Powerful First Encounter with the Atari ST | Retro Dream

[@thepenultimateninja5797]

I had a very similar experience to yours. In my case, the ST belonged to my cousin, and the first game I saw was Goldrunner. Coming from my ZX Spectrum, I couldn't believe what I was seeing and hearing. He then showed me The NEOchrome waterfall image with animated water. Looking back it seems so primitive, but at the time, my brain interpreted it as almost photo realistic. I would never have been able to afford my own ST, but as luck would have it, my cousin got into photography, and was selling all his stuff because he needed money for a camera. One of the things he was selling was the ST. I managed to sell a couple of things, raid my savings and scrape together enough birthday and Christmas money to pay him for it. He got his Nikon F1, and I got my Atari ST. That was something like 35 years ago now, and I'm living in a different country. I'm happy to say I managed to keep hold of that ST all these years though, and it is sitting next to me as I type.

[@RetroDream]

That's a beautiful story, thank you for sharing it. You're lucky to still have your original ST beside you. I can imagine that having saved money in order to buy this one, and having the opportunity of your cousin moving on to photography so you could get this dream machinre, you wouldn't part with it so lightly afterwards. Goldrunner was also one of the first games I saw. The digital voice at the beginning was bewildering at that time.

[@thepenultimateninja5797]

@@RetroDream Yes, it was the voice samples that amazed me too, as well as the fast, smooth scrolling. Two other moments that left me slack-jawed were the first time I heard the Starglider intro, and later, the the Xenon II - Megablast intro.

[@Shmbler]

You are a few years younger than me it seems. But I can tell you I had the very same experience with the boy next door, of roughly the same age as I was, who had a C64 and a TV in his bedroom. I can still remember their dog's scent, an English Cocker Spaniel, that burned into my brain as we were playing Pit Stop II or Kikstart II. The odor of the the warm breadbin I will never forget, as well as the lead-in sound of Turbo Tape II when it finally found the start of the game. I had to wait another year until xmas to get my own used C64, but I had the opportunity to learn BASIC on my stepdad's Sharp PC-1401 meanwhile. It might sound strange, but that xmas eve is a memory just as vivid as the birth of my children. Pure, unfiltered joy and excitement. Few people I know have any kind of understanding for this.

[@RetroDream]

Yes!! You're right to mention the odors, the scents... Their imprint in memory is even more significant than pictures and sounds. I can still smell their Irish Setter, Pluto he was named, the scent of the insides of the car in which we drive to and from his house, and obviously the odor from the heated plastic of the computer itself. I'm not surprised you crisply remember these distant events. I'm just surprised not so many people do, like you mentioned. Thanks for sharing!

[@ronaldkinsella1256]

Never had such a gorgeous machine as that, or the Amiga, back in the day. Like yourself, I could only dream, when passing the shops with the Atari, Commodore, Dragon, BBC Micro additions available in the mid-to-late 80s. All those pristine bundles of possibilities. The best the family could do was a ZX81, and then the Spectrum. Affordable (barely,) but this machine is a beauty. I can identify with your thoughts of wishing for one (like myself,) and thank you for sharing such nostalgia.

[@RetroDream]

And thanks to you for sharing your own experience. I'm sure all kids of that time were in the same awe before these wonderful things. Those were the days

[@Maraka77i]

Excellent video, so much atmosphere! Gets me back to the summer 1990 when I got my first computer ever - Atari ST. It was a perfect machine for me to handle both serious use and gaming. And of course all the Megademos released back in those magical years. Atari ST hobby has lasted to this very day and will be part of me as long as I live.

[@RetroDream]

Thanks a lot for your interest and for sharing your own experience with this wonderful and legendary machine!

[@AnnatarTheMaia]

Dungeon Master was indeed the one, until Eye of the Beholder showed up. Still, it shall forever remain in our memory that it originated on the ST, and that it invented an entire genre.

[@RetroDream]

Yes. I liked EOB very much too, but DM remained The One. Especially when looking back almost 40 years.

[@JimmyCall]

Dungeon Master, also my favourite game.

[@darrenball4620]

DM was the best game on the ST as far as I was concerned, still play it now and again, although on the Amiga or PC.

[@WorksopGimp]

I liked my MSX with its cartridge slot Sweet Acorn and Dungen Master favs

[@opa-age]

I was obsessed with the Atari ST ever since I saw the ads in Compute! magazine. I finally was able to get one in 1988!

[@RetroDream]

It was still fresh at that time!

[@jasonviande5053]

It's all a dream to me. Computers were so different in the US, and you either had it or you couldn't even touch one. I was in the latter group. Over the years I had friends who owned TI computers, the C64, and a 486 (back in the early nineties). And I couldn't touch one of them (due to the will of the parents). We had Apple II computers are school, but that was for school stuff like budgeting, typing, plotting pictures, and playing Oregon Trail and Carmen Sandiego games. All that being said, if I would have gotten a computer in the 80's it would have likely been the ST. And I would have loved it.

[@RetroDream]

Now that's a sad story. At first I thought "Never heard anything like that, parents of friends forbidding other children to use the machine". But now that I'm considering this, I actually remember that this was also true for me, at least in some cases... Fortunately, not all of them!

[@joemelnick]

I have a lot of great memories of my Atari ST which I purchased in 1985. I enjoyed hours of Dungeon Master as you did too. Loved your video. Thank you.

[@RetroDream]

Thanks a lot sir, very much appreciated.

[@boilerhousegarage]

1:21 My first PC, an IBM PS/1, but I had my Atari ST a few months before.

[@damianthomson6402]

So pleased to see someone mention Captain Blood 😁 loved this on my Atari ST

[@RetroDream]

Legendary game

[@AnnatarTheMaia]

@@RetroDream "Captain Blood" was another ATARI ST exclusive at first... I would love to finish that game someday.

[@keopsequinox1624]

Still my favorite machine as well.

[@SharkaBytes]

I absolutely loved this video! I adore anecdotal stories like these where it's not about the specs or one machine against another, but just about those raw first experience and the way something made you feel at the time.

[@RetroDream]

Thank you for your interest, glad you like that format, which is the signature of this channel: personal experience back in the day. Keywords Passion and Nostalgia!

[@UnseenMenace]

I got my first Atari ST, a used 520STfm, in the late 80s after spending quite some time playing on one at a friends Dad's place, and had very similar experiences, including losing a LOT of hours to Dungeon Master :) I now have several STs of various models and also a Falcon, a TT, a Lynx II and a Jaguar

[@RetroDream]

Thanks for sharing! Similar experience indeed, except that I got my first own ST about 20 years later...

[@MrJGD77]

Dungeon Master was the game of my childhood. I can still remember the first party I chose when I competed in for the first time. Getting to Mon Master and smashing demons with endless fireballs was epic. My parties included: Stam Halk Zed Wuuf Gando Alex Ander The one party member that was non negotiable was Gothmog. He was a cape wearing, red eyed, bad ass.

[@RetroDream]

Absolutely, Gothmog was non negotiable :) I liked Hisssa very much too.

[@MistaMaddog247]

This video perfected described my feelings as a kid wanting that "perfect" computer. In grade school I've always wanted an Atari 400 or 800 computer but it was in 1987 that I got a 130XE that was more affordable and with more memory. Once I started reading Atari computer magazines (Antic in the States), I found out about the ST and finally saw one in action at a dealer in high school...so of course I had to have that for my graduation gift! So the STe I got in '92 got my through most of college until I had to get a PC for university work. It was my first 'serious' computer that was also fun to use and game on...

[@RetroDream]

So we're on the same page here ;) Thanks for your feedback! Indeed the ST was a dream machine for many people back then...

[@respergu13]

I have so many good memories with this game on the Atari ST, I recently played it on Amiga / Mister FPGA and now wanting to play it again on the Atari ST. I agree Dungeon Master deserves more credit on KZbin

[@RetroDream]

Thanks for your feedback.

[@AymericCingal]

J'ai eu un Atari 520 STf en 1989 : un grand bond en avant après l'Atari 800XL que j'avais auparavant ! Dungeon Master était aussi le jeu auquel j'ai passé le plus de temps. Une expérience d'immersion totalement inédite à l'époque. Je l'ai terminé et recommencé 5 ou 6 fois en changeant à chaque partie de personnages. J'adorais aussi Carrier Command, ArmourGeddon, Defender of the crown, Midwinter, Vroom, Stunt Car Racer... Plusieurs de mes amis étaient aussi possesseurs de ST et l'on s'échangeait nos jeux avec grand plaisir.

[@RetroDream]

Voilà une histoire qui ressemble beaucoup à la mienne, on était tous pareils :)

[@BAZFANSHOTHITSClassicTunes]

When i saw the Atari STfm in a shop window in 1987 (i was 13), i absolutly drooled over it for ages. But it was way out of my familys financial gain. However in 1991 i did get and loved the STe, which i used til i got the A1200 in 1993. Awesome video my freind.

[@RetroDream]

Thank you my friend, glad this reminded you of your own past experience!

[@lalissesebastien1891]

A very great game !!! With a very strong atmosphere and some excellent ideas that make this game unique !!!

[@kingofmambo]

Quel rêve mon Atari 1040 STE quand jetais au collège...

[@earx23]

Nice one! You keep your machines in great shape, and that's what counts! I wish I had time to do the same...

[@RetroDream]

Thanks for the positive words!

[@Florin76]

I wished that my ZX Spectrum didn't had the clash of colors and if I don't ask too much, to have 256 colors. 30 years later the ZX Spectrum Next fulfilled my dream!

[@JimmyCall]

The Gameboy shows what could be done, with Z80, and tones. If only the Spectrum had more video modes.

[@Florin76]

@@JimmyCall Now with the new ZX Spectrum NEXT you have ! It cames 40 years later, but hey, there you have it !

[@plechaim]

I love the shots playing games in the dark takes me back to my teenage years discovering all the ST games and playing on them at night

[@RetroDream]

Sweet memories

[@Anangelspath]

After perusing the lingerie section, sears catalog was great for window shopping atari video games and Commodore computers

[@RetroDream]

Haha that's fair!

[@T313COmun1s7]

I was born in March of 1971. When I was really young I had an Atari 2600 and a friend at school convinced me what I really needed was an actual computer. So I gathered up the 2600 and took it to a local computer shop. I don't know what the owner of that shop saw in me, but he became somewhat of a mentor. He traded me the 2600, controllers, and a good number of games straight across for a Commodore Vic=20. He must have lost quite a bit on money on that deal. By the next year I had traded up to a Commodore 64, and somehow wore it out. So I had to replace my C64 with a C64G. Then I started seeing the advertisements for the Atari 520ST. I saved every penny and preordered one. So I got one of the very first units. It had issues with static, and it had to keep going back to the factory. By the time they had returned it for warranty covered fixes the 3rd time they had rubber stamped a letter "M" on the box after the ST and it had a built in floppy. So with my original external floppy I now had two. I loved that Atari ST, but I ended up joining the Air Force just in time for Desert Storm, and when I finally got to my first permanent duty station, and my belongings were shipped to me, the computer was not among them. I still miss that computer. My next computer was my first PC clone, and it was an Amstrad so I got to continue using the familiar GEM desktop. To this day I wish I still had that Atari ST.

[@RetroDream]

Great story, thanks for sharing. You seem to have known many legendary machines, and your eagerness to get an Atari ST from the first wave is understandable when considering their groundbreaking specs. All the machines you mention are worth every penny, but the ST has this something special that makes it even more outstanding.

[@aberdeenmeadows]

Quite an interesting story and thanks for sharing your gaming experiences. For me, I was older than you and had started using it for programming, and then creating high-quality high-school reports that was printed on Atari's printer that looked as though it was typed. I used it, while in high school, to run a business of printing labels for post cards as reminders for a hair stylist shop to remind them of their next appointment, a strip club to offer discounts (had to change their name to head of household), to a quick lube shop for oil changes. I ran the business out of a storage unit for awhile. The Atari was different than today's computers because some apps, such as databases, would have the entire database in memory which made it so much faster than pre-SSD computers of today. Programs - you never really "installed" them like today's programs. They basically resided as flat copies in a folder and didn't have the hundreds or thousands of supporting files like the PC. I miss mine, but thankful that the Mac survived and has evolved into another fun, loving and even just as capable machine.

[@RetroDream]

And thanks to you for sharing your story as well! Yes the ST was quite capable in many domains

[@njsalvationarmy]

I loved this game on my ST. Never got all the way through. maybe some day because my original 520ST is still kickin'!

[@RetroDream]

It's not a difficult game, you just need some time to walk through but you also need to save it when your party is at its best

[@commodore71]

Dungeon Master is the absolute favorite game with Monkey Island as my second choice, of course played on my Atari 1040 STf

[@Pixelfondue]

Congrats - this is the BEST Atari ST video I've come across. Great job. I got into the ST for the games (omg...Dungeon Master was like a time machine into the future) but eventually learned computer graphics and 3D animation on it....which eventually became my career. Still have it...haven't turned it on in a long time. If you don't mind me asking, where did you find that fantastic graphic at the opening with all of the images of the different machines from years past?

[@RetroDream]

Thanks for your interest and for sharing your own experience. I think it's wonderful you still have your old machine, especially since it played so great a role for your career! The isometric computer are my own. If you're interested there's a dedicated video on my channel. I also send hi-res pics to channel members and patrons.

[@Pixelfondue]

@@RetroDream oh, fantastic. I'll check it out.

[@miked4377]

excellent video! ÿou have 4 st now!! nice! i loved my older systems too and make sure there cleaned to a tee....

[@RetroDream]

Thanks a lot! 5 ST now

[@miked4377]

@@RetroDream cool

[@mikeums]

My 1st computer was a 520 ST

[@mattsmedley.onehandedgamin9029]

(I was born in 1974). I remember the 1st time I saw an Atari st, my cousin bought it round to my parents house when he stayed one weekend. I remember playing stunt car racer and laughing out loud as we played IK+. A few years later I managed to get my own Amiga A500 when the Batman Pack was released in the UK.

[@RetroDream]

Thanks for sharing and glad it reminded you of these sweet memories.

[@nickolasgaspar9660]

So here is a mind boggling realization I made after listening to your opening statements. ITs true we all had many dream machines that weren't accessible to us. I grew up with the "small amiga" an Atari 800xl during its tough, last commercial years (late 80s, early 90s)and I remember dreaming of having my best friend's Atari STE, the CPC 6128 of a dear friend and an MSX 2 I saw in a magazine. Fast Forward to this day and I am lucky enough to have a large space with all the machines I wanted when I was a child, all hooked on CRTs ready to be fired up. ATARI ST and STE, my Amiga 500 from the late 90s(finally I got one), MSX machines, Spectrum 48k and 128k, C64s, CPC 464 and 6128 all available for me to have fun........but again and again, I daily keep going back to my humble Atari 8bit, checking amazing new homebrew games, writing 5 1/4 floppy disks, loading my old programs and drawings, organizing my SD based cartridges, digging in its vast library of Demos and programs, organizing its online music library, creating thumbnails for its ROMS on Playnite. So obviously the desire for all the "advanced" machines is still there (this is why they are sitting on my benches with up to date SD mediums) but the new golden age of 8bits with all those homebrew games, upgrades and expansions, support and mods make our old computers to feel like our dream machines. ITs like restarting from the exact point we left them.

[@RetroDream]

Thanks for sharing your own experience, which do resemble that of many, many kids back then who dreamed about the ST or the Amiga, but nevertheless keep a deep affection for their original sin, a C64 or an early Atari like yours. Another thing you say is also noteworthy, about the MSX... We can assume you're in Europe not in the US, where they never saw much, if any. Good machines that deserve more attention. Thanks again

[@thejoyofsticks]

I love these personal stories of discovery. You mentioned in the video that you don't have the technical or historic knowledge, but that story has already been told elsewhere. However, you are the only person who can tell this particular history of the ST. Your story is full of heart and I loved hearing it. Thank you so much for sharing!

[@RetroDream]

And thank you so much for your positive words. I really appreciate. While making videos like that I always wonder if my small personal stories will interest anyone. After all there's hardly anything sensational in there, just my own personal memories. But I do make a point of keeping them strictly as per my recollections, never changing anything. So I'm glad you enjoyed!

[@karolmarkiewicz5049]

I love your video! I have the same feeling and now on my desk are Atari 130 XE, 1040 STFM and 1040 STE (together with HDD and memory extension)

[@RetroDream]

Thanks a lot! What are your thoughts about the one I just released?

[@jrherita]

Excellent video! I definitely wish I had a SC1435 for my STs. I loved DM a ton, and it’s probably my favorite ST game.. though ironically it was FTL’s Sundog that made me realize how powerful the ST was.

[@RetroDream]

Sundog was groundbreaking as well. Thanks for your interest!

[@powerofvintage9442]

Man, I spent countless hours farming levels at the respawning giant rats with all my characters to get them all "Mon" Master in all 4 "classes". I also remember the first "jump scare" I had playing this game at night in my room and my light spells ran out...I had one of my casters recast light and suddenly there was one of those death knight monsters that just appeared right in front of me. I think I yelped loudly. Truly DM was the killer app for the ST!

[@RetroDream]

Haha yea you nailed it: you could really freak out while playing this in the dark!

[@georgemathiellis5486]

I still have my ST, my first DM copy that insta-killed my party every hour or so, my first save game disk and my hand made maps of levels 1-11 +14 because I couldn't figure out how to map the rest. The first time I finished it, it took me so much time that by the end I was playing hunger games. I was going back to 8th(?) level where worms were constantly respawning to get some food to gain some time to figure out how to use the firestaff to beat the mage . What an unbelievable game ! I have played almost all good crawlers ever made and I consider DM to be between the best 6! Very few people nowadays understand how great DM is. Looking forward to view your DM video.

[@RetroDream]

DM will always remain the best

[@GregsGameRoom]

My high school had Atari STs and I discovered them when I (voluntarily) went to Summer School. The teacher and another friend introduced me to Dungeon Master. They had printed all the maps and spells so I had a pretty good head-start on the game. Since then I've beaten it 3 or 4 times. What I really liked is how your skills naturally improve as you use them. I used to throw boulders around just trying to build up my strength. That's how it should be, right? Not assigning points willy-nilly! Oh, and Gothmog is my favorite character, I always have him in my party. :D

[@RetroDream]

Gothmog is the number 1 favorite ;) Thanks for sharing! What a game...

[@techstormster]

ST's are pretty rare in the United States. I imported a 1040STe from the UK years ago. I already had an Atari monitor that came with a 2MB MEGA ST that I've never been able to get a keyboard for. I bought a really nice boxed copy of Drakkhen for it.

[@RetroDream]

Indeed I learn much later that they were rather rare in the US. For a long time I thought it was opposite. Because in France they ruled, at least as much as in the UK. But for sure it's the first time I hear about someone playing Drakkhen outside France. So I still have things to learn :)

[@loosenews1488]

great vid ... by first rpg ... changed my life forever on my 1040stf

[@ridiculous_gaming]

Here you are playing FTL's Dungeon Master, which was the most exciting, jaw dropping title on the ST as I migrated from an Atari 130XE...simply ground breaking!

[@arnetrautmann9783]

There is nothing like Dungeon Master. I put custom "Dungeon Master" stickers on the side of my fist car. It made a humble blue Fiesta an awesome ride.

[@RetroDream]

Must have been a nice car then.

[@andrewbarber8758]

DM on a 520STFM here. Many many hours, many maps made. I think I still have some of the old maps I made. The other game that had me hooked was Oids.

[@RetroDream]

Need to try this one, heard a lot about it, never played

[@ThemistoclesPapassilekas]

Oh what a lovely video, thanks for transporting me back to my first encounter! By the way, any way we could get our hands on those lovely illustrations? Wouldn't mind paying to have a t-shirt made...

[@RetroDream]

Thanks for your interest! The Channel Members program (here on KZbin or alternatively on Patreon) allows high res downloads of the entire picture as well as individual computers :)

[@ThemistoclesPapassilekas]

@@RetroDream Awesome! I'm in! :)

[@RetroDream]

Welcome aboard! Did you get the picture all right?

[@GeorgesChannel]

Very good video and great story! Its nice to hear first experices from that time. My first experience with an Atari ST was a garbage bin, where i found it. Than i became a great fan of it..:) Nice monitor by the way..As a Commodore Plus/4 i looked with great desire to the 16bit machines of that era...never had one back then. I started with a 386DX40 2MB RAM

[@RetroDream]

You were lucky to find something like that in a garbage bin back in the day! They usually began thrashing 16 bit machines after 1993 or so...

[@GeorgesChannel]

@@RetroDream it was after 1993...even in the 2000's

[@celsus7979]

I was 11 in 1987 when a new world opened up. A friend had what was probably a pc, I'm not sure what it was. I remember Pong, and being fascinated that i could manipulate something on a weird small tv. The next pc i played on was a friend's. It actually had a tape as storage. The type you used for a walkman. You could record a radio broadcast of morse code like bleeps that was actual game code. Once that was done you could load the tape in to the memory. It took at least 15m for Pac-Man to load, with a good chance of an error along the way, making you start all over. Still, i wanted a pc! I finally got one when i was 12, early 1989. Something called an Atari ST, which meant nothing to me until then. It came with a small monochrome monitor, but i found out i could easily hook it up to a tv! Sound wasn't just bleeps, it was real sound! Imagine that! And the OS had windows, not just text like those caveman pcs other people had. Years of fun followed until games started to become difficult to find for the old Atari, it was all ms-dos based, so i finally got my first 'normal' pc. A 386 40mhz with 4mb ram and a 52mb hdd. I'll never forget the specs. Still, it didn't blow the Atari away. The never crashing Atari with its brilliant audio and windows type OS just felt so much easier to use. Plug it in and everything from video to audio to OS works. No need to find out which sound card option you need to select to get some audio out of your game, no OS crashing. No huge pc case that you could just plop in front of your tv if you felt like gaming on a big screen. That old Atari was special, years ahead of the ms-dos based crap my friends had. How i pitied them! Thanks for this video. Great memories of a great product that unfortunately was an evolutionary dead end.

[@celsus7979]

Looking online for specs for my Atari, it must have been a 1040STfm

[@RetroDream]

And thank you my friend for sharing your own interesting experience! Indeed the ST seemed magical at that time. Wouldn't say it never crashed, but it was indeed quite something.

[@jgsimonian]

I haven’t read all the comments, but I want to thank you for helping me experience my early teen years again. Dungeon Master was my most played game. In America, I don’t remember the small ‘e’ or other branding for different versions. I started with an Atari 400, then Atari 800, then 520 ST, and finally the 1040 ST. I went full DOS/Windows after a long break from computers. I actually stood in a line for one of the Windows releases. Probably XP. I’m pretty much an Apple guy at this point. Is there some sort of port for Dungeon Master to be played on a Mac? It was such a great game!

[@RetroDream]

Glad you enjoyed this little trip to the past, and thanks for sharing your own experience with this wonderful machine. Actually it sounds like you've gone through a large spectrum of computer/systems! Not sure about Mac port for DM, but definitely DOS/Windows.

[@mmille10]

My first memory of seeing an Atari 520ST was at a small local computer store. I know it was an early model, because it still booted TOS from disk. The first game I saw on it was "Sundog: Frozen Legacy," an adventure game. I was amazed that it had a human-representation character that moved around inside of semi-3D scenes. He could interact with other characters within scenes. The colors on the ST looked really good. Sure, I wanted one, but like you, I couldn't afford it. I was 15 years old. I couldn't even afford the 8-bit computer I wanted at the time. I had to wait a few years for that. The computer I salivated over for years was vaporware, the Atari 1450XLD. It was an 8-bit model that was demo'd at the 1983 CES. I read about it, and saw a picture of it, but never touched it. Atari didn't release it. The case and features seemed awesome for the time. The spec's said it had 64K of memory, a built-in double-sided double-density 5-1/4" drive (with a bay for a 2nd one), an internal 300 bps modem, a built-in voice synthesizer, and a super-cool-looking keyboard. It was estimated at over $1,000, of course. I couldn't afford that. Another computer that I thought was amazing, but the price was like "in your dreams," was the Apple Lisa. I had the chance to use a couple of these at computer shows that showed up annually at my local mall. I was so inspired by a calendaring/appointment app. I tried out on it that I wrote my own pared-down version on the Apple IIe during my jr./sr. years in high school. It took me 6 mos. to a year to get it done, and I used it a little bit (until I graduated). I got an Atari 130XE when I graduated high school, and a Mega STe my 4th year in college. So, I was able to satisfy some of what I wanted. I just had to be patient. The ST game that blew me away was Starglider II. A dorm-mate in my freshman year had an ST, and I saw him play it. Wow! 3D animated graphics, with filled polygons, and the motion looked so smooth!

[@RetroDream]

Many thanks for your feedback, very interesting. I didn't know about the 1450XLD: seems like a pretty capable machine, too bad it didn't make it to the stores. And you're right, Starglider was an emblematic game that I have neglected: need to correct that :)

[@genblob]

Yep! Atari ST is the best! So many good games and demos for it and it's one of the best looking computers of the 80's too

[@RetroDream]

Absolutely. What computer could look better, good question. Probably none.

[@TurricanGR]

Awesome video!!!

[@RetroDream]

Thanks

[@mogwaii888]

Very first time I saw the ST was a friends house, his dad was a musician and I saw it in action, with no interest in music I thought it was just fancy tech. Then he loaded a game and my jaw dropped because the ST would be my first computer coming off a hand me down Atari 2600. The first time I saw Dungeon Master was on my (much older) cousins 1040ST and again I was in awe, unfortunately I never completed it...

[@RetroDream]

Haha yes I can imagine that :) Do you remember the year the first time you saw it?

[@mogwaii888]

@@RetroDream I think it was 1988 and I was very young at the time. The ST belonged to my sister, yeah she was cool, it came with the power pack bundle (another reason the ST was so much cooler than the Amiga ;)

[@chrissmyth7981]

I owned a 1040ST. Unfortunately and strangely I really don't remember the games that much. I do remember the word processor and the crappy printer. I was a little older and my gaming days were mostly forged on a Colecovision and later the NES. I still enjoy those games today.

[@RetroDream]

Thanks for sharing

[@CFalcon030]

Very well made video. I have to admit I never played dungeon master. The only RPG I ever played to some extent was Ishar 2. But I would like to play legends of Valour as well. Someday perhaps. Btw, are you the one narrating?

[@RetroDream]

Never played Dungeon Master, eh? Really you should try. Ishar and Legends of Valour were pale copies. Thanks for your interest! No I'm not the one narrating, I leave that to my English speaking colleague who reads my script and lends his voice to me. Because of my awful French accent :)

[@CFalcon030]

@@RetroDream well I am not a fan of RPGs in general. I liked Ishar because it had a lot of variety in environments. I kind of stopped playing at the dungeon level and I would like to play Legends of Valour because of the raycasting engine and because I read a review of it on an English magazine and it stayed with me. The other game in that list is B17 Flying fortress. I have removed SF2 (that wouldn't run on my falcon and I am really retrospectively glad it didn't) and SOTB. I asked because I couldn't trace a hint of French accent but to be honest I don't mind accents when listening to videos. Well not really true, i do mind my accent but others are fine.

[@RetroDream]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[@dennissdigitaldump8619]

Oh the memories of the Atari ST. Midimaze literally was my people, of course we also pirated like crazy. We literally had to schedule disk copying as it'd disturb the multiplayer action.

[@roucoupse]

Vous décrivez bien l'atmosphère de l'époque. On est nombreux à avoir connu des expériences identiques avec l'avènement des micro-ordinateurs familiaux.

[@RetroDream]

Merci. C'était une toute autre époque en effet...

[@MIK_F40]

The pride of owning Dungeon Master today is the Psygnosis box set for the Amiga. Indeed I was blown away by the game on ST but that journey lives on via the Amiga were it gained a few tweaks such as being able to drink out of water fountains with your hand cursor. The only game that's ever come close to DM is Crystal Dragon on the Amiga, highly polished, more challenging and brings some new ideas to the table. These days I only play Dungeon Master with 2 characters as it's more challenging, you can't carry as much so have to be more resourceful, like carry 1 flask per character... One of these days I will try to see if its possible to finish the game "without" using the Light Spell and by not eating the meat from the dead, only eating normal human looking food lol

[@RetroDream]

Haha yea... Tell us if you manage to win with these :)

[@DeadCat-42]

Me.. heads out to the shed and pulls out my atari ST... yeah, it still works!!

[@RetroDream]

Good news :)

[@DeadCat-42]

@@RetroDream Talk about a rabbit hole. So far I've, replaced the caps in the power supply and motherboard, kicked up the RAM to 4 MB. Built a SCSI tower with two HDD and two CD drives plus a ZIP drive. Added a gotec drive etc. I found a DIY Roland MT32 synthesizer progect and built one.(and yes I ran Ultima IV and leisure suit Larry) Then I found my old 16 MGHz accelerator, and built a pistorm, then a TF 536. It's now my music system playing my old CD-s and I'm trying to get it to control my MP3 player as well. I worked fast food all summer to buy mine I was 16.

[@buffalodebill1976]

I have the same nostalgia for the Atari 800 XL, which I loved since day 1 in 1985, when I got it - and not just for the computer, but also those times of my childhood and the games I played on that computer. Also, the friends I had back then, which had C64s and ZX Spectrums - where we played some more, of course. Aaah.. Sweet childhood memories 🙂 Later on, as a teen, I had the Mega ST2 (already when PCs took over, more or less), a beast of a machine, but I do not recall playing that many games on it - besides 16-bit versions of games I've already played on the 8-bit, like Kennedy Approach, Silent Service, Mercenary and Rogue, I stuck pretty much with playing Xybots, the three Ishar games and yes, the legendary Dungeon Master (which I never beat). So I think I can appreciate this memory lane of yours 🙂

[@RetroDream]

Thanks for your feedback 😀 Indeed those were the days... Sweet memories of things, places and people. Need to revisit that wonderful world!

[@channelI748]

Great memories

[@algizmo7079]

70s quote: Industry standards are a good thing - that's why there are so many of them.." Applied in 80s, 90s and even up to present day, probably came from IBM engineer. ; )

[@jaysmith2858]

Dungeon Master is still the only game that has made me acquire a system just so that I could play one particular game. I know what you mean about the way the game made you feel. It had/has a visceral quality that very few other games possess.

[@RetroDream]

Precisely! Visceral is the right term. Did you play it on the ST or Amiga?

[@jaysmith2858]

@@RetroDream On the ST. My interest was piqued when I overheard two friends of my family excitedly discussing how you could throw your weapons at monsters and watch the weapons make their way down a corridor towards the target. One of these same friends lent my their ST (along with a copy of DM) when they went on holiday, and then as the saying goes "that was that".

[@RetroDream]

I can imagine that :) You were lucky, since I had to wait about 5 years until a friend lent me his ST. Never had one myself. By this time PCs had already replaced it

[@jaysmith2858]

@@RetroDream I may have got hold of an ST a few years before you, but I then had to wait about ten years before I finally got a PC.

[@markenetube]

I loved my STFM. I went, ZX81, Spectrum, C64, STFM, AMIGA, PC. I still preferred the design of the ST, Stupid bloody modulator sticking out the back of the Amiga. I only went to the Amiga when the games dried up on the ST.

[@RetroDream]

Wow, you got them all :) A very pretty background you describe. Glad we're on the same page regarding the ST.

[@markenetube]

@@RetroDream I also couldn't get my head around having to load the O/S on a disk with the Amiga. Every other computer I had, it was built in. The ST looks cooler than the Amiga without a doubt.

[@Longplayforever]

nice video i kinda had the same feeling about eye of the beholder 🙂

[@RetroDream]

Good one too 👍

[@sandrodellisanti1139]

Ciao, for me personally in late 1989 it was the Amiga 500, but i think , both Computers made it , now i am 55 living in brunswick in Germany and using Debian Linux since 1998, so please stay safe and many greetings from brunswick in Germany..❤️ and hey.. loadwb.

[@RetroDream]

Thanks a lot

[@WorksopGimp]

Atari for the midi ports and a cracked Cubase now have the PC and a legal Cubase 13

[@KDM16AAB]

Dungeon Master, is, still the best!

[@2001pl]

the One computer. absolutely.

[@bultelpascal3819]

I still have 3 Atari ST operationnal within 30 mn. and 1 in 5 mn, just in front of me 🙂

[@RetroDream]

Glad you do :)

[@yopachi]

I would take any 386 to a desert island with "Cybercon III" my personal "Dungeon Master"

[@ms-ex8em]

just like the amiga the st is also can you format disks to a higher capacity than the usual 800 or 900 kilobytes ?? thanks

[@RetroDream]

Not sure

[@JesterEric]

3.5" was the disk format for MSX. You could buy one Christmas 1984 for £399 UK Pounds, $2017 us dollars today They were remaindering them for £50 early 1986 when MSX was discontinued

[@RetroDream]

Thanks for the heads-up!

[@artype211]

Ok it’s m’y favorite game of all Time. Of course I finish it on m’y Amiga. I think chaos strike back is a good game too. More difficult but with a real challenge when you are master of the first opus. I saw dm in the room of a skool frend but in a pc version. I remember this moment like today. And I démonstrateur me falcon and wing commander. Nostalgi Si i’m a fanatic of dm

[@RetroDream]

Thanks for sharing

[@danielktdoranie]

I love the graphics of the machines... where'd you get 'em? I would like to make wallpapers out of them

[@RetroDream]

I don't "get" them, I Make them! They're available as high-res pictures for my KZbin channel members and on Patreon

[@dennissdigitaldump8619]

Alas my child is extra interested in this hardware. It's worse than current gaming hardware, but dad has a trick, he can still repair that stuff.

[@jpht1964]

Living in France you must have enjoyed the early days of Minitel too…

[@RetroDream]

Oh yes that was quite something.

[@LeMotardOccitan]

Le jeu culte, d'une machine qui l est tout autant.

[@RetroDream]

Absolument. Et dans ce cas précis, rien à envier à l'Amiga: c'est juste le même jeu. Avec un curseur jaune au lieu du bleu.

[@ichigen511]

Well done. Very nostalgic! Dungeon Master might be top 5 best computer games of ALL TIME regardless of era.

[@RetroDream]

Thanks and glad you enjoyed

[@ms-ex8em]

is this a new ST or an old one? the Atari st was really good too !! just like the Amiga 500

[@RetroDream]

old one

[@PiaseckiAdam22]

I found dungeon master and "chaos strikes back"!

[@ninjaalex-yf5io]

Is this an all made up story for xmas ? You say at 7:49 that you first saw this machine late 1985 / early 1986 with Space Racer and Xenon, but these 2 games were release toward the end of the ST lifespan, in 1988!

[@RetroDream]

It's definitely not "made up", thanks for commenting, but you're right about dates, I just checked. I was pretty sure it was earlier than that, but actually I must have made a mistake by 2 years: it was not 85/86 but 87/88.

[@parapoliticos52]

how did Atari lost the console war to NES and Master system? This seems light years ahead of them. In 1985.

[@RetroDream]

Yes for 1985 it was just incredible

[@parapoliticos52]

@@RetroDream Ill say, that seems like a 32 bit machine that could handle doom.

[@madigorfkgoogle9349]

@@parapoliticos52 doom is not doable, Wolfenstein 3D yes...

[@welliben]

It beat both of them in the UK, at least until the SNES and Megadrive boosted their sales retrospectively.

[@RetroDream]

@parapoliticos52 Almost ;)

[@AnachronyX]

Nice video. But DM2 definitely wasn't a disaster at all 🙂 My dream machine was and still is Atari Falcon.

[@RetroDream]

Oh yea, the Falcon is for sure a perfect case of a dream machine for many.

[@AndrewHelgeCox]

The script is at least expanded by AI right?

[@RetroDream]

the only AI thing is the one the video mentions

[@kingofmambo]

Le premier jeu que jai vu sur un atari st etait le manoir de mortevielle.

[@RetroDream]

cool

[@accountname8819]

Yes

[@dioskilos]

Several key on that ST keyboard are in the wrong locations.

[@dioskilos]

Must be a French thing?

[@RetroDream]

Absolutely! Azerty keyboard :)

[@AbeStephan]

The ATARI ST took a lot of criticism when it shouldn't have for two really good reasons . For one , it was cheaper than any overpriced PO💩 Wintel computer . The other , besides being cheaper than a Mac , was also more powerful .

[@Russtopia]

Gods, Dungeon Master was my favourite! FYI though.. I was hardened for it by a more ancient dungeon crawl, the prototype -- Dungeons of Daggorath. P L T P R SW A R A R !!! A R !!! A R !!! ... Beware the BLOB

[@RetroDream]

cool

[@AndrewHelgeCox]

AI narrator?

[@RetroDream]

no. why would you think that?

[@BillRalens]

what are you talking about? I've had my trash can mac pro since the late 70's. It's sleek and round and mirror black. Your atari thingamajig is boxy and angular and clunky.

[@RetroDream]

k

[@MaximumRD]

Commodore AMIGA.

[@RetroDream]

Sure

[@Sl1pstreams]

Sure, if you couldn’t get the superior ST, the inferior and more expensive Amiga wasn’t a bad second choice.

[@gpluslagauchiasse]

Huuuumm

[@RetroDream]

Yea

[@Nookdashiddole]

Zzźzzzzz

[@RetroDream]

y