Addict Media’s Atari special edition

I was browsing my email inbox this morning and discovered the latest email from Addict Media concerning the upcoming edition of Pixel Addict (more on that below). What I didn’t expect when I clicked through to the website was to be confronted with Atari Addict!

As I hadn’t seen any mention of it elsewhere, I thought we’d better chip in. After all at the time of writing, it needs 487 orders before it can ship, and I really want to see this magazine.

Table of Contents

• Atari Addict Collectors Edition Magazine

• Pixel Addict Magazine #24 – a MicroProse special!

• Amiga Addict #33 – the Amiga’s secret VR past

Atari Addict Collectors Edition Magazine

The Atari Addict Collectors Edition Magazine covers all aspects of Atari retro computing and consoles, and is edited by David Crookes. It features articles with ex-industry professionals sharing their recollections of Atari hardware, covering Atari 8-bit computers, 2600 console games and systems such as the Atari ST, Lynx and Jaguar.

The main list of contents is as follows:

• A modern reimagined classic, the Atari 2600+.

• Atari 50th anniversary celebration coverage, including interview with Atari 50 music soundtrack composer Bob Baffy.

• Midi music creation on the Atari ST.

• Interview with Jez Willis from band Utah Saints.

• Amiga or Atari ST… Can they be friends?

• ST Format magazine retrospective.

• Atari Demoscene roundup.

• 10 Things To Do With An Atari STE.

• An abundance of gaming coverage, including the making of Chips Challenge.

• Frank Gasking, author of website and book The Games That Weren’t, details the many game treasures developed for Atari hardware that were never officially released. Thankfully, some have been preserved and are now available – Atari Addict gets the full story!

• Interview with Pole Position and Lotus Turbo Challenge developer Jonathan Thomas, and a look at his brand new Atari racing game.

• The Lynx Effect! We celebrate Atari’s powerful and underrated handheld console.

• An epic Atari end-of-level boss fight with leading game expert and author, Daryl Baxter!

• Whatever happened to the proposed Atari Panther console? We find out!

You can order Atari Addict from the Addict Media online shop for £10 plus shipping. The estimated shipping date is December 5th – let’s make it happen!

Pixel Addict Magazine #24 – a MicroProse special!

The more regular publications from Addict Media, Pixel Addict and Amiga Addict, are of course ongoing. Out soon is a new edition of Pixel Addict, which features a special feature on my favourite classic games publisher, MicroProse. I had a ton of their games over the years, from Solo Flight (one of my dad’s first personal purchases for the C64) Sid Meier’s Colonization, and a few beyond.

Elsewhere in this issue, you’ll find a look at the BeOS operating system, and some modern retro (and retro rerelease) game reviews.

Here’s the detailed list of features in Pixel Addict #24

• We uncover the story of MicroProse – publisher responsible for Sid Meier’s games including Colonization, Civilization, Pirates! and Gettysburg! MicroProse have released countless epic simulation and strategy hits through the years such as Formula One Grand Prix, Fields of Glory, F-19 Stealth Fighter and even Rollercoaster Tycoon. From the company’s humble beginnings during the Kennedy Approach era, we divulge the inside story straight from the people who worked there, including special guests and MicroProse luminaries Bruce Shelley and Jeff Briggs! This one is not to be missed for computer and games fans the world over.

• Tech company histories. This month we get the low-down on Be Inc.’s BeOS operating system and the BeBox computer workstation.

• We interview Dan Clapson. With a varied career in TV, journalism and programming, Dan worked on hit TV shows like The Net, Bad Influence and Going Live! He’s coded awesome movie tie-in games like Back To The Future II, worked with LEGO, and also on huge game franchises including Star Wars and Pirates Of The Caribbean.

• Exclusive Urb-X Warriors Spectrum Next game preview. We go behind-the-scenes to test out an early build of the new project by Tony Warriner (developer of Beneath A Steel Sky, Broken Sword) and Stoo Cambridge (pixel artist for Sensible World Of Soccer, Cannon Fodder).

• Why loading from cassette tape feels better!

• Read about rare vintage hardware; the Sega SC-3000 computer.

• A guide to customising and modding Windows 95, as well as some top tips to get the best from an ageing OS.

• Classic DOS PC gaming: the story of John Romero and John Carmack’ s hit game Commander Keen, including tales of the game’s development.

• Interview with Fullset about their latest NeoGeo game release named Project Neon.

• Developer interview with Arnaud Storq and latest preview screenshots of his work on Sonic GX for Amstrad Plus computers and the GX4000 console.

• The recent ZX Spectrum game Jet Set Steamboat Willie has an unusual theme, we speak to creator Dave Sloan to find out more about how the concept started and how the game was developed.

• Book reviews: Run ‘N’ Gun: A History Of On-Foot Shooters and 8-Bit Stories: Home Computing In 1980’s Britain.

• Halloween computing nightmares! Ever had a machine crash at the worst time possible? Readers let us know their gaming and tech horror stories!

• Modern retro game reviews: The Karate Kid: Street Rumble and Aero The Acro-Bat.

• Regulars such as News , Covermount Classic, Alex Trowers of Bullfrog, vintage toy collectables (Thundercats’ Lion-O and Snarf) and Homebrew Heroes games section.

• Plus lots lots more..!

While Pixel Addict is no longer available to pick up in shops (certainly none near me), you can order it online. Head to the Pixel Addict page on the Addict Media online store to get your copy for £6.50 plus shipping — it ships from October 17th. If you like the magazine, you can also subscribe (via the same link).

Amiga Addict #33 – the Amiga’s secret VR past

Regular readers will know that my retro system of choice is the Amiga (I had the 500 and 600, still own a 1200, and used a 3000 at college). As such, the only print magazine I am guaranteed to buy, issue-to-issue (sorry, DWM), is Amiga Addict.

Fresh from the previous issue’s look at Championship Manager, the new edition is due out in October. It focuses on the Amiga’s hidden past as a VR machine, the Virtuality, which was a range of Amiga VR arcade systems.

In Amiga Addict #33 you will find:

• Virtual Reality may be hot right now, but back in 1990 (not long before the movie Lawnmower Man was released), a range of Amiga-powered VR arcade machines called Virtuality was introduced in the UK. This issue, we give the world’s first mass-produced VR entertainment system the limelight it so rightly deserves, telling the fascinating story of how the Amiga allowed immersive 3D environments to be explored. Special guests include Simon Marston (Leicester Retro Computer Museum) who helped us take this deep dive into VR history and allowed first-hand access to the Virtuality hardware.

• Full game Alien Fish Finger free on our coverdisk. Our downloadable disk contains one of the best platform alien “blast ’em ups” ever made!
  The game’s creator (David Cruickshank) is also raising money for charity, donations gratefully accepted.

• A look at the Amiga’s 1998 theme song, Back For The Future.

• We get creative with graphics, using the powerful software Sculpt-Animate 4D.

• Dune II on the Amiga is already a brilliant game, but it’s about to finally receive an AGA edition! We speak to developer Bob Koon who worked at Westwood Studios on the original game, and who is also behind this new update.

• Worms Armageddon: Anniversary Edition. Special guest Ashley Day from Team17 discusses the studio’s new remake of Worms and how the original Amiga version still holds a special place in his heart.

• Trojan horse! Could there be a new Atari magazine from the makers of Amiga Addict?! (Surely not the ST..?!)

• AA’s editor Ian Griffiths considers some of the non-Amiga games that he’d like to see ported to our platform.

• Our Onscreen section reviews the latest game releases, including Dr. Dangerous and Droid Special Edition.

• Gaming classics with Deuteros, CD32 version of The Chaos Engine and Donk! The Samurai Duck!

• A continuation of last issue’s Dafel: Bloodline feature, with interviews from creators of the game Jason Hayman and Ruben Monteiro.

• Polish demoscene roundup courtesy of the legendary h0ffman.

• Our regulars including Classic Coverdisk Of The Month, former-Sensible Software’s Stoo Cambridge, AMOS coding tutorial, Amiga news and User Groups.

Order Amiga Addict issue 33 from the magazine’s online store, for just £6.50 plus shipping. As with Pixel Addict, a subscription option is also available.