25.Mar.2023
Twitter
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Music tip: Track "Amiga" by LukHash
'LukHash' is a musician from Edinburgh in Scottland. He describes his music as "fusion of 8-bit digital mayhem and '80s inspired synth music combined with modern sounds and cyberpunk aesthetics." His latest track "Amiga" can be listened and bought under the title link from a supplier of choice. He hopes to take the audience "on a magical journey back to the golden age of home video gaming". (dr)
[News message: 25. Mar. 2023, 13:06] [Comments: 0]
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25.Mar.2023
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AmiTube 1.4: YouTube client for all Amiga systems
Marcus 'ALB42' Sackrow's AmiTube enables watching YouTube videos on an 68k Amiga. They are converted to Commodore's CDXL format and downloaded.
As the developer wrote on his website, "the biggest enhancement is the Search by ID window for easier handling of YouTube URLs (YouTube video).
A second improvement is the self made AREXX Port for AROS which make it possible to send URLs from AmiFox to AmiTube when you are on a Youtube Video page. (all other platforms had it before already."
The current version can be downloaded from the AmiTube website or installed via the update check in AmiTube. (dr)
[News message: 25. Mar. 2023, 07:30] [Comments: 0]
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25.Mar.2023
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Website application: The virtual Hippoplayer
It all started at the end of 2009, when Spot created aSCIIaRENa as a website for the ASCII scene, which underwent a complete relaunch in 2021 with the help of 'Burps', 'Nicomen', 'Phantasm' and 'Ziphoid'.
Later came other ideas, they wanted to clone the number one ASCII tool, CygnusED, as CED for the web as a way to co-op on ASCII collys similar to how google docs works, but in a CED environment, Fred and Phiwer was brought into the team to write CED. It is available in alpha state now.
When making ASCII you need to listen to Amiga music of course, a prototype clone of Hippoplayer (HiP) was written by Stalvik, but it got scrapped early on.
In a next step of this exciting journey of the project, TAWS developer Michael Rupp was asked to use his Amiga Workbench simulation for browsers for the project. At that time HippoPlayer used the Bassoon tracker's playback routine as backend, work-in-progress was the conversion to a better backend by Jürgen Wothke based on UADE, which supports a variety of Amiga formats (some of them very exotic) due to the Paula emulation included in it. The graphical user interface was already very close to the original HiP 68k, the behavior of the windows was still quite rudimentary compared to TAWS.
It soon became apparent that it was more expedient to not only use Michael Rupp's assistance, but to completely hand over the implementation in TAWS to him, since the GUI was completely rewritten based on his TAWS classes.
Parallel to this it happened that K-P Koljonen had resumed the further development of HippoPlayer for Amiga in 2021 (amiga-news.de reported) and it was agreed that their webclone should become official with K-P Koljonen’s blessing.
In close cooperation between the author of the mod player and Michael Rupp, the original GUI was studied and rebuilt down to the smallest detail for the web implementation. Care was taken to ensure that the two HippoPlayers are compatible, i.e. that playlists can be exchanged. No matter which version created the playlist, the other one can read it.
Thanks to the UHC tools by Patrik Axelsson and David Eriksson, HiP can now access Internet sources directly. The UHC server and its search API is also used for searching in HiP-TAWS. This makes compatible playlists possible, because if local files on the Amiga hard disk were referenced, this would not be possible otherwise.
In this context, one of the new features is the published playlists, which can be found in the "Playlists" folder. Through the Amiga remix search it should then also be possible to play MP3s, but the existing backend was only for the various tracker formats, but not for normal audio files like MP3, WAV, etc.. So Michael Rupp developed this himself. Now it is possible to play all formats including all audio files via this one player class. When HiP finally supported internet radio streaming, a streaming backend was added.
The scopes (graphical representation of what was heard) were also quite elaborate. In addition to the original HippoScope, RuppScope was created as a separate scope option by reverse-engineering.
The site was first published at workbench.asciiarena.se/, and the other existing projects were integrated as iFrame applications by the "aSCIIaRENa" people: AmIRC, NComm and the demos under Work:Demos. AmIRC and NComm is in early alpha stage and their names will probably be changed later on.
The IBrowse implementation was done by Michael Rupp himself and is intended as a homage to the Amiga browser, which its author, Oliver Roberts, took good note of when we pointed it out. In contrast to the original, the online version of course only handles a fraction.
aSCIIaRENA can still be reached through https://www.asciiarena.se if you prefer that instead of viewing it in the iBrowse clone at https://www.hippoplayer.se.
When HippoPlayer became more and more central, the alias address hippoplayer.se/ was added. The UADE backend alone already supports about 300 formats, as Wothke had developed (and continues to develop) more backends, and made them available as open source. So more were integrated, whereby currently about 500 formats are supported. More will follow. (dr)
[News message: 25. Mar. 2023, 06:40] [Comments: 0]
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25.Mar.2023
mnemo (ANF)
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Graphics card ZZ9000: New firmware version 1.13
Lukas F. Hartmann's ZZ9000 is a graphics card with additional features and ports (network, USB, SD cards), which can be ordered in different versions (amiga-news.de reported).
Yesterday, the new firmware version 1.13 was released, which mainly provides stability improvements. In addition to the firmware, the driver package (LHA) must also be updated. The changes:
- Fix Z3 autoconfig issues incl. RAM on first boot
- Improve ethernet to amiga irq
- Fix ethernet freeze on NetShutdown
- Fix scaled sprite and split position
- Fix split panning
- Fix 320x200 mode
- Fix 15bit mode for real (remove hack)
- Add 1920x800 video mode
- MHI/AHI mutually exclusive checks by Tom W.
(dr)
[News message: 25. Mar. 2023, 06:29] [Comments: 0]
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24.Mar.2023
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Amiga emulator: Amiberry 5.6.0
Amiberry is an Amiga emulator for ARM-based single-chip systems like the Raspberry Pi, the Odroid XU4 or the Tinkerboard from ASUS, which brings some newly developed features like a "WHDLoad-Booter" or support for controller configuration using RetroArch. For example it is used in the Workbench distribution AmiKit for the Raspberry Pi 4/400.
A few moments ago, version 5.6.0 has been released. Changes:
Bugfixes
- Fix "default" button setting not fully enabling CD32 pad mode when CD32 was configured.
- Detection of hotplug controllers didn't work after 5.4
- Restart would cause crashes sometimes
- fixed controller axis should be separate from joystick axis handling
- memory pattern would cause graphics glitches in some cases
- virtual keyboard now works with CD32 mode as well
- fixed crash if something triggered a CPU HALT3
- fixed various compiler warnings
- revert custom, blitter and drawing to WinUAE 4.4.0 standard
- 50Hz scroll was not smooth
- improve scrolling smoothness under 50Hz
- Don't use SDL_Quit until we actually quit Amiberry
Improvements
- Implemented On-Screen Virtual Keyboard
- Added VKBD default toggle key
- added VKBD retroarch mapping support
- updated game controllers db to latest version
- Clean up filesystem and bsdsocket emulation earlier.
- cherry picked recent updates from dev
- add SDL2 version in logfile
- Rewrite Serial port support, using libserialport - this also adds a new build requirement
- Disk - Check raw write buffer index, removed debugging.
- refactored input event handling to minimize latency
- removed unreachable code
- decrease mouse map sensitivity on joystick handling
- added more logging during retroarch event handling
- refactored controller input logic
- refactored atomic operations, moved byteswap functions
- added new default options in amiberry.conf
- GUI improvements
- added Warp reset option in Misc Panel
- implemented turbo boot option
- added 1024x600 RTG resolution
- minimize diffs from dev branch
- allow on-the-fly change of virtual mouse driver
- add RK3588 platform in Makefile
- increased width of dropdowns in Input Panel
- minor speedup improvements after recent changes
- a few more minor speed optimizations
- automatically center GUI window when opening
- Updated WHDLoad XML to latest version
Build System
- renamed zip archive from ubuntu to debian
- trigger builds on dev branch and pull requests also
- add automated builds for RK3399 Manjaro platform
- added missing parser.cpp in Android and CMakeLists
- switch from Docker to self-hosted builds again
- added missing Virtual Keyboard file in CMakeLists also
(dr)
[News message: 24. Mar. 2023, 20:17] [Comments: 0]
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24.Mar.2023
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Amiga emulator for MacOS: vAmiga V2.4 beta 1
Dirk Hoffmann continues working on his Amiga emulator vAmiga for MacOS and now has released the first beta version of v2.4. Changes:
Enhancements:
- Improved thread synchronization (Adaptive sync)
- Warp boot support
- Code cleanup
The minimum system requirement for his emulator has been raised to macOS 11.0. Since the developer has left the "Apple Developer Program" ("too expensive"), the app is no longer certified. This means that from now on a warning will be displayed when the app is started. (dr)
[News message: 24. Mar. 2023, 17:59] [Comments: 0]
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24.Mar.2023
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AROS x86: Update of ABI-v0 developer branch to version 20201110-2
In mid-February AROS developer Krzysztof 'deadwood' Śmiechowicz released version 20201110-1 of AROS ABIv0 for 32-bit systems (amiga-news.de reported). Today's second release contains some changes and bug fixes (release notes). (dr)
[News message: 24. Mar. 2023, 16:15] [Comments: 0]
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24.Mar.2023
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Video tutorial: The AMOS commands Load IFF, Get Icon and Paste Icon
In another part of his series of short tutorials on AMOS Pro (amiga-news.de reported), retro and Amiga fan 'Yawning Angel' this time explains the AMOS commands Load IFF, Get Icon and Paste Icon, which he uses to load in graphics for buttons from an IFF file, and use those buttons in a program. (dr)
[News message: 24. Mar. 2023, 06:17] [Comments: 0]
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24.Mar.2023
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m68k assembly: "Amiga Assembly" plugin V1.8.3 for Visual Studio Code (update)
"Amiga Assembly" is a plugin for Visual Studio Code to support assembly language for the Amiga Motorola 68000 machines and emulators. After Paul Raingeard had already corrected a bug of version 1.8.0 under macOS with version 1.8.1, further problems are solved with the now available version 1.8.2.
On GitHub a detailed documentation is available.
Update: (25.03.2023, 07:20, dr)
Meanwhile version 1.8.3 is available, which partly fixes the bug that the link order could not be set. (dr)
[News message: 24. Mar. 2023, 05:44] [Comments: 0]
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24.Mar.2023
(ANF)
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Event: Geit@Home #1 2023
From Friday, April 14, till Sunday, April 16 2023, members of the Amiga clubs Osnabrück and Steinfurt meet once again at Guido 'geit' Mersmann's home in Hörstel, Germany. Details can be found in our German news-item or at the title link. (dr)
[News message: 24. Mar. 2023, 04:50] [Comments: 0]
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23.Mar.2023
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Encryption protocol: AmiSSL 5.8 (AmigaOS 3/4)
Version 5.8 of the open source encryption protocol AmiSSL has been released, now based on the latest version OpenSSL 3.1.0. The detailed changes:
- Switched to OpenSSL 3.1, with full compatibility with the latest OpenSSL 3.1.0 (14.3.2023) version, which includes:
- SSL 3, TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, and DTLS 1.0 only work at security level 0.
- Performance enhancements and new platform support including new assembler code algorithm implementations.
- Deprecated LHASH statistics functions.
- FIPS 140-3 compliance changes.
- Replaced many common Exec semaphore protected OpenSSL operations with atomic inline assembly code on both OS3 and OS4, decreasing overhead and increasing performance.
- Fixed bug in the 5.7 SDK (applications built with it should be recompiled using the 5.8 SDK).
Download AmigaOS 3: AmiSSL-5.8-OS3.lha (3,3 MB)
Download AmigaOS 4: AmiSSL-5.8-OS4.lha (3,1 MB)
Download SDK: AmiSSL-5.8-SDK.lha (2,3 MB) (dr)
[News message: 23. Mar. 2023, 19:02] [Comments: 0]
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23.Mar.2023
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Video: March update on BitBeamCannon projects
In a short video BitBeamCannon has informed about the current status of their projects (Metro Siege, DaemonClaw, Scorpion Boy). (dr)
[News message: 23. Mar. 2023, 06:27] [Comments: 0]
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23.Mar.2023
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Maze game: Cube V0.30
Sami Vehmaa is in the process of writing another game with AmiBlitz3 for fast Amigas with graphics cards or emulators: in "Cube" (YouTube video), the player has to find his way out of a kind of labyrinth (amiga-news.de reported). He has updated to version 0.30, which now features both an intro and an ending scene, as well as adding random lights and sounds (closing doors etc.). (dr)
[News message: 23. Mar. 2023, 04:24] [Comments: 0]
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21.Mar.2023
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Block-oriented copying: Device-Streams 2.2.1
At the beginning of October, Roc Vallès i Domènech had updated the Amiga tool "Device-Streams" for block-oriented copying, similar to UNIX command dd, which was originally developed and released by Christian E. Hopps in 1993 (amiga-news.de reported). Changes of version 2.2.1:
- Minor documentation update.
- Minor Makefile update.
- Built with current toolchain.
- No functional changes.
Two builds are availables: the main build was done with bebbo/amiga-gcc, the second one vbcc.
Download:
device-streams.lha (88 kB)
device-streams_vbcc.lha (86 kB) (dr)
[News message: 21. Mar. 2023, 19:09] [Comments: 0]
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21.Mar.2023
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Managing ADF files: Rust library "adflib"
Volker Schwaberow is in the process of converting ADFlib, written by Laurent Clevy mainly in C, into the programming language Rust. As he explained to us when asked, the library is still in a very early stage and still very minimalistic. At the moment it can read and write ADF, it can read and write tracks and sectors in a byte array. There is no support yet for file systems, compression, etc.
However, that is the goal. In addition, there will be a command line tool that will allow these operations to be performed on the command line without the need for programming knowledge. The author is happy about support, code commits from third parties are welcome. (dr)
[News message: 21. Mar. 2023, 17:43] [Comments: 0]
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21.Mar.2023
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Shooter: New demo version of "Cyberpunk Alien City"
"Cyberpunk Alien City" (video) is a mixture of Run'n Gun and Space Invaders: the player must defend a city against attacking aliens (amiga-news.de reported). Now the demo version for OCS Amigas has been updated. According to Amiten Games a small demo of the shooter part of the game, there "is still a lot to do". (dr)
[News message: 21. Mar. 2023, 05:32] [Comments: 0]
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20.Mar.2023
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Preview video: Twin-Stick shooter "Rogue Declan: Zero"
Nivrig Games - among others Turbo Santa Deluxe Edition 2022 - have been working for some time on a twin-stick shooter which is also supposed to be a test game for the Twin-Stick controller developed by "Abstraction Games" (amiga-news.de reported). A new preview video shows the first level of the game, which has alpha status now. (dr)
[News message: 20. Mar. 2023, 08:55] [Comments: 0]
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20.Mar.2023
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Remake: Rick Dangerous released
"Z-Team" has released its remake of the game Rick Dangeous with enhanced graphics for the Amiga 1200 or CD32 (and Windows, Mac and THEA500 Mini) (YouTube video of beta version 0.4). The game was written with the Scorpion Engine, but in contrast to the original plan there is no graphics card version, because the responsible programmer had left the team during development. (dr)
[News message: 20. Mar. 2023, 06:10] [Comments: 0]
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19.Mar.2023
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Programming: Web based m68k assembler editor v2.6.0
Under the title link you can find a webapp to write, run and learn M68K assembly code based on the framework SvelteKit and the programming language Rust (amiga-news.de reported).
Since our last message, the developer has improved the interactive documentation:
- Changed documentation layout to have future more languages
- Added an interactive documentation for each instruction
- Bug fixes for some instructions (rod, asd, lsd)
- Other bug fixes and improvements
(dr)
[News message: 19. Mar. 2023, 13:10] [Comments: 0]
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19.Mar.2023
Andreas Magerl (ANF)
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Full version download: Ntimed, Evil Garden, Mission Andromeda, Pacific Islands
At Amiga Future full versions of the application Ntimed as well as the games Evil Garden, Mission Andromeda and Pacific Islands can be downloaded free of charge. (snx)
[News message: 19. Mar. 2023, 08:15] [Comments: 0]
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19.Mar.2023
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Aminet uploads until 18.03.2023
The following files have been added until 18.03.2023 to Aminet:
CompressionOS4.lha biz/misc 1.3M OS4 A PDF generator
sylpheed.lha comm/mail 21M OS4 Sylpheed e-mail for AmiCygnix...
sylpheed-src.lha comm/mail 1.3M Sources of Sylpheed 3.0.3r3 (...
SteMarRegAMOSSources.lha dev/amos 398K 68k 10 AMOS sources+exes by Stefa...
CubicIDE_HW100.lha dev/hwood 822K 68k Hollywood add-on for Cubic IDE
Hollywood_SDK.lha dev/hwood 3.1M Plugin development kit for Ho...
HollywoodPlayer.lha dev/hwood 10M ALL Player for Hollywood applets
MaestrixReloaded.lha driver/aud 1.2M 68k The Maestrix 2: Reloaded on P...
anaiis.lha driver/oth 232K 68k ANAIIS USB Stack Release 1.23
anaiis_boot.lha driver/oth 232K 68k ANAIIS USB Boot disk Release ...
gimemorygame.lha game/wb 260K 68k GI Memory Game
WhatIFF2.09.lha mags/misc 1.5M What IFF? #2.09-March-2023
AmiVms.lha misc/emu 3.6M 68k Simulates OpenVMS commands
amicygnix-base.lha misc/x11 148M OS4 An Unix/X11 environment for A...
amicygnix-base-src.lha misc/x11 22M Sources of the AmiCygnix base...
ChangeExp.lha util/misc 5K 68k Protect/Detect your emulated ...
ShowMem.lha util/moni 15K 68k Shows memory fragmentation vi...
StartWin.lha util/wb 105K 68k Two bugged Workbench launchbars
(snx)
[News message: 19. Mar. 2023, 08:13] [Comments: 0]
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19.Mar.2023
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OS4Depot uploads until 18.03.2023
The following files have been added until 18.03.2023 to OS4Depot:
seq.lha aud/mis 414kb 4.0 MIDI sequencer
vintagesongplayer.lha aud/pla 2Mb 4.0 A JukeBox multiformat player
cubicide_hw.lha dev/mis 822kb 4.0 Cubic IDE Add-on for Hollywood 10.0
hollywood_sdk.zip dev/mis 3Mb 4.0 SDK for Hollywood 10.0
hwplayer.lha dev/mis 10Mb 4.0 Run applets created by Hollywood
ultraedit.zip dev/mis 15kb 4.0 UltraEdit wordfile for Hollywood...
maestrixreloaded.lha dri/aud 1Mb 4.0 Reloaded on PowerPC!
fheroes2.lha gam/str 8Mb 4.1 Engine Heroes of Might and Magic...
videntiumpicta.lha gra/vie 3Mb 4.0 Videntium Picta is picture viewer
sylpheed.lha net/ema 21Mb 4.1 E-mail client for AmiCygnix with...
sylpheed-src.lha net/ema 1Mb 4.1 Sources of Sylpheed 3.0.3 for Am...
amicygnix-base.lha net/mis 148Mb 4.1 An Unix/X11 environment for Amig...
amicygnix-base-src.lha net/mis 22Mb 4.1 Sources of the AmiCygnix base pa...
compression.lha uti/mis 1Mb 4.1 A PDF generator
(snx)
[News message: 19. Mar. 2023, 08:13] [Comments: 0]
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19.Mar.2023
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AROS Archives uploads until 18.03.2023
The following files have been added until 18.03.2023 to AROS Archives:
vintagesongplayer.lha aud/pla 2Mb A JukeBox multiformat player
muiplot.x86_64-v11-aros.lha gra/mis 263kb Simple function plotter
videntiumpicta.lha gra/vie 2Mb Videntium Picta is picture viewer
amissl.i386-aros.zip net/mis 1Mb AmiSSL is a port of OpenSSL for ...
muimapparium.x86_64-v11-a... net/mis 739kb OpenStreetMap Client
leu.x86_64-v11-aros.lha off/spr 1Mb A simple spreadsheet viewer
mcamiga.x86_64-v11-aros.lha uti/fil 295kb File Manager
hex2.x86_64-v11-aros.lha uti/mis 243kb Calculator with variables
(snx)
[News message: 19. Mar. 2023, 08:13] [Comments: 0]
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19.Mar.2023
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MorphOS-Storage uploads until 18.03.2023
The following files have been added until 18.03.2023 to MorphOS-Storage:
MIDITools_1.4.lha Audio/MIDI/BarsnPipes MIDI-Tools (MIDI-In** a...
VintageSongPlayer_2.55... Audio/Players A different, funny and ...
Hollywood_SDK_10.0.lha Development/Hollywood Plugin development kit ...
HollywoodPlayer_10.0.lha Development/Hollywood Hollywood Player is a p...
Bochs_2.7.lha Emulation A PC Emulator, which al...
Doom3-ProjectUAC_r6_4.lha Games/Shoot3D Doom3 ProjectUAC
X-Moto_0.6.2.lha Games/Sport A challenging 2D motocr...
Vanilla-RA_1.1.lha Games/Strategy Version 1.0 of a port o...
Vanilla-TD_1.1.lha Games/Strategy Vanilla-TD_1.1.lha
fheroes2_1.0.2.lha Games/Strategy fheroes2 is a recreatio...
VidentiumPicta_2.60.lha Graphics/Tools An image viewer progra...
Wayfarer_5.0.lha Network/Web Wayfarer is the latest ...
How_to_build_the_machi... Videos Video of How to build t...
April-mov.lha Videos Video of April in mov f...
April-avi.lha Videos Video of April in avi f...
Efika.lha Videos Video of Efika PPC by b...
How_to_build_the_machi... Videos Video of How_to_build_t...
How_to_build_the_machi... Videos Video of How to build t...
(snx)
[News message: 19. Mar. 2023, 08:13] [Comments: 0]
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19.Mar.2023
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WHDLoad: New installers until 18.03.2023
Using WHDLoad, games, scene demos and intros by cracking groups, which were originally designed to run only from floppy disks, can be installed on harddisk. The following installers have been added until 18.03.2023:
(snx)
[News message: 19. Mar. 2023, 08:13] [Comments: 0]
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19.Mar.2023
Amiga.org (Forum)
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AMOS Layers System 1.100 & 2.4
Simone 'saimo' Bevilacqua's "AMOS Layers System" (amiga-news.de reported) makes it possible to overlay several of its screens when programming under AMOS, specifying the order, colors and opaqueness.
Since our last report, minor optimizations have been made, resulting in more compact, faster program code and ending the dependency on the mathtrans.library. This did benefit the author's recent game updates. (snx)
[News message: 19. Mar. 2023, 08:13] [Comments: 0]
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19.Mar.2023
Amiga.org (forum)
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Game updates: ArtPazz 1.7, Follix 1.5, Ring around the World 1.1
Simone 'saimo' Bevilacqua has updated his games ArtPazz (puzzle game where jumbled pieces of a classic painting have to be pushed back), Follix (a puzzle game inspired by Atomix, only here letters have to be lined up) and Ring around the World (point'n'click adventure about a supposedly drowned man with memory loss).
The changes since our respective last news-items only concern program optimizations and bug fixes. (snx)
[News message: 19. Mar. 2023, 08:13] [Comments: 0]
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19.Mar.2023
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Interview: Ravi Abbott (Kickstart - UK Amiga Expo, The Retro Hour)
Ravi Abbott is known for his various documentaries and videos such as "Downfall Amiga, after Commodore" or Amiga Computer Buyers Guide 2022, runs the podcast The Retro Hour together with Dan Wood, writes for the Amiga Addict, is a DJ and has as his latest project to bring back a combination of user meeting and fair for Amiga fans to the UK after several years with "Kickstart" (amiga-news.de reported). We asked Ravi Abbott about his motives and motivation for all these projects:
Amiga-News (AN): Ravi, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us. I assume the preparations for the Kickstart are keeping you busy. How did you come up with the idea for this event?
Ravi Abbott (RA): Years ago, the UK used to host large events such as World of Amiga, which I attended as a young person and miss the atmosphere it provided. Unfortunately, there hasn't been a consistent event in the UK for all Amiga users to come together for many years.
Having attended international events, I've always wondered why this is the case. In the past, there have been some fantastic events such as VCF 2020 at Bletchley Park, Amiga 30 in Peterborough, and the impressive big user group meeting Workbench.
A national event was planned before COVID-19 hit, but unfortunately, it was cancelled. As someone with experience in the events industry, I decided to take on the challenge of creating a self-sufficient and consistent annual event model in the middle of England.
AN: What was your motivation and what makes it different from others like AmiWest (USA) or Amiga 37 (Germany)?
RA: Since the Amiga is currently experiencing a surge in popularity, I was motivated to seize this opportunity and grow the event as much as possible. Events like Amiga37 and Amiga Ireland have been a tremendous source of inspiration, with their impressive turnouts, energetic vibes, and well-organized music performances influencing our event. Markus has done an excellent job, and we ensured that we selected a date that wouldn't conflict with these incredible events. We would like to emulate the success of Amiwest, which has consistently run for years.
Although we don't have exact numbers, committing to vast spaces is challenging especially in this tough financial time. However, I believe we've struck the perfect balance between the number of attendees, a fantastic venue (the oldest professional football club in the world), and interest, which allows us to build on this foundation every year and improve the event each time. Our focus on creativity and the future is central to our vision, and we're eager to celebrate the great history of Amiga developers, musicians, and artists in the UK with visitors from around the globe.
AN: Well, our readers do know you by the podcast "The Retro Hour" and many interesting videos. So, please tell me, what is your motivation to do this? What drives you? What do you want to achieve?
RA: I have always enjoyed exploring technology and the stories about how it developed and people's unique paths to entering the industry. Computer technology has grown so quickly that often great stories and achievements are missed, lost, or untold. Mainstream media has always been dismissive of gamers, and retro technology often discusses gaming without intelligence or thought, even though it has helped develop so much of our current lives. We wanted to start a podcast where developers and creatives could talk directly to the audience with honesty and respect. One day, I hope the podcast and videos can help people studying video games in the future or simply be interested in the subject. It's so important to get these stories told because throughout the time we have recorded the podcast, sadly, some of our guests have passed away.
AN: And is it "just a hobby" or is it a full time job?
RA: I first started doing a podcast as a hobby. Doing it weekly for 7 years has pretty much turned it into a part-time job and takes up a lot of my time, but we all really enjoy it, and that's why it has lasted so long. Another addition to the podcast is hosting panels at gaming shows and events, which I really enjoy. Covid was a big reset time for everybody and personally helped me take more risks. We set up Amiga Addict Magazine at the start of Covid, and that's also now turned into a part-time job as well!
I don't think I could ever be a full-time YouTuber due to hating video editing, and my release schedule being very inconsistent. I enjoy doing YouTube videos, but I never really focus on massively growing my channel. I just hope people enjoy the videos I do make.
I am currently organizing a huge UK Amiga Expo for 600 people. I have a background in the events industry in the UK and really enjoy going around the world to Amiga events. Currently, they seem to be very popular worldwide, but the UK is missing out, so I hope this event can become a regular thing and a home for the UK Amiga community to get together.
AN: As we can read in your YouTube description, Commodore Amiga is your main passion and you love it since you were a kid. When was the idea born to use the Amiga not only to play games, but to conduct interviews and make videos?
RA: The Amiga was such a groundbreaking machine; it fueled creativity. Not only could you play games, but you could also make them! These days, we see packages by companies like Adobe on modern machines. Many students are taught the same software on the same machines, and it feels more restricted and compliant to me. The Amiga broke the boundaries of what you could do with a machine. If you could dream it, you could make it. This is what I really love about the machine. I would love to see these ideas applied to modern computing in some way and people breaking free of the mold.
AN: Of course, we need to know: which was your first Amiga model and are you still owning an Amiga?
RA: I used to own an A2000, which was my first Amiga, but unfortunately, I no longer have it. Currently, I have two A600s which I use for DJing, a CD32 with a Terrible First TF360 prototype, an A4000 with a ZZ9000 card and toaster stickers, and a unique Amiga A600 laptop that I have been constructing to function on lithium batteries and enclosed in a Lego case.
AN: Have you tried your hand at programming? If so, what caused this career to fail? ;)
RA: I have tried programming but really found the emerging web much more interesting. As part of my career I have been working as a web developer coding in HTML, JAVAScript, PHP and other languages. Coding is always fun and I enjoy the creativity but it also requires a lot of focus and learning the new standards which can hold you back if you’re not faster than the competition adapting to the latest Trend.
AN: What do you think is the fascination with retro computers in general and the Amiga in particular? Nowadays, we're always looking for the newest and fastest, aren't we?
RA: The limitations of computing have always fascinated me. The ability to create something amazing with just a small piece of code or a small processor is like magic. The demoscene is a standout in digital culture and has led to so many developments. The best thing about retro computing is that it saves machines that would otherwise be dismissed. When I use a new machine, I feel guilty if I'm just using it to browse the web, knowing there is so much power on the system that's unused. The Amiga is great for hacking, upgrading, and learning. The foundations of my computer knowledge come from Workbench and learning to code from the back of magazines, something you don't tend to see anymore in the culture of using plugins or engines. Getting down to the metal has a strong appeal.
AN: Making a video is one thing. But how do you prepare? How do you choose a topic and how do you go about it? Do you first research all the necessary information, then create a "shooting plan" and then write your script? You are using much video material: how do you find it? And how easy is it to get permissions to use it?
RA: I usually look at YouTube and see if there is a gap in knowledge or a subject that people have not covered before. Then, I research the subject by looking at magazines from the time, chatting with friends about it, and ensuring that I have consistent research and references. Once that is done, I record a voice-over and write a script. The main issue is using footage. I try to contact the owner of the footage, but I also make sure that the clip is short and fits YouTube policies. It’s amazing how much incredible footage is out there if you look at old show videos on sites like archive.org or the waybackmachine.
AN: What is the advantage and possibly also the disadvantage of a video compared to an essay/book? For the future, can you imagine writing a book?
RA: Video editing can be a slog. Editing a video takes a long time, and there are so many aspects to consider, such as getting the sound right, acquiring permissions, and meeting YouTube's guidelines. Additionally, ensuring that the video is neither too long nor too short can be challenging. While video editing is not my preferred form of content creation, I enjoy writing. For the past two years, I have served as the Community Editor for Amiga Addict magazine. Recently, I launched a Kickstarter campaign for a book based on 'The Retro Hour Podcast.' This journey has been interesting and has allowed me to improve my writing skills, as well as learn about the publishing, editing, and printing processes.
AN: What would you like to see in the future of the Amiga? Do you think it makes sense to invest time and money in the development of new hardware and software or should we rather enjoy what we have and use and expand it?
RA: The Amiga scene is growing rapidly around the world, with more hardware and software being developed than in years past. This is a fantastic development, and I hope it continues. For many, the Amiga represents an escape to simpler times, and I worry that in the future, people may not understand or appreciate that. However, the key aspect that people will always appreciate is the ability to do amazing things with limited machines, and not dismiss them as obscure or irrelevant. The demoscene will always push the boundaries of the Amiga, but emerging scenes such as music and art also offer creative opportunities that I hope will continue for generations to come.
AN: Ravi, thank you very much for the interview and good luck for the Kickstart!
The Kickstart will take place on 1 and 2 July 2023 in Nottingham (UK) at Meadow Lane football ground, home of the oldest professional football club in the world. Guests include Mike Dailly of DMA Design ("Lemmings") and Simon Phipps of Core Design, creator of Rick Dangerous. The aftershow party will feature live music from DJ Formula, DJ H0ffman, HarleyLikesMusic and Vogue Renege. The event has room for 600 Amiga fans, tickets can be purchased now. (dr)
[News message: 19. Mar. 2023, 06:30] [Comments: 0]
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18.Mar.2023
AmiKit (Twitter)
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Workbench distribution: AmiKit XE 12 for Raspberry Pi and Windows/Mac/Linux
AmiKit has released version 12.0 of its Workbench distribution AmiKit XE for Raspberry Pi 4/400 (changes) as well as for Windows/Mac/Linux (changes).
In addition to the specific changes, this upgrade brings an improved emulation engine with optimised configuration for better stability, performance and gaming experience. Likewise, AmiKit now offers a new white and dark look. There are three new theme presets.
Epsilon's World introduces the new version of the Workbench distribution in detail in a recent blog entry. (dr)
[News message: 18. Mar. 2023, 20:25] [Comments: 0]
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18.Mar.2023
Amigafrance (Forum)
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Preview video: Game "Loony Ledges"
After his game Capacitor's Revenge (amiga-news.de reported), 'PixelPlop' is now porting a game he wrote a while ago on the PC but never released to the Amiga. The video shows a first state of the game, which is written in C. (dr)
[News message: 18. Mar. 2023, 07:47] [Comments: 0]
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18.Mar.2023
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AmigaOS 4: Email client Sylpheed 3.0.3r3 for AmiCygnix released
In mid-2020 Edgar Schwan had released the first version 3.0.3 of the email client Sylpheed for AmiCygnix.
Sylpheed is an e-mail program based on the GTK+-GUI-Toolkit. The design and the user-interface is similar to many well-known programs from the Windows world, e.g. Outlook Express (screenshot).
The third candidate of version 3.0.3 provides the following changes:
- The second release of Sylpheed 3.0.3 had problems with SSL connections. The program has now been linked with OpenSSL 1.0.2o and should now work again. An update for a current version of OpenSSL is planned.
- All programs, including the tools of "bogofilter 1.2.5" and "compface 1.5.2", have been linked with the current libraries.
- Spell checker updated.
(dr)
[News message: 18. Mar. 2023, 07:12] [Comments: 0]
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