:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: Volume 3, Issue 14 ATARI EXPLORER ONLINE 18 December 1994 :: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: :: :: ATARI .............. News, reviews, & solutions ............ ATARI :: :: EXPLORER ............ for the online Atari .......... EXPLORER :: :: ONLINE ................. Community .............. ONLINE :: :: :: :: Published and Copyright (c) 1993-1994 by Subspace Publishers :: :: All Rights Reserved :: :: """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" :: :: Publisher .................................... Michael Lindsay :: :: Editor ........................................... Travis Guy :: :: Assistant Editor GEnie......................... Ron Robinson :: :: Assistant Editor CompuServe................... Albert Dayes :: :: Assistant Editor Delphi.................. Andreas Barbiero :: :: Assistant Editor Internet................. Timothy Wilson :: :: Atari Asylum ... [Closed] ............... Gregg Anderson :: :: Unabashed Atariophile .............. Michael R. Burkley :: :: Atari Artist ............................ Peter Donoso :: :: User Group Coordinator .................. Ron Whittam :: :: Jaguar Editor ................... Dimitri M. LaBarge :: :: :: :: Contributors: :: :: """"""""""""" :: :: Mark Santora, Christian Svensson, David A. Wright :: :: :: :: Telecommunicated to you via: :: :: """""""""""""""""""""""""""" :: :: GEnie: ST/JAGUAR RT Library 38 :: :: CompuServe: ATARIGAMING Library 10 :: :: Delphi: ATARI ADVANTAGE & WORLD OF VIDEO GAMES Libraries :: :: Fnet: AEO Conference, Node 319 :: :: AtariNet: AEO Conference, Node 51:1/10 :: :: :: :: Internet mailing address: aeo.mag@genie.geis.com :: :: FTP recent AEO issues from: rahul.net:pub/wilsont/AEO :: :: Search gopherspace under "aeo" for back issues :: :: :: :: World Wide Web: http://www.dl.ac.uk/MISC/ATARI/atari.html :: :: :: :: Internet subscription service: stzmagazine-request@virginia.edu :: :: (Internet subscription requests ONLY!) :: :: :: :: AEO is also in file format on the Jaguar Mailing List :: :: :: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Table of Contents * From the Editors ......................................... Atari Forever! * Atari Artist ................................... OS Dominance, who wins? Video/Audio/MIDI/ Hardware news. * Rare Gems ......................................... Quotes worth quoting. * "Atari Holiday" RTC ................. Tom Gillen and Dan McNamee guested at a recent GEnie RTC. Join the fun, and read along. * Ron Borta, Back into the Future ........... An interview with one of the pioneers of silicon gaming. * Jaguar Tackboard ................ AEO Development List - Press Releases - Jag Developers Wanted - CatBox manual - AEO's Top Games - Atari Demo Tape & T2K Soundtrack CD Order Info - AvP "Cheat On" Explained. * Doom ............................. The latest computer classic now rules console video gaming on the Jag! * Val D'Isere Skiing and Snowboarding ........... Swish and shred your way through the powder. * Checkered Flag ......................... "Gentlemen, start your engines!" * The Unabashed Atariophile ................... PD and Shareware files for _your_ Atari computer. * Developing News ...................... SARA CD-ROM Search Software Homa Systems Thermal Wax Printing STeno 2.1 Patch Available STalker 3.03 Patch Too Apex Media For Falcon 030 * Shutdown ............................ Around the world and up your block. --==--==--==--==-- ||| From the Editors ....... Atari Explorer Online: The Next Generation ||| Travis Guy / | \ GEnie: AEO.MAG Delphi: AEO_MAG Internet: aeo.mag@genie.geis.com ------------------------------------------------------------------- Hey, whaddya know? AEO made it out on time for once! Hello there good readers, and welcome to the final issue of AEO for 1994. Your window on events in the World Atari would like to wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, a Nice Day to Have and just Good Gaming and Atari Computering in general! Inside, there's lots of Atari news; another GEnie RTC, three new Jaguar game reviews, an interview with a silicon pioneer ("Dad" is taking an interest in the industry again), and Michael Burkley's listing of the latest (and best) PD & Shareware titles for our computers - all led off by another stellar Atari Artist! (Dimitri's computer suffered a last minute problem, keeping him from contributing his column.) What you won't find as usual, is the Annual Readers' Poll. I've decided to postpone that, so you have one less thing to do during the holidays. It'll be in our next issue. If you've a Jaggie on your Christmas list, drop by the Jaguar Tackboard and check out the Atari Dealer Demo Tape and Tempest 2000 CD Soundtrack offers from Atari. I have copies of both (I'm listening to the Tempest Red Level music on my CD right now), and they'll make "Excellent" stocking stuffers. The Winter Consumer Electronics Show will take place in Las Vegas from January 6 - January 9. Look for more exciting Jaguar news to be formally announced there, like the availability of the Jaguar CD-ROM for $149, and some new Jaguar games to be shown. That news, combined with several original titles like the Highlander series, BattleSphere, and Defender 2000 ("Now with Q-Sound!(tm)") due out in 1995, and several new retailers, like Sam's Club, Venture and Toys R Us moving the Jag into mass distribution, it's obvious that Jaguar is set to pounce. We'll see you again around then! Take extra care during the long Holiday season, wish Peace and Love to those of Goodwill, and have a wonderful time. --==--==--==--==-- ||| Atari Artist ||| By: Peter Donoso & Fadi Hayek / | \ GEnie: EXPLORER.2 ----------------------------------------------------------------- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-[ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [ ATARI ARTIST ] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-[ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Cross-Platform Connectivity. What exactly does this refer to? For those of you out there who prefer their explanations in scientific terms, I've consulted with a leading astro-physicist whose love of lecturing is quite legendary. His explanation: "A growing number of computer users are finding the movement of this novel concept has journyed quite a distance since its first conception from within the participle-clustered theories of science fiction's great literary minds. Recent developments have successfully broken the divisional isolation of each system platform from the influnece of a singularity-based gravitational well. Now, this has been primarily accomplished through the application of a brilliantly reformulated computational set of new marketing opportunity vectors.The resulting vastly-increased sales trajectories have, in turn, yielded the required momentum to "slingshot", as it were, these emerging unified forces past the dwarfed utterings of a few fervently-spoken platitudes, and out into the temporal matrix of a very near future time. And so, we believe they are presently maintaining a steadily-accelerating heading towards a sector of the computer galaxy which some theorists suspect may hold the greatest potential for the future of all sentient computerists - the Crossware Netbula!" For those of you who like their explanations in English: Simply put, there is one hell of a fierce battle raging out there in the silicon valleys and corporate canyons of computer technology right now, even as we speak - one which will ultimately determine which team makes it to the final championship, while the future fate of the common man hangs in the balance! Although some people may feel that using military, athletic and political terms really has little relevance to the very issues which the computer world is currently thrashing out, it's an increasingly thin line that divides microprocessors from the metaphors of those other universal arenas of decidely human behavior. When heard within this larger contex, words like "conflict", "platform", "group", "system", "media", "program", "data" and "drive" all start to take on dual, triple and quadruple shadings of significance. Politics, sports and armed conflicts seem to be such interchangeable bytes on news segments these days, that pouring this gumbo into the speculative cauldron of future computer development seems quite logical to me. In the course of trying to establish some common points of reference, these seem to work as well as anything else out there. So let's take a closer look at each direction in our current crossroad, and what consequences committing to any one direction might have down the road for the average user - which is to say, you and I. In simplifying the alternatives, the decision seems to boil down to taking one of two directions in our proverbial information crossroads. Here's what I feel are the primary choices: =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// On One Hand.... =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= One road leads to a mutually-vested confederation of operating systems (OS), drawn together from most of the original independents (Macintosh under System 7, Atari under TOS w/GEM support, Commodore's AmigaDOS/ Workbench, UNIX/X-Windows, possible NEXT, and Microsoft's DOS/Windows 3.1). Developers and users alike of these individual platforms would be looking down the road to a time where any one of these platforms would be able to freely exchange and access ANY and ALL data, regardless of origin, as well as be able to run ANY program, irrespective of which OS it was originally written to work with! As a final component of this ideal future unified OS shell, users would access their information and applications from within a common plug-and-play interface. This league of potentially "United wait-States" would most likely come together under a declaration of guiding principles: [] Independent development under the aegis of "cross-platform connectivity" will foster a creative and inventive environment for the continued pursuit of better, more intuitive ways and methods for manipulating and working with digitally computerized data. [] The best of all worlds can best be experienced through a unified interconnected work arena. [] Diversity is a highly-valuable resource of continued computer development. [] OS diversity means a flourishing economy driven by the very engines which are already in place. [] More people who want a computer will be able to afford one, and communicate with a wider cross-section of the world. [] The technological advances incorporated in one OS will be available to all users to further advancing universal user-ability. [] "Viva la OS difference!" - Pierre Francois de la Ours. (One only need allude to the notion of something "revolutionary" - and the French are there!) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Then There's.... =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Another road beckons to a driven idealist, who dreams of attaining distinction as the architect of THE "universal OS." This man's fervent hope is that his Windows '95 will ultimately be THE interface which offers all the necessary requiremenets for practically any computer application, thereby proving to be all things to all users. Bewitched devotees of this, the single most popular and widely- installed OS in the computer world today, are enthralled with the promise of a new and improved edition of their favorite graphic interface - one which will finally address the shortcomings of the current version. Having brought the first sembelance of standardization to a world still wrought with a myriad of often-conflicting methods for interfacing with the main CPU, Windows has rallied its converts beneath the banner of hope for pre-emptive multi-tasking, ease-of-use and the final establishment of a true plug-'n-play homeland. The articles of Microsft's guiding principles would appear to be: [] Corporate development by one company under the aegis of "single- platform conformity" will foster a more stable and universal environment in which all computerized data will be uniformly accessible. [] The best of all worlds can best be served through a unified inter- connected work arena. [] Conformity is a highly-valuable resource of future computer development. [] OS conformity means a flourishing economy, driven by the ever- increasing replacement of various out-dated engines for one which speaks the same language everywhere. [] More people who are afraid of computers will be able operate one, given they only have one system to learn. Having one world-wide platform is the ideal way to get everyone - business and personal users - to effectively communicate with each other and exchange information. With a wider cross-section of the world. No one will have to worry about whether their file can be used by someone else's PC or not. [] The technological advances which emerge from the now substantial group of new and converted developers will stand to benefit all users. [] "Windows is the OS of the common man!" - William Gates =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// The Perils of Proclaimed Blessings =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Human beings seem to have a innate conflict raging within them which no sooner casts them towards the comfortable safety of the heard as turns them standing defiantly alone and into the wind. It won't be the end of the world if Bill Gates succeeds in making Windows the OS of the masses, but don't think for a moment that he'll be content to stay within the realm of PCs. Every form and method of transmitting information, from cable/ interactive TV to sattelite data networks, is presently under development for tying into and in some way being a part of the grander Microsoft OS. The world is on the verge of another great change as a direct result of new technology. Just think of what the invention of the telegraph and telephone has brought about. It would seem obvious that Microsoft would really love to be the molecular building block from which all things information-related are driven. But does this not qualify them as the AT&T of computer OS/communications technology? And it's not as if there were once a half-dozen different types of phones, all of which employed a different system for transferring electical signals across different types of wires. I personally enjoy using a number of Microsoft's products, and have a great deal of respect for their many accomplishments, just as I do for all of the other previously-mentioned operating systems. I have used and like them all. Each has its strengths in a variety of particular applications. Ironically, consider that the pride taken in practicing a "My OS is the obviously superior one!" attitude - which is saying, in effect, that all other OS platforms are beneath any worthy consideration - has in fact greatly contributed to the strength of Microsoft's appeal in the first place. When everyone starts to think and act this way, the group with the largest number of one-OS effists wins, hands down! The future will undoubtedly belong to those who are able to control information. True power will lie in the hands of those who have the needed information. But this mission Microsoft seems to be on - to free humankind from the final vestiges of isolated darkness and supposedly lead us towards the beginnings of the Next Generation - what price will we be asked to pay for this great blessing? Tools - the ability to conceive, design and fashion them - are one of the significant accomplishments that brought us out of our caves and the ignorance of our fears. But might we not yet again run the risk, as we have done on more than a few occasions, of falling in love with a tool to such an extent that we would come to hold it in higher esteem than the people for whom it was designed to serve, or higher than the tasks to which we would seek comprehensive and effective solutions for? If you believe, as many do, that we've been invited as honored guests for a day at the races, gaily milling around the track as we daydream about our winnings and all the wonderful things we'll be able to do with them.... Well, somehow the choice of where I go to graze and the call of the wind, even with all of its unpredictablity and uncertainty, still seems more appealing to me than to be safely grazing amidst the uniform feeding grounds of the purchased heard. Is that being a reactionary? If that means retaining the right to be an individual who still has a number of choices available to them... then I guess so. And now, the news.... Although the Atari world seems to be poised somewhat in mid-stride, scanning its surroundings for indications of where to pick up the trail of development, there's still a lot of interesting developments which continue to surface while the preliminary preperation for moving forward gathers momentum. And away we go.... -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- = = - - -=-=-=- [ OS NEWS ] -=-=-=- - - = = -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// MagiC Announces Cross-Platform Devlopment =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= As an appropriate lead-in in from our little diatribe, MagiC, developers of an excellent alternate multi-tasking operating system compatible with the complete line of Atari computers, was recently at a very popular annual Macintosh show in Frankfurt, Germany, demonstrating MagiC World Pro for the Mac. A pre-emptive multi-tasking operating system especially designed to run on the Mac, which will allow any properly-written GEM application to run on the Mac desktop WITHOUT any additional Nu-Bus card or hardware add-on! Compatibility with all Macintosh 020 and upwards models, a special PowerMac version is scheduled for release the second half of '95. Although the multi-tasking and VDI aspects of the program were fully-operational and running, the AES is still under the final stages of development. As an additional piece of interesting news, MagiC is also talking about offering a developmental tool which will automatically convert GEM source code for easiily porting GEM programs over to the Mac. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Mac Emulation On The Atari =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= MagiC also has announced they are developing software which will allow Mac software to run on an Atari WITHOUT any additional hardware ROMS or add-ons. Although information on how they propose to pull this off is sketchy at press-time it's supposed that this development is as a direct result of their research on their alternate Atari-emulation software for the MAC. More news as son as it becomes available. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Janus Card Offers Atari On Your PC =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Offering an alternative to the GEMulator, Janus is a plug-in card for PCs which boasts a 16MHz 6800 Motorola processor and Tos 2.06 ROMs, with space to plug in either 2 megs or 8 megs of on-board RAM memory. Emulation can be launched from either the DOS prompt or from Windows, either as a full-screen DOS session runningfrom within Windows or from the Windows' desktop in its own window. The card diverts most non-Atari system calls to the main CPU processor, allowing for extremely fast desktop performance in accessing folders and opening and closing GEM windows. Running at roughly the equivelent of a Mega STe, presently supported resolutions include ST high and six "dual mode" 16-color modes, up to 800 x 600 pixels. Some graphics functions exceed TT benchmarks, but compatibility with all ST programs is not across-the-board. Properly- written GEM applications, with the exception of most games and music programs, are compatible. Reading and writing to floppy disks is quite reliable and there is hard drive support for partitions larger than 32 megs. Mouse action is smooth, printing is available via the parallel port, modem access through the serial port, and access to a CD-ROM drive, if installed, is also fairly trouble-free. Future development includes MIDI and cartridge port support, as well as Ethernet network access. Priced at around $599, including TOS chips (but still requiring separate memory SIMMS), for further information, contact: CGS ComputerBild +44 81-679-7307 U.S. distribution as yet to be determined. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- = = - - -=-=-=- [ MUSIC NEWS ] -=-=-=- - - = = -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Steinberg Releases Cubase Audio 2.02 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The latest version of Steinberg's Cubase Audio Falcon (CAF) - the only digital audio recorder/MIDI sequencer offering 16 audio tracks on a computer, right out of the box - has been formerly announced for release. Outstanding new features include: [] Improved loop timing in syncing up audio. [] A new version of MROS - 3.43. * A special note for those upgrading to this version of MROS: You need to make an adjustemnt to all your mixer maps in order for them to work properly with this new version. Start by opening the Objects Editor. Hold down the ALT key and click on the box labeled "Ouput", located at the lower left hand side. Click on the word "Sampler" and a pop-up list will appear. Select "DSP" and, while STILL holding down the ALT key, exit the editor by clicking on OK. A dialog prompt will ask you if you want to change all the objects. Say "Yes" and you'll have correctly changed all the DSP routings. [] Mixer Map module has been changed to fix timing problems. A "Split Sync" feature has also been added to let you source a new clock through the FDI while still being able to record audio through the analog input. This feature forces MIDI to run at the same clock speed as an external audio timing signal routed through the FDI, such as from a DAT player or external SMPTE time clock generator. [] Background redraws are also much improved for real-time updating of all open windows [] CAF is now fully compatible with NVDI 3.0 and Warp 9 v3.81. The goal of being able to run in color still remains an elusive one. The display is somewhat jerky, and still causes continued DSP errrors. This, however, is really more a limitation of the 680x0 processor than anything else. The remarkable amount of information and capabilties of Cubase Audio Falcon is in itself, quite an accomplishment. Additionally, Steinberg has written Cubase to be processor- independent, so as to be compatible with any 16-bit Atari machine. All of that remarkable power and sophistication, however, does have its price. The only real solution is an 040 (or greater) accelerator. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Zero-X Is Here! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Those of you out there who have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of Avalon 2.0, with its custom contoured array of sample editing features especially designed to take advantage of the Falcon will have to wait a while longer. Although development has resumed after a short hiatus, it's still in the early stages of development. For those of you who just can't wait any longer as well as for those musicians who long for some sample editing power but are using an ST/STe/TT - good news! Zero-X, the digital-based sound processing software for editing digital audio from any MIDI or SCSI source, is here! Swedish developer Kopson Data (see Wizztronics section below for U.S. purchasing) has come up with a great new program which offers musicians and recording studios a powerful set of tools for editing and manipulating samples. Some of the features include: [] Seamless looping of sounds, edited samples or beat loops. [] Conversion of audio files between formats. Freely convert between CubaseAudio's AIF, Avalon's .SD, PC\Windows' .WAV, Win Rec's .DVSM, DAME's(?) .TKE, Atari's AVR or RAW formats in 8/16bit, stereo or mono, signed or unsigned. [] Auto-looping features which provide users with the fastest and most powerful, true auto-loop capability of any program. [] Powerful auto-searching feature which scans a sample and automatically locates the most optimal loop points in a sample. [] Loop Prepare supports gaiting for adjusting the faded-in or faded-out portion of a sample, as well as the ability to apply an auto-ramp algorithim to eliminate those resulting annoying "vibrato" effects that occur when trying to establish a clean sounding loop. [] Assignable cross-fading. Users of a Falcon with 14 megs will find they have an awesome amount of time to play with! [] Powerful sample wave editing features include: Cut, Copy, Paste, Fade-In/Out, Volume Optimization, and Silencing. [] Smart Cut (one of the most intriguing features offered by Zero-X) actually scans for transient volumes and divides the sample into separate parts. One very pratical application of this would be for splicing a drum sample, for example, into seperate instrument components. The transient volumes would range from the subtlty of a high-hat to the thundering presence of a bass drum. Theoretically, you could import these seperate samples into Cubase Audio Falcon and use the Cue Point feature to apply a DNA groove to the beat - very cool! (Recycle, currently available from Steinberg for the Mac, provides a similar feature, but is somewhat more direct in its application.) [] Falcon-specific features: Direct 16bit monitoring of a sample, anywhere 8 to 49 KHz; Fast DSP calculations using the Falcon's DSP chip; SCSI dump of sample for fast downloading and uploading for external sampling units which contain a SCSI port. [] On a TT it will support 8-bit monitoring of sample, as well as direct SCSI dump. [] On an ST/STe it will support MIDI dump and 8 bit sample monitoring. [] Cross-the-board support for batch dump/receieve and standard MIDI and SMDI dump on all Atari models. Planned or anticipated additional features for the next revision include: Time Compression/Expansion; Time Pitch-shifting; Support for greater MIDI and SCSI standards; The creation of a MIDI File from an audio beat loop. European users can contact Kopson Data in Sweden directly (Voice - +46-13-164104; Fax - +46-31-812139; Internet - peter@vinga.trillium.se) Interested U.S. users, see the Wizztronics section later on in this isue. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Direct Sound Files From Any Audio CD =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Anodyne's Roger Burrows, creator of ExtenDOS, which allows smooth, trouble-free access of CD-ROM drives for the playing of any standard Phillips Red Book CD format on your Atari computer, has also released ExtenDOS Pro. Bundled with the program is a remote control panel accessory for playing standard audio CDs as well. Looking into the next revision, Roger is investigating the feasibility of writing a program which will allow any audio CD track to be scanned and written to your hard drive as it's being played. The track would be automatically converted into a standard .WAV format - sort of a direct SCSI dump with built-in translation conversion. Wow! Look ma, no DAT! Of course, being that reusable recordable CD units have yet to be perfected, it's a one way street... but still, the prospect is pretty exciting. For more information, contact: Anodyne Software 6 Cobbler Court Ottawa, Ontario Canada K1V 0B8 (613) 523-7498 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// The Falcon TDSM General MIDI Module =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Consider the extent of the true potential of the Falcon - it just keeps growing and growing.... Now Martin Griffiths, developer of ProTracker Replay as well as a Falcon-converted version, is nearing completion of a program which would allow Falcon owners to take 16-bit samples stored on their hard drives and use them to play any General MIDI sequence. The program, tentatively called The Digital Sound Module, or TDSM, would include a built-in sequence player, and with 16-bit quality smples you'll have your musician friends looking around to see where you're hiding your MIDI keyboard. They may think you're playing a sample file directly - until you take the MIDI sequence off the disk they brought over and let them listen to it being played with professional sounding samples! The concept of General MIDI, for those of you who may not quite understand the term, means storing a specific patch number for each track, along with the actual MIDI notes information, on a sequence. Any external MIDI keyboard or sound module which supports the 128 General MIDI sound standard would have the appropriate type of sound - a piano, bass, horn, etc. - set to that patch number. This system avoids the hassle of having to set each patch as well as a specific MIDI channel. It's kind of like plug-'n-play sequence playing! There are 128 mono multi-sampled sounds which are planned to accompany the program, including an impressive grand piano. G-MIDI specs support the chosen route of splitting 24 possible voices into a set of dedicated eight drum/percussion voices, which are cleverly off-loaded to the Falcon's DMA chip, while the remaining 16 to be dynamicaly allocated. This scheme frees the main processor for handling program functions and running the sequencer while giving the other 16 voices over to the DSP chip. All voices will have configurable ADSR (attack, decay, sustain, release) enevelopes, there'll even be a built-in trim feature for click-free note release and an algorithim for assigning voice priority in the event the file exceeds the 16 voice limit. The program is being written with a 3-D GEM interface and will accept input from either an external MIDI keyboard or external sequencer playing a MIDI 0 or 1 file format. Each MIDI channel is being given an input filter set, toggling such features as controller info or aftertouch, as well as the capability to re-map sounds to different program change numbers for use with non-General MIDI files. On Falcons with 14 megs of memory it might even be quite possible to load up your favorite sequencer and employ TSDM as your very own on-board sound module! Those interested in keeping abreast of its release can contact: Systems Solution in England at +44-181-693-3355. U.S. distribution at this time is still to be determined, but the price is rumoured to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $125. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- = = - - -=-=-=- [ HARDWARE NEWS ] -=-=-=- - - = = -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Wizztronics Gets A HotFoot =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Wizztonics announces HotFoot, an electronic MIDI musician's tool for the entire line of Atari 16 bit computers, is a hardware add-on which offers users remote hands-free control of their computer keyboard. The HotFoot comes in three different models: a metal-housed floor mounted foot pedal with an array of either 5 or 10 switches ($109/10-switch) and a hard plastic-housed table top model with 10 switches. Each unit comes with a 10-foot cable which hooks up to the joy stick port of your Atari. Accompnaying software enables you to asssign a macro which can contain a sequence of up to 30 seperate commands, to any of the available switches. The software runs as either a program or a desk accessory. For more information, contact: Wizztronics P.O. Box 122 Port Jeferson, NY 11776 Voice/Fax - (516) 473-2507 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Wizztronics Reveals Zero-X =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Zero-X, a digital-based sound processing software for editing digital audio from any MIDI or SCSI source, is here! Wizztronics has picked up U.S. distribution rights for this exciting new sample editing program from Swedish developer Kopson Data. This is a great new program which offers musicians and recording studios a powerful set of tools for editing and manipulating samples. Priced to go at only $175. For more information, contact: Wizztronics P.O. Box 122 Port Jeferson, NY 11776 Voice/Fax - (516) 473-2507 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// More Wizztronics Updates =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [] Rack cases are now in shipping from stock and are available. With over 300 already sold, this quality-made product is proving to be one of Wizztronics' most popular items. [] Due to the decrease in SIMM prices, a fully-stocked Falcon Memory Upgrade board is now only $519! That's a susbstantial drop from the original cost of $ 719 for a full 14 megs of RAM on Wizztronics' quality manufactured memory upgrade board. If you're one of those who's been waiting for SIMM prices to come down, your moment has come. [] The frustrating delay in production of the Barracuda 040 accelerator is nearing an end. The daunting number of obstacles has been narrowed down, and test boards are now being wired up for trouble-shooting and beta testing. After so many dissappointing setbacks on this project, Wizztronics' Steve Cohen is holding off on venturing to name a target release date, but hopefully working models will be out in time for the January 1995 NAMM show in Anaheim, CA. In tandem with continued development, Wizztronics has confirmed that the 128 Meg memory expnasion card will be available as a separate item. Also confirmed for release is a separate PC emulator card containing a 486 DX processor running at 33MHz. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// PLI Announces 15x CD-ROM =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= PLI, a leader in hard drive and storage devises for the Atari computer, has announced the upcoming release of their new QuickCD 15x CD-ROM unit. Compatible with any computer which has a standard SCSI port, including ICD's The Link, the unit runs 15 times faster than a single-speed drive. With a transfer rate of 2.5 megs per second and a blistering 10 milisecond access time, this mother-of-all-CD-ROMs screams! According to PLI's claims, any standard CD-ROM will work without any modifications, and the unit is compatible with all CD-ROM disk standards: High Sierra, ISSO 9660, XA, multi-session Photo-CD, and CDI, as well as both video and audio CD formats. Priced at just under $1,000, one has to wonder what happenned to the development of 5x through 14x speed drives? The secret?... Well, the unit is actually a standard Toshiba 2x CD-ROM drive with one hell of an on-board hardware cache! Although the company was reluctant to revealing an exact figure, 32 Mb was thrown out as the ball-park for the amount of on-board RAM on their proprietary caching controller. This controller is transparent, and fools the computer into thinking it's hooked up to a regular 2X speed CD-ROM. No additional caching software is required. For more information, contact: PLI, (800) 288-8754 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// IBM Demonstrates New CD Disc Technology =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= IBM is near completion of its new process for recording data onto standard CD-ROMS. As demonstarted last spring, the process will allow for 10 layers of data to be imprinted on a single disk, yielding between 6 and 7 gigs of data storage capacity (standard CD-ROMs can now store up to around 660 megs of data per disk). This means an awesome amount - between 3 and 4 thousand books or the complete 14 episodes of I, Claudius - will be able to be squeezed onto one CD. The combined development of larger storage capacities with faster CD-ROM readers will mean the realization of high-definition, Laser-disk quality video, along with CD-quality sound - without compromising compression schemes or loss of picture quality - all on a single 5" CD! -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- = = - - -=-=-=- [ VIDEO NEWS ] -=-=-=- - - = = -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Metamorphasis 24 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Offering both powerful single frame and animation morphing (with control over determining the composed number of frames), Metamorphasis 24 is a 2-D morphing program which uses control points to limit and define the areas which are to be affected by the morph process. As in most morphing, it is recommended that the beginning and final graphics or photos are share similar general size, subject and point-of-view. This is to say that a if one graphic is rendered in profile and the other is full-face portrait, you should not expect as effective a morph as if both images were full face. Each frame in the morph is storedas a separarte TIFF file, either with or without compression, and a supplied player is included to preview the animation. Although zooming is not curently supported, you can change the colors of the morphing control points and lines, so as to make them more visible against a variety of color images. The processing power required to perform a morph is best-suited for the TT or Falcon. Patience is also very much a required ingredient to get the kind of results you would imagine is possible, and the program will benefit greatly from the future release of an accelerator card. For more information, contact: Lexicor Software 58 Redwood Road Fairfax, CA 94930 (415) 453-0271 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Video Supreme Titling Software =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Version 2.0 of Video Supreme, the video titler software, is now available. As a major update, this new version adds several new modules, as well as a number of additional features. Support for syncing sampled sounds to graphic sequences, with up to 19 different sound file formats recognized and supported. Overscan mode is supported on both the ST and STe, and a frame- converter module alllows for translation of a standard 32,000 byte screen into an overscanned one. Full-screen animation effects are also supported, and a number of new effects for displaying screens have also been added. For more information, contact: Goodman International +44 17-623-5650. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= /// APEX Reaches For The Zenith =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Once upon a time Black Scorpion software had created a flurry of anticiaption with the announcement of its forthcoming ChromaStudio 24. Previews gave an exciting view into the program's promise for delivering some impressive effects, and promised to be the Atari platform's first true multi-media graphics, animation and image processing program suite. Unfortunately, the program met an untimely premature death. The great news, however, is that its worthy successor is on the way! APEX is based largely on a number of ChromaStudio 24's most attractive and impressive features while offering a number of additional sophisticated features and capabilities. Redesigned from the ground up, APEX promises to surpass ChromaStudio 24 by a considerable distance. Having abandoned the somewhat cumbersome routines imposed by GEM, APEX uses faster code which occuppies far less memory, making it feasible for working with a mere 4 megs of memory. The interface is icon-based and modular in its approach, much like Calamus SL. Taking advantage of the Falcon's DSP chip for affecting a large number of special effects such as animation filtering, anti-aliasing, smoothing, noise removal, motion blur filters for animations and block distortion operations in near-real time. Direct support for a number of video digitzing cards, including Matrix SvreenEye and Expose, a full range of drawing and paint tools, and a supersampling feature which allows images to be re-scaled to be compatible with APEX's canvas size, without losing detail or color depth. Graphic file formats include Targa, Gif, MTV Raytrace, JPEg, Spectrum 512, IFF and Photochrome, as well as such animation formats as AM, FLI and SEQ. Generating its own video modes, they include 320x200, 320x400, 640x 200 and 640x400 in 256 color, 16-bit or psuedo 24-bit palettes. Full overlaying and integration of animations and graphic images is possible, both front and back, and RGB, CMYK or HSB palette changes can also be widely effected. Tools include the expected range comparable to standard drawing programs, along with a powerful assortment of block manipulation and color palette manipulation. Non-linear tools include a very realistic airbrush, masking, film and image filters, distortion, morphing and outline text effects. Font support includes the option of using any Calalmus-compatible font, as well as Sigmund formats. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// RIP Has Arisen =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Touted as a powerful but easy-to-use 3-D modeling, graphic and animation software suite, the current working title is RIP (Render In Perfection), though this most likely will change. Previews incidate that animations have been created with the quality of Lawn Mower Man, yet the main emphasis throughout its many powerful features is being placed on ease-of-use. Support for multi-computer processing to affect quicker renderings is also supported. The program is also available on other platforms, such as Silicon Graphics Workstations and OS/2. Being that this program originates in Germany, there are limited details available. More information as it becomes available... Well, that's it for this edition. Next issue we'll have more of the latest in all your favorite subjects. Until next time, this is Pete Donoso & Fadi Hayek reminding you that.... -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- = = - - [ "Today is the Tomorrow you dreamed about Yesterday." ] - - = = -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- =-=-=-=-=-=-= //// CREDITS =-=-=-=-=-=-= ATARI ARTIST endeavors to bring you the latest news on what's happening in areas that involve the ARTS. Music & MIDI, video, and a host of graphic categories covering drawing, painting, animation, graphics, raytracing & texture mapping as well as related graphic-editing & rendering programs, all of which are either new arrivals or soon to be released both here and in Europe. We keep a somewhat loose publishing schedule, which roughly translates to around once a month. ATARI ARTIST's staff consists of myself, Peter Donoso, and my partner, Fadi Hayek. We both live and work in New York city. //// Peter Donoso An Atari owner since 1985, I've written numerous software reviews for a number of publications, including ST Log, ST Informer, and Atari Explorer magazine, the latter of which I also had the pleasure of serving as Managing Editor under the stewardship of Editor/Publisher John Jainschigg. Apart from writing, I also freelance as a DTP layout and graphic artist, and find my Atari computers an absolutely essential tool in my passionate pursuits of both musical performance and composition. I use a number of both acoustic and MIDI-related instruments, including keyboards, guitar, flute, sax, percussion, vibes, as well as MIDI guitar, wind-controller, MIDI vibes and percussion controllers. I've been a New York city resident for more than thirty five years. My setup includes: [] An original 1040ST, used mostly for playing games. [] A Mega ST / 8 megs RAM / Digidesign DSP-driven Sound Tools card, TOS 2.06 / TALON Omniswitch for Princeton Ultra 16 multisync monitor / Cartmaster multi-cartridge port expander / Spectre GCR Mac emulator / ICD Link. [] A Falcon 030 / 14 megs RAM / 65 meg internal hard drive/ Barracuda 1 Gigabyte external hard drive / 88 meg Syquest removable cart drive / NEC 4FG 15" multi-sync monitor / Cubas Audio Falcon. //// Fadi Hayek An equally long-time Atari owner, Fadi Hayek is a MIDI/computer specialist for the SAM ASHE chain of music stores in the northeast United States. He is their resident Atari expert, and helps run the NY chapter of Club Cubase, Fadi does a good deal of MIDI consultant work, and handles such prestigious clients as Manahttan Center Studio, a thriving multi-media business which boasts one of the largest orchestral studio for film scoring on the entire east coast. Founder and, along with myself, co-owner of Amethyst Studios, a modest recording/post-production studio in Brooklyn, Fadi's years of music and computer training have served him as an excellent foundation for his many talents. A graduate of the Audio Engineering school, he's worked in a number of well-known east coast studios. Engineer, artist and video enthusiast, he is also an accomplished composer and drummer, guitarist, bassist and percussionist. Fadi's setup includes: [] A Falcon 030 / 14 megs RAM / 65 meg internal hard drive / Barracuda 1 Gigabyte external hard drive / NEC 4FG 15" multi-sync monitor / Blow-up Hardware Video Enhancer / Cubase Audio Falcon. If you have any questions or sugestions concerning anything related to the contents or subjects mentioned here in ATARI ARTIST, you can leave E-Mail for either Fadi or myself on GEnie at EXPLORER.2 (Internet address: explorer.2@genie.geis.com), and we'll get back to you just as soon as we can. --==--==--==--==-- ||| Rare Gems ||| Compiled by: David A. Wright / | \ Internet: centaur@hartford.com ---------------------------------------------------------------- The following are the "Rare Gems (sm)" selections for November 27 to December 3, 1994. "Rare Gems" is a service mark (sm) of Rare Breed Noninc. and David Alan Wright. (Internet: CENTAUR@HARTFORD.COM) Compilation copyright 1994 by same. All Wright's rights reserved. Each weekly collection may be distributed freely as long as this notice is retained. No other format may be distributed without further authorization. All quotes covered by "fair use" of copyright law. A great gift for the holidays. --:Dave There isn't much justice in the world. Perhaps that's why it's so satisfying to occasionally make some. --Martian Manhunter, "The Tyranny Gun!" (Justice League Task Force #1) by David Michelinie I'm blind in one eye, but that's okay, because my other eye has double vision. --Sean Keane One drink is just right; two is too many; three are too few. --Spanish saying Nature is trying very hard to make us succeed, but nature does not depend on us. We are not the only experiment. --R. Buckminster Fuller I'm partially deaf... I can't hear my wife. --Sean Keane Drive 55! It saves gas and annoys impatient people. --Unknown If the American dream is for Americans only, it will remain our dream and never be our destiny. --Rene de Visme Williamson === The following are the "Rare Gems (sm)" selections for December 4 to 10, 1994. "Rare Gems" is a service mark (sm) of Rare Breed Noninc. and David Alan Wright. (Internet: CENTAUR@HARTFORD.COM) Compilation copyright 1994 by same. All Wright's rights reserved. Each weekly collection may be distributed freely as long as this notice is retained. No other format may be distributed without further authorization. All quotes covered by "fair use" of copyright law. No user serviceable parts inside. --:Dave The metaphor is perhaps one of man's most fruitful potentialities. Its efficacy verges on magic, and it seems a tool for creation which God forgot inside one of His creatures when He made him. --Jose Ortega y Gasset Noble and common blood is of the same color. --German proverb Why not go out on a limb? That's where the fruit is. --Unknown All men are born equal. The tough job is to outgrow it. --Unknown Birth is nothing without virtue, and we have no claim to share in the glory of our ancestors unless we strive to resemble them. --Moliere A man that does not know how to be angry does not know how to be good. --Henry Ward Beecher We have enslaved the rest of the animal creation, and have treated our distant cousins in fur and feathers so badly that beyond doubt, if they were able to formulate a religion, they would depict the Devil in human form. --William Ralph Inge --==--==--==--==-- ||| Atari Holiday RTC ||| File Courtesy: GEnie Atari Rountables / | \ GEnie: JAGUAR$, ST$ ------------------------------------------------------------------ ========================================================================= (C) 1994 by Atari Corporation, GEnie, and the Atari Roundtables. May be reprinted only with this notice intact. The Atari Roundtables on GEnie are *official* information services of Atari Corporation. To sign up for GEnie service, call (with modem) 800-638-8369. Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that). Wait for the U#= prompt.Type XTX99437,GENIE and press [RETURN]. The system will prompt you for your information. ========================================================================== Wednesday Night Real Time Conference December 14, 1994 Host - Mike Allen Guest Speakers - Dan McNamee Tom Gillen On behalf of the Atari ST Roundtable, I welcome all of you to this Atari Holiday Round Table Conference. Tonight I would like to welcome Dan McNamee and Tom Gillen of Atari. ------------------------------------------------------- Before getting started, some businlness about how an RTC works. While the RTC room is in Listen-Only mode, you can only address our guest when I let you talk. To get my attention, just /RAIse your hand. Just enter this from your keyboard: /rai I'll acknowledge your raised hand as soon as I can, but please be patient. I -WILL- let you know when your turn is coming up. To save time you could write your message in advance and upload a SAVED (ASCII) response using your favourite/favorite terminal program or Aladdin. To upload a text file using Aladdin go under the TERMINAL menu and hit "Send Text File", then select your previously saved question. When you are finished with your question PLEASE use GA. This does not mean you are gagging, rather: GA ===> Go Ahead It tells the guest that you are finished. Some other RTC commands are: ? - Lists all RTC commands. /sta - Status (list) of everyone in the RTC room. /exi - Exit the RTC, but you remain logged onto GEnie. /bye - Log off of GEnie directly from the RTC. /rai - Raise your hand. Lets me know you wish to address our guest. With that out of the way, let us proceed. Welcome Dan and Tom, do you have a few words to begin this evening RTC? GA Dan, should I go first? yep Hi there! My name is Tom Gillen, and the last time I was part of an RTC, I was the Manager of the test department. Well time has moved on, and so have I, into a Sports Producer position for the Jaguar. I am very excited about the opportunity to help mold a variety of different sports titles into what I like, and with the help and input of others, hopefully into titles that they too will enjoy again and again. I feel that too many of the sports titles currently out for other systems lack longevity, most importantly in the "fun factor and addictability" area. My goal is to overcome that hurdle, and insure that any game that I produce turns out the best it possibly can, utilizing the awesome power afforded by the Jaguar. I am relatively new to the position, and am currently working on Hardball III and a Motocross style game titled Supercross 3D. There are other Sports titles currently in development, but until I get my Producer feet all wet, they will be handled by their original producers, and I might co-produce several of them. I am anxious to know about what sorts of things you like and dislike about other Sports titles, and intend to open up some additional message areas in the Jaguar Roundtable for that very reason. By the way, I really appreciate all of the responses that I received in the "Football likes and dislikes" topic in the Jaguar category (CAT 26, TOP 45); they were VERY helpful, and I will update you on the subject when I am able to, I promise!! Having been out of the test department for a little while now, I am going to leave most of the non-sports related questions to Dan, though I will be happy to help out if I can! GA Thanks Tom. Your turn Dan. GA Hi I'm Dan McNamee. You all should know me by now. ;-) I work in the test department, and I was lead tester on both AvP and Club Drive. Beyond that, I have done at least a little testing on every game from Tempest 2000 on. GA Thanks guys. I want to note that new RTC software is bneing used. And it looks really cool! One thing to notice is that when you do a /rai it will tell you where you are in the queue. repeated /raises will not add you again until you have had your turn, but it will tell you where you are in the queue. This is kind of handy if you are getting impatient. First in the Queue is MikeL. ga Hi Dan & Mike! When can I get my hands on Iron Soldier, KN and the Ski/snowboard game, and WHEN will there be any RPGs for the Jag? IS should be out any time now I don't have any dates handy. Kasumi should be very soon as well Probably a couple more weeks for Kasumi As should Val D... I forgot how to type it, SKI should be too. Hey - good news. Any more Mike? Val d'Isere, Tom. ;-) RPGs - I certainly hope some will be comming soon. I LOVE them! Yeah... When will the stock go above 4.5? I would love to tell you, but that is not my area in which to speak. Ask your local psychic? < Tom @ Atari> GA Sorry, I use prunes and bran instead Hehe well, Next in the queue is KODGER. GA GA What do I do if I want to submit a game idea to atari? I'm really glad atari is listening to the people in this forum. Thatll make a big difference, I'm sure. Tom? You can submit as detailed a game spec as possible to either Dan or myself and we can make sure that it is seen by the appropriate people. groovy Please do send them in!! Thanks! GA and next up is... Thanks. Next is Sven, the latest addition to the AEO staff. GA my question involves the My question involves the Sega deal... Why hasn't Atari announced them yet? ga What do you mean "announced them"? I assume you are asking about the 5 titles? exactly Those are still being decided upon. It's kind of an involved process. As far as I know, they are not definate yet. There are some good possibilities in the current list, though. In fact, along the lines of game ideas, if any of you know of Sega titles that you think should be done... let us know! GA Is Daytona being considered GA Daytona is QUITE cool! Thanks! GA Next up is Eric. GA dan - any other secret areas in club drive? Yep, there is a whole hidden world. and what's the resolution & frame rate? Dedicated Hitchhikers will be able to find it. ;-) [Ed: Dan was referring to "Planet Todd", named for Todd Powers no doubt - reached by pressing and holding "4" at the World select screen, and then pressing "2".] Hitchhikers across the Galaxy? I'm not sure what the resolution is. I'd guess 320x200, and the framerate how bout a hint? we've found the dino, castle & hQ... ga varies depending on the number of objcets onscreen, nuimber of players, etc. Mike> ;-) Eric> I DID give a hint. ;-) yea.. thanks...:-) GA Dan, is that something that he might find on the hint line? Tom> I'll have to check on that. OK - thanks. Next is Brian Harvey who REALLY should be hosting this RTC. ga, Brian First, I wish to thank Mike for hosting this RTC. and I really appreciate it. OK, next year seems to be the year, according to the media, for the 64 bits SEGAS and Nitendos. I am sure this must make ATARI concerned. Can you give us any hints of what ATARI has planned to compete with them. That is, why should I buy an ATARI JAGUAR??? Lots of games available. lots of GOOD games! Sega will have to deal with not having a lot of titles just like Atari did. From what we have seen so far, we are certainly able to compete with, and likelydo better things with the Jaguar than on those systems. As for Nintendo, I've heard the U64 is delayed yet again, but even if it is not, they will have a title availability problem as well. GA Thanks Dan and Tom for making it here. I am all done! GA. yes, there are MANY titles in development currently. Thanks for showing up Brian. Thanks Brian, hope all is well! Thanks. ST.Lou is next. ga Lou. Dan and Tom, thanks for being here. It is always great to have Atari reps in the house. :-) No problem, Lou We enjoy being here when we have the time. I picked up a gaming magazine today and read about the year's best and worst Unfortunately, it listed the Jaguar launch as the year's worst because of the scarcity of titles. On the other hand it raved about the 64 bit engine and the look of the games that have already made it out. The review picked the Jaguar as the game console to watch in the new year! Hmmm, I would have said 32X personally. At least we had a title at launch. ;-) I am space invaders junkie so I would like to know what game(s) are coming that are like Xenon Megablaster!? GA I do not blame people for wanting a glut of titles right off the bat, but that does take time, especially with a newer system, and then there are plenty. GA Hmmm, I can't think of any off hand. Realize that there are many 3rd party titles being worked on that we don;t even hear much, if anything about! OK, what space-type shootemups are there, besides Trevor McFur. There is a 3rd party game being worked on called something like zzyyoorrxx but we haven't seen it internally yet. GA All right... let's try door number two... how about RACING car games!? GA There is a 3rd party title called F1 Racer that looks nice, and supports multi-player. Checkered Flag. ;-) I would like to Produce a really cool racing game myself, with network capabilities! I would buy such a game. Saves wear and tear on my _real_ cars :-) something with the SCCA tracks like Limerock and Riverside. The addiction of competing against my buds is the best! Tracks duly noted, thank you. Haha... when do you guys do any work? :-) Before I leave ... We never stop! If we don't "work", you dont play! I would like to publically thank Don Thomas for his tremendous assistance in resolving the prizes missing from some of the Dateline Conferences with Bob Brodie. Don has delivered... in spades! I love that kind of professionalism. Tell Sam to give him a raise, eh? GA Don is a good man, and I will pass that along to him. Good! I'm glad he was able to get that cleared up. Amen! Thanks. Thanks, Mike. Ok - next up is Carlos. GA Carlos. Hi, Do you know how Bill Rehbock(sp?, sorry) trip to Japan went..?? Or is he still there..?? GA I don't know if he is back yet. I haven't seen him at least. He is coming back tomorrow, and I therefor I dont know. Thanks... GA Thanks, Carlos. Next to the Mike is Pat. ga pat. Could you discribe any of the CD games that we will see in the near future? When will the CDROM drive be out??? GA. I think the CD is still on target for January as Bill announced. Battlemorph should be along soon, though I do not have a specific date. Battlemoprh looks AWSOME! The FMV intro is GORGEOUS. Better than any FMV I have seen on any of the other systems. Will there be a good supply of CD games coming out in '95? The game itself also looks great. I also got a look at a VERY preliminary Highlander game, and it looks real good too. The graphics blow away the cartoon it is based on. ;-) You should begin to see many CD games in the coming year, as I know there is a push to do more of them. GA Thanks I look foward to a great gamming on the Jag! ga Next up is Travis from AEO! ga Trav Hi Atari-dudes, we're really glad to have you here with us for the evening! Tom, as far as Sega titles, I'm partial to World Series Baseball. Would you say that Hardball III on the Jag will give WSB a run for the money in terms of realism/action? GA Hey Travis Trav - how about a FSU vs. Florida game? I agree with you about WSB, and yes, if you already like Hardball, it should give it a run for the money. We are incorporating as many enhancements as we can into the game Mike, only if VisorBoy throws and stomps on his hat! ;) and keeping in step with the new stadiums/divisions, etc. It is looking very good, and I am confident that it will do well. GA Tom, what about having a Hardball season interrupted by a player's strike? Ha ha ha. Please ignore that. ;) Seriously, oOne more question for Tom right now. Can you give out -any- information on Supercross 3D? Is it slated for CD or cart? Will it have "network capabilities?" GA and Thanks! They just said on the news that the 95 season is already in jepordy. Best thing that ever happened to Major League Baseball, IMHO. I agree Hey Dan and Mike, some of us like pastorial pastimes. ;) Already happened, oh wait that was real life, or was it a game, I cant tell the difference anymore! Yes,.... no seriously........ [Supercross 3D] is to be a cart game, with the possibility of 2nd and 3rd generation versions done on CD, and yes it should be network-able. Tom, will it be "photoreaslistic" like games on "other systems"? GA Personally I think the strikes are all a conspiracy by the game industry to up the sales of sports related games. It is going to look very cool, from what I have seen so far, with much texture mapping, and digitizing possible. Ok - next up is our very own Charlie. GA Charlie Hi Dan & Tom! Nice to have you here. I know this may be outside your knowledge, but I want to ask if you know the number of Jag's shipped to Japan for Christmas? A big deal was recently made of Japanise sales in, I think, a NY Time article. I'm curious what penitration of the market you're looking for. It's the one place where you will be going up against the Playstation and Sega machines early? I do not know that type of info, sorry. Me either. Sorry. ugh. and here I thought that was a good question. :-) It is a good question, I think we should do well over there, though because of 2 games, AvP and IS. ** disconnected. DOH! hehe. lost Tom Oh oh, we lost Tom. You're it Dan! Arrgh! ;-) well, lets try another question then. About Joysticks or paddles .... Know of any? :-) I've seen posts about a 3rd party stick being available, but I haven't seen one around the office. Also, Alan (COCO - SYSOP) has been asking some "marketing type" questions about how many people would buy a $25 paddle controller. So we'll see. ok, thanks Dan. GA Mike Let's try a limit our questions to one apiece. You can always /rai again after you finish the first question. I'd like to get through the queue a little more quickly. Hey! Lance is here! Tom is Back! next up is Harj. GA Harj. Battlemorph & Blue Lightning: Do the distant objects like mountains, buildings, etc just pop up suddenly like Cybermorph or is there a smoother transition like Iron Soldier? And do you think the Jag is even capable of doing a Daytona? GA I is back too! Hey Lance! Battlemorph is about the same. Maybe a little more distance on the horizon. I don't realistically expect the Jaguar to do Daytona as you see it in the arcades, but it could come fairly close. I haven't seen much of Blue Lightening yet to say for sure. GA The Daytona arcade machine is one big block of Silicon. Tom> Lance says Hail to the Chief! Ok - next up is Brian again. GA Brian. Hi my name is Brian and I own a SEGA GENESIS. (Pause while everone say hi Brian). I want a JAGUAR but I am waiting for a few more games to be released and in particular games that would appeal to my six and eight year olds. . I am wondering if the JAGAUR will have any games for this age group. Well, specifically, those 13 and under. GA A lot of younger kids do like Crescent Galaxy. Club Drive is also well liked, and I think everyone will flip for Rayman. Yes, I mean games like Dino Dudes and Raiden are fairly in line with that age group. And there are more in terms of variety to come. Lance says Bubsy! Bubsy, ZOOL II, SKI, etc. GA Thanks guys. BTW,a JAG ony comes with one controller right? Will there me many two player games coming out next year? Yes, it comes with one controller. Many two player games, and my focus is going to be to make every multi-player game support the Voice-Modem where possible! There should be quite a few 2 player games comming too. ga ok - Next is Sven. GA Sven. Thanks again. GA To me, two or more player is where it is at. My question is simple (I think) GA Why have no screen shots of Battlemorph been released? It wasn't even on the promo video? ga The producer would have to answer that, I really do not know. Dan? I think the ATD guys are being shy. ok fair enough... thanks! ga Next is our own, inimitable Thunderbird! Ga, Doug. With the release of JagDoom and 32Xdoom (lower case denotes inferiority), is id still hyped up on doing Jaguar Games? I'd like to see a Doom2 (shouldn't take long with the engine done) and a CD version with lots of .WAD files! GA. ID is far more hyped on the Jaguar than the 32X, from what I hear. Last I heard, iD is still hyped on the Jaguar. We are still working with ID. We should see a lot more from them for the Jag. Cool.... BTW on another topic... who's idea was "Club Drive"? Todd Powers I think. The programmer's idea. And just what good are snub fighters going to be against THAT? ;-) ;-) HA! (Star Wars is on USA now with JagDoom ads galore) in case anyone wants to tune in. That is what I like to hear! T-Bird - quit watching TV and program!! I'm can do both! oops I just can't spell. Ok, next up is MikeL GA Mike. Thanks! Who at ATari is responsible for choosing the music to go with the games? I compose music as a hobby and have some stuff that's appropriate for games. Just curious... < /raises are gratefully accepted. > The producer has a big say in that, but for general composing queries, contact James Grunke, director of music. If you had some music that you thought might be appropriate for a specific game, you could send it to me. I am a musician, and would love to hear (critique) it! GA Thanks Tom ga Ok thanks. Next is Pat. ga pat. Whats up with Tiny Toons? Will that ever make it out or will it suffer the same fate as Eye of the Beholder on the Lynx and never come out? GA. Tiny Toons is still in development, and getting close to the test dept, I bet. Tiny Toons is comming along froim what I hear. It hasn't hit test yet, but it should soon. ga GA ga GA, GA Thanks - next is travis again. This is for Dan and Tom (and Lance, if he's around). What game out of the next batch of Jag games would you buy if you could only buy one? GA Hardball III of course! Lance says he would buy Iron Soldier. Hmmm, tough. Tom, out of the Xmas batch. ;) I think I would buy IS also. Family Feud? I love IS, probably IS. Though if you love Sonic type games, ZOOL II and BUBSY are very good. Okay one more and I'll shut up. (Ha!) Will either of you be at WCES next month? How much better do you feel Atari's showing will be compared to last summers? GA I HOPE I will get to go to WCES. I will be there, and I was not at the last one, so I cant really compare, but.. I've always wanted to go to one. Me too. :/ I have seen a large, impressive list of games to be shown, so I will hope for the best. Ok, last before we go informal is John B. GA John. Recently on line, there have been posts describing a Lynx promotion advertized by a chain store. The special was a Lynx game machine with 4 bundled games for the price of 69.95 Seemed like a great Christmas present so I contacted to Atari Dealers to see if I could buy the unit. They both told me Atari had not made the deal available to it's computer dealers. 1. Why does Atari persist in alianating it's few existing dealers. 2. Who could we petition for Atari to open some sort of on line store so we could buy directly here on GEnie. Petition Don Thomas, he could do something in that area. Don Thomas, ok I do not make those decisions, and therefor, I do not alienate, nor condone alienating our dealers. John - Don's GEnie EMail name is ATARI. Tom, note I never you said you did, I said "Atari" :-) Could I ask one more? sure I know, I just feel your frustration, and wish I could do more! A little while ago there was a post by Bill Rehbok stating that Medusa systems had received the terms for licensing TOS from Atari but had not signed and returned the contract. Also Wizztronics which was to release a Falcon accelerator was also sent a licensing agreement which they stated they would not sign. No one mentions which TOS versions are being discussed. Which versions of TOS are available for licensing? a. TOS 2.06 b. TOS 3.06 c. TOS 4.xx C As far as I know. all of the above? me too. Ah..thanks. So TOS 3.06 is still for no one to have? Though, to get the best answer, call Atari directly, and ask Don Thomas, he should be able to find out for sure. Thanks. I wish to thank you, Dan and Tom, for making it here tonight. I also wish to thank all the attendees for their questions and patience. In frenzy mode ...now! [Ed: Some post-formal comments....] Dan, Club Drive originally had a menu option for analog control. Any chance that it's still in there? Clint> Yep! Cool. What about Checkered Flag? Clint> Nope, not in CF. Dan - any good RPGs in the works? AmberMoon, Ishar types? Mike> Legions of the Undead is the only one I know of for sure. I'm lead testing that one too. ;-) Legions of the Undead? Is that anywhere near test? Sven> Not yet, unfortunately. Scott says that the new GPU RISC routines are really _fast_, and simulated analog control now works! Question time: Who likes and who doesn't like "computer voices" in their Space Battle Games? Skylar is sexy, but dumb. I like I think I could use a good computer voice in my games here and there Computer Voices: Go for it, though let 'em be selectable. if the voice is majel barret, sure, go for it I like space voices. "Avoid the ground" and other comments make all I show the game to laugh. Sexy Womans Voice Hmm..I mean computer voices. Only ultra-sexy voices(who doesn't enjoy that "YES" from T2000) Sexy Robot Womans Voice I guess everyone agrees it should be a woman's voice... Sexy BritFem voices! We will see how RAM and ROM space go. maybe the computer can say " ooh baby" when you shoot the "Finch". yes, Sven, I'd think so. and the accent should be exotic. Autrailian or British How about indian? If you want to be different. We were thinking of hiring the guy that does "Beavis" for the voice... "I am thinking zat you jest hit de ground. Care for a slurppee?" Is it permissable to represent Hindu Deites in videogames? Heh, heh, your warp is like enabled...huh, huh Hey, They'll be NO think here here thank you very much ;) I saw the Playstation today. Looks nice. Lance, what did you play/see on it? Ridge Racer. Lance, was it really close to "1:1"? It's a good conversiion, but not exact. Lance, for the $64 question, could Jag & Jag CD do Ridge Racer =as=well= as Playstation? Jag Ridge Racre, I think so. But the Jag CD is worth the price of admission for the VLM alone. Lance. Thanks for the observation! Travis> Anytime, fellow oxygen breather!@+*% Lance, I'm really curious. Just WHOM did you strike to get sent to the brig? :) Bill? Nah, Jack. Maybe Sam? Travis> I struck Lt. Cmndr Cappa for getting in my face, and his last dieing wish was that he could praise me for having guts. Lance> What penalty would one get for slapping Tal around? :) Travis - a pay raise? Travis> you would be hailed by all in Test as God! --==--==--==--==-- ||| Ron Borta - Back into the Future ||| By: Christian Svensson / | \ GEnie: EXPLORER.5 Internet: svensson@bucknell.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------ =-=-=-=-=-=-= //// The Past =-=-=-=-=-=-= I've recently had the pleasure of speaking with Ron Borta from Borta and Associates, who has had his career deeply rooted in the gaming industry since the industry's inception. Considered by some to be the father of the "arcade port", Ron has been involved with nearly every console and computer ever released and has contributed such well known home arcade conversion titles as: Wizard of Wor (which was the first 16K cart on the 800), Gorf, Donkey Kong, Frogger, Q-bert, The Empire Strikes Back, Zaxxon, Robotron 2049 (which was the first 16K cart on the TI99), Mousetrap, Carnival, Crazy Climber and most notably Pacman for the Atari 800 which was the first "successful" port of an arcade game to a home system. Another notable star on Ron's profile is the fact that he became the first person to patent software. (In this case, a program generator.) He was part of a number of companies that were seeking the ability to patent "technological breakthroughs." Through six years of hard work and court cases, the United States Supreme Court finally sided with Ron and the other technological companies thereby allowing them to patent such items as bio-engineered organisms, certain chemical processes, and software. Yet even today, many people are unaware that software can be patented. After many years in the game development industry, Ron left Chicago and moved to Washington DC in order to branch out into a related area, interactive television. For seven years, Ron worked in DC, helping develop the concept of interactive television - or as he said, "making TV more fun." Unfortunately, the general public was not ready to embrace this concept quite yet, but Ron did learn many useful things during this experience. Much of what he learned dealt with the use of video and presentation, what frame rates are necessary to immerse the user into the game, and different modes of rendering. When programming Crazy Climber for the Atari VCS, Ron used a technique that had never been used before (or very much since for that matter). Each frame had separate parts of the game rendered such that a given frame wasn't "stand alone." If one were to pause the game, it would look as if the entire screen wasn't rendered. The result of this technique was a far more visually appealing image. His experience in interactive television, taught him why this was so, and more importantly, how he could utilize this technique in later projects. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// The Present =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ron's next big venture was to create his own multimedia development company, Borta & Associates. This company does multimedia work both independently and as a sub-contractor for other larger companies. One of the many fields they are leading the industry in is data compression. B&A have developed not only specific compression schemes for specific applications, but have specific manners of employing them under different conditions. All of these schemes are written in assembly language in an effort to minimize decompression times. Borta & Associates currently develops for PCs, Macs, Sega (all platforms), Nintendo, 3D0 and Atari. The majority of their present work is in the PC market. Ron told me that they have products in development now that will allow for "fully interactive games." Another benefit B&A have over other competing companies is that their libraries for Mac and PC are identical. This allows B&A to port to the Mac far more easily (and quickly) than anyone else in the market. They are currently working on a PC/Mac game with PF Magic. As for Jaguar development, they are licensed developers and have a system, but haven't started any independent development yet. They are currently working on a Jaguar project with a LARGE developer. (Ron's words were, "as big as they get.") He couldn't disclose who it was, or what they were working on, but he said it was VERY impressive. "Just wait" he said, "you'll see." There are some things in the industry presently, that Ron is concerned about. Given the fact that most developers are 2 to 4 person teams/companies and that the most original gaming concepts are coming from these smaller companies, the costs of developing on the next generation consoles are really a big obstacle. Ron said to start up as an Atari developer, the cost isn't that bad ($15,000), but 3D0 was $35,000 (with a CD-ROM writer), and to jump into Sega Saturn development costs almost $100,000. This could really discourage a good gaming concept on another machine. He reminisced of the times when all you needed to develop on the VCS or Atari 800 was a computer for a couple hundred dollars or so. Another thing Ron would like to see Atari do, is to exploit more of its older licenses as updated Jaguar titles. Ron's current favorite video game is Crash and Burn on the 3DO, "It's got a couple of flaws in it, but it draws you into the game. It reminds me of the first time I played Star Raiders on the Atari 800. Though the graphics aren't realistic as they could be, the motion draws you in there. I know the Jag can do it and I want to see games like that on the Jag." As for Jaguar games, "I have all of the carts. I like Alien vs. Predator, but it's a Doomish game, and I tend to shy away from the violent games." Another recent development at Borta & Associates is the addition of Nolan Bushnell as COB. Nolan and Ron have been friends since the 2600 days, but had since gone their separate directions. It is ironic that after going in such different directions, they independently arrived at the same conclusion of what they should be doing. Nolan happened to come across a piece of Borta literature while researching the market, where he then gave Ron a call. After discussing the issues for a period of time, Nolan then purchased, "an undisclosed percentage of Borta & Associates for an undisclosed amount of money." Ron described their business relationship as Nolan as the idea man, and he as the person that makes these ideas a reality. Now they are basically partners. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// The Future =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The future for Borta and Associates looks bright. Ron has several ideas he would like to try on the Jaguar, but has been a little reluctant to begin them immediately. Ron is looking at the sales this Christmas in order to decide when they will start actively developing. If it sells as well as he think it is going to, he said that independent development could start as early as February. In closing, Ron stated, "I own stock in Atari. I believe in Atari in every way, shape and form and I believe that the Jaguar is the most viable platform on the market." I'd say that bodes rather well from a man with Ron's history and who develops for all the major platforms. --==--==--==--==-- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- --==--==-- Delphi Sign-Up Information --==--==-- -- -- -- -- To enroll as a Delphi subscriber, modem call 1-800-365-4636. Press -- -- [Return] until you see "Password:", then type IP26 [Return] -- -- -- -- Answer all of the questions, and you'll be cleared for Delphi -- -- access in a few days. If you have questions about Delphi services, -- -- give a voice call to Delphi Member Services at 1-800-544-4005. -- -- -- -- --==--==-- Delphi Sign-Up Information --==--==-- -- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --==--==--==--==-- ||| Jaguar Tackboard ||| Confirmed information about Atari's Jaguar / | \ Compiled from online and official sources ----------------------------------------------------------------- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Independent Association of Jaguar Developers =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The IAJD (Independent Association of Jaguar Developers) has started accepting members on GEnie. The IAJD is a private group where confidential discussions can be freely held. (Category 64 of the ST RoundTable is the IAJD meeting place.) Consequently, membership in the IAJD is limited to Jaguar developers who are registered with Atari Corp. To apply for membership, send EMail to ENTRY$ on GEnie (or if you're not on GEnie). Regular EMail correspondence with the IAJD should be sent to IAJD$ (again, or if you're not on GEnie). =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Internet Jaguar Mailing List =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Anyone with Internet EMail access can join the discussions on the Jaguar mailing list. To "subscribe" to the list, send an EMail to the following address: Leave the subject line blank. In the body of the EMail, include this line: subscribe jaguar-l FirstName LastName (Where "FirstName" is your first name and "LastName" is your last name.) To send mail to be read on the Jaguar list, address your letter to: . It will go to the list server and be sent to the over 250 readers of the list. IMPORTANT: If your mail server charges you by the character or by the letter, please be aware that the Jaguar list can generate dozens, and up to a hundred EMails in a day. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Jaguar FAQ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Robert Jung maintains the Jaguar FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) file, an updated list of Jaguar specs and facts. The Jaguar FAQ is posted to rec.games.video.atari on Usenet around the first of every month, and can also be found via FTP, address: ftp.netcom.com, in Andy Eddy's /pub/vidgames/faqs directory. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Developer / Game List 1.18 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Editor: The following developers, licensees and game titles have been confirmed to the best of AEO's ability as of December 16, 1994. Entries in the "S"tatus column reflects any "e"rrors, "u"pdates, "n"ew titles, new "d"evelopers, or "?"uestionable listings since the last AEO list. Titles in brackets (e.g. [Cybermorph]) have been completed and are available in the US. Expected dates are dates that have been provided by the developer. Expected Date or Titles S Developer/Licensee Rating under development " """""""""""""""""" """""" """"""""""""""""" 20th Centrury Fox Interactive u 21st Century Software 2/95 Pinball Fantasies (Pub. C-West) 3D Games - Rainbow Warrior - MORE 4Play Q2/95 BattleSphere Accent Media Productions - Varuna's Forces CD-ROM Accolade - Brett Hull Hockey - Charles Barkley's Shut Up and Jam Acid Software ? Activision - Return to Zork CD-ROM Alfaro Corporation Limited All Systems Go - BIOS Fear CD-ROM Q1/95 Hosenose and Booger CD-ROM Q1/95 Video Jukebox (cart multiplexer) - (IR controller station) American Laser Games - Mad Dog McCree Anco Software Ltd. - Kick Off 3 (for Imagineer) - World Cup Anthill Industries Argonaut Software - Creature Shock CD-ROM (For Virgin) Atari Corp. - Chaos Agenda CD-ROM *7* [Club Drive] u *3* [Crescent Galaxy] Q2/95 Fight For Life - (Football) - Hardball 3 u Q1/95 Highlander CD-ROM n - Highlander II CD-ROM n - Highlander III CD-ROM Q1/95 Hover Strike (was Battlezone 2000) - MPEG u Q2/95 Redemption (was Dreadnought) - Space War n - Supercross 3D Q2/95 Tiny Toons Adventures MORE Attention to Detail Q1/95 Battlemorph: Cybermorph 2 CD-ROM Q1/95 Blue Lightning CD-ROM *7* [Cybermorph] (For Atari) Audio-Visual Magic B.S.A. Bando Svenska AB Beris Bethesda Softworks Beyond Games Inc. 1995 Battlewheels 1/95 Ultra Vortex BitMotion Software Bizzare Computing u Black Cat Design PRODU Cat Box (AV & comm expansion box) (was ICD) Black Scorpion Software Borta & Associates Brainstorm - [x86 Jaguar Development System] Brandlewood Computers Ltd. u Bullfrog Productions Ltd. Q1/95 Syndicate (For Ocean) u Q1/95 Theme Park (For Ocean) Cannonball Software Celebrity Systems Inc. Clearwater Software Computer Music Consulting Condor Software Cybervision CyberWare DAP Data Design Delta Music Systems Inc. - Droppings - Nanoterror Denton Designs Ltd. Dimension Technologies Diskimage Domark Group Ltd. - F1 Racer DTMC - Lester the Unlikely - Mountain Sports - (Miniature Golf) Eclipse PRODU Iron Soldier (For Atari) - MORE Electro Brain Corp. Electrom Elite E-On Eurosoft Extreme EZ Score Software Inc. Factor 5 Flair Software Ltd. Frankenstein Software Funcom Productions a/s GameTek Inc. Genus Microprogramming Inc. u Gremlin Graphics Ltd. PRODU Zool 2 (Pub. Atari) - UNKNOWN TITLE (racing) - MORE? H2O Design Corp. Hand Made Software Q2/95 Jack Nicholas Cyber Golf CD-ROM (For Atari through Accolade) PRODU Kasumi Ninja (For Atari) u High Voltage Software Q1/95 'Dactyl Joust u Q2/95 Ruiner n Q3/95 (fighter) CD-ROM Q1/95 White Men Can't Jump (for Trimark) Hisoft Human Soft Ltd. Hyper Image Productions - Hover Hunter id Software *9* [Doom] *8* [Wolfenstein 3D] - MORE i-Space iThink - (3D simulation) Imagineer Company Ltd. Imagitec Design Inc. PRODU Bubsy *6* [Evolution Dino-Dudes] - Freelancer 2120 CD-ROM *6* [Raiden] ? Dino Dudes 2 ? Interplay - BattleChess CD-ROM - MORE? Jaleco - Bases Loaded - Cisco Heat - MORE CD-ROM JVC Musical Industries - Valus Force Krisalis Software Ltd. - Soccer Kid Kungariket Multimedia Level 7 Software - (RPG) - (Shooter) Limelight Media Inc. u LlamaSoft H2/95 Defender 2000 (For Atari) *10* [Tempest 2000] (For Atari) - MORE MINTER! Loricel S.A. Lost in Time Software Malibu Interactive Manley & Associates Inc. Maxis Software Media Technology Scandinavia Merit Industries Inc. Michton Inc. Microids - Commando - Evidence ? Microprose - Gunship 2000 u MidNite Entertainment Q1/95 AirCars u ? Assualt u ? Dungeon Depths Millenium/Teque *7* [Brutal Sports Football] (For Telegames) Miracle Designs Nebulous Games Neon-Buttner Network 23 Software NMS Software Ltd. Ocean Software Ltd. ? Apeshi- (working title) 1995 Lobo CD-ROM - Waterworld Odyssey Software Inc. -unnamed- - -unnamed- Photosurrealism - Galactic Gladiators Phobyx Pixel Satori PIXIS Interactive - Neurodancer CD-ROM Rage Software Ltd. - Rally Rainmaker Software Inc. - Nerves of Steel - Virtual Warriors ReadySoft Incorporated Q1/95 Dragon's Lair CD-ROM - Dragon's Lair II CD-ROM - Space Ace CD-ROM Rebellion Software Ltd. *9* [Alien vs. Predator] (For Atari) *5* [Checkered Flag] (For Atari) - Hammerhead - Legions of the Undead Rest Energy Riedel Software Prod. Scangames Interactive Sculptured Software Inc. Selgus Limited Shadowsoft Inc. Sigma Designs Q1/95 "Jaguar on a PC" PC card Silmarils ? Robinson's Requiem CD-ROM Sinister Developments Soft Enterprises Softgold Gmbh Software 2000 Software Creations Software Development Systems Spaceball Technologies Inc. Steinberg Soft-und- Hardware Gmbh Tantalus Entertainment Tantalus Incorporated Team Infinity Team 17 Software Ltd. Tecnation Digital World Techtonics Telegames - Casino Royale - European Soccer Challenge - Super Off-Road u 1/95 Ultimate Brain Games - World Class Cricket Teque London Ltd. Thrustmaster u Tiertex Ltd. 1/95 Flashback (for U.S. Gold) Time-Warner Interactive - Primal Rage - Rise of the Robots - Arcade Games Using Jaguar Titus Trimark Interactive Twlight U.S. Gold Ltd. UBI Soft International 2/95 RayMan - (Soccer) V-Reel Productions Q1/95 Arena Football League Q1/95 Horrorscope Virgin Interactive u Entertainment Ltd. PRODU Cannon Fodder (Pub. C-West) ... [Dragon] (Pub. Atari) u Q1/95 Demolition Man CD-ROM Virtual Artistry, Inc. u Virtual Studio *5* Val D'Isere Skiing and Snowboarding (For Atari) Virtual Xperience Q1/95 Burn Out (Pub. Atari) - Indiana Jags - Zzyorxx II Visual Concepts Visual Impact - Hyper Force Wave Quest Inc. u Williams Brothers 1/95 Sensible Soccer Williams Entertainment Q1/95 Double Dragon 5: The Shadow Falls 1/95 Troy Aikman NFL Football WMS Industries Zeppelin Games - Center Court Tennis Pts Stars AEO Ratings """ """"" """"""""""" 10 ***** GAMING NIRVANA!!! - You have left reality behind... for good. 9 ****+ Unbelieveable GAME!! - Your family notices you're often absent. 8 **** Fantastic Game!! - You can't get enough playtime in on this. 7 ***+ Great Game! - Something to show off to friends or 3DOers. 6 *** Good game - You find yourself playing this from time to time. 5 **+ Ho-hum - If there's nothing else to do, you play this. 4 ** Waste of time - Better to play this than play in traffic. 3 *+ Sucks - Playing in traffic sounds like more fun. 2 * Sucks Badly - You'd rather face an IRS audit than play this. 1 + Forget it - ... but you can't; it's so badly done, it haunts you. 0 - Burn it - Disallow programmer from ever writing games again. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Press Releases =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Jaguar On-line in Florida! Contact: Ron Beltramo Tammy Lindsay David Harrah Atari Time Warner Edelman P.R. 408/745-8852 407/667-2034 415/968-4033 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ATARI JAGUAR ON THE LOOSE IN TIME WARNER CABLE'S FULL SERVICE NETWORK Orlando, FL . . . December 14, 1994 . . . Atari Corporation's Jaguar 64-bit interactive video game system went on-line today with the initiation of Time Warner Cable's Full Service Network (FSN) in Orlando, Florida. Atari Corporation's CEO Sam Tramiel joined Time Warner Chairman Gerald Levin at today's inauguration event in Orlando. Jaguar, the world's first and only 64-bit interactive game system features high-speed animation, textured three-dimensional color images and graphics, and CD-quality sound. Consumers will access the Atari games on the Full Service Network using the 64-bit Jaguar game system device, which processes more than 100 times as much data at one time than 16-bit games, and twice as much as 32-bit game systems. This significantly increases speed and lets the game player experience superior graphic performance and animation action. Through the Full Service Network, the Atari games are digitally compressed and stored on magnetic hard drives, and downloaded to the game device at the consumers' request. "Time Warner Cable's Full Service Network is the most advanced interactive network ever built, and it gives subscribers the most advanced interactive gaming system available -- the 64-bit Atari Jaguar," said Atari President and CEO Sam Tramiel. "Atari's Jaguar system brings the most sophisticated hardware and games to the network." Atari Jaguar Interactive Multimedia Systems are also in use at the "Home of the 21st Century, " a model home equipped with Full Service Network capabilities, and other state-of-the-art home services located in the Sweetwater, Wekiva, Lake Brantley and Springdale community near Orlando. Five 64-bit Atari Jaguar Interactive Multimedia systems are in use in the home, which is sponsored by Time Warner Cable's Full Service Network and Southern Living Magazine. "We're proud to offer consumers the Atari Jaguar system because it's the most advanced and powerful system available today," said Full Service Network President Tom Feige. "When we compared the graphics and capabilities of the game systems on the market, Atari Jaguar was the clear choice for us." Since its release in November 1993, Atari's Jaguar system has been named the industry's "Best New Game System" by Video Games Magazine, "Best New Hardware System" by Game Informer, and "1993 Technical Achievement of the Year" by DieHard GameFan. Time Warner Cable is the nation's second largest cable television operator with 7.3 million customers in 34 states, and serves more than 500,000 customers in its Florida division. Time Warner Cable's Full Service Network is a digital, interactive television network which merges cable, computer and telephone technologies to provide customers greater choice, control and convenience in accessing information and services. Atari Corporation markets interactive multimedia entertainment systems, including Jaguar, the world's only 64-bit game system, and the only video game system manufactured in the United States. //// Don Thomas Announces AvP RTC Trivia Contest Winners I am pleased to announce the winners of the Alien Vs. Predator (AvP) trivia contest. The contest was announced and the questions released by Atari's own Ron Beltramo at CompuServe's AvP conference on November 29 and on GEnie's AvP conference on November 30. The contest was open to all onliners who attended the conferences and/or obtained a transcript of either/both conference from the Atari Jaguar forum libraries. Here are the answers to those mind boggling questions ... 1) Alien Vs. Predator by Atari for the 64-bit Jaguar interactive multimedia system features the ability for the player to become any one of three characters. What are those characters? Answer: B. An Alien, a Predator and a Marine 2) Which film studios produced the Alien and Predator films? Answer: C. Twentieth Century Fox and Twentieth Century Fox 3) Alien Vs. Predator is a virtual world challenge which is described in the manual to be: Answer: A. a tactical simulator depicting the events following the fall of Camp Golgotha Colonial Marine Training Base. 4) An effective tool to be used while playing Alien Vs. Predator is the H.U.D. which offers status displays. What does H.U.D. stand for? Answer: A. Heads-Up Display 5. One of the many obstacles to avoid is referred to as a Facehugger. A Facehugger is which of the following? Answer: A. A creature that attaches itself to the face of its host. METHOD OF RANDOM DRAWING.... All names were alphabetized and duplicates were removed so all entries had an equal opportunity to win. A computer program written by Mr. Michael Fulton picked three random numbers which were used to count through the huge stack of entries ... AND THE WINNERS ARE ... PRIZE WINNER ONLINE ADDRESS ------------------------------------------------------------ Jaguar 64-bit Ewen Wheeler howard_saunders@ game system porthole.entnet.nf.ca Autographed AvP Cartridge Pete Ahles ahles@gate.net Jaguar Clay Halliwell ehalliwe@emh.kunsan.af.mil T-Shirt Congratulations to the winners and thanks to everyone for entering. The prizes have been shipped and are on their way. Don't forget.... Tempest 2000 Soundtracks (on compact disc) are available as well as Jaguar software preview tapes and Alien Vs. Predator Posters! Contact your SysOp for more information or contact Don Thomas at: JAGUAR$@genie.geis.com or 75300.1267@compuserve.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Developers Wanted For Jaguar Publisher =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= C-West is a new California publishing house established solely to support the explosive growth in the Jaguar gaming user base. Currently, C-West has two games, Virgin's Cannon Fodder and 21th Century Software's Pinball Fantasies in production, and they are looking for new titles to handle. If you are a Jaguar developer without a publisher, give Peter Curry at C-West a call to discuss terms. Peter can be reached at: +1 (805) 546-9036 during normal Pacific business hours. Cannon Fodder is due in late January for $59.99 retail. Pinball Fantasies is due late February/early March for $49.99 retail. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// CatBox Manual =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [Ed: The following is copyright 1994, Black Cat Designs.) CatBox Preliminary Manual - December 13, 1994 CatBox is a low cost, high value peripheral designed to plug into the Jaguar AV/DSP connectors on the rear of the console and provide standard ports for connectability. CatBox consists of two printed circuit boards (PCBs) mounted inside a stylish case. The larger lower main board is called the I/O PCB. The upper board is called the AVC PCB and holds the logic, amplifier, signal conditioning, and patchwork in order to make everything work. The AVC PCB also has space for future expansion and custom designs. CatBox power is provided by the Jaguar game console. There are two LEDs on CatBox which illuminate to show power and flicker to show communications activity. //// Cleaning the CatBox If you need help with this, call a cat lover. We like dogs. //// Opening the CatBox There may be a need to see what is really inside the CatBox. Most developer types wouldn't have read this far so this is really intended for the novice and it will not void your warranty. Remove the volume knob by gently prying it off with a screwdriver or knob extractor. There are two screws that hold the CatBox metal case together and two more that hold the circuit boards in place. Remove the two philips screws on the case bottom and slide off the top. Remove the two inner screws that hold the boards in place. Lift the board assembly out of the case bottom and pull the two boards apart with your fingers. The top AVC board which looks like it is mounted upside down has all the electronics on it that make CatBox work. The bottom I/O board has most of the connectors on it and the LEDs. The user moveable jumper plugs are all on the AVC board. Wow! Besides looking extremely cool, CatBox provides three main functions for Jaguar owners. These are Audio, Video, and Communications (AVC). Each has three sections for a total of nine features! AUDIO SECTION Audio signals are distributed on CatBox in three different places. These are the RCA type line level audio output jacks for left, right, or mono output, the mono line level RGB monitor output, and the amplified stereo headphone jacks. //// Line level audio. The I/O PCB has two RCA phono jacks that pass high quality line level audio signals (600 ohm) from the Jaguar to other audio devices such as audio pre-amplifiers. The red colored jack passes right audio while the white colored jack passes either left or mono audio. The left/mono switching logic works in the following manner. When an RCA cable is plugged into the right audio jack, the white jack passes the left audio signal. When there is no plug inserted into the right audio jack, the white jack passes the sum of left and right audio which is called mono. Use standard RCA stereo audio cables. //// RGB monitor audio. Pin 9 of the Analog RGB connector also carries the mono audio signal. This signal is used for Atari SC1224 or SC1435 monitors or any other monitor that has an audio amplifier and passes mono audio through its monitor signal cable. Since most users will prefer to use stereo audio, this mono signal is automatically disconnected when an RCA cable is plugged into the right/mono (red) audio jack or when headphones are installed. This function can also be disabled by removing jumper J1 (RGB Audio). For more information, see Analog RGB in the Video Section. //// Headphones. CatBox includes dual stereo headphone jacks on the AVC PCB. These support the common 3.5mm (1/8 inch) size headphones as used with most portable stereo equipment. Low noise amplification is provided to match the 32 or 16 ohm loads common with headphones. We have found that headphones with a sensitivity rating of about 100 dB SPL/1mW work very well with the CatBox. Headphones with lower sensitivity numbers usually have lower quality sound and lower volume. The headphone jacks take top audio priority and will disconnect all other audio output signals when a 3.5mm plug is inserted. There is a volume control knob on the rear of the CatBox. Take care when adjusting this level as higher volume levels for extended periods of time may cause permanent hearing damage. Optional headphone extension cables are also available for your convenience. VIDEO SECTION The three video outputs from CatBox are Composite Video, S-Video, and Analog RGB. These three and the Jaguar RF output may all be used at the same time or in any combination to connect multiple displays. Analog RGB has the best quality display while Jaguar RF has the lowest quality. Composite is much better than RF and S-Video is better than Composite. The output you will use depends on the capabilities of your television or monitor. //// Composite Video The yellow RCA jack provides composite video out. This signal is commonly available on VCRs and may be used for recording purposes. Since composite video has no provisions for audio, be sure to use one of the CatBox audio sources as well. //// S-Video S-Video used to be called S-VHS but was often confused with the totally different S-VHS high definition video tape standard. S-Video has also been called Composite Chroma and Composite Luminance and was used in the early 1980s on the Atari 800 XL and the C-64 computers. Today the standard S-Video connector is the 4 pin round mini DIN as found on many high end VCRs, TVs, video cameras, and CatBox. S-Video cables are commonly available at Audio/Video stores. S-Video provides an extremely sharp picture that is surpassed only by a good analog RGB monitor. //// Analog RGB This connector is a female (holes instead of pins) DB9 located between the composite video and S-Video connectors. Don't confuse this with the other DB9 on the CatBox I/O PCB which is male (pins) and provides RS232. The Jaguar supports Analog RGB monitors with a Horizontal Sync rate of 15.75 KHz. These monitors were very popular around 1985 but are not all that common anymore since VGA which has an H-Sync of 31.5 KHz became the new standard. Look in the older used market for some great bargains. An H-Sync rate of 15.75 KHz was found more commonly on monitors made between 1984 and 1990. The Atari ST color monitors and the Amiga color monitors both required this slower H-Sync rate. Since there is no one standard for RGB connections, custom RGB cable adapters are available to adapt most monitor cables. These include Atari SCxxxx, Amiga, DB9, and DB15. If you would like to make your own cable adapter, the pin connections follow. DB9S 1 Red 2 Green 3 Blue 4 Horizontal Sync 5 Vertical Sync/Composite Sync 6 Ground 7 Ground 8 Ground 9 Mono Audio/NC Note that jumper J7 (VS CS) on the AVC PCB allows you to select Vertical Sync (VS) or Composite Sync (CS) which is a combined sync signal not to be confused with Composite Video. The CatBox default is set for VS. If the vertical screen keeps rolling after adjusting vertical hold, try moving this jumper to the CS position. The mono audio signal which feeds to the Analog RGB connector may also be disabled by removing the audio jumper J1 on the AVC PCB. Although there is built in protection so that leaving this jumper enabled will not cause any problems, it is a good idea to disconnect J1 if you do not plan to use the Atari13 monitor adapter. The following is a list of compatible Analog RGB monitors that have been tested and the adapter requirements. 15.75KHz Horizontal Sync monitors that have been tested and their general requirements. Monitor/Model Adapter J7 Position J1 Position Atari SC1224 JVC Atari13 VS or CS ON Atari SC1224 Goldstar Atari13 VS Only ON Atari SC1224 Samsung Atari13 VS or CS ON Atari SC1435 Magnavox Atari13 VS or CS ON Commodore 1084D Magnavox Amiga23 CS Only OFF Commodore 1084S Magnavox Amiga23 CS Only OFF Commodore 1950 Amiga23 OFF Magnavox Professional RGB 80 OFF NEC Multisync Color Monitor None VS Only OFF NEC 3D HD15S VS Only OFF Sony 1302 OFF Princeton Graphics Ultra 14 None VS Only OFF Please write or send a fax if you have any questions about other monitors or would like a custom adapter made. Please also send us your positive experiences with other RGB monitors that we have not listed so we can let others know. Please do not ask us to support VGA and SVGA monitors that can't sync down to 15.75KHz. The required scan doubling adapter would cost more than the Jaguar even if manufactured in high volumes. There are exceptions to the above rules. For example if an Atari ST monitor cable for a Commodore 1084 monitor then naturally you should use the Atari13 adapter instead of the Amiga23. //// Atari SC1224 & SC1435 History The following information is an attempt to clear up the confusion in identifying the three different SC1224 monitors made for the Atari ST. These are all 12 inch color monitors and were later replaced by the SC1435 14 inch color stereo monitor which was made by Philips/Magnavox. The oldest was made by JVC and is identified by the 'Made in Japan' label on the back. These were mostly made in 1985. The FCC ID number is EBA90YSC1224. The signal cable and power cables both unplug from the rear of the monitor. The case top has ventilation slots. The JVC has a two-tone color scheme with a dark gray bezel (around the tube face) and a light gray casing. The push On/Off power switch is on the front bottom next to volume and contrast knobs. The JVC monitor is the best of the SC1224s. Next came the Goldstar monitor which was 'Made in Korea'in 1986. The FCC ID is EBA9QKSC1224. The signal cable does not unplug from the rear. The case top is solid and the entire case is light gray in color. There are three knobs all on the right side of the case. These are On/Off/Volume, contrast, and brightness. The last SC1224 was also 'Made in Korea' in 1987 by Samsung. The FCC ID is A3L9QNSC1225. Perhaps they had intended to call this the SC1225 when it was registered. Both the signal and the power cables are fixed in the case and cannot be unplugged. Like the JVC monitor, the Samsung is back to the two-tone color scheme with a dark gray bezel and light gray casing. The push On/Off power switch is on the front bottom next to volume, brightness, and contrast knobs. This is the least desirable and ugliest of the SC1224 monitors but it does work. In 1990 the SC1435 was “Made in Taiwan” for Atari by Philips/Magnavox. This is a 14 inch stereo monitor. Both cables unplug in the rear. The color is all light gray and a nice swivel stand is available. The push On/Off switch is on the rear. This is the best color monitor made by Atari for the ST and also works quite well with the CatBox. COMMUNICATIONS SECTION Two new communications methods are available on CatBox along with a DSP pass through. These are called CatNet and RS232. Communications allow you to connect two or more Jaguars together for multi-player games either directly or with modems. Each method is exclusive depending on the toggle switch position on the rear. The three position communications toggle switch next to the RJ11 jacks, points to the port which is enabled. UP = CatNet. Center = DSP Pass though. Down = RS232. The dual purpose power LEDs (lights) also show communications activity. The left LED blinks off when the Jaguar transmits data. The right LED blinks off when the Jaguar receives data. The activity should be visible to the human eye up to about 57.6K baud. You will need bionic eyes to see the activity on higher baud rates. Naturally since the Jaguar is a cartridge based system and not user programmable, drivers, baud rates and protocols are set by game developers. Check your game manual for more information on communications support. //// RS232 Simple RS232 is provided on CatBox through a male DB9 on the I/O PCB. This is connected as in the IBM AT standard as follows. //// DB9P 1 NC 2 RXD (receive data) 3 TXD (transmit data) 4 NC/DTR 5 Ground 6 NC (DSR) 7 NC (RTS) 8 NC 9 NC Note that there is no hardware handshaking. DTR is fixed on. An IBM AT type null modem cable may be used to connect two Jaguars together by their RS232 ports. An IBM AT type modem cable may be used to connect CatBox to a modem. //// CatNet The communications toggle switch should be up for CatNet support CatNet is a new dual-differential type of communications which is based on RS485. CatNet connects Jaguars together with standard 4 or 6 wire telephone cabling and RJ11 plugs. Although common telephone extension cables may be used, two conductor cables are not supported. Because of the wiring scheme used, plug polarity is not important. Cable runs of 1000 feet have been successfully tested but it is more practical to keep cable runs under 100 feet between Jaguars. Terminators should be left in the unused CatNet ports (ends) when running a network. Low cost 25 foot cables and replacement terminators are available from Black Cat Design. CatNet is a half duplex network which requires arbitration. CatNet uses 6P4C RJ11 phone type connectors and cabling and is reliable up to 120K baud per second with very long cable lengths. Up to 32 devices will work under CatNet although we expect to see it used more commonly in small local networks with a maximum of 4 or 8 players. //// DSP pass through port A DSP pass through port has been provided for compatibility with future devices that may require it. A prototype of Atari's Jaguar Voice Modem has been successfully tested while plugged into the DSP port. The communications switch should be in the center neutral position when using devices plugged into the DSP port. //// Options and miscellany. The following parts and accessories are available from Black Cat Design and better dealers: CatBox $69.95 Atari13 adapter $14.95 Amiga23 adapter $14.95 HD15S adapter $9.95 Custom adapter $19.95 (please supply pinouts) Headphone extension cable $9.95 Null modem cable $9.95 CatNet cable 25ft. $4.95 CatNet terminator $4.95 (standard equipment) Every effort has been made to make this a cost effective, innovative, indispensable peripheral for your Jaguar system. We would like to hear your comments and suggestions. Please write. CatBox is a product and trademark of Black Cat Design, Inc. Copyright 1994 All rights reserved. For more information contact Tom Harker at: ICD, Inc. 1220 Rock Street Rockford, IL 61101 815-968-2228 ext. 222 fax 968-6888 GEnie ICDINC CompuServe 76004,1600 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// AEO's Top Games =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= I recently asked the editors and writers to submit a list of their "Top 5" Jaguar games. While not all of the AEO staff has a Jaguar, and not all of the Jaguar owners have five games, here's the lists of what we like: //// Albert Dayes 1. Tempest 2000 - Jeff Minter has revitalized Dave Theurer's 1981 classic to make it a must have game. Maybe someday Jeff will have the time to code Missile Command 2000 (the 1980 classic also by Dave Theurer). It is a Jaguar game that will always be one of the very best. 2. AvP - No other game generates the true environment where your own scream is louder than the Aliens. "HIGH STRESS Environment" is what my some of my co-workers call this game. Maybe there will be a multi-player version someday. 3. Cybermorph - Regardless what anyone says this game will always be an enjoyable game. It may not be a spectator's game like AvP or Tempest 2000 but always one of the best places to fly. 4. Doom - Where "fire blowers" (IMPS) and "chewers" (PINK DEMONS) are your friends, and cooporation usually means a rocket in your back from your partner. Deathmatch should be great once the CATBOX is available late this year. //// Tim Wilson 1. Tempest 2000 - Lots of fast paced action & cool music. Great update to a great game. 2. Iron Soldier - (I've played it!) Very smooth and chock full of weapons. 3. Doom - It's Doom. 4. Alien Vs. Predator - Using the Cloaking device & cocooning Marines were both cool. 5. Kasumi Ninja - (I've played it!) ...the Scottish fireball. //// Ron Robinson I'm not a gamer - probably related to my eye hand coordination being only slightly better than the average turtle on a cold Fall day. The two Jag games I like enough to go back to after having my son show me the final scene are: 1. Tempest is not only a game, but a work of art in both sight and sound. Probably one of the more beautiful games ever developed IMHO. It also has some nostalogic value for me. 2. AVP because it can still make me jump 8 weeks after first playing the blasted thing. I also enjoy the virtual world where you can set your own goals and still enjoy the game with the only limitation being your imagination. (e.g. try to clear out level 1 with only the shot gun... or pretend the Aliens are really French businessmen :') Just think what the second and third generation games will do to us. //// Dimitri LaBarge 1. Alien vs. Predator. Spooky. Eerie. Amazing. Gorgeous. Add in Barney the Marine, too. Gaming heaven! (Now start on that sequel!) 2. Tempest 2000. I still haven't finished this wonder, but there's nothing about it that isn't strictly dazzling. For me though, the defining moment was the astonishing first warp, which looks as if it was dredged up straight from the end sequences of 2001. The next generation of gaming? After scientifically analyzing it, I have to say: yup! 3. Checkered Flag. Who needs Virtua? Rebellion threw in everything but the kitchen sink (well, maybe not a steering wheel, but why nitpick?), and it made for a wonderfully thumb-numbing racing experience, especially in the grueling tournament mode. Other racing games will surpass it, but as one of the first sports games for the Jag, it's a good 'un. 4. Dooooooom! (TM--Ask for it by name.) I haven't had as much of a chance to play this beaut as I'd have liked, but a little while in Nightmare mode will convert the masses in no time. The crisp sound effects and vibrant colors put the Sega version's (allegedly) competing version to shame, and with a terrific frame rate as well. But maybe the most important thing is it cements the Jag as *the* premier FP perspective game machine out there... 5. Wolfenstein 3-D. Sometimes the simplest pleasures are the best, and this gut-churning throwback reinforced that. With its ultra-flat stylized Nazi goons and blazing graphics, it stands for me as one of the first true milestones on the Jag. Goofy slap-it-in-on-a- rainy-day fun! The list in my stocking next year: look for Ultra Vortex, 'Dactyl Joust, Rayman... Stick around to find out! //// Christian Svensson 1. AvP - one word: GodIt'sGotAtmosphere! 2. Doom - The speed is simply incredible, control is PERFECT! 3. Tempest 2000 - The techno is awesome (esp. from a subwoofer and five speaker surround), the speed and the number of enemies are simply incredible. 4. Cybermorph - The first game is definately one of the best. Great depth of play, many many worlds to explore and conquer. Puzzle solving in a shoot em' up is rarely seen. 5. Raiden - I'm just partial to shooters (esp. in 2 player mode). //// Mark Santora 1. Alien vs. Predator - You are in the ultimate immersive simulation. While the graphics engine isn't Doom quality, it has a better gameplay value. 2. Tempest 2000 - The ultimate adrenaline rush. It doesn't get much better for this type of game. 3. Doom - Great graphics and locals. Best version available. 4. Cybermorph - 1st Person Defender! Lots of fun, and a great pack in. 5. Raiden - I love a good shoot'em up. //// Eric Michard 1. DOOM - The fastest version I've played yet, with more colors, smarter AI. 2. AvP - Spent a lot of time immersed in this game. I love the adrenaline rush when you get startled by a stealthy Alien or Predator. 3. Tempest 2000 - forget the 3 other versions on the cart - Tempest 2000 is the only game to play. 4. Club Drive - I love this game for every reason stated in my review, plus now there's been a whole new world found. (Planet Todd.) 2 player Tag is the best 2 player racing game on any system. 5. Cybermorph - still one of my favorites. I love exploring 3D polygon worlds. Heck, I haven't been able to beat it yet. //// Travis Guy 1. Alien Vs. Predator - Simply incredible immersive gameplay! I still swerve & duck when a previously unseen Alien jumps into view, screeching its attack cry. 2. Tempest 2000 - A game that I can play for hours, once I get into "the groove". Nintendo's entire "Play it LOUD" campaign pales next to this one game. I keep telling myself, "It's Jeff's -first- Jaguar game. What's Depender 2000 going to sound like wailing on Q-Sound???" Get the soundtrack CD. 3. Raiden - A great way to blow off steam for a few minutes. I love tearing through enemies with the maxxed-out laser. 4. Cybermorph - Fly THIS, babe. 5. Dino-Dudes - Yes, Travis likes nice and simple puzzle games too. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Offers from Atari Customer Service =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// New Dealer Demo Video Atari has a brand new VHS preview tape and it's better than ever! Over 30 Jaguar titles have been captured on video tape and just in time for the Holidays. This tape has been meticulously produced under the direction of Mr. Greg LaBrec using state-of-the-art direct-to-tape equipment and techniques. The action sequences selected were provided by the game producers or the guidance of the third party developers. Okay, okay... forget the hype... it's a darn cool tape and it has a cool plastic box and label too. This new edition updates the previously released software preview videos with exciting captures to show off last minute changes to games that are now in production. There are incredible sequences featuring action games such as Iron Soldier and high-resolution fantasy games such as Rayman by ubi Soft. Although this tape has been developed primarily for the use of Jaguar retailers, I have twisted marketings arm and they (actually he) has finally allowed me to sell copies to our faithful online Jaguar fans. I told him how everyone wants to see what has been taking so long. I mentioned that gamers want a good preview of things they are being asked to spend $50 to $70 on. I assured him people want an update of what has been going on in the past few months since CES. Now he's convinced and I have to sell more than three tapes fast or he'll never believe me again. Want more info? Here's the video menu... Approx. Tape Pos. SEGMENT AVAIL. IN STORES =========================================================== :20 TEACHER SPOT :49 Doom EARLY DECEMBER 2:34 Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story LATE NOVEMBER 4:00 Checkered Flag EARLY DECEMBER 5:45 Iron Soldier MID DECEMBER 7:42 Zool 2 LATE DECEMBER 8:57 Kasumi Ninja LATE DECEMBER 10:25 Club Drive LATE NOVEMBER 11:56 ALIEN VS. PREDATOR SPOT 12:27 Alien Vs. Predator AVAILABLE NOW 15:34 Ultra Vortex (Beyond Games) DECEMBER 17:06 Val D'Isere Skiing and Snowboarding EARLY DECEMBER 18:49 Bubsy LATE DECEMBER 20:05 Double Dragon V (Williams) DECEMBER 21:30 Flashback (US Gold) DECEMBER 22:49 Brutal Sports Football (Telegames) DECEMBER 23:50 Sensible Soccer (Telegames) 25:03 TEMPEST 2000 SPOT 25:34 Tempest 2000 AVAILABLE NOW 26:58 Wolfenstein 3d AVAILABLE NOW 28:06 Cybermorph AVAILABLE NOW 29:20 Raiden AVAILABLE NOW 30:32 Evolution: Dino Dudes AVAILABLE NOW 31:35 Trevor McFur in the Crescent Galaxy AVAILABLE NOW 32:50 Syndicate (Ocean) DECEMBER 33:47 Theme Park (Ocean) DECEMBER 34:35 Air Cars (Midnight) DECEMBER 35:39 Troy Aikman NFL Football (Williams) DECEMBER 36:34 Cannon Fodder (Virgin) DECEMBER 37:43 Dragon's Lair (Readysoft) 38:31 Hover Strike 39:20 Fight For Life 40:00 Burn Out 40:43 Rayman (ubi Soft) DECEMBER 41:52 VLM (Virtual Light Machine) DECEMBER Okay, okay... here's the deal. The cost is $8.95 plus $4.95 shipping and handling. That's a total of $13.90 ($14.64 in California) ($15.90 in Canada). Mastercard, Visa and money orders accepted (Checks and money orders should be made payable to Atari Corporation. NOT IN MY NAME! . I can ship to any location in North America including U.S. and Canada. To order, send your order to: Atari Corporation P.O. Box 61657 Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1657 OR contact me via Internet or on GEnie: jaguar$@genie.geis.com OR contact me via Internet or on Compuserve: 75300.1267@compuserve.com OR send me private E-Mail (to the SysOp) on: CATscan BBS ........ 209-239-1552 or fax your request to: Atari Customer Service Fax ..... 408-745-2088 Because Atari has a committment to fulfill dealer orders first, please allow up to 14 business days after your order is received before we ship. Shipping will be via UPS Ground to all North American addresses. Personally, I'm going to have my tape signed by Greg LaBrec. If you want him to sign your copy, let me know and I'll see if I can catch him in a good mood for you! I also have Alien Vs. Predator posters remaining. There is one for each shipping and handling fee of $4.95 ($6.95 in Canada). These are cinema-size posters and I've already heard back from gamers who have had theirs laminated, mounted and framed. By the way, you can help a LOT even if you don't want to order the tape or request a poster by passing this offer electronically to another Forum, Roundtable or BBS or make a hard copy and give to friends. Thanks! --Don Thomas Atari Corporation //// Tempest 2000 Audio CD The Tempest 2000 Audio CD is due in at Atari Corp. very soon! Sixty minutes of pulse-pounding techno-rave music, this marks Atari's first ever video game soundtrack. To help get everyone in the holiday mood, Don Thomas at Atari Customer Service has another special online offer. Send in your pre-order now, and Don will guarantee you'll get your copy out of the first run. What the heck, you'll even save on shipping. [] Song List 1. Thermal Resolution 3:59 2. Mind's Eye 4:52 3. T2K 5:23 4. Ease Yourself 7:52 5. Tracking Depth 5:04 6. Constructive Demolition 4:05 7. Future Tense 5:54 8. Digital Terror 5:07 9. Hyper Prism 4:26 10. Glide Control 5:12 11. Ultra Yak 4:00 12. 2000 Dub 7:31 [] How Much? The Tempest 2000 Audio CD is priced at $12.99, and if you order now, $3.50 for shipping and handling. (California residents, add the 8.25% state sales tax.) That comes to a total of $16.49. ($17.56 in CA.) Mastercard, Visa and money orders accepted. (Checks and money orders should be made payable to Atari Corporation) Note: This is a special pre-order! The CDs are not in, but are expected to arrive within two weeks. Please allow 14 days from the receipt of your order before shipping. Note #2: If you don't mind waiting an extra day or so for your CD to go out the door, ask Don really nicely if he can get John Skrutch and/or James Grunke to personally autograph your CD. [] Where To? To order, US Mail your order to: Thomas' Terrific Tempest Tunes Deal Atari Corporation P.O. Box 61657 Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1657 OR contact Don via the Internet on GEnie at: jaguar$@genie.geis.com OR via the Internet on Compuserve at: 75300.1267@compuserve.com OR via private E-Mail (to the SysOp) on: CATscan BBS ........ 209-239-1552 OR fax your request to: Atari Customer Service Fax ..... 408-745-2088 The CD is produced by AtariMusic; a division of Atari Corporation. The executive producer is Mr. John Skruch. The director of audio is Mr. James Grunke. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// AvP "Cheat On" Elaboration =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= There's been a few posts recently wondering just -what- the OPTION + 5 Cheat in the Alien Vs. Predator "Banana" cheat mode does do, besides toggling between "Cheat On" and "Cheat Off" on screen. [] Do the "Banana" cheat. (Details in AEO_0313.) [] Press OPTION and "5" together. ("Cheat On" will appear.) - When you take a hit, your energy bar will shrink, and it -will- eventually disappear =but=you=won't=die=! (Unless you press OPTION and "5" again without an energy bar present.) - When your energy is depleted, any hit you suffer will not flash the screen. (You can walk around quite freely while wearing a facehugger, but you can't operate anything or fire a weapon.) - (For Marine players) If you have -any- ammo, for -any- weapon, it will be replenished when you run out. (Press OPTION, "1", "2", "3" and "4" all together for full ammo on all weapons.) --==--==--==--==-- ||| DOOM ||| Review by: Mark "Stingray" Santora / | \ GEnie: AEO.4 Delphi: SANTORA ------------------------------------------------------------------ For those one or two people out there who don't know the plot of Doom - Interdimensional Space Travel is the wave of the future. The test site jumpgate near Mars, between the two moons of Phobos and Deimos, has been becoming more and more unstable, until recently when anyone entering the jumpgate, or surrounding area, has never been heard from again. Enter you and your team of intergalactic bad-asses. Your team is ordered to the base on Phobos to secure it. While you secure the perimeter, the rest of your squad heads into the base and are quickly ripped apart and turned into mindless zombies to battle the last intergalactic bad-ass - you. Now you are on your way in the ultimate first person shootemup, battling old friends and taking no prisoners. Along the way you are going to meet some new "friends." But let's not get ahead of ourselves.... =-=-=-=-=-=-= //// The Game =-=-=-=-=-=-= After the title screen you are introduced to the main screen. There are three items to decide upon before your journey into hell. First is the Game Mode. There are three options: Single, Co-Op, and Deathmatch. In a single game, you're alone battling the heavies. In a Co-Op you link 2 Jaguars together with a null modem cable (via the Catbox) and both of you go after the baddies. In Deathmatch it is you against a friend, no holds barred using the same set up as the Co-Op. There's no baddies present, just two good friends enjoying an afternoon of kicking the living daylights out of each other. Without a Catbox, this review is unfortunately solely based on the Single mode. Next you can choose which level to start at. The way this works (as opposed to other home versions) is that you can start at any level you have made it to. So, if you were playing yesterday and stopped on level 12, when you come back to it today, you can start anywhere you want, up to and including level 12. Unfortunately you start with the basic handgun and fist again and all the baddies are back. But, usually there is more than one advanced guns lying around in your immediate vicinity when you start a level. Finally there is the Skill Level. There are five levels of severity to choose from here. They are: I'm a Wimp, Not too Rough, Hurt me Plenty, Ultra-Violence, and Nightmare. The game suggests Hurt me Plenty to start, as do I. Obviously, the guys at ID Software are trying to intimidate you, and they should. This game isn't exactly easy. Control is handled by full use of the control pad. Up walks you forward, while pushing down backs you up. Left and right turn you respectively in those directions. To "Slide" to the left or right, you have to press the "C" button and press left or right on the control pad. "C" is also used to open doors and use the elevators. Using the "A" button while moving your character effectively conveys the sense of "running." Trust me when I say you will use this option far more than you think. "B" is your gun weapon. Of course, all these are customizeable so, to each their own with the set up. The Keypad overlay details which button to press of a specific weapon. Buttons 1-7 follow this while button 8 and 0 are not used. Button 9 is used to bring up the map. The Map falls into what is known as "automapping." You will only see on the map areas you have walked through. If you were to look across a lake of acid and see a platform, portions of that will show up on the map, but not all of it. Done against a black backdrop, the map is a basic representation of the level. Yellow lines are for the walls while brown indicates a door, and lifts can be found by a purple line on the map. While looking at the map you can zoom in and out of it to get a better indication of the area you are in by pressing "B" and up on the joypad. Conversely, if you want to zoom out press "B" and down. You can also scroll it sideways by simply pressing left or right on the pad. By pressing "C" and moving the joypad your character will move. He is represented on the map by the cutest little green arrow. One thing to note however is that the game does not stop while you are playing it. If you are getting hit by a zombieman and want to look at the map, he will continue to attack you while you stop to ask for directions. Find a safe place to stop and look at your map. There are 23 levels in Doom, and 1 "secret" level. Each level is massive and takes quite some time to complete. They are not as large as the levels in Alien vs. Predator, but there are 24 total here. I think it's more than a fair trade off. Throughout the levels there are doors, elevators, hidden doors, and levers. Some doors require the correct color matching key (red, yellow, or blue). You will have to find these keys. Hidden doors are in the walls and there is a lot of trial and error to find them. Although the map will sometimes give you a good idea of where to try and look. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// The Basics =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= To battle in the world of Doom, at first you are armed with your fists and a pistol. As you progress throughout the game you will find a Shotgun, Chainsaw, Rocket Launcher, Plasma Rifle, and the BFG 9000 (Big YouKnowWhating Gun). Each of these weapons are unique as they each have a pay-off. There isn't any way to completely point out how much fun it is to take the chainsaw to a bunch of imps. But beware of using the Rocket Launcher on enemies that are too close to you as you will end up hurting yourself as well. When the game starts you are presented with a full screen image of the 3D world you are battling in. Across the bottom of the screen is your information bar. Listed in the bar, from left to right, are: 1. Your ammo count for the weapon you are currently using. 2. Your health (normally maxxes out at 100 but can be increased with soul spheres up to 200). 3. The key you have, or don't have. There are generally 3 keys per level. 4. A picture of you (kinda ugly,too!) 5. Your armor rating. Like the health, it normally maxxes out at 100 but can be raised to 200 with special armour. 6. The weapon indictors, which tell you which weapons you have. 7. The Level Indicator. Whichever weapon you are holding is displayed on the environment screen. The better to blast you with.... =-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Bad Guys =-=-=-=-=-=-= [] Former Humans (Zombiemen): these are your old friends, they're not anymore. [] Former Human Sergeants (Zombies with shotguns): Big guys with Bad Attitudes. [] Imps: Tough, brown monsters who spit out fireballs. [] Demons: Pink, but not nice. Will open wide and swallow you whole. [] Lost Souls: Flying around fireheads, but not the brightest enemy. [] Cacodemons: Huge floating heads that spit out lightning. [] Barons of Hell: Huge monster that make you wish for a T-Rex. One of the nice things to note is that each weapon acts differently with each bad guy. And on top of that, the power of the weapon seems to decrease with added distance between you and your intended dead meat. Also make note that these demons are full 3-D creatures, they turn. You can see their sides and backs. They just don't slide left and right as they do in inferior versions of Doom. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// More Basics =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Scattered throughout the levels are various items to pick up. To grab them all you have to do is walk over them. //// Healing 1. Stimpacks help you out by raising your health a bit. 2. Medkits are much better at healing you and are a step above Stimpacks. 3. Berserk Packs take you to 100% health and turn your fists into something that imps and the like should avoid. This power up will generally allow you to take out baddies with one or two punches. It lasts the rest of the level. 4. Health potions are in little blue bottles and raise your health by 2%. 5. Soul Spheres take you to 200% health. They are rare. 6. Invulnerability Artifacts make you invulnerable for a brief time. //// Things to Wear 1. Security armour (green) will bring your health up to 100%. 2. Combat armour (blue) will bring you up to 200%. 3. Spiritual armour will slightly raise your armour level. Radiation Suits help you as you trot your way through the green ooze that flows like rivers throughout the complex. Be sure to check these river or canals out for extra stuff. Backpacks allow you to carry extra ammo. They also have additional ammo in them when you find them. Computer Maps update your automap so you have a better idea where you are going. =-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Graphics =-=-=-=-=-=-= The textures used throughout the game are nothing short of awe inspiring. Sometimes beautiful and sometimes so discrete that you don't notice, those are the ones that are the most impressive. These textures are a combination of ones found in Doom and Doom ][ as stated by the programmers at ID Software. The levels are claustrophobic and hauntingly real. They look as if someone took a castle off the shores off the highlands of Scotland and moved it to Phobos. Excellent. The Characters are a well defined and move convincingly. They do get pixelated when you get really close to them, as do some of the walls, but it is not bad. In this game if you are close enough to a baddie to examine the pixilation, you're in a lot of trouble.... =-=-=-=-=-= //// Sound =-=-=-=-=-= Ok, I have a minor gripe here. After playing Alien vs Predator (and finishing all three scenarios, thank you), I was a little disappointed with Doom's sound. In AvP there is always a little background hum going on, something to give a little ambiance. I like ambiance. But in Doom the effects, while well placed. are a little scarce. It is important to note however, that there is music between the levels which is quite good. But lack of music during the actual gameplay did not deter from the overall experience. Though I feel that music during the gameplay would have distracted me from the game, I think there should have been at least a little ambient noise to keep the gamer going. Aside from that, great sound. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// vs. Doom PC =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= I had never played Doom on the PC but I had seen it. So, after getting Doom I made it a point to go over to a friend's and play it on his 486DX/33. I brought my Jag and A/V cable and we went over it, bit by bit... Speed is roughly equivalent to the 486. (Don't forget that the Jag is doing it in 16 bit color.) My friend was very impressed with the shading of the hallways. The Jaguar shines here as the lighting effects are far superior to the PC version. There was some slowdown on the Jag with a lot of enemies on the screen, but it doesn't detract too much from the game. My friend was actually so impressed, he plans to pick a Jag up after Xmas when he gets his bonus. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// vs. doom 32x [Ed: lower case used to denote inferiority] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= There isn't really much to compare. The 32x version has forward facing bad guys, a smaller screen window to play the game through (so the game will run faster), maybe 256 colors, no level save feature (start anywhere), only 15 levels (2 secret if you play from the beginning), and is slower than the Jag version. Oh, please let me invest $100 in a Genesis, $160 in a 32x adapter, and another $70 to get a pseudo-Doom. Not. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Conclusion =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Jag Doom is as close to perfect as it is going to get. Even John Carmack considers it to be the best version of Doom that ID has ever done. One thing to note is that the Doom engine was not fully optimized for the Jaguar; if it had been, it could be running faster than we could play it at! I assume that when Quake is released for the Jag, it will be fully optimized so we can see a major speed increase. This is the type of game you are not going to finish in one sitting, or two, or three. You are going to play this for a long time. Then, when you get higher up in the levels, you will wonder where all these guys are coming from. You will wish you were playing an earlier level only because it is easier. It is very difficult to find everything scattered throughout the levels. Secret rooms, objects that are placed at the exact point that if you don't walk over into a corner, you would never notice that something in the shadows; these are what will keep you coming back to Doom. Not to mention that this is the best way to take out aggressions on a video game since Tempest 2000! So go out, grab Doom, and go kick some interstellar butt! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Final Ratings =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Title: Doom JagNet: No Design: Id Software Players: One or Two (via null Published by: Atari Corp. modem cable) Price: $69.95(US) Available: Now (US, UK) Here's the summary ratings: "*" is a whole "+" is a half 5 stars maximum Graphics - ****+ The graphics are top notch. If they had been at a little higher resolution they have been better. Audio - *** Nice sound f/x but a little more was needed to totally immerse the gamer. Control - **** Smooth and easy to pick up. Surprisingly good with the joypad. Gameplay - ***** Highly addictive. Don't forget to put the controller down and eat on occasion. Overall - ****+ Worth every penny. Mark's Keys to Ratings (sort of a state of mind) ***** - "There can only be one." Highlander. **** - "Excellent!" Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. *** - "That was just called Pillow Talk, Baby." Army of Darkness. ** - "I've got a very bad feeling about this." Star Wars. * - "Not if you tied my tongue to the tailpipe of your car and dragged me naked through a field of glass!" The Hard Way. About your reviewer: Mark "Stingray" Santora has always been known as the "technical" one in his family. He is the most computer literate of his two other brothers and his parents still have trouble with the VCR. He is 23, and a May 94 graduate from the University of Miami with a dual major in Film Production and English Creative Writing. Mark has been using Atari products as far back as he can remember. The original style 2600 followed in 1980 by the big one - an Atari 800 with a whopping 48K. He moved on to a Mega ST2 (now a 4) in 1987 and it has been his proud computer since. Over the years he owned a 7800, which is still in his basement, one of the first Lynx game machines as well as one of the first Jaguars. (Serial number K13B002383 for those involved in the GEnie discussion.) The "Stingray" comes from two different backgrounds: 1. the very cool fish he's swam next to while diving, and 2. the extremely cool car. When he's not writing reviews, playing video games, or diving, he writes screenplays (two with the WGA so far) and works on film sets as well as rock concerts. Mark tries to stay diversified. --==--==--==--==-- ||| Val D'Isere Skiing and Snowboarding ||| Review By: Timothy Wilson / | \ GEnie: AEO.8 Internet: wilsont@rahul.net ------------------------------------------------------------------ You've seen 'em on the slopes and in the Olympics, those amazing skiers that can weave between those flags or jump amazing distances and land perfectly, In VSS you get your chance to step into the ski boots of one of these super shredders. When starting the game, you can choose to play one of three modes: Free-Ride, Training or Competition. In Free-Ride, you must beat times and ski through checkpoints, sometimes making decisions on which trail to take. In training or competion, you can also choose from Slalom or Downhill. Both require you to ski between flags, but the flags in slalom are closer together (less space to ski through) and are always set on the opposite side of the trail from the last. Downhill flags are spaced far apart left-right, and set up so radical moves aren't required to reach the next set. Of course, you can choose either skis or snow board, and pressing Option lets you configure buttons and joypad controls (yea!). Tim: Gee, maybe I should explain it a bit more huh? Reader: Yes, that would be nice, Tim. What does it look like? Ok, Your view is from behind and slightly above your skier, the camera pretty much retains its position from behind, so if a big hill comes up, you sometimes can't see what's on top. The course also wanders from side to side, and there are usually trees, rocks, poles, or signs framing the trail. The main trail has a "used" look to it with criss cross patterns of previous skiers. A nice touch is that your character also leaves a mark in the snow. Your character can jump, turn, or "power turn" at will. Although when jumping you cannot move left or right (nothing touches the ground of course!), and power turns tend to slow you down drasticly. If the charater happens to slam headlong into a tree, rock or snowplow, you'll be treated to a nice show of the skier bite the white, tumbling forward for a good 50-100 feet. I think the skier is really a Toon though, as he never gets hurt, only loses time in these collisions. So, no worrying about fatigue or life bars. Strangely, hitting other skiers only slows the player down a little bit. I was hoping for a tangled mass to slide down the hill and prehaps a reprimand by Val D'Isere Personel, but I didn't even get a "oof!" or "Ouch!". Everything in the game is a beautifuly scaled colorful sprite. No big chunky pixels as sprites get closer. The backdrops for the game and menus are nicely done, some look digitized, and some look drawn (but drawn very well). Val D'Isere logos, Atari Fujis, and Virtual Studio banners are all over, along with a dash of popular ski-sub-culture icons and motifs. The sound and music were pretty good. Title music, option screen music, and I think there was a few skiiing tunes as well, so there was always music playing, it didn't really grate on my nerves or anything, but eventually it would get old. The sound FX were adequate, with a good sampling of swoosh, hiss, and swish noises, and a few other sounds like bodies tumbling and slalom flags being hit, and the victory yell (YEEAH!) as you jump off a big hill. Control was fine, there were plenty of configurations to choose from, many of the controls can float between the buttons and the d-pad. A realistic setting is #9, you always accelerate, and you can only steer on the d-pad. I prefered having "up" being speed, down brake, while the buttons did jump and power turn. I got "Jaguar thumb" after a while, since a lot of jockeying is needed, and in that setting I needed lots of diagnals. If playing two player, you must hand controller 1 back and forth, which was slightly annoying. As for game play, hmmm, well, pretty much run-of-the-mill racer. There wasn't any difference between the skis or the board, only a change of graphics. The terrain in the game is what you could predict: Some places have ice, so you can go fast, but it's hard to steer, or sometimes it's a creek bed or bare dirt which -really- slows you down. My friend and I had the most fun in Free-ride, since we didn't have to beat other times, just make it through the checkpoint, and we could pick different routes. In competition, you have to get a better time than the person above you on the competition ladder. If you don't make it, you lose one of your chances, of which you only have three. Personally, I had played it out in a night, I had fun, but not enough. Admittedly, I only got to level 2 in the Free-ride, but it got exponentially harder from level 1, and you have no choice but to complete the current run, which you have to keep playing over and over until you basically memorize the tough parts. It does have a slightly addictive quality to it, in that I wanted to see the new scenery or just get the next checkpoint in sight. In the end, I have to give this a "try before you buy" stamp. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Final Ratings =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Title: Val D'Isere Skiing Price: $59.95(US) and Snowboarding JagNet: No Design: Virtual Studio Players: 1 or 2 (one controller) Published by: Atari Corp. Available: Late December Here's the summary ratings: "*" is a whole "+" is a half 5 stars maximum Gameplay - ** Drop in cars and you'd have a so-so race game. Graphics - **+ Excellent use of colors and very fast. Sound - *** Music is just under T2K's. FX are sparse. Control - *** Lots of configurable buttons. Overall - **+ I'd rent it once, and then buy a lift ticket. (Overall is not an average!) My standard five star rating scores: ***** Whoa! this is some major powder! **** I can't wait to shred! *** These lines are kinda long, but at least it's a good run. ** Hey! Quit scratching my skis, dude! * MY LEG!!! OW! MY LEG! --==--==--==--==-- ||| Checkered Flag ||| By: Mark "Stingray" Santora / | \ GEnie: AEO.4 Delphi: SANTORA ------------------------------------------------------------------- It begins with a sound. The purr comes to life and surrounds you, echoing through your head. It is almost deafening. Your heart starts to pound harder. It gets louder, almost blocking out the revving engine noise. Then it happens, in a flash of light the green comes; and the race begins. =-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Overview =-=-=-=-=-=-= Taking a break from blasting imps, aliens, and predators, you strap yourself into the first full fledged racing game for the Jaguar, Checkered Flag. In this tribute to Virtua Racing you control your racer as you speed around 10 different tracks with 6 different views, in four different weather conditions, with up to 5 drones that compete with you for the title. As you can see, there are quite a number of different options in this game. A quick note: This review is based on having played Checkered Flag for over a week. So, none of those, "he only played it for five minutes comments," please. =-=-=-=-=-=-= //// The Game =-=-=-=-=-=-= After the title screen comes the set up screen. Here is where the best part of Checkered Flag lies. You can control just about everything in the game. First you start with your car. What Color, sir? Choose between 6 color combinations. Next, what's it like outside? The weather is either Sun, Rain, Fog, or Dark (available with joypad code 8,4,7,3 when "weather" is highlighted). Next your airfoil, sir, would you like that high or low? Tires, dry or wet? Now, would you like to control the 6 speed transmission yourself or would you prefer the 5 speed automatic? And how many of the 5 drones would you care to race against? Fine. thank you. Is this a tournament, single race, or free practice? Good. How many laps would you like to go sir? Up to 99, we do have to sleep, you know. Splendid. And finally, which of our 10 tracks would you like to drive? If there were any more questions I would be certain a butler was hovering about. After selecting from your plethora of options, hit A, B, or C and let's go! You are on the starting line with the Announcer, very crisply saying, "Gentlemen, start your engines!" You drop your car into gear and your engine screams into action, redlining. When the starting light turns green, you speed off into the horizon. As previously stated, Checkered Flag is a tribute to Virtua Racing. Your car, the opponents, and the landscape are all comprise of polygons. The only bitmaps are the excellent skies that are the horizon. There are six different views in the game for you to choose from. View one is in the car looking out from the drivers position. View two has you just outside the car just above your airfoil. View three places you about 5 feet above and behind your airfoil. View four is like a helicopter chase view of the race. View five is a little lower than the helicopter chase, but much closer to the car. View six best represents another helicopter chase, but from quite a bit higher up. The exterior views smoothly flow from one to the other. They are changed by pressing buttons one through six on your numeric pad. I find that views three and four are the best for the game. Your joypad controls the movement of the car, left turns you left and right turns you right. When using a manual transmission, pressing up shifts you into the next higher gear. Pressing down, shifts you into a lower gear. There are six gears in the manual transmission. Control is one of the main factors that seems to have everyone talking. Of course, I picked up Checkered Flag on the day of release and my initial comments were not very good. The control is exceptionally touchy. The manual refers to steering as, "While holding the joypad down, the car will turn a small amount at first, then will turn more sharply before lessening again." What does this mean? It means that you can not hold the pad down while you turn. If you do, you will end up turning ninety degrees and crash into whatever polygon is there. Trust me, you do a lot of crashing in this game. Thank god your car is invulnerable. It does not get damaged, it does not blow up. It either stops completely, slows down, or flips - a lot. And it always ends up on its wheels. (I think they are taking this cat/jaguar thing a little far.) Another thing to note about the flipping is that while you are flipping you still have control of your car! If you keep your accelerator depressed, you will keep moving once you land. You can also steer your car somewhat, while you are flipping to help you correct your course once you land. The problem with the steering in this game is what will keep it from becoming a full blown hit like AvP. On the other hand, and if I didn't mention this there would be plenty of angry CF players out there, you can turn around. In other words, this game is not on rails. You can drive anywhere on the track you want. Sure, you can't drive over the water, but who can? So in essence you get 20 tracks, 10 in one direction and 10 in the other. There is also a pit right next to the starting line. You can pull in, and pull out. As far as I can tell there is no practical purpose for the pit. I wish there had been. Perhaps if you damaged you car, or in long races if your tires wore down. Maybe someone in your pit crew telling you how many laps you've done. =-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Graphics =-=-=-=-=-=-= The graphics are quite colorful. Your car is sharply animated and the horizon smoothly comes into view from the lower camera angles. As you move up, though, the horizon jumps into the frame much like Cybermorph. However, the distances to the horizon are accurately portrayed here by the use of color. The colors are faded and less vibrant in the distance than they are in the immediate vicinity of your car. Speaking of distance, there are several things that can hinder your driving ability (besides the control). There is Fog, which is very nicely implemented. In fact, you must specifically change your tires for it. The distance is covered in a wet looking blanket, and so is the road. Without the Wet tires, you're all over the place more than usual. The Rain isn't that impressive an effect. The rain is flat and boring looking and appears to be placed on as a sort of transparency behind your car. Ok, imagine the HUD on AvP. That's where the rain is. It isn't half a mile down the road. And the road doesn't "look" wet. You know little puddles and such. The best of the weather conditions is night. The darkness is great and I find it to be the most impressive of all the backgrounds and driving simulations. It kinda reminds me of the classic, Night Driver. On the screen you have the race course in front of you laid out and your speed indicator, gear, position, lap time and best lap time, tachometer, and your track map. All of these remain on screen throughout your race. You can, by pressing the option button on the set up screen, turn off the tachometer, and stop the race map from spinning - or turn it off as well. From the option screen you can also customize the controls of your pad. Default settings are "A" for accelerate, "B" for brake, and "C" for cruise. From within the game the Option Button gives you access to the sound f/x and music volume, which you can alter. These alterations, along with the pad controls and the screen display will be saved to the cartridge's flash memory. Like all the other Jaguar cartridges to date, up to 100,000 changes can be made before the memory is no longer usable. The five drones (maximum) that you race against are just as well drawn as you. Unfortunately, they are difficult to see at times until you are almost on top of them. All of the sudden you seem to be on top of them, and then you are, literally. You crash and go flipping through the air, and then you're on the road again. The sound of the other cars are not very well used, as it is difficult to tell sometimes if they have passed you because you can't hear them! =-=-=-=-=-= //// Sound =-=-=-=-=-= The music in the game is one of the best parts. For each of the ten tracks there is a specific tune. There is also a specific tune for the opening screen and option screen as well as the "Race Winner" screen. The music is top class, different than Tempest 2000, but then that type of music wouldn't work here. The sound effects are limited to that between your car engine and the other cars whizzing past you. =-=-=-=-=-=-= //// vs. Lynx =-=-=-=-=-=-= I know, I know, it isn't really fair to compare a 64 bit console to a 8/16-bit handheld. But I felt that this review would be strangely incomplete without it. Some say that the handling is identical between the two versions of the game, so I dusted off my Lynx case, dropped in my Checkered Flag card and played again. Like the Jag version, your car is invulnerable. It will come to a complete stop or spin 360 degrees before allowing you to take control of it. But unlike the Lynx version, the Jaguar version has multiple views. As for the control, the Lynx version handles much better. It handles exactly how you think it would handle for a video game. It doesn't overturn you for holding the pad. Also where the Lynx version shines over its younger brother is in the Lynxability of it. This is my biggest gripe with the Jaguar version, a one player game. If a split screen wasn't possible (I don't see why not) than you should at least be able to link the systems together like Doom. This would severely helped the gameplay of the Jaguar version. We all know there is nothing more fun than beating your friend at a video game. Don't believe me? How many times do you see people lining up to play Mortal Kombat 2 against a friend. It's one thing to beat up a computer, but beating your friend is another story. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Conclusion =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= I was disappointed in the end product of Checkered Flag for the Jaguar. I was expecting more, at least a two player option. I could at least forgive the harshness of the controls but without it, is just becomes a VR knock-off that can be fun, but requires patience to learn to drive. And then after a while, you end up wondering what else is there to do in the game besides drive in circles. We can only hope the Checkered Flag 2 will be what we hoped Checkered Flag would be. If you are in desperate need for a driving game, I'm not telling you to buy it, but you could do worse. With some other racing games in the pipeline, perhaps you should save your money and pick up other stuff until then. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Final Ratings =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Title: Checkered Flag JagNet: No Design: Rebellion Players: One Published by: Atari Corp. Available: Now (US, UK) Price: $59.95 Here's the Summary ratings: "*" is a whole "+" is a half 5 stars maximum Graphics - **+ They are good, but not great. After 6 months delay, you wonder if this was the best they could do. Audio - *** Sound f/x are only adequate, but the music helps out. Control - *+ It just doesn't work all that well. Gameplay - ** Just below average. If it was average, you could control it better. Overall - **+ There are other racers in the pipeline. Wait for them unless you need to buy it. Mark's Keys to Ratings (Sort of a State of Mind) ***** - "Oh, you want some of this, too?" - Aliens. **** - "Yippie Ki Yea!" - Die Hard. *** - "Full Impulse Power, Mr. Scott." - Any Star Trek Film. ** - "Bogus!" - Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. * - "There anything else that'll keep it from falling?" "Yeah, the basement." - Speed. --==--==--==--==-- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- --==--==-- CompuServe Sign-Up Information --==--==-- -- -- -- -- To sign up for CompuServe service, call (voice call) (800) 848-8199. -- -- Ask for operator #198. You will be sent a $15.00 value CIS membership -- -- kit for free. -- -- -- -- --==--==-- CompuServe Sign-Up Information --==--==-- -- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --==--==--==--==-- ||| The Unabashed Atariophile ||| By: Michael R. Burkley / | \ Delphi: MRBURKLEY GEnie: M.BURKLEY1 ----------------------------------------------------------------- The year is coming to an end... so soon! But at least it ends with Christmas, which is always a wonderful beginning for me. Christmas has many important meanings for a wide variety of people. For some, while it's a relic of a religious past, today it's just a community celebration: a time of good cheer and perhaps a bit more tolerance and acceptance than normal. For others it is a very lonely time because of changing family circumstances, relationships lost, or for many other reasons. For others it is a religious celebration, but one which goes on outside of their own community and doesn't touch the core of their celebrations. Finally (though not fully) some see it as a birthday party through which God extends an invitation to new life to the entire world. I think it's exciting to be a part of a celebration that touches so many lives, at least in some way or another. I suspect that you know on where my focus of Christmas falls. Birthday parties are a time of giving gifts, and like Tolkien's Hobbits who gave the best gifts on their own birthdays, I believe that Jesus gave the world the best gift when he gave himself to us, beginning at his birth. Now you and I can't match that kind of gift, but we can learn from it and give in turn. The Atari community, and I think it is a community, has always been long on giving. I have seen a phenomenal amount of support online and through user groups to users both old and new (and a _bit_ of trashing here and there ). PD/Shareware software keeps on being produced at a rate which causes me to fall ever further behind in my reviews. Jesus said, "To whom much has been given much shall be required." We've all been given a lot. The question is, "what are we going to do, now?" I'd like to just say a thank you to those authors who have developed and distributed some of my favorite software. I'll do that by listing some of their programs (though I don't use many of them...I don't have TIME!). But first I want to thank all of the commercial developers whose products I use... Gribnif, CodeHead, DMC, A & D, ICD, MyGraph, NewSTar, WinterTree, Oregon Research, Anodyne, Fast Tech, and more. Where would I and my STE be without you people? Thanks! Here are some files I have recently downloaded. Your gifts to us. Thanks! Following them are some of my favorite files. Some of them (the shareware programs which I haven't registered) I've just described not had much of a chance to use. I don't have the time! But if you like them and find the time to use them, register them! Give a shareware programmer a nice Christmas present this year! Enjoy... and Merry Christmas. Remember whose Birthday Christmas is! [] BACKWD28 is Backward II v.2.80, "the" ST emulator for FALCON O3O by Cyrille Dupuydauby (dated Nov. 1, 1994). This version is a major upgrade over the previous version I've seen (v.2.52). While the Falcon TOS is compatible enough with older versions of TOS so that about 90% of GEM programs will run fine, the game compatibility is something else. About 75% of games won't work because of Hardware changes in the Falcon. Here's where Backward can come to your rescue! It is designed to handle those hardware differences so that instead of 75% of games not running you will find that about 70% (or more!) of your games DO run. Now that's an improvement! It makes many more ST/STE programs compatible with the Falcon, brings some bug fixes online, and provides you with a library of configurations for many popular games. He even includes a new patch program to permanently patch your programs to make Backward II unnecessary! Requires a Falcon with at least 4 Meg of RAM and any video mode (set up requires a non-40 column mode). Shareware (limited in only allowing twenty configurations saved while the registered version allows 2,000!). As the older versions (v.1.44 and below) of Backward are freeware the author says that if you don't want to register please use one of them and not this upgraded version (support shareware authors!). This shareware author keeps on supporting his product that's for sure! Support him in turn!! Backward III is coming! Toad Hall BBS. [] BAT17 is an Arcade style bombing game. Your object is to bomb selected targets while avoiding the anti-aircraft file and enemy fighter planes. Online instructions. ST--TT compatible (at least). ST Low res only. Toad Hall. [] BMAPFIX2 is BMAPFIX v.2.0 by Don Maple. This is a fix for a bug in the Falcon TOS serial port routines. Without this sometimes you will not be able to access your serial port on your Falcon. Now automatically redirects calls to Bconmap 6 to Bconmap 7 for even greater compatibility. Just run this from the desktop or from the AUTO folder and your problem will be solved. Docs on the program and explaining the problem are included. Delphi. [] C64 is a Commodore 64 emulator v.3.0 by Uwe Seimet (dated 1987). I can get this up and running on my Color TOS 1.62 STE, but since I don't know how to run a C-64, and a screen saying Commodore Basic appears (from which you can type different commands), but I can't really tell you much more than that. There is an online help menu in English (but nothing more than several lines telling of key equivalents) and some docs, but they are in German and seem to be more talking about the theory behind the emulator rather than how to run it. Some sample programs and source code included. Register with the author for the newest version. Requires at least one meg of RAM. Delphi. [] CARRELEC is a PageStream (v.2.1 or 2.2, and now since we've found out that Soft Logik has made the marketing decision to abandon the Atari market I guess we won't see any higher versions ) Type 1 font file of a group of dingbat fonts that Alan Carr converted from TrueType for use with PageStream. ASCII characters 33-126 contain different electronic schematic symbols. Freeware. A PageStream .DOC file is included for you to use in viewing these symbols. Toad Hall. [] DM2WORKS by Randy Hoekstra (the author of Grocery Lister and File Cat) is a simple utility to help convert Datamanger files to the new Atari Works database program (dated Sept, 1993). Detailed docs on how to do this are included. You do not need AtariWorks to use this program (but why bother otherwise!). Delphi. [] DOLLYDGR is a Copyist DTP (a music scoring program by Doctor T's) arrangement by Binney Stone of three horns and a rhythm section for the Jimi Hendrix song, "Dolly Dagger." The three horns are tenor, trumpet and trombone, and this arrangement was done for a female. Toad Hall. [] DR_NECRO is Dr. Necro, C v. 0.40 by Ken Schafer of NecroWare Development (dated Nov. 11, 1994). Dr. Necro is an Atari ST game, similiar to Dr. Mario(tm) on the Nintendo(tm) game system. The concept is simple, The main screen has a 'bottle' containing some viruses. Your job is to kill off all the viruses, using colored 'pills' that appear at the top of the bottle. A virus is destroyed when a line of 4 or more 'pill-parts' of the same color as the virus is made. When all of the viruses are killed, you move onto a new, more difficult level. Keyboard controlled. Docs included. Low res. color only. Ken says that this isn't a finished game (though much improved over previous versions), but it's pretty good! I know that it's the kind that ends up making my eyes water and my attention to be tuned out of everything else going on around me. It's definitely an "I can do better next time, so I'll try it again" type game. Shareware, and if you register you get $5 in coupons towards software from Suzy B's Software (I liked it that much!). There's also a nice surprise in this archive, especially for you 8-bit familiar types! Delphi. [] FILMTERM is a utility which will let you identify the film setting used for your Kodak Photo CD scans, the scanner version used, and the organization that made the PCD file on your CD. Find out who really made the Photo CD for you! Docs and Kodak Photo CD bulletins included. From the "It's All Relative and Photo Show Pro people. STE--Falcon (at least). Delphi. [] FPATCH2 is an official patch from Atari that fixes two problems in the Falcon BIOS (TOS 4.00-4.04). The first is the problem that causes the Sound to not initialize properly and the second is the fix for the Bconmap() which doesn't work. Run this from your AUTO folder. If you have FPATCH1 use this instead. It fixes the problems much more usefully (see the docs). One (possible) bug in this has been told me by a friend who owns a Falcon and a FAX modem. When used, this patch prevents the FAX modem from being recognized by the Falcon when using STRaight FAX. Delphi. [] FTP_SITE is an ASCII file by Hallvard Tangeres and Mark Smith (dated Nov. 20, 1994) which lists world-wide FTP sites (six sites in the United States and Canada, 23 in Germany, 3 in the United Kingdom, and 9 from other countries). Using this information and your internet connection you can gather files from around the world quickly and easily. At the end of this list is a set of directions for downloading files from any listed site. I really have to get on the ball and learn my way around the InterNet. There is so much material available! Delphi. [] HD_PATCH is a patch program originating from Wilfred Kilwinger, the Support Manager at Atari Benelux (in the Netherlands) which allows you to easily configure the patchable functions in the Atari AHDI hard drive software v.3.00 and above. This software will only allow you to change the things you are supposed to change (nice!). Some of the things you will be able to do (based on your system) is to configure your buffers, SCSI ID #'s to skip at boot, the internal HD spindown timer in your STacy or ST Book computers (I'd like an ST Book!), the ability to set aside a fixed number of drive letters for removable drive cartridges, and more. With this patch program AHDI users can get many of the functions of ICDBOOT. Docs included. Delphi. [] HOLD_ON is a three horn arrangement/transcription of Sam & Dave's "Hold On I'm Comin'". This file contains all parts (transposed and edited) and score for use with Copyist DTP (a music scoring program by Doctor T's). Arranged by Binney Stone and used in his band, "*batteries not included." Toad Hall. [] MDRUMS is the Midi Master Drummer v.2.1 demo by David Snow (dated 1992). This program is a MIDI drum editor for the ST-Falcon. Master Drummer 2.1 lets you create tracks for MIDI drum machines, samplers, and synthesizers using a versatile and intuitive graphic interface. Drum patterns can be edited as they play, and you can even generate drum tracks automatically. Patterns can be chained into phrases, and phrases linked into songs. You can save patterns, phrases, and songs as Standard MIDI Files and export them to your favorite MIDI sequencer. The docs say that it runs under TOS 1.0-2.06, but the uploader says it is Falcon compatible (and I know it runs under Geneva). Color or mono, and at least one meg of RAM recommended. This demo is fully functional except for file saving and loading, and its MIDI clock sync option has also been disabled. Docs included. Toad Hall. [] MPEGDSP is the Falcon full motion color MPEG-1 animation player by Guido Vollbeding (dated Oct. 14, 1994. This player uses the Falcon's DSP chip to play and MPEG-1 video stream, but P and B frames, if any, are skipped ("pling"). A full version of this program is available until the end of 1994 for only 50DM, according to the author (why limited to that time frame he doesn't say). Falcon only (though the information above appears when I try to run the program on my STE. The screen says, "no DSP available" and exits cleanly with a keypress. No docs. Delphi. [] 2JETS is a color MPEG animation for use with the MPEGDSP Falcon only MPEG player. I assume it has two jets in it, but I don't know since I can't play it on my STE! Delphi. [] ALIEN is a color MPEG animation entitled Alien Landscape. You can play this using the MPEGDSP Falcon only MPEG player. Delphi. [] MJ is a color MPEG animation entitled "Dancin' Man." You can play this using the MPEGDSP Falcon only MPEG player. Delphi. [] OUTSIDE3 is the Outside v.3.3 Demo distributed by Lexicor Software (uploaded Nov. 20, 1994). This is a virtual memory manager which, in this demo, will add an extra two Megabytes of "RAM" for your TT, Falcon, and PAK/3 equipped STs (the PAK/3 is a 68030 board, so perhaps this will work with other 68030 boards as well). It will add two megabytes of virtual memory to those machines (the full program can add 512 megabytes!). Previous versions were MultiTOS and Mag!X compatible and so I assume this version is as well. This program will help the TT (and Falcon) to be more compatible with some programs that presently crash on them, will speed up your TT's ROM access by 30% (by copying it into RAM, but only a 7% speedup on the Falcon), and much more. The full version will allow you to add up to 512 meg of Virtual RAM (and many utilities). Docs included. Delphi. [] PHOTO_CD is Color Disk PCD v.0.99D by Michael Bernards (dated Feb. 5, 1993). This is a MiNT v.0.96 or above (MultiTOS) based Photo-CD driver which will allow you to access, display, manipulate (color, tone, and more), and save pictures off of a Kodak Photo-CD disk. Perhaps it will work with ExtenDOS as well, but I don't have any Photo CD disks to try out! You use your mouse or function keys to select a variety of options. It will work with any SCSI CD-ROM drive interfaced to your ST-Falcon computer. Color or mono. Docs included. Delphi. [] PONG2K_3 is an update of the working demo of PONG 2000, a Holland Game Design for the Falcon030. Written by the same people who brought you UFO_WAR, this game will run on any Atari Falcon030 with 4MB or more Ram with RGB monitors, TV or VGA (multi-sync) monitors. This update fixes a problem with some VGA monitors. Pong 2000 should now work on all VGA monitors with a less than 71 Hz scan rate (there are no other changes). This one or two player vastly improved PONG clone (improved in both graphics and sound) is controlled with joysticks or Atari joypads. The game runs either at 50 or 60 frames per second. PONG 2000 will take you on a journey through time and show you Pong has been a basic element of existence from the distant past to the far future! There is even a "Classic" pong game included (but that's disabled in this demo). The docs and descriptions of this game sound so good it makes me wish I had a Falcon (but then again, almost anything I read or see about the Falcon makes me want to get one!). Ordering information included. The demo can run off of a Floppy drive, but the full version requires a Hard drive. Delphi. [] SOMA by Mark J Gallagher is a simulation of the ancient soma cube puzzle. The cube is split into 7 solid shapes, and the aim of the puzzle is to reconstruct the cube from these shapes. You use the arrow keys (or mouse) to manipulate/rotate these smaller solids in order to build the cube. Soma is a tremendously frustrating game to me. It requires a developed and developing ability to hold shapes in your mind and to see how they might fit together into larger shapes. But while frustrating, it also a challenge to play. If you enjoy mind stretching puzzles I recommend Soma to you. Color only. Docs included. Shareware. Toad Hall. [] STLGTBLS is a Copyist DTP (a music scoring program by Doctor T's) arrangement by Binney Stone of three horns and a rhythm section for Gary Noore's "Still Got the Blues." All instrumentals and score parts are transposed and edited. The three horns are tenor, trumpet and trombone, and this arrangement was done for a female. Toad Hall. [] SYSXPRES is SysXpress v.1.05 (dated May, 1990). This .Acc will enable you to send almost any MIDI file to any MIDI instrument. Although designed for use with Hybrid Arts software, it will support MidiEx format and many others. It supports GenEdit, GenPatch and MidiEx (and other non-Hybrid Arts file formats). Detailed docs included. Uploaded by Binney Stone and he says in his file description "...I have uploaded for the Korg for GenEdit may now be accessed by anyone who has an Atari ST and a Korg M1! Just be sure to save what is already in your synth FIRST!!" I hope this description helps you! Toad Hall. [] VDQUIK is VD-Quick v.0.95 by Volker S”hnitz (dated July 17, 1993). This is a German Shareware virus killing program. Command line based, and with German docs, this might take some getting used to for some of us, but since viruses are so nasty, it just might be worth it! You will find this especially useful is you use the German shareware archiver shell, "2 in 1" which has built in support for it. German docs. Toad Hall. Oops! Here is another whole pile of files I just found in folder! They all may be found on Delphi. Sorry they're not in order, but if you'll read my favorites below, they aren't either! [] BREAKOUT by Thomas Haines is a Falcon only breakout clone from Great Britain. It requires 4 meg of RAM, and a TV, RGB or VGA monitor. Good 256 color graphics and a sound (using the DSP MOD player by BITmASERT of BSW) that makes you want to hook up some speakers and crank up the volume. The game uses a pretty smooth user interface, but there's only one level at the moment. The good news is that there is a level editor in the package. The author says that this game is not nearly finished, but it seems like he's done a pretty good job! Docs included. [] CALENDAR is a 1995 calendar for Calamus SL by "Shuswap Freelancer." The nice thing about this is that the calendar most major holidays, lunar positions, and the preceeding and following months (this is a very nice feature). The calendar is set up on a 8.5 by 11" page for each month. Calamus SL required. Uncompresses to 334K! [] CDFAQ03 is the Atari CD-ROM Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) sheet (dated Oct 1, 1994). This file is full of information about current drivers for CD players on the Atari (there are a lot more than I was aware of, though the one I use, ExtenDOS, seems to be the most inexpensive and featured). Information about CD's, players, and more. I hope more and more people get CD players because that will mean more and more Atari usable CD's will be showing up! The only problem with this is that apparently someone has edited out all references to the author and the address where future FAQs may be found. Oh well! [] CK5A189B is the port of C-Kermit 5A revision 189 to the ST by Bruce Moore, et. al. (dated June 30, 1993). Atari ST C-Kermit can be invoked directly from the desktop or from within a character-mode shell. This program can act as a server, but it does not implement the MAIL and REMOTE PRINT commands. Docs included. ST/STE compatible (at least). [] CONCERTO is the (saved disabled) demo version of the Microdeal Concerto MIDI sequencer by John Gymer. Concerto allows you to compose music and store it in the computer or on disk. I really like this program's interface (though you can't access .ACC's while using it). It's clean, easy to use, and carries a striking appearance. There are numerous methods of entering music and editing it, for instance there is a Score Editor, Drum Machine, Grid Editor, Step-Time Editor, Event Editor and you can also record in real-time as you play the notes on your MIDI keyboard. Concerto provides a whole host of options which make handling the song easier. There are many editing options such as Transpose, Search/ Replace, ReMap, Block Operations, Fill, Force and many more. This demo only works in color (the full version works in mono, too). Limited docs. ST-TT and Geneva compatible (at least). [] DB314PAT is a patch for Oregon Research's Diamond Back 3.0x or 3.1x. It will upgrade those versions to v.3.14. You will need to enter your serial number and the requested word from the manual to use this patch. If you have Diamond Back 3 get this patch. You won't be sorry! Docs included. [] DESKCLOC is DeskClock v.1.0 by Yanick Dufresne. This archive contains an .ACC clock which will display the time in the menu bar. It works as a .PRG with Geneva (using its tear off menus) or MultiTOS. Pure C source included. [] F2C is program and library sources (dated December 30, 1991) which will convert your Fortran 77 source code and libraries into C source code (specifically GNU-C 1.40, and probably later releases, also). Why would you want to do this? Some would want to do this because they hate Fortran , others would want to work with C because some things are easier to do in C than in Fortran but would like to take advantage of the wide range of Fortran programming libraries. This archive contains the Atari ST/TT implementation of a Fortran-to-C compiler developed by AT&T Bell Laboratories and Bellcore and transfered to the ST-TT (with separate versions for the FPU equipped TT and non-FPU ST-TT machines) by Konrad Hinsen of the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Aachen, Germany. Using this combination you can have, in effect, a Fortran compiler which is very fast and has better diagnostic output than any ST Fortran compiler K.H. knows). Docs and C source included. [] FLOATING is a 256 color .TIF picture of an ad for Floating Fish Studios. Use GEMView (or any other .RIF viewer) to view. [] FORMSCGA by Yanick Dufresne is a set of three Calamus SL forms for business use (dated July 4, 1994). The first (CLIENT) is a form to record all relevant info about a particular client. PROJECT is for keeping trace of jobs while in production and after. It's designed so you can place it upright in a hanging file and the header info will still be visible which is nice for filing purposes. QUOTE is a quotation form. They use the standard Triumvirate and CG Times fonts. [] FRANTRK2 is the second (in a series> of music/sound disks for use with David Munsie's Frantick. This file is for STe-Falcon computers with at least two meg of free RAM. The samples are taken from "Anthrax - Bring the Noise!" Requires Frantick, that excellent shoot-em-down arcade shareware game by Dave Munsie. Just pop this file in your Frantick folder and you're off! Docs included. [] FULCRUM is a set of two 300 dpi grayscale .IMG pictures of MiG-29 Fulcrum jet fighters. [] HAZEL_4 is "H.A.Z.E.L.: Soaring with Eagles" subtitled "(Who Hazel is, what she does, and how to employ her)" by Henry K van Eyken, the author of the Fleabyte set of calculation utilities (and more such as his "Atari in the STicks" column in Current Notes.). Hazel-4 is an improved version of the long-ago H.A.Z.E.L boot up program. You can have a variety of "set-ups" with this program and select from between them with a keypress. The docs detail how you can use this program to configure your boot-up, desk accessories, alternate desktops, Geneva configurations, and just about anything to do with your ST--TT start. Lots of suggestions included. And as an added benefit, and a very good reason for downloading this file, the author has written a review of GDOS and GDOS replacements (such as GPlus+, SpeedoGDOS, and NVDI) for the Atari. It's excellent and I highly recommend it to you. It's interesting and CLEARLY WRITTEN! [] IMHOV106 is Ian's Memory Hungry OLR or IMHO v.1.06 (dated 1993). This is a QWK compatible Off Line Reader (the OLR part) which is very popular in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Detailed docs, though they do assume that you know something about BBSing already. To use this you will need your modem and telephone and the archivers (ZIP, LZH, ARC, etc) to compress and uncompress your messages. Color or mono. [] JETLPE21 is JET-LOPE 2, the Envelope Printer v.2.1 by Barney Poston (dated Oct. 19, 1994). This is a program designed to address/print envelopes (either #10, "legal" or the 110mm x 220mm, European DL) using the Hewlett Packard DeskJet 510 and 520 printers. It allows access, from the keyboard, to the internal typefaces of the printer. You can select fonts independently for the return address and recipient address and store your most used addresses (up to 999 per database!) for future use. You may print one envelope at a time inputing addresses as you go, use recipient addresses loaded from a database or use an address loaded from the Atari Clipboard. ST--Falcon compatible in ST color or mono (mono is better). [] JOY_GDOS is "More Joy of GDOS" v.2.2 by Gerd Castan (dated Oct. 2, 1994). This is a fascinating look at GDOS in all of its varieties (though the author doesn't know anything about G+Plus except its name...interesting). It is a very good mix of professional and non- professional information about GDOS. It also details FontGDOS, FMSGDOS, and the newest SpeedoGDOS from Atari and Compo. I really recommend this file to you all, especially if you have, or are thinking about getting, SpeedoGDOS. Well translated from the German by Stefan Damerau. 82K of ASCII text. [] LACAMP is a Midi Piano performance of La Campanella by Franz Liszt. It is an Etude taken from a theme by the violinist, Paganini. Doc included. [] MCR-NEO4 is a series of NeoDesk 4 icons collected and modified by Matt Rivman. Most of the icons have been given a 3D look and some are "animated." They have been designed for use with ST High res, through they will probably look OK in higher res, too. [] MICKICON is a set of NeoDesk 4 icons by M. Poche. Most of these are two and four color icons (though some are 16 color ones). Many of them are animated. I recognize a lot of them from DC Desktop .ICE files. These are nicely done and would be a boon to NeoDesk 4 users. [] MOD_PRNT is MOD Print v.1.0.0 by Dan Panke (dated Sept. 15, 1994). Did you ever wish to print or display a complete MOD file? If your answer was yes, then MOD Print is for you. Simple run "MOD_PRNT.PRG" and select a MOD file for operation. An Alert Box will appear and ask you whether you want to SAVE the MOD display to a file, send the display to your PRINTER, or show the MOD on screen. Make your selection and away you go! This program is especially useful if you want to port a MOD file to another format (ex. MID format). [] MUNGER01 is FileMunger 2.0 by Walter S. Wilson (dated Oct. 7, 1994). FileMunger will append any text file, to any other text file. It makes use of the file selector, and will also allow you to include a date/time stamp at the top of each appended section to your main file. This is a great utility to have when you collect little "snippets" of text files here and there. FileMunger allows you to put them all together, quickly and easily, and with the date option, it allows you to keep everything organized as well! Docs included. TOS 1.0--1.62 and Geneva compatible (at least). [] NOTEPAD is Notepad v.1.3 by Michael Zuhl (dated Sept 16, 1992). It comes in both an English and German version, though the docs are only in German. It will allow you to load, save, and print (to printer or to modem) about forty lines of text in mono and about 20 in color. I'm not wildly excited about this as you can only view the above number of text lines and no more, no matter how large a file you load (perhaps there is a way around this, but I haven't found it. ST--STE and Geneva compatible (at least). [] PAGETOOL is a file containing two TIFF pictures (.TIF) showing screenshots of the Pagetool Module for Calamus SL (dated Sept 1994). PageTool is a great new module for displaying and manipulating pages while in thumbnail display mode. You get to determine the number of pixels, both horizontal and vertical, for each thumbnail page displayed. As well, you can move, delete or insert pages while in this mode. Look for a file in the library that shows a screenshot or two of PageTool in use. Ordering information included. Uncompresses to 1.58 MEG! [] TODAY201 is TODAYS v.2.01 by Chuck Grimsby (dated Oct. 29, 1994). TODAYS is a program to display events and occurances on a date in history when someone calls your BBS. It also tells you what's coming up (nope, it doesn't foretell the future!), or let you know the number of days, weeks, months, or years since any date in history. Designed for BBS's it will also work "stand-alone." Check out TODAYDAT for an already setup list of events, or you can create your own using any ASCII editor. This version includes more options, a command structure allows you to set things up the way you want (rather than the way the programmer thinks things should be). Docs included. This new version fixes some bugs in previous versions plus adds a lot new features. Color or mono. ST-TT and Geneva compatible (at least). [] TOUCH is the demo of the InüTouch v.0.90 database by Lorne White. This is a very powerful and flexible .PRG/.ACC database system for organizing and managing all your personal information such as names, addresses, phone numbers (and with a modem dialing them for you, too!) and calender events. With a touch of the keyboard and mouse you can easily find and select records, or search for text and dates, get date reminders, categorize records, and print a wide variety of envelope, labels, address, and date books. You can import and export all the data into and from other programs, making it useful as your "master" database of personal information. It presents you with a 45 name index page for easily viewing, selecting, and manipulating records, allows you to Mark, Unmark, Delete, Replicate, Copy, and Paste records, also allowing you to display those records as you wish. It does a lot more, too! Detailed docs included. He calls this a beta release because it has not been tested with all available systems and printers (then doesn't that make -every- program a beta release!). It works for sure on the ST/STE--TT and Geneva, with the Atari Laser, the HP 500 DeskJet, and with the Sharp Laser. This demo is limited to saving 10 records per file and printing 10 records per selected group. Uncompresses to 228K. Now here are some of my favorite files (in no particular order other than the first few favorites). A number of them you've heard me tell about before, but here they are again! [] SILKMOUS is SilkMouse v.3.2 by Mark Slagell (dated September 22, 1993). YOU CAN QUIT READING THIS DESCRIPTION AND JUST GET THIS FILE!!...Now on with the description! It is another upgrade to a uniquely smooth, fast, well-behaved mouse accelerator that also incorporates a great two-stage screen saver. Run from the desktop or the AUTO folder, SilkMouse is the most usable, most highly configurable mouse accelerator available. Have you ever found that when using a mouse accelerator that you can no longer use the Alt-arrow key combination to move your mouse pointer about? SilkMouse doesn't interfere with that at all. The two-stage screen saver is one that darkens the screen after a set period of time (fully configurable), but which allows whatever is on the screen to still remain visible (he has now updated this to allow the two stage saver with the mono screen as well). After a longer period of time the screen completely darkens. I like that feature. The accelerator may be configured through a CPX module or an .ACC (both supplied). One (of many) feature is that you can make any program hold its final screen before exiting. This is very handy for those programs which flash a screenful of text before you in one-tenth of a second and expect you to read it! This program used to be Shareware (I registered, and don't regret it!), but Mark is now giving it away (I still recommend that you send him some money as an encouragement). Color or mono. ST--Falcon/ MultiTOS compatible. I HIGHLY recommend this program. I think that if you try this for an hour you will never want to use any other mouse accelerator! [] MDISK694u is M-Disk v.6.94. JUST GET THIS FILE! This is an excellent .ACC reset proof (or not - you choose) RAM disk. I use this program every day. It does A LOT! M-Disk provides you with: - a sizable removable multi-function ramdisk - a floppy disk copy program (with virus detection logic which prevents viruses being transferred!) - It will format _and_ copy a RAM disk to floppy in 120 seconds - which is as fast as most format options, and yet retains all verify features (THIS is Wonderful! - the previous program we used took 180+ seconds!). - a fast disk "wipe" option - a fast ramdisk load/save program - a harddisk backup/restore program - a PS/2 compatible floppy disk formatting program; and - a boot sector virus destruction program - a "reverse" formatter, starting at a high track # going down to 1 (this can save some of your data if you mistakenly start a format) MiNT and MultiTOS (KAOS, too) compatible. ST--Falcon compatible. Extensive docs that do a very good job of explaining even the little details of the program are included. I have now moved this file into the "boot up with" category. Excellent! [] ARCSHL31 is ARC Shell v.3.1 by Charles F. Johnson and Little Green Footballs Software (dated December 12, 1991). The interface has been revised, the shell can automatically set ALL of those little bits to allow LHARC to do its thing even more efficiently. It makes use of a special pipeline with MaxiFile III (now that's one wonderful program!) to make your archiving even easier. If you use this, send in your shareware registration!. Docs included. Overall this is a major upgrade to a necessary utility. THANKS to CFJ! A "must have." (I've registered). [] DCSEA22B is the long-awaited SHAREWARE release of DC SEA v.2.2b (dated May 12, 1993). DC SEA make "Self-Extracting Archives of your ARC, LZH, ZIP, and ZOO compressed files (and restore said files to their original archive). When you need to give a compressed file to a friend, just run it through this program and your friend won't need any compression utilities to uncompress it! All he or she will need to do is to double-click on the file (the program gives it an .APP extender, but you can rename it to TOS, TTP, or PRG with no ill effects), select the destination directory using the item selector, and click on OK. The file will be uncompressed just like that! The files also have a verbose listing option so you can see the file names within the archive without uncompressing it. I HIGHLY recommend this file! Now for the problems with it: The ARC routines work without flaw. The LZH routines work fine for the older lh-1 and the newer more efficient lh-5, -except- for errors with some files. The problem is with very large LZH files. They return a "CRC Error" message when uncompressed. This also happens with very small files that are not compressed, just stored "as is." The large files are corrupted, but the smaller ones are not (they are just reported as being so). The newest .ZIP format is now supported, but only the older .ZOO file format is presently supported. Nevertheless, I still highly recommend this SHAREWARE program. Docs included. [] DCX220C is the newest version of DC Xtract v.2.20c by Paul W. Lee (dated July 23, 1993, but just uploaded Sept. 1994). This formerly commercial ("bought through a store") program is now commercial SHAREWARE ("paid for because you are honest"). DC Xtract is a Wonderful archiving utility. I thought it was great when I bought it as a part of DC Utilities, and I can see it's even better now. Now this handles all of the newest ARC, LZH, ZIP, and ZOO formats. I recommend this program to you! It's great! One feature I like is that the program will automatically choose the correct compression/ de-compression routine based on the name of the file you are manipulating. Another is the graphical progress report you get as you compress/uncompress your files (it makes everything seem to go faster). Mouse and/or keyboard controlled. Docs included. This program is now TOS 1.0 compatible. [] DMBANNER by Dwight Morgan of M S I of Wilmington, is the best banner program I have ever seen. This is a must have!! The output is great. You can even print messages inside the letters of your banner. Docs included. Color or mono. SHAREWARE. Unfortunately, he has moved and no mail is forwarded. I'd love to register this, so if you know the guy let me know! [] DOUBLER2 is STE Scan Doubler v.2.01. It is a double height screen emulator for the STE, MEGA STE and possibly the TT. Put this in your auto folder and you can have a mono screen that seems to be 640 x 800 or a color screen of 640 x 400. It allows you to scroll up and down the screen without screen redraws. Even more it has an interlaced mode that actually allows you to have that resolution without scrolling. This is wonderful! Great for DTP programs that take so long to redraw the screen. Color or mono. Docs included. Sorry, no TOS 1.0--1.4! SHAREWARE by Lars-Erik Osterud. If you have the first version of this program get this one! It takes up only 1/2 the memory. [] GBNCH340 is GEM Bench v.3.40 by Ofir Gal (dated January 14, 1994). This program was designed to provide you with a reality-based benchmarking tool. Using a simple, GEM based interface this utility tests the speed (and much more) of features you usually use and so gives you a realistic view of your TOS 1.0--Falcon computer. It will test the graphic screen drawing speed, the CPU speed (math and memory access tests), and more. You can also use this program to tell you your computer type, TOS version, MultiTOS (MiNT) version, Blitter status, AES and GEMDOS versions, NVDI (a screen accelerator like Warp 9), FPU and other information about the system. You can even force the system (if you have a TT!) to run in ST RAM or Fast RAM. It will also let you compare your system against other STock Atari machines. Now even GEMulator aware and still fully MultiTOS (and Geneva) compatible. Color or mono. Docs included. This version has some improvements to make it an even more accurate reflection of your computer's status. SHAREWARE and recommended. [] HZ_50_60 is a simple program by Lee Offenberger of Cool Wave Software that will switch your color system from whatever Hz you are in to the other. You can put it in your AUTO folder and it will switch your machine to 50Hz at boot-up so you can use those programs (games) that require this setting. No docs. [] MSA_2_32 is the Magic Shadow Archiver II, version 2.3+. Fully GEM-based and works with MultiTOS. MSA_2_32.PRG can be renamed MSA_2_32.ACC and run as an accessory. New in this version: A filename can be passed by command line to MSA-II. This file becomes the default .MSA file. Used by certain shells when dragging a file on MSA-II. Magic Shadow Archiver reads in an entire floppy disk and compresses it into a single file with an .MSA extension. It also reads .MSA files and creates a full disk. [] NBM12 is NBM - The Ness Benchmark v.1.2 by J. Ness. NBM is a program which runs on any Atari ST/STe/TT computer, in any resolution. NBM runs five tests (Math, Memory, Dialog Box, Other Drive, and Graphics) timing their duration, for use in comparing the speed of the machine with other Atari computers. NBM includes a Compare function, which contains a database of previously tested Atari computers of various configurations. This allows the user to compare results with other people's machines. Also included is a Print function, allowing the user to print the results of each test. One interesting part of this program is that it shows you how much all your auto folder and .ACC's slow down your system. This is an interesting program that allows you to see how great your ST is really performing! Color or mono. Docs included. [] NDP_11u is New DePak v.1.1 (formerly Mega Depack) by Mike Watson (dated Oct. 3, 1993). Now running in a GEM window, this .PRG/.ACC (just rename it) is fully Multi-TOS/MiNT compatible. It is designed to uncompress/ unpack just about any file packed with any of a zillion different packers (actually 69 packers supported with 126 different file formats, including DC Squish, Pack Ice, Pompey Packer, PFX and MANY more). Mouse or command line controlled. Batch processing available. Why would you need to unpack a program? If you have a hard drive space might not be as critical and an unpacked file will often load faster. Another reason is that when you update a STOS program for a new TOS version (such as STOSFX30 allows you to do), you need to work with an uncompressed program. This is a very "intelligent" and versatile program which I highly recommend. Color or mono. TOS 1.0--Falcon compatible (a specific TT/Falcon version is included). SHAREWARE (I've registered). Docs included. [] SCROLFIX is SCROLFIX, an .ACC by Ian Lepore (dated March, 1992). Starting with TOS 1.04 (aka 1.4), a system bug causes some windowed programs to scroll twice when you click once on a window scroller. Charles Johnson soon released a fix for the problem called BUTTNFIX, and it worked quite well on most systems. But some folks still have the problem (especially TT owners). SCROLFIX cures that problem. So, if you still have problems with this bug you might want to get this file. It even uses a couple hundred bytes less memory than BUTTNFIX (get a memory upgrade!). Docs included. Source code included, as well as some hints for programmers on how to avoid this problem right from the start. [] SEBRA133 is "The High-Res Monochrome Monitor Emulator" by Patrik Persson of Sweden v.1.33 (dated 1993). I thought the previous version was the best monochrome emulator I had seen, and now this version is even better! It will work on any ST/STe/Mega with a color monitor or TV set! It is fast, with lots of options to customize the speed, screen display, and more to your satisfaction. The mouse moves SMOOTHLY about the screen. With a few simple keystrokes you can set this program up to run just as you wish. I recommend this highly. It works most productivity software and many (but not all) games, too! The docs docs give an interesting look into how this emulator works. I use it with my T-25 accelerator board from Fast Technologies (Wonderful board!) and it is amazing how fast and well it works! It's slower with only an 8 MHz ST/E, but still very useful. TOS 1.0--2.06 compatible. Not TT or 68030 board compatible. Freeware. [] STARSTRK is Star-Struck - a new screen saver by Tony Sanson. Star-Struck is a screen saver with a difference. Instead of just blanking your screen after 3 minutes, it smoothly fades it to black, and then fills it with a repeating burst of stars exploding from a central point. Not only that, but the stars are in color too (assuming you have a color monitor). Color or mono. An .ACC that you can call from the desk accessory window. This is a beautiful and fascinating screen saver (though I use Extend-O-Save modules through Warp 9). [] STOSFX30 is STOS FIXER v.3.0 by Robert Quezada (dated May 10, 1994). This program will take your STOS programs, Run-time or compiled, and allow you to update them for any TOS release (almost--see below). It's a very handy thing to have when you have a nice STOS program that won't run on your TOS! In order to update programs to run on TOS's higher than 1.62 the original program must be at least compatible with TOS 1.62 (this is due to other, unfixable, problems with the pre-STE compatible STOS program). Once you update a program for your TOS it will no longer work for lower TOS versions (you can fix any program again for other TOS versions by running STOS Fix again). Color or mono. The program must not be compressed for this to work (so get the New De-pack v1.1 - NDP11 (in the UTILITYS category) by Mike Watson to uncompress any packed programs). ST--Falcon MultiTOS and Geneva compatible. Docs included. [] XCONTROL is Atari's Extensible Control Panel (sometimes known as XControl) v.1.31. It is designed to take advantage of features only available in the latest (TOS 2.05 and up) versions of TOS, but you can still use it if you have an earlier TOS. This newest version of XControl has several bug fixes and enhancements over previous versions. It now contains 13 new .CPX modules which have been updated to use the new 3D object types available with the Falcon030, MultiTOS, and Geneva. [] VKILL384 is version 3.84 of George Woodside's VKILLER Virus detection program. New features include the ability to "test kill" a boot sector to check whether the disk will still work after being "disinfected." It will remove viruses from floppy disks after it finds them, and can help guard against reinfection. Also adds detection of new viruses. Color or mono. Docs included. This is a MUST MUST HAVE!! [] UVK_6_0D is a working demo of the Ultimate Virus Killer v6.0GB by Richard Karsmakers and Douglas Communications (dated Feb. 8, 1994). This demo comes from Europe, but the program is now being distributed in North America by Oregon Research Associates (the people who saved my bacon by fixing my trashed SyQuest disk--the one that had seven weeks of downloads that I hadn't backed up!--by using their Diamond Edge software). The limit in the demo is that while you can detect viruses, you cannot kill them, and that while you can immunize your disks against further virus infection, you can only do so to one disk each time you start the program, you can look but not repair commercial bootsectors, and it advertises itself, and some other minor limitations. This program will allow you to check for link viruses (the kind that modify your programs), identify/ restore commercial boot sectors (they appear as viruses on most virus programs), and will alert you to odd vectors in your ST's operating system. A list of features is included, but no docs (but none are really needed). I recommend this program! Unfortunately it is necessary. Color or mono. ST--Falcon compatible. [] PROTECT6 is a small but powerful program that is resident in RAM looking for bootsector and link-viruses (uck-o!). It's easy to install (just put it in the AUTO-folder on your boot disk) and easy to use. Color or mono. Docs included. It's too bad we need programs like this! SHAREWARE by Lars-Erik 0sterud. [] ENGLISH is "English as it is Abroad" taken from an Air France bulletin, dated December 1, 1989. This is a series of notices taken from around the world. For example, a sign in a Paris hotel elevator: Please leave your values at the front desk. Loads more and lots of fun! [] HISTORY is an astounding collection of essays that Richard Lederer of St. Paul's School has gathered from teachers of English and History throughout the United States. These student bloopers were made by students from eight grade through college level. For example, did you know that the inhabitants of ancient Egypt were called mummies? They lived in the Sarah Dessert and traveled by Camelot! That's just the start of these bloopers! [] HUMORTXT is a large collection (it says "1001") of "one-liners" from the Computer Science Club at Stephen F. Austin University that will sometimes make you chuckle, and sometimes make you roll in the aisles! Here are two samples: "Santa's elves are just a bunch of subordinate Clauses," and "Wernher von Braun settled for a V-2 when he coulda had a V-8." [] NEG_FBAK is "Negative Feedback," a SF Short Story that Charles Bachand wrote in 1991 for a UFO Newsletter. It concerns two people, a psychologist and patient, who communicate only by modem. About 2000 words. Well done! This is on the Delphi Sci-Fi area. [] PCHROME4 is "Atari ST/E PhotoChrome" v.4.00 by Douglas Little (dated Dec. 20, 1993). PhotoChrome is an amazing "must have" program (with a number of associated utilties and a slideshow) that emulates a high capability graphics card for your ST/STe. It's basic specification is the ability to load most IFF formats, 24-Bit True colour screens (16 million colours), GIF files and VidiChrome digitized 'RGB' colour separations (4096 colours) before converting to one of six powerful screen modes (Standard Spectrum 512, Spectrum 4096, and four other specialized and more capable display modes one having the ability to display 19200 colors out of a 32768 on an STe. This program will load .RAW (Both DKB-RAW and standard QRT format), GIF, (and now) any true TARGA file (Y-inverted, or compressed and even larger than 320*200 Targa files - now you can really view those excellent .TGA files of Jaguar games!), including 16/24/32-bit, Spectrum, IFF, and VidiChrome RGB pictures. The GIF, and .RAW files this displays are unequaled. Normally this program won't display on machines running at higher speeds than 8 MHz, but now the author has included a feature which allows MegaSTE owners to run at their 16MHz speed for image processing and then automatically switches to 8 MHz mode for the display (now I wish he could do that for my T-25)! Wow! This program even works on a TT or Falcon (though you can only use it to convert one format (say PhotoChrome to GIF for example) though you won't be able to view the pictures with those machines. I am amazed and recommend this highly. Docs and updated slide show (PCSVIEW2) included. SHAREWARE. Support Shareware authors! At least one Meg of RAM and a color monitor. [] PFILE11E is ProFile! v.1.01e by Uncle Carl (dated June 11, 1994). ProFile! is an excellent floppy and hard disk librarian. ProFile! allows you to scan ALL directories & save that information to any of 3 possible formats. All files are saved as ASCII text, allowing you to view your library files from most ANYWHERE! You can even search your library files for either specific OR duplicate copies of files!! ProFile! includes an extensive text editor, a multitasking floppy disk formatter, 2 floppy labelers, configurable printer fonts, plus SO MUCH more! ST/STe/TT compatible in medium/high resolutions. -DEMO- (some save disabled). I liked it so much I registered! [] OCULT32B is Ocultar v.3.02b by Carl J. Hafner (Dated June 10, 1994). Ocultar can best be described as an all in one bootup utility! It not only allows you to restrict access to your system through the use of passwords ( with up to 10 separate users!), it also allows you to choose from up to 40 different bootup configurations! Simply press a key and Ocultar will activate and/or deactivate any auto programs and accessories, copy any DESKTOP/NEWDESK.INF files, delete any unneeded files, copy up to 8 extra files per setup (320 total), plus more !!! You can even configure Ocultar to display either a DEGAS or NEOCHROME picture at bootup. A special accessory is also included in the event someone tries to bypass Ocultar Security itself!!! ST/STe/TT compatible in ALL resolutions! I liked this program so much I registered it, and use it everytime I boot up. Shareware. Docs included. [] PMJ_ENG2 is Premium Mah Jongg II (the English version) by Jens Schulz & Thomas Grube (dated Oct. 10, 1993). Mah Jongg is an old chinese board game in which you seek to remove pairs of tiles from a set of 144 tiles stacked in a five level pyramid. The game itself might be old, but Premium Mah Jongg II is anything but old. It is full of features, has excellent game play and graphics, and is unfortunately quite addictive! It will run in all ST and TT res, and up to 256 colors on Falcons and graphic cards. I can't begin to list all the features (but I'll try anyway): First of all, there are excellent English Docs which explain all the rules of Mah Jongg II and all the features of the game. Next, the program will tell you all the free tiles available if you wish (only in the solitaire, non-tournament mode). It will even check, in real-time if you have reached a dead end in your play (if it doesn't tell you you're finished then there is a matching tile SOMEWHERE!). It will repeat your game for you and allow you to replay your game from any point. If you don't like the color of the tiles or background you can change them! This game has a solitaire practice mode, a tournament mode, and a "happening" mode. The happening mode is where the game produces multiple copies of the exact same set of games for as many players as desired. These players then each play the games and the times are compared. The fastest player wins (and as a prize gets taken out to dinner by the other players!). This game is shareware, but you only need to pay if you get so good that you can beat the highest tourney level (or participate in a "happening"). Recommended. Floppy or hard drive installable. On a personal note I was surprised to see my name listed in the docs! Joseph M. Turner (ATARIPOWER7 on Delphi) and I were thanked for the help we've give Jens (Joseph has done much more than me!). Also mentioned was the fact that Mah Jongg II cannot be distributed by any Commercial PD company except Suzy B's Software. [] NEWSPED2 is NewSpeed II (dated Sept. 25, 1994) by Bruce Noonan, the author of ST Writer, the freeware Word Processor and its commercial successor, MultiWriter (and numerous other programs as well). NewSpeed II is a Terminate-Stay Resident (TSR) program which can be either run from an AUTO folder or from the desktop. It will allow you to slow down your computer's speed so that you can run your games at a pace comfortable for you. This is especially good for those games that run too fast on an accelerated machine. ST--Falcon compatible (but not MultiTOS compatible). Assembly source code included. Assembled with Mad Mac. Docs included. [] ROBOTZ is a fast-paced game that places you on the deep space exploration vessel Darwin 8. Your ship has been invaded by hostile alien robots. You are the last surviving crew member and you must deal with his disaster! The game view is from above. Move about the rooms in the ship destroying your foes. It's not just "blast away" though. This game requires thought to win. I like it! Joystick controlled. Color only. Docs included. [] ROBOTFIX is RobotFix by Tom Nolan (v.1.00 dated July 29, 1992). It is a program that will allow you to play the excellent PD game ROBOTZ under newer versions of TOS. Just run it from the same directory as ROBOTZ and you're off! Details as to why this happens and what the fix is (as well as some handy cheats for ROBOTZ) are included in the doc file. [] TOWERS14 is Towers v.1.4, a 3D one or two player Dungeon Game from JV Enterprises. To use this excellent game you will need to order TOWERS_2 as well. If you liked Dungeon Master you'll like Towers. Choose from one of four characters and then travel through the Tower/Dungeon gathering up the supplies you find on the way, battling enemies who seek you out, and trying to find your way to the end - and to survival. The graphics are nice, the controls (mouse and/or keyboard) are easily used and controlled), and the sounds are excellent (who is that tapping on that door?). Towers will only run on a completely bare one meg system. Towers will run from a hard drive or floppy (Double-Sided only). It allows you to save and load games, too. Connect with another Atari computer using a null-modem or MIDI cable for dual player action (on TOS 1.04 and above you need more than one meg of RAM for dual player modes). People have asked, and JV Enterprises has listened... and worked! You wanted to play Towers over the modem, and now you can! If you have a Hayes AT command compatible, 14.4k Error Correction modem or better. Get ready to play Towers (ver.1.4) over the phone. This feature does require a 2 meg machine (actually 1.1meg) to play either the null-modem, MIDI, or modem games. Towers 1.4 even includes a simple text routine so you can communicate with your partner without two lines!! It also improves the game saving by allowing you to use numbers in game descriptions. ST-Falcon compatible. Detailed docs. Color only. Like OXYD (another excellent game!), you can play several levels of Towers for free, but after that to progress in the Tower you need to buy the manual for $15. Seems to be a pretty good deal! You can register Towers through JV Enterprises or through Suzy B's Software, STeve's Software, and B&C Computers. In the UK you can register it through Goodman International. [] OZONE by Nick Harper is an excellent game in which you play this cute little guy with big sneakers. Guide your alter-ego throughout the stone mansion, gathering all the objects you find (well, you don't gather the monsters - you avoid them) and advance through the various levels. Sometimes you need to turn a switch at the start of a level to effect something you need at the end of the level to exit. It's back to the beginning if you forget! Despite what the online description says, the game does have sound (read the docs). Colorful, and easily controlled via joystick. Play from within a folder named OZONE in the root directory of Drive A. TOS 1.0--1.62 compatible (at least). I like this game, and so do my kids. Shareware. I suspect that this will work with 1/2 meg of RAM, but I haven't checked it out. [] STELLO11 is Stello v.1.10 by Claus J. Pedersen. This Othello clone is more than that. GEM based, ST-=Falcon and MultiTOS/Geneva compatible, this program has the potential to beat you every time (and with a nice interface, too!). You can play against the computer, have the computer play against itself, or play against another human (you can also watch two other people play!). You can configure the computer to play with time and computational depth limits you impose (a good idea to do if you want to win!), or just let it play until it sees the best move. Stello will play in English, German and Danish (docs are in English). It also allows you to place background pictures on screen (several included). You can ask it to suggest moves, print out a listing of the game, move back and forth through the game moves, switch sides, and much more. One very nice thing about this program is its documentation. The author tells how he came to write the program, and how writing the program expanded his understanding and appreciation of the game. I recommend this file. Shareware. Color or mono (higher Falcon and video card res. supported, too). 645K uncompressed. Delphi. [] MOONLORD is Moonlord ST by Clayton Walnum (the author of C-Manship Complete and numerous other books for the ST). This is one excellent game that is tough to beat (I haven't succeeded yet!). Travel about the galaxy, destroying the enemy fleets as you find them. This is not an arcade action game, rather its appeal is in the strategy needed to win. Find the 25 alien fleets hidden in the 144 galactic sectors, husband your energy levels and equipment, and make needed trips to the two friendly starbases (you have to find them first!). Excellent graphics (by Maurice Molyneaux) and mouse controlled. I like this one. The SHAREWARE payment is going out! Color only. St/STe/and I'd expect everything else compatible. Over 190K uncompressed. Docs and an interesting story line included. [] UK_MATCH is Match Maker by Dave Cobbledick (dated October, 1992). This color game is an excellent adaptation of Concentration. This program not only provides you with excellent graphics and digitized sounds, it gives you a challenge as well! You are given the task of finding the matching pairs of symbols that lie hidden behind a grid of squares. Finish one level and you are advanced to the next level (with lots more squares to keep track of). Mouse controlled. Very well done. I recommend it to you. Written in STOS, and compatible with TOS 1.0--1.62. I recommend STOSFX30 by Robert Quezada for all of you with higher TOS versions which will easily adapt this program (and all other STOS programs) to your version of TOS. SHAREWARE. [] 3_YAHOO is Triple Yahoo v.1.0 by Stuart Denman (dated March 20, 1994). Triple Yahoo is an excellent game! The docs say it is "a highly addictive multi-player GEM Triple Yahtzee game for Atari ST/STE/TT and Falcon Computers." I would tend to agree! It supports digitized DMA Sound (over 130K of sound files included), 3D buttons, SPEEDO/GDOS fonts, and colored icons if available. Works in ALL resolutions and all color modes including graphics cards. It also runs under MultiTOS and Geneva. There are a -multitude- of features available in this game. The documentation is superb (I wish more authors would do even half as well). Recommended! Shareware. [] CUDLEE is Cud Lee's Quest v.1.0 by Robert Dytmire (dated Feb., 1993). This game is basically a platform game aimed at the younger generation. Use the joystick to move our hero, Mr. Cudd Lee, through four different worlds (of 25 screens each). You move, jump, fight, and explore your worlds, trying to reach the exit and move on. By completing the game you save the poor lit'l elves (they need your help!). But wait! This game is more than sheer entertainment. It has an educational portion as well. The game can be configured to ask you questions each time you open a door or move from one world to another. It keeps track of your answers, too, and will return again and again to those questions with which you have difficulty. You can use the simple addition/subtraction questions that are included or create your own questions on any topic you wish (R.D. uses it to keep up to speed on his Calculus!). The game also has an Adult Mode, which increases the difficulty significantly. Color only. Docs included. SHAREWARE (and one which is going to cost me some money ). ST--STE Compatible (at least). 512K RAM or more. [] EMBOMBED by Nick Concannon (dated 1991) is a very interesting maze/dungeon type game (some places might have this listed as EMTOMBED, since that's what is happening, but the above name is how I found it, somewhere!). It begins by presenting you with a choice, "Select the Tomb you Want to Die In." "Some choice," you say. Me too! Despite that I have really enjoyed playing this game. It's one of those "I'll try it just one more time" games that I like. You, as an small Egyptian looking man walk through the tomb of your choice picking up various objects that will slow your demise. I don't know if you can ever get out once you begin (I haven't gotten that far - yet!), but I suspect that you can, even though the beginning monologue doesn't seem to indicate that! Low rez color only. TOS 1.0(512K)--TT. [] HURRY_V1 is Hurry! v.1.0 by J. Peach (dated Aug. 8, 1991). This is an excellent, easily playable game (though -very- hard to win!). The object is to place 36 shapes into their slots within a certain amount of time (three levels of difficulty allowed). If you don't get it done in time, "BOOM!" ST/STe compatible (with STOSFX30 for STE, and higher?). Color only. Docs included. This is another of those games about which you say, "I'll try it one more time!" SHAREWARE. [] ISOLA3 is ISOLA v.3.32, an excellent strategy game by Thierry Grellier. I like this game. You are presented with a 6x8 grid on which you and your opponent (either the computer or another human). The goal of the game is to place blocks in your opponent's path so that he or she cannot move (to isolate them). Of course, they're doing the same thing to you! I found the computer quite smart in this game (with four levels of game play), giving me a "run for my money" (in other words I lost sometimes!). One funny thing is that when you win the computer says you're a lucky stiff (or words to that effect) and that it just let you win to be nice, but when it wins it says "Honor to the winner. Shame to the loser." Geesh! Sour grapes in a game! You can even save and load your games from disk (to replay them to find out how you could have done better). Mouse and keyboard controlled. This file now includes 1st Guide, an .ACC hypertext help system (and more) by Guido Vollbeding for you to use with the English and French documentation (with IMG files detailing program features, too). I've heard about 1st Guide, but never have seen it before now. Unfortunately, even though the author of Isola mentions the docs for 1st Guide as being included, someone has removed them from this archive. I'll have to keep hunting for it. In any case, this file is worth getting both for the game and for the 1st Guide .ACC! Online help (with suggested moves if you ask for them). ST--Falcon and Geneva compatible. Color or mono. Uncompresses to 347K. [] GRAV2 is GRAV 2, an Excellent game by Martin Brownlow (dated July 27, 1992. Joystick or keyboard controlled. Grav is a 'rotate and thrust' game, similar in concept to Thrust and Oids. Choose between four different worlds to "save" with multiple levels within each world. Allocate your resources among various weapon systems. Color only. Excellent graphics and sound. Joystick and keyboard controlled. I really like this one. Docs (along with a "mission briefing" online). SHAREWARE. [] CLEMORTE is a small program which will allow you to place accent marks over the letter you wish. The title of the program comes from typewriters. Clemorte is a key that allows you to type something but which does not move the typing head or the carriage (the key is "dead," hence the "morte" from the Latin word for dead). The result is that an accent is typed, and the letter to be accentuated is typed on top. i.e. ^a would give you a circonflex a (ƒ). CLEMORTE.PRG does the same thing. When you type one of the accents on your keyboard, it waits for the next typed character and accentuates it if possible. If is not possible, it types both characters side to side. No docs (you just read them) and the program is not TT compatible. [] ACCENT by Ken Badertscher is a program that adds a little spice to your text files. Accent takes a text file and regurgitates it to appear as if it were being read with whatever accents are specified. It will run from the desktop or from a shell. From the desktop you are presented with a dialog with icons representing the various options, and have your choice of writing to the screen, to a disk file or to your printer. The accent options are: -J(apanese) -C(hinese) -G(erman) -I(talian) -P(ig Latin) -K(cocKney) -S(tutter) -L(isp) -D(nerD) -O(bscene/censored) -R(andom) and -N(pass Nroff commands). Here's an example (from Pig Latin): Accentway akestay away exttay ilefay andway egurgitatesray itway otay appearway asway ifway itway ereway eingbay eadray ithway ateverwhay accentsway areway ecifiedspay. Itway illway unray omfray ethay esktopday orway omfray away ellshay. Omfray ethay esktopday youway areway esentedpray ithway away ialogday ithway iconsway epresentingray ethay ariousvay optionsway, andway avehay yourway oicechay ofway itingwray otay ethay eenscray, otay away iskday ilefay orway otay yourway interpray. Jefferson Modula 2 source code included. This program is a riot! Color or mono. Docs included. [] SPRTED13 is SpiritEd v.1.3. This is a GEM-based text editor that operates as a desk accessory. It is now compatible with all resolutions and any TOS version (MultiTOS compatible as well). It is written to provide an ability to take notes and prepare lessons from within SpiritWare's Bible concordance program (a demo of which is available both on Delphi and GEnie), but since it is a general-purpose text editor, it can be used to edit text from within any application, including the GEM desktop. Spirit Ed uses a MAC-like pull down menu system (like STalker and STeno). It provides basic editing capabilities including cutting, copying, pasting, searching, and replacing. It also has an undo function that allows you to cancel the last operation that was performed. Several new and useful features have been added to this well-supported .ACC. Mouse and/or keyboard controlled. Saves are allowed. SpiritWare products are produced by servants of the Lord Jesus Christ at Fifteenth Avenue Bible Church in Seattle, Washington for the edification of His body. Color or mono. Docs included. [] CONCRD22 is the SpiritWare Concordance Program v.2.2 (dated March 7, 1992). The SpiritWare concordance program is a Bible-study tool that makes maximum use of mouse, window, and menu capabilities of the GEM desktop system to provide the user with a fast, easy and powerful way to access words and phrases that occur in Scripture. It is designed to be used on STs that have at least one megabyte of memory. This file contains the concordance program, the King James Version of the Pauline epistles from the Bible, the SpiritEd GEM-based .ACC text editor, and documentation for all of the above. This is one excellent package. I have both the KJV and the New International Version (both available from SpiritWare). It's fast, with excellent ability to access the complete text surrounding the word for which you searched, and very easy to use. You can search for individual words, parts of words, multiple words at one time, or any combination of the above. I recommend it highly. These are fully functioning programs. In order to get the complete text of the KJB or the NIV and printed docs for these programs contact SpiritWare. Color or mono. [] BKTRK404 is Backtrack v.4.04 by Karl Anders ²ygard, the author of ProTracker ST (see PT_20S in the Suzy B's MOD category). BackTrack¿ is an program that will play any standard >Soundtracker 2.2 or Pro/ Noisetracker module in the background (multitasking under Geneva or MultiTOS). The program may also be run as an accessory which makes it "multitasking" all the time! The playback frequency can be controlled by clicking the '6.259 kHz', '12.517 kHz', '25.036 kHz' or '50.072 kHz' buttons. When clicked, playback will be immediately set to the corresponding frequency. Higher frequency gives better sound, but requires more processor time (you had better have an accelerated STe if you choose the 50.072kHz mode - or a TT). There are LOTS of other features in this excellent program. Docs included. I recommend it to you! [] CDPLAYER is an amazing NoiseTracker/SoundTracker .MOD player for STE's. This emulates a CD player stacked on top of an amplifier. It has most of the basic controls you'd expect on a CD player: horizontal light meters for left and right channels as well as four vertical light meters that emulate a graphics equalizer. The graphics this program produces are awesome. The entire layout is extremely well done, and the lights are VERY realistic. Plays up to 32 .MODs consecutively! This is a must-have for any STE owner with a COLOR MONITOR. (Mono NOT supported!) Tested on a STE. Will not work on a TT. Must run from a floppy. [] DTMT101 is the DeskTracker MultiTask .ACC/.PRG v.1.01 by David Oakley (dated April 22, 1993). This .ACC for the STe/TT will allow you to play NoiseTracker modules in the background with an animated graphic display of the tune. It operates like a CD player allowing you to load, play, reset your tunes, set up a playlist, and more using the 3-D buttons or keyboard controls.. You can play at 6, 12, 25, or 50 KHz (50 KHz is only available on accelerated machines). This did a good job of playing in the background. While it slowed up my 8 MHz system (it speeds up quite a bit with my T-25 accelerator board running), it was still possible to do other work. Docs included. SHAREWARE. [] JUKEBX14md is JukeBox v.1.4 by Klaus Pedersen. Jukebox is an .ACC/.PRG to play Noisetracker modules (MOD's) and SEGM files in the background. It is fully compatible with NoiseTracker v.2.0 files from the Amiga. SEGM files were first used in the PD program NT_COMP. NT_COMP can be used to convert .MOD files into SEGM format. SEGM files don't use the processor (much) when playing, that can NOT be said about a .MOD player. This program will ALWAYS play the .MOD at the correct speed, and will allow you to play a stereo sound in mono (for better quality) if you wish. The sound quality is excellent, the included utilities that allow you to poke around inside your .MOD files and edit them are very useful, and the program is easy to use. This version has all reported bugs fixed and is full of useful features. Also, it's FREE! Any STe/TT/ Falcon (but a friend who has a Falcon says it won't work on his Falcon). Color or mono. Docs included. Recommended. [] PAULA22A is Paula v.2.2a (dated Feb. 20, 1992) by Pascal Fellerich (one of the authors of TURBOASS, a fast Assembler). This .ACC is an Amiga-MOD-file-player for the Atari TT & STE. Paula doesn't claim to be the only or the fastest MOD player available for the Atari, but it certainly is one of the best. It has an excellent GEM interface along with a Large number of features. Updated to make the program even more Falcon compatible. This file also includes a utility that allows you to "fix" some damaged .MOD files. Normally Paula is only usable on STe or TT machines, but this archive includes PETRA by Christian Limpach. Petra v.1.0 (dated Aug. 20, 1992) is a software sound driver which allows all ST's (the program docs say ALL ST's while the uploader said TOS 1.4 and above) which don't have DMA sound to still run Paula. Just trust me on this one. If you want to listen to .MOD files just get this program. Color or mono. Docs included. SHAREWARE. Falcon compatible. If you know where I can find Paula v.2.2B please let me know. [] DC_RT_DC is DC Right DC, another program of the week from Double Click Software. With DC Right DC installed, a Quick right click on the mouse will emulate a left double click. Color or mono. [] MB48_BIN is MasterBrowse v.4.8 by Michel Forget of Electric Storm Software (dated Oct 6, 1994). The author has fixed the program so it works with the Falcon in any res. and changed the menu system to make it much smaller. Master Browse is an EXCELLENT program which completely replaces the desktop's SHOW routine for any ST--Falcon. It will allow you to search, mark blocks of text (a new easier way to do this in v.4.5), cut and paste using the Atari Clipboard, print out your selected text(s) in a multiplicity of ways, and piles more features (in part the docs are so extensive simply because there are so many features! If you want a text file viewer to do something, this probably already has that feature!). MasterBrowse can be configured to call an alternate viewer for special types of files, such as pictures or sound files. It is _Fast_ and smooth, and can take full advantage of GDOS/SpeedoGDOS, the features of MultiTOS, MultiGEM, Mag!X, and Geneva, as well as the alternative desktops such as NeoDesk, TeraDesk, and Gemini. Another nice feature is that MB supports Peter Seitz' View Protocol, which allows other programs to instruct MB to display a file instead of using their own default viewers. A REALLY nice feature new in this version is that MB will emulate the TOS 1.4 Item Selector for all of you TOS 1.0 and 1.2 users out there. Keyboard (he deleted the user configurable feature in this version, but it will be coming back in the future) or mouse controlled. Online help (using the ST-Guide .ACC). It has an easy-to- use installation program. Shareware ($15). SUPPORT SHAREWARE AUTHORS! (If you register this program you get a $5 credit from Suzy B's Software). Color or mono. This will work on floppy or hard drive systems. [] LABP_USA is Laborant Professional 1.02 (USA) by Jens Schulz. Laborant Professional is one of the most powerful universal chemistry programs in the PD/shareware market on any computer system. Laborant Professional provides you with a tool for daily laboratory work and education. Compatible with any ST--Falcon computer, color or mono, in ST med. or higher. Geneva, MultiTOS, MultiGEM, and MagiC all work just fine. If you are working as a chemist, or studying to do so (or did do that but now are working at another job... say as a pastor!) then Laborant Professional is for you! Here are some of the things this program can do for you! - Stoichiometry with powerful formula-/equation analysis - Data processing (Error determination, interpolation, approximation) - Statistical tests - Linear equation systems and matrix operations - Thermochemistry (incl. databases) - Reaction kinetics - Chemical solutions and conversions - Chemical calculation methods in a wide range - Tables and exercising programs - Import/export of measuring datas - Integration of external programs - TeX support This version has detailed English docs. Freeware! [] SALVAGE is a simple to use program that is designed to assist in salvaging floppy disk files that were produced by a text editor or a word processor when the FAT tables or Directory on the disk have been trashed. Color or mono. Docs included. By Merlin L. Hanson. [] SIREN3 is Siren -- It's the Cops! by John Eidsvoog (it's gotta be good if one of the CodeHead's made it!). SIREN3 is an accessory which periodically sends a little police car driving across the bottom of your screen, complete with siren and engine sounds. Who wrote it first is not knows, by JE has rewritten it with a vengeance. It now works in both color and mono, registers like a normal accessory, and is user configurable as to the time in which it appears. This is a fun .ACC, especially when you sneak it on to a friends boot disk! [] THINNER2 is a program by Larry McConnell is a program that pull your "FAT" out of the fire. How does it work? The information on a floppy disk is kept track of by means of the "directories" which store info about the files, and the "File Allocation Table" (the FAT), which tells what blocks each file uses on the disk. On nearly all disks (except for some ramdisks), there is a second copy of the FAT, which is located immediately after the first one. The operating system and most programs only read from the first one, but write changes to the first and the second one. The idea is that if something bad happens to the first one, a recovery program may be able to use the second one. This program will allow you to switch from the first FAT to the second one, possibly enabling you to copy files from the damaged disk onto a good one. Works with Floppy, Hard and some RAM disks. Color or mono. Docs included (you just read them). [] UNDELETE is for all of you who have ever accidentally erased a file (on your floppy disk). If you haven't saved any other information on that disk the file is still there, only hidden. UNDELETE will find it for you and allow you for save it back in a format your ST will recognize again! HURRAH for that!! UNDELETE works only in medium resolution. I use Diamond Edge, which does the same thing... and a lot more! [] THEACC12 is an amazing desk accessory that is a utility which will allow you to rename files, create folders, move files and folders wherever you wish, format and copy disks, and more. It comes in both an mono and color version. I don't know why this hasn't seen more exposure. It is great! No documentation. [] ASCII2WWW is the ASCII to Word Writer Conversion Kit by John M. Sieben (dated 1992). The purpose of this utility is to take an ASCII text file and convert it to something Word Writer ST can format. This utility's output file should also work in First Word (Plus). You probably have already seen formatting problems with importing an ASCII files into Word Writer ST. This is due to Word Writer ST interpreting each line as a separate paragraph. This utility attempts to determine where paragraphs should be for Word Writer ST and writes an output file accordingly. Mouse controlled. Docs included. Color or mono. [] TYPTUTOR is "The Typing Tutor" v.2.1 by Bob Areddy (dated 1990). This program is aimed at testing your typing speed and giving practice to improve your typing skills. It will present you with a choice of text files to practice your typing skills. After you have typed the assigned file you speed and accuracy are presented (the program beeps when you make a typing error and won't progress until you type it write!). You can create your own typing tests with ease. This is a well done program. Source code included. SHAREWARE. [] EAR2 is v.2 of Ear Trainer by E. Hundley. This is a program to help young (and older) music students gain the ability to easily recognize and name the musical tones they hear in scales and music. This program can help you a lot in your music appreciation, composing and improvisation. While EAR2 is more of a drill (with a "Mr. T" look-a-like that "encourages" you to learn the Major, Minor, Petatonic, and Chromatic scales), it plays like the game "Simon." It's FUN. Version 2 is now more tolerant of mistakes in the higher levels, allows you to review your errors at the end of your session and more. It's well worth the upgrade if you have v.1 (and if you don't have v.1 it's still worth getting!) Color only. Docs included. [] W_QUEST4 is the complete and updated version (as of Nov. 1993) of Word Quest 2 v.4.00 by Donald A. Thomas, Jr. of Artisan Software (the Atari JOIN THE REVOLUTION folks). This program is an EXCELLENT WordSearch Puzzle program that allows you to create complex puzzles with a minimum of effort. I bought it when it cost $24.95 and was quite pleased with it (I use it a lot at church). Puzzles and answers may be printed out from the program to a laser printer or dot matrix printer (via a screendump) or to a Neochrome or Degas picture file. Five puzzles included. Mouse or keyboard controlled. You can use this program for so many different purposes: education, advertisement, as an "ice-breaker," and... just for fun! This program seems the same as the commercial version, but it's not... it's BETTER! Various bug fixes, incompatibility problems, speed increases, and more have all been implemented. It even improves over the original shareware release of Sept., 1993). This new version adds the ability to enter international characters for broader appeal, a selection of sort formulas and almost every interactive module now offers a comprehensive GEM-based dialog box for accelerated productivity. Color or mono (in ST rez.). TOS 1.0--Falcon compatible. Online help and docs included. David Becker has written MANY excellent monochrome programs and games. Here are only a few... [] ANCIENT is the The Ancient Art of ASCII v.1.0 by David Becker (dated July 24, 1992). This program will allow you to take any mono DEGAS picture and convert it into another picture created solely by placing small and large alphabet characters on the screen (or on paper). This is ASCII art, which is a "picture translated into text". By placing small and large characters of the alphabet in spots corresponding to a pictures light and dark areas, you can trick the eye into still perceiving the original image, now converted entirely to text! Toss the Polaroid camera, you can send printed ASCII pictures of the kids to Grandma! You can also load a custom text file of your choosing to use (this doesn't work as well for faces, but works fine for geometric shapes. Docs included. Mono only. This works well! Sample pictures included. [] CONECT12 is Connections v. 1.2 by David Becker. Linking text, graphics, animation and sound within interactive multimedia presentations is not a new idea. Hypercard on the Macintosh has been doing it for years. Many commercial programs exist for the PC as well. It's been around in some form or another for the ST for quite some time as well. TCOS by Matthew P. Aubury and HyperScreen by R.J. Pearson both allow text and graphics to be combined in a linked environment. HyperLink by JMG Software is a much more intensive and capable commercial database that allows you to mix text, graphics, animations, and data all in one seamless database. Now David has created his own interactive multi-media presentation software that allows you to easily create your own "families" of information that link graphics, text files, sounds, and animation. He has designed it so you can pass on your information in an interactive, informative, educational, entertaining, and fun way. He provides you with all the tools you need to create your own multimedia masterpiece. I really like this program, and recommend it to you highly. Detailed docs and walk-through tutorial included. It requires at least one Meg of RAM, a monochrome monitor (or a color monitor with a mono emulator - see SEBRA133), and a hard drive. I recommend this. It's excellent! [] TREK_FAM is another Connection's "Family" by David Becker. This one presents a detailed view of the Star Trek Universe, talking both about the Original Generation series and the Next Generation TV show. Lots of digitized sounds, pictures, and text (timelines, review of shows, etc. all make this a "must have" file for Trek fans. You must have a mono monitor and David Becker's Connections multi-media program (now at version 1.2) to use this file (though you could view the pictures, listen to the sounds, and read the text files using the appropriate utilities - it's just nowhere near as much fun!). This file uncompresses to 760K so you need an extended format disk or a hard drive to uncompress these files. [] SPACSHUT by David Becker is another multimedia "Connections Family" this time detailing the American Space Shuttle program (with glimpses into the "Soviet" program as well. Digitized sound and animation and graphics all come together in this interactive learning tool. Hard drive and mono monitor required. You also need David's "Connections" program. [] JUMBLE is ABC Jumble by David Becker. This is an educational program for young children in the 3-7 age group. This simple program lets kids sort the letters of the alphabet after the computer jumbles them up. Its GEM interface and point and click environment make it simple even for the littlest user. Helps on line, encouragements when you complete your unjumbling, and more. Mono only (thanks David for producing so many mono programs, especially this one for kids!) Docs included. [] SNDSRCH is Sound Search by David Becker (dated 1993). This mono only SHAREWARE game is just like Concentration except it uses sounds instead of pictures. The game presents you with twenty buttons bearing ten matching sounds. When you choose two buttons that sound the same the buttons disappear and you get another chance to choose. There are over 60 different sampled sounds! Each time the program is run, it's a different game! This memorization game is fun for kids and adults alike. The author has included a utility that allows parents to choose sounds, turning some on and some off as they wish. Requires at least one meg of RAM. The registered version doesn't include any advertisements and has complete docs (which aren't needed, but register anyway, OK? I have. Who else produces such excellent mono software in such amounts? Thanks David!). [] SRCHFIND is Search and Find by David Becker. This mono-only learning game is for the littlest Atari kids. Your computer mixes up 15 different pictures on the screen and then asks your child, in a real human voice, to find one of the pictures. If the child points to the correct picture, the human voice congratulates the child and then moves on to a different picture jumble. If the child chooses wrong, he/she is told in a soothing human voice, "No ... that's the apple [or whatever], find the strawberry" Animals, household items, boats, planes, ships, food, all sorts of pictures are available. Each time the program is run it's a different game. There are more than 40 assorted pictures! The child wins the game after choosing 14 different pictures correctly (there are no penalties for wrong answers). SHAREWARE (It's worth it, and I've registered). It's fun! At least one meg of RAM required. [] TYPEWRIT by F.P. Nagle of Rubicon Software is a simple typewriter accessory for the ST. Pull down this accessory and you will see a screen with two line on it, one in the upper left corner and the other in the approx. middle. These are there for your help in addressing envelopes. Type a line, press return and it is printed out on your printer. With TYPEWRIT you may also turn on and off your printers special features (bold, italics, etc.) to customize your new "typewriter." Source is available for $15. [] MBOOK30 is Make*A*Book V3.00 (The FRED version) by Jonathan Carroll and dedicated to Naomi Akazawa. Make*A*Book will combine your UltraScript PostScript emulator with an ASCII file and allow you to print your text file into book form by printing sideways on a sheet of paper and printing two pages on each side. It will properly sort the ASCII file and place it in the right order so that once printed, you simply fold the sheets in half and presto, you've got a book. These are a lot easier to store a keep track of than having reams of single sheets of paper. Color or mono. Docs included. It's Jon's free gift to the Atari community, so enjoy! [] MNMKR225 by Craig W. Daymon is Manual Maker ver. 2.25. The main purpose of this program is to make manual size print-outs from ASCII files using GDOS (or G+PLUS), GDOS fonts and printer drivers. This program does just about everything! It features: Justified or Unjustified print-outs; designated number to start page-numbering with; separate Left and Right page headers; up to 1000 (manual) page document capacity; prints to both sides of paper; tabs STOPs every 4 to 20 spaces, as indicated; and with printer paper alignment test. You have imbedded commands for: Center text; BOLD text; Underlined text; Skewed text; for a forced Page-Break and a set indentation value. Even more features than we have room for here (for example choice of 6 border patterns). A $15 donation is requested for use of the program. Get this!! $5 from ever $15 or more donation will be sent to the American Diabetes Assoc.. How's that! Color or mono. Docs included. [] PPRESS3 is The Printing Press v.3.03 by Bernhard Artz (dated Jan. 28, 1990). This is an excellent get-this-program mono-only program that will allow you to print out Letterhead, Envelopes (with both address and return address, and a graphic!), two types of disk labels, banners, and cards. You can use a variety of fonts with your creations (ten included), and import Degas, Doodle, or the programs own .CPG picture files for your graphics (numbers included). You can cut the pictures so as to include just the portion you want to include. This archive also includes a full fledged art program to create your own artwork! An .ACC is also included which will allow you to change the system font as well (four fonts included). Support for Epson 9 and 24 pin printers and the NEC P 5,6 and 7 printers are included. SHAREWARE. Laser printer support is in the works. Register! Also included is the Irrata BBS Anti Virus Checker, Assasins, v.1.5, dated 1993. This program checks the boot sector of your disks and gives you the option of zeroing any boot sector containing data. This works on my STE just fine, but I can't run it from my hard drive (I can run it from my floppy while the Hard drive is up and running though!). Geneva compatible. [] EVER_E33 is Everest v.3.3E, a "simple and genial" GEM ASCII Text Editor by Oliver Schmidt (dated April 30, 1994). The author keeps on updating this already excellent program! This version includes several new features and enhancements over previous versions. Everest is compatible with all ST-Falcon computers and most if not all graphic cards and resolutions (except ST low). I found this program very easy to use and very fast as well. Using a standard GEM interface, this editor will allow you to edit large files (>300K) blazingly fast with no problems, uses either the mouse or keyboard shortcuts for every function, and even uses mono spaced GDOS fonts if available! Text scrolling is smooth and easy on the eyes with no "jumps". There are several other nice features as well: Everest employs dynamic memory allocation to leave the maximum possible memory for other applications (great for MultiTOS or Geneva!); it takes advantage of the GEM Clipboard (a feature I use all the time in STeno!), uses GDOS if available, has the ability to create and use an extensive abbreviation dictionary (wonderful), and allows for up to ten files to be loaded at one time (even more wonderful!). Keyboard and/or mouse controlled (even the dialog boxes can be accessed from the keyboard!). Everest can also accept a command line so you can call it from a shell if you wish. Shareware. Check this one out! [] ALICE by Ralf Kaufmann is ALICE Another Little C Editor v.1.42 (dated August 1992). This is a great GEM oriented editor for ASCII-files. It is a: - GEM-based text editor - simultaneous editing of several texts in GEM windows, 10 additional texts may be held in cut/paste buffers - full mouse support - all menus are selectable by the keyboard - simple printing facilities - block operations (cut/paste) with up to 10 buffers - search and replace - runs on any ATARI ST/STE/TT - program versions exist in english, german and french - prints with any Epson compatible printer I really like this program, especially the ability to work with several texts at once (up to six at once) and to cut/paste with the 10 buffers. Color or mono. Docs included. Highly recommended. [] BLOCKADE is one of my favorite games. The object is to completely uncover a background picture within a stated time limit. Not hard, right? Wrong. Unfortunately for you there is this little nasty thing (LNT) bouncing around the screen. You leave a line as you cross the picture. If you get to the other side before the LNT touches you or your line, you are OK. BUT, if it touches you before you reach your destination, you're sunk. You get three chances. Every time you cut off a section of the screen more of the picture appears, and you start again. I really like this one. The pictures are low rez Degas pics, so you can change them to anything you wish. Color only. Three levels. STe compatible. [] DMLTN_2 is Demolition Man v.2.0 by Clayton Walnum. He's done it again. This man is a bad as Charles Johnson (of CodeHead fame). He keeps on improving an excellent game!. In this color or mono game you play a bomb demolition expert who tries to discover where all the bombs are hidden without exploding any of them unintentionally (especially when the are under you!). There are EASY, HARD, and AGONY levels! Mouse controlled. You have to use your brain to win this game. The only trouble is is that you want to keep playing. You just know you'll do better the next time! Docs included. SHAREWARE. C.W. is the author of _C-MANSHIP COMPLETE_, the only programming manual for the Atari ST that teaches both basic C programming and GEM applications programming. Are you a POPULOUS fan? He has also written _Master Populous. Finally (for now) he has written _The ST Assembly Language Workshop, Vol. 1_. This guy knows his stuff! [] DALEKS is a superb, excellent, wonderful program by Brian McClendon of Bloom County Software. Based on the TV program, "Dr. Who" you fight for your life avoiding the attacking Daleks, armed with your trusty Sonic Screwdriver. Color or mono. GET THIS ONE! SHAREWARE. [] AKS by A.K.Schiebereien and S.B.Werninger is a mono only puzzle program that will provide you with hours of challenging puzzles (I have this from the English docs by D.A. Brumleve, the noted ST programmer!). You must shove barrels around a warehouse and place them in the proper locations. It is much like Chip's Challenge. [] STARBATL is the first game on the ST that I played. It's a fast paced, keyboard or joystick controlled "shoot-'em-up" game. Different screens of dastardly aliens drop bombs on you while you shoot at them. You try to avoid their bombs, and they dash around the screen avoiding your shots (but they move in predictable ways!). Color. [] REFLEX is a program that tests your reflexes (at least your mouse clicking ones). You are given five tests and your reflex time is determined by their average (My best was .215 seconds). The only problem with this program is that you keep trying to better your last score! Color only. Docs within program. [] HOTWHEEL is Hot Wheels by John Gymer of Kingfisher Software (dated June 1991). Hot Wheels is a fast action car racing game in which you take the wheel of a spanking new Ferrari 348. One player can practice a track on their own or race against two computer-controlled drones. Alternatively, two players can compete at the same time using a split-screen display (a la Super Cars 2). In two player mode one drone can be added to the race. This game is joystick controlled, with lots of options that make it easier or harder, as you wish. Even at it's hardest (practically zero traction, no brakes, super fast acceleration) you can still manage if you possess superhuman reflexes. Otherwise, I would recommend you make things a little easier on yourself! This is a fun game! 15 tracks to race on, with an editor included to make more of your own! Recommended. Color only. Docs included. [] MIDIMAZ2 is Midi Maze II by D-Soft of Germany. It is a marvelous game for up to 16 players who connect their computers with one another through the MIDI port. More than one computer is definitely necessary to take advantage of all the features of the program (though there is a one-player practice mode - see the docs)! Each player directs a spherical Smiley through a maze; whoever sees a friend, helps him and if he sees an enemy, he shoots him down (or the other way around). Midi_Maze II is all that the former commercial game was and more. Digitized sound. Color or mono. Joystick or mouse controlled. Requires a MIDI cable for multi- player option (only a couple of dollars). ST/STe/TT compatible. There are English docs available (see MDMZ2DOC). SHAREWARE. [] OTRPLACE is OTHER PLACE v.1.2 by Jonathan Corey using GFA BASIC v3.5E (dated April 20, 1992). Fly your spaceship through a maze of caverns, seeking the jewels from the central cavern. Avoid the Guardians, walls, and the growing "Central Objects." Keyboard and mouse controlled. This is another good game. It combines both thought and quickness in order to achieve your goal. Color or mono. Docs included. This just fixes one bug from v.1.1. [] KLATRIX is a Columns type clone create by Mats Hogberg of Sweden using STOS. In this game groups of three colored tiles fall from the top of the screen. By pressing the fire button on your joystick you rotate the tiles so that you end up with the color order you wish, top to bottom (you hope). By aligning three of the same color, in any direction, you cause them to vanish (which is the goal!) This is well done. Color only. SHAREWARE. Docs in Swedish (but they aren't necessary). I like this game a lot. (use STOSFX30 if you have an STE or higher). Yikes, I've run out of time. I have to get this in to Travis or he will shoot me! [Ed: What??? So I'm the Grouch? ] Take care, and again, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Michael All of these files can be found on one or more of the following on-line services: Delphi (MRBURKLEY), GEnie (M.BURKLEY1) The CodeHead BBS (818) 980-6763), Toad Computers BBS (410-544-6999), and at Toad Hall, now the official BBS of the Boston Computer Society (617-567-8642) (as Michael R. Burkley). Michael lives in Niagara Falls, NY. He is a former Polyurethane Research Chemist and is presently the pastor of the Niagara Presbyterian Church. --==--==--==--==-- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- --==--==-- GEnie Sign-Up Information --==--==-- -- -- -- -- 1. Set your communications software for half duplex (local echo) -- -- at 300, 1200, or 2400 baud. -- -- -- -- 2. Dial toll free: 1-800-638-8369 (or in Canada, 1-800-387-8330). -- -- Upon connection, enter HHH. -- -- -- -- 3. At the U# prompt, enter XTX99436,GENIE then press . -- -- -- -- 4. Have a major credit card ready. In the U.S., you may also use -- -- your checking account number. -- -- -- -- For more information in the United States or Canada, call 1-800- -- -- 638-9636 or write: GEnie, c/o GE Information Services, P.O. Box -- -- 6403, Rockville, MD 20850-1785. -- -- -- -- --==--==-- Atari's Official Online Resource! --==--==-- -- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --==--==--==--==-- ||| Developing news! ||| Items of interest from TOS platform developers and supporters / | \ ------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Have SARA Do Your Searching =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= SARA Search and Retrieval Software For the Atari Computer SARA Search and Retrieval Software will allow you to search and view the information on many CD's currently available on other platforms. SARA has support for the following CD's The Family Doctor - DOS Version Sherlock Holmes on DIsc Multimedia Audubon Animals Wayzata World Fact Book Time Man of the Year The Art History Encyclopedia Software Toolworks Reference Library Text can be accessed with any Atari computer from the ST to the Falcon and TT using either a monochrome or color monitor in 80 column mode. Graphics can be viewed on any Atari with 16 colors available in 80 column mode (TT and Falcon). You will find having the Software Toolworks Reference Library at your fingertips very handy. SARA requires a CD rom driver. We suggest ExtenDOS Pro by Anodyne Software for best use. SARA is available for $59.99, postpaid, from: It's All Relative Software, 2233 Keeven Lane Florissant MO 63031 USA Or ask for it by name at your favorite Atari dealer. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Homa Systems House Intros //// Wax Thermal Printers For ST =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= FARGO PRIMERA PRINTER DRIVERS FOR CALAMUS SL. PIXART 2.2, The Ultimate Painting package for all ATARI systems. Introduction "Homa Systems House" is pleased to announce its joining to the ATARI computers market, as a SOFTWARE & HARDWARE company. Our goal is to bring you the finest Hardware and Software which would show once again the superiority of the ATARI line of computers. By being both a hardware and software company, we are able to offer HW and SW solutions to your needs. At this time, we are excited to announce the following products: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FARGO PRIMERA PRINTER DRIVERS FOR CALAMUS SL. There are two sets of printer drivers available for the Primera printer, one for WAX THERMAL printing and one for Dye-sublimation. i) Wax thermal set includes the following printer drivers: - driver for 3 color printing (C, Y, M) - driver for 4 color printing (C, Y, M, K) - driver for monochrome printing ii) Dye sublimation set includes the above plus a specific printer driver for the Dye-sublimation ribbon, for photo realistic (amazing) output. Fargo Primera is a photo realistic color printer that is actually affordable. Primera utilizes the printing technologies most preferred by professional graphics artists, WAX THERMAL TRANSFER and DYE-SUBLIMATION, as alternatives to the ink jet technology. With Primera, you are thus able to obtain the brightest, sharpest and most vibrant color output available on the desktop today. Primera is the perfect color printer for producing all of your comps, proofs, photos, mock-ups, illustrations, 3D rendering, video captures, presentation materials, electronic images and much much more. What makes Primera stick out is its price. For thousands of dollars less than other dye-sublimation and thermal wax printers, you can now print stunning color graphics and text on plain laser paper, overhead transparency film - even heat transfer for T-shirts, coffee mugs and caps. Specifications: Resolution: 203 DPI printing Print Speed WAX color: 25 MPP WAX Monochrome: 1 PPM Dye-sublimation color: 10-12 MPP Dye-sublimation mono: 5 MPP Print size: A 8.5 x 11 inches A-long 8.5 x 13 inches A4 210 x 297 mm A4-long 210 x 330 mm For more info please contact HOMA Systems House. --------------------------------------------------------------------- PIXART 2.2 Pixart is the ultimate painting package for everyone. With its easy and friendly user interface and powerful painting tools, it makes it the ideal program for painters, desktop publishers, children, or just an occasional computer hobbyist. What makes Pixart even more attractive is its affordable price. It works on any ATARI computer with at least 1meg of memory (TOS 1.0 - MTOS, MAGIC, Geneva, Falcon030 , TT030, ....), in monochrome and 2,4, 16, 24 bit color (2, 4, 16, 256, 32K, true color, 16.8 Million colors). It is also compatible with all the graphics cards in the market (NOVA, CYREL SUNRISE, MATRIX, CRAZY DOTS, ...). Pixart is full of features and here are some: - picture size of 32000 x 32000 pixels, in definable resolution (DPI) - it has over 17 drawing tools (lines, rays, rectangle, air brush, ....) - very powerful and extensive user definable block editing and manipulation tools: - normal and lasso cut - stretch, zoom, rotate, horizontal tilt, vertical tilt, angular distortion, invert, projection of the block onto 16 predefined 3D shapes, user definable (any size) grids and projection onto the grids with loading and saving option for the custom grids. - built in text editor, with the option of loading text from disk, color, text attributes (bold, italic, outline, ...) - supports speedogdos 5 (bitstream, true type, type 1), speedogdos 4, NVDI 3 (bitstream, true type), signum fonts, bitmap fonts. - loads GIF, TIF, IFF, IMG, XIMG, TARGA, PI? (1,2,3,5,6,7), PC(1,2,3), NEO, PCX, PAC, PIC (STAD), ESM (TMS enhanced Simplex format), BIG (draw BIG), PIX (Pixart's own format) - saves as IMG, TIF, IFF, BMP, ESM, PCX, PI?, PC?, PIX. - powerful printing features: - has built in printer drivers for 9pin, 24 pin, HP Laser Jet, HP Deskjet 500C, HP Deskjet 550C, and is also capable of printing to any GDOS driver. - 18 different dittering patterns for best output (color or monochrome) - print preview - allows you to zoom in on your screen to print any area of your picture with user definable resolution. - variable printing direction - and more! - Clipboard - Multiple picture windows - on screen help - zoom (+,-) - Completely GEM oriented and fully customizable: - menu driven, user customizable popup menus, user customizable menu short cuts (keyboard), 3D look, user definable dialog boxes (normal or in a window for fully multitasking) - Scanner support with GDPS drivers (supported by HOMA Systems House) - Graphics tablet support (drivers and hardware available from Homa Systems House) - and many, many, many more features. This package is full of features. A must have for everyone. For more info on this wonderful package, please contact HOMA Systems House. Please contact Homa Systems House for more information. We are so excited about this, and hopefully you will be too. Please send your comments to: HOMA SYSTEMS HOUSE Mailing: P.O. BOX 52127 OTTAWA, ONT. K1N 5S0 CANADA email: aa414@freenet.carleton.ca genie: S.FARSHIDGH Homa Systems House tel: (613) 722-0901 fax: (613) 722-9061 ##### PRICE INFO ##### ##### Check out the Christmas Special at the end ##### **Introductory prices PRODUCT Suggested Retail (US$) ## ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fargo Primera Printer driver for Calamus SL, Wax Thermal ................. 69.00 Fargo Primera Printer drivers for Calamus SL, Dye sublimation & Wax thermal... 169.00 Fargo Primera Printer, Thermal Wax, No ATARI Drivers ................ 795.00 Photo realistic upgrade (dye sublimation), No ATARI Drivers ................ 225.00 Package deal, CHRISMAS SPECIAL, LIMITED TIME Fargo Primera printer, thermal wax with Calamus SL Drivers 850.00 Fargo Primera Printer, TW & Dye Sublimation with Calamus SL Drivers 1150.00 Pixart 2.2 119.00 Availability Fargo Printer drivers............ available now Fargo Printers ...................... available now Pixart 2.2 ............................... Jan 9 /1995 (Estm) As a Christmas special, you can preorder Pixart for only $ 89.00 US. That is a saving of $30.00. Shipping and handling is extra on all orders. We ship UPS, Fedex, 1st class mail. Terms and payments. We accept certified check or money order at this time only. Canadian residents can pay C.O.D. 7% GST applies to Canadian customers. 8% PST applies to Ontario residents. Please call Homa Systems House for more details for ordering. HOMA SYSTEMS HOUSE Mailing: P.O. BOX 52127 OTTAWA, ONT. K1N 5S0 CANADA email: aa414@freenet.carleton.ca genie: S.FARSHIDGH Homa Systems House tel: (613) 722-0901 fax: (613) 722-9061 # Calamus SL is a registered trademark of DMC publishing. ATARI is a registered trademark of ATARI Corp. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// STeno 2.1 Patch Available =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= What is needed to upgrade ========================= 1. An un-modified STeno 2 Master Disk, version 2.00. 2. A hard disk or a blank formatted floppy disk (to place the STENO210.PRG and STENO210.DAT on). How to upgrade your STeno version 2.00 to version 2.10 ====================================================== 1. Make sure you have made a backup copy of the STeno 2 Master Disk. 2. Place the STENO210.PRG and STENO210.DAT on your hard disk or on the blank floppy disk (it may need the extra disk space to write some temporary files, depending on free memory.) 3. Run the STENO210.PRG and follow the on-screen prompts. 4. Once you have finished upgrading your master disk to version 2.10, make a backup copy of this newer version. ** VERY IMPORTANT STEP, READ CAREFULLY ** 5. To install the newer version on your system, you MUST replace the following STeno 2.00 files in your system with the 2.10 version files from the newly upgraded disk: \STENO.ACC \STENO.PRG \STENO.RSC The following files are also included in the archive, for use by programmers. They are not essential for normal operation: \PROGRAM\HYPRDEFS.H \PROGRAM\STENOMSG.H If you get an error message =========================== If your STeno 2 Master Disk has been modified in any way (including moving files around), the patch program will not be able to perform the upgrade. You will get an error message indicating that this has happened. In this case, you should mail us the disk so that we can upgrade it. To have your disk upgraded by us, you need to: 1. Send in your original, registered, STeno 2.00 Master Disk. 2. Enclose a U.S. check for $5 + $2 shipping & handling ($7 total). 3. Enclose a note with your name, address, and daytime phone number. In return you will receive the upgraded 2.10 Master Disk. If you have already purchased this patch disk from us for $5, please just include your original disk and $2. Changes for STeno 2.10 ====================== General Operation: If STeno is run as a desk accessory after NeoDesk 4 is already running, you can now drag icons to a STeno icon on the desktop. STeno now indicates Line, Column, and whether the current file has been modified, by way of the window's name bar. Only file modification is indicated in the desk accessory title (or program title under Geneva/MultiTOS), by way of a delta (triangle) character. [Control][Tab] will invoke the BackTalk compiler, if it is already in memory. STeno will use Geneva's menu-in-a-window feature. This means that you can use tear-away menus and [Alt][Space] to traverse the menu if you have Geneva. STeno now handles the AP_TERM message, so that it can be terminated from Geneva or MultiTOS. It is now possible to close the STeno's window without quiting STeno when run as an application. Pressing [Shift][Esc] will close the window, pressing this combination again will re-open it. Under AES 3.40 or newer, all buttons are now 3D. Under Geneva, its radio buttons are used, also. STeno's Programmer Interface is now active. It is now possible for external programs to use STeno as an editor. Check out HYPRDEFS.H and STENOMSG.H for details. Preferences Dialog: STeno now supports the new Atari Clipboard standard. To enable this feature, select the "Use Atari Clipboard" option. STeno now stores the font size and window size/position independently for ST Medium/Low versus other resolutions. This way you will not end up with a font that is the wrong size when changing between resolutions. Added a configuration option to allow scrolling by line, instead of the default jump scrolling. The cursor blink can be turned on or off. When saving a file, STeno will first save the file to $$STENO$.$$$. If that is successful, STeno will then delete the original file and rename $$STENO$.$$$ to the original file. If the disk fills up while saving to $$STENO$.$$$, $$STENO$.$$$ will be deleted and the original file will be intact. This can be toggled on/off. If you prefer to have faster Saves, then turn the option off. The menu can now be toggled between being in a window or not, by way of an option. Note that when STeno is used as a desk accessory, its menu is always in the window, regardless of how this option is set. Under AES 4.0 or newer, or Geneva, if you have multiple STenos running, pressing [Alternate][#] will bring a STeno to the foreground (i.e.: [Alternate][1] will top the first STeno, [Alternate][2] will top the second STeno). This will work with up to 10 STenos running (the 10th STeno is [Alternate][0]). The number to press is between the [] in the window title. When quitting a STeno, the previous numbered STeno will be topped (i.e.: quitting STeno #8 will top STeno #7. If #7 is not running then #6, #5...). The behavior of this is configurable. There are new options in the Preferences dialog: o Autotop on Exit When quitting the current STeno, make the next one come into focus. o Accessories If Autotop on Exit is on, this will tell STeno to top DA's or not. o Numbers in DESK Menu Tells STeno to number the STeno's under the DESK Menu (ie: 1STeno:, 2STeno:, 3STeno:, etc.). Main Window: It is now possible to resize the window when the Sizer is not displayed by holding down the both the left and right mouse button and clicking the lower right corner as if the Sizer were there. On startup, STeno will always open its window to the size that was saved. STeno correctly redraws its window if it is not the topmost window, and one of the scroll bars is used in Geneva or MultiTOS. The mouse is turned back on before another window becomes topped. Line scrolling is substantially faster than previous versions. Editing Commands: [Insert] will toggle between insert mode and overwrite mode for new text that is entered. Pressing [Shift][Delete] will copy the text into the UNDO buffer. Previously, this would just delete it. The sequence [Control][Insert] will copy a block into the UNDO buffer. [Shift][Insert] will paste the internal buffer (like [Undo]). [Alternate][B] will start a block. [Alternate][E] will end the block, showing the selected area. The block acts the same as a block marked with the mouse. If you hold down the [Control] key when marking a block, it will be a column block (i.e.: [Control][Shift][Alternate][B]). This cannot be done with the mouse, it can only be done with the keyboard. If you hold down the [Control] key when pasting a block, it will be inserted as a column (i.e.: [Control][Alternate][V]). [Control][Up] and [Control][Down] will scroll the screen in the corresponding direction without moving the cursor's line or column position. [Control][Shift][Up] and [Control][Shift][Down] will move the cursor to the top or bottom of the window, without scrolling. [Alternate][C] and [Alternate][V] will no longer clear the clipboard if there is no block selected. When deleting a line, the entire screen is no longer redrawn. Menus: When saving a file, if it already exists, you will be prompted to Replace/Append/Cancel. To avoid this prompt and always Replace the existing file, use [Control][Alternate][S]. [Alternate][|] will toggle the Vertical Slider on/off. [Alternate][-] will toggle the Horizontal Slider on/off. [Control][Alternate][Q] will save (replace) a modified file and then quit STeno without prompting. [Shift][Tab] will invoke STalker, in addition to [Alternate][Tab]. This was added because [Alternate][Tab] is used by Geneva. The Word Wrap dialog has a new toggle. This toggle is used to turn on/off indenting while typing in word wrap mode. If it is selected, the text will indent to the previous line's indentation. When this option is off, no indentation will occur. Type-Ahead Mode: You can no longer [Backspace] over the character that represents the start of a Type-Ahead line. You can however, [Delete] the character. When you send the type-ahead buffer, STeno will send up to the next marker, or to the end of the buffer, instead of stopping at the cursor. For example, if you had the lines: =The quick brown fox#jumped in a puddle. =Fubar. with the cursor at the #, then pressing Return will send everything from the preceding = up to, but not including, the next =. It used to be that it would only send "The quick brown fox", which meant that if you realized you had a typo at the beginning of the line, you had to move the cursor all the way to the end before pressing Return. This program will upgrade STeno version 2.00 to version 2.10. It will ONLY upgrade version 2.00. Any questions or comments, please contact us at: Gribnif Software, P.O. Box 779, Northampton, MA 01061, USA Tel: (413) 247-5620, Fax: (413) 247-5622 GEnie: GRIBNIF Internet: gribnif@genie.geis.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// STalker 3.03 Patch Available =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= What is needed to upgrade ========================= 1. An un-modified, registered, STalker 3 Master Disk, version 3.02. 2. A hard disk or a blank formatted floppy disk (to place the STALK303.PRG and STALK303.DAT on). How to upgrade your STalker version 3.02 to version 3.03 ======================================================== 1. Make sure you have made a backup copy of the STalker 3 Master Disk. 2. Place the STALK303.PRG and STALK303.DAT on your hard disk or on the blank floppy disk (it may need the extra disk space to write some temporary files, depending on free memory.) 3. Run the STALK303.PRG and follow the on-screen prompts. 4. Once you have finished upgrading your master disk to version 3.03, make a backup copy of this newer version. ** VERY IMPORTANT STEP, READ CAREFULLY ** 5. To install the newer version on your system, you MUST replace the following STalker 3.02 files in your system with the 3.03 version files from the newly upgraded disk. You can either do this from the desktop, or by using the INSTALL.PRG on the STalker disk: \STALKER.ACC \STALKER.PRG (copied from STALKER.PRG on the master disk) \STALKER.RSC If you get an error message =========================== If your STalker 3 Master Disk has been modified in any way (including moving files around), the patch program will not be able to perform the upgrade. You will get an error message indicating that this has happened. In this case, you should mail us the disk so that we can upgrade it. To have your disk upgraded by us, you need to: 1. Send in your original, registered, STalker 3.02 Master Disk. 2. Enclose a U.S. check for $5 + $2 shipping & handling ($7 total). 3. Enclose a note with your name, address, and daytime phone number. In return you will receive the upgraded 3.03 Master Disk. If you have already purchased this patch disk from us for $5, please just include your original disk and $2. Helpful Hints ============= o If you are having trouble with lost characters, the very first thing to do is try running AUXINIT.PRG. If using rates > 19200, you may also find it helpful to increase the size of the buffer to the maximum, 31K. o When using high speed modems (9600 baud or greater) you will have to use hardware (RTS/CTS) flow control, rather than XON/XOFF flow control. Several pointers: o Make sure STalker has been configured for RTS/CTS in the Port Settings dialog for each service you plan to connect to at high speed. o Make sure your modem is configured for RTS/CTS. This varies from modem to modem; some use an AT command, others a DIP switch. Consult your modem's manual for more information. o Run the appropriate combination of patch programs. These can be found in the EXTRAS folder of your STalker disk: TOS version Port Program(s) 1.0-1.6x ST-compatible SERIALFX 2.00-2.05 ST-compatible SERIALFX and SERIALFX other SERPTCH 2.06 ST-compatible SERIALFX other none needed 3.00-3.05 ST-compatible SERIALFX and SERIALFX other SERPTCH 3.06 ST-compatible SERIALFX other none needed 4.0x Falcon none needed Because STalker reconfigures the Falcon serial port and the "non-standard" ports on the Mega STe and TT by writing directly to the hardware registers for those devices, other serial patch programs may not work properly with these ports when STalker is running. o If, after dialing a service, you notice that you cannot access any of STalker's functions and the "Dial" menu title is still selected, then this most likely means that there is a problem with your autologin sequence for that service. Press Undo to cancel the autologin and then check the appropriate entry in the Autodialer Directory. o If you use the GDOS replacement NVDI, you may notice that accessing the "STalker preferences" dialog will sometimes cause the terminal font to revert to the system font. Selecting the preferences dialog a second time will restore the setting and allow you to reset the font in the Terminal dialog. This seems to be due to a bug in NVDI. Changes for STalker 3.03 ======================== The Preferences dialog has several new items: o The first is an option to toggle the menu in a window feature. o The second is to toggle to usage of the new Atari Clipboard. Drive Z is now a valid drive letter, so to use the Atari Clipboard standard it is necessary to select this option in the dialog. o Next is an option to turn off the Blitter chip, if present, when STalker first runs and then turn it back on when STalker quits. At high speed on some machines, the Blitter causes problems with serial communications. o "Alert before clearing buffer" will display an alert before allowing the keyboard sequence [Control][Clr] to clear the buffer. After marking a block, the pop-up menu will disable the Print option if STalker doesn't detect a printer online and ready. Similarly, the menu item "Send text to printer" is disabled if the printer is not ready. It is now possible to turn off Remote Mode by selecting the menu item Remote Mode. The menu item now acts like a toggle. Furthermore, it is no longer possible to Save Configuration with Remote Mode enabled. [Shift][Tab] will invoke STeno. This was added because [Alternate][Tab] is used by Geneva. Added the keyboard equivalent [Shift][Alternate][Esc] to reset the serial port. This was added because Geneva uses [Alternate][Esc] to close the window. [Control][Tab] will invoke the BackTalk compiler if it is running. If you have Geneva, you can tear-away STalker's menus or use them from the keyboard with [Alternate][Space]. In previous versions, STalker would close a file being downloaded and reopen it repeatedly. In the new version, STalker leaves the file open at all times and only reopens it if it gets closed unexpectedly (like when you are using STalker as a desk accessory and then quit an application.) This means that downloading is a bit faster, especially for large files. It also means that you should avoid anything that will force a media change on the drive a file is being downloaded to, like swapping disks or the "Force Update" option in NeoDesk. [Shift][Esc] will open/close the main STalker window without quitting. Also, when STalker is run in a multitasking environment it is now possible to close the main window and the file transfer window while a file is being uploaded or downloaded. [Shift][Esc] will close the main window and the file transfer window. [Control][Shift][Esc] will close the window without quitting also, but during file transfers the file transfer window will remain open. Added support for NeoDesk 4's NEO_ACC_ASK. This allows STalker and NeoDesk to communicate as a NeoDesk Desk Accessory if STalker was installed after NeoDesk is already running. Passing -m as the first parameter on the command line when STalker is run will force STalker to toggle menus in the window. This option will be saved if you Save Settings. STalker will print correctly under all revisions of TOS. On a Falcon, the Serial port is now the only port available, and faster baud rates are possible. STalker will now report a disk full error, if there is one, when saving an .INF file. STalker should correctly close files in scripts now. It should no longer be necessary to call file_close() twice. Zmodem Resumes on Delphi now work. Double-clicking on a Dial? entry will not remove the dialog until the mouse is released. The event is also disposed of. Reworked "Use GDOS monospaced fonts" so that booting without GDOS will not permanently affect this setting. The File menu has been changed slightly to hopefully avoid a problem with STalker and TOS 1.00. DCD is off by default when no .INF file is found. This program will upgrade STalker version 3.02 to version 3.03. It will ONLY upgrade version 3.02. Any questions or comments, please contact us at: Gribnif Software, P.O. Box 779, Northampton, MA 01061, USA Tel: (413) 247-5620, Fax: (413) 247-5622 GEnie: GRIBNIF Internet: gribnif@genie.geis.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= //// Apex Media via Lexicor =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= APEX MEDIA for the Falcon030 with DSP 56001 support by Black Scorpion Software now available through Lexicor Software Corporation in North America (dealer inquiries encouraged). Animation and Morphing o Smooth image transforms o Powerful block functions o Block rotation to any angle, proportional re-scale stretch, skew and mirror o File import of animations from disk to paste above below existing pictures at any point in the target animation Digitising o Multiplie, real-time frame capture to 512x320 in 16-bit color o Rostrum Camer work to 24-bit Post-Processing o Two levels of Noise reduction, Dejagging and motion blur o Advanced Delta Compression to reduce memory/disk overheads Drawing Tools o Pen, Line, Curve, Polygon, Circle, Box o Stipple Airbrush o Redefinable grid Special features include o Redefinable Graduated Circles, Lines, Boxes o Interpolative Lines and Boxes o Definable Fill using Block or Gradient NON-Linear Drawing o Realistic Airbrush for producing soft graduated spray effect o Transform of definable areas controlling hue, saturation, brightness using paint or fill. o Transform and Masking with an extensive range of brushes Screen Modes o Real-teim zoom available at all times, even during animations o Every single tool fully usable under zoom conditions o Smooth scrolling uner zoom or virtual canvas operation with any tool File Support o PC1, IFF, SPU, PCS, TGA, MTV, JPG, GIF, FLC, SEQ, ANM, APX o CFN font support, saving of palette, Field Warp lines and set-up configuration o Import of images or animations with color reduction, pasting over or under existing images Video Support o VGA, RGB monitors and TV's o Selectable resolutions: 320x200, 320x400, 640x200, 640x400 o Virtual Canvas up to 2048 x 1024 o Supersampling of true colors images for 256 video modes. o Enhancement of existing 256 color images with dithering and/or supersampling o Import of large images into smaller canvas sizes with fine scaling. o Grey-scale conversions Lexicor Software Corporation 36 Queensberry Street, Suite 6 Boston, MA 02215 U.S.A. Internet : service@lexicor.com Genie : GRAPHICS RT or LEXICOR CIS : 75300,763 DEPLHI : LEXICORWORLD Recommended Retail Price is 199 U$D --==--==--==--==-- ||| ||| Shutdown ............................ Power off, EXIT, BYE, Logoff / | \ ------------------------------------------------------------------ We welcome feedback from all of our readers; feedback both positive and negative. Whatever you think of our efforts, we sincerely would like to know. Our EMail addresses are sprinkled throughout each issue - with the new Internet gateway into GEnie, you can reach us through the Internet also. Append "@genie.geis.com" to any of our GEnie addresses. Until the next issue of AEO, I remain, Your Editor Travis Guy Internet: aeo.mag@genie.geis.com --==--==--==--==-- (This issue printed on recycled photons) --==--==--==--==-- DNFTEC --==--==--==--==-- #1 Wide_left > 2*(Wide_right) --==--==--==--==-- No Inflation Necessary --==--==--==--==-- Atari Explorer Online Magazine is a bi-weekly publication covering the entire Atari community. Reprint permission is granted, unless otherwise noted at the beginning of the article, to registered Atari user groups and not for profit publications under the following terms only: articles must remain unedited and include the issue number and author at the top of each article reprinted. Other reprints granted upon approval of request. Send requests to . Opinions presented herein are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the staff, or of the publishers. All material herein is believed accurate at the time of publishing. --==--==--==--==-- Atari, ST, Mega ST, STE, Mega STE, TT030, Atari Falcon030, TOS, MultiTOS, NewDesk, BLiTTER, Atari Lynx, ComLynx, Atari Jaguar, Atari Portfolio, and the Atari Fuji Symbol are all trademarks or registered trademarks of Atari Corporation. All other trademarks and identifying marks mentioned in this issue belong to their respective owners. --==--==--==--==-- Atari Explorer Online Magazine "Your Source for Atari News" Copyright (c) 1993-1994, Subspace Publishers * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: A E O ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: Volume 3 - Issue 14 ATARI EXPLORER ONLINE 18 December 1994 :: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::