Alien Breed clones on the Atari ST - Storm 94, Alien Thing, Alien Blast - a historic deepdive

[@AtariLegend]

Did you know Top Byte released another game on the Atari ST late in its lifespan? And not just any game, the most notorious Mario clone of them all : kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJ3ZeIRuZ6uInqc Who is that assembly guy displayed in the ST Format magazine? Andrew Gisby created the coolest space shooter on the the Atari STe : kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZjUqGuZesyZeNU

[@ArttuTheCat]

I used to play ALIEN BREED I, II and TOWER ASSAULT on the Amiga with my friends. I also used to have the original ALIEN SYNDROME (Sega release) on the old PC in the late 1990's. Thanx for sharing this awesome Atari ST game video. 😺👍🕹️

[@RetroJedi9]

Great video, came here out of interest of Alien Breed. Enjoyed seeing these PD clones. Thanks

[@gregcoons7308]

Atari’licious as always. Thank you!

[@MarcusPlatt]

What a blast from my past! Thanks for reaching out to me and reminding me of a past life!

[@AtariLegend]

My pleasure. And thank you for being such a cool guy! ;)

[@smod_______9113]

@@AtariLegend I'm the C64 / Amiga guy! I reminded Marcus after seeing this, we came up with the name Fugitive Freelancers when we were in his front room and couldn't think of a name. We got a dictionary and I flicked through and stopped at a random page... Fugitive was on that page, and the only thing that could go with it was Freelancers. Freelance game programmers were quite big back then. Absolutely loved watching this.

[@AtariLegend]

@@smod_______9113 this is so cool. Thanks for getting in touch. Such great trivia. What does S M O D stand for?

[@smod_______9113]

@@AtariLegend It's my nickname from school Smod. Smithy became Smothy, became Smoth, ended Smod.

[@smod_______9113]

We both started programming on the 380z. It was using Basic and the operating system was CP/M operating system. Only about 4 or 5 of us is the school got into it. One or two used the BBC in the science lab but because it was always in use we had access to the 380z in what was a tiny cupboard room in the Maths room. One guy was an absolute whizz and I don't know why he never went on to write games. We both learned from him.

[@retropuffer2986]

I never realized there was an obsession for Alien themed gauntlet style games! They all look pretty good to me.

[@hundgirridchannel]

Magnificent, I didn't know about Alien Breed clones for the ST. Thank you for sharing.

[@boilerhousegarage]

Cor! I just noticed that mint condition box of the 1990 Discovery Xtra Pack. That's the first ST system I owned (got it for Christmas 1990) and bought one again later, but not in that condition. I'm very jealous of the Falcon you have too, but even more so of the Discovery Xtra.

[@Emceemur]

You knocked it out of the park on this one. Fantastic video start to finish. I love stuff like this.

[@AtariLegend]

Thanks a lot. Really nice to hear.

[@AtariCrypt]

Really interesting to hear all the background information you researched for these games i enjoyed. Excellent video mate!!

[@AtariLegend]

Thank you Steve. Great to have you back btw!

[@Flashback-Gamer]

Another amazing video and great subject too..kudos for more amazing work my friend!

[@TPau65]

Excellent video again! I really appreciate the indepth research you do. Very interesting informations I wasn't aware of! Btw. Storm 94 is new to me, never heard of that game before! 😎👍

[@AtariLegend]

Thank you.

[@Wasabim]

Excellent video, very interesting, good job!! Back in time I've never played Alien Breed (and clones also). I discovered this game some years ago on my PS Vita and I liked it. It's nice to see such great clones on Atari ST. I will follow your final advice, I will play the 3 games ! Thanks.

[@timediavideo]

This is stunning research work! Great back-stories!

[@AtariLegend]

Thank you Thomas!

[@zarjesve2]

Great as always! I did play this demos back in 90s as a kid and always wonder: who made this AlienBreed copys... :) thanks for answer!

[@dmasct1]

As someone who dug up all these games when he was searching for A.B. clones on the ST(e), it was excellent for me to hear about all those (now so called) "indie" devs backgrounds and stories. Also excellent Tao music selection which goes along the perfectly scripted video. You're a Pro Maarten. ;)

[@AtariLegend]

Wow, thanks Matthieu! Means a lot.

[@moskic153]

nice video still i can image alien breed on STE even if i amiga user

[@Mark-pr7ug]

If only the ST had 32 colours as an option... and built in overscan modes. Not to mention spites and HD scrolling. I moved up from a cpc 464 to an ST. I personally was drawn towards its vast colour palette which I assumed (with screen shots on the back of cpc cases displaying cool looking atari offerings) meant faster and smoother games. I was slightly shocked when I loaded up some old favourites and found d them on the ST a tad deflating. I then also learnt that promo screen shots didn't necessarily tell the truth. Loved playing around with STOS, though. And a pirated copy of a graphic adventure creator.

[@another3997]

The ST was a rushed product, designed and brought to market in record time. Just like all the Sinclair computers, it was also built down to a price. The ST harware was great for many kinds of applications, but not so much for games. Unfortunately, even when Atari released upgraded models, most software was generally designed to run on the lowest cost on denominator... the older ST. The same problem plagued the Amiga world too. Jack Tramiel was his own worst enemy at times, even before he left Commodore, his ruthless approach had alienated a number of software developers.

[@AtariLegend]

You are absolutely correct. The ST was rushed, which makes it maybe even a bigger accomplishment then it already was. Tramiel had his faults, he was rutheles. But the more I investigate into his life, into his accomplishments, the more respect I have for him. I am sure if Tramiel was younger and did not retire by the end of the 80's, he would have had the same fame as Gates or Jobs. He was a visionairy as well, what he has done for the computer industry, bringing low cost machines to the homes of people is nothing but incredible. And yes...I am becoming a fanboy :-D

[@fonesrphunny7242]

There was another similar looking game. Maybe someone can help me out: The levels scrolled vertically, with a boss and a bomb at the end of each level. IIRC the boss had a whipping tail and defeating it was optional, but you had to get to the bomb, before the timer ran out. I think the intro was just some giant spaceship flying right to left, with a droning sound as "music". That ship's name could also be the name of the game. Maybe I lost the disk or it broke, but I could never find the game again.

[@dousted2629]

Leaving Teramis?

[@DirkDierickx]

never heard of that team 7 game before, the first one i saw at my amiga friends house was Full Contact. Team 17 sure were _the_ powerhouse developers at the end of the amiga's life. I think the Atari ST really missed a similar team, if you see what some people are creating on the STE these days, such developers could have lifted the platform hugely.

[@AtariLegend]

Maybe Bloodhouse and Unique Developments can be considered the team 17 of the ST scene? ;) Thanks for watching.

[@RibbonPL]

"He was only 9, barely able to read." Excuse me, what? 😂

[@mwaawm]

ST Format game reviewers were the worst back in the day.

[@MistaMaddog247]

Yeah, they were all Amiga fanbois who got stuck working on the ST side after the Amiga/ST Format split, so they trashed every PD game & demo while still mocking the "Amoeba". That's common with all Future Publishing mags even to this day, snobbish reviewers that are too good to play what everyone else enjoys...

[@another3997]

​@@MistaMaddog247That's a rather unfair description. There may have been some who didn't always give a fair review, but not just negative ones. Some would give high scores to mediocre or below average games too, and I'd say that was a far bigger problem for most computer magazines. The ST had it's fans, not all of whom liked the Amiga, and those journalists that weren't wouldn't have lasted long at a magazine aimed at PROMOTING interest in the Atari computers. You don't keep biting the hand that feeds you.