Retro Gaming Culture

The Lovely Atari STacy

April 6, 2016 By ausretrogamer

The Atari STacy! What the? If Atari were good at one thing, it was naming their computer range, hence the STacy being a play on their Atari ST range and a cool woman’s name.

Who didn’t want a portable ST back in 1989 that weighed almost 7kg! Well, if we had arms like Arnie Schwarzenegger and a matching bank balance (The Atari STacy was not cheap – it retailed for a cool $3,000AUD!), we probably would have forked-out our hard earned cash for one. It definitely would have been a wise investment, as there were less than 35,000 units sold, making this portable Atari computer a very rare commodity.

The STacy came in four models, with the STacy 4 (4MB RAM version) being the top of the line. For those technically minded, here are the all-important Atari STacy specifications:

Operating system: Atari TOS 1.04
CPU: Motorola 68HC000 (at 8 MHz)
Memory RAM: 1 MB (4×220 bytes) (expandable to 4 MB)
ROM: 192 KB
Storage: 3.5″ floppy drive, 3.5″ SCSI 20MB-40MB harddrive Conner Peripherals Inc.
Display: 10.4″ EPSON LCD passive matrix backlight
Graphics: 320×200 (16), 640×200 (4), 640×400 (2)
Sound: Yamaha YM-2149, three channels, 8 octaves
Input: 95 keys, QWERTY, 2 Joystick ports, RS 232C, Centronics, external Floppy, ROM-Cartridge, DMA for Printer/HD, MIDI In/Out, Monitor
Power: NiCad pack, 12 standard C cell alkaline batteries, DC18V 2.0A 36W AC Adaptor
Dimensions: 13.3 x 15 x 13.3 inches
Weight: 7kg/15.2 lb

Open me up, Stacy!

You turn me on Stacy!

Lovely keyboard you have there Stacy

A lovely rear-end

Power up!

Insert joysticks and floppies on this side!

image source: eBay

SNES M16 Multipurpose Arcade Combat Simulator

April 1, 2016 By ausretrogamer

It may be April 1st, but this ain’t no joke! Our good friends at The Gaming Warehouse made us aware that the elusive and extremely rare Multipurpose Arcade Combat Simulator (MACS) Basic Rifle (M16 Rifle) was for sale on Amazon at a cool price of $3,000!

Many would be asking themselves, what the hell is this? In a nutshell, it is an M16 Rifle designed (for the U.S. Army Infantry School) to simulate Basic Rifle Marksmanship (BRM) by using inexpensive off-the-shelf products, in this case, a lightgun, software and a Super Nintendo.

The Multipurpose Arcade Combat Simulator (MACS) was developed to overcome the training problems that resulted from insufficient facilities and too few instructors. While interest was primarily focused on its use as a rifle marksmanship trainer, MACS was designed so that the basic hardware could be used to provide training on a variety of weapons systems.

The MACS product was patented in 1986 by the US Army Research Institute Fort Benning Field Unit, which conducted research on training and training technology with particular emphasis on individual and small team skills in the Infantry arena.

Now, enough of this talk, we want to keep drooling over this M16 lightgun – who can spare us $3K? 😉

Connect me to that SNES!

Looks like this M16 lightgun has seen some action

RTFM’ing like a boss!

Aha, all MACS bits required!

Whack in the cart, and away we go!

sources: Amazon, DTIC and Video Game Museum

Melbourne Silverball League: Get Flippin

March 31, 2016 By ausretrogamer

Attention all you pinball loving peeps, April 1 2016 will mark the commencement of the new Melbourne Silverball League monthly pinball tournament. This new tournament will be based on a selfie format, but more on that later! No, this is no April Fools’ Day joke, this is for real!

After his recent US trip to Arcade Expo 2.0 competing in the It Never Drains In Southern California pinball tournament, Martin Robbins was inspired to set up a similar qualifying and competition format here in Melbourne, hence the Melbourne Silverball League (MSL) was born. The first selfie competition in Melbourne will be at Bartronica in Flinders Lane. This is how the MSL pinball competition format will work:

Each month there will be particular pinball machines at Bartronica selected for qualifying – for the month of April the machines will be: Creature from the Black Lagoon, Party Zone, Addams Family, Goldeneye 007 and Pin*Bot. Play on each of these machines and take a photo of your score. You can either upload your picture via the tournament location at Matchplay.Events or post it to the Melbourne Silverball League (MSL) Facebook page. One of the MSL scorekeepers will review your photo and then submit your score. Your ranking on each machine will be worth more points the higher up you are to give you a combined overall ranking (based on the PAPA format i.e.: 100 points for the top score, then 90 for 2nd, 85 for 3rd and so on). The combined scores of the top 16 ranked players will qualify for the playoff (which is on the first Sunday of the following month).

To ensure your score submission goes smoothly, your selfie should have your face and the score to help the MSL scorekeepers validate your submission. Some patience might be needed where certain machines take a while to scroll through credits to get back to your score.

If we have lost you so far, here are the TL;DR (that’s Too Long;Didn’t Read) notes:

Register your participation at the MSL Facebook page;
play pinball at Bartronica;
upload pictures to MSL Facebook page of your awesome scores;
check the MSL Facebook page to see how you are ranking for that month;
get in to the top 16 players to qualify for the monthly head to head comp to determine the overall winner.

It is that easy! So what are you waiting for? Go and register now and then hit Bartronica during the month of April to rack up your high score!

Martin Robbins – the brains behind the Melbourne Silverball League

Shane Rubans getting some testing done at Bartronica
source: Melbourne Silverball League

Wizard Of Wor: The Flip R’Cade Board Game

March 29, 2016 By ausretrogamer

Ah Wizard Of Wor, that otherworldly labyrinth duel that was the ultimate showdown against evildoers. What was there not to like about this arcade game – you got to prowl a maze-like dungeon teeming with Worlings, Worluks and other evil minions of the titular sorcerer either in cooperation with or against a friend – choosing the latter always had the risk of ending a perfectly good friendship. We loved the arcade game (and its many home conversions) so much, that we gave it a healthy review score of 92%.

Many of you are well aware of the classic video game, but did you know that there was a Wizard Of Wor board game? If you answered no, then look around at the photos strewn in this piece and wonder no more – the board game replicates the video game (to a certain degree). Instead of using a joystick to move your Worrior on a screen, you use the Flip R’Cade Game flipper-shooter to either shoot or advance your plastic game piece(s) around the maze on the board.

If you are struggling to grasp how this game is played, here is our quick overview: you play with two players – player one assumes the role of the Worriors and player two the Worlings and Wizards. Don’t stress about this, as the players reverse their roles to complete the game. Anyway, the objective of the player controlling the Worriors is to destroy as many of their opponent’s Worlings and Wizards before their Worriors are destroyed (by either landing on a Worling or Wizard, or being shot by a Wizard), while the player controlling the Worlings and Wizards tries to destroy all four (4) Worriors of their opponent while protecting their Worlings and Wizards from destruction. Clear as mud? Argh, that’s what instructions are for!

While there is no two player co-op in this board game, rest assured, you will get a lot of pleasure beating your opponent on points. Oh yeah, and unlike the video game version of Wizard Of Wor, the board game definitely requires two players to get the maximum fun out of playing it!

The calm before the storm! Let’s assemble!

Forget Batman V Superman, it’s Board Game V Video Game

Board Game V Video Game: Part II

WARNING: Don’t rush out to buy the Wizard of Wor board game! You are about 30 years too late 😉

Toasted TV Goes Retro

March 27, 2016 By ausretrogamer

If you are a regular viewer of Channel Eleven’s morning cartoon variety show Toasted TV, you will know that they have an awesome weekly retro gaming segment called ‘Flashback Friday – Retro Games Edition‘.

While kicking back in our pyjamas watching Toasted TV on Good Friday, we spotted the multi-talented retro gamer and our very good friend, Cameron Davis (aka: Gazunta) make a special guest appearance on our fave segment. Cam was rewinding time to 1999 to show-off Sega’s last console, the Dreamcast! With the VMUs (Virtual Memory Unit) tucked inside the controllers, the action got quite heated between Cam, Jono and Ollie on Sonic Adventure 2!

We got so excited watching Cam on TV, we grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and asked him about his new found fame and also for his autograph. But before you read on, check out the Flashback Friday Retro Games Edition segment now!

AUSRETROGAMER [ARG]: So Cam, how did you get involved with Toasted TV?
Cameron Davis [CD]: Toasted TV is filmed up here in Brisbane, and the show’s producer put a call out for people who still had working Nintendo 64 systems and some games for their weekly ‘Flashback Friday’ segment. Of course, I had two N64s still in perfect condition and a pretty nice library of the best games. So I shot them an email to give them some background on who I was and what kind of retrogaming experience I had, and they were interested in me coming on to show off some N64 and Dreamcast classics!

ARG: How are the topics for ‘Flashback Friday Retro Games Edition’ chosen?
CD: We started spitballing some ideas for games to feature, and we both settled on the following guidelines: they had to be age-appropriate for the show (so that ruled out Goldeneye pretty quickly!), preferably multiplayer to give both the hosts something to do, and most importantly, be a great demonstration of what great retrogaming is about! For example, even though Sonic Adventure may not be the BEST Dreamcast game, Sonic is a familiar character to the show’s audience and the opening sequence just can’t be beat! It also gave an opportunity to show off one of the Dreamcast’s unique features – the removable VMU that can be operated like a simple LCD games machine, quite a revolutionary idea!

ARG: And lastly, how long does it take to prepare and shoot the segment?
CD: Even though the segments are only about three minutes long, each one took about thirty minutes to make. Every time there’s a cut or a different shot, the crew would need to plan out how each segment would look and what would happen. It’s fascinating to see them work so hard to get the show made – they’re total professionals! I spent a day or two beforehand cleaning all my old games for the show (some of those N64 controllers gather dust like crazy!) and re-learning the games so I wouldn’t look like a total n00b in front of a national audience!

Whoa! Cam has totally blown us away, and we reckon he nailed the segment! Looking forward to seeing more of Cam on TV (and in real life!). Oh yeah, we will pin down Mr. Davis to the ausretrogamer interview hot seat in the near future to chat about his start in gaming, the work he has done in the gaming industry and of course, his current projects including his awesome Blow The Cartridge and Rose comics – so stay tuned!

The action gets toasty on the Dreamcast!
source: Toasted TV – Channel Eleven (tenplay)

40th Anniversary “He Called The Shot” Painting featuring Roger Sharpe

March 23, 2016 By ausretrogamer

RogerSharpe_Pinball_Title Grab yourself a slice of pinball history and make a difference to children with special needs and autism spectrum disorders.

It has been forty years since Roger Sharpe “called the shot” in front of the the New York City council, overturning the 34 year ban on pinball! Available until March 25th, and commemorating this moment in history, is a Limited Edition Giclee (150 prints), personally signed by Roger. When you get one of these Limited Edition prints, your donation goes directly to Pinball EDU Charity.

You can have a piece of pinball history hanging in your arcade, games room or conference room!

Roger Sharpe – Calling the shot!
RogerSharpe_Pinball

“That shot” immortalized in a limited edition print
RogerSharpe_Pinball_Painting source: IFPA

8-Bit Pinball Action

March 22, 2016 By ausretrogamer

Being a fan of the silver ball and 8-bit micro computing, I was always craving for a pinball game to play on my trusty Commodore 64. Finally, my prayers have been answered in the form of Errazking’s Petaco’5!

This new C64 pinball game was developed by Errazking and Maniako using ‘Bill Budge’s Pinball Construction Set’, coupled with cool music by the great chiptune composer, Richard Bayliss.

What you get is 6 pinball tables to play on, with as-close-to-realistic ball physics on your C64 – which is a good thing if you are a pinball purist. The screen is divided in half, with the playfield on one side and the player score on the other. If you are a pinball fan and are in need of a silver ball fix on your C64, then Petaco’5 will go a long way to satisfy your pinball craving.

Errazking’s PETACO’5 is available for free on CSDb. Get it now!

The T-UFO Table
image source: CSDb and Vintage Is The New Old

Retrospective: The 3DO Blaster

March 17, 2016 By Aaron Clement

The early 90s were an amazing time for gamers. The Sega Mega Drive, Super Nintendo and (at least in Japan) the PC-Engine were all going strong. Over in the IBM PC-compatible land, a company by the name of Creative Labs had just released the first Sound Blaster card that allowed for higher quality sounds and music in games than the boops and bleeps we were used to coming out of the rudimentary PC speaker.

While all of this was going on, a consortium of companies led by Electronic Arts (EA) founder Trip Hawkins got together to discuss and design a new gaming console to enter the market. It would be CD-ROM based and offer high quality videos and gameplay, but without the price tag IBM PC-compatible machines had commanded. So, in 1993 the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer was born.

As the 3DO was a set of hardware specifications and not a physical console, it meant anyone could make one! It was this arrangement that allowed Creative Labs (Creative) to release their own variant in the form of the Creative 3DO Blaster.

As they were experts in making PC components, Creative made the bold choice to cram an entire 3DO onto a gigantic PC card that would then plug into a 386 or 486 computer. The card had all of the 3DO’s graphics and sound chips, which allowed it to handle all of the heavy lifting instead of the motherboard on the PC. After installing the card and connecting it to the video card, the included software allowed playing of 3DO games from within Windows 3.1 – Road Rash was definitely a far cry from Solitaire or Minesweeper!

Sounds like a pretty impressive feat of engineering, right? It was, but it suffered from some pretty hefty drawbacks, and that’s not just a crack at its size. The first major hurdle was the price tag. Retailing for $US399 in America and over $600 in Australia, the card was as expensive as a standalone 3DO system! Considering a 486 computer in the early 90s still cost upwards of $1500, dropping another $600 or more was a huge ask, even for gamers with deeper pockets.

4 years after launching for several hundred dollars, whoever bought this one for $75 must’ve thought it was a bargain!

Getting past the issue of price, there was one more roadblock to jump over – the CD-ROM technology. When designing the 3DO Blaster, Creative made an odd decision to only allow a particular type of drive to work with the card: A Creative CR-563 (a rebadged Panasonic drive). Without one of these drives, the 3DO Blaster card was utterly useless (and as a collector, this is why I’ve never been able to get mine running!).

Creative had also planned to release a second version that would support additional types of CD-ROM drives in addition to a special full motion video daughter-board, but the lack of popularity led to these never seeing the light of day.

One plug for the monitor, one plug to connect to your video card and a single controller port

Given the 3DO ended up being an expensive failure that never had the impact Trip originally envisioned, it is little wonder the 3DO Blaster also ended up tragically relegated to a footnote of gaming history. For now, gaze upon a gaming curiosity from the 90s and wonder what may have been!

The full PAL retail bundle

Shockwave and Gridders were the two pack-in full games, along with demos of other 3DO games like Alone in the Dark, Jammit & Road Rash (to name a few!)

Sink your teeth into these hot 3Do titles!

Fun fact: Logitech manufactured the 3DO Blaster’s Creative branded controller!

The system specs. Pretty sure the Nintendo 3DS has more grunt than a 386-25Mhz!

~~Banana~~ Gameboy for scale

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Aaron Clement
Tassie based retro gaming guy. Father of 3 and married to the very tolerant Kellie Clement. Coffee powered!

Follow Aaron Clement on Twitter and Instagram

Super Russian Roulette: The Good, the Bad, and the Zapper

March 16, 2016 By ausretrogamer

Move over Duck Hunt, there is gonna be a new shooting game in town! And forget Wii Sports to bring your party alive! For your next party, you should be playing Super Russian Roulette on your NES! Yep, you read that right – get your Zapper ready!

Before you rush off to your nearest gaming store, relax, Super Russian Roulette is being funded via Kickstarter and it has already blown past its goal of $20K! What is there to say about this game other than, you and up to two of your friends and the trash talking cowboy take turns passing the pistol, spinning the chamber (or not!), and drinking to your own demise (or not)! That Andrew Reitano is a genius.

If you are party gamer, gunslinger or an adrenaline junkie, you need to back Super Russian Roulette now! The game will be available in NTSC and PAL formats.

source: Super Russian Roulette on Kickstarter

Growing The 8-Bit Generation

March 15, 2016 By ausretrogamer

source: 8bit generation

We initially backed Growing The 8-Bit Generation Kickstarter campaign not knowing its troubled past. We were drawn to it because of it’s proposed subject matter – a documentary about the start of the home computer industry, which was right up our alley. Rather than getting bogged down in the windy road of how this documentary came to be, we thought we would concentrate on what the 8-Bit Generation / Junk Food team have delivered, and boy is it good!

Like any documentary that delves into the history of a particular industry, it is the people that were there, recounting their experiences first-hand that is paramount to the success of telling such a story. Growing The 8-Bit Generation nails this part by featuring a roster of interviewees that reads like a computing and video gaming hall of fame, from Chuck Peddle, Al Charpentier, Bil Herd, Michael Tomczyk, Dave Rolfe, Richard Garriot, Jeff Minter, Andy Finkel, Lord British, Steve Wozniak, Nigel Searle, Chris Curry, John Grant, Nolan Bushnell, Al Alcorn to Joe Decuir and Leonard Tramiel among others. However, the biggest interviewee coup for the documentary was having the late and great, Jack Tramiel recount his days as the head of Commodore and his somewhat ruthless pursuit to build computers for the masses, not the classes – which he certainly did. It is staggering to think that the production team actually interviewed 64 key industry figures, not all appearing in this film, which means there will be future documentaries with the additional footage!

The best way to describe Growing The 8-Bit Generation is that it is a visual and aural representation of Brian Bagnell’s book, Commodore: A Company on the Edge. If you have read this book, you will recognise the interviewees and know the subject matter quite well. Having said that, if you haven’t read Brain’s book, you will learn how Commodore battled it out with Atari, Sinclair, Texas Instruments, Apple and Tandy to reign supreme in the home computer hardware market.

The documentary is given a sense of authority by having Bil Heard (former Commodore engineer) lending his voice as the narrator. There is also subtle chiptune background music which adds to the aural spectacle. If we were to be nitpicking (Ed: and we would hate to be!), we would have loved to have seen Bob Yannes (SID chip inventor) appear and perhaps someone from Amstrad, like Lord Sugar. Purists may argue that the documentary is too Commodore-centric, but you have to remember it was their MOS6502 microprocessor that gave birth to the home computing industry and it also had a profound impact on the video games console market.

What From Bedrooms To Billions documentary was to the history of home computer games development, Growing The 8-Bit Generation is to the history and evolution of home computer hardware – it is certainly compelling viewing!

NOTE: Retail availability of the documentary is yet to be confirmed. Keep an eye on the 8-Bit Generation site for more details.