Lyonsden Blog

Tag - Amiga

Amiga Addict 27 out now

Amiga Addict 27

Here’s the latest issue of Amiga Addict magazine, issue 27, that arrived today featuring some artwork for the Wolfchild game on the front cover. This months mag includes a six page in-depth look at the story behind the creation of this particular game,

 

Amiga Addict 27

Issue 27 cover

 

Below is a peek at the contents page giving an overview of what’s inside this months issue of Amiga Addict.

 

Amiga Addict 27

Contents page

 

The magazine consists of 60 A4 full colour pages and features loads of news, reviews, articles, tutorials and more. This issue costs £6.50 (plus P&P) and is available from the Amiga Addict website. Amazingly it is also available in some bricks and mortar newsagents such as WHSmith so you may be able to pick it up there if you’re lucky and save yourself the postage!

 

A Look Inside Amiga Addict Issue 27

 

I’ll leave you with a quick look at just few of the articles that can be found in issue 27.

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Finally, here’s a link to some of my previews of other, earlier editions of Amiga Addict magazine.

Zzap! Amiga Issue #14 is out now

Zzap! Amiga Issue #14

A few days ago the latest edition of Zzap! Amiga Issue #14 ‘Micro Action’ arrived on my doormat so lets take a quick peek inside.

 

Zzap! Amiga Issue #14

Zzap! Amiga Front Cover

 

A Look Inside

 

Here’s the contents page and a handful of the 60 pages within this edition.

 

Zzap! Amiga Issue #14

Zzap! Amiga Issue #14 Contents Page

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

At £4.99 plus postage for 60 pages of Amiga goodness it’s a no-brainer for me and yet another worthy addition to my retro magazine collection. Don’t forget you can get 15% off a copy of your own with code ‘LYONSDENBLOG’ at the checkout!

Head on over to Fusion Retro Books to pick up your own copy of Issue #14.

Some more Zzap! Amiga magazine previews here.

Amiga Future #166 – Jan/Feb edition out now

Amiga Future #166

The latest issue of Amiga Future (Amiga Future #166) for subscribers has arrived. It features artwork from Astro Menace on the front cover.

 

Amiga Future #166

Issue #166 Front Cover.

 

The Coverdisk

The main event on this months cover CD is ‘Tactical Manager 1 & 2’, both football management games. I’m not a fan of football at all so I was relieved to see that a copy of Xtreme Racing was also on there – it’s a pretty nifty pseudo-3D racing game that managed to slip by me completely unnoticed back in the day…

 

Amiga Future Cover Disk

Issue #166’s cover CD.

 

What’s in Amiga Future #166

Here’s a photo of the contents page to give you an idea of what is in this issue.

 

Contents of Issue #166

 

Below is a little peek at some of the stuff inside Amiga Future #166. If you’d like to purchase a copy then do please take a look here. Sadly the campaign to attract an additional 25 subscribers launched back in November failed to achieve its goal so there’s no immediate plans for extra pages in the immediate future but that could still change if enough new people subscribe this year.

🙏🏻

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Never come across Amiga Future magazine before? Perhaps you’d care to take a look at some of my other Amiga Future magazine previews here.-*

Amiga Addict Issue 26 out now

Amiga Addict 26

Here’s the latest issue of Amiga Addict magazine, issue 26, with a cover devoted to the largest Amiga software collection in the world – Aminet.

 

Amiga Addict 26

Issue 26 cover

 

Here’s a look at the contents page giving an overview of what’s inside this months issue.

 

Amiga Addict 26

Contents page

 

The magazine consists of 60 A4 full colour pages and features loads of news, reviews, articles, tutorials and more. This issue costs £6.50 (plus P&P) and is available from the Amiga Addict website. Amazingly it is also available in some bricks and mortar newsagents such as WHSmith so you may be able to pick it up there if you’re lucky and save yourself the postage!

 

 

A Look Inside Amiga Addict Issue 26

 

I’ll leave you with a quick look at just few of the articles that can be found in issue 26.

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Finally, here’s a link to some of my previews of earlier editions of Amiga Addict.

Zzap! Amiga Issue #13 is out now

Zzap! Amiga Issue #13

My copy of Zzap! Amiga Issue #13 arrived in the post this morning.

 

Zzap! Amiga Issue #13

Zzap! Amiga Front Cover

 

A Look Inside

 

Here’s a quick peek at the contents page and a handful of the 60 pages within this edition.

 

Zzap! Amiga Issue #13

Zzap! Amiga Issue #13 Contents Page

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

At £4.99 plus postage for 60 pages of Amiga goodness it’s a no-brainer for me and a worthy addition to my retro magazine collection. Don’t forget you can get 15% off a copy of your own with code ‘LYONSDENBLOG’ at the checkout!

Head on over to Fusion Retro Books to pick up your own copy of Issue #12.

Some more Zzap! Amiga magazine previews here.

Amiga Addict Issue 25 out now

Here’s the latest issue of Amiga Addict magazine, number 25, a bonafide Christmas Special no less, sporting a super Robocod cover.

 

Amiga Addict 25

Issue 25 cover and coverdisk!

 

This months coverdisk features a playable demo of AmigaBill’s Boom! platform game, created by members of his Twitch livestreaming community. The ADF image needs to be downloaded and transferred to a real floppy if you want make a physical coverdisk using the supplied floppy disk label as I have done in the photo below.

 

Amiga Addict 25

This months coverdisc.

 

Here’s a look at the contents page giving an overview of what’s inside this months Christmassy issue.

 

Amiga Addict 25

Contents page

 

Here’s the coverdisc page providing details about what you can expect to find on this issues media.

 

Amiga Addict 25

What’s on this editions coverdisk?

 

The magazine consists of 60 A4 full colour pages and features loads of news, reviews, articles, tutorials and more. This issue costs £6.50 (plus P&P) and is available from the Amiga Addict website. Amazingly it is also available in some bricks and mortar newsagents such as WHSmith so you may be able to pick it up there if you’re lucky and save yourself the postage!

 

 

A Look Inside Amiga Addict Issue 25

 

I’ll leave you with a quick look at just few of the articles that can be found in issue 25.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Amiga Future #165 – Nov/Dec edition out now

The latest issue of Amiga Future (Amiga Future #165) for subscribers has arrived. It features artwork from Reshoot Proxima 3 (an awesome shoot-em-up) on the front cover.

 

Amiga Future #165

Amiga Future #165 Front Cover.

The Coverdisk

The main event on this months cover CD is ‘Silk Dust’, a text adventure game written by Davide Bucci. It’s the third instillment of a series of adventure games, the others being ‘Two Days to the Race’ and ‘The Queen’s Footsteps’.

 

Amiga Future #165

Issue #165’s cover CD.

 

 

What’s in Amiga Future #165

Here’s a photo of the contents page to give you an idea of what is in this issue.

 

Amiga Future #165

Contents of Issue #165

 

 

Below is a little peek at some of the stuff inside Amiga Future #165. If you’d like to purchase a copy then do please take a look here.

Amiga Future are currently trying to get some new subscribers so they can increase the page count of each edition. If they can get an extra 25 subscribers on board they can add four additional pages for readers at no extra cost. 50 more subscribers would mean an extra eight pages added. So if you’ve been buying the odd copy here and there, and can afford it, then please consider getting a subscription to help make it happen!

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Never come across Amiga Future magazine before? Perhaps you’d care to take a look at some of my other Amiga Future magazine previews here.-*

Amiga Addict Issue 24 out now

Amiga Addict 24

Here’s the latest issue of Amiga Addict magazine, number 24. This edition is a corker and marks the 30th Anniversary of the CD32 console and as such is absolutely jam-packed with content for Commodores swansong console. If you have a soft spot for the CD32 like me then this is not an issue you should miss.

 

Amiga Addict 24

Issue 24 cover photo.

 

This months coverdisk is a special one as it’s actually a cover CD and contains a full (legal) version of Beneath a Steel Sky along with a whole host of other games and demos. Naturally you don’t get a physical copy,  just an ISO to download and burn onto your own disc. My copy in the photo below was burned onto a Lightscribe disc which allowed me to etch the Steel Sky and Amiga Addict logos directly onto the disc surface.

 

Amiga Addict 24 Coverdisc

Issue 24 CD32 Coverdisk.

 

Below you can see the menu screen for the CD32 coverdisk with Beneath a Steel Sky front and centre.

 

Amiga Addict 24 Coverdisc Menu Screen

Issue 24’s CD32 Coverdisk Menu screen.

 

Here’s a look at the contents page giving an overview of what’s inside this issue, spoiler alert – there’s a LOT of CD32 coverage this month with it being the 30th Anniversary of the console.

 

Amiga Addict 24

Contents Page.

 

Here’s the coverdisc page providing details about what you can expect to find on this issues offering.

 

Amiga Addict 24

What’s on this editions coverdisk?

 

The magazine consists of 60 A4 full colour pages and features loads of news, reviews, articles, tutorials and more. This issue costs £6.50 (plus P&P) and is available from the Amiga Addict website. Amazingly it is also available in some bricks and mortar newsagents such as WHSmith so you may be able to pick it up there if you’re lucky and save yourself the postage!

 

 

A Look Inside Issue 24

 

I’ll leave you with a quick look at just few of the articles that can be found in issue 24.

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Zzap! Amiga Issue #12 is out now

Zzap! Amiga Issue #12

Zzap! Amiga Issue #12 is now available.

 

Zzap! Amiga Issue #12

Zzap! Amiga Front Cover

 

A Look Inside

 

Here’s a quick peek at the contents page and a handful of the 60 pages within this edition.

 

Zzap! Amiga Issue #12

Zzap! Amiga Issue #12 Contents Page

 

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

At £4.99 plus postage for 60 pages of Amiga goodness it’s a no-brainer for me and a worthy addition to my retro magazine collection. Don’t forget you can get 15% off a copy of your own with code ‘LYONSDENBLOG’ at the checkout!

Head on over to Fusion Retro Books to pick up your own copy of Issue #12.

Amiga Addict Issue 23 out now

Amiga Addict 23

Unbelievably I had yet another retro mag, Amiga Addict, delivered this morning. Don’t think I’ve ever had a four magazines arrive in the same week before, never mind on 4 consecutive days! Amiga Addict has been running for over 2 years now and I covered the first few issues way back in 2021. It’s now up to issue 23 and this one features Lightwave (of Baylon 5 fame) on the front cover.

 

Amiga Addict 23

Amiga Addict 23 Cover

 

This months coverdisk features the full game Hoi (AGA remix), 5K Invaders and also 6K Pacman (which isn’t mentioned) but is on the there too!

 

Issue 23’s coverdisk.

 

If you are not familiar with Amiga Addict cover disks, they only provide the labels – you have to supply the floppy disk. The self-adhesive labels are always of a super-high quality in glossy full colour with a peel-off backing. When applied to a suitable floppy (preferably a blue one) they really look the part and provide a good excuse to blow the cobwebs out of your Amiga’s floppy drive.

 

Amiga Addict 23

What’s on this editions coverdisk?

 

The magazine consists of 60 A4 full colour pages and features loads of news, reviews, articles, tutorials and more. This issue costs £6.50 (plus P&P) and is available from the Amiga Addict website. Amazingly it is also available in some bricks and mortar newsagents such as WHSmith so you may be able to pick it up there if you’re lucky and save yourself the postage!

 

Amiga Addict 23

Issue 23’s Contents Page

 

A Look Inside Issue 23

 

I’ll leave you with a quick look at just few of the articles that can be found in issue 23.

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Zzap! Amiga Issue #11 is out now

Zzap! Amiga Issue #11

My weekend reading material is looking pretty good this week, what with with Freeze 64 arriving yesterday and now Zzap! Amiga Issue #11 dropping through my letterbox too.

This magazine, published by Fusion Retro Books, has been running for a good 18 months or more now and this is the 11th issue.

 

Zzap! Amiga Issue #11

Zzap! Amiga Front Cover

 

 

A Look Inside

 

Here’s a quick peek at the contents page and a handful of the 60 pages within this edition.

 

Zzap! Amiga Issue #11

Zzap! Amiga Issue #11 Contents Page

 

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

 

At £4.99 plus postage for 60 pages of Amiga goodness it’s a no-brainer for me and a worthy addition to my retro magazine collection. Don’t forget you can get 15% off a copy of your own with code ‘LYONSDENBLOG’ at the checkout!

Head on over to Fusion Retro Books to pick up your own copy of Issue #11.

Getting ‘SAY’ Speech Synthesizer to Work on Workbench 3

I remember having an awful lot of fun with the speech synthesiser (called ‘Say’) on my Amiga 500 back in the day. As a teenager I would spend far too much time getting it to utter all sorts of obscenities and disparaging remarks to anyone within earshot. So imagine my disappointment a few days ago when I tried to revisit that memory on my Amiga 1200 and discovered the Say program was nowhere to be found!

Turns out that Commodore, in their infinite wisdom, killed off Say back in 1992 with the release of Workbench 3. As my A1200 is running the very latest Workbench 3.2.1. it simply wasn’t included and hasn’t been for a great many years.

I couldn’t leave it there though, I really wanted Say on my Amiga and wasn’t going to settle until I made it happen. Thankfully the fix turned out to be pretty simple, provided you can lay your hands on an old Workbench floppy disk that is! Luckily I have loads of old workbench disks going back to version 1.2 so finding the files wasn’t too difficult..

The first and most obvious thing to grab is the Say program itself. This can be found in the Utilities drawer on a Workbench 2 disk. Once you’ve found it copy it to the Utilities drawer on your Workbench 3 machine. Now you may be tempted to run it at this point and have it say something infantile like ‘I like boobies’ but you will be disappointed. There are some missing pieces of the puzzle we need to find before it will work.

 

Amiga Say

Everything you need to get Say working on a Workbench 2.0 disk.

 

There are three additional files that are required to restore the Amiga’s voice (which I found through trial and error with the help of good old SnoopDOS). The files we need are:- ‘narrator.device’, ‘translator.library’ and ‘speak-handler’ and thankfully all of these files can be found on that very same Workbench 2.0 floppy disk.

Now I realise not everyone has a bunch of Workbench disks to hand so I have gathered the files together and made them available for you below. This LHA archive contains all the necessary files you need so just download it and unpack it on your Amiga.

SayStuff.lha

 

Where to put the files?

The main ‘Say’ program itself can technically go anywhere but traditionally it was found in the Utilities drawer so I recommend copying it there. The other three files must go in the correct drawers otherwise the program won’t work. You can use any method you like to copy the files into place. I prefer using Directory Opus but you can use the Shell or Workbench too, whatever is easiest for you.

Here’s a quick rundown of where to put the files (and by extension, where to find them too, if you are using your own floppy to source them):

narrator.device -> Devs:

translator.library -> Libs:

speak-handler -> L:

Once all four files have been copied across you can finally run Say and have some fun. Enjoy!

 

Amiga Speech Sample

Below is a sample of speech from my Amiga 1200 just for fun. I think the quality of the speech is pretty good but in case your ears aren’t tuned to 80’s speech technology here’s a transcript of what it is saying:

“Hello there and a warm welcome from the Lyonsden Blog Amiga 1200 computer. I really hope you enjoyed this article about getting my voice back!”