Press Play On Tape Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

It's the age of Aquarius! Episode 36 flies into town with the team chatting to Sean Harrington about the Mattel Aquarius, that curious little Z80-based computer from the house of Barbie. We talk creating new mods for the computer, a bit about it, as well as take a look into Sean's history with the system, Star Wars & more!

This episode's news:

• SMB on the ZX Speccy - https://events.retroscene.org/cafe2019/gamecompo/2217
• Sonic GX - Sonic for the Amstrad CPC+/GX4000 - http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/news-events/announcing-sonic-gx-a-new-episode-of-sonic-the-hedgehog-for-amstrad-gx-4000/
• Fastloaders "Amiga Rocks" album funded - can pre-order though https://c64audio.com/products/amiga-rocks-fastloaders-a-triple-cd-of-amiga-game-remixes-pre-order
• Sean's Mattel Aquarius Composite mod board on eBay - https://www.ebay.com/itm/Aquarius-Computer-Composite-Video-Out-Adapter-Board-/223672642110

Some of the games mentioned:

• Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
• Choplifter (on many, many platforms)
• Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (Aquarius)
• Utopia (Aquarius)
• Astrosmash (Aquarius, but also Tony's "Let's make a retro game" series on YouTube)

The two Aquarius Emulators referred to are "Virtual Aquarius" and "AqEmu", both of which can be found here - https://www.zophar.net/aquarius.html

You can say hi to Sean on Twitter @1stage or visit the Aquarius Community on Facebook!

Tony's webpage for his programming & games is www.electricadventures.net, along with his YouTube channel of the same name

This episode we're joined by Cameron B as Tony goes back before the MSX to take us on a Spectravideo 318 & 328 master class! In addition we debrief a bit more from PAX Australia, check out what games we've been playing and talk over some news items that caught our eye. All this and more!

This episode's news:

• Vampire Standalone has been released - http://apollo-core.com/knowledge.php?b=1¬e=23461
• PatrikRetroTech Spectravideo 3.5mm audio adapter - https://www.facebook.com/patriksretrotech/posts/2467907583287198
• Pinball Dreams Amstrad CPC - https://twitter.com/BATMAN_GROUP/status/1179130726710730752

Some of the games mentioned:

• Pyxidis
• Meteor Swarm
• Munch Mania
• Cavern Fighter
• Sydney Hunter and The Caverns of Death
• The Outer Worlds (ok, not "retro" but it's still amazing!)
• The Orange Box (and another not so "retro" title...)

You can say hi to Cameron over on Twitter @octamed

Tony's webpage for his programming & games is www.electricadventures.net, along with his YouTube channel of the same name!

In this second half of our look into modern media solutions for our favourite vintage micros, the PPOT crew are once more joined by Retro Domination's Daz. Have a listen as we talk about our experiences with the multitude of options available to help bypass reliance on aging media formats!

Devices discussed include (but not limited to!):

"GoTeK" USB 3.5" Floppy emulator: The drives themselves? eBay or Aliexpress!

Amiga "Cortex" firmware: https://cortexamigafloppydrive.wordpress.com/

HxC Floppy Emulator firmware for GoTeK: http://hxc2001.free.fr/floppy_drive_emulator/ 

VIC-20 Penultimate Cart & ZX Speccy DivMMC: The Future was 8-Bit http://www.tfw8b.com

MSX MegaflashROM SCC+ SD: http://www.msxcartridgeshop.com/

Atarimax MyIDE: https://www.atarimax.com/myide/documentation/

Sega SC-3000 "Survivors Multicart": http://www.sc3000-multicart.com/

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Brisbane C64 & Retrogaming night information: https://www.facebook.com/Brisbane-C64-Night-AKA-Midnight-Resurgence-1746806352202680/

Thanks for listening!

 Where can you find us?

• Episode bought to you with the support of our Sponsor Bartronica, Pinball Paradise & Ms. Bartronica! Head to http://bartronica.com/ to check them out!
• This episode, along with all previous ones can always be found at http://pressplayontape.podbean.com.
• You can find us on iTunes by searching for Press Play on Tape Podcast – we’d love it if you gave us a review while you’re there. It all helps!
• We can be found on Facebook by searching for Press Play on Tape podcast, and on Twitter @PPOT_Podcast
• Tony has his game reviews, pickups and more over on the Electric Adventures YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/user/electricadventures
• You can read up on some of Damian's restoration projects at http://www.tehkella.net/retro/
• For all other things retrogaming related, make sure to check out Retro Domination at http://www.retrodomination.com
• Or for pop culture, board gaming and other Geeky stuff, check out Geekdom United at  http://www.retrodomination.com/category/geekdom 

 Intro theme "Exolon Remix" by Ash Read and Nicholas Jones used with permission

Magnetic media wiping you out? Are your floppies getting bent out of shape? Or is the cost of chasing old software burning your wallet? In this 2-part episode, the PPOT crew are joined by Retro Domination's Daz to look at the various modern solutions for our favourite 8- & 16-bit micros. Have a listen as we talk about our experiences with the multitude of options available to help bypass reliance on aging media formats!

Devices discussed include:

1541 Ultimate-II+: http://1541ultimate.net 

Various C64 uIEC-based solutions - Read more here: https://www.c64-wiki.com/wiki/%C2%B5IEC 

C64 SD2IEC, VIC-20 Penultimate Cart & ZX Speccy DivMMC: The Future was 8-Bit http://www.tfw8b.com

MSX MegaflashROM SCC+ SD: http://www.msxcartridgeshop.com/

C64 Easyflash: http://skoe.de/easyflash/doku.php

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Brisbane C64 & Retrogaming night information: https://www.facebook.com/Brisbane-C64-Night-AKA-Midnight-Resurgence-1746806352202680/

Thanks for listening!

 Where can you find us?

• Episode bought to you with the support of our Sponsor Bartronica, Pinball Paradise & Ms. Bartronica! Head to http://bartronica.com/ to check them out
• This episode, along with all previous ones can always be found at http://pressplayontape.podbean.com.
• You can find us on iTunes by searching for Press Play on Tape Podcast – we’d love it if you gave us a review while you’re there. It all helps!
• We can be found on Facebook by searching for Press Play on Tape podcast, and on Twitter @PPOT_Podcast
• Tony has his game reviews, pickups and more over on the Electric Adventures YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/user/electricadventures
• You can read up on some of Damian's restoration projects at http://www.tehkella.net/retro/
• For all other things retrogaming related, make sure to check out Retro Domination at http://www.retrodomination.com
• Or for pop culture, board gaming and other Geeky stuff, check out Geekdom United at  http://www.retrodomination.com/category/geekdom 

 Intro theme "Exolon Remix" by Ash Read and Nicholas Jones used with permission

Welcome to the first (of hopefully many) Press Play on Tape Developer Diaries! 

For this episode, we're talking to Jay - aka PC Baker - who is behind the upcoming Commodore 64 arcade shooter Galencia! We talk to Jay about his background with assembly language programming on the Commodore 64, the influences behind Galencia, and get a bit of an inside look into his work so far. 

Jay's ongoing development thread for Galencia (including a link to grab the most recent beta!) can be found here: http://www.lemon64.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=64421

The Highway Guy (who did Galencia's music) can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4lsmJcOviEiuuI7vmroLYg

Thanks for listening!

 Where can you find us?

• This episode along with all previous ones can always be found at http://pressplayontape.podbean.com.
• You can find us on iTunes by searching for Press Play on Tape Podcast – we’d love it if you gave us a review while you’re there. It all helps!
• We can be found on Facebook by searching for Press Play on Tape podcast, and on Twitter @PPOT_Podcast
• Tony has his game reviews, pickups and more over on the Electric Adventures YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/user/electricadventures
• You can read up on some of Damian's restoration projects at http://www.tehkella.net/retro/
• For all other things retrogaming related, make sure to check out Retro Domination at http://www.retrodomination.com
• Or for pop culture, board gaming and other Geeky stuff, check out Geekdom United at  http://www.retrodomination.com/category/geekdom 

 Intro theme "Exolon Remix" by Ash Read and Nicholas Jones used with permission

Arcade conversions have always been a curious beast. Back in the day, the closest we'd get to playing the latest game for free would be the home ports by Publishers like US Gold or Ocean. Sometimes they fantastic, sometimes they were a bit meh, and sometimes you got Chase HQ. 

This month JCVD finally gets his chance to talk arcade games, as the PPOT team takes a look at some of their personal favourite home conversions, and a couple that were memorable for the wrong reasons...

Thanks for listening, and as always hope you enjoy the chat as much as we did!

Where can you find us?

• This episode along with all previous ones can always be found at http://pressplayontape.podbean.com. You can find us on iTunes by searching for Press Play on Tape Podcast – we’d love it if you gave us a review while you’re there. It all helps!
• We can be found on Facebook by searching for Press Play on Tape podcast, and on Twitter @PPOT_Podcast
• Tony has his game reviews, pickups and more over on the Electric Adventures YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/user/electricadventures
• You can read up on some of Damian's restoration projects on his site at http://www.tehkella.net/retro/
• For all other things retrogaming related, make sure to check out Retro Domination at http://www.retrodomination.com 

Intro theme "Exolon Remix" used with permission by Ash Read and Nicholas Jones

This month we're joined by c64.com's own Andreas Wallström to talk about his upcoming book Commodore 64: For the Love of a Machine!  Andreas chats to us about the book, and why he feels so strongly about giving back to the C64 community and ensuring that stories from the likes of Al Charpentier and Bob Yannes, or cracking legend Zoltan Kelemen a.k.a. Mr.Z/Triad are not lost the sands of time. 

We hope you enjoy the interview as much as we did recording it!

You can find the Kickstarter page for Commodore 64: For the Love of a Machine here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wallstrom/commodore-64-for-the-love-of-a-machine

Andreas can be found over at http://www.c64.com, on Twitter @C64_com, and some of his musical efforts on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/AndreasWallstrom.

And don't forget that there's still time to win a copy of Graham Axten's The Bear Essentials with thanks to Pond Software! Competition closes 11:59pm AEST April 30, check out our Facebook page or Twitter feed for more. Also make sure to head over to http://pondsoft.uk and take a look at The Bear Essentials, as well as a number of the other Pond games currently available!

 Outro track: 6581 covering Last Ninja II at Back in Time Live Stockholm 2008

Where can you find us?

• This episode along with all previous ones can always be found at http://pressplayontape.podbean.com. You can find us on iTunes by searching for Press Play on Tape Podcast – we’d love it if you gave us a review while you’re there. It all helps!
• We can be found on Facebook by searching for Press Play on Tape podcast, and on Twitter @PPOT_Podcast
• Tony has his game reviews, pickups and more over on the Electric Adventures YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/user/electricadventures
• You can read up on some of Damian's restoration projects on his site at http://www.tehkella.net/retro/
• For all other things retrogaming related, make sure to check out Retro Domination at http://www.retrodomination.com 

Intro theme "Exolon Remix" used with permission by Ash Read and Nicholas Jones

The British return to Press Play on Tape once more, with Amiga MOD maker extraordinaire, member of the RGDS Podcast, and all-round awesome guy Aaron White jumping on the show for a chat. Damian, along with special guest host Daz have a chat with Aaron about his Amiga music making, to the games he grew up with & much more! 

For our publisher of choice, Aaron W chose British Hannah Barbara fans HI-Tec Software for this month, and helps set the record straight around some of their unknown gems - including the only recently re-discovered & released Daffy Duck game! 

And as an added bonus, listen to how you can win a copy of Graham Axten's The Bear Essentials with thanks to Pond Software! Competition closes 11:59pm AEST April 30, so get to it. Head over to http://pondsoft.uk to take a look at The Bear Essentials, as well as a number of the other Pond games currently available!

Aaron White's YouTube channel can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGOu0lFyWfonLIC7Mdu3i-Q/videos

You can also find his mix disks for Amiga here: http://www.indieretronews.com/search/label/Aaron%20White?m=0

or here: http://www.vintageisthenewold.com/tag/aaron-white/ 

Outro track this month is the title theme from The Bear Essentials.

Where can you find us?

This episode along with all previous ones can always be found at http://pressplayontape.podbean.com. You can find us on iTunes by searching for Press Play on Tape Podcast – we’d love it if you gave us a review while you’re there. It all helps!

We can be found on Facebook by searching for Press Play on Tape podcast, and on Twitter @PPOT_Podcast

Tony has his game reviews, pickups and more over on the Electric Adventures YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/user/electricadventures

You can read up on some of Damian's restoration projects on his site at http://www.tehkella.net/retro/

Intro theme "Exolon Remix" used with permission by Ash Read and Nicholas Jones

Got some computers needing a bit of love? Then this month’s episode of Press Play on Tape is for you!  On the back of a few recent repairs and restorations of their own, the team decided this month to talk through some of their favourite hints & tips. Where to start with a non-working system? Cap kits or not? Is Retrobrite for you? All this, and a lot more...

For our Publisher this month we’ve gathered our lamp and ventured into the dark to discuss the text adventure legends: Infocom! Tony and Aaron go over some of their favourite games, along with Damian dropping a shock bombshell!

Even if you’re not handy with a soldering iron or screwdriver, there’s still something for everyone this month. Kick back, have a listen and enjoy!

Where can you find us?

This episode along with all previous ones can always be found at http://pressplayontape.podbean.com. You can find us on iTunes by searching for Press Play on Tape Podcast – we’d love it if you gave us a review while you’re there. It all helps!

We can be found on Facebook by searching for Press Play on Tape podcast, and on Twitter @PPOT_Podcast

Tony has his game reviews, pickups and more over on the Electric Adventures YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/user/electricadventures

You can read up on some of Damian's restoration projects on his site at http://www.tehkella.net/retro/

Press Play on Tape is a part of the Console Domaination Gaming Network.

Here comes a new Challenger! You might have seen him on our Facebook page (if not, come have a look), so now it's time to meet Mr. JCVD - aka. Damian - as he joins the Press Play on Tape team as our third co-host.

This month we're taking a look at the year that was 2016, and what some of our favourite Vintage Computer pick ups were. Not only that, we dive into what our "Holy Grail" wish list for 2017 looks like!

Wishing all our listeners and supporters a fantastic Christmas, and we'll be back bigger and better in 2017!

Outro track is Magical Sound Shower from Outrun (C64).

Where can you find us?

This episode along with all previous ones can always be found at http://pressplayontape.podbean.com. You can find us on iTunes by searching for Press Play on Tape Podcast – we’d love it if you gave us a review while you’re there. It all helps!

We can be found on Facebook by searching for Press Play on Tape podcast, and on Twitter @PPOT_Podcast

Tony has his game reviews, pickups and more over on the Electric Adventures YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/user/electricadventures

You can read up on some of Damian's restoration projects on his site at http://www.tehkella.net/retro/

Press Play on Tape is a part of the Console Domaination Gaming Network.