Angry Video Game Nerd: Atari Jaguar Part II
It’s time to play some games and feel the wrath of the Jag! Part 2!
Link: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/47108.html
From: http://neutralx2.com/2009/03/26/angry-video-game-nerd-atari-jaguar-...
Atari 2600 emulator Stella updated
Stella release 2.7.5 for Linux, Mac OSX and Windows is now available. Ports to other operating systems will be released as they become available.
- After about 2 years, finally fixed the infamous 'red screen' issue when
using ATI video cards in OpenGL mode in Windows. In the end, it was
determined to be a bug in the ATI drivers.
- Fixed bug in TIA SCORE mode emulation when the Priority bit is also
set. This fixes a very noticable graphical glitch in 'Swordquest Waterworld',
as well as minor glitches in several other ROMs such as 'Space
Shuttle'.
- Treat spaces as normal characters in the ROM launcher. This means that
ROMs with spaces can be located with quick selection (ie, typing characters
will automatically jump to a ROM with that name, and typing
'space' won't cause the launcher to jump back to the top of the list).
- The debugger window can now have a minimum height of 620 lines (previously
the minimum was 690), but you lose access to the TIA 'RAM' bytes
when using this resolution. This should allow it to work better on
devices with small displays.
Link: http://stella.sourceforge.net/
From: http://www.1emulation.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=30140
Wow, They're Good! Never Mind; It's Just A Backing Track
When you go to a show and hear prerecorded backing tracks, does it bother you? Would you rather hear the climax of The Decemberists' new record without the children's choir? (It's admittedly nearly impossible to pull off live, since you can't expect a bunch of kids to tour with the band.) Would Loney Dear be less Loney without the pizzicato strings? (They're probably sampled anyway.) Would K'Naan be less K'Naan without the invisible drum ensemble?
For me, it's an old question without an answer. I used to perform my electronic music in the early '80s with sequences I had composed ahead of time on my Atari 1040. It always seemed a bit weird to be in front of an audience and start the song by pressing the letter "A" on my computer to start the first sequence, and then hitting other letters to change reverb settings, randomize the start of other sequenced loops, and so on. I always had this nagging feeling that I was cheating, even though this is the way I made my music.
Full article at http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2009/03/wow_theyre_good_never_min...
Atari Lite-C 1.5
At the end of a long week of game design tools we've come to the logical stopping point. From the simple suite to the complex yet user-friendly 3D design kit, we've covered pretty much everything. Except for an actual language. If you're interested in working beyond pre-programmed actions or even beyond scripts and embrace the complexity of a full language, then maybe Atari Lite-C is worth considering.
Atari Lite-C is a new game development system by Conitec and Atari, Inc. It allows to quickly and easily create graphics or virtual reality applications,such as 2D or 3D computer games, even without previous programming knowledge. Sounds, images, movies, user interfaces, 2D and 3D models, collision detection, rigid body physics, multitasking, and DirectX 9 functions are already a native part of the language. So you can immediately achieve results with a few lines in lite-C that would require hundreds of source code lines with normal C/C++ compilers.
While Lite-C offers the same syntax as C/C++ it is a streamlined version designed to get at what you need for setting up graphical games. It offers you a great deal of power while doing away with all the flailing around that you might otherwise do with C/C++ and a lack of direction. It has a ton of different features including DirectX 9 support, collision detection, models, user interfaces, multitasking, and more. The software is used in schools and universities as a teaching tool, so provides a logical step up from a wholly structured system to one which uses specialized code.
If you'd like to sink your teeth into a real programming language this is a great place to start. The package is free for non-commercial use, and a comercial license is extremely affordable.
Version 1.5 contains a faster renderer, an improved collision system, and many new commands and engine functions.
Link: http://computershopper.download.com/Atari-Lite-C/3000-18541_4-10693...
From: http://computershopper.com/shoptalk/software/the-daily-download-ata...
Latest ULS available
Cyrano J of D-Bug writes:
Continuing our commitment to the ST community to keep the ULS project open source for everyone, I have just uploaded the most recent build that we are using, and also updated the documentation.
If you need any further information, or think something is incorrect in the documentation (or ULS code) then please feel free to participate in open discussions on our forum.
This build contains many bugfixes over the last version I made available for the public and I strongly recommend anyone who was working with the code to upgrade immediatly.
Link: http://dbug-automation.co.uk/
From: http://www.dhs.nu/
Outline ticket sales
Havoc of Lineout writes:
Outline ticket are on sale now, payment details can be found here:
http://www.outlinedemoparty.nl/en/Tickets
Also, it's now possible to register for the party online on this page:
http://www.outlinedemoparty.nl/reg/applicants
Please note that only a prepaid ticket will give you guaranteed access to the party. The registration page will be updated once your payment has been processed, this can take upto a week after we receive your payment.
Last year Outline had 103 visitors, this year we have 100 beds available. Therefore, it is highly recommendable to buy tickets in the presales period.
The Outline organising team is looking forward to seeing you in Eersel!
Additionaly Skrebbel writes:
Outline opens ticket sales and registration! Please take some time to sign up on the site, so that everybody can see how nice and busy it'll be and so that we know how many people to expect! Additionally, ticket pre-sales are open again, against pretty much the same prices and options as last year.
Just so you don't forget, you really should attend this year - all the great features of earlier years are present, such as beds, breakfast, countryside and a lot of demoscene! this year, we add to that a single, large (but not too large) partyhall, a great terrace, a large paying field and even sexier bar dudes!
Link: http://www.outlinedemoparty.nl/
From: http://www.dhs.nu/
Midwest Gaming Classic Obsvervations
From BenHeck:
Well I’ve arrived at the hotel and it does indeed have free Wi-Fi, rare these days.
Oh and the TV gets the SciFi channel, maybe I’ll be able to catch Battlestar Galactica’s series finale tonight! (instead of having to buy it off the Xbox 360)
Missed Battlestar but who cares - the hotel bar has karaoke! Stayed out a bit too late (ok, bar time) but it was a lot of fun. Parker Dillman, Atari Video Mods guy joined me along with some other people. Did my usual sure-fire Achy Breaky Heart.
SATURDAY MORNING:
Well I am only slightly hungover so I should be good to go! Will be heading to the convention floor soon…
Day 1 is over… wow I am tired. Should eat some food at some point too. Forum members showed off a lot of their mods, pretty impressive stuff.
Tomorrow should be quieter, I’ll probably work on the controller monitor more.
Apparently there is some sort of after-party, guess I’ll check it out after I rest a bit.
Day Two
Well I got a TON of sleep last night, more than makes up for the lack of sleep on Saturday morning.
Booth should be less crowded today so I hope to spend more time talking with the show visitors, and work on the controller monitor some more.
Completely neglected to take any pictures, but plenty of other people did so I’m sure they’ll be passed along.
The week after
It was a fun show! Stan Miller did a piece for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and our booth was mentioned, you can check it out using this link.
I’d like to thank all our forum members for coming along, manning the booth and helping visitors with their questions. We even fixed some stuff for people, which I should have advertised ahead of time.
From: http://benheck.com/
Re/Visioned Activision 2600 Classics Finally Arrive
In November of 2007, Gametap promised to continue their Re/Visioned animation series, with comic book talent taking on classic Atari 2600 games. Now those shorts have finally seen the light of day, and they're brilliant.
Since Gametap isn't quite the original content developer they used to be, the six animated shorts now appear on the Gametap YouTube channel, rather than getting the sort of attention the first season of Re/Visioned did with its unique takes on the Tomb Raider franchise. Still, fanfare or no, these are some brilliant cartoons. I particularly like comic book writer Christos Gage's take on Cosmic Ark, which was technically an Imagic game, but who's counting?
Below you will find comic legend Mark Waid's take on Kaboom, along with shorts for Pitfall, H.E.R.O., Freeway, and Pressure Cooker. You'll never look at your old favorite 2600 games the same way again.
Link: http://kotaku.com/5190710/revisioned-activision-2600-classics-final...
Golden Computer Chip Ring by Sakurako Shimizu
This golden man Ring called 1981 'ATARI Ring' which features a replica of the original Atari computer(ATARI gaming system) chip and 18 Karat gold. Bling!! Designed by Brooklyn based Japanese artist Sakurako Shimizu. There is a silver version, too. The rings perfect for the LikeCooler.
From: http://www.likecool.com/Golden_Computer_Chip_Ring--Design--Style.html
Now, the Periodic Table of Controllers
So there was the Periodic Table of Game Characters, and that spawned numerous imitators and spinoffs. Now we've graduated to the Periodic Table of Controllers: Console peripherals on top, handheld controls at the bottom.
Given my admittedly limited understanding of the actual periodic table, this arrangement would make the Sega Saturn the most reactive controller, and the Atari Pong controller the most inert. Hey, that actually almost fits. Share your science puns/coincidences in the comments.
Link: http://www.clusterflock.org/2009/03/periodic-table-of-controllers.html
From: http://www.kotaku.com.au/games/2009/03/now_the_periodic_table_of_co...
