• Tag Archives Atari 130XE

  • Antic (September 1986)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

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    Source: Antic – Volume 5, Number 5 – September 1986

    Antic was a magazine for Atari 8-bit computers named after the ANTIC chip which was primarily responsible for the graphics in those machines. For a brief time in part of 1985 and 1986 Antic also covered the Atari ST until an ST specific magazine was published.

    The September 1986 issue focuses on weather and includes:

    Features

    • Weather Maps From Space: For Atari 8-bit and ST computers – While getting satellite and radar images from the internet is trivial today, that wasn’t always the case. However, with this type-in program, a short-wave radio, and a simple interface (instructions to build provided) you could download satellite images in real-time all the way back in 1986.
    • Weather Facsimile Worldwide: From satellites to ships at sea – This article describes how the WEFAX system for distributing weather satellite imagery works and various scenarios in which it is used.
    • Music Studio: Music for 8-bit Ataris and STs – Review and overview of Activision’s Music Studio music composition software available for both 8 and 16-bit Ataris.
    • Build The WEFAX Interface – Instructions for building an interface from your shortwave radio to your 8 or 16 bit Atari computer for the purposes of decoding WEFAX signals.
    • New Owners Column: Lesson 6: Subroutines – Tutorial for using subroutines in BASIC (GOTO and GOSUB), including some type-in examples.
    • WEFAX Decoder – This is the actual type-in program to decode WEFAX signals retrieved using your Atari, short wave radio and interface.
    • BASIC Tracer – This is a BASIC type-in program for Atari 8-bit computers that provides a debugging tool to display the line number of the program currently being executed.
    • Where The Weather Comes From – An inside view of the National Weather Service Forecasting Office in Redwood City, California.
    • Weather Calculator – A type-in program that, along with a thermometer, can convert Celsius to Fahrenheit, find relative humidity, estimate the cloud base and wind chill factor, and predict sunrise and sunset times for any date.

    ST Resource

    • ST WEFAX Decoder – The Atari ST version of the satellite image decoder.
    • The Manager – Review of this relational database management system for the Atari ST.
    • ST Product News – News about new releases for the Atari ST including Financial Cookbook by Electronic Arts (personal finance program), Cards by MichTron (play various card games), STCalc (spreadsheet program), and much more.
    • Megamax – Review of this advanced C compiler for the Atari ST.

    Departments

    • I/O Board – Letters from readers including questions about the COMP command, printing the Atari Fuji symbol, RAMDISK on the 1040ST and more.
    • Product Reviews – Reviews of Atari Planetarium, Microflyte ATC Joystick, MicroLeague Baseball, Star Raiders II, and Compute Your Roots (genealogy software).
    • New Products – New products mentioned include Super Reevekey (utility program for creating custom keypad layouts for the Atari CX85 10-key numeric pad), CRT Magnifier (anti-glare magnifier for CRT monitors), Rite Notch (a device that lets your control write protecting disks with or without the presence of a notch), Checkbook Plus (budgeting software), Stylewriter (printer interface), Action Annex BBS System (to run your own BBS on your Atari 8-bit computer), MIDI Editor (MIDI software for the Atari 130XE), 221 B Baker Street (Sherlock Holmes themed text adventure).

    …and more!


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  • Rescue on Fractalus! (Atari XE) – Strategy

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    Strategy guide for Rescue on Fractalus! for Atari XE based systems (Atari 130XE, Atari 65XE and Atari XEGS) from the October 1989 issue of Atarian.

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    Source: Atarian – Issue Number 3 – September October 1989

    This is a strategy guide for Rescue on Fractalus for Atari XE based systems, including the Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE and Atari XEGS from the October 1989 issue of Atarian.

    The first thing you may notice is that they spelled the name of the game wrong. It is supposed to be “Fractalus” not “Fractulus”. It is spelled fine in the body of the article, just not in the title. This does not bode well for the rest of it…

    But actually, the rest of it does give a good overview of the game. I remember trying to figure this game out on my Commodore 64 without instructions and I never could. While it doesn’t tell you what buttons to press, this article does tell you what actions you need to take and gives you a couple of strategies to be reasonably successful at it.

    There are a number of interesting things about this game. It was first released in 1984 for a number of systems, including the Apple II, Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 64, Tandy Color Computer 3, and others. At first this would seem like a pretty late guide for the game but the Atari XE version was an enhanced version that came out in 1987 on cartridge that was specific to only Atari XE based computers and the XEGS video game system. It had thirty levels to choose from instead of the sixteen of the original release. Even at that, this was a pretty late guide.

    The graphics were generated using fractals, hence the name of the game. An Atari 7800 version was under development but never released that would have used the more advanced capabilities of that system for smoother game play. An unreleased prototype was discovered in 2004.

    Finally, George Lucas had some personal input into this game, suggesting that some of the pilots to be rescued should really be the enemy in disguise. This actually added a pretty significant element and a scare factor to the game.





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  • Temple of Apshai Trilogy (Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Temple of Apshai Trilogy (Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit)

    http://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/151203779470/temple-of-apshai-trilogy-commodore-64-atari

    Temple of Apshai was one of the very first graphical computer role-playing games, predating even Akalabeth, the precursor to the Ultima series. Temple of Apshai was first released on the TRS-80 and Commodore PET in 1979 by a company called Automated Simulations. Later that company would become Epyx. Temple of Apshai would be ported to a number of popular home computers such as the Atari 8-bit line and Commodore 64 among others.

    There were a number of related games released, a couple of expansions and a sequel. The first expansion, called Upper Reaches of Apshai, was released in 1981 for the Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, TRS-80 and DOS. The second expansion, called Curse of RA, was released in 1982 for the same systems. Temple of Apshai Trilogy which was released in 1985 included improved versions of the original game and both expansions. It was released for all of the original systems except the TRS-80, plus newer platforms like the Amiga, Atari ST and Macintosh.

    For RPG fans or those curious to see what the early days of computer role-playing games looked like then this is a must play. You might as well play the improved Trilogy version and it doesn’t matter too much which port. I have a preference for the Commodore 64 version but the Atari 8-bit version is a good choice too. The only way to play is to track down an original or use emulation. The simplest way is probably to head over to https://archive.org/details/msdos_Temple_of_Apshai_Trilogy_1982 where the DOS version can be played in your browser.

    The box at the top is for the Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit versions. For a few years it was common to include both versions of a game on a “flippy” disk that included one version on the front of the disk and another version on the back. Screen shots are from the Commodore 64 version of the game.






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