Psytronik Software supports 'Made in Creative UK'

An interesting initiative has recently been launched by Blitz Games Studios designed to raise awareness of the economic and cultural contribution of the UK games sector to the global games industry.

As both Binary Zone Interactive and Psytronik Software have been supporting the UK gaming scene for 20 years now we are more than happy to support this idea and have joined a growing number of software developers and publishers in this scheme.

You will see the Made in Creative UK logo appearing on various Psytronik releases in the future.  For more information and to see who else is supporting the scheme head on over to the Made in Creative UK website.

Psytronik @ Revival 2013

Greetings Retro Chums!

The first Retro event that I attended this year was the rather marvellous REVIVAL 2013, a two day Retrothon organised by my good chum Chris 'Boyo' Wilkins and Craig Turner from Turnarcades Custom Arcade Machines.  I had previously attended the 'Retro Ball' that was also organised by Chris which I thoroughly enjoyed so I was looking forward to seeing what Chris & Craig had cooked up for Revival 2013.

For more deets head over to www.revivalretroevents.com

For the event I decided to take two complete systems to display on the Binary Zone / Psytronik stand.  The first of which is the much photographed / slightly controversial / often commented on SPECADORE 64 - Which is basically a C64C with a custom paint-job to make it look like a Sinclair machine.  The simple story behind this beastie is that the keys and case on my old C64C went a horrible yellow colour over time so I gave it a black re-spray, swapped over the keyboard for an original Breadbin C64 keyboard and even added a little raised 'Sinclair' logo (+ Speccy style colour stripes) to the case using a craft-knife and oodles of patience.

The mighty SPECADORE 64 - Behold its beauty!

The second machine I took along was the Commodore 64X - Which is one of those PC's-in-a-C64 style case courtesy of the now defunct Commodore USA.  As it's basically an all-in-one PC it's handy for running emulators along with PC remakes of retro games.  Playing the PC remake of Armalyte on a remake of the Commodore 64 using a USB remake of the Competition Pro joystick is a bit of a treat, I can tell ya!

Roll up!  Roll up!  Get yer retro goodies here!!

With the Kenzimobile loaded up with my kit and a box of Binary Zone / Psytronik stock I zzoomed along the M6 to sunny Wolverhampton.  It's actually quite a short journey from the Zone to the venue so I made good time getting there and was soon setting up my bits and bytes on the table that Chris had allocated for me.  The venue itself was great - lots of room and different areas to explore.  There were literally TONS of retro machines, arcade cabs and pinball machines already set up so I had some fun checking them out before the event properly began.

So many awesome arcade cabs to play!

One of the (many) highlights of Revival  2013 was seeing the Fix It Felix Jnr arcade cab that was right opposite my stand.  In fact, one of my favourite memories from Revival 2013 was watching a guy playing the game who was obviously completely smitten by the machine.  He was on it for AGES, then he was taking photos of it, and then he was on his phone to somebody excitedly telling them about it.  Bless!

I'm gonna WRECK IT!!

Other highlights of the weekend include chatting with various chums from the homebrew & retro scene including Boyo, Chris Abbott & Tanya (with their adopted Thing on a Spring), Steve 'STE'86' Day, Richard Bayliss, Jason Kelk, Andy from RCM, Stu from Ovine, Oliver Frey & Roger Kean, Max Hall & Jackie, the RV gang (including nudie Bane o_O!), the guys from OCEAN, the Cosplay girls (Amy & Georgie) and of course, everyone who came up to my stand to talk RETRO!

Some more of the attractions at Revival 2013! ;)

All in all, I really enjoyed my weekend at Revival.  It was well organised, the Retro Lords did a fine job compering and a nice touch was Craig going around asking the exhibitors if everything was okay and if they needed anything - it's the little things like that which make a difference!  The only slight downer was when I discovered my ZipStick joystick was missing from my stand on Sunday morning which meant nobody would be able to play on the Specadore that day - but the RCM chaps stepped in a lent me a joystick which solved that problem - and then, my joystick was actually returned to me later that day thanks to it having my name and details on a sticker on the bottom - nice one!


To get a taste of Revival 2013 have a look at the video below - you can see me at 2:53 giving a little wave to the camera and again at 4:23 having some fun with the Cosplay girls - *grin!*!



Thanks for reading!  See you ...  At a future Retro event, hopefully!

Kenz / www.psytronik.net

ULTIMATE COPS - A new games compilation for the C64!

Greetings fellow Retronauts!

For this blog entry I will be focusing on a new game compilation for the C64 that is now almost ready for release.  ULTIMATE COPS will feature four complete COPS games by Alf Yngve - along with two bonus COPS games - one of which is a brand new release and one is a previously unreleased game.  Here's how this collection of games came about ...

They are the LAAAAW!

Back in the early 1990's Alf Yngve released a game for the C64 called COPS.  A slightly modified and improved version of the game (Cops V.2) followed soon after.   This game caught the attention of a lot of people with it's detailed and superbly animated sprites and nicely designed backgrounds.  After the release of Cops V.2, Alf was definitely 'one to watch' and he did not disappoint with his subsequent games that proved to be very popular and he was constatntly impressing gamers with his ability to think outside the confines of the SEUCK editor.

The original classic - now with a slick new front-end!

A sequel to COPS soon followed and continued the adventures of Mike 'Mad Dog' Mctavish and Singh 'Big Bang' Kapoor.  This time the Cops were taking a well earned vacation from all the crime in Euro-City - but crime never takes a holiday and soon our heroes found themselves battling villains at their holiday resort!  Holiday Cops features a slightly different graphical style to the original (including more nicely drawn locations) and some dangerous situations for the Cops including a tricky boat section!

Crime never takes a vacation - but fortunately,

neither do the COPS!

The third COPS game was produced at around the same time the first Jurassic Park movie was released.  In order to grab a slice of the dino-mania the movie generated at the time the game features a 'Dino-Land' section in the the game with assorted dinosaurs giving chase to the Cops!  Other locations include a bank vault and airport section.  This game was originally bundled with the Psytronik release of the Alf Yngve game Archetype and featured a new front added by the C64 demo crew Xentrix.

The previously unseen Cops III artwork - how much action in one pic?!

In 2012 Alf decided to produce his biggest and most ambitious COPS game yet.  COPS: The Final Chapter concludes the story of Mike 'Mad Dog' Mctavish and Singh 'Big Bang' Kapoor.  For the final part of the saga the Cops are brought out of retirement in order to rescue the kidnapped Pope (!) and take on a multitude of baddies along the way.  Alf really pulled out all the stops for this game which features separate (pseudo-interactive) intro and end sequences and some clever level designs including an amazing exploding bridge section!

Get to the CHOPPAH!

When Alf told me he was working on a fourth Cops game I thought it would be a nice idea to bundle all the Cops games together into one compilation - and that's when I came up with the idea for ULTIMATE COPS.  Rather than release the games in their original form the games have all been specially enhanced for this 2013 release.  The first two Cops games now feature brand-new front-end designs coded by Richard Bayliss with graphics by Steve 'STE'86' Day.  I decided to tackle the redesign for Cops III myself in order to move away from the (still impressive) demo-style front-end of the original release to a design that more closely matches the other games in the pack.

COPS III - Complete with new front-end and new soundtracks!  Rarr!

The artwork for the ULTIMATE COPS compilation is rather special - and there's a little story to how this came about.  A while ago I decided to digitally restore the cover of Zzap!64 issue 1 so I could hang a big print of the cover on my wall.  As part of this restoration process I managed to remove the text and Zzap! logo from the cover and painted in the missing sections on the picture underneath - which left a fully restored version of the Oliver Frey 'Elite' painting.  A few years later Oliver Frey and Roger Kean got to see my restored Elite picture and they were so impressed with my work they asked if they could sell it on www.oliverfreyart.com in return for a royalty payment.  Rather than receive royalties I asked if I could use an existing Oliver Frey design as the artwork for a Psytronik release - and they agreed!

I was working on ULTIMATE COPS at the time and while I was perusing the various designs on Oliver's site I spotted the painting he had created for Chase HQ II (featured as the cover for Zzap! 64 issue #68).  I figured this would be PERFECT for ULTIMATE COPS as the game begins with you in the back of a red car shooting at motorbikes - and there's a helicopter later in the game.  Oliver & Roger sent me a gorgeous hi-res print to work with and I set to work fitting the artwork into the Psytronik template.  The pressure was on to create a logo that would compliment the amazing artwork, but I was happy with the first design I came up with and that's the one I went with in the end.

Oli Frey artwork on a Psytronik release!  Awesome!!

To round off the compilation brand new bitmap loading screens have been produced for the games.  Carl 'Mase' Mason has done a superb job with the new loading screens for Holiday Cops, Cops III and Cops:The Final Chapter - which is a stunning conversion of the Oli Frey cover artwork.

ULTIMATE COPS will be released on C64 tape, disk and as a DELUXE download in June 2013.

Thanks for reading, and remember, WINNERS DON'T DO DRUGS! (Er, unless you are Charlie Sheen).


Kenz / www.psytronik.net

Jon Wells - C64 Classix available on tape, disk + digital download!

Greetings retro chums!

To tie in with the first bundle of Psytronik games to be released on the iPhone I also released a C64 disk version of the pack designed to be played on real C64 hardware.  Jon Wells C64 Classix (Volume 1) contains the full versions of Sceptre of Baghdad, Escape from Arth (the 2008 Special Edition), Blitz 2000, Blitz 3000 and a specially enhanced version of Shaolin (now entitled Shaolin+, with revamped controls and a new end sequence).

The compilation was originally designed to be a DISK ONLY release as I didn't have bitmap loading screens for the tape versions.  That was until Carl Mason stepped in and offered to produce new loading screens for the games - and he did a stunning job with them too!

Hiyaa!  Bruise Lei prepares to open a can of whupass on the C64!

Having bitmap screens for all the games meant I could go ahead with a tape release as well and, thanks to the mastering skills of Richard Bayliss, the tape versions are now available!  Shaolin+ and the Blitz games also feature cool loading tunes plucked from the SID archives of FeekZoid.

The chances of anything coming from Mars ...

... Are NIL - if you bomb their colonies into oblivion!

 
And that's not all!  I'm also pleased to announce that the C64 version of the compilation is also now available as a DIGITAL DOWNLOAD!  The special download bundle includes the .tap (tape) versions (complete with the splendid new loading bitmaps and funky FeekZoid choons), .d64 (disk) versions and, due to popular demand, .prg versions of all the main game files - these can be run in devices like the IDE64 and other similar devices.

The tape, budget + premium disk and digital download versions of Jon Wells C64 Classix Vol.1 are NOW AVAILABLE from the Binary Zone RetroStore and will soon also be available for the C64 emulator on iOS devices courtesy of our friends at Manomio.

The latest Psytronik news for February 2013

GREETINGS BLOG-O-NAUTS!

Firstly, a mahoosive apology for the lack of blog updates since March (!) 2012.  I must have fallen through a time / space / beer vortex to suddenly end up in 2013 without having put finger to keyboard to update all you awesome beings on what has been happening in the world of Psytronik Software.  Sorry about that chums & chumettes - life managed to get in the way of my retro shenanigans for a while, but fear not, there has been plenty of cool stuff happening on the Psytronik front recently, so without further agadoo, here's what's been going down in my retrotown!

No news is good news!

Well, kind of!  The first main change for the Psytronik website in 2013 is that I've decided to remove the news section from the site.  The reason for this decision is that from now on I will be featuring all the latest Psytronik news in this here blog.  This means that you will get a lot more blog updates from now on and the main site will no longer feature an oft-neglected news page.  So it's a win-win for all you lovely retro people out there (and a bit less work for little old me - *grin!*)

Psytronik C64 releases now on iPhone / iPad!

The good news for all you owners of new-fangled iPhone / iPad devices is that you can now enjoy Psytronik C64 goodliness on your shiny tech thanks to our friends at Manomio.  All you need to do is grab yourself a copy of the C64 Emulator from the App Store and you will straight away be able to play Psytronik / RGCD releases like Sub Hunter, Get 'Em Deluxe and Green / Redrunner for FREE!  A brand-new Jon Wells Psytronik bundle is also available to buy featuring FIVE full games!  The pack contains Sceptre of Baghdad, Blitz 2000, Shaolin+, Blitz 3000 and Escape from Arth (2008 Special Edition) - all for just 69p in total!  BARG!

Sceptre of Baghdad running on the iPad?  You betcha!

Three new C64 releases for February 2013!

The New Year has got off to a great start here at the Psytronik HQ as there are THREE new C64 releases available to order in the RetroStore.  First up is a C64 version of the Jon Wells compilation I mentioned above.  To tie-in with the release of the first Psytronik iPhone / iPad bundle I have also made the same games available on C64 floppy disk presented in the usual high-quality glossy Psytronik packaging that you know and love.  Jon Wells C64 Classix Vol.1 features Sceptre of Baghdad, Blitz 2000, Shaolin+, Blitz 3000 and Escape from Arth (2008 Special Edition) and is NOW AVAILABLE from the Binary Zone RetroStore!

Clicky the piccy above to order yourself some Jon Wells C64 Classix!

And that's not all!  Georg Rottensteiner & Trevor Storey (the heroes that brought you the 2012 mega-hit SOULLESS) have been busy beavering away on another great C64 game.  GUNS 'N' GHOSTS is a spooky arcade platform shooter for one or two players (it's kind of a cross between Ghosts 'n' Goblins & Bubble Bobble with a bit of Nemesis the Warlock thrown in the mix!)  With 72 screens to clear there's plenty of zombie blasting action to be had and the game features the usual excellent high-quality coding and graphics from Trev & Georg with thumping soundtracks courtesy of Richard Bayliss.  You can now Pre-order Guns 'n' Ghosts the game on C64 tape and disk from the BZ RetroStore, a digital download version will become available when the game is released in February and the C64 cartridge version is being handled by our friends over at RCGD.

If there's something strange, in your neighbourhood .. Shoot it!

And to round off our hat-trick of releases for February we have one more treat for all you C64 gamers out there.  The superbly crafted ASSEMBLOIDS  is now available from Psytronik (as an exclusive tape-only release) and RGCD on C64 cartridge!  The game is an excellent conversion of the PC flash game 'Quartet' and features polished presentation, gorgeous graphics and splendid sonics.  Head on over to the BZ Retrostore to grab the tape version or over to RGCD for the cartridge version.

Darn fine puzzling fun to be had with ASSEMBLOIDS!

That all for now, thanks for reading - see you, IN THE FUTURE!

Kenz / www.psytronik.net (24/01/2013)

SOULLESS - Unleash the beast from your C64!

Greetings Retro Chums!

With the release of the amazing new Commodore 64 title SOULLESS now imminent I thought I would treat you guys & gals to some more details about the game, previously unreleased screenshots and some sneaky peeks at the lush new packaging that we are working on.


Firstly, a bit about the game itself. SOULLESS tells the story of Rizek, the ruler of a war-torn land who grew weary of battle. He declared a time of peace but was betrayed by his bloodthirsty Generals who wanted the wars to continue. The Generals plotted against Rizek and enlisted the help of Kalen, an evil Wizard who cast a spell on Rizek, transforming him into a grotesque beast, robbing him of his soul and casting him into a dungeon for all time. Rizek was locked away and forgotten for a thousand years - until a great quake shattered the walls of his cell. Rizek was at last FREE and began his quest to reclaim both his soul and his kingdom. And that is where the game begins.

A still from the superb animated intro!

You start off in the dungeons and must find your way from the deep dungeon into the nearby temple. The dungeon area is inhabited with a few guards and there are no objects to search - so this is a good way to familiarize yourself with the controls and to learn how to avoid the guards and other monsters that inhabit the game.

Rizek begins his quest deep in the dungeons

As you enter the main temple you will encounter searchable objects. Hidden away throughout the game are twelve randomly placed SPIRIT STONES - you will need to find all 12 of these and then take them to the Soul Chamber and place them in the correct order in order to reclaim your imprisoned soul. This gameplay dynamic is similar to Impossible Mission - but, thankfully, is much simpler. The correct order in which you have to place the Spirit Stones is shown in the form of clues that are displayed on the walls of 12 rooms in the game. Each time you encounter one of these clues all you have to do is make of note of the Spirit Stone and which slot you must place it in the Soul Chamber. One of the clues is shown in the screenshot below.

The red clue on the wall shows where to place one of the Spirit Stones
It will help if you keep a note of these as you play the game

The game will even include a printable Spirit Stone sheet in which you can record the position of the Spirit Stones each time you play it. So don't worry if you are are put off by the puzzle aspect of the game, it's very easy to pick up and makes for a very enjoyable part of the game. The searchable objects in the game also contain other things as well as the vital Spirit Stones. Some contain different magic spells that will either slow down, freeze or destroy all the enemies on the screen. You will also find gold & rubies that will increase your score along with potions that will restore your life energy or give you extra lives.

Boom! Rizek has just destroyed all the enemies on
screen by finding Red Magic hidden in an object!

You will also encounter spawn points scattered throughout the map. Once you have activated a spawn point you will return to that point if you lose a life. You can also replenish your life energy from a spawn point as well. You will find that some areas of the map are blocked by locked doors. You will need to find keys to open these doors in order to access more parts of the map. Once you have correctly placed all 12 Spirit Stones in the Soul Chamber Rizek will reclaim his soul and your quest will be complete!

Rizek poses for a photo near to a spawn point

SOULLESS was designed by Trevor 'Smila' Story who also produced the amazingly detailed graphics for the game. The game was programmed by Georg 'Endurion' Rottensteiner (author of the hugely popular C64 game Joe Gunn) and should prove popular with Joe Gunn fans as it does share a few similarities (I.E. It's a huge flick-screen adventure!) - although the main character sprite in SOULLESS is much bigger (think Draconus, crossed with Impossible Mission with a hint of Shadow of the Beast!) Amazingly, the main game and its lavishly detailed 70+ screen map has been crammed into a single load - with the animated intro and end sequence included as separate files (the end sequence can only be accessed once you have completed the game of course). The atmospheric soundtracks for the game were composed by Mikkel 'Encore' Hastrup.

The awesome Premium Disk cover artwork by Smila

To make SOULLESS an extra special release for C64 fans we have really gone to town with the packaging on this one. The game will include a stunning full colour A3 print that features a complete map of the game on one side and a poster of the game artwork on the other. The game will also include a superb 16 page comic booklet showing the game back-story along with a companion CD that features an emulator compatible version of the game, bonus 'making of' materials, a printable Spirit Stone sheet to help you with your quest, the game soundtracks digitally recorded from a real C64 and much more!

A sneaky peek at the Soulless goodies - including the A3 poster / map,
compantion CD, tape & disk versions of the game and the comic book!

SOULLESS will be released in May 2012 and you will be able to buy the game on C64 tape, 5.25" disk and as a digital download from www.psytronik.net and on C64 cartridge from www.rgcd.co.uk.

Thanks for reading!

Kenz / www.psytronik.net

SEUDS 2 scoops a SIZZLER!

Greetings fellow Retroids,

After the last rather lengthy and somewhat ranty blog entry (!) I'll keep it short and sweet this time. I was recently more than a little chuffed to see that the Shoot 'Em Up Destruction 2 managed to scoop a sizzler in issue 99 of Retro Gamer magazine.

The sizzling SEUDS 2 review (clicky the piccy to embiggen)

I was particularly pleased about this as a lot of work went into the compilation and everyone involved went the extra mile to make this an extra special C64 release. It's also great to see Alf Yngve's work getting the recognition it deserves. To celebrate the new-found Sizzlerdom all future copies of the game will be shipped will now proudly adorn the Sizzler stamp on the cover.

The SEUDS 2 box - now with the RG stamp of approval!

If you haven't snapped up a copy of SEUDS 2 yet then head on over to the BZ RetroStore and treat yourself to some retro fun for the Commodore 64. As a little bonus, everyone who orders SEUDS 2 will also receive a free download link for the original SEUDS compilation too. Bonus!

And that's almost yer lot now. Tune in next time for an update on one of the BIG Psytronik releases for 2012 - SOULLESS (and a sneaky peek at the gorgeous packaging!)

Thanks for reading!

Kenz / www.psytronik.net