Amiga Plus (June/July 1989)

Amiga Plus, June/July 1989


Antic was originally an Atari 8-bit magazine. However, for a while they also published an Amiga magazine titled Amiga Plus (or Amiga +). The June/July 1989 issue includes:

Features

  • Artificial Reality – This article discusses breakthrough’s in ray tracing and ray tracing techniques on the Amiga. An idea that has finally reached the mainstream with new GPUs like the RTX 3080. If you can find one…
  • 3-D Modeling Comes of Age – An overview of 3-D modeling design and the software available to do it on the Amiga.
  • Understanding Amiga Fonts – An overview of the common fonts used on the Amiga and how to use them. Also included on the cover disk were some 3-D fonts.

Arts

  • Fun with FunPaint – FunPaint was a small graphics program included on the cover disk. This article gives an overview of its capabilities and how to use it.
  • Amiga Graphics Software Universe – The first in a four part series about graphics software on the Amiga. This first part covers paint programs and image generators (basically any other graphics creation programs).
  • Dr. T’s Keyboard Controlled Sequencer – The Atari ST may have been better regarded in the music world but the Amiga was capable to. This sequencing software is one example of what could be done.
  • Deluxe PhotoLab Workshop – Another program that is on the cover disk. This one allows you to create and edit large images that can be printed out, up to 10 x 10 feet. The author of the article talks about how his 16 screen image would not fit on one disk. Each screen is 320×400 so the entire image would have been 5120×6400.
  • Photon Paint II – Review of this paint program for the Amiga. It is a paint program that works in HAM mode (4,096 onscreen colors).
  • MovieSetter – Review for this animation program that allowed the user to create animated sequences “professional enough for a Saturday morning TV cartoon show.”

Table of Contents from the June/July 1989 issue of Amiga Plus

Productivity

    • Moniterm Viking 1 – A hardware review of what was a very large monitor for the time, a 19-inch monochrome monitor with a resolution of 1008×1008 from a company called Moniterm.
    • Magellan – Interesting sounding software that lets you develop expert systems using artificial intelligence techniques. Apparently the Amiga was a good candidate for this software because of its multitasking capabilities.
  • Amiga Spreadsheet round-Up – Reviews of various spreadsheet software for the Amiga, including Haicalc, Superplan, Unicalc, Analyze!, Plan/IT (MaxiPlan) and VIP Professional.

Programming

  • Amiga Floating Point Math – Part 1 of a series of articles on programming with floating point math on the Amiga. Some examples are included on the cover disk.
  • Clearing Your Workbench – Some tips on managing disk space when working from floppies.
  • AmigaDOS Inside & Out – Review of a book covering AmigaDOS from basic usage, to scripting and more.
  • HiSoft BASIC Professional – Review of this compiled BASIC package for the Amiga.


Table of Contents from the June/July 1989 issue of Amiga Plus (continued)

Entertainment

  • Falcon – Review of this F-16 flight simulator for the Amiga, one of the best flight sims around at the time.
  • Wayne Gretzky Hockey – Review of this famous hockey game for the Amiga.
  • BackGammon – This game is included on the cover disk. Apparently it was a commercial game in the U.K. but was being provided by Amiga Plus for free.
  • TrianGo – Review of a strategy game played on a board that looks somewhat like a Chinese Checkers board. However, the game play is different.
  • Games Galaxy – Mini-reviews of:
    • Sword of Sodan
    • Final Mission
    • Solitaire Royale
    • Menace
    • Western Games
    • Zak McKracken

Departments

  • Masthead, Editorial – This editorial discusses the success of the premiere issue of Amiga Plus.
  • Alert Box – Brief Amiga related news bits. The main topic this month includes the NYC AmiExpo and various hardware and software introduced there.
  • Guru Bashers – Reader questions answered about Deluxe Music Construction Set, icons, and upgrading RAM on the Amiga 500.
  • Reader Input – Comments from readers on the premiere issue of Amiga Plus.
  • Using Your Amiga Plus Disk – Instructions for using the cover disk including a description of the directories and contents.
  • New Amiga Products – 50 New products are mentioned including a bunch of graphics and animation software, a new Canon scanner interface, a bunch of productivity software including a new word processor, various utilities, language software and more. A number of games are mentioned as well including Gold of the Realm, Balance of Power: The 1990 Edition, Willow, Combat Course, Out Run, Thunder Blade, Space Harrier, War in Middle Earth, Batman, the Caped Crusader, Manhunter: New York, and many more. New hardware mentions include Gen/One, Scanlock VSL-1, SupraModem 2400 and more.
  • Reader Art Gallery – Artwork done on the Amiga and submitted by readers.

…and more!

Comments

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One Response to Amiga Plus (June/July 1989)

  1. The full title of this magazine is ‘ANTIC’s Amiga Plus’. Ironically for a magazine dedicated to the Amiga, Antic was originally a magazine for Atari 8-bit computers and was named after one of the chips in those computers. This particular magazine only lasted a couple of years.

    Contents of the June/July 1989 issue (pictured above) include:

    Features

    Artificial Reality – Creating natural forms with ray tracing.
    3-D Modeling Comes of Age
    Understanding Amiga Fonts

    Arts

    Fun with FunPaint
    Amiga Graphics Software Universe – Part I: Paint Programs & Image Generators
    Dr. T’s Keyboard Controlled Sequencer – MIDI software for the Amiga
    Deluxe PhotoLab Workshop
    Photon Paint II
    MovieSetter

    Productivity

    Moniterm Viking 1
    Magellan
    Amiga Spreadsheet Round-Up – Haicalc, Unicalc, Analyze!, VIP Professional, Plan/IT (MaxiPlan), Superplan

    Entertainment

    FALCON
    Wayne Gretzky Hockey
    BackGammon
    TrianGO
    Games Galaxy – Sword of Sodan, Solitaire Royale, Western Games, Zak McKracken, Menace, Final Mission

    …and more!

    https://steemit.com/retrocomputing/@darth-azrael/amiga-plus-june-july-1989