¢HARDWARE WAREHOUSE¢by Stuart J. Murray, NOSAUG.¢¢ After receiving a question from a dedicated Atari 8-bitter I thought I would do something a little different for this issue's Hardware Warehouse. This time I will attempt to answer the question hated most by the militant 8-bit user... Is it worth purchasing an Atari ST?¢¢¢THE ATARI ST: TO PURCHASE OR NOT TO PURCHASE?¢by S. J. Murray, NOSAUG, 30/1/94.¢¢ The ST now has a higher degree of support than the XL/XE but this support is falling fast! At the beginning of 1993 almost ever new release was available for the ST. Now, in early 1994, only about one in five are being released, although they are usually the big titles. I suspect even these releases will stop by mid-1994.¢¢ The ST is at the same stage as the XL/XE was in 1990. Although Atari still "officially" support it, they have their minds on other things, i.e. the Falcon and Jaguar.¢¢ There are still a few years left in the ST because of the large user-base. The ST public domain scene is massive and many of the titles are of commercial quality. I estimate 3-4 years for the ST to reach the same position as the XL/XE now.¢¢ Should you buy an ST? Hmmm? Tough question! I couldn't live without my ST now. My 800XL still sits at the front of my computer desk and occupies about 80% of my computer time but the ST is an essential distraction from 8-bit life. I use my 1MB STE mainly for games and sound sampling. I need a regular dose of Kick Off 2, Speedball 2 and Replay 16.¢¢ If you're going to buy an ST it might be worth your while buying second-hand. You can pick up an STFM for 100 - 120 pounds or an STE for 120 - 150 pounds. If you want to buy new you will find the STFM Discovery Pack is priced by many suppliers at under 149 pounds NEW. This is a very good deal! There is no major need for an STE because very little of the software actually takes advantage of the power of the STE. Most titles conform to STFM level.¢¢ However, one thing worth considering is that many of the best games and most of the best utilities for the ST need 1MB of RAM. An STFM is 512K and will cost you 35 pounds to upgrade to 1MB. You can pick up a new 1MB STE for 199 pounds. Still, you could always buy an STFM and upgrade at a later date.¢¢ Here are some telephone numbers to try:¢¢Ladbroke Computing - 0772-203166¢Analogic Computers - 081-546-9575¢Gasteiner - 081-365-1151¢Titan Designs Ltd - 021-414-1630¢Silica Systems - 081-309-1111¢First Computer - 0532-319444¢¢ Ask how much they charge for a 1MB STE pack and also if they still have stocks of the STFM Discovery Pack. Then compare the quotes with that of your local computer store.¢¢ If you like playing computer games with detailed and complex gameplay and beautiful graphics you will like the ST. Kick Off 2 will take you about three months to master the gameplay alone but it's worth it! Many ST games are like this.¢¢ The ST is nowhere near as user-friendly as the XL/XE. In fact, it is a very unfriendly computer! As I've already mentioned, I use it as a games machine and a sound sampler. All my wordprocessing, programming, databasing, etc. is done on the XL/XE.¢¢ An ST will compliment your XL/XE. I would NOT look at it as a replacement! Look at it as a means of gaining access to recent software releases. That's how I've always seen it.¢¢ For prices I would pay up to the following...¢¢New¢¢STFM (0.5MB) - 150¢STFM (1MB) - 185¢STE (1MB) - 200¢¢Second-hand¢¢STFM + small software collection - 100 (+ 10 if 1MB)¢STFM + large software collection - 140 (+ 10 if 1MB)¢1MB STE + small software collection - 150¢1MB STE + large software collection - 200¢¢ If you buy second-hand, you should purchase a recent version of UVK (Ultimate Virus Killer), available from all good PD sources. Viruses are quite common on the ST due to high levels of piracy. UVK will crush most of them!¢¢ If you do buy an ST I'd advise you to look out for the following software titles: Kick Off 2, Sensible Soccer, Lotus Turbo Challenge, Speedball 2, Sim City, Ultima V, Monkey Island, Jimmy White Snooker, Rick Dangerous 2, Turrican, Railroad Tycoon & Operation Stealth. They are all very good.¢¢ You must be very careful when purchasing ST software because quite often it may look good but you will soon find that it has about as much character as a PC. The myth about ST games looking good and playing bad is true to a certain extent. However, not all ST games are unplayable! Many are superb games which every gameplayer should have the opportunity to enjoy. If you stick to games like those mentioned in the previous paragraph you will not waste any money.¢¢ Remember, an Atari ST (or indeed an Atari Lynx, VCS, Falcon or Jaguar) will COMPLIMENT your Atari 8-bit. Do not look at it as a replacement! They can both live together in harmony on the same computer desk - with the 8-bit at the front, of course.¢
