amazing because it is really detailed and fun to watch. I like the panoramas of the cities in the scenes during the demo. It shows a certain unity in the work. Here’s is a picture of the demo showing the Berlin skyline.
The next file is another demo by Emkay, called “No Human.” This is amazing as well. The pic looks digitized and shows a person with binoculars and an animated text ticker on the bottom of the screen. It really is a stupendous job. I like this, too. It really shows the aesthetics of what the A8 can do. Although still 8-bit, the Atari can crank out the graphics. Take a look at this.
It is set on a snowy Tatooine with the ships in the black night sky, with Luke and R2D2 looking up at what’s going on. Plus, it has the Death Star in the middle of the sky as well. There is an animated text ticker at the bottom of the screen as well.
Although it could be more detailed, I like the images of the skylines. I like the look of the Brandenburg Gate in this image of downtown Berlin. Plus, it still has a lot of color. Great job, PPs, and other people that helped. Here is the score I will give for this amazing work.
I think this could have looked better, but its simplicity is interesting. Plus, it catches my attention because it is from “Star Wars.” I am a die-hard “Star Wars” fan from when I was seven years old.
SCORE:
Here is a picture of the file in action for your viewing pleasure. Again, amazing job and well done. Realism and great graphics make the demo. I will score. SCORE: Graphics: Animation: Music/SFX:
10 9 9
TOTAL SCORE:
28/30
Graphics: Animation: Music/SFX:
9 10 10
TOTAL SCORE:
29/30
The final file on Side A of this DOM is a game called “VIC Zombies.” It is an old game recreated by Philsan. In the game, you must avoid creatures coming after you. There are holes or whatever obstacles they may be that you cannot run into.
Again, great job to Emkay for the detail in hid well-produced demo.
The funny thing about this game is you don’t use the Joystick controller. You use the keys on the keyboard. It’s relentless and fun. But, it can be difficult. There are two versions of the game: Original and New Graphics.
The next file is a pic called “Nobody’s Friend,”
Here are pics of the game in action.
This game is fun and challenging, but needs work on the graphics and sound. I understand it is the simplicity of the game that makes it fun, however. So, with that being said, I will score the game now. SCORE: Graphics: Gameplay: Animation: Music/SFX: TOTAL SCORE:
6 8 6 7 27/40
Well, this concludes the Atari 8-bit DOM Review for now. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did presenting it. I will be back next month with another A8 DOM Review. Until then, Carpe Dioem, everybody, and thanks for reading!
It is another interesting game, and it looks fun. Here’s my score for it. SCORE: Graphics: Gameplay: Animation: Music/SFX: TOTAL SCORE:
6 8 7 6 27/40
Now, onto Side B of the DOM! Side B: The final file is a game called “Quadrixx,” by Gringosoft. In the game, you shoot different type of bricks into the middle of the screen. You have to match three in a row, and they must go in the direction of where you are shooting them. If shoot horizontally, the match must be horizontal. If you shoot vertically, the match must be vertical. There are skull blocks. These are actually bombs. If you match three skulls in a row, they will explode on you. It definitely is challenging. The game gives a description of how to play when you press Option during the title screen. Here are pics of the game in action for you to see.
The Next SPACE Meeting will commence at 7:30 PM, on Friday, March 11, 2022. We hope to see you there. Thanks for coming!
SPACE COMICS SECTION! The Misadventures of A-Man and C.D. By Steve Peck
Ferret Fracas By Steve Peck
President and Web Page Manager: