News is…
…as news does. Its a fact, and you knows it.
So, whilst you’re all still looking at me with a slight squint in your left eye - may I present some news of remakesness.
If you’re feeling a little touchy, then you may like to check out Sensitive for the phones of mobileness. Its a free download of the oft remade little trundle across the tiles fest, and you could do a whole lot worse for your phone.
Codex and NZO have been busy gnawing at the interweb to come up with a fetching new look for NZO’s spankingly fine Amiga Demo Site. It was a pretty nifty piece of webwork in the first place, now given that even sexier feel to it. Unfortunately, as with all lovely things - it comes with a health warning. Ok, not a health warning - a browser warning. Firefox is not its friend, so dive in with IE for some Amiga Demo goodness at its best.
This next one isn’t quite what you’d call Retro, unless you have the memory of a goldfish - but its fine enough to warrant a mention all the same. Its a canny remake of Lumines for all those ladies and gentlemen gagging to get their hands on experience of block wigging without suffering at the hands of Sony’s current level of idiocy. Yes, this is one download you can grab from Japan without fear of your order being blocked ;)
One for our errant ex newsposter Dev next, yes - its no less than Space Invaders 97, of which the author has this to say…”It’s a DOS game I made originally in 1997. It never worked well under windows due to timing code that Windows couldn’t run properly. I just recently modified the program to ignore the timing. So, it assumes your computer is fast enough (any computer today should be) by synchronizing the animation with the monitor’s refresh rate. It runs fine now; playing it makes me want to create a new version. Since it only supports a GUS for sound, it is unlikely anyone today will ever hear it. It includes a pre-made .PIF file that should be appropriate for Windows XP, and likely other versions of Windows, as well, but this has not been tested.”. Have funnage.
I’ve still got some mail tucked underneath my cat and some cracking news from the forum for those who don’t flick our orange buttons often. So, bare with me and I’ll throw some more out soon.
In the meantime, thanks for reading and don’t have nightmares.
Retro Remakes continues…
As anyone who visits our forum will already be aware, we have secured the future of Retro Remakes for the forseeable future. Thanks to the kindness and generosity of my good wife, we have transferred the hosting account over and will be continuing to keep up the legacy that both [JJ] and The Toker strived to maintain.
Both myself and STomps will continue to run the site, with my wife managing the “non remakes” side of things. (ie - the accounts) and whilst you lot continue to read us, continue to make fantastic remakes - we’ll keep the site going and keep reporting the news.
We’d like to take the time to thank everyone for their immense support over the past few weeks, its been a difficult time for the site and Steves close family. We’ve been overwhelmed by the depth of feeling for Steve and the legacy he’s built over the past few years, and I’d like to thank everyone who has posted to the forum, PM’d or dropped into IRC for all their support during this time.
It makes us proud to be a part of such a wonderful community.
We’ve also received a number of offers from people who have “offered to host us”, as you might have noticed by the fact that we are still here and on the internet - we have hosting.
We will not be compromising the independant status of Retro Remakes, so please don’t waste our time and yours by offering us a place in any current or potential gaming networks/sites.
Before I sign off, may I attract your attention to the updated “Heroes” section, accessible from the orange button above (labelled Heroes oddly enough).
RIP The Toker 1968-2005
This is probably the most difficult news post I’ve ever had to type, so excuse me if it drifts into incoherance at any point.
I’m absolutely gutted to report that Retroremakes.com admin Steve Phelps, known to most of you as The Toker passed away at his home yesterday.
Its still difficult to put into words exactly how many lives Tokes touched, not only in his tenure as Retro Remakes/Remakes.org admin but with his internet presence in general. His contribution to the scene can only ever be understated. Without him, Retro Remakes wouldn’t be the site that it is today, the community would doubtlessly not be as strong and many remakes would not have made it to fruition without his boundless enthusiasm (and occasional bouts of swearing), he also stood very proudly in the Spectrum camp in the eternal war over which 8 bit was better.
Both on the forum and in IRC, Tokes was a constant source of knowledge and enthusiasm for remakes and a good friend to many. He was selfless in promoting the scene, often pushing the limelight onto someone else rather than take the credit himself.
On a personal level, over the past few years - from when I first landed in IRC, a quiet and shy Bob to the cocky annoying sod I am today, I grew to know him very well and regarded him as one of the best friends a person could ever ask for. Whenever I felt like throwing in the towel or calling it quits, Tokes was there to pull me up again. I know I’m not alone in this, and its for this, amongst many other things - he’ll be sorely missed. His seat in IRC irreplaceable. We shared arguments, laughs and did more than the fair share of bitching for the average human over time.
My only regret now is I never got to meet him in person.
Steve Phelps, the man who rescued Retro Remakes and a good friend to many. R.I.P. My friend. You’ll be sorely missed around these parts.
If you wish to offer your condolances, please feel free to visit our forum and leave a message.
Our thoughts today are with his family during this time.
Oddbob on behalf of The Retro Remakes community.
