This week's retro news, hand curated down to the stories worth your time
In this issueVectrexC64AmigaAtari STGame Boy AdvanceMiSTerNESZX81AtariDreamcast
Biggest story of the week
This week's big one
Ferranti ULA documents for the ZX81 and Spectrum shared online
About 200 original Ferranti documents on the Sinclair ULAs, including logic diagrams and schematics, have been digitised, cleared with Sky and catalogued online. And no AI was used in digitising them!
0:53 Happy Little DiodesThis is a big deal! But I do understand that it will have little interest outside of the UK and the logic-obsessed
New games
New games for old machines
Eldemar, a first-person RPG and action game for the Amiga
Eldemar is a first-person RPG and action game for the Amiga, with music by Allister "Demon" Brimble, currently on Kickstarter.
read Indie Retro News read also: Reddit Retro read also: Reddit Retro 11:28 also: Pixel Cherry Ninja
Astro Bat, a work-in-progress Arkanoid-style homebrew for Vectrex
Astro Bat is a Vectrex homebrew Arkanoid-style game with power-ups (slow, catch, extend, multiball, laser, warp, extra ship), boss fights and a separate Duel mode, a Pong-like two-player or versus-CPU game. It plays best with a spinner, and the author has added speed settings so the analogue stick works too. The host expects it to run on a standard multicart and the Vectrex Mini.
0:15 ArcadeUSA
Doom running through a Vectrex
A video shows Doom running via the Vectrex's vector display, which the hosts say looks remarkable. It is likely running through the console rather than on it.
36:41 This Week in Retro
Dungeon Raider, a Gauntlet-style game for the Commodore 64
Pick a class such as the wizard and destroy the monster generators across levels, with invincibility pickups and spell-casting enemies that slow you down.
9:57 The New Retro Show
Unlock with PatreonRebuilt
Old machines get a new life
CrispyDoom hybrid core for MiSTer runs Doom, Heretic, Hexen and Strife
CrispyDoom, a new beta hybrid port for the MiSTer, puts Doom, Doom II, Final Doom, their expansions, Heretic, Hexen and Strife in one core. It is available through update_all or as a zip in releases.
read Reddit Retro 18:46 also: Pixel Cherry Ninja
New Vectrex core for MiSTer
A new Vectrex core for MiSTer is out, with new overlays. The old .ovr files are no longer supported.
read Reddit Retro 31:18 also: Pixel Cherry NinjaLost and found
Unearthed treasures and new homes for old games
Super Mario Galaxy for the Game Boy Advance
A Super Mario Galaxy port for the Game Boy Advance by Game of Tobi has arrived.
read Retro Dodo read also: Reddit Retro 19:12 also: Pixel Cherry Ninja 8:22 also: Pixel Cherry Ninja
Tutankham for Amiga
Konami's 1982 arcade game Tutankham arrives on the Amiga from LC-Games.
read Indie Retro News 12:50 also: Pixel Cherry Ninja 28:53 also: The Laird's Lair
Wizball 'Enhanced Edition' for the Spectrum
Ocean Software's 1987 best-seller Wizball returns to the Spectrum in a rebalanced and restored 'Enhanced Edition'.
read Time Extension read also: Indie Retro News read also: Reddit Retro
Halo: Combat Evolved multiplayer ported to Nintendo 64
A multiplayer port of Halo: Combat Evolved for the Nintendo 64.
read Retro Dodo 15:39 also: Pixel Cherry NinjaNew hardware
Boards, carts and kit you can build or buy
ArcStation PS1 optical drive emulator is now shipping
The ArcStation optical drive emulator is now shipping to customers. It is compatible with all PlayStation 1 models, and a livestream tested installation in a PSOne, which means unbolting the console, removing the existing drive and plugging this one in its place.
read RetroRGB 8:02 also: RetroRGB
Analogue announces Super Nt Plus and Mega Sg Plus
Analogue announced updated FPGA Super Nt and Mega Sg consoles, the Plus models, with Bluetooth and 2.4G wireless, USB-C, and a reworked design and OS, still at 1080p. Pre-orders opened on 19 October.
read retrorgb.com 3:28 via Mr. Sujano
Atari Gamestation Mega bar-top arcade appears for pre-order
The mini bar-top arcade machine announced last year, with keypad and paddle controls like the Gamestation Go, briefly went up for pre-order on Amazon and now shows out of stock again.
2:25 The Laird's LairTools
Things that help you make things
Raspberry Pi Guide to Retro Gaming
A guide to playing classic retro games on a Raspberry Pi.
read Raspberry Pi read also: Reddit Retro
C64 hardware simulator
Most C64 emulators work at a high level, while this hardware simulator models the machine itself.
read Hackaday retrocomputingChums of the Channel
Send some love to nice people
More Fun Retro designs a composite video mod board for the ZX81
A KiCad redesign of an open-source ZX81 composite mod board that fixes the missing back porch signal, built to be quicker to assemble and to install without gutting the original modulator. Covers PCB layout, a 3D-printed solder paste stencil and reflowing the board.
0:00 More Fun Retro
JuiceST: a USB-C power supply for the Atari ST
Hack Build Restore adapts his Amiga Juicebox into a drop-in USB-C PSU for the Atari ST that reuses the original switch. The first build would not power on because the ST's big 5V capacitors caused an inrush overload, fixed with a TPS22950 limiter and smaller bulk capacitors.
0:31 Hack Build Restore