June 2025
•June 2025 Edition•
Summer is upon us! The saga of Google indexing of our newsletters, or lack thereof, continues. Several weeks ago things suddenly improved significantly, making me think maybe we just need to be patient. Well, a few days ago I looked again, and most of our newsletters were dropped from the index. Now they are less indexed by Google than ever. What next? Roger has some ideas, so I’ve started working with him to try out some things. Basically, we could try embedding the PDFs within HTML web pages to try to convince Google they are pages worth indexing. We are just getting started at the moment, but we’ll keep you posted! I have been reading up about tape counters on Atari program recorders, and on audio cassette players in general. It seems pretty much every cassette player has one, but they were never really standardized so that a given tape counter number would reflect the same spot on the cassette in any player. The new surprise was a report of a compilation cassette by Atari France that gave two different sets of tape counter positions for the series of short programs on the cassette, one number for a 410 and another for a 1010. I had never see this before! Have you? Other compilation tapes by Atari that I could think of just give single counter numbers. My hunch is that someone at Atari France had a 410 and a 1010 and noticed the tape counters were different, and assumed the numbers would match other 410 or 1010 recorders of the same model, when that was probably never really the case. But this is a bit of a guess! I wonder what your experience has been? Thanks, keep using that Atari, and come to your next SPACE meeting: Friday, June 13, 2025. And don’t forget, we are meeting at the Wilder Center!!
Had a short meeting in May. Everything ran smoothly and reviewing the May DOM and holding a formal meeting it only took about an hour. So with that, since no one had anything else to add, we closed up shop a little after 7:00 PM. We had five members present and welcomed a guest, Andy, who actually found us on our web site. Here’s hoping he turns into a new member. As we were leaving the building, Michael came walking across the parking lot and I had to let him know that everyone had already left. I felt guilty that he had come all the way from Wisconsin to find out we left him cold! To make matters worse, when I got home I had an email from Steve and he said that Brian had also gone to the meeting only to find a janitor cleaning our meeting room. So, Steve had to tell him that we had all left and he missed the meeting. I feel so bad for this circumstance since we had the meeting room reserved until 8:30 PM and we had left around 7:15. I don‘t want this situation to ever happen again so I am willing to stay until the 8:30 PM time from now on. The only problem is if everyone else leaves early how do we handle the meeting. Let’s discuss this next month! For our treasury in May we started the month with a bank balance of $644.03 and we only added $6.00 for the sale of two DOMs. So we ended the month of May with a bank balance of $650.03. We also had two other DOMs sold, but not yet paid for. I have good news to share with you. I talked to the guard and asked him about the possibility of bringing in food and he said we could. He said to keep it low key and he would appreciate a plate if we could arrange it. I agreed because I would have offered it to him anyway. So, the parties are on and we can eat right in the meeting room. We need to clean up afterwards, but we would always do that also. Our next meeting is June 13th and it is important that we nail down how we are going to have the July birthday party. Does the Club pay or do we go back to a pot luck? We won’t have access to a freezer so our root beer floats are out of the question, but I think we could use a crock pot or other plug in if we needed to. So, let’s discuss this next month. I hope you can all come next month and be there early if possible. See you all then. –TABLE OF CONTENTS–
Message from Captain Irata: “I, Robot?! NO, fellow SPACE Cadets! I, Captain Irata!!” HOO-RAH!
PAGE ONE: The President’s Corner Treasurer’s Report Secretary’s Report PAGE TWO: Atari 8-bit DOM Review PAGE FIVE: SPACE Comics Section
HELLO WORLD! APOLOGIES IN ORDER: First off, on behalf of the entire SPACE Club, I profusely apologize to SPACE President Michael Current and SPACE VP Brian Little for their missing the Meeting in May. We must and will make sure that this situation doesn’t occur again. Thanks. Also, as an addendum to the Treasurer’s Report, I was the person responsible for paying for those unpaid DOMs. Please let it be known that, when I got home, I did pay Glen for the DOMs. He was there at the time, and I appreciate his help in getting to the Club. Again, thanks. Anyway, let’s continue with the Secretary’s Report. MEETING COMMENCEMENT: We started the SPACE Meeting for May on Friday, May 9, 2025, at 6:00 PM. We had five members present, along with Andy, who is aforementioned in the Treasurer’s Report. I hope he enjoyed the Meeting and, of course, there will be other Meetings to come on a monthly basis. MEMBERSHIP COUNT: We have ten members paid-up in the SPACE Club, including myself. WEBSITE REPORT: It is assumed that, aside from indexing issues with Google in the past, the SPACE Website is operating efficiently and still doing well. DOM REPORT: As always, Glen comes up with really nice files for the DOM. Be sure to check out “Dimo’s Underworld” on Side Two of the DOM. It’s a real puzzler! I will post more about the May 2025 DOM in this month’s Atari 8-bit DOM Review. OLD BUSINESS: We continued discussion on FPGA and CPLD-based systems for emulating operation of Atari TOS-based computers. There was talk about systems from China that can do this sort of thing and cheaply. Also, there was talk of Raspberry Pi-based systems running retro software and emulating retro hardware. NEW BUSINESS: At the time of the meeting, Video 61 and Atari Sales were poised to release a new game for the Atari 7800. Because it was not released yet, nothing about it was disclosed yet. RECENT UPDATE: The game “Robot Holocaust” has now been released for the Atari 7800 by Video 61 and Atari Sales. Further details about it are available at www. atarisales.com. Let’s hope it sells well and turns out great for those who purchase it! Thanks for letting me share. MEETING ADJOURNMENT: The May 2025 SPACE Meeting adjourned at 7:00 PM. This concludes the Secretary’s Report. I will be back later in the Newsletter with the A8 DOM Review. In the words of the late, great Stan Lee… EXCELSIOR! TRIVIA TIME! 17th Century Italian scientist Alessandro Volta invented the first true battery. We get the name of the unit of electrical measurement “Volt” from his last name.
tion for someone with graphics ability to help Mr. Sikorski with game ideas. Essentially, it’s a Help Wanted ad. Interesting execution. It’s convincing, and I hope Mr. Sikorski gets the help he needs with his projects.
It’s basically a simple diagram of a complex of buildings. Anyway, I hope SillyVenture went well for the people that went to it. I am sure it was fun. The text is hard to read, especially when it is printed in this Newsletter. But, it is a nice advertisement nonetheless. Simple, yet effective.
Welcome back to the Atari 8-bit DOM Review! We have quite a few files to look at, plus a real puzzler of a game on Side Two of the June 2025 DOM. So, let’s have a looksee at this fine addition to the SPACE DOM! Library! Here we go! June 2025 DOM, Side One: The first file on this DOM is called “I Spy With My Little Eye,” by Wyszynski. It’s a blinking eye made up of dots, created with 256 bytes of code. I like the effect which is like an animated Lite-Brite sequence. It could be more, but it is sufficient. It’s definitely fascinating.
I assume that these are samples of graphics to be used in those projects Mr. Sikorski is talking about. They are nice examples of graphics rendering. I will score this now.
Let me score this file now.
TOTAL SCORE:
The next file is a music track, called “New Order Part II,” by Marek “Poison” Pesout. It has a moderate tempo and sounds like it has some action to it. Nice drum beat, too. It is pulse-pounding with a lot of musical effects in it. It’s pretty good. So, let me score it now.
9/10 (90%)
The next file is a game called “Defense Horizon,” by Marek “Poison” Pesout. In the game, you pilot a hovercraft trying to collect objects to stop a superweapon from destroying Earth. However, you have limited energy and there are obstacles that can take it away. They are objects on the track toward the planet-destroying superweapon that look like arrows and can increase your speed, but as you go faster it becomes harder to maneuver your hovercraft. It’s quite challenging.
TOTAL SCORE:
TOTAL SCORE:
8/10 (80%)
10/10 (100% perfect score)
The last file on Side One of this DOM is a pic called “RoboWine,” by Flop68. It shows a robotic arm toasting with a more humanlike toy robot with drinks on a wagon with six legs that looks like it’s on a track.
It looks quite detailed and the lines are very crisp. It’s pretty well-rendered and I like it. Let me score it now. TOTAL SCORE:
10/10 (100% perfect score)
Now onto Side Two, saving the best of this DOM for last! Here we go! Side Two: The last file on this DOM is a puzzle game called “Dimo’s Underworld,” an ABBUC Software Contest entry for 2024. It is a real brain-teaser, too. The first level is easy. The levels get progressively harder as you progress. You play the hero, Dimo the Frog, who has to collect sweets. Although the animation is crude, it is interesting and fun to view. I decided to place the images in the sequence they are animated to show you how the persistence of vision is utilized. It’s effective and I like it.
I have not seen the boss in this game. I couldn’t make it far enough to get there and destroy it. Overall, it seems like a fun game. I think it’s enjoyable. I am sure you will get a big kick out of it. I will score this game now.
Here’s my score:
SCORE:
SCORE:
9 10 10 10 39/40 (98%)
Graphics: Animation:
9 9
Graphics: Animation: Gameplay: Music/Sound FX:
TOTAL SCORE:
18/20 (90%)
TOTAL SCORE:
The next file is called “New Year 2025 Disk,” A demo of a sequence of pictures and text set to music by Pawel Sikorski. It is pretty much monochrome. It is an invita-
The next file is “SV24WE Invitro,” by Christian Duesterhoeft. It shows a map of a campus of buildings that I believe was where SillyVenture was in 2024.
There is a rhyme and a reason to completing this game. You also have to figure out the exact way to complete the levels in the game, as there is a pattern you must master. That is the hard part, so it can get pretty challenging. Also, there is a time limit that you have to complete each level and you will need keys to get to certain parts of levels to collect all the sweets you need to advance.
It’s nicely orchestrated and also has a great soundtrack. It truly is a brain-teaser and a lot of fun to play. I will score this game now. Very impressive! SCORE: Graphics: Gameplay: Animation: Music/Sound FX:
10 10 10 10
TOTAL SCORE:
40/40 (100% prefect score)
Well, that’s it for the A8 DOM Review! I will be back with another A8 DOM Review soon. Carpe Diem, fellow Atarians, and thanks for reading! Be cool!
GET AN ATARI! IT’S BETTER THAN A FERRARI! ALSO, IT WON’T MAKE YOU FEEL SORRY! PLUS, IT’S MORE FUN AS WELL! 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/r9Q4AxuNmQ You can copy and paste this URL link from this PDF onto 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!
Opinions
Vice President: Brian Little E-Mail: demomantna@gmail.com
https://space.atari.org The next SPACE meeting will commence on Friday, June 13, 2025, At 6-8:30 PM, local time! We hope to see you there! Thanks for coming!
OUR MEETING LOCATION We meet at the Wilder Center at 451 Lexington Pkwy. N., in Saint Paul’s Midway area. You will need to check in with security if you come to the building after 5:30 PM. We will meet on the second floor in the Merriam Park Room (room 2410). The Meeting time is allocated from 6-8:30 PM, every second Friday of every month. Thanks for coming to SPACE! The map below shows the location of the Wilder Center.
E-Mail greglites1@outlook.com S.P.A.C.E. (Saint Paul Atari Computer Enthusiasts) C/O: Gregory Leitner 3407 78th St. E Inver Grove Heights, MN 55076-3037
(Map courtesy of Google)
Another Message from Captain Irata: “That’s all she wrote, SPACE Cadets!” HOO-RAH!