Denise V2.0 Amiga emulator

"Denise" is a new Amiga (and C64) emulator for Windows, MacOS, and Linux. And it's surprisingly good!

Development of "Denise" seems to date back to around 2017, when it started as a Commodore 64 emulator. In March 2023 author PiCiJi released version 2.0, which adds Amiga 500 and 1000 emulation. Running Fedora Linux, I gave it a quick try.

Apart from downloading and extracting the archive, no program installation was required. Just double-clicking "Denise" program icon, and selecting Kickstart ROM file and ADF in the preferences, I was able to nicely play a round of "Tinyus", with sound, and without any glitches or performance issues (i7-4790T, 2.7GHz). 

Double-click icon, select Kickstart ROM, select ADF, and play. Nice!

"Denise" has a little bit of history, which certainly helps when a new emulated platform is created. Preference and menus need a little more work (localization, graphics), but nothing's missing, and everything (still) looks very clearly structured with the added Amiga-related items. (Most?) changes to preferences take effect immediately.

When playing "Tinyus", I had to make a little change to the input configuration: "Tinyus" needs the Space-bar key, which is occupied by Joystick-Fire-Button per default. Assigning a new key just took a couple of seconds without reading instructions. Perfect.

"Denise" preferences: C64 and Amiga cores

"Denise" feels as if it has been designed with a lot of modularity in mind. For example it looks as if the (emulated) video output section from the existing C64 emulation is being used for Amiga video, too - which totally makes sense, as both machines generate quite similar video signals. And there is a "core selection" setting - future new cores can probably be expected.

More "Denise" preferences

Emulation performance was perfect with "Tinyus", which is also reflected by SysInfo's speed test results: "Denise" runs cycle-exact. (No further performance tests were done by me at the current point in time.)

SysInfo: That looks pretty cycle-accurate.

To round it up, here's a shot of "Denise"'s C64 emulation running "Destroyer", and the C64 settings window.

"Denise" C64 emulation and preferences

It's still a bit rough around the edges, and a bit limited, but, wow, "Denise" is a fantastic new Amiga 500 and 1000 emulator! And you get a great C64 emulator along the way! Try it, it's great!

You can download "Denise" from its sourceforge website

https://sourceforge.net/projects/deniseemu/

If you like to read some program code you can visit "Denise"'s git repo:

https://bitbucket.org/piciji/denise/src/master/

Additional sources:
http://amiga-news.de/en/news/AN-2023-04-00113-EN.html

Games galore #36: Red 41 The Silent Death, LUMA, Cecconoid (and Eugatron), Grind, Aquabyss

Previously unreleased games, ported games, spin-off games, in-game games, original games!

Red 41 The Silent Death

"Red 41 The Silent Death" by Digital Warp is an unfinished game that only got a preview back in 1993. Roughly thirty years later, then-developer-team-member Daniele Pomposelli has dug out the latest available version from his private archives. 

Although incomplete - some fundamental game mechanics are missing in this alpha-version - it's a fantastic looking jump-and-run-and-gun game, somehow reminiscent of Turrican (of course) and maybe Breathless (if it had 2D side-view)?

Here's a video from Daniele Pomposelli's YouTube channel (2022-11-24):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNl-lhhzTNs

Want to know more? IndieRetroNews has all the details, including download links:
https://www.indieretronews.com/2022/11/red41-silent-death-another-amiga-game.html

LUMA

"LUMA" is an easy to learn, but increasingly challenging puzzle game. If you like this sort of game, this one will get you addicted immediately. It's a port of a C64 game by Shallan, in which you have to direct beams of light through tiled playfields containing obstacles.

A nice little tune is playing along as you push mirrors and the lights' power supplies around the playfield, graphics and sound are a nice Amiga-ish rendition of the original C64 game design, and somewhere around level 30 and up solving puzzles becomes genuinely hard brain-work. Very good!

Go to the game's itch.io website for more information and download:
https://zooperdan.itch.io/luma-amiga

Additional sources:
http://amiga-news.de/en/news/AN-2022-11-00061-EN.html

Cecconoid (and Eugatron)

"Cybernoid" is a 1987 Hewson multi-screen shoot-em-up game that was released for many 8-bit platforms, Atari ST, and Amiga. "Cecconoid" is a 2019 game heavily inspired by "Cybernoid", available for Switch/Android/iOS/Windows/Linux, and should be ready for release on the Amiga quite soon!

According to the information available, it requires an Amiga with 1MB of RAM, will be distributed by Thalamus Digital, and will have a physical, boxed release.

Yeah, "Cecconoid" looks and sounds really nice, with its minimalist visual approach, detailed and dynamic mechanics, lots of action, and cool electro soundtrack. But not only that: another mini-arcade-game called "Eugatron" is included!

Here's a video from Hoffman's YouTube channel (2022-12-10):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT40WdfWySo

Go to the game's website for more information:
https://www.triple-eh.com/cecco

Additional sources:
http://amiga-news.de/en/news/AN-2022-11-00055-EN.html
https://triple-eh.itch.io/cecconoid (Windows/Linux release)
https://www.thalamusdigital.co.uk/ (publisher)

"Dread" becomes "Grind" (and stays "Dread")

Certainly among the most spectacular news for Amiga gamers during the last couple of years was this new Doom-clone game called "Dread" that runs (well) on an unexpanded 7MHz Amiga 500.

Well, it still does - but behind the scenes, around Oct. 2022, things have changed a little bit, with a new name for the upcoming game: Grind!

"Dread" will be continued as a non-commercial project by KK/Altair, while "Grind" is set to become a full, patreon-backed game developed by John Tsakiris. 

Check out "Grind" patreon page for more information, and show your support!
https://www.patreon.com/Grind_Amiga

Additional sources:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/welcome-back-73947008
http://amiga-news.de/en/news/AN-2022-10-00143-EN.html

Aquabyss

"Aquabyss" is a trading simulation set in the 19th century. It was released in Oct. 2022 by Aged Code, and is continuously being worked on. 

Tons of beautiful graphics make this game a joy to watch, and you'll need plenty of time to fully explore it. "Aquabyss" requires 2MB ChipRAM, 8MB FastRAM and 15MB of harddisc space, but a faster CPU is recommended. It is playable without internet connection, but if available, updates can be received, and high-scores can be shared via game server.

Here's a video from YouTube channel Alex Harkonnen75 (2023-03-05):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gfx9pZHl23g

Go to Aged Code's website for more information, and purchase:
https://agedcode.com

Additional sources:
http://aquabyss.com (game server frontend)
https://www.indieretronews.com/2022/10/aquabyss-eagerly-awaited-amiga-game-by_22.html

 * * *

...and some bonus gaming news:

"Super Metal Hero" - alive!

It's been quite a long time since we've reported about "Super Metal Hero", but development certainly hasn't stopped - here's the latest preview video on Raster Wizards' YouTube channel (2023-04-06):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfIEBrtu-YY

* * *

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for "Games galore #37"!

Check out "Games galore" main page with all articles -
click here!

* * *

Support Amiga game development! Buy a game!

Software updates (2023-06)

A selection of software titles that have been updated during the last months.

HippoPlayer

In February 2023, HippoPlayer was updated to version 2.56.

http://aminet.net/package/mus/play/hippoplayerupdate

AWeb APL Lite with (then) latest AmiSSL

Also in February, version 3.5.091 of web browser "AWeb" was recompiled with the (then) latest (compare below) version of AmiSSL for improved https support.

http://aminet.net/package/comm/www/aweb_3_5_091

AmiBlitz

Programming language "AmiBlitz" (BlitzBasic) was updated to version 3.9.9, fixing a number of bugs, and adding a couple of features.

https://github.com/AmiBlitz/AmiBlitz3/releases/

P96

In March, RTG system "P96" - formerly known as "Picasso 96" - version 3.3.3 was released. 

https://forum.icomp.de/index.php?thread/3022-p96-v3-3-3-released/

MNT ZZ9000 firmware

Also in March, firmware version 1.13 was released for the mighty ZZ9000 multi-function Zorro card.

https://source.mnt.re/amiga/zz9000-firmware/-/releases/1.13

pci.library

Still in March, Elbox released version 13.14 of pci.library for their Mediator PCI expansion boards.

http://www.elbox.com/downloads_mediator.html

Prelude software bundle, and AmigaAMP

In May 2023, Thomas Wenzel released a new version of his software bundle for the Prelude sound card, and fixed a number of bugs in AmigaAMP, which is now at version 3.34.

http://aminet.net/package/driver/audio/PreludeSoftwareBundleV4

http://www.amigaamp.de

AmiSSL

Also in May, version 5.9 of secure-socket-layer implementation "AmiSSL" was released.

https://github.com/jens-maus/amissl/releases

WHDLoad 

WHDLoad has received a number of bugfixes, bringing it to version 18.9.

http://whdload.de

WinUAE

In June, version 5.0.0 of famous Amiga emulator "WinUAE" was released.

https://www.winuae.net/2023/06/01/winuae-5-0-0/

Games galore #35: Temptations, Atris, Croaker, Emotiworld, Invanoid

Tons of new developments in Amiga gaming land over the last couple of months - here's the next round.

Temptations

"Temptations" is an Amiga 1200/CD32 remake of an 1988 MSX game of the same name. It's a multi-screen platformer similar to "The Abu Simbel Profanation": You have to guide your game character safely through various hazards like moving platforms, spiky obstacles, or dangerous animals. The game looks very nice indeed, it has some truly epic sound effects, and it appears to be reasonably hard to play, with some potential for frustration. Very tempting!

Here's a video from Saberman RetroNews YouTube channel (2023-02-26):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIbbK3d9ufk

You can download "Temptations" from the game's website:
https://s0yamigamsx.wordpress.com/temptations-dl/

Additional sources:
http://amiga-news.de/en/news/AN-2022-10-00084-EN.html
http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=112194

Atris

"Atris" is a Tetris clone for your big-screen Amiga. It looks super polished with its hi-res, hi-color graphics, and some beautiful piano music is playing along as you stack tetromino upon tetromino. Beauty comes at a price, and in this case you need a reasonably upgraded Amiga: the game requires  AmigaOS3.x, AHI, RTG (800x600 16-bit or better), 35MB of free RAM, and a fast CPU (100MIPS or better).

Here's a video from YouTube channel Deathstar (2022-09-11):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ-Qwm8YyJ8

Go to the game's itch.io website for more information and download:
https://8080.itch.io/atris

Additional sources:
http://amiga-news.de/en/news/AN-2022-09-00048-EN.html

Croaker 

Do you have any idea how many frogs die in car accidents each year? I don't - but I'm imagining thousands, maybe millions. On top of that some are eaten by crocodiles and snakes, they drown, or simply fall off the edge of the screen. Horrible.

Enter "Croaker". Generations of frogs have been saved in "Frogger" since 1981, and generations will be saved in "Croaker" from 2022 on.

By all means go to AmiNet, download "Croaker", play it, and save frog lives!

Here's a video from Per-Ola Eriksson's YouTube channel (2022-09-09):  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRkJ8aqQOAQ

You can download "Croaker" from AmiNet:
http://aminet.net/package/game/actio/croaker

Additional sources:
http://amiga-news.de/en/news/AN-2022-09-00039-EN.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frogger

 

Emotiworld

Which game would Pac-Man play if he had an Amiga? Probably "Emotiworld". And it makes a lot of sense: We don't know about emoticons' typical diet, but the visual similarities are striking. They look like Pac-Man's grandchildren. 

"Emotiworld" has similarities with the classic arcade game of "Pac-Man", but it's certainly not a clone. In each of its levels, you have to collect a lot of heart-emoticons, and avoid running into evil emoticons like ghosts and angry faces. Doesn't that sound like a nice round of not-too-complicated entertainment?

Here's a video from Amiten TV's YouTube channel (2022-07-13):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxr_4b9mpT0

Go to the game's itch.io pages for more information and download:
https://amiten.itch.io/emotiworld (OCS)
https://amiten.itch.io/emotiworld-aga-v10 (AGA)

Additional sources:
https://www.indieretronews.com/2022/05/emotiworld-final-version-11-of-brand.html

Invanoid (work-in-progress)

Roughly a year ago an early work-in-progress demo of "Invanoid" was released - and the game is precisely what its title says: A mixture of arcade classics "(Space) Invaders" and "Arkanoid". The idea is nothing short of brilliant, and we're eagerly awaiting further news!

Here's a video from YouTube channel AMIGA FACTORY (2022-06-08): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y9RvRO6GeM

If you'd like to try "Invanoid" demo, see these additional sources for download link:

https://www.indieretronews.com/2022/05/invanoid-arkanoid-and-space-invaders.html
https://www.ppa.pl/forum/strefa-tworcow/43754/invanoid

* * *

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for "Games galore #36"!

Check out "Games galore" main page with all articles -
click here!

* * *

Support Amiga game development! Buy a game!