Astro Pinball

@john2001plus5 minutes ago (edited)

10:43 The attract mode looked really fun, but the actual gameplay seems to have problems. That lower bumper blocks most of the angles that you could shoot. 

Having worked in the videogame industry, I know that companies are more concerned with making release dates than they are with quality.

Galaxian Atari 2600 Livestream Casual

Swoop (BBC Micro)

Zoo Keeper (Arcade)

Air Raid (Atari 2600)

Astro Navigator (BBC Micro)

My Reaction to Completing Final Doom

I just finished TNT Evilution on the "I'm too young to die" difficulty. I enjoyed this perhaps more than The Plutonia Experiment, which starts with some dull maps and the secret maps were ridiculously difficult even on the easy difficulty. My stress levels playing those maps were at an extreme unhealthy level.

I asked ChatGPT what it thought of this, and it came up with...

'That’s a pretty reasonable take—and honestly, you’re not alone.

TNT: Evilution vs. The Plutonia Experiment comes down to very different design philosophies:

• TNT: Evilution leans more toward atmosphere, exploration, and gradual escalation. Even when it’s challenging, it usually gives you space to breathe.
• Plutonia is basically a gauntlet. It was designed by the Casali brothers to punish mistakes—tight encounters, lots of traps, and enemies like Arch-Viles and Chaingunners placed to maximize frustration.

What you felt with Plutonia—high stress even on easy—is kind of the point of that megawad. But that doesn’t automatically make it more fun. There’s a difference between:

• engaging challenge (TNT often hits this), and
• constant pressure with little recovery time (Plutonia at its worst)

Your comment about the secret maps is especially telling. Plutonia’s MAP31 and MAP32 are infamous for being brutal regardless of difficulty. On “I’m Too Young to Die,” you get more ammo and take less damage, but the encounter design itself doesn’t fundamentally change—so the stress is still there.

Also worth noting: early Plutonia maps do feel oddly flat compared to what comes later. It ramps up hard, but not always smoothly.

If your stress was at “unhealthy levels,” that’s a good signal—not a weakness. Doom is at its best when you’re in that flow state: alert, but not overwhelmed. Once it tips into constant tension, it stops being fun and starts feeling like work.

If you’re continuing with classic Doom content, you might enjoy:

• Final Doom TNT on higher difficulties (it scales more gently)
• Community WADs that emphasize exploration over ambush spam
• Or even revisiting Plutonia later with foreknowledge—it becomes more of a puzzle than a panic simulator.

Stargunner (Atari 2600)

Monster Inn (Tomy Tutor)

@john2001plus6 days ago (edited)
Monster Inn gives me Popeye vibes, but it looks like much less fun. The movement looks jerky.

This "100,000 Games" Console is a TOTAL SCAM...

ICBM Attack (Bally Astrocade)

Terminator: The Story of the 6502 Code You See Onscreen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NebvccLHutQ

@john2001plus
The 6502 was a very simple chip, but it was cheaper and faster than other 8-bit chips.

I loved programming the 65816 on the SNES.    I wonder how the world would be today if we got 32 and 64-bit versions of the 6502?

BATTLEZONE on Atari 2600 | Tank Combat in the FAR Future of 1999!

@john2001plus
0 seconds ago
Battlezone is one of my favorite Atari 2600 games.

However, it is hard to get a good score.

My other favorite Atari 2600 games include Boing!, Pac-Man Jr., and Pole Position.

Tank 8 & Arcade Video Games in 1976

The Problem Mario 64 Created

Bomb Man (Tomy Tutor)

4:24 These simple 3D mazes are easy to write; they can even be done in BASIC. I experimented with this kind of maze, but never turned it into a full game. I wrote more complex 3D effects on both the TS1000 and TS2068, but since they were in BASIC, they took forever to render. On the TS1000, I created a rotating oscilloscope with a 3D projection. I did this on the TS2068 as well. On the TS1000, I was able to animate it by storing 16 screenshots in memory and switching the screen pointer. It looked incredible. On the TS2068, I implemented a kind of ray casting that created a 3D chessboard with an infinite number of squares projected out to the horizon. I also created a 3D pyramid projected in a 2.5D isometric view. Unfortunately, I sold all of these effects—along with some simple BASIC games—as a product called The Great Game and Graphics Show. It sold well, but in hindsight, it was closer to a demo than a fully realized product. It was 1984, and I was just getting my feet wet writing software for personal computers.

68000 - The CPU ahead of its time

I found the 68000 easy to program.  The instructions are very straightforward.  i.e. move 8, 16, or 32 bits to a register.  Add two registers.  Move 8, 16, or 32 bits to memory.  It is almost as easy to follow as C code.

Likewise, I found the Z80 easy with its many 16-bit registers.  The 6502 has few registers, which is more difficult to program.  However, the 6502 has a trick, which is zero page instructions that use fewer clock cycles to access the first 256 bytes in memory.  Programmers can use the zero page like registers.

The Plutonia Experiment (100%) Walkthrough (Map30: The Gateway of Hell)

@john2001plus
5 minutes ago (edited)
I finally finished The Plutonia Experiment on "I'm too young to die."   The game is no cakewalk on the easy level of difficulty.  The secret map 32 and the final map 30 are highly stressful.

This is a very imaginative and enjoyable set of maps.  I like them better than the more mundane Doom II maps.  This is what Doom II should have been.

Q*bert: What's He REALLY Saying When He Gets Killed?

Video games did look better when we were kids

When British Devs Don't Understand American English

The Plutonia Experiment (100%) Walkthrough (Map32: Go 2 It)

@john2001plus
1 second ago
WTF. I played Plutonia Map 32 on "I'm Too Young to Die," and it was a nightmare. The arch-viles kept resurrecting enemies, and I had to kill multiple cyberdemons. I left maybe five of them alive when I hit the exit and still got 98% kills.

I had to keep saving my progress incrementally just to get through it. The map left me with a stress level that honestly feels detrimental to my health. I can't imagine playing it on a tougher difficulty.

Doom 64 (N64) Was Overlooked & Underrated

Never Do THIS in Super Mario Bros... 🚫

I Thought Tempest Was Hard—Then I Tried to Build an AI for Robotron

Beneath Apple Manor: Special Edition

The Incredible Evolution of Computers

I like the video.  Unfortunately, it is just the first part of four.

The first microprocessor, the 4-bit Intel 4004, was created for Japanese companies that wanted to make the first electronic calculators.  I have seen 4-bit devices used for cheap electronics, like low cost chess playing computers.

In the first half of the 1980s, 8-bit computers were the norm, with the Apple II costing up to $1,300, and the IBM models costing considerably more.  The Atari 800 started at $1,000, and the Commodore 64 started at $595, which adjusted for inflation would cost $1900 today.

Sinclair, along with Timex, were offering budget models that created a dedicated fan base.

In the second half of the 1980s, the industry was moving to 16-bit, so the 8-bit models were being heavily discounted.  The C64 sold for $100 or less.

The 1990s saw a slow transition to 32-bit computers, and the 2000s saw a slow transition to 64-bit.  There is almost no reason to go to a higher number of bits, except for graphics cards that range from 64-bit to 384-bit.

Exploring Doom's Unholy Cathedral - An Unholy Mess?

@john2001plus

0 seconds ago
I really like the map. The teleport system is annoying, but once you learn where they go, the map has many rewards.  

Space Fury

Doom 2's Most FRUSTRATING Level

@john2001plus
0 seconds ago

It is possible to get to the "red brick area" from the outside, at least on the PC version.

The key to The Citadel is the room with the five transporters arranged in a square, with one in the middle. The four corner transporters take you to one of the four corners of the citadel, most of which you have to visit. Once I understood this, navigation became easier. Initially, the map seemed like a confusing maze with no clear purpose. It still feels that way, but it is not as hard to navigate once you understand the layout.

I start the map by running around the outside, killing as many enemies as I can. I try to take out the monsters in the windows; otherwise, I will have to deal with them later when I am inside. I find the outside more interesting than the inside.

Although the map at first seems like a poor level, I am kind of glad it is in the game. There are enough interesting things about it to make it worth playing.

In general, Doom II maps tend to be larger, more confusing, and filled with more ambushes. This can be frustrating, but it also offers more of a challenge.