February 2024
•February 2024 Edition•
An extra late article from me this month, I hope it’s in time for the newsletter! News from today’s Atari includes the new Atari 400 Mini, with 25 built-in games for the 400/800, and HDMI output. Does it intrigue you at all?
NOTE: There is no Treasurer’s Report for January 2024, due to the fact that there was no SPACE Meeting for that month. The Treasurer’s Report will resume for February in the March 2024 Newsletter. Thanks for your patience.
Honestly, I actually find it more of interest that they are coming out with brand new controllers for the 2600+, that should all be just as compatible with our genuine old 8-bit Atari computers. These include the CX40+ Joystick, CX30+ Paddle Controllers, CX78+ Gamepad, and DB9 Extension Cable. These aren’t out yet, but coming soon. I’m tempted to pick up the paddle controllers, just because I wonder what’s inside them, is the same old design, or something new?
Welcome back to the Secretary’s Report for February! January went fast, so I will be quick myself. I noticed that the Meeting for January was cancelled. I promise I will be at the Meeting on February 9, 2024. I promise to have a more detailed Report at that time. I look forward to that, plus the Atari 8-bit DOM Reviews will resume with the March Newsletter. Also, I plan to catch up with 2023 Atari 8-bit DOM Reviews in a special way, by producing a special publication with all the 2023 DOMs. I have fallen somewhat behind on the Reviews, and I thoroughly apologize for that.I plan to catch up and get everything finally in line here. Please bear with me. It’s been a busy few months for me. But, it will get done.
Plus, just the obvious novelty of buying something brand new, from Atari themselves, for our good old 8-bit computers! And I remain amazed that today’s Atari is apparently making money producing products like this! Thanks, keep using that Atari, and come to your next SPACE meeting: Friday, February 9, 2024.
HELLO WORLD!
Message from Captain Irata: “Lives are like boxes of chocolates! Earning more of them in your video games is all too sweet!” HOO-RAH!
–TABLE OF CONTENTS– PAGE ONE: The President’s Corner Treasurer’s Report Secretary’s Report PAGE TWO: Tech Talk Atari Multi-Platform Game Review Final Thoughts PAGE FIVE: SPACE Comics Section TRIVIA TIME! In radio jargon, the letters FM stand for “frequency modulation,” and the letters AM stand for “amplitude modulation.” The middle name of the famous mouse, Chuck E. Cheese, is “Entertainment.” He was creatd by Nolan Bushnell and Gene Landrum for Bushnell’s idea of a family pizzeria/arcade restaurant in 1977. The rest is history.
I have found a new way to get detailed pictures for the A8 DOM Reviews. I bought myself a video capture device for my MacBook that can capture video game footage for my Atari 7800 mod and the Jaguar. I am confident it will work for the XEGS and 130XE. I am still experimenting with this development, but so far it is working well. I will improve on this way of producing great articles in the form of better pics., So, thanks for your support and understanding. With that, I will close for now. Everything will be in swing again. That you can count on! In the words of the late great comic book maestro, Stan Lee… EXCELSIOR!
TECH TALK By Steve Peck
you can set keys for every few levels you progress. With those keys, you can pick up where you left off in a game where you have lost all your lives.
You know, I am fascinated by 21st Centurty technology. It’s a good thing to work with. People have to learn to make things work better and more efficiently. That is how human beings learn, through trial and error. Technology has a good side and a bad side, as everything does.
If you pass the first level, you get an immediate 1UP extra life. Then, it’s every 20,000 points after that when you earn extra lives. As you progress, the game gets harder and faster. If you progress through all 99 levels, you go to Beastly Mode, where you shoot slower and your enemies move even faster.
I favor the good use of technology. It has excellent potential and far-reaching possibilities. For instance, regenerative healing. I would love to see how that goes in the future. I would like to see how medical technology advances because of it. That would be thrilling. For exanple, I want to see if there can be an effective stem cell therapy for Alzheimer’s disease. I am facinated with studies about how to treat this disease, since it affected my grandfather for instance. He lived a long life with it, but he still died from it. It was unfortunate. I would love to see how regenerative therapy can rewire peoples’ brains affected by Alzheimer’s and how there can be an effective strategy to conquer the disease. I would wonder how the human life span could be extended because of science. However, there are negative consequences in using technology. It could be used to enhance weapons, to make war more deadly, or create things we wish we wouldn’t have created. Technology can clean up the enviroment or pollute it, for example. Some day, we could perfect space travel and colonize other planets. Science fiction right now could become science fact. Maybe I am rambling, but I say this. I think and hope that technology will be used wisely in the net few years. It could create great things or great sorrows. Let’s just hope it creates great things. I love great things, especially advanced stuff to enhance my life and others’ lives. Let’s strive for great things, especially in 2024. Here’s to hoping for technological advances that enhance and not hamper human society. I am for enhancement. How about you? It would be a good thing for everybody. Come to think of it, I would love to se some advanced Atari stuff in the future. That would be fun. Thanks for reading. Happy New Year, and Carpe Diem, fellow Atarians! See you soon. MULTI-PLATFORM GAME REVIEW Welcome back! I have decided to create a special MultiPlatform Game Review. Today, I am going to review “Tempest 2000” for the Atari Jaguar. This is going to be really fun, and I think you will love it! The game is an enhanced version of the classic 1980 arcade game, “Tempest,” by Atari legend David Theurer, and it has better graphics, gameplay and sound. This game has a combination of vector and 3D polygonbased graphics. It’s a beautiful result. In the game, as you probably already know, you are on a intergalatic web, trying to shoot your enemies before they shoot or capture you at the top of the web. If you are victorious in the level, you travel to another level. In each level, you are equipped with a Superzapper weapon, which can be used at full power only once in a given level. It can be recharged at the beginining of any level you traverse to. It can destroy every enemy on the screen at once, but you would need to use it wisely. As I said, there are enhancements in the version of the game. There are the original enemies from the arcade version, as well as new enemies, like Demon Heads, UFOs and Mirrors, as well as faster and more violent Mutant Flippers, which are more deadly than the red Flippers. There are other versions of the game in here as well, such as “Traditional Tempest,” a facsimile of the arcade, Tempest Plus, a combination of original “Tempest” and “Tempest 2000,” amd “Tempest Duel,” which pits you against your opponent in a two-player battle royale. As you progress in the game, if you make it far enough,
If you beat the game in Beastly Mode, the gameplay gets even more difficult in Double Beastly Mode. The game is a real gem. It has excellent techno-rave music, wonderful graphics and devious gameplay. It really shines. I can get up to only Level 41 or so with the keys that let you pick up where you left off. Maybe Level 43. There are also Warp Tokens which will take you to higher levels if you collect three of them and if you pass the Warp Bonus rounds. If you pass the Warp Bonus rounds, you will collect 20,000 points and warp five levels. Also, if you get three Warp Tokens, you will immediately destroy all enemoes and will get to the Warp Round at the end of the level you are on. There are three types of Warp Bonus Rounds, each getting progresively harder than the last. You can also use power-ups you can collect in the levels like Particle Lasers, Jumps (where you can jump above the web, which can come in hamdy) and AI droids, which help you fight your enemies. All power-ups are worth 2000 points. Jeff Minter, the creator of this enhance game, really outdid himself. Obviously, this game is an intelligent design. Kudos to Llamasoft for doing such a great job! Here is my score for the game,and you will be treated to some screenshots of the game in action towards the end of this article. SCORE: Graphics: Animation: Gameplay: Music/Sound Effects:
10 10 10 10
TOTAL SCORE:
40/40 (100% perfect score)
FINAL THOUGHTS By Steve Peck Well, it’s 2024. The New Year is here, and it’s twelve more months to get things right. My resolution is to get things better, of course. i also want to enhance my Atari collections. How’s about you? There’s the RM 800XL and the 400 Mini coming out soon. The 21st Century design of the RM 800XL is going to be interesting to see. I want to see what comes of it when it is released. It’s supposed to play all the Atari 8-bit games and programs. We shall see what comes of it. The 400 Mini is an emulated version of the classic Atari 400 computer. It can play game ROMs for the Atari 8-bit computers and the Atari 5200 console. Although emulated, it will be interesting to see this in action. However, I would love to see something even more amazing from the new Atari. Something special and something great. I would love to see more enhancements with the FujiNet and upgrades for the ST/TT/Falcon computers as well. I would like to see something new for the Atari game systrems as well, like the recently developed 7800 GameDrive SD cartridge. Maybe someone will work on enhancements for game systems like the 2600, 5200, and Lynx. I also would like to see more with the GameStation Pro and the 2600+ comsole. There has been a recent firmware update beta for the 2600+ to play homebrews. I think the 2600+ comsole couldcreate a new market for retro games, as more 2600+ consoles are being marketed. I hope it all works out for Atari in that sense. It would be great for the retro community. Thanks for reading my thoughts. I hope you have a great and safe year in 2024. Have a good time and see you next SPACE Meeting on Friday, February 9, 2024.
Yup! We need articles! If you wish to channel your inner F. Scott Fitzgerald and want to send in an article, please feel free to send them to the SPACE Newsletter Editor! Please try to send your articles within two weeks of the Club’s occurence every month. They then will be posted. The SPACE Newsletter Editor’s contact information is, of course, on the back of every SPACE Newsletter! Thanks for posting and for supporting your SPACE Club! We hope to see more articles soon!
WANTED! Ideas (from SPACE Members) Suggested for Future Comics! Please feel free to email The Newsletter Editor! The Email Address is on the Last Page of the Newsletter! Thanks!
SPACE COMICS SECTION! TOP PANEL: The Misadventures of A-Man and C.D. BOTTOM PANEL: Ferret Fracas!
Vice President: Brian Little E-Mail: demomantna@gmail.com The next SPACE meeting will commence on Friday, February 9, 2024, at 7:30 PM, local time! We hope to see you there! Thanks for coming!
Another Message from Captain Irata: “That’s all she wrote, SPACE Cadets!” HOO-RAH!