Bally Alley Astrocast 002 - Red Baron/Panzer Attack and Castle of Horror
Release Date: 07/01/2016
Bally Alley Astrocast: Episode 19 - Astrocade Newbie with Brian (Ballistik Coffee Boy)
Bally Alley Astrocast
In episode #19 of the Bally Alley Astrocast podcast, the host, Adam, talks with his friend Brian, the host of the "Ballistik Coffee Boy" YouTube channel. Brian has no previous experience with the Bally Arcade console and he explores it with Adam for the first time and talks about what he thinks of it. Since Brian lives locally to Adam, they both look at the console together in person. Recurring Links - Bally Arcade / Astrocade Website - By Chris Federico Show Notes We have limited show notes again for this episode. If there's something in the podcast that you want to hear more...
info_outline
Bally Alley Astrocast: Episode 18 - BASIC Games - Cross Country Racer and Star Wars
Bally Alley Astrocast
In episode #18 of the Bally Alley Astrocast podcast, the hosts, Chris and Adam, cover two games written in Bally BASIC called "Cross Country Racer" and "Star Wars" by Doug Shaeffer, an amateur Astrocade programmer. These games were archived, along with other programs, by Paul Thacker in February 2022 from an Astrocade collection bought on Ebay by Nate Reeder in January 2022. Paul says, "These seem to me to have been made for personal use rather than with a goal of publication, but there's still some cool stuff in here [...]." Also covered is one piece of feedback and some recent updates to the...
info_outline
Bally Alley Astrocast: Episode 17 - News, Updates, List All Cartridges
Bally Alley Astrocast
I play a bit of catch-up to bring the podcast semi-current and also to get me back into the podcasting mood. I cover all of the my Bally Arcade/Astrocade videos from 2020 about the Astrocade. I go over all of the updates to the BallyAlley.com website dating back to February 2020. I list all of the Astrocade games on cartridge and BASIC that have been covered so far in previous episodes. Plus, I talk about the cartridges that still need to be covered in upcoming episodes.
info_outline
Bally Alley Astrocast: Episode 16 - Interview with Andy Guevara of Bit Fiddlers
Bally Alley Astrocast
In episode #16 of the Bally Alley Astrocast, Kevin Bunch interviews Andy Guevara. The interview took place Saturday, May 16, 2020. Andy wrote three programs that were released on cartridge for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade. The first cartridge was Machine Language Manager (MLM), released by The Bit Fiddlers in 1982. L&M Software approached Andy due to his machine language skills and a collaboration got underway that produced Ms. Candyman and Sea Devil, which were both released on cartridge in 1983. Andy also wrote some additional software: Chicken and the Goldfish Demo were released on tape,...
info_outline
Bally Alley Astrocast: Episode 15 - User Interview with David Kindred
Bally Alley Astrocast
In episode #15 of the Bally Alley Astrocast, Adam conducts a user interview with David Kindred. David got his Astrocade console in 1981 when he was 11 years old. He learned to program in Bally BASIC, which caused a spark that eventually ignited into a flame that drove David to college where he studied computer science and information technology. He worked for 25 years as a computer programmer, beginning with Fortune 500 companies, before he moved into IT management, where he works to this day.
info_outline
Bally Alley Astrocast: Episode 14 - Arcadian (Oct 1979) and 1979 Newsletter Correspondence
Bally Alley Astrocast
In episode #14 of the Bally Alley Astrocast, Adam and Paul cover the October 1979 issue of the Arcadian newsletter (vol. 1, #11) along with sixteen letters, postcards, notes and even one telegram that were sent to Bob Fabris, editor of the Arcadian newsletter, in the late 1970s/early 1980s. The two programs in this issue are "Microtrek" by Bill Andrus and "Resequencing" by Ron Schweitzer. This episode also covers many letters to the Arcadian that were sent in the fall of 1979. Recurring Links - Bally Arcade / Astrocade Website - By Chris Federico Arcadian,...
info_outline
Bally Alley Astrocast: Episode 13 - Cosmic Raiders by Astrocade, Inc.
Bally Alley Astrocast
In episode 13 of the Bally Alley Astrocast, Adam and Chris review the Bally Arcade/Astrocade game "Cosmic Raiders," a horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up. "Cosmic Raiders" is a game released in 1983 on an 8K cartridge by Astrocade Inc. It is part of the Action/Skills Series and is part #2019. It was written by Bob Ogdon, Scot L. Norris, Julie Malan, and Lisa Natting. "In deep space lies the alien sector Larkin. You are there on a mission to obtain energy sources that have been seized by the evil Larkins. Radar and a superior guidance system help you avoid attacking fighters and...
info_outline
Bally Alley Astrocast: Episode 12 - ICBM Attack by Spectre Systems
Bally Alley Astrocast
In episode 12 of the Bally Alley Astrocast, Adam is joined by his good friend, and sometime-co-host, Chris++. Adam and Chris review the Bally Arcade/Astrocade game "ICBM Attack." This is one of the very rare third-party programs that was released on cartridge. This 4Kb game was released in 1982 by Brett Bilbrey, Mike Toth and Marian Nalepa (Spectre Systems). It requires a special controller called the "Spectre Handle" to play the game. Recurring Links - Bally Arcade / Astrocade Website - By Chris Federico "ICBM Attack" Notes ICBM Attack by Spectre Systems - Video...
info_outline
Bally Alley Astrocast: Episode 11 - Hamurabi by Richard Houser
Bally Alley Astrocast
In episode 11 of the Bally Alley Astrocast, Adam is joined by his 25-year-old son Dominic. Dominic discusses his memories of growing up with an Astrocade in the house in the late-to-mid-nineties and early 2000s. Adam and Dominic review the Bally BASIC/"AstroBASIC" game Hamurabi. Recurring Links - Bally Arcade / Astrocade Website - By Chris Federico Some Astrocade News/Updates In this short episode, we decided not to cover any updates, as very few were made since our last recording. Introduction Notes - Pictures of Ward Shrake's Astrocade multicart from the early 2000s. -...
info_outline
Bally Alley Astrocast: Episode 10 - Gobblers
Bally Alley Astrocast
In episode 10 of the Bally Alley Astrocast, Adam and Chris++ review the modified version of the "AstroBASIC" game Gobblers. They also discuss just a few of the many updates to the BallyAlley.com website since March 2017. Finally, they talk about some of the recent occurrences in the Astrocade community. This is the first full-length episode in over 2 1/2 years; thanks to all those Astrocade fans who kept pestering Adam for another episode. Recurring Links - Bally Arcade / Astrocade Website - By Chris Federico Some Astrocade News/Updates - BallyAlley's YouTube Playlist -...
info_outlineEpisode 2 of the Bally Alley Astrocast covers the cartridge game Red Baron/Panzer Attack and the BASIC game (released on tape) Castle of Horror. Issues 3-5 (from June to October 1978) of the Arcadians newsletter are covered in detail. We also discuss: news, feedback, a few classic letters to the Arcadian from Ernie Sams (who discusses JS&A, the company that originally sold the Astrocade) and Richard Belton (who covers the Maryland User Group). Finally, there is an interview with Ward Shrake, who created multicarts for several systems, including one for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade.
Recurring Links
- BallyAlley.com - Bally Arcade / Astrocade Website
- What's New at BallyAlley.com
- Orphaned Computers & Game Systems Website
- Bally Alley Yahoo Discussion Group
- Bally Arcade / Astrocade Atari Age Sub-forum
- Bally Arcade/Astrocade High Score Club
- Bally Alley Astrocast Facebook Page
Cartridge Review - Red Baron/Panzer Attack
- Red Baron/Panzer Attack Instructions - Astrocade Version
- BiPlane (1976 Arcade Game) - Fun Games Inc. (The International Arcade Museum)
- Panzer Attack (1974 Arcade Game) - Midway Manufacturing Co. (The International Arcade Museum)
- Panzer Attack (1974 Arcade Game) - Midway Manufacturing Co. (Video on YouTube)
- Tank (1974 Arcade Game) - Key Games (The International Arcade Museum)
- Tank (1974 Arcade Game) - Key Games (Video on YouTube)
- Red Baron/Panzer Attack - Play this Astrocade game online at Archive.org
- Discussion with Rickey Spiece - Rickey designed Red Baron/Panzer Attack at Dave Nutting Associates (April 2005)
Tape Review - Castle of Horror
- Castle of Horror Instructions - WaveMakers
- Castle of Horror Review - "The Game Player" by Michael Prosise (October 7, 1982)
- Castle of Horror Video - Video by ArcadeUSA on YouTube
- Wavemakers's History and Overview - Mike Peace, the programmer of Castle of Horror, answers some questions about himself and his company, WaveMakers (August 2001)
- Castle of Horror / Treasure Cove Astrocade High Score Club - This game was played in May/June 2016. The high score for Castle of Horror was 2,100 points.
News
- BalZerk Homebrew by Lance F. Squire
- I Am Error: The Nintendo Family Computer / Entertainment System Platform by Nathan Altice
- The Better Bally Book - An online reference for Bally Astrocade developers
- Working on Bally Pong - Bally Alley Yahoo Group Message by Nathan Altice (June 15, 2016)
- Bally/Astrocade RF Modulator Replacement Part - AtariAge Astrocade Subforum
- Western Gun Update - Tomohiro Nishikado (Wikipedia)
Feedback
- Feedback from Mr SQL - Feedback with a reply (in the AtariAge forums)
Arcadians Newsletter
- Arcadians, no. 3 - June 23, 1978
- Arcadians, no. 4 - September 1, 1978
- Arcadians, no. 5 - October 10, 1978
- "Pre-Arcadian" Posting - Bally Alley Yahoo Group Message by Adam Trionfo (June 2, 2016)
- Arcadians Classified Ad - Kilobaud Computing, September 1978, Page 120.
- PA-1 Bally Service Manual
- "Bally Professional Arcade" by Karl Zinn "Creative Computing," 4, no. 5 (Sept-Oct 1978): 56-59.
- "Bally BASIC Hacker's Guide" by Jay Fenton.
- NCE Datafile - Article from Newman Computer Exchange (NCE) Catalog (October 1978)
- Arcadians Subscription Request #1 (1978)
- Arcadians Subscription Request #2 (1978)
Classic Letters
- Letter from Ernie Sams to Bob Fabris (October 28, 2016)
- Letter from Ernie Sams to William Mitchell, the Group Marketing Director of JS&A National Sales Group (March 15, 2016)
- JS&A Backorder Policies and Procedures (September 1, 1975)
- Questions and Answers on the Home Library Computer - 16-Page Pamphlet by JS&A from about 1977 or 78.
- JS&A Catalog #2 (1978)
- Letter from Ernie Sams to Bob Fabris (July 7, 1981)
- Bangman by Ernie Sams - Digitally Archived AstroBASIC Program
- Arcadian - 10 Programs (1981) - Includes Ernie Sams' Bingo program
- Salvage Bally Boards for $25 - Announcement (Arcadian, March 1980)
- Salvage Bally Boards - Update (Arcadian, May 1980)
Maryland User Group
- "Added Two Miscellaneous Newsletters" Posting - Bally Alley Yahoo Group Message by Adam Trionfo (July 3, 2014)
- Letter from Richard Belton (May 29, 1979)
- Arcadian Local News - Maryland User Group Newsletter, May 30, 1979
- Sonic Satellite - by George Hale (1979) - BASIC Listing
- Sonic Satellite - George Hale (1979) - Bally BASIC Program (300-Baud Format)
- BatNum (Battle of Numbers) - Ron Schwenk BASIC Listing
- Mastermind - Ron Schwenk BASIC Listing
- One Check (Solitaire Checker Game) - Ron Schwenk BASIC Listing
- BalCheck Hardware (Home Video Game Burn-In Tester) - Various documentation for the BalCheck hardware that was distributed by Richard Belton
- BalCheck Hardware (Home Video Game Burn-In Tester) - The Z80 source code for the BalCheck 2K ROM (April 29, 1980)
Ward Shrake Interview
- Sci-Fi & Fantasy Modeller
- Internet Modeler Website
- Cartzilla - VIC-20 Cartridge Rarity & Gameplay list
- Arcadia 2001: Frequently Asked Questions
- Digital Archaeology: Arcadia 2001 - Website
- Ward Shrake Bally Arcade/Astrocade Multicart Documentation
- Astrocade Multicart - Pictures of Ward Shrake's multicart for the Bally Arcade
- Ward's Multicart FAQ - Covers the "Bally Astrocade" and "Emerson Arcadia 2001" multi-carts
End-Show Music
- Astrocade Conversations with George Moses (July/August 2001)
- Bach's 15 Two-Part Inventions (Tape #1) - By George Moses
- Bach's 15 Two-Part Inventions - Astrocade Audio (mp3)