11 Mar

AHX Import in klystrack 1.4

I’ve just finished an AHX import feature for klystrack. The conversion is not perfect because not all features are present in klystrack and they have to be emulated using what there is available. However, even if the conversion isn’t too accurate, the tunes still sound pretty good. This is what the imported tunes sound like if you’re lucky:

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I’ve also updated the effect system to support separate FX chains, meaning you can have different reverb etc. settings for different instruments. While there will be more effects in future versions, they will still be for fine tuning the old school sound.

1.4.0 should be out soon but you can try the nightly builds that should work pretty well.

10 Mar

Review: The Last Arcadian

The Last Arcadian is one of those games that in hindsight are pretty strange stuff for a public domain or shareware title. Considering even in the early 1990s a 3D shooter was automatically rather cool and thus profitable, The Last Arcadian makes you think why it wasn’t released commercially. It looks a bit dated even for a 1992 3D title but you have to keep in mind it is a one man show. A bit of money would have made it look much nicer. It could be compared to Epic but I’m not sure if that’s a compliment. I have seen worse — I have paid for worse.

(Another video below.)

The main idea is to go and destroy enemy bases while the enemy tries to do the same to you. The game is over if your base is destroyed. If you, flying a fighter, are killed, you will simply find yourself piloting a nearby fighter that was previously computer controlled. There are multiple wingmen flying around and if you watch the first video, they sometimes manage to win the game for you.

The enemy fighters are killed with lasers and homing rockets and the enemy base needs to be bombed. When you return to your base, you need to make sure nobody else is trying to dock at the same time; you have to request permission to land. You can also repair your fighter in the base and then return to the battle (to save the computer controlled fighters.) The bases can also fire cruise missiles that travel slowly and you need to escort them and also keep the enemy missiles away from your base.

Overall, the game is very nice. It is simple but has some quirky features and also some quite modern stuff like the zoom in your ship at the start of each level and the fact everything is three-dimensional. There is a feeling of immersion as the rest of the war goes on around you while you’re being resupplied — quite well done as I no longer have the imagination of a kid. If you’re a fan of the old 3D Star Wars shooters, you probably should check this out if you have an Atari ST lying around.

The game can be found on the ST Format 42 cover disk available on this page.

03 Mar

Review: Starball

I used to read ST Format back when I had an Atari ST. Later in its existence the magazine started to include better and more complete games and other software on its cover disk, probably because of the Atari was dying and publishers decided to give away their assets (or more like the actual developers were able to secure rights to the software from the publishers and then give it away so the work wouldn’t be in vain.) Also, back in the day shareware meant you got the full software to play with and only then you had to decide whether to pay or not to pay for it — it wasn’t uncommon for that to be actually profitable. Whatever the reason, I wouldn’t have probably ever heard of some pretty awesome games.

Starball was one of those games.

On the Amiga, there were a few excellent pinball games by Digital Illusions, including Pinball Dreams and Pinball Fantasies. On the Atari ST, there were practically no modern pinball games apart from the STE title Obsession which was most likely created to cash in thanks to the surging interest in pinball games thanks to DI and also because the STE was capable to give the same smoothness as on the Amiga. But for the plain vanilla ST users, there still were none. At least until Starball, that is.

Starball is a modern pinball game — as in the screen scrolls and it was made in the 1990s — but it’s very different from the look and feel of the relatively realistic pinball games on the Amiga. The gameplay and the table is very similar to the Crush series on the PC Engine (Turbografx-16) which realized a pinball video game doesn’t have to simulate a real pinball table and added common elements from video games in general. While Pinball Dreams had very smooth gameplay based on getting accurate chains of ramp runs, in Starball the ball is used to smash flying spaceships, cultists and Jimmy Hill’s chin. In addition, Starball has three smaller areas with their own set of flippers and even graphical theme and when you miss and the ball will simply fall down, it will only move your one area down. Unless you are already in the bottom area.

In the middle area, you are building a space ship one part at a time and trying to stop turrets destroying the spaceship parts. On top level, you try to crush little guys walking in circles and there’s a slimy face in the center. And the face will get slimier each time you kill all the little guys. And the bottom area has a huge fly-eyed alien and more explosions. The fly alien thing also contributes to the game in that its mouth takes you to a bonus level. There are at least two different bonus levels, in general they are much like the small Mario level in NES Pinball keeping in the overall pinball theme.

While the game is very enjoyable at least as a nostalgy trip, there are some faults. First, the gameplay isn’t nearly as fluid as what the standard set by Dreams was at the time. The flippers feel sluggish and sometimes the ball bounces all weird. However, you can easily adapt to the slight delay in the flipper hit. The table area isn’t terribly interesting in that there are no huge ramps and other stuff the Amiga games did well but the grimy graphics and the self-awareness of the limitations makes the game stand out.

The game can be found on the ST Format 64 cover disk available on this page.