Colin Porch

The national heritage of slaying demons There is a specific kind of validation that comes when the establishment finally catches up to the tinkerers. Bobby Prince, the legendary composer behind the Doom soundtrack, has officially seen his work inducted into the **US Library of Congress National Recording Registry**. It is one of 25 recordings selected this year for preservation, recognized for its cultural and aesthetic importance. For those of us who spent the mid-90s huddled over a 486 DX2, that midi-based soundtrack wasn't just background noise; it was the pulse of a revolution. Prince’s work, heavily inspired by the riffs of Pantera and Metallica, provided the heavy metal backbone for the most influential first-person shooter in history. Inducting a video game soundtrack alongside the likes of Taylor Swift and Weezer signals a massive shift in how we view digital artifacts. The Library of Congress isn't just archiving songs; they are preserving the **audio treasures** that define our national playlist. While it might feel odd to see "E1M1" sitting in the same vault as "Feliz Navidad," it makes perfect sense for anyone who understands the technical wizardry required to make an AdLib sound card scream. Atari flees to Luxembourg and eyes a hardware refresh The modern incarnation of Atari is a different beast than the one Nolan Bushnell founded in 1972, but it’s making moves that demand attention. Shareholders recently voted with a 95.25% majority to **redomicile the company** from France to Luxembourg. While the cynical observer might point to Luxembourg's reputation as a tax haven, the pragmatic reality is that lowering overhead is how legacy brands survive in a cutthroat market. This move effectively ends Atari's era as a French company, a status it held since Infogrames absorbed the brand years ago. But the real news for hardware enthusiasts is a fresh trademark application for the **Atari 800XL**. This specific model was the crown jewel of the XL range launched in 1983, featuring the iconic Pokey sound chip and the Jay Miner-designed graphics hardware. A new trademark usually hints at a "Mini" console or a modern hardware refresh similar to the [2600+]. If Atari is planning an 8-bit computer revival that supports original cartridges, it would be a massive win for collectors who prefer the authentic Pokey sound over software emulation. Massive parallel history at auction If you have a spare **$81,000** and a floor reinforced to hold nearly a ton of hardware, you could own the first-ever Cray T3D supercomputer. Serial number 6001, dubbed "The Typhoon," was once the fastest supercomputer in Europe. This isn't your standard desktop build; it’s a massive tomato-red cabinet containing 512 DEC Alpha processors. Back in 1996, this was the pinnacle of **massively parallel supercomputing**, shifting away from traditional vector systems to the architecture that defines modern data centers. The Cray T3D represents a museum-grade survival of hardware evolution. It comes with a liquid-based cooling system that stands over six feet tall and weighs 0.85 tons. Buying something like this isn't about performance—your smartphone probably has more raw compute power today—it's about owning a piece of the engineering transition that made the digital age possible. It’s the ultimate "grail" for a hardware historian, provided they can figure out how to wire a 50-million-dollar machine to a modern power grid. Handheld innovation and the Crankboy emulator The Playdate has always been a fascinating curiosity with its 1-bit screen and mechanical crank. Now, it has a killer app for the retro crowd: **Crankboy**. This official Game Boy emulator allows the handheld to run classic ROMs with full sound support and high polish. The most intriguing feature is the "wrapper" functionality, which lets developers package Game Boy homebrew titles as native Playdate apps for the official store. This creates a bridge between two distinct DIY development communities. Simultaneously, the Retro Collective is pushing the boundaries of the MiSTer FPGA platform. Unlike previous attempts that relied on the bulky DE10-Nano board, they are designing a **custom PCB** from scratch. This integrated approach allows for a much slimmer handheld form factor without sacrificing the gate-level accuracy that makes FPGA technology superior to software emulation. We are entering a golden age for handheld hardware where the goal isn't just to play the game, but to replicate the original logic of the machine in your palm. Ray tracing the ghosts of Mars Doom 3 was a polarizing departure for the series in 2004, trading frantic action for survival horror. However, a new mod by **Justin Marshall** is giving it a second life through **path tracing and ray-traced lighting**. Using a modernization layer called IceBridge, the mod pushes the legacy id Tech 4 engine into the [Direct3D 12] era. This allows for features like global illumination and lit particles that make the game's notoriously dark corridors look like a modern AAA release. What makes this mod noteworthy is how it preserves the atmosphere while adding technical depth. Most ray-tracing mods wash out the art style, but IceBridge aims to keep the **industrial grit** intact. It's a reminder that good hardware and clever rendering can make a twenty-year-old engine feel brand new. For the purists who prefer the original vision over the lightened-up BFG Edition, this path-tracing update is the definitive way to experience the horrors of the Union Aerospace Corporation. A sequel forty years in the making In one of the most heartwarming stories in retro gaming, **81-year-old developer Colin Porch** has finally released a sequel to the 1987 classic Head Over Heels. Titled **Return to Black Tooth**, the project was a solo effort that began in 1989 but was abandoned when consoles took over the market. It took a chance meeting with his former boss at Ocean Software to convince him that there was still an audience for isometric puzzles on the Amiga. This isn't just a fan project; it’s a legitimate continuation of a legacy. Porch had to navigate a labyrinth of rights holders just to get permission to release it. The game is now available on itch.io and can run on original Amiga hardware. It represents the ultimate long game—a developer returning to his craft after four decades to finish what he started. It’s a testament to the fact that in the world of custom computing and vintage gaming, the projects we love never truly die; they just wait for the right moment to boot back up.