Printing press marks the first time in history the mass publication of books, until then (1400′s) copies of books where mostly done by human hand.

It is also logically the reason why human kind has advanced so far, so quickly; due to the fact that we have been able to duplicate our knowledge so rapidly so that others may then consume that knowledge in turn and advance upon it.

There is also a wikipedia article on Printing Press that offers some additional information.

Battletech for those who are unaware is a table top game similiar to the Warhammer franchise. Players use a table top set up and command their armies of figurines in order to eliminate the other player/s.

Aircraft, tanks & infantry exist in the Battletech universe but these are mostly as second line backup units to complement mechs. The new incarnation in the form of Mechwarrior – Dark Age has made a significant step by making these previously complimentary figurines now as the primary forces on the battle field (or the desk in the backyard shed depending on how imaginative the players are). 

For a lot of people who do not have access to the required financial funds to field an army of figurines, gaming companies have developed Battletech computer & console games. The most popular and well known is the Mechwarrior range of games.

Mechwarrior is currently up to it’s fourth game and the 5th has been announced at the time of this blog publictation (04/09/09). There are trailers below showing the Mechwarrior 2 introduction movie and the Mechwarrior 5 in game action for those of you who wish to see some retro FMV at it’s finest as well as to compare it to the latest installment in the series.

Hopefully Mechwarrior 5 will be just as good as it’s predecessors and not just an eye candy fest that is graphically pleasing but poorly developed bug ridden <20 hour experience. Although if you are a giant robot mech fan then any Mechwarrior game is usually a good game.

Trailer: Mechwarrior 5 – In game action

Trailer: Mechwarrior 2 – Introduction Movie

In the clip Mario rescues an ungrateful princess but to tell you more would be ruining it. Please go to the Youtube page or watch it here now.

Please beware that the clip contains course language.

If you liked this please consider purchasing the DVD/Blu Ray Seth Macfarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy for more hilarious comedy out-takes.

I cannot recall why but one of the best games for the Sega Mega Drive in my opinion is Granada X. Too bad I only have (still have the one) controller as I always wanted to challenge my friends to the Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter games I had on my Sega Mega Drive.

The Sega Mega Drive 2 I had was specifically the Japanese version of the Sega Mega Drive 2 which lacked some features found on other variants.

Technical Details

Processor: Motorola 68000 16 bit processor running at 7.67 MHz

Co Processor: Zilog 8-bit at 3.58 MHz

Memmory: 156KB total – 64 KB Main RAM, 64KB VRAM, 8KB Sound RAM. 20 Kb ROM

Display Palette: 512

On Screen Colors: 64

Maximum Onscreen Sprites: 80

Resolution: 256 × 192, 256 × 224, 320 × 224, 320 × 448

Sound: Yamaha YM2612 6 channel FM, additional 4 channel PSG. Stereo sound. Also Texas Instruments SN76489 PSG (Programmable Sound Generator)

Referencees for Technical Details:

Sega Mega Drive – Wikipedia.org from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Mega_Drive (accessed 28/07/2009).

The only real reason that I acquired the Sega Master System over the Sega Mega Drive was because of one reason, I was heavily addicted to Alex Kidd in the miracle world (one of many Alex Kidd games).

My damn neighbour had it and I remember trying to finish that game with him for hours on end, eventually my old got me it as a gift of my selection for my 12th birthday.

I eventually ended owning about 15 Sega Master system games, I still have the same system which still works (retro tech is solid tech!) and the system casing has been heavily modded into a new casing by me over the years.

Technical Details

CPU: 8bit Zilog Z80A (3.5 mhz).

Graphics: Video Display Processor based on Texas Instruments TMS9918.

Sound: PSG (Texas Instruments SN76489.

Sound FM (Yamaha YM2413).

Video Ram: 128kbit (16kb).

Game Catridge Slot: Different variations of the Sega Master system had different cartridge shaping.

Referencees for Technical Details:

Sega Master System – Wikipedia.org from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Master_System (accessed 2/06/2009).

I will keep this blog alive and expect a new post very soon.

The fact is after a year I almost completely forgot about blogging in general but the fact is I am now under new management after a revolution in my brain where sloth has been eradicated through the combined armies of determination & that little demonic thing that sits on my left shoulder .

Although the games were little more then glorified text characters, some were real fun and just getting to the ‘last level’ was a real challenge although most games had the habit of restarting once finished with even more difficult obstacles then before. 

By the time the more advanced Sega Master System and the Nintendo Entertainment System came out I owned a library of about one hundred games, most of which I still retain, however the system long ago died from the common fate of ‘spilled soft drink on game system‘.

Jungle Hunt, Kung Fu Master and Missile Defence stood as my favourites.

Technical Details

Availability: 1977 – 1990

Media: Catridge Based

CPU: MOS 6507 Running at 1.19mhz

Technical Details sourced from, Wikipedia Atari 2600 section @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_2600, accessed May 28/2008.

Note: I remember the Atari 2600 being unavailable in Australia starting from 1990 hence i dispute the Wikipedia entry being correct.

Topics will include tech details on hardware, reviews on games and software. Information on were to acquire these ancient (still good & fun) tech will also be provided were possible.

The design is a bit basic at the momment but this will eventually be improved.

Welcome and enjoy your visit to Retro Tech Cafe.