Original author(s) | Dave Staugas (programmer),[1][2] Jim Eisenstein (programmer),[3] Jerome Domurat (User Interface Designer)[4][5] |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Atari Corporation |
Initial release | 1985 |
Stable release | |
Written in | Assembly |
Operating system | Atari ST |
Type | bitmap graphics editor |
NEOchrome is an early color bitmap graphics editor for the Atari ST.[3][6][8] It was written by Dave Staugas, a programmer at Atari Corporation and co-author of the ST's operating system.[9] NEOchrome supports hardware-supported color cycling to give the impression of animation. A color cycling waterfall, created with NEOchrome, was one of the iconic images of the early Atari ST.[10][11]
Following in the footsteps of MacPaint and the Apple II version Mouse Paint, both released in 1984, NEOchrome uses the then-novel representation of painting tools by icons (in addition to other GUI elements).[12]
A pre-release version (v0.5)[6][13] was included with the system disks of the first STs.[6] Version 1.0 arrived later, and was bundled with several versions of the ST. Although not officially public domain, this version was often treated as such, and was never actually sold.[6] NEOchrome enjoyed a relatively high level of popularity within the ST community, even in the face of more advanced packages such as DEGAS and Deluxe Paint.[citation needed]