r/atari8bit • u/Hollerra • Sep 14 '26
Synapse Software thread
Hi all, Another moddle aged ultra-nerd have massive Atari 800xl/1050 drive flashbacks via my R36H/RetroArch portable. One lf my MAIN nostalgia rushes besides playing 'Behind Jaggi Lines' is replaying the wild Synapse titles, my faves were:
Blue Max
Fort Apocalypse
The Encounter
Zeppelin
Rainbow Walker
Necromancer
Curious to know what people out there like. Also did they release titles when bought out by Broederbund?
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u/unwiredben Sep 14 '26
See https://www.computesgazette.com/2026/07/19/synapse-the-rise-and-fall-of-synapse-software/ for a recent article about the company. Definitely one of the best Atari developers.
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u/Livid-Mistake-6845 Sep 16 '26
Haha... I came here do just this. Thanks for sharing my article, Ben! 👍
Also, if your interested, check out my friend Tom's channel, Floppy Deep Dive. He streams every Friday night, and he did a Synapse night a month or so ago because he was inspired by that article.
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u/Ant-the-knee-see Sep 14 '26
When I think of Synapse I think of SynFile+ 🤣 I still have my boxed copy to hand. Something something something nerd 🤣
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u/bubonis Sep 14 '26
Don’t forget SynCalc.
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u/rr777 Sep 15 '26
These productivity titles is what killed the company. Atari was supposed to purchase the titles and tramiel said nope.
I loved nearly every single videogame they made for the Atari. The final years in 84 started to get iffy. The delays of DimX and how weak it was. Still had lots of other exceptional games though.
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u/bubonis Sep 15 '26 edited 29d ago
Atari was supposed to purchase the titles and tramiel said nope.
Almost, but not quite. Atari wasn't supposed to purchase SynFile+ and SynCalc (and SynTrend), they were supposed to market and distribute them as Atari-branded titles. Synapse was contracted as the developer and would retain ownership to the code. When Tramiel took over he decreed that the Warner-era contract wasn't applicable to his ownership and refused to pay, so Synapse rebranded them as Synapse titles and sold them themselves.
I'm not saying damage wasn't done to Synapse as a result -- it most certainly was. Only that it's technically inaccurate to say that "Atari was supposed to purchase the titles from Synapse." That wasn't the deal.
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u/Scoth42 Sep 14 '26
Loved all their games. So many good ones.
Alley Cat and Necromancer were both by Bill Williams, one of my favorite developers who made a lot of unusual and interesting games.
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u/Psychological-777 Sep 14 '26 edited Sep 14 '26
LOVE Drelbs, Necromancer, Shamus I & II. always loved the artwork featured on their boxes. very specific and consistent style! and don’t forget claim jumper... never had the opportunity to play that one.
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u/EdSalisbury Sep 14 '26
Don't forget Slime! Synapse made so many great games! One day i'm beat Necromancer -- such a unique game!
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u/IowaNobody Sep 15 '26
Shamus and Picnic Paranoia were great. I actually completely mapped Shamus back in the day.
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u/bubonis Sep 14 '26
Blue Max, Fort Apocalypse, and Rainbow Walker are regular additions to my recommended games list.
I never got into Necromancer mainly because I didn’t understand how to play it. Still don’t.
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u/Educational-Milk5099 Sep 14 '26
I played a good amount of Blue Max back in the day, and a little Necromancer (I think). I don’t remember the other titles.
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u/Wishy-Thinking Sep 15 '26
I used to have nightmares about trying to land the plane in Blue Max when I was a kid. Ok, now down softly…softly…softly…💥
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u/Wishy-Thinking Sep 15 '26
Pharaoh’s Curse is probably the Synapse title I played the most.
Shamus was pretty good too.
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u/GoatApprehensive9866 Sep 14 '26
Alley Cat 🙀😻😻😻😻