August 2024
•August 2024 Edition•
What a party last month, how great that so many of us could make it! Somehow my summer just hasn’t settled down the way I always hope it will, so I think I have relatively little in the way of Atari related activities to discuss. Oh! I recently discovered that atari.org, the host of our SPACE website, now makes all connections to web browsers securely over https. No big deal you say, that’s what all modern websites do. Yes, but I have been trying to coax Google to index all of the newsletters that I re-converted over to text-searchable PDFs, and I had been scratching my head about why that wasn’t going so well. Then I checked recently, and it said we had NO indexed newsletter articles on our site.
Did we have a meeting or was it a SPACE Neighborhood Night Out? By the time we got everything settled members were already digging into the food! We had everything set up to review Glen’s monthly DOM but we never got to it. Members got their fill on Jersey Mike’s subs and Qdoba Mexican food. Thanks to all who contributed other food items that made it a very successful evening. Enough leftovers were available so that we all had more to take home.
HELLO WORLD! Welcome back to the SPACE Secretary’s Report. It was a great SPACE Birthday Party, and we all had a great time. I am going to recap those moments, so let’s get started. There was no real SPACE Meeting on Friday, July 12, 2024, to report. People started eating right away during the Party, and we had conversation with each other instead. It was great camaraderie.
Since we didn’t have an actual meeting, I just let everyone know how our treasury was doing. We started July with a balance of $1,904.45 and we added receipts of $57.00 (two membership renewals and one new member; welcome Rick).
We had great food and a wonderful time. The DOM was really spectacular. It had a great intro in it with great graphics. More will be posted in the Atari 8-bit DOM Review about it. I will explain more about the DOM there and in greater detail.
That brought in $45.00 and four DOMs sold added another $12.00. We paid $82.50 for the sub pack and after Qdoba added their auto gratuity that came to another $151.14. After all that we ended the month of July with a balance of $1,727.81.
MEMBERSHIP COUNT: We have currently eleven paid-up SPACE members, thanks to two membership renewals and a new membership fulfilled. Rick J. is our eleventh and newest SPACE member. So, welcome to SPACE, Rick. I hope you will like it as time goes by.
At last check it hasn’t indexed all newsletter issues yet, but it’s very much on track again. At least I think this explains everything! At any rate, our website URL is now: https:// space.atari.org although the old URL with http: still gets you there as well.
After talking about Atari at the dinner and while I had worn my Atari 2600 T-shirt I told the members present that most people I have talked to always know about the symbol on my shirt represents the 2600. So, when I took our deposit to the bank the teller questioned our account because they don’t have Club accounts. So, they ended up setting up a business account.
WEBSITE REPORT: SPACE President Michael Current recently emailed me about updating the website URL for SPACE. It is now HTTPS instead of HTTP, for security reasons. This will be noted on the last page of the Newsletter for now and from now on.
In other news, there’s a new online newsletter covering the 8-bit Atari starting up called “Atari Insights” that looks promising. I signed up! More information and signup form at: https://ataribasics.com/
So, when I handed the deposit over I said please put in our business account for our Club. He then asked what SPACE stood for, and as soon as I mentioned the word Atari he immediately said you mean like the 2600.
Thanks, keep using that Atari, and come to your next SPACE meeting: Friday, August 9, 2024.
I said you got to be kidding, we are so past that game machine. We have many models of computers. He had no idea! It makes me wonder how many more don’t have any clue what’s out there in the Atari world!
What happened? Well, with the server change to serving everything over https, Google’s indexer determined the non-secure http files I wanted it to index were no longer the definitive versions, so it eliminated them all from its index. I think I’ve solved the problem by starting over again with a new Google search console for the https version of our website.
Anyway, let’s all enjoy the Summer Olympics this month and I will see you all again on August 9.
–TABLE OF CONTENTS– PAGE ONE: Message from Captain Irata: “Video games are great, and some of the only things you can play where if you die you can come back and try to get it right again and again. Like, hey, that’s deep!” HOO-RAH! TRIVIA TIME! The first fuel cell was invented in 1839 by Sir William Robert Grove (1811-1896). Nowadays, fuel cells have the potential to be utilized in engines that produce water vapor instead of pollution for exhaust.
The President’s Corner Treasurer’s Report Secretary’s Report PAGE TWO: Atari 8-bit DOM Review PAGE FIVE: SPACE Comics Section
I will update the URL in future Newsletters starting in August to accommodate the HTTPS change in the link. No worries there. Other than that, the SPACE website is in great shape. Since we had no real SPACE Meeting and partied instead, I will not close the Secretary’s Report. I will have more to report in September. Until then, I bid everybody well. In the words of the late, great cartoonist Stan Lee: EXCELSIOR!
Krystone. It has a countdown in hexadecimal code to the dance scene. It also has flashy colors and a manga scene of a girl in a Japanese school uniform getting ready to dance and there are musical notes all around her.
Welcome to the latest Atari 8-bit DOM Review! In this Review, we will look at the July 2024 DOM. It has a lot of cool files in it, and the DOMs always do. Let’s look at Side One of this DOM first. Off we go!
It’s really striking in appearance and the music sounds great. I think it’s digitized sound, but it’s great music and sound. The schoolgirl looks well-rendered and looks fun and innocuous. The flashy colors give the scene some appeal visually. It’s astounding.
TOTAL SCORE:
20/20 (100% perfect score)
The next file is a game called “Ink Spill,” an ABBUC 2023 Software Contest entry by Popmilo. In this game you have to make the colors on the screen one color. It’s challenging, but extremely fun to play.
July 2024 DOM, Side One: The first file in this DOM is called “Back from Night Shift,” by Kamil Trzaska. It shows a scene with what looks like buildings at night going by as you are travelling on a virtual road. It’s animated and only 128 bytes in size. It isn’t much, but it looks impressive for what it is. I love the animation. It’s smooth and fluid. It looks like a night scene on a road. It’s interesting for 128 bytes of data. Sure, it could be more, but it’s great considering the file size that it is. I like the attempt. Very creative, actually, and intriguing as well.
(Atari 8-bit DOM Review continues on next page.) NOTICE! SPACE is on Discord! If you cannot physically make it to the SPACE Meeting, we will stream it online live for you! First, click onto or copy this invite link: https://discord.gg/r9Q4AxuNmQ This permanent invite link will also provided by email. Once you are in Discord, click Accept to join the group. To join a Meeting online at the time of the physical Meeting, click the audio channel “Meeting Stream” in the menu and you will be live!
It looks like it’s in perspective as well. It’s an interesting display of talent and prowess. Although it could be better, it is visually satisfying as it is. With that, I will score this file now. Here we go. SCORE: Graphics: Animation:
8 10
TOTAL SCORE:
18/20 (90%)
The next file is a picture using ATASCII characters, called “Cyberpunk Katze.” It was created by Florent Coste. It shows inverse ATASCII characters forming a picture of a cat, hence the name (if you didn’t know, the word “katze” means “cat” in German). it is 1,128 bytes in size. Simple execution, yet impressive how it was constructed. I liked the attempt to make the picture aesthetically pleasing. It is interesting how it is composed and it must have been a painstaking attempt at making the picture. Cool stuff, and very different.
Interesting graphics! It looks like an Apple II conversion in the picture. If you notice the blue and the green in the image, that is what tips it off. But, it’s really good. I could be wrong about the Apple II conversion, but it still looks great. I actually like the demo. Very nice! Interesting, indeed, and quite detailed. Impressive! Let me score this now. TOTAL SCORE:
9/10 (90%)
The next file is called “Get Stupid and Dance! Now”, by
I will score this demo now. SCORE: Graphics; Music/Sound FX:
10 10
(Atari 8-bit DOM Review: continued from Page 2.)
It really looks like a good advertisement. I will score it now. SCORE: Graphics: Music/Sound FX:
10 10
TOTAL SCORE:
20/20 (100% perfect score)
Poison has got an interactive music menu for us called “Malastor,” the next file on this DOM on Side One. It shows a lot of music files that you can select with the keys on the keyboard. I like the music and the generous amount of it. Plus, it looks good. There are five separate colors in the puzzle. You have to constantly select the colors in a certain way to make the field one uniform color. If you make it one color, you advance a level. You have twelve tries, as depicted by the yellow blocks on the screen. So, there is a limited amount of tries to complete the puzzle. It’s challenging, fun and pleasing to look at. A simple execution, yet a challenge to play. The ABBUC group can come out with great games, and this is no exception. It really is a cool puzzle game.
It’s in English and Polish, with an animated Polish language text ticker on the bottom of the screen. The text animation is fluid and in real-time. The amount of tracks is pleasing, giving you a choice of what talent you want to hear. These tracks are from various demos.
It’s amazing stuff and intelligently produced. I will score this file now.
It’s quite fun to listen to every track, and it delivers. It isn’t the most graphically pleasing file, but it’s quite entertaining. I think you’d enjoy it.
Graphics: Animation:
10 10
TOTAL SCORE:
20/20 (100% perfect score)
SCORE:
The next file is called “Cosmic Shaman,” a 1,249-byte picture by Adam Wachowski. It is another file with ATASCII characters forming the picture. It’s interesting, but it looks like it could be more than it is.
I also like the puzzle title screen. Really well done. With that, I will score this game now. SCORE: Graphics: Gameplay: Animation: Music/ Sound FX:
9 10 10 9
TOTAL SCORE:
38/40 (95%)
The next file is the Krystone Music Compo 2023, by Krystone. It is an invitation to a contest which ended in 2023. It shows a picture of a well-rendered girl’s face with the advertisement for the contest. If you press the HELP button on the keyboard, it shows the game rules. I like the invite’s appearance. The graphics kill. The music is great. I hope a lot of people were able to make it to this contest. Too bad we don’t have anybody doing this stuff in America. At least, not to my knowledge.
You can choose from twenty tracks from very talented programmers. It’s worth listening to. I will score now. SCORE: Graphics: Animation: Music/Sound FX:
8 10 10
TOTAL SCORE:
28/30 (93%)
The last file on Side One is a picture called “Frogger,” Maciej Hauke, and it’s beautifully rendered. It’s a picture of a frog in a pond. It’s very colorful and well done. The colors compliment and it looks great.
This is a really pleasing picture to look at. The frog looks almost digitized, but I think it was rendered on something like a KoalaPad. Nice work! I will score now. TOTAL SCORE:
10/10 (100% perfect score)
Now onward with Side Two. The first file on Side Two is called “Splash,” by Freddy Offenga. It shows patterns of dots “splashing”on the screen. It kind of reminds me of fireworks in a night sky It isn’t bad for a 132-byte file size. It looks pleasing in appearance. It’s nicely animated and fun to look at. It’s very good for tight code, and I am sure it took a lot of thought to produce it.
I can see the point of how it is made, but I still think it could be more. I like the back ground, though. It shows the Cosmos as it should be with stars in the sky. It’s precise. It’s an impressive render for tight code. I will score this file now. TOTAL SCORE:
8/10 (80%)
The next file is called “nyd24invite,” by Ralf Patschke. It is an invite in German and English. The animated text ticker is in both languages, with a nice colorful background.
It looks like a graffiti background, and it looks nicely rendered. Even though it’s in German, I like the fact that it’s also in English so everybody can understand the message. Nice rendering! I will score it now. SCORE: Graphics: Animation: Music/Sound FX:
10 10 10
TOTAL SCORE:
30/30 (100% perfect score)
The next file is called “Night Knight,” a really cool puzzle game by Lars Langhans and originally by Juan Martinez. It was reprogrammed with Mr. Martinez’s permission. You play a knight and paints the floors of a certain level while avoiding your enemies.
The next file is a music track called “Retropositive,” by Zdenek Eisenhammer. It is fast and has a great drum beat. The tempo is quick and the music is well rendered. It is produced on a player created by VinsCool. It sounds really good. I will score it now.
You have a time limit to finish the level, get the key to open a door and go to the next level in the game. This is a really fun game and well-rendered. I also like the music. It’s a really cool game and can get challenging.
TOTAL SCORE:
10/10 (100% perfect score)
The final file in this DOM is called “AI Party,” by Maciej Hauke. This is a really well-rendered picture. It shows a group of people listening to music at a party, with a picture of a speaker on the screen with the Atari Fuji logo on the top corner of the projection the people are looking at.
We need your articles! The rendering of the projection on the screen is very nice. It looks digitized. It also looks cartoony in a way. But, it magnificent. I really like it and I will score it now. TOTAL SCORE:
10/10 (100% perfect score)
Well, we went through yet another DOM and it looked great to me. I am finished for now. I will be back in September with another A8 DOM Review. I will see you at the next SPACE Meeting. Carpe Diem, fellow Atarians, and thanks for reading! Have a happy! This is also from the 2023 ABBUC Software Contest. It is really a great game. It’s nicely designed and gets harder as you go along. It has great graphics and music. Play this game. It’s worth it. I will score it now. SCORE: Graphics: Gameplay: Animation: Music/Sound FX:
10 10 10 10
TOTAL SCORE:
40/40 (100% perfect score)
The next file is an intro called “Galaxy,” by Antonin Holik. It shows a picture of a spiral galaxy that is animated and it has an animated text ticker. It looks really good. The animation of the galaxy is slow at first, but goes faster over time. The text ticker is in English as well.
It has great graphics and excellent music. The animation is in real time, and it looks really fluid. It really is well done and beautifully executed. I will score this file now. SCORE: Graphics: Animation: Music/FX:
10 10 10
TOTAL SCORE:
30/30 (100% perfect score)
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 occurrence 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!
SPACE Comics Section! The Misadventures of A-Man and C.D.
Ferret Fracas!
Vice President: Brian Little E-Mail: demomantna@gmail.com
https://space.atari.org The next SPACE meeting will commence on Friday, August 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!”
E-Mail greglites1@outlook.com
HOO-RAH!