retrogeek

Sprite size won't be this large; it's been blown up for comparison.

I'm working on a few game ideas that I would really like to develop on the Atari ST and possibly other platforms. This game was a bit obscure and not very popular, but I've always had a deep love for Ninja Mission by Masteronics. This was a fun beat 'em up; the purpose of the game was to fight through a horde of thugs to confront the final end boss. There was no scrolling to speak of and each screen was static. Each level could be reached through a small hole in the ceiling. Pressing 'up' on the joystick would send the ninja through the hole and into the next area. The game execution was simple and got progressively harder as you battled group after group of martial art attacking thugs. I've always felt more could have been done with this game. The game play is very 80'ish and lacks the finesse of today's fighters, but it was the simplistic nature of the game that made it so compelling. Weapons were very limited to throwing daggers and a sword attached to your back; you'd swing the sword over your head to strike your opponent. My idea expands on the idea; a 2-player option would be a must and would greatly enhance the experience. Plus, the game should have more weapons for the player to use. I'm not just suggesting a larger selection of weapons, but having the capability to switch between your fists / feet and your sword for example. The flying through the ceiling part was ok, but possibly adding a grappling hook feature and having the player scale the wall into the opening ( while thugs crawl up the rope after you) would add an urgent element to the game. It would also be interesting to have other locations instead of limiting the environment to a single area. Hmmm... I dunno... I still have to work out the details. I spent some time this evening working on a new sprite design for the project idea listed earlier. The idea is to have 2-players and arcade-like action. Sample of my work: Any comments you may have about the idea and test image are welcome! Update: I have read the Non-Programmer Idea Peddlers sticky and this thread wasn't created to attract programmers; I'm new here do I wanted to make it clear!

The suspense is killing me! lol

Someone offered me a 520st but I haven't heard back, so you have a private message regarding the 1040st and color monitor.

Going ST huh? Sweet! I'm looking forward to it! TJ, I sent you a message; waiting for response.

I spent some time this evening working on a new sprite design for the project idea listed earlier. The idea is to have 2-players and arcade-like action. Any comments you may have about the idea and test image are welcome!

Where you at? I have a nice 520ST system. Sweet! You have a PM.

Anyone? The machine doesn't have to look brand-new as long as it functions and does the job. If I need to purchase a monitor and mouse separately then so be it.

I personally love both machines so the debate is of no interest imho. You make a good point though! I wasn't expecting this to explode into a 15 year old debate; I should have known better.

Happy Easter! Wishing you and yours a safe, happy holiday with delicious food!

:!: I'm working on a few game ideas that I would really like to develop on the Atari ST and possibly other platforms. This game was a bit obscure and not very popular, but I've always had a deep love for Ninja Mission by Masteronics. This was a fun beat 'em up; the purpose of the game was to fight through a horde of thugs to confront the final end boss. There was no scrolling to speak of and each screen was static. Each level could be reached through a small hole in the ceiling. Pressing 'up' on the joystick would send the ninja through the hole and into the next area. The game execution was simple and got progressively harder as you battled group after group of martial art attacking thugs. I've always felt more could have been done with this game. The game play is very 80'ish and lacks the finesse of today's fighters, but it was the simplistic nature of the game that made it so compelling. Weapons were very limited to throwing daggers and a sword attached to your back; you'd swing the sword over your head to strike your opponent. My idea expands on the idea; a 2-player option would be a must and would greatly enhance the experience. Plus, the game should have more weapons for the player to use. I'm not just suggesting a larger selection of weapons, but having the capability to switch between your fists / feet and your sword for example. The flying through the ceiling part was ok, but possibly adding a grappling hook feature and having the player scale the wall into the opening ( while thugs crawl up the rope after you) would add an urgent element to the game. It would also be interesting to have other locations instead of limiting the environment to a single area. Hmmm... I dunno... I still have to work out the details.

The purpose of this blog is to post updates of any projects that I may be working on. It will also be used as a platform to generate discussions on technology, and most importantly -- the Amiga and Atari ST computers. Some background on myself: I design websites for a living. I'm also a PC tech that repairs / builds computers for a living and also as a hobby. I also collect unwanted computer equipment from people looking to throw things away; I collect everything! I have years of 2D drawing experience and have contributed to small, but numerous Amiga game projects. Some of my favorite 2D Paint packages: Deluxe Paint (all versions/ DPaint III animation feature was my absolute favorite) Brilliance Spectrum 512 Ultra Paint And many more. I'm on the hunt for an Atari ST computer and Amiga computer for my collection; it's been years since I have owned these machines. Currently I have been using emulators -- and while they work -- nothing actually beats owning the hardware. If you have an Amiga / ST for sale please contact me!

Including software is a plus! System must come with power supply and mouse.

Like the title states; please PM me or send an e-mail with your offers.

Isn't that the guy who did or had a hand with the gamemaker for commodore 64? Gary Kitchen you mean?

Double post

This has turned into a really good discussion! Personally I never had performance issues with my Amiga (hardware or otherwise) and I've always found them reliable. Kick / Workbench 1.2 (and better) were very stable and the issues caused by Kick / Workbench 1.0 were eliminated. Kickstart / Workbench 1.0 (supplied with the A1000) were terrible and very unstable. In later revisions when the OS was chip based in the Amiga500, all issues were taken care of. I owned both the Atari ST and Amiga in my later years and found both very enjoyable. My father and I used to repair Atari ST and Amiga computers in the late 1980s, early 90s, and both machines had their faults. I remember the 520ST (in the beginning) having grounding issues that would literally fry the computer if you somehow ' static shocked' the system. I remember my father -- when he opened a new Atari 520ST -- plugging everything thing in, turning it on, and when he went to use the computer, he got a static shock by touching a key on the keyboard. This resulted in an instant black screen and a dead Atari ST. I'm just saying that both machines (in the beginning) weren't perfect. Most Amiga repairs were chip based (Paula, Denis, Agnus chip replacements) and ST repairs usually involved bad disk drives (the single-sided drives were the worst), dead power supplies (some early 520ST Power supplies had a tendency of frying ), and (sometimes) the occasional 'dead' system that was related to unintentional static shocks that a decent grounding / shielding system would have prevented. From an end-user perspective, beauty is the result of personal preference. I have always felt that both OS' suffered from a clunky, lifeless design. From the Atari ST's puke green to the Amiga's nasty blue background, I have always felt that better colors could have been used. I have to admit that the ST's desktop was easier on the eyes. I can remember many nights staring at the Workbench screen in agony because the bright blue colors were causing bad headaches.

Thank you! This was my point; the Atari ST version could have been far better than it is.

Shadow of the Beast games are not a fair comparison. It was designed from ground up to show off the capabilities of the Amiga. They are comparable systems and both platforms have games that out do the other but even though I like them equally the Amiga had better hardware for gaming and in the end had the edge in gaming (for a while over any other mainstream system!). What perplexes me is how SOTB doesn't take advantage of the ST computer. The Atari ST (based on what I know) would be capable of producing a much better version of the game if programmed correctly. For example: the ST's midi capabilities would have produced some killer tunes for the game. The video comparison was interesting nonetheless, but I can see the bias in the way the video was produced. Like Defender of the Crown, SOTB was designed to showcase the Amiga's capabilities as a gaming machine. What about the ST? The more I spend time playing some of the newer games via emulation, the more I see companies that cut corners just to release their games. What I have noticed is that some of the earlier Atari ST designed games played and sounded far better than some of the newer titles. It's very sad... I even noticed that Cinemaware was also guilty of this. The ST version of Defender of the Crown was a better game because it contained elements that weren't included in the Amiga version due to time constraints. The siege scene had greek fire and disease, while those elements were excluded from the Amiga version (again due to time constraints). Of course, the Amiga version served one purpose -- to showcase the Amiga's video and audio capabilities while the ST version focused more on game play. However, I have noticed that later Cinemaware games for the ST seemed very lazy. Take my favorite game The King of Chicago for instance: the Amiga version had incredible sound / music, while the ST version suffered from terrible, almost pc-speaker 'beep-like' music. We all know that the ST can produce far better music, but the developers at the time just didn't seem to care. Why is this?

I spent a good portion of last night browsing the Atari ST forums looking for good discussions. While browsing, I encountered a thread that contained a video from Youtube entitled "Atari ST vs. Amiga" in pictures. I have to agree that still pictures can't really help identify the capabilities of both machines. I decided to visit Youtube to find more videos done by this 'group' and encountered a game play video comparison of Shadow of the Beast for both platforms. They did a pretty good job; you can view it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5ic3Fy-tVY My thoughts on the video? I believe Psygnosis cut some corners when converting SOTB to the Atari ST.

Wow! Thank you! I wasn't expecting such a quick reply! I will contact them both.

Hello, As the title states I am new to these forums. I have been a fan of the Atari ST since its release back in 1985. I was young when the system was released but I have so many fond memories of the system. I enjoyed Sundog and Barataccus (sp?) by Psygnosis; such fond memories! I've been using an emulator to experience some of these games, but what I would really like is to purchase a complete Atari ST system w/ color monitor. I've been checking Craigs list but no dice; EBay is a second option but the systems seem scarce. Does anyone know of any resellers that may have a system and monitor for sale? The system can be either the 520st or the 1040st; doesn't matter!