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AtariAge News archive for February 2002:
Billy Eno of Baroque Gaming has announced that copies of his new Atari 2600 game, Warring Worms, are now available for purchase. Warring Worms is similar to Atari's Surround, but more advanced and enjoyable. The most significant addition is that each worm can shoot a cannon to destroy blocks on the playing field or kill the opposing worm. Billy Eno has also made the binary and instructions available so you can try the game in your favorite Atari 2600 emulator. For more information, including how to order, please visit the Warring Worms home page. To discuss Warring Worms with other AtariAge visitors and Billy Eno, please visit our Atari 2600 Forum.
Tizoc has modified original (brand new) PAL 7800 Sentinel cartridges so they can be played on NTSC televisions. Sentinel was only released by Atari in Europe, so until now there has been no way to play it on NTSC Atari 7800 consoles. Tizoc carefully removed the cartridge labels, replaced the masked ROMs with EPROMs and then put the cartridges back together. Included with this package are the original instructions, original box, labels, and a new set of 7800 style instructions. The price is $36 and if you're interested you can drop Tizoc a line. More information, including pictures, can be found here.
Paul Slocum has chosen the three winners for the Synthcart Beat Contest! Out of the many wonderful beats submitted, these are the three that will garner their creators a free Synthcart:
Hally - Submission #2 Felemel - Submission #2 Jeff Gregory - Submission #1
We encourage you to listen to the three winners by simply clicking on the above links. And if you want to listen to all the submissions, follow this link to the bottom of the contest page. Remember, these beats were recorded straight from an Atari 2600! Paul will also be including additional entries on the Synthcart, and will be announcing the complete list of beats to be included in a few days. If you'd like to discuss the contest results with other AtariAge visitors and Paul Slocum, please visit our message boards. We thank everyone who took the time to submit entries and hope that you all had fun!
Tomorrow's Heroes has published issue #54 of Retrogaming Times, the monthly online feature about classic gaming. In this issue:
Two new features begin this month! The first is Video Game Lingo. Learn to talk like a classic game veteran! The second is reviews of classic handhelds and tabletops. This month, we start off with reviews of Tron and Zaxxon! Are they fun to play? With summer around the corner, the classic game shows will be starting. Get the first information about the CCAG 2K2 and a new show, the Midwest Classic! So get your summer plans set now!
MyAtari.net has announced their first annual MyAtari Awards. Voting is set to begin in March, and they are taking nominations now using this online form. While you're there, also be sure to check out the MulitJoy8 joystick interface, that allows up to 8 joystick players on an XL/XE. Here are the award categories:
Best Atari web site of the year Best Programmer of the year Best Commercial release of the year Best Shareware release of the year Best PD/Freeware release of the year Best Game release of the year Best Hardware upgrade of the year Best Atari supporting company of the year Best Atari magazine of the year Outstanding contribution to the Atari community
Many of you have probably heard of the Atari 2600 homebrew titles being sold under the recently formed XYPE label: Gunfight, Jammed!, Qb, and Thrust. If you'd like to enjoy these great games on a real 2600, you can now purchase all of them from Hozer Video Games, where a XYPE page has been created to showcase these titles. To celebrate the launch of the XYPE brand, Hozer Video is giving away a free canvas thrifting bag (pictured at right) to people who place an order for a XYPE cartridge, while supplies last. Show your support for the homebrew authors and order some carts today!
The NorthWest Classic Games Enthusiasts club has announced the NWCGE Expo 2K2, to take place on Saturday, March 16th, 2002 in Kirkland, Washington. The NWCGE Expo is an event aimed at all classic gaming enthusiasts, and whether you want to play, buy, sell, or trade classic games they promise there's something at the show for you. This year's show will see the release of a new 2600 game titled, X3V0LuX, including a contest where the winner will receive the first release of a limited run of cartridges. For more details about the show, please read the NWCGE2K2 Press Release.
The GOAT Store has announced the first ever Midwest Classic, tentatively scheduled for June 8, 2002. This event is being hosted by the GOAT Store and Marty Goldberg of ClassicGaming.com and will feature systems from Pong to classic computers. In addition, there will be information on arcade and pinball machines, including a demonstration of how a pinball machine works. Attendees can also expect tournaments to participate in, and the coordinators are working hard to bring ultra-rare and perhaps even exclusive games to the event. For more information please visit the The GOAT Store, and you can also discuss this upcoming event in our message boards.
For everyone living up in the northeast, the next North Atlantic Videogame Aficionados (NAVA) meeting has been set for Saturday, March 2nd at 5:00pm. These meetings have been held at Video Game Connections (a retail store selling classic and modern games and systems) since 1995 and are well-attended by many collectors in the tri-state area. This is more of an informal gathering of collectors, so people are encouraged to bring carts and systems along for trading and showing off. There is no fee for admission. For more information and directions on how to get to the NAVA meeting, please visit Video Game Connections.
Thomas Jentzsch is at it again! This time he's modified Omega Race so you can play it with a standard Atari joystick, using a control scheme similar to Asteroids. In addition, he's modified his original game Thrust to take better advantage of the Booster Grip (a special controller shipped with Omega Race). Thomas was also kind enough to send us an updated manual for Thrust, as well as the manual for Jammed, both of which can now be viewed online. If you'd like to suggest controller modifications for other 2600 games, please stop by our 2600 message boards.
Just a friendly reminder that the Synthcart Beat Programming Contest ends Sunday at Midnight (CST)! Three winners will be chosen by Synthcart's author, Paul Slocum, to each receive a free Synthcart for the Atari 2600! We've just added eight more beat submissions, bringing the total number of beats received to well over thirty! And we look forward to hearing more submissions before the contest ends. To assist you in creating beats, Len Charest has created a web-based graphical interface for generating the beatdata.h file required to enter the contest (we highly suggest you check it out!) Please visit the contest page for information about the Synthcart, the contest, and how to enter! Good luck!
Ronen Habot (aka "OldGuru") has made some recent updates to his Castle Blast Development Page. Castle Blast is a game Ronen is developing for the Atari 5200, based on the 5th screen of the popular Phoenix arcade game. As part of this effort, Ronen is also developing a comprehensive Atari 5200 Programming Tutorial so others may learn from his first 5200 programming endeavor. Be sure to check out the latest updates, which include new screenshots and more information about the game's five levels. You can discuss Castle Blast with Ronen Habot and other AtariAge visitors in our message boards here.
Thomas Jentzsch, fresh from his recent onslaught of 2600 Conversions, brings us a new round of modified 2600 games. Thomas has taken two Atari games, Asteroids and Sprintmaster, and updated them to take advantage of the 2600 driving controller. This gives you better precise analog control in Asteroids and makes Sprintmaster truer to its arcade cousin. When you're done exploring those two modifications, Thomas has created an NTSC version of Ghostbusters II, which was only released in a European PAL version by Salu. You can discuss these conversions with other AtariAge visitors in our 2600 Forum.
The Classic Video Game World Championship and the Funspot-Twin Galaxies International Classic Video and Pinball Tournament will take place Thursday through Sunday, May 30-June 2, 2002, at the Funspot Family Fun Center in Weirs Beach, NH. Players competing in the Classic Video Game world Championship will be required to perform on these seven games: Arkanoid, Berzerk, Carnival, Crystal Castles, Donkey kong, Jr., Elevator Action, Tempest. Visit the Funspot and Twin Galaxies web sites for more information.
Len Charest has created a web-based graphical interface for generating the beatdata.h file required to enter the Synthcart Beat Programming Contest. This tool allows you to create new beats using a fairly intuitive interface, and there's even help available should you need it. To give everyone a chance to take advance of Len's new tool, we've extended the contest another week until Midnight (CST), Sunday, February 17th, 2002. Over twenty entries have been submitted to the contest thus far, with more arriving daily. Three entrants whose beats are chosen to be included with the Synthcart will receive a free Synthcart cartridge! You can discuss Len's Synthcart Beat Data Generator and the Beat Contest in our message boards here.
Caféman has written an informative article on Gaming-Age titled Homebrewing on the Classic 80's Consoles. If you've ever wanted to know what it takes to develop your own game for a classic console, you owe it to yourself to check it out. There's lots of great information about creating homebrew games, even getting into many of the technical hurdles that must be overcome. If you frequent our message boards, you'll probably recognize several of the authors and games mentioned. Relevant links are included at the end of the article if you'd like to learn more. You can discuss the story here with Caféman and other AtariAge visitors.
Jeffry Johnston (aka Calamari) has announced Calamari's Solitaire, a version of klondike solitaire for the Atari 5200. Calamari's Solitaire is being developed using the 5200BAS Compiler and an Antic4 Screen Editor, tools also created by Jeffry Johnston. Solitaire variations so far include Vegas and Standard scoring, and in a Vegas game you'll have the option to draw one or three cards at a time. Other solitaire variations are possible as the game evolves. You can view the first exclusive screenshots of Calamari's Solitaire here, and can learn more information about Jeffry's 5200 programming tools on his 5200BAS Development Page. To discuss Calamari's Solitaire with Jeffry and other AtariAge visitors, please visit our Atari 5200 Forum.
Paul Slocum, who's been busy ramping up production of his upcoming Synthcart, has managed to find some time to work on his new 2600 game Marble Craze. If you've ever seen one of those wooden games that use two knobs to tilt a board, guiding a marble around a maze, then you know what to expect from Marble Craze. Paul has sent us a binary of the game's title screen, which is complete with animation and music. You can download it from our Marble Craze page. Be sure to check out Paul Slocum's Homepage, where you can learn about other Atari-related projects Paul is working on. Please visit our Atari 2600 message board to discuss Marble Craze with Paul and other AtariAge visitors.
In case you haven't seen it yet (I think we're one of the last sites to post this!), SafeStuff.com has received several updates recently. On the site you will find a large collection of prototype Atari Games (Atari's arcade division) artwork, internal Atari documentation, and pictures of many prototype Atari arcade cabinets that were never released. Here are some examples of the cool items you'll find:
Concept art of Atari arcades Memo from Lucasfilm regarding Star Wars arcade game Atari Games brainstorming session notes Marble Madness II information
There's lots of great info and pictures here and well worth checking out if you're a fan of Atari's coin-op division!
We've received word that Rufus Copperhead has released an Atari Lynx database for use with GameBase. GameBase is a multi-emulator front-end, currently supporting the Atari Lynx, Commodore 64, Amiga, and MAME. The newly added Lynx database contains over 100 game entries, as well as screenshots for these games. Please visit the GameBase home page for more information.
Several authors of various homebrew games for the 2600 and 5200 have recently updated the development pages for their upcoming games. These include Adventure II for the 5200, Koffi: Yellow Kopter, also for the 5200, and The Ravenous Dead (formerly They've Risen) for the 2600. These pages offer insight into what it takes to develop a new game from scratch and we encourage anyone who might be interested in the development process to visit them. You can keep abreast of what new games are in development for by visiting our Titles in Development page.
Today is Nolan Bushnell's 59th birthday and we at AtariAge wish him the very best! As most of you know, Nolan Bushnell was the creator of Pong and founded Atari back in 1972 (30 years ago!) Here are some interesting links regarding Nolan that we dug up for those who'd like to read more about him and his adventures:
The Tech Museum - An Interview with Nolan Bushnell Metroactive - No Pain, No Gain Joystick 101 - Nolan Bushnell Answers Your Questions Good Deal Games - Interview Atari Time Machine - History of Atari uWink On-Line - Nolan's current business venture
Happy Birthday, Nolan!
Version 0.2 of DCstella, a Sega Dreamcast port of the popular Atari 2600 emulator Stella, has been released. This version supports several new features, but one of the most important is the inclusion of sound support. Another new feature is the use of the VMU to display difficulty switches, as well as a cool Atari logo. You can download DCstella 0.2, as well as get all the details about what's changed in this release and what needs to be done, at the DCstella homepage. You can discuss DCstella with other AtariAge visitors here.
Songbird Productions has announced that their latest Lynx game CyberVirus will begin shipping on February 18th. CyberVirus was released in limited quantities at last year's CinciClassic and this is the first time it's being made available to the general public. This version is packed with new missions and many new features over the earlier release. Please visit Songbird Productions for more information on CyberVirus including details on how to order. You can discuss CyberVirus with Carl Forhan of Songbird Productions in our Atari Lynx message board.
Many thanks to Thomas Jentzsch, who has supplied us with a whole slew of games he's converted from the PAL to NTSC video format. This allows you to play these games on an NTSC television (using a Cuttle Cart or similar device) without having to worry about your screen rolling. The nearly twenty conversions Thomas has done are of original games that were either never released in NTSC format, or for which a good NTSC dump does not exist. Have a look at these conversions and enjoy! You can discuss these games with other AtariAge visitors in our Atari 2600 message board.
MyAtari.net has just published Issue #16 of their webzine. The January (#15) issue is now available for download for offline reading. Features of the new February edition include:
GAME, set, match! Atari Emulation Giving windows a color cut Atari pitch invasion Tip of the day and much more!
Issue #69 of the long-running 2600 Connection printed fanzine is now available. In this edition:
Activision TV Games From Toymax review by Lee Krueger Miscellaneous hardware hacks by Chris Pepin, Marco Antonio Checa Funcke, Lee Krueger, Chris Wilkson, Kevin Horton and Robert Mitchell 2600 Arcade Cabinet photo News & Notes Letters Classifieds
GameReset has made available CloneSpy, a ROM checking tool that will allow you to compare your ROMs and return a number of results. While this software was originally written by Thomas Jentzsch in 2000, it wasn't widely known and has been unavailable for some time. What will CloneSpy tell you?
Which original ROM was used for a clone/hack? Where has code been reused for different games? How big are the differences between PAL and NTSC versions? How different are multiple versions of the same game? Are all suspected clone games really clones? Does an oversized dump also contain another ROM?
Visit the CloneSpy page at GameReset for more information and download CloneSpy for yourself.
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