Games galore #5: R.E.R.O., Stalker, Dread, and the return of Mutation Software!

Still more 2019 games! And some 2020 gaming news, too! Yes, we're transitioning into 2020, but in many cases development dates back to 2019, or even further. Either way, more awesomeness here.

R.E.R.O. - Amiga H.E.R.O. remake

"R.E.R.O. - Rocket driven Emergency Rescue Operation" is a remake of cave exploration and rescue game "H.E.R.O. - Helicopter Emergency Rescue Operation", originally released in 1984 for Atari 2600 and ported to many 8-bit platforms.

Cave rescue teams use rocket engineering these days.

In November 2019, a nine level preview of R.E.R.O was released. It runs on a standard Amiga 500, but utilizes more RAM if present. The game looks great, it's tastefully colorful, detailed, and moves smoothly! It also sounds great, with a nice minimalistic in-game soundtrack and lots of oldskool soundeffects!

The original "H.E.R.O." had a certain flow to it - you could fly around quite swifly if you knew your way. "R.E.R.O." seems to do a very good job at capturing the original game's pacing and precision.

Bombs open paths, but get away from that explosion!

A possible Christmas 2019 release was tentatively mentioned, but has passed without further news. We're still happily looking forward to a final release.

Here's a video of the game demo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA-Y3ecIXcM

Go to Hall Of Light games database for download links:

http://hol.abime.net/6326

Additional sources:
http://www.indieretronews.com/2019/11/rero-amiga-hero-remake-gets-early-demo.html
http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=97073
http://flashtro.com/r-e-r-o-9-level-preview/

Previously unreleased: Stalker

"Stalker" was rediscovered and restored after members of English Amiga Board (EAB) had found the game in 2013, and wondered what it could be. After some investigation it turned out the game was created in 1993 by Jozsef Punk, Viktor Dara, and Ferenc Bardos. Jozsef and Ferenc had been coding Amiga demos since 1989 as a group called "FI-RE Crew". Jozsef was contacted by the members of EAB, and gave them the full game in its latest development version plus assembler sourcecode and permission to publish both publicly. Cool. :-)

So far this is rather old "news", but in January 2020 some more work was put into the game by adding improved title screens from various previous versions, creating the latest, previously unavailable release 0.778.

That's a hell of a machine.

According to the author, "Stalker"'s main feature is the rearrangeable playfield:
"The player controls a [...] robot in a scene that is built by same sized blocks. These blocks are moveable in rearrange mode." That sounds very interesting!

Jozsef has a little homepage for "Stalker" on his website:

http://www.intuitivecomputers.eu/works/stalker.html

For news, latest release, download links, etc. browse and follow the thread at English Amiga Board:

http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=68110

Additional sources:
http://www.intuitivecomputers.eu/works/amiga.html
https://nexus23.com/warfare2/amigas-stalker-unreleased-game-gets-reloaded/
http://hol.abime.net/6007

New Doom clone: "Dread" for Amiga 500

They said Doom can't be done on an Amiga.
They said Alien Breed 3D was the best an Amiga could do.
They said you need a 68030 (at least).

Now we're getting actual "Doom" for an unexpanded, 7MHz Amiga 500. Well, kind of, and it goes by the name of "Dread". When this popped up about a week ago it caused quite some excitement, for obvious reasons. Actually this is from 2019, a highly optimized and specialized 2.5D FPS engine by KK/Altair (from Altair demo group) that was first shown at the Xenium developer conference in Poland in Aug./Sep. 2019, but it's the "making-of" video that gets people's attention these days.

Currently this is nowhere near completion, but it very much looks as if the author is working towards a full "Dread" game release. Stay tuned, and in the meantime enjoy the video:

Watch "Dread Ep 01 - making "Doom" clone for Amiga 500" (2020-02-23)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeaNb5QzoU0

Additional sources:
https://xenium.rocks/en/timetable
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wu66Qs579o
https://scenesat.com/videoarchive/138 (from ~1:35:00)
http://www.indieretronews.com/2020/02/doom-could-doom-clone-run-on-7mhz-amiga.html

Mutation Software back in business

Very welcome news from the commercial side of Amiga gaming: In February 2020, Adrian Cummings announced the return of his software label "Mutation Software"!

Currently planned releases are a "Micro Series Collectors Signature edition" of remastered games "Tin Toy", "Tommy Gun", and "Castle Kingdoms" in early 2020, and a new game called "Wiz" towards the end of the year.

http://hol.abime.net/1441/screenshot

"Tin Toy" requires an AGA Amiga, as will the new game "Wiz" do, while "Tommy Gun" and "Castle Kingdoms" run on 1MB OCS/ECS Amiga.

http://hol.abime.net/1455/screenshot

Note that these screenshots are from the original game versions - the new editions will be remastered.

http://hol.abime.net/2944/screenshot

All games will be available in digital and physical form. The "Micro Series Collectors Signature edition" (physical, boxed) will contain the game on floppy disc, and a free drinks coaster, and should be available in March - that's pretty much right now!

Go to "Mutation Software" website for more information, and place your order!

http://www.mutationsoftware.uk

Sources:
http://hol.abime.net/1441
http://amiga-news.de/en/news/AN-2020-02-00021-EN.html
http://softwareamusements.com/MutationSoftware/index.html

 * * *

Again, we have some...

...Bonus gaming news:

dA JoRMaS "Bonus Stage #75": Super Hang-On?

"This proof of concept for arcade perfectness on the Amiga was inspired by the various not so stellar Amiga ports from back in the day. 50FPS should have been possible on the original hardware but as long as it hasn't been implemented it doesn't exist so there was only one way to be sure." (www.jormas.com)

Yeah, super smooth "Super Hang-On" style motorcycle racing on any Amiga with 1MB! Ok, not really, but a video released in February 2020 shows a demo that could potentially turn into a great clone, potentially better than the official port the Amiga got back in the day.

Author vesuri, from artist/demo group dA JoRMaS, doesn't have any plans to turn this into a game, but he's considering to release the source code - maybe someone will pick this up and...?

Ready, set, go: "dA JoRMaS: Bonus Stage #75" video (2020-02-15)

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

If you want to see it running on your own Amiga, you can download the demo from AmiNet:

http://aminet.net/package/demo/sound/jrm-bs75.lha

Sources: 
https://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=84875
http://www.jormas.com/

* * *

Thanks for reading!

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

Building the TerribleFire TF530 accelerator board, part 5: Testing. More testing. And... happiness.

I'm learning new things about the TF530 almost daily...

Documentation is a problem when trying to build these accelerators: there's no place where you can quickly look up how to do something. Instead you have to dig through Stephen Leary's hour-long videos on YouTube, or a single endless thread on English Amiga Board, or ask in forums. Which is not a bad thing, but it's very inconvenient if you want to make progress. That's why I created some sort of "user manual" for the TerribleFire boards: https://amihelper.blogspot.de/p/terriblefire-accelerators.html

Anyway, what's happened since part 4 of this series?

Full setup with CF-adaptor and -card

Things were actually looking pretty good. I've been using a 24Mhz oscillator to build the board, and the original firmware (from a "rev. 2 final" GitHub checkout). But I wanted to rev up the board a little... Other people are using clockrates of 36, 40, or 50 Mhz. And then there are a couple of new revisions of the firmware. And in one or the other way these have to match. I've tried a 40MHz oscillator, and two other (apart from the original) versions of the firmware. Then there's the IDE controller. Simply plugging in an IDE cable - without any device attached! - changes the A500's behaviour in combination with the 40MHz oscillator. Exchanging the 1.3 Kickstart ROM for a 3.1 one made a difference once again. Lots of testing, and lots of glitches, and more testing, and more glitches: mousepointer uncontrollable, random crashes, boot picture gone, ...

It seems that the 33Mhz 68030 doesn't like overclocking very much - but with a 32MHz oscillator (33Mhz oscillators seem to be rare), it now runs stable! I expect a few more issues - like checking RAM soldering points - but for now I declare it "working fine". It boots quickly from the 512MB CompactFlash card attached, and with the additional 2MB of RAM on the TF530 and the new 3.1 Kickstart ROM the A500 is now an up-to-date, very usable Amiga!

Yesss! I am __very__ happy with it. :-)

SysInfo speed test with the 32MHz oscillator installed

Nice to have: an LED on the CF-card-adaptor

An "in progress" conclusion

From a personal perspective, I can say that I've learned a lot. I mean: A LOT. Stephen Leary's videos give a huge amount of information, and by building the accelerator I've expanded my set of tools, improved my soldering skills, and gained some knowledge about the parts used. Overall, for me it's a huge step forward in understanding the inner workings of Amiga computers, the TF530, and electronics in general.

And of course the Amiga 500 got a huge update, it's a completely different machine now. For a very reasonable (money-wise) price.

So the whole process is a massive success for me. :-)

No outside signs of the changes on the inside... :-)

Still, there are a few things to keep in mind about the TF530 accelerator and the build process: First of all it takes an insane amount of time to build, if you don't know what you're doing beforehand. I certainly didn't. There was a lot of research involved, on all levels. Secondly, the TF530 is clearly not an industrial-grade product: it's an "in progress" project, a moving target. You have several options when it comes to CPU and oscillator, and these have some interdependence with the firmware releases, which are still going on. The physical layout of the TF530 isn't perfect, you (may) need a relocator board to fit it into your Amiga, you (may) need to use specific connectors, and still it fits only barely between the Amigas other components and casing. For example, adding a Kickstart-switch may turn out to be quite difficult now with the TF530 in place.

But all these quirks don't change a simple fact:

It's effin' great! 

Awesome!

Amazing!

Magnifique!

Thank you, Mr. Stephen Leary!

Thank you very, very much for sharing,
and lighting up the TerribleFire!

So far, so good. I currently consider this to be the last entry in my little series about building the TerribleFire 530 accelerator board. But who knows. And there's so much more to do... maybe a TF328?

Overview and back catalogue of the series:
http://amigaalive.blogspot.de/p/hardware-building-terribefire-tf530.html

Building the TerribleFire TF530 accelerator board, part 4: Software and Installation

Handling ~40GB of downloaded installation archives is not for the squeamish. And I built the M68000 CPU socket connector. And then there comes the moment of truth.

Disclaimer: This is not an instruction. Use at your own risk. No responsibility taken for whatever you do. Safety first. Kids, dont try this at home. 

That's what she looks after cleaning.

Now that I have a complete TF530, it's time to upload the firmware to the Xilinx CPLDs. Wow, Xilinx really offers a lot of software for download. (And US export regulations are weird.) Picking an older, smaller (3.5GB) version of Xilinx ISE for Linux from their website didn't work out, does not recognize my Diligent-based "Xilinx Platform Cable USB" JTAG interface. Trying Windows version, no success.

Nope, this one wouldn't do the job. Need more software.

Next Linux version (8.0GB) didn't work, too. Trying Windows version, no success. I've downloaded about 25GB so far... Well, long story short: A few days and a few more versions later, namely 14.6, there's a new button in Xilinx ISE's GUI: Diligent USB device. Yay. Finally. Job done, nerves wrecked.

Connecting the JTAG cable, and uploading the firmware then worked flawlessly.

Plug it in!

I'll be installing the TF530 into an Amiga 500. The TF530 has to be connected to the M68000 CPU socket on the mainboard. My first thoughts were to build something using wires, but that would leave the TF530 floating around the Amiga's casing, requiring some support. So I decided to go with the "68000 Relocator" board and build some connector from standard 2.54mm-grid pin headers soldered to it. The CPU socket on the mainboard is pretty flat, and it turns out that when using these pin headers you have to solder them to the "68000 Relocator" just at the tip, lifting up the board from the CPU socket as far as possible. And of course we don't want to damage the CPU socket by inserting wide pins into the very narrow CPU-pin slots, so the pin headers need some filing! Only next time I will do the filing before soldering the TF530 to the Relocator board, saves a lot of cleaning... But I'm quite pleased with the results, and it looks as if I can still - should I ever need to do so - put the M68000 CPU back into the socket and its pins will make proper contact.

Final step of installation is to connect the TF530's "A500" header to the Amiga 500's expansion port. "OVR" to pin 17, and "INT2" to pin 19. A small 2-pin header can (and probably should) be installed there, to be able to unplug the TF530 and the wires. I created it from two individual pins, because the distance between the soldering points on the mainboard is less than 2.54mm. Now that we have pin headers on both ends, a connector cable with two individual plugs on one end and a 2-pin-plug on the other, will certainly come in handy.

The INT2/OVR header, and building the connector cable.

What's left to do? Nothing!

Turn it on!

I have to admit this is quite a moment. I started this journey about nine months ago. This is the moment of truth. I'll have a bottle of cold beer ready to go. With a display and the PSU connected, I'm powering up the Amiga...

The TF530 fully installed. Will it work?

And...

...nothing. Black screen. No floppy clicks.

Maybe we should install some jumper at "CLOCKSEL".
Let's try again.

And...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuoKNZjr8_U

 ...it's alive!

Now where's that bottle of beer?

Next time we'll see how she really does - watch out for part 5 of our series "Building the TerribleFire TF530 accelerator board"!

Overview and back catalogue of the series:
http://amigaalive.blogspot.de/p/hardware-building-terribefire-tf530.html

New page: More of the best - Amiga games you must have seen, part 2!

When researching for our previous article "Best of the best - Amiga games you must have seen", a lot more games came to mind that excel in one or the other way, and need to be mentioned but didn't make it into the article. So here's part 2! Again, we're focussing more on technical or stylistic achievement, and less on mass appeal or nostalgia.

Have fun with our new page...

More of the best - Amiga games you must have seen, part 2

 

Building the TerribleFire TF530 accelerator board, part 3: Parts inspection, and soldering

Let's see what we've got. And how we're gonna put it together. This one had a little surprise for me.

Disclaimer: This is not an instruction. Use at your own risk. No responsibility taken for whatever you do. Safety first. Kids, dont try this at home. 

Parts and BOM, and the shiny blue PCB.

It looks like I haven't missed much so far. Everything required to populate the board is there (except for the CPU socket connector, for which some substitute will be built), and I'm still able to identify the individual components! :-)

Parts and tools.

So, with Stephen Leary's instructional video (see below) on my computer's screen, I started soldering. May I note that not only does his video provide helpful and important information and hints, but also is a pleasant accompaniment when working on the TF530.

Soldering the first SMD chip on to the board quickly resulted in the chip being roasted, and the PCB damaged. Lol. Surprise. It turned out to be waaaaaay more difficult than I had expected.

Working with tiny SMD components poses some unexpected problems. For example if you're used to soldering hole-though parts you will most likely use way too much solder on your first attempts. Well, I did. Then, when you got used to using really very little solder, you find out that you cannot easily suck away the solder if you've made a mistake, because the amount of solder is too little for the desoldering pump to work on. Then you may learn the painful way that tiny PCB chip pins are reeaaally weak, you have to treat them really gently. And finally, when checking results of your soldering, you may find out that your grandma's magnifying glass does what it's supposed to do - to magnify - but it's scratched or unclear, and really creates more confusion than it does help.

First chip in place. Dirty, but undamaged!

But after some practicing with the damaged board and chip, things looked better. I learned to use the right amount of solder, the right amount of soldering flux, and to move the soldering iron at the right speed, and started working on a new board - with far better results.

More components.

After some hours of focused soldering and (visual) checking it looks as if my first TF530 might soon be ready for testing.

TF530r2 fully populated!

She's currently no beauty and needs some serious cleaning, but she makes her owner very proud. :-)

If you wanna try to build one, here's Stephen Leary's first "how to" video (we're still waiting for the second):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG_5oDeLdGE

Next time we need to find out if she's alive - watch out for part 4 of our series "Building the TerribleFire TF530 accelerator board"!

Overview and back catalogue of the series:
http://amigaalive.blogspot.de/p/hardware-building-terribefire-tf530.html

Building the TerribleFire TF530 accelerator board, part 1: Introduction

Stephen Leary's TF530 accelerator board for the Amiga 500 is a nice piece of hardware for several reasons. It's low-cost, open-source, fast, has an IDE controller, and a great name.

Why not build one youself?

Disclaimer: This is not an instruction. Use at your own risk. No responsibility taken for whatever you do. Safety first. Kids, dont try this at home. 

You need some proper tools, and should have some good soldering experience - SMD parts are really small... And you need some patience and knowledge to find the components.

For starters, check the video below, where Stephen shows the first steps in building it "from scratch".

"TFV#45 - Building Your Own 68030 Amiga 500 Accelerator - SMD Components"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG_5oDeLdGE

Find basic information, PCB layout, bill-of-material and software on Stephen's github account:
https://github.com/terriblefire/tf530

(Note: Stephen is still working the board, releasing updated revisions. Make sure you check board revisions, bill-of-material, and information accordingly.)

Also keep an eye on his YouTube channel, he releases new videos quite often, giving updates on his developments, explaining details of his boards, or even reviewing user boards:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu4uiUtALy1ILAxNh7TGsmQ

If you need more information, you should watch Stephen's videos, and get in contact with other users via the "Terrible Fire Accelerators" thread on EAB / "English Amiga Board":
http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=85380

Now let's see if we can build the TF530 - watch out for part 2 of our series "Building the TerribleFire TF530 accelerator board"!

Overview and back catalogue of the series:
http://amigaalive.blogspot.de/p/hardware-building-terribefire-tf530.html