September 2024
•September 2024 Edition•
A short tech but non-Atari story this month. I’ve had almost nothing but bad luck with the wireless capabilities of my PCs over the years. My latest and the previous laptop PC of mine would both cut out from time to time, regardless of the network I was using, home or elsewhere. My main and current desktop PC, with built-in wireless, has also had similar issues. This despite a couple different home wireless routers over the years. I think in each case my computers have had built-in wireless chips by Intel, very common models. So that seems like the common thread, but then again, here on this desktop PC changing over to and external USB wireless antenna didn’t make things any more reliable. So, I’ve long had the impression that the networking hardware within this PC was just a problem, solvable only by replacing the whole PC. Anyway, recently things got much much more unstable. Whether using the built-in wireless, the USB wireless, or attaching a long Ethernet cable running all the way across the room to the router, my PC would not maintain a stable connection. I started thinking, from past experience Ethernet cables can be or go bad, maybe I should buy myself a brand-new cable, even longer so there’s plenty of slack, before ruling out the attempted wired connection solution. One thing I learned is that good Ethernet cables, even long ones, are not expensive. I got myself a brand-new 50 foot “CAT-6” cable from a well-recommended source. Well how about that, stability at last! No need to rush into replacing the whole computer, we are back in business. Perhaps now I can get back to playing with FujiNet with my Atari? Thanks, keep using that Atari, and come to your next SPACE meeting: Friday, September 13, 2024.
We have gone years holding our SPACE meetings in the Falcon Heights community center main chambers until this August meeting. Just as Glen, Tom, Steve and myself had everything set up to review the monthly DOM, a person walked in that none of us knew. I asked her what she was looking for and it turned out she had reserved the chambers for another meeting. So, we had to close everything down and move into the little meeting room. I thank out lucky stars that it happened in August and not last month when we had the birthday party because that would have been an absolute nightmare! Anyway, with only five members present in August we made out okay, but it wasn’t the best situation especially since they were storing the primary election ballots and voting machines in the same room. Anyway, we still sold five DOMs for $15.00 and adding that to our last month’s balance we still have $1,742.81 in the bank. Tom left the meeting a little early to try and make it to a store in hopes of buying a Commodore 64 Mini which, if he is successful, I hope he brings to an upcoming SPACE meeting. Also we need to talk about Tom’s idea for bringing in new members by offering our DOMs to other platforms. That’s all for now. Don’t forget our next meeting is September 13th. How do our SPACE meetings end up on the Friday the 13th so often? Just seems that way! See you all next month.
–TABLE OF CONTENTS– PAGE ONE: The President’s Corner Treasurer’s Report Secretary’s Report Message from Captain Irata: “Warning! DEFCON 1! Space rocks are about to collide with Earth! Got to stop them! On my Atari! “Thought it was real, didn’t you?!” HOO-RAH! TRIVIA TIME! Amazon’s Alexa was inspired by Star Trek. In the classic TV show, the Enterprise crew used voice-activated computers. The rest is history.
PAGE TWO:
HELLO WORLD! Welcome back! Let’s get started with the Secretary’s Report for August of 2024, and it was interesting. MEETING BEGINS: The August 2024 SPACE Meeting commenced on Friday, August 9, 2024, at approximately 7:45 PM. We had to relocate to the Conference Room because of a Falcon Heights City Council meeting that we didn’t know about until that night. So, although it was cramped we did have a good meeting. We had a great show-and-tell from Glen and a good DOM to look at. MEMBERSHIP COUNT: At this writing, we have eleven paid-up members in the SPACE User Group. DOM REPORT: As always, Glen K. delivered a great DOM for August. One of the games I really liked on there was “Tenebra 2,” a puzzle game like the game “Tenebra” which was in a previous DOM and mentioned in the Newsletter. More on the DOM will be mentioned in the Atari 8-bit DOM Review on the next page. But, it had great files that were nice to watch. WEBSITE REPORT: After the website URL was changed to HTTPS, I have put the updated URL on the Newsletter for future reference. This is a permanent change, and I thank SPACE President Michael Current for pointing this out to me. OLD BUSINESS: No Old Business except for some talk about the July SPACE Birthday Party. NEW BUSINESS: There was talk of making DOMs digital downloads for people who use emulators as well as physical machines. SPACE Member Tom L. was going to bring it up, but he had to leave early for something else. We hope to have more discussion on it in the September 2024 Meeting. Also, Glen K. showed us a Raspberry Pi all-in-one setup that he brought to the Club in August. It had a tablet for a screen and could emulate an Atari 8-bit computer. He showed us an ATR of the August 2024 DOM on the machine, and it looked interesting. MEETING ADJOURNS: The Meeting ended around 8:10 PM, lasting approximately thirty-five minutes.
PAGE FIVE:
Well, this concludes the Secretary’s Report for August. I will be at the Club on Friday, September 13, 2024. Until then, keep the faith and thanks for reading!
SPACE Comics Section
In the words of the late, great artist Stan Lee…
Atari 8-bit DOM Review
EXCELSIOR!
Animation: Music/Sound FX: TOTAL SCORE:
34/40 (85%)
The next file is a game by Japanese programmer Inufuto, called “Yewdow.” I don’t understand the premise of this game yet, but I think you have to guide the car in the game to the flags by setting signs down to guide the car to them. You also have to avoid the ghost in your way.
We are back with another Atari 8-bit DOM Review! Welcome! Today, we are going to review the August 2024 SPACE DOM. As always it is chock-full of great files and games. Let’s begin reviewing!
It is simple in design, yet it reminds me of Nintendo NES games from the past. There is a plot to it, a pattern, but I still have to figure it out. It looks fun.
August 2024 DOM, Side One: The first file on this DOM is a 134-byte file. It is called “Formula 128,” by Piotr Radecki. It shows a single race car going down a racetrack. I think the car may be made up of ASCII characters, but it is pretty good. It is simple, yet quite accurate and pleasing to look at.
7 7
The animation is superb and the logo looks like graffiti, but it is well-rendered and looks really cool. I like the colors as they compliment each other. I like the animated hearts rendered in real-time. It looks great. I will score this file, and it is spectacular. SCORE: Graphics: Animation: Music/Sound FX:
10 10 10
TOTAL SCORE:
30/30 (100% perfect score)
The next file is a game called “Tenebra 2” by Haplo, which is a sequel to July’s “Tenebra,” where the player has to create a lit path to the exit to a dungeon. It is a simple execution, yet for 134 bytes, the car looks pretty cool. It follows the track quite well, too. It never deviates from its course by going off of the road. The colors look mundane, and there is no interactivity, but it is impressive and well rendered.
It is a great puzzle game and it is a harder game than the first “Tenebra.” The rules are simple: light your way and find the path to the next level. I think it’s a spectacular game and takes a lot of thought to play, as there are many obstacles in the game.
I will score this file. SCORE: Graphics: Animation: Music/Sound FX:
8 8 10
There is also a time limit to every level. If you don’t beat it in time, you lose a life. It is an interesting game, simple in design yet complicated to learn without instructions.
TOTAL SCORE:
26/30 (87%)
I will score this game now.
The next file is “30th of Zelax,” a demo by Daniel Kozminski. I think it is a 30th anniversary of Zelax, which is a group of programmers in Europe. It’s a wonderful demo, first with a car on the screen as the years go by while it is traveling on the screen. Then, it shows the Zelax logo with a text ticker in English, animated.
SCORE: Graphics : Gameplay: Animation: Music/Sound FX: TOTAL SCORE:
7 9 7 7 30/40 (75%)
The next file is called “RUN,” a music track by Foster of Zelax. It is gritty and has some action sound to it. It has some pulse-pounding element to it. It builds up to a faster pace, and it is depicting a run well, but I think it could be even better yet. It is fast-paced, but I think it could sound better. That is just me though.Nevertheless, it depicts the correct nuance accurately. I will score now. As I said, the game is very difficult. It takes some thinking to get through higher levels. It says it is 35 chapters long, so I assume there are 35 levels. I cannot as yet even make it past Level 3 in the game. You can start off at any level, as long as you have the password to the levels. It looks like an Apple port, but it is quite complex. With that said, it is a great game and well worth playing. I will score this game now: SCORE: Graphics; Gameplay
9 10
TOTAL SCORE:
8/10 (80%)
The last file on Side One is called “Borsuk i Montek,” a well-rendered picture by Piotr Radecki. It shows a man with his video game playing dog. It looked like the dog is playing with a joystick. It is, as I said, very well-rendered.
The picture a has a lot of detail, and the artist is well-seasoned. It could pass for something on the ST or Falcon. The detail is that good. The colors are dimmer, yet complimentary, and I like the dog’s looks. I will score now. TOTAL SCORE:
10/10 (100% perfect score)
Now that we are done with Side One, it’s on to Side Two. Side Two: The first file on Side Two is a 134-byte file called “Lumen,” by Freddy Offenga. It shows an animated wavy screen that changes color constantly. It looks really cool. I like the design aspect and it’s really well done.
The colors compliment well with that eerie Halloween look. This really looks great and it is just in time for the Halloween season. It really is a very good job. I will score it now.
Great game! 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 an ABBUC Software Contest entry from 2023, called “Retro Maze,” by Peter Hinz. It is a 3D maze and you have to conserve enough energy to exit the maze and continue on. You also have items in your inventory to help you along. To help you, there are energy dots to replenish your life bar. There are icons on the screen to help you on your quest to exit the maze. Now, I played this game for a little bit, and I didn’t see instructions to play it, and I thought it was a great game to play. I still need practice, but I actually enjoyed it. I need to understand how to play this game further. It is quite challenging, to be sure, but a really fun game to play.
It looks like a velvet silk drape in the wind. The animation is very smooth and fluid. The colors look cool, too. I like this file, and it is relaxing to look at. Here’s my score. SCORE: Graphics: Animation:
10 10
TOTAL SCORE:
20/20 (100% perfect score)
The next file is “Monster Mash,” a demo by Tomasz Biela. It has a Halloween theme and looks really fantastic. It has a pumpkin with the tune “Monster Mash” playing in the background. This is also a cool demo. It looks well implemented and fun to watch.
I still have to get used to the user interface, because I still am learning how to play it. I think it is very well thought out and has depth in it. I wonder if it doe shave instructions. I would liike to see if it does in the game itself. SCORE: Graphics: Animation: Gameplay: Music/Sound FX:
8 8 10 9
TOTAL SCORE:
35/40 (88%)
The next file is another game called “Schranker 3,” by Janko Grewe, Thomas Allen, Matiasosa and Dr. Peter Prodehl. It is a combination of “Pitfall”and “Montezuma’s Revenge.” It is really a great game and has a lot of challenge to it. You go through the jungle, ducking to avoid birds and jumping over snakes and panthers like in “Pitfall.” You have to find a treasure in a cave like in “Montezuma’s Revenge.” This is a really well-plotted game and quite thought out. I enjoyed playing it.
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This is a really cool game and it was done by a team of game designers. Kudos to the designers for making a great game like this. I will score this game now. SCORE: Graphics: Gameplay: Animation: Music/Sound FX:
9 10 10 10
TOTAL SCORE:
39/40 (98%)
The final file on this DOM is a music track called “Chicken Lake,” by an unknown composer. It is peppy, fast tempo, and a fun little tune. It sounds quite delightful, like depicting campers having a lot of fun outdoors. I wish I could describe it more, but you would need to listen to it to the true nuance of the music. Nevertheless, it is a fun tune. Enjoyable. I will score it now. TOTAL SCORE:
10/10 (100% perfect score)
This concludes the Atari 8-bit DOM Review. Thanks for reading and I will review the September 2024 DOM next month. Until then, Carpe Diem, fellow SPACE Atarians, and see you later! Have a happy! UNABLE TO MAKE IT TO THE NEXT MEETING? Then, sign into our Discord server On the night of the physical Meeting! Here is the permanent invite link To the SPACE Discord server: https://discord.gg/r9Q4xuNmQ You can copy and paste this URL link On your browser in the search bar. Once on the SPACE Discord server, Go to the Meeting Stream In the sidebar on the Discord page. There is a screenshot of the sidebar on this page with the Meeting Stream link circled. THANKS FOR COMING VIRTUALLY AND PHYSICALLY!
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!
09/11/2024
Vice President: Brian Little E-Mail: demomantna@gmail.com
https://space.atari.org The next SPACE meeting will commence on Friday, September 13, 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!