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doctorclu

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  1. doctorclu

    Bentley Bear : The Unspoken Atari Mascot

    By doctorclu,


    Bentley Bear Atari Mascot
    https://www.atarilegend.com/games/bentley-bears-magical-anagramsIt has been asked over the years, if you have Sonic for Sega, and Mario for Nintendo, who is the mascot for Atari?
     
    And while this has been debated, and other mascots concepts were made, one has managed to sneakily remain just out of the lime light, but just in sight.  A cute friendly looking bear that just likes to collect gems.  Why?   Who knows!?  Because... gems!    But he has a cool unlimited bag to hold the gems.  A cool hat that he only gets for a few seconds to be invulnerable, and best of all, a big "B" belt buckle.
     

     
    I think Bentley Bear IS the unspoken mascot for Atari.  At least over time he has gotten a lot of screen time and fairly well represented over the various Atari platforms.
     
    Check this out, I was actually quite amazed!
     

    Aracde - Crystal Castles (1983)
     

    Atari 2600 - Crystal Castles (1984) Download
     

    Atari (5200?) - Crystal Castles. Download
     
    400/800, XL (Unreleased) (1984) Download
     
    XE (1988) manual and Download

    Atari 7800 - Bentley Bear Crystal Quest (homebrew). Download
     

    Atari Lynx - Bentley Bear-Honey Hunt (proto). Download
     
    Atari ST -

    Crystal Castle.
    ST, STE, TT version (1988) Manual and download
    Atari Falcon version. Download
     

    Bentley Bear's Alphabet Tutor.  Manual and Download

    Bentley Bear's Equation Builder Manual and Download

    Bentley Bear's General Store  Manual and Download

    Bentley Bear's Magical Anagrams  Manual and Download

    Bentley Bear's Magical Math 1. Manual and Download

    Bentley Bear's Magical Math 2. Manual and Download

    Bentley Bear's Magical Math 3. Manual and Download

    Bentley Bear's Memory Master  Download

    Bentley Bear's Memory Master II. Manual and Download

    Bentley Bear's Spelling Bee. Manual and Download

    Bentley Bear's Typing Tutor. Manual and Download
     
     


    Atari Jaguar - Atari Karts.  Manual and Download
     

    Bentley Bear apparently made an appearance in Wreck-It-Ralph.  Not a great likeness, but the basics are there...
     
     
    Other appearances:

     

    And I like how Bentley Bear is the main character shown on the Atari Mania cover art.  Bentley plays a big part in the game where you as the Caretaker are solving a mystery during a night shift at the Atari Museum.
     
    Three appearances in 50th Anniversary with the arcade Crystal Castles, 2600 Crystal Castles, and Atari Karts.
     
     
    All this to say, I think Bentley Bear is already the unspoken mascot for Atari, or someone that Atari will at least feature on a re-occurring basis. 
    And you know what, I'm ok with that.  He's kinda cute, and I like how there is still a lot to know about the character.  
    Some mystery left there for this somewhat greedy and yet friendly bear.
     
     

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

  2. doctorclu
    Hey Bubsy Fans!
     
    Noting this appearance on ebay of a Bubsy 1 shirt, which I've probably seen about four or five appear in my ebay searches since 2006-ish?   I don't know when I (Doctor Clu) started searching for Bubsy stuff.
     
    But I do know this is the first long sleeved Bubsy 1 shirt I've seen.  And I think that is cool.
     
    https://www.ebay.com/itm/145202616878?mkevt=1&mkpid=0&emsid=e11021.m43.l1120&mkcid=7&ch=osgood&euid=b9a25867dd6e4662a983d415541e0af8&bu=43186172296&ut=RU&exe=0&ext=0&osub=-1~1&crd=20230722054512&segname=11021
     



     
    Soon this auction will be a memory, but like many things Bubsy, this Fan Blog tries to preserve and remember appearances on the interwebs. 
     
    So the Bubsy experts out there know that Bubsy tends to show up in his shirt that are either short or long sleeved.
     
    Bubsy shirts I've seen from the United States are shirt sleeved.   This one out of Japan is long sleeved.  It should be noted that the Bubsy box art from Japan also shows a short sleeved Bubsy.
     

     
    Checking the various box art, I'd say Bubsy shows with a long sleeve shirt more often than not.   Short sleeved on Jaguar Bubsy.
     
    So a fun foot note.  Not sure if this a Japan region difference, or if any of the Europe and North American shirts were also long sleeved?  But it is cool to know it exists!
     
    -Your friendly Bubsy Bobcat Fan Blog
     
     
  3. doctorclu
    The Bubsy Plush Sightings
    (Started July 5, 2019, updated July 15, 2023)
     
    Currently we know through the interwebs there are a grand total of ten known Bubsy plushes from back in Bubsy 1 and Bubsy 2 development days that still exist.  We're sure there are more.   JennyN (mentioned later in this article) and her father, who worked for Accolade during the Bubsy 2 development, mentioned there was once a drawer full of Bubsy plushies at Accolade.  These plushes were handed out to developers, their families, and as a promotional to magazines like Game Fan.   And as mentioned also in the interview with Michael Berlyn hung from the rafters during the Bubsy 2 days.     Apparently there were Bubsy plushies in their offices till 1996 during the Bubsy 3D days at least.   Many of them tossed as Accolade closed their offices, accounts of developers that had them but did not bring them home.  But some escaped the purge of the developer's hatred * and still live to this day...
     
    Sighting #1 -------------------------------------------------------------------
    As you'll recall the first sighting we here on the Bubsy blog got was with Game Fan Magazine #4 and the Bubsy plush in the storage room in 2010.
     

     
    Sighting #2 & 3 -------------------------------------------------------------------
    We got a good glimpse of that plush by JennyN in 2013.  I've been told she now has a youtube channel and featured this plush recently. 

     
    And she featured this and another Bubsy plush in 2014
     

     
    Other pictures were recently covered in another article about Youtube video on Bubsy merchandise.
     
    Sighting #4 -------------------------------------------------------------------
    We've seen this one posted in 2011 by Jeff Gerstmann on Twitter that had many searching for the Bubsy plush drooling ...
     

    Here's a TikTok video he posted on March 23, 2021 you can see the plush at the 45 second mark.
     
    August 5th, 2022 he donated the plush to the Video Game History Foundation.

     
    Sighting #5 -------------------------------------------------------------------
     

     
    Michael Berlyn, Bubsy's creator confirmed in the Bubsy Fan Blog interview in 2016 that he had his Bubsy plush from his development days.  That plush and other game design notes have since been donated to the Strong Museum, New York in late 2018.
     

    March 28, 2023 - Michael Berlyn passed away, and his life and creation of Bubsy as a character touched many.
     
    Sighting #6 -------------------------------------------------------------------
    We have this entry from earlier this year.  This picture showed the Bubsy plush without a shirt for the first time:
     

     
    Sighting 7 & 8 -------------------------------------------------------------------
    (added April 5, 2020)
    A comment made on Twitter about the Bubsy Plush when the January 2020 ebay auction happened.

     
     
    Sighting #9 -------------------------------------------------------------------

    Replies to this: Mothra .zip
     
     
    Sighting #10 -------------------------------------------------------------------
    In January 2020, a Bubsy Plush appeared on ebay.  The seller of that auction had this to say on the story of the plush:
    "Our company Roaring Mouse had a table at the same gaming convention that Sega was at. Most companies were just giving away buttons and stickers but a few like ours brought a very limited number of plush characters. Ours was Splash the Penguin from our Cd-Rom game Zoo-opolis. He was named by our son who was also the voice of Splash. Our daughter was only about 3 or 4 at the time and she was the voice of Penny Penguin. She was this adorable little girl with blonde curls so when we visited different tables they naturally gave her a plush toy as I'm sure they were saving them for children."
     
    More about that auction can be found here: Roaring Mouse.zip
     
    This plush was bought by the Bubsy Fan Blog and shown in great detail on the April 2020 article.
    Sighting #11 -------------------------------------------------------------------
    September 3, 2021 a Bubsy plush is seen on Reddit, article found by Bubsy fan バブシー on the Officious Bubsy Fan Server
     

     
    Sighting #12 -------------------------------------------------------------------
    October 24. 2021 an ebay auction was seen with a Bubsy plush, mug, standee, and lapel pin for $1,500.   Later in the day it was sold to a best offer.

     
     
     
    * Addendum to the "developer's hatred" comment at the beginning of this article.
    Notable comment: -------------------------------------------------------------------

    All the replies and comments from Sega Steve here: Steve.zip
     
    More appearances of the Bubsy plush will be added as they are found.
     
     
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    About Budsies -
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    (July 5, 2019 -  the original topic of this message)
     
    The link between Budsies and Bubsy started with this picture on deviant art:

     
    We found that this Bubsy plush was created by a site called Budsies. 
     
    So how did the plush commission turn out when Doctor Clu commissioned them?   Actually quite good!
     

     
    This one takes on the yellow exclamation mark of Bubsy in the Atari Jaguar game "Bubsy in Fractured Furry Tales".   A nice difference.4
     
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    OTHER BUBSY PLUSHES PEOPLE HAVE MADE
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     
    So looking back on the Bubsy Bobcat Fan Blog the plush interest has been around since at least 2008 when Doctor Clu made a Bubsy plush modifying a lion doll:
     

    This one was based on the box art of the Japanese Bubsy, so this is more of a chibi Bubsy.  
     
    Then years later Doctor Clu converted another cat plush to be my Bubsy.   Basically serves as a hat rack for the knit Bubsy cap he has.

     
    Since that time, other Bubsy fans have also had Etsy make plushes for them
    https://www.etsy.com/shop/Creativeplushtoys
     

     
    This plush made by the Deviant artist Toodles Team in January 2016 made perhaps the best Bubsy plush to date.
     

     
    And here we have perhaps the most famous Bubsy plush this side of the official plush, inspired by Bubsy in Bubsy 3D and an excellent likeness, created by another Deviant artist, sarasaland-dragon169, and sold on ebay in November 2014.  
     

     
    This one was posted by Spangle on Twitter (June 16, 2020)



     
    This puppet was used in the Console Wars - Bubsy - Super Nintendo vs Sega Genesis (February 18, 2015)

     
    And more fan made Bubsy plushes will be added here as they are found.
     
     
     
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Original title on July 5, 2019 before being updated on April 5, 2020"Cruizin'Budsies - 20% off sale... make a Bubsy plush!! - July 2019"
    Original Link
    https://atariage.com/forums/blogs/entry/16040-cruizin-budsies-20-off-sale-make-a-bubsy-plush-july-2019/
     
    Your fellow Bubsy fan saying "Keep it up, just keep it up".   - Bubsy Bobcat Fan Blog
     
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Fans searching for Bubsy Plushes...
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     

     
  4. doctorclu
    Morning Bubsy fans!
     
    Kevsomeone made a request for the manual for the Japanese copy of Bubsy, so the Bubsy Fan Blog has pulled that out and taken some pictures!   Enjoy!

    Bubsy Japan.zip
     
     
    Intesting side note, Xinny found a mention of the original Bubsy 1 manual artwork on Twitter recently!
     


     
    That link is at:
    https://twitter.com/Original_VG_Art/status/1670077992117125121
     
     
    If you are reading this blog entry on the RSS feed, this post was originally posted here to see all the pretty pictures:
    https://forums.atariage.com/blogs/entry/18570-cruizin-the-fan-blog-collection-the-japanese-bubsy-manual-june-2023/
     
     
     
  5. doctorclu
    As a kid I enjoyed playing games, and would say " Not bad, but it could also use this..." As a teen I loved to use a sector editor to give me 1,000,000 points of energy (originally like 10,000) in the Adventure International Star Trek 3.5 game. I'd change wording in games, error messages into more funny messages, etc.

    In more recent times I've learned about sprite hacking programs (Hack-o-matic), Hex fiend, and other fan based tools that have made some dreams of game changing and altering come true. (Thank you fellow fans!) Lots of great advice from those here in the Atariage community.

    This is a list of games that I have had fun altering to date. I would say I got interesting starting 2014, but then all of this helped me grow in the computer/video game hobby.

    OTHER HACKS AND TINKERING
    1977
    Dad had the Sol Terminal 20. Cool machine. Lots of Trek80 and Targ played. Also had a 2600 rom reader on the Sol and a Flash cart.
    1978
    We got a Sears Telegames system, which got us into Atari stuff.
    1980
    Sold newspaper subscriptions and got my own Atari VCS.
    1981
    Sold the VCS, got a Atari 400. Was going to get a Colecovision but when I saw Choplifter, Miner2049er, and Archon I decided to get a computer. Also learned about floppy disks and piracy!
    1982
    Later in this year got on my first computer BBS. Now I could get games over the phone! Whoo hoo!
    1984
    Attended Atari user meetings at the Dallas Infomart for the Dal-ACE Meetings.
    1986
    Dad had already upgraded the 400 to 48K, but installed a Atari 1400 keyboard from Radio Shack.
    1989
    Bear in mind, no Internet yet, really believed Atari was dead. Saw a friend’s Mac SE with Dark Castle and managed to score a Mac 128K. Later would upgrade that to 4 MB.
    1993
    I got onto the text Internet while in college computer labs.
    1994
    While in Guam, scored a Mac Plus. Lots of BBSing while on the island.
    1995
    I saw my first graphical Internet page on Mosiac. (Didn’t think it'd catch on.) Dad gives me my first Newton 110 when I returned from Guam. At first didn’t know what to do with it. First home Internet service through a BBS (Chrysalis BBS in Dallas)
    1996
    Picked up a Performa 550 (68030) later upgraded to 68040 with math co-processor.
    1997
    Picked up the amazing Newton 2000. 10x faster than my Newton 110. Played video! Started using graphical web browsers. (I was a slow adopter on that one.)
    1999
    Out of college, found out Atari user group was still around. Borrowed 520 ST (upgraded to 4 mb) for newsletter. Used Pagestream and had a laser printer! First year to attend the First Saturday SideWalk Sale.
    2000
    Managed to score an Atari TT030, Lynx, Atari Jaguar. Atari user group folds due to having to move from the Infomart that they had for nearly fifteen years. I learned of Bubsy Bobcat on the Jaguar! Continued using TT030 alongside Performa 550 for Internet. Featured in the Dallas Morning News: Atari Jaguar on front cover. I met this local Dallas Amiga User Group (MCCC) as they were also in the newspaper article.
    2001
    Got an IT job, used a Athlon 1 Ghz processor with Win98. Later used Linux. Still tinkered with retro computers (Atari XE and ST). Got my first DVD player as the spiritual successor to the Jaguar, the Nuon Samsung 2000.


    2002
    Scored two Macintosh G3 Powerbooks for my wife and I. I was back in the Mac world using OS 9. Attended the JagFest in St. Louis (while visiting wife's family). Saw the Korean version of the Nuon there as a contest prize.
    2003
    Attended JagFest in 2003 in Austin, TX with KevMos3. Joined Amiga User Group. They helped me get an Amiga 3000 working that I picked up at the 2002 JagFest. Even had a Ethernet card!
    2004
         Joined Atariage!!
    Upgraded to OS X.3 on the Mac.
    2005
    Won the retro-challenge (like the first or second year of it) using nothing but an Atari 800 for one month. Figured out I didn’t need portable computing right before smart phones. My Newton 2000 and Duo Macs became used less. I was handed a G4 12" 800 mhz Powerbook. Beautiful little computer! Well I was handed it in parts and I managed to reassemble it. Tinkered heavy in the Dreamcast after a friend showed me that system. For the next five years lots of calling BBSs and Internet with beige Atari 800. Many discussions over Atariage and Atari IRC channels.

    2006
    Worked with Warerat on testing XL memory on the Atari 800.

    Lots of chatting at Atarinews.org on Tuesdays.

    Put an archive of the Dal-ACE disks online.
    2008
    Started the Bubsy Bobcat Fan Blog

    Testing of Atari800DC version 0.77 for the Dreamcast with Christian Groessler.

    Gauntlet by Donald R. Lebeau. Thing I like about Atariage are the authors that show up from time to time. Shortly after he showed had a High Score Club contest and Donald offered a signed copy of some game art. I blasted every pixel I could to get that. As of 2022 the score still stands...
    GAUNTLETAK (Graphics:6 Sound:7 Playability:8 HSCR *8*) doctorclu : 1235025 [5-4]


    2009
    Binary hacking and uncompression of Bubsy rom for the Jaguar.

    Picked up the Lynx Flash Cart.

    2010
    Dial-up/Telnet out set up at the Prison Board BBS

    Was the first to come up with a shell for the Jaguar's Skunkboard. Also created a photoshop prank where I claimed to use the clear case from a Battlesphere Gold cartridge. Only did that joke for a few hours but the outrage was priceless.

    Got a Macbook Pro dual Core processor laptop in parts. Fixed it up. Hated it. Traded for 1.2 Ghz G4 12" laptop. Used that G4 through my time in Kuwait along with a 1.4 Ghz G4 Mac Mini.

    2011
    My first Android device, the Archos 32, and my first experience with Angry Birds! Picked up the device while in Kuwait.

    There was a certain joy of posting "Happy 2011" on a Atari BBS. Seemed surreal to myself and others.

    Did a photoshop of a Jaguar and CD for a more streamline appearance.

    I beat Cybermorph a second time.

    IRC chat more commonly used for Atari chat.
    2012
    Wondered if there was a way to piggy back memory on the ECS?

    Got my first Intel iMac 1.5 Ghz from a sidewalk sale.

    Bought the Incogneto boards from Candle while in Kuwait.

    Had at time the unbeatable 5200 HSC Gyruss score of 279,850.

    2013
    Installed one Incogneto board while snowed out of work for three days.

    The year I achived Star Commander Class 1 in Star Raiders.
    The year I beat Blue Max.


    2014
    BBSing
    Veered away from Atari 800 use after experiencing overheating problems after installing Incogneto board.

    Oh 04 January 2014 connected an Intellivision with ECS and Cuttle Cart 3 to a modem using the terminal program by Joe Zbiciak

    Video shows the end of the first known time for an Intellivision to call a BBS and records the second time such a thing had happened.


    "1979 Calling the Internet..."
    Later the Intellivision dialed to a BBS and then telneted to a shell account getting on Atariage and posting a message. Good times!


    The proto Dual Action Controller

    I was listening to the Intellivisionaries Podcast and they talked about how you cannot move and fire the disc with the same controller. Came up with the idea of put both mylar underlays in the same controller but cancelling out the upper or lower part of the underlays.



    Originally Intellivision 2 controllers were used which proved the point though a bit stiff. When the Intellivision Flashback came out however, well designed thin controllers worked quite well with this concept as Nurmix of the Intellivisionaries podcast would find out. Nurmix asked a few questions on the tinkering and then later tried the idea on the newer controllers and viola!!



    The research was later referenced by Nurmix in his dual-action controller thread. Nurmix converted Flashback controllers to the Dual-Action design, and the rest is history. So now many have had more fun at playing Night Stalker, Tron Deadly Discs, and AD&D thanks to my initial tinkering. Another fun addition, and first, I got to add to the Intellivision legacy.

    Battlestar Galactica (Intellivision) [Hack of Space Battle]


    Long before I was sprite hacking, I was hex and text hacking. This was a simple hack that taught me that as long as I stayed within the original character count given, you could hack information in a rom and it not break. Oh, and don't write over crucial instructions while you are doing it.
     
    Picked up a Amiga 500 from a friend. Fixed it up to 8 MB and SD card slot. Then got a Amiga 1200.  


    2015
    Hacked an Atari 400 keyboard to an Atari 800.
    Created the sounds for Joust and Moon Patrol which CyranoJ ported from the Atari ST to the Atari Jaguar. Made me extremely happy as those are my favorite arcade titles, and CJ was and is great to work with.

    Picked up a Macbook Air 1.8 Ghz from a friend. (What I'm using to write this.)

    2016
    Picked up a 27" iMac 2.7 Ghz 32 GB RAM from a friend. Set up Internet server on the Newton 2000 for a while. Bubsy Fan Blog interviews Bubsy creator Michael Berlyn. Bubsy Fan Blog interviews Bubsy Fractured Furry Tales Producer Faran Thomason. Got the Atari Flashback Portable from Atgames that gets me back into the Atari 2600. Helped in testing hundreds of games to see what is compatible with the SD card slot. Then worked with fan hackers to get dozens more tuned up and working.
    2017
    Bubsy Kitt'N Kaboodle (Atari 2600) [Hack of Fast Eddie]

    This was the one that started it all. "Wouldn't it be fun to have Bubsy on my Atari Flashback Portable..." was the original idea. The handy tool of Hack-O-Matic was found, I had some guidance from fellow sprite hacker and friend Kevin, and off I went on adventures. Versions for the Atari 800, 5200, Vic 20, and Commodore 64 have also been hacked. And this has had the fun of being played in alpha versions on Atari 2600 emulators on the Atari Jaguar and Nuon as well.

    This game also turned into an unofficial way to advertise the release of the newest Bubsy game, the Woolies Strike Back. Actually helped get them a few more sales.

    Moon Patrol (Atari 2600)

    Hacking an already amazing hack that looked more like the Arcade, detail was given to make more arcade accurate enemies and eventually a buggy with three rolling wheels.

    During the summer and fall I helped on the Oregon Trail port to the Intellivision. Actually came up with the name "Oregon Bound" which I understand was later used for the TI port. Helped come up with some of the mini games and sound and music ideas for some segments. Was fun working with everyone on this game.


    Was also a lot of fun working with a group of people on the game AstroStorm programmed by Sporadic. I loved how the game had a very utility look and feel to the ship. And as I was playing said "wouldn't it be nice if we had ways to store powerups". Sporadic liked the idea and added that to his game.
    Got the Sega Flashback Portable from Atgames, causing me to get into some tinkering on Sega Genesis. To date, Bubsy Bobcat Fan Blog on Atariage has had 175,398 visitors. Still call computer BBSs and write a blog on that as well. And the MCCC Amiga user group in the Dallas/Fort Worth, TX area is still active with live YouTube broadcasts every month.

    2018
    Virtual VCS (Atari 2600 emulator for the Atari Jaguar)

    Pasting in game rom images into a program just thought to be a demo and finding some games that actually worked!

    Atari 800 emulator (Nuon)

    Same trick as above, replacing a built in game image in a burnable disc image with another game image. Got Return of Heracles to come up, though it doesn't play very far. Still fun to see that much.

    Battlestar Galactica (Atari 2600) [Hack of Space Attack]

    The following was Inspired by reading up on Space Battle for the Intellivision and after discovering that Space Attack for the Atari VCS works on the VCS emulator for the Jaguar. From that point on, the game was hacked to look and feel more like the show it was supposed to be based on in the first place: Battlestar Galactica. So this has changes in color to the enemy fire, the background color, the color the screen flashes when you ship explodes, the color of the squadrons, and of course sprites. Took a bit to track all that down.

    Miner 2049er (Atari 2600) [Hack of Miner 2049er and Miner 2049er II]

    Played first on the Retron 77 as part of a collection, I found the initial game had a surprising amount of detail of the Atari 800 version for a Atari 2600 game. But the character sprite didn't even have Bounty Bob's hat. So sprites were altered based on the Atari 800 version of Miner 2049er.

    Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (Atari 2600) [Hack of Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom]

    Recently played Buck Rogers on the Retron 77 and enjoyed it, but said to myself the same thing I've said over the years "If only Buck Rogers had a Thunderfighter like in the 1980s TV show. OH WAIT... I sprite hack now!"

    I'll try to make other adjustments, but so far the fonts and the ship are designed to match the show with Gil Gerard.

    Shame Twiki can't make an appearance.

    Alien Visitors Are Our Friends (Atari 2600) [Hack of Cosmic Ark]

    This fun project was started on a Battlestar Galactica (Space Attack hack) thread by Marcallie when he said:

    "This is great! Now go re-theme Cosmic Ark as V: The Final Battle."

    > Interesting. The Visitors collect humans while Earth forces try to stop you from eating their population?

    "Exactly! It would be very cool to play as the bad guys for once, right?"

    Actually sounded like a fun idea so I spent some time giving this more of a "V" the sci-fi series feel.

    Scraper Caper (Atari 2600) [Hack of Fire Fighter]
     

    Originally wanted to hack Towering Inferno but the characters were not much to work with. Fire Fighter had better character but too easy of a game. Anyway, just wanted to make some reality of the Bounty Bob game (Scraper Caper) that was advertised but never finished. But at least now we have Bounty Bob's nemesis, Yukon Yohan, in a game.

    Miner 2049er (Atari 800/5200) - Miner animations of TIX

     
     

    So Bounty Bob is a Canadian Mountie, but on the game art he is a Miner. Well TIX drew up new miner animations and I looked into making them a reality. I think many liked the end result, though I am partial to Bounty Bob being a Mountie.

    Moon Patrol (Atari 800/5200) - Working back and forth with TIX, EnderDude, Level 42, and a few others. Before it is all done we were able to modify the sprites, and change most of the colors. We had fun creating our own buggy designs. Below was a design I came up with which I thought matched the arcade best.


    To wrap up the year I released a version of VirtualVCS that had three version of Space Battle, Sky Diver, AstroBlast, and Space Chase. The most notable was Space Battle and the Battlestar Galactica Hack (fully working) and Sky Diver (also fully working). And with that, I played the first ever two player 2600 game on a Atari Jaguar against KevMos3 when he was in town
     
     
     
     

    2019

    -----------------------------------------------------------
    I was surprised to see my name was still on the 5200 HSC listing for all time high scores. Been a while since I played the 5200 or any High Score Club for that matter. I figure someone will beat my scores so I will post these now to remember them.

    Countermeasure - (Level 1) doctorclu 184,450
    Gremlins -(Night 3) doctorclu 2,503,623
    Gyruss - doctorclu 279,850
    Joust - (Skilled) doctorclu 1,611,000

    Looked in the Atari XL/XE HSC
    ASTEROIDS (HYPERSPACE) (Graphics:6 Sound:6 Playability:6 HSCR *5*) doctorclu : 115370 [5-5]
    EMBARGO (SKILL 1) (Graphics:7 Sound:6 Playability:6 HSCR *6*) doctorclu : 37910 [3-13] [9-12]
    GAUNTLETAK (Graphics:6 Sound:7 Playability:8 HSCR *8*) doctorclu : 1235025 [5-4]
    JOUST (EXPERT) [Graphics:8 Sound:8 Playability:9 HSCR *8*] doctorclu : 1106250 [3-2] [10-18]
    LASER HAWK [Graphics:8 Sound:6 Playability:7 HSCR *7*] doctorclu : 75260 [5-7]
    WIZARD OF WOR (7LIV) [Graphics:7 Sound:8 Playability:9 HSCR *9*] doctorclu : 377400 [5-10] [2-3,7-21, 15-5]

    Lynx HSC. (I was surprised!)
    Battlezone 2000. doctorclu (180,600)

    For the Atari 2600 there is a huge pdf document. there I was for Spy Hunter June 28, 2009 for 193,200
    I didn't have any scores in the 7800 HSC

    And for the Atari Jaguar as of 2010 I had a lot of the high scores, but now one remains, my epic gaming on Pitfall!
    PITFALL: THE MAYAN ADVENTURE [A]. Atardi & Doctor Clu (TIED) - 999,999 (Link). (Crazy that the score flips over.)

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    More work on 2600 Buck Rogers.

    Created the sound effects for Revenge of Doh which was ported by CyranoJ from the Atari ST to Atari Jaguar.

    February 25, 2019
    Two hacks, the 2600 Moon Patrol (black buggy) with three moving wheels and the 2600 Miner 2049er are nominated for Best Game Hack of 2018. Moon Patrol lands 2nd place with Miner 2049er landing 1st place.



    Rented a Mountie costume from Norcostco Texas Costume rental for the thank you from Bounty Bob himself. Was fun working with Cimmerian and the ZeroPage HomeBrew crew on this first year of the Atari Awards.
     
     
     
     
     



    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     
    March 28, 2019
           People requested a Fast Eddie hack with my own character, so a version with my fursona "Buster the BBSing Bobtail" was created.
     
           All prizes combined contain a message, as I write this in December 2019 no one has figured it out yet. 
     
           Unlike the previous Bubsy version, Buster was designed to run on his hind legs, and jump, more like a cat would.
     
           Starting to think a cat would never smile though.  I think Garfield pegged that one.
     


     
    July 2019 -
    My signature was a great way to revisit my hacks.   I decided today to kull it back, but wanted to place this here in remembrance in the fun that was 2018-2019
     
    Atari 2600 Sprite Hacks Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers, Moon Patrol, "V"
    Miner 2049er, Scraper Caper, Bubsy: Kitt'N Kaboodle, Buster
    Aided BSG.
    Atari 8-bit/5200 Hacks Miner 2049er (800, 5200), Bubsy (800, 5200). Moon Patrol (800, 5200)
    Jaguar / Nuon Hacks Virtual VCS (Jaguar), Atari800 (Nuon)
    Commodore Vic-20, 64 Bubsy (Vic-20, C=64)
     
    Bubsy Bobcat Fan Blog
    Bubsy Fractured Furry Tales speedrun king 2006-2018
    4th out of 1,000 on the Bubsy Woolies Strike Back (PS4) Leaderboard
     
    Visit Atari BBS's : CLICK HERE FOR THE ATARI BBS LIST
     
    August 24, 2019
    Released Miner 2049er with a few more fixes, and then gave all the sprite versions the upgrade and introduced the newest sprite yet, Bounty Rob!   (probably the closest to the Atari 800 sprite yet).

    In the future I still hope to combine the levels of Miner 2049er Volumes 1 & 2 to make one solid game with 6 levels!   And maybe hack it further to bring it closer to the 10 levels of the Atari 800 version.
     
    September 19, 2019-
    So ClassicGamer74 reached out to me to help hack the Smurf Rescue game to the Moomin character since his daughter likes the Moomins.   What are the Moomins?   A popular Italian Anime is best I can tell.  Watched a little bit of it, pretty trippy.  Working on the game was fun changing this and that to give it more of a Moomin feel and less of a Smurf feel.  Threw a wrench into the music so while it may not play a Moomin tune, at least it's not the Smurf's.     ClassicGamer74 got a cart printed for his daughter, she loved it, and well, that is all that matters here.  And ClassGamer74 learned some things about sprite hacking.   Good times. 
     
     
    November 9, 2019
    Jamcat Reloaded came up with a great idea for a Battlestar Galactica game using the Star Trek Simulator Game by SEGA.   March 28th I was able to hack the music and I guess my heart hasn't been into other music hacks because I have not been able to hack music since.     Over time I quietly hacked more and more elements of the game to give it the classic Battlestar feel.   Change of radar screen to a green field, hacking the triangle to something that looked more like a Viper, the font of the numbers, etc.   The intent was to wait till February after the Zero Page Awards to give Jamcat a chance to enter his hack, but then hacks where thrown out of the Zero Page awards.   With that, I went ahead and released the added hacks I made to Jamcat's idea.  To date, those have not been overly downloaded, but that's fine, it's one hack I enjoy playing over and over again.  And flying the ship like a Viper has made for some GREAT scores at the Free Play Arcade when I play the Star Trek Arcade game!  
     
    November 21, 2019
    TIX releases the Moon Patrol Redux edition for the 5200 (and Atari Computer I'm sure).   The guy has been all over the place hacking 8-bit games since I helped show him what was possible with Miner 2049er and Moon Patrol last year.   Was really cool to see the background updated to be more like the arcade, along with everything else.   Got a chuckle out of seeing that.
     

     
    December 30, 2019-
    During this year worked to complete the Dal-Ace Newsletter Archive.   Dal-ACE was a big part of my childhood, though I only attended the meetings a handful of times.   Was something that I wanted to help preserve.  Current status of the archive:
     
    1983 - 1 out of 12 months.   Oct.
    1984 - 6 out of 12 months.    Apr-May-Jun-Jul-Sep-Nov
    1985 - 11 out of 12 months   (All but December)
    1986 - 6 out of 12 months.   Feb-Apr-May-Jun-Aug-Sep
    1987 - 7 out of 12 months.   Jun-Jul-Aug-Sep-Oct-Nov-Dec
     
    2020
     
    July - Bubsy: Fractured Furry Tales mystery room solved.
    August -  Bubsy: Kitt'N Kaboodle for the 2600 gets an update
    November - Helped track down some "bugs" in Biopede.
     
    2021
     
    January -
    Zool Handheld by Systema
    February - During snowmaggedon in Dallas, won the Blue Max round in the 8-bit high score club.

     
            Completed updating my Incogneto 800 and finished adding the 400 keyboard.   A fun unique look.

     
    March - Receive the Game Drive for the Drive, create thread .e2p Files (Shared Leaderboards)
     
    April -Toys "R" Us VIDPro Display Card .. for Jaguar?
     
    July - Thanks to Allan the Dal-ACE newsletter collection is complete.
             Wins "Another World" for the Jaguar in the Darkforce! BBS raffle.
     
    September - In moving to a new house passed on a lot of stuff.    Attended an Atari meet up in Dallas. As John of the Video Game Museum wrote:
    "- @doctorclu brought a literal truckload of stuff and gave it away for free!! I'm talking Atari disk drives, computers, joysticks, magazines, just boxes and boxes of parts. It was an event unto itself! "
     
    October - Congratulated for the packing job of a Headstart Explorer by bluejay.   (What can I say it's been a slow year but part of the retro hobby experience). 
     
    2022
     
    April -
    Playtested Golden Axe for the Atari Jaguar.
     
    June-
    Set the new speed record completing Bubsy: Fractured Furry Tales at Speedrun.com of 33 minutes and 25 seconds, beating the previous record by three minutes!

     
    Some comments on it, one from the first record setter...


    November-
    Released a proper version of the Sci-Fi game pack for the Atari Jaguar's Virtual VCS.  
     

    Songbird with some help from s0c7 and myself was able to figure out what hex to change to switch the game from hard to normal difficulty.  Made Space Attack and Astroblast more playable.
     

     
    On of the early members of the new Atari user group, TACO!!  (Texas Atari Computer Owners)
    (Not actually their shirt, but a stand in till they make a shirt.)

     
    2023
    Janaury new years day
    Learned how to hack Bubsy Fractured Furry Tales levels and music.
     
    May
    Fan video for "Court of Love" by the "Breakfast Club" is recognized by the Breakfast Club!  One of which was specifically Stephen Bray, drummer of the Breakfast Club, Madonna, The Jets, and quite a few others, who said the video brought him a smile.   While not Atari related, it's retro 80s music related, and more tinkering and creating so still fun to note. 
     

     
    June
    After hours of playing "Zool RedimeNsioned" on the PS4, a nice tweaking of the the original Zool game by Sumo Academy and Steel Minions, the "Zool RedetermiNed Project" is created from that inspiration to tweak Zool 2 on the Atari Jaguar to a more enjoyable game. First stop was swap out the intro and first level music files to original Zool soundtrack as personal preference to make it more fun.  Second was to address the complaint heard over and over again about UP on the D-Pad causing the game character to jump at times when it was bumped.   Thanks to wonderful help from Seedy1812, up on the D-Pad was cut out, trimming up the controls quite nicely.   We'll see if the third issue about the item collection of 99% of items before exiting a level being lessened also happens.
     
    Current copy released June 9th as of June 11th had 20 downloads.   Not bad considering how niche Atari Jaguar AND Zool are. 
     
     
     
  6. doctorclu
    Atari acquires the Accolade titles, like ...

     
    I'm going to start this off with a request of the Bubsy Fan Blog to come and post on this message that thinks there is only one Bubsy fan...
     
    Let's shock and awe, and discuss what we think of Atari getting the Bubster back.
     
    Yep, back.   Atari and Accolade have courted before, and Bubsy has stepped in and out of the Atari doors so much it is almost a revolving door.   Let us count the times, which admitively are two.
     
    Atari had the rights to Bubsy to make at least one game to be ported from Sega Genesis code for the Atari Jaguar.   That being of course "Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind", the first game in the Bubsy franchise originally released in North America in May 1993.   It was decided however to create a new game as they were working in the late summer of 1994, and so "Fractured Furry Tales" was born.  And that game would manage a North American release of December 9, 1994.
     
    So right here, Atari had the rights to two games, the first game that they purchased the code and rights to, and the game they created.   It has been said by the Atari dev team that Bubsy II was too far into development to get the code for that.  And by the time Bubsy 3D was being created and released around 1996 Atari was going through a reverse merger with JTS.
     
    However, but 1999 the company Infogrames acquired the rights to Atari, and changed their name to the more iconic brand name.  And Infogrames acquired the rights to Accolade.   And various titles were created.   Nothing really of the Bubsy line.
     
    And after a few other selling and acquisition of the Accolade and Bubsy franchise, here we are, yet again, with some owner of Atari picking up the Accolade titles, yet again.
     
    Not complaining as I (Doctor Clu) am a huge fan of seeing the big Atari logo at the beginning of Fractured Furry Tales.   I always enjoyed the idea of Bubsy, a cat, being one of the spokescats of the Atari Jaguar, a system named after a larger cat.
     
    Also I greatly enjoyed the Atari 50th anniversary collection released for the PS4 and PS5, as well as I believe the Atari VCS and a few other platforms.   The Jaguar emulation in that was awesome, and personally I know a lot of people who would like to try at least Fractured Furry Tales without having to set up Jaguar emulation, or buy an Atari Jaguar in retro market prices.
     
    But what I would also like to see, Atari, is Bubsy 3D, and Bubsy 1 and 2.   Maybe the newer games, Woolies Strike Back and Paws on Fire on more platforms.   And even Kitt'n Kaboodle for the Atari 2600.    
     
    Well, I was happy with how Atari featured software from Big Five Softeware and the Miner 2049er series on the 50th anniversary and I think the Bubsy series would add another colorful addition.
     
    Personally, I would love to finish up Bubsy 3D on my Playstation 4.  And maybe, just maybe, Atari can go in an tweek a few things in that game.   Adjust the controls a bit.   And there was a more graphically enhaunced version of that game, but it was pulled back due to Playstation 1 limitations.
     
    So exciting, and I look forward to what everyone has to say on that message thread.
     
    Here are a few articles about the Accolade purchase by Atari...

     
    https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2023/04/19/2650476/0/en/Atari-Announces-Acquisition-of-More-than-100-PC-and-Console-Titles-from-the-80s-and-90s.html?fbclid=IwAR2PjffP-R146bFmx6C-Qj9LTj_0Td_z1cFcBYzZ4jjWQeHvRl7Zj57AxZk
     
     
    Talk soon!
     
     
     
    Originally posted here:
    https://forums.atariage.com/blogs/entry/18521-cruizin-atariage-atari-acquires-accolade-titles-april-2023/
     
     
  7. doctorclu
    Happy Towel Day!   Celebrating Douglas Adams who wrote Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.   (HHGTTG)
     

     
    I dare say, if you like the lunacy of Bubsy, you'd like the off the wall turn tropes on their head comedy like this book series.
     
    I have a shot of the Infocom game that originally introduced me to the HHGTTG series....
     

     
    This is the same company that Bubsy creator, Michael Berlyn, also wrote Cutthroats and Infidel for.   And I believe I have this same game package for those games too. 

    These games came with the "feelies", in this case the "Don't Panic" badge, the bag of pocket fluff, a bag of a microscropic Space fleet, and the glasses that turned black whenever something dangerous was around, keeping you from panicing.
     
    Awesome series.
     
    And this HHGTTG logo/mascot of a sorts was the inspiration for the Bubsy Fan Blog icon.
     

     
    Saw that on the Bubsy pilot and thought... hey...  we could have some fun with that.
     
    So Bubsy fans, enjoy out there, and don't it's a tough galaxy out there so don't forget your towel !
     
     
    ------
     
    Don't see pictures, try this link:
    https://forums.atariage.com/blogs/entry/18548-cruizin-the-galaxy-happy-towel-day-may-2023/
     
  8. doctorclu

    Soccer Kid / Kid Kleets

    By doctorclu,


    Soccer Kid
    A yummy Golden Grahams breakfast, which Kid Kleets (Soccer Kid) always has to kick off the day!
     
    --------------
     
    Tune in tomorrow when Zool Redimensioned is launched for the Playstation 4 and 5 !
     
     
    (Original post here for images if you are reading on RSS feed)
    https://forums.atariage.com/blogs/entry/18541-soccer-kid-kid-kleets/
     
  10. doctorclu
    The news of Michael Berlyn passing two days ago still weighs on the hearts of many Bubsy fans.
     
    I'm happy to say there have been many who have expressed their condolences and tributes that have helped collectively ease the grief for each other.
     
    Here are some of those...
     
    SpongeFox
    FROM THE OFFICIOUS BUBSY FAN SERVER (Discord)...
     


     
    Bubsy's funeral... his creator's funeral... meh.. we know what he meant...






     




    YOUTUBE VIDEOS
    Quite a few matter of fact videos, but some of the more creative ones ...
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Some cool pictures that surfaced with the news from back in development days...


    TWITTER COMMENTS...

     

     
    FACEBOOK COMMENTS...
     


     


     
    This one I was amazed not only by the commenter...

     
    But the person that forwarded that comment.  The one, the only, Scott Adams of the Scott Adams text adventures!!

    Wow... wow.. wow...  LOL!   Ok... back on track...
     
    As cool as that is, I've saved the best for last.  And we'll end here this time.
     
    Closing this out, words from Mike Berlyn's wife, Muffy:
     

     
     
    Originally posted here (to view the many attached pictures)
    https://forums.atariage.com/blogs/entry/18504-cruizin-the-interwebs-michael-berlyn-tributes-april-2023/
     
  11. doctorclu
    Found out a friend of mine, Michael Berlyn, passed away at 73 yesterday. As I've mentioned to some this morning, I had a great time talking to him in this interview as he talked about the various games he created, among which Bubsy Bobcat. And it's been great talking to him since.  He was a great friend on Facebook liking my jokes, sharing some of his own, and sometimes just talking from time to time. A creative, supportive man with a fun sense of humor. He will truly be missed.
     
     
    More about this...
     
    https://celebritiesdeaths.com/sad-news-bubsy-creator-michael-berlyn-dies-at-73/
  12. doctorclu
    Some fun Atari Mascot Kart talk, this time by C Austin Cox
     
    Come check it out!
     

     
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/jag64/posts/1224707498253041/?__cft__[0]=AZUxoIsNMjiuZAV0qOGm0jRFmi6kbql5A3cfTs_rRveRIrosl36N72g_ZU97pXKcZIZERpFmSyIlszOlP1XDBCnV0ZK_l1UtW96zQ1uYO0UFEKFuI8sjqXjPjxAY2yz8HNDtNqGSrfmBxT6zcgxlRgF7c1VK8r5bY6-8PGyBeJzAMrPUZbPWOWqWZ0iy-D5vkNU&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
     
     
  13. doctorclu

    Skullcrusher from Ultra Vortek

    By doctorclu,


    Skullcrusher
    Over in the Jag 64: The Atari Jaguar 64-Bit Group there is C Austin Cox who is apparently a big fan of Ultra Vortek and had at least one figure concept made for Skullcrusher.
     

     
    When asked about the figure, it's on display, virtually. 
     
    "Just CGI. I mean, I could technically convert the 3D models to STL format, then 3d print and assemble the figures (with some painting). But these are just computer generated images (CGI) from my demented mind..."    Cool stuff though.
     
    Here are the links to the messages about it:
    Skullcrusher action figure


    More Skullcrusher CGI art
     

     
    Pretty good stuff.   He's done a lot of art in that discussion group on Facebook that is worth checking out.  
     
    (Originally posted here:
     
    https://forums.atariage.com/blogs/entry/18460-skullcrusher-from-ultra-vortek/  )
     
     
  14. doctorclu
    Welcome to the fan blog of
     
    BUBSY BOBCAT!!




    Some blog entries will be pictures, some stories, and just other fun. Half the fun of being a Bubsy fan is the uniqueness of anything fan made about Bubsy. So what you have in this blog is a collection of pictures that have appeared over the internet. I place them here as a mirror so that the art will not be lost, however if you are the owner to some of this art, please let me know. Be good to hear from another Bubsy Fan, or at worst I'll hear from you if you want the art removed. Either will be welcomed.

    Here are the pictures and Alters I (Doctor Clu) have come up with about Bubsy Bobcat to date:

  15. doctorclu
    HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY !!!
     
    Check it out, Bubsy so means it, he even put on pants!
     
     
    How are you doing Bubsy fans?   Not bad over here.  
     
    Wearing my Bubsy hat (the cap, not the knitted one with the ears.)

     
    And been playing Bubsy Fractured Furry Tales with different music after I hacked different music in...
     
    Hacked some maps on it and other fun.
     
    There is other fun going on in the Bubsy fan world.   Hope to at some point backtrack into the past year as we look into that some more.   People hacking Bubsy games, mapping levels.   Certainly want to mention the fan hack by Honza for a Christmas version of Paws on Fire...
     
     

    https://gamejolt.com/games/Bubsy-pof-xmas/770927
     
     

     
    Great stuff!
     
    So just wanted to say hello, and doing just, only been a bit busy.  How you all been?
     

     
  16. doctorclu
    Tonight was a great night.
     
    So I've been playing with porting the mod files from Bubsy: Fractured Furry Tales from the Atari Jaguar to play on the Sega Genesis. As I posted previously, I got the mods to play on a mod converter (Toy Story mod). There were NTSC and PAL mod binaries made. The NTSC binaries played better but faster, the PAL binaries were at about true speed but with more static. In the end, I went with the PAL mod binaries.
     
    So then I learned of the Sega emulator on the Mac: Fushion. Played the mods, recorded VGM files.
     
    Then I learned how the VGMoptimizer program worked. The regular VGM files are about 49 Mb. Optimized it is 5.7 Mb. Naturally the Genesis games are a 4 Mb limit, at least with the program that churns out VGM Player binaries.
     
    [[BTW, the trick they don't tell you in the optimizer program is that you have to make a "optimised" folder in the directory with the optimise.bat and optvgm.exe and the .vgm files. There were no instructions and it took me a moment to figure out that was why the process kept bombing.]]
     
    Then after learning how to compress the VGM files I learned how to tag the files with the VGM Tool.
     
    All of this detailed here:
    http://project2612.org/tutorial/01-getting_started.htm
     
    So there we go. I guess where to go from here is to figure out how to properly module and loop the samples. THey are just straight up recordings right now which is why they are in two binaries for all eight tracks. There are VGM collections with like 20 tracks that will easily fit on a single binary, so still have some learning to do.
     
    Also I think there are utilities to straight up convert .mod to .vgm or a bit more direct and better quality than what I churned out here, but learning!!
     
    So in the meantime fire these up on your Sega Gopher or Sega Flashcart and enjoy some Jaguar Bubsy tracks!
     
    Bubsy FFT BIN.zip
    Bubsy FFT VGZ.zip
     
    Until later!
     
    -Doctor Clu
  17. doctorclu
    Hey Bubsy fans,
     
    With a little time over Christmas break (no, I am not in school, but I like to take the week between Christmas and New Years off) I had some time to figure out a old question: How could a person hack a level on Bubsy: Fractured Furry Tales for the Atari Jaguar?
     
    The answer is, there are a list of things to keep in mind.   Maybe I'll follow up with this sometime and go into more detail.  
    But the idea sat in the back of my mind for several years of something I could try.   It would either be one way or the other, and luckily, it was the way I thought it would work.
     
    There was no level editor per se, but figured out how to hex edit the Map files.   And well, we got this...
     
    Bubsy - Fractured Furry Tales_Secret Room Ed.rom
     
     
    And that works on the Jaguar's Game Drive, and should work in most emulators.   Basically the same Bubsy game, but with a few changes to level 6th to make it easier to get to the forgotten/secret room.
     
    So with that, if I don't get a chance to get back on here, hope you are having a happy holidays and a happy new year!
     
    More about this hack mentioned also here:
     
     
    This blog originally posted at this link:
     
    https://forums.atariage.com/blogs/entry/18401-cruizin-in-the-hex-editor-hacking-fractured-furry-tales-maps-december-2022/
     
     
     
  18. doctorclu

    Soccer Kid/Kid Kleet - Plushie

    By doctorclu,


    Jaguar Mascot Soccer Kid
    Good morning, this is a quick shout out for those that like Soccer Kid and plushies, there is one available on ebay currently...
     

     
    They usually come like this.  Bundled with a Telegames release of Soccer Kid for the Gameboy Advance.  A good version too as far as I'm concerned.
     
    Size wise as a plush, actually smaller than the Bubsy plush,
     

     
    which is actually quite small shown here in comparison to a Sega Genesis cart, and various buttons.
     

     
    What is cool though is these plushes are not overly rare, and these seem to pop up on ebay a few times a year.   And that might seem rare, but I've only seen two Bubsy plushes show up since I've been searching for Bubsy merch since around maybe 2005?   So you have a semi-rare to ultra rare comparison.
     
    When it comes to the Jaguar commercial release mascots, you never can seem to line up all four (Bubsy, Zool, Rayman, and Kid Kleet) in a single lineup.*
     
    Enamel pins you get all but Kid Kleet.
    Plushes you get all but Zool.  
     
    For the completionist in me, this is maddening. 
     
    Anyway Jaguar Mascot fans, just wanted to mention that was seen.  Now I'll go get a bowl of Golden Grahams which I suddenly want.. for some reason.
     
       ---------------------------------------
     
    * Yes, Soccer Kid was not original release, but Songbird release at least of an existing beta from the era.  
       And there are other platformers, but not of that mascot platformer type.
  19. doctorclu
    Hey all, today is Michael Berlyn's birthday!
     

     
    And for those not in the know, only the man who said "You know, I've had fun with text adventures, but this platformer type game, I got to get in on this!" (Paraphrase of course)
     
    And so the Sonic gamer did hours and hours of "research" and created our favorite Bobcat.   Faster than Sonic, with the vulnerabilities of Mario. *
     
    Thank you my friend, you helped create something fun, and I've enjoyed meeting you and the other Bubsy fans out there over the years!
     
    Happy Birthday my zanny friend!

    -Doctor Clu on the behalf of the Bubsy Bobcat Fan Blog.
     
     
     
    * People get on Bubsy for falling damage, but MANNN Mario was so vulnerable in his early games.  In particular Donkey Kong.   Slow, and everything killed him.
     
     
    Originally posted here:https://forums.atariage.com/blogs/entry/18308-cruizin-facebook-michael-berlyns-birthday-october-2022/
     
  20. doctorclu
    Bryan McManis‎ asked to The Colonial Warriors in this Facebook thread:
    "After all these years has the truth ever come out WHY the show was cancelled with NO warning, NO Announcement, and NO ending of the Series. ? The Cast and Crew NEVER even knew it was cancelled until they showed up for work to find out it was over."

    And at the time I write this there are 35 comments. A great read in the Colonial Warrior group. Thought about it and my answer was as follows:

    "Wow this has been a good read. My take on this is what a lot of people have said (about production cost) with a twist: I don't think any production company knew the big picture of what a sci-fi show could do. They had a show where the advertising was not putting the production costs in the black. I get that. However, what ABC did not realize, which they couldn't have since VHS and Beta were barely starting out, is how much they could receive from royalties, DVD sales, streaming rights, merchandising (that was also barely starting out with Star Wars) and all the long term profit. And think of this, Star Trek might have been great in reruns, but the effects of the movie franchise was just starting, and Star Trek the Motion Picture was not really a mega hit. In short, no production company was ready to invest for the long term what companies are willing to do today."

  21. doctorclu
    While listening to the radio this morning there was talk of a man in Texas I believe they said that was mowing his yard and saw a strange creature looking back at him.   He snapped a picture and it was identified as a chupacabra.  Radio DJ said they didn't believe in UFOs or Big Foot, but they believe in the chupacabra.
     
    So I went looking for this picture, and I found another interesting picture instead..
     

     
    "'Do you have any ideas of what this UAO- Unidentified Amarillo Object could be?'"
     
    "A zoo in Amarillo, Texas, is trying to identify a strange figure that was caught on camera lurking just outside a chain-link perimeter fence. ..."
     
    Article goes on to say...
    "In the spirit of fun if not curiosity, the City of Amarillo is letting the public offer ideas on the identity of the UAO," the city of Amarillo posted on their website.
    "Was it a person with a strange hat who likes to walk at night? A large coyote on its hind legs? A Chupacabra? It is a mystery – for Amarillo to help solve,“ the city said.
     
    "We just want to let the Amarillo community have some fun with this. It is important to note that this entity was outside the Amarillo Zoo. There were no signs of attempted entry into the zoo. No animals or individuals were harmed. There were no signs of criminal activity or vandalism," said the city's Director of Parks and Recreation Michael Kashuba.
     
    *I'm thinking an owl riding a drunk guy.
    *Gnorm from the 1990 movie A Gnome Named Gnorm!!
    *I believe it may the ultra rare IGGY POP action figure.
    * did a deep dive (And by that i mean I just made the picture bigger and looked at the picture with inverted colours among other things) And it looks like its just a drunk guy with a beer bottle and a weird hat.
    *Navajo Skinwalker?
    *"Oh wow! That looks like nun of my business."
    *wendigo
    *I think it's a human in a cat outfit.
     
    We all know the last guess was the closest, for it is obviously none other than Bubsy Bobcat himself!
     

     
    I mean come on!   It is so obvious, Bobcats are native to Texas afteral.  (I've personally seen four while in Texas, and I live in the city.)
     
    Now for us fans we have to wonder what Bubsy is up to?   Is this a new game that Bubsy is making under Ziggurat who bought the Accolade rights?   Is this some cool night level being made and filmed for his next game?   I don't think Bubsy has had a level at night.  Space yes, and on Rayon... but those don't count.  We need a REAL night level on Earth baby!
     
    I'd totally buy that game.
     
    So anyway, we totally caught you on film Bubsy!   Good luck in your name game!
     
     
    Originally posted here (to see all pictures and content)
    https://atariage.com/forums/blogs/entry/18171-cruizin-outside-the-amarillo-texas-zoo-june-2022/
     
     
  22. doctorclu
    So much in the style of Alice in Wonderland and their "unbirthdays"
     
     
    I guess I became guarded about my actual birthday somewhere along the way.   Used as one of the major means of identity, we have attached this so that social media could announce it to the world.   I was all about that back in the BBS days.   Heck I used to engrave my driver's license on my items in case they were stolen.  My foot locker back at summer camp in the 80s had my social security number on it.   We wouldn't do that now.
     
    When it came to Facebook and social media I was an early adopter of an unbirthday.   And nearly immediately Facebook proved me right as the date I gave them was in messages from other companies, wishing me a happy birthday.  
     
    So for those that celebrate my Facebook unbirthday, thank you.     I will take your greetings and cheerish them on the real birthday.
     
    And if you ever want to know my real birthday, I'll tell you next time I see you.  Maybe at my birthday party. 
     
     
  23. doctorclu
    Got a new version of Kitt'N Kaboodle for the Atari 2600/VCS
     

     
    This one has:
    * Improved sprites (Jumping, running, and climbing.)
    * Change of the logo from "Bubsy 0" to "Kitt'N Kaboodle"
    * New final level with item (one of Virgil's atoms) from "Paws on Fire" to celebrate that game release.
    Download latest version.
     
    The latest revision was prompted when Welfz Twingo Furs ran some ideas by me for a version of the game he had in mind.   I created the version for him, and with his permission adapted some inspiration from that and other revisions to make the revision 22 you see above.
     
    For completists, here is the Welfz Twingo Furs edition, thanks again Welfz Twingo Furs!)
     
     
    Still hoping to hack the music, I have had some success with that, and still dream of hacking in a voice track since Bubsy was one of the first talking mascots.   So will scratch the chin a bit more on that.  For now, enjoy! 

     
    Coming up in September...
    A Swedish version of "Bubsy: Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind" that Busby the Bobcat helped me find.
  24. doctorclu
    Good morning Bubsy fans!   You know what day it is!?   You got it!   Well, three days after the Bubsy launch (May 1, 1993) so we are in Bubsy month!
     

     
    But today they are celebrating a day for something you might have heard.  I mean, it's no Bubsy, but it's pretty cool...
     

     
    Good times.    So to you Bubsy and Star Wars fans, this is a great month.   So says Mando...
     

     
    So this morning I logged into the Prison Board BBS.   You remember BBSs?   Computer "Bulletin Board Systems".   The thing before the internet for the personal computer user.  Someone would leave a computer on attached to a modem so someone could call it through a phone line, and they would leave messages on it.  Like a old cork bulletin board you would thumb tack notes to.
     
    And like five things I just said above... modems, phone lines, cork boards, and all... wow, all aged.
     
    Anyway, back when Twitter Bubsy was mentioning the "BBS - Bubsy Broadcast System" I thought that was a nice touch as they worked to make him continually retro and out of touch.    But I still call BBSs from time to time, so there is that too.
     
    Anyway, Prison Board BBS mentioned other things today is, so just for fun, here is what it said...
     
     

     

     

     

     
    And lastly...
     

     
    So this has been the Bubsy Bobcat Fan Blog broadcasting over the B.B.S.  (Bubsy Broadcast System) to say "Hey!"
     
    Time has been crazy, but there is no better time than when you have no time to post.
    Got more Bubsy news, see if we can get that posted soon!
     
    Until then, keep it up, just keep it up!
     
     
     
    Originally posted at:
    https://atariage.com/forums/blogs/entry/18088-cruizin-the-bbss-may-the-4th-be-with-you-may-2022/
     
     
  25. doctorclu
    Green Eggs and Ham is an American animated comedy adventure streaming television series loosely based on the 1960 Dr. Seuss book of the same title for Warner Bros. Animation and Netflix. It premiered on November 8, 2019 on Netflix. The series has received critical acclaim for its animation, humor, and story.   The voice acting with also notable with the talents of Michael Douglas, Adam DeVine, Eddie Izzard, Jeffrey Wright, Jillian Bell, Ilana Glazer, and Diane Keaton.  
     
    This hilarious take on the classic Dr. Seuss book is also evident with the producers Jared Stern, Jeff Kleeman, Mike Karz, David Dobkin, Sam Register, Helen Kalafatic, oh and a comedian we've loved for years, Ellen DeGeneres.   Seeing her name among the executive producers made only more sense on why this Netflix series grabbed the attention of the Bubsy Fan Blog.  
     

     
    But there was something else about this series that seemed eireely familiar.  In fact, other Bubsy fans have chimed in liking this series.  What was it about this series, and why did the obnoxious yet lovable character, Sam I Am, have such an over whelming Bubsy vibe?
     
    Well, wonder no more, because the Bubsy Bobcat Fan Blog has uncovered a fact that the Green Eggs and Ham team was willing to reveal in the wake of the release of season two for the series and that is this:   Bubsy Bobcat was an uncredited stuntcat in the series. *
     
    The trend in the film industry is actually well known.   So often a famous actor or actress will lend their talent to a movie or TV series and be uncredited.  Great recent examples we've enjoyed was Hugh Jackman as a uncredited informant in "Free Guy".   Or how about Daniel Craig and Karl Urban playing Storm Troopers in the last Star Wars movies?   And how about former Doctor Who actors Peter Davison, Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy as Daleks in a deleted scene for the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special? **   And in that tradition, Bubsy Bobcat signed up for the Green Eggs and Ham TV series partly due to his love of the Dr. Seuss books that he's loved since he was a kitten.    It has been reported that the producers of the show were very grateful for his help as some of the stunt scenes were quite dangerous.  There was also a time or so during the strict production schedule that Bubsy was able to voice a few lines of Sam I Am when Adam DeVine was not available as their voices sounded a lot a like.
     
    Luckily, according to Bubsy, due to his extensive training in video games, and his newer immunity to falling damage, this came in really handy through some of the more stunt intensive scenes like the ones on the moving train, something that Bubsy did extensively in his first game.   There were several scenes were Sam I Am rides down slides of water, or something like water (eww...) and Bubsy was able to slide or surf those thanks to more of his in game experience.   And the falling scenes Bubsy had a bit of PTSD he had to overcome from his earlier games, but handled those like a pro, once again thanks to new abilities.
     
    Bubsy said physically he was a natural stand in for Sam I Am as his face profile being whitish-yellow on the bottom and the way the sides of his face play out was a lot like Sam I Am.   Only the orange parts of his face needed to be brushed out by the make-up department.   The red hat hid his ears, and he had to slip into a green body suit for the torso, arms, legs and feet.  Bubsy claimed the body suit is much like comfy pajamas.   Much like how Ryan Reynolds kept one of the Deadpool suits from the prop department; so Bubsy latched onto the Sam I Am "pajamas" and one of the red hats much to the prop department's dismay but eventual acceptance.
     
    Humorously enough, due to Sam I Am's love for Green Eggs and Ham, Bubsy as a stuntcat for some scenes had to partake in this delicacy.   Bubsy replied in some of those scenes they used a prop version that was effectively painted styrofoam that he would eat and spit out after the cut.  Unfortunately that required multiple takes.   As a result, claims Bubsy, he wouldn't mind not seeing Green Eggs and Ham for a while.
     
    But that will not be the case since, as of December 2019, Netflix renewed the series for a second season which will be titled Green Eggs and Ham: The Second Serving. It is scheduled for a April 8, 2022 release on Netflix. It will be a loose adaptation of The Butter Battle Book.
     
    Not only will fans get a second serving of this wonderful TV series, but our good old pal Bubsy will get more takes with that delicious prop food.
     
    But all this hard work and sacrifice of the Bubster has not gone unnoticed by the producers of Green Eggs and Ham.   In the first season there were a few nods to the Bubsy franchise that were thrown in out of thanks.   In the first season one nod was in the jail break scene as they were going through the laundry area you can see many white T-shirts that look like the Bubsy shirts a player could collect throughout the game.   In another scene when they are in a lightning storm Sam I Am tempts fate by saying lightning couldn't strike a second and then third time, much like the "What could possibly go wrong" trope.  And there are others nods that Bubsy fans should look out for.
     
    Will we get any other Bubsy franchise nods in the second season?   Well the Bubsy Bobcat Fan Blog and other fans look forward to seeing more as the new season two episodes aire next week on Netflix!
     
    -----------------------------------------------------------
     
     
    Originally posted here:
    https://atariage.com/forums/blogs/entry/18042-cruizin-netflix-bubsy-a-stuntcat-in-green-eggs-and-ham-april-2022/
     
    * We wish!   But still a fun series and you should totally watch it for that fun Bubsy-vibe!
    ** We consider the Five-ish doctor Special Canon, please and thank you.
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