UPDATE: I wrote this last night before getting a nasty email from one of the writer’s contest participants, but after receiving such awful and heartbreaking message, I can see I am making the right decision.

I’ve considered this for a while, but it is time to move on. After nine years of blogging and publishing news, Vintage is the New Old will cease to exist. I am still uncertain if I will keep it online as ready-only until the end of my contract with the hosting provider or if I will shut it down soon, but what is certain is that ViTNO is done.

Over the years, many people came to help and made this site a fantastic source of information and entertainment, including Kitty, Alec, Louie and many others. For years, mostly Kitty and I would keep daily news so the community would know what was happening around, and also help projects to be discovered by a larger audience. Later on, “mostly” by myself, I reduced the news and focused on featured articles instead.

ViTNO still has a healthy audience, with thousands of users visiting us every month, and it is a shame to stop while we are still “at the top”, but although we have a large audience, the engagement is close to zero. We rarely get feedback about a piece that we published. More often than, you see the news we publish being commented on in other outlets (podcasts, sites, etc) without referring to us as a source. All that, over the years, wore us out and turned a fun hobby into a tedious chore with no reward.

I don’t want to be ungrateful to all people that support us over the years, mentioning ViTNO on their sites, podcasts, and videos, but unfortunately, they are an exception.

Another reason that I am closing the shop is my perception that sites, in general, are losing space and importance for quick-to-consume social media posts, like Facebook, Twitter, Tik Tok (bleah!) etc. Most people seem not to have the patience to read anymore, at least longer posts and stories that we want to keep writing.  The recently finished Writer’s Contest showed there is little interest in our work – The number of contributions was low but “ok” (quality was good!) for the first edition of the contest, but the lack of interest from the community about the articles was too much for me. Quick and easy-to-swallow content is a new way to do things. Adding to that, one of the participants, the 3rd place, sent me a terrible message this morning:

I’m not interested in the ‘prize’ mate ! Take my story off your website. Go *** yourself and your bias judges too…. You let that pretentious moron crapping on about staring at a fucking title screen and some Aussie pirate beat my story? At least my work was structured like a **** story. I know your *** was a scam. Remove my story from your piece of *** website.

ViTNO will be gone, but I will still be around. I don’t plan to quit the hobby, and I am thinking of what to do next. Maybe “reinvent” myself, maybe just give my silent contribution to other projects. After shutting down, ViTNO will be visible on Internet Archive. I am also considering submitting my database to Internet Archive, so there are other ways to keep the articles alive after the site is gone.

As someone who makes mistakes often, I may also regret this. In any case, there is always the possibility to come back doing something that I will enjoy.

Thanks for your readership all these years, and see you around. I’ll keep the Twitter account @VintageNewOld (for now, at least).

The first edition of ViTNO Writer’s contest ended on June 30. We got to a verdict after some discussions with our judges, Randy Kindig (Floppy Days Podcast) and Kitty (@CommodoreBlog).

All four entries were for the non-technical category and were about something that left a good memory for the writers, which was very nice since, depending on your past experience with retro games or retro computers, you can relate to the stories told by the contestants.

With no further ado, here is the result:

The first place goes to “Pirating Amiga Stuff in the 90’s”, by “Supercruiser”, a past the probably we all can relate to at a certain point where not always acquired games or software in general by legal means.

The second place goes to “BLUE BOMBING : THE FIRST MOMENT I WISHED WOULD NEVER END”  by Francis Blais, where the author was really trying to convey what it felt like to get caught up in a game you love.

The third place is 2023 ViTNO Writer’s Contest – Entry #3 – “Only a Game” by Tyson Rek, showing the author’s passion for Super Mario 64 and the fact that he got one as gift, but he didn’t own a console!

Coming not too far behind 2023 ViTNO Writer’s Contest – Entry #4 – “When My Father Took Me to Night Class”  by Anthony Albert, which all the judges like a lot, but since it has way less than the “around 1000 words”, it was out of the competition. Nonetheless, it still deserved to be published because is such a nice story I could relate to a lot.

The winners will be contacted so I can send the prizes.

Despite their rank, all the entries show that the community has a lot of amazing stories to tell! Thanks all!

Clube MSX is starting this Monday (07/03) the pre-sale of My Sacred Place and The 4 Masters of Melody Ex in cartridge for MSX. Each game comes with a box, manual and gifts and can now be purchased in the Clube MSX virtual store for R$ 179.00 (promotional price for each game) plus shipping costs (international orders must be made by emailing contato@clubemsx. com. br). The start of shipments to buyers in the pre-sale period is scheduled for 07/31.

The 4 Masters of Melody

The 4 Masters of Melody is a puzzle game for MSX released by Clube MSX magazine in 2018. The classic Simon inspired the game with a medieval/fantastic look. It was Clube MSX’s first game. The classic sprite of the Masters became a symbol of the group, appearing in other products and productions. About five years later, Clube MSX released the “Excellent” version of the game.

The 4 Masters of Melody Ex features improved graphics, color palette optimized for MSX2 or higher (and switchable during gameplay), title music, four background music options, joystick support, hero animation during gameplay, ending story with animation, cutscene and the resource “Where was it that I went wrong?”, which shows, in case of game over, which was the correct color to be chosen. The cover art was done by artist Andres Ramos.

My Sacred Place

From time to time, hordes of Garks, garden-devouring demons, appear to terrorize the villages. And there are only two items capable of defeating these devastating creatures: ginger and silver dagger. The target this time is the village where you live, your holy place. In the village reside three powerful figures: the witch Aris, who forges the silver daggers and provides ginger seedlings, the sage Isao, who gives you valuable tips, and Yu Tao (you), a fearless kung-fu fighter who is determined to defeat the Gark hordes and protect the garden.

My Sacred Place is an action and strategy game for MSX in which you (the kung-fu fighter Yu Tao) must protect your village’s garden from the clutches of the fearsome Garks, garden-devouring demons. Generally speaking, you should arm yourself with as many silver daggers as possible and create protective barriers using ginger seedlings. All of this needs to be done before the day ends and the Gark horde arrives at dusk.

Silver daggers and ginger seedlings can be purchased from Aris, the witch’s shop. Each ginger seedling costs 3 Tyzin coins, and each silver dagger costs 5 Tyzin coins. If you need more coins, you can go to your dojo to train. Blocking eight fireballs in one move earns you Tyzin Coins. Also, you can ask wise Isao for advice. In some cases, he may be able to provide you with some money.

The game has joystick support and color palette optimized for MSX2 or higher. The cover art was also made by the artist Andres Ramos.

Link: Loja – Revista Clube MSX (International orders should use the email provided above)

Author: Tyson Rek
Date: June 30th, 2023
Category: Non-technical

Gather around my fellow Nineties Brothers and get ready to turn back the Way-Clocks as we board the express train of yesterday moving backwards at full steam through the green warp zone time tunnels all the way back to The Good Years. Back to the days before the internet when life was more simpler more whole some and stretched onwards like endless summers. Back to the days when young inquisitive minds seeked top shelves encyclopedias, back when Adidas snap pants and K9 collar wallet chains were all the rage at the roller derby, and back when you would read playboy magazines pilfered from your Dad. (Yes, ‘read’- Ed)close your eyes and breathe a little, you have arrived. Welcome Back to the Good Years. The sun beams down on you and its the beginning of the end of school holidays kids everywhere have ears to the ground listening to the rumblings of the Big N bandwagon hauled by a stampede of drueling Yoshis.

We all remember the 16-bit fisticuffs – that defined our generation – came crashing to a close ( no pun intended- Ed) with the Sony Playstation been around for a while now. The Sega Saturn was out too but nobody really knew anything about that, rather then get involved in the 32-bit war zone The Big N instead bided it’s time behind the scenes planning it’s next move against this fierce competitor. Their next gaming system used the power of SGI special effects seen in Jurassic Park and Terminator 2 According to an article in the UK N64 magazine it was code named: Project Reality. Complete top secret play testers fiddled with prototype controllers in cardboard boxes during special gaming demos. And it was mentioned that Ultra 64 is more powerful then the computers used during the moon landing. These were in the preview articles, later The Ultra 64 later turned into Nintendo 64 was going to be a world wide release but as we all know that didn’t happen and it came out in Japan first and it would be almost two years away from reaching our sunny shores. March 1st, 1997 the Nintendo 64 is launched, problem was nobody could afford it.

NINTENDO DREAM WORLDS

After many months of pestering my parents, showing them hype inducing reviews in magazines like N64 and Nintendo Power, trying to convince them I would be the happiest boy on earth and you’ll be the-best- parents-ever if you’d just buy me one, doing more chores around the house and saving up pocket money, and even mowing the neighbors lawns and trimming hedges. On the eve of my twelfth birthday I got a mysterious present. I stepped into my room and there it lay on my bed. I held the wrapped rectangle up and wondered if this must be the new Game Boy Pocket my little brothers been hyped about? After a fervor of unwrapping, I found myself to my surprise staring at everyone’s favorite mustachioed plumbers smiling face while he soared high above the mushroom kingdom planetoids, you know the one. I couldn’t believe it. I held Super Mario 64 in my hands, time froze and was still. Some where at the back of my brain capturing the moment and storing it in the time capsule of childhood memories. Lost for words I couldn’t speak, after nearly a whole year of waiting it out on the hype train we finally reached the station, but when the high wore off I found the hype train careened off the tracks landing in a paddock surrounded by farm animals. You see my Ninty Brothers it’s only the game. That’s right, just the game. Only later ( not much later – Ed) I realized this is like living on a farm in the middle of nowhere and receiving a skateboard under the tree with no skate park in sight.

Christmas is an entire year away and that’s how long I’d have to wait until we could afford our own Nintendo 64. And as you all might know an entire year is like a berzillion years to a hyped up boy foaming at the mouth for all things Nintendo. I might not have the Nintendo machine but at least I have the game box I reasoned and more importantly the instruction manual. Remember when gaming booklets were more then just a black and white warranty cards? When the instruction manuals were professionally crafted full of wondrous colour, interesting text and those pre rendered Mario pictures? When the games story is shown in the manual because it wouldn’t fit into the game like The Hyrule Fantasy on the NES? Back before you could jump on the internet and read game reviews from IGN (when their reviews were still reliable – Ed) the instruction manual was all the information you needed to know about the game and if you wanted to know more you’d seek the golden hype generating words and screen shots that spilled out from the glossy pages of trusty gaming magazines. Back when game journalist thrived with integrity and gave honest in depth reviews of all the latest games. Back when the quality control was still around and you could make informed decisions based on the reviews being presented. Back in The Good Years when professionals played the games all the way first before giving honesty reviews. 3. Every night I sat up in bed and poured over the instruction manual cover to cover as if hoping I would find some hidden secret clue like a hot line number written in invisible ink that I could ring and get a free N64 and then I studied the manual again hoping it’ll blast my brain out of a cannon and into the sky of 64 powered Dream Worlds. Once I even went so far to sleep with the game under my pillow thinking the Game Fairy would flutter through the window and leave a Nintendo 64 at the foot of my bed.

It never came and the chill small hour winds made many cold nights. Stupid Gaming Fairy. That’s the last time I listen to the sage wisdom of my uncle. The Super Mario 64 box stood on my desk by itself far away from my collection of Sega Mega Drive games and surrounded by a fortress of N64 magazines. Mario tributes papered four walls of my room like you wouldn’t believe like heavy clouds shrouding blue skies. The N cube 64 logo above my bed. I used to sit on my gaming chair and stare at the blank TV and imagine I held the N64 M shaped controller in my hands pretending to play Super Mario 64 on the grey convex screen of my analogue TV. The creator of Mario, Shigeru Myomoto, once said (at least he might of said – Ed) the true canvas they worked on is the imagination of the player, when he’s away from the game thinking about it. Thanks Shigsy the problem is I have the bloody game just have no way of playing it! I played for around half an hour just staring at the screen imagining being Mario and fighting goombas and racing koopas and collecting all the power stars. The game I played on my head canvas were vastly different to the actual game, mind you, in my version Mario could morph into different animals and throw power stars like ninja shurikens. Mr Myomoto take notice! ( he was the kid who wrote to gaming magazine giving them crazy game ideas- Ed) The door opened and Dad stepped into the room. He stood in the center scanning the walls and seeing me staring at a blank TV screen. “Why are you obsessed with Mario? After all son it’s only a game” Then he walked out and I could swear I heard him chuckling “only a game? What kind of sick joke is that!” I thought Then I went back to my game throwing power stars at ambling goombas pretending those goombas were Dad.

THE VIRTUES OF PATIENCE

In hindsight I don’t know what you would call giving an obsessed kid only a game for his birthday with no way to play it? Some kind of cruel prank to play on pestering kids? A way of saying work hard for the things you want? or some kind of hard lesson on the virtues of patience? Good things come to those who wait, and wait (and wait some more – Ed) I can tell you my Nineties Brothers it was one hard slog waiting an entire year until I could play a game that seemed like the most important artefact in the entire existence of mankind. But thats not all, there where whispers of kids at school, bigger kids who were playing Super Mario 64 before us. We couldn’t believe it. We needed to find where these kids lived and wait for their house lights to wink out then we would sneak into their living rooms quiet as mices and pilfer their N64 machine. I even drew up design documents and everything. And yes I did look like Mario in a cat burglar costume and my younger brother looked like Luigi. But luckily it never came to such shifty shenanigans because I decided to grit my teeth and wait ( a whole two months – Ed ) instead. That’s right. Our local Civic Video did not just rent movies and games but now, our hyped up eyeballs discovered, they rented Nintendo 64’s! All aboard the Hype Train CHOO CHOO!

ALL ABOARD THE HYPE TRAIN

“Dad this is the Hype Train! step on it!”

Dad stepped on it and the diesel powered engine roared and we went flying down the streets while acrid smoke billowed from the exhaust like industrial smokestacks. We were riding in the back of our classic Nissan Patrol

“Do you want to get up here and drive?” Dad said

“yeah okay I’ll drive” I said about to climb over the seats

“what? Your too young to drive”

“Yeah but I reckon I could”

“Not until your older son” He said

I didn’t care I was too excited. Nothing makes sense when your at the fever pitch of hype.

no longer did my brother and I have to endure the grueling, and some might say even cruel, wait for the N64 we could just parachute out of the hype train and go hire the machine out instead. Take that lessons in virtue! The Classic Nissan Patrol rolled into the bay out the front of the Civic Video store and we spilled out and raced through the entrance while Dad still wasn’t out of his seat belt. We bolted through the entrance and the Civic video store clerk looked up at the amazing whirlwind boys. A large T 800 cardboard cut out greeted us saying: BE KIND AND REWIND! but we were too hyped to pay any notice.

“We are here for the N64!” we shouted together

The Japanese clerk looked us over.

“Ah yes I’ve been expecting you”

My brother and I swapped glances

“You have?”

“You are the Rek Boys?”

“Yeah that’s us”

“Excellent. You are our first customer to hire out this most excellent state of the art gaming machine” he said

CIVIC VIDEO

The movie ratings commercial played out the bolted speakers in the top corner of the ceiling. Majestic Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, Terminator 2 and Goldeneye posters were displayed on the walls. The Game
Rental section took up two isles. Sega Mega Drive and Super Nintendo along with PlayStation games. The Multitude of VHS covers filled the shelves like hidden treasures in forgotten tombs. The sun shined through the window bathing the clerk in a mysterious light. To anyone else he’s just some guy working behind the counter but to us he shimmered with magical qualities of a strange man that gave kids tours of chocolate factories. The Japanese Video clerk donned a head full of black shaggy hair chesire grinning at us from behind the counter and I could of sworn I’ve seen him somewhere before. ( but where? – Ed) It wasn’t hard for him to see the friday evening excitement rippling through us

“You boys are in luck, the Nintendo 64 just arrived this morning, some would say it’s been waiting patiently for you” he grinned Waiting for me?! I’ve been waiting for it! for ages! I thought The clerk clapped his hands and bent down and pulled out a silver box and placed it on the front counter. He did this with the attention and care of a scientist handling a small suitcase nuke. We watched him in stunned silence slip on a pair of gloves and proceeded to break the hermetic seal. He undid the clips, one by one and time stood still and  verything seemed louder, I could still recall the sounds those clips made when the box opened and my Brother and I could swear steam hissed to the ceiling, and then, in all of its hyped up glory the brand new Nintendo 64 was revealed.

“Now boys you cannot remove the console from the box because its screwed in there tight”

My brother and I were busy admiring the controllers held in our hands, the M shape, the analogue stick, the z trigger button. It felt much better then I imagined.

” What games would you like to hire?”

I brought Super Mario 64 along with me as if I expected to be playing right there in the store.

“This is my game! It’s the only game I have! I’ve had to wait months and months and months to even play it ” I said

The oriental man stared at the cover of the game then looked at my Dad and Dad could only shrug his shoulders

“Ah yes that game, that game, you are going to have a fun time playing that game my boy” He said

“I’d say! You know it got a 96% in the N64 magazine!” I said

” Good thing that’s your only game because that game is already hired out” he said

” Oh yeah? my little brother and my Dad want to hire out the new star wars game, do you have that?”

“Shadows of the empire? Yes we have a copy available”

“and we will hire out Mario Kart 64 too. It got an golden star in the N64 magazine! Did you know that?” I said

The Civic Video Man could do nothing but nod his head while looking at my Dad who was busy studying the back of the new star wars game.

” Is it true we can take down an AT AT walkers in this? My Dad said

“Yes sir it is most true, not only that but you can fight Bobba Fet in epic jet pack battles!”

“wow really? That’s awesome. ” Said the other boy with us other wise known as Dad.

We all looked at the silver box laying open on the bench. The Nintendo 64 encased deep inside the indented foam bringing to mind a kind of trophy case. The sleek designed machine looked like a beefed up Sega Mega Drive than any Super Nintendo. The cords were bundled with plastic ties and neatly stored. The first controller was slate grey while the second controller a mach black, like the machine itself.

When Dad finished paying the deposit on the machine the oriental man waved us away grinning and made hand gestures like that famous man from Nintendo in one of my gaming magazines.

“wait, could that of been? Nah how could it be?” I shrugged it off

My Dad took the silver suitcase and loaded it into the back of the The Beastly that’s what we called our classic nissan patrol We clambered in, Dad slammed the door, and the hype train went blasting full steam out the station. Next stop: Nintendo 64 City!

We were so excited we could barely speak instead I caressed the silver suit case that sat on my knees like some kind of furry creature. My brother sat in silence looking through the instruction manual of the new star wars game eyeballs loading with excitement.

” We going to play this game first, right Dad?” said my little brother

“Right son. Star wars is first. I can’t wait to see that game in action”

“You have told me an awful lot about your gaming machine but tell me why does it not use CD’s?”

“Because CD’s have loading times and the Nintendo 64 doesn’t believe in loading times! Jeez Dad get with the times”

They wanted to play star wars and I frothed at the eyeballs for all things Mario, but I’d had to wait all this time what is around an hour more I reasoned.

When the hype train reached the end of the line, we poured out of the car and whirl winded straight into the house the excitement rippling through us like an industrial site on a Friday afternoon. We flew into the living room and Dad followed and we set up the N64 right away. Once we were set up and ready to for action my little Brother did the honors and placed the Star Wars cartridge into the gaming slot and we switched it on. After all this time the time was now and we just couldn’t believe the time had come. The graphics. The sounds. It was Bigger than Ben Hur alright much bigger!

After we were done flying A wings above planet Hoth’s icy tundras, shooting down drones, shooting lasers at AT ST walkers and lassoing the legs of AT AT walkers. We just couldn’t believe the incredible graphics our TV was displaying. While my little brother played all I could think about is soon my lessons in the virtues of patience will be over ( What ever that is – Ed)and I will be well on my way to earning my first power star on the greatest game ever made: Super Mario 64.

Dad watched us play.

“Wow son these graphics are incredible” Dad said

“They sure are. Still think it’s just a game?”

He said nothing. (that’ll teach him- Ed)

In the end I collected all the 120 power stars before christmas rolled around and by then I’d been reading about Goldeneye 64

I showed him the article while frothing at the mouth ” Dad look at this! I can’t wait to play this game”

(oh no not again- Dad)

THE END

Atari fans are in luck, as Andrea Cucchetto (Italy) has managed to convert the popular Commodore 64 game “Space Taxi” for Atari 8-bit computers, with lovely graphics, challenging gameplay and even digitized voices.

Cucchetto, known for his contributions to the Atari scene with titles such as “Circo Bianco” (1987), “Hypnotic Land” (1992) and “Conquest of the Crown” (1994), decided to resume his passion in 2013. After releasing the disc version of “White Circus”, he set himself an even bigger challenge: converting “Space Taxi” for Atari.

“Space Taxi” was originally created by John Kutcher in 1984 and was noted for its digitized voices and addictive gameplay. Although it seemed like a daunting task due to the technical limitations of the Atari 8-bit computers compared to the C64, Andrea plucked up the courage and began the challenging project.

The first obstacle he faced was resolution. To ensure at least five colors per screen, he opted for a lower resolution but managed to increase it using programming techniques such as DLI (Data Line Switch). As he progressed in the game’s development, Cucchetto encountered the problem of the lack of memory available for moving sprites. However, it opted to use a hybrid mode of characters and bitmaps in tiers with many sprites. This approach allowed him to simplify the movement of objects without compromising the quality of the game.

Finally, after overcoming numerous challenges and obstacles, the Atari 8-bit version of “Space Taxi” was almost ready. However, one key element was missing: digitized voices. Fortunately, Filippo “Philsan” Santellocco (Sweden) and Janusz “Shanti77” Chabowski (Poland)—known for their version of “Bosconian” for Atari 8—collaborated with code to create the speech samples in the proper format.

The result is an exciting game that combines the classic gameplay of “Space Taxi” with the enchanting graphics and sounds of Atari 8-bit computers. The game runs on machines with NTSC/PAL standard and at least 48KB of memory; but 128KB of RAM is recommended to enjoy digitized audio.

In addition to its exciting gameplay, this version offers a variety of options to adapt the gaming experience to your preferences. The menu allows you to choose between different game types, each with its unique difficulty level and style. Similarly, you can try all 24 levels in a single round. Also, if you have the skill and determination to overcome all the stages, you will be rewarded with access to the “Mystery Screen”.

The game runs well on any real 8-bit Atari machine with at least 48 Kb – like a standard Atari 800. Similarly, it runs on 1200XL, 600XL with RAM expansion, 800XL, 65XE and 130XE equipment.

As the Atari community continues to grow and evolve, it’s exciting to think about the possibilities ahead. What other classic games could be resurrected on Atari 8-bit computers? What new creations and innovative projects are in development?

Download: Crazy Taxi

Translated from: Atari 8-bit revives with the release of the version of “Space Taxi” (atariteca.net.pe)

You always hear about ASCII, ANSI and PETSCII. So why not a special compo for Amstrad ASCII? It’s really time, isn’t it?

Join this fun event! Create your own AMSCII art and enjoy the limits of retro computing.

This event is held online only.

Submission of entries: 27. May – 15. June 2023 (17:59 CEST)

Submit your entry here

For editing, use Playscii with the Amstrad ASCII Exporter or the new AMSCII converter from lvllvl or anything else

The artworks will (most likely) be presented and released during: 
16. June 2023 at VCC $18 17:00 CEST
Voting until: 17. June 2023 18:00 CEST
Results (hopefully): 18. June 2023 as YouTube Premier 19:00 CEST

Link: AMSCII Compo – Logiker

We’re back with a new episode of our podcast and this time we welcome Francisco Gonzáles from Grundislav Games. They are known for indie adventure games like Lamplight City, Shardlight or A Golden Wake + Ben Jordan. Currently Francisco is working on his new game ‘Rosewater’ and we’re happy to get some insights. Enjoy! Interview starts at 13:05 minutes!

Listen / watch: https://scene.world/gg

Author: Francis Blais
Date: April 28th, 2023
Category: Non-technical

Following the success of Zeta Wing, Sarah Jane Avory has just released a second game in the series!

Zeta Wing 2 is a fun vertical shoot-em-up for the Commodore 64, sequel to Zeta Wing, itself the winner of both the RGN Gamers’ Choice Award 2020 for the Commodore 64, and Indie Retro News Budget Game Of The Year 2020.

Story:

The strange mutant creatures have returned! Only this time, they are more brutal than ever!

Earth once again needs a hero to stop them… one like you!

So strap into your fighter and blast off to end this infestation once and for all!

Features:

• 7 challenging stages, each with its own graphic style.
• 3 difficulty settings: Easy, Normal, and Hard.
• Lots of parallax scrolling.
• 12-player weapon upgrades.
• 7 end-of-stage bosses.
• PAL and NTSC compatible.
• Simultaneous music and sound effects.
• Supports C64GS joysticks with 2nd button.
• Save/load settings and high score table to the cartridge (.crt version) or disk; settings will auto-load on startup.

The game is available on itch.io for US$ 4.99

Link: Zeta Wing 2 by SarahJaneAvory (itch.io)

For “THEA500 Mini” Siegfried Hübner describes how to run also Atari ST programs on this rebuild of the Amiga 500 by Retro Games Ltd. It requires  EmuTOS-Amiga.ROM and AmiBerry.

In hist post, he warns that to avoid a flickering display, open the Amiberry menu and change Display Line Mode from “Single” to “Double”. The .st floppy disk images are compressed with GZip, so that, for example, the file disk.st becomes disk.st.gz instead.

Link: Emutos on the A500 Mini (atari-home.de)

Source: Amiga News

Are you a retro computing and gaming enthusiast? Are you always amazed how some people can create AAA games for old platforms while others can understand electronics and put modern hardware accessories on the market, giving new life to our old machines? Do you feel left out when you see game programming, graphics, demos, or hardware contests happening all the time and you are not up to the task of participating in any of them?

If so, Vintage is the New Old has the perfect opportunity for you!

We are excited to announce our upcoming writing contest, which will feature two categories: technical and non-technical. The technical category will focus on retro computer and gaming technologies, teaching something to the reader, either related to hardware or software. Whether you’re an expert in programming on classic machines or deeply understand vintage gaming consoles, this category is perfect for those who love to get technical.

On the other hand, the non-technical category will be open to anything related to retro computing and gaming that is not technical. This could include personal opinions, memoirs, personal histories, game reviews, fiction or whatever can be put on paper inspired by your love for vintage technology.

We are looking for passionate writers excited to share their knowledge and experiences with others. Whether you’re an experienced writer or just starting, we welcome everyone to participate. Entries should be between 500 and 3000 words in English, and we encourage amateur writers and those whose first language is not English to participate. We can help a bit if needed!

To ensure that we have a clear definition of “vintage,” we are drawing a line and focusing on computers from the dawn of time until 1999. Any technology or topic that falls within this timeline is eligible for submission.

The contest will run from May 1st, 2023, until June 30th, 2023. All entries will be published on our website for readers to enjoy (we reserve the right to refuse entries depending on the content). After the submission deadline has passed, we will pick the winners! (You can submit your entries even before the start of the contest, but the articles will start to be posted on May 1st)

We are preparing the prizes, including cash and some swag. We are also accepting donations via PayPal to augment the cash prizes. Details regarding the prize amounts and distribution will be announced later.

To enter the contest, submit your original writing (1000 to ~3000 words) to vintageisthenewold+contest2023@gmail.com with the subject “ViTNO’s Writing Contest 2023“. Please indicate which category you are submitting for in the subject line. If you don’t tell us what category, we will guess it

Don’t let a lack of experience or English proficiency hold you back from sharing your love of vintage technology. We can’t wait to read your entries, so submit them today and join in the fun!

The Rules

• The contest is open to anyone who wants to participate, regardless of age or nationality.
• Entries must be original, unpublished, and not previously submitted to other contests or publications.
• Entries must be between “around” 1000 and 3000 words in length.
• The use of images is encouraged since it makes the readers’ experience better.
• We reserve the right to refuse entries depending on the content – You can resubmit your article if the problems are addressed.
• The contest will have two categories: technical and non-technical.
• The technical category must be related to retro computer and gaming technologies, teaching the reader something related to hardware or software.
• The non-technical category can be related to anything to retro computing and gaming that is not technical, including opinions, memoirs, personal histories, or whatever comes to mind.
• Entries must be written in English.
• No AI-generated texts; I can’t probably detect if it was used, but I will assume the contestants will be honest
• The submission deadline is June 30th, 2023. (You don’t have to wait until the beginning of May to submit, but the articles will start to be published after May 1st, 2023, through June 30th, 2023)
• Entries should be submitted via email to vintageisthenewold+contest2023@gmail.com.
• The email’s subject line must be ViTNO’s Writing Contest 2023, and it must indicate the category you are submitting for.
• Each author can only submit one entry per category.
• A judging panel will be announced to select the best entries;
• The top three entries in each category will receive a prize, the amount of which will be announced at a later date.
• Participants agree to abide by all contest rules and regulations by entering the contest;
• Upon participation, the author agrees that the article will remain posted and visible in Vintage is the New Old in perpetuity;
• The author can provide a short bio and website link (or any other social media link) that will be placed at the top of the article;
• For cash prizes, the winners will need to be able to receive them via Paypal.
• For possible swag prizes, I will ship them at my expense, but I won’t be responsible for customs fees or any other fee that might incur upon receive.
• If you have any questions, you can use the comments session below.

Sponsors Wanted!

If you want to sponsor the contest by adding prizes to the pile, please get in touch with me so we can talk about the details. All donations will be given away as prizes!

Spread the Word!

If you are reading this paragraph, it looks like you are somehow interested! Please, help us spread the word through your usual social media channels, YouTube channels, podcasts, etc.

Let’s face it. The Atari community has been jealous of their usual enemies for years. The Speccy enthusiasts have the ZX Spectrum Next, and the Commodore fans have the Mega65 and the Commander X16. Meanwhile, the Atari people could only dream about a modern Atari machine.

Hold your breath, this is still the case, but there is a new hope that was announced yesterday all around social media. A company called Revive Machines, based in Poland, is showing rendered images of what they are calling the RM 800XL.

Visually, the RM 800XL looks precisely like the Atari counterpart, with a few differences to allow the machine to meet some of the modern requirements.

The RM 800XL is a transfer of the original design with all of its fantastic features into the 21st century. It is a combination of tradition and modernity at a level that has not been achieved by anyone before.

The RM 800XL will support the original cartridges, joysticks, and SIO. In addition to that, it will have standard USB ports for modern controllers, an HDMI port for video, and a USB-C to power it on.

According to the Revive Machines page, the RM 800XL will be based on FPGA technologies and not “cheap” emulation.

The page doesn’t contain any concrete information about the project, like prices or when it will be available. It could be vaporware from what we can see at this time, but hopefully, that is not the case, and there is, in fact, serious work going on behind the scenes. We will have to wait and see.

Link: Revice Machines

DPaint.js is a sophisticated image editor capable of reading and writing Amiga icon files and IFF ILBM images. The editor is not complete yet, but it looks pretty usable. A nice feature is the ability to visualize your artwork in Deluxe Paint running on an Amiga emulator directly in the browser.

Main features

• Fully Featured image editor with a.o.
  • Layers
  • Selections
  • Masking
  • Transformation tools
  • Effects and filters
  • Multiple undo/redo
  • Copy/Paste from any other image program or image source
  • Customizable dither tools
• Heavy focus on colour reduction with fine-grained dithering options
• Amiga focus
  • Read/write/convert Amiga icon files (all formats)
  • Reads IFF ILBM images (all formats including HAM and 24-bit)
  • Writes IFF ILBM images (up to 32 colors)
  • Read and write directly from Amiga Disk Files (ADF)
  • Embedded Amiga Emulator to preview your work in the real Deluxe Paint.

Link: DPaint.js

Source: amiga-news.de – Web-based image editor: DPaint.js and Twitter

There is a new kid on the block to help you create NES games without digging deep into the 6502 Assembly.

NESFab is a new programming language for creating NES games. Designed with 8-bit limitations in mind, the language is more ergonomic to use than C, while also producing faster assembly code. It’s easy to get started with and has a valuable set of libraries for making your first — or hundredth — NES game.

According to the author, NESFab generates better 6502 machine code than any high-level compiler tested, including GCC and LLVM. He even makes the bold claim that it’s possible that NESFab is the best-performing 6502 compiler in existence. Before considering using it for other 6502-based machines, it is good to know that NESFab will only generate valid code for the NES!

Besides an easy-to-understand programming language, NESFab also offers an easy way to perform bank switching, a common and tedious task needed to overcome the 16-bit address space the NES (the 6502) has.

Another interesting characteristic of the NESFab toolset is how easy it makes to import assets into your game. Using their own words, plop your assets into your project directory, import a library, and you’re rolling!

Perusing the documentation, I can see the language has a C-like syntax with loops, functions, etc; but it still requires you to know about the NES memory map and other low-level characteristics. Here is a simple example:

// This small program plays a sound effect.

// Variables:
vars /sound
    UU pitch = 1000

// Sends 'pitch' variable to the APU, emitting sound:
fn play_sound()
    {$4015}(%100)
    {$4008}($FF)
    {$400A}(pitch.a)
    {$400B}(pitch.b & %111)

// Game loop:
mode main()
    {PPUCTRL}(%10000000)
    while true
        pitch *= 1.01
        play_sound()
        nmi

NESFab is open-source and offers ready-to-use binaries for Windows and Linux. On their website, there is comprehensive documentation, sample code and a game made with NESFab for you to try.

Link: NESFab (pubby.games)

Logos are an important aspect of demoscene culture because they serve as a means of self-expression and identification within the community. They can also be a source of friendly competition, as groups and individuals strive to create the most impressive and visually striking logos possible.

In addition to branding for groups and individuals, logos are often used within demos themselves as part of the overall visual design. They may appear at the beginning or end of a demo, or be incorporated into the demo as a visual element.

Demoscene, The Logo Art, is the first book dedicated to logos and their creators for all demoscenes (Amstrad, Amiga, Atari, Commodore 64, etc…). Find hundreds of logos and exclusive content about the people who created them. Through its 400 pages, you will discover over 30 years of logo history within Demoscene.

The book is set to be released on December 2023, and it is currently looking for your support on Demoscene: The logo art | Indiegogo  with options starting from 40 Euros + shipping.

Specifications:

• A4 format 21×29.7cm
• High-quality book printing
• English Edition
• Hardcover edition, offset printing, matt lamination
• High-quality pictures 300DPI
• ~400 colour pages
• Machine varnished paper s/coated semi-matte 135gr
• 2mm cardboard cover

Link: Demoscene: The logo art | Indiegogo

If you have been an engineer (or similar) since the 80s or 90s, it is almost certain you owned a scientific programmable calculator. Funny as it is, I am not among them. However, I remember a friend who had an HP-41CV, and one day he showed me a game running it. It was a lunar lander game where you could only see a few numbers on the screen showing the speed, fuel and distance to the surface – no spaceship, no animation, just numbers. The 15 years-old me was fascinated and intrigued by how a calculator could run that.

Another characteristic that was very interesting to me was the fact that the HPs used RPN or Reverse Polish Notation. As you might know, this notation writes mathematic expressions with the operands followed by the operators from left to right. For example, instead of writing 3 + 2, you write the expression 3 2 +. Another characteristic of this method is the lack of parenthesis to indicate what order the expression is resolved, so something like 3 + (2 * 3) would be written as HP-41CV. I apologize to all the Mathematicians out there for such a simplistic explanation, but I think it gives the necessary information here!

At one point while in college, I borrowed that calculator shortly after it was stolen. Since that model wasn’t available anymore, I bought an HP-42S as a replacement and gave it back to my friend.

So as you can see, my story with HP RPN calculators isn’t the same as many of you that owned one and used it for school and work at length. Despite that, the way these calculators work and their design fascinate me to this day.

HP-16C

When I got into retro computers almost ten years ago, I started learning a bit of assembler for the MOS 6502, so I could help Commodore is Awesome to release some intros and help with the music in my game Mission:Moon.

While doing it, I needed to perform some logic operations (OR, AND, etc) and was doing it using paper or some online calculator. As a collector, I started looking at programmer’s calculators and found the HP-16C, the only calculator released by HP targeting programmers only. Compared to other models, the HP-16C is limited, but it performs very well what was created for. I decided I had to have one!

The HP-16C is one of the HP’s Voyager series calculators, including the HP10C, 11, 12, 15, and 16C. They are nearly identical, with a few differences since each one of them targets a different objective.

• HP-10C – basic scientific calculator (1982–1984).
• HP-11C – mid-range scientific calculator (1981–1989).
• HP-12C – business/financial calculator (1981–present).
• HP-15C – advanced scientific calculator (1982–1989, 2011).
• HP-16C – computer programmer’s calculator (1982–1989).

The 12C is still in production today apparently because, according to HP, the 12C is still one of only two standard calculators permitted for use during financial professional certification exams. The 15C was discontinued in 1989, but HP released a limited edition in 2011.

The HP-16C, according to HP’s owner’s manual, is the calculator for Computer Scientists, professionals, and students who work with computers and microprocessors. It offers integer arithmetic in four number bases (Hexadecimal, decimal, octal and binary), operating in 1’s and 2’s complement or Unsigned mode. You can also change the word size to a maximum of 64 bits and perform the usual logical and bit manipulations. This is pretty much all that one programming in assembler has to do all the time!

As I said at the beginning of this post, what fascinates me the most is the programming capabilities of these calculators. The smaller models, including the 16C, don’t have the same capabilities as the bigger models (41CV, etc), but they can still let you create small programs to help you cut time performing repetitive tasks. Programming the HP-16C is an easy matter, based simply on recording the keystroke sequence used when calculating manually, which it is also called “keystroke programming” (Owner’s guide)

This programming calculator offers a whooping 203 bytes of user memory, which can be translated into up to 203 program lines. Despite the “keystroke programming” term seeming like a fancy name for macros, the programmer could enter data to be used by the program and create programs that could perform interactions through conditional and unconditional branching.

The HP-16C is a sought collectible; it is impossible to find one on eBay for less than US$ 300. One in the original box with all components can go for way more than that. As I write this, even one is sealed in the box for US$1,999!

Since I don’t have one to help me write this post, I borrowed one from Claudio Rodrigues, a fellow retro computer collector here in town. The first time I held one in my hands, I was impressed with its beautiful look. Although the first voyager-series model was released in 1981, the design is very much a late 70s one with mostly brown case and silver metal around the LCD. It reminds me a little of the Atari 8-bit computer design and some sound systems of the time!

I still want to have one in my collection, but with the current prices, it might take me a while to get one, but something else surprised me while I was doing my research.

SwissMicros

While researching the HP-16C, I came across SwissMicros, a small company based in Switzerland that produces clones of the all voyager series calculator, plus clones of the HP-41CX and HP-42S. I was intrigued because I’d seen some kit on eBay called PX-16C, which does the same as the original but doesn’t look as great. The calculators sold by SwissMicros looked, let’s say, too professional and industrialized to be true! Also, they claim they have the most precise RPN calculators in the World! Michael Steinmann, responsible for hardware and CAD development, founded the company. All the software development is done by his partner David Brunner.

I emailed them, and Michael Steinmann was kind enough to reserve a time to talk to me about his company and his products. While talking to Michael, it is clear how passionate and proud he is about his products. In its early days circa 2011, SwissMicros, albeit a serious endeavour, was still a side hustle that Michael had started because of his interest in this type of calculator and his history with the HP RPN calculators (He started his journey with HP as a teenager using a HP-15C) after realizing that, other than the HP-12, there were no good options for RPN calculators in the market anymore.

In 2011, he found David’s prototype of an HP-15C clone based on a PIC processor and a Nokia LCD. They started to collaborate to produce a full-size HP-15 clone, but later on, they learned that HP was about to re-release the HP-15 as a special edition and, based on that, decided to create a credit card size model, shown below:

The DM15 got a lot of interest and made Michael take the plunge and prepare the first batch. This first batch was finally shipped in February 2012, and in July of the same year, the second batch was also shipped. Another two years went by, and SwissMicros was born officially in 2014.

Since the recently relaunched HP-15C Limited Edition would stay forever in the market, Michael went back with his original plan to release a full-size version of the DM15. That means Michael had to learn everything about designing and producing a very complex consumer product, including the risk of a larger investment. The DM15L went on sale on August 2015, featuring a customizing case, actual buttons, and a larger LCD screen. Following the DM15, SwissMicros released the DM16L and DM41L in December of the same year. The DM16L is a clone of the HP-16, and the DM41L is a landscape version of the HP-41CX. All three models shared the same housing but had a slightly different button configuration to match the HP models that inspired them.

Michael was kind enough to send me a DM16L, and as soon as I got it, I was mesmerized by its built quality! No offence to SwissMicros, but I honestly was expecting a more amateur product since, in my mind, building an electronic device like that is no easy task. After seeing it and feeling it in my hands, I confess how wrong I was. This is a product you could be buying at any BestBuy (or whatever electronic retail store you have in your area!) and anyone would think it is created and produced by a small company in Switzerland!

I also borrowed (for too long!) an original HP-16C so I could compare both side-by-side. They are slightly different, as you can see below, but the DM16L doesn’t feel “inferior” at all. Due to its architecture, the DM16L has some advantages, like the USB connector that allows you to update the firmware when needed.

HP-16 and DM-16L

After the Voyager series’ success, SwissMicros kept innovating and released two new calculators, the DM41X and DM42. These two models are larger and more powerful, featuring a new portrait-oriented housing and a bigger display.

The best-seller DM42 is an HP-42S clone. The software is based on the free42 open-source project, created by Thomas Okken, but it was modified and improved to meet Michael and David’s requirements for the product. The DM42 simulates the HP-42S software, which means the software was rewritten based on the original. The advantage of simulating instead of emulating is that the DM42 can deliver more, still being compatible with the original. The main benefit is the precision and the amount of memory available.

SwissMicros has to stay up to speed with the free42 project, so they keep updating their version two or three times a year. Initially, they used the Free42 project as is, adding their secret sauce to preserve battery life and other features needed for an electronic device. Thomas Okken contacted them at some point and told Michael that since they are using the Free42 code, they would need to open-source the whole project. SwissMicros put a lot of investment in developing of the code to handle hardware, so to make sure they preserved the investment, they split the code in a way that they can still use the Free42 codebase while keeping their proprietary code protected without breaking the license (GPL).

SwissMicros is working on a new model, the DM32 – a clone of the HP32S2. This model is planned to be released in the first semester of 2023 and is already in the final stages of development. To ensure they are all clear regarding software licenses, this time David developed the HP32S simulator from scratch, which will be used by the DM32, and could be the base of new modules in the future.

As a small company, SwissMicros still faces challenges with the chip shortage. He mentioned that he placed an order for the CPU he currently uses, and the delivery date is estimated for 2027! (we are in 2023, btw). Due to this problem, he and David have been working on using a new generation of this CPU, which will require hardware changes, but at least they can get them in thirty days instead of 5 years! They still have the DM42 and DM41X in stock using the old CPU.

SwissMicros is successful in what it aims to create and sell, but not without bumps on the road! When Michael released the credit card size DM15, HP lawyers contacted him, first asking how many he had sold. Michael didn’t answer that question, but he believes they assumed he had made and sold thousands and thousands of the DM15, and they gave him three options. The first option was that Michael had to pay 25% royalties. The second option was that they would buy the project from Michael, and the third option was that they would go to court. After some back and forth, the lawyers told him they would think about the options and return to him. That was the last time Michael heard from them.

A few years later, Michael got an order from an HP employee, and they got in contact. Michael didn’t miss the opportunity to say, “Thanks for your order, but I wonder if I am in trouble with HP!” That employee actually went to check what happened, and as far as he could see, nothing had happened, and SwissMicros was in the clear. He told Michael that the people he had talked to actually said that what SwissMicros is doing is cool! Nice compliment! (Note: HP doesn’t produce calculators anymore – the ones in the market are produced by another manufacturer using HP’s brand).

SwissMicros is a good example of how passion can become a successful business. Although there is a lot of nostalgia behind the RPN calculators used in the 70s and 80s, SwissMicros offers a modern and serious product for people who still want to use this powerful tool without relying on 30+ years old hardware.  Michael can now work full-time in his company and has a lot of plans to keep the RPN calculators used and relevant to this day!

You can learn more about SwissMicros and its line of calculators by following the link below. If you end up ordering one, mention that you learned about them via Vintage is The New Old! If you are interested in the subject, I recommend joining the HP Calculator Fan Club | Facebook.

Link: SwissMicros

Demo Sceners all around the world are getting ready for the best party of the year, Revision 2023!
For those of you that aren’t so familiar with the demo scene, A demoparty is – on the first glance – like a LAN party. Depending on the size, a few or hundreds of visitors may bring their computers and set them up at the location. Unlike a LAN party, demoparties have an emphasis on creativity. Attendants are encouraged to compete in scheduled competitions (referred to by demosceners as ‘compos’). These ‘compos’, spread out over the length of the party, are in categories that allow the attendants to showcase their artistic talents with the use of computers.

In short: a demoparty is a multimedia art festival that usually lasts for several days.

This years chosen location for Revision is Saarbrücken, however if you are unable to make it, like every year, you can submit your entry remotely and watch the event via the available satellite streams.

Revision runs from April 7th to 10th. You can find all specific information over on the website.
Timetable page here.