Flashback for Atari ST

Flashback ported to the Atari ST via REminiscence, by Neil Rackett.

Of all the games that never had an official release on the Atari ST, one of the ones I was most disappointed about was Flashback (Delphine Software, 1992).

Using STDL and the Amiga data files, I've ported REminiscence, Gregory Montoir's re-implementation of the original game engine, to the Atari ST.

So, just three decades after the original was released... Say hello to Flashback for the Atari ST.

• 4MB RAM recommended (but should work in 2.5MB).
• 3.5MB of hard disk space.
• Sound effects are original Amiga samples on STE, YM versions on regular ST.
• Music is original ProTracker MODs on STE, YM versions on regular ST.

1. Copy FLASHBAK.TOS (and optionally RS.CFG) to your ST's hard disk.
2. Extract the data files from your Amiga installation disks using the RExtract online tool.
3. Copy the DATA and MUSIC folders into the same folder as FLASHBAK.TOS.
4. Run FLASHBAK.TOS.

If you would prefer to extract the data manually, see Extracting the files manually.

Saved games (RS<level>_<slot>.SAV) and RS.LOG live in the program folder. The default RS.CFG includes all of the available options (see Configuration).

## Controls

You can control Conrad with the keyboard, a joystick in port 1, or a gamepad:

Gamepads are supported via Xpad providers, including MD/Sidepad. A pad with rumble motors gives a short thump whenever Conrad takes a hit.

Save, load, quit and the state-slot keys stay on the keyboard: they are Ctrl combinations, and a pad button emulates a single key.

On the title menu, Start lists the levels: fire on one plays it, and Back (or Escape) returns to the menu. The list opens on the level last played - the Jungle, when the game has just been started - so Start and fire begin a new game.

Load Game picks up a saved game: left and right step through the ones on disk, starting with the most recent, and fire loads it. A level's save point is listed along with the slots saved with Ctrl+S or from the in-game menu.

Options holds the skill level, the screen mode, the refresh rate, the music and its volume, and on an STE the sound quality: left, right or fire changes a setting, and Back (or Escape) returns to the menu. Changes last for the current run; RS.CFG sets where they start (see Configuration).

At 60Hz most monitors draw the picture taller, so Fit comes close to the height the overscan modes give. The overscan modes themselves always run at 50Hz, and some PAL TVs won't show 60Hz at all.

Flashback is still copyright Delphine Software, so you'll need to extract the files needed from your legally owned original Amiga installation disks.

The easiest way to extract the data files from your Amiga installation disks in the correct format is to use the RExtract online tool.

To extract them by hand instead, see Extracting the files manually.

The score is on the disks, in music/ — one ProTracker module per track. An STE or Mega STE plays the modules as they are, on its DMA sound. Every other ST plays YM2149 versions of them, converted offline: a chip cover rather than the original, since three square waves keep the notes but not the instruments.

The RExtract online tool puts both in the MUSIC folder. By hand, tools/extract-data.sh (see Extracting the files manually) puts the modules in tmp/music, and tools/make-music.sh with no arguments copies each module into dist/MUSIC and converts it there too. Copy that MUSIC\ folder to your ST, next to FLASHBAK.TOS and alongside DATA\.

Music then plays by default: an STE plays the modules and any other ST the YM versions. On an STE, Options on the title menu switches between the two; music=ym in RS.CFG starts with the YM versions, and music=false turns music off.

The modules are not free on an STE: mixing four sampled voices takes about a quarter of the machine, so cutscenes slow down with them more than with the YM versions.

Sound Quality under Options (sound_quality=high in RS.CFG) mixes the modules and effects at twice the rate, 12.5kHz rather than 6.3kHz. It sounds clearer, but cutscenes on an STE take about 40% longer, and a Mega STE drops more of their frames, so Normal is the default.

Without a MUSIC folder the game simply runs silent; with one, a missing track is noted once in RS.LOG (with logging=true).

You can replace the 16 colours the game picks for each room with your own: see Custom palettes.

Options go in RS.CFG, a plain text file next to FLASHBAK.TOS: see Configuration for every one of them.

While the game is now pretty much feature complete, it is still a work in progress.

Please submit an issue or open a pull request if you find anything that doesn't work or if you'd like to contribute to make it better.

Please ensure that you include as much information as possible in your submission, including:

• The Atari ST model and TOS version (ST, STE, Mega ST, Mega STE)
• Whether you are using an emulator (e.g. Hatari) or real hardware
• The amount of RAM you have installed
• Any devices you have connected
• The exact steps to reproduce the issue
• Any error messages or logs you see

• Can we achieve smooth cutscenes playback without dropping frames?

With atarist-toolkit-docker installed:

git submodule update --init
stcmd make

This produces dist/FLASHBAK.TOS.

The desktop SDL2 build is still available via make -f Makefile.sdl.

• A massive thank you to Gregory Montoir for REminiscence and agreeing to let me use it.
• A big thank you to everyone on X and Atari Forum who helped with testing and refining the colour palette.
• Delphine Software, obviously, for making another great game.
• Yaz0r, Pixel and gawd for sharing information they gathered on the game.

If you'd like more information about Flashback:

• [1] http://www.mobygames.com/game/flashback-the-quest-for-identity
• [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flashback:_The_Quest_for_Identity
• [3] http://ramal.free.fr/fb_en.htm
• [4] https://www.exotica.org.uk/wiki/Flashback

This repository is not open source.

The REminiscence engine is copyright Gregory Montoir with no OSS licence. This port exists thanks to his express permission, given to me for this port and not as a licence to you: to reuse the engine, ask him. Core-engine changes made here are listed in CHANGES.txt, as requested.

Atari ST port related code is copyright (C) 2026 Neil Rackett

STDL, the display and audio library underneath, is a separate project under LGPL-2.1-or-later.

Flashback and its data files are copyright Delphine Software; no game data is distributed here.