Bob The Bug

I'm in the South West of Scotland and it's a whopping 2 degrees here. No wind, rain or snow - and the sun's shining! @Philsan - Programming has taken a back seat but I hope to get back to it this year at some point.

Improving all the time, thanks, Paul! Things are looking up for a change - well, as up as they can be what with the lockdown and restrictions.

Hi Atari 8-bitters Just a small update - Excel #6 will definitely be out soon - probably next month. Meanwhile, the first 5 issues are now free to download from the website... www.excel-retro-mag.co.uk Robert

All issues are always available on the website as printed or PDF versions. Robert

Hello ! I still plan to release issue #6 of Excel but right now I’m working very hard at just trying to make a living and sort out the train wreck that my life became a couple of years ago. Things are improving, slowly, but it won’t be this year. You good people on Atari Age will be the first to know. ? thanks Robert

This looks absolutely superb. I mis-spent a lot of youth playing this game on the Spectrum. I don’t think a C64 version of Atic Atac could be any better than this. Outstanding, especially the sprites. ?

Ha! I was too busy admiring the pictures to read the scroller the first time. I thought they were G2F images, rather than Rastaconverter... but not actually Atari images at all. Awesome 8-bit art though!

C64 conversions or not - that is probably the most stunning collection of Atari 8-bit images i have ever seen... I'm stunned...! WOW !

It's nice to read people's feedback on the magazine! Of course, we concentrate on the newer games - which are on the whole very high quality programs created by real Atari 8bit enthusiasts and these obviously get higher scores. The reviews are also written by real Atari enthusiasts - nobody gets paid to write a review - the whole ethos of the magazine is a labour of love by people who adore these wonderful old Atari machines. We have had a few not-so-good reviews... but I wouldn't like to waste magazine space on games which are only worth 3/10... As Gunstar said, his Abbuc game reviews were very honest and a couple of the older games (which are rarely reviewed as there is so much good modern stuff to cover) didn't fare so well, i.e. Yogi's Great Escape and the original Jetset Willy. I did choose to review some of my all time favourites in the first few issues which were always going to get top marks - Bounty Bob, Dropzone, International Karate and the Lucasfilm games. We used to read about a games's "value for money" in the old days but most of the new games really are labours of love and cost nothing to add to your collection, which is quite a nice situation for us all. Long may it continue! And of course, one man's favourite game is another man's stinker!

There will be a fresh supply of previous issues sent to the US when #6 comes out... soon...

I finally started my game after doing the graphics a couple of years ago. One of my old favourite Spectrum games...

If you haven't seen the previous issues, now's your chance to download ALL 5 ISSUES in PDF format for only £5! By purchasing the PDFs you can help fund the printing of the next issue, which will contain: In-depth game file reviews: Stunt Car Racer, Time Pilot, Ziggy, Highway Encounter, Total Eclipse and many more. Plus cartridge-only game reviews: Venture, Tempest Elite and Xenophobe. Full colour maps: Xenophobe, Chimera+ and more. And a few surprises! Purchase Excel 1-5 PDFs for only £5!

...dimensionally trancendental...

Thank you Doctor, but as I said, I have a lot less room now anyway and I still have my trusty laptop running Altirra

Hi Kernal I only have one power supply... see picture attached. thanks Robert

Howdy everyone. Due to my current circumstances and having just relocated to a much smaller house, I have decided, somewhat reluctantly, to sell my Atari 800XL. Before I list it on ebay, I thought I would ask here first and hopefully avoid the associated ebay selling fees. The machine and extras are all in perfect working order and in very good condition. I am attaching a couple of photos. The machine will come as follows (upgrade work by Jonathan Halliday aka flashjazzcat): UK PAL Atari 800XL computer Dual Pokey sound chips Ultimate 1Mb Memory Expansion VBXE video card with RGB output to SCART Side2 Cartridge with 8Gb Compact Flash card, stuffed with software SIO2SD with 8Gb SD card, stuffed with software Various manuals & floppy disks Some Abbuc / Pro© / Page 6 magazines Atari power supply and joystick A spare 800XL keyboard Abbuc Software Collection DVD Optional LG 20" Flat TV with remote A free full set of Excel magazines (#s 1-5) Excel issue #6, as usual, has been delayed again, but will be back very soon and also hopefully on a more regular basis in future. cheers! Robert

The PDF of Excel Issue #5 is now online...

Thank you Stephen. I hope it'll have been worth the wait...

Hi Folks Sorry for all the delays... Issue #5 is now ready to print today and will be shipped at the weekend. thanks Robert

Many apologies for the delay with Excel #5... but it's become a bit of a tradition now... After a couple of weeks off for Christmas and New Year, I (and the rest of the family) was struck down by a horrible winter flu bug which more or less confined me to bed for a couple of weeks. All systems are now up and running and the magazine will be out in early February. Let's hope it's worth the wait!

I hoped to have this ready for Christmas, but it's now going to be early January... Enjoy! http://excel-retro-mag.co.uk

I take it the smell test didn't include checking Mr Dary's feedback on ebay - 100% positive feedback from 1,333 transactions...

Myriapede?

I would love to review the complete Bosconian in the next issue... it's looking fabulous!

Gunfright and Dimo - errors have been fixed..! Thank you! Don't know about the other games - I was just reporting on the YouTube videos...!