Slipstream (C64) · Doomsday Echoes (Cpc) · Defender of the Crown (Zx)· Almost Hero (Nes) · and More 02 Content It‘S on Tape!

2017 / 2

BOARD WARS · NEW TAPES · C16 PROTOTYPE DISCOVERED · NEW ISEPIC FREEZER · SLIPSTREAM (C64) · DOOMSDAY ECHOES (CPC) · DEFENDER OF THE CROWN (ZX)· ALMOST HERO (NES) · AND MORE 02 CONTENT IT‘S ON TAPE!

______discover 4 The art of floppy disk sleeves: pre- senting the nicest disk covers

______board wars 6 Two new C64 mainboard concepts 35 years after the initial release of the machine itself – great times!

______loaded 10 Brand new ferric tapes made in Germany

______prototype 14 How a prototype board of a C16 showed up online – and what the fuzz is all about

______first 18 All the hype with freezers really started way before Action Replay or Final Cartridge way back in 1984

______dirty deeds imprint: 20 Don‘t throw dirty disks away, clean kilobyte magazine is a non-profit PDF magazine about 8-bit home them. With windex and cotton buds computers and gaming consoles. It is published for free. main editor, layout: ______gamescom Boris Kretzinger (bk) 22 It really should be renamed to additional info supplied by: Franziska Kohlhase, Thomas Retrocom because there is so much Wirtzmann, Thomas Christoph, going on there Stefan Mader, Sven Voessing, Joerg Droege, Volker Rust, Sebastian Bach ______game on cover: BASF Cassettes Flyer from 1989. 26 Rez for the Breadbin: Slipstream Manuscripts and article sugge- (C64) stions are most welcome. Please write to: [email protected] All manuscripts need to be free 28 Legalized it: Defender of the Crown from third party rights. If you want to use any article from kilobyte (ZX Spectrum) magazine, please kindly inform the author. legal notice: 30 Doomsday Echoes: Cyberpunk Ad- In spite of careful checking by the venture Time editorial team, the publisher and editor cannot accept responsibility (CPC) for the accuracy of this publication. All trademarks are used without any guarantee that they may be and more ... used freely, and they may be regi- stered trademarks. CONTENT

SUPPORTER Daniel Cloutier

SUBSCRIBER Mario Patiño

about This is our thank-you page for our supporters over at Patre- on. You guys rock - and you definitely deserve a Highscore entry. If you enjoy reading Kilobyte Magazine, you are welcome to visit our patreon page at www.patreon.com/user?u=4123231 04 DISCOVER THE ART OF FLOPPY DISK SLEEVES Photo: Joerg Droege Joerg Photo:

There are nice covers new media______time, they also sold diskettes under in your diskbox as Herlitz is a well-known brand in their brand name – like their com- well – we‘re sure of Germany. Most school kids came petitors in Germany, Pelikan and it! Please send your across this name in some way or Geha, did as well. The turquoise scans or photos to: another, as the produced mostly color of the sleeves was striking, but kilobytemag@gmail. stationery supplies like notebooks, their selling price was not that con- com or cue cards. And at some point in vincing for many users. (bk) DISCOVER 05

monkey business______this must have thought that mon- What does a monkey have to do with keys are more likable. But Rulag, data? Noone knows. Whereas Ele- who produced those disks, have an phant diskettes convey an impres- interesting story that connects them sion what buyers can expect from to Commodore: Due to some clever the storage medium – an elehant licensing deal, they managed to put never forgets –, monkeys don‘t do the Commodore logo on everything the same. They‘re intelligent alright, from walkie-talkies to blank CDs but they also tend to have a rather and whatnot in the late 90s to sell chaotic image. them in Germany. That, one must Rulag might as well have called admit, was a far better idea than it camelopard or crocodile data. selling monkey data disks. Somehow the company behind (bk) Photo: Volker Rust Volker Photo: 06 BOARD WARS IT‘S A SMALL WORLD

When the C64 Reloa- ded motherboard was released back in 2015, in was in constant short supply. And it showed how large the demand for a new C64 mainboard is. So this year, two new boards have been announced – and they‘re quite different,

but equally great. Computers Individual Photo:

It came out of nowhere, really: Gi- concept art______deon Zweijtzer‘s announcement of The first striking difference between a new C64 mainboard on 12th July. both boards is that Gideon‘s is still The man who is responsible for the a concept. Though nobody que- 1541 Ultimate, which is basically a stions his ability nor his seriousness, must-have for Commodore 64 ow- until now his Ultimate 64 cannot ners today, gave a glimpse of another be preordered and he expects the great hardware project which left production to be finished in the many in awe. Discussions spaw- fourth quarter of 2017. The first ned in virtually every Commodore pictures of two prototype boards online forum about the specifica- surfaced on early August on Face- tions, when suddenly, just one day book. That being said, the next big later, another announcement of a difference between the two is the C64 mainboard made Commodore concept itself: Gideon relies com- enthusiasts wonder where to get all pletely on FPGA which implements the money from: Jens Schoenfeld of the logic gates of all the internas Individual Computers announced of the original C64. This is not the his C64 Reloaded Mk. 2 mother- same as emulation: While the latter board. But what seems to be two produces the same output as the ori- quite similar concepts at first sight ginal, the internal mechanisms are are actually very different. Let‘s look not necessarily reflected accurately. at what is offered here – and what Which is why some C64 demos will board is suited best for what need. not work on your favorite PC emu- BOARD WARS 07

lator, because it does not get down to the tiniest twists and turns of the chips‘ innards. FPGA will do just that: By implementing the internal state of the machine, its output will be the closest possible to the real deal. However, such a task requires a comprehensive knowledge of the Zweijtzer Gideon Photo: original chips and their possible and not documented flaws as well. But the FPGA design allows for future updates to get as close to full-compatibility as it gets. The Ultimate 64 features two sockets for your SIDs to plug in. You can use them for stereo output or to switch between 6581 and 8580. But you will not need a single real chip, as Gideon‘s board will also include a refined SID implementation that exceeds the dual SID capabilities by far. Nice to know, but the question would be: How many stereo tracks do you hear on your C64? And how many quadro- or hexa-tracks will there be, even if it was possible? We will see. You can attach everything you like, as long as it does not plug into the Userport. That seemingly made room for two USB slots HDMI. Ho- wever, all signals from the Userport are available from a pin-header on the board, so you can make it usa- ble with some soldering skills. The best thing about the Ultimate 64 is Gideon Zweijtzer‘s that it comes with the 1541 Ultimate C64 motherboard uses included. Not as cartridge, but on- FPGA and comes with board. Navigation functions via the the very popular 1541U power switch and the Retore-key. implemented – a strong That is really all there is to say right selling point. 08 BOARD WARS IT‘S A SMALL WORLD

now. Let‘s wait what Gideon will This way, every user can upload four make of it – and if he meets his pri- Kernal ROMs to switch between cepoint of around 200 Euros, Wifi them. Of course there have been included. Kernal-Switches for the original breadbin that handled up to eight a new motherboard______ROMs, but seriously ask yourself if The motherboard from Individual you need that many. Computers is a whole other deal: It And one more thing that makes this really is a board that comforts all one really stand out: It is licenced by the important original chips of the Commodore. Well, you might say, C64: CPU, VIC, one or two SIDs and what in the past was not? Blank CDs two CIAs. It is more power efficient and DVDs, telephones and whatnot. that the original boards and it can But the licensing policy has become handle switching from one SID mo- stricter since, which is why it‘s incre- del to the other, or using them both asingly difficult to get access to the for stereo sound. As far as compa- brand name. A new motherboard The first prototype from tibility issues go, there are no pro- for the C64 branded by Commodore the Ultimate 64 main- blems to be expected. After all, you is indeed a worthy object to put the boards shows two SID will be using original chips, but they licence on. sockets instead of the will not be included in the package. The new mainboard by Individual originally planned one. And unlike the Ultimate 64, you will Computers will be sold on Novem-

Photo: Gideon Zweijtzer not be able to play with this thing ber 14th. without real chips – it would be like taking an blank original C64 mo- decisions, decisons______therboard. A nice thing for the SIDs: So which motherboard to buy then? There will be no need for jumpers, That really depends on your needs: as the C64 Reloaded Mk. 2 detects If you are looking for the closest the inserted chip automatically. You thing to the original and want to can tap the sound via an 3.5 mm reuse your original chips as well, stereo output. And as for the video: the C64 reloaded Mk. 2 is the best Besides the original A/V-output choice. You can also expect the high- there will be a S-Video signal, which est compatibility from this model. If is the best possible output from the you have a spare C64 lying around, original hardware without messing it‘s also the cheaper way to go, with the signals, which is required because you will not need to spend for HDMI. extra money for those little silicon Being a full-fledged C64 mainboard, wonders. And you can still use all the Userport stays untouched. A the hardware you have on site, even small USB port gives access to some for the Userport, without soldering programming options for the board anything first. via PC, like for example the ROM. The Ultimate 64 mainboard is an BOARD WARS 09

Individual Computers‘ board design also features two SID sockets. Photo: Individual Computers Individual Photo:

all-in-one-solution that will offer declare your interest in this board, quite good compatibility, but it will not preorder it. If you want to make almost certainly need to be updated sure that you‘ll be able to play some for some time to match all possible C64 games or watch demos flawless- problems. The FPGA core may be ly this Christmas, the Reloaded is great, but as Gideon himself points the safer way to go. out on his website, there is some Having said all this, let‘s consider testing needed to improve it further. a moment what is going on here: What‘s certainly great is the imple- Two new C64 mainboard concepts mented 1541 Ultimate, which costs in one year, 35 years after the initial around 150 Euros if you buy it for release of the machine itself is really your stock C64 – so offering a com- something great. Both parties have plete C64 replacement that includes put considerable amounts of time in this for around 50 Euros more is very their respective projects and we all appealing indeed! Currently there is can look forward to what will be up no release date yet and you can only next. (bk) 10 LOADED BRAND NEW TAPES MADE IN GERMANY Photo: Audio-Service Photo: LOADED 11

Photo: Audio-Service

Magnetic media have disappeared demand worldwide is on the rise. from our everyday life almost enti- One of the producers of brand new rely. However, it is amazing how du- tapes is located in Leipzig, Germa- rable many of them are: Even after ny: Audio-Service. Since 2004 the 30 years and more, many diskettes company produces not only vinyl and cassettes are still in use. But records, but also audio cassettes. while those thin floppies won the And in recent years, demand has battle of magnetic storage back in gone up. „This is part of a general the 80s over cassettes, you won‘t find trend we notice back to honest and new ones today. They are simply not tangible things“, explains Franziska longer produced. But with cassettes Kohlhase from Audio-Service. „Peo- it is a whole different story: You can ple are fed up with soulless MP3s still buy brand new tapes, which is and like to go back to music with one of the reasons why many home- emotions.“ Seven people work there, brew games for vintage computers producing around 50.000 cassettes have been released on tape during per year. „And we definitely notice the last couple of years. While never that demand increases“, Franziska that popular in the US, games and adds. programs on cassette stayed relevant What applies to music fans, also in Europe way into the 90s for Com- applies to many vintage gaming modore, Sinclair and Amstrad users. enthusiasts: Games on tape are an The main reasons: They were cheap important part of re-feeling the an reliable. emotions of the 80s, when pocket Luckily for vintage computer ow- money could only buy you so many ners, cassettes are also getting more things. Buying new cassettes today popular with musicians, too: The and loading games from them helps 12 LOADED BRAND NEW TAPES MADE IN GERMANY

relive those emotions. used there. Then the team feeds the And luckily for computer users, the cartridge shell with the required good old ferro tapes (IEC-I) are the tape length with the help of specia- only ones that are still being produ- lized machines. You can choose bet- ced. Though chrome was always the ween lengths from five minutes (2.5 first choice for audiophile people, minutes per side) up to 100 minutes. it did not perform very well in data The heavy loading machines click, Photo: Audio-Service recorders which were designed to spool and spin like it‘s 1989 again. work best with the cheapest availa- And even if those Tapematic ma- Piece of cake: Only a ble media at the time: ferric tapes. It chines are old, they look like brand small amount of ferric tape from the so-called can be compared to using HD floppy new. So the are in great shape and pancake will fit into this disks in a DD drive. You might get very well maintained. little cassette. lucky and the data will get saved, If you buy only a small quantity but do not rely on that it will func- – everything below 50 – you‘ll pay tion very long. around 0,59 Euros per cassette. The Audio-Service in Leipzig buys the more you‘ll take, the cheaper it‘ll so-called pancakes from vendors get. Also watch out for special offers outside of Germany – some compa- on the website: Sometimes cassettes nies in India, China and Russia ne- with minor cosmetic errors are on ver stopped producing them, partly sale for half of their regular price. because cassettes were still regularly Taking a closer look at the shop over

Photo: Audio-Service LOADED 13

This is one of the machines responsible for merrying the cassette shell with the tape itself.

Photo: Audio-Service

at Audio Service, you‘ll see a vast Franziska reports: „With some pro- variety of colored cassettes in diffe- ductions, you wonder what kind of rent lengths. You can also buy single ‚music‘ this is. But it is also fascina- and double snap boxes as well as soft ting because you get to know many boxes for all your storage needs. different styles. Being an alternative Almost everything is possible with medium today, cassettes also attract regard to length, but for vintage alternative music.“ computer users, 20 minutes are When the company started back in absolutely sufficient. One reason 2004, cassettes were not all that po- is that many data recorders have pular than they are now, boosted by problems staying in-sync with tape blockbuster cinema hits like „Guar- lengths over 60 minutes. So you can dians of the Galaxy“ amongst others. order a bunch of cassettes to store So why had they held on to tapes? your own files on. But you could also „Well, I guess because of our love have them produced – Cinemaware‘s for music in genral and this alle- recent „Defender of the Crown“ gedly doomed medium. And a good tape release for the ZX Spectrum for portion also because of the fun of example was mastered, duplicated, it“, Franziska says. And what about printed and packaged all by the guys the future of cassettes? „Although in Leipzig. After all, it‘s only audio the demand is ever increasing, we important note____ signals that are being copied over. ask ourselves if this might only be Audio-Service will Everyone who ever put a game tape a temporary thing. But we are also rename their shop to into his stereo cassette player knows pretty confident that even then this T.A.P.E. Muzik during what strange sounds you get to hear product will have a future. After all, the second half of 2017. this way. But there is even music it survived till today, didn‘t it?“ (bk) You will find their new that sounds quite strange as well, as http://audio-service.biz facebook site over here. 14 PROTOTYPE ALMOST TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE Photo: Thomas Wirtzmann Thomas Photo:

The keys of this C16 We all know the story of someone a deeper look into it someday. After prototype look like they who strolls by a flea market, disco- 15 years or so, you finally remember were punshed or indivi- vers some rare game or vintage com- that you had it. So you take it out, dually cast. puter and buys it for a few bucks. plug it in, and it still doesn‘t work. Some of those stories are urban Then you examine it more closely: myths, some are true. Here comes The keys seem to have a strange one for you: Imagine buying a Com- look, as if they were punshed or modore 16 at a flea market that looks maybe even individually cast. That just like every other model from the is unusual, right? So you open it up series. At home, you switch it on and – and then you see something you‘ve it doesn‘t work. So you put it away never seen before: A circuit board in your closet, shelf or whatever that is printed only on one side. The place you see fit and decide to take case originally had the same color PROTOTYPE 15

as the Commodore 64. It looks like Commodore 16 started up like it was it was quickly spray-painted on the 1985 again. „Regarding the TED, we outside. And many of the chips are discovered that its sound had more ceramic ones or burned EPROMs. bass than the later versions of this

Photo: Thomas Wirtzmann Thomas Photo: It seems to be a Commodore 16 chip. It was really astounding“, says prototype. This was the discovery Thomas. However, the circuit board that Jens M. made earlier this year. got hot rather quickly, so they de- He bought the computer on a flea cided against a lengthy stress test. market near the former Commodore But they did turn to former Com- Germany headquarter in the Frank- modore-engineer Bil Herd, who furt area years ago. And after he designed the 264-series computers found out what he had, he contacted as well as the C128. And as it turns Thomas Wirtzmann, a passionate out, he remembered this particular Commodore collector and co-hoster machine: „The C16 prototype you of Forum64.de, so that he could take saw is real. This design came from a closer look at what was beneath CBM Tokyo office led by Sam Trami- their trembling fingers. el and the R&D manager was Yoichi „It really was a pleasure and an Okubo.“ Accodring to Bil, this layout Single Sided: The honor for me to disassemble, check was actually considered for mass motherboard is only printed on one side. Bil and photograph this computer“, production to further reduce cost: Herd recalls that this says Thomas. The CPU was de- „The whole concept was that a single was a way to keep costs funct, so he exchanged it with the sided PCB with jumpers was cheaper even lower than they last 7501 he had on hand from the than a double sided board. But my were. But it didn‘t work same production era. Et voila: The gut is that the jumper insertion was out this way.

Photo: Jens M. 16 PROTOTYPE ALMOST TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE

too problematic, or the square area better to see it in a museum some- of the PCB, even single sided, didn‘t day – but who knows, maybe that‘s justify the offset in other costs. This exactly where this C16 is going to one probably has my fingerprints end. (bk) on it – including my now missing finger. This kind of cost savings out-of-the-silly-box thinking was the heart of CBM‘s mass production important note______mentality.“ This article can only give a glimpse The computer has been sold on ebay of the whole story that originated in and the buyer was happy to pay way the German speaking Forum64.de. less than what is usally charged even Take a look at the technical details for the cheapest golden C64. Con- and the many great pictures of the sidering that it is, quite possibly, a prototype case over there. You will unique piece of hardware, this was a be amazed! Click on the logo to get one-time opportunity. directly to the thread: It‘s great to see this one-of-a-kind prototype preserved and in good collector‘s hands. It would be even

Photo: Jens M. PROTOTYPE 17

Photo: Jens M. This truly deserves the name „Revision A“, as it must have been one of the first boards before production started. As it turned out, the many wires caused some serious heating issue which did not justify the slightly lower production cost of a single sided motherboard. So this design got shelved – and somehow luckily survived instead of gotten thrown away!

Typical for early models Photo: Jens M. and prototypes: ceramic chips and a lot of wireframes. 18 FIRST DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST C64 FREEZER? Photo: Thomas Christoph Photo:

The original version of When most people think of C64 became reality: ISEPIC (pronounced 1985 next to the rere- freezer cartridges which would halt a icepick) was the world‘s first freezer lease of 2017 from Tho- program to allow you meddling with cartridge – not only for the Com- mas Christoph. You‘ll it, they probably think of Action modore 64, but at all. Chip transfor- notice that the new Replay, Final Cartridge or maybe med his hobby into a business and cartridge is smaller. Nordic Power. But all the hype with managed to sell 20.000 ISEPIC carts freezers really started way before worldwide. The word spread quicky those were even prototyped. In 1984, as magazines covered the new de- two years after the debut of the vice in numerous articles. By war- Commodore 64, there was a young ning readers that this device could man called Charles „Chip“ Gracey at be used to make illigitimate backups a Canadian highschool with enough of games and productivity software, imagination and skill to think: What they basically put a great commer- if there was a cartridge that could cial neon sign in their windows. help me freeze programs with the They migt as well have written: „Buy switch of a button? So then I can go some disks and this cart and you‘re on and hack it or even make snap- all set!“ Alongside this, ISEPIC was shots – a common feature nowadays also advertised by distributor Star- which many gamers use on their point Software as „revolutionary emulators. But it was a revolutiona- new concept in software de-protec- ry idea back then. In 1985, his idea tion for the Commodore 64.“ FIRST 19

It did quite well in the market, but long ago discontinued componen- other companies soon jumped on ts found on the original cartridge“, the train and eventually, ISEPIC was Thomas says. For example, the heart forgotten – until this year, that is. of the cartridge, 2K SRAM, had been discontinued for many decades. isepic reloaded______„But in the end I found a number of One of the buyers from 1985 that different solutions that would work were really amazed about what this and I can most certainly keep up little thing could do was Thomas with demand from the size of the Christoph from Canada. „Over time, community that exists now.“ this cartridge became my favorite This re-issued ISEPIC cartridge is a piece of hardware I had ever ow- faithful and respectful reproduction ned, and as such, it held a special of the original board, electrically meaning for me“, he remembers. identical, designed and produced „Not only was it a cool device, but it on a gold plated board. There is also reminds me now of many good much love for detail in this one: friends I had and good times spent The toggle switch is dimensionally with them.“ identical to the original, and it‘s also When Thomas bought an old ISE- placed in the exact same location PIC card from ebay last year, it on the board. Internal mounting didn‘t work. But instead of hunting holes are also precisely located. It for another one, he sat down and also works with SD2IEC and UK1541. thought about reproducing this The cartridge comes in a custom thing. „I of course had the utmost 3D-printed case and costs 65 Dollars respect for the original developer, – the same price as the original. (bk) and would never have entertained http://corei64.com/store/ doing this without permission. So I got in touch Chip Gracey through is company Parallax Incorporated.“ Chip was flattered and surprised, as he did not know that there was still Photo: Thomas Christoph Photo: a quite vibrant community around the Commodore 64. So he gave the project his blessing and Thomas started his work. He dived into electronic basics and CAD to reach his goal. But that were not the only challenges he was facing: „It proved to be quite difficult to source compa- tible parts that accurately matched the specifications of some of the 20 DIRTY DEEDS DON‘T THROW DIRTY DISKS AWAY - CLEAN THEM Photos: Boris Kretzinger Photos:

A Dirty Deeds: You most So you stored your good old disks through with the whole procedure. certainly won‘t be able in the cellar or in the attic? Or you Then put some windex on one side to use such a dirty disk. bought a collection from someone of the Q-tip and start applying it on But you don‘t have to who did? In any case, many vin- the disk‘s surface (B). Don‘t push throw it away – and you tage computer enthusiasts know a too hard! Then take the other end of don‘t have to open it up the cotton bud and dry it carefully to clean it. Save your common problem with 5.25“ floppy precious original games disks: If not stored at a constant – again, don‘t use pressure at all (C). with cotton buds – and temperature and humidity, they get You will see how much smear comes a lot of spare time. some wild grain over time (A). It will off, so change your Q-tips often, at contaminate the head of your disk least every third spin. After you‘ve drive, so don‘t even bother putting cleared the first small area of the them in – unless you cleaned them disk, spin it around until you see the first. Now there are tutorials out the- next dirty zone (D). You will noti- re on how to open disks up and cle- ce the difference easily. Repeat the an the entire cookie. But you can get steps until you reach the index hole around that with just some Q-tips, a again. It can take more than two bottle of glass cleaner and patience. dozen cotton sticks per disk to get it First, spin the disk carefully until clean, and it will take around half an you see the index hole. It‘ll serve as hour. But after that, you‘re precious indicator so you‘ll know when you‘re disk is ready for action again. (bk) DIRTY DEEDS 21

B C

D 22 GAMESCOM IT REALLY SHOULD BE NAMED RETROCOM

C64 and CPC living in This year‘s Gamescom was full of the Commodore brand name on harmony side by side at news: Microsoft showed off their some oldschool hardware back at a Gamescom 2017. new Xbox model, Nintendo gave a fair, even if it took a small but very glimpse into their upcoming „Super prominent place over at the booth Mario Odyssey“ and Commodore of Return magazine. They will be presented its new mainboard and selling the cases through their shop cases for the C64. Wait – what? exclusively. If you wanted to, you That‘s right, as in the previous years could get one right there on the spot there was much to discover at the in a great looking packaging. retrogaming area: Individual Com- As for the games, there were also puters licensend the brand name several new titles for 8bit machines Commodore for their upcoming being presented. Publisher Polyplay mainboard C64 Reloaded Mk. 2 had a couple of news to show: „Res- (find more details in this issue‘s cuing Orc“ for the C64 is a nice little story „Board Wars“) and also for platforming game that takes place new cases for the C64C in black, in the world of „Magica“ – another SX64-style, classic beige and bread- game that was presented for the bin gray. It was really great to see Amstrad CPC (see review in this GAMESCOM 23

issue). Polyplay puts a lot of effort was displayed: It featured a Kernal Are you keeping up into their games packaging and even switch, a second audio port and ano- with the Commodore? has all of them shrinkwrapped. ther port for connecting a piano key- Many people stared at Next, there was some familiar music board. And speaking of keyboards: the brand name and the cases in disbelief: Com- to be heard, medieval chimes and Phase5 presented their new keys modore at Gamescom trumpets introducing a cinematic for the C64 in different colors. They in 2017? game, an interactive movie so to will be available around December speak: „Defender of the Crown“ for 2017. If you were there on the first the Intellivision. The sounds and days of the fair, you might even have graphics look outstanding for this had the chance to get a sample key platform and the game easily sur- passes the Sinclair version. Accor- ding to Elektronite, who are working on finishing the game, this conversion will be licensed by Cinemaware Retro, making it another addition to the seemingly ever expanding libra- ry of DotC ports for retro computers and consoles. Fans of the NES could also discover something new: „Twin Dragons“ by French developer Broke Studio. It‘s about two dragons named Dinky and Minky (who sound a bit like they could also add to the list of names for Pac-Man ghosts) who have to rescue their kidnapped yet unhatched brother. And so the story sets the tone for a rather sweet looking and very playable platformer. The game is not ready yet and the final version will contain seven worlds with two stages each as well as boss fights. Also, graphics and sound will get enhanced for the final product. If you are a fan of Chris Huelsbeck, the retro area had something to offer: Not only was Chris there himself, but he also signed some Turrican stuff at the Factor5 booth. Furthermore, his very first C64 24 GAMESCOM IT REALLY SHOULD BE NAMED RETROCOM

for free. Besides all the news for old consoles, there was also much to play with standing around, from Atari 2600s to Dreamcasts. Ever played Pong with LEDs or Super Mario with a giant NES controller? There you could. And people had a lot of fun with all the nice gimmicks and games, while enjoying the exhibition around early virtual reality and 3D gaming. The exhibits were shown in glass cabinets everywhere in the retrogaming area. You could hear people talking about what they had when they were younger – and also what they need to have again. (bk) GAMESCOM 26 GAME ON SLIPSTREAM (C64 & PLUS/4)

If you ever wondered when a game will come out that looks like it was one of those fan- cy C64 demos with all their great 3D effects, then wait no longer: Here comes Slipstream.

One of the very first thing you‘ll ask idea arised to make just small 3D yourself when playing „Slipstream“ objects and have a good framerate for the first time will most certain- this way.“ So in a way, the technology ly be: „What the hell is going on somehow dictated the game concept here exactly?“ Like in „Rez“, you fly here. And it took him around 400 around and control the crosshair to hours spread over a period of six to select enemies to shoot at. You can eight months to get the game done also move your ship to avoid beeing on the Commodore Plus/4 and the shot. You could use two joysticks or C64. „The game was firstly a Plus/4 the firebutton to do this. game and I implemented some The games release took everybo- changes for the C64 version“, says dy by surprise, and it is difficult to Stefan. „For instance, the crosshair describe. It looks and plays a bit just uses now a sprite which is updated like „Rez“ did on Dreamcast or Play- at 25 fps and the explosions are also station, and that is what inspired the upgraded with faster animating coder the most. But thre also was sprites.“ This way, he could make up another game: „Originally I wan- for the fact that the Plus/4 is around ted to build a wipeout clone for the 25 percent faster than the breadbin. Plus/4 with a fullblown 3D engine, However, you‘ll experience that the but it got too slow – sometimes be- Plussy indeed offers a smoother low one frame per second“, explains gameplay. But if you own a Camele- Stefan Mader, creator of Slipstream. on or SuperCPU for your C64, it will „Then I started to look for other 3D rund with 50 fps. games and Silpheed on the Apple II Being a game with many filled vector GS got into my view. From there the graphics, Slipstream does not utilize GAME ON 27

The soundtrack is as ravy as you would expect from a game that was inspired from „Rez“. And the Start sequence with all the distortion effects is also quite impressive.

the full color palette of te Plus/4. levels and I tried that, but you won‘t The loading pics are also identical have a menu or all the other parts of to the C64 version: „We had a very the game“, says Stefan. Which pretty limited amount of memory for the much makes it senseless. The disk loading screens, so we chose to take version however will have a separate almost the same four colors for both highscore list for one and two pla- versions“, Stefan explains. yers. Slipstream will be published by If you have not played the game yet, Psytronik in three different disk you really should do it now. It is not editions only. „It would be possible that easy, but an amazing experience to make a tape version of the first six on Plus/4 and C64. (bk)

Sky‘s the limit: There is a lot more happening onscreen than this screenshot can depict. The landscape at the bottom of the screen is changing, and in later levels galaxies in the background are spira- ling while all hell breaks loose in front of your spaceship. 28 GAME ON DEFENDER OF THE CROWN (ZX SPECTRUM) Photo: Boris Kretzinger Photo:

Only 27 years after „Defender of the Crown“ was the ced with its presence though: The the planned release of flagship of games by Cinemaware Sinclair ZX Spectrum. When Hun- Defender of the Crown back in the 80s: With it‘s impressive garian developers named „The Cat“ for the ZX Spectrum, graphics, even on 8bit computers approached Mirrorsoft in 1989 with collectors can pick up like the Commodore 64, it set the their conversion of the game, they the game now, limited tone for what the company was ai- approved at first, but then made up to 250 copies. ming for in all their releases: Getting their mind and never published the players to believe that they were im- nearly complete game because of mersed in some kind of interactive movie instead of just another game. After its initial release in 1986, the game stayed popular on many plat- forms until the early 90s, with even seeing ports for the Nintendo Enter- tainment System in 1989 and Philips CDI and Commodore CDTV in 1992. It was considered to be one of the must-have titles for any platform. But one 8bit machine was not gra- GAME ON 29

the vanishing interest in new games for the ZX Spectrum. Eventually, the game found its way into the wild as ROM image via Spectrum fan web- sites. In 2016, Cinemaware Retro under Sven Voessing took it upon them- selves to contact the former developers David Taletovics, Tamas Kaproncai and Norbert Dombi and made a deal for the finally official release of the game for the ZX Spectrum on cassette. „The game is fixed for 48K and 128K and also now includes the missing end screen, which makes it stand out from the ROM-file you can find on the web“, explains Sven. Some minor bug- fixes have also found their way into this limited release. So what does the game offer on the little Sinclair computer? First of all, the box comes with two cassettes, one with the game itself and the other with the Soundtrack from the CDTV version of the game. A poster and a sticker are also included. The game is a true conversion to the original, but several compromises had to be made due to the limited hardware. Many backgrounds are either missing or very plain, the music and sound effects are reduced to a minimum as well. However, this conversion shows that the game also works within the limits of the ZX Spectrum, and the graphics are quite good. For Spec- trum users, it really was a shame The screenshots give a good impression of the games atmo- that the game was never officially sphere. Color clashs are visible here and there, but very well released, but at least that happened minimized. now. (bk) http://retro.cinemaware.com 30 GAME ON DOOMSDAY – LOST ECHOES (CPC) Photo: Doomsday Productions Photo: GAME ON 31

Doomsday – Lost echoes puts a lot of effort in atmosphere, not only with the text, but also with a lot of love for details in the pictures.

A long black coat, a rather grim look station to find some missing worker. on his face and dark circles around And although this sounds like a trap the eyes: Mike does not look all too to him, Mike flies over there and our friendly at first. He calls himself a journey starts. renegade, deserter, bounty hunter, scavenger, mercenary, hitman ... you alone in the dark______get the idea: He does almost every- The setting has a great atmosphere thing if the payment is right. And and almost immediately pulls the he is the protagonist of the latest player into the game. To achieve and quite elaborate graphic adven- this, it borrows some inspiration ture „Doomsday – Lost Echoes“ for from the „Alien“ movies as well as the Amstrad CPC. The game is set from „Outland“. And it is fun and in a dark and distant future world scary at the same time to roam the and takes on some elements of the floors of the old station and dig out cyberpunk genre. So Mike fled from information that helps you on your something in his ship, called the quest. „Doomsday“ also shows some Doomsday, and went to what he nice little touches here and there calls his home – which is basically a that will put a grin on your face as piece of metal named „The Pit“, or- soon as you recognize them. For biting some planet in a godforsaken example, there is a Nuka-Cola fridge place in space. Some strange missi- (a nod to „Fallout“) and there is a on and a very good advance payment Amstrad CPC poster somewhere at lure him into the abandoned Regus the station – amongst other little 32 GAME ON DOOMSDAY – LOST ECHOES (CPC)

things that you can discover. And it always go over to Youtube and play just works great in this world that some cyberpunk snythwave album gets painted in subtle colors to set in the background. the right mood. Although the CPC They way you play through the game could display far more colors at results in one of three different endi- once than are shown onscreen in ngs, which is another great thing for this game, those colors are very well an 8bit game. Also, the manual is a chosen. They don‘t go for bombast, real piece of art itself, looking like they go for mood. And that works it‘s from a game that was released just great. sometime in the 80s: It‘s worn-off You can tell that the artwork and the and a bit scratchy. And there are story script took a serious amount of some concept art designs to be dis- time to polish. The graphics of every covered there, too. screen for example are hand-drawn All in all, this game is a must-play and then ported over to the CPC. not only for Amstrad fans, but also The story is great and gets the fee- for all 8bit game enthusiasts. It‘s ling for the setting and this strange a great adventure, it offers some world across very well. What the horror moments, some action (yes, game lacks completely though is any action in an adventure!) and com- form of music or sound effects. This bines it with a very enjoyable space is a true pity because a right sound- quest that borrows enough inspira- track would have added immensly tion from all the right places. Highly to the atmosphere here. But you can recommended! (bk)

Ready for some action? Adversaries like this large Mecha will get your adrenalin flowing. GAME ON 33

From sketches to colored graphics: All screens in this exceptio- nally well-made adventure for Amstrad‘s CPC are hand-drawn and then ported to the computer.

Photos: Doomsday Productions

The game is available for free. However, if you want to put it in your shelf along with other great CPC titles, Po- lyplay offers a special edition. www.polyplay.xyz 34 GAME ON MAGICA (CPC) GAME ON 35

Magica is a single-screen arade game in which you control a young sorce- ress on her quest to recover all of her stolen potions. The thieves, ghosts, wizards, orcs, witches and knights, are her adversaries in this game, all with different characteristics. Its gameplay reminds on a mixture of „Bubble Bobble“ and „Solomon‘s Key“: Shooting enemies with your spell makes them dizzy. While they‘re sitting around, not knowing what hit them, kick them to retrieve the potion they are holding. After having defeated all adversaries on one stage, a door opens up and you can go to the next stage. However, you must clear the stage before the timer runs out, otherwise you‘ll lose a life. Juan J. Martinez is responsible for the code, graphics and sound effects of this cute Amstrad CPC game. It‘s a nice and really not that difficult platromer to kill some spare time. But beware of the different characteristics of the enemies: For example, the knight carries a shield with and detailed instruction manual as him that makes him invulnerable well as a Magica figure to place on to head-on attacks. Better shoot at your shelf. A nice and fun game! (bk) him from behin. The 50 stages can be played through in around half an hour with some experience, with the timer being the hardest enemy of The loading screen was them all. It‘s really enjoyable to im- made by pixel legend prove your highscore by finishing all Vanja Utne. The game enemies off as fast as you can, thus is sold by Polyplay for earning more points for the unused 12 to 17 Euros, depen- ding on what you want: time in each level. Tape, 3“ or 3.5“ diskette. Polyplay offers a variety of editions www.polyplay.xyz on tape or disk that come with a nice 36 GAME ON ALMOST HERO (NES) Photos: Mega Cat Studios Cat Mega Photos:

Black is beautiful. After If you enjoyed „Double Dragon“ and philanthropist. Play as either ninja all, it‘s a game about a „River City Ransom“ on the Ninten- hopeful, Orville or Reginald, and be ninja, so the cartridge do Entertainment System, you will the hero you always knew you could shell can‘t be purple. most definitely like„Almost Hero“. be as you battle against a colorful Done by Mega Cat Studios, this cast of villains in this throwback sidescrolling brawler lets you play as to the beat ‘em up genre.“ And it is ninja through a world full of tough a good kind of throwback indeed and bad guys. And that‘s all you that offers some fun, even for two need to know storywise. „Almost player simultaneously. „I think some Hero“ succeeds in bringin back the of the most fun that we had was in action and precise control we know writing names and descriptions for and love from Technos hit titles. It the items that you can purchase in also comes with a tongue-in-cheek the game“, says Andrew Marsh from attitude and does not take itself all Mega Cat Studios. too serious. Want an example? How Unlike in most other beat em ups, about the marketing claims of the where standing sill will help the pla- title on the official website: „Choose yer to fight the enemies off one by your ninja path, from self-defense one, in „Almost Hero“ strategy and class drop out, to industry-saving awareness of the surroundings are GAME ON 37

important. „Enemies can easily over- whelm the player if they just stand still and attack, so the player needs to make smart decisions about how to tackle the enemy“, Andrew explains. The music throughout the game is fresh and has that certain tempo you‘d expect for such a theme. It also clearly nods to its paragons on the system. Graphically, „Almost Hero“ is also a great looking NES title with colorful and detailed backgrounds and a nice little hint here and there to classic games: Does it smell like Pizza in the sewer? And doesn‘t that turtle shell over there look familiar somehow? You can tell that the programmers had a good time making this game Everyone can be a hero – as long as it‘s a well-skilled ninja. – and it certainly shows. The com- Almost Ninja is a fast-paced run down the memory lane of the plete game with box and manual can best beat ‘em ups for the NES. be ordered for around 50 dollars. If you‘re just after the cartridge, that will still make 40 dollars. (bk) https://megacatstudios.com

Photos: Mega Cat Studios