wee doors banging

Markus has released an updated version of the open source Amstrad CPC emulator package, JavaCPC. JavaCPC Paint, a utility to draw directly into the emulated CPC screen, has been added and CRTC registers 6 and 8 are now fully emulated, allowing several more advanced demo effects to be properly displayed.

The latest issue of games™ magazine hits the shelves today. Up until now it’s not a magazine that I would normally have read, so normally the publication of another issue wouldn’t be much call for remark. But issue 89 contains an in depth feature looking back at one of the all time great – and personal favourite – Amiga games: Team17’s Alien Breed 3D.

I’ve enjoyed the previous Academy books (with reservations) but I’m not sure what to make of this one. One the one hand, Odyssey is excellent and worthy of the award nominations it has receieved, but on the other the pacing fails in spots and there’s a gaping back story hole you could, well, fill a book with.

A few weeks ago I wrote about the launch of Public Records Office of Northern Ireland’s new searchable archive of Belfast Street Directories. I’ve now uploaded some coverage of the launch event, originally broadcast on UTV on 23rd September 2009.

Alien Breed 3D (AB3D), published in 1995, is the fourth game in Team17’s classic Alien Breed franchise. As the title suggests, AB3D breaks the 2D mould of the previous games; it’s a 3D first person shooter much like DOOM but with a more advanced graphics engine. It’s also one of my favourite Amiga games, if not my actual number-one-with-a-plasma-bolt favourite Amiga game, even though I was never much of a fan of the 2D games in the series.

Based on publically released source code and information, I started four AB3D modification and remake projects and I thought I’d list them here for posterity.