My First Event:

I was quite nervous about attending as this was my first ever event. I always get a little nervous when meeting new people or doing something new for the first time.

I had arranged to take my Vectrex, Channel F and Upgraded CPC6128 along for the event so that people could have a play. Disaster struck as my CPC6128 decided to no longer accept the Symbiface II card and my Vectrex display started to wobble.

I managed to get my hands on 2 new Vectrex machines the weekend before the event - both were eBay purchases and both were located within 15 miles of my house. I decided not to take the CPC6128 altogether.

My wife kindly helped me pack the car (I trusted her carrying the Vectrex machines!) and we set off for our 100 Mile journey toward Oxford. When we arrived I was pleased to find the event with no problems and also the hotel (which was on the other side of the road.)

Setting Up:

Upon meeting a few of the attendees who were already around I was shown upstairs to the function room where I was given a corner to set up my stuff. I just started right away as I was not sure what was expected of me.

My Channel F and 19 games and my 2 Vectrex machines were set up on my newly purchased aluminium table (which I have since discovered has extendable legs - so sorry to everyone who had to bend down to play my systems!)

Me and my wife then went and booked into the Hotel.

The Event:

I was pleased with how this went. I do not drink beer as a rule (it does not agree with me) and I only occasionally drink spirits 2 or 3 times a year. I did not see this as one of those times. The event was billed as "Gaming and Beer Weekend" so I knew what to expect :)

People were friendly and were willing to chat to the new kid on the block and I met some very interesting people (including Paul Drury of Retro Gamer.)

I finally met Atariman AKA Blackpanther and his partner. I met StarshupUK the organiser of this years event and a few others connected to other Retro Gaming / Computing organisations and websites.

What I realised was that this event was more about the "good time" factor than it was about the machines. Regulars to this event come because of the laid back atmosphere and the promise of being able to get drunk with people who have the same interests as themselves. The competitions brought a bit of friendly rivalry to the weekend and the Rock Band sessions allowed some visitors to make themselves look silly in complete comfort. The raffle was another masterstroke which got the attention of the whole room (and I also won the Blitz BASIC software - which I am itching to have a go at!)

The goody bags which each guest was given also added to the "Special Feeling" of the event. The bag included a DVD containing photos of past event, live music from RetroVision 2009 and some and some homebrew games. The bag also contained a Nintendo Wii sweet dispenser, a light stick, a key ring and a random Spectrum Game!

I also took the opportunity to buy 2 new releases for the BBC Micro called ZAP! and The Crystal Connection both by http://www.retrosoftware.co.uk from Dave who runs www.cgeu.info.

There was an impressive number of machines on display, some of which I had never seen in the flesh before and all were available to play. Those machines I saw included: Commodore 64 & VIC20, Neo Geo, Commodore PET, 2 Amiga 500's connected together via serial cable, Dreamcast, Mega Drive, Master System, NES, SNES, Turbo Duo, Wii, PS3, Xbox360, Acorn Archimedes & BBC Micro. I'm sure there were others which I cannot remember at the moment.

I had a few interesting games with a man I have since come to know only as "Bane". We played the Channel F Video Wizball game and also have a try on the Nintendo Wii drum game which I cannot remember the name of either!

The Location:

Me and my wife also took the opportunity to wander into Oxford centre which was only a 10 minute walk from the event. We went to the Ashmolean Museum and also ate in 2 very nice restaurants during our stay.

2009.06.03

TWO! New Retro Gaming Event Announced in the UK!

I contacted the founder of the great Retro Gaming event ByteBack 2009 to find out what else was on the calendar! I also included a youtube video of my collection to prove I was serious!

Here's the reply!

Hi,

Wow great collection you have there.

Our next event is in November at the same location in Leicestershire, there are two more events planned soon,

Console Combat in Manchester, 25/26th July - www.consolecombat.co.uk
Retro Reunited in Huddersfield, 12/13th September - www.retroreunited.info

regards

Scott

So check out the websites and get involved!

If anyone else has a retro-event they would like to share or would like to arrange contact me at ask@retro-zone.org

2009.06.01

Retro-Zone manages to get a copy of Jr. Pac-Man homebrew cartridge for the Atari 7800!

After much waiting and worrying I have received my much anticipated Jr. Pac-Man cartridge from PacManPlus - the AtariAge member and programmer.

Jr. Pac Man on the Atari 7800

After the first few units were dispatched a bug was found which meant certain 7800's were not handling the extra memory chip on the cartridge very well. It caused parts of the map to disappear and it was possible for the ghosts to leave the screen - and enter the RAM!!! For a while it looked like the project was going to be abandoned and I (along with hundreds of others) waited with baited breath to see if the problem could be fixed. A very in depth discussion took place on the Atari Age forum on how to fix the problem, with people who clearly know their stuff offering advice and opinions on what could be wrong.

Suffice to say the problem was fixed and the rest of the lucky people on the "reserved list" sent messages of encouragement and thanks as one by one they received their fully functional cartridges. And Now I Have Mine......

Stay Tuned for more news on this cartridge once I get the chance to review it!



Now all I need is an Atari 7800!!

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2009.04.20

Star Sabre 128K for the Amstrad CPC and Plus Released!

Axelay (AKA Paul Kooistra) has teamed up with some of the best current CPC coders (Targhan, Sylvestre) to bring this 128K update to his already very good game Star Sabre.

The extra memory has been used to add more enemy sprites, a wonderful soundtrack and extra levels! Even the title screen and ending sequence have been improved.

You can download a disc image of the game FREE from Axelay himself from his website.

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2009.04.10

Retro-Zone receives New Colecovision "Youtube" cartridge from Daniel Bienvenu

have managed to get my hands on one of the New Colecovision Cartridges by Daniel Beinvenu (Thanks Daniel!), and I've got to say I'm really excited about plugging it in to see if it works in my Colecovision console.

HomeBrew Colecovision Catridge featuring Retro-Zone.Org!

The cartridge arrived in a small yellow padded envelope with a Small Packet declaration form glued to the back. Posted by way of the "Canada Postes" the form describes the envelopes contents as "Coleco Cartridge"! I wonder how many in the post office or customs know what that means?!



Inside my cartridge was waiting for me. The familiar black plastic shape which looks exactly as it should complete with a nice glossy label. I thought that was it until I looked at the back and found a message - written by hand in Gold Pen -"To my friend Retro-Zone Dean. [signed] Daniel Bienvenu." Even though we have never met - I thought this was a very nice thing to do - and shows just how much Daniel does actually care about the people who enjoy his work.

Please see my photos below and keep your eye on my Youtube Channel (retrozoneorg) for a video of the new cartridge in action.

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2009.03.21

iDevGames Announces uDevGames 2008 Winners

uDevGames is a Mac game development contest requiring teams to create new and open source Mac games in just three months.
The challenge began on December 2, 2008 with the final voting period ending March 12, 2009.

Twenty unique games were scored by the competing teams for gameplay, graphics, audio, story, presentation and originality.

Justin Ficarrotta's entry "Laserface Jones vs Doomsday Odious" dominated five out of the six peer categories, including top of the "Best Overall Game" provided by a public vote.

A sponsored prize pool over of $20,000 in prizes will now be divided among the nine winning entries.
Several of the generous uDevgames sponsors have agreed to reward to every member of a every team a prize for their participation.

A listing of all entries including descriptions, screenshots, developer diaries, and downloads can be found at the official uDevGames website:
http://www.udevgames.com./

iDevGames would like to thank all contestestants, volunteers and players who participated in these years contest.
With a very special thanks acknowledging the generous support provided by the uDevGames 2008's sponsors:

Araelium Group, Aspyr Media, Inc., Atomicon Music & Sound, Bare Bones Software, Inc., BeLight Software, BIAS, Inc., Big Nerd Ranch,
BitRock, DAZ 3D, EazyDraw, Freeverse, Frictional Games, Frogames, GamingBaboons, Geek Culture, Graphic Remedy, Graveck Interactive LLC,
GUD Publishing, Luxology LLC, M Cubed Software, MacTech Magazine, Manning Publications, MAXON, MW 3D-Solutions, Nevercenter, Partners
In Rhyme, Inc., REAL Software, Rogue Amoeba, Runtime Revolution Ltd, Sawblade Software, Skorpiostech, Inc, Stone Design Corp, The Omni
Group, tribalmedia llc, Unity Technologies ApS, VMWare, Xgaming and Zhang Games / Layout Center.

Contact contest promoter and site owner, Carlos Camacho, for further information.
http://www.idevgames.com/
http://www.udevgames.com/"

This article was submitted via email by Mr.Bill on 2009.03.18.

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2009.03.09

uDevGames (Homebrew Games for the Mac) contest voting is now Open

The uDevGames project was started to encourage game development on the Macintosh computer range.

Over the years it seems that Microsoft machines have had all the fun with the most commercial games releases (while as a Windows and Linux user this is great for me - I can see why Mac users are getting a bit miffed.) Well this website could help to change all that, but it needs support! So visit the link below and try a few games that take your interest and then vote for them - giving each marks out of 10.

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2009.02.23

Retro-Zone.Org appears in a new Colecovision Title!

Youtube star (as far as the Colecovision goes) newcoleco has written a new program to say "thank you" to all his subscribers and friends.

Retro-Zone.Org on the Colecovision!

Retro-Zone.Org is mentioned in the program! I am currently trying to get my hands on a Cartridge version of the program from the man himself so I can run it in my own Colecovision! I will keep you posted on more developments.

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2009.02.07

Retro-Zone.Org is now hosting the "Page of Aquarius" Website.

The author of one of the best (and most missed) websites dedicated to the Mattel Aquarius has allowed Retro-Zone.Org to host the site for others to enjoy.

At first I attempted to salvage the site from a web archiving server called The Way Back Machine. However the original author kindly made the website available for a short time on his Yahoo Group to allow me to download the complete site and host it here as it should be - complete.

Take a look at the site here: http://www.retro-zone.org/pageofaquarius/

Also see this Youtube channel by the same author: http://www.youtube.com/user/MattelAquarius

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2009.01.20

Prodatron Make 10 Symbiface II cards available for purchase for the CPC! Retro-Zone.Org Managed to Purchase one!

The legendary Prodatron and Dr. Zed have teamed up again to release the last 10 Symbiface 2 cards for the Amstrad CPC6128.

Symbiface II card connected to my CPC6128!

I was able to get my hands on one of these sought after cards and wasted no time in linking it to my Amstrad CPC (see the photo's below.)

So what is a Symbiface Card anyway?

Well put simply it is the mother of all upgrades for the Amstrad CPC664, CPC6128 and 6128 Plus machines (it is possible to connect to a CPC464 or 464 Plus but only with a prior ROM upgrade to enable floppy disk support.)

So what does it do?

* The Symbiface contains a 512K RAM upgrade - taking your 6128 to 640K! That's the same as an early PC.

* It also includes a PS/2 controller to allow the connection of a PC compatible mouse.

* It also contains 512K of reprogrammable ROM space. This can be used to store programs or drivers and enable you to access them instantly.

* By far the most impressive feature of the Symbiface II card is the ability to connect an IDE (PATA) hard drive up to 128Gb to your CPC! That's enough space to store every piece of Amstrad CPC software ever written - and then some!

* It is designed to be the perfect partner to the SymbOS operating system.

What is SymbOS?

SymbOS is a windows style GUI Operating System which runs on a number of Z80 processor based machines - including the Amstrad CPC and PCW machines (there is also an enhanced version for the MSX.) The program is really unbelievable! It feels like using a PC and you would never believe what your Amstrad Machine was capable of. If this software had come out while the Amstrad CPC was New it could have changed history, we might even still be using descendants of the CPC today. The operating system allows you to access all the features of the Symbiface II card - including the ROM programmer, Hard Drive, PS/2 Mouse and additional RAM. There is also a Snapshot loader included allowing you to play Amstrad CPC games saved by an emulator - which means you can save all your games to hard disk for instant access through SymbOS built in software. There is also all the usual applications you would expect on a PC including a calculator, file manager, music player (sf2 files) and photo viewer.

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