Bally Alley Astrocast 002 - Red Baron/Panzer Attack and Castle of Horror

Episode 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)